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A kensaikan is the type of hair ornament that Byakuya wears.

This fic was inspired by elfbunion's "Of Love and Marriage."

I can't help but feel that something is missing from this, but I don't know what. Tell me if you know.

The bridesmaid finished tying the golden obi around Yoruichi's lithe waist, completing her ensemble. She eyed herself in the mirror. She was wearing a pure white kimono with a golden obi around the waist.

"Now, let's do your hair, Yoruichi-sama." The bridesmaid beamed as she motioned to a chair.

"Okay." Yoruichi sighed as she took her seat. The bridesmaid began to fit a kensaikan through her lavender locks.

It wasn't supposed to go this far…

The sound of wood clogs on wood floor boards resounded through the halls of the Second Division. Omeada was too busy eating his crackers to notice.

"Excuse me," Urahara tapped the large man on the shoulder.

"Who the hell…?" Omeada turned around, praying crumbs. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"I'm looking for your Captain." Urahara replied a cheerily. "Do you happen to know where she is?"

"She's been held up in her office all day." Omeada pointed over his shoulder. "No one in or out."

"Thanks." Urahara nodded and squeezed past the near-obese man.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?" Omeada boomed. "No one in or out!" Urahara pretended not to hear and walked to the door of the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido and the Second Division. Cautiously, he slid the shoji open.

Urahara wasn't sure what he expected to see on the other side of the door, so he wasn't surprised by the sight, per-say.

Soifon was sitting behind her desk, slumped over, her arms concealing her face. All over the desk and on the floor around it were empty bottles of sake and tissues.

"I said I didn't want to be disturbed!" Soifon raised her head to the intruder. There were dark bag under her blood-shot eyes. Her voice was hoarse.

"I have to say," Urahara walked in, "You never struck me as a drinker." He kicked one of the bottles on the ground.

"Never had an occasion."Soifon spat. 'Why aren't you at the ceremony?"

"The ceremony doesn't start for another hour or so." Urahara responded. "The real question is, why aren't you there?"

"I…I just can't…." Soifon's head hit the desk and she started crying again.

"Then why aren't you stopping it?" Urahara asked, turning serious.

"Because it's what's best for her." Soifon took another drink. "My family is nothing but a bunch of hired thugs. We don't have money, or status, or prestige." A chocked sob escaped her lips, but she kept her composure. "I can't give her children…"

"That's not what it's all about." Urahara reasoned.

"Then what is it about!" Soifon stood up in an instant, her fingernails boring into the wood of her desk almost as much as her eyes bore into Urahara.

"Well, I'd like to think that weddings are about love." Urahara didn't flinch under the intense gaze.

"Then why aren't you stopping it?" Soifon sneered, sitting back down. "You're in the same boat I am."

"Hardly," Urahara clarified. "I never had her to lose her. But if I were in your shoes, I would be doing everything in my power to stop that wedding"

"There's nothing to stop." Soifon mumbled. "She agreed to this. If she didn't want this, she wouldn't be doing it." Without responding, Urahara walked over to the slumped woman and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing!" Soifon demanded.

"Stopping my friend from ruining her life." Urahara shunpoed out of the office and towards the Kuchiki estate.

Yoruichi exited the Kuchiki mansion and walked onto the grounds outside, squinting in the sunlight. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw the large mass of people gathered to witness the ceremony. Noble marriages were very much public affairs, and those seats not taken up friends and family were open to the public, for a price.

Byakuya Kuchiki, in full uniform, walked up to Yoruichi. The white kimono contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. Yoruichi had laughed when she saw the white garment. As with almost all cultures, the white symbolized purity. Yoruichi supposed that she was pure, in her own way. While she wasn't ignorant to the pleasures of the flesh, she had yet to know the touch of a man.

I guess that's about to change, Yoruichi though sadly. Wordlessly, Byakuya hooked his arm around Yoruichi and lead her down the aisle.

"I can't believe this is happening." Yoruichi whispered.

"The traditions and institutions that our society is built upon are more important than either of our feelings." Byakuya responded in his usual monotone. "We both had out time to bend the rules. Now it is time that we abide by them."

It wasn't supposed to go this far! Yoruichi's mind raged again.

Yoruichi had been absolutely shocked when she had been informed that the Kuchiki house had paid the proper dowry and that Byakuya had agreed to marry her. She thought he was still too hung up on Hisana.

Yoruichi didn't fight it at first. In fact, the very first thing she did was tell Soifon. She had been with Soifon since their investigation of the Bounts, and she was happy, for the most part. There was one thing that was bothering her, however.

Soifon was very submissive. Whenever Yoruichi said jump, Soifon started jumping while asking "how high?"

It wasn't that Yoruichi minded having someone who wanted to please her, it was that the fire and intensity that she had seen during her fight with her during Rukia's rescue seemed to have died. I was almost as if they had returned to the way they were a century before; a master and servant, just with benefits.

Yoruichi seemingly agreeing to marry Byakuya was meant to push Soifon's buttons. She wanted to rekindle that flame of passion. But instead, Soifon withdrew. They were no longer physically intimate and she restarted using honorifics. She normally used them in public, lest people insinuate the depth of their relationship, but she started using them in private, too.

Yoruichi spent every spare minute she had informing Soifon of the wedding plans, hoping that the next detail would be the last straw, that Soifon would snap and claim her, tell her to call it off. But that never happened. Soifon continued to become more and more distant until she started avoiding her altogether.

"We don't want any rumors sullying the bride-to-be's reputation, Yoruichi-sama." Soifon explained. Before Yoruichi knew it, the day had arrived. She was well beyond marrying age and the Shihoin's and Kuhicki's were antsy for an heir, so they had moved the date up. She had boxed herself in with no way out.

It was supposed to be a game, a test. But now, Yoruichi was kneeling before the Kuchiki elder as her read the wedding vows.

If only I hadn't been so stubborn! Yoruichi thought. She could have backed out of the agreement. Even though the dowry had been paid, she was still the head of her house.

She could have run, again. She even could have taken Soifon with her, this time. But Soifon had so much more to lose now than she ever had back a century ago.

She could have still gone without her, but there was no telling what her leaving again would do to her. Because of her own stubbornness to make break Soifon out of her shell, she had sold her soul and body.

"Are we too early or too late for the objections?" Yoruichi spun around at the nonchalant sound of Kiuske Urahara's voice. He removed Soifon from his shoulder and placed her on her feet. She stumbled for a moment before steadying herself.

"What is the meaning of this?" Byakuya's father stood up. He stopped his shouting when he saw who he was shouting at. While Kiuske was not a threat, politically, Soifon was the most powerful woman in the Seireirtei and the only Shinigami with jurisdiction over nobles.

"You better speak up." Urahara whispered. All the eyes of the crowed were fixed on them. A whisper was rippling though the attendants. "Soon." He pushed her forward, toward Yoruichi.

"Yoruichi…" Soifon blushed deeply. "Y..you look beautiful."

"Thanks." Yoruichi smiled weakly, walking towards Soifon. She wasn't using honorifics.

"Yoruichi…" Soifon stopped.

There are so many people here, Soifon thought. She had never been comfortable with public displays of affection. She hadn't so much as held hands with Yoruichi while in eyesight of others. However, the alcohol in her veins and the thought of what would happen if she didn't act compelled her.

"Please," Soifon's voice was constrained. "Don't do this." Tears started to flow from Soifon's eyes. "I love you." Soifon's voice became a chocked sob. There was a collective gasp of shock from the attendants.

"How absurd!" It was Yoruichi's father this time. A nervous laugh followed.

"Soi…" Yoruichi cooed as she stroked Soifon's cheek. This only the second time she had seen the woman in front of her cry. What happened next shocked every single person, including Soifon. Yoruichi kissed her with more passion than she had ever before, throwing her arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. Despite the fact that there were literally thousands of witnesses, Soifon hungrily returned the kiss.

The crowd was in an uproar now. The clan elders were furiously ordering guards around, trying to regain control of the situation. Several started making their way over to the interlopers, but before they got within two-hundred feet of the two women, they were gone.

Urahara caught Byakuya's eye briefly before he made his own exit. To his surprise, there was no anger, shock, or sadness in them. Urahara could have sworn he say something resembling relief.

Soifon and Yoruichi lay together in Soifon's bed, in the heart of the Onmitsukido barracks. Clothing was scattered all around the room. The white kimono lay crumpled on the ground along with the kensaikan. Their bodies were a tangled mass, Yoruichi's head resting on Soifon's shoulder as Soifon held her in a very possessive fashion.

"What are we going to do?" Yoruichi was as she drew a circle around Soifon's belly button under the sheets. The question was asked innocently. There was no worry in her voice.

"I don't know." Soifon answered. "The Kuchiki's and the Shihoin's aren't going to be happy about this, but there's not much they can do. They don't have and power over us while I have full authority over them. And if they do try something, I have over six hundred troops ready and willing to defend us, between the Second and the Onmitsukido.

"I love it when you flex your muscles like that." Yoruichi nuzzled her head into the crook of Soifon's neck.

For Soifon, the worst was already over. She had bared her soul in front of thousands of witnesses and survived. All that was left was to weather the fallout, which would most likely consist of speeches, empty threats, and posturing that will ultimately amount to nothing.

For Yoruichi, things were only just beginning, really. She would likely be stripped of her rank and title, again, and she would be forced to live the rest of her life as a social pariah. But none of that really mattered to her. She had endured it all before, and she could again.

Now, she was just happy to have Soifon back. Not Shaolin Fon, the timid girl that had served her as a body guard, but Soifon, the woman that she loved.