Soi Fon's Secret Mission Chapter 3, a bleach fanfic

Bleach

Soi Fon's Secret Mission

Author: Xgamerkf

Genre: Romance

Pairing(s): Soi Fon/Solo, Yoruichi/Soi Fon

Rating: Mature – Strong Sexual Content, Mild Language

Author Comments: Well, having now read the "Turn Back The Pendulum" chapters of the manga, it's pretty obvious that I mucked the hell out of that little recounting of Yoruichi's last chapter. The rest of her scene still works well enough, but damn, I could not have been further off with that 'last hours' bit. Ugh…just disregard her little flashback until I can rewrite it so it actually fits.

On another note, for those curious as to when this all takes place, I've decided that sometime during the Arrancar Arc – lets say fairly early on in Ichigo's Vizard training – would be a good timeframe for this story. If that doesn't mean anything to you, I recommend catching up on the story via either the subs or the manga like I did. Otherwise…belated spoiler warning, I guess? Anyway, I apologize for the wait, at usual. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 3

Soi Fon paced anxiously back-and-forth afcross the hallway just outside of Head-Captain Yamamoto's office, her mind running rampant over the contents of the letter that she'd received earlier and now held crumpled tightly in her hand.

It couldn't be true, it just couldn't be. It didn't make any sense. Why would Lady Yoruichi be working for him? It had to be some kind of trick…a forged set of orders planted intended to draw her out into a trap or something. That had to be it…at least, that's what she was hoping for. Of course, while that scenario would mean that her faith in Yoruichi had not been misplaced, it would also mean that someone had managed to sneak into Seireitei and plant the document without anyone's knowledge, which was potentially a far more serious problem – albeit one she selfishly preferred.

She had been waiting out here for almost a full minute now to address the situation with the Head-Captain, however, and she was becoming impatient. She'd told his lieutenant that it was urgent! What the hell was taking so damn long?!

On cue, Squad 1 Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe emerged from the room a moment later to grant her access.

"Captain Soi Fon, the Head-Captain will see y-gah!" he began before Soi interrupted, shoving him off to one side as she hurried passed him.

"Forgive my intrusion, Head-Captain, but something of vital importance has come up," the Special Forces commander spoke with a serious tone as she made her way to the center of the large, open room. "I discovered a set of orders on my office desk about ten minutes ago containing your official seal and signature. After considering the contents, however, it is clear that this document is a forgery, indicating a severe breach in secur-"

"The orders are genuine," Yamamoto said plainly, cutting the younger captain's briefing short.

Soi Fon recoiled slightly at the old man's words, her body tensing as a knot formed in the back of her throat. The letter…is genuine? It really was from the Head-Captain? But…that would mean that…that…

"No…no, that's not possible," she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Mm? Is there a problem with your orders?"

"Yes, sir! There…there must me some mistake!" she replied vehemently as she took a step forward, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice. "What this information suggests…it can't be true! Lady Yoruichi would never join that traitor, Aizen! It…it must have been somebody else! An imposter! Somebody in a gigai that looked like her! Lady Yoruichi would never betray-"

"Enough!" Yamamoto interjected in a forceful, but unperturbed manner. "Control yourself, Captain. I expect better from someone of your station."

"Y-Yes, Head-Captain. Forgive me, I was out of line," Soi Fon said, quickly bowing her head in embarrassment of her own conduct.

The Head-Captain leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands together in front of his face. He paused briefly, considering the situation. He hadn't expected the young woman to confront him like this; she was usually always content with just following the orders given to her. Although it certainly did make sense, considering… Nothing for it, though, he'd just have to deal with it as best he could.

"I understand that you may still harbor feelings of loyalty for your former commander," the old man began in a level tone, "but you must not allow your judgment to become clouded in this matter. Or need I remind you that she has, indeed, betrayed this institution once before…"

Soi Fon cringed at the allusion. No, that was certainly not something she needed to be reminded of.

"The fact is, intelligence reports that Yoruichi Shihouin was seen a few days ago in the company of what appeared to be an Arrancar, although the identity of the Arrancar and the nature of whatever talks took place between them is unknown. It is possible that their exchange was not a friendly one, but the fact that Miss Shihouin failed to report this incident herself makes the situation look very suspicious. The resulting implications of that cannot be ignored.

"That being said, make no mistake, Miss Shihouin has not yet been accused of anything. Your mission is one of reconnaissance first and foremost, and you are not to engage Miss Shihouin unless you find yourself with no other options. Stealth is of the utmost importance on this mission, so you must go alone. Simply follow her and watch her for as long as you deem necessary, taking note of any suspicious activity, and then report back with your findings. I will then decide how to proceed from there. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Head-Captain," Soi Fon replied hesitantly as she absorbed the information.

"Dismissed."

With that, the petite woman bowed her head once more before wheeling around and starting off towards the door at a brisk pace, exiting a moment later and leaving the Head-Captain to his duties.

As Lieutenant Sasakibe saw her to the exit, Soi Fon remained lost in the sea of thoughts churning around in her head. She could still hardly believe that this assignment was real, but there was no disputing it; the Head-Captain himself had issued the order. If nothing else, though, she felt that she could take solace in the fact that the Head-Captain didn't seem to want to believe it either, otherwise she may well have been going on a very different kind of mission right now.

Meanwhile, back in the Division 1 office, Head-Captain Yamamoto eased back in his chair and let out a brief sigh, feeling mostly satisfied with how everything had played out.

"So, how did I do?" he asked to the empty room.

"Not bad…not bad at all," a female voice mused from just outside his office, its owner jumping down from her hiding spot and coming in through the open wall. The woman casually made her way over to the Head-Captain's desk, her usual mischievous grin present on her lips. "It was very believable. For a second there, I was half-expecting you to outright order her to capture me and bring me in for questioning."

"You owe me for this, Yoruichi Shihouin," Yamamoto said in a less-than-cheerful manner.

"Aw, come on," Yoruichi whined, crossing her arms. "Can't this just have been a nice favor for a former comrade? I've recently offered my assistance to you guys a couple of times, if you recall. And with much more predominant matters, I might add."

"Lest you forget, your efforts in aiding Soul Society against the Bounts and your assistance during the incident with Sosuke Aizen are the only reasons I allow you free passage into Seireitei to begin with. On top of that, this 'nice favor' is keeping one of my best officers from her duties for a rather significant period of time. A hefty inconvenience considering the current state of affairs."

"Oh, you're no fun," she scoffed, a playful smile spreading across her lips.

Despite his stern appearance, Yoruichi could tell that the Head-Captain's comments – although entirely true and things of which she was very much aware; another price for leaving a hundred years ago – were given as little more than good-natured banter, as were her own. Or so she chose to believe, anyway…

"Thanks again for the help, old man. I promise I'll make it up to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a little bee to catch."

With a brief wave, the violet-haired woman turned and quickly flash stepped back out through the open wall, leaving the Head-Captain to his work and disappearing into the city on the way to her destination. She'd have to hurry if she was going to get into position out in West Rukongai before Soi Fon got there.

Yamamoto huffed lightly to himself as the woman left. "Kids…" he muttered, returning to his paperwork.

XXXXXXXXXX

Under the mid-afternoon sun, in a small rural town in the 3rd District of West Rukongai, the streets were abuzz with day-to-day activity as the citizens roamed the markets. Children frolicked and played amongst the empty alleyways and plots of land, laughing and bickering alike as they went about their games. The combined sounds filled the air with a dull roar that radiated for nearly a mile in every direction.

Out on the edge of the town, however, where the small, slender captain of Squad 2 stood perched up in the branches of a large willow tree, things were nothing but silent and still.

Soi Fon had arrived at the outskirts of the village about a half-hour ago when she sensed Yoruichi's spirit energy, confirming that the older woman was indeed present there just as her orders indicated she would be. She'd initially considered entering the town to try and pinpoint the woman's exact location, but decided against it. The place would surely be very active at this time of day, and Soul Reapers tended to draw a lot of attention from the other souls whenever they were around. Perusing the cramped streets and buildings, even while sticking to the rooftops, would simply put her at too high a risk of being seen.

The only sensible option was to lie in wait somewhere nearby for her target to leave the village, and then resume her mission from there, which was exactly where Soi Fon found herself now.

But as she waited, the details surrounding this assignment – from the specifics given in the official orders to the Head-Captain's words themselves – continued to gnaw away at her thoughts.

Something just didn't feel right. For one thing, why was this issue not brought up in the captains meeting earlier this morning, or even in the days before? The possibility that Lady Yoruichi – and by association that bastard Urahara – could somehow be working with Aizen seemed like something the other captain's should know about. It didn't make sense to keep them in the dark about this, especially since Urahara had become one of Soul Society's primary contacts in the world of the living.

What really puzzled her, though, was that, as head of the Special Forces, why was this the first she'd heard of any kind of surveillance being done on Lady Yoruichi? None of her specialized units were ever commissioned for such an operation, and she'd heard no mention of her former mentor in any of the intelligence reports that had crossed her desk this past week, from her own division or otherwise. The only explanation was that they were reporting to Head-Captain Yamamoto directly…but who were "they", and what reason did the Head-Captain have to send them after Yoruichi in the first place?

Soi Fon paused briefly and shook her head, letting out a quiet sigh as she refocused her thoughts. She couldn't afford to be distracted by this now. She was sure the Head-Captain would answer any questions she had during debriefing, but for now she had to stay focused on the task at hand…on absolving Lady Yoruichi of any wrongdoing.

The petite woman shifted into a more comfortable position in the tree as she waited, keeping her concentration fixated on her target's spirit energy. She didn't have to wait long, however, with only a few minutes passing by before she felt the other woman beginning to move amongst the crowds, slowing making her way in her general direction. Another few short minutes passed before she finally spotted Yoruichi emerging from the mass of buildings, walking casually down the roadway away from the village.

The young captain looked on intently as her target continued down the road towards the woods, passing by beneath the tree from which she was watching.

This was the moment of truth. Her former mistress was now just within fifty meters of her position. If she went unnoticed, her mission could continue as planned with the knowledge that she could remain hidden, even at this proximity. If not…

Suddenly, Soi Fon's thoughts were put on hold when saw the violet-haired woman stop in her tracks and begin to slowly look around.

She froze instantly, not daring to so much as breathe lest the slightest hint of motion give her away. A feeling of deja vu washed over her. It felt like that brief moment five days ago at the lagoon in Seireitei forest all over again. Her entire body grew tense, and her blood chilled at the possibility of having somehow been discovered…only this time, unfortunately, fleeing was not an option.

Unaware of her former protégé's plight, Yoruichi stood idly on the road with her arms crossed loosely over her abdomen, passing glances back and forth at the few various trees and undergrowth that lined the dirt path. She furrowed her brow, quieting her mind and focusing her thoughts as she scanned the surrounding area for Soi's spirit energy. After a few seconds, a small sense of confusion came over her at what she found, or rather what she didn't find.

It was odd. She had been waiting in that village as planned for nearly an hour now, giving the young captain plenty of time to locate her and take up a surveillance position somewhere nearby.

So then, where was she?

There was no doubt in Yoruichi's mind that Soi Fon was here somewhere, but she couldn't sense her at all. It was no wonder she hadn't sensed the younger woman the other day at the lagoon, her Little Bee had become just as adept at masking her spirit energy as she herself had ever been. It was quickly becoming clear that pulling this off might turn out to be trickier than she originally thought it'd be. Even so, Yoruichi couldn't help but smile – nothing less from the head of Special Forces.

"That's my girl…" she mused, relaxing her arms down by her side before resuming her casual saunter towards the woods.

As the dark-skinned woman continued down the dirt path, Soi Fon slowly released her held breath, careful to remain silent as a mild sense of relief bubbled up inside her.

The most important step was over. She'd done it. She'd managed to successfully keep her presence hidden at short range, cementing the knowledge that she should have no trouble maintaining her surveillance throughout the remainder of the mission. However, there was one thought that still worried her, and it had to do with the other woman's suspicious behavior just now.

Why was Lady Yoruichi acting that way? It was as if she was checking the area to make sure no one was following her, but what reason did she have to be so cautious? She didn't have anything to hide. She hadn't done anything wrong…right?

The thought was erased from the captain's mind as quickly as it had entered, however, when she noticed her target kneel down briefly and then leap into the air, landing softly on a branch at the edge of the tree line before disappearing into the sea of leaves.

Soi Fon delayed momentarily to allow some distance to accumulate between herself and her former mentor. The cushion would help keep the sound of her movements from reaching the other woman target, as well as allow her more time to react should she need to stop or quickly change direction. And because Yoruichi wasn't attempting to conceal her spirit energy, there was no reason to get any closer than she needed to while on the move. The further away she could be, the better.

After a few seconds, now satisfied with the amount of distance between them, Soi Fon sprang out from her hiding spot and zipped off into the woods, beginning her pursuit.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yoruichi dashed through the woodlands of West Rukongai at a moderate pace, jumping from branch to branch and weaving herself over, under and around the thick array of tree limbs as she navigated the overgrowth. She'd been zigzagging the area around Koifushi Mountain for almost ten minutes attempting to buy some time until she could figure out what to do about her persisting dilemma.

She had hoped to be able to pick up on Soi Fon's spirit energy by now, but that otherwise basic task was proving to be far more difficult than she'd expected. She knew the younger woman was following her, but without knowing precisely where she was it would be impossible to advance to the final stages of her plan. She needed to find a way to get her to reveal her presence, but how?

The best methods she could think of to make Soi slip up were to either set traps as she went along, or to try more elaborate maneuvers to make her have to work harder to keep up. The problem was that either one of those options would reveal the fact that she knew she was being followed, and that would ruin everything. And besides, the chance of something like that even working on Soi Fon at this point was slim-to-none, so her efforts would likely be wasted anyway. She needed another avenue.

The violet-haired woman thought hard over the situation as she continued her path through the woods.

She was going about this the wrong way. Although it wounded her pride as the former head of Special Forces slightly, not being able to sense the young commander in that way wasn't important. No, it was something else entirely that had begun pulling at her heartstrings.

Why couldn't she feel her?

Soi Fon was hiding her spirit energy right now, of course, but…that wasn't the same thing. She couldn't feel the slender woman's presence at all. Somehow, she had always been able to feel her presence before – it was how she always used to know when the girl was out training late at night at their secluded sakura grove. She couldn't explain it back then, but in the years following, and again now after all this time, it all made sense to her.

Yoruichi's head sank slightly in remembrance, a solemn expression creeping across her face. She missed that feeling now. She wanted it back…she wanted to feel her Little Bee again…

The Shihouin princess slowed her movement as she passed the next couple of branches before landing softly on the third, stopping there and standing with her right arm extended to brace herself against the trunk of the tree. She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, closing her eyes and emptying her thoughts of anything that didn't involve her would-be love. She stared deeply at the blackness of the inside of her eyelids, watching as image after image from the past appeared before her, each one supplying a swell of warmth to her heart.

She saw the sparkle in Soi's eyes when she was introduced into her personal guard. She saw the joy on her face after the completion of their first assignment together. She saw strength and determination that radiated from her slender form as she trained, and the elated smile that followed when she learned a new technique. She also saw the pure, untainted happiness in the girl's eyes as she gazed up at them in the moonlight from where her head lie, resting in her lap beneath the sakura trees.

As the images passed, Yoruichi continued to stare into the dark recesses of her mind, waiting. What she was waiting for, exactly, she didn't know. She was just waiting…for a voice, for a feeling, for something to happen, anything! She stood waiting with abated breath for what felt like an eternity, but nothing came.

Her heart ached. There was an emptiness there that she hadn't been aware of before, a hole in her heart that had been artificially plugged for a long time. That hole was now crying out, desperate to be filled. Crying out for the one that could finally fill that void.

"Soi Fon…" she whispered as her eyes began to water, her voice strained with a sense of yearning.

A moment later, the tension coursing through her body was suddenly released as a faint chime rang out in her mind, resonating from the very depths of her soul. Then, she saw it, a tiny iridescent glow flickering to life amidst the expansive abyss, the bluish-colored flame at its origin burning brighter and brighter with each passing second like a newly lit candle. It was a sight she remembered fondly, and one that she was overjoyed to bear witness to again.

The violet-haired woman smiled as an old familiar feeling began to swell up inside of her, and she was forced to stifle an emotional laugh as a joy-filled tear ran down her cheek. She could feel her. As impossible as it seemed, she could feel her, hiding somewhere in the underbrush a little over a hundred meters back. The feeling was soft, softer than anything she'd ever felt, but it was clearly there.

She did it…she actually did it.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Yoruichi quickly regained her composure and refocused her thoughts, ready to bring her plan to fruition. She paused briefly to estimate her current location in the area, disoriented slightly after this unexpected trek through the forest. She then turned to her left and started off again through the trees, en route to her original destination at Koifushi Mountain.