It was an odd feeling, being able to smile earnestly during working hours, and Sui-Feng wasn't exactly sure when the sense of self-satisfaction had set in. Maybe it was when she found she could drop all the airs and pretences that usually came with legitimate employment, and still be met with a laugh and a clap on the back. Or that, for once in her life, there wasn't an inevitable, looming threat of a pink slip hanging over her head. Or it could even be that after a night's worth of hard work, she knew there was a place to walk home to and rest all her aches and pains away. More likely, though, was that the things that made her smile were a bit off-putting for a civilized crowd. Case in point, the massive man in front of her, eyes bugging out of his head, face red and dripping from exertion, lips drawn in a thin line. His right arm was planted on the table in front of him, shaking uncontrollably as the muscles strained, every vein visible. Across from him, the Chinese girl bore a savage grin across her face, her stance and body much more composed despite being easily half his size, her own arm forcing its way downward.

Surrounding them were the rest of the bar's patrons, yelling and cheering loudly, their voices almost indistinguishable from each other. Most held drinks in one hand, sloshing them regularly as they became too enthusiastic, and folded bills in the other, the cash clutched tightly in anticipation of the finish. Bets had been an almost even split that night, and the ones that had wagered on the in-house favourite were starting to get rowdy with excitement.

With a final show of force, Sui-Feng put all her weight into the final gap, smashing her opponent's arm down on the table. Collectively the surrounding audience roared in celebration, some happier than others as money exchanged hands. The two arm wrestlers released their grips, with the larger man falling back in his chair in frustration.

"Dammit, two out of three!" he roared, demanding a rematch.

"You know the rules," the Chinese girl said, rising up from her own seat, "Not until we get more drinks out on the floor. And not without a damn big tip."

"Then bring me a beer. And tell these other bastards to drink faster!"

The last words he yelled out to the crowd around him, which was met with laughs and jeers. Shaking her head, she pushed her way to the bar, where Shuuhei was likely waiting with the next few rounds of drink orders.

Ever since her brawl with Kenpachi, a lot of the regulars had made something of a sport of testing their strength against hers. The first few nights had led to all sorts of challenges, some too physical to be safe inside the bar, and some too stupid to be attempted by anyone except the drunkest idiots. Eventually things had settled to arm wrestling, which probably should have been the obvious choice from the start. Most of the bigger men didn't have trouble beating her, but her low centre of gravity and compact muscles meant she could make a good show of it, and even have a few surprise upsets against some of the sloppier challengers, like tonight's latest victim. The young bar owner encouraged the act, saying a bit of fun from the staff was always good for sales and tips, which definitely proved itself true. And then there were the fringe benefits, like being able to beat customers, without literally beating them.

Still, there was only so much strain one arm could take, and it was worse on weekends when the room was packed tight and there was a spare body to run the tables. Rolling her shoulder, Sui-Feng grimaced slightly from the soreness in her bicep, figuring she'd have to switch arms soon.

"Hope you're not overdoing it," came her boss' voice as she approached the bar. Shuuhei's watchful eye was another bit of fallout from her fight, and she wasn't sure if it was out of concern for her own well being or the bar's. Probably both.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to blow out a shoulder for these idiots," she said with a smirk, receiving mock glares from the people sitting at the counter, "So what do I have and where do they go?"

"Tray for table four, shooters for table ten, and..." he trailed off and gave her a look, his eyebrow the only thing shifting on his stoic face.

"What?" she asked, confused about the sudden scrutiny.

He continued with the measured stare for a few more seconds before continuing. "Have you worked the bar before?"

"No..." she answered, her own eyebrow rising in kind, "...why?"

"You still have problems remembering drinks, and there's no better way to figure it out than making them."

"And you trust me back there?" she asked skeptically. She didn't usually have a problem taking on new responsibilities, but she had a good thing going here, and it'd be a waste to lose a solid job over a few broken bottles.

"I'm expecting some damages," he stated matter-of-factly, like he hadn't just left an open invitation to break things. "Everyone starts new."

"You can say that again," one of the older men at the counter said to Shuuhei, opening his mouth to show a toothy grin, "Still remember the wreck that was your first time."

"Besides," the young man said, blatantly ignoring the ribbing from his customer, "If someone else can make the drinks, maybe I can actually get a proper night off once in a while. And there's no way I'm letting Rangiku back here."

Glancing over her shoulder, Sui-Feng spotted her coworker leaning on one of the larger tables, just as she was downing a shot. Entertaining the customers wasn't just about out-muscling them, and in the older woman's case it tended to involve sharing some drinks and giving a sightseeing tour of some natural valleys. The Chinese girl didn't approve of the act very much, but she knew the other woman paid for the drinks out of her paycheck, and never seemed to come close to the line where there would be serious issues. And if the young owner didn't say a word about it, she didn't have much place starting an argument. She agreed, though, that there was no way in hell the other woman should be allowed near the taps.

"Hey, you're the boss," she said, sliding her way under the counter, silently prepping herself for what would likely be a bungling mess.

"Great. Hey, Rangiku! Get a move over here, I've got a rookie to babysit now!"

All things considered, the night didn't go as poorly as expected. A few broken bottles, a lot of screwed up drinks, and one unfortunate incident with a beer tap that refused to stop spouting on the floor. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a proper mopping. And the best part was that everyone across the counter who gave her a hard time fully expected her to be a hard-ass right back at them. Still, it would be an understatement to say she was relieved when closing time finally hit.

"Well, you're as green as expected," Shuuhei said beside her as she finished cleaning around the bar area, "But..."

"But?" she asked, wondering if there could actually be a silver lining.

"It was a lot better than my first try. I was all nerves back here, took out an entire shelf. Must have cost a fortune," he said, smirking at the memory, "Was a terrible learner too, got a few good clocks to the head when the old owner got sick of it. Hopefully you pick things up quicker. I'd hate to try that on you."

She smiled at that. It was a good reminder why he was the first boss that she liked in a long time; he always seemed to have a good story to brush her mistakes under the rug, and they were usually about himself and the old owner of the bar.

"Hey Rangiku, ready to call it a night?" he called across the floor to where the other woman was flipping the last chairs onto the tables.

"Night doesn't end 'till you let it," she answered back with a playful wink, which made him roll his eyes. Looking back at Sui-Feng, he handed over her paycheck and split of the tips, which she took gratefully.

"Enjoy your night off. We'll see about you working the bar again next weekend."


"These things are fucking ridiculous."

"Mhmm."

"How the hell am I even supposed do this when I can't see behind my own head?"

"Practice, I guess."

"...you think this is funny, don't you?"

"Mildly," Yoruichi replied, running a hand along the long, black twist of hair as she slowly braided the white strip of cloth through it tightly. To be honest, she found the entire situation extremely amusing. She'd been joking when she'd offered to help with the younger girl's new hairstyle, never expecting to actually follow up on it. She rarely did this kind of thing with her actual friends, let alone...whatever the two of them were. Yet here she was, sitting on her couch in nothing but a t-shirt and underwear in the waking hours of the morning, braiding and wrapping her roommate's hair. It was very much worth it, though, if only because she'd discovered how unexpectedly fidgety the other girl was.

"How did you even manage this the last week?" she asked idly, folding the ends of the cloth in on itself to secure it. One down, one to go.

"Slowly and painfully," Sui-Feng said through gritted teeth, clearly not having as much fun as she was.

"Huh," the older girl said, trying to paint a mental picture, then chuckling when she did, "I hope you didn't break anything."

She only received a non-committal grunt in reply, but she wasn't too worried. The younger girl was blunt enough to own up to any damage she actually caused. Reaching for the second roll of cloth, Yoruichi ran her hand down the second length of hair, but stopped when the body in front of her started wiggling.

"Stop moving," she said neutrally, but was secretly giggling to herself. It almost seemed worth testing if the angry ball of fun in front of her was actually ticklish, but she thought better of pushing her luck. She was enjoying the moment enough as it was.

"I swear, I have half a mind to just hack all of this off."

"But think of all the bonding time we'd miss out on."

The girl's head stiffened ever so slightly, and Yoruichi tried to imagine the look of disdain that was being giving right at that moment. The thought almost made her laugh again.

"This isn't going to become a thing, even if I keep the hair."

"Sure, whatever you say. Now hold still, I'm almost done."

True to her word, the last bit of cloth was tied up tight in less than a minute, and a weak tug made sure the whole thing would stay in place. With a weak slap to the girl's shoulder, the darker woman bounced off the couch, giving her arms a quick stretch.

"There you are, all presentable for the world again," she said, and was met with an annoyed grunt. "If you really think it's such a hassle, you really should just get it fixed up."

"It was a favour to a friend," Sui-Feng answered, as if that was enough explanation.

"All favours are not made equal. Pretty sure hair style is on the low end of the scale."

"Yeah, well when you don't have much to offer, all favours kind of become a big deal."

Yoruichi glanced sidelong at her roommate, who was rummaging through her belongings and piling things into her backpack for class. She didn't look any moodier than usual, which made her last statement a rather sobering thing to hear offhandedly.

"Hey," she said, and the Chinese girl glanced back her way, "Take this from someone who spent a childhood sorting through friends who were bought, or looking to be. The ones you want around are the ones who don't keep receipts."

To be honest, it sounded a lot smarter when it was running through her head, but the blank stare she received in return made her second-guess herself. As the silence dragged on, she felt more and more self-conscious, then started to shuffle awkwardly on the spot.

"Uh, but you know, don't take my word for it. Different life lessons for different lives, so..." she said lamely, and pointed her thumb back to the bedroom, "Anyway, I'm going back to bed, it's still early."

She was halfway to the hallway before the other girl finally spoke up.

"Are you busy this afternoon?" Sui-Feng asked casually, but her voice was slightly louder than it had to be, and her words were strung together a bit too quickly.

"Why...? You want a date?" the older girl asked, turning her head to show off a cheeky grin. And then she was treated to that look of utter disdain she'd had to imagine earlier, and it was just as amusing to see in real life.

"I've got something to take care of, and it might go smoother with a getaway driver."

"Ha! That's a joke, right?"


It wasn't.

She'd had some worries when she'd been directed to park the car in front of a familiar dilapidated building, one that had been home to some very painful memories. Those grew to serious misgivings when she was told to leave the car idling as the smaller girl walked into the apartments with an uncharacteristic swagger. And when the girl came back out running, practically jumping into the passenger seat with an order to hit the gas while she cackled like a maniac, Yoruichi was very close to having a panic attack in the middle of four o'clock traffic.

"What the hell was that?" she yelled after the initial adrenaline burst had flushed its way through her system.

Sui-Feng was still on the verge of tears from laughter, and needed time to compose herself. Through gasping breaths, she tried to explain. "Dumb-ass' face when I handed him the wad of cash...told him it was drug money...looked like he shit himself."

Still very much confused, but thoroughly entertained, the older girl figured it was worth waiting until her companion could answer properly, instead taking the time to drive aimlessly through the streets.

"Sounds like there's a story I'm missing," she said after a long pause.

"Nah, you should know most of it," the Chinese girl finally answered, her breathing finally under control, but still sporting a wild grin. "Do you remember that place?"

"Yeah. Surprised you'd ever go back there, all things considered."

"Had to, still had a few debts to pay off. But the landlord was a jackass, so I figured it was worth screwing with him one last time."

"Oh, right. Guess that does sound familiar," the older girl said, a few heated conversations vaguely filtering through her memory. She was glad it wasn't stuff she was expected to remember, and just as happy that they were able to talk about those times without any misgivings between them. "So, this won't come back to bite you, will it?"

"It's fine," Sui-Feng said flippantly, "He's dumb enough to believe me, and dumb enough not to do anything about it."

"Cool. So, just out of curiosity, do you carry all your grudges around this long?"

Her passenger glanced over at this, her smile slipping to something that looked a lot more serene. Eyes moving away a moment later, she murmured something that sounded like "you're fine". Which was comforting, but would've been more preferable in writing.

"Hope you're not going to make a habit of this," Yoruichi said in exasperation, but was smiling all the same, "I expect these kinds of antics from Kuukaku. It'll be way too much effort watching my back for two of you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Or at least some prior warning."

"Yeah, that too."

"So, where are we going anyway?" she asked as the car pulled up to a stoplight. She hadn't really been thinking of directions, just going wherever the roads were leading them.

"Dunno, I didn't really think about it. Just drop me off somewhere, and do whatever you normally do on a Monday night."

The dark-skinned girl sighed in mock exasperation, giving a pitying look to her companion. "How lame."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Chinese girl asked petulantly, crossing her arms in a huff.

"Well, if I heard right, as of ten minutes ago you've become a financially unburdened teenage girl. That sounds like something worth celebrating."


"How the hell did I let you talk me into this?"

Yoruichi just smiled as she weaved her way through the crowds, occasionally letting her eyes linger on a short skirt or low-cut shirt. Normally she would happily stick around to find someone worth chatting up, but frankly she was just as shocked that the Chinese girl had agreed to come along, and she was going to make the most of it.

"What, clubbing isn't your kind of scene?" she asked teasingly.

"Too loud, too crowded. And not really my crowd," came the answer back, a slight annoyance to the voice.

"Well, we have a booth, so just sit back, relax, have some drinks, do whatever you do."

"Can't say your friends are really my crowd either."

"Well, I did tell you to call your friends up."

"Yeah, well..."

"What, don't trust me around them?" Yoruichi asked, but not really taking offence.

"Well, some of them. The rest I wouldn't trust to be around anyone."

Yoruichi just laughed as the two climbed the narrow stairs to the upper rooms. The booming music and din of voices started to fade the further they went, but not nearly enough to ignore. "Suddenly I really want to meet them. If you're the one giving out warnings, that's saying a whole lot."

"Yeah, yeah," Sui-Feng replied testily. She didn't look very comfortable in the environment, but at least she was still sticking around. "Hey, you do remember where I work, right? Going out and getting drunk isn't really my first choice for a good time."

"You work at a bar. This is a club. Big difference."

"Not in any ways I care about."

"Sometimes you just need to kick back and take a load off. And it's not like I want you drinking so much that you're puking on the floor."

"Whatever..."

Reaching their private room, she gave a quick rap to the door before swinging it wide. Inside a young man was already sitting comfortably against leather seats, and accompanying him was a younger and far more rigid woman.

"Well now, who's this lovely lady?" the man in a low voice, peering out from under his wide hat, his mouth quirked in a lazy smile.

"Sui-Feng, meet Shunsui. We go back awhile," Yoruichi said, making introductions while ignoring her old friend's typical flirting.

The Chinese girl glanced to the side to give a wry look, clearly not approving. Still, she kept things polite and reached over to shake his hand.

"And this is his...uh, assistant...um..."

"It's Nanao," the overly serious woman supplied with a cold stare, reaching up to adjust her glasses. That earned Yoruichi another pained glance from her companion, to which she responded with a shrug back. She wasn't actually planning for the other woman to be there, but lately the assistant seemed glued at the hip to her boss.

"Well, can't say I was expecting anything different," the Chinese girl murmured quietly, taking a seat beside the bespectacled member of the party, apparently finding some kinship in a mutual desire not to be there – or maybe she just picked the lesser of two evils.

"Right then," the dark-skinned woman said uncomfortably, starting to realize that she hadn't thought this through very well, "So, how about we get some food and drink up here?"

Surprisingly, things were a lot less awkward than they could have been. Yoruichi and Shunsui were their usual playful and irreverent selves, Nanao was strict and quick to lash out against anything she deemed too inappropriate, and Sui-Feng provided her natural dry commentary – which was actually quite amusing, as long as it wasn't taken seriously. Still, there were a few subjects that needed to be skirted around. And they were. For the most part.

"So, how did you meet?" the young man asked at one point, "Somehow I can't imagine the two of you being acquainted."

"At a party," Yoruichi started, "Fun story, actually, but only after -"

"No," Sui-Feng quickly interrupted, not even looking up from her food, "Was at the restaurant."

"Hmm?" the older girl said, and tried her best to recall. "Oh, right, guess it was. That story wasn't so fun."

"Well, whatever the case, you're definitely not the kind of girl that usually catches our dear Yoruichi's eye."

"Wait, what?!" the Chinese girl yelled, the conversation finally drawing her full attention. "Goddammit, no! I'm her roommate. And a temporary one at that."

"Although, technically we did..."

"No. Shut it. Now."

As the night dragged on, things started to simmer down. Shunsui was resting his eyes under the cover of his hat, having had a few too many drinks. His assistant was off in her own world, busy sorting through a schedule in her hands, having decided that keeping up with work was more important than keeping up the pretences of good company. Yoruichi herself was mildly distracted, looking through the glass wall over her shoulder to survey the dancing bodies below, her gaze settling occasionally when someone caught her interest.

"Don't keep yourself here on my account. Just remember I need a ride home," her companion said beside her, taking a slow sip from a bottle. Weeks ago a comment like that would've been loaded with venom, and a not-so-subtle warning of trouble to come. Now, though, it was said without any veiled emotion. It was surprisingly nice, like a sign of normalcy and routine.

"I was considering it," the older girl said, looking back with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "But there was something I wanted to do first."

"Yeah, like what?" was the suspicious reply.

"Like dragging you out there to dance."

The Chinese girl snorted, taking another swig of her beer. Then she realized the other girl was actually serious. "Really? Can't say it's the dumbest idea I've heard from you, but it still sounds really dumb."

"C'mon, I thought'd be fun."

"For you, maybe."

"Promise I won't get handsy. I just want to see what you're like when you unwind a little."

"Right, of course you do. So what's in it for -" Sui-Feng started, but trailed off mid sentence, a pensive look crossing her face. After a few confusing seconds, she dropped her drink down on the table, pushing up onto her feet. "Fine, let's get this over with fast."

"Wait, really?" Yoruichi asked, stunned by the sudden reversal.

"Hey, you asked."

"Yeah, but...I didn't really expect you to agree."

"Well, if you don't want to -"

"Oh, no!" the older girl exclaimed. Now that the opportunity was presented, there was no way she was going to pass it up, and jumped to her feet and grabbed the other girl's wrist. "Now we definitely are."

She laughed gleefully as she led her roommate back down to the main floor, receiving only a token amount of resistance along the way. Honestly, it had been pure whim when she'd made the request, and had no idea what she'd been anticipating. Maybe some awkward fumbling and some embarrassed sulking. More likely was an angry bailout followed by a lot of swearing. So, it was to her pleasant surprise when the smaller girl settled onto the dance floor with ease, swaying her body to the music and stepping to the rhythm, even adding a bit of extra swing to her hips. There was a slight stiffness that revealed how little she wanted to be among the crowd, but her movements were so full of confidence that she did a damn good job fooling everyone around her.

"Well, this is a shock," Yoruichi exclaimed, not sure whether to laugh or cheer.

"I thought I told you before," Sui-Feng answered with a smirk, "Just because I'm not easy doesn't mean I'm a total loser.