[ A/N: Hi, and thanks for reading! ]
[ Ichigo, a newly minted lawyer, is fascinated with a jet-haired flight attendant he weirdly keeps running into. Okay, well, that was true the first half-a-dozen times. Then he pulled some favors and found out who she was. What? They just wind up flying together a lot and stay in the same layover cities pretty often. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just a coincidence. He's never even talked to her really, except to occasionally ask for a drink. She probably doesn't even know he exists. Or maybe Rukia does, but thinks much the same. ]
[ But for every awkward problem in the world, there's an equally awkward solution! Enter Captain Yoruichi, who's never met someone she wanted to bed that didn't wind up there the next morning. When all three of them wind up stuck in an airport after a diversion because of the worst blizzard in a century, Yoruichi happily plies her wiles on Rukia, only to soon discover she's stepped into a thorny situation. Feeling more than a little guilty, because she really likes Rukia, she decides to adopt a new pet project: she's going to get the two of them together, hell or high water. There's just one problem: nothing ever works out that cleanly or easily. ]
[ As you might guess from this summary, this fic occurs in an alternate universe, modern day, no powers setting featuring YoruRuki, YoruIchi, and YoruIchiRuki, concluding with the three of them establishing a closed polyamorous relationship (OT3: Neapolitan Ice Cream). It will also feature some KuuKuya (OTP: Sakura Fireworks) on the side, although they're less of a focus. ]
[ This fic is rated M for adult themes and situations, and does contain depictions of intimacy. The chapters containing it will be labeled as such, as will chapters featuring sauciness. If you're not okay with that, I advise you don't continue. ]
[ Special thanks to gabecebro on Tumblr for the cover image. Please check him out! ]
[ Bleach is copyright to Tite Kubo, Shueisha, et al. I make no claim of ownership of it and this story is intended purely for non-commercial purposes. ]
Airports exist as liminal spaces, the constant transience of their occupants leaving echoes in the fabric of their reality. This held especially true in the quiet gloom of a mid-February twilight at Calgary International Airport, where a blizzard howled down from the north and cancelled all flights in or out. The floor to ceiling windows which normally offered a view of the mountains and the international gates instead showed only featureless gray.
Yoruichi Shihōin had sent her crew on, done what she could from the plane, and clocked out after they'd received their final forecast for the evening. They'd been diverted into Calgary on their way back from Frankfurt because of the inclement weather between them and Murakumo.
The low pressure system they were confronting was nearly stationary, and projections estimated several feet of snow by morning, with the wind chill taking temperatures well below zero. The front was expected to scour the area for several days, and it was only going to disperse when a Chinook wind swept in from the west to knock it out.
She, her crew, their passengers, and many others besides were all grounded, and would be for the foreseeable future.
They were fortunate in so far as that the airport had recently finished a massive upgrade program. The terminal had been radically expanded to accommodate international flights and more besides—which was the entire reason they were even there—and it had also gained several in-terminal hotels and other amenities. All of that was good news for them, because based on the reports, even traveling as far as the city proper would be impossible. They'd be there for the duration, and everyone so trapped had been billeted rooms in the hotels—she'd gotten quite the suite.
Yoruichi sighed and turned away from the gray-out. It wasn't long until sundown. She knew that being stuck on the ground for so long was going to make her tetchy, as she'd long ago developed a distaste for being tethered to any given spot for too long a stretch of time.
She mused over joining the rest of her crew for the evening, but knew they'd inevitably be heading out to drink somewhere in the terminal complex. Instead, she decided to act on a thought she'd been harboring for quite a while already. She was going to seek out one crewmember in particular—one she knew wouldn't join the others in their giddy celebration of paid time off.
Rukia Kuchiki would have found somewhere to be alone.
Yoruichi had captained flights for Kuchiki International—so big it didn't have to advertise it was an airline, because everyone already knew—for three years, ever since she'd left the Navy. Despite that, other than her co-pilot, Izuru Kira, and one of the stewardesses, Rangiku Matsumoto, her current crew was relatively new to her. They'd only been together for six flights.
She'd become acquainted with them as one usually did, but Rukia had always stuck out to her—not least because Yoruichi knew who she was. Rukia tried to keep quiet about the fact she was a Kuchiki, claiming she simply happened to share the same last name, but Yoruichi knew better.
She hadn't hung out with Byakuya Kuchiki during her last trip home over a decade ago—he'd already set off on his agenda of world conquest—and hadn't really talked to anyone much other than Kūkaku Shiba while she was there, but she'd kept in constant contact with the same before then, and ever since as well.
She'd also gotten letters from home annoyingly often, always from her little brother, Yūshirō Shihōin.
Between the two, Yoruichi had learned that Byakuya had adopted a sister under mysterious circumstances—one who rather looked like him, and who Kaien Shiba had given his life to save from beneath the broken ice of a frozen lake. It didn't take a genius to piece together that his sister was Rukia.
The fact that she was Byakuya's little sister made her intriguing all by itself. Yoruichi and Byakuya had always had an interesting and entertaining relationship—although he was two years her senior, she'd loved teasing him since their first meeting, long ago.
What sort of interactions might she have with his sister...?
But her interest was also nothing so hypothetical. Put simply, Rukia was stunning in a refined way, and her beauty and elegance were nothing like skin-deep. Yoruichi hadn't had much opportunity to talk with Rukia one-on-one, but she'd seen her in groups and knew how the rest of the crew treated her. Rukia was by turns tough and compassionate, level-headed and whimsical, and always smart, even if she tended to be quiet about it. She had an attitude, but not an attitude problem.
To Yoruichi, Rukia seemed both pretty and lively. She imagined Rukia was fun in other ways too, and she had never been one to walk away from fun if she could help it. Since they had at least a few days to kill, she saw no harm in trying to make a pitch, and that was exactly what she intended to do.
She made her way out of the concourse and toward the terminal proper.
Rukia would probably be somewhere high up, away from the bustle of the nearest bars and lounges—she seemed to like heights. Yoruichi began considering places to check as she made her way toward the hotel they'd been booked into. Stopping by her suite would give her a chance to drop off her luggage and change into something more appropriate and comfortable, and Rukia was likely within the building's observation lounge too.
Ichigo Kurosaki was in a different hotel, sitting windowside at its observation lounge. His chin was cupped in one hand, and he idly swirled a cocktail glass around with the other. He considered another building across the way, its glass dim and gray through the snowfall. He knew Rukia was there because he'd started his evening there too, only to have spotted her sitting alone at the bar when he'd walked in. He'd seen her far too many times to ever mistake her for anyone else—from any angle—and he'd immediately left.
With a sigh, he shut his eyes and downed the rest of his Blood and Sand. You're pathetic, he thought.
Ichigo had encountered Rukia the very first time he'd boarded a flight for his law firm. He'd instantly been captured by her eyes, but the extent of their interactions had been asking her for a Coke. He'd noted her name tag, and 'Rukia' had been on the tip of his tongue ever since.
They'd continued bumping into one another after that. He didn't run into her on every flight, but it happened often enough that he noticed. She never seemed to remember him, but he wasn't so sure that was truly the case, given his hair. At any rate, they'd never had a chance to really talk—and he really wanted to talk to her for some reason.
His firm, Prism, wasn't unfamiliar to Kuchiki International—which was why all their flights were chartered through them—so he knew some people who knew some people. He'd pulled a few strings and used a few details to find out some things about her, like the fact her full name was Rukia Kuchiki. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was related to the CEO. Her routes usually brought her back to Murakumo, which was both Kuchiki International's hub city and where he lived too, so it wasn't surprising they ran into each other so frequently.
It wasn't that Ichigo hadn't tried putting her out of mind, it was that he couldn't. He hadn't really wanted to cyberstalk her or something, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He'd poked around a little more and found her Facebook and Instagram rather easily. She was a year older than him. She had a strange love of rabbits, but otherwise seemed pretty normal and down-to-earth. She looked great in winter wear, and... well, everything really. She was single.
And there he was, stuck in an international airport with her for god alone knew how long, and yet he couldn't even approach her at a bar. This was the perfect opportunity. What was it all for if he didn't have the nerve?
He considered the building across the way again for a long time, then sighed once more and called a waiter over for another cocktail.
Rukia rested an elbow on the bar and cradled her chin with her lofted hand, her attention on the cheery blue liquid swirling about in the nearly-empty glass she using the other to play with. It'd been her second cocktail and she felt pleasantly warm and fuzzy.
Although conditions outside had deteriorated with nightfall and the windows were routinely being whipped with gusts of snow, there was no way of really noticing it beyond looking outside.
Most of the observation lounge functioned as a restaurant, and the room was warmly lit, with interesting mixtures of light and dark woods and predominantly green fabrics adorning it. The bar she was seated at was some distance from the windows, and so she was well ensconced within the melodies of smooth jazz, idle chatter, and the clinking of glass and silverware upon fine china, neither seeing nor hearing the squall outside.
Once it'd become clear they weren't going anywhere, she'd gone with most of the rest of the crew to check their accommodations. Only the captain had stayed behind to follow up further on their situation. Mercifully, aircrew had their own customs checkpoint, and they'd all gotten through with their carry-on luggage in short order.
Rukia herself had gotten her bags into her room, briskly changed into something more discreet than a stewardess uniform, checked to make sure she didn't look too frazzled from the flight, and then promptly escaped to the observation lounge bar before Rangiku could try and drag her somewhere more... casual. The woman would always just claim she didn't like to stand on ceremony, but the fact of the matter was she enjoyed slumming it when it came to establishments. Rukia often hungered for what she imagined normalcy was like, but she had her limits.
She'd probably overdressed if anything; the temperature was a little on the warm side, and she'd draped her dark brown jacket onto the bar stool to her left instead of keeping it on. With rum humming through her, the white blouse and mint knee-length skirt she had on were more than enough to keep her toasty.
Rukia's current dilemma was that she wasn't sure if she wanted a third drink or not. Part of her wanted to stop at two, and another part of her wanted to push on to four so she could just sleep deep into the next day. Choosing between them was vexing!
A familiar voice interrupted her deliberations. "Hey. I take it nobody's sitting here?"
She blinked and dropped her arm onto the bar, using it to turn her upper body to the right, only to stop and stare for a second.
Yoruichi had a hand on the bar stool to Rukia's right, leaning in a little and offering a friendly smile. She wore a kind of varsity bomber jacket in charcoal and platinum, with cheery orange-colored ribbed trim at the cuffs, high collar, and hem. The insignia was that same shade of orange, and Rukia couldn't immediately place it—not that it was that where her focus laid anyway. Yoruichi's jacket was open, and beneath it was a sleeveless, black, ribbed turtleneck that fed down snugly into tight, semi-glossy leather pants. Her hair was done up in a more playful way than normal—her ponytail was somewhat different—and she had on more makeup, especially around her eyes.
Rukia blinked again several times as she took in the whole ensemble, her eyes naturally drawn to the turtleneck, and especially toward its missing sleeves. Yoruichi's jacket was open just enough that Rukia could clearly see that she was rather muscular in addition to being curvy. The captain is... that fit!?
She quickly forced her focus up to Yoruichi's face and put on a well-rehearsed smile. "Captain! It's good to see you!" As the words left her mouth, she remembered to let go of her cocktail glass, finding her grasp had strangely tightened about it.
Yoruichi's own polite smile took on a slight edge of dismay, although it was tempered by the obvious success of her outfit. "We're off-duty, Rukia, you don't have to call me that... May I sit?" She'd long since eschewed both the West Coast style of honorifics and the military style of titles and surnames, and generally addressed almost everyone she knew or worked with by the East Coast style of just their first name. It was as true of the rest of the crew as it was for Rukia.
"O—Of course!" Rukia affirmed, gesturing for her to do so. Still, she was immediately perplexed. What was the captain doing here? Rangiku had always said Yoruichi didn't have a stomach for drinking...
Yoruichi sat down with polished grace before shrugging her own jacket off, doing much as Rukia had and setting it down on the stool to her right given there wasn't much competition for seating. The next nearest person at the bar was four seats down the way.
While finishing off the last of her drink, Rukia surreptitiously stole a glance at Yoruichi's arms. Wow, she really is that buff... The woman's arms were what most people would call guns!
"So, what are you having?" Yoruichi inquired, her smile back on form. She'd noticed Rukia's earlier errant focus with relish, but the latest look had genuinely escaped her notice.
"Uh..." Rukia set the empty cocktail glass down and pushed it away. "That was my second Blue Hawaii." She instantly made a decision that she wouldn't be having any more to drink. She didn't want to come across as... being like Rangiku, really.
A gentle chuckle escaped Yoruichi. "Wow, you work fast!"
Rukia's laughter was slightly nervous.
Right then, the bartender came over, already having noted Yoruichi's arrival and Rukia's empty glass. "Another, miss?"
"No, thank you! Could I have a glass of water please? No ice." Rukia replied. She immediately regretted the omission—maybe it'd have helped her cool off better...
"Sure thing. And for you, miss?"
Yoruichi held up a credit card. "Just a glass of milk for me, and clear her tab, please." She didn't intend it as a bribe—it was far too paltry for that—but rather, it seemed like the least she could do if she was going to intrude upon Rukia's night.
"S—Shihōin-san!" Rukia immediately protested, meeting Yoruichi's eyes. Her thoughts on the curious choice of drink had immediately been overridden by the insistence on paying for her.
"Relax! It's been a long day and I make more than you do," Yoruichi chided, as much for the substance of the objection as for the use of her last name. She offered her card up to the bartender.
He nodded at her and took it, going to get their drinks. It wasn't his business who was paying as long as someone did.
Yoruichi surveyed the room for a moment before stretching. This wasn't exactly the most private venue, but that might be for the best: being in plain view in public usually didn't make people the most relaxed, but it did tend to provide them with a sense of comfort and security. It was easier to meet as equals without one party feeling cornered or disadvantaged. Even if she intended to make a pass at Rukia, it was important to her that Rukia felt respected and safe afterwards, whatever her decision was. They were still going to be working together, after all.
Rukia deliberately kept her gaze elsewhere, not really sure what to say for a time, trying to think her way through this strange situation. "Um, thank you," she eventually said.
A grin tugged at the corners of Yoruichi's mouth. "C'mon, it's just a couple of drinks!"
Rukia was about to say something when the bartender returned with their glasses, her card, and Yoruichi's bill.
The other woman signed the receipt and slid it away, taking up the glass of milk as though to toast Rukia. "Well, here's to the blizzard, for extending our turnaround time!" Even if she didn't like being stuck on the ground, their planned schedule had been rather grueling.
An uncertain smile crossed Rukia's lips and she closed her eyes for a second, but still returned the toast. "To the blizzard, for letting us get to know one another better." Truth be told, she knew quite a lot about Yoruichi, but almost the entirety of that knowledge took the form of facts and hearsay.
They both took long sips of their chosen drinks before setting them down.
Rukia busied herself with putting her credit card away.
After following her example, Yoruichi asked, "You're probably wondering why I'm here?"
Rukia's eyes met hers before she nodded.
"Well, to be honest, it's not for the milk. I came here to find you," she continued, glancing away to play with the glass. The bartender had at least had the decency to get her whole milk, and this was all pleasant enough, so things wouldn't be a total loss even if they didn't go the way she wanted.
The puzzlement Rukia felt immediately showed on her face. "Why?"
Yoruichi looked her square on again and once more flashed that self-assured smile. "You know who I really am, right?"
After a moment of thought, Rukia slowly nodded again. It was hard not to.
Yoruichi's surname—Shihōin—was a giveaway to anyone who knew anything all by itself. The 'Five Great Noble Families' of the West Coast—Fujita, Hasegawa, Kuchiki, Shiba, and Shihōin—were famous throughout the United States and beyond, symbolizing the ultimate in both the ultra-rich and old money. (Some called them the 'Four Great Noble Families' as the Shiba had, in recent times, receded from the public eye following a series of high-profile accidents and mysterious disappearances—but Rukia would never accept that. Not after...) They were the closest thing the nation had to the remnants of Japanese or European aristocracy, even though they were 'merely' gentry.
But there were a lot of members of these families; simply having the name didn't guarantee that the person in question was important. Yoruichi was different, and she was infamous within the circles that knew about such things. Standing within the families was often measured by involvement with the family's businesses and holdings. The structure of these enterprises was similar to that of the now defunct mainland Japanese zaibatsu, or the extant Korean chaebol.
While the zaibatsu had been partially restructured into keiretsu following the Second World War, these American counterparts had always skillfully navigated anti-trust legislation. Their power was principally concentrated in holding companies, which in turn controlled banking, industrial, and service subsidiaries. These holding companies were the largest and wealthiest in the nation—the grandest competitor the more Anglophone parts of the country could muster was Berkshire Hathaway, and it was minuscule in comparison.
Yoruichi had been the heiress apparent to the directorship of the Shihōin's holding company, meaning she had at one time been the next candidate for richest woman in the world.
And she had walked away from it.
As if to add insult to injury, she had promptly joined the U.S. Navy.
In military aviation circles, she was famous for a completely different reason related to the last point: she'd been the first female combat pilot in the service, and for the nation as a whole. On top of that, she'd been the first American female ace, and the only ace in the Gulf War at that, achieving double the kills of any other pilot with six shootdowns.
Then, some years later, she'd gotten bored and left them too when her contract had expired. She'd been immediately picked up again by Kuchiki International as a publicity stunt on the basis of her military record and was—highly ironically—effectively the commercial face of the company as a whole.
Rukia knew more than most about that. Byakuya seldom spoke to her about family business—their positions were as far apart as heaven and earth—but she remembered that day very clearly. Despite his controlling interest, he'd had to bow to pressure from the shareholders on that decision, and it was the only time she'd ever seen him even hint at losing his temper. She'd learned, in various ways, that the two of them had a history, but that was the one time she'd ever seen first-hand evidence of it.
In summary, Yoruichi was... ridiculous. She was doing a job she was astoundingly overqualified for, apparently for no reasons other than that she enjoyed it and enjoyed sticking her fingers in the eyes of anyone who'd tell her what to do.
Deep down, as she reflected on this, Rukia felt a twinge of something. To be able to choose one's own fate in such a way... She deliberately didn't dwell on whether it was awe, envy, or admiration, and turned her attention back to the moment.
Yoruichi's smile had mellowed into something comforting. "Good. I know who you really are too."
Rukia blinked, and for several seconds wasn't sure what to say. "What... do you mean?"
A gentle laugh escaped Yoruichi and she brought an elbow onto the bar, cupping her own chin and leaning forward with a teasing grin. "Do you think I don't know you're Byakuya-bo 's sister?"
Immediately, Rukia's mouth dropped a little. Her first impulse was to deny it as she always did, but as she looked into those amused citrine eyes, she knew it was pointless. She closed her mouth and swallowed instead as she felt her heart thump, like it was trying to leap up her throat. What... And that form of address... She found her nerve within that diminutive. "Isn't Nii-sama older than you?"
Yoruichi raised her eyebrows a little and inclined her head slightly. "Isn't it very forward to ask a woman about her age?"
Rukia's cheeks went pink. "That's—I'm not—!" She stopped mid-word and widened her eyes as Yoruichi's other hand came up to ever so delicately touch one of them.
The other woman only maintained contact for a second, then closed her eyes and smiled genuinely. "You're cute when you're flustered."
Another prominent heartbeat echoed through Rukia, and it took her a moment to pull her head back. "Yoruichi-san, what're you..."
"You're sublime." Yoruichi's expression became serious and honest as her gaze was once more on Rukia's eyes, looking deep into them from beneath hooded lids. Her tone was hushed and sultry. "I've seen you dance about like a sprite, always trying to convince people that you're made of sharp edges and hard surfaces, always trying to conceal your gentleness. I've heard your tongue lash out like a stream of flame and seen your eyes smolder like coals, hiding the softer light inside. You're pretty. You're smart. You're funny. You're caring. You're alluring. I want to know you—in every sense of the word. I want to show you a good time, Rukia Kuchiki. Right now there's nothing I'd like more than to take you back to my suite and have fun with you."
Rukia's eyes went as wide as they could and she flushed up to the tips of her ears over the course of the monologue. When Yoruichi had finished she stared, mute and dumbfounded. It was long seconds before she was even able to muster a reply. "I... I'm straight..." Or. At least... Well. She was pretty sure. She'd never really thought much about it...
Her thoughts were suddenly sidelined by a memory of long red hair. She hadn't really thought about sex much since then either—not that she'd thought about it much before then. There'd been nothing wrong about her time with Renji Abarai, brief though it was, but there hadn't been anything electrifying about it either. As to the sex itself, she neither regretted it, nor really cared about it in retrospect. It'd been something that had happened until it hadn't. They'd drifted apart, and she'd gotten back to work trying not to disappoint Byakuya.
Rukia had never really put much thought into why it might have been such a mediocre experience. She'd always just kind of taken it for granted that it was overrated. But out of nowhere...
Yoruichi once again smiled languidly, that certainty broadcast from her every feature. "So is soba until it gets wet!"
Rukia turned a bright red. "Yoruichi-san—"
"Please, don't be so formal. I'm not doing this as your captain, or as some kind of powerplay. I'm doing it as a woman. Just... call me Yoruichi." She didn't want to be misunderstood—this wasn't about their jobs and she genuinely wasn't trying to take advantage of her position.
Rukia's eyes searched Yoruichi's before she abruptly looked away. Why was her heart beating so fast? What if... Her mind whirled with a flood of thoughts, and it suddenly felt like everything was happening slowly in comparison to their frantic race. She forced herself to seize on the motions of one, to grab a thread and let it pull her along as the tapestry unraveled.
She was attracted to men, yes. She'd gravitated toward Kaien, even if she'd never done anything about it—not that she'd had any idea what to do about it. But it had been a sort of fuzzy feeling? It was hard to describe. Kaien had never really excited her, not in the way that she heard other women talk about men. She'd enjoyed his presence immensely, but beyond that...
And it wasn't like Renji had sent her head over heels either. They had just sort of fallen in together, and she'd enjoyed his companionship, such as it was.
It could have been that what she'd originally assumed was true, and that partnership and sex were simply grossly overhyped. It also could have been that she and Renji simply hadn't been a great fit, and that it'd be different with someone else. But she didn't immediately feel like she'd ever met someone with whom she would be a perfect match.
Being confronted with this sudden advance by Yoruichi, she was abruptly forced to face another possibility. What if she'd never been looking in the right place?
Yoruichi leaned in closer and allowed her voice to become more sober. "You can say 'No.' You can always say 'No'—at any time." A moment passed and she found one of Rukia's hands under the bar, lightly brushing her fingertips over the back of it. It seemed exceedingly dainty and delicate. "But... if you want, I think I'll have you saying 'Yes,' as many times as you please."
The redness on Rukia's cheeks redoubled and her eyes widened again at the contact. She drew her hand away—but only just—as her eyes snapped back to Yoruichi's. This reaction she was having... what if this was, for the first time really...
While steadily maintaining eye contact, Yoruichi delicately touched her fingertips to Rukia's, and then withdrew her hand. She held Rukia's gaze for another few seconds, and then turned away to face the bar. Finally, she picked up her glass of milk, and slowly sipped it down. It was out of her hands at this point; Rukia would have to make the decision for herself, and continuing to lavish attention on her would likely just make her feel awkward and embarrassed.
Rukia's eyes roved over Yoruichi. Her entire body felt warm—hot, actually—and her heart was pounding in her ears so loudly that she could scarcely think. One thought did make it through though: What kind of woman could say and do things like that and then just turn away to casually sip milk!? Was she shameless or just that confident?! A flare of irritation shot through Rukia, only to fade into something else. She was suddenly aware of how tense she was, her legs clamped together and her fingers dug into her skirt and the leather of the stool.
Forcing herself to relax, Rukia was nonetheless confronted with that same feeling from earlier, when she'd been recalling what she knew of Yoruichi. It was much stronger now, and this time she allowed herself to examine it.
Awe, envy, or admiration... it was all of them. She was somewhere between jealous and impressed, shocked and intrigued. The brazen boldness of this woman! It was just like how she treated everything else in her life! But the matter at hand was whether Rukia wanted any part of that. Her head told her to turn the offer down flatly, but her heart told her something else. Why not live a little? Even if they didn't do... that...
Even though she tried to tiptoe around the thought, it popped into her head fully formed nonetheless: what it'd be like to touch another woman—to touch Yoruichi. To be touched by her. To lay in bed with her, intertwined. To do this and that... She stared at nothing as the ideas flashed through her mind, and then sat with a vacant look upon her face as she tried to figure out how she felt about it.
After what seemed an age, Rukia elegantly slid off the bar stool, brushing out her skirt and pulling on her jacket.
A corner of Yoruichi's mouth twitched and she glanced down, but continued to slowly drink her milk. Damn... guess I pushed too hard...
She blinked when she heard Rukia quietly clear her throat, and glanced sideways, finding her still standing there expectantly.
"If we could stop by my room to get some of my luggage?" Rukia asked, her tone rather proper.
The truth was, she didn't know what she thought about that idea. But she didn't hate it, and maybe... Maybe this feeling in her chest was worth taking a gamble on.
Only an instant passed before Yoruichi smiled, gulping down the rest of the glass and sliding it forward on the bar. The milk seemed to erase the pit she'd felt forming in her stomach. She pushed the sensation out of mind and briskly stood to pull on her own jacket. "Whatever you'd like!"
Rukia gave a small but lukewarm smile in return to hide her nerves, and started to walk toward the elevator lobby.
Yoruichi grinned to herself and followed right behind.
[ A/N: History followed a somewhat different course in this setting than it did in our world. In the closing years of the Sengoku period (before 1587), Toyotomi Hideyoshi, rather than adopting Oda Nobunaga's dream of conquering China, instead directed Japanese efforts into exploration, coastal raiding, and piracy. Soon, Japanese forces were making expeditions against Formosa, and later the Philippines, and harrying the Spanish Manila galleons that made their way to Acapulco. In the process of doing so, they discovered Hawaii, among other islands. This general eastward push, in combination with expeditions further north into the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea, lead to eventual campaigns into North America. Although claimed by Spain, these regions were unexplored, and quickly claimed by the Japanese. Interactions with the natives were mixed, but ultimately fruitful, as the useful ports were initially used as bases for mounting naval raids into Mexico. ]
[ All this changed with the discover of gold and silver. Immigration swelled, cities boomed, fortunes were made, and ultimately these colonies would unite and break away. Facing a hostile colonial power, and coming into contact with English colonies on the East Coast facing a similar threat, common cause was soon found, and eventually, defensive agreements were inked. The great wealth of the West Coast spurred cosmopolitanism and efforts at creating overland transcontinental links. This trade, flow of migration, and shared outlook eventually lead to confederation. What was called the United States of America wound up encompassing what we would know as the U.S. and Canada, along with a few other areas, although its interior makeup, structure, and history turned out rather differently than the country of the same name. Still, most of the rest of history happened roughly as it did historically, albeit with some notable differences. (For example: the USSR would persist into the early 2000s instead of dissolving in 1991; and the Gulf War occurred almost two decades later, with the result being the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government through popular revolt.) ]
[ One of the largest settlements on the American West Coast is Murakumo (叢雲, "Cloudbank"), occupying what we know as the Seattle metropolitan area. It's much larger than Seattle, rivaling cities like our Tokyo or Seoul in scale. All of our protagonists live there. For the record, San Diego is Heisui (平水, "Calm Water"), Los Angeles is Aozora (青空, "Blue Sky"), San Francisco-Oakland is Miyako [都, "Capital"], Portland is Fūsawa (豊川, "Rich River"), and Vancouver is Shiroyama (白山, "White Mountain"). The relationship between Murakumo and Shiroyama is like that of Tokyo and Yokohama, or Osaka and Kobe. ]
[ This Calgary International Airport isn't much like the real one, and has a layout more like Amsterdam Airport Schiphol or Hong Kong International Airport (albeit with an integrated terminal). It's likely been upgraded into a hub by a rival airline to Kuchiki International. (Cities immediately east of the Rocky Mountains, like Calgary, Denver, and El Paso, are also notably larger than their present-day equivalents due to functioning as trade conduits.) ]
[ Americans will have their names in Western format. (This includes all our major characters so far.) Any Japanese will have their names in Eastern format. ]
[ The ages of most characters mentioned so far are as follows: ]
[ • Yoruichi Shihōin - 32 years old (January 1, 1985) ]
[ • Ichigo Kurosaki - 24 years old (July 15, 1992) ]
[ • Rukia Kuchiki - 26 years old (January 14, 1991) ]
[ • Byakuya Kuchiki - 34 years old (January 31, 1983) ]
[ • Kūkaku Shiba - 31 years old (October 1, 1985) ]
[ • Rangiku Matsumoto - 30 years old, (September 29, 1986) ]
[ • Izuru Kira - 26 years old, (March 27, 1991) ]
[ I have elected to create my own versions of the two unnamed Great Noble Houses with the Fujita and Hasegawa. I disregard everything concerning the Tsunayoshi from Can't Fear Your Own World. ]
[ Transliterated foreign words are going to be italicized, as is common practice in English. ]
[ Italics will also sometimes be used for emphasis of a single word, but are usually used for thoughts. ]
[ Particular words considered in dialogue, quotes in dialogue, and dialogue that is being recalled will all be in single rather than the normal double quotes to indicate they're not being spoken aloud in the present moment. ]