Cat 'n Commander (Private: Hijikata & Yoruichi)

The woman's agile frame lay sprawled across the floor, arms spread out away from her body, and legs entangled within a small sheet. Her chest rose and fell subtly in even breathes, a key indicator that the woman was asleep. Yes, her eyes were closed tight as she reveled in her sweet dreams, and a small snot bubble was delicately placed outside one of her nostrils, expanding and shrinking along with her soft breaths. Some people might be disgusted by such a sight, just as some would be annoyed at the fact that she was snoring, loudly. Here lie Yoruichi Shihouin, recently reinstated Captain of the 2nd Division, sleeping on the heated mats of the 2nd Division Barracks in the middle of the room. Excepting Soifon, there was nobody who would be willing to disturb the Captain's peace should they come upon her. They simply would circumvent the strewn body and go on about their business, keeping their petty thoughts to themselves. Yet, electronic devices did not seem to possess the same sympathy for Yoruichi as the Shinigami did, as it suddenly began to buzz from within her apparel. Still in dream mode, she would make a frown, causing the snot bubble to pop unceremoniously. Her body stirred and rolled over onto its side, consequently throwing the blanket off of her legs. She really was not well-dressed.

For her bottoms, all she currently wore was a pair of plain white panties which was previously disguised by the shroud of the blanket. It revealed much of her dark chocolate colored skin, still rich and smooth despite an age that would make any human perform what they called a 'spit-take'. As for her top, she was wearing a the top half of her Executive Militia's uniform, covering the front of her body fairly well, but showing a bit much of her sides and completely exposing her back. It was tied around her neck and around her waist, somewhat reminiscent of an apron, but apparently that was the optimum style for Shunko. The only other thing that could be considered clothing from here on would be the white obi tied around her waist, which held the Divine Messenger Machine tight against her hip. So, when it began another bout of vibration, there would be no doubt that Yoruichi would be feeling it. Her frown deepened and she tossed again to the other side. Eventually, the device would begin ringing loudly at her, at which point the woman would up with a furious face, yelling "WHAT?!" It would take a while before she figured out the source of the cacophony, after which she would shove her hand into the sash and withdraw the device with wild motions. That which disturbed this woman's sleep was her enemy, but the Denreishinki was lucky it was just a machine. She read the alert, sighing, as apparently there was an aggregation of Gillians in Karakura that her Division was charged with responding to. She would shake her head as she stuffed the wretched device back into her Obi, and looked around for the rest of her clothing, which was scattered around the room. She remembered throwing them off of her body when she had decided to take a nap.

No, she wouldn't bother gathering up a strike team of Officers, nor any of the Onmitsukido; they would just be burdens. In the past hundred years, Yoruichi had far surpassed the average level of a Gotei Captain, making taking care of a few loose Gillians a walk in the park for her. Within a matter of seconds, she had her black stretch pants on and her Captain's haori draped over her body without bothering to put her arms through the sleeves. She hesitantly picked up her Zanpakutō, and strapped it to the back of her obi like she used to do long ago. She didn't bother walking outside, choosing just to thrust her blade forward from within this small room, and open Senkaimon indoors. The fabric of space would be torn apart to reveal the familiar Shoji-styled doors that stood between her and a dimensional tunnel ripe with turbulence. The doors slid open, and the purple-haired woman was walking through into the red light beyond. With great finality, the doors slammed shut with a clack, and Senkaimon imploded into a single point of light, before it too disappeared. Yoruichi would be making her way through the blustering rift now, walking as opposed to running, trying to make it to the other side of the channel where a second set of doors would await.

The brilliant white corridor was seemingly empty, devoid of substance excepting the entrance and the exit. Yet, as Yoruichi progressed toward the last set of doors, the gentle padding of her footsteps would echo throughout the dimension as if they were hitting a solid wooden floor. She wasn't putting any extraneous effort into rushing to her destination, content with a gentle stroll through the blindingly-lit dimension, just as her companion Jigokuchō was. The coal black butterfly flew as they often did, not in a straight path such as a bird, but erratically without predictable pattern. When it finally reached the end pair of doors, it would seem to touch its infinitesimal appendages upon the wooden flat, before rebounding off and floating in the opposite direction. It passed over Yoruichi's shoulder to head back home to the Soul Society, having completed its task successfully. The dark-skinned woman did not look back, seeming unconcerned with it as she had known these creatures for very long already. She knew it would get back safely, and so she was free to continue about her own business. Her fingers pressed into the small crack between the sliding Shoji doors, and with one sweep of her arm to the side, they were thrown open to reveal the world on the other side.

Despite the seemingly radiant light coming from every direction within the Senkaimon path, the light of the Living World's hit Yoruichi's dilated eyes with great force, causing her to squint to begin with. It took time for the luminescence to fade away, and for the colors and shapes to materialize. The Senkaimon outer gate had opened hundreds of yards in the air, ripping through the fabric of the sky to present Shoji doors that appeared to be connected to nothing. As Yoruichi took to the scene of distress, she would remember this place as being the outer ring of Karakura Central, developed with a suburban style in mind, yet plagued with the greater diversity of race. Creatures such as Hollows and Arrancar and Demons found their way around this place, often terrorizing it as the location was just outside the great barrier of Karakura. And as a testament to this truth, the first beings the Shihouin would notice were a pack of Gillian-class Menos Grandes. Like skyscrapers in motion they were lumbering around the streets of the city outskirts, crushing homes and ruining the infrastructure from their movements alone. But they seemed to be distracted by something, of which the woman would notice a second later as her focus fell upon a male figure who was floating in mid-air with a sword in hand. That reiatsu...

She had arrived just in time to catch the sight of the man being caught by one of the Gillians, taking a direct body blow that sent him flying to the side. Unfortunately, though he was able to hold strong after the attack connected, he was wide open for the following blow from a different Gillian, sending his form hurtling back down to Earth like a meteor caught in Earth's gravity well. Just to compare sizes here, one Gillian's hands was greater in bulk than a human body; in fact, it was several times larger. So, both Yoruichi and this other male paled in comparison to a Gillian's size. Yet, Yoruichi would not be very worried for that man's well-being. Even as he was smacked down and impacted the streets below at high speeds, she could sense the spiritual power emanating from the being. He was a Shinigami of at least a Captain level, and of all emotions to be feeling right now, curiosity was the one that struck the Shihouin's mind. She squinted her eyes even more and zeroed in on the robed figure that was now drawing himself out of the crater his crash caused. A masculine body of light-toned skin, a lengthy head of black hair, the violet-shaded kimono wrapped loosely around his body... She knew this person! "Hey... Ohayo! Hijikata-saaaan!" Suddenly the woman's demeanor shifted as she called loudly to him. She had a great wide smile on her face and was wildly waving her arms at him in a very enthusiastic manner. Despite the presence of the Menos Grande here, she seemed particularly ignorant of the situation as she greeted the fellow Captain.

The Gillians seemed to be just as unaware of the newcomer as she was of them, and continued to make their move upon Toshizo while he was still pulling himself out of the rubble. One came forth with its hand cocked back, just before it was released like a piston and came hurtling at the injured Captain. Yoruichi was still flailing as she floated out of the Senkaimon, trying to get him to take notice of her and address her back. Yet still the Hollow's fist rocketed at him, and from her vantage point it was looking more and more like he was not going to respond to it. She made a small noise of confusion, before suddenly her visage blurred and disappeared just as the Hollow's great punch was about to connect. The white vise was immediately halted with a voluminous crack; the shockwave created from the excess energy discharged outwards and carried its sound and force for hundreds of meters in every direction. Trees bowed as leaves rustled, glass windows shattered as the streets ruptured, and plum-shaded hair billowed ferociously as the wind struck it. Her form had almost instantaneously materialized between Toshizo and the Gillian's attack, with her own fist pressed against it with a stiff-arm. Mere milliseconds after the collision, the Gillian's arm would suddenly convulse and burst in multiple areas to gush small fountains of crimson blood. Yoruichi's body was as steadfast as a statue, unmoved by the Gillian's attack, while unfortunately for that Hollow, it suddenly stumbled back several paces as the recoil kicked in.

That was not all; as the Gillian was recovering, Yoruichi would drop her arm and then move it around to her back to grasp the top of her scabbard just under where her Zanpakutō's guard was. Despite the fact that she could easily destroy the Gillian with her bare fists, her Soul Slayer was necessary for the cleansing process. She delicately placed her thumb against it and pushed, revealing an inch of the iridescent blade as it vibrated with a subtle metallic note. Her target did not seem capable of expressing emotion beyond screaming at her and retaliating, thus it would begin again with its uninjured arm. It brought its hand falling down upon the two, its size easily able to encompass both Captains if it worked as planned. But Yoruichi would only huff out a small breath of exasperation as her hand twitched. What came next could not be seen by the naked eye, but it happened as the great Hollow's movements suddenly froze in place. A glowing line appeared on the front of its body, perfectly bisecting the creature from top to bottom. Then without a second's interval of time it was split in half, blood cascading like a waterfall as the two sections fell away from one another. Before they could even reach the ground, their form dissolved into base spiritual particles, signifying that the Hollow had been purified and was being sent to the Rukongai as a Plus. With a light click, Yoruichi's blade was resheathed once more, and she finally had enough room to look back at Toshizo.

Without warning she threw a respectably strong kick into the young man's leg that would most likely send him tumbling back into the rubble. Again, Yoruichi's disposition shifted as she threw a humorously furious look at the Captain, accentuated with popping veins on her forehead as she yelled at him. "Oi! What the hell are you doing just lazing around?! Get up off your ass and fight!" She was truly surprised by the injuries Toshizo had taken in his fight with mere Hollow foot soldiers, as they were more or less cannon fodder in battles, and even less respectable without an Adjuchas to lead them. Well, it was great and all that he took the initiative and was first to arrive and respond to the threat, just as his Division was known for doing. However, it didn't matter how fast the reaction was if he got himself beat up so quickly. She would conclude her berating of the Captain by kicking a dislodged chunk of asphalt at him, and then turn back around to face the remaining party of Gillians. They were converging on their location now, and Yoruichi would blast off the ground and hurtle towards the closest one. With a loud cry, her blade was flying out of its holster and finding itself embedded into the mask of the poor Gillian, thanks to a Flash Step bringing her past the variety of flailing limbs trying to intercept her. Two down, and eight to go it appeared. Whether or not Toshizo Hijikata joined the brawl, Yoruichi would rush forth with her Zanpakutō brandished, aiming to cut down each and every one of these beasts.

"Sōkotsu!"

The voice was but a whisper in the face of the following attack, as Yoruichi's fists appulsed the Hollow's stomach with indescribable force, one blow slightly above the other. As her balled-up hands sunk into the inky flesh of the Gillian, a shockwave would ripple outward from the origin of impact that reverberated not only through the body of the corrupted soul, but through the medium of air around it. The woman's violet hair rocketed backwards in the wake of the outgoing tide, as was the bottom flap of her Captain's haori. Light seemed to warp around the creature from the sheer scale of the excess force, leaving the actual trauma of the direct attack only to the imagination. Soon, from the point of impact and outward, the Gillian would begin to disintegrate as its form could not contain the damage in any way, shape, or form. It was evaporating into individual spiritual particles that were so fine that the naked eye could not see such infinitesimal specks of Reishi. And for a moment the scene was saddening, for it seemed that the creature was going to die and be erased from the soul cycle completely. Yet, Yoruichi's form vanished and reappeared precisely on the tip of the Gillian's conical nose, her sword in a reverse grip with her right hand, cocked back to attack. She swung it horizontally, torquing her body into the direction of it to empower the strike. Like before, her blade was far off from even scratching the mask of the creature with its tip, and for an idle second nothing would appear to have happened. Then time turned, and a clean line appeared on the mask bisecting both of the creatures eyes. With a pained scream, the Hollow's head would be lopped in half, therefore purifying the creature and sending the many souls that resided within it back along the natural cycle. Thankfully the process had occured before the creature's body could be completely eradicated by the Double Bone technique, and Yoruichi would float off with the knowledge that it no longer had to suffer.

This was just one of many creative ways that the Shihouin woman could use to take care of this Gillian infestation, and she was really having fun with it. It was not to say that she was really letting loose, because these Menos were far subpar and didn't challenge her at all. As one could clearly see, the site was thoroughly one-sided in Yoruichi's favor. She was not breaking a sweat. But still, any chances for her to actually fight at all were few and far between, hence why she was starting to feel the beginnings of an exciting workout. Yoruichi looked around now, noticing that the Gillians around her were just now walking towards her; it would seem as though the exorbitant force from her attack had actually blown them away from her and held them at bay while she performed her purification on this one. Still, even now that they had recovered, they were slothful creatures. She had time to glance over toward her fellow Captain, Toshizo. She had noted the surge of Reiatsu from him when he had joined the fight right after her, but didn't spare him a look while she was having her fun. Now, she caught him in the act of dicing three Gillians at once with a single slash, no doubt showing off his own capability now that he had an audience. As if to confirm her thoughts he turned his attention onto her and poised himself into a cocksure stance with his sword lying upon his shoulder. Following his nervy question, Yoruichi would only reply with a "Tch," clicking her teeth together in discontent. Eager to one-up the Captain, she held her blade horizontally before her, still in its reverse grip. The Menos Grandes were closing in, bringing their limbs up to prepare for deadly strikes. Yet as the arms reached their apex, Yoruichi's form would once again distort as the Flash Step was used.

She was gone like the wind, and the wind itself seemed to whine in response. Something happened, but it was most likely too fast to even be noticed by any onlookers. At best, an incredibly fleeting blur could be seen near the heads of each of the three remaining hollows at the same exact time, before leaving in their wake a ringing metallic sound. Immediately after that cacophony was the mutilation of the creatures' heads, recieving several perforating lacerations on their masks that chopped them up into dozens of various pieces. Blood spurted everywhere into the air, and they did not even have the chance to scream in pain before they began evaporating from the head down to the feet. It only took an instant, and the final concentration of Gillians were defeated. Whether or not the spectacle was awe-striking to Toshizo would cease to matter as a loud and aggravated voice yelled straight into his ear. "Amateurish!!" Yoruichi hollered from directly behind him, purposely intending to distress his ears in the process. Her blade was already sheathed in its scabbard, and yet there had been no sound to indicate it. Her arms were planted on her hips, and she was just floating behind Toshizo with an evil little smirk on her face. The fight was done, and so now the Captain was her prey, if her expression was of any indication to that. "I might have expected this from a Lieutenant, but not a Captain! I can't believe you got yourself injured by a mere Gillian, and then you're gonna blame me for it. Bah!" The last word she would enunciate with exasperation as she craned her head back to face the sky. She wondered if he was really going to stick to that excuse of his when he responded, because it really wasn't a smart one. When she looked at Toshizo again, her expression shifted to something reminiscent of boredom; half-lidded dull eyes and a slight frown, even picking at her ear with her right pinky while she was at it for effect. She would hopefully annoy him with the look while she waited for his 'alibi'.

Though she had chosen to highlight the moment with a flat expression as though she didn't care, anyone who knew better would realize just what a pretense it was. She was hiding behind the brush of her face like a predator, prowling, scrutinizing on the prey. Yoruichi planned to be patient, but the wait to recieve her reward was no profound amount of time at all; his prior mask of composure dissipated and he flamed up in response to the woman's teasing words. A gratified smirk fluttered across her face, thinking this one was far too easy to nudge and prod—a ball rolling around in the palm of her hand. To be fairly honest, Yoruichi got more than she wished for, as her fellow Captain felt the necessity to explain himself rather thoroughly. It was rambling, as far as she was concerned, and her grin flitted away as her amber hues began to draw away from his face and wander rather shamelessly down his body, a huff of exasperation made in the middle of his excuses. The man already had one of those pretty faces, so it made Yoruichi wonder exactly what was going on down under. She internally cursed his choice of clothing for the slack fabrics he wore. They gave away nothing, and it was just as irritating as having information withheld from you. She hardly cared for the style of his apparel when it came to appealing the body beneath it could possibly be. So it came once again to her disappointment, her stray eyes acquiring none of the woman's desired information. They snapped back up to attention to realize he was still prattling in his own defense.

Yoruichi reached up to her chin with one of her free hands, capturing the jaw in an alcove of the thumb and forefinger as she delicately stroked it. Her other arm wrapped around the elbow of the elevated limb, hiking it up and holding it in place as she pondered for a spell. A wicked little scheme was formulating within the Shihouin's mind as she paused, and at this point it had to be begging the question of whether or not she was even paying attention to Toshizo anymore. Irregardless, her frank contemplations proceeded with the accompaniment a taciturn hum. She considered the man's state of injury, however meager it be, as a means to an end; an excuse to be used for the greater good. That end-game came in the form of potential eye candy, a peek to see just what kind of figure lied in secrecy under the cumbersome shroud of his. She had originally been planning to take the easily-vexed man to the Fourth Division's medical facilities back in the Soul Society, effectively washing her hands of him and being done with the matter. However, her thoughts turned to the dilapidated building her old friend ran, a candy shop not too far off from here that also comprised of private quarters. Left in the dust kicked up by the wave of a new era, the building was seldom-visited and well isolated from the majority of Karakura's community; the perfect place. It all meshed together very well, bringing a slight smile to the woman's face yet again.

As if on cue, Yoruichi heard the pained expletive he grunted rather unceremoniously as his body staggered back, losing control over his altitude and beginning to fall... the violet-haired woman was already there, the point in which she had moved somehow failing to be recorded in the flow of time. Toshizo Hijikata would find himself thrown over the smaller woman's shoulder rather effortlessly, his long hair whipping wildly around before subsiding against her back like a raven waterfall. His feet in turn would be dangling down from the front of the woman's body so long as he didn't try to fight her hold on him. Her arm did seem to look frail from initial appearances, but the damage she had dealt to the Gillian would have shattered that illusion quickly; as it was her limb wrapped around the man's body with a stalwart strength. In this position, it was unlikely her companion would not be able to detect slight traces of her scent. The mixture of essences in the aroma were scattered in a fashion that seemed to defy a certain description, but of all of them the strongest were those of salmon, rosemary soap, and the tinge of sweat just beginning to exude from her pores as a result of the small workout; not that she expected the man to take in a husky gasp or any such thing. Rather, the woman would derive greater joy from flustering him once again.

"Yeah, yeah, we can work on your cover story later," Yoruichi responded, as though she had been actually listening to his justification of all things. "But, uh... Your injury looks rather grave. I'm going to have to take you somewhere where I can heal you up." She waited for no acknowledgement of the matter, or any undesirable dissent; within the second she was off, flash stepping through the air with Toshizo's stomach held tight against her shoulder. Being the Goddess of Flash entailed quite a great deal of skill in the art of Hohou, and so the act in which she travelled toward the Urahara Shouten was more along the lines of a casual walk to anyone else. She was taking it easy, yet still managed to reach the shop within ten seconds quite easily. A circle of dust kicked out from the ground as she landed before the doors of the shop with her patient in tow. He wouldn't see exactly where they were just yet, as Yoruichi would not allow him to turn around or escape her clutches. But, as the woman slid the entrance open and walked inside, he would find them in an antiquated candy store that was rather homely for a place of business. She could feel the other presences within the building, but it was a weekend and the shop was closed for the day. No one was there to see them enter. The dark-skinned woman would smile deviishly as she passed through to the back without a word.