Stealth Goes Wrong
Chapter 7
Author's Note: Enjoy! WE have been asked whether this was a SoifonxHanatarou pairing or not...We didn't really intend it to be...But, I guess it depends on how you look at it!
"Yamada!!!" Soifon stood up from her chair and shouted loudly.
"H-hai!!!" She got a reply from outside in the hall, along with a couple of crashes and thuds and cries to pain.
"Uhg..." Soifon rubbed the side of her head with her hands.
Hanatarou jumped into the room with a red face, "S-sorry!!! Um...do you need some...?"
Soifon rolled her eyes and said, "Look, today, you'll be going on a mission with me to a Rukongai forest to investigate..."
She eyed Hanatarou, "Please don't screw up."
Hanatarou nodded furiously. He knew by now that the Captain of the Second Division never said 'please'.
Hanatarou was throwing everything into a small bag to take on the mission when he realized that he was out of energy pills.
"I'll need a lot for the mission! Maybe I'll go ask Squad Four for more!"
He headed out of his small room, for the hospital.
"Oh! Hanatarou! It's so nice to see you!" Unohana turned around, beaming happily.
"Ah! Unohana-taichou!" smiled Hanatarou happily.
"Are you enjoying your time in the second division? How is Soifon-taichou?"
Isane, who was changing the bed sheets, turned slightly, her ears perking up.
Hanatarou thought for a minute.
"She's....very nice! A great captain who always thinks of her subordinates!"
Isane sweat dropped. Soifon had nearly killed...err...squished Kiyone!
Those two have issues... she thought to herself, as Hanatarou took his pills and left.
"Are you ready yet?" asked Soifon impatiently, as Hanatarou ran up to her, dragging a fat bag that was obviously not supposed to be crammed full of stuff.
"H-Hai taichou!"
She scowled. "The second division don't need large bags...they travel light, and-"
"It won't get in the way! I promise!"
"That bag will slow you down," she said pointedly.
"No! It won't! I'll keep up with you!"
Soifon raised an eyebrow, and shrugged.
"Fine."
Hiding a sneer, Soifon flash stepped away swiftly.
"Ahh!! Taichou!"
Soifon twitched, hearing him snag on several branches, cracking twigs, breaking branches, and crashing into tree trunks.
"Secret Covert Ops are supposed to move stealthily and swiftly. NOT smash into anything they see."
"S-sorry!!!"
Soifon groaned, "We're here."
They arrived in the center of a large forest.
"W-where are we..." Hanatarou whimpered. He didn't like all the shadows and silence...he glanced at Soifon...speaking of shadow and silence.
"Shut up. Be quiet, or else we'll lose the target. So make sure that you are VERY careful..."
"AH!" Hanatarou slipped over a stump and landed face first on the ground.
Soifon twitched. "Yamada, I'm warning you...."
"S-sorry..."
A few minutes passed and nothing happened.
Soifon sighed, "I guess that we're a bit early or something..." She glanced at Hanatarou, who seemed to be falling asleep, "YAMADA!!!"
She watched him yelp in his sleep.
"Ah! Please, don't hurt me! I-I'll do anything! Please don't! Ah!"
"YAMADA!" she practically screamed, trying to lower her voice. "WAKE UP!"
"H-hai Taichou!" Hanatarou bolted up, smashing his head into a low branch while trying to salute.
Soifon twitched...again.
"Alright, I want you to practice your flash step."
"Eh?"
"You heard me, GO!"
"H-hai!!"
"Shunpo to that tree over there."
Hanatarou gathered his energy and flash stepped to the tree...a couple of yards away from where he was suppose to. And he didn't flash step to a tree, he flash stepped INTO one.
"Ack!!!"
Soifon slapped her forehead and groaned.
Hanataro continued to practice, but every shunpo he attempted gave Soifon a headache. She snapped, "Stop! You're wasting your energy...and time!!"
She angrily turned her back to him and began to walk away. Man, Yamada was quite different from Omaeda, but wasn't sure which one drove her more insane.
"T-taicho?" She heard a soft voice and turned around.
"What is it now?"
"I-I'm sorry for being so useless..."
Soifon turned around to face Hanatarou. Hanatarou had a very sad look on his face, and seemed as if he would burst out crying any moment.
Soifon shook her head and sighed. No need to get him worked up and bawling during a mission...
"Look, at least...you don't eat rice crackers in the middle of a mission."
Hanatarou's face lit up and he smiled widely.
Soifon wondered why she even tried.
"T-thank you taicho!!"
Soifon tried to frown and said, "Yeah, yeah, what-"
She was off guard.
Suddenly, a bright spiritual energy lit up in the sky.
"T-taicho!!"
Soifon's eyes widened in shock, and then a blur of pain ripped through her back.
Soifon slammed through a couple trees, landing on the ground, not moving.
"TAICHOU!"
"Shut up!" Soifon tried to push herself up, cursing silently. Why hadn't she sensed the hollow? She struggle to get up, but as she did, a sharp pain streamed throughout her body. She coughed up blood and fell back onto the ground.
"Taichou!!" Hanatarou went running toward her.
"Don't drop your guard Yamada!!" Soifon managed to choke out.
RRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!
A large spiritual power arose, a power so strong that some of the trees began to crack and split.
"W-what is..." Hanatarou stuttered and turned around...A large Arrancar emerged from what was left of the trees and roared so loudly that Hanataro felt as if he ears were going to explode.
The Arrancar apparently wasn't completely formed, and was as large as a Seireitei building. Its mask was partly full, resembling the face of a lion, and its entire body was covered with scales except for part of its back, where a long black mane streaked down from. The Arrancar had claws the size of the forests trees, and each of them were dripping with a dark, green poison. In the middle of his back, a long, spiked tail showed, and as it thudded down, the ground shook and cracked.
The Arrancar let out a loud laughter.
"A-an Arrancar?" Hanatarou looked back toward Soifon, still on the ground. "Taichou! What do we..."
Soifon used all of her energy and managed to stumble to her feet. Glaring at both the Arrancar and Hanatarou, she snapped angrily, "We kill it of course...That was our mission from the start!" She sensed fear in Hanatarou's eyes, and she ordered, "Yamada! Stay back and don't get in my way."
"B-but..."
"That's an order!"
"Hai..."
Soifon drew her zanpakuto, and even though every inch of her body and mind was drowned with pain, she charged toward the Arrancar at full speed.
"HAHAH!!! Foolish SOUL REAPER!!! I'LL DEVOUR YOU ALL!!!!"
The Arrancar swing his claws at Soifon, and as they were about to slice her in half, Soifon used shunpo and flashed right behind the Arrancar..
"Sting all enemy's to death...Suzumebachi!!!"
Soifon swiftly leaped onto the Arrancar's back and stabbed it with Suzumebachi, forming a large Homonka crest right below the Arrancar's mane.
"Why you..." The Arrancar spun and threw Soifon off of his back.
Soifon scoffed and landed on a fallen tree and prepared to....
"GAH!!!!" The Arrancar roared and opened its jaws, spewing out a tsunami (yes, he is very big) of lava. Soifon widened her eyes and jumped away just in time. The lava melted across the tree, and began to spread into fire.
"Tch..." Soifon watched as the forest burst into flames.
She turned to face the Arrancar, who then again, sent a wave of fire at her, but almost as he intended to miss, the fire went zipping past Soifon; she didn't even have to dodge.
She sneered, "What's the matter, that was just..." Soifon cut herself off as she saw the Arrancar smiled cruelly.
Soifon gasped and turned around, "YAMADA!!!"
It was too late. Hanatarou's back was facing them, trying to avoid being consumed by flames, and by the time he heard his captain shout, he turned and saw a wave of fire speeding right at him.
He widened his eyes and fell back in shock, the fire was going too fast for him to escape or counter it.
Soifon didn't really know why she cared to protect Yamada from the wall of fire, but she quickly jumped back and faced toward it, "Hadou no San jyu San, SOKATSUI!!!"
A burst of blue energy crashed into the fire and scattered it away, leaving Hanatarou unscathed. For some reason, Soifon felt relieved...Until she realized something.
"Ha ha ha...you call yourself a captain? Rule number one during battle: NEVER TURN YOUR BACK AGAINST YOUR OPPONENT!!!"
Soifon turned around and saw the large Arrancar charging at her; she had no chance to get away, and so she summoned her spiritual power to her arms and used it to tried and block whatever was coming...
"TOO LATE!!!" The Arrancar used sonido and appeared behind Soifon, and send his bladed tail crashing into Soifon's side.
A blast of pain made Soifon's body limp. The force of the impact drove her into the ground, not being able to move.
Soifon groaned with pain and tried to stand up, but she could no longer feel her arms and legs...
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" The Arrancar laughed wickedly and he raised his arms.
"Taichou!!!!!" Hanatarou shouted and ran toward where Soifon's body was.
"Taichou! P-Please wake up!! Taichou!!" Hanataro shook Soifon, who was almost unconscious.
The Arrancar howled and slammed his fist against the ground...Suddenly, the ground split open, and waves of black fire shot out.
"HAHA!!!! CRUSH THEM!!!!"
"T-Taicho!" Hanataro almost cried.
"Sh-shut th-the hell...up..." Soifon tried to shout, but all that came up was a low whisper.
"I-I'm sorry!!! This is all my fault!!!" Hanatarou started shaking.
"Y-Yamada..." Soifon managed a couple more words... "Run back to the Seireitei and report for..."
"N-No...but taicho...you'll..."
Soifon would have whacked him in the face if only she could move.
"That was an order..."
"No..."
Soifon twitched, "If you don't, then I'll..."
Soifon grabbed her neck and began to cough violently, and black blood began to drip from her mouth.
"W-what the hell...."
The Arrancar walked forward to them, still laughing, "HA!! My attacks are all poison elemented, and it's a poison that you idiotic shinigami probably never seen before!! Even the gas produced by my hell fire is toxic!!!"
Suddenly, Hanatarou began to feel sick himself...
"Yamada! Go!"
Hanatarou lowered his head and said nothing.
"Yamada, did you not hear..."
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
Hanatarou drew his zanpakuto and swung it at Soifon.
"What are you....??!!"
The wound on Soifon's side began to heal, until the meter on the side sword was filled up, glowing red.
Hanatarou got up and ran, twisting and turning past the hell fire.
The forest began to burn, and soon they were completely surrounded with flames...only a small area behind the Arrancar was not yet completely on fire.
Hanatarou sprinted as fast as he could toward the opening.
Alright, if he can get past them, then he could probably get to the Seireitei...Wait a minute...
Instead of running out the opening, Hanatarou charge head on at the large Arrancar.
"S-stop!!!" Soifon tried to shout, by found that she no longer had the energy to even speak.
"YAHHHHH!!!!" Hanatarou charged at the hollow, his zanpakuto raised high
Fool!!!!! Soifon widened her eyes as she watched Hanatarou leap at the Arrancar.
"HAHA!!!! PATHETIC SOUL REAPER!!!!" The Arrancar raised his arms and thrust down straight at Hanatarou...
"YAMADA!!!!"
The Arrancar's fist slammed down, all the way, creating a large cloud of dust.
Soifon felt sick. That idiot...
"Huh?" The dust cleared, and Soifon saw that the Arrancar's claws had crashed into the ground...only the ground...
"Where did that brat..." The Arrancar then heard a shout and he turned his head back.
Soifon stared with shock and Hanatarou leaped at the Arrancar from behind.
Hanatarou had managed to get away, right behind the Arrancar, right before he was hit....the only way that he could be so fast was if he...
Flash Step.
"FILL!!! HISAGOMARU!!!!"
Hanatarou's small zanpakuto glowed brightly..
With a large swing...Hanatarou's blade ejected a wave of red energy...and it split the Arrancar right down the center.
"AHHH!!!!!" The Arrancar howled with pain and toppled over, crashing into the ground.
Hanatarou, too, almost fell to the ground, but he got up and faced Soifon's direction.
He was panting with exhaustion and when he tried to walk, he merely crashed into trees.
"T-Taichou...OW!!!"
Soifon still stared at him with shock.
Suddenly, she saw the large fallen Arrancar behind Hanatarou move again. Growling, it jumped up and shouted, "IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO KILL..."
Soifon's wound was partly healed, and she felt much less pain. She raised an eyebrow.
Soifon got to her feet and shunpo-ed behind the Arrancar.
She stabbed it once again with Suzumebachi..
"Homonka Second Strike..."
The Arrancar didn't even realize what had happen, until he saw his body turning transparent...
"NNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" The Arrancar glowed and disintegrated into the air, along with the black fire and the flames consuming the forest.
"Tch...Stupid hollow..."
Soifon suddenly felt her energy drain from he body again, as she lost her balance and fell toward the ground.
"S-Soifon Taicho!!!" Hanatarou panicked and ran to catch her.
Guess what?
He slipped. On what? Who knows...maybe his own feet.
"EEEPP!!!!" Hanatarou fell on his butt, and Soifon ended up landing on top of him.
"AHH!!!! I-I'm so sorry!!!" Hanatarou tried to help Soifon up.
"Huh?" Hanatarou heard some voices...
"Over there!!"
Soifon remained silent, and as she watched Hanatarou jumping silly and waving at a group of shinigami running toward them, she sighed shook her head.
But she couldn't resist a slight smile.
Author's Note: YAY!!! Chapter 8 should be up next over the next one or two days...Oh, and as for our other stories Waves of Laughter and Cuisine of Death, sorry that we're a bit slow on that...a little Writer' s Block. We'll work on it as soon as possible. And as for Stealth Goes Wrong, next chapter: Hospital Chaos!!!