Disclaimer: If Bleach were mine, Sui Feng and Yoruichi would be the main characters. But they aren't!

Sui Feng sighed. The towering pile of paperwork lined up neatly before her seemed only to emphasize on the futility of her hours spent in front of her work desk. She had only one last week to clear up the necessary paperwork before it was the start of a new year, which only meant more paperwork to come.

All those permission forms to sign, and for same things we do every year too!

Out of habit, she rubbed at her neck, unsurprised to find that hairs were standing at the back of it. It was an unusually chilly day in Seireitei, and she was, for once, thankful for Omaeda's family wealth as it enabled the installation of a central heating system for the wooden floors in her division. Contrary to what others had suspected, these heated floors were not solely for her Yoruichi-sama's comfort, although she had allowed the assumptions to persist in order to maintain her Spartan image. Growing up in a household whereby both her third uncle and her second brother perished due to frostbite while on missions in the human world, Sui Feng didn't take very well to the cold. The reason why she very much preferred missions in the spiritual world at this period of the year was because temperatures remained mild all year round due to the lack of the four seasons in this world.

Why is it so cold now?

After the Aizen's sealing, Seireitei had been relatively peaceful with most of its inhabitants busy with rebuilding, especially the Third, Fifth and Ninth Divisions. Rarely had hell butterflies been sent out to the Divisions in the recent weeks unless a matter of importance had been brought to attention. Other than the announcement of new training schedules by the Captain Commander involving the captains of the Seventh and Tenth Divisions, there had been no changes to daily life in Seireitei, especially something significant enough to change the weather.

The Tenth Division… that's right, it's probably the ice captain's turn to train with the Captain Commander. I wish he would stop turning the air around Seireitei so cold with his inability to control his zanpakuto well enough.

Her suspicions were confirmed soon enough when a tower of ice suddenly appeared near the First Division barracks.

Sui Feng sighed again as a fresh gust of cold wind entered her room through the open window.

Yoruichi grinned when snowflakes begun their slow descent from the grey sky above the Urahara Shoten. With this snow, she was free from her duty as "snow-lookout" for Urahara in exchange for tickets to a place she had wanted to go with her little bee for a long time now.

"Kisuke! Oi, Kisuke! It's finally snowing!"

Urahara Kisuke scrambled out from his laboratory, his hat askew. Upon seeing the white fluff floating down from the sky, he held his hat out to gather some of the winter's first snow for his new experiment.

"Great, now I can finally complete that gadget before New Year's," he declared happily. As he turned to head back into the room, Yoruichi blocked his path with a flash step in front of him.

"I think you mean before your birthday is over. Whatever, don't you forget your promise to me now, and hand me the tickets before you disappear into your lab for days!"

"Alright, alright, Yoruichi-san," Urahara dug deeply into his long coat for a moment before pulling out two crumpled tickets and a blue form, which were quickly snatched by a dark hand before the excited woman ran off to open the Senkaimon.

Little bee, here I come!

"Remember to observe the traffic rules when you drive, Yoruichi-san!"

After exiting from the Senkaimon, Yoruichi flash stepped quickly to the Second Division headquarters, eager to see the small captain after two weeks away while she stayed at the Urahara Shoten. The last piece of news she had heard before leaving Seireitei was that the captain's arm had been scheduled to be restored by the Fourth Division captain, Unohana.

I wonder if she's gotten her arm back already…

A frown crossed the flash goddess's face at that thought as she remembered how Sui Feng had been more subdued than usual when she had lost her left arm in the battle against the second Espada, even when she was around her. Nevertheless, the running woman reassured herself that her little bee could always recover her arm using Orihime's power, if all else fails, which would certainly make her happy again. Falling into her usual trance of blankness while her muscles concentrated on running, Yoruichi found herself wondering why she was increasingly more concerned with Sui Feng's happiness after the whole fiasco with Aizen's betrayal. She rarely cared deeply for another person, so why did Sui Feng affect her so? Even if she had known her former student for a few decades before her exile, she had only gotten reacquainted with her for a few months now. And yet, here she was, running to her little bee in excitement and wanting to spend some time with her. Certainly, she had never felt this way with Kisuke or Kuukaku despite knowing them for a far longer time.

What exactly am I doing?

The mocha skinned beauty came to a sudden halt and sand from the muddy path flew up in little patterns around her feet at the friction. Blinking once and again, she realized that she was already in plain view of the Second Division's barracks. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, she decided on a whim to enter the Second Division from the front gate in her human form for once, announcing herself before the edgy guards.

"Shihouin Yoruichi, here on private business with your captain."

"Good morning Shihouin-dono! Sui Feng-taicho has instructed us to always allow you to enter, but I'm afraid taicho just went out not long ago," one of the guards reported.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know, madam!"

Yoruichi scoffed at the uptight attitude of the Second Division guards. "You guys are just like your captain, so prim and proper! But what else can I expect… You! Where is your lieutenant?"

"He's inside his office, madam! Taicho told him to get the paperwork done while she's out."

Without further ado, Yoruichi moved towards the direction of Omaeda's office, certain that she would find out Sui Feng's whereabouts if she questioned the large man. And if he didn't know… she could always bully him while waiting for her little bee to get back.

Perfect action plan.

When Yoruichi found the Second Division lieutenant, she was surprised to see him working hard to clear the large pile of paperwork in front of him, occasionally eyeing the small clock in front of him with an expression akin to fear. On further inspection, Yoruichi laughed when she saw a few Houmokas decorating his body, which alerted the panicking man of her presence.

"Yoruichi-dono! You scared me! I thought Sui Feng-taicho came back early!" Omaeda screeched in surprise. "Please tell taicho to get rid these houmokas! She only listens to you!" he begged pitifully, tears in his eyes.

Witnessing the big man's distress, she decided to grace the useless lieutenant with some sympathy, at least out of the consideration that he's the son of her former lieutenant.

"I'm sure you deserve it from slacking off all the time, but I'll talk to her about it on the account of your father. Where is she anyway?"

"Oh thank you! Please help me relay to taicho that I will work harder than ever to finish this! She's at the Fourth Division, meeting with Unohana-taicho."

"Fourth Division huh? Well, if she comes back before I find her, tell her I'm looking for her and she can wait for me in her office."

Without waiting for a reply, Yoruichi left, stopping by Sui Feng's office to remove her clothing and tickets before transforming into a cat.

Hmm… time to spy on my little bee.

The diminutive Second Division captain basked in the warmness surrounding her, her body undeniably relaxing due to the heat.

Ahh… This is so much better than the cold office. My left arm isn't aching anymore either.

Sui Feng lay on her stomach on a bed in a private room with a nice window view. She was only wearing her Omnitsukido uniform as it allowed Unohana to access her back and shoulders while she attended to Sui Feng.

"It feels really comfortable, Retsu. I could fall asleep any moment."

"You must learn to relax more, Sui Feng. You push yourself far too hard and you never allow your body enough rest."

Unohana channeled more kido onto her hands as she rubbed at Sui Feng's left shoulder joint, using slightly more force when she encountered a knot near the area where her arm had to be regrown.

Unbeknownst to Sui Feng, who was too distracted by the comforting haze of the kido spell, a black cat sat on a tree not so far away, observing the on-goings in the room through the open window. Unohana, on the other hand, smiled secretly when she realized Yoruichi was spying on them. It was time she pushed the elusive cat into some action with regards to her good friend.

"Is that the reason why my left arm has been aching the whole day, Retsu?"

Ensuring that her body did not obstruct the view from the window, Unohana moved her hands over to Sui Feng's back, massaging it gently as the younger woman moaned in pleasure.

"Yes. You need more time to get used to it, and I suggest that you should soak in that hot spring in the Second Division whenever you can to keep it warm. Hitsugaya-taicho is scheduled to continue his training for at least three more days, which means that the weather is going to turn chilly like today."

"Huh, maybe I should get that oaf of my lieutenant to install heaters in the division quarters as well if this keeps up." Sui Feng grumbled softly.

"You never change," the Fourth Division captain giggled, "you're always so tough on your subordinates even though you're pretty proud of them most of the time." She continued in a more serious tone, "Also, swimming will be a good choice if you are looking to exercise your arm without overstraining it. However, the only places to swim in Seireitei are the Shihouin and the Kuchiki mansions."

"I'm not particularly fond of swimming… but if I must…"

Yoruichi was glad that she was in her cat form, which restricted her facial expressions. Inside though, her mind and her heart were in jumbles at the sight of the interactions between the two captains which she had just witnessed. When Sui Feng had moaned, her blood seemed to be roaring within her small body, and her feline heart was beating even faster than usual. Yet, a sudden uncomfortable feeling of fear flared up within her when she had seen Unohana moving her hands to massage her little bee's back without meeting any resistance. She wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling at the moment, every emotion seemed to be swirled together in a messy mixture.

When had Unohana and her little bee become so close without her noticing? Sui Feng was calling the Fourth Division captain her first name without any suffixes while she had insisted in addressing her by Yoruichi-sama. Unohana had uncharacteristically giggled as if she was truly amused by Sui Feng, and Yoruichi had never seen her giggling like this before, even during the time where both of them had mingled together as captains. Their interactions confused her, for she had believed for the longest time that Sui Feng's gaze only encompassed her. But now, she was not so sure.

In her inner storm, Yoruichi unconsciously allowed her reiatsu to flare up slightly, bringing Sui Feng's attention to herself.

Sui Feng tensed when she unexpectedly sensed a familiar reiatsu emitting from a short distance outside the window. Unohana, on the other hand, firmly continued her work on Sui Feng while calling out to the third person.

"Yoruichi-san, would you please come in?"

How long has she known that I was there?

A black flash of fur stopped by the window sill before Yoruichi jumped gracefully onto the bed Sui Feng was lying in. Careful to mask whatever feelings she had just now, she queried the doctor about Sui Feng's condition in an even and cheerful tone.

"Heya! I came to see Sui Feng. How is she now? Little bee, I see you've got your arm back already."

Unable to remain in such a lazy position in front of her Yoruichi-sama, Sui Feng sat up as Unohana went to the drawers on the other corner of the room to retrieve some medicine for her patient.

"Y-Yes, Yoruichi-sama, I'm perfectly fine now. There's no need to worry about me. Did you come here because there was there something that you needed my help with?" stammered Sui Feng, still in shock that Yoruichi came all the way to the Fourth Division barracks for her.

"She's not in the best condition for something dangerous, Yoruichi-san. In fact, I have just prescribed her to swimming therapy because she needs to keep her left arm warm and active for at least another week." Unohana glowered over her patient, sending Sui Feng her concerned smile. "Make sure you swim at least once every two days and take these pills on time."

Sui Feng shuddered imperceptibly, and gave her fellow captain a weak smile and a nod before receiving her pills.

"Great! I know just the place. Let's go, Sui Feng."

"Yes, Yoruichi-sama!"

Although Yoruichi didn't know what she felt about the new situation, she at least understood the ever present feeling of needing some time alone with her little bee. Eagerly, she leapt out of the window again, expecting the younger captain to follow her, like always.

Somewhere in the Second Division...

"Shihouin-dono! Why are the houmokas not gone yet?! Taicho, please forgive me!"

A/N: This story will approximately be three chapters long. I aim for the last chapter to be up by New Year! Reviews are very much loved and fodder for more inspiration x3 Please also inform me of typing or grammar errors as this story is unbeta'd.