"So…" A voice above Rukia made her jump in fright. She looked up and saw a familiar black cat. "You're the one Kisuke's told me all about. Bratty Byakuya's baby sister." The cat jumped down, sitting next to her on the rock. They were in a nearby wooded area, far away from the others. "I'm Yoruichi."
"Oh…" Rukia almost blurted out that she knew who she was. "What a pretty kitty." She almost swooned. "A beautiful little void baby." She cooed.
While Yoruichi seemed to glow with the praise, she gave Rukia a deadly glint in her eyes. "Yes. Now, we both know you know I'm not an ordinary cat. So, let's cut to the chase. Why does your soul smell weird?" Honestly, she looked like she was grinning. "Don't lie. In all my years in this form, my nose has never been wrong. I'll know if you're not being honest."
Rukia laughed nervously. "To be honest… I'm not sure." She frowned. "I'm not even the original Rukia…" She blurted out. "She's still here, of course, guiding me. But in reality. One minute I was me, the next I was her…" Her eyes welled up. "I… While I love having all my friends, and Renji… Not a day goes by that I don't miss my old life…"
Why the hell was she blabbing like this. "I don't know how to put it… She and I share a mind… but I have full control." Ru-Ru was coaxing her. From her memories, she knew Yoruichi was someone she could trust. "I love my Aniki because really, that's what he is. He's my Aniki. I've been Rukia for 40 years. I'm the only Rukia anyone but Renji knows. Shoot even he thought something was off at first… but he accepted me." She covered her face with her hands, it was obvious she was crying by the tightness in her voice. "Izuru… He's my best friend… in this life, and our last life." She continued. "But he's only been Izuru for 20 years." She scrubbed her face with her palms. "Maybe it's because I reincarnated into a soul… maybe that's why it smells weird."
"Wow, that's a lot of information for my question," Yoruichi commented, flicking her tail in interest. "The reincarnation bit makes sense. You smell like there's multiple souls in your body… Izuru, huh? Guess I'll have to pay that one a visit in the future if just asking you a question made you break down."
There was a puff of cloudy smoke, and someone warm and soft pulled Rukia into a hug- Oh, god naked lady!
"You're so young too. The next time I see your brother, I'm going to have to talk with Byakuya about not doing his job." Yoruichi patted Rukia's hair, tucking the smaller girl closely to her person.
Rukia hiccuped slightly and despite her nakedness, Rukia hugged her back.
"There you go. There's no one around… it's okay to cry. I won't tell," Yoruichi soothed, a slight grin on her face as she emotionally poked at the girl.
Rukia sobbed lightly before she started full-on bawling. She cried for the 40 years she spent as Rukia. She cried for the years she lost with her family. She mourned the loss of her previous life at this very moment.
"There we go… good girl. You're being very brave letting this all out," Yoruichi murmured. She stayed still until the girl's crying stopped. Once she was certain Rukia was done, she let her go, turning back into a cat.
Rukia sniffled and rubbed her puffy eyes free of leftover tears. "Thanks… I'm sorry to dump all that onto you." She mumbled, glancing to the side as she shuffled on her feet.
"Don't worry about it. You needed it." Her tail flicked to the side. "Has your friend gotten a chance to do that?" Yoruichi looked around with her little head, as if looking for more people she had to give a naked hug. "I feel like too many of you kids aren't getting enough hugs."
Rukia frowned a bit in thought… "If I know Izuru like I think I know Izuru… He's probably bottling it up until it bursts." She hummed, placing her chin in her hand and closing her eyes as she thought. "He's usually the one to only confide in someone he really trusts… like me… but I already know everything, so really I'm not the best person to info dump like that…" She hummed softly again. "I think he's waiting for that person."
Yoruichi hummed. "He's a Soul Reaper? Who's his captain?"
"Ichimaru Gin." She said seriously.
"Ichimaru Gin…" Yoruichi shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."
"That makes sense, seeing as he was still a kid…" She paused and realized too late that she said that out loud. "Uhhh. Never mind me." She laughed nervously and waved her hand.
"I knew it. You were hiding more from me. You know more than you should." Yoruichi's hackles raised ever so slightly. "Talk."
Rukia paused and looked at her with a soft smile. "Yoruichi… Some things shouldn't be said just yet."
"At least tell me how you know the information. I heard that Ichigo kid talk. Your Izuru friend knew you'd be here- I bet you're just like him." She got on all four paws. "I don't need to know everything. But I want to know how."
"Yoruichi…" She paused. "Honestly… I don't think finding out how I know is going to help… seeing as all this knowledge is locked inside my head and can't be found elsewhere." She frowned deeply. "Memories from my past life have certainly come in handy in the years that have passed." She said cryptically.
If Yoruichi had an eyebrow, she would have raised it. "Fine. Keep your secrets, little reincarnate. I'll just get the information out of your friend~" The kitty purred teasingly, jumping off the rock and hightailing it out of there.
Rukia was about to call after the cat, but then she heard Ichigo call for her.
"Nee-chan! I figured out how to summon fire!"
Rukia turned and grinned. "Great Job! Now figure out how to extinguish it!"
"What?!"
Izuru stepped carefully onto the Kuchiki manor. Last time he was here… he covered the head of the family in glitter. The sealed paperwork clutched tightly to his chest. Something told him that what he had was exactly what he hoped he didn't have… but it was probably that. Well, time to wander in squares until he encountered someone from Squad… Okay he's been Izuru for 20 years, how does he not know all of the squads by now?!
"What do you need, Lieutenant Kira?" The raven-haired man asked as he paused next to him.
"Orders from the council of old dried-up dick waffles," Izuru said without any hesitation or emotion, looking towards the voice with a deep-rooted glare. His hand holding the folder swung and slammed with the full 20-pound-plus weight into Byakuya's chest. "If you got a complaint about my mouth, you should write a formal complaint to my fox of a captain- there's literally no punishment he can give me that'll make me give a flying bat of a fuck about shit. I have a pretty good idea of what's in that folder, and if I'm right, I am going to lose a lot of self-control- and I already don't have a lot of that left. Any questions, comments, concerns, hopes, dreams, or wishes, sir?"
Only Izuru in this very moment could make the word "sir" sound like the insult of the century.
Byakuya paused and had no idea how he was supposed to respond to that.
Izuru's visible but miniscule blue eyes twitched. His neck snapped down with a series of "why doesn't he just use a futon?!" cracks, grabbed Byakuya's wrist, and placed the man's hand on the folder so it didn't fall. Another symphony of cracks waved through the blond as he released the captain, took a step back, bowed a very loud bow, and started storming off.
Renji appeared from a nearby room. "Woah, I've never heard Izuru talk like that before… what's in the folder?" He pointed at it, frowning.
Byakuya sighed and opened the folder. He paused as the words ran through his mind. "We must go and arrest Rukia." He set the folder down. "Now." He stood up, even though it was late, almost 9 pm.
"Oh, um… okay. I'll go get my sword then," Renji stumbled, both verbally and physically, out of the room. Worry swept over him. Arrest… Rukia?
It was late as Ichigo and Rukia were heading home. Training and the odd Hollow encounters are a surefire way to miss out on dinner. "Dad is gonna kill me for being late." Ichigo groaned, rubbing his head. "Why are there so many Hollows? There weren't nearly this many when I was small, right?"
Rukia nodded. "We didn't see nearly this many when you were little." she sighed. It was that night… She didn't want it to be… But after being away from Renji for approximately 2 months… It woooould be nice to see him again. Her grin spread wide across her face.
"Hey, Rukia? I've been meaning to ask…" Ichigo drew in a deep breath. "You… coming here… wasn't the only thing Izuru told me about."
Rukia looked at him with wide eyes. "What else did he say?" she asked seriously, her voice deepening a few octaves with annoyance.
"That the reason he stayed away was because he was worried I'd be killed by someone…" Ichigo started when another voice rang out.
"Well, there you are, Rukia!"
I feel kinda bad that this one is so short... but it ended perfectly! I hope you enjoyed this one!