"I'm back..."
The shoji door to the living room slid open. Yoruichi Shihōin returned carrying a bag of groceries, a taiyaki still in her hand.
When she saw the figure sitting on the tatami mats, her hand went slack, and the bag dropped to the floor.
"Soifon?"
"Don't tell me... you sneaked out from Soul Society again?"
Yoruichi chewed on the taiyaki in her mouth and blinked. She shuffled a few steps forward and sat down beside Soifon.
Ever since she confirmed Soifon's feelings that night, Yoruichi Shihōin actually inadvertently revealed a shy expression when facing Soifon today.
[No, no, I must reclaim my dignity as 'Lady Yoruichi'!]
"Could it be..."
"Little Soifon missed me, so she sneaked out specifically to find me?"
Yoruichi Shihōin cleared her throat, attempting to recover her usual composure and ease.
"What else?"
Soifon asked in return. She wrapped her arms around the back of Yoruichi Shihōin's neck, her legs utilizing skilled close-quarters grappling experience to lock around the other woman's waist.
After hanging completely onto Yoruichi Shihōin's body, Soifon leaned close to her ear: "Lady Yoruichi, do you want to check with your own hands? To see if I have the Spirit Restriction Seal on my body or not."
This time, Soifon used honorifics completely, yet it made Yoruichi feel an unprecedented sense of "humiliation."
[This girl, does she really think I dare not make a move?!]
In broad daylight, saying such predatory words—this Soifon really needed to be taught a lesson.
"You two... put aside the flirting for a moment."
"Miss Yoruichi, do you want to take a look at these documents Captain Soifon brought over?"
As a researcher, Kisuke Urahara was quite open-minded and held no discrimination toward relationships between women.
"This is..."
With a Soifon hanging off her body, Yoruichi Shihōin turned around without any burden, picking up the photos on the table to flip through them.
Taking advantage of Yoruichi looking at the photos, Soifon nimbly disengaged from Yoruichi's embrace.
"By the way, members of the Tsunayashiro Clan were caught red-handed conducting Hollowfication experiments and have already been taken in for interrogation. You two should be fine now."
"Kisuke Urahara, do you intend to return to the Seireitei to serve?"
As Soifon's voice fell, Yoruichi, who was looking at the photos nearby, exchanged a strange look with Kisuke Urahara.
—The Tsunayashiro did it too?
—I didn't know about that?! This must be Aizen's treacherous scheme!
Hiding his mouth behind his folding fan, the shadow of his bucket hat obscuring his eyes, Kisuke Urahara tapped his fingers on the wooden table and slowly shook his head.
Sure enough, Kisuke Urahara's subsequent answer was exactly as Soifon had imagined.
"No need, Captain Soifon."
"Those people in Central 46 won't let Miss Yoruichi and me return so smoothly. We had better stay in the World of the Living and support the stationed Shinigami partners..."
Kisuke Urahara didn't know what kind of conspiracy Aizen was planning, to actually go so far as to clear the black marks from their names.
[Could it be that this is to capture us alive, and then seize the opportunity to interrogate us about the whereabouts of the Hōgyoku?!]
Yes, it must be. That wouldn't be strange.
Kisuke Urahara waved his fan, becoming increasingly determined in his resolve not to return to Soul Society.
God knows what schemes and plots Sōsuke Aizen had laid in ambush there waiting for him; fighting on away turf was simply too disadvantageous.
Hiss—
[Hiding like this forever isn't an option either. I have to think of a way to hide the Hōgyoku.]
This thought flashed through Kisuke Urahara's mind. He glanced at Soifon, who was sharing the taiyaki with Yoruichi, and quickly lowered his head again.
Ordinary humans cannot contain the Hōgyoku, but what if a powerful Spirit Body was implanted with the Hōgyoku and then modified into a human?
Hmm, it seems Soifon is indeed a candidate who meets the requirements.
Let's wait and see. Perhaps there is a better candidate among the stationed Shinigami.
...
Streets of Karakura Town.
To fulfill her promise from last time, Yoruichi Shihōin insisted on taking Soifon for a tour around the World of the Living.
Soifon took a bite of the ice cream Yoruichi fed her and asked, "Lady Yoruichi doesn't seem worried about that history?"
"Hmm... I did hear about it from the elders of the Shihōin Clan in the past."
"However, the Captain-Commander won the war a thousand years ago, and the current Captain-Commander is much more powerful than he was a thousand years ago."
"There's nothing to worry about, right~ Probably..."
Saying this, Yoruichi Shihōin stuffed the ice cream into Soifon's hand, clasped her hands behind her head, and acted like a lazy cat.
Unknowingly, they walked onto a relatively quiet residential street, and a building hanging the sign [Kurosaki Clinic] appeared in their line of sight.
"Ah, it's Isshin's clinic." Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "Shall we go in and say hello?"
"If it won't scare Captain Isshin..."
"Tsk, still calling him Captain? He doesn't even have spiritual power anymore."
Just as the two were bantering, an orange-haired young woman appeared at the corner ahead, carrying a bag of food and walking toward the clinic.
It was Masaki Kurosaki.
When she saw Yoruichi, she immediately waved at them: "Miss Yoruichi!"
Her gaze immediately landed on Soifon beside Yoruichi, and her eyes widened in pleasant surprise: "Lady Captain! You've come to Karakura Town too?"
Masaki Kurosaki trotted up to the two of them, glanced at the hands Soifon and Yoruichi were holding, and revealed a slightly surprised expression.
Pak.
Yoruichi Shihōin flicked Masaki Kurosaki's forehead: "Why do you call her Lady Captain? Fun fact: I used to be her Captain."
"Ouch..."
[But Miss Yoruichi doesn't have the dignity of a Lady Captain.]
Clutching her forehead, Masaki Kurosaki didn't dare speak her inner thoughts aloud and led the two into the clinic.
"Isshin! We have guests~~" Masaki enthusiastically pulled open the clinic door. "Come out quickly!"
The faint smell of disinfectant wafted through the clinic. Isshin Shiba poked his head out from the inner room, a hearty smile still hanging on his face: "Who is it..."
Before he finished speaking, the smile froze on his face.
"...Is that, Captain Soifon?"
Isshin Shiba subconsciously wondered if Soifon had come to the World of the Living to arrest him.
The next moment, Soifon's words interrupted his thoughts.
"Yo, Captain Shiba." Soifon raised the hand that wasn't being held by Yoruichi. "Are you getting used to life in the World of the Living?"
"I thought for a moment Captain Soifon was here to take me in..."
After pouring a cup of black tea for everyone, Isshin Shiba, wearing a white coat, slumped onto the sofa and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"I sneaked out too. Maybe I'll be caught and taken back together with you."
Lifting the black tea to smell it, Soifon spoke in a gloomy tone.
The next second, the expressions on Masaki and Isshin's faces instantly became unnatural.
"However..." Soifon's gaze swept across the clinic. "After you left, the Tenth Division has indeed been leaderless."
A trace of guilt flashed across Isshin Shiba's face.
He lowered his head, fell silent for a few seconds, and when he looked up again, his eyes had become determined.
"I am very sorry," he said, holding Masaki Kurosaki's hand. "But at that time... I couldn't watch the person who saved my life die because she saved me."
Soifon looked at him for a while, then suddenly sighed softly.
"Rest easy, the Captain-Commander has not ordered a pursuit." Soifon put down the teacup. "I just came to see you on behalf of Rangiku and Tōshirō."
Mn, and conveniently check on the relationship status of you two. Soifon thought secretly.
"...Thank you."
A friend in need is a friend indeed!
Isshin Shiba was somewhat moved. He hadn't expected that the colleague who cared about him in the end would be Soifon, with whom he hadn't chatted much before.
____
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