The Rescue Begins!
The Soul Society was quiet for the most part, something that didn't set right with the other Soul Reapers after the Patrol Corp. staged their coup d'état. The most heavily guarded areas were the Kuchiki and Shihoin compounds, as well as the Omaeda compound. The Kuchiki Clan's Senkaimon opened up and Logan, Byakuya, and Yoruichi stepped out. They knew that the Patrol Corp. would try an ambush. Byakuya gave Logan the signal after he and Yoruichi covered their mouths and he went to the Omaeda palace, but not without tossing a smoke bomb in the air.
Yoruichi and Byakuya made quick work of the goons, as they were flushed out by the smoke. Byakuya signaled to Yoruichi that she should go to the Shihoin compound and clear that out. The Kuchiki Clan Head noticed one that was still conscious, so he grabbed him before he could get away. "Why are you on my property?" he asked with a threatening glare.
"I-I-It was Lieutenant Omaeda. H-H-He placed us here," answered the frightened goon.
"I know that much. Get your cohorts and clear out before Omaeda's pathetic little army loses a few numbers." The poor trooper wasted no time in gathering up his cohorts and getting them as far away from the Kuchiki compound as possible. "What a waste. What was Central 46 thinking?" he said to himself.
Yoruichi made it to her compound and saw that it was still as heavily guarded as she left it. The Flash Goddess decided on a more stealthy approach, having gotten a bomb full of knockout gas from Logan as well. Once again, she set the range and covered her mouth. Once she tossed it, the bomb went off, knocking out every one that was within the gas' range. Yoruichi knew that she still had some to deal with, but at least she'd have an easier time. 'This will be a piece of cake,' she thought.
She made her way to the roofs ready to fight. The guards saw her and made the mistake of charging at her, each one getting knocked out. "That was a nice warmup. I better clean house and guard the place until Logan gets this taken care of."
Speaking of Logan, he was making his way towards the Omaeda compound at a good pace, all while still concerned about Soifon, as well as his team in the World of the Living. He knew that Chun-Li had what it takes to lead the team, but that still didn't keep him from being worried. The Assassin had a job to do, though, and that was to deal with Omaeda and put a stop to this wedding. He got to the compound and saw Renji and Momo crouching behind some rocks. The three of them knew that this was where the wedding was taking place. Logan couldn't wait to crash it, and maybe knock a few skulls around while he was at it.
The two Lieutenants heard someone Flash Stepping behind them, so they looked and saw their friend. "Logan, you're here!" Momo silently exclaimed, happily hugging the Assassin.
"What's the situation here, Renji?" he asked.
"The situation is that Omaeda isn't letting us in. He has a grudge against those poorer than his clan. In fact, it's reason's like them that the Soul Society is the way it is," Renji explained, giving obvious info on his fellow Lieutenant.
"Why am I not surprised? Hold on a sec. I'll get in there." As Logan took a look at the place, he saw that a couple of Patrol Corp. goons were guarding a wooden bridge. He went around the other side of the rock and saw that for all of Omaeda's bragging, the highest building was three stories tall, and that was the chapel/main house. Scaling the cliff, he shimmied over to the underside of the bridge and used a grapple blade to hook on to the other side without anyone noticing. The Assassin continued his scaling from there, making his way to a lightly guarded area.
Logan looked around and saw no one in sight, so he jumped and hung on to the roof where he saw a small window that opens outward. When the guards passed, he got on the roof and quickly went through the window before anyone spotted him. 'It's not 3 o'clock yet. I wonder how Chun-Li and the others are doing,' he thought to himself. 'I can't worry about that right now. I'll worry about it when I get to the chapel.' The 24-year-old saw that no one was inside of the room he was above, which made things a lot easier for him. 'One thing I learned is that it's better to start at the bottom and work your way up.'
He looked around and found a hatch that led to the underground tunnels. Logan remembered that the Omaeda Clan never used the tunnels because they deemed it unnecessary. This was another pin he was putting on their reputation. When he got under the chapel, the only exit was outside of it. He looked around and saw that none of the guards were smart enough to look (no surprise). He quietly got out and placed the hatch where it was before scaling the walls of the chapel to the top, taking care not to alert any of the guards. He got to the top and waited until 3 o'clock, noting that it was 2:30 now. 'I wonder if this 'Arno Dorian' had it harder than I did just now. Then again, I wouldn't be shocked if he did,' he mused to himself in thought.
(The World of the Living…)
Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Abel were trying to hit up enough challengers before Logan got back from the Soul Society, but so far, the only one with any luck was Cammy with her fight against Cody. Guile was actually so anxious to fight, he'd go up against Rolento again. All of a sudden, they heard a scream coming from one of the alleys, so they went to check it out. When they got there, they saw someone lying on the floor unconscious. That someone was Tatsuki Arisawa, the childhood friend of Ichigo Kurosaki. Chun-Li remembered Logan telling her about Ichigo's friends, including the fact that wherever Tatsuki was, Orihime Inoue wasn't too far off.
"Cammy," she said, getting the Brit's attention. "I want you to look for an orange-headed girl with a bubbly personality. She's this young woman's best friend. Guile, will you get her to safety?" Both of the soldiers nodded, knowing that Tatsuki's life was in danger and, most likely, so was Orihime's. Abel knew to stay put. 'Logan did say that there was a good chance Tatsuki was participating. It looks like he was right,' she thought. Not too far from the scene was the reason why Chun-Li had Cammy and Guile look for Orihime and get her and Tatsuki out of here. Her next opponent wore a pair of white Tae-Kwon-Do pants, a top with the straps connecting in the back to look like a spider, and her hair had spirals in it.
This woman irked Chun-Li and Cammy to no end for different reasons. "Juri Han," the Interpol Officer said, her teeth seething. This earned a smirk from the other woman.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? How've you been, Officer? Are you still mad that you got humiliated last time?" Juri asked in a rhetorical manner. "I know about your little crew, China girl. You seem to be down one member. Where is he?"
"Abel, I need you to clear out everyone in the area. This could get ugly."
"Yes ma'am," Abel said in acknowledgement.
"Aw, and just when I was going to have people watching me wipe the floor with you. You really want to be a goody two-shoes, don't you?" The two women got ready to fight and as soon as Abel cleared everyone out, Chun-Li rushed towards Juri with an intense hatred in her eyes. She did a Spinning Bird Kick, which Juri easily dodged. The Tae-Kwon-Do practitioner kicked her foe hard in the stomach and sent her back. She followed up by doing a crescent kick that sent purple chi towards the Interpol Officer. Chun-Li dodged the attack and got close enough to Juri. "Kikoken!" she exclaimed. The blast was easily dodged by the criminal.
Juri did a chi-enhanced backwards cartwheel and hit Chun-Li in the chin, knocking her down. "You're still a softy. Why am I not surprised? You've been a pushover since we've met. Now that guy that was with you and your crew, I bet he could put up a fight. You couldn't, the Doll couldn't, and the Major barely could. I don't even have to worry about your ex-merc. Why don't you give up and cry to daddy?" She saw that Chun-Li was angered at the statement. She was insulted not only because of her dad being mentioned, but also because she figured out that Juri would want a piece of Logan. "Aw, that's so cute. Did I strike a nerve? Don't tell me you two are dating and you don't want to share. I guess I'll take him. He seems like the type who would want a strong woman anyways," Juri said, insulting the officer even more.
Chun-Li, in a fit of rage, attacked Juri with her Thousand-Leg Kick, actually landing a series of hits on her. This ticked Juri off and made her realize that Chun-Li was no pushover like she originally thought. Her left eye glowed, signaling the activation of the Feng Shui Engine that was used to substitute the one that was missing. Juri sent Chun-Li into the air with a series of aerial kicks and then back to the ground with another one. Afterwards, she got to the ground first and held Chun-Li by her back with her foot. In a teasing manner, she caressed her face. "That felt good, didn't it?" she asked before slamming Chun-Li to the ground. "And this one is for those kicks!" She lifted a foot before slamming it hard onto Chun-Li's leg, breaking the limb as well and causing the Interpol Officer to scream in pain. "See you around, Officer." She then left, laughing at Chun-Li's misery.
(Soul Society…)
Logan sensed that something happened to Chun-Li. He could also pick up that it was an evil Spiritual Signature, an indication that his Spirit Sense was coming back to him. This was a good thing in his opinion, but he knew he wouldn't be able to track down Bison because his Psycho Power overrode that. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 5 minutes 'til 3. He got to the main room and saw (from the rafters) Kisuke and a few of the Captains of the 13 Court Guard Squads. He even saw Omaeda in a traditional garb as well. He checked around for a few minutes until he saw his main issue: Soifon's father Wu-Shen Feng.
Logan knew he made his wife walk Soifon down the aisle because the two got on each other's nerves. Well, that was a friendly way of putting it. Pretty soon, the doors opened and Soifon and her mother walked in, followed by two Patrol Corp. guards. The Assassin would've shaken his head, but he was mesmerized by what Soifon was wearing. She had on a white floral pattern wedding kimono with a veil over her face. To him, she was a beautiful as she was when he had last seen her. Soon, the minister began the ceremonies. Logan looked and saw that Kisuke was the only one who knew he was there, hence the smile on his face.
"Dearly beloved," the minister began. "We are gathered here today to honor the sanctity of this holy union between Marechiyo Omaeda and Shaolin Feng, to celebrate the sacred unity of their clans, and to promise to help them in times of need. Do you, Marechiyo Omaeda take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to cherish her in the good times and the bad?"
"I do," Omaeda said, making Logan sick.
"And do you, Shaolin Feng, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to be faithful to him in sickness and in health?"
"I don't," Soifon said in seething anger.
"Nonsense!" shouted Wu-Shen. "She does." The minister nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well then, if anyone out there has any reason as to why these two shouldn't be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." No sooner than he said that, Logan got the drop on the two Patrol Corp. guards who made the mistake of standing in the aisle.
"I object," he simply stated. The Captains, especially Soifon, were happy to see him, though everyone was surprised except for Kisuke. The Squad 2 Captain immediately rushed over and hugged him, which he happily returned. "It's good to see you again, Soifon."
"I had no idea you were coming. Why did you come here?" she asked, crying tears of joy.
"I came here to show that I care about you, and I want what's best for you. I know for a fact that your idiotic, lazy-ass, self-centered, rice cake-munching, butt-ugly Lieutenant is not it!" he answered, insulting Omaeda in the process.
"Hey, I heard that! Crush him, Gegetsuburi!" Omaeda shouted. His Zanpakuto turned into the familiar mace-on-a-chain form. "You're going to pay for breaking in here. This is my home after…" he began, only to get interrupted with a punch to the gut, courtesy of his rival. The chain added extra damage as well. Omaeda doubled over and was knocked out. When Logan turned around, he saw that Soifon and Wu-Shen have gone missing.
He went outside and discovered that Wu-Shen took to the roofs with Soifon in tow. The Assassin chased after him outside of the compound, the Patrol Corp. having been taken care of by the Captains, Renji, and Momo. The chase lasted until Wu-Shen reached the courtyard, followed by Logan. "Stop right there, Washburn!" Wu-Shen shouted, stopping Logan in his tracks. The reason was that Wu-Shen had his blade to Soifon's neck, something else that made him hate this man even more. The Assassin clenched his fist and grit his teeth. "Would you look at that? He does have a heart! Why are you after me then? I'm not on your list of contracts!"
Logan narrowed his eyes at the old man. "No, but you are on a short list of old geezers that piss me off to no end! That also puts you on my personal hit list!" Logan explained.
"But it doesn't have to be that way! We can get off on a better foot! Marry my daughter and I'll accept you into the clan as my son! Do we have a deal?" Soifon was shaking her head and silently telling Logan not to agree to it.
"Why should I agree to that? You're holding your own daughter hostage! Only a coward would resort to using such a tactic against his enemies!" Logan said, making Wu-Shen angry. "I had no respect for you from the beginning, Wu-Shen! Now you'll have to do something really honorable to earn it! How about you release Soifon and fight me like a man?"
"Very well then, if you, by some small chance win this fight, you will have just saved Shaolin! If not, she dies with you!" shouted Wu-Shen. Logan gave Soifon a look that told her that he was sorry for this.
"That's something I won't pass up! I still need to find Ichigo and Rukia, so I don't plan on losing this fight!" the Assassin said, getting his sword out. Wu-Shen shoved Soifon out of the way and charged at Logan with his sword in hand. Logan blocked the strike and countered with a kick, which sent the seasoned swordsman back. This time, Logan attacked with a downwards strike, which was parried. This put Logan off balance and allowed Wu-Shen to strike him with his sword many times. By the time that was done, Logan had several cuts on his arms and torso.
Logan tried to trip up the veteran, but Wu-Shen dodged it and went to the rooftops. The old man did a sign that the 24-year-old recognized right away, having been hit by it when he was trained by Byakuya. The Kido was 'Hado no. 33: Sokatsui' and he knew that it was Rukia's favorite Kido spell. He dodged the spell and got Soifon to a hiding spot before reengaging his foe in combat. Using his Super Speed, he ran along the walls ready to strike at Wu-Shen. "Bakudo no. 1: Sai!" the old man shouted. Logan was only caught in the Kido for a brief amount of time.
"Chidori Overboost!" Logan exclaimed, breaking out of the Kido. The technique also gave him a bit of a speed boost, enough to dodge Wu-Shen's tactics. As the two clashed swords, Logan was at a disadvantage, having been hit multiple times by chained attacks. He went for a slash, but the old man dodged it and Flash Stepped behind him. The Assassin turned around as his foe was about to cut him. He backed away, but not far enough as Wu-Shen gave him a shallow cut across the eyes, causing Logan to have temporary blindness. 'Damn. Now I have to rely on my Spirit Sense,' he thought.
Wu-Shen continued his assault, surprised that Logan was still keeping up. Soifon was just as shocked until she remembered his special abilities. Logan realized that swordplay alone wouldn't beat Soifon's father, as he was a master swordsman himself. The next strike that was coming for him, the martial artist blocked with his sword and chained it with a quick punch to the chest. After crossing blades again, Logan kicked Wu-Shen back before sticking his sword in the ground and charging Chidori through his hands. "Chidori…" he said, punching the old man in the face twice before going with the familiar uppercut. "…Shoryuken!" he finished. This 'Chidori Shoryuken' was by far his best one, as he knew it was from the Spiritual Energy in the Soul Society as well as the restoration of his bond with Soifon.
Logan knew that even after that, Wu-Shen wouldn't be knocked out, so he quickly grabbed his sword and charged his energy through it as well. The sword was held in a manner where he would be going for a stab. "Chidori Javelin!" The name surprised Soifon, as she saw Logan use it on a Hollow in St. Louis. The attack was a giant electrical spear heading straight for Wu-Shen, essentially a variation of his favorite 'Chidori Blade' technique. It made contact and slammed him against the wall, the blade of his now-broken Zanpakuto not too far from him.
Wu-Shen and Soifon were both shocked that Logan had won. The elder man was a master swordsman after all, so it was a shock to see when the other Soul Reapers arrived as well. "T-That's…i-impossible…he…won," Wu-Shen muttered. He saw Logan and Soifon approach him as the Soul Reapers looked upon them, joined by Byakuya and Yoruichi. Logan's eyesight returned after a while. "Well, are you happy? You had to use your martial arts and street fighting to beat me, Washburn. How about you end it right here and now? That way, Shaolin and her mother will be free of the misery I've caused them."
Logan merely shook his head. "You're pitiful. You think that just because you caused your clan all that grief in the past two months and you hated me ever since I first stepped into Soul Society, I'm going to kill you?" he asked, shocking Wu-Shen. "You may have pissed me off ever since we met, but that doesn't mean I would kill you for that."
"…I see…Well I have to admit something to you two. Come closer." Logan and Soifon leaned in, the former being skeptical. "Shaolin, you know about my disease that I contracted recently. It's the same one that killed Hisana Kuchiki, but not to the same degree. I knew that I was going to pass away soon, but I wanted to have one last battle. I also wanted to make you my successor as the head of the Feng clan. Sadly, the elders wanted you to get married. I had no other choice."
The news shocked Soifon badly. "Father, I never knew about this being the fault of the elders. I'm so sorry," she said while crying. Logan looked at her and remembered another difference between her and Chun-Li. Having lost her own father, Chun-Li vowed never to cry. He had to make sure Soifon didn't do the same thing. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? We could've done something about it instead of arguing back and forth. We-We could've appealed to Lady Yoruichi or Captain Kuchiki."
"I know that now. I was blind until now. Speaking of which, even with this being the decision of the elders, I still hated Logan. It's alright now. I got my last battle in and I'm glad for it, even if I lost. Shaolin, when you take over as the head of the clan, don't listen to the elders. And Logan," Wu-Shen said, catching his former enemy's attention. "I'm sorry I blinded you, but a part of me was desperate for a win. I thought about it now and I remembered your Spirit Sense. I shouldn't have underestimated you."
"Don't worry about it, Wu-Shen. You may have been a real pain in the neck for me, but I never hated you. I'm saving that for Shadaloo," he said, reminding the two Feng clan members. Wu-Shen started a coughing fit, scaring the young ones, so Logan took a capsule out. "Here, Wu-Shen, this will help ease the pain."
After taking the capsule, the coughing settled down, allowing him to breathe easier. "Thank you, my boy. It's too late for me, though. Take care, and don't forget to kick some ass in that tournament for my clan," he said before passing away. The tears in Soifon's eyes got worse as she held on to Logan for comfort.
"I guess, in the end, he died a good man," Kyoraku said, coming up behind the two. "Wu-Shen only wanted what was best for his clan. Since he made Captain Soifon the head of the clan, I guess he got it in the end."
Logan nodded until he felt a hand over his eyes. "Relax and breathe. It's me, Isane," the Squad 4 Lieutenant said. Logan realized that she was only doing a healing Kido, so he calmed down. When Isane removed her hand, the cut on his eyes was gone. His vision also cleared up even more.
"Now I believe Yoruichi and I have some bad news to tell you guys," Logan said.
CHAPTER 10 END
Whew! Now that was a long chapter! If you've played Street Fighter IV, you'd know who the other terrorist organization is besides Shadaloo. If you haven't played that, but you played the Street Fighter III series, I'll tell you right up front, it's not the Illuminati. I don't plan on bringing in SFIII characters unless they're on the USFIV roster. As for Bleach characters, yes, Tatsuki's in the tournament. Orihime's just in her support group, as are Keigo, Mizurio, and (surprisingly) Chizuru.
So that's the end of the 'Logan and Soifon' arc. The next chapter will have Logan and Yoruichi telling the Captains about the situation and Logan teaming up with a roaming legend against Yun and Yang in Karakura Town. Keep your eyes peeled.