Role Reversal ...Is this really the place? Soi blinked at the address scribbled onto a tiny slip of paper, hardly believing that this could possibly be the location she spent half an hour waiting to get from the abrasive school secretary. I mean, I heard she was rich, but still...! The freshman wasn't sure what she had expected of Yoruichi's home--now that she thought about it, the upperclassman had never once brought it up in conversation-- but she hadn't expected it to be nearly this nice. Set in one of the town's more expensive neighborhoods (the house was only about a ten-minute's walk from the school) and with its intimidating size and wide lawn, it seemed more like a small castle than a place people would actually be allowed to live in. As she slowly approached the glossy wooden front door, she silently took in the elaborately carved wood trim and the even, trimmed hedges, not feeling envious so much as overwhelmed by the upscale life her friend led, or at least seemed to lead as opposed to the Yoruichi she knew at school. Not seeing a doorbell, Soi grabbed the brass knocker attached to the front door and pounded on it three times. Soi waited for a few minutes as she glanced nervously at her watch, which flashed 4:23 at her in red. Okay, I've just gotta get these papers to her and head out. I should still have plenty of time to change into my gi if I hurry... "Um, Yoruichi-san? Are you here?" When no one answered, Soi experimentally pushed on the handle and to her surprise the door gave way. That's wierd... Did Yoruichi feel secure enough that she didn't lock her door even when she wasn't home? Ignoring this absurd thought with a shake of the head, Soi slipped her shoes off on the concrete front step, then walked inside and nearly gasped. If she had thought the exterior was nice, the inside of the house left her speechless. The front door connected to a tile-floored atrium, painted a warm shade of peach that led into a living room spacious enough to hold at least three-quarters of her house inside it. She stepped on the carpeted floor cautiously, but soon began to enjoy how comfortable the deep shag felt on her bare feet. She was in the middle of admiring the silver-framed art prints arranged along the spackled wall when a deep, nasal voice spoke up from behind her. "Hey, whud are yuh doin' h-- ACHOO!" Soi nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden interruption of her thoughts by what she instantly assumed was Yoruichi's father--it sounded way too deep to be a woman's voice. "I-I'm sorry, sir! I was just bringing these to...Yoruichi-san?" Soi blinked as she turned around, stopping in the middle of her apology once she realized that the person behind her was none other than her friend, but she nearly didn't recognize her. Yoruichi's hair was pooling around her shoulders, looking tangled and ratty like it hadn't been combed in a few days. The upperclassman's eyes were drooping and slightly puffy, and to top it all off she was outfitted in a sleepshirt about three sizes too big for her and her hand was clutching a wad of unused tissues. "Are...are you okay?" "Doh," Yoruichi managed as she straightened one of the crumpled-up tissues and blew her nose so loudly it echoed in the cavernous room for a few seconds. "I'b sig, ob course. Bud how'd jew ged in, Doi?" It took Soi a moment to deduce what Yoruichi was saying through her congested voice, but after a few seconds the freshman answered. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry!" Soi responded, pointing to the still-open front door. "I tried to knock on your door, but you didn't answer, and when I pushed it opened up, so--" "Id wad open?" The taller girl answered with a feeble attempt at her normal look of annoyance. "Goddabit, Kisuke... I tod hib to log up when he lebt." With a few incoherent mutters, Yoruichi hobbled over to the door and locked it, shivering as a cold wind blew through at that moment. "Um...Was Urahara-san here?" "Ehh, obly for a liddle bid yesterday," Yoruichi responded as she yawned and brought herself to a stop on the staircase railing, leaning against it in an effort to fight off a sudden surge of fatigue. "He broudt be sub stuff frob da store for by code, bud I habbn't eben looked ad it ye--" Yoruichi stopped as a fresh wave of sneezes assaulted her, making her double over and grip the staircase harder to avoid falling onto the floor. When she was finally able to breathe, she gave an annoyed chuckle. "Dy always ged sig around dis tib of year--maybe I'b allerjig do domethig..." Soi felt a pang of guilt at seeing Yoruichi so miserable--it told her the older girl's ailment had nothing to do with allergies and everything to do with having to run home in the rain after relinquishing a certain red umbrella, but she knew that if she asked Yoruichi would just deny it. Instead she reached into her bookbag and pulled out the papers Matsumoto had employed her to deliver. "Oh--here are these, they're from your homeroom teacher..." Yoruichi took them half-heartedly, not even looking at them as she set them on the foot of the stairs. "I'll do dem lader, sorry you haddo cumb oud her just for dat. Hey," the dark-haired woman said with sudden comprehension and a glance at the silver-trimmed clock on the wall, "Dond' you hab your tesd in a liddle while?" Soi's eyes drifted down to her watch and widened when she realized Yoruichi was right. "Oh, geez, I need to get going! Bye, Yoruichi-sa--" she stopped about three feet from the exit when she heard the unmistakable sound of a stomach growling. She turned around to see a very red faced Yoruichi turn around and begin to go upstairs. "Well, I'd bedder ged some sleeb..." Yoruichi began evasively, but Soi's voice cut her off. "Yoruichi-san...was that you?" The older girl didn't answer, she simply stayed put halfway up the stairs with her back to the petite freshman. "...When was the last time you ate?" "Well," Yoruichi admitted with a sniffle, "...I habbn't eaden since Weddsday--" Suddenly she heard Soi answer in a surprisingly agitated voice. "...Are you kidding! You know you need to be eating when you're sick, right?" "Well, I jus' wad drying do sleeb id doff; I'be been do dired do ady cooging." Without warning, Soi climbed the handful of steps and put her hand on Yoruichi's forehead, deep maternal instincts overwhelming the young girl's normal reaction to ignore the problem and mind her own business. "Jeez... you're burning up...Yoruichi-san?" The older girl blinked and didn't answer; Soi's extreme proximity, or rather the deep concern she was displaying, seemed to be doing something to her already befuddled senses. "Oh, here--come back downstairs," Soi muttered as she put Yoruichi's arm over her shoulders and supported the lethargic girl with a hand around the waist, carefully guiding her to the couch and helping her sit down. Before Yoruichi could say anything, Soi had already thrown her bookbag beside the front door and was running around the living room. "Hey, where do you keep extra blankets? You know, pillows, linens...?" "Uh..." Yoruichi slowly answered, the sudden change in Soi's behavior frightening her a little, "...dere's a liddle closid id da next room--doh, de udder wud," she corrected when Soi began to walk in the wrong direction. A few seconds later the freshman ran back in, barely visible behind an armful of mismatched quilts and a large down pillow. Yoruichi instinctively got off the couch to allow Soi a few minutes to arrange the couch, and before she knew it she was sitting back onto the now-makeshift bed, feeling considerably warmer than she had before. "Lissen...You dodn't need do worry aboud be..." Yoruichi started, but the younger girl didn't seem to want listen. "Where's that stuff Urahara-san brought you? Was there medicine in there?" "He...He sed dat dere was sommum dat wud helb...I dink he sed dat it wad in da kidchen." Soi walked into the tiled eating area, too focused on looking for anything that would give Urahara's package away to notice its how well-furnished it was. Oh, wait...here's a note... she picked up a small piece of paper with his name on it, saying simply that the 'medicine was in the fridge' and that she needed a tall glass. Confused, Soi opened up the nearby refrigerator and understood with a groan what the unshaven wonder had meant. You've got to be freakin' kidding... "Wad id it?" The sick upperclassman called from the living room. "...Eggs and sake," Soi answered grimly. Even if it was meant as a joke, the freshman was finding Urahara's sense of humor less than enjoyable at the moment. "Hey, Yoruichi-san, do you have a telephone?" "Yeb, in da libing (ACHOO! ACHOO!)...In da libin roob." Yoruichi watched Soi walk determinedly past her to the cordless phone that sat on a nearby counter and pick up the reciever. There was silence for a few moments as she waited for the call to go through. "He should still be at work..." The freshman muttered to herself, and as soon as Yoruichi realized what the other girl was doing she threw her hand out. "Wade a middit, Doi (sniffle)...You shud jus' go bag da school. Yur gudda miss yur test..." Soi stared at her friend for a moment, the earnesty in Yoruichi's golden eyes making her uncertain. Sure, she had been looking forward to this all week, but if it hadn't been for Yoruichi she would never have joined the Karate Club in the first place; she'd still be a friendless loner whose only source of happiness had been the books she'd buried herself in for so long. And since Yoruichi wouldn't be in this position in the first place if it hadn't been for her, there was only one option as far as her sense of honor was concerned. "Hello?" The familiar voice of her father disrupted Soi's train of thought, and when she spoke it was clear and with certainty. "Hi, Dad--It's me. ...No, no, I'm all right. Listen, I was just calling to let you know that I'm gonna be staying at Yoruichi-san's tonight. ...NO, Dad, we won't be drinking... Well, I've got the Karate test in the morning, so I'll probably be home around 10:30 tomorrow, okay? All right, I love you, too...B'bye." Soi hung the phone up and ran to the front door, slipping her shoes on as she went. "Well, since Urahara-san didn't bring you anything decent..." the freshman said with a roll of the eyes, "...I'm going to the store to get some medicine, all right? Oh, and I'll get you some soup or something, too. Is that okay?" "Uh..." To be honest, Yoruichi didn't really know what to think. This somehow felt strange, almost otherworldly, to be treated like this after so long. She'd always been self-sufficient, and Kisuke had respected her personality in this regard, never forcing her to do anything but offering to help if she requested it (which admittedly was never). Yet in the blink of an eye Soi was taking care of her as if they were sisters. But instead of frustrating her, Yoruichi simply felt grateful, something which didn't come easily to her at all. "...No, dat's fine..." "Okay, well, I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I think there's a drug store around here somewhere, right? Up by the main road?" Yoruichi nodded as Soi headed out the door with a smile, then fell back onto the nearby pillow to relax her tired body. It didn't hurt that all the fight seemed to go out of her when Soi smiled at her like that.
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