and now to continue with the story...

The cold weather which had settled in the previous day did not disappear and left a mist over the edge of the town - nearest to the mountain. It did not help to ease the feeling of dread settling itself in the pit of Kisuke's stomach either. He had gone to the hospital not long afterwards to fetch the dark skinned woman, berating her for not locking her doors and for being irresponsible, Yoruichi on the other hand did not enjoy the lecture much, as was to be expected. Her attitude had been awful from the get go; only giving a half hearted wave as a greeting when he entered through the wide glass doors of the hospital building.

"Oh shut up Kisuke…you're annoying, I'm fine alright? Just stop telling me what I should do."

Unohana stood in her surgery clothing, only having left a patient a few moments earlier to see the golden eyed beauty off.

"Thank you for coming to fetch her, it seems Shiba-san was a bit late this morning."

Kisuke laughed at this, imagining Kuukaku still sleeping and cursing when she awoke to realize that she had missed an appointment.

"I'm sure there is a good reason behind it all, she normally would be the first one to arrive in such situations."

With a small bow, Retsu excused herself and disappeared into the long hallway leading to the two identical elevators.

Yoruichi as defiant as ever reached for her luggage, but was cut off by Kisuke and only snorted when he lifted the bags from the chair on which it lay. There was a flicker of concern in his eyes and he knew that even though his efforts were mainly in vain, he could not help but feel betrayed for not being the one who was notified first.

"I only found out about all of this now! Seriously!"

"You were out after all weren't you?"

Sighing he opened the passenger door for her, offering his hand to use as support for her to enter and sit down. The gesture being ignored only spurred his anger; he would have to find the attackers and their motives fast, this was surely no incident and if they were not careful, it would be too late to do anything about it. He wanted to know why the sudden burst of interest was taken in the heir of the Shihoin resort…shaking his head slowly he unlocked the driver's side of the green sedan, dismissing it as paranoia on his part. Aizen would not take such measures...or would he?

Kuukaku yawned loudly, stretching her legs underneath the warmth of blankets; Soi was sleeping on her stomach, open mouthed and with a smile on her face. Leaning onto her side the Shiba woman brushed away a few stray strands of hair which threatened to enter Soi's mouth. A hand darted out to reach for her, taking a hold of her hip and patting it lightly before slackening and drooping over her side limply as one would do with a small child.

"Am I a baby now? Psh"

Leaning forward with a grin firmly planted across her face, she kissed the smaller woman's forehead and sat up to stretch the slightly stiff muscles of her shoulders and back. The rain which had pelted down last night had now made way for small rays of sun which colored the drifting clouds in an almost peach hue; it was a promise for a beautiful day. The previous night had also been quite eventful, Soi taking the lead in the bedroom was not an everyday occurrence, though she had to admit, it was a good change, a welcoming tide to their dynamic which had grown to quite a satisfying ordeal of sorts. She did not wish for it to end, least of all now, with all the drama surrounding a particularly finicky golden eyed woman. Come to think of it…I promised her something didn't I? Snapping out of her drowsy state Kuukaku eyed the led screen of her alarm clock, eyes widening at the realization of forgotten time…and the request which had been bestowed upon her the previous day in the hospital before leaving that small hall in which a seemingly weak impression of her high school friend sat. She had promised to pick her up and take her home as soon as she was released…at eleven am and four hours later she had only awakened to see the light of day.

"Oh shit! Shit…I needed to fetch Yoruichi…shit a' nobody gone a' called me either! Fuck!"

Stumbling from the entanglement of sheets and a mumbling Soi she dialed reception in hopes that the princess had not exploded and taken the whole town with her.

"Shihoin Resort, Arisawa Tatsuki speaking, how may I help you?"

"Ah hey kid, did that bastard Yoruichi arrive yet?"

Tatsuki blinked a few times, staring at the entrance where a very angry Uruhara Kisuke carried an assortment of bags behind her employer, who looked more refreshed than she had seen her in quite some time, there were slight bags under her eyes, but she seemed cheerful and her pace of walking more pronounced than her normal fast paced slinking.

"Morning Tatsuki"

Smiling she greeted the woman, waving an apologetic hand as her defense for not being able to speak; once she deemed it safe to speak she turned her attention back to the spiky haired woman on the other side of the phone line, keeping an eye on her manager's disappearing back down the hallway.

"Uruhara-san fetched her it seems."

Groaning, Kuuakaku ran a hand through her hair, relieved that Unohana took the incentive and called on Kisuke. Though the dark skinned woman would surely not forget such an insult, she though with a cocky grin; it was going to be more than just an uphill battle…they would have to talk it out sometime or the other. Soi was stirring in her sleep, turning onto her back while one arm slid from her stomach to limply dangle off the edge of the bed. Just wait Yoruichi, just be patient…I'm sure there's a way to settle this.

"Thanks…I'll stop by when she's settled in."