Hunted
Mistake?

Saturday Morning

Yoruichi poked her head out from under the covers, her skull pounding in the familiar way it always did after she had one too many drinks. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sensing the presence of someone else beside her, she turned her head to the side to confirm what she already knew. Regret built in the pit of her stomach when she spotted Sora, already wide awake with a hot steaming mug in one hand and a folded newspaper in the other. Her movement must have caught said person's attention as her bright green eyes focused on Yoruichi.

"Morning sleepyhead." Sora greeted her with a warm smile.

Yoruichi groaned and pulled the covers back over her head, unwilling to deal with any of this.

The Previous Night

"Stop fidgeting," Yoruichi chuckled as she stopped Sora from readjusting her outfit yet again. "You look fine." She reassured her.

"Fine? I was going for stunning." Sora pouted, Yoruichi smirked and planted a chaste kiss on Sora's cheek.

"That too, come on." Yoruichi gentle squeezed her girlfriend's hand as they entered the building together. They were greeted by a friendly looking woman, dressed in a formal outfit who they assumed worked at the building. Sora handed over their invitations, which the woman swapped for a decorative pamphlet; Sora tucked this away into her purse so they could look at it later, the woman then proceeded to direct them over to the lifts with instructions to head straight on up to 'The Balcony.'

"Ooo! Sound's fancy." Yoruichi commented once they were ushered into the available lift, taking note that the button Sora pressed was in fact labelled as 'The Balcony.'

"I hope it's going to be ok. I really don't know what to expect, I've never been to one of these things before." Sora admitted, adjusting her dress once more. Yoruichi couldn't help but snigger at her behaviour.

It was the night of the party Sora had told her about a few weeks ago now, it was to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary, which was being held at one of the very notable hotels within the city that had its own gym, spa, swimming pool, restaurants, and even rented out rooms for all kinds of events and Sora had spent ages picking out outfits, swapping them around then picking something completely different for a good few hours before Yoruichi finally convinced her to go with the silver satin gown, mainly because she liked the design of the red dragon embroidered into the left side. Yoruichi had settled on her favourite red dress, it held an elegant charm to suit all occasions.

Yoruichi glanced at Sora, pleased to know she was happy to see her again and silently congratulated herself for sticking to the plan she had formed after Sora had met her friends. Kisuke's thoughts on the matter had caused her to worry about her relationship with Sora that she re-evaluated all of their time together and had come up with a theory as to why she wasn't really connecting with her. They had been spending too much time together. This should have been a good thing but Yoruichi had been using Sora as a means to get over Soifon, along as a reason to escape the confines of her dismal home and blamed herself for not seeing it as the 'dates' they were meant to be. To counter this, she purposely put some distance between herself and Sora by not calling her constantly just because she was bored and needed a distraction or wanted to get out of the flat just because Kukaku was stuck in the office and unable to do anything with her. Yoruichi had spent the last two weeks lying to Sora about being busy with some photo shoots to avoid seeing her, they still called one another often enough but Yoruichi was relaying on the well known saying, 'distance makes the heart grow fonder' to work in her favour. Given that she felt genuinely happy to see Sora again when she picked her up earlier that day, she assumed it was working.

There was the tell tale ding as the lift had reached their destination and the doors opened to reveal a vast open room, decorated in the classic venue style, a double set of glass doors lead out to what Yoruichi assumed would be the balcony, though they were currently shut. There were enough tables to seat at least a hundred people. Each one had a white cloth draped across it, and upon closer inspection they were made out of silk with a centre piece consisting of deep red roses. There was a bar placed in the right hand side corner and there was a raised up platform with a podium placed directly in the centre, Yoruichi guessed that a band could have set up there if it was a different occasion, as it was a gentle piano piece was playing through the surround system which helped set a pleasant ambience. The sheer amount of attention to each little detail within the room itself was more than enough to leave Yoruichi feeling impressed at the amount of work that must have taken.

By the amount of people within the room, they knew they had arrived in good time; some people were already seated while others were wandering around, introducing themselves and talking to one another, all dressed in evening gowns or suits. Sora and Yoruichi were greeted by a man wearing a more traditional waiter's outfit once they stepped out of the lift.

"Name?" he asked, a clip board held in his hands.

"Sora...Sora Yosano." Sora replied which was greeted by silence as he scanned what must have been a list attached to his clip board.

"Ah yes...table 33," he pointed to a table at the side of the room. "Enjoy your evening ladies." He bowed his head to them as they set off for the table they had been directed too; no one else was currently sat at the table although there was a purse placed on one of the chairs. Not wanting to be sat at the table by themselves, they reserved their seats by placing their own bags on their chairs, Yoruichi mentally prepared herself for a lot of socialisation tonight, she defiantly got the sense this was more of a networking event instead of an actual party. Sora pointed to a group of people standing on the other side of the room, saying she thought she spotted some of her friends over there as she lead Yoruichi towards them.

"Sora!" a woman broke apart from the group and pounced on Sora, pulling her in for a hug. "It's like we haven't seen each other in ages!" the woman laughed, Yoruichi gathered this was some kind of joke since Sora laughed as well. "And you, you must be Yoruichi correct?" the bubbly woman proceeded to then pounce on Yoruichi, embracing her in a tight hug as well. She was just smaller than herself, her hair colour was a darker shade of blond when compared to Sora's and was a wearing a long turquoise dress that flowed around her body, not limiting her movements in the slightest.

"If not, you get to say you hugged a random stranger." Yoruichi commented as the woman released her from the hug.

"Well maybe if I hug enough people here, this place might liven up a bit." The woman grinned back.

"Oh yes, you'd be the star of the show for pulling that stunt on Shawn." Sora interjected.

"Trust me; I am not stupid enough to hug Shawn." The woman snorted with laughter

"Shawn?" Yoruichi quirked an eyebrow, curious as to what this person had done to receive such a reaction.

"Oh it's a code name for our boss." Sora explained

"Yeah, she's a hard ass – safer to speak in code just in case." The woman added and continued to talk only Yoruichi was no longer paying any attention; she was tuned on a different conversation taking place a few feet away from them. She had overheard something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was certain she had just heard someone say 'Balance Industries.'

"...will have another 40 years of good fortune." The male voice finished speaking.

"I'm sure it will." Another male voice declared happily.

Dam it, don't stop talking now, say more! Yoruichi almost growled out of frustration when she heard the two men start talking about something else. Her mind was working a mile a second over what she supposedly just overheard. That's if I even heard correctly, it had been a passing comment, plus why would they even be talking about Balance, this is for...Yoruichi realised she didn't actually know what company Sora worked for, for all the times she had listened to Sora go on about her work she could not recall her ever mentioned the name at all. If only we still had the invitations, I could have checked – the pamphlet!

"I swear it looked like she was going to explode." Sora laughed as did her friend, Yoruichi just smiled brightly to play along with whatever joke had been said this time round.

"Quick question, do you have that pamphlet handy?" Yoruichi asked the woman before they could start talking again, hoping that she did otherwise she would have to go all the way back to their table to recover the one from Sora's bag.

"Sorry, I threw it out as soon as it was given to me." The friend replied. Darn it! Yoruichi cursed mentally, I have to go all the way back to the table now. She was too worked up in needing to know if what she had heard was correct to stop and consider why it was so urgent to have it confirmed or why her heart was racing faster over the possible chance of seeing her again than it ever did when she thought of Sora.

"Here, take this one. I have no need for it." A passerby offered their pamphlet as they overheard the request.

"Really, thank you s-so much..." Yoruichi trailed off when she saw exactly who it was offering her the pamphlet as she turned to take it from them.

A faded spark fluttered into life in the pit of her stomach, her heart skipped a beat as soft shivers rippled through her body as her fingertips brushed against her smooth skin for the first time in what felt like years.

Oh god...It's not just a crush, Yoruichi realised as her golden eyes met shimmering silver ones.

"S-Soifon!" Sora's declaration broke the spell holding Yoruichi and Soifon's gaze and Soifon immediately let go of the pamphlet, a stern, unyielding expression settled in her eyes when her hand was no longer in contact with Yoruichi's.

"Yosano." Soifon nodded curtly to Sora, her steel grey eyes remained fixed on Yoruichi, who could only stare back at her. She was at a complete loss on how to actually handle the situation; she had so many questions she wanted to ask but to do so in front of Sora would only cause more.

"Have you two met before?" Sora asked from beside Yoruichi, finding it difficult not to notice the intensive staring competition going on between the two women.

"We've had...dealings in the past." Soifon took a moment to choose her wording carefully, her eyes still focused on Yoruichi, questioning her, seeking an answer as to how she was standing right in front of her.

Dealings...You call standing me up 'dealings?' And what do you mean past? It was last month, not 100 years ago! Yoruichi glared back at her defiantly. You threw me out of a dam building you bitch! On a sudden impulse to get back at Soifon in any way possible, Yoruichi pulled Sora closer into her body, wrapping her arm possessively around her lower back so that her hand rested on Sora's hip bone, and was pleased to see shock resonate deep within Soifon's eyes before she hardened her gaze once more.

"I didn't realise you knew my girlfriend." Yoruichi made sure to stress the last word for extra measure.

"Yosano has always been a dedicated worker." Soifon stated quietly, her eyes taking in the sight of them both as they stood joined at the hip almost.

"Coming from you that means more than you could ever know." Sora bowed her head to Soifon out of respect, grateful for the compliment.

"Oh?" Yoruichi was intrigued by the tone of reverence in Sora's voice.

"Of course, Soifon was the one who practically saved the company single handed when the board of directors had given up and were about to sell it off." Sora boasted proudly on Soifon's behalf, Soifon however, still held her impassive steel gaze.

"It's nice to know you can follow some things through then." Yoruichi quipped back to Soifon, giving Sora's hip a very noticeable squeeze. Caught off guard by this, Sora gasped which only served to bring more attention to Yoruichi's actions, who again, felt some satisfaction at seeing Soifon look away from them both.

"Yoruichi, behave." Sora muttered back, though clearly didn't mind the attention at all.

"What, I haven't seen you for a while, I've missed you." Yoruichi pulled Sora closer to her body and kissed her directly on the lips.

"It's quite alright, do excuse me." Soifon nodded goodbye to them both before moving away to mingle with another gathering of people grouped together. Yoruichi watched Soifon go, already planning out how their next little chat would go.

"Swear she doesn't know what a smile is." Yoruichi heard Sora mumble under her breath and managed to stop herself from saying Soi's smiles had a graceful charm to them. However, it didn't stop her remembering each and every one she had witnessed during her time with Soifon, and Yoruichi smiled to herself as she recalled the very rare chuckle that would accompany these smiles if the Chinese woman found something especially funny. Yoruichi gave herself a quick mental shake to get rid of such thoughts, realising that if she continued to allow such thoughts; she wouldn't be able to follow through with her plans. She really hadn't thought things would take this turn, but hearing Soifon dismiss what they had by classing it as 'the past' when combined with how she had been treated by the short woman was more than enough to make Yoruichi seek revenge. After all, nobody stands up Yoruichi Shihoin and gets away with it, she concluded.

"Did you hear me? I said do you want to meet the rest of my friends?" Sora prodded Yoruichi in her side to get her attention.

"Hmm? Oh yeah sure, sounds like fun." Yoruichi replied after tearing her eyes away from Soifon as Sora started to introduce her to somebody.

Soifon focused solely on the steady rhythm she had created in her mind and matching her breathing to it, she flexed her hand tentatively to find it was still shaking, she shook her hand in hopes of dispelling the strange tingling sensation dancing across her skin from where their hands touched. How? How is this possible? She couldn't make heads or tails of it all, barely one minute standing back in front of her and she had been bombarded by the emotions she had failed to squash out of existence, being so close to Yoruichi again that her senses were overloaded by her very presence, it was all she could do to keep breathing as she was left, immobilised by a single touch.

Soifon subconsciously traced the spot where Yoruichi's hand had touched her own, scolding herself for being so weak all this time, she had done everything in her power to keep thoughts of the dark skinned goddess out of her thoughts but Yoruichi remained just that, a beautiful goddess that haunted her constantly, and just when Soifon thought she'd finally overcome them, her dreams provided restless nights in which she relived that one night they spent together. This did nothing but infuriate her the very next day, there was nothing she hadn't been able to overcome yet her thoughts were hounded by the purple haired woman and the more she fought against them ,the stronger they became.

She glanced back and sure enough, Yoruichi was still standing where she had been, deep in conversation with someone else though her arm was still wrapped around Sora. Again, Soifon turned away from the scene, her stomach still churning from having to stand and take in the sight of Yoruichi being all over that woman. It was obvious Yoruichi had purposely done it to try and upset her and Soifon did her best to not show any signs that it had worked but when Yoruichi leaned in and kissed Sora, she wanted two things more than she ever did before that she had to look away to try and prevent the first one from taking place. That being, to push Sora away from Yoruichi and fire her on the spot to then watch security drag her out of the very room. The other, was to have Yoruichi kissing her instead so she could feel her soft lips crushing against hers again, claiming her mouth like before, to be swept away in Yoruichi's embrace that she forgot about everything but the feel of their bodies pressed against one another and nothing else.

No! I'm stronger than this; her being here is no excuse to relent. Soifon scolded herself for letting her emotions carry her away and to counter them, she brought up memories of her mother, how weak she had become and how badly she had been hurt, all the name of love. This is nothing; I won't let her effect m like this. Soifon rationalised that her feelings for Yoruichi were only as strong as they were because she was the first person she had ever been with. I can get through this, it's just one night and I don't even need to speak to her further, I can just avoid her.

In theory her plan was foolproof, it was a large gathering of people, each and every one of them seeking an audience with her and her alone, to congratulate her on all she had been able to achieve that Soifon really did think she could stay hidden from the purple haired beauty all night long. What she didn't count on was that Yoruichi had made a plan of her own to stay in plain sight of Soifon, no matter how many people she weaved through, Soifon would catch sight of Yoruichi with Sora ever by her side. It was during these time that, whether by coincidence or done purposely, the two become extra friendly towards one another in their displays of affection that Soifon would have to politely excuse herself from the current group she had been chatting with just to escape the sight of the happy couple. This merely set the game off again because when Soifon felt like she had gotten some control over the impulse to throw them out the building, she would spot them both out of the corner of her eye, her blood turned cold and it felt like someone was cutting off her air supply as the two shared a passionate kiss. Unable to take it any longer, Soifon excused herself once again, except this time, she retreated to the toilets.

Soifon splashed the cool water on her face then shook her hands dry after turning the tap off. This is a nightmare! She thought desperately as she studied her reflection carefully and was pleased to see her mask had not fallen, she still projected a stern, powerful image despite the inner turmoil raging deep within. She had never lost control like this, not for what felt like a lifetime ago now except it's exactly how Yoruichi was making her feel right now, completely out of control and that scared her. How is she doing this to me! She gripped the sink bowl tightly to prevent her hands from shaking as she pictured Yoruichi running her hands across Sora's body, the image made her stomach feel like it was being slowly ripped apart, making the pain she had done her best to ignore, grow stronger with each passing second.

Soifon forced herself to calm down by taking long deep breathes, I did it for a reason, she repeated to herself over and over again, almost turning it into a mantra as she recalled the last words she had heard from her mother.

Satisfied to see her hands no longer shaking and that her breathing had returned to normal, Soifon stood upright; her breath caught in her throat as golden eyes pieced her own via the reflection in the mirror Soifon was facing, she cursed mentally for not paying more attention to her surroundings as she watched Yoruichi move closer to her, hiding a shiver at seeing the power hidden behind those eyes. Soifon locked her body in place to suppress any visible reactions from taking place once Yoruichi stopped directly behind her, she could feel Yoruichi's sinfully soft chest press lightly into her back as Yoruichi leaned into her. All Soifon could do was blink as she watched Yoruichi pause for a moment, almost positive the Goddess had stopped to breathe in her scent before she continued the movement, lowering her head closer to Soifon till her lips were level with Soi's ear.

"Do you want me?" Soi gasped as soon as she heard those words whispered to her in such a tantalisingly, tempting, manner that she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from speech, not trusting any recognisable sounds to be made since she needed to focus all her energy into not throwing herself on the seductive woman that very instant. Soi then watched a grin form across those delicious lips, no doubt Yoruichi could tell from Soi's reaction what her answer was even if she hadn't said a word. She felt Yoruichi's hot breath melt into her skin and send shivers right through her body, down to her very toes.

"Too bad." With that, Yoruichi turned on her heel and left Soifon gripping onto the sink for support; it felt like her legs would give out any second from the need Yoruichi had planted deep within her very core. Soi was having a hard time believing all the reasons she had created to stay away from Yoruichi with that need burning through her body, without those reasons to hide behind, Soifon realised that it came down to one simple fact, that she had never been close to anyone and was scared to do so, afraid of the pain that she knew it brought along. Her fear had been too much to face so she had ran from it, and because of that choice, she now had to put up with the greater pain of seeing Yoruichi with someone else.

Soi was distracted by the sensation of something wet splashing onto the back of her hand.

A tear?

She raised her head to look at her reflection and to her surprise, saw that she was silently crying. I haven't cried since...Soifon wiped away the freshly formed tears as she recalled her mother's hand performing the same action while she spoke softly to her, 'You're stronger than me Soifon.'

Hearing her mother's voice again was like someone flicking a switch on inside Soifon's head. She was strong and she was not going to hide in the bathroom, she was going to walk out with her head held high and not give Yoruichi the satisfaction of seeing her in such a state. All I have to do is focus on one step at a time, just get through this night and I can worry about tomorrow when it comes.

As Soifon rejoined the party, someone had just finished announcing that the meal would be served shortly and she gratefully took her seat, pleased to note her table was far away from where she could see Yoruichi heading to with Sora. Her mood improved greatly as she spotted Nanao Ise heading towards her table.

"Please tell me you are sat here and are not just passing by." She commented as Nanao approached her.

"Yes, I made sure of it per your request." Nanao answered as she settled into the empty seat beside Soifon.

"Great, maybe you can provide a source of sanity." Soifon dropped her tone when she recognised members of the board occupying more of the empty seats.

"I wouldn't count on that since-"

"Nanao-chan!" a voice called out in a sing song type manner and Soifon spotted Kyoraku swaying towards the table, waving at them both without spilling a drop of is drink. His shirt already half un-tucked from his trousers with the top buttons undone so he no longer felt choked by the collar.

"Since Shunsui has been drinking." Nanao responded quietly.

"Then he can provide the entertainment." Soifon smirked back and nodded to Shunsui Kyoraku as he flopped into the chair beside Nanao, who quickly slapped away his hand after he tried to snake it across her shoulders.

"You're too mean Nanao-chan." Shunsui whined back at her though didn't make a second attempt at contact with her.

"That is not your normal reaction to his drinking." Nanao continued her conversation with Soifon like nothing had happened.

"I haven't exactly had a normal evening." Soifon told her, keeping her tone down so as the others seated at their table wouldn't overheard them.

"Ahhh Yoruichi-san can have that effect." Shunsui commented knowingly to himself.

"You know her?" Soifon blurted out incredulously.

"We used to hang around back in the day." Shunsui's eyes glazed over with memories, "We certainly got into a lot of trouble back then." He chuckled to himself.

"That's an understatement if ever there was one." Nanao muttered as she took a sip from her drink.

"What can you tell me about her?" Soifon asked, glancing between the two for answers.

"She's laid-back, impulsive, eccentric, playful, a flirt..." Nanao paused for a breath and Soifon was wondering how long this list was going to be. "Intelligent, witty, calm, mature, responsible, noble and very, very loyal to those lucky enough to be classed as friends." Nanao concluded, adjusting her glasses to hide a knowing look between herself and Shunsui.

"That's quite a list." Soifon mumbled as she looked across the room to where Yoruichi was sat next to Sora, and as if Yoruichi knew someone was staring at her, turned round and their eyes met for the briefest of moments before Soifon turned away, a slight tinge colouring her cheeks at having been caught staring at her.

"Yeah, she is something special alright." Shunsui added and took a sip from his glass after leaning back in his chair.

"Oh?" Soifon looked at him, she was sure he was implying something.

"I think anyone would have been lucky to have her." He explained simply.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She was certain he meant something by that comment, her mind trying to work out if he knew about her interest towards women, she had only told one person, that being Isane and well, Yoruichi by a technicality. He did say they knew one another, maybe she said something to him. Soifon studied Shunsui's appearance carefully to try and see if he was hiding anything beneath his laid-back attitude, she was also starting to wonder on a side note, just how many other of her employees Yoruichi knew.

"Nothing, nothing...it was just a statement of sorts." Shunsui smiled disarmingly back at her, leaving Soifon to wonder if she was being paranoid and imagining the double meaning of if he really was referring to her.

Soifon was unable to continue her conversation with Shunsui and Nanao as the rest of their table guests got impatient at being ignored and she had to indulge them in a debate on company politics throughout the meal, except she did excuse herself once they tried to talk about the possible directions for the company to advance in.

"Gentlemen please; tonight's a night of celebration. We can discuss the finer points of work during office hours." She told them as she stood up to leave in order to get a break from the current conversation, there was a limit on how much she could listen to the board of directors talk about the finer points of cutting office costs.

"Of course, to the company!" Shunsui chimed in, raising his glass merrily, to which the rest of the table followed suit, calling out 'To the company!' This set off a Mexican wave till the entire room shared in the impromptu toast. After which, Soifon continued her duty of seeking out the more important people on the guest list to perform the required socialising and make sure they didn't feel left out of the loop. It was made easier since most of them were seeking her out as well to swap their latest life antics with her, something about that fact made her suddenly thankful for her glass of wine.

"Sorry to bother you with this right now," Soifon heard from behind her as someone tapped her shoulder, she turned to see Sora looking back at her apologetically, Yoruichi stood ever by her side. "I just remembered that you never gave the official send off for that lawsuit and if we want to beat them to the punch, I kinda need to know as soon as possible."

"Of course, I trust you to take care of that for me." Soifon forced herself to smile back at her.

"Oh don't worry, she will." Yoruichi said as she pulled Sora closer to her body. Soifon smiled back at her, doing her best to relax her hands, she was certain her knuckles would be turning white from clenching her fists so much. Not wanting to give Yoruichi further chances to slip in any more double edged sayings she turned and left. Or tried to, for just when she started to walk away, her path was blocked by one of the board members, Marenoshin Omaeda, wearing his usual amount of gold jewellery to show off his wealth. On a usual day, talking to this man was tiresome and difficult enough in itself without Yoruichi making goo-goo eyes at Sora.

From the corner of her eye she catches Sora reach round behind Yoruichi and from Yoruichi's wide eyed expression which promptly changed into sly/flirtatious wink back at Sora, she had grabbed Yoruichi from behind and squeezed. Not really sure why but seeing Sora initiate something instead of it being Yoruichi was making it very impossible to keep her stoic expression in place as emotions raged on inside of her, threatening to overflow at any second at seeing Sora with Yoruichi.

She heard the sound of glass shatter close by. Sora let out a girlish squeak and retreated away from Soifon, who noted that a few heads had turned in their direction, curious as to what had happened herself, and why it felt like her right hand was wet and stinging at the same time. She glanced down at her hand as Marenoshin and Yoruichi asked if she was alright.

Her hand had been pieced and cut by shards of glass and blood was starting to ooze out of the wounds. Soi's jealously that had been building all night had been released in the form of her gripping her wine glass so hard that it shattered, the glass cutting her skin easily and her close proximity to Sora meant its contents had sprayed half way down her dress, said woman was currently in the process of trying to pat herself dry as the stain seeped further through the material.

"It's fine." Soifon quickly reassured the few people close by who had gathered to observe the event and she ignored the growing pain in her hand while Sora was making a fuss over her ruined outfit. It didn't look like Yoruichi was paying her girlfriend any attention since her concern filled eyes were focused solely on Soifon.

"You should get that looked at." Yoruichi told her, Soifon noticed that Yoruichi had stopped herself from advancing towards her after casting a quick look at Sora that most people would have missed.

"It's fine, there is a first aid kit by the balcony – I shall use that." She really wanted to get away from the area and gathering crowd as fast as possible before she did something else she would end up regretting so she moved away and made straight for the first aid kit while attendants flooded the scene to clean up the broken glass.

Yoruichi stood leaning in the doorway that separated the balcony from the inside of the crowded room watching Soifon curse under her breath as she struggled to wrap the bandage around her hand. She had taken the first aid kit outside with her and now stood by the wall looking out across the city landscape, with her back facing the doorway, Yoruichi assumed that she was unaware of her presence. She had wanted to get back at Soifon yes, but after seeing her get hurt, she had needed to check up on Soi since she refused anyone's help. The fact that her own plan had back fired on her too only added to mixture of confused feelings she was trying to work through. She had tried her best to get Soifon jealous but all her interactions with Sora that night just made her realise she wasn't attracted to her. Her heart raced faster at the sight of Soifon more than it ever did when she was kissing Sora.

"Would you like some help?" Yoruichi tried asking, it was the only way she could think of starting a possible conversation between them both.

"I'm perfectly capable by myself." Soifon retaliated without turning to look at her. Yoruichi rolled her eyes at hearing this, you stubborn thing you. It was clear Soi was having difficulty trying to use her left hand to apply the bandage since she was naturally right handed. Yoruichi heard Soi mutter another curse and decided asking again would get her nowhere, so she approached the shorter woman anyway.

"Here, let me." Yoruichi takes Soi's injured hand in her own and gently begins to wrap the bandage more effectively. "You know, having someone around isn't a bad thing." Soifon just looked away from Yoruichi at hearing her say that. Yoruichi didn't say anything else after that and focused instead, on securing the bandage properly so that it wouldn't fall loose.

"Where is she?" Soifon asked after awhile, Yoruichi assumed a scowl was fixed firmly across her face even though Soi was still looking away from her.

"She went to change her outfit, she lives close by." Yoruichi told her after a slight pause.

"Shouldn't you have gone with her?"

"I-I wanted to check you were ok." Yoruichi admitted more to herself as well since Sora had badgered her to go home with her. Soifon looked back at Yoruichi after hearing that and saw Yoruichi was still holding her injured hand in her own even though she had finished applying the bandage, her thumb moving gently across her knuckles in a soothing manner.

"Soi..." Yoruichi murmured softly, she had meant to say sorry to her, she was certain Soifon breaking the glass was caused by her behaviour but as she inched closer to Soifon, Yoruichi became acutely aware of butterflies taking off in her stomach and words failed her as her eyes landed on Soi's parted lips and memories of their last kiss flooded her mind. The urge to have those lips pressed against her own again was overwhelming that their faces were inches apart, she wanted to see that same need resonating deep within Soifon as well. Her golden eyes gazed deeply into Soi's own and saw her hesitation and the panic in her eyes at Yoruichi being that close to her again. Yoruichi sighed inwardly and pulled back, as much as she wanted to kiss her again, she didn't want to steal it; she wanted Soifon to want it as well.

"Sorry..." Yoruichi muttered quietly now that she was certain Soifon really didn't want to be with her. Soifon grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and pulled her back into the kiss, her lips clamping down on Yoruichi's possessively. Yoruichi felt Soifon's tongue along her lips begging for entry and she complied, moaning into the kiss as Soi's tongue stroked and caressed her own. It felt like she was going to melt away into that very kiss any second. Just when she was starting to think they could stay that way forever, she felt Soifon pull away from her, effectively ending their kiss.

"Wow..." Yoruichi breathed breathlessly, echoing her exact thoughts and the word she had mumbled after their very first kiss only this time, with no music to drown out her voice, Soifon heard her say it.

"Glad you think so too," Soifon whispered back with a smile. Yoruichi smiled weakly back at her, the effects of the kiss were already starting to fade ad reality was pushing it's big ugly head to the forefront of her mind, confusing her heart with blatant facts, determined to ruin this moment for her. Soifon stood her up. Soifon blocked any contact. Soifon brushed her off in no less than 6 words, and Soifon was not her girlfriend.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Huh?" Soifon's own smile faltered at hearing this.

"This, us, the kiss...what are you doing?" Yoruichi repeated more forcefully, she wanted an answer to all this mess. Soifon however, did not give her one. "Why did you stand me up?" Yoruichi pressed further

"It's-it's complicated." Soifon mumbled, not able to meet Yoruichi in eye

"Complicated? If you were busy you should've called me."

"I don't know how to say it." Soi's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Just explain it to me." Yoruichi tried once more, frustrated that Soifon was just avoiding the issue at hand.

"It's not that simple."

"Then I'll tell you what is. I'm going." Without looking back her once, Yoruichi turned on her heel and stormed back inside the room, leaving Soifon alone on the balcony.

I don't believe her! Why didn't she just tell me! It's not like I didn't give her the chance...I gave her lots of chances for that matter and not just tonight either. She moved with a purpose through the crowds of people towards her table where she would sit and wait for Sora to arrive.

"She can't blame me for not trying, I gave her as many chances as Sora has given me," she grumbled to herself after she sat down. Yoruichi's eyes widened in shock as these words sunk into her own mind. Oh god Sora...she's given me so many chances and I've just strung her along...No, no! I'm not that person anymore, I can fix this, I'm not going to let Soifon mess this up for me! She dug through her bag and pulled out her phone, luckily it didn't take long for Sora to answer once she called her.

"Hey, I was just about to head out the door." Sora explained.

"Don't bother; I was going to get a taxi back to yours." Yoruichi told her as she stood up from the table, ready to leave.

"Really?" There was surprise in Sora's tone this time.

"Sure, I've reached my limit for this place." Yoruichi explained, her eyes darting back to the balcony where she could see Soifon through the glass doors.

"Great, I'll leave the door unlocked." Sora squealed excitedly and hung up before another word could be exchanged.

Saturday Morning

"Morning sleepyhead." Sora greeted her with a warm smile.

Yoruichi groaned and pulled the covers back over her head, unwilling to deal with any of this.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to finally get this posted but it was a lot of work and I didn't want to rush through it, I'm still not completely happy in conveying Soi's jealously enough but I did what I could and overall, I'm really proud of this chapter.
I think most of you got that I was going to have Soifon make an appearance at the party and that she is Sora's boss so I hope my plan to shake things up with that twist opening/ending threw you guys off again :P
Erm think the only thing left to say is, I hope you enjoy it & a huge thank you for all the reviews!