4 - Intruders!
The six dark figures continued to move along the roof tops silently and soon they'd be out of the city and eventually home.
"Halt!" You shout hovering a few yards above them, holding your Zanpakuto. Studying the six intruders, they are dressed in assassin garb and you caught them by surprise. "I'm Captain Sui Feng of the 2nd Division and you will identify yourselves or face the consequences!"
They were so focused on you that they failed to notice Yoruichi silently landing behind them until she says aloud. "I would do as she said. She has a temper."
Cornered, the assassins look at you and back at Yoruichi when one of them throws a shuriken at you. You deflect it with your weapon, thinking darkly. Okay, that's how you want it. You charge down at them like death from above. The six assassins draw their weapons and three attacks you, while the other three focus on Yoruichi.
Locking swords with them, you quickly realize they are all well trained and disciplined fighters. Wasting little time to even out the odds, you cut one down with a slash to the chest. Facing the remaining two, you keep moving in a circle to prevent them from flanking you on both sides. Your movement soon brings Yoruichi's fight into view. She is doing well, using her blinding speed to down two of her attackers already, showing why she earned the title, Goddess of Flash.
Suddenly, one of your opponents performs a flash step, blinking from sight.
Damn it! You curse, silently. They're very well trained indeed!
Out of the corner of your eye, he appears behind you with his sword raised, preparing to strike. In that moment, you notice his black garb is different from the other five. Their uniforms are plain but his had more detailed stitching into his clothing about the shoulders and hood. You realize you must be fighting the leader. He is also is carrying a large pack strapped to his back.
With the leader behind you and another assassin in front, they have you trapped between them. You lift your sword up and over your back blocking the leader's sword strike from slicing you in half as the one facing you tries to run you through. At the last second, you shift your body to one side letting his blade miss you by inches. As his momentum carries forward closer to you, you use a free hand to crush his windpipe with an open handed strike to his throat.
Now you spin about to face the leader one on one as he comes back at you with a fury and nearly overwhelming sword strikes. He has you on the defensive and is not letting up for one second.
Before you can do your own flash step he kicks you in the midsection, sending you flying onto your back. With sword held high, he rushes forward to finish you off when Yoruichi flash steps between you two as his sword blade comes down. Yoruichi slaps the palms of her hands together above her head, catching the sword blade between them. The assassin leader looks rather startled just before Yoruichi kicks him in the chest, sending him backwards. He rolls as he hits the ground and Yoruichi tosses his sword she was still holding between her hands. She glances at you as you stand up beside her.
"You're okay?" She asks quickly.
You only nod, not saying anything else. Internally you are angry with yourself that Yoruichi saved you yet again. You were her body guard a century before. You are supposed to protect her, not the other way around and even today she is still always looking out for you.
Now alone and facing two determined opponents, the assassin leader retreats as Yoruichi pursues him with you a few steps behind her. As the two of you close in, he stops and turns apparently ready to fight again. Yoruichi moves in to strike when he spits a tiny object from his mouth and it hits her right hand. It is a small dart and Yoruichi stops in surprise as the leader retreats into the night.
Yoruichi immediately pulls the dart from her hand as you hurry to her side worried. You had never seen that type of an attack before and from the look on her face, neither had Yoruichi.
"Sui Feng…" She calls to you, her face becoming pale, and her body starts trembling right before your eyes. Almost panic-stricken at what is happening, you manage to catch her as her legs buckle.
"I got you Yoruichi-sama," You set her down on the roof, holding her protectively against you in your arms. "Let me see your right hand."
As Yoruichi holds her hand out to you, you grip your Zanpakuto and quickly transform it into Suzumibachi. Now with the deadly stinger like gauntlet on your right hand, you raise it to Yoruichi hand and aim its needle point to the wound where the dart struck her. Holding Yoruichi's hand steady with your free one, you insert the needle into the wound to start identifying the poison in Yoruichi in order to neutralize it.
Being an assassin you are knowledgeable about many types of poisons and your Suzumibachi can not only kill with its deadly poison but can even save people by draining out any known poison in their system. You are confident you can fix this easily but after several seconds of using Suzumibachi you still can't identify the poison and Yoruichi's condition grows worse.
"Sui… please… hurry…" The shaking brown-skinned woman urges you, her voice faint.
The poison had to be something new, you think worriedly that's why you can't identify it. No! You suddenly realize it is a mixture of poisons, spiderfish venom and something completely new. You quickly drain out the spiderfish venom which kills by paralysing it victims to the point they can't even breathe.
In moments Yoruichi's shakes lessen and her breathing grows steadier but she still looks pale. "You did it." She says gratefully.
"I'm afraid not," You sadly confess. "There's a second poison I can't identify. I have to get you to the 4th Division. Maybe they can help."
Without delay, you scoop the taller woman in your arms and flash step as quickly as possible to the 4th Division compound.
It was almost morning in the 4th Division medical wing as you pace the corridors waiting for any news on Yoruichi's condition. The doctors refuse to let you be in the same room with her as they work to save her. Finally, Unohana exits from the operating room, her serene demeanour is almost always unreadable but today you can see a heavy burden weighting down on her as she approaches you. You brace yourself for the news.
"She's stable for now," She informs you sadly. "But we can't identify the poison in her system."
Your heart almost stopped. "But you can do something?"
"I'm sorry Sui Feng, we're doing all we can but without knowing the type of poison, all our efforts are merely delaying the inevitable." Unohana says truthfully. "The poison is affecting her internal organs. She lost consciousness about an hour ago."
She's dying?
"How much time does she have?" You ask, afraid of the answer.
"Maybe a day or two at most before the poison overwhelms her organs and shuts them down regardless of our healing efforts."
This can't be…
Still stunned, you somehow find your voice and were amazed how steady it sounds. "Can I see her?"
Unohana leads you to a private room where you find Yoruichi seemingly peacefully asleep on a hospital bed but as you move to her bedside, you can hear her wheezing for breath. You try to hold back the tears threatening to form in your eyes as you turn to Unohana.
"She can't breathe."
"The poison is affecting her lungs as well. We just gave her something that will help." Unohana assures you. "Believe me. We are doing everything in our power to save her."
Taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you move closer until you are beside Yoruichi's bed. Seeing her lying in bed, helpless, vulnerable and fighting for her life, you suddenly recall the words you said to Yoruichi over a century ago in that field when you were her bodyguard.
I will always be by your side to protect you. Always…
In the meeting hall, the various Captains and Yamamoto himself are discussing the events of last night when you suddenly entered.
"You have finally decided to join us, Sui Feng-taicho." Byakuya remarks coldly as you approach the group but you ignore him.
"How is Yoruichi doing?" A concerned Shunsui asks.
"She has been poisoned but she's still alive for now," You reply grimly as you stand before Yamamoto bowing your head. "Forgive me Captain-Commander for not being here. I was concerned for Yoruichi-sama."
"You are forgiven. If it weren't for you and Yoruichi, it might have been some time before we discovered the damage those intruders did."
"They broke into the ancient archives and have stolen several scrolls." Komamura growls.
You can't believe it. They got that far inside here, of all places. "How? Do we know anything about them from the prisoners we captured?"
"The prisoners that you and Yoruichi managed to incapacitate died within hours. They must have had poison hidden on them most likely," Ukitake tells you.
"So we have nothing?" You remark.
"We have some leads," Yamamoto says. "From their clothing and weapons, we are most likely dealing with the Scorpion Clan. They are an old enemy of Gotei 13 that we thought was finally eliminated 900 years ago."
"Do we know where they are?" You ask.
"A possibility," Yamamoto answers. "The scrolls have locator beacons placed within them but the assassins had managed to disable them soon after. Before that happened the last fix we had was to the north, 80 miles away. We need to recover those scrolls. The information in them details everything about us and is irreplaceable."
"There isn't much up there except for a single town." You say in deep thought before deciding. "I wish to go and investigate, alone."
"Just you? Why?" Komamura demanded.
"If we go up there in force, we may never find them." You explain. "Also, they are assassins. It takes one to find one."
"It is obvious that you wish to find a way to save Yoruichi above all else. You are too emotionally involved." Byakuya declares, drawing an angry glare from you.
"Or the right motivation," Shunsui speaks in your defence. "Sui Feng has never failed in her duties."
"Let me go, Yamamoto-sama," you plead. "I swear I will recover the scrolls."
The old leader of Gotei 13 studies you for a moment and nods. "Go Sui Feng, recover the scrolls and punish the ones who have stolen them and if you can, save your friend as well."
Later in the day in mid-afternoon, you land just a mile outside the town of Shinia, wearing civilian clothing and a backpack. Your Zanpakuto is hidden away wrapped inside a sleeping blanket on your back. The last thing you want is to draw attention to yourself in your captain's uniform which is also stashed away in your backpack. Now glancing about, this is the last location before the beacons within the scrolls were disabled.
Upon entering the town, you find it is basically a farming community, nothing too remarkable. You spend part of the day walking the streets and getting the occasional odd stare from the locals. The assassins could be here; then again they could be situated miles from here. You wish you had more information to go on but this location is the only lead you have to start with.
Walking down the sidewalk, your attention is drawn down an alley way. A rather large man is beating a smaller man, pummelling him to the ground.
Do you:
Intervene? Go to 5
Mind you own business? Go to 6