Captain-Kitty: Hello everyone and welcome back to Cat vs. Wolf, I hope you enjoyed your day off Soifon
Soifon: it was nice I suppose
Captain-Kitty: I'm glad, but you were greatly missed
Soifon: Did you miss me?
Captain-Kitty: yes I did, but I'm not talking about myself
Soifon: Then who *suddenly gets tackled*
Yoruichi: My Little Bee! You've come back *nuzzles*
Soifon: *blushing* Y-Yoruichi-sama
Captain-Kitty: save it for later! Anywho I do not own Bleach or these two wonderful characters, please enjoy
It was a bit of a surprise when Soifon saw her old mentor suddenly land in front of her. And what shocked her more, was how much Yoruichi was bleeding and bruising.
"Y-Yoruichi-sama" Soifon said stunned. Yoruichi glanced back at her with an undeniable smile.
"The one and only, and I see you didn't listen to me about not fighting, that's very rude Little Bee" Yoruichi teased slightly. Though in reality she was freaking out; Soifon looked worse for wear, but went on like she was perfectly fine.
"Yoruichi, Akara needs my help, I can't just leave her" Soifon said gesturing to the burned wolf beside her. Maiko had now let go of her eye, and it was absolutely repulsive. All around the eye was severely burnt. Her dusty down skin was now almost completely black, and part of her eye was burned closed. Yoruichi winced at Maiko's state. They really had to get out of this horrible place and get help as soon as possible.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I believe we were in the middle of a fight" Kuto interjected out of the blue. Yoruichi switched her gaze back to her new opponent.
"I'm sorry, did you say something; I was conversing with my dear friend behind me" Yoruichi said. Kuto sighed,
"Such rudeness, I didn't realize the great recognized Shihouin clan was rude, I thought you all were raised better" Kuto said with a not so surprised tone. Yoruichi snorted,
"Well to be honest, my family can be rude sometimes I'll admit, but I'm not as bad" Yoruichi said with a shrug. Soifon rolled her eyes before turning to go check on Maiko. Kuto saw what she was doing and immediately cracked his whip at her, giving Yoruichi little time to react. But she got lucky and dodged the pyro's weapon at the very last second. Soifon also saw the whip coming, but since she had a just a sliver more time then Yoruichi had, she quickly grabbed Maiko and shunpoed to another location, which just so happened to be on the other side of where she and the injured woman just stood.
"That was close, but I need to stay alert" Soifon thought determinedly.
"Maiko are you ok" Soifon asked as she put her down next to her. Maiko nodded wordlessly, she was hurting to badly and Soifon could tell.
"You're very slow, that won't help you here" Kuto said with a sudden lack of emotion. Yoruichi glared at him, waiting for any attack he had planned. But nothing happened for a moment, there was a thick silence except for Maiko's slight ragged breathing. So seeing opportunity, Yoruichi vanished into nothing. Kuto raised his whip and waited for Yoruichi to reappear. It was silent, but out of nowhere, he got kicked in the neck from below. Yoruichi was currently in a crouching position except for one leg shooting straight up and in Kuto's neck.
"That's what you g…." But Yoruichi was quickly interrupted as Kuto's whip suddenly snaked its way around Yoruichi's leg and singed her. Yoruichi grunted before Kuto raised the whip to spin Yoruichi around like a lasso before throwing her towards the base of the dome. Yoruichi heard the wind roar in her ears as she tried to right herself, but the speed was almost too much for her, and she was the Goddess of Flash. Suddenly she collided with a mass, and it wasn't the electric wall she expected. Instead it was soft and strangely warm. Yoruichi looked up to see the white wolf staring at her with one eye. Maiko had just saved her.
"Maiko, Yoruichi" Soifon shouted as she ran over to Yoruichi and Maiko. Maiko looked towards Soifon,
"She's fine, for the most part anyway" Maiko stated before getting up and facing the enemy at hand.
"You, you flaming moron, leave these two alone, this is our fight not theirs" Maiko said, yet Soifon could Akara's voice too.
"Maiko" Soifon started to say, but Maiko cut her off,
"Get out" she said, Soifon looked at with bewilderment,
"W-What" Soifon said. Maiko flicked her tail in agitation,
"I said get out, you and that stupid cat both, this is not your fight" Maiko hissed causing Soifon to flinch a bit. Yoruichi, who was still on the ground just watched, not knowing if she should say anything or not.
"No, I came here to help you, look at you your badly injured" Soifon said yet close to shouting. At this, Maiko whipped around and shoved Soifon to the ground.
"You have no right to say who is incapable of fighting; you are in far worse shape than anyone in here, you have lost too much blood, and yet you foolishly run into the lion's den, your body cannot take anymore punishment, now I suggest you get out now or I'll put you out your misery" Maiko threatened with a now glowing red eye and bared fangs. Soifon's eyes widened, she was at a loss for words.
"Shihouin, get off your lazy tail and get this stubborn woman out of my sight" Maiko commanded. Yoruichi wordlessly stood up and knelt down to pick up Soifon.
"Come on, let's go" Yoruichi said quietly to the still shocked Second Division Captain.
"You get out the same way you came in" Maiko said as she began to trot towards Kuto, who had been strangely patient and did nothing to attack them. Yoruichi nodded as she turned and hurried out of the hazardous battle field.
"Now that they're out of the way, I believe we have a fight to continue" Maiko said as her now blood stained coat began to stand on end. She stopped trotting about five feet away from Kuto.
"Hmm, pity, I was hoping to harm the Captain a little more" Kuto sighed almost sounding disappointed. Maiko spit a bit of blood out of her mouth.
"She would've have died if you had, and I believe your handler said not to kill her or that prissy feline" Maiko snorted. Kuto laughed,
"I suppose that's true, but it would've been fun to torment her a little more" Kuto confessed. Maiko rolled her red eye.
"Whatever" was all Maiko said before she dashed with blinding speed toward Kuto. Her fangs were bare and threatening as her massive claws scrapped the ground as she ran causing sparks to scatter. When she was close enough, Maiko launched herself at the blue flamed man. Kuto, who had anticipated this, held his whip high above his head, before he increased the flames on the double tailed whip. He cracked his whip at her; Maiko gave a wolfish smirk before fading away moments before the whip touched her. Kuto raised a blue eyebrow before he felt a presence coming from behind him. But by the time he could turn around, a pair of fangs, accompanied by massive jaws, had found their way into Kuto's shoulder. Blood sprayed them both, but more covered Maiko then Kuto. Her entire face was now red and dripping with her prey's blood.
"GAAAAAAAAHHHH" Kuto howled as Maiko clenched her jaw tighter into his shoulder blade. She dug her teeth deep into the tissue and began rip it out of place. Kuto yelled in agony. His left shoulder was in terrible pain, and Maiko was secretly enjoying it. But little did she know something was coming up behind her.
"Foolish man, thinking you can defeat me" Maiko growled, blood bubbling as she spoke. Kuto could only grunt and gasp for a moment, but eventually it turned into laughter.
"Fortunately for me, you're the fool here, you were so deep in your bloodlust you forgot about why whip" Kuto said through gasps. Maiko raised an eyebrow before she smelt something burn. A sharp pain suddenly emanated from her back left leg and right paw. Maiko franticly shifted her gaze to the floor close to her, and saw that the double tailed whip had found its way around her leg and paw. The pain was excruciating, but she refused to let her pain show. Instead she began to recite an incantation.
"Let the morning hear my cry, as I make this call to the sky, the pain I have is very cruel, so I call the pack, which I do rule, come forward pawns of mine" Maiko recited before her body began to glow. The dome was soon filled with the light. And from the outside, Yoruichi and Soifon stared in awe.
"What's going on" Soifon accidently asked aloud. Yoruichi had long since put Soifon back on her feet, and at the moment the duo was watching the fight inside.
"Soifon, that's the wolf's incantation" Yoruichi said seriously as memories of past history lessons came back to her. Soifon gave her a look of slight confusion, so Yoruichi took that as a sign to continue.
"Whenever Maiko uses that incantation, it means that she needs help of some kind and from what we've seen so far, it's probably because of her injuries" Yoruichi said not looking at the younger woman.
"Have you seen this before" Soifon asked incuriously. Yoruichi shook her head,
"No, but my great, great grandfather did, except when he saw it, Maiko was using her pawns to destroy villages and people" Yoruichi said gravely. Soifon's stormy eyes widened in shock, she had never heard of such a terrible thing in all of her years, well besides the hollows of course. But Soifon was at a loss for words. Her best friend was a monster, and Soifon was kept in the dark about it. Back inside the glowing orb, the light had finally receded. Now, instead of two, there were four people in the orb. Well three wolves and a fire fiend. Soifon gasped quietly. There was a black wolf with midnight blue socks and tail, and a white wolf similar to Maiko herself but they were slightly smaller than her. It was Akara and her zanpakuto Tsuki no Okami.
"Akara" Soifon whispered in disbelief. Without realizing it she had taken a step towards the battle ground again. Yoruichi saw the gesture and put a bloody hand on Soifon's now exposed shoulder.
"Soifon, that's not Akara, it's just her wolf form" Yoruichi said in a stoic tone. Soifon looked at Yoruichi then to Akara, then back to Yoruichi.
"But I'm looking right at her, how can that not be her" Soifon asked. Yoruichi sighed and simply said,
"Look at her eyes" Soifon stared at the black wolf and focused her twenty -twenty vision on the black wolf who was currently crouched down looking ready to pounce at any moment. To the untrained eye, you would say, that Akara looked fine. But Soifon soon saw what Yoruichi was talking about. The wolf's eyes did not hold the trusting blue eyes Akara had, instead they had lost their color and looked absolutely hollow. This was not Akara. The Tsuki no Okami wolf was exactly the same way, hollow and faded eyes.
Within the battle field, Maiko and Kuto hadn't moved a muscle.
"Idiotic man, now you face my pack's wrath" Maiko growled before using as much effort as she could to throw Kuto into the air.
"Akara, white wolf, attack"
Maiko commanded as she looked over her severe wounds. Immediately the two wolfs shot up and aimed their claws and fangs at the wounded man. Akara made it first, but she was immediately whipped in the side. She howled in pain before falling, but the Tsuki no Okami saw this as an opportunity and slashed his small but thick claws into Kuto right arm and his fangs clamped onto Kuto's undamaged shoulder. Kuto grunted as he unintentionally dropped his deadly weapon. The white wolf, after seeing his only potential threat fall freely to the ground, proceeded to jerk Kuto's shoulder out of its socket with a sickening pop that would send chills down your spine for about a week.
"AAAARAAAAHHHH" Kuto cried, as the white wolf brought him down and began to drag him, with certain difficulty to his pack leader. The black wolf at the time was licking its wounds. But once she saw that her comrade had gotten the target, she got up and went to help him. Maiko looked at the Akara copy and gave her a disapproving look, when she and the Tsuki no Okami copy dropped Kuto's body in front of her.
"Hmm, white wolf, nicely done" Maiko said rudely, though it was supposed to be a compliment. Kuto couldn't move his arms, so now he was a sitting duck. Suddenly Maiko cuffed the Akara wolf in the face causing her to stumble back before falling. She whimpered a bit before slowly getting back up to face her leader.
"As for you, I cannot believe how weak you are, how are you supposed to help me conquer a town, when you can't even take a hit" Maiko growled as she snapped her bloody teeth at the now cowering black dog.Maiko snorted before turning her attention back to the man before her. She gave him a sadistically cruel smile.
"Well, well, it appears I have the upper paw now, you can't use your arms, and so you're nothing but a dog toy now" Maiko said smugly. Suddenly both copies growled in agreement.
"A promised, I'll destroy you, have at him, but save his throat for me" Maiko said as she carelessly rolled Kuto away. It was then when black and white attacked blue. Blood spurted out as limps were ripped off and tossed around as play things. From outside, Yoruichi and Soifon watched in horror as Maiko let her minions shred the man apart. His screams could not be heard, but the view was clear. From what they saw after about five minutes of watching limps get thrown into the air and shredded, Maiko had finally called them off. Maiko walked over the remains of Kuto, and dove for his throat, ripping it out before swallowing it whole.
From the outside, Yoruichi and Soifon watched, but when Maiko ripped out Kuto's throat, Yoruichi almost threw up. She had to cover her mouth and turn away. Soifon on the other hand just stood there aghast. She has helped that creature, they worked together and yet after all of that Maiko threatened to kill her. And at the moment, everything felt wrong, actually more like strange. The last thing Soifon saw was the room spin before collapsing and blacking out.
"That is just horrible" Yoruichi thought before turning back. But when she saw her old protégé out like a light on the ground, she rushed over and knelt beside her.
"Soifon, Soifon get up" Yoruichi said in clear panic, yet Soifon remained unresponsive. Yoruichi checked all of Soifon's pulse points and heart, and thankfully it was still beating, but not as fast as it should have been going.
"I have to get you out of here" Yoruichi said scooping up the unconscious body, Yoruichi managed to get her onto her back. After Soifon was securely on her back, Yoruichi snuck quietly to the door where she had entered. Suddenly the once opened doors slammed close. Yoruichi stopped and turned around. The hooded man had closed the door, and Yoruichi glared hatefully at him.
"I can't have you leaving just yet, the fun has just begun" the man said. Yoruichi didn't have time or the energy to fight, her previous fight with the now deceased Hiroka and Kuto had done a number on her, and anymore fighting could endanger her even more.
"Well I'm not having fun, so I would like to leave with my companion here" Yoruichi said distastefully at the man. He simply smiled,
"Just like any Shihouin, always leaving without even a goodbye, and you were going to leave Akara as well" the man said clearly with mock disappointment. Yoruichi rolled her eyes, even though it was true, Soifon needed help, and if she risked trying to save her while Soifon was in her current state, the likely results would be either she would lose Akara due to the fact that Yoruichi wasn't strong enough to fight. She would lose her own life, leaving Akara and Soifon to hopefully make it out alive. Or worst case scenario, Yoruichi has to carry a dead Captain back to Seireitei, and Yoruichi would have to live the rest of her life hating herself, for not protecting Soifon and for not telling her how Yoruichi truly felt about her.
"I don't care really, but this place just isn't my style, so I'm ready to take my leave" Yoruichi called before scanning the area quickly for a way out. Suddenly she remembered the ceiling and Yoruichi went for it. She took a few steps back before leaping into Shunpo. She got so close to the roof, but suddenly the roof was closed up. Yoruichi used her feet to stop herself from crashing into the ceiling and righted herself before going back to the ground.
"Cheater" Yoruichi thought bitterly as she adjusted Soifon on her back.
"I already told you, you aren't going anywhere" the hooded man sighed as he rose from his throne like chair and descended down. Yoruichi backed away. But the hooded man took to the direction of the orb he had conjured up hours ago. Inside, Maiko was now alone; it appeared that she had sent her minions back inside her being for another time. The hooded man stopped once he was a mere arms length away from the orb. He raised his right arm and touched the orb with his palm. The orb began to disappear from the spot he touched all the way around.
"Finally" Maiko growled as she got up rather uneasily. She had to put most of her weight, on her other legs but she knew she could still walk, though running would be a bit of a challenge. Maiko saw the hooded man a few meters from where she was standing and her fur rose to its highest point.
"You" she snapped before charging at him. Her body glowed again, and the wolf copies appeared on either side of her flanks charging with her. The man simply stood there, waiting for Maiko to get him. Maiko increased her speed so much she was almost a white blur. But still the man stood still. Finally at her final bound, Maiko lunged at the man and revealed her bloody claws. The copies simply went around forming a triangular attack. But since Maiko attacked first, she was the first to attack. But instead of getting a slash into her would be prey, he grabbed her neck, stopping her dead in her tracks. Shock was clearly written across her face. The copies stopped as they saw their leader get caught. But Maiko refused to be caught again, so she began to use her back paws to scratch and claw at the man. But he simply took side steps to avoid Maiko's attacks.
"So predictable, just as always" the man sighed as he raised Maiko above his head and threw her like a base ball towards Yoruichi's direction. Yoruichi wasn't paying that much of attention, but when she sensed Maiko coming after, she barely got out of the way in time. Maiko crashed into the wall causing it to crack straight up to the roof. The Akara copy as well as the Tsuki no Okami copy rushed to their leader's aid. The black went to her right side while the white one went to her left. At the same time they both lifted her back up to her feet.
"How sweet, getting mindless bodies to help you" the hooded man mocked as he rushed forwards and kicked the duo away, sending them across the room with a trail of yips and howls of pain. Yoruichi stared in silent amazement as the hooded man effortlessly threw around Maiko like a rag doll. Yoruichi saw this as an opportunity and ran to hide Soifon somewhere safe. She slinked away to a corner of the room that wasn't even touched and she set Soifon up into a sitting position. Yoruichi gently stroked Soifon's cut up cheek before leaving her to go find a way out.
Meanwhile, Maiko could no longer stand. She tried but her legs would scream in protest before caving in and making her fall. The hooded man approached the injured wolf and smirked,
"Such a shame I have to extract this way, it wasn't as fun" the hooded man said as he raised his hand over Maiko's injured, bleeding body. From his palm, a white light began to glow; eventually it started to take shape of a sickle. Once that was done, the glow shattered like glass, and a real sickle took its place. It was white and red, simple as that, though the wickedly sharp and curved blade was as black as Akara's fur. Maiko was defenseless now, she couldn't move an inch.
"But before I extract you from this useless child, I believe its time I revealed myself to you" the man said before ripping off his hood. Maiko's eyes widened as well as Yoruichi's.
"You-you're" Maiko couldn't even finish her sentence the surprise was so shocking. Yoruichi couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man was average sized for any grown man. He was leanly muscular, despite his appearance in age, which in human years would be about forty five. His hair was black, and long enough to touch his back, though there were a few grey streaks developing on the top of his head. He had neutral brown eyes, but lighter brown skin. He was wearing a battle uniform of some kind, it looked somewhat like what Kuto wore, except the man had a full on long sleeved shirt. And in the dead center of it was a massive symbol. It was a wolf's claws holding a closed orchid.
"Dad" Akara's voice asked with major shock as it broke through Maiko's oncoming voice. The man grinned evilly.
"Hello my dear daughter, how have you been" he asked before striking down his sickle onto the shell shocked wolf. Yoruichi suddenly disappeared and reappeared as she blocked the sickle merely inches from Maiko's body. Fresh blood dripped down from where the sickle hit, which happened to be Yoruichi's forearm. Akara's father gave her a questioning look.
"I can't understand you Shihouin; you rush head on into danger for a Captain you deserted so many years ago. And you came with my daughter, who I know you hate with a passion, and yet here you are, taking a hit for her, such a foolish child" he sighed as he ripped the sickle out of Yoruichi's arm causing her to wince and grunt.
"I-I came here, because I know Soifon needed me, I put up with Akara, because I know, Soifon would probably have wanted me to. And I took this hit for her, because if I didn't I would have to tell Soifon how her best friend died and watch her cry again, I will not let that happen" Yoruichi said raising her bloody arm to a fighting position. Akara's father rolled his eyes.
"I have lived for far much longer than you Yoruichi Shihouin, you aren't even a threat to me, do not interfere" Akara's father sneered as he flipped into an aerial kick and sent Yoruichi into the direction she came from.
"Why, why are you doing this" Maiko asked weakly. The elder man snorted,
"My daughter is useless; she didn't deserve the power and ability you bestowed to her, her brother did, but I was tired of having to deal with her, so I sent her away for all those years so I could plot her demise and restore the family tradition. But then I figured I didn't like the way Soul society was run, so I began a new plot to take over, and have the Kurokiba family rule all" the wolf woman's father shrugged.
"But I wasn't prepared for the shame of the Shihouin clan to come along, but luckily I'm known for thinking on the fly so to speak, so I got some information on her and used it to my advantage when she arrived with my daughter" he said looking at Yoruichi who had a hard time getting up due to her newly obtained injury. But she was getting there.
"But now, it's time to put the real plan in motion" Akara's father chuckled cruelly before once again raising the now bloody sickle and throwing it down onto the wolf's battered body. There was a painful cry heard from her, as the man known as Akara's father cut into Maiko's body, and pulled it slowly through her. And ever so slowly, the wolf spirit began to rise from the wound. Seeing his chance, the father, from out of nowhere pulled out a miniature orb, like before and somehow put Maiko inside. The wolf spirit, looked worse for wear, but she tried to beat against her small prison. Akara's father smiled with pride as he raised the orb into the fire lit light. He had gotten his prize, now all he had to do was dispose of what he didn't need. But little did he know something stirred in the corner of the massive room.
"I can't believe you; I spent my entire life trying to gain your approval, I did just about everything you asked, I even took the same training as my brothers" Akara said weakly as she sat up the best she could.
"All I ever wanted was for you to appreciate my efforts and for you to be proud of me, and yet you still bring me down" Akara muttered as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her father said nothing to her.
"What will mother think when she finds out I'm gone" she thought to herself. Suddenly a new thought exposed itself to Akara's head. But this made her angry,
"You, you made me leave for almost a century" Akara snarled with new angry tears running down her face. Somehow, a new sense of energy flowed through her, and she began to stand up.
"You made me leave my only true friend who had her heart broken by her" Akara started to yell as she pointed at the now standing Shihouin.
"All for your own personal gain" Akara shouted before throwing a surprise kick to her father's hand, making the orb soar out and fly somewhere else.
"No" he shouted as he ran for the orb. Akara, using as much effort as possible, shunpoed after the orb as well. Yoruichi, having only just registered the situation, did her best to Shunpo as well. Akara's father could not have that orb. Otherwise disaster would befall on them all.
Soifon: Apologize
Captain-Blue-Kitty: I'm so sorry this is late, I had to think of a way for the chapter to flow, and it took longer than expected.
Soifon: And?
Captain-Blue-Kitty: I had more testing, but I tried to get as much computer time as possible.
Soifon: Good, now please review and we'll see you next time
Captain-Blue-Kitty: I love you all!
Captain-Blue-Kitty: