DISCLAIMER: The rights to all copyrighted material mention henceforth in this document are owned by their respective owners.

This is the YoruSoi follow-up to "Song of the Sad Assassin." Please read that first before reading this story.

The title is taken from the Why? song "Rubber Traits" off of the album "Elephant Eyelash." I suggest you listen to it, as it served as my primary inspiration for this work.

This took much longer than I anticipated, but I feel satisfied with the way I'm going about this story now. Everything before felt rushed before. I'm taking things much slower now. There will be more time between updates, but the updates will be far more substantial.

I would like to thank everyone that supported this fic previously and I hope to enjoy your support again

Idleness is a fickle thing. A person can spend the entirety of their life working towards the day when they can cease their toils, yet when that day comes, the first thing they will do is search for something to alleviate the boredom.

That is where Yoruichi currently found herself; languishing in the doldrums of peace. It wasn't that she reviled in death and destruction, far from it. She had abstained from combat from combat for one hundred years for a reason. However, little was left for her or any of the others residing in Urahara Shoten to do. Even though the war with Aizen was over, the Shinigamai had stepped up their presence is Karakura, hoping to prevent another similar fiasco. Any Hollows or Arrancar that were drawn to the town's unique spiritual topography were quickly eliminated.

Yoruichi sighed and continued to look up at the ceiling above her bed. The room around her was a mess, with the trinkets and souvenirs of her travels through both worlds scattered all about the place. Urahara was thoroughly absorbed in some "groundbreaking" new invention, Ichigo and all his friends were back in school, living like they were supposed to and Urahara's mod sols were now under the Shinigami's employ. All she could do was sit and wait for something to happen.

Just like when I first got here, she thought disappointedly.

No, not quite. Dragging herself off the bed, she clothed herself in her usual attire and headed towards Urahara's lab. Pushing the bookcase that concealed the entrance to his workshop aside, she poked her head through the threshold.

"Kisuke!" She shouted into the poorly lit room. A loud crash was head, followed by cursing and steps. Out of the darkness came a dirty and exhausted looking Urahara.

"Would it kill you to nock?" He asked, somewhat perturbed.

"Maybe," Yoruichi joked, offsetting her friend's mood. "I need you to open the Senkaimon."

"Okay, just give me a minute." Urahara opened up the trap door to the underground training area and the two descended. Yoruichi waited somewhat impatiently as Urahara prepared the gate. "This would go faster if you would help." Yoruichi didn't move from the rick she was sitting on.

"What's got you panties in a bunch?" Yoruichi asked her irritable friend.

"Nothing is going right with my work." Urahara didn't turn around as he continued preparing the gate.

"Mabey you could think clearer if you sleep some." Yoruichi hopped up as the gate between ralms opened. "And maybe things would go smoother if you would tell me what you working on so I could help."

"And ruined the surprise? It would be a disservice to you." Urahara joked for the first time this morning. Yoruichi steeped into the gate.

"I'll see you in a while." Yoruichi waved.

"Try not to cause a ruckus." Urahara saw Yoruichi off and quickly returned to his work.

Soifon stood on a balcony overlooking the central training area of the Second Division and Onmitsukido barracks. Gathered in the large court yard were all the current members of the two organizations and all those who hoped to join them. The seated officers were running the new recruits through basic exercises while the veterans sparred.

The war with Aizen had been devastating for all of the divisions, but while most had retreated to lick their wounds, Soifon was pushing her men harder then she had ever before. Nation-states were most vulnerable in the times directly after major conflicts. Citizens are no longer vigilant, as they are too busy celebrating the victory and the armed forces coffers are depleted and the men exhausted.

Aizen's betrayal had shown her that conspirators could strike even in the height of power. The Second Division's and Onmitsukido's job was to preserve the hard one peace that the all now enjoyed, and Soifon was going to make sure that they were up for the task.

Next to her was her lieutenant, Omeada, currently indulging himself in his favorite crackers. In the past, she would have sent him away to do remedial work just to remove him and his incessant eating from her presence, but in the five months since her 'breakdown,' a healthy professional relationship had grown between them. She still would never consider the man a friend, but she no longer thought of him as an incompetent oaf and trusted him with more of responsibilities of running the two units.

"Omeada, what do you think." She said without looking at him.

"About what, Taicho?" He asked through a mouthful of crackers.

"About what you see." Omeada could not see her roll her eyes. He looked out and saw many of the new recruits collapsing from exhaustion or injuries.

"I think you may be pushing the new recruits too hard, Taicho." In the past, he wouldn't have dared to voice his own opinion, especially if it was in opposition to hers, but he now felt comfortable in doing so. "If you keep up this pace, most will either drop out or die."

"My job to sharpen blades, not forage them." She responded, still not looking at him. She was far less than pleased with the new blood entering her units. They young and naïve; attracted to service by romanticized stories of battle and glory. They were here for personal gain, not for the Gotei 13. "If they cannot handle such basic training, then they would not survive here anyway." It was a classic Soifon statement, but it didn't drip with the same contemptuous venom that it would have before the war.

Omeada decided not to push the matter further and removed another cracker from the bag.

Yoruichi touched down on the stone floor of the entrance to the Second Division barracks. It was more a show of respect than anything. She could have just as easily snuck in without anyone knowing. The two guards outside the gate acknowledged her presence and opened the gate. Even though the charges against her had never been officially dropped, they knew better than to impede her entrance. Anyone else would have been required to state their business, but most already knew why she was here.

The last time she had see Soifon was five months ago, at the end of the war. She was despondent then, probably still in shock from her injures. She was only able to speak to her briefly before she was carted away by the Fourth Division and she wasn't present at any of the victory celebrations. Yoruichi was worried about her. She knew that the loss of her arm was going to be hard on her and, consequently, she was going to be hard on herself. Mentally, she berated herself for not going to see her sooner.

It wasn't long before Yoruichi found her. She was at the central training grounds, running her troops through intense drills. Some of them were even collapsing. Next to her was Omeada, munching away at his crackers. Even though she was on a rooftop some distance from her, she was stunned at how different she looked. Her hair cut short in a straight bob, coming down below her ears. The braids were gone, too. She was also taller now, almost as tall as herself now. In her full uniform with her new hair cut and height, she could easily be mistaken for a man by a passer-by. Intrigued, she bound from the rooftop and landed behind them effortlessly. Neither of them seemed to notice. From the training ground, someone could be heard shouting for a medic.

"Gee Soi, you push them any harder and you won't have anyone left to train." Yoruichi ribbed her former student, who quickly turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soifon was surprised to see her here. It wasn't like her to show up announced without a reason.

"See! Even she agrees with me." Omeada said triumphantly.

"Shut up Omeada." Soifon said flatly, deflating him. "Is something wrong, Yoruichi-sama?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Yoruichi waved off Soifon's concerns. "I just came to see how you were doing, that's all."

"I'm doing fine, Yoruichi-sama, but if you'll excuse me, new recruits came in today and I have-" Soifon began before she was cut off.

"Oh no, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Yoruichi grabbed Soifon's arm and began to drag her away.

"Omeada! Make sure they continue the exercises that I started them on!" Soifon shouted before she was pulled around a corner. "Where are we going?" She asked her kidnapper.

"I'm hungry, and you should be too." Yoruichi let Soifon go."I figured we could catch up over lunch."

"That sounds fine." Soifon agreed. As they walked, Yoruichi couldn't help but notice that Soifon carried herself differently. She had always walked with confidence, but she also appeared tense, like she was unsure of something. Now, she still walked with that same confidence, but she seemed more at ease.

It didn't take the two of them long to reach the cafeteria. They both grabbed a tray and got their food; Soifon choosing fried rice and fish and Yoruichi opting for a salad. They found a somewhat secluded table in the corner of the mess hall and took their seats. Soifon took her cup of tea in her left hand and Yoruichi almost smacked herself for not noticing something so obvious sooner.

"Your arm!" Yoruichi stared at the appendage. She had even been dragging her by it.

"This," Soifon removed the long glove from her left arm. "Is not my arm. It's a prosthetic." Yoruichi took the arm in her hands and began to examine it. Soifon blushed at the attention. "The Research and Development Institute made it. It's not perfect though. The only sensation it can transmit is pressure. If I wasn't looking, I would know something was making contact, but I couldn't tell the difference between a fist and a finger." Yoruichi released the arm.

"Really?" Yoruichi asked. She was amazed at how authentic it felt and looked.

"The Research and Development Institute is working on a model that can transmit the full range of sensations, but it is a long way off." Soifon took a sip from her tea.

"We could just have Orihime restore your old one." Yoruichi offered.

"What good is a mistake without a consequence?" Soifon asked rhetorically.

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi wasn't following her.

"I should have realized that I wasn't going to be able to defeat Barragan sooner. This," she held up the arm and looked at it. "Serves as a constant reminder of how pride clouded my judgment." Yoruichi let the issue drop and the two of them sat in silence eating until Soifon brushed some of her hair out of her eyes.

"You cot a haircut." Yoruichi commented. "Got tired of the braids?" She was disappointed to see them go. They were so unique.

"I got it cut shortly after I lost my arm. It was too difficult to re-braid my hair every day with one arm so I decided to have it cut instead." Yoruichi suddenly felt very selfish.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Yoruichi apologized.

"Why?" Soifon asked.

"I made is sound like a fashion statement," Yoruichi answered. "But you had to deal with a disability at the time."

"It's okay. You didn't know. Plus it's a lot more practical now." Soifon reassured Yoruichi.

"Looks good too." Yoruichi complemented.

"Thank you." Soifon blushed. Yoruichi stretched her legs under the table, but quickly retracted them when she felt them make contact with Soifon's; something that had never happened before. "I'm sorry." Soifon apologized.

"It's okay. Where did those extra inches come from, anyway?" Yoruichi asked. Soifon sighed. She knew the conversation would turn in this direction.

"Ever since I was young, I," Soifon hesitated for a moment. "Have struggled with anorexia." She looked down, ashamed at her own weakness.

"Soi," Yoruichi was toughly shocked. "I don't know what to say." She felt terrible that she hadn't been able to tell that anything was wrong.

"It's okay." Soifon reassured Yoruichi. She could see that she was troubled.

"I'm still confused." Yoruichi didn't exactly equate how anorexia equated to Soifon's new height.

"After the war, I," Soifon hesitated again, "spent a lot of time in the hospital." Yoruichi nodded, thinking she understood why. "While I was there, Unohana helped me overcome it. She told me that my malnourished state postponed my natural development and it wasn't uncommon for it to restart once healthy eating patterns resume, though not to its full extent." She took a bite of her plate to emphasize that she was in fact cured.

"Well, I'm happy you finally beat it." Yoruichi smiled. The two of them finished their meals, disposed of their trays and left the cafeteria. They took their time getting back to the training ground. "So, what's life like in the Gotei 13 these days?" Yoruichi asked.

"Hectic," Soifon answered. "For the Second and Onmitsukido, at least. While the rest of the Divisons are recuperating, we have to work harder than ever to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

"Sounds like you won't be having much free time." Yoruichi said disappointedly.

"Actually, I've made it a point to schedule the second Wednesday of each month as a personal day off." Soifon half-lied. While she did take the day off, it was by Unohana's orders, not her own volition.

"Really?" Yoruichi was surprised that Soifon even knew what "day off" meant.

"Your free to stop by then if you like, but I'll have little time to spare anytime else." They arrived to the training ground.

"That sounds like a plan. I'll see you then." Yoruichi waved goodbye before disappearing. Soifon turned to her lieutenant.

"Tell them to take a break, Omeada. Have them resume training in an hour." She said before leaving. Omeada silently blessed the golden women and the effect she had on his captain.