Genre – Humour/Romance (apparently)

Rating – K+/T Somewhere in between I guess.

A/N – This is actually a sequel of sorts to Breathless; hence why you have one-armed Sui (or full blown war-wounded Sui), and also a vague reference to cat collars. I doubt you need to read Breathless in order to understand this; hopefully it works on its own.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach, but if I did then you can bet that we would have had a panel showing what the fudge happened to Hinamori. Did Hitsugaya drop her?

EDIT – I've changed the spelling of Soi Fon's name to the now confirmed correct spelling of Sui-Feng. I prefer this spelling and I don't care if you don't.

Winning Isn't Everything

The snow had lessened during the night. Now large flakes floated lazily down from the grey clouds above. Snow like this was unusual in Soul Society, and Sui-Feng could not remember the last time she had seen it like this. It had started just over a week ago, at first it was a light scattering that was expected with the winter months, but then it had progressed steadily until it was a full blown blizzard. The whole of Seireitei was now buried beneath several feet of snow.

She wasn't entirely sure she liked the snow. Sure it made everything seem cleaner blanketed in thick pure white and hiding the grime beneath, but it was also an annoyance she could easily do without. She had been forced to cancel several missions, a number of her men had fallen ill due to exposure to the cold and she had also had to alter her training exercises for her division. Pretty scenery did not make up for disturbing her schedule.

The snow had also inspired within Seireitei what Sui-Feng could only feel was madness. Several divisions had taken the freak weather as an excuse to slack off, paying no heed to their duties and training. Instead they could be found playing – playing! – In the snow. Only yesterday she heard that a huge snowball fight had taken place between the Eighth and Ninth divisions. To make it worse, Kyoraku-Taicho had approved and then supervised the whole thing. No doubt afterwards he would have got drunk on sweet Plum wine – her reports told her that it was now his tipple of choice – and found some harlot to keep his bed warm too.

The sheer lack of responsibility her fellow captains were showing was maddening. A little bit of snow did not excuse them from their duties. She knew this, and she'd made damn well sure her own division knew this too. So far only one of her men had made an attempt to play in the snow. He had made a snowman from two massive mounds of snow, it had stood at nearly twenty feet by the time he had finished and was – even she had silently admitted – very impressive. Impressive did not excuse the fact that the act had been a gross waste of his time, the divisions time and more importantly her time. As punishment she had made him stand next to it wearing only his bare essentials all night. The toe he lost to frost bite would only serve as a reminder that frivolities would not be tolerated.

She trudged through the snow, enjoying the way it crunched beneath her feet. If she wanted to she could walk on top of it without disturbing it, leaving no footprints at all. She had earlier on demonstrated the technique to her men and set them about practising it. She had been dismayed how few could do it proficiently. She didn't see any reason why they should find it so difficult; it was just like walking on air or on water, there were only minor differences involved between the three techniques. No matter, while the snow persisted they could keep on training and perfecting the technique.

Casting her eye about her surroundings she gave an approving nod. She was in the middle of training right now; her men were hidden among the snow attempting to stay concealed. She could sense them easily enough, but that was to be expected – there were very few Shinigami that could hide their reiatsu from her. Certainly no one within her squad could do it. The important thing here was that they were hidden from the second unit which were supposed to be tracking them. She could sense them too; they were miles away and heading in the complete wrong direction. She refrained from showing her annoyance. They were only trainees, fresh out of the academy, and allowances had to be made.

Truthfully, she shouldn't even have been over seeing her training; it should have been left to one of her officers, but a few of the newest recruits showed promise, could possibly manifest their own Zanpakutos and learn their names. This meant that it was well worth her time to check them out.

The barest hint of a smile flickered briefly up her face and she turned from the clearing, leaving the group submerged in the drifts. She stepped up onto the snow and continued walking, leaving no footprints behind and keeping her reiatsu masked, more from habit than anything else. A moment later she sensed a familiar reiatsu that made her stop and turn.

"Yoruichi-Sama," She said, her smile returning. She knew that her men would be able to see them, so she sketched a quick, respectful, bow to the head of the Shihouin clan. It was better to set a good example with manners than to look impertinent in front of a superior. Besides, Yoruichi would no doubt find the act infuriating and Sui-Feng was starting to find an odd enjoyment in pushing the Goddess's buttons.

Yoruichi was leaning against a tree, dressed in her usual orange jacket and form fitting black pants; she made Sui-Feng feel cold. The white scarf wrapped round her neck was the only thing that gave away that the winter elements might actually be affecting her.

"Sui-Feng-Taicho," Yoruichi replied. "Or would you prefer Gundanchou?"

Sui-Feng cringed. It still felt strange having Yoruichi call her by her titles.

"I have to admit I'm a little surprised," Yoruichi continued, clearly ignoring Sui-Feng's brief discomfort. "Ukitake has his Division making snowmen, Ninth are preparing to blitz Third in a surprise snowball fight, Eleventh are running round in their skivvies for reasons that are lost on me and even Sixth are using the weather as an excuse for recreational time," She paused, her head tilting to the side. "Every other division is having fun, yours is the only one training. Don't you like the snow?"

"Poor weather conditions are not an excuse for shirking," Sui-Feng explained. "We rarely see weather like this in Soul Society; it would be lax of me to pass up the opportunity to train under these conditions."

Yoruichi actually smiled at that. Despite her teasing, Sui-Feng knew that she agreed and had she still been in charge she would have done the exact same thing. She pushed herself from the tree she was leaning against and walked towards Sui-Feng, leaving no tracks behind her in the snow.

"You love the snow really," She said once she had closed the distance between them. "You love that I can't stand it."

"On the contrary, Yoruichi-Sama, I would never profess my love for something which I know causes you discomfort. My will is, as always, in accordance with your own and all my opinions reflect that."

"Wow, and you said that with a straight face, huh?" Yoruichi smirked at her, hands going to her hips.

"I dislike the snow because it only encourages infantile behaviour," Sui-Feng explained. "The weather does not excuse us from our duties."

"Aren't you cold?" Yoruichi questioned.

"Not at all," Sui-Feng lied. Truthfully, she had lost feeling in her toes. She was dressed in her standard Shihakushō, though her kosode was made from a thicker material than normal in an effort to fend off the elements. It wasn't proving to be all that helpful.

"If you say so," Yoruichi didn't sound convinced at all.

"Aren't you cold?" Sui-Feng asked. She knew that Yoruichi's outfit was made from a light, but durable, material and probably offered little to no warmth.

"Nope!" Yoruichi answered with a grin, and she plucked at her scarf. "This is all I need to stay warm. Actually I brought you one too."

Sui-Feng watched as Yoruichi opened up her jacket; underneath she was wearing her usual black top but she also had a second white scarf wrapped around her mid-section. She took a moment unwinding it, grinning all the while. And then, once she had managed to extricate it, she held it out triumphantly for Sui-Feng's inspection.

Sui-Feng was a little unsure what to say. Without waiting for permission, Yoruichi hooped the scarf over Sui-Feng's head and flicked one end over her shoulder. Sui-Feng let her fingers run over the soft material, rubbing it between her thumb and middle finger. It was warm, she noticed. It also smelt like Yoruichi and she had to resist the urge to bury her face in it and inhale.

"Do you like it?" Yoruichi inquired.

"Uh, yes, of course," Sui-Feng replied.

"It's made from a special material that absorbs a small amount of your reiatsu," Yoruichi explained, her hands occupied with refastening her jacket. "It generates heat that will spread evenly throughout your body. Wearing this you don't need to worry about bundling yourself up in thermals or whatever."

"Oh," Was all Sui-Feng could say. Her mind though was already trying to work out ways in which the material could be utilized for her squad. It was too thick to be used as a face mask, but if there was a way to make it thinner, more adaptable, then she could equip her men with it for any missions that involved sub-zero temperatures. The main problem was figuring out if the cloth made your reiatsu pronounced – it would be useless if it inhibited them form masking their reiatsu.

"Thank you," Sui-Feng inclined her head slightly, partly in an appreciative bow but also to hide the faint blush that she just knew was creeping up her neck and towards her cheeks. "Where did you get it from?"

"Kisuke made it."

Whatever love for the miraculous scarf Sui-Feng had harboured quickly evaporated upon hearing that it was another invention of that man. She was suddenly torn; on the one hand the scarf was a present from Yoruichi and she should cherish it, on the other she wanted to fling it to the ground and stamp on it.

"I see," Sui-Feng said instead, her voice carefully neutral.

"Oh, don't look like that," Yoruichi waved her hand dismissively. "So long as it works, does it really matter who made it?"

"I guess not," Except that it did, and Sui-Feng found herself hating Urahara that little bit more for tarnishing a present from Yoruichi. On the bright side, she no longer had an urge to rub her face into the scarf – despite the lingering scent of Yoruichi.

Yoruichi, never one of respecting personal boundaries, reached out and tugged on the empty left sleeve of Sui-Feng's kosode.

"I thought you had them all altered so that the sleeve was cut off and sewn shut," She said, her hand moving to the tight knot that Sui-Feng had tied in the sleeve. She shrugged and dropped her hand from the sleeve, as though it was suddenly unimportant. "Are you busy?"

"Not especially," Sui-Feng replied. She resisted the urge to adjust her sleeve where Yoruichi had touched it. It wasn't even as though Yoruichi had done anything to it, but it was now at the forefront of Sui-Feng's mind and she wanted to run her fingers along the material where Yoruichi's fingers had been.

Yoruichi smiled and didn't say anything. Her eyes gazed off into the distance. She didn't ask but then she didn't have to; Sui-Feng knew that she was requesting to spend some time with her. It was fortunate that Sui-Feng truthfully wasn't busy, even if she had been occupied with something important she would still have indulged Yoruichi.

Although she would never voice the thought, Sui-Feng suspected that Yoruichi was bored. Ever since she had returned to living within Seireitei and had resumed her duties as head of her family, Yoruichi appeared to have large amount of free time on her hands. Sui-Feng had been surprised when Yoruichi had refused a position within the Gotei 13 and even more surprised by how grateful she had felt by this. She had secretly worried that Yoruichi would reclaim her role as taicho of the Second division and Gundanchou of the Onmitsukidō, especiallyshe knew that the Shihouin clan would have liked her to do just that.

"One moment, Yoruichi-Sama," Sui-Feng walked back to the clearing where she had left the unit of men buried in the snow. "There has been an alteration to your mission," she called out. They didn't reply or even make any show of acknowledging her presence. "You are now the hunters. Your mission is to locate unit A and capture them. Their last known whereabouts was north-north west of the nineteenth Rukon district."

In a single synchronised movement, the unit all emerged from the snow dressed from head to toe in a white variation of their standard uniform. Sui-Feng could sense Yoruichi behind her, observing the group as they left as one without even acknowledging Sui-Feng's command. Their shunpo's were painfully slow to Sui-Feng's eyes and she clenched her jaw as she made a mental note to assign someone to instruct them properly in shunpo.

"Unit A's going to be in for a surprise," Yoruichi commented. "They'll not be expecting the unit they're been searching for to attack them."

"Then this will be an excellent lesson for them," Sui-Feng said. "And also for Unit B, since there is a third unit that neither A nor B know about and it is led by a seated officer. Its mission is to neutralise both unit A and B."

Yoruichi laughed. "That's a harsh lesson."

"Hopefully they will have the sense to learn from it," Sui-Feng said, turning round to face Yoruichi. "Now then, what can I do for you Yoruichi-Sama?"

Yoruichi opened her mouth to reply, but then it shut it and bowed her head slightly. The way she was pressing her mouth closed and the pinched expression she wore suggested she was trying very hard not to smirk.

Sui-Feng found herself giving her former teacher a flat stare.

"You really shouldn't ask me things like that," Yoruichi said finally, failing to keep the smirk from her face. "You just give me ideas."

There was a temptation for Sui-Feng to ask Yoruichi about these ideas. She didn't though, as joyfully naive as she could be Sui-Feng knew exactly what Yoruichi had been thinking. And now that the idea had been implemented into Sui-Feng's own mind she found herself with a whole host of mental images that made her cheeks heat up.

They had lapsed into silence. Yoruichi was still smirking at her, a predatory gleam in her golden eyes. It didn't help matters that the last time they had spoken had been after the whole collar thing. Sui-Feng could still see in her mind the cat collar around Yoruichi's neck – she had kept it on even after returning to her true form – a little too tight and pressing into her soft skin. She could see the small golden bell lying against the hollow of Yoruichi's throat, the light perspiration that lingered on her skin as it bounced and rolled, jingling, with each jerked movement.

Honestly she didn't think she'd ever be able to hear the soft tinkling of a small, flimsy bell without becoming slightly aroused. It was embarrassing.

She coughed into her hand in an effort to hide her discomfort. She knew – she just knew – that she was blushing furiously. Yoruichi was still smirking at her, and the silence was stretching on and on. Sui-Feng turned back to Yoruichi fully prepared to break the silence, only to be pre-empted by Yoruichi jabbing her in her right shoulder – her bad shoulder that still occasionally ached – fairly hard.

"Tag. You're it."

"Huh?" Sui-Feng blurted, but it was too late. Yoruichi had already disappeared in a burst of shunpo so fast that she hadn't even unsettled the snow. Sui-Feng swore loudly and kicked at the ground before setting off after the Goddess with her own shunpo.

It wasn't as though Yoruichi's actions were unexpected. She clearly hadn't approached Sui-Feng to talk, and thankfully not for other slightly more libidinous reasons, so really playing was the only other option. And Sui-Feng was more than happy to join in with Yoruichi's occasionally childish antics – though if anyone asked then she detested such frivolities and a grown woman should be ashamed of herself for indulging in them.

Compliments of her head start, Yoruichi was literally miles ahead. Sui-Feng could sense at least five different streams of her reiatsu which meant that Yoruichi had sent copies of herself out in different directions in an attempt to confuse Sui-Feng. Usually the way to distinguish the real target from the decoys was to by their spiritual pressure. Depending on the level of control by the user, the decoys would have a lower presence of reiatsu compared to the 'original'. Unfortunately Yoruichi's control of her reiatsu was damn near perfect, and Sui-Feng was unable to tell if there was any difference between the real Yoruichi and the four clones.

"Tch!" She picked one at random and sped towards it, closing the gap at an alarming rate. That really should have told her that it wasn't the real Yoruichi. And sure enough, as she reached out for the figure before her it shimmered and disappeared, her fingers grasping only air.

"Ha ha!" Yoruichi's jubilant voice rang. "You'll have to do better than that!"

Sui-Feng gritted her teeth in frustration. Yoruichi's voice had come from her left, somewhere, but Sui-Feng knew better than to follow it. By now Yoruichi was probably miles away in the opposite direction.

A simple and effective, though ultimately boring, tactic would be to chase down the clones one by one. Yoruichi could simply create more, but Sui-Feng knew from experience that she could simply outlast Yoruichi. While the Goddess was indeed faster, Sui-Feng's stamina was higher and Yoruichi would exhaust before Sui-Feng even broke a sweat.

Slight exaggeration, Sui-Feng conceded, but a welcome ego stroke nonetheless.

She discarded the idea. Yoruichi would grow bored long before she tired and simply abandon the game, and if she did that then Sui-Feng would have failed. Sui-Feng had to find a way to catch Yoruichi without relying on speed (it was nearly useless against the Goddess of Flash) and on her own stamina. This left her with her wits, a disturbing and no doubt hopeless option that left her feeling slightly morose.

Really, she should have sent out clones of her own. Yoruichi would be able to sense her approaching from miles away. And then a new plan began to form in Sui-Feng's mind.

She dropped out of her shunpo mid-step, landing lightly on a thin tree branch. Her hand moved to the scarf wrapped around her neck and she fingered it lightly.

'It's made from a special material that absorbs a small amount of your reiatsu'

Sui-Feng smiled as she gripped the scarf. She could sense that Yoruichi and her three clones were all around her, she was practically surrounded. They weren't in sight though, which suited her purpose perfectly. She focused on the scarf, imbuing her spiritual energy into it – she wasn't surprised when it soaked up her reiatsu like a sponge. It had gone from being warm to hot, and she kept filling it till it progressed to near boiling. Satisfied, and also starting to feel her neck burn, she pulled it off and hooked it over the branch she was standing on.

She could sense Yoruichi approaching form two completely different places and decided that they were probably clones sent to distract her. Masking her own spiritual pressure, Sui-Feng used good old fashioned muscles to propel herself away from the scarf.

"Have you given up already?" Yoruichi's voice called out.

Not a chance, Sui-Feng grinned to herself. She waited and watched from a safe distance. She knew that eventually Yoruichi would come back to check on her, the scarf was emitting a perfect copy of Sui-Feng's unique spiritual pressure, and Yoruichi would be curious as to why she remained stationary.

Timing was crucial here and Sui-Feng found herself tensing and crouching slightly as she waited. Sure enough, Yoruichi flashed into view, landing on the branch where the over-powered scarf was draped. Sui-Feng quivered in anticipation as she watched confusion flicker over Yoruichi's features.

Now!

Sui-Feng flashed away from Yoruichi, circling round her left; and she sent a copy of herself imbued with reiatsu directly at her. Yoruichi noticed the clone and used her own shunpo to avoid it, her laughter echoing through the woods.

"Close, Sui-Feng!" She bellowed clearly not realising that it was a clone she had evaded. Her shunpo took her unswervingly into Sui-Feng's path.

Close enough! Sui-Feng concluded, her second step hurtling her right into Yoruichi's side. She knocked Yoruichi from the air mid-step and both of them tumbled to the ground. Years of training and their own natural sense of balance kept them on their feet. They skidded, spinning a full five hundred and forty degrees and cutting circular trenches through the snow with their feet, as they came to a stop.

Sui-Feng's arm was encircled around Yoruichi's waist and she held her close into her body. They were both breathing heavily, which seemed absurd given that they had hardly exerted themselves in the least. Sui-Feng tightened her hold on Yoruichi, drawing her closer into the curve of her body, half-afraid that this was another clone and she would disappear.

She could feel her warmth though and nearly sighed in relief at the feel of it.

Yoruichi tensed up and she looked back over her shoulder at Sui-Feng, her golden eyes wide in surprise.

"You caught me," She uttered in obvious disbelief.

Sui-Feng nodded unable to speak. For some reason she was still holding onto Yoruichi.

A small bubble of elation was forming in Sui-Feng's stomach and she had a sudden urge to laugh. She'd won, she realised, she actually beaten Yoruichi at something. And she had done it fairly too, on even grounds, and at one of Yoruichi's favourite games nonetheless.

Yoruichi removed Sui-Feng's arm from around her waist and then stepped away from her former protégé. She rubbed at the back of her head an odd, unreadable, expression on her face.

"Yoruichi-Sama?" Sui-Feng said her happiness turning into concern. "Is something the matter?"

"No," Yoruichi answered quickly. She smiled but it looked strained. "Nothing's the matter. Congratulations." And then she laughed, but it was a little bit too high, too loud and so unlike her actual laugh that Sui-Feng stepped back from her.

Sui-Feng frowned. "Are you sure you're-"

"I'm fine!" Yoruichi waved dismissively. "You did really well. And I bet it feels good to actually beat me. Not that I didn't think that you were capable of beating me, just that..." She trailed off, her strained smile still in place. "Yeah. Well done, I'm, uh, proud of you."

A heavy awkward silence descended between them. Yoruichi looked distinctly uncomfortable, and after hearing her words, Sui-Feng felt uncomfortable. Yoruichi didn't sound very proud of her, she didn't even sound remotely pleased. And now that the forced smile had dropped from her features she looked somewhere between annoyed and upset. Her reaction left Sui-Feng feeling as though she had somehow erred, though she was confused as to what exactly she had done wrong.

"Right then," Yoruichi's voice cut through the tense silence. "I'm sure that you're very busy, so I'll just leave you to it. This was... fun."

And, just like that, she was gone. Sui-Feng stared at the spot where Yoruichi had been moments before wondering what the hell had just happened.

Fuckin' bi-shots! This is why I dislike writing one-shots, because my mind runs rampant and then I have to extend them! This might actually be longer than a bi-shot (tri-shot? Weird.) I'm not too sure yet. I have a few ideas of where to take this; it'll be fun to play with on the side.

As if you couldn't guess from my nonsensical ramble there will be a second (possibly third) part to this. I've been drinking, and steering the keyboard is becoming increasingly difficult.

Reviews are very welcome ^^

Time for another drink.