After work, in an izakaya near the Shin'ō Academy.
Having removed her Haori, Soifon sat wearing only her Shihakushō, dining with Rangiku Matsumoto and Isane Kotetsu.
The faces of her two friends had lost some of their youthful innocence, replaced by a touch of professional competence and mature charm, while their figures seemed to be racing ahead in an enviable direction.
"Cheers!"
Rangiku Matsumoto expertly filled the three cups with warm sake, then picked up her own, raising it to the center of the table with a brilliant smile.
Soifon and Isane Kotetsu shared a look of helplessness before raising their cups to clink against hers.
As the warm liquid slid down her throat, Rangiku Matsumoto let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Ha... Being able to have a drink like this after work is truly the greatest pleasure."
"Please, stop talking like an old man," Soifon rolled her eyes. "You're practically the same as Captain Kyōraku."
"Eh~~"
"How could you say that about me? I'm so heartbroken."
Rangiku Matsumoto set down her cup and leaned forward, propping her chin on her hands with her elbows on the table; the neckline of her Shihakushō looked dangerously precarious.
She acted as if being compared to Shunsui Kyōraku was some sort of grievous insult.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about that..."
Ultimately, Isane Kotetsu felt it wasn't right to speak ill of a Captain behind his back, even though she had just participated in it.
Picking up a piece of an appetizer and putting it in her mouth, Isane tried to change the subject. "I heard that Captain Soifon actually completed a full day of classes today, which is rare?"
Soifon nodded as she ate the grilled fish on her plate. "Mm. There are a few good prospects. They'll likely reach the Lieutenant level in the future."
"Oh?"
Rangiku Matsumoto's eyes lit up, her interest piqued.
"It's not easy to get such a rating from Captain Soifon. Who are they? Let me guess..."
"Is there a girl named Momo Hinamori?"
Soifon didn't deny it, which served as tacit confirmation.
Immediately after, however, she realized something was wrong, and a crack spidered across the sake cup in her hand.
"—Wait, who did you hear that from?!"
She was certain she hadn't run into any teachers today, nor had she spoken with any staff members.
"Before you arrived, Isane and I chatted with Captain Aizen for a bit at the school gate." Rangiku Matsumoto thought Soifon's reaction was a bit strange. "What's wrong? Captain Soifon, you don't look so good..."
Soifon suppressed the surprise in her heart and kept her expression neutral. "So it was Captain Aizen..."
Her two slightly tipsy friends didn't notice the subtle shift in her expression, assuming she was just annoyed at having her thoughts seen through.
"Still, I feel a bit frustrated."
"Isane and I worked so hard for so long to finally become Lieutenants. Are those new kids really that impressive?"
Rangiku Matsumoto propped up her head, eventually slumping her entire upper body onto the table. This caused her already open neckline to become even more dangerous, nearly spilling over.
Soifon glanced up, her gaze lingering for a brief moment on the overly generous view before she wordlessly fished a metal paperclip out of her pocket.
She reached out, her movements swift and efficient as she used the paperclip to pin the edges of Rangiku's open collar closer together, though it remained quite strained.
Let the Shihakushō suffer a little for now.
After drawing the 'black curtains' over the snow-white scenery, Soifon gave it a pat. The recoil was excellent.
Soifon's voice was devoid of emotion. "Disheveled appearance is contrary to etiquette."
Most importantly, what if someone else saw her like this in a public place?
Isane Kotetsu watched from the side, her cheeks flushing slightly as she whispered in agreement, "Ye—yes, that's right, Rangiku, you really should be more careful..."
Rangiku Matsumoto shook her head nonchalantly, even puffing out her chest, making the paperclip's restraint look precarious.
"What does it matter? There are no outsiders here, just us sisters~"
"Besides, there aren't any other customers right now."
Just as she finished speaking, the curtain of the izakaya was lifted once again, accompanied by the owner's enthusiastic greeting.
"This is the place. It's not big, but the food is really great."
As Shūhei Hisagi spoke, he stepped aside to let the four figures behind him enter.
However, before he could finish his sentence, he realized that the four juniors following him had all frozen in place, their expressions looking as if they had seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?"
Confused, Shūhei Hisagi followed their gaze and turned around, only to instantly turn to stone himself.
At a corner table, three women in Shihakushō were looking their way.
Even without her Captain's Haori, Captain Soifon's majestic (?) image was etched into his DNA.
"Captain Soifon! Lieutenant Matsumoto! Lieutenant Kotetsu!"
Shūhei Hisagi was the first to snap out of it, quickly snapping to attention and bowing. His voice even cracked slightly.
Momo Hinamori, Rukia, Renji Abarai, and Izuru Kira behind him also woke as if from a dream, hurriedly following suit with their bows.
Isane Kotetsu wasn't good at dealing with so many people and only gave a shy, slight nod. Rangiku Matsumoto, on the other hand, looked over the group of youngsters with great interest.
"This isn't a work setting; just call us 'Teacher.'"
Like Isane Kotetsu, Soifon instinctively reached for her cup to take a sip of sake to mask her awkwardness.
When she realized her own cup was already covered in cracks, she performed a practiced 'flying elephant' maneuver, picking up Rangiku Matsumoto's used cup and taking a sip.
Naturally, she avoided the side with the lipstick mark.
Huh? Does this sake taste a bit sweeter? Is it just my imagination?
Ignoring Rangiku's teasing gaze, Soifon turned to the owner standing bewildered behind the counter. "Please take them to a private room. I'll pay the bill."
"Eh? We couldn't possibly!"
"Teacher Soifon, there's no need to go to such expense!"
The students refused almost in unison.
They didn't have the courage to let a Captain treat them to a meal.
The owner, being an owner after all, knew how to read the room. Ignoring the students' protests, he ushered them into a private booth.
It wasn't until the door to the booth slid shut that the awkward air seemed to flow again.
Inside the booth, the five of them sat around the table, the atmosphere quietly subtle.
"Captain Soifon... I mean, Teacher Soifon, is actually quite gentle." Momo Hinamori was the first to speak in a low voice, her face flushed with the flattery of the gesture. "To think she'd even buy us dinner..."
Rukia nodded in agreement. After all, she had just received 'after-school instruction' from her today, and her opinion of the Captain was at an all-time high.
In contrast, Renji Abarai and Izuru Kira exchanged a look, their expressions complicated.
Gentle? Where?!
With the image of the teaching stick dancing in blurred afterimages on the training ground and the lingering aches in their bodies, they held serious reservations about that assessment.
Shūhei Hisagi poured barley tea for everyone while saying, "Right? I told you Captain Soifon is a good teacher."
The whispering of the students, naturally, could not escape the powerful spiritual senses of the three women outside.
Outside the booth, Soifon retracted her gaze from the direction of the room. She picked up Rangiku's cup for another sip, her chin tilted up with a hint of pride on her face.
See? Everyone says I'm a good teacher.
PS: Here is a cross-promotion segment.
[Yuri/Girls Love]
The power to command her once a day.
This was the only compensation Watanabe Chihiro received in exchange for providing food and shelter.
The subject of this care was a ditzy succubus who had ended up in Tokyo, nearly starving to death on the streets—Angelica.
Under the banner of "If you don't want to be sliced up for research, just be obedient," Chihiro's home naturally gained a new undocumented resident.
Even though the little succubus Angelica had already declared sternly: "Absolutely, positively no improper thoughts allowed!"
But Chihiro touched her own stomach; the indelible mark placed there by the other girl's own hand was currently heating up.
She looked again at the silver-haired girl before her. Despite her stiff face and attempt to act haughty, she couldn't hide the panic in her eyes as Chihiro pressed closer step by step.
Perhaps... this little thing could stay with her for a long time. It would be a shame not to test her limits bit by bit.
So, today's command is—
"Come here, Angelica. Stretch out your hand and help me check my teeth."
......
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