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Vice-Captain Kusajishi Yachiru.� �

Yoruichi nodded and waved away the servant who d brought the young woman in. She d� �  been surprised to hear the Vice-Captain had come to see her, more so because itwas barely ten after nine in the morning. But here she was, standing before themwith a rather serious look on her face. Yachiru glanced beside Yoruichi, givingKisuke a brief bow. He smiled. Good morning, Yachiru-san.� �

Good morning, Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san. Solemn brown eyes came to rest on� �  Yoruichi s. I ve come to ask for your help.� � � �

When Yachiru was settled with a cup of tea and had divulged her problem, Yoruichifelt a semi-malicious glee rising inside her. Kisuke you can leave.� � �

Yoruichi� ��

Get lost, Kisuke.� �

Hmmm. He gave her a sidelong glance before rising to his feet and leaving them� �  alone.

Now, Yachiru, Yoruichi said, leaning forward, It would be my pleasure to help� � �  you.�

Byakuya, it seemed, had taken a step forward and asked Yachiru to have lunch withhim. In public. Yachiru was pleased, and had immediately accepted the invitation,but realized soon after: she had not one thing she could wear. She had a few nicethings, mostly thanks to Ayasegawa Yumichika, but nothing appropriate for diningwith the great Captain Kuchiki. To add to the problem, Yachiru was the only womanin the 11th Division, and none of her female friends outside the Division were anymore capable of helping her than the men within. She had, to her dismay,discovered this over the last few days.

She had first tried Ise Nanao, but the Vice-Captain, out of necessity, hadacquired a wardrobe of dark, overly conservative clothing. Kurotsuchi Nemu ownedjust one kimono, cut as short as her uniform was. Both Kotetsu sisters had beenwilling to help, but neither owned anything better than what was in Yachiru s�  wardrobe already. Despite marrying a Captain, the same held true for Momo. AskingMatsumoto had been out of the question, and finally, Rukia had both the clothesand the desire to help, but Yachiru did not want to go out with Byakuya whilewearing his little sister s clothes. This had left only Soi Fon and Yoruichi, and�  Soi Fon�

Would have been no help either. You were right to come see me. Yoruichi was� �  rifling through her closets, pulling out anything that might work on the pink-

haired girl watching her from the bed.

Yoruichi scrutinized each outfit Yachiru tried on, shaking her head at each one.As she sent the young woman to change out of a particularly unbecoming selection,she wondered something. Yachiru - did Byakuya tell you where he was taking you?� �

No, came the reply behind the screen set in the corner.� �

Then what makes you so sure you have to dress up for it?� �

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There was a soft thump and a curse from behind the screen before Yachiru answered.I m not. It doesn t matter where we go, actually it s that this will be the first� � � � �  time we re going to be seen together.� �

So you think you need to impress?� �

Not impress. Just not fail. I don t care what people think, I never have, but� � �  Byakuya has enough people watching and judging him. I don t want to add to the�  burden by looking like some poor girl he found on the street. Yachiru stepped out�  

from behind the screen, laughed. That s the look I keep for Ken-chan. Besides,� � � she added, stepping in front of the mirror, I want to look pretty.� �

Yoruichi grinned. That s the one. Wear that. It had taken long enough, but she� � �  had finally thought to put some colours onto the girl that were unexpected, butworked perfectly. She was certain Yachiru had never gone out in soft yellow,accented by orange and pink, but when she did, all eyes would be drawn to her.

Yachiru turned every which way before the mirror before smiling in relief. It s� �  lovely.�

As Yoruichi took another moment to admire her work, she decided to further herchances for amusement. You can borrow anything whenever you like. You re going to� �  

have to dress like this more often, you know. She sincerely hoped Yachiru would -�  not only to help her, but being the influence behind Byakuya s lover s appearance� �  was far too enjoyable. If Byakuya knew Yachiru had come to her for help she�  laughed inwardly. Served the spoiled brat right. Yachiru was almost helping herout with this request.

Thank you, Yoruichi-san. I m going to have to get some things of my own, though.� �  I ll be needing them. She smiled. For a long time.� � � �

Just between you and I, Yachiru I wouldn t tell Byakuya who lent you these� � �  clothes.�

Why not?� �

Byakuya and I are old friends, though he might have a different view of things.�  If you want a nice calm lunch, it would be best not to mention me.�

Nice and calm, huh? There was a twinkle in Yachiru s eye that Yoruichi liked� � �  very, very much. It was, indeed, an absolute pleasure helping the young lady out.