Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Tales of the Second Division
Soifon's hair
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship
Rating: K+
Characters: Soifon, Yoruichi
Soifon always wanted to have long hair. But she had to serve in the Onmitsukidou and long hair would be a disadvantage. She could keep it in a bun, but buns took too long to make and she didn't like them anyway. She wanted long, rich hair trailing behind her when she pounced down on whoever the Onmitsukidou was after today.
She decided on a compromise. She let her hair grow just below her shoulders. That was short enough so she wasn't in danger of having her hair grabbed by an enemy yet it was long enough that if she looked in a mirror, she could pretend that her hair was long, flowing down to her waist or even lower. And she cut her fringe in the style of princesses of olden days. That way she could pretend that she was a princess too and yet her hairstyle was practical. Some people might call it girly, but Soifon would counter that it was practical. It allowed her to blend in while on an undercover assignment better than a military hairstyle would. And she really liked being girly once in a while.
Soifon really liked her long hair and that was why she really hated having something happen to them. And something did happen. It started as a day just like any other. She rose in the morning, arrived at the Onmitsukidou headquarters and knelt quietly as Yoruichi-sama dealt with the daily paperwork. Then the Shihouin lady declared she was tired of the bureaucracy and decided to do a mission herself to stave off the boredom. Soifon, her trusted bodyguard, followed her.
The mission Yoruichi had picked was finding and catching two deserters. Both of them used to be seated officers of the Gotei 13, so an elite force had to be sent after them. But Yoruichi and her bodyguards going was overkill. They quickly arrived at the location the deserters had been spotted last. To Soifon's slight surprise they were still there. Amateurs. Well, this is going to be easy, she thought. In the next moment their targets spotted them.
Things quickly erupted into chaos. The two wanted men attacked. One was stopped by Yoruichi and they began exchanging blows. It was obvious that the golden-eyed woman was toying with him.
The other buy started after Soifon, probably thinking that because she was the smallest she was also the weakest. Well, Soifon smirked under her mask, she was going to enjoy correcting his mistake. Then the man suddenly vanished. He was fast. But where did he go? She almost didn't realize it in time. He was behind her. She jumped forward. She just barely made it. She could feel the cold touch of his blade on the back of her neck.
She reached up to check the wound. It was very shallow, barely bleeding. But she realized something else. Her hair, her beautiful hair had been cut and now strands of it were floating between her and the criminal.
"My hair!" Soifon roared in anger. Suzumebachi appeared in her hand in a flash. Then she pounced on the culprit. He might have been fast, but Soifon was powered by righteous anger over her ruined hair. The man never stood a chance.
"Don't you think he has enough?" Yoruichi's voice finally filtered through the red haze of rage clouding Soifon's mind. She realized that she had been punching the man's prone body for a whole minute now. She let go of him in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, Yoruichi-sama." She really shouldn't have given into her anger like this. It was unprofessional. Yoruichi-sama might kick her out of her bodyguard unit now and that would be too terrible. But he had cut her hair.
"Tie them up and let's return," the Onmitsukidou commander ordered.
"Yes, Yoruichi-sama," Soifon answered and quickly fulfilled the order. It looked like Yoruichi-sama wasn't angry at her. But she should be on better behavior in the future. Even Yoruichi-sama's generosity had limits.
Once her shift was over, she was free to decide what to do about her ruined hairdo. And she had to do something soon. The deserter had cut only a part of her hair and the result looked just plain ridiculous. The girl quickly decided that the best solution was to visit a hairdresser and do it soon. Too many people had already snickered at her appearance.
The hairdresser did her best to save Soifon's hair, but there was only so much she could do. As Soifon studied her reflection in a mirror, she had to admit that her new chin-length cut looked good. Professional. Exactly what an Onmitsukidou operative was supposed to look like. But she couldn't pretend she was a princess anymore.
"Why so down?" The cheerful voice spoke next to her ear. Soifon jumped a meter. She had had no idea she hadn't been alone.
"Yo-Yoruichi-sama!" she spluttered. Curse it, she was being unprofessional again. There went her resolution.
"So you got your hair cut? That's no reason to be so morose," the Shihouin clan head continued cheerfully. It was easy for her to be cheerful, Soifon thought. Her hair hadn't been cut against her will. "You look good in short hair. Look," she said waving a strand of her perfect purple hair in Soifon's face, "I have short hair too!"
Yoruichi-sama had short hair. That meant that Soifon had now hair just like Yoruichi-sama. Well, almost. And Yoruichi-sama said that her hair looked good. Soifon couldn't be happier.
"Thank you, Yoruichi-sama!" she exclaimed, blushing like a schoolgirl.
"What for?" the dark-skinned woman raised an eyebrow.
"Everything." Soifon decided that she wasn't going to change her hairstyle ever again.
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Years later Soifon was reconsidering her decision to never change her hairstyle. By that time Yoruichi was long gone from Soul Society, branded a traitor and Soifon no longer cared that she had liked hairdo. But she had to admit it was practical and professional. But a part of her wanted to be a long-haired princess again. Another part of her told her that she should forget such nonsense and concentrate on being a good commander of the Onmitsukidou and captain of the Second Division. She might just cut her hair even shorter. Another part suggested getting some really original hairdo to distinguish herself. Yet another part of her said not to bother and just leave things the way they are. It was a long and heated argument.
In the end Soifon decided to compromise. She kept her old style and grew her hair. It sounded nonsensical, but she found a way to accomplish both at once: she grew out only two thin braids in the back. This way she could have both the practical style Yoruichi had liked and the long flowing hair of a princess she had always dreamed of. She branded the long strands of hair so they wouldn't get tangled. But the braids looked too thin so she wrapped them in white cloth. That was better, but it was still missing something. She decided to add golden rings at the ends of her braids. Now it was perfect. Her own unique look. Practical and stern, yet feminine. And don't anyone dare to say that she looked stupid. And if somebody though they could grab her braids in battle, well, Soifon smirked evilly, they could certainly try.