Yoruichi was headed on a business trip to the US to give a presentation on her company's newly improved hotel app and market findings. Unfortunately, Aizen was going to be there— which was a double whammy because she didn't like him and he reminded her of a certain blonde-haired idiot who intruded her thoughts more than he should.

He hadn't contacted her since and it shouldn't have struck a nerve in her, but it did. And while her new promotion was a decent distraction, it didn't feel exciting. It just made her feel tired. It was her duty; just another step to get to where she was born and raised to do.

As she browsed the news on the plane, she had to scroll past headlines like: 'Shihōin heiress romance with new beau short-lived? When will she find the one?'

Ugh. She was both thankful and not thankful that her love life was apparently interesting enough to the public that the media was okay with her father switching out the scandal with news of their breakup.

To her relief, her presentation went well despite her getting sidetracked numerous times. She received a huge round of applause and congratulations on her promotion. She spotted Aizen amongst those in the meeting and fought back the urge to scowl.

Of course, he came up to her afterward. "That was an excellent presentation," Aizen said. "Well-deserved promotion."

Her eyes narrowed and she gave him a curt nod, turning to leave, but he continued on. "I'm glad you accepted my business deal. I'm sure we'll be successful business partners." He reached his hand out to shake hers.

She ignored it. "Not sure I can say the same." Not like I had much choice.

If her response bothered him, he didn't show it. He took his hand back. "It's too bad about you and Kisuke. I thought you two might've worked out."

"Didn't realize you cared about my love life so much," she replied without missing a beat.

"Kisuke and I may have had our disagreements, but we still worked together for some time. I still care about his well-being."

She scoffed. "That's why you nearly had him expelled?"

"He was being foolish. Dare I say, a coward."

"Or maybe you were the coward, hiding behind your father's influence."

That had to have irked him, but his face remained composed as ever. "Do you think you know all there is about Kisuke?" Aizen retorted.

"Huh?"

"Do you have time tonight? I'll tell you at the restaurant part of your hotel chain."

"You think I would want to have dinner with you?"

"I'm not as bad as you think. I could've exposed Kisuke, but I didn't. Though, I can't say the same for your father." He gave her a knowing look.

"How do you—"

"I'll answer all your questions then."

She shouldn't care. Not anymore. But even if it wasn't about Kisuke, how did Aizen know about her father's involvement? That was the excuse she gave herself when she decided to meet him that evening.

Her eyes bored into the man sitting across from her. The more she looked at him, the greasier she thought he looked. It was probably the excessive amount of hair gel.

"So, what did you really want to talk about? I doubt you just wanted to talk about Kisuke."

Aizen smiled. "You catch on fast and I wouldn't expect less. Besides Kisuke, which I'll get to later, let's talk about the Gotei 13. A powerful organization, isn't it? One that your family is closely associated with."

"Yes, and?" She wished he would get to the point. She had a tendency to filter out the ramblings of men.

"Yet, they let one of their most powerful partners, the Shiba family, take most of the fall in the scandal a few years back."

She bit her lip. "The case was huge at the time. Once those secrets spread, it was tough for them to recover— pretty much impossible once Kaien passed."

"Do you think it makes sense that the Gotei 13 with all its connections couldn't do anything about it?" he asked.

"What are you implying?"

"Either someone in the Gotei 13 wanted them to take the fall or the Gotei 13 has become weak. Clearly, even families like yours aren't safe. So why work with them?"

Was he right? Was it possibly planned? But why?

She clenched her glass tightly. "The partnership between the Shihōins and the Gotei 13 was established decades ago."

"That's something you were trained to say. Tell me what you really think."

That surprised her. And the truth was, she wasn't sure. Probably corruption; partners to cover each other's messes.

"Other than that… incident, they haven't shown any reason for us to break our partnership," she said. "Plus, Central 46 exists to keep them in check."

"Ah yes, Central 46. A council full of senile men, all way past the age of retirement."

That, she kind of had to agree with.

"They're still some of the wisest men in Japan and take on only the toughest cases."

"Yet they haven't been able to arrest any big figures other than the man from the Gotei 13 a few years ago. The case was a dead end with no leads. Do you know how they caught the criminal?"

"Using some kind of tech?"

"Yes. A facial recognition tech made and given to them by none other than Urahara Kisuke."

Oh. She felt a headache coming or maybe an urge to throw up. Or both. She wasn't sure. All she could think was 'Please tell me he didn't know' over and over in her head.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Aizen said. "Since that led to the eventual downfall of the Shiba family, I found it quite amusing when I saw the news about you two."

"...But he told me it wasn't ready for use."

"It was practically perfect. He was being a coward."

"No, he was being careful," she hissed. "And… there's no way he knew."

"Your trust in him is admirable, albeit naive. How long have you known him?"

"Long enough." I think.

"Well, I've told you nothing but the truth. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask him yourself."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"There needs to be change," was all he said.

If she stayed there any longer she might really puke. Though the thought of her puking on him was so amusing she almost stayed.

"I'm leaving," she said.

Aizen smiled. "Already? I hope we can talk again soon."

It was only once she was back in her hotel room, that she realized she forgot to ask him why he knew about her father's involvement.

CRACK! Kisuke sighed. Great, that's the third beaker he's dropped this week.

His lab members cast curious glances in his direction, wondering what was going on with him. He gave them an apologetic smile and went to clean up the broken glass. Conducting experiments normally helped to keep his mind off things but clearly, it wasn't working lately.

Yoruichi hadn't contacted him since, nor had he contacted her. He thought of over a dozen scenarios where he told her about his involvement but ultimately decided against it. He figured he could spare her the pain if they weren't going to talk again anyway.

That's the pathetic excuse he gave himself.

As he was rewatching one his favourite shows and drinking some crappy wine, someone rang his doorbell, which confused him because he wasn't expecting anyone. He looked out his window.

Someone was standing there, dressed in all black; a hood partly covering their face. He squinted and thought he saw a tuft of purple hair sticking out of the hood. Yoruichi. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was an assassin on a hit mission.

Was it really her? Maybe he was finally going crazy from the sleep deprivation. The doorbell rang again and he braced himself before he opened it.

"Kisuke," she greeted him.

Even if it wasn't for the sliver of purple hair and golden eyes, her voice had a distinct, rich tone to it. God, he missed her.

"Yoruichi. What's with…" He gestured at her outfit.

"A makeshift disguise," she explained. "It would be weird if we were caught together after we 'broke up.'" Then she gave him a once over, shaking her head. "You look terrible, by the way."

She was blunt, but he liked that about her. He offered her a small smile and moved aside to let her walk past him. Plus she wasn't wrong. He had dark circles underneath his eyes. Which was his own fault, really.

She took off her hood, shaking out her hair. He could see her face properly now. She looks tired.

"You love showing up uninvited, don't you?" he murmured. "What if I wasn't home?"

"Took my chances. Figured you'd probably be home since you don't do anything other than your research." She looked towards his TV where Star Trek was playing and rolled her eyes. "And I was right. Nerd," she added.

"Ouch. I'll have you know Kirk is offended." He swore he saw a hint of a smile on her lips but it vanished in the next second.

"I'm here because someone told me something which makes sense and doesn't at the same time, and I need answers," she said. Her tone was calm but there was a slight edge to it.

He swallowed. There's no way she knows.

"Okay, what is it?" he asked, trying his best to keep his tone even.

"Did you know? About your tech and how they used it…"

She knows. Did Mei tell her? No… probably Aizen.

"Answer me, Kisuke," she said hoarsely, her eyes boring into him as he stood there speechless.

He sucked in his breath. "I promise I didn't know until Mei told me. Uh, my ex."

"I know, I met her outside your office."

"Ah."

"So she told you then? Or at the gala?" She grabbed onto his shirt. "Because if it was at the gala and you let me—"

"No," he interrupted her, gently grabbing her wrists. "She told me when she stopped by my office right before you came, saying you wanted to end our ruse."

A series of emotions flashed through her face. Confusion, surprise, then realization. "So it's true then?"

"What exactly did they say about me?"

"That you gave Central 46 your tech and they used it to catch the man in the Gotei 13 scandal. That's it."

He nodded. "Yes, that's true. I was planning on telling you but since we were going to end it, I just… I'm sorry."

Her eyebrows furrowed and a shaky exhale escaped her lips. He expected her to scream at him, maybe throw something at him. Instead, she said in a resigned tone, "It's not your fault, you know."

And that might have been enough for her to convince him, but he couldn't convince himself. "Even if I didn't directly cause his death, I had a part in ruining his family."

"No," she said weakly.

"I'm so sorry."

"That's all you know what to say. What exactly are you sorry for?"

You know.

"You were never going to tell me, were you?" she asked quietly.

No.

She laughed bitterly. "Say something! Why? Do you think I'm some expensive, porcelain vase? That I just stand there looking pretty? That I'm fragile and I'd shatter if you told me?"

He shook his head. "Of course not, you're one of the strongest women I know."

"Then what?" A pause. Realization. Her next words came out softer. "...You were scared I was going to hate you for it?"

He stared at her wide-eyed. She read him like a book.

"Bingo," she breathed. "You really thought that I would hate you for that? That I would think it was your fault for being a smartass and making some revolutionary tech that caught some asshole criminal? If that was your fault, then it was also mine because I agreed to run away with him that day and I agonized over that forever but you told me it wasn't my fault." She took a deep breath. "Like it isn't yours."

Then she turned away from him. "But what I do hate, is that you were never going to tell me and I had to hear from Aizen, out of all people. Because yes, maybe I haven't known you for long but I trusted you… and you just broke that trust."

"You should hate me. Even if you don't right now, you'll resent me in the back of your mind even if you don't mean to."

"You are a stubborn idiot."

"...And you deserve better than this stubborn idiot."

Coward. He was a coward.

"You're right, I do," she spat, moving to the front door.

He felt a sharp pang at the words but made no motion to stop her. "You should stay away from him. Aizen."

She didn't answer him, just walked out the door without another word or glance.

A few days later, he got a call from an unknown number and a part of him hoped it was her when he picked up, but it was Mei.

"I saw the news that you two broke up. I guess you told her?" Mei said.

"I didn't end up telling her." He sighed. "And I don't think you did, so that leaves Aizen. Plus she wanted to end it before she found out. Said it was about time."

"Yeah, I didn't." She paused. "I thought I was going to be your most painful breakup but I guess she beat me."

"Did you call just to make fun of me, or was there another reason?" he asked half-jokingly.

She scoffed. "It's about Aizen's obsession with the Gotei 13 and Central 46. He has some kind of plan and it involves her."

"What? What do you know?"

"I overheard that he wants her to gain approval ratings and influence. Something like that..."

"Anything else?"

"That's all I know."

He swore under his breath. "Thanks for telling me."

"Yeah. Also, I broke things off with him."

"Oh. I'm glad. Tell me you're using a burner phone—"

"Of course I am, I'm smarter than that… and I won't be contacting you again so take care. Thanks for everything, Kisuke."

"Good." He was genuinely happy for her. "Take care Mei."

Kisuke felt sick. Partly because he thinks he might've caught the flu and mostly because he saw news articles with headlines like:

'Has Shihōin Yoruichi already moved on? She was spotted on numerous occasions with rising AI entrepreneur Aizen Sosuke.'

What was she doing? He knew she talked to Aizen since that's how she found out. What did he tell her?

He should probably talk to her but she probably deleted his number or blocked him.

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Kisuke: told you to stay away from him

Yoruichi: none of your business

Kisuke: :(

Kisuke: when you talked with him did he say anything weird?

Yoruichi: wdym?

Kisuke: like about the gotei 13 or central 46

Yoruichi: yea he gives off some serious evil mastermind vibes

Kisuke: can we talk?

Yoruichi: we already r…

Kisuke: in-person

Yoruichi: no

Kisuke: pleaseee (He added the pleading face emoji for good measure.)

Yoruichi: istg I'm about to block you

Kisuke: wait no pls (Two pleading face emojis.)

She really did block him. He couldn't send anymore messages to her.

She unblocked him 10 minutes later.

Yoruichi: where?

Kisuke: do you happen to have a secret house somewhere?

Yoruichi: hahaha no

It was already risky of her to drop by his place after their 'break up' and he didn't trust himself to sneak past any hidden paparazzi to meet her at her apartment.

Isshin's place it is. He owed him, after all.

Kisuke: how about my friend's house? the one that knows about us

Yoruichi: works for me

Yoruichi: send me the address, I'll come a little after 5

"You know," Isshin said, "for someone who hates being in the public eye, you're sure in the news a lot."

Kisuke let out a dry chuckle. "At least I got a warning this time."

"You really just let her go like that?"

"Kaien was someone she knew since she was a kid, Isshin. Not to mention, her best friend is his sister."

"You should've hugged her and told her that you loved her, idiot. That always works. I know that from experience," Isshin said, jabbing proudly at himself.

Kisuke's lips twitched slightly. "You know I don't have the right."

Isshin gave him an annoyed look. "God, you're annoying. You won't mind if I hit on her when she comes then?" he teased.

Kisuke gave him the dirtiest look he could muster.

"What?" Isshin said. "She's hot." A pause. "But no one can compare to Masaki of course~"

Kisuke scowled and opened his mouth to retort when the doorbell rang. Speaking of the devil.

Yoruichi was dressed in all black again but this time she had a mask on as well.

"I see you've spiced up your disguise," Kisuke commented.

"Facial recognition tech, remember? He could be spying on us, for all I know."

"I think you might be the genius here," he teased.

Just then, Isshin came running to the door. "Pleasure to meet you, beautiful!" He winked. "Name's Kurosaki Isshin but you can call me Isshin. Or tonig—"

Kisuke quickly placed a hand over his mouth and pulled him aside. He sighed and gave Yoruichi an apologetic smile. "Please excuse him."

Yoruichi bit back a snort. "Nice to finally meet you Isshin," she said slowly. Then she looked in Kisuke's direction. "So you wanted to talk about greasy man?" she asked.

Kisuke blinked. "Greasy…?"

"Aizen."

His lips formed an 'o' shape and he snorted. Loudly. "That is… an interesting nickname. Sit down. I'll pour you some tea."

"Yes, have some food too!" Isshin said. "Stay as long as you want. What can I get you? Crackers? Biscuits?"

Yoruichi stood still as if contemplating. "Uh sure, crackers are good." Then she sat down, arms crossed.

Kisuke returned with a pot of tea and sat down across from her, looking unsure of what to say.

"Stop gawking at me and say what's on your mind," she grumbled.

"What's with the scandalous headlines I'm seeing?" he joked.

"You out of all people should know that they tend to be a load of crap."

He nodded knowingly. "Just wanted to make sure. Aizen is… not the greatest guy and as your fake-ex lover I still care about your well-being," he teased.

"You are infuriating, you know."

"Isn't he?" Isshin called out from the other room.

Yoruichi grinned. "Glad someone agrees. Anyways, I saw him a whopping total of… two times recently? Once on my business trip and the other time to talk about our marketing strategy. It wasn't even only us the second time," she huffed. "They just cropped out the other people."

Relief washed over his face. "Ah."

"Like I said, none of your business anyway."

"Maybe not, but my ex told me he's up to something, and somehow, it involves you."

She sighed. "Makes sense, though I'm not entirely sure how I come in. Essentially he blabbed on about how terrible he thought the Gotei 13 and Central 46 were but what bothers me is that I don't think everything he said was unbelievable."

Kisuke nodded. "It's what I feared then. He mentioned something similar back then… and you're right, it's not pure nonsense but if it's the same plan he talked about back then, he is indeed a madman."

"What does he want to do?"

"Well for one, he wants to replace Central 46 with artificial intelligence."

"What?"

"Rational decisions that aren't made by humans." Kisuke sighed. "Makes sense on paper but wouldn't be practical in reality. Even if AI was that good, we can't entirely replace humans with AI."

"No we can't," she agreed.

"And how you come in… well I think he wants to take a position in the Gotei 13 so he can get to Central 46 as well. So he wants you by his side to help him gain approval from the public and influence from other families. That's what I pieced together."

"Christ," she muttered. "We need to stop him."

"Mhm, I'll help you as best as I can. I have a score to settle with him too."

She nodded. "Honestly, I'm not sure I can trust you entirely anymore," she said quietly. "But there are a lot of things about him that don't sit right with me."

Understandable. Though the words still hurt.

"Right," he said.

"Do you have any leads?"

"When I looked into him, I found something strange about his funding. Aizen is brilliant, I have to admit. But what baffles me is how much funding he raised. It's an astounding amount in such a short period of time."

"Okay, I'll look into that. And another thing. Gin works for him. Rangiku's husband. Do you think I should ask about…?"

Kisuke pondered for a moment. "I don't think so but I don't know him. It's risky anyway."

"I don't know him well either. Maybe I'll ask Rangiku, if anything."

"Alright. Can you give me your phone? I'll install a software that will prevent Aizen from tracking our conversations. If you want."

She handed him her phone and he brought out his laptop to install the software.

"Do you know what Aizen's type is? Maybe I can seduce him and find out some stuff."

"Yoruichi," he said sternly, almost a growl.

"What?" she said innocently. "Oh right, he's with Mei isn't he?"

"Actually, she told me she broke things off with him."

"Oh, maybe I can play the seduction card then. He seems to appreciate my charm."

He stiffened and stayed silent.

"Aw come on Yoruichi, I don't think any man could resist your charm. Myself included!" Isshin bellowed as he walked in with a plate of crackers and set it down on the table.

"Oh? Take notes, that's how you talk to a woman." Yoruichi grinned. "Thanks for the snack." She took one of the crackers and took a bite out of it.

Kisuke scratched his cheek and looked away, pretending to be busy with downloading the software. "I'm done," he said moments later, handing her phone back to her. "You need to be careful around him, he's a dangerous man."

"Hmph, I can take care of myself."

"I know, still."

"I will." She checked the time on her phone and stood up.

"You're leaving already?" Kisuke asked.

"What, you missed me that badly?"

"You… don't want me to answer that."

"Maybe I do."

Isshin looked back and forth between the two of them with a scowl on his face. "Get a room you two, and not in my house please."

"Isshin-san, kindly, go away," Kisuke said.

"But this is my house," Isshin whined. He left them alone anyways. "Not in my house, got it?" he yelled from the second floor. "Kids live here!"

"The only kid I can see here is you," Kisuke grumbled. (None of Isshin's kids were home.)

Yoruichi laughed. "I'm curious about how you two became close but I really need to go. I promised Yuushiro I would go to his soccer game and I'm already running late."

He grinned. "I'll tell you another time."

She nodded and started to walk off. She was almost at the car when he caught up to her.

"Wait!" He caught his breath. "Last time you asked me what I was sorry for."

She looked surprised. "Yeah?"

He swallowed. "I'm sorry for giving Central 46 my tech because I did it out of spite and not because I was genuinely hoping for them to use it for good. And I'm sorry for only thinking about myself. I was scared of being hurt so I was being a coward… and I ended up hurting you. I never wanted to hurt you."

Because I am terribly in love with you.

"Don't be sorry for giving away the tech," she said softly. "Sure, you did it out of spite… but not just that. Don't you remember what you said before? 'Love makes us do things we'd never think of doing.' I don't blame you for that and Kaien wouldn't have either. I know it."

"How are you always right?" he murmured.

She smirked. "Because I'm me."

It shouldn't have made sense, but it did to him.

"And as for the other thing you're sorry for… I forgive you for that." She smiled. "But I swear to god, if you keep something big like that from me again, this partnership is over."

"Deal." He grinned, feeling like a huge weight was lifted off his chest.

A/N: I decided to spoil y'all and make it not end on an angsty cliffhanger. Hope I didn't make the plot too too confusing.

Also in this story, Isshin is not in any way related to Kaien or Kuukaku. (I may or may not have forgotten about that relation until I wrote like three chapters).