Hunted
When Dreaming Ends
With Yoruichi's help Soifon was able to get dressed and make it across to the lodge in time for them to still go on the husky tour and spend the beginning of Christmas day watching the Northern Lights dance across the sky. Derrick was there along with a new female friend of his and the two couples got to talking briefly before they were lead over to their sleigh rides for the night. They were told about the history of Husky dogs within the tribes to their use in modern day, they got to officially meet their dog team along with some photo opportunities until they were wrapped up in the sleigh and the tour officially started. They got the opportunity to take a more thrilling adventurous route compared to the family safe route which Yoruichi was all for doing, Soifon still completely worn out if truth were told, didn't mind what happened so long as it didn't involve her moving too much. The guide got excited at one point when the night sky became clearer and he informed them it would mean a better chance at seeing the aurora which in turn excited Yoruichi.
"Did you hear that Soi!" Yoruichi squeaked ecstatically beside her as they raced over the snowy landscape. Soifon nodded and smiled at the fact that Yoruichi was so happy and that happiness doubled tenfold when they saw the beginning of the northern lights form across the sky.
"It's beautiful." Yoruichi stared up at the sky in awe and once their sleigh had come to halt she was out of it in mere seconds, the aurora lights shining brightly in her eyes. Soifon clambered out of the sleigh with less grace than Yoruichi had managed and was soon at her side taking in the majestic beauty of the event as well though she kept glancing down at her watch checking the time now and then.
"You're beautiful, Merry Christmas Yoruichi." Soifon took Yoruichi's hand in hers rather boldly with butterflies in her stomach and the tinge of colour in her cheeks gave away how nervous she actually felt dong such a thing in front of the other people enjoying the tour. It was Soi's turn to be shocked that day for when Yoruichi turned to look at her and there were real genuine unshed tears shimmering in her golden eyes.
"Thank you. Thank you for the best Christmas I have ever had in years." Yoruichi managed to tell Soifon before breaking eye contact, bowing her head to hide her face from view and wiped the occasion tear away now and then with her free hand. The only thing Soifon wanted to do after mentally recovering from the sight was to wrap her arms around Yoruichi and envelop her goddess in the longest hug she had ever given. Even now that their holiday was officially over and they were both in the plane taking them back home Soifon kept recalling the image of them stood like that in the snowy clearing.
"Kisuke says they will pick us up when we arrive." Yoruichi flicked through what Soifon assumed was an email app on her phone before bundling it away into her coat pocket.
"Mmm ok. I can get a driver to pick us up if it's an issue." Soifon gazed sleepily out of the airplane window across the night time sky, her thoughts lingered on the things they had done in Sweden.
"Kisuke said something but Kukaku wanting to do it." Soifon crossed her arms across her chest and slowly nodded at this news. Yoruichi stretched out her stiff limbs to settle back into a comfortable position, "You okay?" Yoruichi probed gently when she noticed how transfixed Soifon had become by the window though assumed Soi was tired like herself.
"I can already feel the pressure of my old self taking over." Soifon gave voice to her inner thoughts; Soi's stomach tightened and her entire body locked in position at the realisation of how open she had just been. Yoruichi in turn gave Soifon her full and undivided attention at having been given a glimpse at what thoughts Soifon usually kept under lock and key. Upon examining the shorter woman beside her Yoruichi could also tell that Soifon had not intended to reveal what she had done for her eyes were wide and darting around the plane as if Soi expected something to come crashing down upon her at any second. Yoruichi also knew that her reaction to this information could be detrimental to Soifon if it was not the right one. If I act like it is nothing will she think I'm letting her have her own space or that I'm uncaring? If I hug her will she feel smothered or safe? Yoruichi also knew she could not waste too much time in over thinking what to do either so she reached out her hand to Soifon and placed it on Soi's upper arm reassuringly.
"I can help you find a balance if you desire it so." Soifon made no visible reaction to Yoruichi's statement or touch and instead focused her vision back on the view the small window plane offered to her.
"And what is it that I desire which requires a balance to be found?" Soifon spoke a little more harshly than she had intended for it was the frustration of her own confusion coming through and not because of Yoruichi's actions. With a sigh Yoruichi withdrew her hand from Soifon unable to answer the question without knowing more about Soifon though she did know that trying to push for that now would end in disaster.
"At a guess I'd say try experimenting, find out what you like." Yoruichi shrugged since she really had no idea on what to advise with no further insights from Soifon. The movement of Yoruichi folding her arms defensively across her chest caught Soi's attention that it only just occurred to Soifon that Yoruichi would have interpreted her abruptness earlier as an attack against her and not because of Soi's own aggravation. Yoruichi sat with her eyes closed when she felt the familiar warmth of Soi's hand take hold of her own hand.
"I like you." Soifon stated without stammering this time round and hoped that would be enough to reassure Yoruichi that she had not done anything wrong.
"And I l-like you." Yoruichi was the one to stammer over the words this time round except her reason was because the phrase no longer contained the powerful emotions that Soifon invoked within her. She really wasn't just a crush… Yoruichi thought upon recognising what lay at the core of her feelings.
"I've been alone for a long time now. I have not had someone wanting to be there for me so I am not used to letting someone try." Soifon's grip tightened on Yoruichi's hand as it felt like she was revealing far too much for her own safety. "It scares me, you scare me." Her survival instinct was screaming at Soifon to stop talking yet that little voice said she owed Yoruichi a little bit more since she had managed to share her past with Soifon. "Letting you get this far goes against everything I have to do to stay where I am today so yes I struggle with this…us." Soifon forced herself to relax and finally listen to the part of her that wanted to seek the comfort that silence brought.
"There is no rush Soifon, one step at a time." Yoruichi leaned into Soifon reassuringly while her mind raced over the few bits of information that had been revealed. Soifon has been alone and because of her isolation she has difficultly processing her emotions and the final piece which made Yoruichi's heart feel like it was shinning brighter than the stars in the sky was that Soifon was willing to try and accept her into her life. "One step at a time," Yoruichi squeezed Soi's hand once more and closed her eyes when Soi rested her head against Yoruichi.
"I can't take steps when I'm on a plane." Soifon retaliated playfully.
"Yes you can. You can walk up and down the aisle." Yoruichi didn't miss a beat in responding to Soi's comment. Soifon gently shook her head in disagreement to Yoruichi's sense of humour despite a smile breaking out across her face.
"They are waiting for us out in the car park." Yoruichi told Soifon as they made their through the airport following the exit signs once they had departed from the plane.
"You should have said they didn't need to pick us up, it would have been no problem at all to have someone drop my car off for us." Soifon lead the way through the last set of doors leading to the car park having regained her usual air of authority at being back in a familiar place.
"I did but Kukaku insisted." Yoruichi read through the previous texts once more to try and find out where her friends had parked in the car park.
"YOU!" Kukaku's loud voice boomed from across the road and startled both Yoruichi and Soifon into looking up to see said woman stomping towards them menacingly. "What the hell d'you think you're playing at!" Kukaku grabbed Soifon by the collar of her coat and shook it vigorously, Soi tried to back away from the angry woman but Kukaku's grip remained firm.
"What are you talking about?" Soifon was utterly perplexed as to why Kukaku was so angry with her.
"K don't do anything stupid." Yoruichi tried to intervene but Kisuke had snuck up on her and chose that moment to pull Yoruichi into a hug and wish her a late Merry Christmas.
"Don't play dumb with me! What gave you the right to take her out of the country without coming to me first!" Kukaku roughly pointed towards Yoruichi who was still stuck in Kisuke's hug. "I ought to knock your bloody head off for putting me through all of this." Kukaku pulled Soifon towards her; Soi braced herself for however Kukaku was going unleash her fury so she felt even more surprised to find Kukaku had pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, "Kukaku whispered so that only Soifon could hear what she said. "Every message I got from her was how happy she was." Kukaku stepped away from Soifon as swiftly as she had pulled her towards her. "And don't do anything like that again without coming to me!" Kukaku raised her voice again. Unsure of what to say Soifon smirked at Kukaku who winked back at her in return.
"K give her a break alright. She told Kisuke." Yoruichi pried herself out of Kisuke's arms and stood by Soi's side ready to prevent Kukaku from hurting Soifon if need be.
"She's lucky I'm still feeling the Christmas spirit." Kukaku huffed and pulled Yoruichi into a hug.
"Merry Christmas to you too Soifon!" Kisuke threw himself at Soifon, his arms outstretched to envelope her into one of his hugs as well except Soifon swiftly ducked under his open arms and he collided into Kukaku and Yoruichi instead.
"Merry Christmas Kisuke." Soifon stated while maintaining her usual businesslike manner.
"Don't think you're off the hook either." Kukaku shoved Yoruichi away and ending the group hug. "Honestly allowing yourself to swept away to Sweden by the first woman to ask you."
"I messaged you." Yoruichi defended though she could tell Kukaku was playing with her now.
"Oh yeah you messaged me after you left the country. I bet you didn't even get me a souvenir." Kukaku pouted. Yoruichi grinned and pulled out a silver key ring in the shape of the horse that Soifon had bought Yoruichi at the market.
"I never forget." Yoruichi dropped the key ring in Kukaku's open palm and she immediately stopped her mock sulking to examine the gift. "Am I forgiven?"
"Come on its Christmas." Kisuke chimed in with his head resting on Kukaku's shoulder and smiled up at her.
"For now yes this will do." Kukaku pocketed the key ring and turned on Soifon once more with her hand outstretched almost as if she expected a gift from her too. "Hand over her passport, it's not safe in her hands and if you have it who knows where you'll take her to next." Soifon blinked then with a smirk took Yoruichi's passport out of her coat pocket and handed it to Kukaku without making eye contact.
"How long do you plan on holding this against me?" Soifon shoved her hands into her pockets as the group started to make their way across the road and through the car park. Yoruichi hooked her arm through Soi's, earning a raised eyebrow from the smaller woman though no verbal protest was made and Yoruichi walked quite happily beside Soifon while Kukaku and Kisuke lead the way to the car.
"Until you pull another stupid stunt without telling me about it." Kukaku called back.
"I'll try to not keep you waiting then." Soifon quipped back, "You can drop me off at my office." Soifon mentioned now that they had reached the car.
"You're not going to stay with us?" Yoruichi couldn't hide the disappointment she felt at the idea of Soifon leaving straight away.
"This is the first time I have ever left my work without prior notice. I need to make certain they haven't burnt down the building or worse." Soifon explained while they got inside the car with Kukaku driving, Kisuke in the passenger seat so that Yoruichi and Soifon could sit together in back seats.
"You can always come back to my place once you are done." Kisuke pointed out.
"I imagine I'll have quite a bit of work to do but thanks for the offer." Soifon could sense that Yoruichi was trying to think of some sort of excuse to make her stay when she felt Yoruichi's grip tighten on her arm. "Yoruichi I want to go to work." I've taken a lot of steps and now I need to rest, she added on silently.
"Don't push yourself too hard." Yoruichi relented and went on to ask about how the others had spent their Christmas and if they had gotten her any presents. Kukaku mentioned that she went to see family since she didn't have to babysit Yoruichi while Kisuke talked about hooking up with some friends of his and a project they were working on together.
"Here we are Balance Industries. It looks like the place is still standing." Kukaku announced their arrival when they entered the car park. Soifon scanned the building carefully and only agreed upon confirming that everything looked exactly how it should be and got out of the car.
"Hey, you want me to call you or you call me?" Yoruichi scrambled out of the car after Soifon.
"Oh err either one will do." Soifon turned to face Yoruichi and mentally scolded herself for allowing work to take over her mind completely when she realised that Yoruichi was expecting a goodbye befitting of the intimate level they had reached when separated from the pressures of their daily lives.
"Don't worry about those guys," Yoruichi teased reassuringly at following Soi's gaze to the car where Kisuke and Kukaku waited. Knowing that over thinking these things never proved useful to her Soifon rose onto her tiptoes and planted a swift kiss upon Yoruichi's lips to an outburst of wolf whistles from within the car. "Now you have to come back to Kisuke's to get revenge for them doing that." Yoruichi joked.
"Another time perhaps." Soifon shook her head to dispel the familiar heat in her cheeks, "I'll catch you later Yoruichi." Soifon finalised their departure and strode across the car park towards her building.
"You guys are the worst." Yoruichi complained once she had gotten back inside the car.
"Please you totally got plenty of action in Sweden." Kukaku revved the car engine and spun out of the car park.
"You jealous?" Yoruichi flashed her usual cat like grin at Kukaku who scoffed back at her in return. "I'm just saying it might be what you need to loosen up a bit more and relax."
"Been there done that, its old news sister." Kukaku dismissed the idea of finding a partner too easily for Yoruichi to let this topic slide by.
"Oh? So what did youget up to this Christmas hmm?" Yoruichi leaned forwards so that she was level with Kukaku and Kisuke in the front of the car and noticed how Kisuke was doing his best to appear invisible.
"Oh tell me you guys did not -" Yoruichi started
"It's no big deal alright!" Kukaku snapped back, irritated that Yoruichi had managed to work out something had happened in such a short amount of time.
"You two always hook up at some point yet you refuse to make it official." Yoruichi face palmed at the thought of her two friends denying themselves the potential to be happy together.
"She's just too -" Kisuke tried to pin down the word he was looking for.
"And he's just too -" Kukaku also failed to find the right word for what she wanted to say.
"It just wouldn't work." Both Kisuke and Kukaku blurted out at the same time and upon realising the fact they had spoke in unison turned away from each other.
"You two are – urgh let me know when you guys come to your senses." Yoruichi dismissed them with a wave of her hand then flopped backwards onto the car seat since they had always been like this and until something changed nothing she said to argue their case would work. It's something they have to work out for themselves. Yoruichi's thoughts then turned to Soifon and the issues she had hinted at and would have to work out for herself as well. "Why do we have to complicate things?" Yoruichi mused out loud, not really expecting either of her friends to answer.
"Humans are complex beings…I guess its part of our nature." Kisuke looked back at her with a sympatric smile.
"I hope she knows I meant it when I said I'd be there to help her." Yoruichi thought back to her conversation with Soifon on the plane and her chest ached at how badly she wanted to take all of Soi's pain and confusion away.
"Was everything okay on your trip?" Kisuke probed out of concern when Yoruichi sprawled out across the back seat with a hand clutched at her jacket over her heart.
"More than okay, it was – I think - I think I'm in love with her." Yoruichi admitted softly, a little scared that saying it out loud would make it all the more real. The car tires screeched to an abrupt halt and the force nearly threw Yoruichi off the backseat. "What the hell K!"
"What have I told you about falling in love with people who whisk you away to a foreign country for Christmas?" Kukaku started to whack Yoruichi with the only arm that could reach her from the driver's seat.
"Not to do it," Yoruichi laughed and tried to grab hold of Kukaku's arm. "Kisuke are you going to help or not."
"I wouldn't know which one of you to help."Kisuke shrugged while Kukaku continued her playful onslaught until Yoruichi scrambled out of her reach.
Upon reaching the floor that her office belonged to Soifon moved through the corridor with ease and was pleased to see the usual response of her workers diving behind stacks of paper work or jumping back to their computers. It's good to know I can be absent without them forgetting who I am, Soifon smirked and nodded once to Nanao when her assistant approached her and handed her a file as if the trip had been a completely normal thing for Soifon to do.
"How has everything been while I was away?" Soifon accepted the file and continued through to her office without breaking stride and Nanao walked beside her.
"Profits remained steady and planning permission for the new office down south went through without a hitch. The file contains detailed reports on some of the larger matters that developed while you were away and the solutions that were put into place."
"Our response to this merger?" Soifon asked flicking through the first couple of pages.
"That has been put to the board members though naturally they deferred the meeting till your thoughts could be shared on the matter."
"Good. Cancel it and tell them no." Soifon closed the file and dropped it onto her desk and strode over to the window and stared across the familiar city landscape. "This company shall remain independent till I say otherwise, there will be no merger."
"Of course. Anything else?" Nanao retrieved a note that fell out of the file when Soifon dropped it onto the desk and placed it beside the file.
"That will be all for now." Soifon thanked Nanao who made sure to shut the doors to the office behind her when she left like always so that Soifon was left undisturbed.
With a deep sigh of relief Soifon sank into her office chair, yes being away had done her some good but this place belonged to her and only that gave her the feeling that she belonged. A mental picture of Yoruichi holding her flashed across Soi's mind and after putting up some resistant to the idea Soifon reluctantly relentedand added Yoruichi's name to the list, rationalising her decision by saying that if they are in a relationship then Yoruichi technically belonged to her and that's why Yoruichi could make her feel safe. I don't think that's how it works but it's a step. Soi's vision landed on the file in front of her and made to reach for it when she spotted the piece of paper next to it. All thoughts of examining the contents of the file vanished when the piece of paper held a telephone number and a note which had been scrawled down in a hurry either that or the owner suffered from a poor education.
Making the choice to call the number happened instantly it was waiting for someone to answer that cast doubts in Soifon's mind.
"Hello?" A male voice asked gruffly before Soifon could second guess herself for too long.
"A-am I right in understanding that you can provide information to those who need it?" Any hesitation Soifon felt was put to one side when he had answered the phone call.
"Aye it is. What can we do for you?" The man tried to sound polite but it really had no effect.
"I need information." Soifon's hold on the piece of paper tightened along with her resolve to follow through with any leads this service could give her.