A/N 13-10-2012: After getting some critique I've made some minor alterations to the argument in the previous chapter (12). I hope it conveys the point much more clearly now. It's not necessary to reread it for the continuation of this story, but at least you know it's there. Anyway, on with the madness!

She wouldn't have thought it before, but Soi was actually having fun at the barbecue. She simply followed Yoruichi and Kukaku, who introduced her to lots of different people. Kukaku made sure all annoying people were kept at bay, so Soi didn't have to worry about being embarrassed by some goof. The two also made sure to keep the conversation going when Soi was struggling, for which she was eternally grateful.

The pair had introduced her to all their colleagues. Kukaku's little brother Ganju and Tessai had briefly spoken with her, but they were too busy with grilling meat to have an actual conversation. Not that the giant Tessai was capable of any real conversation, Yoruichi had pointed out with a grin. She had also met with Ginjo, Riruka's boyfriend. He was quite okay, if not a bit too much on the cool side. He was too busy getting drunk with Renji to notice her anyway, but he had managed to ask her some polite questions nonetheless.

The last colleague she had to meet was Grimmjow, one of the salesmen. The blue-haired guy was there with his girlfriend Tatsuki. Tatsuki was actually extremely kind when she saw Soi. "So you are the best friend that Orihime always talks about." Orihime and Tatsuki were also good friends of each other. "Nice to meet you!"

"And you," Soi greeted kindly. "Sorry you didn't get to meet me sooner."

"Hey, no big! Better late than never." She gave her a warm smile. "Just let me know if you ever want to hang out! Or even better, why don't you join my karate dojo? You've got the perfect body for it and Nelliel and Hallibel go as well. It'll be fun!"

"Don't give her any ideas," Yoruichi groaned. "She's already way too strong for me, having all that power bundled into techniques would be overkill."

"Your fault for dating the world's fitness champion," Grimmjow grinned.

"Implying you don't get your ass whipped by Tatsuki every time you do something wrong," Kukaku sneered at him.

"I use my skills strictly at the dojo," Tatsuki defended. "Karate is about control, not doing as much damage as possible."

Kukaku shook her head in disbelieve, but decided not to comment. Soi turned to Tatsuki. "I'll have to think about it, Tatsuki. I think I'd like doing karate, but not right now." She smiled warmly at Yoruichi. "Too much changes at the moment."

"I understand. Just give me a call whenever you're ready. And don't forget about that other offer… I'd love to go on a date with you and Orihime!"

"Thanks. I'll ask Orihime about it some time."

"You do that. See you around."

As the couple left Yoruichi turned to her girlfriend. "See? Everyone loves to get to know you. Nothing scary about it."

"Yeah… sorry for being silly."

The mechanic grabbed the author around the waist and looked her deeply in the eyes. "I don't think you're being silly. You just need a little nudge in the right direction."

"Just like you with your addiction to junk food," Soi joked.

Kukaku barked a loud laugh. "She needs more than a 'little nudge' to get her out of that. Unless by little nudge you mean a blow from a hydraulic hammer."

"Don't mind Kukaku, she's got an addiction for extreme violence."

"No, I rather like the idea of the hydraulic hammer," Soi said with that predatory grin. "But instead of the hammer I'll use my fists."

"Soi!" Yoruichi whined.

"You tell her girl," Kukaku smiled. "She that will not be taught must suffer!"

"You take that way too literal," the mechanic whined again. She turned back to Soi, who was still in her arms. "But force will not be necessary," she said sincerely. "I'm going to work hard for you."

"Aww, and here I was looking forward to chastise you," Soi said softly, with a dark grin.

"Yep, you've convinced me, I'm going to work hard." The mechanic looked a bit frightened. "That wicked smile of yours is way too scary."

"Killjoy," Soi grinned.

"Hey look!" Kukaku interrupted them. "Beauty-squad has arrived."

Soi's heart skipped a few beats when she saw the two women Kukaku was talking about: Iso Nanao and Matsumoto Rangiku. Memories of their failed shopping date immediately came to mind. She tried to hide behind Yoruichi, but the two women had already spotted them. "Hey Kukaku, Yoruichi!" Rangiku greeted brightly. Then her eye fell on Soi, who was unsure where to look. "Oh look, if it isn't Soi Fong! Long time no see."

Nanao also looked at Soi. "Oh, it's Orihime's friend." Her face lit up. "We had so much fun shopping last time. Too bad you didn't want to try on the clothes I handed to you."

"All you gave her were cute, pink clothes," Rangiku snorted. "Does she look like the type to wear that?"

"I didn't see you coming up with any alternatives," Nanao scolded.

Rangiku actually looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, it was sale. I only had eye for stuff for myself, what did you expect?" She turned to Soi. "Sorry if I ignored you back then, I just couldn't resist temptation."

"It's okay," Soi answered weakly.

"Know what, we're going to redo that shopping date! It'll be your special day, Nanao and I will help to find the perfect clothes for you."

"Ooh, that would be fun," Nanao immediately smiled. "She has a bit of a flat body, but I'm sure we'll be able to find something nice and feminine."

"Err, I appreciate it, but you really don't have to do that…"

"Nonsense! A woman has a right to own nice clothes." Rangiku was positively beaming at her. "I'll give Orihime a call next week; she has to come as well of course. Well, got to go. See you!"

With that they were gone. Soi looked at Yoruichi and Kukaku and saw them both grinning at her. "Told you they didn't think you were weird," Yoruichi smirked. "They're just weird themselves."

"Just look at that girl," Kukaku smiled at Soi. "Making new friends all around the place. She starts acting like you, Yoruichi."

"I didn't do anything!" Soi countered. "They just forced themselves upon me."

"They liked you," Yoruichi said simply, as to close the matter. "Anyway, let's go for a second round of meat!"

The three of them picked up some fresh meat and drinks and went back inside to look for a table. They found Rukia and Renji and decided to join them. "So how's your first day at the MC, Soi?" Renji inquired curiously. He, like all Yoruichi's friends, hoped that she would enjoy herself.

"I like it," Soi answered honestly. "Lots of nice people and this place is just plain awesome."

"It is," Renji grinned. "We should totally play pool tonight. Or House of the Dead on the arcade."

"Are you so desperate to get to lose?" Yoruichi chuckled. "Renji couldn't win even if he had gambled his Ducati."

"Like you do any better," the red-haired mechanic grinned.

"Kids, don't let me be the one to intervene here," Kukaku sighed. "Because you know it will end in tears… and blood."

"Tsk, you don't even play any games because you're a sore loser," Renji smirked.

"Yes, I'm very aware that I'm a sore loser," the chief agreed. "And to protect my surroundings I don't play your pathetic little games."

"She's so thoughtful, our great chief," Rukia said with a small smile.

Kukaku nibbled on a sparerib and decided not to comment. Yoruichi grinned at her. "That's why we all love Kukaku."

"Don't tempt fate kid," the chief told her darkly.

Soi saw it all with a faint smile, when suddenly she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked around and came eye to eye with a smiling young girl with light brown hair. "Hai!" the girl greeted brightly. "You are Miss Soi Fong, no?"

"Err… that's right. And who are you?"

"I'm Kurosaki Yuzu, Ichigo's sister." She continued beaming at Soi. "Can I sit on your lap? Please?"

Soi looked over at Yoruichi, who gave her an encouraging nod. She then smiled at the girl and shoved her chair back a bit, allowing Yuzu to hop on. The girl sat down sideways on Soi's lap and looked around the group with a big grin. Kukaku also grinned and bumped fists with her, and Yoruichi did the same. "How's school, little warrior?" Kukaku informed.

"Awesome! Totally aced that math test this week."

"You go girl," Yoruichi smiled. "You do your best at school, you hear? Otherwise you'll end up as just a bum like me."

"You're not a bum," Yuzu said hotly. Her eyes turned to Soi and she looked up to her in admiration. "Is it true you can lift up a motorcycle with just two hands?"

Soi blinked. "Err… who told you that?"

"Your girlfriend of course!"

Soi looked at Yoruichi, who grinned sheepishly. "No, I can't lift up a motorcycle with two hands," she told the girl. "But I can lift up and throw away stupid girlfriends who tell lies to young girls."

Yuzu chuckled and rested her head on Soi's shoulder. "I knew she was lying," she mumbled. Soi felt the girl relax against her and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, will you come over to the MC more often?" she suddenly asked. "We could play games together with Yoruichi and Kukaku."

Soi cocked an eyebrow. "Kukaku plays games with you?"

The chief groaned. "And here goes the hardcore image I've tried so hard to maintain."

"You're a hardcore softy," Yoruichi smirked.

"So will you come?" Yuzu asked rather hopeful. "It will be fun, I promise!"

"Sure, I'll come," Soi gave in. She didn't want to disappoint the girl and wouldn't mind coming here more often either.

"Yay!" Yuzu cheered. She relaxed against Soi again. "Yoruichi was right, you're really nice. And warm and soft… and you smell nice."

Soi didn't know what to say to that. She just continued holding the girl in her arms. Suddenly a voice came from behind her. "So there you are, Yuzu. Dad and I have been looking everywhere for you."

"Oh crap," Yuzu said with big eyes. She quickly got to her feet and turned to the black-haired girl that was approaching her. "Sorry Karin! I just saw Yoruichi's new girlfriend and kinda got sidetracked."

The face of the other girl lit up. "Oh, it's Soi!" She immediately rushed over to shake Soi's hand. "Hey, I'm Karin, Yuzu's sister. Sorry if she bothered you."

"No, she wasn't a bother at all," Soi quickly said, causing a huge smile on Yuzu's face.

"Good. Oh look, here comes the idiot."

Surely a large man came rushing towards them. He had spiky hair and a few days old beard. "Oh Yuzu, there you are! Don't rush off like that, heh heh."

"Sorry dad," Yuzu said. She turned to the group at the table. "But look dad, Yoruichi has brought her new girlfriend!"

His eyes turned to Soi and his face immediately broke into a goofy smile. "Ah, the long awaited Missus Shihouin. Or will Yoruichi be Missus Fong, hm?"

"Isshin, we've only been dating for a few weeks," Yoruichi groaned. "We're nowhere near discussing marriage."

"Such a shame," he grinned. "You'd make such a lovely bride."

"Dad, stop being a dick and introduce yourself to Soi," Karin ordered. To Soi's astonishment he immediately complied.

"Forgive my rudeness," he said while shaking her hand. "Kurosaki Isshin, at your service."

"Soi Fong, a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is completely mine," he answered, still with that goofy grin. "You should find my son so he can fill out all the forms to complete your membership of this lovely MC. You'd do yourself and the MC a big favor."

"Kurosaki, if you're only here to crimp Soi for the MC you'd better leave," Kukaku said with a threatening glare.

Isshin merely chuckled and leaned a bit closer to Soi. "Be careful with that woman. She sucks up anger like a sponge. Squeeze her and she releases it all at once."

"That's the lames analogy I've ever heard," Yoruichi deadpanned, causing the entire table to laugh.

Karin shook her head. "Dad! We promised to help Ichigo, right? Stop wasting our time here."

"Oh, that right. Gotto rush! You all have a fine evening." With that the three Kurosaki's left.

Yoruichi laughed when they were gone. "What an idiot, honestly."

"Yuzu seemed nice though," Soi said. "Do you two actually play with her?"

"Sometimes," Yoruichi grinned. "Whenever she's around. She loves fooling around, just like Kukaku and me. She misses the strong mother figure in her life, so we try to help her. You know, get her to work hard for school, encourage her, that sort of stuff."

"Oh, they don't have a mother anymore?"

"Nah, she passed away a couple of years ago… Devastated the family of course."

Soi stared at the door through which the trio had just left. "They seemed like such a happy bunch."

"They are," Rukia said. "Despite the tragedy they remain very positive people."

"Just like little Yoruichi," Kukaku grinned, while wrapping her arm around her best friend's neck. Yoruichi eased against her best friend a bit, clearly happy with the attention.

The five of them spend some enjoyable time chatting together. From time to time a group of members would come over to introduce themselves to Soi, but none of them stayed long for a chat. The most important ones were Melony and Loly, who were serving them drinks. They were kind and interested, but too busy for a long chat. They did keep the drinks coming at a regular basis. Yoruichi, Kukaku and Renji indulged themselves in large quantities of beer, while Soi and Rukia enjoyed a few glasses of red wine. Soi wasn't planning on getting drunk, because she was sure she'd make an utter fool of herself if she got wasted.

Later that night a bunch of colleagues of Yoruichi got to their table. Ganju was carrying a bunch of bottles of strong liquor and Ikkaku had a few shot glasses and a pack of playing cards. "You know what bloody time it is, dontcha?" the bald mechanic grinned.

"Time for drinking games!" Ganju cheered.

"Oh dear, that's going to be one hell of a hangover," Kukaku groaned as she looked at the different bottles. There was vodka, tequila, cognac, whiskey and much more. The group quickly shifted a few tables and chairs so they could all sit in a big circle. People started to notice what was going on and more and more joined them. Soi was surprised that even Nelliel and Hallibel seemed to be getting hyped up. She also saw Mila Rose, but Sung-Sun and Apacci weren't there. Soon there were about twenty people cramped around the table.

Yoruichi eyed Soi curiously. "So you wanna play?"

"Nah, not really… I'll watch."

"Alright, mind if I play?"

Soi cocked an eyebrow, surprised that Yoruichi was asking her for permission. "Of course not. As long as you are aware of the consequences tomorrow morning."

"Concern noted," Yoruichi grinned. "But I think I'll take the gamble."

Soon the game started and after just a few rounds Soi had figured it out. Basically it meant the more drunk you got, the higher the chance of failing your assignment and having to take another shot. It was a vicious cycle that could spiral completely out of control. As the rounds continued the laughter and talking got louder and less intelligent. Yoruichi also got less eye for Soi, making her feel a bit isolated and awkward. After a while she got to her feet to look for someone who was still somewhat sober.

She stumbled around the MC for a while, but didn't see any familiar faces. Most of the people she knew where now playing that stupid drinking game. Suddenly she found herself standing in front of Riruka. The pinkette shot her a nervous glance. "Hey Soi…"

"Oh, hey Riruka."

"Look, I wanted to apologize about earlier," she said with red cheeks. "Yoruichi told me you weren't really comfortable around strangers, so I should've known better. But I just wanted to get to know you, and kinda got out of control." She looked at the floor in shame. "Sometimes that just happens… sorry if I was being nosy."

"That's okay really. You startled me for a bit, but Yoruichi shouldn't have scolded you like that." Soi looked at the pinkette and noticed she looked rather sober. Maybe she wasn't a heavy drinker either. "So wanna go sit somewhere and talk? My girlfriend is too busy getting drunk with that silly game."

Riruka looked delighted. "Sure Soi! My boyfriend is also getting drunk… I don't really mind, but he completely ignores me when he's getting wasted."

The two of them sat down on a comfortable couch, which gave them a good view of the table where the drinking game took place, but was far away enough to dampen the noise. Soi had an excellent time chatting with Riruka, the girl was much more reserved and calm about her questions now. The author told her a bit about her life and Riruka did the same.

After a while Rukia joined them. She also wasn't very fond of the drinking game. "Renji is going to be a sick little dog tomorrow," she groaned. "As long as he knows that I won't have any pity on him."

"Ginjo will be a mess as well. Soi's the lucky one here, Yoruichi doesn't seem to suffer from massive hangovers."

"Guess I'll find that out tomorrow," Soi grinned. "So what do you two think of Yoruichi?" she asked Rukia and Riruka curiously. It was a question that had been in her head for quite a while.

"Yoruichi is like social glue," Riruka immediately answered. "She can get along with everyone and can make everyone get along with each other. It doesn't matter if you're sad, angry or in an utter killing mood, Yoruichi can make it right with just a few words and a smile."

"That's certainly a thing I've noticed," Soi chuckled. The woman had set the greatest insecurities of her life straight with just a few words.

"Yeah, she's very good with people," Rukia agreed. "She's also the reason why Kukaku is approachable right now."

"Oh? But isn't she still pretty violent?"

"She used to be much worse. Much, much worse." Rukia sighed deeply. "Kukaku is a bit of a strange one. She has a form of ADHD and therefor has a lot of trouble concentrating. She also came from a big family, with five younger brothers. You can imagine she constantly had to fight for her place. She didn't have exactly good parents either. They weren't abusive, but they weren't really there for them, resulting in a messy upbringing. If a child learns that she only gets attention with screaming and kicking, it becomes second nature."

"She was socially crippled then?" Soi inquired. It took a bit of effort to prevent adding 'just like me'.

"More than that, she was absolutely savage. Couldn't cope with critique, couldn't focus on work, couldn't deal with other people… If there was an argument or discussion she'd either scream or kick. It made it worse that no one understood her. She became secluded and a loner, which in turn made it only worse for her."

"Until Yoruichi came along," Riruka grinned.

"Indeed. Yoruichi was the only one to see through Kukaku's violent façade and saw the scared, misunderstood little girl underneath all that." Rukia smiled. "Where we tried to avoid Kukaku as much as possible, Yoruichi forced herself upon her."

"Kukaku couldn't have liked that," Soi guessed.

"It wasn't easy," Rukia agreed. "When they first met they nearly killed each other. After they made up Kukaku became more susceptible to Yoruichi, but they didn't become friends just like that. More than once did Kukaku hurt her. That didn't make Yoruichi give up, once that creature has set her mind to something, she clings to it like a Rottweiler. She kept going to Kukaku and kept talking into her.

"Slowly but surely the chief started to realize that Yoruichi was trying to understand her, to try and help her. Once she had figured that out she started opening up to Yoruichi. She started listening to her, learning from her. Yoruichi taught her how to be social, how to behave in the workspace and out of it. In the end she really got through to her and Kukaku became much nicer for it. The Kukaku you see today is the result of Yoruichi's dedication."

Soi swallowed, this was exactly what Yoruichi was doing with her too. Soi was a social outcast as well and Yoruichi was working hard to change that.

"Kukaku still clings to Yoruichi," Riruka grinned.

"She does," Rukia concurred. "She visibly relaxes when she's with her. That's not so strange, because Yoruichi still acts as a focusing point to her. Kukaku would never admit it, but she's still pretty insecure, afraid that she might mess things up and really hurt people."

"So that's why those two are so close," Soi mused.

"Yep. The chief can't live without Yoruichi," Riruka smiled. "But that's alright, because it makes her so much better to interact with."

"It's exactly what's so distinctive about Yoruichi… and what makes her so awesome," Rukia grinned. "She's always ready to help others, gladly sacrificing her own time and energy for the happiness of others. Give her a call when you're feeling down and she stands on your doorstep fifteen minutes later. Maybe it could be a weakness as well, but she doesn't make it seem that way."

"Yoruichi's big weakness is that she can't be alone," Riruka pondered. "She needs people around her, otherwise she would collapse. It gives her too much time to mull over the past."

"You mean Yoruichi is never really alone?" Soi had known that Yoruichi had a rich social life, but didn't know that her girlfriend was actually afraid of being alone.

"Not very often," Rukia shrugged. "She's either at our place, at the place of her guardians or at the HQ. When she's home she usually has Kukaku around her, or she invites Hallibel's juniors."

"Wow, she's like the total opposite of me," Soi muttered. "I like being alone. I'm also disciplined and active. Yoruichi is afraid of being alone and a lazy sloth."

"Opposites attract," Riruka grinned. "It's easy to see you are deeply in love with each other, so don't worry, it'll work out just fine."

"I concur," Rukia added. "You two are the best couple ever. You're only a few weeks together, but it already feels like it has always been this way."

"Thanks," Soi grinned. "I'm pretty confident we'll work out too." She stared at her girlfriend's back, who was getting more drunk by the minute. "Maybe she'll even be able to make me a normal person too," she added, half joking, half seriously.

"You are a normal person," Rukia said adamantly. "You just need to spend some time with people, is all. Get a bit more confidence. Leave the past behind, enjoy the now and look forward to the future."

Rukia's words made Soi happy, because they made sense. She had met all kinds of people today, some nice, others indifferent, but none judgmental or hateful. For the first time in years she truly felt ready to face the world, together with Yoruichi.

After a while of chatting Rukia and Riruka got to their feet and decided to check on their boyfriends. Soi also got up, but someone crashed into her and pushed her back in the couch. It turned out to be Orihime. "Soi, I'm absolutely beat," she whined while sitting down next to her and burying her face in Soi's neck.

"I'm not surprised," Soi grinned. She had seen the small redhead run around all night, be it with fresh meat, drinks or empty glasses. She wrapped her arm around Orihime and pulled her close. The little nurse snuggled up close and relaxed against her. After a while of silence Soi suddenly heard soft snores; Orihime had actually fallen asleep. The author couldn't help but grin, sometimes that girl just didn't know her limit.

"My, my… this looks cozy." Soi looked up and saw Apacci standing in front of them. She was smiling at the sight of the sleeping redhead. "Can I join?"

Soi smiled at her. "Sure Apacci."

The lawyer sat down next to Soi and wrapped her arm around her. "You don't like drinking then?" she inquired.

Soi snorted. "I don't mind drinking, but not till I get sick and throw up."

Apacci laughed as well. "I agree. Too bad my boss, my colleague and my little sister think differently about that."

The author chuckled. "It's still strange to hear you call Yoruichi 'little sister'. How did this entire thing came to be?"

"Hmm, that's a bit of a story really. Like we said, it all started when we were 17 and started meeting Hallibel at school. Yoruichi was 13 years old at that time and probably the happiest little kid alive. Always bright and cheerful, happy to help others, always ready for a laugh or talk. Mind you, she had bloody little to be happy about at that time. As you know her parents were extremely poor. That's because her father was always sick, he had a weakened immune system and chronicle Pfeiffer's disease on top of that."

"Oh… I didn't know that," Soi muttered.

"Yoruichi prefers not to talk about it," Apacci said. "She really looked up to him, and didn't really want to accept he was ill. But he was ill… always tired, so extremely tired that he couldn't go to work. There were times when he did better and successfully got a new job, but when the disease kicked back in he lost those jobs in no time. As a result her mother had to make the ends meet. She worked her ass off in the local grocery store, meaning she was away from home most of the time and too tired for Yoruichi when she was there."

"So she was a bit neglected?"

"Don't get me wrong, her parents loved her eternally, but couldn't give her the attention that she needed. They didn't have the money, energy or time to do fun things together. She walked around in the cheapest clothes, a thing she was constantly teased about by her classmates. But all of that didn't really seem to hurt her, not on the outside at least. Like I said, she was always bright and cheerful… and extremely energetic."

"She isn't quite as energetic now," the author grinned, thinking back on their argument on cooking.

"Oh, she still is. She just has priorities, if she can't see the point of something she won't be arsed to do it. But yeah, once we started seeing Hallibel more often, we also saw Yoruichi more often. It was really cute actually, those two treating that little girl as a kid of their own. It made little Yoruichi so happy to do fun stuff with Nelliel and Hallibel. We saw her cheering up from the attention, so the three of us decided to be there for her too. Every now and then we took her with us to do typical 'sister stuff'. Like buy her new clothes, for example. We used to dress her up in the cutest little dresses and skirts, it was adorable."

Soi laughed, imagining Yoruichi in a skirt. "She couldn't have liked that. Wish I had seen it though."

"But you can," Apacci grinned devilishly. "Nelliel still has photo albums full of pictures of young little Yoruichi. You should ask her about it, it's really cute."

"Let me guess, Yoruichi hates those pictures and Nelliel loves showing them to anyone who cares?"

"You got those two figured out perfectly," the junior lawyer chuckled. "But yeah, we often bought her the clothes that she liked, for which she was extremely grateful. Always so nice and polite… The new clothes made her – and her parents – extremely happy. We really loved making that girl happy, so we started doing stuff together more often. At one point one of us joked that we were like bigger sisters to her and that stuck to Yoruichi. She was just a kid after all, looking for our approval. She started getting more clingy to us and continued calling us big sisters. We thought it was cute, so we went along with it. It became a bit of a thing between us, sisters doing stuff together."

Apacci had a distant smile on her face, but suddenly that smile faded. "Then came the moment of her parent's death. It was absolutely terrible, she was beyond heartbroken. She was… dead. Her brown face turned grey, her everlasting smile disappeared and her eyes turned dull and hollow." For a moment Apacci closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "That transformation was probably the hardest thing I've ever seen," she said with crooked voice.

After taking a sip from her drink she continued with a more steady voice. "Hallibel and Nelliel selflessly took her in. They did everything in their power to cheer the girl up, to give her something to live for again. But it was hard for them, both had just started new jobs and were working their asses off to make a career. To relieve some of their stress we continued doing sister stuff with Yoruichi. She really needed that at that time and it gave Hallibel and Nelliel time to be together and relax."

Apacci smiled again. "We already saw Hallibel quite a lot, because she was still helping us with our studies. We usually studied at their place in the evenings and weekends and often had dinner with them. So when Yoruichi started living with them we began seeing her a lot. That's when we got really close with her, and we have stayed close ever since. And you know Yoruichi, she loves being treated as the little sister, so we happily oblige."

"Yoruichi is really lucky with such a nice family," Soi grinned sheepishly.

Apacci squeezed her a bit tighter and gave her an assuring smile. "You're part of the family now, so if you ever need something don't hesitate to give us a call. The three of us are probably less scary than Nelliel and Hallibel."

The author laughed. "Mila Rose seems pretty scary."

"Nah, she's just ripped. It there's one of us obedient to Hallibel it's her." For a moment Apacci shuddered. "Not that you really want to disobey Hallibel. She's the kindest creature on the planet, unless you do something that she deems stupid."

"Thanks for the tip, I'll keep it in mind."

"Atta girl, it'll keep you sane around them." Apacci let go of Soi and got to her feet. "Well, it's getting late, I'm going to collect my girls so we can go home." She looked at Orihime, who was still sleeping deeply against Soi, and smirked. "Tell that girl to stop running around so much."

"Told her that hundreds of times, but she never listens." She stroked the redhead's cheek and laughed brightly.

"Ah, stubbornness. A trait that runs deep in our family. Anyway, gotto go." Apacci bent over and kissed Soi on the cheek. "See you later."

After Apacci left, Soi just sat there for a while, with the sleeping Orihime against her. She thought back on an extremely nice party. She had met with a lot of nice people that were happy to have met her. It made her happy as well.

After a while Kurosaki Isshin turned up to take Orihime home. He didn't want to wake her up, so gently carried her to the car. The group playing the drinking game was also beginning to get enough of it. Some had reached the point of becoming seriously ill. They were kindly asked to leave the premises and go home, before they started puking. Yoruichi apparently also had enough, because she stumbled to her feet and made her way over to Soi. She crashed down on the couch besides her. "Damn, I'm wasted," she mumbled.

"I think it's time to go home," Soi said resolutely.

"Soi, I'm having a moment of clarity, so please listen to me." She looked at her girlfriend with unsteady eyes, making Soi highly doubt that she really had a moment of clarity. "I need you to take me home. Don't let me wander off, that would be disastrous. And whatever you do, wait for me to fall asleep before you get in the bed with me. In the manga's the girl always gets raped by the drunken lover. It'd be very bad if that were to happen… not to mention very cliché…"

Soi snorted. "Yoruichi, even if you were sober you wouldn't have the strength to molest me."

"Oh, that's right." The mechanic giggled stupidly and sagged limply against Soi.

Soi got to her feet and pulled Yoruichi up. The golden-eyed drunkard sagged against her. Soi wrapped Yoruichi's arm around her own shoulder and half carried, half pulled the woman out of the MC. The golden-eyed woman lived up a bit once they got out in the cool, fresh air. "You really are wonderful Soi," she muttered with a bit of a lisp.

"Thank you."

"You are so strong and so beautiful, it's almost inhuman."

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Soi asked sharply.

For a moment Yoruichi just grinned, but then she continued mumbling. "You are like the pinnacle of evolution… strength, beauty and wisdom, you've got them all… absolute perfection. You've transcended the realm of humanity and became a true demigod. When your time has come and you go to the Golden Hall Odin will greet you at the door."

"Well, thank you, but I'm nowhere near perfect."

"Yes you are," Yoruichi said hotly. The sudden clearness of her voice surprised Soi a bit. "You are perfect… you're like… a guardian angel, beautiful and strong. You have the wisdom and the willpower. You are… Gandalf the White!"

"…right."

"No, I'm suri… saru… s`rious! No Balrog will ever pass you." Yoruichi was looking rather serious while saying this. Then she hung limply against her girlfriend again and began mumbling to herself. With moderate force Soi guided the woman back home. Suddenly Yoruichi broke free and stood straight. "I will take it! I will take the ring to Mordor."

Soi shook her head and couldn't help but laugh. "Yoruichi, you're a mechanic, not a Hobbit."

"Oh… right." She sagged against her girlfriend again and allowed her being guided. "But if I were a Hobbit I would've taken it."

"Sure you would, you're so brave," Soi grinned.

"No… no I'm not brave." Yoruichi whined a bit. "Everyone always teases me and scares me…" She looked at Soi with bloodshot eyes. "You're the one who's brave… my killer bee."

"I'm not yours," Soi smiled. She was getting highly amused by her drunken girlfriend. At least she didn't have a bad drunk. "You're mine."

For a moment Yoruichi tried to comprehend that. "Oooh, yeah… I'm yours," she chuckled. "I'm your property mistress, please use me as you see fit. I'll do everything you say."

"Everything?"

"Yes mistress. Errythin!"

"Then be a good girl and calmly walk home with me," Soi said in an amused voice. "It's way past your bedtime."

"Yes mistress, I'll be a good girl." Yoruichi was smiling weakly as she let herself be guided home.

She had a bit of trouble with the stairs of her flat, but otherwise they got home without any trouble. She even brushed her teeth and got into her pajamas all by herself, a feat which highly amazed Soi. Soi forced her to drink a pint of water, to ease the impending hangover a bit. Then she put her in bed and tucked her in nicely.

"You've been a good girl, Yoruichi," she said after giving her a kiss on the lips. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks mistress," the purple-haired woman mumbled weakly. "I love you." Her eyes closed and she almost instantly fell in a deep sleep. Soi chuckled and shook her head, before getting ready for bed as well. Today had been a good day.