The news of Soifon being sentenced to death was disseminated by Central 46, presumably intended to serve as a warning to others.
ci
Heavy shackles locked her wrists and ankles. The metal was biting cold. Soifon was left alone in a cell at the highest point of the Senzaikyū.
Sitting on the freezing floor, Soifon looked through the narrow, vertical window and could see Sōkyoku Hill in the distance.
After confirming that there was no one monitoring her within her sensing range, Soifon extended her hand, and the Quincy power within her body began to circulate quietly.
The free-floating Spirit Particles in the air, as if drawn by an invisible vortex, began to slowly and continuously surge into her dried-up Spirit Body.
A few minutes later, the void in her Spirit Body was filled bit by bit. Although she was far from her peak condition, she was at least no longer in a state where a gust of wind could blow her over.
"Death penalty..." The corners of Soifon's mouth curled up slightly. "You really show no mercy at all, Captain Aizen."
Under normal circumstances, given her status and the energy of the Kuchiki Clan, it would be impossible for her to be sentenced to death, let alone for the verdict to be reached so quickly.
Someone must have used Kyōka Suigetsu to give things a push from behind.
Do you hate Central 46 that much?
Sōsuke Aizen.
After an unknown amount of time, a noisy commotion suddenly came from outside the cell.
This was followed by messy and hurried footsteps. The door to the room imprisoning Soifon was pushed open, and light once again filled the cell.
"Teacher Soifon—!"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya stood at the doorway.
Behind him, Momo Hinamori and Rukia squeezed in from the left and right. Both of their eyes were red and swollen, with tear tracks crisscrossing their faces.
When their gazes fell upon the shackles on Soifon's body, their breathing involuntarily stopped for half a second.
Momo Hinamori clamped her hand over her mouth, tears surging forth once again. Rukia bit her lower lip tightly, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
"..."
"How... how can they treat a Captain like this?!"
Tōshirō rushed out of the door in a fit of rage, intending to make the guards outside unlock Soifon's shackles.
At this moment, Soifon spoke up to stop him.
"Tōshirō, calm down."
She walked to the prison bars and raised her hand to hammer against the metal railing.
"How can it be the death penalty..." Tōshirō gritted his teeth. "Have those old fogies in Central 46 lost their minds?!"
They probably had; after all, they were controlled by Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu.
Soifon reached out, gently wiping away the tears on Momo Hinamori's face, then wiped the corners of Rukia's reddened eyes. The shackles emitted a harsh metallic scraping sound with her movements.
"Don't cry."
"This might be one of the last times we meet... Do you really want the memory I keep of you to be your tear-stained faces?"
Momo Hinamori and Rukia shook their heads desperately, yet their tears flowed even more fiercely.
Soifon turned to Tōshirō, her gaze calm. "Tōshirō."
Tōshirō raised his head, his crimson eyes meeting her gaze.
"You are the most outstanding student I have ever taught," Soifon said slowly. "In the future... I'll trouble you to take good care of Momo and Rukia."
Upon hearing these words, which sounded almost like entrusting orphans to a guardian, Tōshirō turned abruptly and rushed out of the cell without looking back.
A chilling coldness rose up outside the Senzaikyū.
Only Soifon and the two girls, who were sobbing uncontrollably, remained in the cell.
Suddenly, Momo Hinamori tightly gripped the hand Soifon was using to wipe her tears, and then rubbed her cheek against the back of Soifon's hand incessantly, like a helpless kitten.
"Teacher Soifon..."
"I have always..."
Momo Hinamori's voice was broken and stuttering as she managed to say the first half of her sentence.
—Is she going to confess at a time like this?
Soifon inwardly cried out that this was bad.
In truth, it wasn't that she didn't understand the feelings of her two students. It was just that, after doing so many "unforgivable" things in secret, Soifon knew she would sooner or later have a falling out with the Seireitei.
Therefore, adhering to a tactic of feigning ignorance and stalling, Soifon had always intentionally or unintentionally ignored her two students' feelings.
Perhaps this would minimize the harm done to them?
At the very least, they wouldn't be implicated by the others in the Seireitei.
Soifon thought self-righteously.
Just as her thoughts were wandering, Momo Hinamori seemed to have sorted out her sorrowful emotions and stopped gasping for breath after every word.
"Teacher Soifon!"
"I have always liked you!"
"Not the kind of like a student has for a teacher... It's the kind where I want to be with you forever!"
"I... I want to become lovers with Teacher Soifon—!"
The last word of this sentence was shouted out, stirring up a faint echo in the empty cell.
After shouting this, Momo Hinamori seemed to have used up all her courage.
She could only lean against the prison bars, staring at Soifon with eyes red from crying, not blinking once.
Almost simultaneously, Rukia pressed her forehead against the cold Seki-Seki Stone bars, her eyes filled with tears.
"Me too!" Rukia's voice carried a sobbing tone. "I have also always liked Teacher Soifon!"
"You were the first person to affirm me. You were the teacher who brought me from Class B to Class A."
"It was Teacher Soifon who saved my sister..."
"It was Teacher Soifon who made me feel that even without the halo of the Kuchiki Clan, I am not worthless..."
She reached out her hand through the gap in the bars, her fingertips trembling, and gently grasped Soifon's arm.
Clatter—
The sound of shackles moving rang out.
Soifon lowered her head, looking at her clothes and arm being clutched, and remained silent for a long time.
Should she respond?
At this point... not responding would be even more hurtful, right?
I only hope that seven days from now, you won't hate me.
Soifon took a deep breath.
"So that's how it is..." She smiled self-deprecatingly. "I thought you two just... lacked motherly love."
Soifon also leaned against the Seki-Seki Stone bars, resting close to the two young girls.
"I'm sorry," Soifon finally spoke, carrying a hint of self-blame. "I wasn't able to feel your feelings before."
The apology was real, but the latter half of the sentence was false; she simply hadn't dared to respond.
Soifon wanted to reach out and hug them together, but the tight shackles on her hands did not allow her to do so.
"Teacher Soifon doesn't need to apologize..."
"Mhm, we just felt that if we didn't say it now, there might not be a chance later..."
Momo Hinamori and Rukia sobbed uncontrollably, showing no intention of blaming Soifon for being obtuse.
As their voices fell, Soifon struggled to raise her wrists bound by the shackles. Her fingertips landed gently on the top of Momo Hinamori's head, rubbing it.
Subsequently, she turned to Rukia and did the same.
"To be confessed to by both of you at the same time... actually, I am very happy."
"If in the future... you don't hate me, then let's be together forever..."
"?!"
"?!"
The two heads that lifted simultaneously were brimming with expressions of surprise.
Did Teacher Soifon accept?
But... is this really not just Teacher Soifon lying to us before her death?
They had heard there was an old saying in the mysterious East: "When a man is about to die, his words are kind."
And since Teacher Soifon is about to be executed, the "forever" she spoke of must refer to the underworld.
Sigh...
They'd better go back and conspire on how to break her out of jail.
____
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