Chapter Seven: To Cage a Wolf
Disclaimer: Bleach and LadyHawke and other related entities are owned, (TM) and © by Tite Kubo and Paramount respectively.
XX
A week had passed since the incident with the trapper and the inn. In that week the trio had made good time in their travels towards Seireitei, but Ichigo still had reservations about the Captain's plan, but nothing he said would really change her mind.
He knew that what she had planned was tantamount to suicide, and this was his last chance to convince her to change her mind for they would be within Seireitei's boundaries in a day.
Ichigo was lost. He didn't know what to do anymore, but it looked like he wouldn't have to be the one to try this time. A rustling from some nearby bushes had Suì-Fēng quickly rising up from her seat on a nearby rock, sword at the ready for any incoming threat.
Ichigo had a hunting knife raised as well. He would defend the Captain and princess with his life if need be.
"Suì-Fēng!" A familiar voice boomed, "I need you to listen to me for once in your life!" Kisuke came stumbling out from the foliage, a look of frustrated anger upon his face. It was something Ichigo would not have been able to picture on the man's face if he had not seen it for himself.
"In two days time you can face the king with Yoruichi by your side and break the curse!" Kisuke exclaimed as he stopped before the short woman, his frame towering over her form. Yet Suì-Fēng did not flinch in the least as he glared down at her.
"Why wait two days when I will be in the Seireitei tomorrow? One way or another there will finally be an ending to this pitiful tale." Suì-Fēng snapped back. Her eyes flashing with restrained anger.
"If what you say is true Captain, then what could one more day hurt?" Ichigo said while trying to appear as non confrontational as possible, but by the hurt that flashed through her eyes he knew that she felt betrayed by his words.
"You too Ichigo? It matters because I am finally here! I have the Seireitei within my sights and that false bastard of a king just a day way from death by my blade! Something I have waited for ten years to accomplish!" Suì-Fēng's words got louder with each sentence. She then turned away from the two men and marched off towards Suzumebachi. Sheathing her sword within the scabbard at the stallion's side she mounted her steed.
"I warned you Ichigo. Stay here with the idiot. I am done with you both!"
Ichigo rushed to the Captain's side.
"No, I'm going with you. How will you get inside the castle without me?" He questioned the stubborn woman.
"I will get in without your help." She chuckled humorlessly, nudging Suzumebachi's sides she road off leaving Ichigo behind. His face showing nothing but concern and his mind playing out cruel fates that he knew were awaiting the Captain.
A hand landed on his shoulder, "Thank you for trying Ichigo." Ichigo shrugged off the hand and looked down at the ground in frustration. His expression then shifted to anger and his head came up to look at the sky.
"AAGHHH! I should have known this would have happened!" He screamed up at the heavens his fists clenched at his sides. He turned to glare at Kisuke.
"What are we going to do now?" He asked his eyes bright with unshed tears. Kisuke looked off towards where Suì-Fēng rode off and gave a sigh.
"Ichigo…what do you know about caging wolves?"
XX
Yoruichi stood by Suzumebachi searching the satchels when Ichigo finally came upon them that night. She turned to look at him when she heard him enter the campsite.
"Good to see you Carrot-Top, I was wondering where you had wandered off to. Anyway have you seen my knife? I could have sworn it was in this saddle bag yesterday." Yoruichi turned back to the bad to once again rummage through it hoping to find the missing cutlery.
"Yoruichi." Ichigo called out solemnly.
"I know I put the damn thing in here, so where is it?" Yoruichi mumbled in frustration not hearing Ichigo call out her name.
"Yoruichi," He said a bit louder. The princess turned to him a curious expression on her face.
"Yoruichi this…this may be our last evening together." Ichigo said with a heavy heart. Yoruichi looked at the young man in confusion. She turned away from what she was doing to give him her undivided attention.
"Why do you say that Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked with a tilt of her head. Ichigo sighed, and decided he needed to be honest with Yoruichi.
"You remember what I told you at the inn about the curse?" He asked her. Yoruichi nodded her head in affirmative.
"What I didn't tell you is that Suì-Fēng hasn't believed a word of it. She isn't going back to break the curse…she's going back to kill the King, and I'm afraid that she plans to get herself killed in the process." Ichigo closed his eyes to block out the look of sorrow on Yoruichi's face. He continued though. "But we have a plan to stop her, and maybe get her to change her mind, and try to break the curse instead."
"Who is 'we', Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked quietly. Ichigo didn't answer, but instead turned to the side and let Kisuke step out of the shadows.
XX
The plan was simple. Ichigo and Urahara would dig a hole and then lay leaves and twigs over it to make a makeshift shelter. Then they would lure Suì-Fēng out to them. That part would be left up to Yoruichi.
"Ichigo! Do you have to keep punching me in the gut!?"
Now if only they could actually dig a hole properly.
"I wouldn't be punching you anywhere if you could dig a damned hole," Ichigo growled, "We need to get it wider. Suì-Fēng won't fit in here in her wolf form."
Urahara stopped digging to take a moment a breather. He looked at their work and sighed.
"Right we better hurry I can see Yoruichi has succeeded in getting Suì-Fēng's attention. I can see her! Damn it this will have to do Ichigo." Urahara exclaimed at he watched the large wolf make her way over to them. They both made their way out of the hole and started to cover the top.
"My lady we're just finishing up over here, once the Captain gets here all you have to do is lead her into the makeshift shelter." He turned back to the shelter and started to help Urahara put twigs over the hole.
"Hurry up, she's crossing the ice!" Yoruichi said as she watched Suì-Fēng trot over the frozen lake they had set up camp at. There was a faint sound of cracking, and all of a sudden the ice under Suì-Fēng's feet broke apart and she fell through.
"SUI-FENG!" Yoruichi screamed as she watched her lover go under. She rushed onto the ice with no concern for her own safety, and ignoring Ichigo's shout to stop. The ice around her as she got closer to the struggling wolf started to crack under her weight. Yoruichi quickly got onto her belly to evenly distribute her weight over the unstable ice. Her hands reached out and grabbed at Suì-Fēng's body. The wolf whimpering as she fought the currents from dragging her under.
"Ichigo help me! She can't get out!" Yoruichi screamed over her shoulder as she struggled to keep Suì-Fēng's head above the water. "I can't…Ichigo hurry!" the princess yelled out in desperation.
"I'm coming, hold on Yoruichi!" Ichigo shouted as he tied the rope he had grabbed the moment he had seen Suì-Fēng fall through the ice around Suzumebachi's saddle.
"Hurry Ichigo she's getting heavy!" Yoruichi screamed her grip starting to loosen.
"Go Ichigo I'll make sure this end is secured!" Urahara exclaimed as he took over the securing of the rope. Ichigo didn't waste any more time after that and ran over to Yoruichi.
"She's slipping!" Yoruichi yelled in desperation.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Ichigo huffed as he crawled over the unstable ice next to the struggling woman. He grabbed hold of the struggling wolf, and started to loop the rope around Suì-Fēng.
"Yoruichi move back!" Ichigo ordered as he secured the tope around Suì-Fēng. Yoruichi wanted to refuse, but now was not the time so she did as she was told. It was not even a moment after that when the ice around Ichigo buckled under his weight and he went into the lake.
"Ichigo, No!" Yoruichi tried to run back over to them but a warning shout from Urahara kept her at bay.
"Kisuke they're drowning!" Yoruichi shouted as she watched helplessly as the young man and wolf struggled.
"Hold on, hold on Ichigo!" Urahara shouted as he started to pull on the rope with Suzumebachi's help. Slowly both the young man and wolf came up and out over the ice. Once they were clear of the danger zone, Yoruichi rushed over to them, Urahara following after her.
Yoruichi quickly reached Suì-Fēng and untied to the rope from around the whimpering wolf.
"It's alright Suì-Fēng, I've got you…I've got you." She whispered into Suì-Fēng's ear. She looked over to Ichigo who was being tended to by Urahara. She noticed the claw marks littering the blonde's chest and winced in sympathy.
"Thank you Ichigo…and I'm sorry…so, so sorry." She said as she stood up and gingerly hugged him in thanks, pulling away when it got a little awkward. She then turned to Urahara with a sad sigh.
"Kisuke…our lives are in your hands now." She turned away and started to lead both man and beast back towards their camp to get warmed up.
XX
The light of day slowly crept over the frozen landscape and crawled its way over the covered shelter made the night before. Inside the makeshift shelter light peeked through in random pockets touching dark fur which slowly started to shift and recede into pale skin. The beastly feature was soon replaced with human features and as the last vestiges of the transformation completed Suì-Fēng was human once again.
Yoruichi watched in disbelief as her lover slowly opened her eyes, her human eyes, to look up into Yoruichi's own. Slowly as awareness came to her Suì-Fēng's own eyes widened. It couldn't be.
Slowly she reached her hand up to cup the smooth tanned skin of her lover's cheek. Tears sprung to both their eyes as they realized this was no dream, but this new reality could not last. As the sun rose higher and more light streamed into their shelter the curse once again separated them.
With a tearful scream Yoruichi's transformation once again stole her away from Suì-Fēng.
"No…" Suì-Fēng whispered brokenly while watching the spot her lover had been not even a moment ago with empty eyes.
XX
Late morning came around and Suì-Fēng finally left the hole she and Yoruichi had shared for that short bittersweet moment. She made her way to Suzumebachi to check on her steed, and noticed her family sword was missing. She turned to the two men who were huddled around a cart securing items to it.
She made her way over to them.
"Where is my sword Ichigo?" She asked as she stopped before the two. Ichigo looked up with shame. He hated what he was about to do, but the stubborn woman would never listen to them and this was the only way to keep her from killing herself.
"It's gone…It fell through the ice last night as we were crossing the lake." Ichigo winced as he witnessed the Captain's eyes narrow in rage.
"Damn you! That sword was the last bit of honor I had left. I needed it to kill Aizen!" She shouted as she advanced on the young man. Ichigo stood his ground.
"There is no mission of revenge now!" He yelled as he looked down upon the Captain, "But there is a chance at life now, a new life with her!" He exclaimed as he pointed at Yoruichi who was perched on a branch.
"Listen to the boy Suì-Fēng." Urahara spoke up from behind Ichigo. Suì-Fēng growled and shoved Ichigo hard. He stumbled back and fell to the ground.
"Dammit!" She roared into the sky her hands clenched into tight fists. Ichigo glared up at the woman. He had enough and he would not hold his tongue.
"Go ahead, get yourself killed! Kill her too! You've never cared about her as much as you did yourself anyway!" Ichigo struggled to get back onto his feet with the help of Urahara. His chest blazing in pain from the marks Suì-Fēng had left the night before. His shirt was loose enough that it slipped a bit to reveal his wounds.
"What is that?" Suì-Fēng asked in shock as she noticed the cuts over the young man's chest.
"It happened last night…when he saved you life." Urahara said as he allowed Ichigo to lean onto his shoulder. Suì-Fēng looked up at Ichigo. Her gaze softened as she finally gave in as she realized she was being a stubborn fool.
"I'm sorry Ichigo," She said as she ran her hand through her hair, "Now let me show you idiots how to cage a wolf."
With those words the three made the short trek to the dying fire for a bit of breakfast.
XX
I will be editing this later on for mistakes.
Thank You
-K