Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…

Author's Note: A lot of people have been asking me how Fong managed to leave Soul Society in the first place. This passage offers and indirect explanation and was originally intended to be part of the story, but I couldn't find a good place to put it. In the end, I decided to add it as a "deleted scene."

"I see," Kisuke Urahara said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "So, you came to the world of the living under the pretext of helping Kurosaki-san develop his shinigami powers." Kisuke raised his fan to hide the devious grin cut his face from ear to ear. "Don't you think you're a little old for school-girl crushes?" The shopkeeper's wisecrack was immediately met with a punishing blow to the mouth. "Right, right," he sighed, after the pain subsided. "I suppose that was a little off-topic. Tell me, Soi Fong: do you truly plan to train that boy?" His carefree face suddenly darkened with an almost malevolent seriousness.

"Yes," she replied.

"Are you aware of what you'll be up against?" Soi Fong paused, unsure of what to say.

"What do you mean?"

"Take my advice, Soi Fong: get out while you can." The female captain's eyes widened as if to protest, but Kisuke quickly continued. "Kurosaki-san is a different sort of shinigami, one which you are not equipped to deal with. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"You pretentious bastard!" she spat. "How dare you! I didn't come here to listen to you lecture me on shortcomings!"

"Then, what did you come here for?" Kisuke asked, calmly. Soi Fong looked away, struggling to suppress her temper.

"I don't know," she replied. Soi Fong climbed to her feet and glared haughtily down at the grizzled shopkeeper. "What could I possible have to learn from an exiled has-been, anyway?" With that, she turned and stormed out of the shoten, slamming the shoji door behind her.

"My, my, my," Kisuke sighed, shaking his head. "I swear, she's just as stubborn as he is… They truly are two of a kind, wouldn't you say, Yoruichi-san?" A pair of golden cat eyes blinked silently from the shadows.

XXX