The pool shimmered. Soifon and Unohana Retsu rose from the Bone Hell one after the other, stepping out through the surface of the water.
Unohana's long black hair clung wetly to her shoulders. The Captain's Haori on both women had taken on a faint, telltale blush of crimson.
They walked out together from the bamboo-screened hot spring, one behind the other.
At the same time, Isane Kotetsu felt the tremors from the direction of the spring finally fade. Curious, she made her way over — and rounded the next corner directly into the two of them.
"Captain! Captain Soifon! What happened to your hair, and — is that blood —"
Isane's words died midsentence. Her eyes went wide, her gaze sweeping back and forth with bewildered suspicion between Unohana Retsu's loose, unbound hair and the visibly bloodstained Haori draped over both their shoulders.
How does building a hot spring leave you both covered in blood?
Unohana Retsu's gaze settled with quiet warmth on Soifon at her side — clearly content to let the other woman do the explaining.
Soifon gave a small, deliberate cough.
"The hot spring is finished. Channeling that much Spiritual Pressure into the formation arrays was apparently rather draining for Captain Unohana — so she let her hair down to relax a little."
"As for the blood... that's just the water from the Blood Hell pool."
Having said her piece, Soifon made a point of not looking at Isane's expression. She grabbed Unohana Retsu by the arm and made a swift, undignified retreat — and even she knew perfectly well how unconvincing that explanation had been.
"Is that so."
Isane finally murmured those three words in a very small voice, and did not press further.
"Just what are you two hiding from me..."
She watched their retreating backs, pulling at her own sleeve, muttering quietly to herself.
Seeing how close her own captain was with Captain Soifon, Isane felt a small, helpless pang of envy. She wasn't entirely sure who she was envying — only that she wanted, somehow, to be part of that.
—
At that same moment. First Division.
The Captain-Commander had summoned Shunsui Kyōraku, Tōshirō, and Ukitake. The four of them sat in the wrecked office, gazing out over the Seireitei spread below, as the Captain-Commander relayed the full account of what had just transpired.
"Hm..."
"Quincy... they certainly sound like a troublesome lot..."
Kyōraku rubbed his chin, looking faintly pained.
"Master — are you worried about Captain Soifon?"
Ukitake spoke up quietly from where he stood.
The Captain-Commander shook his head. "Soifon is someone the Zero Division has acknowledged. There will be no problems with her..."
Beside him, all three students exchanged a sideways glance.
Then what exactly are you worried about?
"What concerns me is not Soifon herself." The Captain-Commander rubbed his smooth, bald head. "What I'm wrestling with is this — Soifon has only just completed a mission for the Zero Division. It simply wouldn't do for the Gotei 13 to say nothing in return."
"But that girl... she doesn't seem to lack for anything..."
After all, Soifon was already a Captain — there was nowhere higher to promote her. The position of Captain-Commander plainly held no appeal for her, and as for finances, the Ōmaeda Clan served perfectly well as her personal treasury.
"Old man..." Kyōraku lifted a hand and straightened his kasa. "You're thinking yourself into a dead end."
The Captain-Commander turned his head, a question in his eyes — and for once, he did not bother to remind them to use proper titles during work hours.
Kyōraku stepped forward two paces.
"Perhaps Captain Soifon herself wants for nothing..."
"But what about the Bee Clan?"
"What if we elevated the Bee Clan from minor nobility... to upper nobility?"
The proposal made the Captain-Commander pause and give it genuine consideration. He found, after a moment's thought, that he rather liked it.
It would serve as formal recognition of Soifon's extraordinary service — years spent buried undercover — while at the same time deepening her sense of belonging to the Seireitei.
Noble standing carried with it far more than prestige. It brought responsibility, and bonds — ties that would anchor her to them far more meaningfully than any material reward ever could.
"As for the Quincy matter you're worried about, old man..." Kyōraku said, and for once his tone was entirely serious. "Captain Soifon is one of ours. I trust her."
Jūshirō Ukitake picked up where his friend had left off.
"If Captain Soifon were truly standing against us —"
"The Gotei 13 would have been annihilated at Karakura Town."
"Even had I released [Shinkua]... the best I could have done was buy a little time."
Having listened to his two students' analysis, the Captain-Commander finally made his decision — at the next Captains' Council, the Bee Clan would be elevated to upper nobility.
Under ordinary circumstances, a matter of this nature would have required deliberation and formal approval from Central 46. However, under the Captain-Commander's considerable authority, Central 46 had yet to be fully reconstituted. It was currently being managed on an interim basis by three individuals: Sōjun Kuchiki, Yūshirō Shihōin, and Kaien Shiba.
—
Several days later. The Captains' Council.
Unohana and Soifon entered the meeting hall side by side. Unohana, now wearing her hair straight and loose — a striking change from her usual long braid — became the immediate focal point of the room. The assembled Captains, including the Captain-Commander himself, stole several involuntary glances at her new style, then flicked their eyes to Soifon at her side.
A few of the longer-tenured Captains present felt a brief, quiet flicker of surprise. The sword scar on Unohana's chest was something they had all long since tacitly acknowledged — not something beyond healing, but something she had deliberately chosen to keep.
Because of Captain Soifon?
The curious glances faded. The Captains returned to their places. Soifon — for the first time in a long while — rejoined her proper position in the formation.
Then the Captain-Commander's staff touched the floor.
"The meeting will begin."
"Several days ago, a battle took place at the First Division barracks. I trust that those assembled are already aware."
The words had barely landed when nearly every Captain's gaze shifted — with varying degrees of subtlety — toward Soifon.
The Captain-Commander cleared his throat and drew the room's attention back.
"That incident was not an attack. What transpired was this: while Captain Soifon was delivering her report to me on the execution of the Zero Division's confidential orders, an infiltrator was discovered."
"The infiltrator was neither a Hollow nor a Shinigami. Their place of concealment was something found everywhere throughout the Seireitei —"
"— the shadows."
At those words, every Captain present save Soifon betrayed a flash of involuntary surprise — and then, almost as one, they looked down at the shadows pooling beneath their own feet. And then at Shunsui Kyōraku.
"Hold on, hold on — my [Kageokuri] does involve concealment within shadows, yes, but the old man just said it wasn't a Shinigami..."
Kyōraku waved a hand helplessly, moving swiftly to distance himself from suspicion.
"The infiltrator was a Quincy — a member of an organization called the Wandenreich — who has been concealed within the shadows of our Seireitei for several hundred years."
The Captain-Commander continued without acknowledging his student's interjection.
"Quincy... hiding in our shadows?"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi rubbed his hands together, eyes gleaming with barely-contained excitement.
The reaction among the other Captains was rather more one of suppressed, sharp intakes of breath. The news was staggering — it meant that every move they had made over the past several centuries might have been laid completely bare to enemy eyes.
The Captain-Commander was thoroughly satisfied by their stunned expressions. It was precisely how he himself had felt when he first heard the news from Soifon.
I got caught in the rain. Naturally, that entitles me to toss everyone else's umbrella away too.
Having frightened them sufficiently, the Captain-Commander cleared his throat and drew them back to attention.
"That said... none of you need be overly alarmed."
"Captain Soifon and I have already confirmed that close-range surveillance cannot escape the spiritual sense of any Captain-level combatant — so these rats in the gutter are limited to watching us from a considerable distance."
"From this day forward, all Divisions are to heighten their vigilance. Pay particular attention to shadows. Any abnormal fluctuation in Spiritual Pressure is to be reported immediately to the Department of Research and Development."
With the grave matters addressed, the Captain-Commander's gaze turned toward Soifon — and following his lead, the other Captains focused on her as well.
Hm? Why is everyone suddenly looking at me?
It felt uncannily like being back in a classroom — when the teacher vaguely gestures toward the back row, and every student begins turning around in a slow wave. Except Soifon was sitting in the very last seat, and had nowhere left to look.
So she looked up at the ceiling.
Seeing her discomfort, the Captain-Commander stroked his long beard.
"Captain Soifon."
"Previously, acting under the Zero Division's confidential orders, you embedded yourself alongside Sōsuke Aizen. Your accomplishments were outstanding."
"The Gotei 13 has always been strict in its rewards and punishments. For merit of this magnitude, it would be improper to let it pass without recognition."
"It is my proposal that the Bee Clan be elevated from minor nobility to upper nobility."
The announcement made Soifon pause for a moment. It was genuinely unexpected.
The Bee Clan. A minor noble house in name only — and barely that. Soifon hadn't returned to the Bee Clan manor in a very long time. She wasn't even certain whether any of her clanspeople were still alive.
"Agreed."
Kyōraku was the first to raise his hand — followed immediately by Jūshirō Ukitake, Tōshirō, and Unohana Retsu.
Then Byakuya Kuchiki stepped forward out of the formation.
"The Kuchiki Clan also agrees. However, the formal ratification process for a noble elevation still requires Central 46 to issue its final ruling. Please allow me to confer with the Shihōin and Shiba families after this meeting concludes..."
The Captain-Commander gave a slight nod. "Granted."
His gaze then turned toward the meeting hall's main doors. "Since the matter has already been raised — let Vice-Captain Shiba, who has been waiting outside, come in and hear this as well."
The doors swung open. Kaien Shiba's figure appeared in the doorway — he had evidently been standing outside for some time, and there was a trace of confusion on his face as he strode quickly to stand beside Jūshirō Ukitake.
Ukitake leaned over and in a quick, low voice filled him in on everything that had just been discussed.
Kaien Shiba listened, then turned and gave Soifon a friendly nod before raising his hand as well.
"Captain-Commander. Captains. On behalf of the Shiba Clan — I approve this proposal."
With two of the three families having now explicitly voiced their support, the outcome was settled.
The Captain-Commander surveyed the room and found no further objections. He brought the matter to a close immediately.
"Then it is decided — the elevation of the Bee Clan to upper nobility is hereby confirmed."
What a hassle...
As upper nobility... would I actually be allowed to openly marry a woman?
Soifon scratched the back of her head. Under the Captain-Commander's watchful gaze, she stepped forward out of the formation and bowed — just slightly.
"Soifon... on behalf of the Bee Clan, offers her thanks to the Captain-Commander — and to the assembled Captains."
____
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