The Ninja Duo!

The group arrived back in Karakura Town with Guy in the mix. The only one not going back was Edmond, who took a flight to the U.S. to continue his promotion of Sumo. When they got back, they saw that it was still sunset. Guy and Logan decided that it was too late for a rematch between the teams, so they went to the hotel to rest up. Logan decided to take the time to sort out who was going to fight the ninja girl Ibuki, who was going to arrive there in the morning. Since Cammy fought Cody back in Venice, she was out. He also figured that Guile would be a bit on the stiff side given his military training—not a good option to use when you're up against a ninja. Because he and Chun-Li shared the Captain's position, they figured that the Team Captains should fight one another. This just left Abel. Since the big guy utilizes Judo in his moveset, Logan and Chun-Li figured that he would be good to place against Ibuki.

Logan and Cammy wound up alone in the same hotel room again, but this time, they had Chun-Li as a roommate. He felt as if fate was playing yet another dirty trick on him because the room had one bed in it (as did the rooms he shared with Cammy back in Venice and Florence) and there were two beautiful women he was bunking with. He soon discovered that fate had an accomplice and that accomplice was Yoruichi. Like the last time, he tried to sleep on the floor, but Chun-Li and Cammy weren't having any of that. Logan and Cammy saw that something was on Chun-Li's mind. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just trying to figure out who's going to be facing Guy after Abel fights this 'Ibuki' girl," said the Interpol Officer, shocking the Assassin. He had no idea that she thought the same thing about Abel fighting the young girl. After thinking on it, she came to the conclusion that she wasn't ready to fight someone that agile just yet. "Logan, I'm still shaken up after I lost to Juri. Since you and Guy can keep up with one another, can you fight him if Abel loses? It'll break the tie unless you two come to a draw."

After a moment of staring into each other's eyes, Logan smiled. "You got it, Chun-Li," he answered with a nod. All this time, Cammy had her legs wrapped around his waist from behind and her arms on his torso, kissing him on the neck. Chun-Li got in on the fun and kissed him on the lips. Yoruichi (and Soifon) were in for a show.

(Soul Society…)

Soifon was watching the show, still heartbroken over the breakup, but still happy for all three of them. She saw the fight between Ryu and Balrog, but didn't know that they had found Ichigo and Rukia thanks to Decapre. She heard a frantic knock on the door and called for them to come in. The person knocking was Momo, who was out of breath. "C-Captain Soifon…Ichigo and Rukia…are back!" she exclaimed. Soifon got up and went over to the Squad 5 Lieutenant.

"Where are they, Momo?" the Captain asked frantically.

"They're at…Squad 4…with Captain…Kuchiki." Momo then fainted in Soifon's arms. The Stealth Force Commander picked the Lieutenant up and went to Squad 4 with her, 'Flash Stepping' all the way there. When they got there, she opened the door, sat Momo on the next bed over and got her a glass of water to drink when she woke up.

All along, Ichigo and Byakuya were looking at her like she grew a tail. "I hope she'll be alright. That's all I can do for her now," she said. She then turned to Ichigo. "Okay, Ichigo, has Captain Kuchiki filled you in on the situation?" Ichigo nodded. "Okay, then you know about S.I.N. and Shadaloo. That's good. It looks like we have two Lieutenants out cold. How's Lieutenant Kuchiki?"

"She's not doing so well," Ichigo said, concerned for his girlfriend. "I can sense her Spirit Energy coming back, but I don't know how long that'll take."

"Have you two discussed your training arrangements?"

"Yes. Kurosaki and Rukia will train with me and Renji at the mansion when Rukia wakes up," Byakuya answered, secretly disappointing Soifon. She wanted to be the one to whip them up in shape, but given that this was Byakuya, despite being on the same level of nobility now, she didn't even argue. Truth be told, she was worried about the Lieutenants, but Rukia was Byakuya's concern as well as Ichigo's. All she had to worry about was the girl who she wanted as an apprentice.

She walked over to Ichigo and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ichigo. Rukia will be fine. She just needs to rest," she said. This elicited a surprised look from the Substitute. He never thought that Soifon would be the comforting type, but then chalked it up to trying something new. In actuality, since the Feng Clan became one of the higher noble clans, she was trying new things, including establishing friendships with those she liked, possibly having Momo under her wing, and even comforting the concerned. She would still be strict with her Squad, so that part of her was still intact. "I hope Momo will be alive and kicking soon. I also hope that Logan's having fun."

(World of the Living…)

The next morning came and the two teams met on the rooftops with Ryu and Yoruichi joining them, along with Tatsuki and her crew. They saw a girl wearing the traditional ninja outfit, complete with a mask, but several strands of her long hair being shown in a ponytail. Naturally, Keigo and Chizuru thought she was cute, but Tatsuki knocked them both out. She let her mask down and winked at Logan, earning a glare from Cammy and Chun-Li. "What's going on? The name's Ibuki," she said, introducing herself. "What's your name?"

"Mine's Logan. It's nice to meet you. I'd also like for you to meet your opponent, Ibuki. Abel?" The Frenchman came up and got ready. Even though he was 6'6", he didn't exactly scare Ibuki. She did whine, though, that she didn't get to fight Cammy. Of course, Guy explained that they wouldn't have Cammy fight since she beat Cody. The two got in their fighting stances as the others gave them a little room, knowing full well what ninjas were capable of. Ibuki started the fight off rushing towards Abel, but he caught her on the shoulders, spun her around, and slammed her on the roof. Abel tried to follow that up with a crouching grab, but Ibuki jumped out of the way and threw several knives. Logan identified them as kunai.

Ibuki jumped and kicked Abel in the face, causing him to stumble backwards. Her next attack, which was a punch heading for Abel's stomach, was dodged by his 'Marseilles Roll', which he followed up with another grapple. Abel got in what looked like a starting position for a track runner when Logan, Yoruichi, Cammy, and Guy saw his sclera go black. He grabbed Ibuki, rushed her to a wall, and delivered a series of punches to the young girl. The others felt bad for her since she had a small frame. The only one who didn't feel bad was Guy. He knew that Ibuki had another trick up her sleeve should she be in a tight spot. Abel grabbed her, rolled a few feet away from the wall, and threw her on the other side of the 'ring'.

When Ibuki got up, she wiped a little blood off of her lip, showing that she was still in it. She rushed Abel with an elbow strike, a punch, and a kick off of him into the air. Logan saw that she had a lot of kunai ready. She threw the knives, which all hit Abel. She followed that up with a kick on the chest, knocking him over. "Nice work, Ibuki. Are you okay?" Guy asked.

"Yeah…Yeah, I think so," she said before walking to Logan and his team. She passed out from exhaustion in his arms, blushing in the process.

'Man, is this girl boy-crazy or something?' the Assassin thought. Chun-Li took Ibuki off of Logan while Guile got Abel. They had to make more room despite Logan having a slimmer frame than the ex-mercenary. This was on account of his speed and use of the 'Flash Step'. This was a fight both he and Guy were looking forward to. "Are you ready, Guy?" Logan asked.

"Do you have to ask? Of course I'm ready," he answered. Both fighters got in their respective fighting stances. Logan charged at Guy with a 'Flash Step' heading right for him. Guy thought he was going to attack him head-on, but the Assassin proved him wrong by stepping behind him and tripping him up. Ryu knew what Logan was doing: he was trying to gain an advantage on the Bushin-ryu Master. The trouble of it is, when it comes to Guy, it's hard to get ahead. He's proven that many times in the tournament where Ryu met most of his friends.

Guy rolled backwards to avoid a downward strike to the chest. He chained that with some quick kicks, but they were all blocked by the young Assassin. Logan countered with a series of strikes on his own. He tried a backhand punch, but Guy caught that and held his arm in a tight armlock. After punching his ribs a few times, Guy sent Logan back a few feet, only to have him recover quicker than he thought. Tatsuki and Orihime sensed Logan's Spirit Energy building up and immediately figured out what was next. "Chidori!" he exclaimed. Using the 'Flash Step', he hit the Bushin-ryu Master and sent him flying towards the wall.

The Metro City hero recovered quickly as well and bounced off the wall. Ibuki, who woke up after Logan used 'Chidori', saw that her teammate/mentor had a smirk on his face. It scared her, so she looked and saw that the Assassin had one on his face as well. Guy sped up towards Logan and saw that he was doing the same thing. The two of them kept trading hit after hit, never relenting on their assault as they were evenly matched, despite Logan's use of 'Chidori'. Finally, the two of them were separated and catching their second winds. "So tell me…why are you in this Tournament?" Guy asked. "I can tell it's not just for stopping Bison or out of sheer boredom."

Logan smirked at the question. "We're in this to get back an artifact he has called the 'Sash of Eden'," answered the Assassin. This surprised Guy since he knew what said artifact was capable of. "As for my personal reason, Vega has revenge coming his way. Rescuing Ichigo and Rukia was a mission from the Soul Society that he helped take care of."

"Then why are you after him if he helped take an item off of your list?"

"Because the bastard left him to deal with the St. Louis PD after he slammed him down in front of the building," Chun-Li answered. Suddenly, the reason behind Logan's vendetta against Vega was clear to the others. Of course, they would still back him up on it.

"Is that right? How about the next hit wins?" Guy suggested, getting a nod from Logan. The latter cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms out, emitting 'Chidori' from both hands. The sight was one to behold for Ibuki, but what he was about to do was going to shock her, Tatsuki and her crew, Guy, and Ryu as well.

Both fighters charged for one another, but Logan hit Guy with a right hook, then a left one. "Chidori…Shoryuken!" he exclaimed. The 'Chidori' based attack had more power than what Chun-Li saw last time, so she figured out that his bond with Soifon was at least partially restored. The technique sent Guy flying a few feet into the air. Once Logan landed softly, his foe fell on top of the roof with a 'thud'. "Now that's what I call a light show," said the Assassin. He and Ibuki made their way towards Guy. "Are you okay, Guy?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright," he answered. Logan and Ibuki helped him up to his feet. "You know, we need to do this again sometime. I can't believe I'm saying this, but that was a blast!"

"You said it. Maybe we'll meet up again in either Metro City or St. Louis." Guy nodded and shook hands with Logan. Ibuki did the same thing before bowing to the others and apologizing to Abel for the earlier humiliation.

"You know, I'll never be able to live that down now," Abel said as soon as the duo left.

"Relax, bud. If it makes you feel any better, Guile probably wouldn't have done any better, Chun-Li was traumatized by Juri, and Cammy beat Cody."

"I heard that!" Guile shouted. The others laughed at that. "That was a pretty sweet move. You must've been putting your training with Ken through the ringer. It'll be a good weapon against S.I.N., not to mention Bison and Shadaloo."

"Got that right, and with it, we might be able to avenge our fallen comrades as well," said Cammy. "If I recall right, Logan did say that Charlie Nash was one of his mentors as well as yours, Guile."

"That's right. And on top of that, I can finally take revenge on Bison for what he did to my father," Chun-Li added.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to travel with you guys a little further," Ryu said, surprising them. "I'd like to know a little more about Logan and Abel, hone my skills against different foes, and learn to work alongside others. That is, until we run into Ken again."

"You got it, Ryu. Yoruichi, would you like to come along?" asked Logan.

"Why wouldn't I? There's a chance we could run into Elena or your friend Makoto again. I want to see how well you do against the former. I also want to see how good Makoto's Rindo-kan style is," the Flash Goddess answered. Logan asked Tatsuki and the others, but she declined, deciding that the teams should go their separate ways and take on more opponents. Logan and the others accepted that answer, but Keigo whined as usual. For once, Chizuru conked him on the head.

(Soul Society…)

Soifon had seen the fights between Logan and Guy's team and was impressed with both. She had shown Ichigo and Byakuya the Viewing Kido, so they could watch Logan's fights as if he were on TV. Naturally, Ichigo, being a fan of martial arts, was impressed with all four fighters that participated, even though Abel lost. They heard some stirring and saw Rukia waking up. She opened her eyes and saw Ichigo smiling, happy that she was alright. The orange-headed young adult helped her in slowly sitting up so she could look around. "Ichigo, Byakuya, and Captain Soifon?" she asked. She saw the medical equipment and the Soul Reapers on the beds (she wasn't surprised that most were from Squad 11). "I must be at the Squad 4 Barracks."

"That's correct, Rukia," Byakuya confirmed. "Kurosaki and I filled each other in on the situation regarding S.I.N., including the fact that Logan had help rescuing you thanks to one of Bison's Dolls." Hearing Bison's name sent a chill down Rukia's spine. She was well aware of what Bison could do, so she wondered what his reason was for sending Decapre. "I can assure you, it wasn't Bison who sent the Doll. The Spanish assailant Vega was the one who sent her. Apparently, he knows that Logan's out for payback for leaving him to deal with the horrible law enforcement officials in his city. Luckily, the officer he's with now is much more pleasant to be around."

"St. Louis' cops are that corrupt? Then why is he stationed there instead of someplace where he wouldn't have so many headaches?"

"I think it's got something to do with his dad," Ichigo answered. "He did say that he was trying to find out more about him. That den of his that was destroyed by Yukon McSleez must've belonged to him until he died 20 years ago. Logan told me what he knew about his dad back when he and Cloak were helping us out with the Hollow situation. He even said he picked up a few traits from him, including the common love for motorcycles and the whole Assassin's Guild thing. If I had to guess, I'd say that his dad was just about like mine."

"You mean in the fact that you and Isshin are both Soul Reapers, am I right?" Soifon asked.

"That's right. In fact, I bet that if his dad had the chance, he'd train Logan and raise him to run the den himself."

"Maybe we need to modify your training, Ichigo." Soifon's suggestion caught him off guard. "I just remembered that you're part-Quincy in addition to having Soul Reaper blood in you. I figured that Isshin should handle the Soul Reaper part. After all, you two need to catch up anyways. As for the Quincy training, either Ryuken or Uryu should suffice."

"We'll take both of our suggestions to the next Captain's meeting," Byakuya said before turning to his sister. "Rukia, you and Kurosaki should come along too. As of Rojuro Ortobashi's death, he has been replaced by Ikkaku Madarame with Yumichika Ayasegawa as his 3rd Seat. As for Captain Muguruma, he has been succeeded by his Lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi. Marechiyo Omaeda has been fired from his job as Captain Soifon's Lieutenant, leaving her without one and the Omaeda Clan being demoted and replaced by the Feng family as a Noble Clan."

The circumstances surprised both of them. They knew that they had to adjust to this change, including not seeing Ikkaku and Yumichika at Squad 11. "I'm only going to presume that Ikkaku is whipping the rest of his Squad into shape, am I right?" Ichigo asked. Byakuya nodded in response. "Then it looks like it'll be a long day of catch-up."

CHAPTER 14 END

Okay, sorry that took so long. I got started on another project called 'The Search for Pandora'. Same Bleach characters, but also uses the roster from Street Fighter X Tekken. Logan's in it as well, but much to his chagrin, he's teamed up with Soifon. Who knows how they'll get along in that?

So Ibuki managed to tie the match between Guy's and Logan's teams by beating Abel, but Logan broke that tie by using the 'Chidori Shoryuken' on Guy to take him down. And with Rukia conscious again, it's time to make a decision on who should train her and Ichigo to get them back in shape, aside from their Zanpakuto Spirits Zangetsu and Sode no Shirayuki. Stay tuned to find out more.