Ise Nanao could feel the knot forming in her brow as she watched the hopeless man before her trying hopelessly to look busy. She had been gone from the 8th Squad main office for the better part of two hours, the Fukutaichos meeting that was held weekly in Seireitei, but already it had fallen into chaos. Paper was lying all over the floor, the windows were carelessly flung open despite of the snow outside and sake bottles were perched behind the sofa in a very sloppy attempt to hide them. Kyouraku Shunsui looked up at her, his cheeks ruddy despite his efforts at disguise, and smiled dozily.

'My lovely Nanao-chan,' he declared as he stood, holding out his arms for a hug. He did this at least once a day, and she ignored him just as easily. 'How was your meeting?'

'Fine,' she replied pushing up the glasses that were constantly slipping down the bridge of her nose. 'Did you get the paperwork done, Taicho? Sasakibe-Fukutaicho will be along at midday for this quarter's budget. And,' she added pushing up her glasses again. 'We need to come up with plausible excuses for our over-expenditure.'

'Over-expenditure?' He repeated mildly, genuinely confused. She could always tell by the look in his eye if something genuinely didn't make any sense because it happened whenever he got his hands on some sake.

'Yes. Sake doesn't grow on trees, Taicho. We need to work the fact a large proportion of our budget goes on alcohol into a deductible tax expense.' She sighed deeply. 'I should have started work on this a week ago.'

Kyouraku stared at her, dumbfounded. 'Nanao-chan?'

'Never mind.' She looked at the clock, it was eleven already and the budget hadn't even been considered yet. The ryoka invasion had been keeping her desk busy for weeks, only now was she getting back to the paperwork required to keep 8th Squad running. She didn't mind his slacking most of the time, but today was just one step too far. 'Well Taicho,' Nanao said calmly as the anger welled inside of her. 'I will try and salvage what I can. Why don't you go and take a nap upstairs?'

'But Nanao-' he began to plead before being silenced by a glare. He sighed heavily and trounced from the room, slamming the door a little harder than he intended behind him. Nanao jumped, sensing she may have upset him more than she intended and was on the verge of going after him to apologise but stopped before she reached the door. Her eye caught sight of the clock, it was 11.05, and her anger wiped out any regret she had in a heartbeat. She sat down at her desk, eyeing the enormous portfolio she would have to complete and immersed herself in the work.

The loud thumping came faster than Nanao expected and it took a while for it to register in her head. She looked up blankly for a few seconds before springing to her feet. There was a high pitched scream and she found herself buried between Matsumoto Rangiku's large bosomed embrace.

'Nanao, you look stressed!' Rangiku screamed as she barged into the office. Her cheeks were flushed, and Nanao suspected she'd been drinking. 'Are you busy?'

'I'm doing the budget,' she admitted with a grudge.

Matsumoto shot a confused look as she lay down on the sofa. 'Isn't that your Taicho's job? Hitsugaya-Taicho was grumpy for an entire week trying to figure them out.'

Nanao pursed her lips and said nothing of it. 'Sorry Rangiku, but I really am busy. Kyouraku-Taicho is getting drunk upstairs, why don't you go and see if he needs some company.'

The flamed haired woman opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly thought better of it. 'You should close the windows Nanao, or you'll catch a cold.'

Nanao watched her friend leave and suddenly felt the need to go after her and apologies. And she would have done, had she the time. But the budget was only half done and there was no time. Feeling miserable she picked up the pen and continued on working.

Sasakibe-Fukutaicho arrived right on time as per usual and she recognized his distinct knock the second she heard it. Nanao's fingers were aching but at least it was finished, and she didn't have to worry about it anymore. She answered the door and welcomed the older Fukutaicho in with a bow.

'No Kyouraku-Taicho today?' He asked as he viewed the messy office.

'He's occupied at the moment,' Nanao informed, handing Sasakibe the portfolio. He looked at it briefly, recognizing her handwriting, and pursed his lips ever so slightly. 'Forgive me but I have work to do.'

'Of course, I will see myself out and Nanao-'

'Yes?'

He looked around the room again. 'Never mind.'

She stared at the door long after he left and felt a headache start to develop. A gale was howling outside causing the windows to smack against the wall but it was suddenly far to warm to close them. Cursing the onset of her sudden ill health Nanao pushed it to the back of her mind and decided to priorities what needed to be done. All of the ryoka paperwork had been finished, all it needed was her Taicho's signature, and that left the job of reassignments, the payroll, the bar tab and the distribution of new swords to those Shinigami who did not possess a shikai – all jobs that required her Taicho's lazy handwriting.

Picking up her oversized tome and the large pile of paper Nanao left the office in search of where ever Kyouraku had decided to take a nap. She didn't expect him to be upstairs and wasn't disappointed, although Matsumoto had managed to entice several members of 8th Squad into an unofficial party. She slipped by them unnoticed and back down into the garden where he fell asleep every afternoon before the snow had started. The bench was empty, as was the tree branch, so that left by the pond or the entire of Seireitei. He wasn't by the water's edge and Nanao felt her fragile temper begin to slip. She had managed to convince him to sleep in the garden, if he ever felt the need to nap outside, but today he seemed to have ignored that conversation.

Nanao closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on his reiatsu. Somehow they all seemed to blend together so that meant sending a hell butterfly would be impossible. She would have to search by foot, alone, since the remaining squad that was nearby had been incapacitated by Matsumoto.

And, as luck would have it, the snow had started to fall heavily.

It was after two when Nanao finally came across a hint that Kyouraku-Taicho hadn't disappeared off the face of the planet. She had stumbled across Ukitake-Taicho on her way to check the bar and had attracted his attention when an enormous pile of paper flew from her arms. She caught most of them in her reiatsu but one got loose and found its way into his hand. He smiled at her weakly.

'It's windy today,' he observed as he handed her the paper. 'Are you looking for Shunsui?'

'I am,' she replied coldly.

'He's being irresponsible again I see. Follow me.'

Silently she followed the white haired captain, his reiatsu succeeding in keeping most of the wind from their faces. Unsurprisingly the city was devoid of Shinigami with the exception of a few unfortunate guards as the snow grew increasingly worse. She was glad to see the large wooden gates of 13th Squad rise towards her. Ukitake showed her inside and they made their way to the main office.

Nanao about cried with despair when she saw the orderly room before her, not a paper out of place and several subordinates working hard at their desks. The only mess was the sleeping form of a broad man beneath a pink haori on top of a sofa that was far too small for him to lie down. Nanao couldn't help but wander if falling asleep in other division's offices was some tradition she had been left out of but it seemed to be occurring rather frequently. A knot twisted her brow.

'Shunsui was asleep at the gate when we found him,' Ukitake-Taicho informed her as Kyouraku tossed onto his side and mumbled something. 'How irresponsible of him to take advantage of his good health like that: falling asleep in a blizzard, even that's a first for him!'

'Thank you for taking care of him Ukitake-Taicho,' Nanao replied as the fury that was building inside of her boiled down to a cold rage. 'Kyouraku-Taicho!'

Kyouraku stirred at the mention of his name and opened one of his brown eyes lazily. 'Nanao-chan? And if it isn't Jyuushiro as well!'

'I need you to sign these,' Nanao informed, straight to the point. She was in no mood for his idle banter. He looked up at her with his puppy-dog eyes and smiled. 'Taicho, please.'

His smile faded as he accepted the documents and scratched his name on to the points she had indicated. With a bow Nanao left without another word and ignored the call of her name as she did.

Angrily she trudged back to 8th Squad in record time since she was paying absolutely no attention to where she was going. The entire building had gone quiet as she entered and if possible it was colder inside than it was out. At last she closed the window of the office and sank into her chair feeling dizzy. Her head hit the desk, mere inches from exhaustion, but her stubbornness did not allow her more than a couple of minutes of rest. Somehow a pen found its way into her hand and the overdue work was underway.

The clock chimed five o'clock and, as if on cue, Matsumoto came bounding through the door in good spirits in search of her friend. 'Still here Nanao? Are you going to the women's meeting tonight, very important business?'

'I suppose I am. I wouldn't want to miss out on the planning of the Annual Ball,' she replied sarcastically. Luckily her reluctance was lost on Matsumoto.

'It will be fun. Besides your good at organizing things, the place would fall a part without you.'

'Fine, let's get this meeting over with quickly so I can tackle the mountain of reports that I need to finish.'

Matsumoto grabbed her by the arm and pulled her all the way to the same meeting hall they had used this morning for the earlier meeting. Everyone it seemed was already present with the exception of Unohana-taicho who arrived a few minutes later with a smile as always. She looked around, her eyes lingering on Nanao a second longer than was normal, and her smile slipped ever so slightly.

Never normally a drinker, everyone including Nanao was surprised when she decided to accept the sake that was being offered by Soi Fong, who hardly ever attended any meeting but had found the time to attend the one concerning the Ball. Nanao wouldn't have expected it of 2nd Squad's ever frowning taicho but for once she seemed to be in a good mood. It took very little time for the discussions to begin.

Three hours and a lot of arguing later had left Nanao feeling exhausted. The first cup of sake had seen her through the entire meeting; unfortunately the others weren't so modest. Soi Fong had rivaled Rangiku in consumption and both were at the point of unconscious by the time Unohana declared the meetings abrupt end. From there Nanao helped support Matsumoto back to 10th Squad and an irate Hitsugaya-taicho who, once again, was denied the aid of his Fukutaicho due to incapacitation. Safely sprawled in the sofa, they left Matsumoto to sleep and Nanao accompanied Unohana back towards 4th Division.

'You've been overworking again,' Unohana observed as they walked through the softly falling snow. 'You should go home and sleep, Nanao.'

Nanao pushed her glasses up. 'I couldn't possibly. There is still far too much to do at the office. I will be fine, Unohana-taicho.'

Unohana stopped and gave her a look of concern. 'I will keep a bed on reserve at the Healing House for you. Good Night.'

The taicho headed east and Nanao headed west back towards the office. The blizzard started quickly and Nanao did not regret her decision to run back. Panting she reached the door and felt a familiar presence behind her.

'Kyouraku-taicho,' she acknowledged turning around to meet his eyes. They looked tired; he must have missed his evening nap. Nanao felt a twinge of concern but suddenly remembered that grown men shouldn't need any naps.

'Nanao-chan,' he began uncharacteristically sober. 'You look tired; you should go home and sleep.'

'I look tired?' She repeated as anger, again, started to get the best of her. 'I will go home when the office doesn't look like a paper mine exploded.'

'Nanao-chan, there is no such thing as a paper mine,' Kyouraku retorted entirely serious. A look of confusion crossed his features. 'Is there?'

Despite her best efforts Nanao couldn't stop the smile from slipping on to her lips. 'Paper comes from trees, taicho.'

'Yes,' he replied with a wink. 'But sake doesn't come from trees.'

'No it doesn't. If you will excuse me…'

'Ise-Fukutaicho,' Kyouraku said suddenly. 'I forbid you to enter this building until tomorrow; that's an order.'

'Does that mean you are going to finish the rest of the paper work?' An ill look crossed his face. 'Well then I cannot obey that order.'

'Nanao-chan,' Kyouraku began as she opened the door.

The warm air swept her suddenly and Nanao felt the world sway beneath her. She fell backwards, a pair of strong arms catching her before she hit the ground, and the world around her went black.