A/N: Heeey guys! WELL here is the next chapter, pretty far in advance; this is taking the place of the typical Saturday update, because I figured you guys would rather have the chapter a day early than a week late. I assure you, this chapter is not as pointless, or as short as the last one; I really hope everyone enjoys it, and I promise I'll do my best not to die while evangelizing down in Mexico. Although, if I do die I have travel insurance. If that's any consolation to anyone. Which I doubt.

But I digress. Regardless, drop a review if you have the time, your feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you for sticking with me all this time!

Curiosity About the Cat

Soi Fon was nestled comfortably in her bed, sprawled atop her blankets in full dress, her shoes kicked off to the side. She heard the soft jingle of Mao's collar, his weight bowing the edge of the mattress as he jumped up, nestling against her ribs. She ignored him, her mind enveloped in her own thoughts.

Ggio was strange, hard to figure out. He'd been very odd around her lately, not that his awkward, crude humor had gone away, or that he'd changed any of his mannerisms, but it felt different… almost like he was really paying attention to her. That feeling might have been aided by the fact that on more than one occasion, she'd found his eyes on her. When he noticed that she had seen him staring, his thoughtful, almost brooding face would break into a somewhat sheepish grin and he'd look away, but it didn't change the fact that he'd been looking, after all. What for?

And of course, he was being oddly lazy; she would have thought that once they had gotten Yoruichi back he would be chomping at the bit to get back to the museum and take the jewels, but he hadn't mentioned it even once. When she brought it up he had brushed it off and changed subjects- but not before making uneasy eye-contact with Tesla.

She sighed and rolled over onto her side, scrunching her eyes shut as rich afternoon sunlight hit her full in the face from a gap between the curtains. So much for her nap, now she was blind. She sat up, blinking furiously to try and rid herself of the brilliant neon-teal and pink splotches that had burned themselves into her corneas. Her movement upset Mao, who jumped off the bed with a sharp mewl and barreled away toward Ggio's room. In an instant Soi Fon realized that Ggio's bedroom door was probably open at this time of day, and if Mao got out into the hall he would almost certainly be found by Tesla.

She jumped of her bed and pelted after the wayward kitten despite her semi-blindness, sliding into Ggio's room on her socks in time to see the tip of the gray tabby's tail disappear beyond the door. She rounded the corner, hissing useless commands as she did so.

"Mao!" she whispered fiercely, desperately trying to catch him, "Mao, get your furry ass over here! Do you want to get us both thrown out?!"

Of course there was no point to asking the cat that question. Not only did he not understand her, but even if he had he would have ignored her in typical feline fashion; Soi Fon had noticed that Mao, Ggio, and Yoruichi seemed to share the same attitude.

The cat turned and looked at her from the very top step, pausing for a second and blinking at her with his amber eyes. Soi Fon silently willed him to stay where he was, but to no avail; as she reached forward to grab him he dashed between her legs and back toward Ggio's room, bumping into the woman's legs as he went. She flailed wildly and realized that she was already hopelessly overbalancing. It was too late to catch herself, so she sucked in a breath as she began to fall.

There were multiple, rapid impacts as Soi Fon tumbled down the stairs, and then a weightless, endless feeling as she seemed to drift, eyes closed before the final, consciousness-shattering impact.

…..

Ggio hummed quietly to himself in Tesla's office, thumbing through the month's paperwork without any real drive as he stood before the desk. The blonde was in the kitchen getting ready for the night, but Ggio had something to talk to him about… not that the black haired man could remember any more. It might have been about the night's work as a bouncer and… oh yeah, the familiar-looking creep who had been lurking around lately. Ggio put the papers down, scratching his head as he tried to remember where he had seen the man. He rarely forgot a face, and something in the pit of his stomach told him there was something off about the person.

Suddenly, from the front room there came a rapid series of muffled thuds, followed up by a larger bang; in the blink of an eye Ggio's hand whipped behind his back to grasp his gun, pulling it free of his waistband where he had been keeping it as of late due to his increasing paranoia, and held it close to his hip as he slowly opened the office door. Expecting God-knew-what, he was more shocked than anything when he saw Soi Fon lying in a motionless heap at the foot of the stairs, her body stretched at a strange angle and her braids trailing behind her like streamers of pitch.

All previous caution forgotten, Ggio rushed out of the room, hastily shoving his gun back in place. What had happened? Had someone gotten into the bar and done something to her? Was she hurt? What would he do if she was? Who knew? He sure as hell didn't but he was acting on instinct, his body driving him to be at her side. His rationale took over as he drew near to her prone form, his eyes flicking to the top of the stairs; there was no movement whatsoever, and Menoly was out of the house with Yoruichi for the time being. So how….?

Ggio crouched near Soi Fon's head and touched his hand to her throat. She was still breathing, still warm, but… unconscious. What the hell was he supposed to do about that?

"Hey," he called, cradling her head in his lap while patting the woman's cheek awkwardly in an attempt to wake her up, "Hey, bee, rise and shine. Come on,"

When she still didn't stir he grew a great deal more concerned.

"Tesla!" he called loudly, causing the blonde to fully exit the kitchen where he had been, most apparently, loading a 9mm just in case; it seemed he was just as on edge as Ggio, but had reacted to the desperation in his friend's voice all the same.

"What is it?" the one-eyed man asked, crossing the room and tucking the small gun back into its concealed holster, "Is she alright?"

"She fucking better be," Ggio cried, sounding on the borderline of panic.

"Alright, alright, calm down… she's still alive, and I don't see any blood… do you think she fell down the stairs?" the blonde wondered, looking up the double flight of hardwood steps.

"That… would actually explain a lot," the shorter of the two men replied, sounding slightly calmer, "Except why she fell in the first place."

"Maybe she was sleepy? Or she could have just slipped I suppose," the barmaster reasoned, "She is in her socks after all, and the wood is slippery."

"Maybe…" Ggio didn't seem convinced, but he dropped the issue, "But anyways, I don't think she has a concussion or anything. I guess I'll take her back to her bed…?"

"Mm…" Tesla ran his hand through his hair nervously, looking almost as anxious and lost as Ggio, "I'm not sure what else we could do for her… I mean, if she knocked herself out I suppose we have to wait for her to wake up on her own. I remember reading somewhere that you're not supposed to wake people up if they've been knocked unconscious by a head injury."

"And if… she doesn't… wake up on her own?" Ggio said this slowly, apprehensively, willing the worst not to happen.

"We'll call an ambulance," Tesla said seriously, "But we'll give her until tomorrow morning to come around. Until then, just stay with her in case she wakes up disoriented."

With that, Tesla walked away, leaving Ggio to carry the slender, deadweight woman up the stairs on his own.

…..

Ggio had a long time to think after that, just sitting at Soi Fon's bedside like he was. Worry throbbed constantly like whitenoise in the back of his mind, scrambling his thoughts, but he tried to push it away, eventually giving up the pursuit. The one time he had to get his thoughts in order, he couldn't do it, but what else was he going to do to pass the time? And that guy who had been around the bar recently… that thin thread of thought stirred his anxiety, causing a slight tightening in his chest. Why? Where had he seen that man before? He didn't know, he couldn't remember….

He heaved a sigh and considered going downstairs for a drink when night began to fall, but thought better of it. Soi Fon obviously had an issue with his love of alcohol… not like her opinion would get him to stop completely, but the last thing she was going to need when she woke up was to have her room smelling like beer. Instead, Ggio turned to stare out the window at the rapidly darkening sky, streaks of dusky gold shooting through deepening purple, stars glittering through the clouds like a handful of diamond dust had been thrown into the air. It was beautiful, and not entirely lost on him, but he gazed mostly without seeing. It was only something to look at.

Ggio turned his attention back to the woman on the bed; he had pulled the blankets over her a while ago, because her fingers had been cold when he had reached for her hand. Her pale, slender fingers contrasted sharply with his darker, rougher digits against the cream colored sheets. Her dark braids were coiled beside her, and her cheeks were slightly flushed in her doll-like repose. She was beautiful, not entirely lost on him, and he gazed with an almost painful longing. She was only something to look at. Off limits, untouchable, not to be his. He felt that he had pushed his luck by keeping her by his side when he had been sick, but he hadn't been able to help it. He wanted her to stay.

Just as he felt like he might be crushed by the wave of combined anxiety, desire, confusion, and helplessness, when he felt that maybe he'd go for that drink after all and consequences be damned if only for that small pleasure, Soi Fon woke up.

…

Tesla stood behind the bar, his mixer placed on the wooden surface beside him as he watched the milling about of his customers in the taproom. Many were talking, exchanging stories and jokes amongst themselves, so there wasn't much for him to do; not many people have placed special orders, preferring for a safer, bottled drink with a familiar flavor in most cases. Tesla felt rather useless, just standing there and collecting pay, but he supposed it was better than being overworked.

For a while he had caught his gaze wandering to a lone man sitting in the back corner, seeming to talk to himself over his drink. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and an even darker demeanor that was very familiar, but very vague. He couldn't pinpoint it, but the man made him uneasy. Even as he was pondering this, he heard a slight jingling coming from the doorway of the kitchen. He looked up, and his single brown eye locked on a silver tabby with a red collar standing in the doorway; there was cat in his kitchen. A cat in his kitchen. Why?

"What in the…" Tesla muttered, stepping after the animal as it raised its tail and sauntered deeper into the room like it owned the place.

For some reason the animal reminded him a great deal of Ggio.

….

"Mm?" the dark haired woman wondered sleepily, looking disconcerted as she blinked her silvered eyes open, "What… why am I?"

"Soi Fon!" Ggio cried suddenly, his hand tightening around hers momentarily. She turned to look at him, startled.

"Huh?"

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, looking all at once completely lost, very worried, and mildly dazed.

"Obviously," the woman replied, blinking apprehensively, "Why?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?" he cried, holding up his hand and ignoring her question.

"Three, now why the hell are you asking me questions?" Soi Fon growled, beginning to get irritated. Her head was pounding with each beat of her heart, and she really didn't want to have to think.

"I'm not sure, that's what people do in movies when they're checking for concussions," Ggio replied miserably, letting go of her hand and leaning back in his chair, not taking his eyes off her, "But um, how do you feel? Like you have an aneurism or head trauma or anything?"

"I feel fine. My head hurts and I'm pretty sure I bruised my shoulder, but other than that I'm okay. Why are you looking at me like I'm on my deathbed?" Soi Fon blinked in surprise as Ggio leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees to look at her more closely.

"I was… worried," he said slowly, "Or scared…. Whichever you prefer."

"Scared? Over what?"

"I thought you were really hurt!" he cried, pushing upright once more as if he was restless, avoiding her gaze, "What was I supposed to think, with you lying at the bottom of the stairs like that…"

There was a pause when she didn't answer, and slowly, he turned to look her in the eye, nervously, like admitting that he had been concerned for her welfare was something shameful. She was simply staring at him, looking mildly surprised and slightly mollified.

"Well… I appreciate that," Soi Fon replied, a little bit stiffly. Her face was blank but her mind and heart were in turmoil. What did he mean he was scared when he thought she was hurt? And he had stayed by her side when she had been unconscious; he seemed to have figured out on his own that she had fallen down the stairs, but that was the least of her problems. Had he stayed with her out of a sense of obligation as thanks to her for staying with him when he had been sick? Or had he been genuinely worried?

"Um," Ggio cleared his throat, looking uneasy, and straightened the cuff of the long sleeve white shirt he was wearing, gaining his feet after a moment, "If you're okay, then I guess I'll just… go down and help Tesla?"

He turned to leave, shoulders tense as he did so, like he was nervous or upset for some reason. Soi Fon grabbed his wrist and pulled back, intending only to keep him where he was, and ask him why he had stayed, why he had bothered worrying, and to clear her own mind. She didn't want to go downstairs, but she didn't want to be alone either. However, as even the best laid plans of mice and men go astray, so did the quickly cobbled intentions of the dark haired woman; rather than simply halting Ggio in his tracks, she caught him off balance as he turned, and instead pulled him a great deal farther than she intended. He flailed for a moment before he overbalanced and had to catch himself on the side of the bed.

He breathed out slowly, the crisis of his impending doom by tripping passed, and slowly raised his eyes to check where he had landed, his ochre gaze traveling slowly from the cream colored sheets that were on the bed, up the tight black sweater Soi Fon had on and settled on her silvered-brown eyes. She was very close, their noses almost touching, the position he had fallen in leaving little room for either of them to move. She flushed, but didn't look embarrassed… and Ggio threw caution to the wind.

Fuck it, he thought fiercely, She's not just something I'm going to look at. If I get rejected, so be it, but I'll be damned if I don't take a chance on her.

He leaned forward further, hesitated for a second to view her reaction, and when she didn't move he closed the space between the, his lips brushing against hers. One of his hands slid over hers as he shifted into a more comfortable position while the other found its way into her short black hair, reveling in the feeling of its feathery touch.

Soi Fon didn't fight him, didn't push him away, didn't pull back and tell him to leave, but instead pressed back against him, kissing him with more passion than he had originally gone forward with; he could feel the warmth of her body, the thrum of blood in her veins, her breath as it quickened. She pulled away for a moment to look at him, looking slightly dazed before he broke the eye contact again and kissed the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks flushed worse than before, causing him to smirk a bit.

"Hey," he murmured, "Soi Fon, I-"

The door to the room banged open like a whirlwind, accompanied by an irritated shout of, "If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times Ggio, we can't keep pets-!"

The cry cut off quickly as Soi Fon pushed Ggio off her, the black haired man complying easily as he jumped off the bed guiltily, glancing at Tesla. The blonde man held Mao in his arms so that the cat's back legs dangled into empty space, the kitten didn't look upset at all; rather, the fact that there was tuna in his whiskers told Ggio that Tesla's soft spot for animals had won out and ended with him feeding the cat rather than throwing him out. However, the look on Tesla's face was absolutely shocked as his good eye darted between the other two in the room. He began to blush, his expression changing to one of extreme embarrassment as he began to backpedal, almost tripping over himself.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't- that is to say- I'm just going to, um…" the bartender stammered, beginning to close the door. Ggio's gaze flicked to Soi Fon, who looked positively mortified, deciding it would probably be best if he left the room. He grabbed the edge of the door before it closed.

"S'all right Tes," he replied smoothly, but without emotion, his eyes going back to her for a moment. He couldn't tell if she was angry, upset, or simply unsure of what she had just done, but he pulled the door back open anyways. He'd give her some time to think, not like he had a choice; staying now would be insensitive in a way, "It sounds busy downstairs, I'll go down and help out. And about that cat, you can just leave him in my room for now, we'll talk about it after."

"Um, y-yeah," Tesla stuttered, allowing himself to be ushered from the room by his shorter friend. Half way down the stairs Ggio turned and looked back at Soi Fon's bedroom door.

Had his decision been right or wrong? A good move or a reckless action? The look on her face hadn't said anything either way, but for some reason he thought that maybe she had felt pressured by him. Tesla returned to his side then, still looking startled, but not quite so shocked anymore.

"You lied," Tesla said, without accusation in his voice, "When you said it sounded busy; you know it's not crowded tonight."

"Mm," Ggio replied vaguely, "I'm a liar by nature."

"I don't think that's true," the blonde answered quietly, "I think you're a lot more honest than you think you are. A better man that you think you are."

"Thanks Tes," Ggio smirked, looking tired, "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm a massive idiot."

Tesla said nothing to that, only looking down at his friend before heaving a sigh.