Shopping Spree

(Flashback, 1 month ago…)

It's been a month since the end of the cyborg crisis and the death of Yukon McSleez at Logan's hands. Ichigo and the others left Logan with Soifon and Yoruichi in St. Louis. Yoruichi, several days later, had gotten a call from her clan asking her to meet with them, which just left the two lovebirds alone. All-in-all, it was a pleasant stay for both of them, as they have done lots of things together, such as go to a carnival, attend a benefit concert for St. Louis, fishing (which Logan was surprised that he found the patience for), training, and even looking at the stars at nighttime. Logan was still surprised that they even got to do that in a big city like this.

They had just gotten an alert from the Soul Society regarding a Hollow in the area. Soifon could tell just from the Spiritual Pressure that it was a Gillian Class, or in other words, a Menos Grande. Soifon saw the excited smirk on his face, telling her that he was looking forward to facing one of these. "Be careful, Logan. Just because you have the ability to keep up with Grimmjow in his Ressurecion state doesn't mean you can handle a Menos," she warned.

"Now where would the fun be if it was easy," said Logan. This got her to face-palm. She noticed that he was being quite a bit cockier than usual. That's not saying much since he hardly ever gets cocky, but it still ticked her off. They ran to where the Menos was and saw the citizens running away from it. Logan had a good look at the Hollow and whistled. "How big are these things?"

"That's an average size for a Menos Grande. They don't usually get any bigger than that." Once she finished, the Hollow saw them and opened its mouth. "Look out! It's a Cero!" she exclaimed. Logan picked her up and Flash Stepped out of the way. They landed on top of a building behind the Menos, who was wondering where they went. "We're going to have to get to its mask," Soifon said.

"Hmm…" Logan pondered until he saw the Hollow's feet. "Time for the classic hotfoot prank," he said while pulling out a flare knife. Soifon knew that, while it would get the Hollow's attention, it wasn't going to be pretty. The Assassin threw the knife with his left hand and charged Chidori energy in his right. The knife hit its target and caused the Menos to yell out in pain. Logan got finished charging the attack and jumped towards it. "Shinku…Chidori!" he exclaimed. Soifon, in the meantime, tried to get him to move out of the way, but he tuned her out.

The attack hit the Hollow just as he was charging another Cero. The collision resulted in a big explosion, which forced the Squad Two Captain to cover her eyes. The smoke cleared and she saw Logan standing on the ground unscathed. She was happy that he was still alive, but was still ticked that he ignored her warning. "You idiot!" she yelled as soon as she got to him. "Why didn't you listen to me? I told you to move out of the way, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Hey, he had to be taken down as soon as possible. Last I checked those Ceros take a long time to charge up."

"Yeah, for a Gillian! Imagine if you were facing the First Espada. What would you do then, tough guy?!"

Logan was shocked that she would ask him in that way. "Shaolin, what's wrong?" he asked.

"What's wrong is that you've been acting very cocky lately! And you just proved it with this battle! Yes, the Hollow's taken care of, but that wasn't strategy you used! That was pure recklessness! I'm not ashamed of you, Logan! That's Byakuya Kuchiki's department! I'm angry with you! It's one thing to get cocky when dealing with a common criminal, but it's another when it comes to Hollows in the Gillian class!"

"I'm sorry, Shaolin. I'll tone it down from now on, I promise," Logan said, trying to get her to calm down. Sadly, it didn't work.

"No! You know what?! We're through!" she exclaimed, hurting him emotionally. "If you want to throw away your life like a reckless fool, go ahead! I don't care! I mean it! We're done!"

"Soifon, wait-" he began, but was interrupted with a slap to the face. Despite having the same amount of force as the one he got in Berlin, it hurt him harder due to their bond, along with his heart, being broken.

"Goodbye, Logan."

(End Flashback…)

"…and that's the whole story," Logan finished. Chun-Li was overcome with shock and anger towards Soifon for what she did to him. "That slap still hurts quite a bit. Up until my fight against Vega, I felt emotionally weak, even though I've managed to stop every criminal up until that point. That slap reminded me that I should think things through instead of charging recklessly. I've been trying to find out where I went wrong in our relationship, but I still haven't found anything besides that. She did send me a message just before I tried that Chidori Shoryuken, though."

This piqued Chun-Li's curiosity. "What did she say in it?" she asked. She noticed Logan blushing when she asked.

"She admitted to being the reckless one that broke it off. She hoped that you would pick up the pieces she left shattered, feeling that she wouldn't be able to. In fact, you're the first person to make me smile in a month," he said, making Chun-Li blush. "I think she was trying to ease my pain…and hers as well. She even said that she wanted the 'old me' back."

"It just goes to show that she still loves you. I'm angry at her for what she did, but I can't be too angry. Also, I don't want to push it, but about that letter Yoruichi gave you. There was more to it, wasn't there?" she asked.

"Yeah, there was. Apparently, Soifon got caught in an arranged marriage set up by her father and the bastards at Central 46. It's a political marriage and the groom is someone that neither of us likes: her fat-ass Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda. If she marries him, all Hell will break loose in the Soul Society. It's a bad feeling, but I'm sure it'll happen. He'll get the Captain's rank, cause Squad Two to slack off, and even worse. I could tell just by looking at him that that's going to happen. Sadly, the only way I could stop it is if I find the Squad 6 Captain. I don't necessarily want Soifon back, but I do want what's best for her. This political marriage isn't it."

Chun-Li was in thought for a moment. "So, what you're saying is that you want to move on, but you and Soifon are still looking out for each other's best interests, is that it?" Logan nodded. "This might be too soon, given that we just met, but if you want to, you can give me a shot. I actually like the recklessness."

"Thanks, Chun-Li. But maybe we better take it slow this time. By the way, when you and I entered this tournament, I wasn't even thinking about Soifon until I got this message. Maybe it was just what I needed to get back up off the ground. Thank you," he said with a sincere smile.

"Does this include your loss against Ken?" she asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. It worked, as Logan chuckled and nodded. They hugged again, not knowing that they were being spied on by Toshiro and Rangiku. Chun-Li then remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Rangiku was trying to deliver these to you," she said, handing him a case and a locket.

Logan saw that the locket was a puzzle, so he knew it was from Momo. He looked in the case first, though, and discovered a bunch of all-to-familiar capsules in it. "The 5-U-93-R capsule," he said with nostalgia. "So Nemu was actually able to recreate the specifications of the ones Green Arrow had. Nice work, Nemu." He closed the case and looked at the puzzle locket. He saw that it was a custom-made circle puzzle. He worked with it a little bit until it shown the Assassin's Guild crest inside of a heart. This unlocked the locket, so Logan opened it and saw a picture of him and Soifon together. There was also a small note on the inside as well.

"'Dear Logan,

I don't know how you're doing right now, but I figured that something bad must've happened between you and Captain Soifon. I don't know if it's a good motivator or a bad depressor. I had to take a chance and send it though. We miss you here in the Soul Society.

Sincerely,

Squad 5 Lieutenant Momo Hinamori

P.S.

Keep Toshiro out of trouble and don't let Rangiku bear-hug you. It hurts.'"

Logan chuckled at the note. This was primarily due to Momo's antics. Chun-Li saw the picture in the locket. "She's very pretty, Logan. Why wouldn't you want her back?" she asked.

"I never said I didn't want her back per se, Chun-Li. I just want what's best for her."

"You still love her, don't you?"

"Yeah I do, but it'll never be the same, even if Soifon did restore our bond a little…I'm afraid that it's too late for us…we can never go back to how we were. Friends, maybe, but not lovers," Logan said solemnly. Chun-Li decided to change the subject.

"Well, let's get to sleep. We're supposed to fly out tomorrow, so we need the rest." The Assassin nodded in agreement. The Interpol Officer had one last thought before going to sleep. 'Captain Soifon, if I ever see you, you and I are going to have a long talk.'

The next day, they said their goodbyes to Ken, who decided to part from them to get more fights in. Logan's group, along with Toshiro and Rangiku, boarded a plane heading for France, which was Abel's home country. Logan, Chun-Li, and Cammy sat in one row while Guile and Abel sat behind them because of the fact that Abel was barely large enough to take up 2 seats. Logan had the window seat looking out. Once they were in the air and the captain said it was save to take off the seatbelts, Cammy took hers off and looked out the window to see what Logan found so interesting. He didn't really mind her looking out the window with him, but he was surprised that she would come up from behind him like this. "Hmm…I'm not seeing what's so interesting with what's outside the window, Logan. I just see a bunch of clouds," she said.

"Do I really need a reason to look out the window, Cammy?"

"It makes the trip much more fun." Logan noted the joyous tone she put into that.

"Okay then…" he said. Meanwhile, Toshiro and Rangiku were sitting in the row next to them. Toshiro was also looking out his window while Rangiku was shooting dirty looks towards Chun-Li and Cammy. The ones for Chun-Li were because she had grown close to Logan already while the ones towards Cammy were because of her nice legs and ass, as well as trying to bond with the Assassin, even though the Soul Society has known him longer.

Toshiro noticed because of the grumbling. "Quit complaining, Rangiku. At least you got out of the office. You had better be thankful for that," he said.

"But Captain, those two have grown close to him. I think he likes them more than me," she pouted in jealousy.

"If that's the case, you can be the one to get our foot in the door. Do not fight to impress him, but for the win. Your battle against your foe will be what the Soul Society needs to get in the tournament. And since we're in gigais, Shadaloo will have no idea that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads are involved." Rangiku grunted in serious confirmation.

"You better not blow your cover, Captain. The people on this plane will think that you're weird. To top that off, one of Shadaloo's agents could be on this plane as well," Guile warned. Abel nodded in agreement.

"Ooh look, a kitty," they heard Cammy say. Toshiro and Rangiku were confused while Guile face-palmed at Cammy's new personality. Abel just sat there with a stoic face and Logan and Chun-Li laughed.

The plane landed and the fighters got their luggage. They exited the airport and walked around Paris for a bit. Abel was simply happy to be home while the girls were excited to be in the City of Love. Toshiro and Guile kept their usual expressions on their faces while Logan had a sad one on his. The reason for this was that he always wanted to take Soifon here. It was also a good thing that he wasn't wearing his jacket or his hidden blades because he studied up on the Assassin Arno from the French Revolution (as well as the Kenway family from the Pirate Days and the American Revolution) and discovered that the Guild wasn't very well received in France then and now. The exception was Abel, who saw no point in excluding anyone that was an ally. This especially applies to Assassins since he himself was a mercenary.

Right now, the fighters were walking down the streets with Rangiku being excited about the shops. Toshiro, Logan, and Guile shook their heads. The busty Lieutenant saw an outfit that she really wanted: an elegant purple dress with the back exposed. "Logan, I found this really neat dress that I want! Can you please buy it for me?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't think we have time for that, Rangiku," he said. "We do have to get you and Captain Hitsugaya in the tournament." She approached him with the sad puppy-dog eyes. 'Must… resist…the eyes…DAMMIT!' he thought before giving up. "Alright, I'll buy the dress," he said with a disgruntled look.

"And that's why a man's bank account is usually low," Guile commented, earning a hurt foot from Chun-Li and Cammy. They went into the store to pick up the dress when another hand grabbed it before Rangiku could.

"Ooh, this is fancy! I think it'll look great in my closet!" a woman said excitedly. She had long and wild pink hair, a policeman's hat, a pair of boots, daisy duke shorts, and a low-cut top barely covering her bust, essentially giving her the look of a Los Angeles/New York skank.

"Hey, I was getting that!" Rangiku yelled at her.

"Too bad. I got it first." Guile and the others entered the store and rejoined Logan and Rangiku. The former was pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

"What's Poison doing here?" Chun-Li asked, catching Logan's attention.

"That's Poison? Wasn't she a member of the Mad Gear gang?" he asked.

"That's right. But the last I heard, the Mad Gear was taken down by Mike Haggar, Cody Travers, and Guy in Metro City." Chun-Li then remembered something. "Come to think of it, it was Poison who landed Cody in jail." The conversation, much to their chagrin, caught Poison's attention. She walked over to Logan with a flirtatious and lust-filled look on her face.

"And you must be the hero of St. Louis. I visited the place and I thought it was pretty nice. It's a shame what happened there," she said, making Logan just a little angry. "How about I make you feel better later. Does that sound good to you?"

"No thanks. I don't want to smell like the back alleys of New York," he said. Before Chun-Li could make an additional remark, Rangiku grabbed Poison by the arm and took her outside. The Assassin took the dress to the counter in the meantime and bought it for Rangiku.

Outside the shop, the Squad 10 Lieutenant threw Poison onto the ground. She got up quickly with anger in her eyes. She got an idea in her head that would get Rangiku riled up for sure. "Tell you what. You can have the dress, but the winner of this fight gets the hero over there," she said, pointing towards Logan. "Ooh, I love a good hero, gentleman or not."

This definitely worked, as the busty beauty had a tic mark on her forehead. "Oh, you're not going to get him!" The fight started with Rangiku getting caught in a trap in all of her anger. She charged towards Poison, who was ready to counter, with a punch. Poison dodged it and elbowed her in the chest, followed by a kick in the stomach. Just as she was about to stomp on Rangiku, the strawberry-blonde grabbed her foot and pushed her off. Both women got up and into their fighting stances.

Something clicked inside the heads of Chun-Li and Cammy. "Chun-Li, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Cammy asked, getting a nod from her friend.

"What's the matter?" Guile asked as Logan and Abel looked on confused. Toshiro was still watching the fight.

"Don't you remember, Guile? Wherever Poison is, Hugo Andore's bound to be around somewhere," Chun-Li answered, surprising Guile and Logan. Abel was still confused, as he had never heard of the Mad Gear until now.

'Rangiku, hurry up and take down Poison so we can get out of here. I don't want to have to deal with Hugo,' the Assassin thought.

The fight was going in Poison's favor, as Rangiku had a few good marks from her whip on her clothes and face. She was determined, though, to keep Logan out of Poison's grasp. 'This might be fighting dirty, but I can't blow my cover,' she thought. The well-endowed Lieutenant tilted a garbage can and rolled it towards her opponent. Poison jumped over it with no inclination of Rangiku's next attack, which was a kick in the stomach. This sent the ex-Mad Gear member crashing into a wall, followed by a hard punch to the face, rendering Poison out cold.

As she rejoined the others, she saw that Logan had his 'Ichigo face' on. "Well what do you know, you can fight without a sword," he quipped. "You know that up to 5 people can be on a team in this tournament, right? You and Captain Hitsugaya are going to have to be a tag team of your own." Toshiro nodded, confirming that he knew the rules already. Just as Logan handed Rangiku the dress, the ground started shaking. From the corner, they saw a hulking figure about 8' tall wearing a pink leopard-spot leotard and pink pants. His hair was messy and covering his eyes. "Well I'll be damned. This must be Hugo." Chun-Li and Cammy nodded with fear. Hugo let out a mighty roar, showing that he was ready to fight.

CHAPTER 5 END

Okay, folks, the next chapter will have Abel against Hugo. Who do you think will win? Keep your eyes peeled, 'cause this is getting good.

On another note, I know I'm making Cammy a little bit OOC. I just think she's pretty cute, but she doesn't need that serious personality all the time. It doesn't really fit her.