"Five more minutes." Yoruichi rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head.
"Absolutely not. I have kept them on a flawless schedule for a century, you are not sleeping in on your first day back in their command!" Soifon growled, yanking the blanket off of her partner's sleeping form. It was a testament to her self control that she didn't blush or bat an eye at the shapeshifter's naked body. "Up!"
"Awww... You're no fun, Little Bee..." The goddess of flash reluctantly sits up, yawning and dragging her fingers through her messy hair. "I remember this being the thing I hated most about being in charge..."
"It is necessary." The small woman sighed and tossed a backless uniform to her lover. "We want them running away from you, not toward you. You'll have to get dressed."
"Are you sure you wouldn't just be jealous of them looking at me?" Yoruichi gave her partner a teasing grin as she stood and stretched, slipping elegantly into the uniform. "I thought of a new approach to training that might raise moral, and get us more involved with the trainees."
"Explain." Soifon crossed her arms and watched the older woman dress.
"Well, do you remember some of the games we played when I was teaching you? It turns out they play similar versions in the human world. I've been thinking about a way to revise one of the games for training purposes, and I think I have it."
"You are avoiding the question."
"It's really hard to surprise you when you are so cleaver, Little Bee..."
"Flattery won't get you out of this." The Captain of the Second Division was not one to be distracted from her line of questioning, and so, Yoruichi had no choice. With a flash of her legendary speed, she brushed a kiss across Soifon's lips and was out the door.
"Wha..." Soifon blinked and looked down at the uniform that lay empty on the floor. "GET BACK HERE!"
When Soifon arrived at the training grounds, a black cat with a cocky smirk was addressing the Stealth Force.
"The task is pretty simple. You will divide into two teams, based on your identification number. Even numbers on one side, odd numbers on the other. Lieutenant Omeada will lead the odd team, and Third Seat Saido will lead the even team. The goal of the game is simple. Each team will be assigned a target to protect, which the other team must launch a covert assault on. I will be the target of the odd team and the even team will be responsible for ensuring I am not successfully compromised. Captain Feng will be my counterpart for the other team. We will both be wearing a red scarf. Your goal is to take the target's scarf and return it to your leader first. You have one hour to organize your teams, and then the game will begin. There is no safe zone. There are no breaks. We will not make it easy for you to protect us, or to take our scarves. The losing team will subject to Captain Feng's personal brand of hell, while the winning team will earn one full day off. If neither team wins by sunset, both teams get hell. Good luck!"
The chaos was immediate. Yoruichi leaped up on to her partner's shoulder and rubbed against her cheek, purring.
"I admit, it is an interesting game. You do intend to play in human form, don't you? And the scarf will not be the only thing you are wearing?"
"Silly Little Bee, of course I plan to play fairly. I never cheat when I get to make up the rules."
The game began an hour later, with the entirety of the Second Division and Stealth Force scattering across the Seireitei in search of target or subject. Soifon and Yoruichi used every trick they knew to hide and occasionally strike.
"You've been eliminated. Not a word to your teammates or opponents. You also have to watch your backs." Soifon grinned as she lay the edge of a training blade along the man's neck gently. She had suggested the addition of the secret challenge after they left the training field, and she immediately accepted the change.
By lunch time, everyone knew that there was a game underway among the Second Division. Those foolish enough to pause for a break were quickly picked off by the opposing target. Yoruichi took several close calls to eliminate members of the enemy team in sight of her own team, causing them to gasp, giving away their positions and rapidly calling down their own demise.
By dinner time, it was being called the Reckless Treasure Game. You had to protect a valuable asset that insisted on endangering itself. Soifon narrowed her eyes at her friend when she realized that the game was based off of their former struggle of protecting Ichigo from Aizen's hypnosis when the young man wanted nothing more than to rush into his enemies teeth.
The sun was setting and all the members of the division were getting desperate. Soifon and Yoruichi were sitting side by side in the shadow of the division entry way, breathing silently, their spiritual pressure crushed down to nearly nothing. A flicker of movement caught the captain's eye.
Think we should give them till the sun begins to set, or until it is completely set? Yoruichi raised an eyebrow after a series of subtle motions. If her friend had not committed every twitch of every finger to memory, the message would have been lost to the shadows.
Till is is set completely. But we should tell them it is over when it begins. If any of them have the balls to snatch our scarves while we are addressing them, they can have their victory. Soifon grinned at the shapeshifter and let her hands fall back to a ready stance.
The time came and they stood at the head of the training area, waiting as the teams assembled. The last stragglers piled in and Soifon began.
"Dreadful. That was a shameful display. From now on, we will be playing this game every other day. The reward or punishment of the games will be redeemed the following day. Until further notice, there will be no other vacation days allowed. You will win your days off, or you will get better. For now, expect tomorrow to be the worst day of your liv... Yoruichi?" Soifon stared in open mouthed shock at her friend, who was dangling the captain's scarf from her fingertips and smirking. "You... Damn. Even team, you are off the hook for tomorrow. Don't expect that trick to work again!"
Yoruichi could only laugh as half the division broke in to cheers.
"One last announcement! The rules are subject to our changes at the beginning of each game! Exploit what you can, when you can, but don't expect to get away with it twice!" The goddess of flash hung the two scarves over a nail and then took her partner's hands. "Get some sleep tonight, odd team. You're gonna need it!"
When they were safely behind locked doors, Soifon allowed herself to smile.
"I should have expected you to do that."
"Yeah, you should have. But I knew I could get away with it once. My team will be confident, and your team will be trying three times as hard, and you'll win the next game. It will set the program off to a good start, alternating wins. It will keep them excited, if they know anyone can win."
"You're right. It was a good strategy. I can see why you were such a successful captain, and such a good teacher."
"Now who's flattering who?"