The Punch Heard 'Round The World "Hey, Soi, what's takin' so lo--" Yoruichi started as she walked up to her petite friend, but then saw who she was talking to. "...Kisuke? What the hell are you doing in that get-up?" "Hey, Yoru-chan! (smack) Oww! You don't need to be so rough, Yoru-ch-- (smack-smack) Oww!" Urahara rubbed his crown as he bent down to pick up his fallen sandal-hat, handing the warm pizza box to Soi Fong on his way down. "Hey, since Yoruichi's here, you mind if I stay for a while?" Soi Fong was too appalled by Urahara's boldness to speak immediately, but fortuately Yoruichi seemed more than used to this behavior. "What are you talking about? I assume that you're WORKING for once, aren't you?" "Yeah," Urahara said with a shrug as he tried to let himself in but was stopped by Yoruichi's hand, "...But they won't care if I'm a little late since I just started..." "...There's no WAY I'm going to let you slack away another job, Kisuke..." Yoruichi began, but was swiftly interrupted by her unshaven friend. "Come on, I haven't even eaten dinner yet!" He said with a slight pout, which left the tall girl unfazed. "Look, first off, you should've eaten before your shift began! Secondly, this ISN'T my house so I don't have any right to say whether or not you can come in. Soi!" The freshman girl jumped at suddenly being brought into the argument. "Uhh...Yes?" "Are you going to let Kisuke in?" Soi could only look at the sandy-haired male's pitiful expression for so long before she acquiesced, completely missing the look on Yoruichi's face that made it clear he should have no part in their meal. "...It's all right with me..." "Ah! Thanks, Soi-chan!" ...'Soi-chan?' the girl thought with annoyance as Kisuke let himself in, nearly forgetting to slip off his shoes in the process. "Umm...Soi Fong? Why is the pizza guy still here?" the head of the house called from the kitchen when Urahara shuffled past a clearly annoyed Yoruichi, not courageous enough to look her in the eye. "Oh! I'm one of Yoruichi's friends! Kisuke Urahara--pleased to meet you!" the laid-back teen said casually, his jovial voice carrying over into the entryway where Soi was starting to look repentant and Yoruichi sighed in exasperation. "...Was it bad for me to let him in?" "Yes. Yes it was," Yoruichi said with flawless deadpan delivery. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In spite of Yoruichi's additude regarding Urahara as a dinner guest, he was surprisingly well behaved--even if he didn't always address Soi's father with the proper degree of respect and did end up eating nearly half the pizza before Yoruichi stopped him with another smack on the head. Soi's father, at first nonplussed by Urahara's devil-may-care demeanor, now seemed to be enjoying the teen's company, and the two had fallen into friendly conversation. "...So then I realized that I'd overslept, and I completely missed the Center Exam. So then I just went right back to sleep!" Soi was holding back a chuckle at the absurdity of Urahara's anecdote, while her father was laughing out loud and Yoruichi was absentmindedly chewing on her slice of pizza. "That's not really a story to be proud of," The girl said lazily as she wiped off a bit of tomato sauce with the back of her hand. "N-no, it's not, but..." the eldest Fong was only barely succeeding in suppressing his glee as he set down his glass of water. "...I have to admit, the same thing happened to me when I was that age!" Soi blinked in shock at the mention of an event that he had never divulged to her before. "D-Dad? You had to re-take the college test?" She couldn't believe that her intelligent and wise patriarch could ever have anything in common with this uncouth loser. "Well...yes I did, actually," he said with a bit of humility. "...It's really not an uncommon thing, Soi-- lots of kids don't get into college right after high school. Sorry I never told you--I just thought that you'd think less of me for it." "N-no!" she answered immediately, but now she wondered if there happened to be more skeletons in her father's closet. She was shaken away from her thoughts as Yoruichi leaned toward her and whispered. "...How the hell did this end up happening?" The tall girl sighed as she glared at her friend, but her simple statement had set off a question in Soi's mind. ...How DID this happen? Of all the bizzare things that had occured to her over the last few days, this had to be the most outlandish: what had begun as simply another quiet evening with her father had somehow transformed into a real dinner with people laughing and talking. As she took in the sight before her, Soi Fong suddenly realized that for the first time in who knew how many years, her table was full. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, I'd better get going," Yoruichi said with a contented yawn as she headed for the front door. "...And thanks for having me for dinner," she added with a bow to Soi's father. "...I'd better be headin' out too," Urahara lazily added. "I probably should be getting back to work..." "You should've BEEN at work a half-hour ago!" Yoruichi chided with a roll of the eyes that was not lost on anyone in the vicinity. "I swear, only someone as smart as you would be a two-time ronin stuck in freakin' food service!" "Huh?" Soi said with unabashed confusion. Had Yoruichi just implied that Urahara wasn't a complete idiot? "...It's a long story," the unshaven teen said as he picked up his striped hat from its place on a nearby chair. "Oh-- don't forget your money for the delivery!" Soi's father said as he reached in his pocket and handed Urahara the money his daughter had returned to him. "Oh, hey...You don't need to worry about that, I've already imposed on you enough--" "No." Urahara's casual grin faded at the sudden degree of severity in the old man's voice. "I won't accept a handout. Take it." After a few moments of both obstinate men standing there in silence, Urahara reached out at the open palm, but only took half the money. "Here--since I ate more than my share, consider it a discount." Soi's father, whose face had been frighteningly stoic for the last few minutes, suddenly smiled and slammed Urahara so hard on the back that the surprised teen doubled over and Yoruichi broke into laughter. "...You're a good kid, Urahara-kun. And you too, Yoruichi-chan. Feel free to visit whenever you want." The two upperclassmen bowed in his direction (for Urahara it was more of a low nod) and Yoruichi gave Soi Fong a quick wave and a smile before following her friend outside. "Well, I'm glad you've got some friends, Soi-chan," her father said with a grin as he turned back into the kitchen, not noticing the odd look on his daughter's face. It seemed like such an odd thing to say for something so casual, but before she could regret it, Soi ran to the door and opened it so that she was standing on the outside step. "Y-Yoruichi-san!" The tall girl turned at the sound of her name to see Soi Fong standing on the small area that served as her front porch, her nervous blush invisible in the twilight. "T-thank you for staying for dinner..." Soi was afraid that the upperclassman might think her 'clingy' or 'needy,' but Yoruichi only smiled and waved again as she headed toward Urahara's parked car, outfitted with a lit-up sign for the pizza place on its roof. "Thanks, Soi Fong! See you tomorrow at school!" Somehow, the smile that Yoruichi gave her had become infectious-- Soi had caught it, and it refused to fade from her face even when her father asked her if she had something on her mind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Soi Fong woke up the next morning feeling oddly refreshed and excited. What she was excited about specifically she wouldn't even admit to herself, but even so she got up and dressed with such speed that her father took notice and asked her about the odd change in her demeanor. She blushed against her will as she told her father that she was simply feeling energetic today, which only made him chuckle as she practically swallowed her breakfast and dashed out the front door. The trip to school practically flew by, and nothing shattered Soi's blissful illusion until she felt a strong hand grab her collar from behind and force her into a small alcove in the school's outer wall. "Well, well... an' what're you so happy 'bout?" Soi blinked and looked up to see her antagonist sneering down at her, his vicious grin set firmly back in place. The fearful girl tried to break free, but he merely reinforced his grip with his other hand. "Th' way I see it, ya got nothin' to be smilin' over, what wit' yer bodyguard not bein' here an' all. Now, about that beatin' ya weaseled yer way out of..." "Ichimaru!" The silver-haired bully turned his head to see Yoruichi standing a few feet away, her arms crossed and a deadly gleam in her eye. "Let her go." Before Gin could speak, a second, far more laid-back voice sounded from around the corner. "Hey, Yoru-chan...What's goin' on over here?" With a grin, Urahara appeared and walked until he was standing beside Yoruichi, looking relaxed but ready to jump in as soon as things got ugly. Instead of fear, however, Gin's eyes were full of contempt. "Hmph. Why're you makin' such a fuss over this kid, Shihouin? Ya never were one ta play th' defender o' the weak b'fore..." "She's my friend," Yoruichi said with an icy undertone. "So...If you've got a problem with her then you'll have to deal with me." Urahara made a threatening step in Ichimaru's direction, but Yoruichi stopped him with an outstretched hand. The bully's grin widened at her attempt to intimidate him as he turned his attention back to the helpless Soi Fong. "Well, that may be... but she still needs ta be taught a lesson for makin' me look like an idio--" he stopped as he noticed a glimmer of metal carefully hidden beneath the freshman's shirt. "Hmm...What's this?" He tugged on the chain to reveal that it was a necklace with a small pendant hanging at the end. Even Yoruichi blinked when she saw the surprisingly expensive-looking charm-- a long, slender ruby cut into a rectangle with silver trim, the perimeter of which was lined with what looked almost like tiny diamonds. "Hmm..." Ichimaru said with glee in his voice as he toyed with the pendant in his hand, "...maybe I'll spare ya' that beatin' and just pawn this thing instead." He looked up at his victim and was satisfied to see her eyes widening with what he assumed was dread. "Besides, this lil' thing's prob'ly worth more than some poor trash like you could--" "GET YOUR GODDAMN HANDS OFF THAT!" Ichimaru barely had time to react to the uncharacteristic scream and anger issuing forth from the docile Soi Fong before a fist came out of nowhere and sent him straight to the ground, finally freeing her from the bully's grip. Soi turned her eyes gratefully in Yoruichi's direction, but to her surprise the dark upperclassman and her confidant were both standing with looks of utter shock on their faces. It took Soi a moment staring at her still-clenched fist to realize that the one who had just broken Ichimaru's nose was her. For what seemed like an eternity, no one moved or said anything. Finally, his hand sheltering his slowly bleeding orifice, Ichimaru stood up without a word and forced his way past Urahara and Yoruichi, neither of whom made any attempt to stop him. "...Um..." Soi began, unconsciously rubbing her now-sore knuckles, "...I didn't really mean for that to happen..." before she could continue, however, Yoruichi's face broke into a jovial smile and she hugged the petite girl, easily picking her up and twirling her as she laughed the whole time. "THAT WAS AWESOME! You flat-out kicked his ASS!" the tall girl managed through tears of irrestrainable mirth as she set the nonplussed Soi back on the ground. "I never thought I'd see the day when he-- Oh, damn, that was great!" Urahara stared dumbfounded at his friend's reaction, while Soi Fong was left speechless from a combination of the shock of actually hitting Ichimaru and the unexpected after-effect of Yoruichi's embrace. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, I don't think you'll have to deal with him again. He won't wanna admit that he got his ass kicked by a freshman," Urahara said with a grin as the three walked down the halls of the school, a measure of normalcy restored to their already unusual interactions. "Oh, come on...It was just a lucky punch," Soi began with a blush on her face, but Yoruichi interrupted. "Whatever. Luck had nothing to do with it. Although I am curious as to what could have made you angry enough to hit him..." The long-braided girl carefully adjusted her collar to hide her pendant again, not wanting to talk about the precious piece of jewelry at the moment. "Well, this is where we part ways," Urahara said with a wave as he walked toward the stairs. "...Goodbye, Yoruichi-san," Soi Fong said with a slight bow to the upperclassman. Yoruichi sighed to herself at Soi's incessant formality, but was grateful that at least she was addressing her in a more casual way. The freshman started to walk off just as a thought occured to Yoruichi and she called back to her. "Hey, Soi Fong!" Once the younger girl's attention was again hers, Yoruichi gave her another grin. "You know, you really should come by the Karate Club one of these days."
Back to The Cat and the Bee Index - Back to Bleach Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction