Soi Fon · Shaolin Fon

A little... treatment?!

For a moment, under the intangible aura Chiba Makoto exuded, the burly men of the Eleventh Division present all felt inexplicably uneasy.

That posture...

That tone...

No matter how they looked at it, it didn't seem like some minor treatment at all!!!

More importantly, Chiba Makoto clearly hadn't unleashed any terrifying spiritual pressure, so why did he feel so frightening?!

"Ah, well..."

Madarame Ikkaku finally realized that something seemed off. He noticed that Chiba Makoto in front of him seemed a little different from usual, forced a dry laugh, and said, "Chiba, how about I come visit another day?"

However, with a shift of his feet, Chiba Makoto blocked the doorway and said, "No need. You're already here..."

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Gynecology Department, Shaolin Fon had changed into a standard Shinigami uniform. Her tiny figure surveyed the surroundings as she followed the signs toward Chiba Makoto's office, tucked away in a relatively secluded corner.

This was... Shaolin Fon's first time here.

In the past, whenever Shaolin Fon felt unwell, she usually went to the Pediatrics Department of the Fourth Division.

Now that Shaolin Fon had entered the Gynecology Department, she could only barely be considered out of place. Yet her petite, girlish figure still drew curious glances from passing Shinigami from time to time.

Finally, when Shaolin Fon followed the signs to the office shared by Chiba Makoto and Aoki Risa, she was just about to raise her hand and knock when she suddenly heard one suppressed male wail after another.

"Ah~~~"

(°°)

Shaolin Fon froze.

For a moment, several rather wild images flashed through Shaolin Fon's mind.

After hesitating for a moment, Shaolin Fon first checked the nameplate hanging outside the office again.

Chiba Makoto & Aoki Risa.

Could it be... no... perhaps... surely not...

Shaolin Fon slowly lowered her hand and cautiously pressed her ear against the door.

"Ah~ Oh~~~"

In an instant, the wails and moans from inside the office became even clearer. Shaolin Fon could even faintly make out a mixture of pain and pleasure in them.

Shaolin Fon's eyes... widened slightly.

'Is this... really the Gynecology Department? I want to go back to Pediatrics...'

Instinctively, a shadow fell over Shaolin Fon's still-young heart.

However, just as Shaolin Fon's expression shifted uncertainly and she hesitated over what to do, another male wail suddenly rang out from inside the office.

"Ah~~ Mm~~~"

It was exactly the same—suppressed, and mixed with pain and pleasure...

At that moment, Shaolin Fon felt her mind descend into chaos. She could no longer imagine how utterly disorderly the scene inside the office must be.

Yet the even more numerous wails and moans that followed dealt an incomparably massive blow to Shaolin Fon's worldview.

'Just... how many people are in there...?'

With vacant eyes, Shaolin Fon tried closing her eyes and sensing the spiritual threads naturally emitted by Shinigami within the office.

Normally, the spiritual threads emitted by souls possessing Shinigami powers differed from those of ordinary souls—they were a distinctive red...

Yet in the next instant, Shaolin Fon saw dense, wave-like red spiritual threads surging toward her from the office before her.

Th-There were this many?!

'Th-This makes no sense...'

For a moment, young Shaolin Fon's mind completely short-circuited.

Just then...

"Bang!"

Right in front of Shaolin Fon, the office door was suddenly pulled open. One burly man after another filed out, sweat beading on their foreheads, their faces pale, and their steps somewhat awkward.

One...

Five...

Twenty...

Fifty...

It was like seeing more than twenty burly men climb out of a Wuling Hongguang for the first time. Shaolin Fon simply could not understand how more than fifty male Shinigami could have been hidden inside such a small office.

'Could... could they even fit?'

Shaolin Fon suddenly felt that what she had learned in the Punishment Force about "how to hide oneself in the smallest possible space" still had room for improvement.

In the end, it was only when a gentle-looking young man stood at the office doorway, smiling and waving goodbye to the departing male Soul Reapers, that the relentless tide of burly men finally ceased.

All of a sudden, Chiba Makoto noticed Shaolin Fon standing nearby with an adorably vacant expression.

Neat long hair with straight bangs, a face that still retained a trace of childishness, a petite and slender figure...

Looking at the dazed Shaolin Fon, Chiba Makoto asked, "Hello, do you need something?"

"N-No... nothing..."

At that moment, Shaolin Fon almost instinctively wanted to turn around and flee.

However, just as Shaolin Fon shifted her foot, she recalled the order Lord Yoruichi had given her.

No... no! Lord Yoruichi's mission is absolute. I have to obtain information on Chiba Makoto...

For Lord Yoruichi... this is all Lord Yoruichi's order...

Almost instantly, Shaolin Fon's expression turned resolute. Gritting her teeth, she asked softly, "Hello, are you Chiba Makoto?"

"That's right."

Chiba Makoto nodded. The petite, slender girl before him seemed somewhat familiar, but he could not recall where he had seen her.

"Excuse me. I'm Shaolin Fon of the Second Division. Would it be convenient for you to treat me?" Shaolin Fon asked.

Shaolin Fon?

Chiba Makoto's eyes shifted slightly, and he understood almost at once.

Chiba Makoto was naturally quite unfamiliar with that name, but after two months in the Seireitei, he had gained a basic understanding of its various divisions and institutions.

Among them, the captain of the Second Division and the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō had, for generations, been concurrently held by the Shihōin Clan, one of the Seireitei's Four Great Noble Clans. The current captain of the Second Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō was undoubtedly Yoruichi Shihoin, known in Chiba Makoto's memories as the Goddess of Flash.

And because the Second Division and the Onmitsukidō had been controlled by the Shihōin Clan for generations, the Second Division contained many nobles whose families had served the Shihōin Clan for generations.

The Fon Clan was a Lower Noble family within the Second Division that took pride in serving the Shihōin Clan for generations. Each head of the Fon Clan inherited the title "Soi Fon," signifying their willingness to be crushed to pieces for the Shihōin Clan.

So... the girl before me is the woman who will inherit the name "Soi Fon" in the future, and who will become captain of the Second Division after Yoruichi Shihoin betrays the Soul Society?

For a moment, Chiba Makoto's gaze at Shaolin Fon grew a little more intense, startling her into taking an unconscious step back.

At that moment, Chiba Makoto wore a remarkably gentle smile.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not a bad person. Come on, follow me inside first..."