A Perfect Fit It had been two weeks since Soi Fong had taken the plunge and joined the Karate Club, and she had to admit that now she was actually starting to enjoy it. True, in the normal classes with Rukia-sensei, she was still meditating and occasionally made to help keep the gym clean with her fellow beginners, but for fifteen minutes after every club meeting Yoruichi would stay behind, teaching her some new stances or attacks. Sometimes they would end up staying as late as a half-hour, Yoruichi taking the time to make sure that Soi had completely mastered something. She had also gotten to know Rukia a little better, and had discovered that she was actually a very nice girl, if a little on the pushy side, and more oddly, had managed to get along with Rangiku, who had brought Soi a batch of cookies (purchased from the supermarket) as an apology on her behalf for her boyfriend's behavior. "...And don't worry, I taught him a damn good lesson for it, too!" the busty redhead had said with a determined expression that almost seemed comical on her. Soi was still smiling over this event when she walked into the gym to see all the club's members standing in a packed circle. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked as she got closer and saw a glimpse of Byakuya in the middle, inexplicably exchanging blows with the scarlet-haired Renji. "Oh, not much," the short-haired Tatsuki answered with a bored expression. "They're just giving another 'demonstration.'" Soi nodded in comprehension as she turned her attention back to the skirmish. She'd heard about these from Yoruichi-- it seemed that the diminutive Rukia and the brutish Renji were actually in a relationship, which Byakuya didn't mind as long as they kept their hands to themselves whenever he happened to be around. Occasionally, however, the eldest Kuchiki would catch them making out, and these 'practice bouts' were the end result of a desire to send a clear message to the 'human tattoo:' Mess with my sister, get beat up. Cheat on said sister, and you're dead. "...As you can see, Abarai-san just tried to attack me with a series of body punches, followed by a roundhouse kick aimed at the head," Byakuya casually intoned to the rest of the club as he stood at one end of the circle looking perfectly composed while Renji was doubled over, huffing for breath at the other. "He failed to consider, however, that these techniques are easy enough to avoid if you carefully watch your opponent's movements-- Also, he exerted far too much energy and thus only succeeded in tiring himself. The key to efficient movement in the martial arts is..." "Quit makin' fun of me!" Renji hollered as he rushed Byakuya again, only to be tripped and land face-down on the ground, resulting in a collective "ooh" from various club members. "...As I was saying," Byakuya continued as though nothing had happened, "...The key to efficient movement in the martial arts is to restrict your actions to the simplest ones. Your opponent's will undoubtedly act rashly, which is something that the level-headed student of Karate should be able to use to their advantage." He turned his head to acknowledge the still-grounded body of Renji huffing on the floor before focusing his attention back on the club. "I think that's enough demonstration for now. Everyone go to their groups and continue where you left off last time." The circle instantly broke up, giving the diminuitive Rukia an opportunity to help her boyfriend to his feet, all the while growling underneath his breath things like 'I'm gonna kick his ass one of these days' and 'next time we're goin' to my house.' Once the petite dark-haired girl had determined that the only thing Renji had injured was his pride, she called out to the club again. "All right rookies, get over here-- I've got a real treat for you today." Reluctantly and with much sighing, the beginners congregated around Rukia, afraid of what kind of 'treat' she had planned for them. "Well, it's been a few weeks and we've lost a few slackers, (Soi glanced around to see that there were indeed far fewer people in their group than there had been before: from around 20 to 12 beginners remained, including herself) ...but starting today I'm going to be teaching you some techniques." At this, the mood lightened considerably, and Rukia had to shout to be heard over the excited babbling. "Hey, keep it together, people! Now..." she got onto the nearby mat and positioned her feet the way Yoruichi had shown Soi Fong, to which the freshman smiled reminiscently, "...I want you all to repeat my movements as best as you can." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "No, no, no!" Rukia groaned as she looked at the disorganized students, covering her eyes as though to cleanse what she was seeing from her mind's eye. "You guys have it wrong again! When you punch, you need to keep your wrists STRAIGHT! Like THIS!" She demonstrated the proper form again, only to see the beginners make more half-hearted attempts. "I swear, could you at least make an EFFORT to pay attention to what I'm doing! Hell, the only one who's even coming close is Fong-san over here!" Soi blinked and snapped to attention when she heard her name spoken aloud by Rukia. Although she was still making quite a few mistakes due to nervousness stemming from her sensei's firecracker personality, the young freshman was still doing much better than her peers. "Oh, no...I'm not really--" she began but Rukia walked up to her with what passed for an appraising look on her stoic face. "Nonsense. Your form's good, and your actually doing it in time with me! I have to say that I'm rather impressed." "Uh...Thank you, Kuchiki-sensei," Soi quietly said with a bow. "Out of curiousity...is this your first time doing this sort of thing?" Rukai asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Umm...Yes?" the Chinese girl answered nervously, but fortunately Rukia seemed satisfied with her response because she went right back to the front of the group and continued with their training. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Soi let out a sigh as she left the locker room showers, feeling refreshed by the cool water after working out in the stale heat of the gym. "Hey, Soi Fong!" Yoruichi called as she walked out a moment later wearing a smile along with her casual tank top and jogging pants, her wet dark hair matted wildly about her face. "...You wanna do some practice while we're here?" "Oh! Sorry, Yoruichi-san, I've got a lot of homework to do tonight; I thought it'd be better to skip that today." "...Oh...okay, that sounds good." The upperclassman's voice and face was as jovial as they always were, but Soi's brow narrowed slightly as she pondered Yoruichi's response. ...Did she just seem...disappointed? No...I must just be imagining it. "So," the tall girl said casually, throwing off Soi's train of thought, "...What have you got to do?" "Oh, it's this--" without warning, Soi stopped talking, which made Yoruichi turn to look at her. "...Soi Fong?" Yoruichi followed the path of her friend's eyes to see her and Ichimaru's gazes locked from opposite ends of the gym, him standing near the door and looking as unhappy to see Soi as she was to see him. "Okay, just stay here," the dark upperclassman said to Soi as she turned her attention to Ichimaru. "...I'll take care of this." Before Yoruichi could even take three paces in Gin's direction, however, a light feminine voice sounded from behind them. "Hi, Gin!" Both Yoruichi and Soi Fong turned their heads to see Rangiku running past them toward her boyfriend, her button-down shirt looking quite at the point of falling apart. "Oh! Bye Soi Fong, Yoruichi-san!" the redhead called with a smile as she turned back to a now smiling Ichimaru and the two left together. "Huh, I guess she DID set him straight," Yoruichi said with a chuckle as the two girls walked to the exit. "Anyway, what were you saying about that homework of yours?" "Huh? ...Oh, it's just some Geometry stuff-- areas of three-dimensional spaces, that sort of thing," Soi answered. "Ehh..." the upperclassman said with a look of repulsion. "Well, I'd offer to help you, but to be honest I don't really remember that stuff. When it came to math, I was really more focused on passing then on learning it." They walked in silence after that, both enjoying the warmth the sun gave as it sunk closer to the horizon, dyeing the sky a multitude of shades of pink and orange. Soi jumped a little when Yoruichi suddenly broke the stillness. "Hey...Penny for your thoughts." "...Huh? What do you mean?" the freshman asked in confusion. "I dunno," Yoruichi admitted with a shrug. "It just seems like you've got something on your mind." Soi Fong sighed to herself at the casualness of her friend's statement. Itwas strange that someone could read her as easily as Yoruichi could, but at the same time, it also made her feel as though they truly had a connection. "Well..." Soi began a bit awkwardly, "...I was just kind of wondering how someone like Matsumoto-san could be with a guy like Ichimaru. I mean, they're like night and day, you know? But it seems like she's the only one he listens to..." "Yeah, I guess it is kinda odd," Yoruichi admitted. "A lot of people asked the same question when they started goin' out, but I guess they all just got used to seeing it, and so they stopped asking. I don't know a lot myself, but I think they've been friends for a long time." Soi didn't say anything to this revelation outside of an admissive grunt. "Well, I guess opposites are just drawn to each other sometimes. I mean, look at us." Soi had to chuckle at that, since it their relationship really did seem like an impossibility, considering how different their backgrounds and personalities were. "Well," Soi said with a grin when they reached the street corner, "...I'd better get home. I'll see you later, okay?" She turned in the direction of her house and was about to leave when Yoruichi stopped her. "Wait!" The freshman turned around to see Yoruichi digging furiously in her school bag. "...I know I brought it with me today...Ahh, here it is!" Without further ado and to the utter surprise of Soi Fong, the upperclasswoman pulled out a set of clothes wrapped in plastic that she realized was a brand new Karate gi. "...I know Byakuya-kun's been getting on you for not having one yet, so..." Yoruichi said with a grin. For a moment all that Soi could do was stare at her friend, completely speechless. "I...I can't take this!" Soi managed once she had overcome her astonishment. Gi were expensive, a fact that had prevented the petite girl from going to her father to ask for one. "I didn't want you to buy me one of these just because I can't afford it!" Yoruichi only feigned annoyance as she pushed the white uniform closer to her friend. "This is NOT a handout, it's a gift--from a friend. I bought this for you because I WANTED to, not because I felt sorry for you. Look...I'd really appreciate it if you took this, Soi Fong." At first, Soi could only stare at Yoruichi, hardly able to believe that she would do something so thoughtful and act like it wasn't any sort of trouble. Then, after a few tentavive moments, she slowly took the gi from the tall girl's hands. "...Um...Thank you..." Soi managed with her head hung, desperate to hide the blush that was darkening on her visage against her will, not seeing the relieved smile on Yoruichi's face. "Well, it's nice to see that even YOU can be reasonable sometimes," the mahogany-skinned girl said wryly as she turned in the other direction. "...See you tomorrow, Soi Fong. Oh, and if it's the wrong size, just give it back to me and I'll get it exchanged, okay?" "O-okay..." the shy girl said in little more than a whisper as she waved goodbye to the other girl and headed towards her house, hardly able to believe what had just happened. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey, Soi-chan! How was school?" "Oh, um...It was good..." Soi said in a daze as she walked into the house, barely noticing the burning smell that told her that her father was cooking again. "Uh...I'm gonna go upstairs and...get started on my homework..." "Good for you," the middle-aged man called from the kitchen, sounding both proud and distracted by his meal at the same time. "Dinner, uh... dinner will be ready soon, okay?" "...Okay..." Soi yelled back as she ran up the staircase, nearly forgetting to skip the fifth step but getting to her room with no trouble. Once there, she tossed her bookcase onto the bed and tore the plastic off the Karate uniform, spreading it out on thesoft comforter. ...I guess I should try it on... She carefully slid the top half over her arms, then slipped on the baggy white 'pants'. As she dressed, she couldn't ignore a warm feeling, the source of which she couldn't define but she knew had something to do with the upperclassman who'd been kind enough to do something like this for her. No one had ever treated her like she was worthwhile outside of her father, not until Yoruichi had found her way into her life. It only made her happier when she realized that, by some impossible to fathom method, the gi her best friend had bought her was a perfect fit.
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