Chapter 14

Following Yoruichi silently, Soi tried her best to ignore the stares she got. She suddenly realized why Komamura taicho had spent most of his life whit his face hidden from public view. She sighed and Yoruichi turned, seeing Soi, her ears hanging, and her eyes slumping to the ground.

"Aw little bee what is wrong?" She asked laying an arm around Soi making the smaller Chinese woman smile.

"It's just all the stares. It's starting to creep me out" Soi said suddenly glad for having fur so that the blushing didn't show on her face.

Yoruichi smiled. "Well we won't be bothered so much once we get outside the seretei walls."

Soi smiled then stopped as she blinked. "We are going outside the walls?"

"Hai" Yoruichi said. "To Kukkaku's place. She promised me that she'd help out, if there was anything we needed."

Soi blinked vaguely remembering Kukkaku Shiba from the time she served under Yoruichi Sama.

"Long dark hair?" She asked.

"Terrible temper? A wooden arm? Loving to call me your personal lapdog? The woman whit the firework fetish?"

"Oh come on Soi she's not that bad once you get to know her" Yoruichi said walking through the western gate Soi on her heels.

They walked through western Rukongai more or less undisturbed until…

"A-a-ano Yoruichi Sama, a little help please?"

Yoruichi turned to look back at Soi who had gotten some unwanted attention… from the towns children. There was a small girl clinging to her right leg, a boy tugging at her tail, and a girl sitting on her shoulders squealing, "kitty."

Yoruichi had to stifle a laugh. "All right children let the kitty be," she said jovially helping Soi Fon out.

"Arigato" Soi muttered as they continued walking.

"No problem" Yoruichi said.

After a while Soi blinked looking up at what had to be Kukkaku's house.

"You have got to be kidding me, she lives in that?"

"You know she is the leader of the Shiba clan" Yoruichi said smiling. "Try not to talk too much down to her; you will get a punch in the face for it."

Soi Fon huffed. "After what I have heard she's the only member of the Shiba main clan."

Yoruichi stopped walking and turned to Soi Fon, her face unusually strict. "Before we enter" she said looking at Soi Fon who winced at her tone, suddenly realizing that she had offended her friend. "I want you to promise me something."

"Anything Yoruichi Sama" Soi Fon said in honesty.

"Whatever you do, do not talk about her brothers."

Soi Fon nodded. Shiba Kaien's death was old news and she was sure that his younger sister was done and over whit mourning over him. Her younger brother Ganju on the other hand… while she and all the captain and lieutenant ranked shinigami fought in the living world in the war Aizen had sent some lower ranked arrancar's and hollow to the seretei, where the weaker shinigami and many brave souls from Rukongai where fighting. Shiba Ganju was one of the first one to run into battle… he never came out of it alive.

"I won't" Soi said a bit sad about what had happened.

Yoruichi smiled gently and ruffled Soi's short dark looks and walked inside, Soi following, while trying to get her hair to lie flat again. She almost fell 3 steps into the house, where there suddenly was a long staircase.

"What kind of house is this?" She grumbled.

"Kukkaku's" Yoruichi smiled. "She always likes to make a statement."

"No kidding" Soi said.

After walking down Yoruichi knocked on a door.

"Yes?" Came a bored tone making Yoruichi smile and open the slide door.

"Hi there Kukkaku how is life?"

"Boring, how else?"

Soi blinked looking in to the head of the Shiba clan. She was slouching on a bunch of pillows, a pipe in her left hand and a bottle of sake in her right… wait a minute…

"What the hell" she said not thinking about who she was talking too. "I thought you had a wooden arm."

Kukkaku frowned and Yoruichi sighed. 'Damn she had forgotten about that part.'

Kukkaku continued to frown at Soi. "This arm is a gift from the orange haired girl. She said that if she hadn't agreed to go whit the espada that took her, then the Gotei 13 wouldn't have had to send a rescue team, and all in all she herself could have prevented Ganju's death. I tried to tell her that I didn't blame her, but would she listen? No of course not."

Kukkaku stood up from her place and walked over to Soi.

"Well enough of me, I guess you are the little panther in training that Yoruichi here has talked so much about."

"You have met her before Kukkaku, no need to talk as if she's a stranger" Yoruichi said smiling at Kukkaku.

Kukkaku lifted an eyebrow at Yoruichi and then looked Soi Fon over. "Ah yes of course, it's your little lapdog."

Soi Fon growled.

"Oh feisty too" Kukkaku said smiling. "Perfect."

Yoruichi laughed and Soi just huffed.

"Soi here has started getting her survival instincts" she said to Kukkaku. "We need a place I can teach her how to hunt so she can control her urges."

"Use the back yard" Kukkaku said blowing some smoke from her pipe. "I'll come and watch just to make sure she won't kill my boars."

And whit that she left leaving Soi Fon and Yoruichi behind. Yoruichi smiled and looked at Soi before blinking, realizing that she was more or less fuming whit anger.

"Something wrong Soi Fon?"

Soi grunted then shook her head walking briskly out the door Yoruichi following, smiling as she heard parts of Soi's low muttered grumbling.

"Lap dog… damn woman… wearing haori… taicho… Gotei 13… no respect."

Yoruichi just shook her head letting Soi fume. Was probably for the best, considering what she and Kukkaku was about to put her through.