Very quickly, Soifon adapted to the training routine. Recruits were woken up at the break of dawn for physical exercises, while late mornings were spent practicing hakuda. A plain meal of zosuke would be followed by hours on hoho, which wore out Soifon's shoes within a month, and she had to write to her steward for new pairs as the Onmitsukido's standard issues were too large for her. The day would end in the sakura grove where recruits practiced trained to use their zanpakutos to with force and precision.
"To succeed in the Onmitsukido, you must be precise enough to pierce through a sakura petal with just the tip of your sword. Control your strength – one day, you will develop the force to kill, but not with excessive power, lest you injure others around you. The Onmitsukido does not practice wanton killing, so keep this in mind!"
Some of the recruits grumbled at the apparent contradiction, but Soifon was struck by the beauty of controlled force and precision, and applied her blade and strength diligently.
When she first started, her sword thrusts were clumsy, and she found it difficult to focus on a single target in the midst of raining petals. She would have to wait for the petals to come to her, and even then, she usually missed. Over the six months, she found it easier to concentrate, her feet were lighter, hoho could bring her to her target itself, and her aim found its target more frequently.
On the day she first pierced her target swift and sure, without interrupting the trajectory of the other falling petals, her sensei nodded approvingly. In her heart, Soifon began to believe that she could actually be good enough to pass the test.