Soi Fon
Soi Fon (砕蜂, pinyin: Sùifēng), born Shaolin Fon (蜂 梢綾, pinyin: Fēng Shaolíng), is a hard worker who believes strongly in following orders. She is generally reserved and does not hesitate to strike down her subordinates if they pose a challenge to her plans. In her childhood, she served as a bodyguard of Yoruichi Shihōin, with whom she developed a close relationship, eventually even becoming Yoruichi's protégé. After Yoruichi left Soul Society, Soi Fon was crushed and angered at Yoruichi's betrayal. In retaliation she trained to surpass her mentor, having replaced Yoruichi in all of her former positions, including captain of 2nd Division. Following her battle against Yoruichi in Soul Society in which she is defeated, she tearfully asks why Yoruichi did not take her with her. While Yoruichi's answer is not heard, Soi Fon seems to have forgiven her. The two's relationship has become somewhat of a running gag: Soi Fon consistently displays an obsessive, almost romantic, interest in Yoruichi. She likes anything resembling a black cat (a form Yoruichi can assume at will), often suggests that spending time with Yoruichi is the definition of fun, and displays jealousy should Yoruichi be in someone else's company. IGN has commented that Soi Fon and Yoruichi share one of the more interesting histories in the series, though feels more could have been done to flesh it out.
Soi Fon's zanpakutō is Suzumebachi (雀蜂? literally "hornet"). When released with the command "sting all enemies to death" (尽敵螫殺 jinteki shakusetsu), it shrinks into a stinger that is worn on the middle finger of Soifon's right hand. Whenever it cuts an opponent, a butterfly symbol called a hornet's crest (蜂紋華 hōmonka) spreads from the point of contact. Should Suzumebachi stab the same location again, the opponent dies. During her days training with Yoruichi, the crests could only be maintained for half an hour. Since then, she has improved to the point that the crests can never be removed unless she wills it.
