Captain-Kitty: Hello and welcome back to Cat vs. Wolf!
Akara: man this story is taking forever
Captain-Kitty: And yet there's more fun to be had! *hugs Akara*
Akara: *pats back awkwardly* yeah I know, let's get this over with
Captain-Kitty: I do not own bleach or its wonderful characters
Akara: Just me cuz I'm that awesome
Yoruichi: I resent that statement
Captain-Kitty: Be nice she's saving your behind!
Akara: please enjoy
It had been nearly three hours since Akara had taken Yoruichi and Soifon onto her back and ran like a woman on a mission, which she was, during the second hour, somehow Yoruichi had managed to fall asleep. Akara didn't mind, she didn't need a migraine at the moment. She had enough to worry about. Akara did not slow down her pace at all during the run despite the fact her body was begging and protesting against her movements. Akara glanced up towards the sky; the sun was slightly towards the right, which meant that the early afternoon had come. This was good in Akara's opinion, if she kept her pace up, they would be back in the Seireitei and in the Fourth Division by late evening.
Akara was starting to recognize the area around her; they were fast approaching the Twin Rivers. Akara knew that the river spirit was probably around so as she approached a newly fallen tree, she leapt over it, but at the same time she let out a weak, raspy, yet pleading howl, in hopes of gaining the giant fish's attention.
"Please, let him have heard me" the wolf begged in her head as she landed the simple jump. She didn't want to swim with people on her back. Ever since that horrible incident with Soifon all those years ago, Akara has had a fear of swimming with any kind of person. But now she had two people with her, and not only that, one was in dire need of help and the other one, though not as bad, needed help also.
"Please have heard me" Akara thought again as she made it within six yards of the first river. The closer she got, the more afraid Akara became.
"Come on, please" she practically shouted in her head as she got closer to the water. Then the river, without warning, began to glow brightly and take form. Thankfully the afternoon sun outshined the light otherwise Akara would've been blinded. But instead of the river taking the shape of the river spirit, it took shape of a simple arch bridge. Akara was a bit skeptical at first, but once she started running onto the bridge her doubts vanished as quickly as they came. The liquid bridge felt completely solid, which was surprising, but somewhat nice at the same time. You know the feeling you get when you brush your hand over a soft yet firm material and you get a sense of relaxation? That's exactly how Akara felt running over the bridge.
"Nice texture" Akara thought absentmindedly before almost slipping from not watching her surroundings. She righted herself quickly though before continuing on. She looked back to see if Yoruichi and Soifon were still asleep, they were and Akara saw something rather interesting. She mentally sighed before turning back and focusing on her goal.
"Jeez my paws hurt like crazy" Akara muttered to herself as she made it across the first river. Her paws were soaked, but at least the blood was washing off. But they were revealing some gruesome marks from the battles prior to this early morning. Akara noticed the next river and saw that it had become a different type of bridge. And from the way it parted through the middle Akara was guessing it was a draw bridge.
"Nice variety I guess" Akara mumbled as she picked up her speed a bit to cross the now parting bride.
"I'm not paying to cross" Akara joked aloud hoping the river spirit would hear her before jumping over the quarter parted bridge. Thankfully it was close enough for her to skid land, even though she ended up sliding around like Bambi when he was playing on the ice with his rabbit friend Thumper.
"Crap, the breaks aren't working" Akara thought frantically as she viciously clawed the water trying to slow herself down, but since she had extra weight it wasn't working to well. So she slid around, a lot, she slid sideways, backwards and in complete circles. She was quickly losing control of herself, and the end of the liquid crossover was coming quickly.
"Its official, I hate bridges" Akara yelled as she closed her eyes and waited for impact.
"Stupid dog" Yoruichi shrieked as she suddenly leapt in front of the wolf, leaving Soifon on Akara's back. She put her back against the wolf's chest and began trying to slow her down digging her heels into the water, causing a dual water wall to start coming out. Akara kept clawing the ground, but she could feel herself beginning to turn around again.
"That's it" she thought as a light bulb went off in her head. She bit the back of Yoruichi's shirt and lifted her like a wolf would her pup and set her back on her back before shakily coordinating herself around. Then she gouged the water again. She had seen this kind of thing before, she couldn't remember where, but it could definitely help. The draw bridge was gradually getting higher and higher. And after about five minutes of clawing the bridge Akara finally managed to stop. She could feel Yoruichi clutching her fur, and it was hurting.
"Ow, ow! Ease up on the grip would ya" Akara growled through gritted teeth. But this only made Yoruichi grip her fur harder.
"Oh, so you want me to plummet to my death, that's just wonderful" Yoruichi shouted angrily as she tightened her hold again and adjusted Soifon, but when Akara suddenly lost grip in her hind legs and scrambled to get them secure again, Yoruichi had let Soifon go and she began to fall. Time froze for a moment, before the water suddenly branched out and caught Soifon, much to Yoruichi's amazement. The water moved its way up quickly and placed the now soaked Captain back into Yoruichi's arm before disappearing back into the rest of the water.
"Whoa" was all Yoruichi thought as she wrapped her legs and Akara, who suddenly got an idea.
"I'm gonna jump" Akara declared as she turned her head to look at the ground.
"What" Yoruichi said shocked.
"You can't do that" Yoruichi said with a voice that would be almost impossible to argue with. But Akara was the almost.
"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure we aren't going to die, seeing as I have balance, and I've jumped from higher distances and lived" Akara said. And before Yoruichi could say anything Akara let go of the wall and twisted herself around so she could dive down to the ground.
"You're crazy" Yoruichi shouted as she clung to Soifon and Akara. The wolf merely rolled her eyes before going back to concentrate on landing properly. She glared in concentration as she got closer and closer. Yoruichi was yelling profanities at her and about her as Akara worked on her train of thought.
"Ok, so when I get close enough, I'll straighten out my body, then when I get to about a foot from the ground, I'll bend my legs to soften the impact" Akara thought accordingly. And just as her thoughts were finished, she executed them, but the landing was shaky.
"Ok, mental note, always plan ahead" Akara thought as she winced. She had hit her funny bone on the landing, and the feeling wasn't a pleasant one. She often wondered why they called it a funny bone, when clearly it wasn't funny when it got hit. Who ever invented the word was a cruel person. After adjusting herself to the ground and shaking the water off, much to Yoruichi's displeasure, Akara ran again. They weren't that far now. The only obstacle they had left to face was the Shadow Forest. Then it they would be heading for the home stretch.
About half an hour later, Yoruichi had managed to drive Akara's sanity out the door. She had spent the last twenty minutes singing "Ninety nine bottles of milk on the wall", and she was only on forty two, since she lost count after awhile. Now Akara just wanted her to shut up before she decided to stick her head in the ground and scream.
"Why won't you shut up" Akara yelled over her shoulder glaring at the singing cat. Yoruichi gave her a smirk with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"You know what, I don't wanna sing this song anymore" Yoruichi stated. Akara nearly jumped for joy, but since she was running the best she could do was bound happily. But her happiness was cut short after a while.
"I think I'll sing something better" she sang out. Akara wanted to cry, this trip was going to be horrible.
"Cats, I'm a kitty cat, and I dance, dance, dance" Yoruichi started and Akara howled in annoyance, that was worse than the bottle song. Another twenty minutes passed and Akara was starting to worry. Her legs were starting to shake as she ran and her vision was lightly hazy. She shook her head vigorously. She didn't have time for this, so she picked up her speed, (If that's possible) and charged through her surroundings. The sudden change in pace made Yoruichi stop singing. She tried to say something, but the roaring wind drowned her out.
"I have to make it before sun down" Akara decided determinedly as her vision went totally black for a moment.
(Yoruichi's P.O.V)
I was currently singing a song I heard in the World of the Living. Kisuke told me that sometimes people would sing it when they got bored on road trips, but I did for a different reason. Now don't go telling everyone this but I'm afraid for my life right now. Well not so much mine, but Soifon, who was still knocked out from her endeavor at the stronghold. She had wounds that would have killed an inexperienced shinigami right then and there, but Soifon had gone through so much more than she should have. And now her life may be ending. Every twenty minutes, I have been checking Little Bee's vitals, and so far I'm starting to not being to feel it. I have never been this afraid in my life.
"Come on Little Bee, you'll make it, we're almost home" I whispered assuringly to her, even though she won't answer. I felt my eyes well up, but I quickly wiped them away. I had to be strong, for both of us.
"You'll be ok, I promise" I whispered as I brushed some stray hairs away from her face. Then I hugged her, but for a brief second, I felt my skin crawl. I felt her now wetted blood slide against my skin, and it did not feel nice. Suddenly I remembered something, I was supposed to annoying my ride.
"I think I'll sing a different song" I sang out. I couldn't see Akara's expression but if I had, I bet I would be laughing.
"Cats, I'm a kitty cat, and I dance, dance, dance" but I didn't get to finish the first line because Akara had starting howling. This made me feel a tiny bit better. I leaned forward and rested against Soi, seeing as she was in front of me. Her back was an awful sight; every part of me wished that Akara and I could have found her sooner. But I'm just happy we got her back. I suddenly felt myself get ripped out of thoughts by Akara's changed speed. She was going faster than before. And once again, don't tell anybody this, but I'm actually kind of worried.
(End P.O.V)
The conscious duo didn't speak after Yoruichi sang her song six times, and Akara truly appreciated the silence. That is, until they made it to the Shadowed Forest. It was then Akara decided to slow down to a regular run.
"Yoruichi, it's going to be dark in there and I won't be able to see, so I need you to be my eyes again" Akara said warily as she entered the mouth of the ever silent forest. The silence was deafening, but occasionally Yoruichi would break the silence by directing Akara to avoid branches, fallen trees and things like that. Suddenly the sound of a branch breaking rang out followed by a loud yelp.
"I thought you said move right and duck" Akara growled as she shook off the wooden shards off of her face. Yoruichi guffawed,
"No, I said left and duck, you zoned out, so you deserved it" Yoruichi snorted. Akara whipped her tail to the back of Yoruichi's head.
"Ouch" Yoruichi yelled expecting an apology from the wolf.
"I'm not apologizing" Akara snickered as she jumped over a medium sized fallen tree. Even though it was dark, Akara could feel Yoruichi's glare on the back of her head, which just made her laugh.
"You're a jerk, you stupid mutt" Yoruichi said through gritted teeth. Akara scoffed as she wove through a bunch of inconveniently placed trees, with Yoruichi's reluctant help.
"Wow, a jerk and a stupid mutt, man your insults must make everybody cry" Akara said with amused sarcasm.
"China Bee has called me worse than that your gonna have to do a better job with your insults" Akara said. But before Yoruichi could say anything to retaliate, Akara suddenly stopped, even though she said she wouldn't, no matter what.
"Why did you stop, we don't have time for this" Yoruichi said. But Akara hissed at her to be quiet. Then a horrible cry rang out through the darkened area, making Akara's fur rise. The cry was unmistakable. There was a hollow nearby.
"We can't fight a hollow" Akara whispered loud enough so Yoruichi could hear.
"You think I don't know that, but we're covered in blood, it's going to find us if we don't keep moving" Yoruichi whispered into the darkness.
"Usually under circumstances like this, I'd say we separate and regroup somewhere hidden, but seeing as one is unconscious, we can't exactly do that" Akara thought to herself. She couldn't risk a fight, her legs were starting to hurt, but that wasn't important right now. Then an idea sparked in her mind.
"Yoruichi, let's go to the trees and go on" Akara whispered quietly, then as quickly as possible she crouched low to the ground and shot up to the nearest tree.
"Ok, you're going to have to carry Soifon until we get out of here" Akara said before changing back to her original form. Yoruichi by that time had Soifon on her back and landed next to her. Yoruichi saw that Akara's legs were shaking, it didn't surprise too much, Akara had been running without stopping, other than the bridge and realizing the hollow was around, for hours carrying the weight of two full grown people.
"Alright, let's move" Yoruichi said before taking a running start to jump to the next tree, while Akara mimicked her. The Hollow's cry still resonated through the area, while the duo tried to escape. Their guard was extremely high right now; they didn't know where the Hollow was; only its cry could help them even consider its location. Akara was worried. Sometimes when it howled, it seemed to be closer and other times it seemed farther.
"I don't understand where is it" Akara said stopping quietly once again on a thick branch which was exposed to the open, not that she or anything else could see. Yoruichi stopped from what Akara could tell, close to her.
"I don't know, but we can't worry about it, if we stop now, there's a bigger chance of it finding us" Yoruichi said pushing Akara so she would move. Akara glanced to her side for a second, but immediately regretted it. About maybe twenty feet away, a large pair of yellow eyes glared back at her. Her body told her to run, run as fast as possible, but she had two others to watch out for, so she focused her gaze back in front of her and slowed down a bit to keep up with Yoruichi.
"Yoruichi, I need you to stay calm" Akara said not moving her eyes away. Yoruichi looked at her questioningly. Suddenly she picked up on the tension Akara was emanating.
"Let's keep moving and pretend that we didn't see it, and then we'll see what goes on from there" Akara said before landing on a branch pushing off and picking up her speed. Yoruichi was right behind her. And for awhile, the tension stayed, but the Hollow didn't seem to be around. Of course every hollow had different tactics for getting their potential prey. Most would go head on, but then there was the few that actually planned their attack. And apparently this one was a tactical one.
"This is killing me" Akara thought as the paranoia started to kick in. They had been moving for who knows how long from the hollow and not to mention it was darker than a black hole, so she was relying on Yoruichi's voice. And it was quickly becoming too much for her. Something needed to happen soon, or she was going to go insane.
"Calm down wolf, your tension if very obvious, also there a low hanging branch coming up so I suggest you duck" Yoruichi said clearly irritated, and at the last second Akara barely missed the branch.
"Sorry, but I can't shake this feeling I'm getting, do you know how much longer we're going to be in here" Akara asked though she partially knew the answer.
"Well the time for us to through the first time was about a quarter of the day, and since we've been in here for about an hour, I actually don't know, so the best I can say is, we'll get there when we get there" Yoruichi said.
"Heads up, crossed branches, u can either go under or jump" Yoruichi quickly added. Akara went with the first option and slide under, but she scraped her arm over a small sharp twig branching out. Thankfully it didn't hurt too badly.
"Thanks for the warning" Akara called as she caught back up to the cat woman. She didn't get a response because a sudden beam of orange light shot between them.
"Whoa" Akara yelled as she leapt one way and Yoruichi another.
"What was that" Yoruichi yelled from a tree a few feet away from where was standing.
"I think the Hollow found us" Akara replied as two more orange light came at her. She quickly leapt to Yoruichi's tree and they ran off. Another roar sounded through the forest, it had found them and it was coming for them.
"What do we do now" Yoruichi said as they both wove through branches. Sounds of trees falling and branches breaking from behind them caused them to go unconsciously faster. Akara racked her brain for reasonable plans, already she had three, but they wouldn't work because of their location. That is, until an old event replayed in her head.
"Yoruichi, make a hole in the tree tops like you did before" Akara said hurriedly.
"I can try, here, take her" Yoruichi said as they stopped behind a tree. Yoruichi settled Soifon on Akara's back and quietly climbed to the closest branch close to the top. Back at the lower branch Akara was listening to her surroundings. The howling had stopped, but the branches were still breaking, which meant the hollow was trying to sneak up on them. And from the sounds of the footsteps, it was getting close to her and Soifon. So she climbed onto a close branch and crouched down as slowly as her pulsing and shaking legs would let her.
"Come on Yoruichi, its getting closer" Akara thought as the tree began to shake from the footsteps of the oncoming Hollow. The steps got closer and closer, Akara's heart was beating so fast it hurt. Then at that exact moment the hollow was practically right next to her. She held her breathe as the Hollow cried out and looked around. Akara froze on her spot, afraid that any kind of movement would make the Hollow find her and eat her and Soifon right then and there. It felt like an hour before the monster finally turned and walked away. Akara slowly let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought we were gonna die there for a moment China Bee" Akara whispered to the unconscious body on her back. Even though she got no response she still winked at her.
"We'll get you home in no time Bee" Akara smiled. Then the familiar shout rang in Akara's ears. She grinned as she quietly watched the fading daylight penetrate the darkened area. It was then Akara came out of her hiding spot, and made a dash for the opening. She saw Yoruichi waving at her from over the edge before disappearing. When she made it out, she saw the entire forest top and saw the other side of the forest, about one hundred and fifty yards away.
"Yes, we're almost out of here" Akara cheered.
"Almost home" Yoruichi agreed before Akara offered Soifon back to Yoruichi, who secretly was eager to have her back on her back. In a way it was comforting.
"I'd race you, but my legs are so close to giving out it's not even a joke" Akara said with a slight laugh. Yoruichi chortled,
"Nah its fine, we can always race when we're in better condition" Yoruichi said before jumping from tree top to tree top. Akara shook her leg out before going after her. They jumped and leaped for what seemed like a short time, and before they knew it, they had made it to the outside of the forest. Then Akara instantly changed back to her wolf form again.
"Alright, get back on, I said once we got out of that horrible place I'd carry you the rest of the way, so hurry up, it's getting dark" Akara said in a slight demanding voice. Now normally Yoruichi didn't take commands from anybody, (other than Soifon on occasion) but Akara had not only helped save Soifon, but she took a blow for her as well. So she would let it slide, for now at least. So she climbed on and set up like she had before, Soifon sitting in the front and Yoruichi in the back. Once they had settled Akara took a deep breath. She turned to the now familiar direction they were on two days ago and backed up before running forward. Akara gradually picked up her speed to where she was nothing but a blackish blue blur. They were getting home regardless and this time there was no stopping her.
Back in Soul Society, in the Fourth Division, Captain Unohana was currently checking up on some Squad Eleven shinigami who thought it would be a good idea and try to prank Kenpachi while he was sleeping. The result was not a good to say the least. And now here she was dressing up almost completely healed wounds scolding the shinigami to not prank their Captain again.
"I hope you all have learned your lesson, your free to go" Unohana said with her usual kind voice. The shinigami left without a word into the setting sunlight back to their Division and Unohana to her own thoughts. This wasn't completely unusual; although most of the time she was working nonstop either by herself or with her wonderful Lieutenant Isane. Speaking of, where was she?
"C-Captain" a sweet yet timid voice said. Unohana turned to greet the very tall woman.
"Ah, Isane, there you are, how are you this fine afternoon" Unohana asked kindly. Isane was blushing as usual, which to Unohana was quite adorable.
"Well, I'm worried Captain" Isane said as she sat down on one of the unoccupied patient beds.
"What about my dear Lieutenant, you know you can always tell me" Unohana said walking up to her worrying Lieutenant. Isane looked at her before looking down at her hands.
"Its Akara and Yoruichi, they've been gone for almost two days, what if they don't come back with Captain Soifon. . .or at all" Isane whispered in dread. Unohana sighed as she patted the worried woman's back, though she too had these thoughts during their absence, but she knew Yoruichi was a strong tactful person, especially when it came to the Second Division Captain herself.
"Now now, I understand your worry, but until the Commander says otherwise, all we can do is hope they return" Unohana said as assuringly as she could. Isane looked up at her before sighing in acceptance.
"I suppose, but I'm just scared they won't come back, we would have to tell two noble families that their daughters died in battle, and we would also have to tell the entire Second Division that their Captain didn't return, I know she's hard on them, but Captain Soifon cares about them, I know she does, so I would hate to see their faces" Isane sighed sadly. Unohana patted her back again before getting up,
"Would you like some tea Isane, I believe it will help calm you down a bit" Unohana said as she walked towards the door. Isane nodded quietly.
"Yes please" and on that note, Unohana left with a smile promising to be right back. A few minutes past and Isane was still sitting thinking about her comrades and their whereabouts and health, she hoped they weren't hurt too badly and that they were ok. Then about a moment later Captain Unohana came in with a tea set and some cookies.
"I brought some green tea and oatmeal raisin cookies, I know there your favorite" Unohana said as she set the tray down on a nearby table and poured two cups for her and Isane. Isane mumbled thank you before biting into her cookie. She didn't know that her Captain had remembered her favorite kind of cookie, if anything she had maybe mentioned it once all together with her. So this was an endearing gesture to her. And for awhile, the duo talked about how their day had gone, and what to expect tomorrow.
"So you have to go to a Captain's meeting in the morning, would you like me to look after the Division then" Isane asked taking a sip of her tea. Unohana chuckled to herself.
"That's very kind of you Isane, thank you" Isane smiled tentatively before they sat in a comforting silence, then out of nowhere, a loud howl rang out. Isane jumped up and Unohana simply stood there, what could possibly be making that noise? It was quiet for moment before the howling went off again, but this time a weak Reiatsu came with it, before fading away. Unohana instantly recognized it.
"Isane, I want you to get a few hospital beds ready" Unohana said before heading to the door.
"Y-Yes Captain" Isane said before leaving. Unohana nodded before going to get a few of the other Fourth Division members to bring stretchers and follow her. They traveled to the Northern Gate, which had already been open for them. Once outside the gate, Unohana heard the howling again, though this time it was strained and closer. Unohana told them to stay back as she shunpoed to the source of the howling. She didn't travel very far maybe about one hundred feet from the gate, but when she found the source of the howling, she was quietly shocked. It was Akara, of course she had known, but that wasn't what shocked her. It was the fact that Akara was practically crawling with Yoruichi and Soifon on her back. She was whining and bleeding, and looked like she was about to collapse.
"Help her" was Akara said before passing out, causing both Yoruichi and Soifon to fall off. Akara suddenly began to convulse before changing back into her human form.
"Bring the stretchers" Unohana shouted urgently, and immediately the other Fourth Division shinigami were at the bodies picking them up gently and setting them on before heading back to the Fourth Division. From the way the trio looked, they were going in for an all nighter.
Captain-Blue-Kitty: well there it is, after so long this is it
Akara: eh not bad, but the next chapter had better be awesome
Captain-Blue-Kitty: it will, so no worries, I'll see you yall next time