Chapter One: Revelation
Yoruichi had come to a distressing realization when Chad fell down a set of stairs.
The Rukia rescue mission was doomed. Everyone in it was going to get KIA'd except maybe Ichigo unless immediate action was taken. That was why the purple-haired Goddess of Flash was sitting by the table. He was clad in an orange tunic with black latex pants.
"No Kisuke, we're not doing it," she said. "I am not going to let this go by without telling them."
"Yoruichi, this is important," said Kisuke. "We need them."
"And they need to not die," said Yoruichi. "This isn't a game; it's a dangerous operation. And they don't even get that.
"Orihime and Chad are treating this like an anime. Ichigo and Uryu are experienced, but they are out of their depth. And they have no context for what they are getting into."
"Fine," said Kisuke. "Do what you want."
And he stalked out.
Kisuke was in a particularly bad mood right now. But soon enough, the door opened, and in came Orihime Inoue. She had auburn hair wearing a pink sweat. She had breasts that rivaled Rangiku and Yoruichi at fifteen. The innocent look was nice.
Then there was Chad, huge and hulking but stoic. Next came Uryu, wearing his glasses with blue hair, and finally, Ichigo himself. Same orange hair-cut and school uniform
"Hey, Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Orihime, glad to see you," said Yoruichi, leaning back and flipping her hair.
"Um... who are you?" asked Ichigo.
"I've been training two of you for days," said Yoruichi with a sigh.
"Um we've been trained by a talking cat," said Chad.
"Maybe she is the cat!" said Orihime.
"Thank you, Orihime! You get it!" said Yoruichi.
"What do I get?" asked Orihime.
"The truth," said Yoruichi, bringing her long legs up onto the table. "Seriously, though, sit down now. I am Yoruichi, and I'm sort of your mentor. Yes, I have a huge rack that changes doesn't."
"Okay," said Chad as they sat down.
"Okay, you guys are setting on your quest to rescue Rukia from the Soul Society," said Yoruichi. "I have here to guide you on your quest."
"Alright, what's your guidance?" asked Uryu.
"Resign yourselves to imminent death," said Yoruichi brightly. "Okay, this was fun; I'm going to go outside and watch the skies." And she flash stepped past them into the parking lot to lean against a wall. The cars were going by beyond the fence as if nothing had happened.
Soon enough, they filed on out, and Yoruichi realized just how little they got it. She'd been hiding from the fact and treating them like Stealth Force recruits. Yet they didn't understand anything at all.
"This was a test," said Uryu.
"Oh good, you're here," said Yoruichi. "Then you know how to make independent thought."
"Alright will you stop playing around here?" said Ichigo. "We've gone to a lot of trouble, and I'm a lot stronger than when-"
Yoruichi flash-stepped directly behind him. Ichigo shuddered and whirled around, only to find him behind him again, then a little way away. "You're slow, even when you're falling," said Yoruichi. "That was a really cool one-liner, actually.
"I've got to congratulate the kid on that."
"The kid?" asked Ichigo. "Byakuya?"
"Yes, Byakuya was a kid once," said Yoruichi. "Actually, he grew up a lot faster than most people do in the Soul Society. Wow, memories.
"Byakuya used to look just like you. Although, he was a lot stronger than you then."
"What is going on here?" asked Uryu.
"I want you to grasp just how outclassed you are, so you take what I say seriously," said Yoruichi. "There are people in the Soul Society much stronger than me. Many of them are good and won't kill you unless you start killing people.
"But some of them are bad, and some are utterly evil.
"Like every government, there are a fair share of awful people. And you cannot kill anyone under any circumstances."
"I don't want to kill anyone," said Orihime, looking away.
"Good," said Yoruichi. "Because if you kill someone, you're all probably going to die if you're captured. If you avoid hurting anyone without need, get Rukia and then get back, the stir will probably blow over."
"Okay, so what now?" asked Ichigo.
"That was the easy part," said Yoruichi, swaying her hips. "The hard part comes here. Why are each of you here? And you need to think about this question carefully. The resolve you have is important. How motivated you are affects your combat capabilities.
"Orihime, why are you here?"
The auburn-haired girl pumped her fist, sending her breasts bouncing as she did. "I want to help Ichigo and Rukia, and I'm jumping at the call to adventure."
"What if the call to adventure is a sirens song that leads to you dying?" asked Yoruichi with a smile and a thumbs up.
"Well, I..." Orihime looked down. "I guess I..."
"What if you fall into the hands of some really, really awful person," said Yoruichi. "And that person takes an interest in your powers and decides to experiment?
"Slowly ripping pieces out of you while your cries for mercy go unheeded?
"Are you willing to do this for Rukia and Ichigo? Really willing and not just telling yourself you are?"
"I..." Orihime halted, tears coming to her eyes. "I just..."
"Leave her-" began Ichigo.
"Don't even think about it, Ichigo," said Yoruichi. "This is their choice. If your friends aren't here for their own reasons, you will weaken them and you. They have to be here because they choose to be here.
"I refuse to manipulate into a life or death situation.
"Chad, what about you?"
"Ichigo and I have promised to throw our punches together," said Chad.
Yoruichi sighed. "Is that it?
"You do realize that your technique is all power and no finesse? The only way you're winning is if you hit your opponent dead on. If they are fast, you lose.
"And if they are strong enough to tank your attack, you have nothing else."
"How many people are faster than me?" asked Chad thoughtfully.
"Most of them," said Yoruichi. "You could churn through lower-tier reapers like butter. But once you hit someone formidable, you will lose. You can't outrun them.
"You've got great stamina, Chad, and decent power.
"But that's it.
"And everything I said to Orihime applies to you too. Orihime, you're techniques are good for healing and protection. But your attack skills are a joke. You have no aggressive feelings, and you self-sabotage when you use Tsubaki."
Then she looked to Uryu, who had a glove. He'd taken a lot of precautions to avoid being near her, so he didn't trust her. "Uryu, what about you?"
"To rescue Rukia Kuchiki," said Uryu.
"Why?" asked Yoruichi. "You've already nearly been killed for her. Why try again?"
"Her execution would be wrong; I owe her a debt, and doing so will infuriate the Soul Society," said Uryu.
"It might bring the wrath of the Soul Society down on your Father," said Yoruichi. "Do you want him to be dissected?"
"Yes," said Uryu.
Yoruichi stared. He wasn't supposed to say that.
"Holy shit..." said Ichigo.
"He's a filthy traitor who prostituted his soul for money. He cares nothing for those who murdered my Grandfather," said Uryu. "If I can hurt them and the sword of fate leads to his death, it will be a very good day.
"Rescuing Rukia Kuchiki is an excellent means of doing that. And I actually like her.
"And anyway, now that we have powers, the Soul Society is going to kill us all anyway. They will keep coming until we are dead, or they are broken."
Yoruichi tried to find the words and couldn't. Granted, she wasn't exactly a moral authority. "You're doing this purely for revenge. You're willing to get everyone in this town killed so you can get some emotional validation?"
"My race is extinct," said Uryu. "My culture is in ruins. My days are numbered. God is evil. The past is deplorable. The future is entropy.
"But I'll see them suffer as I have suffered before I burn out.
"And seeing as though Kisuke Urahara has the same agenda, you should show more respect."
How much did this kid know, and how much was he guessing?
"That is the coolest thing I have ever heard!" said Ichigo.
"Thank you," said Uryu, adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah, Uryu, you're like an avenging angel," said Orihime.
Uh oh.
These weren't like people in the Soul Society.
They had no practical experience with a real cycle of revenge. This was all just anime and manga to them.
Anime and manga.
"No, no, revenge is wrong!" said Yoruichi quickly.
"I think you mean 'revenge is wrong' when it is inconvenient for your secret agenda, Yoruichi," said Uryu. "Kisuke Urahara is far too knowledgeable to not have been someone important once. And his actions might result in multiple fatalities.
"Your motive is thus power or, more likely, a distraction for some other objective."
Yoruichi faltered and realized they'd need his help. "...You can come, but you can't kill anyone unless you absolutely have to."
This was really bad.
Orihime and Chad had the wrong plan and wrong sense of things. Uryu was an outright Count of Monte Cristo in the making and might cheer Aizen on. That left only Ichigo. "Ichigo..." said Yoruichi. "All of your friends could die if you do this. You've got your powers back and the potential to hunt hollows for years to come. You could make a career out of it.
"There are many underground operations that could use someone like you.
"You've known Rukia for a month, far less than anyone here except Uryu. Orihime is obviously interested in you."
"Hey!" said Orihime.
"It's true," said Yoruichi before looking to Ichigo. "Yes, you owe Rukia a debt. But you've spent a month saving people on her behalf for no pay. You've cleared the debt.
"Why are you really here?"
Ichigo thought about it and really seemed to. Yoruichi wondered if he was about to make a love declaration. "...My Dad can't stand the sight of me.
"I can't eat dinner with my sisters because he attacks me every time I go home. My friendships are all strained, and I can't function without being able to hunt hollows.
"No one really wants me around except when I'm in battle. And this month has been the happiest time of my life.
"Rukia needs help, and I'm the only one who can help her. I'll be damned if I'll let Byakuya execute her."
"Have you considered the possibility that Kisuke Urahara is the bad guy?" asked Yoruichi. She had to get them thinking about all this. The cars were slowing down. "Him being here is convenient, isn't it? He's always on hand when you need something, but you know nothing about him. Maybe you're not the hero, Ichigo.
"Maybe you're an unwitting pawn in a much larger game. Maybe Byakuya is the hero, and you've only seen his worst side. How much has Kisuke actually told you?"
"About what?" asked Ichigo.
"That's the problem," said Yoruichi.
And then she realized Kisuke didn't want them knowing anything. He'd indoctrinated these kids from a young age to not question anything. Ichigo was just a weapon to him; Uryu was just a bonus. Chad and Orihime were added on because why not? It would save on loose ends and increase the chances of success.
Kisuke was just a machine.
And once the machine was finished with someone, they were thrown away. Yoruichi hadn't gotten one call from him, and he'd tried to stay in touch. She'd saved his life, thrown away her whole career. Was she really his friend?
Granted, he'd never done anything to her.
But she could kill him. Either way, it didn't matter, these kids were not ready, and their motives were screwed up. Ichigo was trying to die, Uryu was trying to die taking his enemies with him, and Orihime and Chad were...
They had no reason to be here.
They were going to die horribly if they did this, and for what? Because they liked Ichigo.
No.
Not on her watch.
"You know what, fuck this plan," said Yoruichi. "You guys are staying here and hunting hollows. Byakuya will make mincemeat of you, and he's a better option.
"You're not strong enough; you're never going to be strong enough.
"I'll rescue Rukia myself. I'll be a lot stronger without you weighing me down. I'll bring her back her when I'm done, and you can hang out with her then. If I were you, I'd try to recruit that Tatsuki girl and get her powers.
"You need the fighting strength. Then ditch your abusive scumbag parents and see the world. Maybe a hollow hunting tour."
"What?!" said Orihime. "But Yoruichi, we want to help! We want to save Rukia!"
Yoruichi supposed she owed them a chance. "...Tell you what?
"If you can lay a hand on me before you're all knocked out, I'll consider it. Match start."
And then she moved.
She knocked out Orihime as Ichigo stirred; she incapacitated Chad. Meanwhile, Uryu stirred, and Ichigo began to reach for his sword. Uryu sprang, only to be pulled down and knocked out. Ichigo got near his sword but found he was in his mortal body and was knocked down.
All four of them landed hard.
"You are not ready," said Yoruichi. "Go home and sort yourselves out. You're a mess."
Then she walked back in and shut the door.
Before her, she saw Kisuke standing with arms crossed. "Yoruichi, what is going on?"
"There's nothing going on, Kisuke," said Yoruichi. "Those kids are not ready, and you are using them as glorified meatshield as a distraction for me."
"We need to train Ichigo-" began Kisuke.
"I don't give a fuck about Isshin," said Yoruichi, walking past him in disgust. All those humorous stories about Isshin hitting his son were a lot less comical now. "He's an abusive sociopath who has turned his own son into a monster—all as vengeance for something that was his fault to begin with. Uryu was literally okay with his Father being tortured to death, Kisuke. He considered it a bonus!
"If we send them up there, they'll be either slaughtered or turn into blood knights!"
"It wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't made them realize their own desires," said Kisuke.
"In which case, they'd be slaughtered!" said Yoruichi. "Spirit King above, Kisuke! What were you thinking? You should have been preparing these kids their entire lives."
"Chad and Orihime were unexpected-" said Kisuke.
"I don't care," said Yoruichi. "I'm taking care of this operation myself. You're going to train these kids to use their powers and get their worthless parents to fix this.
"Byakuya will want a rematch anyway. I owe him that with how I left him."
"But what about the plan-" said Kisuke.
"I don't care about the plan, Kisuke!" said Yoruichi. "I never cared about it! What I cared about was you!
"Your ego-stroking contest with Aizen means nothing to me! I've already sacrificed my noble title to get you out of execution!
"Byakuya is my priority now.
"If you want to make use of those five, make them ready, and maybe we can use them for the next stage. Until then, we have nothing to discuss. Open the gate, or I'm taking these away to train them myself. Then you can pay for your own blunders when Byakuya finds out what you did.
"Maybe Aizen will let her live. He'll need the cooperation of the Kuchiki clan so she could make a good hostage.
"He's just like you, after all."
So it was that Yoruichi Shihoine went to the Soul Society alone.
For his part, Ichigo Kurosaki stood up and decided to get stronger.