Ambivalence "Is it okay if I change the station?" Yoruichi instinctively looked away from the road at Soi's unexpected question, instantly remembering why she had been so focused on her driving in the first place. Her eyes lingered on the girl beside her for only a moment before answering, then turned back to the task at hand. "Uh...sure. Not my car, anyway." Soi relinquished the smallest of chuckles before leaning forward, intensely focused on the 'scan' button. Yoruichi smiled to herself-- it was amazing how quickly the space between them had filled with tension when she'd told Soi that Kuukaku wouldn't be coming, but it seemed that perhaps she'd been imagining it in the first place. It didn't stop her from frowning slightly when the freshman leaned back in her seat and resumed gazing out the side window, but then she caught herself WANTING Soi to look at her and dismissed the notion quickly. It took Yoruichi a moment to realize what Soi had put on; she'd half expected her companion to just switch to the next pop music channel, not the slow tempo of a base guitar accompanied by the clamorous melody of a brass trombone that now filled the cabin. "...I didn't know you were into Blues, Soi." "Well, a little bit..." the girl admitted sheepishly as she scratched the back of her neck, the sleeve of her navy windbreaker sliding easily down her scrawny wrist. "...If you want to change it back, then--" "No," Yoruichi insisted, grinning once she realized she'd begun tapping on the steering wheel in time with the music. "It just kinda surprised me, is all." "...Yoruichi-san?" "Hmm?" the senior muttered, glancing around the the opposite sides of the street as she came to a four-way stop. "...I-I really like what you're wearing." Soi was so busy scolding herself for such a pathetic-sounding compliment that she didn't notice her friend tense slightly, or the slight blush on her face that was hidden as she double-checked the right side of the intersection. Yoruichi was still facing the opposite direction when she muttered a quick 'you too,' not daring to look at Soi's spaghetti-strap top again, at the same time telling herself that she'd seen outfits far more obscene, tops cut far below the rather conservative neckline the freshman was sporting. In spite of what logic insisted as she drove, seeing Soi in something like that certainly didn't elicit a normal reaction. ---------- "Shihouin-- your table's ready!" At the waitresses' call Soi followed her friend through the crowd still waiting to be seated, sticking as close as she could to avoid getting lost. The Homounka had gained notoriety among frequent visitors as a bit of a dive, and with the low crimson lights, thin layer of smoke hanging to the ceiling and constant hum of low-key conversation Soi immediately understood why. It probably would have gone out of business long ago were it not for the food, which apparently had the reputation of being easily five-star quality without the stifling atmosphere normally accompanying such establishments; this in turn created demand for a wide dance floor as it became a popular weekend spot, and the eclectic variety of live music ensured the patronage of a wide range of Friday-night thrill seekers. "...So, you like it?" Yoruichi asked with a grin once the waitress had left with their dinner order. "What?" the freshman called back, cupping her hand to her ear to understand the older girl over the ruckus. "DO YOU LIKE THE PLACE?" "OH! UH... IT'S OKAY..." "Soi, you're a terrible liar," Yoruichi teased as she began fidgeting with the simple glass pepper- shaker on the table. "... I thought this could be a learning experience for you-- you know, stepping outside your comfort zone and all that." Soi blushed at the unintended double-meaning those words had to her ears, but gave an admissive nod regardless. It was true that she did feel a little strange in a rowdy location such as this, but somehow knowing that Yoruichi was there made her feel a bit safer. She glanced out at the dance floor, not so much watching the fevered activity as passively observing, but Yoruichi nonetheless saw her doing so and grinned. "Wanna dance?" Soi instantly turned back to her with a shocked expression, but managed to quickly (if poorly) mask it with mild indifference. Yoruichi almost regretted what she'd said, knowing that she was ignoring the little voice in her head that told her she was treading on thin ice, but the innocent look on Soi's face banished it from her mind. "S-sure," the freshman answered as evenly as she could. ---------- The patriarch of the Fong family smiled as he scribbled his last notes on the margins of the deposition, hardly able to believe his luck. Unless his bosses set the chipped clock on the far wall behind to get an extra hour out of their employees, he'd finished at least two hours earlier then expected. He gave an exhausted sigh before picking up the nearby phone, quickly dialing his home phone number. "Soi-chan," he announced once the answering machine picked up his call, "...I finished early, so we can go to dinner after all! I'm leaving right now, so get changed quick and think about where you want to go, okay? I'll see you soon!" Upon setting the reciever back on its hook he grabbed his coat, the grin lighting up his features not fading in the slightest. He gave a distracted wave 'farewell' to the inattentive secretary cheating on the day's crossword, then pulled up his coat as he stepped into the drafty covered-parking garage. Half an hour, he thought quietly. I hope she'll be ready by then. ---------- Yoruichi resisted the urge to laugh out loud as her friend bumped into yet another irritable dancer, immediately struggling to apologize over the noise that passed for dance music. "Soi," the senior asked with a grin, "...Are you even TRYING to follow the rhythm?" "It's kinda hard to do that when you don't have any room to move," Soi grumbled just loud enough that Yoruichi could hear her. "Look, it's really not that hard-- just try swaying to the beat. That's basically all there is to it." The upperclassman had begun a rather metronomic sort of shifting while she was talking, her movements growing livelier as the music got to her; a primal and repetitive beat. Soi wanted to excuse herself, but as she watched Yoruichi's demonstration she decided that she might as well try, and before she knew it her shoulders were bobbing in time with the chorus, arms ebbing and flowing before her, eyes shut as she concentrated. The older of the two watched gleefully, partly from pride that her friend was enjoying herself while something else in her simply refused to look elsewhere. It was true Soi looked just a bit ridiculous, very much out of her element, but still... Yoruichi caught her train of thought in place again, and decided that it was safer to simply smile. "...All right, our next request is comin' up, so get ready..." the DJ called over the microphone, and to the displeasure of just about everyone on the dance floor the music slowed dramatically, followed by the shift from technicolor lights to a fuzzy blue haze. Yoruichi's smile dropped almost in time with Soi's as the majority of the buzzed-out crowd drifted away, leaving only a handful of couples and a few drifters on the scuffed tile floor. Yoruichi felt herself glance at the nearest blissful pair, then at her friend, who seemed equally apprehensive. She knew it looked worse to be standing so close to Soi and looking abivalent, but she wasn't sure how the freshman would take it if she DID dance with her on THIS particular song. It was strange for her to feel self-conscious at all but the senior could almost swear the eyes of everyone else were on the pair of them, as if expecting them to do something. "Yoruichi-san--" "Sure," the older girl muttered distractedly as her hands moved automatically to Soi's waist, mentally punching herself when she realized that she wasn't looking the surprised freshman in the eye. "...But it's just because you could use the practice, and..." "Um...our dinner's here." Yoruichi blinked, felt her eyes flit over to their nearby table where, in fact, their order sat waiting for them, steam barely visible in the low illumination. "...Oh. Yeah," the dark-skinned girl said quietly, jerking her hands back in the process. "Let's go eat." She immediately marched over to the booth, leaving Soi to wonder confusedly what had just happened.
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