Apology "...There she is! Hey, Yoruichi-- don'tcha have any more karaoke CDs?" The girl in question blinked, suddenly aware that she was no longer ankle deep in the snow, watching Soi disappear into the cold night; instead Yoruichi had somehow trudged back inside and had shed her damp coat on the staircase railing, her feet already halfway up to her bedroom. "...Huh?" Yoruichi half-mumbled, staring at a rather disheveled but not-quite-drunk Kuukaku who was trailed by Kisuke, apparently more interested in the remaining piece of cheesecake than singing. What were they doing here? When had she let them inside? "You know, CDs! If I don't find some more quick than Rangiku's gonna beat me to the rest of the sake!" Sake...present...Oh, right, Yoruichi suddenly realized, still feeling a bit numb. They were here for the party. Her party. She was ashamed to admit it, but she'd completely forgotten. "Uh...there should be some more in the...the third drawer on the right of the TV cabinet..." she answered slowly, her mind already wandering again. "Ah! I didn't even think to check there-- thanks!" Kuukaku said with a grin, taking off back to the basement at full speed. Yoruichi watched her go, or rather stared at a dot on the wall in her direction for a moment before continuing her vertical march. "...Aren't you gonna come downstairs? You haven't sung at all yet, and I think Shunsui's about to put us through hell for the fifth time tonight," Kisuke asked in mock horror as he finished the dessert. "...No, I'm...I'm gonna go to bed...tell everyone they can stay the night, okay?" Kisuke caught the strange aura his friend was creating, but after a few moments of silence nodded and watched her disappear behind a low wall. ---------- Yoruichi ran a finger over her lips again, this time almost hesitantly. It didn't make any sense-- she could easily slip away from even the fastest strikes of her Karate opponents, could outrun anybody. Without any real vanity she could easily say that there was no one she'd met who was faster than her. And yet when Soi had...kissed her...she couldn't move. Not only that, but she had done it so lightly that Yoruichi wondered if it had really happened. It was strange for her to recieve such a gentle display of affection, especially since every kiss she'd ever taken part in was more an act of blind lust than anything else. "...Soi..." she whispered, surprised at the small bubble of apprehension that formed in her stomach at the thought of her friend but that disappeared just as quickly. So this explained it, the freshman's behavior for the past few months. Her first instinct was to dismiss it as just one of the many crushes she was the subject of, but the more she replayed the incident in her mind, the less it felt like something so ordinary. ...Why couldn't I move? Yoruichi shook her head violently and shifted herself under the covers, trying to force herself asleep. Part of her didn't want to think about it now, and after a while she drifted uneasily into slumber. She woke up three times that night, convinced each time that Soi was patiently waiting for her at the foot of her bed. ---------- The freshman groaned aloud as she clutched her forehead, as if doing so could erase what she'd done. "Goddamnit! How could I be so STUPID?!" The drafty room surrounding Soi Fong didn't answer, but she got the impression that if the walls could speak they would undoubtedly be taunting her. Giving a sigh of defeat, she plopped onto her bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling until her restless right hand traveled into her pocket and found her gift. Soi held it up, watching the necklace sparkle in the streetlight drifting through the window. She could argue that she should have known better than to lose control like that, but...at that moment, just seeing her mother's necklace again, recieving such a wonderful gift from Yoruichi...it had been too much. She must hate me, Soi thought glumly as she set the jewelry on her bedstand. She'd never really meant to reveal her feelings to the upperclassman at all; her plan had been to just keep it all buried down. It would've only made her miserable to watch Yoruichi eventually leave her, get married, start a life in which she had no part, but at least she would've been able to share that time with her. Now she'd ruined their friendship, even though friendship was the last thing she wanted from Yoruichi anymore. Before Soi could continue her train of thought she broke the silence of the room with a loud sneeze, and upon comprehending its significance cursed herself for staying outside for a whole hour. ---------- Sniffles, accompanied by the occasional sneeze, filled Soi's bedroom the next morning, and as the freshman tried to pull the covers closer around her neck to seal in the diminishing warmth she listened intently for the nearby telephone. Deciding that it was better than getting up and running all the way downstairs whenever it rung, she'd grabbed the device along with a bowl of hot soup and salt crackers, along with her latest book, the only weapon against the encroaching boredom. Since, however, the narrative for this one happened to be quite dull as it was, her eyes kept wandering to the phone. She had no reason to think that Yoruichi would call her but wasn't sure if she should initiate the contact herself. She needed to talk to the senior, work all this out. With any luck, she might be able to salvage their friendship, forget about what had happened yesterday. ...Do I really want to do that, Soi wondered as she reached towards the reciever and hesitated halfway. But then, it wasn't about what SHE wanted, Soi thought glumly. In spite of the fact that the older girl had such a delinquent nature she was still so much better than her, so much more deserving of someone else. With her last ounce of self-determination she picked up the phone and dialed her friend's number. "...Hello?" The cheerful voice on the opposite end of the line nearly made Soi hang up right there, reminding her instantly of how strong a hold Yoruichi had on her. The freshman said nothing for a moment, and when Yoruichi began asking if anyone was there she finally answered. "H-hi, Yoruichi-san." Just as she feared. Silence. For a moment Soi thought the line must have been disconnected, but then the other girl responded. "...Hey, Soi." The freshman could feel the tension building in the quiet that followed, but couldn't think of anything to say, of a way to break the ice. Then she sneezed. Three times straight, and by the time she recovered she caught the slightest of chuckles on Yoruichi's end of the phone. "You got sick?" Yoruichi asked, the giddiness returned to her voice and Soi unaware of its artificiality. "Y...Yeah, just a little cold. Probably cause of...all the snow lately..." "...Well, I hope you feel better." Soi's breath caught in her chest. She didn't think Yoruichi would end the conversation this quickly, and with no real options for the response she had intended. "Okay...Bye, Yoruichi-san." "Later," the older girl replied moments before hanging up, leaving Soi to listen to the dull hum of the dial tone. ---------- About an hour later, Soi was trying to rest, still turning the conversation over in her head and wondering what she'd done wrong when the doorbell rang far below. She had every intention of just ignoring it, especiallys since only salesman and the mailman came around this time of day, but when it kept tolling Soi groaned, forcing her tired muscles to lift her up out of bed, grabbing her comforter and wrapping it around her shoulders like a cape in a flimsy resistance to the cold. The chime grew louder as she descended the steps, her impatience growing with every step the girl took. "Look, my father's not in," Soi called as she turned the lock and pulled the door open, "...so you can just wait until later toni-- Yoruichi-san!" "...Mind if I come in?" Yoruichi asked with a smile, though it was just a bit forced. Her younger friend gave a slight nod in the affirmative, stepping aside so that the upperclassman could shed her peacoat, brushing the snow out of her hair with a shake not unlike a wet cat. Soi felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Yoruichi remove the scarf she'd given her but quickly looked away, deciding not to risk bringing the subject up. Yoruichi glanced in her friend's direction, stifling a grin at seeing her wrapped up in a blanket, aware that her eyes had lingered for a bit longer than the humor had lasted. "...Here," the older girl said evenly, holding up a bag marked with the trademark of a nearby pharmacy. "I thought you could use some things." "T-thanks," Soi answered, catching a brief glimpse of the items in the bag, silently grateful as she'd just run out of cold medicine. "Hey, don't worry about it. Just returning the favor, is all." Something about the way she'd said it, so passively as if the act held no real meaning to her, stung at Soi a little, but as far as she was concerned she was just lucky that Yoruichi was still talking to her. Soi wanted to ask her to have a seat, and though Yoruichi looked almost antsy to leave she wanted to say too, needed to speak. They stood there for a moment until Soi's instincts got the better of her. "...Do you want some hot tea, or water or something?" "No, I can't stay long. Kisuke's got the car running outside." Yoruichi paused once she'd spoken, wondering if she could say what was on her mind right now. She felt so tense in Soi's presence all of a sudden, a strange sort of weight on her chest that didn't make her suffer but had the discomfort of being unfamiliar, which in turn made her more uncomfortable. This wasn't like her to hesitate, the cocoa-skinned teen decided, so she decided to bite the bullet and began to speak. "...Listen Soi, about yesterday..." "I'm really sorry!" Yoruichi blinked, frozen in mid-sentence by her friend's words. She turned to look at Soi, who was staring at the ground in an apologetic half-bow. Before she could process what the freshman had just said, or so much as respond, she had continued, never taking her eyes off that particular floorboard she was looking at. "...I...I didn't mean to do it, I swear! It's just... when I saw Mom's necklace again, I didn't know how to say 'thank you,' so I just..." Soi swallowed, eyes shut tight, hating herself for lying but knowing that it was probably the only way to keep Yoruichi's friendship. Her last words came out after a moment, in a barely audible whisper. "...Please don't hate me, Yoruichi-san." The older girl just stared at the top of Soi's head, a mixture of relief and disappointment stirring uncomfortably in the back of her mind. This was what she had wanted, after all; a chance to keep things the way they were, but hearing Soi tell her that kiss had been a mistake made something in the pit of her stomach turn, as if it was the insistence that something she instinctively knew to be true was not so. This whole situation made her feel off-balance, but for all her misgivings she only smiled and placed a hand gently on Soi's shoulder, prompting her to look up again. It was the most contact she dared to risk, but why she didn't know. "...Of course not, Soi! Don't worry about it-- water under the bridge and all that." It took the freshman's worried face a moment to light up, a relieved smile on her face that held Yoruichi's gaze in spite of herself. "S-so... We're still friends, right?" Soi asked eagerly, and though the older of the two half-wanted to take back what she'd said she simply forced herself to keep smiling. "Yeah... We're still friends." A/N: Well, I'm back. Don't worry, more updates to come soon, now that I'm back at school.
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