From that day on, Soifon was no longer any bodyguard to the Shihoin family, but the protégé of Yoruichi Shihoin. Soifon followed her around at all times, no longer confined by the strict regimes of a guard detail. Not that any schedule would have held Yoruichi back if she had wanted Soifon to accompany her on a mission, or to give her some one-to-one training.

Soifon could not help but feel a burst of pride in being taken under the commander's direct tutelage. Yoruichi's power in shun-po was without pareil, and there were very few who could overcome her in hakuda. She was known as "Shun-shin", or the goddess of flash.

She trained diligently under the watchful eyes of her commander, but Yoruichi knew full well that even after she had dismissed Soifon for the day, the younger girl would still be somewhere out there practicing. Yoruichi had already seen the potential in Soifon on the day of her examination; now, she could see her pupil blossoming under her tutelage.

Soifon, meanwhile, held no illusions about where her training was headed. She continued to be in awe of her senpai and how gracefully she moved and how effortlessly she dispatched of Soul Society's enemies. In Soifon's mind, the overwhelming power gap between the two of them could never be overcome – after all, this is Yoruichi-sama and not any ordinary member of the Gotei 13 – but neither did Soifon desire to supersede her commander. Yet she knew that she would never ever effectively protect Yoruichi until she was at least as good as her.

And so she poured herself into training, channelling the complex nexus of her emotions into a determination to be a worthy protector and pupil, seeking to be good enough, yet never better than the one she served.

Yoruichi had never been given to formalities, but Soifon's self-deprecating lack of presumption was something she had had to grow accustomed to. Nonetheless, Yoruichi made special effort to meet Soifon at her level, for she knew Soifon would never presume to come to her.

Breaking with custom, Yoruichi began to eat with her subordinates once a week. She did not particularly enjoy the formality of sitting around in a proper dining setting with many people, in strict observance of meal times. The plain zosuke that the Onmitsukido ate was boring to her. Nonetheless, when she saw Soifon sitting awkwardly amongst the men, picking silently at her food, she resolved to reach out to the young girl.

"Commander!" Everyone in the dining hall rushed to stand at attention when Yoruichi made her sudden appearance one evening. Behind her were the staff who waited on her in her capacity as head of the Shihoin household, bearing platters of dishes.

"At ease, everyone. To reward all of you for your hard work and dedication, I have ordered some dishes from my kitchen to go with your meal." The men hurriedly rushed to set out a special seat for her, but she waved them away. "Please do not put yourselves out. I have come to sit among you and eat with you so do not do anything extra for me."

The wait staff distributed the dishes while Yoruichi scanned the room. She settled down at an empty seat next to Soifon and grinned. Soifon bowed her head and greeted her.

"Too slow, Soifon!" and in a flash, Yoruichi's chopsticks had pinched the remaining slivers of pickled ginger from Soifon's plate, while a piece of grilled fish appeared miraculously on her rice. "Yo…Yoruichi-sama!"

"Hey, it's all right. Eat up!" said Yoruichi through a mouthful of food.

Soifon hesitantly turned back to her bowl, and her chopsticks picked gently at the fish. It has been many years. She realised that the time for her to return to her family home had nearly come.

"Yoruichi-sama, I… I am sorry to have to ask this at this moment, but if I may make a request please…" Yoruichi paused in mid-bite. "I will turn 21 at the end of winter next year. I would like to beg of your grace for a month to return to my family estate to settle some matters."

The permission was forthcoming, as was the fish, in the months to that winter.