On a Far Away Current I

''The final battle looms...! A flashback mini-arc to celebrate the the final moments of the Final War of Revenge arc!''

Beginnings
"I remember those days... so long ago. All of this turmoil seemed as but a whisper to us then. We were young captains at the beginning of our Gotei 13 careers. I guess that is all gone now... Still, it would be nice, if only for a moment, to remember..."

"Captaiiiiiiiiiiin!"

Raian was awoken from his mid-afternoon nap, his head firmly planted in the paperwork he was supposed to have finished hours ago, with a foot firmly holding it in place. He could only grunt his annoyance at the predicament, squirming from his prison until his assailant finally released him. Looking up, and rubbing his now bruised nose, Raian recognized the thin frame of his third seat,. The young Shinigami was holding a new stack of folders, crammed to the brim with forms, newsletters, and other forms of paperwork that Raian so dreaded.

"Here!" Isshin spat, slamming down the enormous mound of files on his desk. "Straight from Old Man Firestorm himself!"

Shaking himself from his sleepy daze, Raian gazed down annoyed at the new stack of paperwork, "Sheesh, with all these to fill out, I'll barely have time to train today..." he sulked.

Looking up from over the mountain of paperwork, he noticed his lieutenant, who was also his brother, Mashū Getsueikirite, asleep in his own pile of paperwork, though Mashū's was significantly smaller. Raian's eyebrow twitched at the sight of his lieutenant having made the same lazy decision as himself.

"Guess I'll be doing that as well..." he moped to himself.

"Maybe they should make me captain." Isshin teased. "Since you never seem to want to do your homework."

"They'd never make you captain!" Raian snapped, jamming his pointer finger in Isshin's face. "You're lazier than both myself and the lieutenant combined!"

Just then, the door to the Tenth Division's headquarters swung open, and several Shinigami stepped in; the first being Eighth Division captain Seireitou Kawahiru, the second being Second Division captain Hibiki Asakura (later known as "Echo"), and the third being Seventh Division captain Hikaru Kurosaki. Isshin looked even more annoyed at this development.

"Excellent, the Lazy Platoon itself has arrived!" he announced as the captains each took a seat around Raian's messy desk.

Raian, however, didn't have much time for jokes. He caught the look of severity on Seireitou's face the moment he took a seat. The silver-haired man, who was both his best friend, and his greatest rival, had his arms folded and his eyes shut tightly, as if in deep thought. Finally, he opened his eyes, glaring right into the eyes of Raian.

"What brings you three here?" Raian finally asked. "We don't go out for sake until tomorrow evening."

"Afraid we won't be." Seireitou replied solemnly, retrieving a small package from the inside of his haori.

Raian eyed the parcel, but made no motion to comment on it, "Well that's a damper." Raian said in a serious tone.

"Raian, you know the Captain-Commander's been on edge ever since we exterminated the Quincy in the last war. Well, it turns out it was justified." Seireitou replied, tossing the package to Raian.

Catching the parcel with little issue, Raian merely turned it around in his palm to observe it. His eyes immediately widened upon seeing what it was Seireitou had spoken of — the emblem of the Royal Guard was emblazoned upon it. Without asking if he should, Raian undid the small strings keeping the wrapping on the package, unfolding the note which was hidden within. The writing was plain and simple, and it was obviously an order from the Spirit King himself;

"Raian Getsueikirite is hereby dismissed from the position of Tenth Division captain, and is to report to Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto at once." Raian read aloud. "The same directive is given to lieutenant Mashū Getsueikirite. Third Seat, Isshin Shiba, is hereby promoted to be his replacement."

Raian looked up from the note, sweat forming on his forehead. Seireitou's eyes narrowed, and briefly glanced out the window of the setting sun.

"The Central 46 is in an uproar. They received the orders this morning. I don't know what is about to happen, but Yama-jii has ordered an emergency Captain's meeting. We're going there now. You too Isshin. I'll wake Mashū." Seireitou ordered.

And with this, Raian marched out of the barracks...