Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but to give cheap entertainment to the masses.

As before, reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive, please. And flames will have to get past my family's (not-so) killer basset hound.

Thanks for the review on the last chapter Million Dollar Age. And now that I've looked on my e-mail account, I see that several people (Summoner Yunalesca, Terra Incognita Novus, Million Dollar Age, Naybi, samantha626, AnonymousIsSleepy, E.V.I.T., and Ripley13 that I was able to see) have taken enough interest in this story to put it on Story Alert or even Favorite Author.

On the one hand, it makes me feel great. Of course it also means I now have something of a reputation to uphold… :)

Given some time to think on their journey back to…wherever it was, Sui-Feng had come to realize even more how stupid she'd been.

What had she been thinking, a mere seated shinigami, taking on even one taichou?

Never mind two…

Now they were coming back to the cave where she'd first seen Urahara-taichou, first tried to take him, here in the Living World.

Sui-Feng had been smart enough to know that a frontal assault was essentially suicide, and she had some idea of how powerful and skilled Urahara-taichou was. She had made her way in secret, hoping to take him by surprise while his attentions were turned on…whatever he had been working on. After taking him down, she'd make the man tell her where Yoruichi-sama was.

Only that hadn't turned out to be necessary…

It was a large cave, hollowed out of the ground by who knew how much labor. Sui-Feng knew it was man-made because of the many doors and windows carved out of the sides of the place. Light was provided by numerous growths of luminescent crystals, their light blue color giving the shadows a hard edge.

Some small part of her wondered who had built the city, and why it had been abandoned. But that could be answered later.

Right now there was the matter of the people around her.

She looked over to her right, where the…'Hollowfied shinigami' was what she guessed Hiyori was now…was still trudging along.

The mask only had eyeholes, with no means of expression beyond that. But the girl's slumped shoulders and slow walk was all Sui-Feng needed to know Hiyori's state of mind.

She was probably wondering what was going to happen to her.

Just like Sui-Feng.

"Are you all right…Sarugaki-fuku-taichou?"

She didn't answer, only cringing at the mention of the title.

"Do you think she's all right?"

The arch answer made Sui-Feng look at her mistress.

Yoruichi-sama was still walking resolutely forward, deeper into the cave. She seemed to be trying to ignore them as much as possible.

The sight made Sui-Feng feel something she never thought she would for this woman.

She was actually a little mad at Yoruichi-sama.

"I didn't mean it like that, and you know it, Shihouin-taichou."

The older woman stopped.

Everyone else did the same.

"It's not taichou anymore. Not for me and not for Kisuke here. We're both exiles from now on, stripped of our titles and position by those bastards in the Central 46. So please start being more informal with us, Feng-san."

So the rumors had been true. The young shinigami's mind reeled with the idea.

"Another thing: do not think Kisuke or I owe you anything, woman."

Woman?

"I can sense the surprise in your reiatsu."

Yoruichi-sama turned to look at Sui-Feng, yellow eyes as baleful as any Hollow's. Despite herself, and the fact the older woman wasn't exerting her reiatsu, the younger shinigami started to cringe.

She could see that Urahara had turned to look at them all, his face showing concern.

"Yoruichi-"

"No, Kisuke, she needs to hear this."

He turned away a little, and the woman turned her attention again to Sui-Feng.

"You come here, dressed in the outfit of the Onmitsukidou, and try to attack my friend in their name. When we're fugitives? And you expect me to greet you with open arms?"

Sui-Feng was shocked; she hadn't even thought about that.

"I didn't…Yoruichi-sama, I…"

The senior noblewoman arched an eyebrow.

"I wasn't thinking…I'm sorry…"

"So you admit you're useless as well as incompetent."

Sui-Feng's jaw dropped and she looked at the former taichou with undiluted shock. She could feel tears begin to form in her eyes.

"I thought…I thought you liked me…"

Her near-whisper still carried well in the cave; Yoruichi-sama definitely heard her because the woman rolled her eyes at the words.

"I do like you, Sui-Feng. Very much, in fact."

Now Sui-Feng was totally confused.

"But that alone does not make you my friend."

Shaolin hadn't cared much for caves since that day.

But in this case, she'd make an exception; she didn't want Soul Society seeing what she had. Who knew what those…'people' would do.

Now that she was inside the training cavern that Kisuke had built under his shop, it wasn't so bad. The walls and ceiling had been…she wanted to say 'painted', but the blue daytime sky and white clouds floating overhead looked too real, like the craggy rock floor that reminded her of a desert.

In fact, if it weren't for the ladder leading up into the 'sky' and the very small hole in the now distant ceiling, she could have sworn she was in a desert somewhere and not underground.

Certainly not like that city buried in the mountains to the north; she had no wish to ever go there again, even though by now she had learned what it had once been.

Shaolin shook her head to get it back into the present. She had come here to this cavern to conduct business, not to reminisce.

She looked over to where Hana was currently exercising the gigai; Shaolin figured it was more than safe here, and the gikongan did need to practice with her…

The ex-shinigami was pretty sure Ryuuken-san and the other Quincy called it 'Seele Schneider', but she just thought of it as a reishi-arrow; Shaolin didn't want to know where this one had come from. Hana was currently using the one in her hands as a sword, twirling it around and making chopping and swinging motions with it as she integrated it into her own martial arts routine.

"Feeling any better?"

Hana swung the 'sword' around in an arc.

"Yes, very much so, thank you." After a moment more, she seemed to think of something. "Do you think the new model will be ready anytime soon?"

Shaolin thought about it a moment, and then turned back to the bag and shrugged.

"Wouldn't know, but if you break that gigai I swear I'll stuff you in a plushie."

Shaolin smiled gamely as she made the threat, and smiled a little more when she heard Hana's startled gasp.

"Back from another world tour, I see?"

A man's voice, higher-pitched than Tessai's, made Shaolin turn behind her quickly; she had thankfully gotten beyond the stage of yelping every time the former taichou did that.

"Kisuke-san."

He was a tall man, dressed more than a little out of style in modern Karakura, light green pants and shirt covered by a darker green robe. A green and white striped bucket hat covered some of the unruly mop of blond hair on his head, and she could see the ever-present paper fan already in his right hand, to be used at a moment's notice.

And right now Hana's 'sword' was within a hair's-breadth of skewering the creator of this cave. The mod soul realized what she'd almost done and quickly lowered the offending weapon, a look of embarrassment on her face.

Kisuke smiled roguishly – she wasn't sure he could do any other kind – and tipped his hat.

"Nice move, Hana-chan, but you might want to be a little more careful with that thing in the future. I'd really like it if I didn't get killed today."

"Uhm, yes jii-sama. Sorry."

Kisuke looked like he was about to say something, and then simply shook his head and turned his attention to the other ex-shinigami.

"Shaolin-chan, I'm glad as always to see you came back in one piece. But did you have to come all the way down here? I mean, the shop's a much nicer place to conduct business…unless you wanted to get a little sparring in?" He pointed at the still-embarrassed Hana.

Shaolin made a show of considering that offer. Actually, she wouldn't have minded, even though it had been a long trip back home. Even so…

She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't have time today."

Kisuke affected a pained expression, throwing a hand over his heart for effect.

"'No time for me', she says. What has happened to our relationship, Shaolin-chan?"

"Nothing. I'm just too serious, and you're not serious enough." She smiled as she began looking through the bag for her second 'gift' that day.

"In fact, you, Hirako-san and Hiyori should get together and take that act on the road. 'Three Stupid-Looking Blond People' would probably be a hit."

For a moment, Shaolin could feel the former taichou's indignation and Hana's shock, and then she felt concern from Kisuke.

"How has Sarugaki-san been?"

"My buddy's fine, I guess…"

Kisuke raised an eyebrow.

"Your buddy?" He shook his head a little. "You two have become that close? Without killing each other? Call me skeptical…"

"You're right about that," Hana chimed in.

Shaolin waved them off.

"I'll call you whatever I like, especially since I got a present for you."

Kisuke sounded like he was ignoring the jab, though it was a moment before he continued.

"Is Sarugaki-san still doing the part-time jobs circuit?"

"No, I think she may actually have found something permanent this time. Actually, I think it suits her pretty well."

The younger ex-shinigami pulled out a small box and closed up the bag. She turned to see Kisuke looking at her expectantly and pointing at the object in her hands.

"Is that what you came all the way down here for?"

"Yes, and we are sure you are going to like it, jii-sama."

Ignoring Hana, Shaolin walked over to the man and handed him the box. He looked at it for a moment, and then looked at her while pointing to it.

"Aw, you shouldn't have. So…what is it?"

Shaolin made a non-committal shrug and the mod soul offered no information, which only made Kisuke look at the object even closer.

"Something Hiyori picked up on. It comes courtesy of one of those soul suckers."

Kisuke arched an eyebrow. "You don't say…"

He opened the box, made a show of peering deeply into it for a minute, and then looked at Shaolin again.

"Uhm… You've got some interesting priorities, woman. You leave your gigai up there in the open," he pointed towards the ceiling, "to give poor Hanakari-kun grief." He pointed towards the interior of the box. "And you come all the way down here for… Okay, I give up, what is this?"

"Try to touch it."

"Shaolin, no!"

The former taichou, skepticism on his face, ignored Hana and did as he was told. A moment later he flung his hand back and dropped the box, a piece of metal slag coming out and rolling on the ground. Kisuke made a great show of waving his finger around and putting it in his mouth to cool it, while Hana just looked daggers at her partner.

"Seki-seki rock?" he said around his finger.

Shaolin nodded.

"Worked into the metal."

"We don't know what they were trying to make," Hana added. "We just know it was one of the Bounto and they were making it for someone else."

"Of course," Shaolin finished, "they won't be making anything for anybody again."

Kisuke nodded his face now serious. He turned to the rocks behind him.

"Jinta-kun, see about this, will you?"

"Right away, boss!"

The red-headed boy seemed to come out of nowhere, Ururu trailing meekly behind him. Jinta spared a passing look of fear for Shaolin and Hana before picking up the offending piece of metal and putting it back in its container. Then he joined his compatriot at their masters' side.

Kisuke unfolded his fan and looked at Shaolin.

"Now that that's over…is there anything else you two lovely ladies need?"

Hana blushed a little as Shaolin thought.

"I need you to look at the gigai later; I kind of banged it up a little."

"Oh I'll be happy to look that thing over, Shaolin-chan."

Shaolin looked at Kisuke's smile and shook her head."

"I'm sure you will. I'll also need some kioku chikan-"

"Uhm, we're out but we'll get a…new…"

Ururu suddenly looked worried and Jinta glared at her.

"You idiot, you weren't supposed to say anything!"

Ururu looked like she was about to cry now, while Kisuke looked a little…worried himself, even as he put his hand on the girl to comfort her.

Hana gave Shaolin a look, and the ex-shinigami returned it. Now she just needed to play the game…

She put on an incredulous smile.

"Kisuke-san…you had a customer recently?"

He looked at her and shrugged dramatically.

"It's been known to happen…"

Hana shook her head in mock-wonder.

"The pillars of Heaven shake at the news."

He waved the comment away with his fan.

"Oh, come on…"

All right, enough with the games…

"It was the new shinigami wasn't it?"

Kisuke kept the smile plastered on his face, but Shaolin could tell that he was suddenly uncomfortable.

"What makes you say that?"

She waved her hand around to indicate not just the cave, but the store above it.

"Who else would come here to buy…anything?"

Kisuke looked like he was going to come up with a snappy retort about his shop; though he never showed it, Shaolin knew Kisuke was quite proud of this place he'd created. But instead his face fell a little and he looked away from her.

"I'd …rather not talk about it, Shaolin-chan…"

Damn, they put the squeeze on you, didn't they Kisuke-san? Not good.

"All right, I won't ask."

Kisuke immediately looked more relaxed. The smiled returned just a little, but it was still nervous.

"Damn moocher."

Now Jinta was having the loose tongue; Kisuke just looked at him.

"What, she was a real moocher, paying with credit and everything."

Ururu had gotten out of her funk and was nodding her head in agreement.

"Yeah, she was a moocher."

Shaolin exchanged a look with Hana. Those poor kids are going to be doing a lot of extra housework for a while, aren't they?

"So she's been assigned here? She isn't passing through?"

Kisuke sighed and nodded his head; he looked seriously at Shaolin.

"Yeah, she's going to be here a while, so keep your head down, okay?"

Shaolin thought about that for a moment and then shook her head.

"I can't do that, Kisuke-san. Karakura is my home, and I mean to protect it."

Kisuke looked more than a little unnerved; Hana looked like she wanted to roll her eyes.

"Shaolin-chan-"

"Do they know about the Magic Marble?"

Kisuke's expression shifted to one of insulted pride.

"I'll have you know that that 'marble' is one of the greatest scientific achievements of my career..."

"…which was cut short by it; and the Marble is why we're all here in the first place. Is it safe?"

The former taichou looked like he was going to continue, but he thought better of it.

"The Hogyoku is fine, Shaolin-chan. I…put it in a safe place; nothing will happen to it."

Shaolin thought about it, and then decided not to press the matter; the Magic Marble was his baby, after all. If he said it was safe, then she was willing to believe him.

"Have the Hollows come here?"

Now Kisuke was looking a little irritated. Well, it couldn't be helped.

"No, they haven't. At least not yet; and believe me we're well prepared if they do."

"Good. I'll be heading over to the Kurosakis after I go home-"

"Shaolin-chan, look-"

"No, you look." Shaolin glared at the former taichou. "Never mind the Vizards and us, there's a shitload of people in this town with high reiatsu, and plenty of spirits who don't know a thing about the Hollows."

Hana nodded. "And it has to be considered low-priority by Soul Society since there hasn't been any Hollow activity in the last what…16 years or so?"

Kisuke sighed.

"And you're especially worried about the Kurosakis?"

Shaolin took a moment, and then nodded.

"Most of them are probably okay, but…"

"Let me guess…Kurosaki Ichigo-san?"

She looked at the shop owner, and even though she was still sad, she hardened her expression with determination.

"I need to do something for him-"

Kisuke held his hand up, and when she quieted looked Shaolin in the eyes. There was a sad expression on his face, almost like that first day they'd met in the Living World.

"Shaolin-chan, Kurosaki Masaki-san wasn't your fault…"

Shaolin felt a surge of righteous fury begin to build in her.

"I know that; and I know Sokken-san wasn't my fault either. It was their fault."

Kisuke and his charges flinched a little at the venom in Shaolin's words.

"You know, you really need to let that go, Shaolin-chan… The people in Soul Society aren't that bad…"

Shaolin could have been fooled. After some of the things she'd seen happen over the last few years… But Kisuke did have a point.

At least about the non-shinigami…

"Yeah, I guess they occasionally do something listed in their official 'Why We're the Good Guys' book."

Kisuke looked like he was going to respond to the arch answer, but Shaolin held up her hand in surrender.

"Look, I don't want to get into a fight with you over this, Kisuke-san. We'll…try my best not to make too big of a mess around here."

"But we can't make any promises," Hana added. "You know us…"

Kisuke looked mollified at this, but he also looked very glad that Isshin and Ryuuken were both retired.

"I guess I'll have to just accept that," he said smiling again. "But I really do need to know what's going on with Sarugaki-san. I mean, she's almost as bad as you are with getting into trouble."

Hana spoke for Shaolin.

"I called Hiyori-san before we got here. She said this doesn't concern her."

"What?"

"Relax, Kisuke-san." Shaolin gave the former taichou a slight smile. "Hiyori's not even in Karakura right now."

That seemed to peak Kisuke's interest rather than worry him.

"Well, where is she?"

"Where's Yoruichi-sama?"

Kisuke just hid his face behind the fan again, but before he could answer Jinta piped up.

"We haven't seen her, lady."

Ururu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Shihouin-sama hasn't been in here in months."

Shaolin processed that. "Well, if you do hear from her, let me know."

"You want to try again with her, is that it?"

Shaolin nodded.

"Yeah, I do."

She turned and made her way to where Hana was standing. The mod soul looked disappointed, but she let Shaolin merge with the body without incident. The ex-shinigami put the gikongan away and proceeded to pick up her bag.

"Hey, we told you about Yoruichi; now what about Sarukgaki-san?"

Shaolin thought about that for a minute, and then smiled at the former taichou.

"I don't have to tell you that."

"Aw, c'mon!"

Shaolin's smile grew a little at the exaggerated face Kisuke made.

"No, seriously, just walk down the street. You'll see what she's up to, no problem."

Shaolin looked at her wristwatch, ignoring the mystified look on Kisuke's face.

"I have to run now; I am going to be talking to Isshin-san about his son, Kisuke-san. This isn't something that can be put off any longer. And you can tell him whatever you want before I get there. You always do."

Shaolin turned around and started for the ladder to the surface when she saw Ururu standing before her. The ex-shinigami had never heard of a human knowing shunpo, but this girl made her wonder sometimes…

"What is it, Tsumugiya-san?"

Ururu hesitated, as though she was thinking better of bothering Shaolin. It was just one of the girl's quirks, Shaolin figured, but it was still irritating.

"Uhm, would you not do that again?"

The ex-shinigami looked at the girl curiously, and then realized what she was talking about.

"You mean cause a ruckus around the store?"

Ururu gave a sober nod.

"Yeah… I'd have to do something about that."

Shaolin smiled and leaned in a little to Ururu, a feral gleam in her eyes.

"You mean a fight? You and me?"

The girl nodded.

"Fine, I think I'd actually like to spar one of these days."

Ururu nodded again, the mopey look on her face unchanged. But there was a twinkle deep in her eyes – surprise, and maybe a little trepidation – that said she was eager for the fight in her own way.

Maybe she isn't a lost cause after all…

It was early summer in the Soul Society, a pleasant time of year even though the long days interfered with some of the taichou's duties. Still, it gave him time to spend in his flower garden and contemplate current matters.

It wasn't a large affair, just a plot of land carefully planted and tended with flowers and a tree or two for shade. Of course, it was also something of a test; most didn't realize the flowers were the same ones representing the various Bantai of the Goteijuusantai. Those people who did notice the symbolism bore more watching than normal.

In any case, the garden mostly gave the taichou a sense of power and control; he could pretend that he held some form of rein over the other Bantai. It relaxed him in the face of the more chaotic and unfortunate reality.

A few minutes into his contemplation, and he felt the presence of the 3rd and 4th Seats of 2-Bantai appear behind him. The taichou didn't have to be told that the large man and his smaller female companion, both dressed in the black of the Onmitsukidou, were on their knees; it was simply assumed as a matter of course.

They would have wanted to commit seppuku otherwise.

The taichou didn't bother to turn around; he simply continued to casually gaze at his garden as he addressed them.

"I take it you have good news?"

The male figure nodded and spoke first.

"Yes, taichou; it took a little while, but we've found her. She seems to have made contact with Urahara Kisuke."

The taichou processed that for a moment.

"That's interesting… Has she done anything else?"

The woman shook her head, even as she kept it lowered to the ground.

"No, taichou; the target hasn't done anything we think worthy of attention. But we have someone watching her nonetheless."

The taichou thought about that a moment, and then turned around to face his subordinates.

"Send some agents to confront her. I'd like to stir the pot a little and see what happens. But make sure it doesn't get traced back to us; I don't want a scandal just yet."

The two figures nodded as one.

"At once, taichou."

A moment later and they were gone. The taichou turned his attention back to the flowerbed for a moment, but he was soon looking not at flowers but at something beyond the horizon.

His fuku-taichou was looking into another matter, though he figured he already knew what her report would look like. One more of his pieces had been removed from the board.

"Shihouin Yoruichi…I wonder how this little game will play out…"

For those of you who are wondering:

No, the Bounts won't be making an on-screen appearance. (Admit it: some of you are saying 'Thank Heavens for that!')

And yes, it'll be a while, but Sui-Feng and Tatsuki will be running into Hiyori later in the story…