Two Souls, One Story

Chapter 19

"So..." A voice above Rukia made her jump in fright. She looked up and saw a familiar black cat. "You're the one Kisuke's told me all about. Bratty Byakuya's baby sister." The cat jumped down, sitting next to her on the rock. They were in a nearby wooded area, far away from the others. "I'm Yoruichi."

"Oh..." Rukia almost blurted out that she knew who she was. "What a pretty kitty." She almost swooned. "A beautiful little void baby." She cooed.

While Yoruichi seemed to glow with the praise, she gave Rukia a deadly glint in her eyes. "Yes. Now, we both know you know I'm not an ordinary cat. So, let's cut to the chase. Why does your soul smell weird?" Honestly, she looked like she was grinning. "Don't lie. In all my years in this form, my nose has never been wrong. I'll know if you're not being honest."

Rukia laughed nervously. "To be honest... I'm not sure." She frowned. "I'm not even the original Rukia..." She blurted out. "She's still here, of course, guiding me. But in reality. One minute I was me, the next I was her..." Her eyes welled up. "I... While I love having all my friends, and Renji... Not a day goes by that I don't miss my old life..."

Why the hell was she blabbing like this. "I don't know how to put it... She and I share a mind... but I have full control." Ru-Ru was coaxing her. From her memories, she knew Yoruichi was someone she could trust. "I love my Aniki because really, that's what he is. He's my Aniki. I've been Rukia for 40 years. I'm the only Rukia anyone but Renji knows. Shoot even he thought something was off at first... but he accepted me." She covered her face with her hands, it was obvious she was crying by the tightness in her voice. "Izuru... He's my best friend... in this life, and our last life." She continued. "But he's only been Izuru for 20 years." She scrubbed her face with her palms. "Maybe it's because I reincarnated into a soul... maybe that's why it smells weird."

"Wow, that's a lot of information for my question," Yoruichi commented, flicking her tail in interest. "The reincarnation bit makes sense. You smell like there's multiple souls in your body... Izuru, huh? Guess I'll have to pay that one a visit in the future if just asking you a question made you break down."

There was a puff of cloudy smoke, and someone warm and soft pulled Rukia into a hug- Oh, god naked lady!

"You're so young too. The next time I see your brother, I'm going to have to talk with Byakuya about not doing his job." Yoruichi patted Rukia's hair, tucking the smaller girl closely to her person.

Rukia hiccuped slightly and despite her nakedness, Rukia hugged her back.

"There you go. There's no one around... it's okay to cry. I won't tell," Yoruichi soothed, a slight grin on her face as she emotionally poked at the girl.

Rukia sobbed lightly before she started full-on bawling. She cried for the 40 years she spent as Rukia. She cried for the years she lost with her family. She mourned the loss of her previous life at this very moment.

"There we go... good girl. You're being very brave letting this all out," Yoruichi murmured. She stayed still until the girl's crying stopped. Once she was certain Rukia was done, she let her go, turning back into a cat.

Rukia sniffled and rubbed her puffy eyes free of leftover tears. "Thanks... I'm sorry to dump all that onto you." She mumbled, glancing to the side as she shuffled on her feet.

"Don't worry about it. You needed it." Her tail flicked to the side. "Has your friend gotten a chance to do that?" Yoruichi looked around with her little head, as if looking for more people she had to give a naked hug. "I feel like too many of you kids aren't getting enough hugs."

Rukia frowned a bit in thought... "If I know Izuru like I think I know Izuru... He's probably bottling it up until it bursts." She hummed, placing her chin in her hand and closing her eyes as she thought. "He's usually the one to only confide in someone he really trusts... like me... but I already know everything, so really I'm not the best person to info dump like that..." She hummed softly again. "I think he's waiting for that person."