A Matter of Identity Soi sat on the bench opposite Yoruichi with Kisuke, and even though the older girl's eyes were staring blankly into space the freshman glanced up from the floor occasionally since the whole situation was making her paranoid. It certainly didn't help that the receptionist had been told by Ishida-sensei to keep a careful eye on Yoruichi, and as such Nemu was watching the Shihouin girl like a panther prepared to pounce at the slightest sign of trouble. Yoruichi offered none, and Nemu turned her attention to a tall woman with wavy brown hair, muttering a polite, if forced, "The Principal is waiting for you, Kurosaki-sensei" as the teacher walked past and into the waiting office. The freshman felt her dread escalate to an even greater height than before. Since they'd been waiting, at least four teachers had come in, including a friendly looking man with short brown hair and thick glasses. She knew they had to be here because of Yoruichi, but just how many did they need? How badly was she going to be punished? She turned to look at her friend again, Yoruichi's cold gaze this time fixed to a landscape painting hung on the far wall. She hadn't even made an attempt to clean the blood out of her uniform or off her hands, though she hadn't been given much opportunity to do so. Soi opened her mouth slightly, but whether it was to say something reassuring or not she didn't know. Yoruichi hadn't even glanced at Soi since she had stopped her, and even though the freshman hated herself for thinking it she was half-afraid that the upperclassmans' violent temprament might find a target in her. "Come inside, please," a man even darker than Yoruichi said as he stepped out of the Principal's office, his tidy dreadlocks held to the back of his head with a ponytail band. "...All of you," he added while gesturing to Urahara and Soi. As one they all stood up, and when she came into close contact with Yoruichi, Soi tried to speak again but this time Kisuke beat her to it, placing a friendly hand on Yoruichi's shoulder and muttering quickly. "...It'll be all right. Don't worry, okay?" To Soi's hidden frustration, Yoruichi's eyes seemed to soften slightly even though she still hadn't spoken while the youngest of the three held the door open. Principal Yamamoto was sitting in his desk, and forming a semicircle around the periphery of the hardwood table were seven teachers. The one who'd brought them in stood beside the woman the secretary had called "Kurosaki," and then a tall, stocky man whose wild eyebrows and unkempt whiskers reminded her slightly of a fox. The Principal seperated this rather tall man from a much younger one, bearing a striking resemblance to Ichigo but instead of vermilion hair his was dark and the back of it hung near his shoulders; next was the man with the thick glasses and beside him was Ishida-sensei followed by Unohana, whose normally cheerful disposition seemed to have vanished in wake of the recent occurence. The three teenagers stood in a row before the head of Rukongai, Yoruichi in the middle with her disheveled appearance only making her grievance harder to deny. After a moment Yamamoto spoke, his already authoritative voice even more severe. "Miss Shihouin... I'd like to begin by informing you that Unohana-san has just had to send Gin Ichimaru to the hospital." At this Soi nearly gasped but stopped herself, not wanting any attention to be paid to her while in the presence of an administrator; Yoruichi's eyes lowered slightly but she remained silent. "...His right wrist, four fingers on his left hand, nose, and two ribs were broken, not to mention that he nearly had a concussion from severe blunt force," Unohana followed up seriously. "The paramedics said that he'll be all right, but that he's going to remain there to be fitted for casts and placed under observation for a few days." Yamamoto nodded, then turned to Yoruichi. "Now then, (he glanced at a sheet of paper he had before him, then began reading)...You initiated an unprovoked attack against a fellow student in the men's bathroom of the cafeteria, using excessive force until you were restrained by two of your classmates (he indicated Soi and Kisuke with a nod), and was then brought here by Ryuuken Ishida. Does all that seem correct to you?" Silence. Accepting Yoruichi's failure to respond as a validation, Yamamoto leaned forward. "...Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Still, Yoruichi said nothing, and as such Soi nearly tugged on her friend's shirt in a fruitless effort to coerce her into doing something. She was as desperate to know what had driven Yoruichi to this as the teachers, but the older girl only continued to ignore her. "Principal," the gruff giant beside Yamamoto said a rumbling tone, "...If it's any help, Miss Shihouin has never done something like this since she's been in my class." "I have to agree with Komamura-san," Kurosaki added, taking a step closer to the desk. "...I've never had a problem, and I haven't seen any other teacher have trouble with her. Aside from her average grades, I'd say she's a model student." "That may be so," Yamamoto admitted, "...but the fact remains that a student might have been injured far more severely than he had been if she'd been allowed to continue. I've already spoken to his parents and they're threatening to press charges against both Miss Shihouin AND this school unless action is taken." "But sir," the Ichigo look-alike implored, "...her permanent record is practically flawless, and considering the amount of referrals Ichimaru-san has recieved, I can't believe that this could really just be an unprovoked occurence!" "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Shiba-sensei." Finally Yoruichi moved, her eyes narrowing at Aizen as he stepped forward, a simple action that nonetheless sent a distinct wave of unease through the freshman. Urahara seemed to have gotten the same impression as Soi, and he spared a brief glance at his friend before Aizen continued. "...You've only been here since last year, but I'm sure Yamamoto-san could inform you about what Miss Shihouin is capable of doing even under the most minimal of circumstances." They were silent for a moment before the stillness was broken by, to the surprise of especially the speaker herself, Soi Fong. "...E-excuse me, Principal...b-but this is a mistake!" She felt Kisuke's hand on her shoulder, as if to refrain her from speaking, but Soi continued unabated. "I KNOW Yoruichi-san-- she would never do something like this unless there was a reason for it! Gin--he must have--" She froze as Aizen walked straight up to her, the cold glare in his eyes hindering the words from leaving her throat. "Ah...You're Soi Fong. A freshman, correct? And from what I understand..." he paused as he noticed the fire ignite in Yoruichi's eyes at his proximity to Soi, "...you've become 'friends'... a concept, you should know, that means nothing to this girl." The younger girl could almost feel the uncertain look as it crossed her face for only a moment, but she made an effort to keep up her stoic facade as best she could. "...That's not true! I can promise you, she's a good person! If you'd just wait for her to tell you, I'm sure she'll explain th--" "Well, while we're waiting for Miss Shihouin to open her mouth," Aizen said calmly as he stared the freshman down, "...I'm sure she won't mind if I explain some things to you. How can you be so defensive of a woman who attacked three boys at her orphanage, none of whom had any reason to recieve such treatment but that she wanted a toy of theirs?" Soi opened her mouth to begin a premeditated response but the unexpected bit of information caught her off guard, leaving a look of barely concealed surprise evident on her face. "Oh, so she didn't bother to tell you that? Well," the bespectacled man continued, his voice gaining momentum as he spoke, the rush of impending victory betraying himself slightly, "...I'm sure that she would have told you about a series of robberies at small metropolitan stores by a gang, all of whom were eventually abandoned and set up by a girl whose face was never caught on camera, but whose description very CLOSELY resembles that of Yoruichi Shihouin at age 11? And of course she must have informed you, when you became such GOOD FRIENDS, about her long history of arbitrary physical violence ranging from elementary to middle school?" He stopped for only a moment, long enough to savor the utter disbelief Soi was displaying. No...It couldn't be, Soi told herself as she forced herself not to look at her friend. Yoruichi couldn't be like that--she wouldn't... "Provided," he sighed, "...You won't find any of this in a police report, but this school does make an effort to find out EVERYTHING it can about a student before they're admitted. The enrollment staff made as many phone calls as they needed to, contacting everyone who ever crossed paths with Miss Shihouin on the street. With her grades at that point being what they were and what the 'confidential' reports assessed, she wouldn't have even set foot on the lawn of this building if it hadn't been for her parents. They PAID their way in for their precious little girl, and even after they died they essentially had it ironclad that she attend here. And since she never was caught in the act and no one was brave enough to rat her out to the authorities, she's never been so much as fined. It must be nice to be treated like such a princess," he said darkly as he turned to the dark girl, "...Right, 'Shinshun' Yoruichi?" The upperclassman's eyes narrowed at the sound of her old nickname, and even though she did nothing it was obvious she would have been ecstatic for the opportunity to beat Aizen senseless. "A...Aizen-san!" the dreadlocked teacher said with obvious disdain. "Miss Shihouin's past actions have nothing to do with this!" Every other teacher in the room seemed to agree with him but Aizen continued unabated. "I think they do, Tousen-san. The fact that Shihouin does have these 'tendecies' should tell you that this instance is far from isolated, and that her punishment should not be one that shows the slightest bit of leniency. She's committed a horrible act and should be treated as such. Besides, isn't all this true, Miss Shihouin?" The eyes of everyone in the room fell on Yoruichi, and though they didn't bother her she looked down defiantly when she felt Soi's pleading look on her. After a moment, she took a breath and spoke for the first time in nearly half an hour. "...Yes. It's all true." If Soi had looked in a mirror at that moment she would have been face to face with a girl who only looked like her, if she had been born a deathly shade of white. She stared harder at Yoruichi, as if doing so could make time fly backwards, undo what she'd just heard, but when the ticking of the clock on the wall failed to reverse its course she simply gazed into space. The teachers, who all seemed to be aware of these facts, did not move or emote in the slightest, but when Yamamoto spoke they all flinched as one. "Aizen-san-- I must agree with Tousen that you're quite out of line at the moment. However...the fact is that Miss Shihouin cannot be allowed to think this sort of behavior can pass-- with ANYONE in this school. Yoruichi Shihouin," he said and Yoruichi instantly looked up at the Principal, as steady as a confessed criminal awaiting the sentence. "...You are hereby expelled from Rukongai until further notice." ...Expelled? The word, the tiniest of pebbles added to the already overtaxed scales of her mind, sent Soi's sense of reality crashing to the ground. She felt too numb to speak, to even think, but Kisuke's voice suddenly rang out, angry and indignant. "Principal, I have to ask you to reconsider! She hasn't done enough to warrant th--" "Kisuke Urahara--refrain from speaking or I'll ask you to leave!" Unlike Yoruichi, Kisuke knew when to stop, and so it was with an audible growl that the blonde stepped back from the desk he had thrown his hands down on in his frustration. "...No police reports will be filed yet, although I'm sure Ichimaru-san will be quick to respond to that," Yamamoto said in a calmer tone as he turned to a still unmoved Yoruichi. "...I'd like for you to have your things removed by the end of the day. You're all dismissed." Yoruichi was the first to go, and after a moment Kisuke and Soi followed. Once they left the office, Soi ran ahead, catching up with the upperclassman only to find that she was still not looking at her. "...Yoruichi-san?" Soi began quietly, wincing as her voice echoed in the silent hall along with the sound of their shoes hitting the ground. "Yoruichi-san, please tell me-- is it really...?" Before she could finish the older of the two picked up her pace slightly, leaving Soi standing alone while she headed off to begin gathering her books. ---------- "Hey, you." Soi blinked as she walked out of Karate, her hair still slightly damp from the shower, to find Urahara standing there, smiling at her benignly as though nothing had happened. She, however, had been reminded of the event constantly-- when she had gotten back to class people who had seen her come out with Yoruichi pestered her for details, and all throughout her training with the intermediates she'd heard whispers of rumors that were already too far flung to be credible. She gave him a slight nod in response, too tired both mentally and physically for anything more coherent. "...I thought I'd walk you home, after what happened to you over the weekend..." "...I'm fine," Soi answered quietly, hitching her bookcase over her shoulder to lessen the weight on her arm. Kisuke, who seemed to have anticipated this response, nodded as he trailed behind her on the sidewalk. "...Where's, um..." "...She got everything packed up in about an hour," he cut her off with a chuckle. "Probably at home watchin' movies as we speak." He hoped the joke would lighten Soi up a bit but she seemed even more depressed, so he only sighed and continued along to the juncture where they'd head in their own directions. "Well listen, kiddo," Urahara said after a minute of quiet, "...Are you sure there's nothin' I can do to help you out right now?" "Urahara-san...What was Yoruichi-san like before?" Kisuke flinched, nearly dropped his bag at the directness of the question. Sure, he'd been partly expecting it, but for it to come so quickly... "...You've known her a long time, right? I just...I wanna know. Please." He nearly would have refused her had it not been for the fact that it was the first time he'd ever heard Soi Fong say 'please.' It was true that it wasn't really his right to tell about Yoruichi if she hadn't told Soi-- it was HER past, after all-- but somehow it occured to him that he wasn't just the only one Yoruichi trusted completely anymore. Soi deserved to know at this point. He gave a sigh, then moved to the curb and sat down, with Soi immediately following suit. "...You sure you want me to tell you?" he asked calmly, glancing at his watch for the time. Soi stared at the ground for nearly a minute in contemplation, but then finally raised her eyes to meet his. "Positive." Kisuke took a deep breath, then started from as far back as he could recall.
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