Chapter 36
For the next couple hours, all Kitty concerned herself with was dealing with Soi Fon taicho. All the young Chinese woman did was puking, groaning and cursing Kurosotchi Mayuri's name over and over again. Kitty had to smile gently as her finally calmed down, allowing the strict taicho to lay her head down and rest for a while.
"You need anything?" Kitty asked. "Water? A toilet break? A new bucket?"
Soi Fon sighed. "Some water would be nice."
Kitty smiled and got a bottle of water from her 4th squad medic bag.
"You're past the worst now, you'll have some small relapses throughout the day, and you will feel like shit until late tomorrow, but you'll live."
Soi Fon sighed taking the water that Kitty gave her, drinking it down gently. Satisfied and calm again she smiled.
"Hey Petro there is one more thing you can do for me."
"Sure" Kitty said smiling gently.
"The top drawer of my desk there is a transfer sheet. Mind signing it for me?"
Kitty chuckled gently. "Cute, taicho, are you really sure you want to mess with me in the position you are in?"
"Oh please," Soi Fon said. "You wouldn't dare hurt a taicho."
"Who said anything about hurting?" Kitty asked. "I have a vast experience of embarrassing my enemies, not hurting them. For example, I am 99.9 per cent sure that if I open that closet you have there I will find a small Yoruichi shrine; you think Yoruichi would like some pictures?"
"OK, ok I get the point" Soi Fon said, looking paler than she had a few seconds ago. "I'll lay off… for today."
Kitty smiled gently looking at her watch. "Hey are you ok taicho?"
"Yeah, as good as I can be at the present time I guess" Soi Fon said gently.
"Then would it be ok for me to take a small round? I am responsible for my subordinates after all."
"Feel free, I'll manage" Soi Fon said.
"All right, I'll be back in about 30 minutes" Kitty promised, walking out of Soi Fon's quarters with a small bow before rushing off to see how the rest of the relief team was doing
BLEACHBLEACHBLEACH
The rounds went well for Kitty; none of the 4th squaders seemed to have too much trouble, with the exception of poor 20th seat Kutan who had Omaeda in his care… Apparently he hadn't once left the toilet since his diarrhea had started almost 5 hours ago, and the smell coming from his toilet booth didn't encourage anyone to go and see if he was ok.
Entering the last room on her round Kitty smiled politely at the first person in a cot. "Hi there Fuji san, how are you feeling?"
Fuji groaned. "I'm pondering if it's possible to have Nemu clone her father, so that I can kill him… and then clone him again and kill him again."
Kitty smiled. "Getting better then?"
"Yeah I suppose" Fuji sighed, "also it makes me feel better when I think about the fact that everyone in the Gotei 13 is feeling this right now, kind of makes it worth…" suddenly Fuji's stomach rumbled.
"Uh oh" Fuji muttered. "Excuse me" she yelled a second later, and vanished in a burst of shunpo towards the toilets.
Kitty smiled. Poor Fuji.
"Was that 3rd seat Fuji san?" Kitty turned to the small healer who had appeared next to her, a young healer by the name of Sana.
"Hai another diarrhea burst I think. So how are you doing?"
"Pretty good, no trouble, most are just lying in their cot's groaning, I don't think that even the 11th squad would be healthy enough to fight today."
Kitty smiled. "True, the poor sods probably collapsed training."
Sana smiled then frowned. "There is one person that I'm a little worried about though."
"Yes?" Kitty asked.
"Well she won't do much; she is just lying in her place, and only calls for my attention when she needs a new bucket. She hasn't groaned, moaned, or even asked for water."
"All right, where does this girl lie?"
Sana pointed the way and Kitty walked down. Who she saw made her blink.
"Yukiko san?"
The woman blinked up at her, an equal surprised look on her face.
"Petro san?"
Kitty smiled. "Wow, Tanaka Yukiko, it's been ages. I don't think I have seen you since we finished the academy."
Yukiko sighed. "Yeah… good times."
Kitty smiled. "So, where is your brother?"
Yukiko closed her eyes in pain. "He… he's not here."
Kitty frowned. "Well then, where is he?"
BLEACHBLEACHBLEACH
Soi Fon looked up as her door opened and Kitty entered again.
"Anything wrong" she asked.
Kitty looked up, and Soi Fon frowned at Kitty's sad face.
"What isn't wrong?" Kitty muttered. "People get killed, people kill, hollows kill, shinigami kill, it's an endless cycle of death."
"Am I missing something here?" Soi Fon asked.
"Sorry" Kitty sighed. "I just meet Tanaka Yukiko."
"Ah" Soi Fon said. "Yes she has been a little distant after her brother died."
"How can you be so casual about this?" Kitty asked. "Tanaka Yuu was only 53 years old. We were in the same class in the academy. He leaves behind a twin sister and a family that will miss him deeply. How can you just…"
Kitty stopped talking as Soi Fon pointed to the wall next to her, and noticed that she was pointing at her taicho's haori.
"What is that Petro?"
"Your taicho's haori" Kitty said, noticing that she was silently crying.
"And wearing that haori every day, how many subordinates do you think I send out every day to hunt down traitors or hollows, and how many do you think comes back alive?"
Kitty gulped slightly, not really wanting to hear the honest answer.
Soi Fon sighed. "If I were to cry over every subordinate that dies under my care, that would be all I had time to do. You are too soft for your own good Petro. After what I heard, from Tanaka himself, you weren't really good friends either."
"No, he was a stuck up brat" Kitty agreed. "But still… his sister…"
Soi sighed, silently asking herself why she did what she did the next moment.
"Do you know the story about my clan Petro?"
Kitty frowned. "Not really."
"The Fon clan is a small noble clan, and as long as there have been a Shihouin, there has been a Fon by their side."
"A Fon is trained from when we are small in the art of assassinations. Essentially, all we are is thieves and assassins. When a Fon is of age he or she takes the omidskido entrance exam. No academy, just the exam."
"If he or she fails the test and is denied access into the omidskido, they are exiled from the Fon clan. We don't tolerate weaklings well."
Kitty gaped at what she heard. "How can you act like that to your own family?"
Soi Fon smiled gently, getting more comfortable. "I'm not finished. You wondered how Tanaka was going to deal with the loss of her brother."
Kitty blinked. "Where are we going with this?"
Soi Fon smiled and held up her hand, closed into a fist holding up one finger.
"Shun… he trained day in and day out, oldest of the bunch, was destined to be the next leader of the clan. He joined the omidskido and was sent out on his first assignment, a basic hollow, the stupid idiot thought he was invincible and got himself killed."
Soi Fon sighed and put up another finger.
"Song was a ladies' man, when he wasn't training he was trying to impress the girls. He too got sent out on his first mission… and saved a girl by standing in the way of a traitor's katana… he died before he hit the ground.
Kitty gulped, wondering who these men were.
Soi Fon frowned and held up a third finger.
"Shirong always were book smart, he were at the top of his life, and survived the first mission, but not the 2nd."
A fourth finger came up and Soi Fon huffed.
"Shi always liked to tease everybody. I think he saw everyone as too serious and wanted people to remember him like a fun guy. He too survived the first mission and died on the 2nd."
Soi Fon finally held up her thumb, all 5 fingers now unfolded.
"And lastly Shen, he and I where always the last ones to leave the training grounds… we were equally inspired to be the best we could be. He lasted pretty long. Didn't die until his 6th mission."
Kitty blinked. "Who were they?"
"My brothers" Soi Fon said, Kitty blinking in shock.
"I was… somewhat sad when they died but… more ashamed over how weak they were. This might seem like a foreign concept to you Petro, but here in the 2nd we live by one simple rule, the fight of the fittest. If you die, it was simply because you weren't strong enough. Dwelling on the past won't do you any good."
Kitty nodded gently. "Yeah… I guess."
Soi Fon nodded gently and lay down again with a small groan.
"Anything I can do for you taicho?" Kitty asked.
"You have a pill or something so I can sleep?"
Kitty shaked her head. "No ma'am, but I'd happily sing you a lullaby."
"As long as it makes me sleep" Soi Fon muttered.
Kitty smiled, and softly started to sing. Soi Fon blinked, recognizing the tune as well as the words, smiling gently as Kitty sang her best in Chinese
My baby, baby, give you some sweet sweet,
let you sleep sweet sweet tonight.
My little rat, little rat, move your and eyes and brows,
let you get used to this world.
Ai-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, my baby,
if you are tired you have someone to accompany you,
Ai-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, my baby,
let you know you are the most beautiful thing
My baby, baby, give you some sweet sweet,
let you sleep sweet sweet tonight.
My little rat, little rat, spin your little face,
let you embrace the whole new tomorrow
Ai-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, my baby,
if you are tired you have someone to accompany you,
Ai-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, my baby,
let you know you are the most beautiful thing
Ai-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, my baby,
if you are tired you have someone to accompany you,
Ai-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, my baby,
I want you know you are the most beautiful thing
Kitty smiled gently as she finished the song, noticing that Soi Fon was deep into dreamland. She was still saddened about Tanaka, even though they weren't the best of friends back when he was alive, but she got the message Soi Fon gave her.
Nothing good came from relying on the past. Feeling a little naughty she rose and walked over to Soi Fon's closet.
"99.9 per cent sure" she said to herself opening the closet only to grin at a small shrine dedicated to Yoruichi. She blinked at some pictures, wondering what poor sap she sent out to stalk Yoruichi for getting them. Grinning gently she took out a small black cat plushie from the closet.
"Aww so cute… you look like you need some love."
Kitty smiled gently and walked over to Soi Fon's bed and gently put down the plushie on Soi Fon's stomach. Soi Fon grunted gently in her sleep, turned, and suddenly held the plushie in her sleep.
"I should have brought a camera" Kitty muttered gently.
She sighed. She couldn't leave Soi Fon in case she choked herself on vomit in her sleep, but what to do? She saw the bookshelf and decided that Soi Fon probably wouldn't mind it if she borrowed a book. Walking over she frowned seeing the state of the books.
Soi Fon taicho was known for strictness and spotlessness… if that even was a word. But her books. Some stood up, some were lying, and some were upside down.
She started organizing, silently to not wake up the sleeping taicho. Suddenly out of the mess appeared a magazine. Kitty took it up, and suddenly saw that there were more of the magazines hidden under the mess. She opened the magazine on top looking at a random page, and her face went from curious to downright ecstatic.
"My, my," she muttered grinning widely. "Soi Fon taicho you naughty girl you… this will do nicely."
Kitty grinned, took the magazines and sat down gently on the one chair in the room, and took her dear time flipping through each page of the magazine.