I am so tired, and so rusty, but I felt the urge to write this story. So if it sucks, give me pointers, and bite me.
Yoruichi stared blankly at Ichigo's desperate face.
"No." She coarsely muttered.
"But Yoruichi-san, please," he pleaded, staring into her abnormally cold eyes, "I love her."
It randomly struck Kurosaki how odd this particular situation was.
After years of friendship, he had never deemed the Shihouin as a negative person, not to mention one that was so nonchalant about a friend's plea. Yet, there Yoruichi sat, cold and seemingly indifferent towards the young boy. And despite his best efforts not to, Ichigo couldn't help but feel slightly hurt, and dumbfounded by her harsh decline. For you see, Kurosaki Ichigo loved Kuchiki Rukia, and was determined to win her heart— but to do that he needed a certain Shihouin's help.
"You're the only one who can get me into Seireitei," Kurosaki rationalized, trying to reason the dark woman before him into coming.
"If she loved you, she wouldn't have gone back to a place where you can't follow," Yoruichi snapped at him.
Ichigo stared at Yoruichi, slapped in the face by her harsh words. Looking towards the ground, he left without another word.
Feelingly slightly guilty for her aggressive demeanor, the Shihouin sighed heavily as her friend left. Unconsciously, she began to run her hands through her hair, pulling her ponytail down in an attempt to relieve some stress.
How did this happen? She questioned herself, yearning for a simpler solution. Yoruichi shook her head, attempting to shake the guilt away before smiling fondly at the memories she shared with the young boy. Years of friendship had created a strong bond between the brash young Kurosaki and herself. They had gone through many adventures together, until one day a certain young woman fell into their lives. In an attempt to "find herself", as she described it, Kuchiki Rukia had left her home and stumbled upon their lives. At first, Yoruichi wholeheartedly supported the young couple, going as far as to trick them into meeting each other, but when she learned where the girl had come from, Yoruichi paled. Seireitei. Her old school, dojo, home. Home to the elite, and the elite only, Seireitei was a place that held such bad memories for her. How could Ichigo ask her to go? How could she possibly go back? Sighing in defeat, the dark woman slid down further in her chair, sitting aimlessly as the sun set behind her.
Dim shadows slipped through the glass windows dancing along Yoruichi's uncharacteristically pale face, softened only by the pale moonlight above- the only light illuminating the dark house. Quickly and unconsciously, Yoruichi's long fingers moved past ivory piano keys, playing a soft melody that she thought she had forgotten years ago.
It began ever so quietly at first, as if Yoruichi struggled to remember the notes that poured flawlessly from her timid fingers. Letting her eyes drift close, she began to let the music flow from her, recalling each note until they formed a musical sentence, a harmonious statement. Taking in a sharp breathe, the dark woman felt the air fill her chest, and dove into the song. A sharp here, she turned to the right, drifting across the dark key, dusty from disuse. A flat there, she glided to the left. Each note placed more confidence into her heart as Yoruichi bent over her hands, pouring that feeling right back into the music. Louder, she continued, until the sound echoed through her empty home, filling it to the brim. Rise after rise, she persisted until the song overwhelmed her. Every note shook her being, every chord touched her heart, until as softly and as suddenly as it began, it ended. Reaching up, the dark woman ran a finger across her cheek; wiping away tears she didn't realize were there.
"Alright," she whispered to no one in particular, "I'll go with him."
Sleeeeeep is good for the soul.