153 Years ago.

He sat on a table with a few other Squad members that morning at breakfast, but he wasn't really paying much attention to what they were saying. There was a feeling in the air that morning, a feeling that something big was going to happen. Ever since what Tessai had said to him a few days ago, Kisuke's perspective on the whole situation had changed drastically, there was nothing stopping him from confessing to Yoruichi. All he had to do now was work up the nerve to tell her.

Unlike most days though, he wasn't spacing out due to depression, he was preoccupied with trying to figure out how he was going to finally tell her. Just then a snippet of their conversation caught his attention,

"…yeh, the dance tonight's going to be really fun, I'm bringing Kaede…"

"Wait a second, what was this about a dance?" Kisuke asked, an idea forming in his head.

"The 'Spring Time Dance' for Soul Reapers," his friend replied, "every time the blossoms bloom beautifully on the cherry blossom trees the Woman's Soul Reaper Association organises a party at the Kuchiki mansion to celebrate."

While their conversation continued, he spaced out again, thinking about how he was going to make tonight special. He'd get a nice suit, maybe a few flowers to give her, and once the mood was just right, he'd take her outside underneath the shower of falling blossoms and tell her. It's not like he was expecting anything to happen once he did tell her how he felt, but it didn't matter because he wanted it to be perfect no matter what.

Once breakfast had ended, Kisuke had decided on how he would go about preparing for the dance and so started to make his way to the room of one of his friends who was a member of Squad 3; she's infamous among the 13 Court Guard Squads for being obsessed with fashion. Kisuke heard that one time while she was on a hollow extermination mission her soul reaper uniform got dirty and the whole group had to hold off returning to Seireitei just so she could change her clothes. That's why Misaki was the only person Kisuke would be asking for outfit advice that day (or any other day for that matter), because she was an expert in the field.

"Misaki!" Kisuke called from outside of her room, "can I come in?"

"Sure," she replied, "I haven't seen you in ages Urahara-kun."

At this point Kisuke stepped into the room and was instantly met by the smell of perfume and a wash of pink. Misaki sat in the middle of the room with her blond hair piled on top of her head in a ponytail, she had a smile on her face and when she saw him she gestured for him to sit down beside her. When he did she began to pour some tea into the ready and waiting cup that was set in front of him on the table.

"So, what can I do for you then Urahara-kun?" she asked once the tea had been poured.

"Hey! I'm not always after something you know; sometimes I just want to visit my good friend." Kisuke said, feigning annoyance .

"Is this one of those times?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Kisuke replied, and they both started laughing, being careful not to spill the hot tea. When they had finished laughing he explained to her that he needed desperately a good suit for the 'Spring Time Dance' that night and that he had no clue what to get or where to go.

"Leave it to me!" Misaki said, and at this point Kisuke became slightly worried because she had a really wide grin on her face, just looking at her told him that this was going to be a long day.

Sure enough, they both left the Squad 3 barracks shortly and for the first half of the day they spent hours going from one shop to another trying on different colours and styles of suits. By dinnertime they had decided on a charcoal grey suit that cost enough to make Kisuke groan out load when he handed the money over to the cashier, but it was very well fitted and looked good on him so he had to deal with the price. In the afternoon after they ate dinner at a ramen place, they started to look for shirts and ties and eventually went with a light blue shirt and dark blue tie.

Kisuke did have to admit, the finished product did look very nice, but by the time that they had finished shopping, he only had a few hours to head back to his quarters and get ready. He already had the suit on because he wore it home once he'd bought it, but he had to try and tame his hair and get Yoruichi some flowers before he set off.

He finished getting ready just in time; the dance was starting soon so he had to hastily walk to the squad 6 barracks where the Kuchiki mansion was located. On his way there he realised that in his rush he had forgot to get the flowers for Yoruichi, which caused him to swear under his breath and that earned him a few disapproving glances from the other people walking to the dance around him.

Looking around frantically, he spotted a small pond not far from where he was standing, as he approached he noticed a single small water lily, its white petals delicately fell open to reveal a brilliant orange centre. It reminded him so much of Yoruichi that he thought that it must have been fate that he found it here, as if was waiting for him; he quickly scooped it from the water and shortly after this, arrived at the Kuchiki mansion.

As soon as he entered the room his eyes immediately flew to her, she stood out from the room of people, despite all of the bright colours circulating around her. She was wearing a tight floor length dress that was the colour of the sun at sunset, it was embroidered with a pattern of flowers that looked exactly like the water lily that he had just picked, the fabric seemed to make her dark skin glow. The dress had a high neck but a section had been cut out from the chest so some of her cleavage was showing, also, a slit ran all the way up to her mid-thigh on one side of the dress so one of her legs was exposed almost completely exposed. It was a dangerous dress, Kisuke thought suddenly. Their eyes met and he made his way over to her.

Yoruichi's perspective.

Dances were never much fun for Yoruichi, as if to drive this point home, she had just had to talk to a particularly unbearable man who claimed that he would soon become the strongest Soul Reaper in all history, she had to work hard to not roll her eyes at him. When he went away Yoruichi spotted Kisuke as he entered the building and breathed a small sigh of relief, he must have seen her as well because he came walking towards where she was standing almost immediately. He wore a very nice grey suit that made it so you could see the muscles in his arms through the fabric; his hair was combed and slicked down close to his skull, showing off more of his face than normal. He looked good.

"I didn't know that you were one for dances," Yoruichi said as she smiled up at him when he reached her.

"I didn't know you were either," Kisuke said, he must have seen her relief at seeing him because he pulled her to a corner, away from all of the people who didn't know her and would never try to.

"I'm not, but I'm head of the Stealth Force, I have to be here." At this point Kisuke revealed a small but beautiful water lily from behind his back and held it up for her to take.

"It's for you Yoruichi," he said, blushing as he placed it in her hair, just in front of her left ear. She looked in the window that was opposite her, it had become quite reflective due to the darkness outside, and she did have to admit that the flower looked beautiful.

"Come on," she said as she took hold of his hands, which she noticed were especially clammy despite it being a quite cool evening, "dance with me Kisuke!"

She didn't do much that night without Kisuke at her side, they danced for most of the songs, they laughed and talked when the music was fast and danced close like the other couples when the music slowed down. During one of these songs later on in the night, Kisuke whispered into her ear,

"Want to step outside for a little while and get some fresh air?" She gave a small nod as her answer and followed him into the garden. They stood next to a pond which was filled with blossom petals and floating lanterns that illuminated each of their faces, on their other side stood one of the cherry blossom trees the party was actually centred around, its pink canopy was directly above their heads.

Kisuke chatted idly for a while but Yoruichi could tell that there was something specific that he wanted to say, like always, it took him a while to say what he felt. Finally he spoke,

"Y-yoruichi, I –" at this point she could see that he continued to speak but couldn't hear what he said because his words were drowned out by the sound of fireworks that had just been set off in the sky.

"What?" she said, struggling to hear. Again his mouth moved but she couldn't make out the words.

"What!" she repeated.

"I LOVE YOU YORUICHI!" he yelled to try and overcome the noise of the fireworks but they had ceased firing momentarily so his words echoed in Yoruichi's ears and stopped her heart, if only for a second.

If you're interested, I drew a picture of what I imagined Yoruichi's dress to look like. There's a link to it on my profile at the bottom. I know I'm not a very good drawer but it's just to give you an idea ;)