Author's note: If you feel like you've read this before, it's probably because you have. The first version was titled "Shatter" and there were several reasons why I felt the need to revise it. This is the revised version. I am sorry for any confusion!

Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next

Unohana Retsu approached the lone figure on the hill.

"You're a hard person to find, Shihouin-san," she remarked. The purple-haired woman next to her remained silent, her eyes focused elsewhere. Unohana followed her line of sight. Not surprisingly, Sui-Feng was at the end of it. The second division captain was currently training some of her squad members in the large area that the hill overlooked.

The motherly Shinigami contemplated for a moment.

"You love her."

"Am I that obvious?" Yoruichi asked, a little taken aback.

"I don't think she knows, if that's what you're worried about," Unohana reassured her. "Have you talked to her since you came back?" she asked. "Besides business related conversations?" Yoruichi shook her head in the negative.

"I wouldn't even know where to start." Golden eyes turned to Unohana briefly, wistful and a little sad. Then she turned back to watching Sui-Feng. "Every time I see her I second guess myself. I fell in love with her long before I had to leave, but I never told her how I felt because I thought it would be safer for both of us that way. I wonder what might have been different if I hadn't been afraid to tell her." She sighed. "Now everything is different. I don't even know if she's forgiven me for leaving, or if she considers us friends." Unohana frowned.

"Surely she understands that you acted with the best intentions in mind, given the circumstances." Yoruichi looked unconvinced.

"You weren't there when she first saw me back in Soul Society. She wanted to kill me, Retsu." She shuddered, thinking about all the hōmonka that had covered her body during that fight.

"But you're sitting here, are you not? She didn't kill you," Unohana gently reminded Yoruichi. "Didn't you tell me that she asked you why you didn't take her with you? It seems to me like she never stopped caring for you. I don't think that has changed." Yoruichi frowned thoughtfully, considering Unohana's words.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, uncertain. Then she smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You probably know Sui-Feng better than I do now."

"It's not like you to be so hard on yourself. You were separated for a hundred years and your reunion was in the middle of a war; of course things changed." Unohana patted Yoruichi's shoulder and smiled gently. "If you're really worried about it, don't rush telling her how you feel. Rebuild your friendship first and take it from there."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a chance," Yoruichi admitted sheepishly. Unohana smiled.

"Now you get it." Yoruichi suddenly hugged her.

"Thank you. How do you always know the right thing to say?" Before Unohana even had a chance to answer, the flash goddess was gone.

Sui-Feng dismissed her squad, staying behind in the clearing to practice by herself. The war was over, but it wouldn't do to get complacent, especially since she was now missing an arm. She was in the midst of swinging her zanpakuto when she heard the unmistakable 'whoosh' sound that signified someone using shunpo. She turned to see who it was.

"Yoruichi-sama?" she asked, surprised.

"Do you want to spar with me?" Yoruichi asked. Training together was something they'd enjoyed in the past, so she thought it might be a good place to start in her quest to befriend Sui-Feng again. Sui-Feng paused.

"I don't see why not," she answered finally. Yoruichi faltered a little at Sui-Feng's reluctance.

"I mean, if you don't want to, that's ok, too." She tugged her ponytail self-consciously. Sui-Feng shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine," she reassured Yoruichi. "I could stand to train with someone who can actually fight back." She said it with a perfectly straight face, so Yoruichi wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

They faced each other, settling into fighting stances. Yoruichi took Sui-Feng's words as an invitation to make the first attack. She started out slowly so that she could see how differently Sui-Feng fought with only one arm. It didn't take long for Yoruichi to realize that sparring was probably a bad idea.

"You're going easy on me, aren't you?" It was more of an accusation than a question, although Sui-Feng's tone was neutral. Yoruichi tried to think of something to say that would not make the situation explosive. She came up with nothing.

"No, I wouldn't say that. But I only go all out on my enemies," she replied lamely.

"In other words, yes, you are going easy on me," Sui-Feng's tone was a little dangerous now. "Do you still think you're better than me?" Yoruichi forgot to defend herself for a moment, stunned by Sui-Feng's words.

"What? No, I never-"

Sui-Feng interrupted Yoruichi by launching an angry, reiatsu-infused punch. If not for her fast reflexes, Yoruichi would have taken the full brunt of it with her face. Instead, she deflected it with her left hand, flying back several feet in the process and kicking up dust along the way. Through the cloud she could see that Sui-Feng looked even angrier, if that was possible. But before Yoruichi could find out what was going on with the taichou, Sui-Feng took off.

"Shit!" That had not gone at all how she'd hoped. She debated chasing after Sui-Feng, but decided it would probably be better to let the other woman calm down first. With a sigh, Yoruichi flopped down on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest, and buried her face in her arms. She didn't notice the hell butterfly fluttering by until it landed on her shoulder, interrupting her moping session. Yoruichi frowned in concentration as she listened to it. After a moment it took off again, flying gracefully through the air. Yoruichi followed suit, having been summoned to the Soutaichou's office.

"I meant to speak with you earlier; in fact, that's why I went looking for you. But I got distracted when I saw you on the hill," Unohana said. "I want to hear about that, but first, let's get down to business." Yoruichi nodded, and Unohana continued. "I have need of a taichou for one of the squads and you were the first person to come to mind for the position. I wanted to know if you would like to take it."

"That wasn't quite what I was expecting. Which squad are you referring to?" Yoruichi asked.

"Squad Five," Unohana answered. "It's Aizen Sousuke's old squad, and it's still in a state of disarray. The other squads had competent fukutaichous to lead them during the war, but Hinamori Momo was not able to provide that same level of leadership for hers. They could really use someone with your experience." She smiled at Yoruichi. "So what do you think? Will you take over as their taichou?" Yoruichi considered the offer at length.

"Sure, I'd be happy to help," she replied finally. "What about the other squads, though? Five isn't the only squad still without a taichou," Yoruichi probed.

"Kira Iduru and Shuuhei Hisagi are acting taichous for squads three and nine, respectively. Only lack of a bankai keeps them from being official taichous. That brings me to another request I have of you."

"I'm listening," Yoruichi folded her arms.

"I've heard that Urahara Kisuke invented a method in which bankai could be learned in three days, and that it was successful for both himself and Kurosaki Ichigo. I am also given to understand that you oversaw both training sessions. Would it be possible to use that with Kira and Shuuhei?"

"You don't miss much, do you?" Yoruichi frowned thoughtfully. "It takes a lot of potential to do it that way. I'd have to see them first. But it's not entirely impossible if they have the motivation."

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Unohana asked.

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything," Yoruichi said. "It can't go any worse than my training session with Sui-Feng did, though," she added, making a face. Unohana raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly happened?" Yoruichi turned and looked out the window.

"She was training, so I asked if we could spar, since you know, that's something we used to do." She frowned. "But it didn't work out very well. I was holding back so I wouldn't hurt her and she took it as me thinking I was better than her." Yoruichi shook her head. "I've never thought that. But she took off before I could talk to her about it." She turned around, her arms folded. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do to make this work."

"This rift in your relationship didn't happen overnight. Repairing it won't be fast or easy, either," Unohana said. "The only thing you can do is give it time." Yoruichi sighed.

"I think I can deal with that. At least being a taichou again means I don't have to come up with excuses to see her," she mused out loud.

"There is that," Unohana agreed. "I could also arrange for you to work together sometimes."

"You would do that?" Yoruichi asked, surprised but not ungrateful.

"It's not without benefit to my own plans," Unohana explained. "I want all of the squads fully cross-trained. It is good to have specialties but being well-rounded will provide more protection in the long-run. You and Sui-Feng Taichou are still unmatched in hakuda, and eventually I'd like you to teach select Shinigami your shunko technique as well."

"You're sharp, Retsu. Here I thought shunko was a secret." She smiled a little. "I think your plan is a great idea. I don't think Kenpachi or Mayuri will be too pleased, though." Unohana smiled, but it was that smile that would make even Syunsui Kyoraku and Ukitake Juushiro tremble in fear.

"They will not have a choice." Yoruichi sobered.

"I see." In the blink of an eye, Unohana's smile returned to normal.

"I think we are done here, Shihouin-san. I'll be calling a meeting in the near future, but in the meantime, why don't you get acquainted with your new squad?" Yoruichi understood it for the veiled order that it was.

"Yes, of course." She started to walk out of Unohana's office. Reaching the door, she turned around. "By the way, thank you for the second chance." Unohana just smiled. Yoruichi slid the shoji door shut behind her and flash-stepped towards the Squad 5 barracks, her new home away from home.