Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

Loves Me Not

A gentle, warm afternoon breeze teased at Soifon's hair, occasionally blowing raven strands over her eyes as she concentrated and a small bead of sweat formed slowly on her brow. She ignored the nuisance, seated with her legs crossed on the grass, which was sparsely populated with the occasional daisy or other typical flower. The sun's rays caught on her dark hair and eyes, giving a glossy look to both and she felt the heat of it on her back.

She closed her eyes, plucking the nearest flower from the ground and held it cautiously, resting her elbow on her knee. Her back arched slightly as she slouched, cracking open one eye.

It was a daisy.

She parted her lips and a steady stream of air blew out of her lungs in a relieved sigh as her shoulders lowered. Her unoccupied arm then moved to rest on her opposite knee and her fingertips grazed lightly along the white petals. After circling the perimeter of the flower, she pinched one of the petals between her thumb and index finger.

"She loves me," her quiet voice did little to fill the air as the white petal drifted to the grass below.

She pulled off another petal, continuing the cliché ritual.

"She loves me not."

Another.

"She loves me."

And another.

"She loves me not."

She repeated the motion over and over until she reached the last petal, which had unfortunately turned out to be a 'Loves Me Not.' Simply for the sake of consistency, she plucked the final petal from the daisy she had robbed from the ground.

"She loves me not," the words left her lips simultaneously with her exhale.

A hand delicately rested on Soifon's shoulder and she felt a soft pressure and warmth against her back that could only be caused from another body.

"Silly Little Bee," Yoruichi's musical voice, in all of its flawlessness, flowed melodically into her ears. "You're supposed to pollinate flowers, not destroy them," Soifon could hear the smile in her voice as she felt Yoruichi's hand travel from her shoulder down to her wrist, arresting it in her grasp and the remaining bits of the flower fell to its withering petals in the grass.

The Shinigami's eyes widened and her muscles stiffened as another hand rested dangerously on her waist.

"Relax, you're so tense," her infectious voice coaxed as she shifted against Soifon's body.

"Yoruichi-sama…wh-what are you doing here?" she stammered before swallowing the merciless lump in her throat, noting every bit of friction between their bodies.

"Well, I was going to come surprise you later," she shrugged and Soifon attempted to ignore the tightening knot in her stomach at every movement Yoruichi made. "But I saw you playing this little game," she continued as she picked up the remains of the daisy, holding the stem between her skilled fingertips.

Soifon tuned in to her rapidly beating heart as she held her breath.

'Oh, God, she heard me.'

"And well, you were doing it wrong," Yoruichi concluded, now holding the stem a few inches away from Soifon's nose.

'Wrong…?'

"You see, there aren't any petals left, which isn't right since you landed on the wrong answer," her thumb moved underneath the yellow center of the daisy that had once been attached to it's white counterparts, and she popped it off. "So, you go one step further."

Soifon's lips pulled up into an unseen smile and she finished what she'd started.

"She loves me," she murmured, slightly above a whisper.

"Mhmm," Yoruichi replied, wrapping her arms around Soifon's midsection as she nuzzled her creamy neck. "She does."