The desert outside Las Noches shook violently.
In mid-air, Soifon slowly retracted the right leg that had just kicked Sōsuke Aizen flying, quietly looking at the white figure in the deep crater below.
Sōsuke Aizen stood up awkwardly from the sand pit. White grains of sand rolled off his hair and clothes, and the lapel of his chest had been torn open by the kick just now, exposing the Hōgyoku embedded in the center of his chest.
He raised his hand, still calmly brushing the dust off his sleeves and shoulders, and looked up to lock onto Soifon standing in the sky above him.
Gradually flying high into the sky to level with Soifon, Sōsuke Aizen touched the Hōgyoku on his chest and sighed.
"If Captain Soifon had used the power of her Shikai just now, I'm afraid even the Hōgyoku wouldn't have had time to heal my injuries..."
Aizen, in his first stage of fusion with the Hōgyoku, had seen a negligible increase in pure combat power and Spiritual Pressure—aside from some regenerative and adaptive abilities based on the Hōgyoku's traits. It was far from enough to bridge the despair-inducing gap between him and Soifon.
"What are you thinking about? I won't kill you, Captain Aizen."
Soifon tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over the Hōgyoku on Aizen's chest.
"Whether it is your courage to sit upon the Throne in the Sky, or your assistance in slaying Yhwach..."
"I have no reason to kill Captain Aizen."
Soifon's words sounded tinged with a bit of playful mockery.
Aizen asked, "It seems Captain Soifon never believed I could sit in that position from the very beginning?"
Soifon didn't answer, but instead countered with a question.
"Since you plan to sacrifice Karakura Town to create the Ōken, why did you just watch as the Gotei 13 and Kisuke Urahara set up the Tenkaikekchu?"
Using his Spiritual Pressure to fix his disheveled hair, Aizen explained,
"Whether Karakura Town is transferred or not does not affect the final outcome."
"If I win this war, it simply means spending a bit more effort to go to Soul Society and sacrifice Karakura Town there."
"Besides, an intact Jūreichi is always more valuable than a pile of ruins."
For some reason, Sōsuke Aizen's brimming self-confidence made Soifon a little annoyed.
—She really wanted to use Aizen's face to strike her fist.
"Captain Aizen seems very confident..."
"Could it be... you've already foreseen a future where you victoriously ascend to the Royal Palace?"
Gradually, Soifon's tone turned sarcastic, and the two braids behind her began to sway dangerously.
"Isn't Captain Soifon one of the sources of my confidence?"
"After all, in the future you just mapped out, I seem to be an important combat asset against Yhwach..."
Even if he couldn't create the Ōken, he could still retreat unscathed.
He had plenty of time anyway; he had endured for hundreds of years. If not this time, then the next...
Boom—
Before Sōsuke Aizen could finish his sentence, Soifon landed another fierce punch squarely on his left cheek at a speed he currently couldn't react to...
The green Spiritual Pressure shield generated by the Hōgyoku was like paper; it failed to block for even a split second before being shattered by Soifon's fist.
Time seemed to slow down as a translucent, circular ring of air rippled outward from the point where Soifon's fist met Aizen's left cheek.
Beneath where Sōsuke Aizen had just been standing, the massive sand pit was smashed even deeper.
Ignoring Aizen, who was regenerating his body and controlling the Hōgyoku's evolution, Soifon returned alone to the gates of Las Noches.
Sensing a familiar Spiritual Pressure around the corner not far away, Soifon quickened her pace.
At the corner, Harribel was hesitating over how to start a conversation after calling out to Soifon, but in the next moment, her hand was grabbed by Soifon, who pulled her along.
"Lady Soifon...?!!"
"What do you want to say? Being hesitant isn't like you."
Soifon didn't even turn her head as she led Harribel toward their sleeping quarters.
Looking at their joined hands, Harribel somehow felt a wellspring of inexplicable courage in her heart.
"Yes..."
She organized her words.
"Are we... really going to fight in Karakura Town...?"
Not long ago, Aizen had organized a meeting with the Espada, informing them of the time and details of the battle in Karakura Town.
Even though they had long been prepared, the two of them, having recently enjoyed human life after such a long time, still couldn't bear to make a move.
Unlike mindless lower-class Hollows, the humans of Karakura Town, no matter how weak, possessed reason and morality. Having seen the beautiful side of the world, neither of them wanted to destroy it with their own hands.
This was also why Harribel and Nelliel couldn't bear the thought of the sacrifice.
"So that's how it is..."
Soifon squeezed the pads of Harribel's fingers, then caressed their delicate texture with her own.
A tingling, numbing sensation transmitted from Harribel's fingertips to her limbs. It was clearly just a simple friction between fingers, but it couldn't help making her think of that day...
At the Urahara Shop, in Yoruichi Shihōin's room, on that night with the dripping sound of water.
"Harribel?"
Noticing that the other was spacing out, Soifon called out to her.
"Ah? Yes!"
Harribel stood at attention, then violently shook her head, tossing the messy thoughts out of her mind.
"Where were we just now?"
"We were talking about Lady Soifon and Miss Yoruichi under the covers..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Harribel abruptly bit her tongue.
—Oh no, I accidentally said what I was thinking out loud!
Unfortunately, words once spoken cannot be taken back.
Soifon stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked up at Harribel, who was quite a bit taller than her.
"So,"
Soifon began leisurely, her voice full of teasing.
"Harribel has been thinking about these kinds of 'naughty' things in her heart."
"You really can't judge a book by its cover..."
Harribel hurriedly waved her hands, trying to explain.
"No! Lady Soifon! That's not what I meant!"
"I understand, I understand."
"When I first saw that kind of manga in the World of the Living, I had pretty much the same reaction."
Soifon nodded with an "I get it" expression, reaching out to pat Harribel's arm.
No, you don't understand at all!
Harribel cried out in her heart.
"Lady Soifon!"
Harribel couldn't help but interrupt her.
"Please stop talking about this..."
Seeing her like this, Soifon finally couldn't help but smile. Stepping on Spirit Particles, she floated up and poked the other's burning cheeks.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."
She turned around, took Harribel's hand again, and continued walking toward the sleeping quarters.
"Don't worry, Karakura Town won't be destroyed."
"Trust me..."
Soifon didn't finish her sentence. She turned her head slightly, sensing that Aizen had already crawled out of the crater.
Harribel froze for a moment. She looked at Soifon's back in front of her, then nodded.
"...Mhm."
"I have always believed in Lady Soifon."
She responded softly, her fingers tightening slightly to squeeze Soifon's hand back.
In the corridor, only the sound of their footsteps remained.
As they neared the doors of their sleeping quarters, Soifon suddenly spoke up again.
"However, Harribel."
"Yes?"
Soifon turned her head and winked at her.
"That night, the noises Lady Yoruichi and I made... did the two of you hear the entire process?"
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan ;)🔥👻
🔥 New history: Group chat of the Dead
✅ Jump 40 chapters ahead of the public release!
✅ Get access to special perks and news!
Help smash these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter (for everyone)
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters (for all stories)!
👻 P - Walnut-chan