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It seems that alot of you guys gave my latest one-shot, "Cool for Cats," a pass. Ignore the terrible name and the characters and just give it a read. I promise, it's good stuff. And if you did the same with "Quarrels," give that a read to.
"Damn bitch," A bald man currently confined to a bed by his cast encased leg grumbled. "Why couldn't she use that kido I hear so great?" He crossed his arms and frowned. Like the majority of the people that came in and out of the Fourth Division's infirmary regularly, he was a member of the Eleventh and as eager to get back.
Turning to his side, he spotted a rolling stand with various medical implements and pills on it. Casually, he tipped it over. The contents scattered across the ground, creating quite a loud racket.
"Nurse!" He yelled as loudly as he could. Quickly, a small red-head came running out.
"What is it?" The small girl seemed quite worried.
"Clean that up." He pointed to the scattered objects on the ground. The girl's expression changed from worry to irritation as she dropped down to clean up the mess, too agitated to notice the bald man staring down her kosode, taking advantage of the fact that she neglected to put on an undershirt this morning.
"Is there a problem, here?" The man's faced paled at the sound of the matronly voice.
"N...no! Nothing's wrong, Unohana-taicho!" He stammered.
"If for some reason you are unhappy with your treatment here, I will be more than happy to send you back to your division." Unohana smiled warmly. "I hear Kenpachi-taicho is quite accommodating to injuries." The red head couldn't stifle a small giggle as Unohana left, leaving another member of the Eleventh quaking in fear.
From there, Unohana moved to the next ward. These people were not injured, but had fallen to various illnesses. There was no speech here, only the quite sound of breathing and the occasional noise from various monitors. Slowly, as if not to disturb the silence, she walked over to the IV stand of one of the patients to check the fluids.
"Unohana!" The head physician's eyes closed slowly as Yoruichi's voice rang through the ward, a pained expression washed across her face briefly
"I'm going to have to ask that you lower your voice." Unohana didn't turn away from the IV she was checking. "These people are sick and need rest. And forgive me if I am wrong, but I am unaware of any cause for alarm."
"I need to talk to you." Yoruichi obliged and lowered her voice.
"Unfortunately, I am unable to talk right now." Unohana walked to the next inhabited bed, still not looking to Yoruichi. "Feel free to wait in my office while I finish my rounds."
Scowling, Yoruichi walked off. Luckily, there was no one in the halls to get in her way this time. She reached Unohana's office and entered, falling back heavily in the seat in front of the woman's desk. The fact that the seat was comfortable helped ease her agitation.
That small comfort became a cold one as five minutes melted away to a half-hour and a half-hour gave way to a full hour.
Finally, after watching the second hand of the clock on Unohana's wall circle three-thousand, nine-hundred and sixty times, Yoruichi heard the door open.
"I thought you said you just had to finish your rounds?" Yoruichi snapped once Unohana closed the door.
"I did," Unohana confirmed as she walked back behind her desk. On her way, she grabbed a small wrapped candy from a dish. "You just so happened to catch me at the beginning of it." Carefully, she unwrapped the candy. It was a caramel ring with a cream center. She placed it in her mouth and chewed it slowly. "Now, what can I do for you, Yoruichi-dono?"
"I know about Sui and Rei," Yoruichi replied flatly, her eyes narrow.
"Yes, Rei has been doing quite well in helping Sui-Feng-taicho readjust to life with only one arm." Unohana smiled warmly. "I'm considering starting a rehabilitation division and appointing her as the head."
"Cut the crap," Yoruichi bit back. "I know about Sui and Rei." Yoruichi's expression saddened momentarily before regaining its righteous fury. "How could you do this to me?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know what I've done?" Unohana looked mildly confused.
"Please, you're Okaa-taicho," Yoruichi threw her head back in exasperation. "You know everything about everyone. Sometimes...before they even know it about themselves."
"I am afraid that you have me mistaken for someone else." Unohana laughed lightly. "I am no psychic. However," Yoruichi's eyes were snapped wide open as she felt the air in the room change. A chill ran up Yoruichi's spine and it became hard for her to breathe. Even though Unohana's smile never faltered, the only thing Yoruichi could feel was what she could only describe as menace. "Even if I were some sort of clairvoyant, like you claim, I was unaware I was under any obligation to use that information to your exclusive benefit."
Yoruichi finally regained the ability to breathe when the door behind her unexpectedly opened.
"I…Is everything alright, Taicho?" It was Isane. She obviously ran here, as she was breathing heavily, and she looked more than a little frightened.
"Yes, everything is fine, Isane. Please escort Yoruichi-san out of the infirmary." Unohana spoke calmly. Yoruichi quickly stood up, having regained some of her composure.
"I'm fine," Yoruichi shoved her way past Isane and quickly made her way out of the Fourth Division compound.
Once out of sight of the women, Yoruichi practically ran out of the Fourth Division compound. The fresh air of the outdoors hit her lungs, but it was hardly reassuring. It took all her self control not to scream and pull out her hair where she stood.
Yoruichi hadn't expected things to be easy for her, but no part of her anticipated things going this badly. She had to find Sui-Feng and try to salvage the situation before things got any worse than they already were.
It had only been a day, but Sui-Feng was already beginning regret her decision to return to full administrative duties.
Since the loss of her arm, Sui-Feng had spent the majority of her time on duty training to get back up to full combat strength. Now that she felt comfortable with martial state, she decided that it was time to return back to actively running the two Divisions, a task that had been previously handled by several of her seated officers and, most unfortunately, Omeada.
Already, Sui-Feng missed her daily training. The Captains were truly wasted on a day-to-day basis. There was very little of what they did in running the Division's that couldn't be handled by a computer or a well trained secretary at most.
And yet here she was, walking around the Second Division compound, literally, looking for something to do. It was unfortunate that this was a part of the recovery process. Until she resumed her full duties prior to her injury, Unohana would not sign off on her undertaking any missions.
A sudden, shooting pain stopped the Chinese woman in her tracks. He face contorted as she instinctively reached to assuage the hurting. Her heart panged, as it did every time, as her hand found only the empty sleeve.
Two years and they still haven't quite stopped, Sui-Feng thought as she looked around. The phantom pains were usually brought on by stress, which made sense, given her current situation.
Thankfully, there was no one around to see her. She quickly composed herself and turned around, now with a destination in mind.
Oh good, she's alone, Yoruichi's relief melted through her posture when she spotted Sui-Feng walking along one of the causeways of the Second Division compound.
That relief soon turned to confusion as Yoruichi watched Sui-Feng turn, what was in her mind, the wrong way at an intersection. Now cautious, Yoruichi quietly began to tail Sui-Feng, because the last time she barged into a situation like this, she got more than an eyeful.
Stealthily, Yoruichi darted form corner to corner as she watched Sui-Feng winder her way down in roads and paths Yoruichi had no recollection of. Finally, Sui-Feng stopped in front of a store house. Removing a key from her haori, she unlocked it and stepped inside.
Yoruichi waited before approaching. Once she was sure there were no signs of activity from the store room, she cautiously approached.
Pressing her ear against the door, Yoruichi could hear the sound of another door being closed.
The lock that held the door closed was nothing special. It was strictly mechanical, with not even kido reinforcing it. It didn't take much effort for Yoruichi to pick it and slip inside.
The inside was as plain as the outside. There were only a few boxes on the ground. What was perplexing was that there was no sign of Sui-Feng, and more befuddling, no sign of another exit.
Yoruichi took a few quiet steps around the store room, watching the dust fall though the rays of sunshine streaming through the window.
She stopped walking when she felt something different about the floor. A small patch of it bowed under her weight, unlike the rest of the wooden surface. Bending down, Yoruichi noticed a small seam in the grain of the wood. Sliding a box to the side revealed an inlayed handle and hinges. Slowly, she lifted the hatch, thankful that the hinges were well greased. Below was a short drop followed by some stairs.
Yoruichi gracefully dropped down and closed the hatch behind her, immediately feeling the humidity increase as she did so. Intrepidly, she made her way down the stairs.
There was a rumor going around that the Second Division had hot springs built in the Barracks. As with all rumors, there is a grain of truth to it. While Sui-Feng had used Omeada's funds to install hot springs, she did not for the benefit of all the enlisted men.
Currently, there were only two. There was one for the officers and a private one for her use only, which is where she currently was.
The room was rather small; not much larger than the storeroom above it. The relaxingly low lighting belayed how almost dangerously slick the humidity had made the tile floor. In the middle was a warm pool of water, emanating heat though the room. This particular spring made no pretense for naturalness, and thus lacked the rocks and stones that had come to be associated with hot springs. If it had water jets, it would be what the humans call a hot tub.
On the other side of the room some towels and a clothes rack. Sui-Feng quickly stripped down and placed her clothes on the rack, as well as the unraveled bandage that used to cover the remains of her left arm. She left the towels where they were.
Slowly, Sui-Feng lowered herself into the heated water, enjoying the sensation of the warmth enveloping her. She could feel her muscles relaxing one-by-one. Submerging herself up to her neck, she rested her head on the floor and closed her eyes, enjoying the relaxing heat.
"Nice digs."
Sui-Feng sat bolt upright and her eyes shot open. She calmed down slightly when she realized it was Yoruichi that spoke, but not much. "W…What are you doing here, Yoruichi-sama?" Sui-Feng had long-since stopped asking "how" of Yoruichi. Sui-Feng sank back into the water slightly, obscuring her breasts.
"I saw you headed someplace strange and decided to follow you." Yoruichi replied almost proudly. "Mind if I join you?"
"Yoruichi-sama I…" Before Sui-Feng could offer up a protest, Yoruichi had already begun undressing. With great effort, Sui-Feng managed to avert her gaze.
"Ah!" Yoruichi sighed as she fell into the water, creating a small splash. "Just right." Sui-Feng turned back to face the woman, only to find Yoruichi's chest still completely above the waterline, her arms spread out behind her. "I've got to say, I didn't even have my own personal hot spring." She smirked, letting her eyes drink in as much of Sui-Feng as she could.
"Omeada may not be the most ideal Lieutenant," Sui-Feng eyes fell to the water as she slumped down until the bottom of what used to be her left arm fell below the water. She could feel Yoruichi looking at it. "But his wallet has proven useful enough."
"Yeah, you've really fixed this place up," Yoruichi replied. "The heated floors are a nice touch." Sui-Feng did not respond. After a few moments of silence, Yoruichi spoke again. "So….have you ever brought Rei down here?"
"No," Sui-Feng mumbled, a little regretfully.
"Huh," Yoruichi couldn't help a small smile at that.
"I have to get back to work," Sui-Feng said hurriedly and got out of the spring with equal rush. She quickly grabbed a towel and dried herself off and hastily dressed herself afterwards, moving too fast to notice that Yoruichi wasn't even pretending to not stare.
Yoruichi got out of the water as well, letting the droplets of water roll down her body as she raised her hands above her head to stretch, acutely aware that she had finally arrested Sui-Feng's attention. She finished up stretching her limbs with a satisfied moan.
"That was nice," Yoruichi said as she dried herself off. Sui-Feng didn't reply, but instead hurried out. Yoruichi quickly dressed herself and followed. By the time she finally caught up, Sui-Feng was back on the main causeway of the Second Division.
"Where are you headed now?" Yoruichi inquired.
"I have some papers to finish up in my office." Sui-Feng lied, hoping the doldrums of red tape would scare off Yoruichi.
"I'll keep you company," Yoruichi replied. "Paperwork always goes faster when you have a distraction." Sui-Feng gritted her teeth as she rounded the corner.
The two women reach Sui-Feng's office not long after. Sui-Feng slid the shoji open and made way for Yoruichi. Once she was inside, Sui-Feng slid the shoji shut.
"Why are you here, Yoruichi-sama?" The sentence sounded far more strained and far less angry than Sui-Feng intended it to.
"I…" Yoruichi could see it; the pain on Sui-Feng's face. And she could hear it in her words. And yet, her voice failed her. She opened her mouth, but found it dry and unable to form the words she wanted to say. Her breath became rapid as she started to panic.
Afraid of losing the moment, Yoruichi let her instincts take over, falling back on the one form of expression that has never failed her. In one swift motion she pounced on Sui-Feng, pinning her up against a wall with a hammer-like kiss.
Sui-Feng was too stunned, too elated to do anything but stand there as she felt Yoruichi's mouth on her own and her tanned hands drop from her shoulders and start travelling lower.
Lost in the moment, Yoruichi's hands began to find their way beneath Sui-Feng's clothes when she suddenlyfelt the Chinese woman's fist collide with her eye socket with such tremendous force knocking Yoruichi to the ground.
"Is that it?" Sui-Feng looked down on Yoruichi, her eyes smoldering. She could never remember a time when she had been so infuriated. But as much rage she had for Yoruichi at this moment, she held double for herself.
"Is that why you came back?" Sui-Feng literally spat on the ground, trying to rid herself of the lingering sensation of the kiss. She hated how good it had tasted "You were just horny and looking for a quick lay?" Her fist clenched and unclenched. "And you thought that I was sniveling and pathetic enough to just let you have your way with me?" She remembered the feeling of Yoruichi's hands on her. She hated how right it had felt. "After all you've done to me? After all the shit you've put me through?"
Yoruichi looked up at Sui-Feng, who was literally shaking now, in stunned silence. Before she could even contemplate a response, Sui-Feng stormed out.
This time, Yoruichi could not control herself. She fell back onto the floor as a frustrated scream escaped her. The scream quickly became choked and constrained and her eyes began to sting in a manner that was so long forgotten it was almost alien.
For the first time in over half a millennia, Yoruichi cried.