A Hornet's Wrath
IchigoXSoiFon

Ichigo walked around the seireitei, wanting to get a fix on his surroundings again after not being there for the past 17 months. Not wanting to run into Kenpachi, he stayed away from the Squad 11 area. While walking he arrived at an area he was unfamiliar with. He'd never come here during his attempt to save Rukia or any of the other times he came to the Soul Society. He jumped to the top of one of the buildings so he could try to locate any familiar faces.

Everything was quiet until Ichigo heard shouting, "Hurry up you lazy maggots! You're the Stealth Force! Now show me you're not supposed to be in Squad 4!" Recognizing the angry voice of Captain Soi-Fon in the air attracted his attention. By the sounds of things she must be out training with her forces. Ichigo could hear the groans and smacks from a distance, cringing as he thought he'd heard a whip being employed. Still, his curiosity was piqued; he'd never seen how the stealth force trained and he figured he could use the opportunity to see how they fight. Still keeping to the rooftop Ichigo made his way over there.

When he reached the Squad 2 training grounds he sat down, overlooking the carnage before him. It appeared that Soi-Fon had decided on an 'Everyone vs. her' exercise and she was wiping the floor with her men. Her Lieutenant was the first to feel her fists; Ichigo cringed as she pummeled him into the floor. For the next 30 minutes Ichigo watched as her men went down one by one. It was entertaining to watch as she smashed wave after wave of her men with nothing but her fists. "Whew! Hanatoro's gonna be busy tonight!" He saw Omaeda try to get back up and swing his ball and chain at her; but she merely flashstepped forward, grab the chain halfway then proceed to hurl the metal spiked ball back at him. Ichigo watched as he went sailing through a nearby wall.

Once the battle was done and all of her men were down for the count, Soi-Fon looked around still wanting to pound more faces. Ichigo tried to hide but he was too late as her steely gaze came upon him, "Ichigo! What are you doing on my roof?" she angrily asked, a little ticked at herself for being too caught up in the fight to notice the boy's presence. "If you're just gonna sit there like a bump on a log, then get down her and fight me! I could do with some more action!" She tapper her foot impatiently as she waited for the boy to get down from the roof.

Ichigo could see that this wouldn't end well for him. He remembered when they were forced to fight during the whole "Captain Amagai" crisis and he could still feel the punches to his ribs when he thought about it hard enough. He slowly started to back up and tried to get off the roof, "No thanks Soi-Fon. I'm uh… I'm simply trying to find Renji and Rukia. I don't really have time to fight you. Besides, aren't you tired from all that fighting?" He yelped as the short captain appeared in front of him with eyes seething, like she was trying to burn a hole in him just by looking.

"How many times are you going to address me without my proper title boy? Has living as a normal human made you lose your spine?" she harshly asked. Still Ichigo refused and tried to back away, not wanting to deal with the feisty woman right now. Why couldn't any of her men get back up and go at her again? "I'm not Zaraki boy, I'm not one to let my opponent run and hide like a coward so I can play hide-and-seek!" She stepped in tandem with Ichigo; soon Ichigo was backed to the edge of the roof with nowhere to go. She eyed the boy for moment before deciding to light a fire in him, "Or is it… that you aren't man enough to fight me anymore? Tell me, has the substitute hero been doing things that have made him soft?"

Ichigo shook his head, feeling his face get red at her taunts. He knew she was trying to bait him and let her simply run her mouth. "From the look of your face it seems like you know what I'm talking about. What, was Lieutenant Kuchiki and that ditzy girl not enough for you? How many times did you have your sisters service you?" She knew she had crossed the line but she had too much adrenaline pumping to care. She wanted to get Ichigo motivated. Well, she got it.

Ichigo reacted faster than even she could react on sheer instinct, his big brother nature kicking in; nobody insulted his sisters, not even her. Before he even realized what he was doing his fist smashed into her left eye. The blow was strong enough to completely knock her flat on her back. When Ichigo realized what he'd done he checked to make sure she was alright, all the while fearful of a massive beating. She seemed alright and it was apparent she was simply knocked out. "Ohhhhh CRAP!" Ichigo made like a banana and split, quickly making his way away from the roof in an attempt to try to find a place to hide. At first he thought he'd hide with Rukia or Renji but knew that once he told them what he'd done they'd give him up, not wanting to incur her wrath. He decided to hide in the hot springs area he trained in, at least until she'd simmer down… however long that was….

10 Minutes Later….

Soi-Fon awoke feeling a massive pain in her head. As she rose she saw that her left eye was swollen completely shut. She hissed angrily as she looked around. Ichigo was nowhere to be found. The coward must've fled while she was zonked out. She was not going to let this stand; she'd find Kurosaki and show him what happens to those who crossed her. 'Then again…'she thought touching her swollen eye, 'He is the first person to actually buck up and hit me in years. Perhaps I'll show him how unwise it is for him to act on impulse….' Smiling evilly as dirty thoughts coursed through her she took off. She didn't need to use her skills to find him. There's only one place in the Soul Society he'd try to hide that didn't involve his friends. 'Well now… maybe some one-on-one time with him would be a bit… invigorating….

To Be Continued….