"He told me to stay away from Yoruichi-sama's room until later…" Soifon was laying on her back on her bed. Since her brief – and awkward – encounter with Byakuya a few moments ago, her mind felt scrambled. She had engrained an image of the 6th Division captain in her mind. He was someone incapable of human emotion, a cold and apathetic shell who didn't deserve anyone's love in return, especially not her Yoruichi-sama's. But what had just happened wasn't a dream. She was sure of it. Kuchiki Byakuya had just gone to her room and apologized to her. It may have appeared forced, but Soifon caught the look in Byakuya's eyes. He wasn't apologizing just to humor her. He actually meant it. Was he doing it for Yoruichi? What had happened between the two of them?
Soifon needed someone to talk to, but the only person she ever had was her father. Since she came to Seireitei, she had been on her own. Yoruichi was the closest person she had, and she was apparently forbidden to go there for the time being. Soifon decided to respect Byakuya's order. It was the least she could do.
"Maybe he does deserve Yoruichi-sama after all." Soifon sat up and looked at her zanpakutou leaning against the cabinet in a corner. Walking over, she picked it up and walked out of her room. "Come on, Suzumebachi."
"Well?" Yoruichi walked back and knelt beside her table. "Don't just stand there like a fool."
Byakuya stepped into her room and slid the door shut behind him.
"I couldn't sleep all of last night," he began and paused. It was never Byakuya's strong suit to talk about his emotions like this.
Yoruichi observed Byakuya's face. He always tried to hide his true feelings, but she was always able to see right through his masks.
"I know you like to be blunt, and I hardly have the energy for more games with you today." Byakuya remained standing over Yoruichi. "So I'll be brief."
It was a little intimidating to have Byakuya stand over Yoruichi with such a serious expression. Usually she was the one looking down on him. This cool aggressive side of Byakuya was one she didn't get to see often. She had to admit it was kind of sexy.
"Look, we've known each other for a while now, and we haven't always seen eye to eye. But still, we found a way to get along." Despite Yoruichi's eyes never leaving Byakuya's face, his gaze never met hers. His eyes remained fixed on a spot on the opposite wall, almost as if he was afraid that looking at Yoruichi would cause him to forget whatever it was he came to say. "I guess you could say we're friends of a sort. I still remember when I first met you. I detested you. Your behavior, your obnoxiousness, your rudeness. I thought you didn't deserve to be from a noble family. I still think that at times."
"Is all of this supposed to be helping your case or did you just come here early in the morning to bash me?" Yoruichi cocked an eyebrow.
Byakuya shook his head. "My mind just wandered back is all."
Yoruichi smirked. "The way that you could never beat me at tag."
Byakuya let a smile slip out. "Because I let you win."
"You could have fooled me with all how much you were sweating and panting."
"That was just--"
"This is hardly blunt, Byakuya," Yoruichi interrupted. Her expression turned serious and Byakuya knew that he couldn't bide his time anymore.
Byakuya shuffled his feet and swallowed. "Fine, I care about you. Blunt enough?" He could feel the blood rushing to his face after he said the words. The sound of his heart pounding filled his ears and he remained frozen to his spot. He would have jumped out of his skin at the sound of the knock on the door were it not for the grace that had been drilled into him by his grandfather.
The knock sounded again. "Yoruichi-sama."
"I'm busy. Whatever it is can wait."
"I'm afraid it is my duty to report to the captain any injuries in her squad."
"Open the door and come in. Have you contacted the 4th Division?"
The messenger shinigami took one step into the room and knelt down. "Yes, Captain, and relief units have been sent to the location of the injured."
"Who's the idiot who got himself in this position?"
"Soifon."
Yoruichi didn't say anything. When he heard no response from his captain, the shinigami looked up and saw Byakuya standing behind her. "E-Excuse me. I was not aware that you were in a meeting with Captain Kuchiki."
Yoruichi looked behind her and gave Byakuya an apologetic look. Byakuya didn't respond to her, only hoping that whatever redness had invaded his face a few minutes ago had disappeared. Instead, he shot a glare at the shinigami before them. He was a bit unnerved at the presence of another person. It was bad enough that rumors about him and Yoruichi were already flying around because they were seen together. Now he was found in her room in the early morning. It didn't look promising. Then there was the issue of this Soifon girl. She seemed to constantly get in the way. If it wasn't storming into his office and barraging him with questions, it was preventing him from spending time with Yoruichi. He wasn't stupid. He saw the way Yoruichi's face tensed when she heard that it was Soifon who was injured. If it were anyone else in her squad, she probably would have just brushed it off and let the 4th Division handle it.
"Byakuya…"
Byakuya was already on his way out. "Take care of your squad first. We'll settle our own matters later." He didn't want to admit defeat, but Soifon was still a part of Yoruichi's squad. It wouldn't be right from him to keep her from tending to her duties as a captain.
"You may leave," Yoruichi dismissed the shinigami. "I'll be heading to the 4th Division. If anyone comes looking for me, you'll know where to point them."
"Yes, ma'am."
Soifon's eyes slowly flickered open. As they slowly readjusted to the light, she felt a sharp pain in her right arm. "Where am I?" She sat up and noticed that she wasn't in the woods anymore. She saw other beds next to her, some with injured shinigami and some empty. There were medicinal herbs in jars on the tables, and shinigami performing kido on the injured. She must be in the 4th Division.
"Are you finally awake?" The sweet and gentle voice of Captain Unohana called to Soifon.
Soifon noticed that her arm had been bandaged. Her hand was still exposed, but she could see traces of redness from wielding Suzumebachi. "What happened?"
"You were found in the outskirts of Seireitei unconscious. When you were brought here, your reiatsu level had almost been depleted." Unohana sat beside Soifon's bed. "No doubt you were training with your zanpakutou."
Soifon was amazed at how much Captain Unohana could tell from just observing her. She began scanning the room for her zanpakutou.
Unohana brought out a katana from underneath the bed. "Your zanpakutou is safe."
"Captain Unohana," the lieutenant of the 4th Division poked his head into the room. "Captain Shihouin is here to see her subordinate."
Unohana nodded. "Thank you, Seinosuke-san." She turned back to Soifon as she handed her her zanpakutou. "Be more careful next time," she warmly smiled and exited the room, giving a bow to Yoruichi as she entered. Yoruichi returned the gesture.
Looking at Soifon with a pitiable expression, Yoruichi sighed and took Unohana's former place next to her bed. "Idiot," Yoruichi said, "what were you doing? They told me you almost used up all of your reiatsu."
"I'm sorry, Yoruichi-sama, I just… needed something to do." Soifon's eyes fell down to her right arm.
Yoruichi touched Soifon's zanpakutou. "You were training with this, weren't you?"
Soifon remained silent, ashamed of being seen as a failure.
"Suzumebachi," Yoruichi picked the sword up and unsheathed it halfway. "Nigeki Kessatsu. That's its special ability, right? You can kill someone in two strikes." She pushed Soifon's zanpakutou back into its sheath and placed it gently next to Soifon on the bed. "I've only heard about it, though. I've always been curious as to how that works."
"I'm not strong enough, Yoruichi-sama," Soifon said with a tone of disgust.
"You only just got here. I'm not expecting you to have mastered your zanpakutou. To be honest, I'm surprised you can even achieve shikai."
Soifon wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment, but she didn't care. "I have to be strong so I can protect you."
"Who says I need protecting?" Yoruichi said defensively. "I'm the captain here, you know."
"N-No, that's not what I meant," Soifon stammered. Her cheeks were tinged with a slight pink. "I didn't mean to belittle Yoruichi-sama. I only meant that… I promised my father I would watch over you. Just like he and the rest of my family watched over the Shihouin family. It's our duty to protect--"
Yoruichi put her hand over Soifon's mouth. "You can stop right there. I get enough of the noble duty crap from Byakuya. I don't need it from my subordinates, too." Though her tone was firm, Yoruichi was smiling.
"Yoruichi-sama…" The bright eyes and welcoming smile of her captain always put Soifon at ease. A small smile broke over her face. "I think I should get some rest, Yoruichi-sama. I will recover and return to the division as soon as possible."
Yoruichi gently took Soifon's injured hand. She ran her fingers over the red welts along Soifon's middle finger where Suzumebachi extended. She brought her hand up to her face and kissed it. "Take your time," she smiled.
