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I put it out of my mind, and I and Yoruichi-sama fly on as if pursued by roaring lions through the passage to Hueco Mundo atop two sparkling bridges of reiatsu. The black dark streams past us, whispering, stars threaded in our wake. I mourn the loss of power, for I will have to make without shunko once we are there. The way to Seireitei was never this taxing. I've used every iota of reiatsu I can spare for a few feeble bursts of shunpo to make it through the gargantua, as we fall through the black velvet sky. Then we are racing over the crumbled remains of Las Noches that lies like heaps of shattered bone, towards the palace's heart to retrieve the tiny object that has started it all, the reason why we are here.

Thankfully, the strange emerald-eyed Cuatro Espada who had seemed to assume command of Las Noches once his master was gone is nowhere to be found as I and my mentor soar up to the white chamber. I'm fairly sure Kurosaki finished him off earlier. At least that boy is good for something. I might have been too harsh before.

I groan in annoyance as I hear the Decima Espada stampeding madly after us like an unstoppable tank, bellowing and crushing piles of white marble into glittering dust with his elephantine feet. Thankfully, it is not long before his hulking shape fades into the distance.

Counting my blessings, I reach out to the Hogyokyou's holding sphere not long after, taking it away and dropping its cubelike form into Yoruichi-sama's cupped hands. It glows gently with a medley of rainbow colors that dance on the relieved face of Yoruichi-sama as we stand, slumped with exhaustion, within the blank pearly hall of Aizen's kingdom.

Yoruichi-sama slips the Hougyoku inside her orange jacket.

Brilliant rainbow beams of light gambol in the heavy, reishi-rich air, throwing huge flashes of illuminated color on the deathly white chamber. Yoruichi-sama and I collect ourselves for a few minutes, drunk on relief, and then flash away from the looming pedestal, settling into a steady pace as we run at a great speed, side by side, almost mirrored reflections of each other.

'Well, Little Bee.' Yoruichi-sama grins, gloating satisfaction shining from her triumphant face. 'We've done it! There should be enough time left to return to Karakura Town and pass the Hougyoku into Yamamoto's hands!'

'Yes, Yoruichi-sama.'

'For the last time-' Yoruichi-sama sighs, smiling wryly as her eyes crinkle. 'I'm not your master anymore, Soi Fon!'

'Of course, Yoruichi-sama.' She will always be my superior.

She takes a deep breath, as if trying to clear her airways from lingering remnants of dried blood, and bursts into golden laughter, the sound bubbling like minuscule droplets of happiness. I smile too, the first time that I can remember, and we share a companionable silence, the air whistling round us with the extent of our velocity. Yoruichi-sama and I, together, have rescued Aizen's greatest weapon! And all that remains is to transport it safely back to the soutaicho.

We've left the mountainous, bumbling Espada far behind, and such like him could never hope to even track our speed. Leaping over pearly, glowing slabs of sallow marble, I follow her through the void of seemingly endless darkness, speckled with tiny stars of spirit. We pass through never-ending passageways and yawning black doors, but I know there is a way out, as we have already been in here once. That Ichimaru's passage-switching tricks should no longer be activated, and Yoruichi-sama's sense of direction is absolutely perfect. I have complete faith in her. She will get us out.

A few surviving arrancar still wander the palace, but none formidable, so I draw Suzumebachi in one smooth gesture and cut them down with minimal force and reiatsu applied to kill.

We near the front hall. Trepidation seizes me with all the force of a wrestler, and I feel like there is something wrong, but I do not bring it up.

Force the door open.

And just as we are only a few hundred metres from the exit, eating up the distance with flying feet, a light flares bright from the doorway, a light so painfully intense and all-consuming it looks like the sun and moon have descended to the desert in all their glory. Ahead of me, Yoruichi-sama is knocked off her feet even as she tries to resist. My jaw drops in disbelief, until the tidal waves of grinding reiatsu strike me as well like iron anvils, and I too am sent flying, smashing into the wall in a shower of chips of white stone. I feel my shoulder blade break as I try to disperse my weight in a futile effort to reduce the damage.

Squinting, I desperately try to see what possibly could have intervened in our escape, forcibly assembling my shocked mind. The Cuatro Espada? No, Kurosaki killed him long ago! Ichimaru? Of course not, Kuchiki-taicho wouldn't fail, and Ichimaru's reiatsu is nothing like this! The Tenth Espada? No, that bumbling excuse for an arrancar could never have caught up with us so fast. A new enemy? Highly unlikely. They wouldn't have gone unnoticed by the Gotei for days on end.

First duty-assess the enemy.

Second duty-ascertain your ally's whereabouts.

Is Yoruichi-sama all right? I force myself to rise and walk horribly slowly towards her, but the layers of reiatsu are so crippling, I can barely move, legs shaking uncontrollably. WHO could possibly have this kind of strength?! The massive, surging pressure pulses rapidly with icy rage, its deadly tendrils start to retreat from my shaking limbs, and the light begins to dim. Good-now I can almost see.

But I can also sense.

And I know that spiritual presence all too well, however much it may have changed.

My mind comes to a stop.

I freeze, because my eyes must have finally failed me. Must have.

'Really, Yoruichi. I never thought you were one to unceremoniously break into innocent people's residences. What should I do with you, my naughty little cat burglar?'

The voice is deceptively warm, smooth and gentle, fondly admonishing while still sounding wise.

Oh gods oh gods oh gods it can't be true not now please not now

Description
I put it out of my mind, and I and Yoruichi-sama fly on as if pursued by roaring lions through the passage to Hueco Mundo atop two sparkling bridges of reiatsu. The black dark streams past us, whispering, stars threaded in our wake. I mourn the loss of power, for I will have to make without shunko once we are there. The way to Seireitei was never this taxing. I've used every iota of reiatsu I can spare for a few feeble bursts of shunpo to make it through the gargantua, as we fall through the black velvet sky. Then we are racing over the crumbled remains of Las Noches that lies like heaps of shattered bone, towards the palace's heart to retrieve the tiny object that has started it all, the reason why we are here.

Thankfully, the strange emerald-eyed Cuatro Espada who had seemed to assume command of Las Noches once his master was gone is nowhere to be found as I and my mentor soar up to the white chamber. I'm fairly sure Kurosaki finished him off earlier. At least that boy is good for something. I might have been too harsh before.

I groan in annoyance as I hear the Decima Espada stampeding madly after us like an unstoppable tank, bellowing and crushing piles of white marble into glittering dust with his elephantine feet. Thankfully, it is not long before his hulking shape fades into the distance.

Counting my blessings, I reach out to the Hogyokyou's holding sphere not long after, taking it away and dropping its cubelike form into Yoruichi-sama's cupped hands. It glows gently with a medley of rainbow colors that dance on the relieved face of Yoruichi-sama as we stand, slumped with exhaustion, within the blank pearly hall of Aizen's kingdom.

Yoruichi-sama slips the Hougyoku inside her orange jacket.

Brilliant rainbow beams of light gambol in the heavy, reishi-rich air, throwing huge flashes of illuminated color on the deathly white chamber. Yoruichi-sama and I collect ourselves for a few minutes, drunk on relief, and then flash away from the looming pedestal, settling into a steady pace as we run at a great speed, side by side, almost mirrored reflections of each other.

'Well, Little Bee.' Yoruichi-sama grins, gloating satisfaction shining from her triumphant face. 'We've done it! There should be enough time left to return to Karakura Town and pass the Hougyoku into Yamamoto's hands!'

'Yes, Yoruichi-sama.'

'For the last time-' Yoruichi-sama sighs, smiling wryly as her eyes crinkle. 'I'm not your master anymore, Soi Fon!'

'Of course, Yoruichi-sama.' She will always be my superior.

She takes a deep breath, as if trying to clear her airways from lingering remnants of dried blood, and bursts into golden laughter, the sound bubbling like minuscule droplets of happiness. I smile too, the first time that I can remember, and we share a companionable silence, the air whistling round us with the extent of our velocity. Yoruichi-sama and I, together, have rescued Aizen's greatest weapon! And all that remains is to transport it safely back to the soutaicho.

We've left the mountainous, bumbling Espada far behind, and such like him could never hope to even track our speed. Leaping over pearly, glowing slabs of sallow marble, I follow her through the void of seemingly endless darkness, speckled with tiny stars of spirit. We pass through never-ending passageways and yawning black doors, but I know there is a way out, as we have already been in here once. That Ichimaru's passage-switching tricks should no longer be activated, and Yoruichi-sama's sense of direction is absolutely perfect. I have complete faith in her. She will get us out.

A few surviving arrancar still wander the palace, but none formidable, so I draw Suzumebachi in one smooth gesture and cut them down with minimal force and reiatsu applied to kill.

We near the front hall. Trepidation seizes me with all the force of a wrestler, and I feel like there is something wrong, but I do not bring it up.

Force the door open.

And just as we are only a few hundred metres from the exit, eating up the distance with flying feet, a light flares bright from the doorway, a light so painfully intense and all-consuming it looks like the sun and moon have descended to the desert in all their glory. Ahead of me, Yoruichi-sama is knocked off her feet even as she tries to resist. My jaw drops in disbelief, until the tidal waves of grinding reiatsu strike me as well like iron anvils, and I too am sent flying, smashing into the wall in a shower of chips of white stone. I feel my shoulder blade break as I try to disperse my weight in a futile effort to reduce the damage.

Squinting, I desperately try to see what possibly could have intervened in our escape, forcibly assembling my shocked mind. The Cuatro Espada? No, Kurosaki killed him long ago! Ichimaru? Of course not, Kuchiki-taicho wouldn't fail, and Ichimaru's reiatsu is nothing like this! The Tenth Espada? No, that bumbling excuse for an arrancar could never have caught up with us so fast. A new enemy? Highly unlikely. They wouldn't have gone unnoticed by the Gotei for days on end.

First duty-assess the enemy.

Second duty-ascertain your ally's whereabouts.

Is Yoruichi-sama all right? I force myself to rise and walk horribly slowly towards her, but the layers of reiatsu are so crippling, I can barely move, legs shaking uncontrollably. WHO could possibly have this kind of strength?! The massive, surging pressure pulses rapidly with icy rage, its deadly tendrils start to retreat from my shaking limbs, and the light begins to dim. Good-now I can almost see.

But I can also sense.

And I know that spiritual presence all too well, however much it may have changed.

My mind comes to a stop.

I freeze, because my eyes must have finally failed me. Must have.

'Really, Yoruichi. I never thought you were one to unceremoniously break into innocent people's residences. What should I do with you, my naughty little cat burglar?'

The voice is deceptively warm, smooth and gentle, fondly admonishing while still sounding wise.

Oh gods oh gods oh gods it can't be true not now please not now