Early the next morning, inside a certain dormitory.
After finally coaxing Momo Hinamori to sleep the night before, Soifon had used a Kikaitō on her own within the squad barracks. Little did she expect that her first attempt at an 'illegal crossing' would nearly end in disaster; she was almost swallowed whole by the Kōtotsu.
Alas, this was the fate of those who attempted unregulated travel without a schedule for the Kōtotsu's appearances.
Luckily, her Shunpo was currently the best in the Soul Society.
Before leaving the Dangai, Soifon had even turned back to glare at the relentlessly pursuing Kōtotsu, mentally noting that once she became a Transcendent, it would be the first thing she'd use for target practice.
After getting up and washing up, Soifon's footsteps instinctively drifted toward Momo Hinamori's dormitory.
The room was empty. The bed was neatly made, and the peach pits left on the table from the night before had vanished. The place was scrubbed clean.
'Out so early?'
Soifon turned around just in time to see Marechiyo Ōmaeda's round figure waddling through the hallway ahead, clutching a stack of documents.
"Ōmaeda."
"Captain Soifon!" Marechiyo stopped abruptly, a fawning smile plastered on his face. "What are your orders?"
"Have you seen Momo Hinamori?"
"Miss Hinamori..." Marechiyo paused to recall. "I saw her heading out before the sky was even fully light."
Soifon fell into thought for a moment before waving her hand to dismiss Marechiyo to his duties.
It wasn't until work was nearly set to begin that morning that the door to Soifon's office was pushed open, and a breathless Momo Hinamori walked in.
Momo's cheeks were flushed from exercise, and she had changed into a fresh Shihakushō. Soifon could even catch a faint scent of soap from a recent bath.
"Captain Soifon, good morning!"
Momo Hinamori steadied her breathing and bowed to Soifon.
Since it was during duty hours, she had to address her as Captain.
"Good morning, Momo," Soifon said, studying her for a moment. "Were you out training?"
Caught red-handed, Momo scratched her head sheepishly. "I practiced for a little while."
Soifon teased her, "No Jinzen today?"
"Tobiume said our synchronization isn't high enough yet. She said there's no point in continuing to meet right now."
Momo smiled and traced the hilt of the Zanpakutō at her waist.
Synchronization isn't high enough?
Translated, that meant she hadn't used her Shikai enough and her combat experience was lacking.
'Who knew Tobiume was a natural-born battle maniac?'
While Soifon was lost in thought, Momo had already officially entered 'work mode.' It made Soifon feel a bit awkward to be the only leader slacking off nearby.
And so, Soifon decided to head out and slack off elsewhere.
...
Tenth Division Training Ground.
A massive ice dragon collided with a searing flame slash. The crimson strike carved through the frost-colored dragon as easily as a hot knife through butter.
"Not bad, Tōshirō! You're already stronger than Rangiku."
Isshin Shiba raised a hand to brush the ice shards from his hair, a brilliant smile on his face.
Facing his Captain's praise, Tōshirō gave a bashful smile, though he soon turned a speechless gaze toward the source of the instigating voice nearby.
Seeing the Captain disparaging her again, Rangiku Matsumoto raised her cup. "Keep it up, Tōshirō! If you beat the Captain, you can take his job!"
She was perched on the eaves of a nearby roof, sipping from a porcelain-white sake jar, yet her face showed no hint of a flush.
There was no telling how many times she had 'practiced' her drinking during work hours to build up such a tolerance.
The two in the training ground moved again, their crimson and frost-blue Reiatsu clashing violently. Rangiku Matsumoto watched with fascination, instinctively lifting her jar for another drink...
'Wait, where did my giant sake jar go?'
A silent figure appeared behind her, snatching the jar right out of her hand.
It was none other than Soifon, out on her slacking-off excursion.
"Drinking during work hours?" Soifon frowned at her friend. "Rangiku, your slacking is getting out of hand."
'Even I'm not this excessive,' Soifon added internally.
"Captain Soifon!?"
"How do you have time to come over here? Don't tell me you're slacking off too?"
Seeing that it was Soifon who had taken her bottle, Rangiku lost her temperamental edge.
"Nonsense. How can anything a Captain does be called 'slacking'?"
Soifon tossed the bottle with pinpoint accuracy into a distant trash bin before sitting down beside Rangiku to watch the spar between Tōshirō and Isshin Shiba.
"Tōshirō's strength is progressing rapidly," Soifon remarked, propping her chin on her hand as she teased her friend. "Don't you feel any sense of urgency? Vice. Cap. Tain."
Rangiku Matsumoto rolled her eyes. "None at all. If anything, I'd rather let Tōshirō have this Lieutenant position. I think the 3rd Seat suits me much better."
Speaking of which, she was also somewhat confused about her own situation. She asked Soifon why it seemed like her Reiatsu had hit a bottleneck years ago and hadn't grown an inch since.
She was stuck at the transition between the 5th and 4th Spiritual Rank, completely motionless.
Given the average lifespan of a Shinigami, Rangiku was still in her youth. With the potential she had shown, it was impossible for her progress to simply stall.
"..."
Soifon couldn't help but shift her gaze toward the Fifth Division. She didn't know how to explain it to Rangiku.
She wasn't ready to tell her that because Sōsuke Aizen had taken a Soul King fragment from her when she was a child, her soul was incomplete.
"What does Haineko have to say?"
Soifon steered the conversation toward Rangiku's Zanpakutō.
"Don't even get me started, Captain Soifon," Rangiku said, touching the scabbard at her waist. "Since my Reiatsu won't go up, Haineko can't do anything about it either."
Soifon nodded understandingly. It seemed Haineko was in the dark as well.
If Rangiku wanted to take another step forward, it meant she had to strip the Soul King fragment from Aizen's Hōgyoku and restore the integrity of her soul...
Sigh. If only there were a way to make Aizen part with the fragment willingly.
For example... trading a larger piece of the Soul King for it?
"I understand."
Soifon stood up, brushed the dust from her clothes, and placed a hand on Rangiku Matsumoto's head.
"Leave it to me. Don't worry."
"Who knows? Maybe you're just accumulating power for a massive breakthrough, Rangiku."
Finally having a chance to pet Rangiku's head, Soifon felt a secret thrill.
After enjoying Soifon's 'head-pat kill' for a moment, Rangiku suddenly noticed dust and debris fluttering down in front of her eyes.
'Dandruff? No way! I washed my hair last night!'
Rangiku instinctively reached up to feel her head—
"SOIFON—!!!"
...
Back at the Second Division.
Momo Hinamori, who had finished her paperwork long ago, had run off to the training ground again. Soifon stole a few glances at the girl pouring her sweat and fireballs into her practice and felt a growing headache.
It was good for her student to be ambitious, but why couldn't she feel happy about it?
When Soifon saw the application form sitting on her desk, her headache intensified, and she leaned her head against her hand.
— Request for deployment to Karakura Town in the World of the Living to hunt Menos Grande.
Signed: Second Division, Momo Hinamori.
____
New Story: Frieren: Capturing Aura at the Start
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead of everyone else.
✅ Get cool exclusive stuff and updates!
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!
🚀140 MEMBERS = 5 extra chapters on all stories for supporters!
👻 P - Walnutchan