Yoruichi leaned against the wall and peered around the corner at the closed door. The room had no walls and was instead portioned off with glass, but they had thoughtlessly closed the blinds and she was unable to see exactly which board members were taking part in the meeting.
She felt warm breath tickle her ear. "You'd think that someone in your line of work would be better at spying."
She smirked and turned, placing her hand flat against Shinji's chest and pushing him back from her. He always had a habit of standing right in her personal space. "I'm not spying," she said. "I'm just interested. They called a board meeting but it would seem that they didn't invite the whole board. I think that warrants a bit of interest."
He grinned at her. "It certainly does," He agreed. "I'm assuming that you've heard the rumours then."
"Surrounding the Kuchiki's and Ginrei's sudden departure from the company? I'd have to be living in a hole not to have heard them."
"Did you know that they're true?"
She smiled at him, letting him believe that she had known just that even though she hadn't. "We're in need of a new Chief Operating Officer and pretty sharpish."
Shinji's grin only widened. "Which explains why you're hanging around here. You've always been ambitious."
Ha! Not that ambitious," She turned her head from him as she spoke. "I'm quite happy heading up my own department. It's perfectly stressful enough."
"Oh please!" Shinji leaned back against the wall, standing next to her, angling his head towards her. "You don't think Shihoin Yoruichi, COO, has a nice ring to it?"
She couldn't deny that it did, but it certainly wasn't enough to convince her to go for this.
"Also you'd be the youngest COO in company history," He continued, "Not to mention the very first woman to hold the title."
"My youth and gender work against me, "she pointed out. Not to mention certain other factors of her life which weren't all that secret and pretty much guaranteed that she would never get the position. "It would be career suicide for me to go for this job."
"Hardly suicide," Shinji countered. "It shows you have ambition, initiative and guts. The board loves a guy with balls, and I've always wondered if you've got balls." Shinji tilted his head down to peer at her crotch.
She elbowed him. "You're not funny, Shinji. I wouldn't get the position, and whoever did would make sure that whatever rivals they have within the company would find themselves suddenly jobless. I'm not saying that I'd be fired, but I'd certainly be forced out. And anyone who helped me in the effort would be forced out as well."
Shinji shrugged. "Then don't fail in getting the job. Seems simple to me."
He was actually starting to make Yoruichi believe that she could possibly do this. She'd be lying if she said that the thought hadn't crossed her mind. She was too young for this though, they laugh at her for even having the audacity to think she could even apply for the position.
"Why don't you go for it?" She asked. He was the head of his own department after all and he had been here longer than she had. As far as she could see, he'd have a much higher chance than she would of being the new COO.
He laughed softly at that. "Me? That would never work," he sighed theatrically. "It sounds too much like hard work to me. Of course, that's not to say that I wouldn't have the support within the company to make my claim. It is a popularity contest in the end, really, when you think about it."
She rolled her eyes at this. "That's over simplifying it a bit, but I agree to an extent."
"And I'm a fairly popular guy," he smirked at her, "but then, you're a fairly popular guy yourself."
"Stop calling me a guy," She told him flatly. "And I see where you're going with this."
"That's good, it'd be a bit of a waste of my time if you couldn't even grasp the rather heavy hints I've just been throwing at you."
She leaned her head back against the wall and thought for a moment. If she decided to go for this, then he'd support her and any support that would have been for him would instantly transferred to her. She'd go from being a fairly popular 'guy' to being an extremely popular 'guy'. Support from various departments wouldn't just be a bonus to her application, it would damn near guarantee her as being a worthy candidate for the position. The board wouldn't be able to ignore her application.
"What would you get out of this?" She asked.
"Well I'd be doing you a major favour," he said. "You wouldn't really be able to pay me back with a major favour, but y'know, there'd be plenty of opportunities for lots of little favours. Put it this way, say I want to divert some company funds to a project that's not strictly keeping up with company policy..."
"I turn a blind eye, yeah, whatever," She smirked. "It all seems a little simple. Even for you. What's your real reason?"
"Nyah, Yoruichi you wound me!" He placed his hand over his chest and pulled an exaggerated expression of hurt. "How about for peace of mind?"
She raised a questioning eyebrow at this.
"There's a certain underling in my own department, an upstart who's already gaining himself a reputation for getting shit done," Shinji frowned, his voice taking on an uncharacteristically serious tone. "He seems kinda quiet at first, but he's real ambitious. I know for a fact that he's going for the position. And I also know that if I don't find the right person to oppose him, then he'll get it."
"If he's one of your workers then he can't possibly have been here all that long, he must be younger than me."
"He is, he is. But like I said, he gets shit done," Shinji grimaced. "I don't know what it is about him, but when he sets out to do something he just gets it done. It always works out is way. Every single fucking time."
She cocked her head to the side. "I believe I know who you're talking about," she said in a carefully neutral tone. "If I'm to believe records then he's an exemplary worker, a Model employee, the golden boy of not just your department but nearly of the whole company."
"You shouldn't believe everything you read."
"I don't. No ones that good," She sighed heavily. "I'll think about it. I need to get back to work and so do you." She started walking away, her head full of various ideas and Shinji's words.
"It is interesting," Shinji called after her, "that the full board didn't meet, doncha think?"
Yoruichi looked back over her shoulder at him. "Yeah. It is."
Soifon's hair was plastered to her face with sweat. She drew long ragged breaths in and out, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Her legs were aching and her lungs burned. It didn't help that it was so damn hot, she felt as though she was being baked alive. She used to love running; it had once given her a sense of freedom and was a great way to exercise her frustrations from her mind and body. Now she loathed it. She hated circling the track, seeing the same damn people on each lap, the same odd looks that were shot her way, the same gormless expressions. She hated the sound of her feet hitting the ground, the slight jar against her legs and she hated the heavy feeling to her limbs and how worn out the whole thing made her feel.
Still, considering this was the first time in months that she'd attended PE she could have been forced to do something much worse than running laps for the entire session. But the she half expected to be doing this for the rest of term.
She heard the sound of approaching footsteps behind her and slowed slightly, hoping that they'd just run on past her. She wasn't that lucky.
"Fon, "came the greeting from a surprisingly deep voice.
Soifon rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Kuchiki?" She demanded her own voice haggard from the effort of running.
"I thought I'd keep you company while you jogged," he replied, sounding innocent.
They ran in silence for a while, the only sound being their heavy breathing and the steady beat of their feet against the track. Byakuya was another one who had hit a growth spurt recently, not that he was especially tall. But he had lost all of his boyish features this past year, or his girly features as the case might have been since just last year he could quite easily have passed for a pretty girl. Now he looked like a pretty man. He was taller and broader across the chest and shoulders, his eyes looked narrower since he frowned an awful lot more, but his long dark hair was still as glorious and girl-like as it had ever been. She could actually see why so many of her female class-mates went all doe-eyed around him. He'd also matured a lot in this past year; he had once been rash and easy to anger, not to mention he was possibly the most competitive person she knew. Then his father had died and he'd calmed down by an extreme. Only his competitive nature remained of the boy he had once been. She supposed that she actually had a lot in common with him, or just one very specialized thing, but it wasn't enough to make her want to speak to him.
She wished that he'd run on and leave her be.
"There have been certain rumours, he said, slowly, evenly, his voice guarded.
She curled her lips. "Well I don't want to hear them," she replied tersely.
"Not even if their about you?"
She stumbled over her own feet and nearly fell, Byakuya spun round, his arm out stretched and he caught her.
"What rumours?" She demanded, pushing him away from her. His cheeks were tinged with pink probably from all the running.
He looked a little bit uncomfortable. "That you were dropped off today by in an unknown car," he said. "In a very expensive car."
She scowled at him.
"I know that you're family doesn't own a very expensive car," He continued. "Or a car at all anymore."
"Shut up!"
Thankfully, he did just that.
"It's none of your business who drops me off," she said, trying to keep her voice steady but failing miserably. "It's no one here's business what I do after school. Or even what I do in school."
"Are you seeing someone?" He asked.
She ground her teeth together. "It's none of your business," she repeated.
He frowned at her. "You should be careful," He turned his head away from her. "These rich college types, the playboys with the trust funds... They can't be trusted."
"You mean your type?" She cocked her head to the side and smirked at him. "Because that's exactly what you're going to be in a few years, isn't it? College kid with a trust fund. So in a roundabout way, what you're telling me is that you can't be trusted and I should keep my distance. Thanks for the advice, Kuchiki, I quite agree."
His eyes widened as she spoke and then his face twisted and he turned away, his ears gad gone red. He flicked his ponytail out with one hand and huffed audibly. "If that's what you think," He said, his voice cold. "Then I'll just leave you to it." He began running again, not looking back at her.
Soifon let out a long breath and watched him as he increased the distance between them. Where on earth had he heard that rumour? Isane had sworn that she wouldn't tell anyone. Not that she knew that full story, but still, Soifon thought that she could trust her.
"Fon!" A voice screeched from the otherside of the track. "I don't see you running!"
Sighing, Soifon set off again.
Soifon found Isane in the library with her nose in a book. She tilted her head to the side and reads the title, before looking up at Isane who was so engrossed in her reading that she hadn't even noticed that Soifon was there.
"Planning on going to med school?" Soifon asked. She dropped her bag down on the table as she spoke, and Isane jumped and slammed the book shut.
"What?" Isane looked up to Soifon all wide-eyed and surprised. "Um, I guess. I was just reading it to pass the time." She slid the book to the side, looking nervous.
Soifon nodded and plopped herself down in the seat opposite Isane. "I had an interesting conversation with Kuchiki," she said.
"Kuchiki Byakuya?" Isane asked.
Soifon gave her a flat stare. "No, Kuchiki Soujin, from beyond the grave," she sneered. "Of course Byakuya."
Isane flinched and trembled. "O-oh, what did he say?"
"He happened to mention what happened this morning," Soifon said. "He asked me about who dropped me off this morning. Now I know that he wasn't there to see that. I know that the only person who saw me this morning was you, so I've got to wonder, how the hell does Kuchiki know who dropped me off this morning."
Isane at least had the good graces to look guilty.
"You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone," Soifon said glaring at her.
"It's not as though I actually saw anything," Isane mumbled. "And I didn't tell anyone. Not really. Just my sister."
Soifon's eyes went wide for a moment and then she grit her teeth in anger. "Your sister?" She repeated, growling. "Isane, Kiyone is the biggest gossip in the school. You might as well have painted up a banner and hung it off of the gym! Shit!"
"I'm sorry."
"I don't care," Soifon spat back. She stood up, still glaring daggers at her once friend. "What did you tell her?"
Isane shrugged. "Nothing much. That you were dropped off in a fancy car," she looked down at her desk, refusing to meet Soifon's intense glare. "And that I saw you kiss the driver."
Soifon's jaw dropped. She hadn't expected Isane to have seen that.
"Look, Soifon," Isane said, sounding worried and her timidity dropping from her voice as she spoke. "I'm really worried about you. I mean, this isn't like you. The skipping school was one thing, but this... There are plenty of girls that have older boyfriends from outside the school, that have rich, much older boyfriends, but you're not that type of girl. No one likes those kinds of girls, not really." She looked up to Soifon now, her eyes filled with concern. "This guy can't really be worth getting kicked out of school for."
Guy? Boyfriend? Soifon's mind had stalled for a moment as she tried to process Isane's words. And then a smile broke across Soifon's face. Isane hadn't seen Yoruichi. She had seen something, their outlines, shadow, whatever, but she hadn't actually seen Yoruichi. Let Isane think that she had a boyfriend, if she knew the truth she would only interfere and worry more. Let her think she was using some rich business man to buy her expensive gifts, to drive her round in his posh care, let her think all that.
Slowly, Soifon sat back down and faced Isane. "Like I told Kuchiki, this isn't any of your business," Soifon said. "I'm fine. I can take care of myself. And He..." she paused a moment and fought the smirk that threatened to stretch across her face. "...my..." heh "...boyfriend, isn't stopping me from coming to school. The opposite actually, he encourages it. Why do you think I've actually been turning up lately?"
Isane didn't look convinced.
"Isane, I know you're worried, and I'm grateful, I really am, but keep out of my business. Don't go telling anyone else, I'll just deny it if you do," Soifon stood up. "Oh, and tell Kiyone to keep her mouth shut or I'll shut it for her."
"That's too much, Soifon!" Isane actually sounded angry.
"Yeah, that sorta goes for you to."
"Soifon!" Isane sounded like she was losing her patience. Shaolin, you can't possibly think this a good idea. He's just using you. And it's illegal. You could get expelled for this."
Soifon gave her a cool gaze. "You know nothing about him," she said. "And I've always thought of it as more I'm using... him. See you later, Isane." She turned and walked away, her bag slung over her shoulder, not bothering to look back at Isane.
Someone was knocking at the door. Yoruichi already knew who it would be and elbowed Kisuke playfully in the ribs. "Oi, go answer the door," she ordered him.
"Me?" He whined. "But I'm busy."
She rolled her eyes. She was busy, he was just in the way. Apparently his idea of cooking her a celebratory meal was to start it, make a mess and then have her rescue the whole thing and finish it off herself. Which was quite a feat considering how much wine she had already drunk.
She elbowed him again. "Now, Kisuke. It'll be Soifon."
"Fine!" He threw up his hands and sauntered out of the kitchen muttering something about slavery. She sniggered to herself, took another sip of wine and returned to the pan on the stove. She heard Kisuke overly enthusiastic greeting and unfortunately she couldn't make out Soifon's muted grumble of a reply. Shame, somehow the girl managed to look adorable even when grumbling.
She expected Soifon to shuffle into the kitchen in her usual sullen manner, instead though she heard the girl screech in protest only to be twirled into the kitchen by Kisuke, who was also by this point, a little drunk.
"Hey, Soifon," Yoruichi greeted. "Let her go, Kisuke." He was still making a fairly admirable attempt to dance with Soifon.
Soifon managed to escape from Kisuke's hold, she shoved him back from her and moved over to Yoruichi. "What's going on?"
"We're celebrating," Kisuke said. "Yoruichi's being promoted."
"You are?" Soifon turned to her looking surprised.
"Don't jinx it," Yoruichi warned Kisuke. "I might be. The position of Chief Operating Officer is up for grabs and I'm going for it."
"It's only been a day and she already has the most support in the whole building," Kisuke said. He actually sounded proud of her, which made Yoruichi smile.
Soifon frowned though. "Chief Operating Officer?"
Yoruichi nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much second from the top. So it's a big deal, as if you couldn't already guess."
"Wow," Soifon turned away and looked to the floor. "That mean you'll be working a lot more, huh?"
"It means I can pretty much kiss my social life good-bye," Yoruichi confirmed.
"Do you think you'll get it?"
Yoruichi shrugged. "I stand as good as chance as the other candidates," she replied. "And like Kisuke said, I have the most support from the various departments."
"It pays to be popular," Kisuke smirked. "All those favors you handed out at the Christmas party are paying off."
"What the hell kind of thing is that to say about your sister?" Yoruichi wondered. "You're a terrible brother, you know that?"
Kisuke just laughed though. "I'm going to open another bottle of wine."
Yoruichi turned back to the cooker. "Have you been fed?" She asked Soifon.
Soifon shook her head. "Not yet, I was going to grab something on my way home."
"Hmm, not staying the night?"
"I can't stay round every night."
"Want some stir-fry?"
Soifon turned to the various pans and looked at them. "What kind of stir-fry takes fours pans to cook it in? You don't even have a wok."
Yoruichi shrugged. "I'm not hearing a no," She smirked.
Sighing, Soifon nodded. "Fine. I'll have some of this supposed stir-fry."
In about ten minutes they were all sat at the table and tucking into the surprisingly tasty stir-fry that Kisuke started and Yoruichi had been forced to finish. Yoruichi poured herself another glass of wine, she had lost count quite some time ago of how many she had had. She knew that it was too much since she was letting Soifon have a glass.
The girl sat opposite her, quietly easting her food, but mostly pushing it around the place with her chopsticks. She looked distracted, more so than she usually did at any rate. Her brow was furrowed and her lips pressed into a tight line. Not even the glass of wine seemed to helping her relax. Yoruichi wondered if it was because Kisuke was here. Soifon didn't seem to have taken to him and had a perpetual look of annoyance on her face when he was near her.
"Thish iff good," Kisuke said with his mouth full.
"Swallow before speaking," Yoruichi said smiling sweetly at him. "So, Soifon, how was school?" That felt like an odd question to ask and Yoruichi had to take another gulp of wine.
Soifon shrugged. "Fine. I guess."
"Did you learn anything?" Kisuke asked her.
"Jeez, I used to hate it when people asked me that," Yoruichi laughed. "I never knew how to answer them."
"Not much," Soifon said, giving the exact answer that Yoruichi used to give when she was her age. He girl took a sip of her wine and pretended to enjoy it. Yoruichi couldn't help but chuckle at this, even though it was grossly irresponsible to allow the girl to drink, it was amusing how hard she was pretending to actually enjoy it just to fit in.
"Umm," Soifon started, still pushing her food about the plate. "Can I ask a question?"
"You just did."
"Shut up, Kisuke," Yoruichi said automatically. "Of course you can, Soifon. What is it?"
"Well, this promotion that you're going for," She sounded a little nervous. "Obviously if you get it then it'll mean that you'll be spending all your time in the office, and it's not that I don't think you deserve your promotion, you work hard, but well..."
"I'll still see you now and then," Yoruichi cut in. "And it's not as though anything's going to change right away. It'll be months before anything happens. At least two other people are going for the same position." And it wasn't as though she promised she'd promised Soifon anything. If she had to give up Soifon for her career well... it wouldn't be the first time she had given someone up for the exact same reason.
Soifon nodded. "But... It doesn't really sound like much of a life. Working all the time."
Yoruichi smiled. "Good money. Means by the time I retire I'll be loaded."
"And she'll be rich enough to keep me," Kisuke butted in.
Soifon scowled at him. "Ever thought of supporting yourself?"
"I'm hurt, Soifon, wounded even. I'll have you know that I used to have a very respectable job in Osaka."
"Until he got fired," Yoruichi said. "I appreciate the concern, Soifon, but I've put too much work into my career to just let it end now. This is the next logical step and then - "
"The world!" Kisuke finished, holding up his glass of wine and staring up at it reverentially.
"Yeah. Well, it's what I want," Yoruichi finished, mostly ignoring Kisuke. Besides, she didn't really believe that Soifon's words were rooted in concern for her well being. The girl was mostly concerned about where she would fit in Yoruichi's life now.
And that raised an interesting question that Yoruichi was going to have to do some serious thinking about. Was she really going to just cut Soifon from her life? Up until today she had been intent on helping Soifon sort out her life, and was offering the girl nothing but encouragement. Was she really going to walk away from that? What would happen to Soifon if she did?
Soifon looked more sad then troubled now, and Yoruichi felt bad for being the cause of it. Yet another drink of wine really wasn't what she needed, but she took one regardless.
"Would you like another glass if wine, Soifon?" Kisuke asked, holding the bottle up.
"No," Yoruichi answered for her. "It's bad enough that we let her have the one."
"Come on, Yoruichi," He replied with that knowing smile of his. "Isn't it better that hse gets drunk with us than out on the streets? You were younger than her the first time you got plastered."
"Not the point," Yoruichi shot back, failing to keep the smile from her face. "And I seem to remember it was your fault that I was drunk in the first place."
"It's always my fault," Kisuke lamented.
Soifon seemed to have perked up from hearing this. "How old were you?" She asked.
Yoruichi sighed. "I was thirteen," she said, "And Dad was throwing a party of some description. Kisuke snuck some cooking whiskey from the kitchens."
"Yeah, blame it all n me," he laughed. "We adread a bunch of the other kids staying over to drink soem, but they wouldn't."
"They were convinced they'd go blind or something," Yoruichi cut in, her smile widening. "SO to convince them otherwise I drank some. Just a little bit."
"She downed half the bottle," Kisuke laughed. "I'm still surprised she didn't just bring it all right back up."
"Or die," Soifon cut in looking a mixture of amused and suitably horrified. "What happened then?"
"All the other kids took a few sips," Yoruichi continued. "And we headed back into the party, trying to act all grown up. It was going great..."
"Right up until Yoruichi projectile vomited over the CEO of this associate business!" Kisuke roared with laughter. "I can still see his face. He looked oddly impressed."
Yoruichi chuckled into her glass. "My up-chuck reflex has always been impressive."
Soifon stared at them both. "Was he mad?"
"Nah," Yoruichi waved her hand. "He was fairly understanding actually."
"And very amused," Kisuke added. "Amused enough that he would give her a job in his company at any rate. Or does he not remember?"
"Yamamoto is like an elephant," Yoruichi said. "He never forgets. Every time we have any kind of work function that involves drink he just gives me this look."
"You work for him now?" Soifon stared at her. "Isn't that mortifying?"
"No, things like that happen all the time to kids," Yoruichi laughed. "Especially bored kids. And like Kisuke said, he was oddly impressed."
Soifon just stared at her. "I don't even know what it is you do."
It was Yoruichi's time to stare at her. "You don't? That's kinda surprising," Yoruichi leaned back in her chair. She didn't see why Soifon shouldn't know what she does. At least the basics. "It's a security firm," she explained, "It pretty much covers all aspects; from basic home security right up to body guards for idols, politicians and anyone else who feels paranoid enough to be flanked by burly men in suits. There's also an investigation aspect to it all."
"Like private detectives?" Soifon asked. She was leaning over the table, looking very interested.
"I guess, if you want to see it like that," Yoruichi conceded. "But it's not at all glamorous like the media make it out to be. I'm in charge of handling new clients. The important clients who pay the big money."
"Have you ever met anyone famous?"
Yoruichi laughed, "A couple. Mostly though I just meet their managers, since they're the ones who take care of these things."
"Wow," Soifon breathed. "And here was me thinking that you just worked a boring accounting job or something like that."
Yoruichi looked at her. "Really?"
Soifon shrugged. "Well , it's not as though you ever gave me any hints to work with. All I knew was that you brought your work home with you. And that says to me that you must have a fairly boring life, so naturally I assumed you had a fairly boring job to go with it."
Yoruichi stared at her in disbelief. Kisuke once again roared with laughter. The melodramatic, grieving teenager thought she led a boring life. That was so many different kinds of depressing Yoruichi didn't even know where to begin.
"Right," Yoruichi said, still reeling with shock. "Thanks a lot."
"She does have a point, Yoruichi," Kisuke said, wiping away a tear with the back of his hand. "You do lead a fairly boring life."
"I do not!" Yoruichi protested.
"Yeah you do," Kisuke continued. He refilled his glass. "Let's face it, till the kid here showed up all you did was work, work and then work some more. It was quite depressing."
"Kisuke," Yoruichi said her voice low, trying to get him to shut up.
He either didn't hear her or he was enjoying himself too much to care, because he carried on talking, "You know she's been single for three years? You're the first girl she's looked at ever since she got dumped."
Yoruichi closed her eyes and counted to ten. She really hadn't wanted Soifon to know that. When she opened her eyes Soifon was staring at her, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. She was never going to let this one go, Yoruichi could already tell.
"Yeah well," Yoruichi said. "What can I say, work is important to me."
"You were dumped?" Soifon said. "I thought you said that you guys just drifted apart."
Kisuke laughed again. "She wishes. She was rather soundly dumped."
"Thanks Kisuke," Yoruichi mumbled.
Silence greeted her words. Soifon was still giving her an odd, almost victorious look, as though she'd somehow won a battle or something. Kisuke was once again refilling his glass. He was actually drunker than Yoruichi, and that was quite an achievement considering Yoruichi's poor tolerance to alcohol.
"I'm going to clear away the plates," Yoruichi said. She stood up and started gathering up the dishes, neither Soifon nor Kisuke made any move to help her. She made her way to the kitchen, her arms full of dishes and glasses.
She was actually feeling pretty angry with Kisuke right about now, but not so much that she actually going to do anything. He was drunk, and she had to make allowances for that.
"Something wrong?"
Yoruichi started slightly at the voice behind her. Carefully, Yoruichi laid the dishes down on the counter top. "Never better, why do you ask?"
"Dunno, you went kind of quiet, that's all."
Yoruichi hummed as she began loading the dishes into the washer. "Yeah well, it wasn't a fun topic of conversation," she said.
"It was kinda funny."
"I don't think so," Yoruichi straightened up and closed the dishwasher door with her foot.
"Idiot"
It was said with affection but Yoruichi bristled nevertheless. She spun round to face Kisuke; he was leaning against the fridge, his hands behind his head and a drunken smirk plastered over his face.
"Why do you care all that much what she thinks?" He questioned his voice quiet. Yoruichi only just noticed that the kitchen door was closed. Did he not want Soifon to hear what he was going to say?
"I don't," Yoruichi replied.
"Liar," Kisuke said. "You like her."
"Of course I like her," Yoruichi shot back. "I wouldn't be screwing her if I didn't like her."
"No, no," Kisuke muttered, his hand waving about in front of his face. He moved from the fridge, stumbled slightly, and stood close to her. He took hold of her hand in his and grinned at her. "You like her."
She stared at him. "Kisuke," she said slowly, "You're drunk."
"It only makes me more truthful," he replied. "I know you, I know how you act and I know how you think. And I know how you feel about her. It's not often I get to act like the responsible one, so I think I'm going to savour this moment for a while. You like her, and that's exactly why you should end things with her."
She pushed him back from her. "That's not your decision," She countered. "Its fine the way it is. And you're wrong, I don't like her, not like that at any rate."
"I'm just trying to watch out for you."
"I know, but I don't need it," She moved away from him and back towards the living room. "Make yourself some coffee, Kisuke. You reek of booze."
Soifon was still sitting at the table. She raised her head when Yoruichi entered the room and looked over to her. "Everything okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," Yoruichi replied crossing the room towards Soifon. She touched Soifon's head as she walked past, her fingers brushing through her hair. "Everything's fine. So," she turned and grinned at Soifon. "How long you going to be here?"
"Dunno," Soifon replied. "I can't stay the night. I told my parents I'd be back eventually."
Yoruichi checked her watch. "In that case," she smirked, "perhaps you've got time to indulge me." Her eyes flicked suggestively from Soifon to the staircase that led to the bedroom.
It took Soifon all of a second to leap from her chair and make for the staircase, smirking all the while. Laughing, Yoruichi followed her. It was clear to her that Soifon was only here for one thing and as far as Yoruichi was concerned, that was the only thing she wanted from Soifon.
Kisuke was wrong. There was absolutely no way that she felt anything more for this girl than a vague sense of affection and the easy and more-than satisfying sex she provided. There was absolutely no way that Kisuke was right, because if he was, then Yoruichi was in some serious trouble.
Okay, this is the longest chapter yet and hopefully I'll never write one this long again. It feels like it took me forever to do!
Lots of important stuff happened this chapter, loads of plot progression and stuff. Also, Byakuya showed up, he was a pain to write. I wasn't sure if I should have gone with the stoic, aloof Byakuya that presented in the series, or with the young brash Byakuya that was in TBtP. So I sorta did a mix with a reason as to why he wasn't so hot-headed anymore. Hopefully it works.
Once again I must profess my delight/surprise at all the reviews I've got so far. Thank you all, it really means a lot to me.