Their classmates talked about them a lot. Yoruichi took whatever anyone said about her in strides. She liked to think that some day the world would become a better place where a man and woman could live together in harmony or hang around one another without others whispering rude things behind their backs. If only one of them would say some of those dirty things to her face, she would annihilate them. Then, the rumors would melt away into nothing. Her golden eyes stared at a wall carelessly as she realized she felt nothing but anger towards whoever spread such bologna about one of her best friends. Her long legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankle, as she lounged on against a large tree. Kisuke sat to her right; Jushiro to her left; Kyoraku sat in front of her.
Kisuke fumbled with a bottle of ink Yoruichi had given him the day before for his birthday. The determined look on his face made Jushiro raise his eyebrows at the dark girl sitting with them. She rolled her eyes and took the bottle from her clumsy friend. He might be the smartest person in the school, but he couldn't open a bottle of ink? She hesitated at opening the ink when she saw what he was about to do with it. Only Kisuke would worry about scribbling notes on one of their good days. She ignored the frown he gave her as she pushed the ink into the front of her black kimono. After sitting back against the tree again, she lifted her cup to her mouth and finished her sake. Kyoraku quickly refilled her cup and tried once again to offer Jushiro some. He shook his head; he and Kisuke preferred tea on days like this. Well, Jushiro preferred tea on any day. That was one of the reasons Yoruichi admired him so. Not a lot of men who were truly honorable could stay away from a jar of sake. Her golden eyes gazed at Kyoraku's face. He'd grown a beard so he could look older than his thirty years. Yoruichi laughed at the blush that flared in her friend's face when he noticed her staring.
"What did I do?" He asked slowly.
"Nothing. Shunsui, I'm just enjoying your beautiful face." Yoruichi replied happily.
Kisuke glared at Kyoraku before returning his attention back to the cup of tea in front of him. His index finger traced around the saucer it sat in. "So, the rumors about you two are true. Huh?"
Kyoraku chuckled as he leaned back into the afternoon shade. Kisuke could be as blind as a mole when it came to some things. His eyes settled on the frown Yoruichi was giving the man the only one she would probably actually ruin her honor for, in his opinion who had uttered the nonsense. His fingers slowly eased towards the brown sake container again. "My, my, you sure have some imagination, Kisuke-san."
The aforementioned finally got the courage to look up, but he deeply regretted the action when he saw the frown on Yoruichi's beautiful face. It wasn't more of the frown, but the look in her eyes that made his heart skip a beat. How could someone have one expression on their face and another in their eyes? He blinked away her image as he turned towards a confused Jushiro. "I was just asking."
Jushiro had no idea what was going on. He covered his mouth as a fit of coughs took him by surprise. His eyes darted to Yoruichi, as she was the first person to touch him. She was also the fastest of all of them, but none of them cared really. He waved her away with a smile as his coughing subsided. His eyes, however, remained on her face as she turned her attention back to the argument at hand. He sighed softly and wondered where life would lead them all. Mostly, he pondered if he really would live long enough to truly experience what life was.
"Why would you ask about something so demoralizing towards me, Kisuke?" Her voice was soft, but held an edge of anger.
Again, Kyoraku could not help but smile at his friend's stupid question. Sometimes, Yoruichi wasn't as perceptive as she liked for every one to think. He fell onto his side gently with his palm resting beneath his chin. If they continued to dance around this "thing" called their destiny, they would be in for a long night. He frowned at the distant look in Jushiro's eyes. The man rarely focus on reality long enough to know what was going on around him.
"Well, I ahhh… I don't know, Yoruichi."
"Stupid." She stood in one move and walked away from them with a sputtering of rude words. The wind opened her kimono slightly, and the inkbottle fell onto the ground, breaking into large chunks with black ink splattered everywhere. She didn't even notice the mistake as she walked away with her eyes closed and lips pressed together into a straight line.
Kisuke's left eye twitched as he stared at the mess his best friend had made of the only worthy gift he'd received the day before. He reached for the shards of ink covered glass, but Jushiro slapped his hand away. Kisuke glared at both of them before jumping to his feet and marching towards a figure standing alone in the center of the field beside their resting place. He stopped behind her loudly; making it obvious to her that he was there. His fingers itched to touch her shoulder, but he refrained himself until she turned to him. He gasped at the large smile he saw on her face. "What are you doing?" When she didn't answer, he sighed heavily as if he was tired beyond reason. Of course being in the twelfth squad sixth seat had its perks, but he mostly stayed in the lab with the captain. He probably hadn't slept for four days. "You broke my ink bottle."
Yoruichi continued to smile. She grabbed him around the waist as he blinked and fell forward. He should probably consider taking breaks in between those crazy experiments he and his captain did. Her fingers dug into his side, rousing him from the weak sleep he had drifted into.
"You wasted my ink." He sighed and pushed her away. His footsteps were slow and careful as he walked away from her.
The smile on her face slowly deteriorated until there was nothing but blankness. Her index and middle fingers pressed against her lips as she felt her heart crumbling into pieces. His ink? He was wasting her heart.