Chapter Text
After the fall of Aizen, things steadily begin to return to normal in the Seireitei. Those mysterious allies that showed up to help during the fight, the ones that even Captain Soi Fon seemed to know, but who were utter strangers to Marechiyo, have been spending a lot of time hanging around, and there is talk of some of them being used to fill the gaps left behind by the traitorous captains. Apparently, they were captains before, but Marechiyo was still young then, still training, still utterly unconcerned with anything outside of his own orbit.
Whatever the case, it’s a good thing that the gaps will be filled, he supposes. He can’t imagine having to handle his squad without a captain. His subordinates like him well enough, if only because he makes sure that their barracks are perfectly comfortable, but it’s different from the respect that they have for Soi Fon. She rules with an iron fist, but it works, and if she were gone, then he has no idea what any of them would do.
He almost lost her, during the war. Sometimes that thought returns to him, and he is once again relieved that the two of them were able to escape such a fearsome battle with their lives. It was terrifying, and he knows that he could have handled a lot of things better, but all in all, he thinks that the fact that he lived at all is something that he deserves to celebrate. Soi Fon has not once praised him for his efforts, but it’s not like he needs her praise to know that he did something good.
It’s not like he ever expects her praise, either, and her certainly would not now, after learning that he isn’t even considered worthy of her gratitude. After everything he did to protect her, all she did was treat him like a nuisance, never once thanking him for laying his life on the line for her. More often than not, it almost seemed more like she would rather protect him than have him protecting her, but he’s sure that can’t be the case. If it were, she would have been a lot less nasty about how she talked to him, but it’s clear enough that the only thing she thinks of him is that he is a pain.
Really, it’s so mean that he can hardly stand it! After everything that he’s done for her…can’t she tell that he is the best subordinate that she could ask for? Can’t she tell that he cares a lot about her, even though she has done nothing to deserve that? Maybe, now that things have started to calm down, he can launch an official complaint about the way that she runs her squad and treats her underlings…but that would probably just get him punched, and accomplish absolutely nothing positive.
For better or worse, he knows that he is stuck with his captain. It runs in the family, serving under the captain of the second squad, the leader of the Stealth Force. Marechiyo is nothing if not proud of his family name, and the fact that he had the same honor as his father, able to serve as lieutenant in this prestigious squad, means that he has to continue to do his best, no matter what conditions he may be working under. He has to remain with Soi Fon, working under her and enduring her nasty attitude, all while putting forth the sort of work deserving of the Omaeda family name.
Truth be told, protecting her is not on the list of things that he is required to do, by virtue of the fact that she has already told him, time and again, that she does not want him protecting her. He would not dishonor his family by following orders from his captain, but there is always that nagging voice in the back of his mind that tells him that he should look out for her, whether he is supposed to or not. And, even if it ends with him frustrated that she does not properly appreciate him, he still knows, each and every time, that he is entirely willing to jump in and do it all again.
Soi Fon is his captain, for better or worse, and he is stuck with her. To him, that seems like a good enough excuse to take care of her, even though he definitely can’t stand her, or how mean she is to him. He doesn’t need to look any deeper into it, but lately, it has been hard to resist that. Lately, with things starting to slow down, he has had a lot of extra time to think about the war, and everything that the two of them went through, all the times that he could have lost her, and all the times that he was willing to put his life on the line, just to make sure that she was okay.
Lately, it’s getting harder for him to hide from his true feelings, even though he has done a damn good job of that for decades. Nearly losing her has brought those feelings to the forefront of his mind, and the fact that he is still willing to do just about anything for her, even after claiming that he can’t stand her, only makes it that much more obvious to him. It’s getting to the point that he can’t hide from it, which means that he can’t keep pretending like everything is normal around her anymore.
Despite everything, despite knowing how terrible of an idea it is, and despite knowing that he does not have a chance and that she is too big of a pain to be worth it, Marechiyo knows exactly how he truly feels about Soi Fon. The truth of the matter is that, somehow, over the years, he has fallen quite in love with his nasty, rude captain, and now, there is nothing that he can do about it.