Every sentence that came from her mouth was not meant to sound as if she had no regard to the feelings of the person she spoke with. She liked to prove her point and support it with plausible facts. When she argued with her father, she never yelled at him; she would speak to him in a reasonable voice that made the man wonder about her motives. When she argued with Kisuke or Jushiro or Kuuaku or Kyoraku, she kept her voice monotone and held a distant look in her eyes. Her friends knew her. If Yoruichi ever bothered to show any emotion aside from the blank expression she wore, it meant there would be trouble or the world was going into peril.
She enjoyed watching Kisuke move amongst his division as he wore a strange smile on his face. It was a smile she saw only when he engaged in a deep conversation with his pupils about some new project they worked on. She liked to sit in the corner of the research lab silently as they moved about running from one table to the next with a notebook and pen in hand. Yoruichi was rather enthralled by the running rate of Kisuke's lieutenant, a strange boy with blue hair and beautiful dark eyes. While he seemed normal on the outside, she could tell by his movement that he was a half bloomed flower that was probably poisonous. Whenever he offered her a smile during his little runs, she nodded to him in return blankly.
"Can't you take a break?" For me? She batted her eyelashes in a feminine way.
Kisuke's eyes widened in surprise, but he moved her aside to pick up a cylinder with glowing water inside it. "Yoru-chan, is there something you want to tell me?"
Yoruichi's face stretched into a smile. The action felt so normal to her she ignored all the glances from the officers scurrying around the room. They had never seen her smile once while she was in the lab. A girl with blond hair eased closer towards the door, but kept her eyes glued to the papers in her hand. Yoruichi's smile stretched wider on her face. Several of the officers excused themselves. "What do you mean?"
His eyes lifted from the cylinder at the sound of humor in her voice. After noticing some of his officers were missing, he grumbled about her being there. "You're scaring away my officers. Stop smiling."
"Kisuke…"
He bent his knees so that he was eye level with the cylinder. Not only was it glowing, but also it was beginning to foam. He smiled happily and reached for his notebook, which was too far out of reach. A dark hand slid the notebook and pen closer to his hand. He opened it and scribbled down notes that went on for nearly three pages. "Maybe later."
Yoruichi's beautiful smile disappeared slowly. Why had she built up the courage to disturb him in his lab anyway? She turned on her heels to leave, but could not help but sneak one last glance at the man she loved to see if he even noticed she was leaving. She muffled a growl and restrained herself from choking him to death. With the click of her tongue she walked out of the room.
"Yoruichi-sama, I've been waiting for you." Soi Fong bowed to Yoruichi lowly and stepped into line behind the woman.
Yoruichi pressed her lips together tightly to hide a frown itching to break the placidness of her face. She frowned slightly when Soi's soft hand touched her elbow. After blinking several times, she looked at the girl blushing beside her. "Yes?"
"Urahara-sama calls for you." Her voice was low.
Yoruichi looked beyond the girl's head to see Kisuke walking towards them briskly. Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure the girl standing beside her could hear it. She nodded to Soi and stood rooted in place as the girl walked ahead afar enough to be out of hearing range. Her stomach fluttered madly at the sight of the large smile on his face. He picked her up into his arms and twirled her around happily. Yoruichi stared at him wide eyed. "You couldn't have gotten drunk in the little time I've left you."
He held her tightly against him, knocking the wind from her lungs. He didn't notice the way her arm slipped around his neck in an adoring fashion, but he did notice the glare her lieutenant sent him before walking away from them a greater distance. "Yoruichi, I did it."
Yoruichi's heart dropped. The smile on her face was gone before she was completely out of his arms. "Did what, Kisuke?"
"You'll see at the meeting next month. It's amazing. All of this is because of you. Thank you." He pressed a light kiss on her cheek.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched him walk away faster than when he'd arrived. She turned to see Soi watching her with wide eyes. A smile graced her face again. As long as he was happy, nothing else mattered. Really.