This is a collection of eleven stories involving Yoruichi. Some of them may be linked; some of them may not be. YoruichiXwhomeverIchoose The titles are related the story. Titles taken from Underoath's Define the Great Line album (excellent cd, by the way).

The world was a place where people were born in specific houses and leagues so they could show the people below them the right path. Yoruichi had been blessed enough to be born into a house of one of the greatest nobles families in Seireitei. Her best friend, a blond boy with gray eyes, came from a district in rukongai. She'd met him the one time she'd actually managed to run away from her parents during one of their little tours. Tours? She would chuckle at the thought, but what were they really? Rides through the rough parts of the spirit world so they could ease the pain of anyone they saw. Yoruichi had slipped out of her cart without being noticed by the men carrying her. She ran into Kisuke in an alley where he sat alone with angry eyes and dirty hair.

"Who are you?" Her voice was soft. For some odd reason, she felt sorry for the boy.

He turned his gaze to her and grew angrier when he saw the pretty kimono she wore. He looked away with a frown on his small face. He was the son of a poor farmer. "Kisuke."

Yoruichi pulled a thick black ribbon from her hair and held it out towards the boy with a smile. "Your face is dirty."

He didn't move. The wind picked up considerably and knocked the girl's hair down until it was to her knees. His eyes slowly moved up over the thick purple locks until his eyes met hers. Golden eyes? She had eyes like a cat. He smiled at the idea and said, "My cat had eyes like that."

Her hand moved closer to him until the ribbon was an inch from his small nose. He turned away from her to stare at the wall of the building behind her. She angrily wiped the side of his face and jumped away when he made a swipe for her. A deep laugh escaped her throat as she chased her through the alley and down the street. He caught her near the gate that led to the next district. His arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he pulled her away from the thick wooden gate.

"Bad people live through there." His voice was low. He let go of her when he realized where his arm was.

Yoruichi glared at him before slamming the ribbon into his face and wiping it clean. She draped it neatly over his shoulder and walked away with her arms folded over her chest. "I don't need your help." She turned to him in surprise when she heard the loud growl coming from his stomach. Everyone had told her souls rarely got hungry unless they held some type of reiatsu. She took a silver comb from her hair and shoved it into his hands gently.

"What am I spose to do with this? My hair is so tangled it will break."

"Trade it for food."

Kisuke raised his eyebrows in surprise. The girl had to have ears like a cat if she'd heard his stomach growling. He stared down at the comb and held it out to her. "I don't need it." He jumped at her when she tried to run away. After pushing the comb back into her smooth purple hair, he stared at her incredulously. Why did people in rukongai think people from Seireitei were so bad when here was a girl trying to get rid of one of her expensive combs just so he could get something to eat? He narrowed his eyes at her. What exactly was she doing there anyway?

Yoruichi mumbled something he could not understand and turned towards the sound of approaching voices. She glanced back at the boy standing behind her dressed in blue. Her golden eyes looked at the sky before falling on the servants carrying the cart containing her father. She could see the family crest on the front. They stopped and sat the cart down before stepping away.

Her father stepped out of the cart with his dark eyebrows pressed together. Her mother remained inside of her own cart silently, probably watching the commotion with a frown. Her father was a tall man with dark brown skin like hers and black hair. He had golden eyes and wore a black kimono with a sword at his side. He stared at his disheveled daughter then the dirty boy standing behind her.

"Yoruichi, where did you go?" His voice was deep and made Kisuke think of a church bell.

"I fell off the cart and when I woke up the only person I found was this boy. He was helping me find you until a man chased us this way. I lost my ribbon." She covered her face with her hands in feigned shame.

Her father's large hand landed on her shoulder gently. He coaxed her to be quiet. His attention turned to the boy in front of him. "Thank you for helping my daughter. You're invited to our house for dinner." The man laughed before shaking his head. "Sorry, would you like something?"

"Father, he is hungry. Doesn't that mean he has reiatsu? Can he go to school with me? Please." Yoruichi gave her father that smile she knew he couldn't refuse. How lucky was it for Kisuke that she had run into him? She turned back to the boy staring at them stupidly.

"Well, getting him into school will be easy. Done. Come…"

"Kisuke, papa, his name is Kisuke. He can ride with me!"

Her father nodded before walking away and getting into his own cart. When he called her name, Yoruichi knew it was time to leave. She grabbed Kisuke's wrist, disregarding his fruitless protests, and yanked him after her. After throwing him into her cart, she climbed in beside him. Her golden eyes remained glued on the scroll with poetry written on it she had pinned to the inside of her cart. Kisuke's mouth fell open as his eyes traveled from scroll to scroll. He had never been inside a place such as that. In the confined area, he could smell the soft scent of jasmine coming from her. He frowned deeply and turned to the wall on his right.

After hours of silence, Yoruichi was more than happy to get out of the cart with her boring new friend. She walked into the house slowly, making sure he was within close proximity. After listening to her father tell the servant standing at the stairs to wash the boy, she pranced into the sitting room. Her mother sat on a deep red couch with her hands folded neatly on her lap. Yoruichi skillfully folded her hair back atop her head as she sat down across from her mother.

"That was a wonderful tale you weaved for your father," the woman said with a smile. Her smile widened when her daughter stared at her with wide eyes. "I was your age once, I know how these things work. Let's see…" her voice trailed off as she was deep in thought. Her index finger tapped her chin every ten seconds. "Ahhh. You jumped out the cart and ran away. You did get lost, but the boy actually was alone and you wanted to help him. He probably ran from you until he got to that gate where we found you. You used your ribbon to clean his face."

Yoruichi smiled widely as the hazel-eyed woman beaming at her. She nodded quickly and whispered, "His stomach was so loud."

"Everything is loud to you, dear." The woman tapped her finger on her knee. "You know he can't stay here."

"I know. Father said he would help him get into school."

"He's very lucky to have met you. Less than fifty children attend the early schools."

"Mama, do you think father knows?" Yoruichi's eyes darted to the man standing in the foyer with a letter in his hand. She looked at her mother with raised eyebrows.

"He's your father. Of course he knows, dear." She flattened a hump in her kimono as she stood. Her husband walked into the room with a large smile on his face. "You sent the letter that fast?"

"Wanted to make sure the boy got in." He looked at Yoruichi and smiled. "He will be very special if Yoruichi-chan was willing to lie to me just so I could help him."

Yoruichi blushed before sliding off the couch and running into a hug her father offered her. She had never chosen a person for them to help; so, her father did not question her decision. She inhaled the sweet scent of spices in his kimono before letting go of him. Her father's lips were soft against her skin when he kissed her on the cheek. She watched him leave in silence. Her mother touched her shoulder gently as she walked by. She walked into the foyer and stared out one of the windows into the street.

Sometimes, she felt so alone sitting in the house with her parents. It would be nice for her to have someone close to her own age, even if the difference was probably only a year, to play with. She would finally have someone at school that didn't look at her with envious eyes. They didn't have to know the real reason she wanted Kisuke to go to school with her. They didn't have to know that she didn't have any friends at that wretched place they sent her every fall.

"Is this supposed to fit like this? The pants are kind of tight." Kisuke walked down the steps tugging at the black belt accompanying the ninja suit he wore. "This is nice."

"That is mine. Papa just bought those for me. Did Jakina put you in that?" Yoruichi asked with a slight hint of anger in her voice. She was about to run up the stairs to give the servant a piece of her mind when Kisuke grabbed her arm.

"Hey, where are you going all mad? It was the only thing I could find that didn't smell like jasmine or wasn't made from silk." His hands fell to his side. A rather loud sigh of frustration escaped him. "I'll go change into one of your black silk kimonos."

"No!" Yoruichi shouted. She stared at him in shock then burst in loud laughter. The image of Kisuke in a black kimono with butterflies on it danced through her head. "No, but the white suit will fit you better. Come." She led him up the stairs quietly and gave him the only white suit she had in the dressing closet. She waited outside quietly.

"That's a lot better. Thank you." He wore a pair of her wooden sandals. His shoulders rose at the gaze she directed at him. "They were the only ones I found comfortable. Plus, it was either these of the ones with the green flowers painted on them."

Yoruichi laughed again. "Father won't like you in those sandals. He'll probably get you shoes like him."

"I like these."

Yoruichi nodded thoughtfully before motioning for him to follow her down the stairs. She said something about the haircut Jakina had given him. They both laughed. The woman cut the boy's hair until it was ear length. He looked like a puffy haired sweet Yoruichi had eaten the day before. Before they walked into the dining area to sit with her parents who were already at the table and engaged in deep conversation, Kisuke gently touched Yoruichi's elbow. He laughed nervously at the expression she wore when she turned to him. "Why did you do this for me?"

Yoruichi frowned and pressed her hand against her lips. She raised her chin indignantly. "What makes you think you are so special?"