Minefield

In the wake of his triumph over Renji, Ohta noticed a distinct decrease in the number of Shinigami actively searching for him. Those that remained were all Seated members, denoting their status as one of the twenty most powerful or 'influential' Shinigami in their Squad.

"This is boring..." muttered Ohta, sitting atop the roof of a predominately white, Japanese-style house as he stared up at the Senzaikyū(Palace of Penitence) imprisoning Rukia.

Though he still had some expectations for the Captains, the Shinigami of Soul Society were considerably weaker than Ohta expected. His training with Yoruichi had shaped his notion of what 'power' was, so he felt like a fully-trained adult being pitted against kindergarteners...

Feeling an electrical sensation across his body, Ohta tensed, his eyes widening as he felt something 'prick' his psychic barrier, accompanied by a metallic ringing sound.

Rising to his feet, Ohta used Shunpo to create some distance between himself and whatever attacked him, inverting the direction he was facing to find a lithe and petite woman with grey eyes and short black hair tied into two, much longer braids that extended to her ass cheeks, wrapped in white cloth and ending in golden rings. More significantly, over the usual uniform of a Shinigami, she wore a sleeveless white haori with an orange interior, fastened at her waist by a bright yellow cloth.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me..." groaned Ohta, recognizing his would-be assassin as none other than Yoruichi's 'kitten,' the Captain of Squad 2, Soifon.

Staring between her wakizashi-style Zanpakuto and Ohta, Soifon coldly asserted, "You have a barrier protecting your body..."

While Soifon was 'distracting' Ohta, a much larger man, exceeding 2m, appeared behind him in the traditional Shihakusho but with an oversized purple collar and several pieces of ornate jewelry adorning his body. He was faster than his size would suggest, but Ohta was much, much faster,

appearing behind the stout, balding man as he said, "Nice try, Bunta(Pig)." before kicking him with meteoric force toward the ground.

At the exact moment Ohta sent the man flying, Soifon materialized like a phantom next to him, her wakizashi leaving behind a visible arc of light as she attempted to slice off his right hand.

As she had empowered her blow with concentrated spirit energy, Soifon's eyes widened when the light enveloping her Zanpakuto 'shattered' as she struck Ohta's wrist. More disturbingly, she felt pain in her hand, like all the force from her blow had rebounded back into her.

"Look, can we not do this?" asked Ohta, shaking his right hand to try and alleviate the pins and needles he was experiencing. Soifon's blow lacked the force needed to overwhelm his empowered psychic barrier, but he felt a strong vibration spread through his arm when her blade made contact, a sensation similar to what one might experience when hitting a metal plate with a sledgehammer.

Furrowing her brows, Soifon abruptly pulled off her Captain's haori, letting it be carried away by the wind as she said, "You face Suì-Fēng, Captain of the Second Squad and Commander of the Onmitsukidō. Surrender now or suffer the consequences of your indiscretion."

Instead of responding to Soifon, Ohta eyed her new outfit with a mixture of intrigue and confusion. It was similar to the standard Shihakusho, but there were no sleeves or back, and the outer thighs were left completely exposed. She also wore black sleeves resembling arm warmers, running from the middle of her bicep and extending to her hand, but the most notable feature of her outfit was the visible black strings of her panties, visible due to her exposed outer thighs.

With the intention of annoying the serious-looking woman and satisfying his curiosity, Ohta asked, "Are you wearing a thong...?" with raised brows.

Raising her Zanpakuto at an angle before her perennially pissed-off face, Soifon shouted, "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi...!"

Responding to its Master's command, Soifon's Zanpakuto transformed from a fairly ordinary-looking wakizashi to a form-fitting gauntlet with an appearance reminiscent of a killer bee. Reinforcing this sentiment, a long, golden, stinger-like needle covered her middle finger, a fearsome weapon known to kill with two precise strikes.

"Hey, I'm not the one who made you put them on, much less take off your clothes..." remarked Ohta, drastically fortifying the barrier around his body until the tri-colored, kaleidoscopic aura enveloping him became visible to the naked eye, causing his spiky hair to begin fluttering.

Narrowing her eyes, Soifon moved nearly as fast as Yoruichi, momentarily vanishing from Ohta's perception before appearing a few meters behind him. In the very brief interval between, he felt an impact against his right shoulder. Fortunately, while the blow caused him to stagger a bit, Soifon's blow failed to penetrate his barrier.

Frowning deeply, Soifon's voice, clearly crafted to sound like Yoruichi's, carried an especially vitriolic hiss as she stated, "You're starting to annoy me..."

"Says the woman whose Zanpakuto is themed off a buzzing insect..." countered Ohta, mind racing to consider how best to deal with Soifon's speed. It had only been a few hours since the 'raid' began, so he didn't want to reveal all his cards. Yoruichi had also requested that he not be 'too rough' with her former kitten, albeit while also suggesting he try to awaken Soifon's 'femininity.'

Fortunately for Ohta, Soifon was too proud to resort to her Bankai against a foe she believed 'beneath' her. She also hated the form her Bankai took, so she would only utilize it willfully if the situation became dire.

Intent on finding a weakness in Ohta's defenses, Soifon executed a nearly flawless Shunpo. This time, however, Ohta also used Shunpo, effectively trading places with her as she turned to stare at him with a hint of shock in her piercing grey eyes.

Though he initially believed she was simply shocked by his speed, it was Ohta's turn to be surprised when Soifon confidently asserted, "That's La–that traitor Yoruichi's technique..."

Recovering nigh-instantaneously, Ohta adopted a smile and replied, "She says hi, by the way."

"..."

Holding up her right hand, displaying the stinger-like tip of her Zanpakuto, Soifon abruptly revealed, "My Zanpakuto, Suzumebachi, has the ability to extinguish any target it has struck in the same place twice. Your defense is admittedly impressive, but it's only a matter of time before I discover a vulnerability and pierce them. Surrender and tell me everything you know of Shihouin Yoruichi, and I swear upon my honor as Captain of the Second Squad, you will not be harmed..."

("Wow, this woman is down bad...") thought Ohta, externally responding, "I can't surrender, but I don't mind chatting for a bit. Your former Mistress asked me not to hurt you, so if we could go our separate ways once we're done, that'd be great."

Instead of responding to Ohta's proposal, Soifon looked to where he had sent her Lieutenant crashing earlier. Seeing that he was half-embedded in the ground, Soifon returned her fierce gaze to Ohta, frowning as she said, "We should change locations..." in a faint tone.

"Lead the way, t-back," replied Ohta, causing Soifon's brow to twitch in a manner remarkably similar to Yoruichi. Even the way she styled her hair was similar to her former Mistress, bangs framing her face and two tufts flaring outward like furry ears. It was almost pitiable...

...

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After recovering her Captain's haori and reverting her Zanpakuto to its base state, Soifon led Ohta to an abandoned building a few kilometers away from their battle site, taking it upon herself to explain, "This is a safe house the Onmitsukidō use to recuperate and conduct surveillance in the western district. The walls are soundproofed, and there are fragments of Sekkiseki infused within, so our Reiyroku won't leak outside..."

"Then consider yourself lucky I'm not an enemy," remarked Ohta, earning a disgusted frown for his trouble. Immediately afterward, however, Soifon approached him, making no effort to disguise the fact she was sniffing his body.

"I knew it..." growled Soifon, barring her teeth as she accused, "You have La–Shihouin Yoruichi's scent on you..."

Since it had been at least a century since Soifon served under Yoruichi, Ohta couldn't help raising his brows as he asked, "You can recognize her scent after all this time...?"

As there was no way she could reveal she had several of Yoruichi's used and discarded clothes sealed away to preserve their scent, Soifon didn't answer Ohta's query, reacting by narrowing her eyes and asking, "What is your relationship with Shihouin Yoruichi...?"

Recognizing the challenging glimmer in Soifon's eyes, Ohta decided to tell the truth, admitting, "She was my first woman and the person who turned me into a Shinigami..."

Looking like she had sustained a serious injury, Soifon clutched her chest and uttered a pained "K-Kuh...". She could smell the scent of sex on Ohta's body, but having her suspicions confirmed gave her cold chills and made her want to slam her forehead against the nearest wall...

Leaving Ohta completely speechless, Soifon approached the nearby wall, put her hands on it, and promptly banged her forehead against it several times, causing tiny particulates of dust and stone to fall from the ceiling. When she was done, she turned around, blood trickling from her forehead and parting at the bridge of her nose.

"What makes you special?" questioned Soifon, her eyes making it clear she expected a serious answer.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta revealed, "I was born with an outrageous amount of mental energy and can grasp most techniques after witnessing them just a few times. I'm also only fifteen, but according to your former Mistress, I should be able to defend myself against most acting Captains at least. That's why I'm here, alone, and she's babysitting the others who came with us."

"Yoruichi-sama is here..." muttered Soifon, temporarily losing focus and nearly collapsing due to a sudden influx of emotions and her self-inflicted head trauma. She honestly would have preferred that, an offended glower marring her face when Ohta prevented her collapse by grabbing her right arm and supporting her with his other hand on her waist.

Pushing against Ohta, Soifon intended to force him away but propelled herself backward. His immovability annoyed her even more, but she did her best to suppress her fury, asking, "Does that mean you are a consort of the Shihouin Clan...?"

Without waiting for Ohta's response, Soifon's expression became outright murderous as she affirmed, "No...if that were true, you wouldn't be here to rescue that Kuchiki woman..."

"A century has passed since you last met your Mistress," countered Ohta. "The idea to rescue Rukia was hers, predating our relationship. But you're not wrong. I'm 'not' a consort of the Shihouin Clan. How could I be when your Mistress is currently in exile...?"

Interpreting Ohta's words to indicate he 'would' become a consort, Soifon exhaled a sigh of relief. She still felt an almost overwhelming urge to stab him over, and over, and over again, but while she outwardly expressed her 'hatred' for Yoruichi, she was still a faithful servant of the Shihouin Clan...

Recalling something Yoruichi had told him when they were discussing Soifon, Ohta said, "Oh, yeah. Other than referring to her as your former Mistress, Yoruichi also asked me to say this..."

With Soifon staring at him with slightly raised brows, Ohta regained his cheeky smile and added, "She told me to tell you I hate Urahara with a passion and that if you were being especially difficult, I should refer to you as Little Fēng."

For the second time since the start of their conversation, Soifon looked like she had taken critical damage. Ohta had anticipated this to an extent. What he didn't expect was for Soifon to growl, "You bastard..." with tears building in the corners of her eyes. More surprisingly, she began to pull at the fabric around her waist, seemingly intending to strip...

("That fucking cat...")

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(A/N: Ohta tried to sidestep but stepped directly on the landmine...)