This is going to be the last chapter of Insanity. For those who have been following the story since Chapter 1, I really thank you all for reading this. It's been a fun experience
Chapter 9: Goodbye and Farewell
"UNOHANA! SHE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION NOW!"
"What happened?" replied the 4th division captain as she hurried over to the distressed Yoruichi. "Oh my…this isn't good…"
"That….that bastard…..he….he did this…..Tossed her aside like trash and didn't give a shit!"
"Calm down…..you look like you're not too well yourself and we don't want another patient in here. Place her on the stretcher over there and I'll see to her."
"But…"
"Use your head dear. We want you to be alright when she comes out of the operating room. You're the first one she'd want to see."
"But…..she's a hollow now! Can you even revert the hollowfication process? Let me…"
Before Yoruichi could finish, Unohana shunpoed behind her and casted a kido spell on her knocking out the former 2nd division captain. She was too overwhelmed by it all and Unohana was afraid that Yoruichi would hurt herself even more in her distraught. Catching Youruichi before she fell, Unohana proceeded to carry the unconscious woman to a private room where her assistants could tend to her injuries.
"You two! Carry captain Soi Fon over to the operating room now! Prepare the equipment…..we have some serious work to do!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Unohana proceeded to the operating room with her assistants as she prepared Soi Fon for the operation. It was going to be a long and grueling task but it was her job to help anyone who needed her aid. The 2nd division captain had lost most of her blood and it was an uphill task to try and revive her.
"Boy…..this is going to be tough…please…..pull through Soi Fon taichou," said Unohana to herself, wiping the perspiration from her head as she proceeded to carry on with the operation.
Meanwhile in Soi Fon's mind…
"Soi Fon!" Suzemebachi called out to her master. "Master…..master…are you alright?"
Lying down on the ground coughing out blood, Soi Fon turned to face her zanpaktou. She was clearly struggling and Suzemebachi could tell. Her reiatsu was fading and this had greatly worried Suzemebachi.
"H…h..hey…y..you okay?"
"Master….." said Suzemebachi sheding tears as she continued. "I'm sorry….I….I..I wasn't strong enough to reject the hollowfication process….."
"Don't worry dear….t…t…" said Soi Fon as she continued to struggle. "There was nothing either of us could do about it."
"NO…..NO….It's my job to protect you and I didn't! I let Aizen used the hollow powers on us and it casted us into oblivion! He turned your body into an absolute, soulless monster!"
"D..don't be so hard on yourself….I…I couldn't help it as well…I let him used the hollow powers on you too…"
"I should be able to protect myself…it's not.."
Stopping her in mid-sentence, Soi Fon grabbed her zanpaktou and hugged her with all the love she could express.
"M…master?"
"Don't worry…..let's just call it quits…..I just want to enjoy my final moments…"
"W….what are you talking about! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE!"
"Suzeme…."
"Don't talk like that! I won't let you go….please master….you've got to fight…"
"Don't worry…I've lived a good life….just promise me you'll take care of Yoruichi-sama….."
"Master…please….don't do this…."
Soi Fon accepting that her time was going to be up soon, stared her zanpaktou in the eyes, assuring that everything was going to be alright for the little hornet in the end. There was no way Suzemebachi could deny her master, after all this was her dying wish. There was, however, one last thing the hornet could do for her master.
"Alright….but master…please allow me to do this….."
"Suzemebachi?"
Floating up into the air, the hornet screamed as she began to be surrounded in a bright light. Soi Fon could not help but feel somewhat refreshed as the light amassed into a ball transferred over to her. Suzemebachi stared down towards her master as a sign that this was going to be their final meeting.
"Goodbye….Soi Fon-sama."
Meanwhile in the 4th Division…..
Waking up from the spell that had been cast on her, Yoruichi woke up dazed as she stared at the lights that surrounded her. Seeing medical staff all around her, she began to recall what had happened before she got knocked out. She was about to follow Soi Fon into the operating her but Unohana had intervened. Beginning to feel a sense of rage, she jumped off the platform that she had been placed on before wrapping a medic in a chokehold.
"You….where's Soi Fon?"
"Ple…pl…." was all the medic could stutter out as she began to grasp for air. "Sh….she's in the main operating room with Unohanna taichou!"
Finally releasing the hold, Yoruichi rushed out of the room and proceeded to find her beloved ex-protégé. Reaching the entrance of the operating room, two guards stood by the doors to prevent anyone from entering.
"You bastards, out of the way!"
"Sorry ma'am, we can't let you in. Unohana-taichou's orders."
Enraged by their refusal, Yoruichi launched a right cross that knocked one of the guards out cold. She launched a kick at the second guard but he was quick to move out of the way. As the fight continued, Yoruichi stopped in the midst of one of her maneuvers as she sensed the reiatsu that emanated from Soi Fon begin to disappear.
"SOI FON!"
Unohana opened the doors only to find both her guards knocked out and Yoruichi's gaze firmly fixed on her.
"Where is she you bitch!"
"We're trying everything we can….b.."
"Everything you can? Don't bullshit me! She's not doing well at all!"
"Calm down…..please.."
"Don't tell me to calm down! She's dying and you wouldn't let me see her!"
"It's to protect you….we couldn't have risked letting you observe the operation as your rage might compromise the procedure."
"I don't care! Now let me in!"
"Al…alright…" Unohana said as she finally conceded into letting Yoruichi into the operating room.
"Unohana taichou! Hurry! Something's happening!"
As both women rushed to the side of the operating table, they witnessed Soi Fon's body being engulfed in a white light. As soon as it had dissipated, the 2nd division captain's body began to lose the pale features she had as a hollow as the black hole on her chest that she previously had begun to close. Soi Fon had reverted back into her original self and this had greatly puzzled everyone in the room. None of the medical staff did anything in particular but they did not realize that this was all the doing of Suzemebachi.
"Yoruichi-sama?" Soi Fon muttered under her breath.
"Soi Fon! You…y…you're alright?"
"Yoruichi-sama….please….lean in closer…."
"Yes my dear…."
Leaning in towards Soi Fon, Yoruichi gently laid her left hand behind Soi Fon's head as she slowly moved her head towards her so that they were now cheek to cheek. From the corner of her eye though, Youruichi witnessed Soi Fon raising her zanpaktou as she extended it towards her master.
"Please….take good care of Suzemebachi…"
"NO!" yelled Yoruichi. She knew what this gesture meant and there was no way she was going to have it. "I won't let you give up….please fight Soi Fon…"
"Take it…..carry on in my honour Yoruichi-sama….."
"Fine…I'll take care of Suzemebachi," said Yoruichi as she grabbed the zanpkatou out of Soi Fon's hand. "But only until you get better!"
"Goodbye….Yoruichi-sama…"
Just as soon as she finished, the electrocardiogram that was attached to Soi Fon let out a loud continuous beep. The monitors that displayed her vitals now showed a flat horizontal line.
"Soi….Soi Fon?" Yoruichi mumbled as she returned Soi Fon back to her original position.
"She's gone…." Unohana said in a soft voice.
"SOI FON! UNOHANA DO SOMETHING!"
"I can't….you know she's gone….you can feel it too….her reiatsu has completely disappeared."
Hugging Soi Fon as much as she could, Youruichi broke into a fountain of tears as memories of the pair began to flood her head.
"Soi Fon, remember, never let your guard down! Always be aware of your surroundings. An assassin must be a master of this art….."
"Under…."
Just then, a knife came flying towards Soi Fon. Intercepting and grabbing it, she shunpoed in front of Soi Fon revealing the weapon in her hand
"See what I just told you? Always be aware….."
Soi Fon was left stunned at what her master just did. She was so sure there was nothing wrong with her surroundings. But once again, her master had proved her wrong.
"Forgive me master! I'm not worthy!" said Soi Fon as she kneeled down in apology.
"Rise, my child," Yoruichi replied. Picking up her protégé, she fluffed the top of her hair like a parent would do to their child. "You've got a lot to learn….."
"Yes Yoruichi-sama!"
Wrapping her arm around the back of her protégé, Yoruichi let out a loud laugh as the pair began to walk out of the training facility. These were times that Yoruichi truly cherished, whenever they had training sessions where Soi Fon made a mistake which allowed Yoruichi to treat her like a kid. Knowing that these times were never to be experience again though, Yoruichi began to feel a hole in her heart that could never be filled again.
After some time of reminiscing, Yoruichi began to kneel at Soi Fon's side as she stared at her ex-protégé lifeless body.
"Soi Fon…I'm sorry….I couldn't do anything to protect you…please…forgive me…."
Giving her some time to let loose, Unohana finally decided that it was enough. Yoruichi would have stayed in the operating room forever. "Yoruichi-san, please, there's nothing you can do…." said Unohana realizing that the flash master wouldn't give way. Supporting her as they stood up, Unohana guided a still bawling Youruichi out of the room.
"I…I'm so weak….how could I have let this happened…"
"It's not your fault," Unohana reassured Yoruichi. "There was nothing anyone could do…."
A few weeks after the end of the war….
Captains and lieutenants across all divisions gathered at the 2nd division courtyard dressed in funeral suits and gowns to attend Soi Fon's funeral. Everyone who was anyone was in attendance at the funeral but the missing figure of Shihoin Yoruichi greatly puzzled the people present. They would have thought that she would have gladly paid her final respects to her former protégé. Then, an ominous wind blew and hymn started to play as Captain Commander Yamamoto stepped up preparing to give a speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to pay respects to those who have lost their lives during the war. The greatest loss though, was Captain Soi-Fon of the 2nd division. Her commitment to the Gotei 13 was unquestionable and her loyalty to defend Sereitei was unwavering…."
As Yamamoto carried on with the speech, Urahara and Unohana were having their own little conversation.
"Yoruichi didn't show up Urahara-san?"
"What makes you so sure?"
"Well, she just did lose a loved one and it's tough to recover in such a short span of time…"
"You give her too little credit," replied Urahara as he pointed towards a shadow hovering at the corner of the courtyard. Staring up, Unohana saw the lonesome figure of Soi Fon's ex-master who was sitting down on top the building structure in a crouched position. There was a reason why she was a master of flash, her being able to avoid the detection of so many people was the reason why she was too, a master assassin. Urahara smiled as she turned her focus towards Yamamoto once again.
Two weeks later….
"Fellow captains," Yamamoto greeted his fellow captains in the meeting hall. "We are here today for the promotion of a new captain to the 2nd division. May I welcome, Shihoin Yoruichi!"
The doors of the meeting hall opened as Yoruichi slowly strolled up the aisle towards her position. Of course, she was no stranger to her fellow captains as they began to clap their hands in applause at her promotion. Yoruichi took up the offer though only to fulfill Soi Fon's dying wish, for Youruichi to carry on in her honour. Reaching her destination at the front of the hall, she stood at attention as Yamamoto continued with his talk.
"I trust that you will all treat with her with the same respect that you had given to Soi Fon taichou. Is that clear?"
"Yes Sir!"
"Dismissed."
As soon as the meeting had adjourned, every captain left as soon as they could to finish up their remaining work, except for Unohana who had stayed behind to congratulate Yoruichi.
"Congratulations Yoruichi-san!"
"Please there's no need…."
"Why not? You should be happy….come, let me buy you a drink."
Yoruichi however, paid no attention to the 4th division captain. Her eyes had focused on something peculiar at the entrance of the hall. As the last captain left , Yoruichi could see a figure that stayed behind. Looking more intently at the figure, she was shocked to see Soi Fon staring back at her. It couldn't have been her….she was dead.
"Soi…..Fon?"
"What's that Yoruichi?"
"Don't you see that?"
"See what?"
"That!" Youruichi said as she pointed towards Soi Fon.
"You must be dreaming….I don't see anything."
Finally realizing that the image of Soi Fon that she had seen was just a the ghost of her former protégé, she smiled at the figure as she realized that so long that she had Suzemebachi by her side, Soi Fon would would continue to live through her zanpaktou. As the ghostly figure of Soi Fon turned around and began to vanish into thin air, Yoruichi said something she did not have the chance to previously.
"Goodbye….Soi Fon."
"Yoruichi-san…..are you alright?" asked a concerned looking Unohana.
"Yeah…I'm fine…now let's have that drink!"
Slowly, the pair chit-chatted as they began to take their leave from the meeting hall. Walking out with a renewed sense of purpose, Yoruichi let out a huge smile, knowing that Soi Fon was always, going to be by her side.
The End
That's the end of Insanity! Once again, thanks for all the support you've shown me. If you're wondering why I chose to make this story about Soi Fon, well, it's cus she's my favourite character…though I guess that's kinda obvious huh? By the way, the hymn that played during the first funeral scene, the scene was meant to be the "Hymn of the Fayth" from FFX! Fitting music don't you think? Anyways, thanks again and I hope to begin writing again soon!
