Soifon finished reading the application written by Momo Hinamori.
The words in the document were practically a plea, but Soifon had no intention of discussing it with her. She rejected the application immediately.
Stationed in Karakura Town?
Did she want to replicate the plot where Kisuke Urahara buried the Hōgyoku inside someone only to encounter Ichigo Kurosaki?
Setting aside the fact that the timeline was all wrong, even if it were the right time, Soifon had no intention of letting her student be used as a pawn by Kisuke Urahara.
After staring at the application in a daze for a while, Momo Hinamori, having finished her training, returned to the Second Division barracks and nervously pushed open the office door.
Seeing Soifon holding her application in silence, Momo's heart leaped into her throat. She paced into the room with soft, hesitant steps.
"You're here?"
Sensing her arrival, Soifon slapped the application onto the desk and pushed it toward her.
"The request for deployment to the World of the Living—don't bring it up again."
"Why?"
Momo Hinamori was baffled. She had clearly explained her reasoning: she wanted to fight Menos Grande in the World of the Living to increase her strength. There was no reason for it to be rejected!
Soifon tapped her finger on the desk. "If you just want to fight Hollows... you don't need to go to the World of the Living."
Momo leaned against the desk with both hands. "But Captain Soifon, the Hollows in the Soul Society are so scattered..."
"When did I ever say we were looking for Hollows in the Soul Society?"
"But Captain won't let me go to the World of the Living either. It's not like you can take me to Hueco Mundo..."
Before she could finish, Momo was startled by her own bold hypothesis. She didn't even have the courage to continue the thought.
Without the Garganta technology from the Department of Research and Development, it was impossible to travel to Hueco Mundo. This was why Momo had never considered going there to 'grind' for experience.
However, any Adjuchas that had been granted Arrancarification by Sōsuke Aizen could practically open a Garganta to leave Hueco Mundo on their own.
It had to be said that the Hollow race truly possessed something unique; even the Soul King had been born for the sake of exterminating them.
Watching the dazed Momo Hinamori, Soifon walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "Do you want to go?"
The warm breath from Soifon's lungs tickled Momo's ear, sending a faint, tingly current through her earlobe.
Her legs momentarily lost their strength. Momo supported herself against the desk and unconsciously sat back onto it.
"I do..."
For some reason, she felt her heart racing. Her face was burning intensely; she was certain it had turned bright red.
Before the words could fully leave her mouth, Momo suddenly thought of her best friend, Rukia.
If she ran off to Hueco Mundo with Captain Soifon for special training right now, it felt a bit unfair.
Soifon saw through her expression. "What else is on your mind?"
"I want... to wait for Rukia." Momo pressed her hand against her thumping chest. "It feels too cunning of me to be the only one getting stronger."
What was happening? Why did her heart race so much whenever she was with Captain Soifon?
She loved this feeling.
Could it be that I like Captain Soifon!?
...
Half a month later.
A carriage bearing the Kuchiki Clan crest slowly came to a halt at the main gate of the Second Division. Any passing soul-reapers who saw the luxurious carriage couldn't help but cast curious glances toward it.
Rukia Kuchiki gripped her Shihakushō. Her mind was on a constant loop of the various etiquette rules her teachers had drilled into her, and her palms were growing damp.
She pulled back the curtain and stepped out of the carriage. Instantly, dozens of gazes fixed upon her.
This is so awkward. I want to curl into a ball and disappear.
Forcing her expression and posture to remain rigid, Rukia walked through the familiar corridors of the Second Division barracks and entered the Captain's courtyard.
"Rukia! You're back!"
Almost the second she pushed open the office door, Momo Hinamori launched herself from her chair like a rocket, circling Rukia to inspect her.
Rukia's return was a source of great joy for Momo. After all, Soifon couldn't spend every day entertaining her; she needed a partner by her side during practice to keep things from getting boring.
More importantly, now that Rukia was back, the two of them could go to Hueco Mundo together to level up. Momo was looking forward to it.
"Eh? You haven't changed at all after visiting the Kuchiki family."
"Are you secretly wearing any expensive jewelry?"
Seeing Momo's familiar smiling face, the tension in Rukia's heart finally snapped. The 'noble aura' she had been forcing herself to maintain dissipated instantly.
Since there was no one else here, she finally didn't have to pretend.
"How could I wear things that hinder my combat ability? I'm not..."
Rukia trailed off, suddenly remembering that Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda seemed to love wearing gold jewelry.
"Sigh... anyway, being a noble is so exhausting. I'm already starting to feel bad for my sister."
She returned to her seat, intending to handle a few backlogged official documents to relax.
However, Rukia saw that her desk was completely empty. Just as she was about to ask Captain Soifon where her work had gone, she froze at the scene before her...
She saw Captain Soifon holding a crystal that emitted a blue fluorescent glow. With a light stroke through the air in the center of the office, a black, alien space resembling a Senkaimon abruptly appeared.
It looked like the giant maw of some beast slowly opening, ready to swallow its prey.
"This is..."
Rukia stared blankly at the rift in space that looked like a black hole.
"A Garganta leading to Hueco Mundo." Soifon grabbed Momo Hinamori, who was about to charge straight inside. "It's a long story. For now, just follow me..."
Out of instinctive trust for Captain Soifon, Rukia followed behind her without hesitation, stepping into the Garganta.
...
The night in Hueco Mundo was eternal and boundless. Only a moon that never extinguished hung in the sky, providing a limited amount of light.
The world seemed to consist only of two colors: black and white. The wind blew past, kicking up white sand with a whistling 'whoosh.'
"This is..."
"Hueco Mundo."
Rukia and Momo, one on each side, were led out of the Garganta by Soifon. Both were stunned by the sight before them.
Time seemed to lose its meaning here. In the vast white desert, there were occasional withered white trees without leaves. Although it was Hueco Mundo, they couldn't feel the Spiritual Pressure of any life forms at all—not even Hollows.
They only had a limited understanding of Hueco Mundo's general appearance from textbooks at the Shin'ō Academy, which didn't even have pictures.
As for the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, they were already a relic of a bygone era. For the sake of the balance of souls between the three realms, the Captain-Commander had not sent anyone to hunt the Menos Grande of Hueco Mundo for a long time.
However, with Rukia and Momo's current strength, they didn't need to worry about the issue of three-realm imbalance yet.
"That's right." Soifon patted Momo's head. "Are you happy?"
Could she say she wasn't?
This was completely different from the Hueco Mundo she had imagined.
Momo's shoulders slumped. She used the scabbard of Tobiume to poke a scorpion-like Hollow that had crawled out of the sand; it wasn't even as big as her palm.
In her impression, Hueco Mundo should have been like the Second Division's interrogation rooms—covered in blood. She imagined that the moment they appeared, a steady stream of bloodthirsty Menos would attack them, and through combat, they would stimulate their potential and have Tobiume tell them the true name of their Bankai!
"Captain Soifon, where are the Hollows?"
"Didn't you just kill one?"
"..."
Rukia didn't oppose Momo's desire to get stronger, but at this moment, she was still uneasily clutching Captain Soifon's sleeve.
Soifon smiled and looked back. "What's wrong, Rukia?"
Rukia looked at the two of them. "Captain Soifon, if it's found out that we came to Hueco Mundo without permission..."
"Then don't let anyone find out." Soifon raised her eyes to the moon in the sky. "Come on. I'll take you to find some Menos Grande to practice on."
_____
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