Soifon picked up her books and stuffed them into her bag, before slinging it over her shoulder. She straightened out the strap and then tuned on her heel, following the steady stream of students from the classroom. It was the end of the day and the hallway was packed with students. Squeezing her way through them, Soifon made her way down the hallways, keeping her head down and hoping that no one would notice her.

She was hallway down the hallway when she felt someone stumble into her and she staggered to the side. Someone pushed her into the wall, causing her to wince.

"Well," a familiar voice drawled, "lookie who it is."

Soifon raised her head and found herself looking at the relaxed figure of Ichimaru Gin, leaning against the wall. His hair fell across his face and his eyes were closed, a smile plastered up his thin face.

She pushed herself up from the wall. "What do you want, Ichimaru?"

"Nuthin'," he said, still smiling. "I'm just standin' here, watchin' the crowd go by. Yer the one that came over t'me."

Soifon scowled at that. "I didn't. I tripped…"

"Course yer did," Gin said. "I take it that yer headin' off to see that man o'yours."

"It's none of your business where I'm going or what I do in my free time," Soifon hissed, not wanting anyone to overhear her.

"Course not," he said, still smiling, she hated his smile. "But ya are, aren't ya?"

She quivered with anger and bit down a reply, she knew that he was just trying to get a reaction from her and she'd be damned if she rose to his baiting. Gin opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a hand slamming against the wall, between him and Soifon. Soifon recoiled in surprise, Byakuya stood between them his head turned towards Gin.

"Looks like you got ya self a white knight," Gin murmured.

Byakuya didn't say anything, he merely stared hard at Gin, and eventually Gin seemed to get the hint and with a final smile for Soifon, he wandered off. Byakuya visibly relaxed once Gin had gone, and he turned to face Soifon.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," She replied angrily. She didn't appreciate Byakuya's attempted heroics, it wasn't as though she actually needed saving. "Did you follow me from class?"

"No," he said quickly, too quickly, a faint pink blush marring his cheeks.

She sighed loudly. "What do you want, Kuchiki?"

"I was just making sure that you're okay," he said.

"I already told you, I'm fine." She moved away from him. Thankfully the initial rush of students had subsided and the hallway was much easier to navigate. To her annoyance though, Byakuya followed her. "I'm going to the toilet," she spat over her shoulder. "I don't think that even you would follow me in there."

The blush on his cheeks intensified and he stopped walking, his face turned away angrily. She smirked and quickened her pace, thankful that he had finally taken the hint. Of course this meant that she would actually have to go to the bathroom, even though she had no real need to.

She opened the door and stepped inside, immediately wincing at the smell. Students, she concluded, were disgusting. Atop the usual bathroom smells, there was a thick almost overpowering stench of cigarettes.

Soifon moved to the sink and turned on one of the taps and began washing her hands, unnecessary but it passed some time. She already knew that Byakuya would be waiting for her either outside the toilets or at the school gates. Gin hadn't been far wrong; Byakuya had apparently taken it upon himself to guard her and now seemed to follow her around like a shadow.

She raised her head at the sound of one of stall doors opening.

"Well look who's in here."

Soifon frowned. Through the dirty cracked mirror she could see the reflection of Loly Aivirrne and Menoly Mallia. She shouldn't have been surprised to see them, from what she understood they spent a large amount of their school day in this particular toilet.

"What do you want?" Soifon asked quietly.

"We don't usually see you're type down here," Loly said. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be a bit of a goody? Always do your work on time, top of your class."

"Not the way I've heard it recently," Menoly said. "She's dropped right down the years rankings."

"Of course." Loly snapped her fingers together and smirked at Soifon. "You've found something more interesting than school to keep you occupied. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

Soifon rolled her eyes. She turned the tap off and turned around, flicking drops of water from her hands as she did. "Anything else? I've heard it all before, and you're insults are weak compared to others I've heard."

"I guess you're just used to hearing the truth is all," Loly sneered. "Can't say I blame you, must seem like a good idea to grab yourself a rich man and sink your claws into him. Best way to make money. Although, with the way your family numbers are dropping you wouldn't have thought you'd need to save any money."

Soifon didn't remember moving, but suddenly she was no longer standing by the sinks. And suddenly Loly was backed up into the stall and Soifon's hand was gripping the front of Loly's uniform tightly.

"Shut up!" Soifon screamed.

Loly laughed, but Soifon could see the slightly nervousness in her eyes. "What do you think you're going to do, hit me?" She said shrilly. "Go on, I dare you!"

Soifon quivered with anger but she forced her hand to relax and she let go of Loly's uniform and slowly backed away. Menoly grabbed Soifon by her arm and dragged her back out from the stall, before pushing her away from Loly. She stood between Soifon and Loly, her eyes hard and fixed on Soifon.

"It must numb the pain a bit, eh?" Loly shouted over Menoly's shoulder, "being a slut. Looks to me that you're not even happy with the one man, you've sunk your claws into Kuchiki too. Gotta wonder what it is you do for them. It's not your looks that they're after."

"I told you to shut up," Soifon said quietly.

"Or what?" Loly sneered. "There's two of us and only one of you. What do you think you can do?" She smirked. "How's your arm, by the way?"

Soifon slowly took hold of her still faintly bruised bicep. There was no point in answering. She turned from the pair of them and made her way out of the toilet, kicking the door open.

"Be seeing you, Fon!" Loly called from behind her.

Soifon hurried down the hallway, anger boiling within her. She shouldn't have let Loly get to her like she had. She should have been above her taunts, but when she had mentioned her brothers' deaths like that, she had nearly lost control. She was already treading a fine line at school, what with her continually missing class. She didn't want to know what would happen if she got into a fight.

"Fon!" Byakuya called out as she hurried past him. "Wait, where're you going?"

She ignored him and nearly broke out into a run. He was nearly as fast as her, perhaps on a good day he was faster. She knew that he would at least be able to keep pace with he so there was no point in running from him.

"Fon!"

"Leave me alone!" She shouted back over her shoulder. She had almost made it to the doors and outside when she felt a hand close over her elbow, halting her escape.

"What's wrong?" Byakuya asked his voice calm.

Soifon pulled and struggled to get free from his grip, but he had her arm tightly in his hand. "Dammit Kuchiki! Let me go!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

She pushed him with her free hand and he staggered back, pulling her with him. She tried to wrench herself free, but succeeded only in hurting herself and she hissed with pain. She was still angry; with Loly and Menoly, with Byakuya for treating her like a child, Isane for betraying her, with Yoruichi and with herself, with her parents and her bothers too. At this moment though, all of her anger, all of her fury was focussed on Byakuya. She pushed against Byakuya with all her strength, forcing him back. She didn't even know what she was doing anymore. Her fist connected with something solid and she heard Byakuya grunt. A strange sense of satisfaction overcame her and she threw out her fist again, and once more Byakuya grunted.

She didn't get a chance to strike him a third time. Byakuya seized hold of her wrist, his grip surprisingly strong. He didn't say anything, but then she hadn't expected him too. Hot-headed he might have once been he now favored silence.

She pulled against his grip. Her teeth were clenched tightly and she sucked air through them. Her throat felt tight and all of a sudden it burned. She screwed her eyes shut and tried once more to suck air through her gritted teeth. She was still pulling against Byakuya, still pushing, and still trying to fight him even though he wasn't fighting back. She would have felt a lot better if he had fought back.

She threw herself forward, her shoulder barging into Byakuya and it finally seemed that he had lost his temper with her. His fingers dug into her arms and she felt herself spin, her feet leaving the ground as she was flung into the wall. She wheezed hitting the wall hard enough so that the wind was knocked from her. Byakuya held both of her wrists in his hands, just above her head and he was looking down at her. She kept her own eyes down, not wanting to look at him.

"I don't know what that was about," he said softly, "and I'm not sure I want to, but…"

She let out a shaky breath.

"Do you at least feel better?"

Soifon almost laughed. Her breathing was still off, still shaky but she smiled. "I guess," she replied. She finally raised her head and looked up at him. His long hair had come loose from its tie and was hanging across his face. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were wide and bright.

"That's good," he said, nodding. He was strangely out of breath.

Byakuya didn't let go of her wrists and Soifon was suddenly very aware of how close he was to her. She blushed. For anyone watching them they would look very intimate. She felt a blush intensify with the thought. The position they were in also reminded her of all the different times that Yoruichi had held her in a similar way; pushing her up against the wall, keeping her there with her body. Only this was different; she felt trapped and tense, it was almost claustrophobic. With Yoruichi she had only ever felt safe; relaxed and calm and so many other things that made her blush once more.

Byakuya was blushing too; she could almost feel the heat from his face, so close to hers. Too close.

She cleared her throat. "You can let me go now," she said.

"R-right." He released her wrists and quickly stepped back from her, pointedly not looking at her. He picked both their bags from the floor where they had been discarded during their scuffle, and handed Soifon's to her. "Sorry… I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay," she said quickly, taking her bag from him. "It wasn't your fault."

In silence, they both exited the school. It didn't look as though anyone had seen what had just happened, which Soifon was very grateful for. She didn't want to know what kind of rumors would spring up from what had just happened.

"Fon?"

"What?"

Byakuya took a moment before continuing. He walked a bit ahead of her, not looking back. "There's a small coffee shop near here that's pretty good."

She stopped walking and stared at him.

He stopped walking as well, but didn't turn around to face her. "Would it be alright if I were to buy you a coffee?"

She stared at him. The one ear she could see had gone red. "I don't know, Kuchiki," she said. "It's just…" She didn't really know how to finish the sentence.

"Please?" He turned round. "At least as an apology for what just happened."

"I… I guess," she mumbled. Why the hell was she blushing?

"Right!" he said emphatically. He nodded and turned, pointing in what Soifon could only assume was the direction of the coffee shop. "This way."

Soifon followed after him. She couldn't help but notice that he was smiling.

Yoruichi carefully paced the receiver back down. She stood up from her desk and grabbed her jacket which was slung over the back of her chair, and put it on.

"Everything's still all go then," Kisuke said. He was stood at the other end of her office hiding from having to do any real work.

"That's right," Yoruichi replied. "No rest for the wicked."

Kisuke smiled. "And you're just sinfully wicked, now aren't you?"

Yoruichi frowned at him. He was wearing one of the new shirts she had bought him, but it was badly creased and he had tucked in only one side. He hadn't bothered to brush his hair again and it stuck out at odd angles, he had also once forgotten to shave and patches of stubble covered his chin.

Sighing, she crossed the office towards him. He took a step back as she approached him and she had to lunge to catch him. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and started forcibly tucking it into his trousers.

"Whaaa! Yoruichi!" He cried out, wriggling and desperately trying to escape her clutches. "Stop it! That's just weird! Yoruuuu-iiii-chiiii!"

Having finally succeeded in at least tucking in Kisuke's shirt, Yoruichi stepped back from him. "Seriously, Kisuke, do you have to show up to work looking so scruffy?"

Kisuke pouted at her. "When did you become so obsessed with your appearance?"

"I'm not obsessed."

He ruffled his shirt. "It's uncomfortable when it's tucked in," he complained. "Are you this compulsive with Soifon?"

Once again he was breaking the no-talking-about-Soifon-at-work rule. Yoruichi sighed. "I guess, sometimes," she admitted, "but it's only because I care."

"Sure it is," Kisuke muttered. "Who were you on the phone to?"

"Nobody," Yoruichi answered automatically.

Kisuke raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.

"Fine!" She threw up her hands dramatically. "I was speaking to one of my contacts."

Kisuke nodded at that and barely supressed a smile. "Would this 'contact' be one of Soifon's teachers?"

Yoruichi stared at him. How the hell had he known that? "Did you bug my phone?" She demanded.

"I didn't need to, you're obvious."

She stepped back from him and crossed her arms, directing a flat stare at him. "And so what if I am in contact with one of her teachers?

He shrugged and moved away from her, leaning against the wall. "So nothing," he answered. "It doesn't mean anything to me. It means a whole lot to you though." He tilted his head back and smiled. "And it'll mean a lot to Soifon too. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, she'll not appreciate having you snooping around in her business."

"I'm not snooping," Yoruichi said. "I'm just looking out for her. I've got her going back to school, and now that I've done that I need to make sure that she's actually putting in the effort."

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Kisuke asked. "Rewarding her with sex when she gets good grades?"

Yoruichi flushed angrily. "I was just going to encourage her to do well, that's all."

"With sex?"

Yoruichi slapped his arm. "That's not funny, Kisuke!"

"I'm not laughing!" He held up his arms defensively. "Seriously, Yoruichi, what do you expect to gain from speaking to her teacher?"

Yoruichi sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I just want to make sure she's okay. She's had a rough year. Someone has to look after her."

Kisuke was quiet for a moment and then he sighed. "It's not your job to look after her."

"I know," she said quietly. "But I'm still going to."

"How very admirable," Kisuke said, grinning. Yoruichi was certain that despite his apparent concern, Kisuke was finding the whole situation very amusing. "And what have you told her teacher? How does she feel about giving out sensitive information about one of her students?"

Yoruichi couldn't help but smirk at him. "She's morally reprehensible. She has no qualms about giving me information about Soifon, especially if it means saving her own neck."

"So you have something on her?"

"I have something on everyone. This one though," Yoruichi grinned. "This one owes me one hell of a favor."

Kisuke sighed. "I should have known. You always have everything worked out."

"Of course," Yoruichi said. She checked her watch. "School should be finished by now. By the time I get there most of the students will have gone home. Soifon will certainly be gone. She's given up most the clubs she did, so there's no reason for her to be hanging around."

"Are you thinking out loud?"

Yoruichi looked to him. "Sorta."

"Don't. It's annoying."

"You're annoying," she told him. "I'll see you at home."

He waved to her as she exited the office. She was halfway down the corridor when she heard him call out to her. "Yoruichi! Mind if I use your phone?"

She paused and turned to face him. "The office phone?"

"Yeah."

She considered this a moment. "I guess, so long as you're not calling a seedy sex-line or something."

He grinned at her. "Now would I do something like that?"

She didn't bother to answer him. She smirked and waved to him as she walked down the corridor.

The coffee shop was surprisingly busy. Soifon and Byakuya had to wait in line to be served and then again to find a seat. They ended up sitting at a small table for two, situated in the furthest corner of the small shop.

Soifon cradled her mug of coffee in both her hands and kept her eyes focussed on it. Across from her, Byakuya was doing the exact same thing. Neither of them spoke, neither of them moved. This coffee was proving to be a very bad idea indeed.

Byakuya finally moved, sipping his coffee in an almost delicate manner. He placed the mug gently back down on the table and cleared his throat. "How's your coffee?"

Soifon shrugged. "I uh, haven't tried it yet."

He was watching her now, so she picked up the mug and brought it to her lips, sipping it. It tasted good, but she wasn't too sure she wanted to tell him that. Placing the mug down, she forced a smile.

"It's alright," she said after a moment silence.

He nodded. "Has Ichimaru been bothering you?"

She shook her head.

"Because if he is, then I can…"

"You can what?" She asked incredulously. "Beat him up for me? No offense Kuchiki, but you're not exactly known for your physical prowess."

He flushed and looked away. "Still," he said, "I could do something."

She chuckled into her mug. "Sure you could have," she mumbled. Lowering her mug to the table, she attempted to keep her disbelieving smirk from her face. Try as she might, she just could not imagine Kuchiki Byakuya in any kind of fight. "Look Kuchiki," she started, "I know that you mean well, but I can look after myself."

"I know you can." That surprized her. She had expected him to deny that she could take care of herself. "But that doesn't mean that you should have to."

She stared at him. She really hadn't expected him to come out with something like that.

"Ichimaru hasn't been bothering me," she said. "Honestly, that's the first he's spoken to me in a long time."

Byakuya nodded once, sharply. He took another drink of hi coffee and both he and Soifon lapsed into silence once more. Finally they finished their coffees. Byakuya stood up and grabbed his bag, as Soifon did the same.

They were just about to exit the coffee shop when Isane and Kiyone entered.

Soifon froze. She hadn't spoken to Isane properly for a few weeks now, not since Kiyone had blabbed and started all the rumours that were circulating about Soifon.

"Eh!" Kiyone cried out, shoving past Isane. "What are you two doing in her together?"

Byakuya and Soifon recoiled from Kiyone and exchanged looks.

"We were just having coffee," Soifon said quickly. "What else would be doing in a coffee shop?"

Kiyone's eyes darted between the two of them. "Yes," she said excitedly. "But there's a difference between coffee and coffee."

This would certainly fuel the rumors about her and Byakuya, Soifon thought. Still, they were probably better than the other one.

"We were just leaving," Byakuya cut in before Kiyone could say anything further. "It was nice to see you both." He opened the door and held it for Soifon.

"Wait, Soifon!" Isane said.

Soifon turned. "What is it?"

Isane's eye widened and her bottom lip quivered. "I-it's nothing."

Shrugging, Soifon turned and followed Byakuya from the café. They walked quietly for a moment, Soifon mulling over in her head what Kiyone had been implying.

"I think that Kotetsu got the wrong impression," Byakuya said voicing Soifon's thoughts.

"Yes, it would appear so," Soifon said, chuckling slightly.

Byakuya stopped walking and turned to her, staring. "Why is that funny?"

She faced. "Because it is," she answered. "Us as a couple? It's ridiculous!" She laughed loudly, Byakuya looked mildly insulted and that only made her laugh harder.

"I still don't see why that's funny!" He said loudly.

"It just is!"

He turned, his face flushed pink and his jaw clenched tightly. For a moment he looked like the brash youth that Soifon had known before his father's death.

"It's not funny!" he barked angrily. "And it's certainly not ridiculous!"

She stopped laughing. "It's a little bit funny."

Byakuya still wasn't laughing though. "Why?" He asked, his voice quiet.

"Huh?" She stared at him. He was looking away from her and she moved around him so that she could face him.

"Why would it be ridiculous?" He was definitely blushing now, and Soifon suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

She coughed into her hand and turned from him. "It just is," she said, "I mean we're friends. Anyone with half a brain could see that. Besides," she shrugged, "You're not my type."

"Not old enough?"

She smiled at that. "Something like that."

She heard Byakuya laugh softly from behind her. He walked up to her, his arm knocking casually into hers. "I see," he said, "Does this mean then that I was wrong before, and you're mystery man is an aging business man?"

"I don't know about the aging part, but definitely old," she answered. "Although, he doesn't think so. Actually, I think he's under the impression that he's young. It's a little bit embarrassing."

"Probably for the best that you're not seen in public together."

"Definitely."

They started walking again. Soifon felt a little happier for teasing Byakuya, and even for talking about Yoruichi, even if she did have to lie about her gender.

"Fon, just so you know," Byakuya said, "if I ever meet this man, then I'm not going to be responsible for my actions."

Soifon smirked. "I think that he could kick your ass."

Byakuya scoffed. "I doubt that. But it's probably for the best that I'll never meet him."

Soifon laughed. She certainly agreed with him there, it would definitely be for the best that Byakuya never met Yoruichi.

Yoruichi hurried from the school, keeping her head low. The meeting with Soifon's teacher had certainly been informative. Just as Yoruichi had suspected, Soifon was turning up to school but she still was failing to do any work. Now Yoruichi had someone in place to keep tabs on Soifon, she would be able to encourage her to do her work and be able to know how well she was doing. Of course, Soifon could never know that Yoruichi was checking up on her like this, she'd never understand.

From the school gates, Yoruichi turned and walked down the streets. She hadn't parked near the school, just in case Soifon had been at school and she recognised her car. She walked a good ten minutes up the streets before turning another corner.

She froze and nearly ducked back behind the corner. Soifon was just exiting a café across the road. She was turned away from Yoruichi though, and showed no signs of turning around. Yoruichi smiled, Soifon would be heading in the opposite direction to her, so she was probably safe to watch her from here.

After Soifon exited a young man that Yoruichi recognised: Byakuya.

"Shit," Yoruichi whispered. She'd had no idea that Soifon and Byakuya knew each other. This certainly complicated matters. Yoruichi had worked for Byakuya's grandfather, Genrei, and she had known his father very well. If Byakuya saw her, he would recognise straight away.

Soifon and Byakuya were still standing outside of the café, they appeared to be having a heated discussion. Yoruichi frowned and without realizing it, she started moving closer to them. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Byakuya had that look on face he got when he'd been insulted.

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she realized that Soifon was laughing. Yoruichi smiled softly. At least Soifon wasn't spending her days alone and miserable, as Yoruichi had feared she might. She watched as Byakuya and Soifon started walking away. Byakuya bumped, quite deliberately, into Soifon, jostling her.

Yoruichi frowned at that, a small flare of jealousy biting at her. This was certainly something interesting to witness, and she'd probably have to ask Soifon about him later.

She shook her head as she realized exactly where her thoughts were taking her. Smiling, she carried on walking towards her car. There was absolutely no reason for her to be jealous, and even if there were, she had no right. She turned from the street, leaving Soifon and Byakuya behind.

She opened the door to her car and chucked her bag onto the back seat.

"No way!"

Yoruichi straightened up at the sound of a girl's voice from behind her. She turned. There were to girls standing there, so completely different yet there was something oddly familiar between them both. One was short with blonde hair; the other though was easily the tallest girl that Yoruichi had ever seen in her life, with large timid eyes and silver hair.

"Is that your car?" The tall one asked.

"Um, yeah," Yoruichi answered.

"Wow! That's amazing!" The shorter one squealed.

From the looks of it, the taller one wasn't quite as impressed by Yoruichi's car. She was staring at it with an expression of horror. Her large eyes swung from the car and to Yoruichi.

"Is the car shared?"

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed. This girl had a lot of strange questions. "I told you, it's my car," Yoruichi said. She turned back to her car and climbed in, closing the door behind her. As she pulled away, she could still make out the tall one staring at her.

I think this chapter turned out quite well, a good chunk of plot progression and stuff.

Constructive criticism is wanted and appreciated, I need to know what I'm doing wrong and also what I'm doing right.

I've been thinking about writing a prequel of sorts to this, since I started this part-way through their own personal story I figured it might be interesting to show how they actually met. It would probably only be a one-shot, but I would still be something. I'm not going to bother with it if no one is interested though, since it's not essential to the overall story.