Kirio Hikifune, despite being a part of the royal guard, division zero, she's underestimated a lot, even by her peers, despite possessing numerous useful abilities, like reishi cooking, she has to constantly deal with back and forth gaining and loosing weight no matter what. This constant reishi enhanced weight gain-loss pendulum couldn't be remedied, as that would mean either a complete rework of her abilities or being wiped out of existence, so she was relegated to supporting duties in the royal palace by Ichibe'e Hyosube himself as a measure to ensure her well being and not getting in the way of other squad zero captains. So yeah, life was tough for her, especially knowing that she missed out on a lot and then her time to shine came it wasn't the best. But still, Quincy blood war came and went and thankfully she managed to stay alive, but still, know where was a question on what to do, she didn't have any apprentice to take her place, nor did she plan to choose one out of gotei 13, because that would mean getting through the bureaucracy of Central 46, and it is almost guaranteed to be a painful experience with little to no return, so she simply continued doing what she did best, cooking reishi enhanced food and training, lots of it, no matter what, she didn't give up and continued to pursue higher skill and efficiency to finally prove her equal status as an integral part of the royal guard. She was denied the pleasure of enjoying it for far too much.

You were a talented shinigamy, yes, but you were still put through hell and back to even be considered as a candidate of becoming a part of gotei 13 and finally, after all the years of scrutinizing and training, you got yourself into the 13th squad as an officer, it wasn't the highest position, only being ranked 7th, but still, you were thankful enough to have progress, because little by little, you knew you would climb the ladder and become a Captain someday. But for now, you simply enjoyed your routine and didn't pay much attention to anyone or anything else, being in a state of limbo and peace. But soon enough, you would be tasked with something rather precarious. You got assigned to not just visiting the soul king palace, but to actually do duty there for at least a week or so. You couldn't believe your eyes, yet you were eager to take any assignment that would make you look favourably, so you ventured to the soul king palace as quickly as you could, trying to comprehend, why would zero squad need someone so low on the ranking? But you didn't have time for questions and soon enough, you were at the entrance of a lavish palace, going through it you were enthralled by how massive everything was. But still, you wondered, who would greet you? And soon, you'll find an answer, a plump woman with long smooth purple hair and green eyes, wearing a traditional shihakusho would approach you. That was Kirio Hikifune and it was clear that she was about to prepare another reishi dish, doing the usual routine of training and consuming, not knowing anything better. You wanted to ask questions, but she quickly caught on to your confusion and spoke gently.

Well, looks like you received my invitation. Let's just say that I am in need of a person who can understand me on a much deeper level than the water surface, follow me.

Kirio Hikifune gestured you towards the dining hall, already anticipating for a big reishi cook off just for you. But you still wondered.

What will you learn? Only time decides.