Thanks to SoldierG65434-2 for beta-reading. I'm really sorry for the delay so I hope this chapter makes up for it. If part of it sounds familiar it's because I used part of Chapter 3.

Chapter 8

The pictures on the wall rustled as the door to the room flew open. Yoruichi and Soi Fon stepped through the door way and stopped in the center. The dark-skinned woman stared at the photographs on the wall with awe. She approached one that showed her and Soi Fon together. But instead of her face there was a crudely pasted photograph of one of the young members of the Onmitsukido.

A name hit her.

Reiko

Yoruichi grasped the corner of the picture of the girl's face and ripped it off. Part of the photo that it was glued to came off with it. She leaned over to inspect the damage. The girl's head was gone but so was her own. She gave a smile of irony and turned back to Soi Fon.

"So this is Reiko's room," she said, more of a statement than a question. The Chinese woman nodded.

"Now Soi," Yoruichi said as she sat down on the absent girl's bed. "Why did you bring me here?"

Soi Fon sighed. She knew the question would be coming. It was a question that she wanted to know the answer to. "I did the same thing Yoruichi-sama," she said.

"I took pictures of you in secret. I kept everything you ever gave me, right down to the most obscure item and treated them like they were gold." She looked up at Yoruichi. "Basically, this was me years ago."

A variety of expressions paraded across Yoruichi's face while Soi Fon watched. Confusion. Anger. Even happiness. Then finally her face crumpled and fell into tears. She put her head in her hands and wept. Soi Fon rushed to her side.

"Yoruichi-sama," she asked. "What's wrong?"

Yoruichi looked up at the woman that stood above her. In her eyes were genuine emotions; love and concern. Oh god. She didn't deserve this. She looked back up into Soi Fon's eyes to savor that hint of unconditional love. It wouldn't be there in a few moments.

"I might have been worthy of this at one time," she started. "But not now. Not after what I've done to you."Soi Fon was mystified.

"What do you mean? You haven't done anything. It was all Reiko's fault." Yoruichi shook her head.

"No it's not," she said sadly. "Remember that night that they took me out drinking?" Soi Fon nodded. "I lied about nothing happening."


One Week Ago

"Come on everyone," Reiko cried. "She'll be here any second!" Around the room various figures dashed from corner to corner laying out bottles for their night of heavy drinking. Reiko strained to feel for any reiatsu. She could feel Yoruichi's a short distance away. She motioned to Shizuka to gather the members of her committee. Haruto, Shizuka, and Hoshiyo arrived at her side.

"Good," said Reiko. "Now that we have everything set up I need to go over the plan with you." The group nodded. "The first step is to get her as drunk as possible. Then, one of you will strike. The question is who is it going to be?"Everyone looked at her in blank confusion.

"It depends," Haruto started. "What do you want us to do?" Reiko smiled slyly.

"One of you is going to sleep with her," she stated matter-of-factly as if this were a commonplace statement. Two of the three immediately began to yell.

"What do you mean?" Hoshiyo shouted. "Are you out of your mind?"

"This is crazy!" Haruto agreed. "She's never going to fall for it."Shizuka, the only one not yelling, held up her hand. The others stopped their protests.

"It's quite logical," she began. "It's common knowledge that Yoruichi-san has a flirty side once she begins drinking. It wouldn't take much work for that flintiness to change into something else." Reiko nodded furiously.

"You see?" she asked. "And I imagine that they have had disagreements about it in the past. This only takes advantage of the situation. After all," she smiled. "Nothing would drive them apart faster than drunken sex. The question remains though, who's going to do it?"

Reiko didn't wait for an answer. She pointed to Haruto. "It won't be you. I highly doubt that if she's dating a woman she would go for a man." He began to protest but was cut off by her next remark.

"Yoruichi wouldn't believe an advance from Shizuka. She's just too shy. So that leaves you." She pointed a finger at Hoshiyo.

"Why me?" Hoshiyo cried. "Why can't you do it?" Reiko laughed as if this was the most ridiculous idea she had ever heard.

"Me? You can't be serious," she said through laughter. "I'm saving myself for Soi Fon. I wouldn't contaminate myself with another woman!"The rest of the group rolled their eyes collectively. Reiko did her best to ignore it.

"So it's settled. Hoshiyo will sleep with Yoruichi."

"What do we do after?" Haruto asked." She smiled.

"We wait."

Their conversation had ended just in time as the sound of a knock on the door echoed through the room.

"Will someone get that," Reiko called. A casually dressed squad member ran over and slid open the shoji screen. Yoruichi entered and many of the members bowed out of habit. She laughed.

"There will be none of that tonight." There were cheers amongst the group as they returned back to their socializing. Reiko took this as her cue and she picked up a tray of shots to bring over to the woman who was taking off her shoes. Yoruichi noticed her and smiled.

"Maybe I shouldn't have worn these ones," she noted. With one big tug she managed to get the offending shoe off.

"Alright," she said as she stood up brushing herself off. "I figure you know who I am. But who are you?"

Reiko held out her hand. "Kobayashi Reiko, Yoruichi-sama."

Yoruichi held up her hand. "Please," she said rolling her eyes. "You're just like my girlfriend, using those stupid suffixes." She looked around abruptly. "Speaking of her, where are the drinks?"

Spotting the drink table she rushed over to grab one. Reiko followed.

"Yoruichi, did something happen?" Yoruichi gulped down her drink and put her hand on Reiko's shoulder.

"For now, we forget about that," she said dismissively. She turned to the rest of the room. "Now," she shouted. "Who's ready to party?"

Across the room Hoshiyo grinned. She looked at Haruto and smiled. "Everything is going according to plan." She made her way across the room and stopped to grab a drink for herself. Approaching Yoruichi's back she put her hand on the caramel-skinned woman's shoulder. She turned to face Hoshiyo and quickly downed her drink.

"You going to drink that one?" she asked the other woman. Hoshiyo shook her head and handed it over. Yoruichi tipped the glass back and let the sake flow into her throat. She crudely wiped her mouth with the back of another one.

This pattern continued for another hour as Yoruichi went around the room taking drinks. Hoshiyo and Shizuka rushed around the room helping her and refilling glasses. The woman was showing signs of obvious drunkenness and, just like Reiko had predicted, was acting flirtatiously to the various women in the room.

Hoshiyo saw this as her big chance. She set down the various glasses that she had been holding and made her way over to Yoruichi and sat down next to her closely. Their bodies were touching.

"Hi there," Hoshiyo said seductively. Yoruichi grinned.

"Hi," she slurred.

"It's a little loud in here, don't you think?" Yoruichi nodded slowly, her senses impaired. "What do you say we go somewhere quieter so we can talk?" Another nod.

As Hoshiyo led the woman by the hip into a nearby bedroom she looked back to Reiko who had been surveying the situation. She smiled and gave Hoshiyo a nod of approval. That was all she needed.


Yoruichi woke up with a start. She was lying on a futon, but one considerably less comfortable than her own at home.
Where was she? Her body felt heavy, like she had been training hard the day before. But her head felt lighter than air. She rolled over to her side and hit a solid object. Wincing in pain, Yoruichi stood up and groped around till she struck something plastic. It was a clock.

She turned the clock until its front shined up at her. It was two in the morning. Setting the clock down she bent over. Her hands touched a soft, cotton object. She held it up to the light coming from the digital clock.
A bra. But it wasn't her bra.

Quickly she turned her head to the side. There was a young woman in the bed next to her. A young woman that was not Soi Fon.

Yoruichi recoiled in horror. She had slept with someone last night.

Oh god! Soi Fon was right! I do lose control when I drink!

She immediately started her mission of finding her clothing. She dressed in the dark and managed to fumble about for the corner of the shoji screen. Once in the main room she tiptoed through the sleeping bodies on the floor. Her hand hit a glass. On inspection Yoruichi found it was still full. She titled the glass up and downed the contents.

They didn't call it liquid courage for nothing.


"So that's what happened," Soi Fon said quietly, not meeting Yoruichi in the eyes. The sat in silence for a few moments before Yoruichi spoke the first words.

"I guess I should leave now?" she asked, standing to leave before receiving conformation.

"That would be best." Soi Fon nodded.

Yoruichi looked completely drained. Her usual grin was wiped off her face and her eyes had no sparkle in them. She was clearly regretful yet knew that nothing she could say would fix the situation. She made her way out of the room but not before turned back.

"I'll send someone to pick up my stuff so you don't have to see me, okay?" With that she left the room.

What did she expect, Soi Fon asked herself. An apology? For Yoruichi to get down on her hands and knees and beg for just one more chance? She wanted to give the woman sometime to get out the general area so Soi Fon sat on the bed of her subordinate. As she looked at the walls of the girl's room she had a thought.

Maybe their relationship was doomed from the beginning. After all, a relationship that started with obsession would never work. Right?