The boy Kisuke had entrusted to her was not at all ready for what lay ahead of him. She mentally cursed her friend as she ran towards the tower with a deep frown on her face. They boy had trained for several days and thought he could take on Kuchiki Byakuya. She had to admit, the poor kid had guts. She jumped towards the bridge just as Byakuya called forth his shikai. The white cloth she extended wrapped around the sword tightly. She smiled at her old friend as she crouched in front of him. Her eyes searched for a familiar reiatsu she felt behind her. Jushiro smiled at her widely. Same as always. She snatched her cloth away from Byakuya's sword and moved towards the boy.
When Byakuya blocked her way, she was not surprised; she had had an inkling it would not be as easy as she'd hoped. She'd always wanted him to be someone great as he deserved, but she would cut his time short if he got in the way of her plans. She leapt into the air with a smirk and dodged his attack. "You'll never catch me, Little Byakuya." She knew how much he'd grown to love the nickname. Her laughter rang in the air as she evaded another one of his attacks. She moved quickly to a place behind him.
He smirked and brought his sword down on her. "You'll never escape me with such slow moves."
Yoruichi clutched the boy over her shoulder and chuckled as she stood behind him. She jumped onto the railing of the bridge. "And you will never catch me with such slow moves." She knew he might follow them and that would lead to her having to defeat him. More than anything, she wanted to avoid fights with any of her old friends. Her gold eyes darted to Jushiro standing placidly away from them with a mesmerized gaze on his face; he was probably overjoyed to see her and didn't care whether she took the boy or not. She looked at the other two fools standing on the bridge and then back to Jushiro. A silent agreement passed between them; he would not let harm come to them. "Give me three days and then you can fight him. Three days."
"You have three days then." His voice more distant and cold than it had ever been towards her.
She hoped he wasn't jealous over a little boy coming between them. She would always love him and remember the sweet times they had together when she resided there, but she had to help Kisuke save the world. Hadn't Byakuya learned by now that her soul burned brightest when it was next to Kisuke's? She wanted to look back at him before she moved, but she didn't. She simply pushed all lingering thoughts of him away.
She jumped into the air and soared down to the ground where she landed and ran ahead. When she made it to the secret cave she and Kisuke had trained so often when they were younger, she placed her new student on the ground so she could catch her breath. Disappointment settled in her mind as she thought about how she'd gotten slower over the past century. Damn Kisuke. She laughed as she adjusted the boy's body position.
When he achieved bankai, she helped him train using it. He fought her in a way that was sloppy and filled with desperation. She taught him how to control his emotion and the extra speed he'd attained by helping him master shunpo. Yoruichi knew it still might not be enough to defeat Byakuya, but she had hopes it would be. She marveled at the site of the redhead boy when he broke into their sanctuary. At first she wanted to rip him to shreds, but he convinced her he was there only to practice with his own bankai. She nodded and stood away from them with a blank expression on her face. She'd watched well over three men achieve their bankai already, what was one more? She had as much time as needed to watch the two boys train so they could save someone they held dear.
Yoruichi smiled when Ichigo and Renji began fighting one another playfully. She knew how love could make people abandon even the most promising things in life. For anyone who wanted to know why she had chosen to help the boy in front of her, she would tell him or her one word that meant the entire world to her. Love.
A/N: Yoruichi and Kisuke is the most admirable pairing ever.