The Second Half

"You called?" Soifon asked after a little while, now standing in front of the commander of the Gotei Juusantai, the darker woman standing at attention next to her.

"Soifon-taichou, I have called you and Shihouin here for an important mission." The older man said, turning to a wall with a large map of the whole of Soul Society marked across it. "There have been reports of suspicious activity in this region." He pointed at a red spot on the map. "We're told that it's a rogue Shinigami, but I'm skeptical of the reports. Use discretion in this, we don't want… whoever or whatever it is to become hostile. Dismissed." He finished, slamming his cane against the ground, echoing across the room.

Soifon and Yoruichi nodded, turning on heel as soon as they were dismissed. "So what do you think it is?" Yoruichi asked as they walked leisurely through the first squad's barracks. The younger Captain shrugged, not feeling right about this certain mission, it probably had something to do with the dreams she'd been having.

"I hope it will be nothing." She said after a long moment, they were almost back to her own squad now. Yoruichi looked over her lover, frowning slightly.

"Are you alright?" the Shihouin asked, her golden eyes filled with worry for her younger friend.

"Of course," Soifon said, scowling lightly, looking away. Anytime she was lying about how she was feeling she'd always get very defensive. "Why wouldn't I be?" she turned on her girlfriend who shrugged.

"I'm sorry," The older woman sighed, crossing her arms as they entered the captain's room.

"Don't be." Soifon cut off Yoruichi's apology, slightly edgy. She didn't like how the atmosphere of today had started off, or where it was going.

The Shihouin flinched at her girlfriend's tone, but laid off. "So we're going to west Rukongai?" she said, getting an affirmative nod from the Chinese woman. Yoruichi nodded back and after Soifon had given momentary command of her troops to her third seat, followed the young woman to west Rukongai, worried still about her attitude.

It wasn't long until the pair got there. It was rather quiet, much too quiet for the Shihouin's taste. There was a stagnant feel to the air, and even the wind seemed reluctant to enter the district. The two didn't see anything at the moment, most of the people around here stayed in doors due to the threat, though nosey eyes peeked from shaded blinds.

"Split up, do a quick search of the area and return here." Soifon ordered her once-superior before flashing off in a different direction. Yoruichi watched the younger woman move away for a moment before flashing in the opposite direction.

They canvassed for two hours before returning to the place where they started, neither catching sight of this "threat". "Nothing," Yoruichi breathed, taking a seat on the apex of the roof the two were standing on. "We aren't even sure if this is a real claim or not." She complained quietly to herself, though she knew she shouldn't. It was her job to follow orders, after all.

"Perhaps it really is nothing." Soifon said after a long moment of scanning the horizon with her keen silvery eyes, sitting down soon after with a relieved sigh.

"Wait," Yoruichi breathed, grabbing her Captain's leg lightly with her slender hand, looking at a single Shinigami making his way to the middle of the district. "Stay here, I'll go talk to him, if things start to get bad I trust you to strike from behind." The Shihouin proposed and the Chinese woman nodded, standing silently.

It was only a blink of the eye, an effortless Shunpo to appear next to the man. "You there, what squad are you under?" She asked, giving the man a skeptical eye, he looked to be in a pathetic state.

"S-squad… five…" The man panted, leaning over the well, looking down into the water before reaching for the crank, hoping to retrieve the pail. Yoruichi continued to scrutinize him, walking in a slow semi-circle around him.

"I see… And why are you out her—" she was cut off as the man turned and lunged toward her, his eyes soulless black holes on his face, an evil grin across his lips.

"Shihouin!" The man called, taking out his sword and pointing it towards the woman. Surprised, but hardly caught off guard, the Shihouin easily blocked the man's attack with her own Zanpakuto. She parried for moments longer before going on the offensive.

"Negeiki Keisatsu." Whispered on the wind and in an impossible movement the small woman who was behind the rogue Shinigami appeared in front of him, between her princess and her attacker. The soulless eyes widened, surprised before his body erupted into a plume of purple sparkles, and drifted off into the cycle of incarnation. "Hmph" Soifon scoffed, looking at her girlfriend with a displeased glare. "Hardly a threat."

Yoruichi smiled lightly, storing her hardly used blade in its sheath. "Great job, Soifon." The older woman said, taking a small step forward before a burning sensation seared in her chest, and it became slightly difficult to take a deep breath. That's when she saw her girlfriend's wide eyes looking at her, shocked. She looked down to see the glimmering silver of steel pierced through the right side of her body, before a chuckling sounded behind her.

"No," Soifon breathed as the sword slid out and her girlfriend slumped slightly forward, the sword was mildly poisoned, and the Shihouin couldn't move. Soifon quickly grabbed the falling woman and used a Shunpo to distance herself from the threat, narrow eyes searching her surroundings, yet all she saw at the moment was a sword, what looked like a Zanpakuto suspended in mid air.

"I have to thank you, Soifon…" A voice sounded as orange spirit particles began to form around the hilt of the sword, slowly becoming more corporeal, the color of the hand a familiar tan. The gathering of spirit particles seemed to hasten and soon an entire arm was visible, a familiar orange jacket adorning it before it became the right side of the body, and very soon an entire person. "You released me from that disgusting creature." The person said, her voice velvety, dangerous, so unlike whom it sounded like.

The young Captain stared wide-eyed at the person who stood before her. "Y-yoruichi…" She breathed before her attention diverted to the ragged coughing coming from the woman in her arms. Blood was staining her Haori from where the woman was pressed up against her, the dark woman's lips panted with crimson.

"You might want to help her, Little Bee." The other Yoruichi teased, flipping the sword in her hands with a disinterested gaze. Soifon looked back up in time to see the other Yoruichi disappear, "Or you might want to forget about her, and worry about yourself." The dark Yoruichi breathed, suddenly behind the two, much too stunned to fully function, Soifon turned only in time for Yoruichi to be ripped from her arms, thrown through two buildings, being stopped by a tree, and to feel a familiar hand close roughly around her throat, her back slamming against the trunk of a tree on the opposite side of where the light Yoruichi was thrown.

With a heavy cough Soifon lifted her hands to wrap around the darker woman's forearm, trying to pry the strong limb from her. "W-who are you…?" she managed, one eye closing as she struggled to breathe.

"I don't think you should be worrying about that." The Shihouin said, her other index playfully tapping the younger woman's nose. Soifon glared, struggling under the unimaginable weight. "I'm surprised you can't fight back… has this Shihouin never gone all-out against you?" the woman with chartreuse eyes giggled.

"Y-you… are not… Yoruichi…" The younger woman stammered, her breathing coming in what little gasps she could manage. This changed the older woman's expression, though she did not know why. Her hand loosened slightly for only a moment, but this momentary distraction allowed the Chinese woman her freedom. She disappeared from under the other Yoruichi and reappeared by her princess's side.

With an angry growl the dark Shihouin flew towards her target, hand outstretched to deal death to her "little bee". But something stopped her, momentarily confused, the dark Shihouin immediately masked it, falling back into a less hostile posture. "Aw, you're no fun, little bee." She breathed, glaring at the other Yoruichi before she disappeared.

Soifon struggled to stand, picking up her princess in her arms, "Stay with me…" she pleaded quietly, having trouble breathing regularly herself as she leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Yoruichi's stained crimson lips before she flashed off hastily toward the fourth division, hoping that she wouldn't be too late.

AN: Chapter two is done. It's slightly shorter than the last, to which I apologize. I thought this might be a good stopping point for now. At the moment, I'm not exactly sure where I want to go with this, so it might be another while before I update again. I apologize in advanced, I hope you enjoyed it.

NOTE: STARTING NEXT CHAPTER DARK YORUICHI'S NAME WILL BE TYPED IN ITALICS, LIGHT YORUICHI WILL REMAIN: YORUICHI. (Just to clear things up)

~Bishimimou