Shaolin Fon

As Yoruichi Shihoin's voice fell, the remaining shadows vanished from where they stood once more. Only the petite figure remained, half-kneeling in place with her head slightly lowered as she awaited orders.

Yoruichi Shihoin reached out and lifted the petite figure's chin, forcing her to look at her. Then she tore off her mask, revealing a delicate face no larger than a palm. Her skin was fair and slightly childish, yet a trace of panic showed in her eyes.

Seeing her expression, as though she were urging Yoruichi Shihoin to tease her, Yoruichi Shihoin could not help asking playfully, "Why doesn't my little bee dare look at me anymore?"

As Shaolin Fon's gaze darted about the surroundings in growing panic, her chest rose and fell more noticeably. She stammered, "L-Lord Yoruichi, here... n-no... we can't..."

Yoruichi's eyes lit up. She leaned even closer to Shaolin Fon's faintly flushed face and asked in a warm breath, "Not here? Then where would be all right?"

"I... I..."

At once, faced with Yoruichi Shihoin's equally exquisite and beautiful face drawing ever closer, Shaolin Fon seemed to be steaming all over. Her hazy eyes began to close uncontrollably.

Yet the next moment, Yoruichi let go of Shaolin Fon like a cat that had stolen a taste of fish, then planted her hands on her hips and burst into laughter without the slightest noble composure.

"Hahaha, Fon, you're just too amusing."

Shaolin Fon hurriedly lowered her head, no longer daring to look at Yoruichi Shihoin. In a weak voice, she said, "L-Lord Yoruichi, please stop teasing your subordinate."

"That won't do, Fon. You'll just have to let me tease you for the rest of your life..."

Hearing Yoruichi Shihoin's shamelessly unreasonable words, Shaolin Fon's tiny ears turned as crimson and lustrous as jade, while her heartbeat sped up of its own accord.

After laughing heartily, Yoruichi Shihoin smacked her lips as though savoring the taste she had just stolen, then said, "Fon, I have a task for you. Go to the Fourth Division and investigate someone called Chiba Makoto. Understood?"

"Yes." Shaolin Fon let out a long breath, forcing herself out of her previous panic and embarrassment before replying solemnly.

"Ahem, Fon, no need to be so serious. Besides, he's Captain Unohana's disciple. To avoid misunderstandings, don't investigate him in secret using the Punishment Force's methods."

After a pause, Yoruichi Shihoin continued, "Approach Chiba Makoto as a patient instead. I need to know as much about him as possible."

"I understand, Lord Yoruichi."

Shaolin Fon nodded, then vanished from before Yoruichi Shihoin with the speed of someone fleeing for her life.

Watching the direction in which Shaolin Fon had departed, Yoruichi Shihoin strode forward again in high spirits. But instead of heading for the Second Division barracks, she made straight for the Sixth Division barracks.

Little Byakuya~ Your big sister Yoruichi is coming~~~

Yoruichi Shihoin licked her lips, her steps unconsciously becoming much lighter. It was as if the curiosity she had been suppressing regarding Chiba Makoto had found an outlet.

Meanwhile, in the Gynecology Department of the Fourth Division, Chiba Makoto... felt as though he were having a heart attack and needed Captain Unohana to personally save him.

When Chiba Makoto opened the office door with his heart full of bright expectations for the future, he saw dozens of muscular men crammed into the already narrow office. His usually steady body nearly took an instinctive step back.

The cramped space, dozens of muscular men packed shoulder to shoulder, sweat soaking their clothes, dozens of pairs of eyes brimming with a certain fervor and expectation...

At that moment, Chiba Makoto's pupils trembled. He almost instinctively suspected that he had entered the wrong place.

Kyōka Suigetsu...

That was it. It had to be Kyōka Suigetsu!

Fake. It was all fake!

That damned Aizen Sōsuke—when had he fallen under an illusion?

There was no way my office could be hiding so many burly men. It should only have sweet, adorable Aoki Risa!

Just as Chiba Makoto was trying his best to convince himself, a figure suddenly slid out from atop the dozens of muscular men with incomparable fluidity. He dropped to one knee and struck such a painfully cringeworthy chuunibyou pose that Chiba Makoto's teeth ached.

"Long time no see, my friend."

"At last, the day has come for us to meet again. This is fate's design, destiny..."

Before Madarame Ikkaku could finish, Chiba Makoto slammed the door shut again.

"Wait—"

Seeing this, Madarame Ikkaku instinctively tried to stop Chiba Makoto. His round, gleaming forehead poked out a little from the office.

Bang!

"Ah!!!"

The next moment, Madarame Ikkaku's head was completely caught in the door, and his scream echoed endlessly through the Gynecology Department.

"T-Too tight, Chiba..."

"Pain, pain, pain..."

"Stop squeezing me! Let go already..."

For a moment, Chiba Makoto, standing in the corridor, felt countless strange looks directed at him.

S-Social death...

His lifelong reputation—no, the image he had spent over two months building in the department... was ruined in an instant!

And given the channels through which female Soul Reapers spread gossip, it would probably circulate throughout the entire Seireitei within days.

Chiba Makoto's eyes gradually went blank, and the hand gripping the door slowly loosened.

"Chiba, you bastard, I brought so many people here to support your business..."

Before Madarame Ikkaku could finish, Chiba Makoto planted a hand on his bald head and shoved him into the office, then followed him inside.

Bang!

The office door was yanked shut with a rough slam, temporarily blocking out the bewildered and shocked stares.

Inside the office, Chiba Makoto's smile twitched as he asked gently, "Ikkaku, have you decided where you want to be buried?"

"What are you talking about..."

Madarame Ikkaku rubbed his head, where the door had left two red marks, still completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation. "I'm not the kind of man who dies in battle that easily!"

"Is that so? Well, sometimes death can be a luxury too."

Those chilling words came from Chiba Makoto's seemingly gentle face, sending an inexplicable shiver through every burly man in the office. Instinctively, they clamped their legs together.

Wait? Why are we instinctively clamping our legs together under Chiba Makoto's pressure?

Just as that momentary doubt flashed through the minds of the Eleventh Division's burly men—

"Since you trust me so much, I absolutely can't let you down, right?"

Chiba Makoto pulled a pair of white gloves from his pocket and put them on. "Let me give you a little treatment appropriate for the Gynecology Department."