Hi everyone! So, while I've been a fan of Bleach for the past few years, for the past month or so I've been on a major Bleach kick. As in a "can barely think of anything but Bleach, no matter how hard I try" kind of kick. I've especially fallen in love with the pairing of Isane and Shuuhei, who pretty much never get any fics devoted to them. So, I decided to try my hand at writing one myself. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you'll leave me with a nice review after you're done!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. That belongs to Tite Kubo. Well, I suppose I do own a bottle of bleach, but I don't think that really counts, does it?

Angels and Demons

It had been a vicious battle. A small team from 9th Company lead by Vice-captain Hisagi Shuuhei had been tracking some hollows that had been wreaking havoc in the Rukongai, but had been ambushed. Hisagi had managed to defeat them without any casualties, but there had certainly been some severe injuries, with himself and a handful of others being poisoned by one hollow's claws. Everyone had agreed that Hisagi had gotten the worst injuries, with a large slash across his chest, a deep gash in his sword arm, and several cracked and broken ribs. It was for that reason that 4th Company's vice-captain, Isane Kotetsu, had been bent over Hisagi's nearly lifeless form for over an hour, trying to draw out the toxins and heal his profusely bleeding injuries while Unohana-taichou created an antidote.

To her great relief, Hisagi finally began to stir, his eyes opening halfway as he peered at her. His mouth turned into a small, lazy smile. "Are you an angel?"

Isane jumped a bit at the sudden and unexpected question. Her kidou flickered for a moment before she managed to regain control. She stared at him in surprise. "No, Hisagi-fukutaichou, I'm not. Now please hold still. I need to finish drawing out the remainder of the poison and healing your injuries. You've lost a lot of blood, and even if I get most of the poison out you still might suffer its effects unless we get you an antidote."

The lazy smile stayed on his face. "Are you sure you're not an angel? You're so pretty and warm."

Isane blushed a bit, then noticed how his eyes were glazed over. Possible effects of the poison? Probably. I'll have to let Taichou know that the patients become delusional. She decided to indulge his fantasy until someone could come by to deliver her findings. Smiling softly, she replied, "Positive, but thank you. That's very kind of you to say." Her smile then melted into a frown. It figures that the only time a man would compliment me like that is when he's under the effects of blood loss and poison.

Hisagi noticed her change of expression. "Why are you frowning? Don't frown! Angels shouldn't frown!"

She had to laugh at the change of tone. He sounded almost like a pouting child! It was adorable, and the smile found its way back onto her face. "It's nothing, Hisagi-fukutaichou. Don't worry about it."

"Call me Shuuhei."

Her eyes widened. "Oh no, I couldn't!" Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought she would hear Hisagi ask her to address him by his first name. He was always so polite and formal to everyone, always calling them by their names and titles. Only his closest friends were privileged enough to call him Shuuhei, and even then most continued to call him "Hisagi-san." It was beyond comprehension for her, as they rarely spoke outside of meetings or healing sessions.

"Sure you can! Your voice is so pretty and soothing, I'd love to hear it say my name! Please? It'd make me so happy," he pouted, sticking out his bottom lip for emphasis.

Isane bit her own lip, partially out of indecision, and partially to keep herself from leaning down and kissing it. She'd developed a bit of a crush on him years ago, but she'd always been too shy and insecure to act on it. And I'm certainly not going to now when he'd too out of it to know what he's saying! She sighed. "If you insist, Shuuhei-san," she murmured. If names had a taste, his would be bittersweet, as while she found it quite enjoyable, the knowledge that he would never actually allow her to speak his name with so much familiarity left her with a bitter aftertaste.

He gave a triumphant but drowsy grin. "Much better, pretty angel. Now why were you frowning?"

Before Isane could come up with an excuse, there was a knock on the door. A woman poked her head in. "Fukutaichou, I brought you some fresh water and bandages. How is he?"

Hisagi looked over at the new arrival. "Shhhhh! Hospital zone, no singing!"

Both women chuckled lightly. Isane finally stopped pumping kidou into his system and gratefully accepted the bandages. "He's a bit delirious from the poison and blood loss, but he should be ok once Unohana-taichou finishes that antidote. How's it coming by the way?"

"Taichou says she should be done with it within an hour. A few other troops have woken up, so she's aware of the poison's affects. Is there anything else you need?"

At that moment, Hisagi became distracted by the small braids hanging from Isane's silver hair, batting at them like a cat would a dangling piece of string. She giggled and gently swatted his hand away, starting to wrap his injured arm with the fresh bandages. "No thank you, Akane-san. If you could please check on the other patients, however, I'd be very appreciative."

"Hai! Right away, Fukutaichou!"

With that, the young woman left the two vice-captains alone. Finishing with his arm quickly, Isane helped him into a sitting position and got to work on his torso. He's just a patient, Isane. You can do this, she thought, trying to keep down the blush that was beginning to spread across her cheeks at the sight of his naked chest.

"I like you," he said suddenly, a dopey grin on his face.

Again Isane was startled. "You do?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You're pretty and soft and warm and you don't shout or order people around or betray them…" he trailed off, the grin melting into a frown like butter in a frying pan.

A small frown marred her own pale face. Tousen, she growled in her mind. His betrayal had probably been the biggest shock in her mind. He had always been so calm and devoted to justice, and she had enjoyed trying out the various recipes he had published in the Seireitei Communication. Aizen's betrayal had been a blow to the Gotei 13, but she felt that Tousen's had been a blow to justice itself. She took a calming breath and said, "I'm sorry. Tousen was wrong to betray us all like that, but it was unforgivable for him to turn his back on the people who cared about him the most." Images of Komamura-taichou, unmasked and injured, lying on the infirmary bed, lost in the crippling memory of his best friend's betrayal flashed through her mind. It had hurt to see such a good man suffer like that, regardless of his appearance. The same went for Hisagi. "You didn't deserve something like that."

He looked at her, pained eyes almost pleading. "Then what do I deserve?"

"Happiness, friendship, love, loyalty, and everything that's good in the world," she said, her voice filled with honesty and conviction.

"I'll never have that," he mumbled, shaking his head dejectedly.

Finishing with the bandages, she helped him lay back down. She graced him with a tender smile. "You already have them. You have Kira-san, Renji-san, Iba-san, and Komamura-taichou, just to name a few of your many friends. You have loyal troops and fellow officers, and each and every one of them would be willing to fight and die alongside you. As for happiness, things may seem bleak at the moment, but the clouds always clear up after a storm, and the sky is more brilliant and blue than ever afterwards." The light blush once again came to her cheeks. "And you certainly have your fair share of admirers, so I'm sure you'll find love soon enough."

"Don't want any of them."

She cocked her head, confused. "What?"

"My admirers. I don't want any of them. I only love one person in this world, but she'd never love me back! She's too good for someone like me!"

He smile almost fell from her face, but she forced it to remain for his sake. Everyone knew of his crush on Rangiku. Hell, almost every man in the Seireitei had a crush on her. The two women got along quite well, but Isane couldn't help but feel an uncharacteristic surge of jealousy at the thought of the two of them together. Still, her self-appointed job was to comfort him, even if it broke her heart to do it. "I'm sure Rangiku-san will come around…"

Hisagi actually laughed. "Not her! I like her, and I think she's hot and all, but I'm not in love with her!" He flinched, his laughing fit having strained his tender ribs.

She placed a steadying hand on his chest, trying to ignore the hard muscles beneath her palm. "Settle down, Shuuhei-san. I apologize for assuming. But if it's not Rangiku-san, who is it?"

"Nuh-uh! Not gonna tell you. You'll have to guess!" He actually seem excited at the idea of a guessing game, and with her own curiosity peaked, she decided to indulge him.

"Is it Yoruichi-san?"

He shook his head. "Don't like cats. I'm more of a dog person."

Her smile became a little more genuine. Well, he does hang out with Komamura-taichou a lot, so I suppose that makes sense. "Rukia-san then?"

"She's too short. 'Sides, Renji would kill me! He's had a major crush on her for years."

Isane tucked that little bit of information away in her head. She wasn't a gossiper, but she did like to tease Renji on occasion. They'd been friends since he was in 11th Company, as he'd often ended up in the infirmary after his intense training sessions with Ikkaku. It was always her job to fix him up, and the two had struck up an odd sort of friendship because of it. Rukia was certainly a lucky girl.

She turned back to the matter at hand. She was essentially done healing him, as the only thing left to do was to administer the antidote to deal with any remaining long-term effects of the poison, but the conversation had intrigued her. Besides, she thought a bit dejectedly, when else will I be able to speak to him so casually and so honestly? We never talk this long when he's in his right mind. I want to enjoy this while I can. A thought suddenly struck her, and a small, mischievous grin graced her lips. "Then I suppose Yachiru is out of the question then?" she teased.

A look of shock and horror spread across his face before he realized she was kidding. He chuckled. "I didn't know angels could joke."

"I told you, I'm not an angel." She shook her head a bit sadly. He still didn't recognize her? She wasn't sure if she should be offended or grateful. After all, the last thing she needed was for him to be even more distant from her than before because he had told her his deepest secret. A sudden sting of guilt hit her. She was taking advantage of his toxin-induced relaxed and unaware state to find out who he was in love with. That was a low she never thought she'd hit. She wasn't going to give up, though. As guilty as she felt, she was in too deep to pull out now, and if she was going to be wracked with guilt, she might as well finish what she'd started. And she just had to know. "Give me a hint at least. Tell me what you like about her."

The goofy grin was back, and his eyes became more dazed than before. "Well, she's beautiful, calm, and smart."

"You do realize that Kyoraku-taichou will kill you if he gets wind that you like Nanao-san, right?" she said, raising an eyebrow. The 8th Company captain didn't like to fight much, especially without a good reason, but it was sort of an unspoken rule amongst the Shinigami that no one hit on his lieutenant unless they desired a slow and painful death. If Nanao didn't kill you, her captain and number one admirer would.

Hisagi seemed to be thinking the same thing. "No way! I don't have a death wish!"

"Good to know. I'd hate to think I had spent all this time healing you for nothing. I get enough with 11th Company." They both laughed. "What else can you tell me about her?"

The dreamy look was back. "She's kind, gentle, and an amazing healer."

He loves Taichou? Isane thought, her eyes widening. "Shuuhei-san, that may be even more dangerous than asking out Nanao! Kenpachi asked Unohana-taichou out last month, and they've been dating ever since. I'm very sorry."

Again he laughed, jostling his injuries and reopening the cut on his chest a bit. "I know that! He's a braver man than I'd given him credit for! Certainly braver than me! Even if I did love Unohana-taichou, she scares me too much for me to ask her out." He smiled at Isane. "It's not her, though. Guess again."

The timid healer shook her head in defeat, once again using kidou to close the wound. "I give up, Shuuhei-san. I can't think of anyone that matches your description."

He pouted a bit. "No one ever guesses right! She never gets noticed like she should be! You'd like her though. She's a lot like you, 'cept she's not as blurry or glowy. Her name's Isane, and she's the most beautiful person I know." His expression turned sad. "But she'd never want me."

The woman in question was completely taken aback. "Never want you? What in the name of the Spirit King would make you think I," she caught herself just in time. If he knows it's me, he'll never forgive me! "…I mean she, wouldn't want you?"

He chuckled humorlessly, not noticing her near slip. "I'm not good enough for her. She'd never want a scarred, ugly loser like me."

"Shuuhei, you are most certainly not a loser! You are one of the most loyal, courageous, amazing men I have ever met, and I know she'd agree with me!" She gently touched his face, running her fingers over the three vertical scars over his eye. She hadn't even noticed that she had stopped using the suffix in his name. "And do you really think she cares about your scars? She's a healer and a Shinigami, she's seen lots of scars much worse than yours. They show you survived, and they're part of who you are." She smiled softly, her heart fluttering nervously like a bird in a cage at the words she would say next. "If anything, these scars make you even more handsome, and I have it on good authority that she thinks the same way."

If anything his frown deepened. "She deserves better than me. A goddess like her should have a king or something, not a monster like me," he growled, clenching his fists.

Her brow furrowed. "Monster? You? Not possible."

"Yes it is! I'm a monster! How else can you explain my zanpakuto? Kazeshini is a bloodthirsty demon! He's vicious and evil and has no regard for human life!" He shouted, struggling to get up. Isane managed to hold him down with strength she didn't know she possessed, not wanting to risk him reopening any more of his wounds. He settled for glaring at his sword, propped against the wall in the corner, as if it were mocking him. "Zanpakuto are supposed to be a refection of ourselves, right? So how can you look me in the eye and tell me that I'm not a monster?"

"Because you care." His head snapped back to look at her, eyes wide and unbelieving, and she wondered if the poison was still making him delusional. But she continued anyway, knowing this might be her only chance to tell him her feelings. "If you were like him, you wouldn't care about the fact that you're a monster. In fact, you'd embrace it. I may not know you very well, Shuuhei, but I've always admired you. You never kill unless necessary, you'd rather die than let your comrades get hurt, and you are a loyal friend. You're a good man, Hisagi Shuuhei, and I refuse to let you think anything different!"

His eyes began to droop. His outburst had drained him of his remaining energy, and it was now obvious that the lingering poison was taking its toll on him. Isane sighed sadly and brushed his tousled hair out of his eyes. He looked at her as he drifted off to sleep.

"Why are you frowning, angel?"

Isane waited until she was certain he was asleep, then stood up and walked to the door. She turned her head and stared at him sadly before whispering in a voice so quiet even a bloodhound might have missed it, "Because I love you, and you'll never realize it." Flicking off the light, she silently left the room.

Little did either Shinigami realize that Kazeshini had heard the whole thing.

XXX

So, that was my first Bleach story! Yay! I'm not sure it's my best work, but it was an idea that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it, and once I wrote it I figured "What the heck? The world needs more Isane/Shuuhei love!" I'm planning on adding a second chapter to this, but I'm not sure when, so it could be a while. I may also revise this chapter, so if you have any suggestions for either, let me know. Either way, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you'll review.