Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! To Bad Girl762 and Kohaku Zelpher: You're getting your wish! To Edge-Keen Blade: I'm glad that it has a tinge of reality. I think that Bleach is an easier manga to imagine in a reality-based AU than some others due to its nature, so I'm trying to keep consistent with some things but still have some unique elements. Don't know if I'll be able to keep it up, but I'll try! To get into the mindset of writing or just feeling good or relaxed enough for ideas to come, I recommend listening to Missy Higgins, Amy Macdonald, or Sara Bareilles. It works for me!
I also did some editing to the first chapter, but it didn't show up! Curse you fanfic editor scum….so I'll delete it an re-upload the edited version if it lets me…. Nothing different happens, but I took out the goodbye line. It was too important, too soon. I want to save that for later so I don't water it down. Unfortunately, that means I'll lose your reviews and such…just know that they're well appreciated.
Oh, and there's some innuendo right off the bat…was there some in the first chap? I should really pay more attention to that to make sure I keep the T rating. I don't think that it will ever get to M, but if it does…it won't be for a very, very long time seeing as I can't even foresee it getting there at this rate. Anywho, here's another chapter of Rhapsody! Speaking of which, should I change the title? Who knows…?
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Yoruichi paid no heed to the strange looks she received from her altogether too observant neighbors as she returned to her apartment, the fact that she was already up and active before high noon giving many of them a reason to believe that perhaps hell really had frozen over, and yes, their stagnant, boring lives had a chance of taking a fanciful change should the cosmic forces that must have been necessary to lure the elusive Shihouin out of her bed decide to bless them as well. If there's any higher power, I'm sure it's the Fates having a good laugh right now, most likely at my expense too. On the way home, Yoruichi had not only managed to get pulled over for excessive speeding (fortunately it was one of the few times she was glad for her unwanted connections as her ID had shown what family she belonged to, giving the corrupt, albeit bored, cop enough reason to let her off with a warning), but she had also managed another run-in with Gin, almost scratching the paint on her prized possession in the process of shaking him off. She had managed to keep Aizen from finding out where she lived for four months now, and she would be damned if she slipped up enough for him to find her again. Hell, it was the only reason she paid the outrageous price of using the one-car garage below the complex. Her car stood out a bit in the lower middle-class sect she had settled in, so she had to hide it. Sure, it would have been easier just to sell it…but it also came in handy for quick getaways, not to mention that it had some good memories in it, some of which had taken place uncomfortably atop the stick shift with a good sweaty…
Yoruichi shook her head clear of that train of thought, knowing that if she went down that road, it would take a lot of concentration and a cold shower to turn back. She was significantly perturbed though as she went into her bedroom and plopped back on the down comforter, sinking into the soft mattress as much as her lighter frame would allow. She had thought that surely Soi would have been more understanding. Hadn't it been obvious that her actions had been justified by the circumstances? Had she expected Yoruichi to either stay completely in touch or cut her off in a way that would have ended their relationship? To her, both ends seemed unreasonable and more than just a little out of character. From her experience, Soi Fong was just about as sharp and insightful as she was most of the time, even her equal in that field by the time she had left her. That eliminated any sense that it could be due to her sheer lack of being able to comprehend why Yoruichi had had to leave, leaving logic out of the field. That meant that it was probably something emotional then. Aw crap. I hate it when things get to that… Soi had definitely sounded bitter back at the hospital. Bitter from what though? Kuukaku's words came back to haunt her. Though you needed to leave her, you did it in the worst way possible. Yoruichi frowned and turned over on to her stomach, burying her face into one of her overly fluffy pillows as she decided to hug it. Like there was a clear, good way that easily presented itself, right? What else could I have done? If I had actually said goodbye, that would have been the end of it all, and I sure didn't want that. The question is…is that still what I want? Yoruichi shook her head. Of course, it's all about me…I've already decided to actually try to be the responsible one for a change, so I have to get out of that mindset, damn it! Though Yoruichi would hate to admit it, she did have selfish tendencies from time to time. Perhaps it came from being raised in a rich family where she always had everything she ever wanted. Maybe it came from seeing a huge selfish streak in her parental figures in the time she had still lived with them and not seeing anything bad happen to them for it. Then again, perhaps there was a bit of a good nature hidden somewhere in there…the moment she had realized that her parents constantly dealt in crime and the business of it under the guise of their casino line, she had realized that she didn't want to be the next in line for it and had begun plotting with her childhood friend, Kisuke of course, to get out of there the second she turned eighteen. And so it had happened, not that they cared, and now here she was after three years, and she didn't look that much better for it. More than that had warranted the necessity of moving out though, so much more…vague memories of following hints of leads and dodging more than enough bullets to last her a lifetime swam through her mind's eye, along with a younger girl who had accompanied her.
Yoruichi sat up and looked at the clock, knowing that she would have to leave for her work shift soon, eliminating any possibility of making friends with the bar in the kitchen and washing away the current thoughts that were plaguing her again after finally subduing them after so long. Tempted as she was to blame her favorite little bee, she knew somehow that it was her doing too.
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If someone had looked at Yoruichi and known her hobbies, they might think that she worked at a music shop, maybe a martial arts instructor, or maybe even a café or retail position if she had to resort to it. Unfortunately, the Tokyo career market had not presented our favorite feline woman with such opportunities that actually paid well enough to support her preferred lifestyle, which included the good alcohol, no cheap stuff for this gal, keeping a certain, ah, alternative fuel ready for use in her car, and of course enough financial security to indulge in her other likes or be able to move around. Fortunately, though she didn't exactly like her current job, the pay was shockingly lucrative, probably because not a lot of people wanted to do it, and it set well-behaved customers to the establishment at ease knowing that they were safe. Yoruichi tugged absentmindedly at the small Kevlar vest, eyebrow twitching a bit. At least I'm not on one of the poles…
Yes, the beautiful, hip Shihouin Yoruichi was a rent-a-cop at a high end bar, complete with drinking facilities, dance floors, club lights, and of course a small stage with a catwalk and a pole for exotic dancers, one of which was currently inducing drool-inducing reactions from the nearby men at the bar from the suggestive motions she was making against the smooth pole. On top of that, it certainly didn't hurt that it also functioned as a small casino off in the separate rooms, the second floor reserved for high stake games and shows of a more private nature. True, Yoruichi had been offered the same position when she first applied, but even if they were low, she still had her standards, and once her employers had discovered that her real forte was in nearly unarmed security, her only weapons a small taser and a shiny black tonfa, both of which were holsters fixed opposite sides of a police-style belt that was slung loosely around her waist. It wasn't that Yoruichi had qualms about showing he skin off, but by no means would she put herself in a position where she was expected to do it to any one that was willing to pay. It was always on her terms, and only to who she wanted to. For now, she was more than willing to just send death glares to the occasional interest and look like a viper ready to strike at any troublemaker. All in all, thanks to her anatomical blessings, she served both as security and to add to the sense of the establishment.
Well, at least it's been uneventful…such as it was, it seemed that Fate needed a good laugh yet again as one of the viewers was getting too close to the dancer for his own good, looking decidedly like a hungry wolf eyeing a juicy lamb. Sighing, Yoruichi put her game face on before striding over, not needed to ask the crowd to part—from the look she was giving them, some came just short of withering away on the spot. Yoruichi stopped just behind the man, and cleared her voice, wanting to try to solve this without making a scene. "Sir, I'm going to ask you to keep your hands to yourself." He spun around angrily, glaring. "Do I look like a 'sir' to you? Eh?!" Yoruichi was honestly caught off guard, eyes widening in shock and surprise as she saw that it was certainly not a sir, but a ma'am. The girl's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Ah, no…" Yoruichi quickly regained her composure and narrowed her eyes. "Even if you're not, you need to back off. No offense, but our dancers aren't just raw meat for you to have your pick of. Besides, I doubt you could convince Matsumoto to swing your way…" The scrawny wolf's fur was clearly in a bunch as she grew visibly angry. "Why, you! I should-" Yoruichi was just about to stop the girl from making any offensive action when suddenly a different hand held her back, attached to a black suit. "Lisa, that's enough."
Yoruichi looked over past this 'Lisa' to see a man with long blonde hair and a bit of a scraggly beard, dressed in what would have been a nice suit had it not been wrinkly and offset by a frilly shirt. She arched an eyebrow in question.
"And just who are you?"
The man looked a bit uneasy for a moment as if he was deciding on how to explain the situation. "I'm Rose, Lisa's guardian, I suppose." The girl looked a bit annoyed at this description.
"Guardian my as—" She was soon silenced by a glare from Rose, an action that Yoruichi had a suspicion that he didn't often resort to, which perhaps made it all the more effective. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was picking up strange vibes off of the both of them, not so much like something just wasn't right about them, but that they were just different. It was a pity that she would have to shoo them away.
"Well, I'm sorry Rose, but I'm going to ask you to make sure that this minor doesn't make it in here again. I could lose my job." Judging by his look, Rose understood.
"That's fair enough, I suppose. I'll be sure that she doesn't follow me next time." Rose and Lisa proceeded to walk past her, but not before Yoruichi felt a small piece of paper go from Rose's hand in to hers, something that happened so quickly that she almost missed it. Figuring that it was just a phone number like all of the other guys who thought that they could seduce her, Yoruichi just shoved it in her vest pocket and forgot all about it until later. She would be in for a shock then.
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Ooo, cliffy! Not too good of one…honestly, I didn't feel too inspired for this chapter past identifying Lisa, and it felt a bit forced. Phooey. I also felt kind of bad for not giving you guys anything in return for being such good readers and giving me reviews and alerts It tickles me pink to see those. In response to one review, I tried double-spacing it to make it easier to read. I hope it worked…sighs I know, it's shorter than the last one, but hey, I've been busy as heck. Sorry Soi fans, she wasn't in this chapter…I think I'll put more of her in the next one. After all, she's one of the key characters in the story.
