Incredibly long Authors Notes: Hey all! I'm glad you decided to stop and take the time to read my fic. I have to say that I'm a rookie when it comes to writing fan fiction, I also haven't read that many stories so I'm kinda in a learning progress while I write this. Hopefully you'll find the story interesting enough and be kind enough to leave me feedback and constructive criticism on your way out by clicking the "Review" button. Oh, and I am also in no hurry with this story, I like to write small bits at a time so every time I start writing again, I'll proof read it through and see if there's anything to fix and such. So baseline, it'll take as long as it takes for me to release a new chapter so no flames such as "You b***h, update already, it's been like a f*****g month! You suck btw!" BUT encouraging words for hurrying up are welcome.

On another note (yes, I do like to ramble on and on), I'm not really certain why I decided to write about Bleach, and specifically about these two characters. I have to say I found them a curious couple and the relationship to be somewhat one-sided. After seeing some fan art

(the modest ones, not the um... vulgar things, honest! ..I'd never, I mean I'm not that kind of a person! Oh who am I kidding..) my curiosity got the better of me and I had to get something written down. Aaand I'll shut up now..

Hunt for Purpose

a Bleach FanFiction

by:

FluffyDireBunny

Shihõin Yoruichi, a woman of many talents, beauty and confidence, found herself in an unfamiliar scenario. She was bored. Normally she'd have been thrilled with the idea of having nothing to do but today, for some reason, she hated the fact that she was just lazily laying about, doing absolutely nothing. The weather outside was spectacular, sun was shining brightly, no clouds could be seen and there was just enough of a breeze to cool peoples skin a little, not allowing the air to stay stagnant. She laid on her back, her knees held up, her long, slender legs crossed. She kept her arms behind her head and neck to give them support and she swirled her shiny, purple locks around her fingers in boredom. The tan woman sighed in an unnatural sign of her current state, rising to a sitting position. She sat cross legged on her futon and gazed out the window, the scenery wasn't all that impressive.

Yoruichi stood up and exited her room. She glanced around the small house, her kind of second home, and noticed that no one was around. It was now a little over a week ago that they had defeated Aizen Sõsuke and his attempt at taking over Soul Society. Things were slowly but surely returning to normal but she knew that it would take time to rebuild and recuperate all the damage and injuries the stupid war had costed. Fortunately the battle ground had been a creation of Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the Captain of the 12th squad, and the casualties had been kept to a minimal, thought the amount of injured was high. Many from the Gotei 13 had suffered severe wounds but Yoruichi knew that they'd be in good hands. She herself had taken some damage when fighting Aizen but nothing major. She required some medical attention but most of her injuries were something only time and rest could heal.

It took some getting used to, not having a constant threat of doom hanging in the air above you. To know that you didn't have to worry about tomorrow. She wasn't so naïve as to think that Aizen would be the last person to threaten peace but knew that at least for now, things were relatively steady. This is what it felt like to have no goal in your life, to have no threat to consider, not having the need to come up with constant plans and such. It was boring.

Sighing again, Yoruichi couldn't help but to wonder what she should do now. Not merely right at this instance, but with her life in general. She knew she couldn't keep wasting her days in Urahara's shop or in the living world, but dreaded the idea of returning back to Soul Society as well. She had been stripped of her rank as Captain as well as the Commander of the special forces, she did still have a place in her house, one of the four noble houses in Seireitei, but she'd never been too keen on being a noble. She missed her family dearly, especially her mother, but it had been years since she last saw them. Yoruichi wasn't sure if her family was aware of the circumstances that led to her exile so she believed that some explaining would be needed if she was to go and see them. This, she was not looking forward to but knew it had to be dealt with eventually.

Her family was quite strict and conservative, clinging onto old-fashioned ideals of honour and justice. She on the other hand had always, even before her exile, been open minded and welcoming to new ideals. Her century of exile in the living world had only served to broaden her views, thus making her own house seem like a bunch of hypocrites and senile fools.

She didn't have anyone she could really call a friend in Soul Society either, Kuukaku was probably the only one and she lived Rukongai, her accommodations changing place in a whim. It could be fun to live with her for a while, though she loathed the idea of hanging around in her corners, even while she knew she'd be welcome. Sui-Feng was closer to a subordinate than a friend, though she was closer to her than she'd ever been to another one of the soldiers serving under her. And she did enjoy the younger Shinigami's company, it was flattering and humbling to have such a dedicated admirer. The current Captain of the 2nd division had been acting slightly different for a while now, she had lost some of the sparkle in her eyes as she spoke to Yoruichi, but the tan woman did manage to still make her blush occasionally. Yoruichi smiled, it was quite a strange feeling to have a "fan" so to speak.

Deciding that she really ought to do something, she made her way towards Kisuke's hidden lab, carefully and silently descending the steep stairs leading underground. The corridor was dimly lit and there was an odd scent lingering in the air. Yoruichi couldn't help but to make a disgusted face, the man could be such a pig sometime. "Kisuke, you in here?" she asked as she arrived to the bottom. The sound of glass breaking against concrete echoed to her ears, followed by slight cursing and more glass shatter.

"Dammit Yoruichi, I was in the middle of an experiment." the hatted man said to his long time friend who appeared from the door way. "Now I have to start all over."

"It's not like you're in a hurry, are you?" the Goddess of Flash grinned and stepped next to Kisuke. He was crouching, picking up the shards of glass from the floor.

"Hmm." he mused, throwing the broken glass in a bin. "No." he finally answered, his tone only slightly masking annoyance. "But these materials are quite difficult to acquire."

"What are you making?"

Urahara sat down in front of his computer and started typing. Moment later some text and small pictures appeared on the monitor, seemingly to have something to do with his research.

"I can't imagine you having difficulty getting the stuff you need."

"Well most of this is commonly found in Soul Society, but some of the things are quite rare, meaning I usually have to bribe someone in the 12th or 2nd squad to bring the stuff to me." he smiled a goofy grin. "I don't want to go there in person if I don't have to." he said a bit more seriously. "Most of the time I attract some unwanted attention, even while wearing the cloak to hide my presence. Kurotsuchi and Sui-Feng are not the most pleasant people to associate with."

Yoruichi grinned. "Sui-Feng been giving you trouble?"

"Well, she did catch one of the men taking my bribes, I hear she wasn't all too gentle with him to find out whom he was working for." Urahara stated, typing constantly on the computer. "After finding out.. Let's just say he was lucky to get out of the interrogation with his life."

Sighing, Yoruichi couldn't help but to agree. Sui-Feng always did have an unnatural suspicion and hatred for Urahara, so catching one of her men working for him must have cost the said soldier quite a lot. She peeked over Kisuke's shoulder to get a look at the monitor, trying to determine what he was up to. Noticing that all of it looked like gibberish to her, she shrugged and leaned down on the table next to the computer, partially resting her rear on it.

"Something else I can help you with?" the man asked, momentarily taking his eyes off the monitor.

"Nah." Yoruichi shrugged and closed her eye. "I'm just bored out of my skull." she sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, there's one thing I could use a helping hand on?"

"Oh?" this piqued her interest.

"As I said, some of the things I require for the research are quite rare.. and I do hate to go to Soul Society my self." he hinted, letting her draw her own conclusion.

Yoruichi grinned. "You want me to steal for you?"

"Steal?" Urahara gasped, placing a hand on his chest as if to comfort a wounded heart. "That's such a harsh word, I prefer.. Relieve a person from his earthly possession."

"Same thing." the tan woman laughed. "How much trouble could this be?"

"If you're not caught, none. If you are, some."

"Please." Yoruichi huffed and stood up confidently. "Remember who you're talking to!"

"But of course." Kisuke smiled, lifting his hat slightly.

Crossing to the Soul Society didn't take much time, Urahara luckily having the means to produce the required portal for such travel. Yoruichi was just outside the giant doors leading in to the City of Seireitei, musing whether to choose the direct route or to sneak her way in. She knew she wouldn't have any trouble getting in undetected but was kind of curious to see how well received she would be should she decide to use the easier method.

She smiled wickedly, deciding to cause trouble in her usual way, so she quickly flash stepped to the roof of a nearby building, getting a sense on where she should approach the city to remain unseen. There was one taller building on this side of the wall which was relatively close to her but she knew that the area nearby was closely monitored due to it's weakness of being a place of easy infiltration. The Goddess of Flash knew that if there were simply some unranked officers guarding it, she'd have no trouble remaining hidden, but if a Vice-Captain happened to be in the area, she might just get noticed, raising some alert in the City. She weighted her options, but decided to trust in her luck and made her way quickly to the tall tower. She climbed onto the roof and caught the breath taking view before her. Seireitei had always been a beautiful city with it's paved streets and white concrete walls, the huge hill in it's centre being one of it's astonishing landmarks. Not reading any powerful auras in her immediate proximity, she dared to take the large leap required to cross to the other side of the towering walls, landing elegantly on top of a building in the city.

There wasn't much going on in this part of Seireitei, it was the living area for the so called upper working class and some of the lower noble houses. She recognized some of the house markings, having associated with some in her youth. She recalled one or two of them for trying to weasel themselves in to her family's good graces, no doubt wanting to present her with a marriage proposal. She sighed, such was the way for the noble houses. They always seemed to meddle in each others business, trying to climb higher in social standings and wealth. It was stupid in Yoruichi's opinion, she hadn't cared for it back then and didn't care for it now.

She wasn't quite sure what it was that Kisuke had sent her to fetch for him. She didn't really need to know, all she needed to know was where to find it. Her friend had said the object to be somewhere in the 12th squads HQ, no doubt in the central research station. Getting in the area wouldn't be much of a difficulty but getting into the building could be an entirely different matter. Knowing the Captain of the squad, he most certainly had placed measures up to keep out unwanted personnel and to preserve his privacy for his most sensitive research. Kurotsuchi Mayuri might have been eccentric but he wasn't stupid nor to be taken lightly, so Yoruichi knew she had to tread carefully.

She was quickly in the area and didn't spot all too many guard on patrol. There were few circling the enclosed barracks of the 12th squad, as well as gate guards and a small, well hidden watch tower. The lack of guards wasn't all that surprising, Yoruichi knew Kurotsuchi relied more on his gadgets than his subordinates, so she remembered to stay wary of alarms and traps. She flashed closer to the central building and looked for a way to get inside. She remembered Kisuke informing her of back entrance which was usually not guarded, so she made her way around the building and surely enough, a small door stood in the corner. Once more looking around and noticing the way to be clear, she carefully made her way towards the door. She was just about to place her gloved hand on the doorknob as it suddenly moved.

Yoruichi flashed away in an instance, sighing heavily from her hideout in one of the trees on the yard. She thought she might have accidentally triggered some alarm, but it seemed like one of the workers of the lab came for a quick smoke. She waited for the man to finish smoking the content on his pipe and watched him enter back inside. After a moment, she deemed it safe to follow and once again came to the door. She was surprised to find it unlocked so she entered and silently made her way through the dimly lit corridors. It was night time, so luckily most of the staff was away at this point, though she still kept herself aware for guards.

Reaching the most secure area of the building, the central lab, she carefully slid the door open. No one was on sight, so she flashed inside and began her search. Kisuke could only give her a vague description of what she was looking for, but he said she'd know when she saw it. After rummaging through a few cabinets, she finally found the object, a small, yellow box, looking like nothing out of the ordinary. She wondered what it might be and settled on it being a container of some sort, Kisuke's interest probably laying within the cube.

"Nemu." a voice suddenly said from behind her and not a moment later, a hand lunged towards her, spinning unnaturally like the tip of a drill. She quickly dodged to the side, the Vice-Captain slightly tumbling into the cabinet.

"Tch, must I do everything myself." Mayuri's characteristic sound echoed behind her. "Can't be helped." he stated but stood his ground.

Yoruichi turned around half way, not sure if he had recognized her. She did have the cloak to suppress her spiritual energy and she was wearing a mask to cover the lower half of her face but those weren't the only ways to confirm her identity. If Kurotsuchi realized it was her invading his lab, he'd probably figure at whose behest she was here. The Captain was not in the best of terms with Kisuke, so things could take a turn to the unpleasant quickly.

She quickly evaded as the woman behind her lunged at her again, this time almost crashing against Mayuri. She grabbed her chance with the distraction and quickly flashed away, making haste for the door. Being the embodiment of Lady Luck there was no one between her and the exit so she managed to escape the Central Lab quickly. Getting out of the barrack wasn't difficult either but by now, a small alarm had been raised through Seireitei, guard starting to amass in her direction.

"There he is, the invader!" a soldier yelled below her, having spotted her crouching on one of the roofs nearby.

"Catch him!" another yelled. "Don't let him escape!"

Yoruichi grinned behind her mask, feeling the excitement of the situation. She was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, always having loved these kinds of situations. The intense suspense of carefully treading forward, silently trying to stay hidden, it excited her to no end. She also relished in the hunt, not caring whether she was on the receiving end or acting as the huntress. She ran on the roof tops, taking large leaps with flash step, evading her captors with ease. Only a small group seemed able to keep up with her so she decided to speed herself up a notch.

She came to the city wall and was just about to jump over when she felt something approaching her quickly. She evaded by making a backward somersault and landed with on knee on the ground, the other in front of her where she slightly rested her chest on. She noticed that a pair of throwing stars had landed on where she stood just a second ago and felt the next wave of the sharp object flying towards her. She jumped back again but wasn't able to finish her landing properly as she felt the unmistakeable swish of air that followed a swing of a sword. Yoruichi did a simple forward roll, trying her best to stay close to the ground to evade a second slash should it be coming. She heard a small cling echo behind her, the distinctive sound of a blade hitting something large and solid, a cut that could have sliced her head in half vertically.

She was kind of impressed by the fact that somebody was able to catch her, let alone for the fact that she actually had to dodge her attacker strikes. She didn't have time to admire the situation though, realizing that backup was most likely on it's way. She flashed back to the roof.

"You're not getting away!" a muffled voice shouted behind her, her pursuer seeming to be part of the Onmitsukidõ*). Yoruichi hadn't noticed before but realized it now as she saw the black, figure hugging uniform that covered the agents from head to toe.

She took the last required leap to get out of Seireitei but noticed her movement to be halted somewhat. A hand had grabbed the garment that she had wrapped around her face so she quickly manifested her shunko to her hand, throwing a small punch towards the attacker. The agent landed with a loud crash behind her, a large cloud of dust lifting to the air where her pursuer landed.

"The invader we were pursuing managed to escape."

"I see." the Ruling Commander of the Special Forces stated. "Is anyone still making contact with the enemy?"

"Group three was last seen on the hunt. No other groups were in the vicinity." the member of Onmitsukidõ stated a bit hesitantly, fearing the results of their failure. Their Commander was not know for her kind and forgiving attitude, in fact, she was known for the quite opposite.

Sui Feng nodded quietly. "Very well, keep up with the chase. I want full reports in 30 minutes." she ordered and the men before her disappeared quickly and silently, continuing their search. The small woman scowled in a manner common to her, not liking this disturbance of peace so quickly after Aizen's defeat. She made her way towards her office, her working space being directly connected to her quarters so it was kind of a second home for her. The hours she spent in the room could also be the reason why someone would see it as a home for her, the amount of work she had daily was staggering.

She slid the shoji**) open and closed it behind her after entering. Her office was neat and plain, there was a large rectangular, oaken desk in the middle with a small, comfy pillow behind it which the Commander used as her seat. She had noticed some of her colleagues preferred the style commonly seen in the Real World, where the desks were large and tall, and people sat on chairs instead of the floor. Sui Feng was more than comfortable with her setting, sitting on a small pillow offered better support for sitting straight and afforded less chance to slouch as she had notices some of the other Captains doing. The only natural light came from the single window she had at the end of the room, a small bonsai seated on it's sill was pretty much the lonely decorator of the room. There was a small bookshelf to her right, the marks of the Second Squad and the Onmitsukidõ hanging on the wall above it as well as a small incense holder on the top most shelve.

She felt a little tired as she hadn't slept for more than about two hours before being woken up by the sounding alarm. She had once again worked late with her paperwork, from which she was sorely lagging behind on, due in no small part thanks to the battles she had fought little more than a week prior. And now she knew she'd be even more taxed with work, as the investigation of this mess would surely be dumbed on her shoulders like always. She sighed heavily and glanced at the time, she had about fifteen minutes before her groups would start to appear with their reports so she decided to do some paperwork. It was not like she could catch any shut eye in this short time, might as well make herself useful while waiting.

After the small wait, Sui Feng had made it to the courtyard of her squads barracks and was now waiting for the last of the group leaders to arrive before her. A few minutes later the last one appeared and made his way to the row formed before their Commander. "Report." she commanded simply, her tone of voice carrying surprising authority for such a small woman.

"Group one reporting: We were unable to apprehend the invader." the leader of the stated group stepped forward, bowing his head in both respect and in apology. After this, he took a step back, lining himself with the other officers.

A second man, slightly taller than the first took a fearful step towards Sui Feng and bowed his head similarly to the one before him. "Group two reporting in: The invader we were pursuing escaped." he said, unable to mask the nervousness in his voice.

Sui Feng sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She was about to scold them for their incompetency but decided to wait until all the groups had reported.

"Group three reporting." a feminine voice said more confidently than the other two before her. She was a tall woman, her mask hiding away her face but revealing a pair of piercing purple eyes. She was the only female group leader serving under Sui Feng at the time, having gained her position a few years ago. "The invader slipped past us but." she said, producing something from her pocket.

"During our struggle, I managed to secure a small evidence for our investigation."

Sui Feng nodded and listened to the other reports. None had captures the invader but she was glad they had at least something to go on with. "Let's see this evidence." she said and accepted the item presented to her. Her eyes widened in shock, having recognized the piece of fabric instantly which now dangled in her hand. After the initial shock, she dismissed her group leaders and ordered them with some rest. "Third group leader, wait a moment." she ordered calmly.

The woman stopped her exit and turned back towards her leader. "Yes, Ruling Commander?"

"You don't have to be so formal now, we are in private Nanami-san." Sui Feng said warmly in an unusual way for the normally strict Captain.

"My apologies." the woman smiled but after noticing a small flinch in her commanding officers rigid posture, she quickly corrected herself. "Sui Feng-sama."

"Did you manage to get a good look at the intruder?" the small Captain asked, having a good idea as to the identity but wanting to make sure. After the woman before her nodded, she asked. "Characteristics?"

"It was dark so I don't know whether it was a good look but.. the invader was wearing a black full body garment and on top of it had an orange jacket, resembling something from the living world. The face was masked with that." the group leader said, pointing at the piece of fabric in Sui Feng's hand. "But a piece of it tore off during our fight. I also believe that the attacker was a woman."

Sui Feng clenched her fist around the piece of torn garment. She now knew exactly who it was, that had "invaded" Seireitei and couldn't help but to let a devilish grin spread on her face.

*) The Onmitsukidō, secret tactics, called the Stealth Force in the English dub), also called the Secret Mobile Unit/Corps, Special Forces or Covert Ops which Sui Feng commands.

**)Shoji is a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood which holds together a lattice of wood or bamboo.

And there you have that, first chapter to the story. Hopefully you enjoyed your reading experience and I really hope you'll leave me with some feedback, criticism or simply some love! Heh! So, press the ze Review on your way out!