Author's Note: Thank you to all of you lovely reviewers! This chapter is dedicated to you.

綺麗Beauty: Chapter 2

If asked to choose a word to describe his long time best friend, Kisuke would fail miserably. There were far too many words he felt were only nearly suitable to describe her smile, her laugh, or the face she'd sometimes make when they would be sitting together in silence watching the sunset. He would touch her in an entirely innocent way--because he couldn't help himself sometimes--and she would turn to him, her eyes bright with the orange of the setting sun, and with some soft emotion seldom seen in the Shihouin princess, right before teasingly accusing him of having dirty thoughts (which was usually untrue during those moments).

Yoruichi was…complicated and in all his years, he'd never met a more stubborn woman. Fortunately, they usually saw things eye to eye; otherwise the two would have wound up arguing much more often. Kisuke hated when they didn't get along because Yoruichi was the queen of giving the cold shoulder; though she was quick to put any hard feelings behind them once they made up.

She was seemingly afraid of nothing. He'd been with her on more occasions than he cared to remember where she ran into a fight outnumbered and unarmed, a devil may care smile on her face. He'd asked her about it one time out of curiosity and she'd blinked in surprise at the question before shrugging her shoulders and saying "I don't believe that I can lose, that's why I don't" she'd paused before smiling at him in a way that made him hold his breath "That and I have you with me." Kisuke found he rather liked the sound of that.

The only time he could remember Yoruichi being scared was right after their arrival in the living world. He'd been so caught up in his feelings of guilt that he'd come close to slipping into a deep depression. As his best friend, she'd picked up on it, though she said nothing to him. He was able to sense her fear for him though and it acted like a slap in the face. Urahara was able to pull himself out of the funk, at least enough that his aura didn't pollute hers. If Yoruichi took issue with the newly adapted dandified look that came along with the 'no longer depressed, banned from Soul Society Kisuke', she made no comment other than "nice hat".

He was lucky, he knew, to have a friend so extraordinary. She'd saved him from self doubt, from his own brilliance on more than one occasion, and from the cruelty of those that despised and envied him. She brushed it all off as nothing, or as what any other friend would do for another friend but he, of course, knew better.

She was beautiful both outside and in. Through all the many, many years of his friendship, she was relentlessly pursued by suitors that were eager to be close to royalty, or just be near her intoxicating beauty and talent. He'd teased her about it their third year one afternoon as they chatted in the busy courtyard between classes and she'd frowned at him. 'Don't you think I would get rid of them if I could?' she'd groused.

Inspired by gods only know what, Kisuke had wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply and possessively; Yoruichi didn't stop him, but she hadn't really reacted either. After a long moment he'd let her go, taking a step back so he wouldn't be tempted to taste her again. He'd forced a smile and said, "Maybe that will help," his breathing labored, his cheeks flushed. In that moment while kissing the shapely heiress, he'd come to the rather startling realization that he liked her as more than a friend, and had liked her from the moment he'd met her.

His best friend had merely stared at him, stunned, her left hand touching her lips a brief moment. "Maybe," she'd responded absently, her expression inscrutable, her voice breathy.

He was right, though whether it was due to their very public kiss in the courtyard, or because he all of a sudden found himself nearly glowering at the men who dared talk to Yoruichi was anyone's guess. Not that Yoruichi ever noticed; she seemed to think his genius status intimidated any of the would be seekers of her affection who assumed the two best friends were actually a couple since they spent so time together. She never mentioned his kissing her in the courtyard and studiously avoided making physical contact with him for three weeks following the incident and so he'd therefore assumed it was a lost cause to pursue anything further.

Their second kiss didn't take place until over a year later, after their graduation from the Shinigami Academy. The two were sparring, trying to realize Benihime's bankai when it happened. Yoruichi had gained the advantage and she was backing him into a corner without even drawing her zanpaktou when he'd felt a surge of rage. Yoruichi must have sensed the sudden shift in his aura because she'd hesitated a brief second, her eyes meeting his right before he'd lost consciousness. Kisuke would swear later that he heard the voice of Benihime in his head right before the world went red.

The next thing he remembered, he was standing with his chest heaving, his sword back in shikai form, his kimono stained with blood. A few feet before him lay Yoruichi, two pieces of her broken sword on the ground beside her, nearly motionless and bleeding profusely from a gaping hole in her chest. He'd cried out in dawning realization as he'd raced to her, discarding his sword on the way.

As he'd kneeled before her, he could see that her right arm was badly broken, her hair matted with blood, and her clothes torn. She'd been freezing cold to the touch and he hastily fashioned a tourniquet out of his own clothing, repeating, 'it's going to be okay' over and over.

She'd opened her eyes with some difficulty and looked right at him as he held her, sending a Hell butterfly to get Unohana. Yoruichi had smiled faintly as she'd said his name. 'You did it Kisuke. You…reached bankai.'

He'd stared at her in stunned silence, just barely quenching the urge to shake her and call her an idiot for even caring about that when her life was on the line.

She'd laughed then, and he knew that she was all too aware of what he was thinking. "It's not your fault," she'd assured him, wincing as he repositioned her so he could keep better pressure on the wound.

"Yes it is," he'd insisted, not able to look at her. "I'm sorry…so, so sorry, Yoruichi-san."

She was silent and still for so long that if he hadn't seen the ever slowing rise and fall of her chest, he would have been afraid she was dead. "Lean down Kisuke, I want to tell you something."

He'd complied promptly, partially hoping she was going to tell him off. Instead, she'd kissed him gently and sweetly, her lips cool against his own. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment after she ended it. "I'm not…going…to die," she managed before losing consciousness.

Still panicked, he'd nearly sobbed in relief when the (mostly) sweet natured healer had appeared.

Days later, when his best friend was well enough to be released from Unohana-sensei's vigilant care, he'd literally swept her off of her feet and spun her in a circle, unable to contain his excitement at finally being allowed to see her and not just hear about her progress from the 4th squad's captain. Yoruichi'd turned slightly green and so he'd put her down reluctantly, but was unable to keep himself from touching her. "You're back." he'd said needlessly.

The Shihouin heiress snorted. "I still have 6 more lives left Kisuke." Her expression softened as he touched her face hesitantly as if to reassure himself she was real. "Oy baka; I promised to stay by your side and I meant it. You'll have to do much worse to get rid of me for good. "

He'd flinched slightly at that, his guilt resurfacing yet again."Yoruichi-san I'm so sor—"

Yoruichi'd silenced him by kissing him, hesitantly, as if she was afraid she would hurt him. "No more apologies," she scolded him, her cheeks slightly flushed once she ended it, her voice husky with emotion.

It took him a few seconds to regain his senses and figure out exactly what his best friend was trying to tell him, but once he'd figured it out, he'd flashed her a mischievous grin. "Ah, thank you Yoruichi-san; now I won't have to apologize for what I'm about to do".

She'd opened her mouth to say something and that was when he'd kissed her with all of the want and possessiveness he'd been reigning in for over a year…and she'd kissed him back just as urgently, clinging to him desperately.

That was the very last day Yoruichi and Urahara considered each other as just friends.

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End of Chapter 2!

I'm not 100% thrilled with this chapter, but I think every writer/authoress in existence says that once they've finished something. I'd originally intended this to be a sweet little one shot, and it somehow became a chaptered fic. Then, I planned on only making Beauty two chapters at the most, but it would seem I'm just not done with these characters yet! I know the chapters so far are really short, and I apologize. They'll get longer, I promise, especially when we get some actual Yoruhara present day interaction going!! Now that you've read, don't you think it's time you review? Heck yeah it is. Trust me, it really does help!

Thanks again for reading!

~L'echapper Belle