The Captains' Council had barely just adjourned. Soifon had only just stepped out through the First Division gates when news of the Bee Clan's elevation to upper nobility had already spread with a life of its own — by now, Ōmaeda had probably already set out a full banquet at the Second Division.
She rubbed her cheeks — stiff from too much forced smiling — walked to a deserted corner, and let her whole face sag back to its natural state. She reverted to her blank, power-saving expression.
Then, without warning, the shadows rippled in the alleyway ahead of her.
Her expression turned peculiar. She actually felt something like genuine respect for the Quincy who was about to emerge.
Oh? Not only did they not flee — they're actually showing themselves before me of their own accord?
Soifon let the killing intent settle. She was curious to see just who this newcomer was.
Slowly, Uryū Ishida's figure materialized from the shadows. He locked eyes with Soifon for half a second — and then gave a violent, full-body shudder.
Cold. Is Soul Society always this cold?
He had no idea he had just taken a leisurely stroll straight past the gates of death.
Just as well that Soifon had held back, she reflected. If she'd made a move, Ryūken Ishida would have spent the rest of his days plotting his revenge against her.
"I know that spending every day around a bunch of lunatics makes it hard not to pick up their habits," Soifon said flatly, "but Uryū — could you show just a little restraint?"
She had swept the surrounding area with her spiritual sense first, confirming they were alone, before delivering that exasperated remark.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Uryū looked himself up and down, thoroughly baffled.
"The way you made your entrance reminded me of that Quilge guy," Soifon said, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. "Cut it out. If you need to meet someone, just walk up and do it — don't stand half-buried in a shadow for ages before showing yourself."
Oh. Is that what this was about?
Uryū was momentarily speechless. He had only done it because he'd seen other Wandenreich members enter that way, and had copied the habit without thinking.
"Speaking of which — you just strolled right over here out in the open. Aren't you worried about Yhwach seeing?"
While Uryū was still fumbling for a response, Soifon decided to verify his Schrift.
"Relax, big sis Soifon. My Schrift is [A] — [Antithesis]."
"Ever since I came through the Gate of the Sun, I've been keeping the ability active, randomly reversing the future of the conversation we're currently having."
In short: Yhwach could peer into countless possible futures — but this particular one was completely hidden from his sight.
As he said this, a rare flicker of quiet confidence showed on Uryū Ishida's face.
After Uryū had relayed the mission he had been given, Soifon agreed to join the Sternritter — though she said she would need to discuss it with the Captain-Commander first, and would give him a proper answer after that.
Could someone please explain to Uryū Ishida how "joining the Sternritter" and "talking it over with the Captain-Commander" could possibly belong in the same sentence?
Uryū figured it was probably that Soifon couldn't bear to have him punished by Yhwach on her account — so she'd had no choice but to resort to this approach.
With that thought, he found that abandoning everything to come spy in the Wandenreich, living side by side with these superhuman Quincy... wasn't quite as thankless as it had felt.
I'm moved to tears. I'm not alone on this path after all!
Uryū took off his glasses and dabbed at the corner of his eye. "Actually, big sis Soifon, you don't have to join if you don't want to. Yhwach won't do anything to me—"
Hm? When did I ever say I wasn't joining?
Soifon scratched her head. Hadn't she said she would join after reporting to the Captain-Commander?
Had Uryū Ishida somehow been infected by Ichigo Kurosaki's Schrift D?
So Soifon had to clarify, once more: "I said — I will join. But I need to report to the Captain-Commander first."
"What?!"
In the midst of Uryū's startled yelp, Soifon deployed [Rope Bind] and secured him on the spot. She then layered a portable [Kyokko] over him, took hold of the rope's end, and led Uryū Ishida out of the alleyway in the direction of the First Division.
"The situation is what it is — I don't really have a way to fully explain it right now. Just come with me and meet the Captain-Commander."
"Don't worry. I'm just bringing you along so everyone gets your face memorized — so nobody accidentally cuts down a friendly when the fighting starts."
"I swept the nearby area with my spiritual sense. There's no one from the Wandenreich watching."
The [Kyokko] maintained through Soifon's immense Spiritual Pressure was robust enough that even walking Uryū directly past a Captain-level combatant would make it difficult to detect him.
As for the Wandenreich's Quincy, whose fundamentals were frankly abysmal — they would never notice a thing.
When the Captains who had just dispersed from the meeting spotted Soifon walking back toward the First Division, they greeted her in passing one after another. Not a single one noticed that there was a bound Uryū Ishida being led along beside her on an invisible leash.
The only exception was Unohana Retsu, who knew Soifon better than most. She narrowed her eyes at Soifon's hand — which seemed to be gripping something that wasn't there — and quietly drew closer.
"Soifon, you..."
As she stepped up beside her, the words died on her lips. She had detected the abnormal spatial distortion surrounding Soifon.
She tensed for a fraction of a second — then relaxed.
After all, with Soifon's current combat power, there was nothing here worth worrying about.
"It's exactly what you're thinking, Retsu." Soifon gave her a small wink of her right eye. "I need to go have a little talk with the Captain-Commander."
As it turned out, a certain shared experience was the fastest way to forge a bond — Soifon and Unohana Retsu no longer used "Captain" with each other anymore.
Though naturally, in certain settings, they might still reach for those titles on occasion — just to add a touch of atmosphere.
Then, before the gates of the First Division, with Unohana and the assembled Captains looking on, Soifon extended her hand and swept it in the direction of the invisible Uryū beside her —
Two Bakudō dissolved in an instant.
Uryū Ishida made his grand entrance in full Sternritter uniform.
Shiiing —
The sound of blades clearing their scabbards rang out in a chorus.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Uryū's temple. He could feel at least five or six Captain-level Spiritual Pressures lock onto him simultaneously — every single one saturated with undisguised killing intent.
"Easy, everyone."
Soifon raised a hand and pressed it gently downward. "This is a spy I placed within the Wandenreich. I brought him here today mainly so all of you can get his face memorized — so nobody accidentally kills a friendly when the fighting starts."
When the words landed, the hostility and wariness on several Captains' faces hadn't fully faded — but the killing tension in the air had noticeably eased.
"The Second Division is really something else under your command, Captain Soifon."
"I give it a little while before the Shin'ō Academy adds a spy-training curriculum."
Byakuya Kuchiki looked Uryū up and down for a moment, then turned and walked away.
His words drew rueful, helpless expressions from several of the other Captains. One by one, they got Uryū Ishida's face memorized — and departed the First Division.
Soifon turned on her heel and walked toward the First Division gates, gesturing for Uryū to follow.
Inside the Captain-Commander's office.
The hole in the wall had been temporarily sealed with a barrier, but the black scorch marks were still clearly visible. The Captain-Commander stood with his back to the door, facing the window. At the sound of it opening, he turned slowly.
His gaze fell first on Soifon's face, then shifted to Uryū Ishida standing behind her.
In that instant, the old man's pupils contracted slightly. A flash of razor-edged killing intent crossed his eyes — and vanished.
He made no overt move. But the temperature of the entire room rose by at least five degrees.
The Captain-Commander fixed his gaze on Uryū for two full seconds, then walked back to his desk, settled into his chair, and leaned back.
He slowly closed his eyes and raised a hand to rub the bridge of his brow. "What sort of surprise have you brought me this time, Captain Soifon..."
Soifon pulled out a chair and sat down without ceremony, crossing her legs.
"Captain-Commander," she began. "This is Uryū Ishida. The spy I placed within the Wandenreich."
The Captain-Commander opened his eyes. His gaze rested on Uryū Ishida's face for a moment — and sure enough, he found faint traces there of the Sōken Ishida he remembered.
"The Soul King's seat is about to go to Yhwach... at this point, does it even matter whether we have a spy or not?"
The Captain-Commander followed up with a sardonic remark — and no one could quite tell whether it was aimed at Soifon or at Ichibē Hyōsube.
What's gotten into him all of a sudden?
Soifon blinked, then grasped his concern. She smiled and waved a hand. "There are no Quincy eavesdroppers here — I've confirmed it."
The Captain-Commander received this with barely a flicker of surprise. He only let out a long, deep sigh.
His fingers drummed quietly on the armrest.
"To speak honestly — I am still not at peace with this."
"Letting Yhwach replace the Soul King as the new linchpin of the Three Worlds means letting him ascend to the Royal Palace — and absorb the Soul King's power."
"What meaning does the Gotei 13 even have, then..."
He raised his eyes and looked at Soifon, wanting the answer from her lips.
Soifon met the Captain-Commander's gaze.
"Our meaning is this..."
"If it weren't for us letting him up there — Yhwach could never reach the Royal Palace on his own. Not in a thousand lifetimes."
"The reason Ichibē Hyōsube is doing this is because he refuses to let Yhwach come crawling back out to cause trouble again in another few centuries. That kind of instability is simply unacceptable."
"Better to let him have his dream — once, and for good."
The Captain-Commander was silent for a moment — and then let it go.
That line had already given the Gotei 13 more credit than it perhaps deserved. At this point, Soifon alone probably had more combat power than every member of the Gotei 13 combined.
Thinking of it that way — Yhwach's fate had seemingly been arranged by Soifon and Ichibē Hyōsube from the very beginning. Almost pitiable, really.
"So your visit today..." The Captain-Commander's tone had eased considerably. "Isn't only to introduce this spy, I take it?"
Soifon spread her hands.
"Yhwach had Uryū Ishida invite me to join the Sternritter."
"He may have set his sights on the Quincy bloodline within me."
The Captain-Commander raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to continue.
She paused — and then, at an unhurried pace, delivered the next line:
"I intend to accept."
"After all — to forge the [linchpin], the materials must first be moved into position."
By now, the Captain-Commander had reached the point where not even Soifon openly defecting to the enemy produced a single flicker of emotional response in him.
Let her stir it, let her stir it. The water is already murky — it was the same as sending Soifon to the Wandenreich to rack up spy-achievement points.
The Captain-Commander stared at her for a long moment, leaned back once more, closed his eyes, and waved a hand.
"Do as you please. The Seireitei will coordinate with your movements."
No objection. No challenge. Not even a request for further details.
Exactly as smooth as expected. Soifon rose from her chair, gave the Captain-Commander a small bow, then turned and walked out of the room with Uryū in tow.
Click.
The very moment she pushed the door open, the Captain-Commander's voice caught her mid-step: "When this is all over — would you be interested in succeeding me as Captain-Commander? Soifon."
Whether or not it was intentional, Chōjirō Sasakibe — standing nearby — along with the passing seated officers and Division soldiers in the hall, all heard every word the Captain-Commander had just spoken.
"Let's talk about that when it's over, Captain-Commander."
Soifon gave a slow nod, then eased the door shut behind her.
...
The Wandenreich. The Gate of the Sun.
Following Uryū Ishida through the portal, the moment Soifon's form became fully visible on the other side, several gazes snapped onto her.
Haschwalth stood at the front — pure white imperial uniform without a single crease, his right hand resting loosely on the hilt of his knight's sword. His gaze passed over Uryū Ishida entirely and landed directly on Soifon.
At his side were three female Sternritter members: Candice, Bambietta, and Liltotto.
Apparently, given that Soifon was a female Quincy, they had specifically assembled an all-female welcoming party — one had to admit, it was a thoughtful little touch.
"Miss Soifon." Haschwalth spoke first. "Welcome to the Wandenreich."
He stepped forward, a scrutinizing gaze fixed on Soifon.
"I do have some questions, however."
"The last time Quilge extended His Majesty's invitation on his behalf — you refused."
"Why, this time... have you changed your mind?"
Soifon folded her arms across her chest, posture relaxed. She met Haschwalth's probing gaze without flinching.
"Because I paid a visit to the Royal Palace."
"The people up there told me Yhwach will be the next Soul King."
"Why would I want to be on bad terms with the future Soul King? Join early, invest early, secure a decent future for myself — is that reason enough?"
After saying that, she turned to glance at Uryū beside her: "As for the refusal last time — that was truly not my fault."
"Oh?" Haschwalth's grip on his sword hilt tightened. "Then it was Quilge's fault?"
Soifon nodded, a mocking curl at the corner of her lips. "Naturally — Quilge's face simply did not meet my aesthetic standards, and his attitude was appalling to boot. Uryū here, by comparison, is significantly more tolerable to look at."
Haschwalth's gaze swept over to Uryū, who could only shrug helplessly — he had, after all, come within a hair's breadth of dying on the edge of Soifon's blade.
So if they'd just sent Uryū from the start, none of this would have happened?
A few seconds later, the gentle smile returned to Haschwalth's face. He extended his hand toward Soifon. "A very pragmatic reason... Well then — welcome to the Wandenreich, Miss Soifon."
Soifon looked down at the offered hand, then back up at Haschwalth's face. She wrinkled her brow and took a distinct half-step backward, not bothering to hide her disdain.
"No handshakes." Her voice carried unmistakable contempt. "I only shake hands with women."
She added, a beat later: "Attractive ones, at that."
Haschwalth's outstretched hand froze mid-air.
The gentle smile on his face stiffened for just a fraction of a second — before he withdrew his hand with polished, awkward grace.
"Very well, then."
"I will report your joining to His Majesty. In the meantime — Candice, Bambietta, Liltotto: please show Miss Soifon around and help her get acquainted with the place."
"I hope you find what you're looking for here, Miss Soifon."
The last words drifted back as Haschwalth had already turned and walked away.
____
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