redamancy | urayoru

ii

There are few things in life she enjoys more than the sweet, throbbing ache at the end of a good workout. From her perch atop the entrance to the Training Grounds, Yoruichi leans back against the smooth boulder and lets her gaze wander over the view of the Seireitei below.

A small, round object appears in her peripheral vision, and when she turns, she finds Kisuke holding out a canteen of water for her. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" she says with a grin as she takes the proffered item.

Kisuke plops down next to her, uncorking his own canteen. "No, not bad at all," he says, taking a generous swig of water. His sweat glistened throat undulates with every swallow, until he has drained every last dreg from the container. "There is the small matter of me being a walking bruise come morning," he says, breath a little short as he plunges the cork back in. "But we needn't concern ourselves with such minutiae."

Between offering to take over their outstanding case for the Intelligence Corps and stoically taking one hell of a beating, he has been a true friend today. "I owe you one," Yoruichi says, taking a moment to quench her own thirst. "And hey, if your secret healing project works, we won't have to worry about holding back anymore, assuming your boasting is to be believed. How's that going, by the way?"

"It's… going."

The fact that he very deliberately refuses to meet her eye as he answers in not lost on her. Though she's used to him being tight-lipped about his work until he has something of substance to show for it, this particular project has been steeped with a peculiar air of mystery from Day One. Normally, he would tease her with tidbits of information until the grand unveiling, but he has been reluctant to share anything thus far. Given past precedent, she can only assume it's something as awe inducing as the Tenshintai, and she decides not to press the matter.

She says nothing more, and neither does he for the longest time. Their silences have always been comfortable, and there is something quite soporific about the way their uneven breaths slowly come to a natural pace and synchronize. On most days, they end their sparring sessions with a visit to a teahouse, or occasionally Kisuke's place in the Rukongai, sharing a meal and the occasional anecdote from their respective days.

Today, however, she is perfectly content to do nothing but sit there; today the walls sing with memories, and she is too consumed, too enraptured with their siren song to move a muscle.

The first time Kisuke executed a successful Flash Step under her tutelage, the time he taught her how to handle a blade, the excitement and terror of the three sleepless days it took him to defeat Benihime. Each and every milestone reached within those walls is reason enough to bring a smile to her face, but mostly, her thoughts keep straying back to that first day, the day he led her through a narrow tunnel and into what would grow into their private haven for years to come.

She could summon up his memory as though he were standing before her, a gangly little thing, all knees and elbows and shoulders, his face alight with the kind of zeal she has only ever witnessed again once or twice, both proud of himself and terribly nervous that her continued silence upon arrival could only mean she wasn't impressed.

Little did he know, she had been struggling not to fall apart in the face of the greatest gift she had ever been bestowed with, the gift of freedom.

"So when is the ceremony?"

Yoruichi turns to Kisuke, her eyes slowly regaining focus. "Hmm?"

"The Genpuku," he says, arms resting against his bent knees. "I assume your clan has settled on a date?"

"How did—?" As soon as the words leave her lips, she knows her question is a pointless one. Of course he knows.

Kisuke gives her an only mildly disparaging look, grinning. "Your clan has officially chosen you as the successor," he says. "Our two hundredth birthday was three weeks ago, and ever since your last visit to your family's estate, you have been on edge. I put two and two together. Plus…" He raises one long index finger in her general direction, his voice faltering somewhat. "You have been growing out your hair for the last few years."