Hello, Yorusoi fans, glad you could make it :)

A tiny bit of this story might not make much sense if you haven't seen the Bleach movie 'Diamond Dust Rebellion' but most of it is explained so it should be ok.

I like to believe that Soifon and Yoruichi are already together so the story is set a couple of decades (a Shinigami's lifetime lasts for centuries!) after the current arc (Espada) I have no idea what happens after the newest manga chapter so I'm just guessing that everyone lives, I hope!

I do not own Bleach (I don't know why people always put this because everyone knows who really does), please COMMENT AND REVIEW, enjoy!!

BlueEyes .x

Attack from the Darkness


"N-no, p-please..." Her hand reached out in front of her eyes, stretching towards a dark figure in front of her... Her vision was blurred with tears as she yearned for it with every fibre of her being. The intensity of the light was shining straight into her eyes with a strength that she could barely stand but she dared herself not to look away. A voice drifted towards her, slow and careful, overflowing with remorse,

"I'm sorry... Soifon".

And then the intense light washed out as quickly as it had come with a clap as loud as thunder and darkness engulfed her as she fell to the ground from her hands and knees in grief.

Soifon woke up with a start. She sat up as quick as lightning, breathing heavily. She touched her forehead and felt a thin layer of sweat as she took in her surroundings. She was enclosed by dim green fabric everywhere she looked. Her dream had disoriented her but now she remembered that she was in a large tent somewhere in the Great Forest. Close by, her Vice-Captain and twenty or so members of the Onmitsukidō would be sleeping in similar green tents pitched overnight in a small clearing of the great forest that encompassed miles and miles beyond the south of the Rukongai district.

Soifon took a deep breath and hoped her start had not made too much noise. She cursed under her breath for allowing herself to be affected by that memory again. She pushed it out of her mind and laid back down on the hard bedding. The last thing she needed was for her subordinates to hear her, especially the ones on guard, and come running to her tent in concern or something. She had resolved a long time ago to not show any emotions whatsoever in front of anybody, as it would be taken as a sign of weakness, and as Captain of the Second Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō - a title she had acquired without any amount of pride but a whole lot of regret - she couldn't afford to appear weak.

The past was not something Soifon wanted to concentrate on first thing in the morning, or ever for that matter, so deciding she couldn't sleep any longer she got up and changed her clothes quickly, putting on her Captain's haori and her Zanpaktō on her back as she unzipped the flap of the entrance of the tent and slipped out quietly.

The guards stood up and bowed as she passed by, "Taichō", they said in unison. She stopped briefly, "Any news?". One of them stepped forward and bowed again, "No Captain, but we have assessed the area and have determined that the co-ordinates are only about half a day's travel away".

"Half a day? Well, we better get started, wake everyone, I'm taking a walk".

"Yes, Commander" he replied. Soifon couldn't help the corner of her mouth twitching, the guard realised his mistake without looking. "Yes, Captain" he corrected quickly. Barely satisfied, Soifon continued to walk on. She did not like being referred to as 'Commander'. It was what they used to call the previous Commander and she didn't like being compared to her. It didn't suit her, she preferred her Captain's title more, even on strict Onmitsukidō missions, and all of them knew it.

*

When she got back to the site, all of the tents had been packed up in neat parcels. The cops were in the final stages of lacing up their boots and masks. As she approached, her Vice-Captain came running and stopped in front of her.

"Nearly all ready to go now, Captain!" He almost bellowed.

"I can see that".

"The men have just finished packing all of the tents and the equipment, Captain!"

"Yes. I know."

"And --"

"Ōmaeda" she interrupted him, "the fact that there is an obvious lack of tents and equipment behind you is clearly telling me that the men have in fact, packed all of the tents and equipment. Is that right?"

She didn't give him a chance to reply. "And the fact that they are all standing behind you, dressed and to attention is clearly indicative that we are ready to go, am I wrong?"

The Vice-Captain looked behind him and realised that all of the cops were standing in salutation in two neat rows of ten, with the few equipment bearers and medics doing the same on one side. He sighed and realised that the Captain was obviously in a bad mood and made a mental note that today was not a good time for trying to impress her with chit-chat.

When he turned back the Captain was not there but already walking towards a cop on the corner of the front row. He was briefing the Captain on the direction and co-ordinates in a respectful tone. His name was Yagami Akio and he was the Commander of the First Division of the Onmitsukidō. Since Soifon became the Commander-in-Chief, she had taken the liberty of restructuring some of the divisions. The First Division, or the Executive Militia became known also as the Elite, and the members of the Elite were the most rigorously trained and highly skilled members of the entire Onmitsukidō divisions.

After the briefing, the Elite set off in the direction planned. They ran quickly and moved efficiently, hardly tiring over twelve or so hours, which was to be expected of any member of the Elite. Soifon liked moving at this steady and rhythmic pace. It calmed her and gave her time to think. The Captain-Commander sent her out here on a Rank Two mission, meaning it had to be taken quite seriously. The situation was not necessarily dangerous, but rather mysterious. Over the past couple of months, reports have been coming in about missing souls. This happened all the time but recently there has been a very noticeable spike in the numbers and they all happen to be around the same area this time. Also, more importantly, a member of a Noble family is also reported to be missing. The Captain-Commander had decided it was serious enough to investigate and requested Soifon to take a small team to find out what was happening. The Elite were mainly used for Rank One missions but Soifon thought it might be a good idea to take them anyway, just in case. She had learnt a long time ago that it was always better to be cautious.

On the way into the forest, they found even more evidence of disappeared souls, including discarded clothing and traces of remaining reiatsu. The last time something like this happened, four captains and three vice-captains disappeared, amongst others. The case was getting more and more serious and Soifon decided that it had to be solved.

Now the team were travelling further and further into the forest, aiming for a small watch tower that was placed near the centre of the giant forest and manned by two Shinigami. Hopefully, they would be able to get some answers.

When they arrived it was nightfall. The tower was a tall and thin stone building built in a very small clearing in the forest. It just about looked over most of the trees in the surrounding area. There were usually two Shinigami living inside for a few weeks or months at a time, before they were swapped out for another two. They were supposed to look after anything strange happening in the forests, such as Hollow appearances, but these sorts of events rarely occurred and it was basically used by Captains to discipline big-headed Shinigami.

As Soifon approached the front of the tower, she noticed that it was rather run down, the stone was chipped and crumbling apart in places and the thin wooden balcony built around the top was only half there. She pushed open the wooden door which fell from its hinges to the ground with a groan. Her hand moved to the hilt of her Zanpaktō as she walked in, followed by six cops, including her vice-captain and Yagami.

Inside the tower was completely silent, and mostly dark except for the faint moonlight coming in through the door behind them and some cracks in the walls. Soifon took in her surroundings quickly, she noted the bare amount of furniture in the room, a table, two chairs a bucket and broom in the corner and some stairs at the far end of the room. The windows were shut tight and shadows were cast over most of the area.

She walked further into the darkness, she felt Yagami spread out to her left on one side and Ōmaeda on the other. Her foot stepped on something soft and she looked down to see two sets of black Shinigami robes abandoned on the ground. Suddenly, she felt a very small and sudden movement in the corner under the stairs, it was only a whisper of a move, but she felt it. Instantly, she drew her sword, "Show yourself!" she demanded, fearlessly.

There was silence. The silence continued for a few more seconds and Soifon was about to leap when she heard a cry of pain from behind her. She swung around and saw that one after another the four men behind her fell to the ground. There was a flash of metal against metal as the figure attacked Yagami but he was able to defend. Ōmaeda attacked the figure from behind but it quickly ducked and a strong hand struck the side of his knee, causing him to cripple over. It then turned and stepped behind Yagami and Soifon only just managed to see the glint of a small blade strike his back. Both men fell to the ground as the dark figure moved towards Soifon. She reacted quickly and blocked the blade, twisted it around and swung back, causing it to fly above her head and stab into the wooden table top. She lunged forward with her sword at the enemy who dodged to the side and ran up the stairs.

Soifon gave chase until she reached the wooden landing at the top of the tower "You have nowhere to run!" she cried, but then realised that there was nobody there. She looked over the broken fence of the balcony only to see a black figure disappear into the forest, leaving behind a trail of fallen Elite.

Reviews welcome!