A New Chapter

Since his return to the Soul Society, Komamura had been hard at work settling back into the thick of things after his extended absence. For nine years he'd been embroiled in conflicts with powerful spiritual beings on a daily basis, and he was at last free to resume his duties as a Captain, and fulfill his vow to the man who'd seen past his appearance and allowed him to join the ranks of the Shinigami all those years ago.

He'd formally assumed captaincy over the Ninth Division, and his first order of business had been to personally meet up with each of his seated officers, so that he might know them better and establish a proper working relationship.

As the Captain of the Ninth Division, Sajin found himself in charge of the Seireitei Communication magazine. It was a different sort of work than what he was used to, but his work ethic had always been impeccable. Due to his appearance and the terrible treatment he'd suffered in the past because of it he still found himself struggling with the kind of low self-esteem that never truly goes away, it had been worse as of late.

What Sajin experienced as his failure to save Kaname, a man he'd loved deeply, loomed like a shadow at his back, ever eager to sink its cold talons into his psyche. He'd been too weak to defeat Bambietta without restorting the Humanization Technique, which had prevented him from serving Soul Society. When the Kido Corps revolted, he hadn't been there to uphold his oath, and many of Tousen's former subordinates had been killed in the initial attack. Indeed, Komamura's mind always seemed to find a way to twist tragedies and other painful occurences into his fault, whether they actually were so or otherwise.

Yet centuries of blaming himself for everything, and the vivid memories of physical and emotional abuse he'd suffered through in the past gave Komamura something else, a sense of compassion that his subordinates had always found reassuring. The current situation would turn out to be no different.'

Putting the pencil down, Sajin examined the man before him. He was sweaty, fidgeting, and nervous, fearful even.. the man was Toshinori, a seated officer in the Ninth Division, and a man that had just informed the Captain that someone had managed to ruin more than eight-hundred copies of the Seireitei Communication Magazine in print. He claimed not to know who that someone was, but he could not lie to Sajin, for his senses were acute enough that he could practically smell it.

"I am dissapointed in you Toshinori-san, we are all fallible beings capable of making mistakes, but true integrity involves admitting them."

Komamura's voice held no anger, but his disapproval was clear enough to get his point across regardless. Golden eyes met those of his subordinate, and the other man turned away in shame before he muttered, his voice trembling. "I screwed up, taichou.."

Sajin nodded solemnly before speaking. "Myself and Hisagi-fukutaichou will be attending an official meeting shortly and will be unavailable for some time. Explain the issue to Third Seat Hiroshi-san and I will join you when I return to help set this right."

Some time later Sajin Komamura found himself entering the large room in which most meetings were held. His eyes instinctively trailed to where Yamamoto used to stand, and he couldn't help the melancholy he always felt upon being reminded of his death.

With these concerns weighing heavily on his mind, Sajin Komamura assumed his position in the right row of Captains, as he looked towards the Captain-Commander.

Viridian eyes followed the hulking anthropomorph as he entered the room, watching him intently whilst he assumed his position within the same row that she stood in. Her eyes closed, withdrawing their gaze when Sajin's form began to obscure from her amongst the other Captains that stood between the pair. With that, she let out a stiff yawn, lazily raising a hand to stifle it only after most of it had passed already.

The lackadaisical mannerisms, the bags under her eyes, the messy unkempt hair, they were all things that detracted from that fact, or perhaps they were greater indicators of it, but this woman was none other than one of the first Captains of the Gotei 13 from the days of its very founding. She was Seia. Like the Captain of the Ninth, she had only recently returned to the Soul Society, back from a sojourn to the, upon the formal request of her peers. She had long since retired from her role as a Shinigami, from fighting and killing, but the dire straits of the 's military forces had caused them to seek her out.

She looked upon each and every man and woman to enter the room, and each time a new face turned up, a pang of regret pulsed through her chest. She knew the feeling all too well, at times she wondered if putting down the blade was the right choice. Perhaps it was too selfish. Had she been there, for all the wars and conflicts of the past decade, perhaps many of the fresh-faced and wartorn Shinigami that filled the ranks of the Captains would not have had to do so. Perhaps many of the older guard, the likes of, , and even the legendary would needn't have lost their lives.

Habitually she raised her hand to rest on her blade, only for her hand to fall short, as it hit air. Ah, right, she remembered. Perhaps an odd thing for a Captain to be missing the greatest symbol of her station, but nonetheless, her Zanpakutō was not on her person. It had been among many of the negotiations between herself and the as they negotiated her return to Soul Society. For her, this was about seeing what was right. Whether truly she was as selfish as she believed. She was "on loan", as she saw it. Leaving her blade, sheathed up and locked away, in the faraway climbs of the Human World was a commitment to her retirement. For the transition of new Captains, and for the sake of ending the rebellion of the Kidō Corps is why she stood here today. Cask upon cask of spirits, straight from the breweries and cellars of the Noble Houses didn't hurt, of course.

Meanwhile, Third Division Captain Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi entered the hall gracefully, at a measured pace. Late enough that a few of his peers could behold his arrival, early enough so that he would not be scolded for laziness. After all, as a high-ranking officer of the elite Gotei 13 he ought to behave with proper solemnity. They were neither brute warriors nor down-to-earth mercenaries, but protectors of peace in the spiritual realms.

Of course, there were people among his colleagues who would disagree with that notion, perhaps strongly. Nevertheless, he was not one to bicker needlessly over a difference of opinions. Tolerance was a noble trait to display. He unhurriedly assumed his place at the beginning of the row that Komamura and Honoria shared with him and looked at the two.

"I'm glad to see some old and new faces, or both", he remarked with a faint but friendly smile. "I wish more Captain meetings were pleasant reunions like this. I'm afraid we are not gathering here in order to celebrate, however."

Lurking in his shadow was his young Lieutenant, Teruo Akui. Evidently, he attempted to draw as little attention to his person as possible. An endeavour rendered difficult by his unusual appearance: naturally possessed of dark complexion and hair, it seemed as if someone or something had haphazardly "drained" some of the colour from the left side of his body, leaving irregular pale patches on his skin and a grey streak in his hair. With a brooding face expression, he regarded the other officers; one of his eyes hazel, the other icy blue. Absent-mindedly, he scratched his exposed left arm.

Surprisingly enough, the Eleventh Division had already been present. Captain Yoshirou Yamakage had been awaiting the arrival of the rest of the captains. His back straight, arms were folded, and eyes closed tight, a very relaxed posed for him. The ebony captain couldn't help but think about the last time the thirteen captains were gathered together; a discussion of the traitorous Kidō Corps, responsible for the death of his comrades. It was still a very unpleasant thought.

Rōjūrō's words had an impact on him. While he wasn't exactly a newer captain, Yoshirou certainly hadn't held the position for long. Even then, the Third Division captain was correct, these meetings were never something to celebrate about. He unfolded one of his arms and left the other across his chest, gripping the hilt of his Zanpakutō with his now free hand.

"Good, you're lively, Ōtoribashi." He released the grip of his blade and returned to his arm folding position.

Much like the other captain, Yoshirou's own lieutenant was not present, for his own reasons, but his third seated officer Kazuki Kawahiru was. He was much smaller than his captain and obviously much younger. His most distinct feature was his messy silver hair, completely opposite of his captain. Kazuki had earned the position of lieutenant just after the first meeting, per request of Yoshirou himself.

He was firm and completely focused. Noticing his captain's closed eyes, he looked around surveying the rest of the present Shinigami there. He never had the chance to meet any of them before, so they all were foreigners in his eyes. With his chest held high and mindset focused, he waited for the Captain-Commander's words.

Shūhei Hisagi, who at various times in his career had been the recognised authority of the 9th Division, stood slightly back and to the side of Captain Komamura, and he looked to be at his ease in the larger man's company. Hisagi had never been so pleased when Sajin Komamura returned to the Soul Society; the fact he assumed leadership of the 9th Division sat particularly well with Hisagi.

As was common amongst the members of the 9th Division's Commando Unit -- which had been recently restored under Komamura's leadership after having been defunct under Captains Tōsen and Kuchiki -- Hisagi wore a white-coloured haori not unlike that worn by a Captain, with his Lieutenant's badge on his left arm.

He looked serious as usual, though Captain's meetings where usually serious affairs anyway, and he stood with his arms crossed. Instead of responding to the Captain's currently present he remained silent, as he had during the previous meeting in the immediate wake of The Coven attack, and contented himself to wait for now.

Unfortunately, the "pleasant" reunion mentioned by Rose was about to come to an end.

With a sharp bang that echoed in the wood-floored meeting hall, the two main doors slammed against their frames as their were forcibly thrown open. There was a brief burst of spiritual pressure: raw, burning, and uncontrolled. Apparently, the owner of the reiatsu was uninformed that releasing spiritual pressure in the captain hall was not just bad manners: it was technically prohibited as a sign of open hostility. But then the reiatsu cut out, and an unfamiliar shadow fell across the floor, framed by the silhouette of the entryway.

Hein Ueda, captain of the Seventh Division, paused as he quickly took in the sight of the gathered captains and lieutenants in front of him. Despite being a seasoned gambler of the Rukongai, Hein quickly lost his poker face. His mouth curled into a characteristic smirk, and the disdain he held towards the other Shinigami practically spilled over into the room.

“Well then, ain’t this an exceptional pile of shit,” he muttered under his breath, although it was likely loud enough where a few of the other Shinigami standing nearby would have heard the tasteless statement.

Further disregarding any form of protocol or respect, Hein strolled into the middle of the room. He only wore half of his captain’s haori properly: the other half was draped over his waist, which allowed the tattoo of his former gang’s symbol on his shoulder to be prominently exposed. He had carelessly slung his Zanpakutou behind his back, and even though he was one of the latest (if not the latest) captains to arrive, he took his place among the captains unhurriedly, feeling their stares bore into his back as he passed by. It didn’t help that his wooden geta clacked loudly in the nearly silent hall, drawing even more attention to his entrance, but he could have cared less about making a scene. In fact, a part of him reveled in the attention.

“Damn stiff in here,” he pointed out, referring to the atmosphere, “Did someone up and kick the bucket?” When no one seemed to respond, Hein crossed his arms, unimpressed.

It was his first captain’s meeting, and only the second time that he had stood before the captain commander. Many of the Shinigami present were unknown to him, and as he hadn’t been around for very long, he only knew one or two of them by name. That was to be expected, seeing as he had only just joined the Gotei 13 the week before. Even now he could sense the tension coming from a certain lieutenant of the Ninth Division—Shuuhei Hisagi. Hein was keenly reminded of the insatisfaction he had felt at the conclusion of their earlier battle. There was unfinished business between them, and they would fight again one day, he knew.

Turning his attention away from Hisagi, Hein wondered if he was supposed to feel impressed, standing in front of the collective weight of all the captains and lieutenants who had been gathered in one place. But instead of cohesion and confidence, Hein sensed untested and uneasy potential along with, somewhat contradictorily, a settled weariness of war. It seemed clear to him that most dreaded conflict, at least a conflict against the powerful, as-of-yet-unseen enemy of whom he had only heard the briefest of rumors. ''Weak. Exceptionally weak''. He thought to himself.

Only two captains truly caught his attention. The first was a tall woman who, curiously, carried no Zanpakutou. Hein could sense her energy as she fidgeted, and noted that it felt different from the other captains, almost electric. The second captain he noticed was Sajin Komomura, who stood in front of Hisagi. He could sense a pronounced feeling of... was it disgust? from the former captain of the Seventh, but he shrugged it off. Already rumors of how someone like Hein could have so abruptly taken the position of captain were circulating throughout the Seireitei: it was only natural that he should be hated.

“Well then, should I stick around? Cause if ya don’t got anything to talk about, I got better things to be doin’ with my time,” he drawled, his distinctive and unrefined accent immediately apparent.

Hisagi felt Hein's gaze settle elsewhere. The only indication that he was annoyed or angry was hidden by his crossed arms; his fists where tightly clenched, and he wore a firmly set jaw. But he did not rise to the occasion and simply exhaled as he relaxed his balled fists. He would not let his personal feelings spill out here, of all places.

To say that Komamura felt disgust for Hein would be innaccurate, as with most things, Sajin's first victim of his own disgust was himself. He'd abandoned his previous division out of a desire to atone for his inability to save his dearest friend, and to give hope and restore unity to a division that had been ravaged by much misfortune. It had seemed like a noble gesture, especially considering the time and effort he'd spent further grooming and preparing Hisagi to succeed him as the new Captain of the Seventh Division.

Sajin admired the inner strength of Hisagi, and he was certain his former division would've welcomed him as their Captain. Ultimately he'd wanted to establish a close-knit rapport between the Seventh and Ninth Division, just as it had been during Kaname's captaincy. It would've strengthened cohesion and Soul Society would be all the stronger for the effort, but somewhere it had all gone awry.

Komamura had misjudged the situation, and what was supposed to be an ordinary Captain proficiency test for Hisagi had suddenly turned into a competition, as a new presence entered the equation. He'd overseen the proficiency test multiple times in the past, and he was well-versed in the laws and history of Soul Society, so he knew that the captain proficiency examination wasn't merely there to test an applicants power, but also to judge their character.

According to that system, there should be no way for a known criminal and gang leader to become a Captain. This time however, this crucial provision had been ignored entirely, and that suggested to Komamura that someone with a great deal of political clout had pulled some strings, a member of one of the four noble houses, in all likelihood.

With these thoughts weighing heavily on his mind, Sajin closed his eyes and let out a drawn-out sigh. The Seireitei had enemies within as well as without.

"It's quite the lively atmosphere here~" the Captain-Commander mused, a subtle joyous choice of words masked by his usual sly and relaxed tone. Yet Kyōraku's face exhibited the faint trails of stress accumulated throughout these last couple years. Every step towards peace was met with a push-back towards despair, and after all this time, it was clearly wearing down the Captains and their divisions, bit by bit. It made sense; before the incident with Aizen, save for a scattered few situations there and inbetween, the Soul Society enjoyed what amounted to an undisturbed peace lasting nearly an entire millennia. And yet, since that time, it was difficult for them to go longer than a year or two without another evil rearing its head seeking to destroy what they had built for themselves.

Sōsuke Aizen. Xcution. Yhwach and the Wandenreich. The business with the Tsunayashiro family. And now the Kidō Corps.

Could anyone blame the Captains for simply being tired? It was an exhaustion that bore into their very souls.

Even the mirthful Kyōraku found it hard to enjoy the days of peace with all the problems that had befallen them. But throughout all of that, the Captain-Commander was not one to submit to such things; even in the midst of all this despair, he was resolved to keep their spirits up, as both a fellow Shinigami and as their leader.

"Nanao-chan~" Kyōraku called out, addressing his co-lieutenant. "Would you be so kind as to serve the Captains some sake? It should get everybody's spirits up."

"With all due respect, Captain-Commander..." Nanao shot back, her tone a merger between strictness and politeness, as she gently nudged the bridge of her glasses upwards; the glare on the lens shielding her eyes from view. "Given the severity of the topic of this meeting, serving alcohol would not be a sensible idea. Besides, it's still daytime."

"Ah, you're no fun..." Kyōraku responded before simply smiling warmly toward her. "Then perhaps some tea instead?"

With the assistance of one of the other officers present, said officer had briskly placed wooden folding tables near where the Captains all stood; one table being wide enough to account for two Captains a piece, making for three tables to be set up at either side of the Captains. This was followed by Nanao who begun the task of placing a cup at each of the tables and poured some of the tea that was prepared prior to the meeting's start. As that was carried out, Kyōraku, who had already tea served at his side, picked his cup up to slowly sip from the cup's edge before looking out toward the Captains.

"Well then..." the Captain-Commander spoke, returning to a serious demeanor. "As I'm sure you are all aware, we've received reports of strange activity occurring in the Human World. A place called... Ikeda, if I recall?" he stated, handing the floor over to the Captains.

At this point the door slid open, revealing a face framed with naval blue hair, and the expression of a deer illuminated by headlights. "It appears that I'm late..." Mizuko Hamada said in a slightly nervous tone. She quickly shuffled into the room towards her assigned spot. Her hair was held back in a severe pony-tail, still damp. "I lost track of the time and had to sprint over here, a thousand apologies everyone." She said with a deep bow, "So let's just put this behind us and on to strange activities. Those are bad, so bad things are happening in Ikeda."

She looked around the room, recognizing a few faces while also seeing a few ones she didn't recognize. She was aware a few of her fellow captains, some even from her days before she left on the expedition. Though even they were different from what they had been in the old days. Captain Komamura had come back, though the mask he once wore was long gone. She still had trouble thinking of him as he was now, though she chalked that up to nostalgia. Captain's Rose and Honoria were supposedly ancient, but she had never met either. Both were before her time. The 11th's captain she just simply hadn't interacted with before, so it was too early to reserve judgement. Then there was the the newest guy... but that was a thought for later. Back to the matters at hand.

Mizuko refocused her thoughts before leaning back slightly to whisper to her Lieutenant, "What's happening in Ikeda?"

"Come on, Captain, it's your job to know that kind of stuff", complained Asuka Shimizu as she pouted her lips and crossed her arms to emphasise her exasperation, her voice a bit too loud for a whisper.

Truth be told, she was an inexperienced officer as well. More than that, her rather diminutive and lean physique detracted from her attempts to appear otherwise during such a momentous event. Not to mention that she simply did not know either. Despite her talent and high-ranking position she was still a rookie, lost and confused in that big, complex, nigh-incomprehensible world. Of course, she would not admit that to anyone. She had her pride. Fragile, but she had it.

Mizuko was not the only individual who entered the large doors however. Hotaru Hiroshi, who was known to the members of the 9th Division as Yoshiro Shiba, entered under Kidō-wrought stealth; one of the many benefits of aligning himself with The Coven. He silently approached the far bottom right-hand side of the chamber and settled in to listen, all the while with a half-smile spread across his face.

"We're getting to that", remarked Seia from the other side of the room, catching the other Captain's words even as they were hushed. For the past while she had sat idle, listlessly watching each of the Captains as they entered just as she had been doing before, gently fidgeting away as the impulses of her body dictated. From the garish display of Ueda, to the tensing muscles of Sajin and Hisagi, she could spot the tension of these Captains a mile away. Ideologies, principles, personality, they were all different and unlike the men and women before them, and the men and women before those, they had yet to be tried and tested together. They couldn't see past their differences, whatever they intended to claim on the matter. The only way that would happen was through conflict, whether they butted heads against each other, or found a new opponent, that was for them to decide. For Seia, the idea simply made her tired, as evident by the yawn that followed her remark to Mizuko.

Deflating in the knowledge that there would be no alcohol at this venue, Seia took matters into her own hands. Slipping her hand into the sleeve of her haori, retrieving a small bottle of malt whisky and an appropriately sized glass. She filled it with the deftness of a career alcoholic, and not long after downed the shot. "Good stuff", she openly stated, knowing full well that she'd bemuse half the room.

Hein had to admit, tea being served did help to break the tense mood. The fact that a few members of the Gotei had straggled in after him also convinced him of the fact that the entire meeting was, in the end, a joke. He shook his head, but didn’t refuse when Shunsui’s lieutenant offered him tea. Still, he hadn’t entirely forgotten his hostility towards the Ninth Division. For a moment Hein thought about trying his hand at an insult aimed at the Ninth’s captain, which would be sure to rile up Hisagi as well, but ultimately discarded the idea. Despite the fact that he was literally standing right next to Sajin’s towering figure, it was too much effort to try and start anything at that point.

Besides, his attention had been drawn to one of the corner of the room, where he could sense the faintest disturbance among the shadows. It wasn’t a Reiatsu signature. It wasn’t any indicator that someone or something was there. But it was the slightest impression upon the atmosphere. Something that had been very-well concealed had moved. He could sense that much with his gyogan along with his kyoui-kan, two of the skills he had honed to a razor’s edge as a blindman. The sensation faded from his awareness as soon as it had appeared, however, and instead of probing into it further, Hein decided simply to ignore it.

One way or the other, it wasn’t as if he really cared about the well-being of the Gotei 13. Besides, if it was a threat someone else should have handled it.

It wasn’t his problem.

Making himself at home, Hein promptly sat down on the floor, cross-legged and with tea in hand. He was careful to first test it make sure it wasn’t poisoned by rolling a drop of the liquid around in his mouth to see if his tongue went numb. Occupied with this task, whatever Seia said about some backwater town called “Ikeda” was lost on him. However, his ears perked up the moment he heard her loosen the stop on the whisky flask. He could smell the Scotch from where he sat, and knew immediately that she had brought quality goods.

Forget about the tea. Might as well be drinking horse piss.

Without much regard for subtly, Hein gulped down the rest of the tea before leaning around Sajin and the captain of the Eleventh that stood between him and the captain of the Thirteenth.

“Hey there, obahan,” he said in a low voice as he extended his empty yunomi in her direction. “I know we ain’t been acquainted yet, but do me a solid will ya? I could use a real drink right ‘bout now, ya know?

"Hmm, I suppose a bit of high quality liquor is a solid choice for an icebreaker", remarked Rose when he finished his tea. "Don't you agree, Teruo?", he cast an aside glance at his Lieutenant.

The smile on his face widened slightly when he noticed that the young officer had been staring rather intently in the direction of Captain Honoria. It was rather easy to tell that the alcohol was not the thing that drew his attention.

"Ah, I see you've got good taste", commented Rōjūrō in a deliberately vague manner. "You know, if you were a Captain, you could drink like an equal with us, Teruo."

The aforementioned Lieutenant winced and glared at his Captain in barely subdued shock. A faint blush rapidly spread on his two-coloured face. The veiled intent behind Rose's words was not lost on him. Still, he was even more surprised on the inside than he did let on. He had already realised that the Captain suspected certain things about him despite his best attempts to remain inconspicuous, but to read him like an open book...

"I see...", he murmured in response.

Byakuya Kuchiki, the Captain of the Sixth Division, had been in the area for a while. Punctuality was the norm. However, Byakuya rarely raised his voice during this meetings, finding it completely unnecessary. Although, as of recently, Byakuya had grown more emblazoned, for the Soul Society was always teetering on the edge of chaos, and negligence to discuss and prevent this chaos would cause the Soul Society to rot. Clearing his throat, as to draw the attention of everyone present in the room, the Captain spoke, "Let us discuss the matter at hand." With that, he fell silent. Whether the others in the room would respond positively or negatively was up to them.

“I presume these charades are done with, then? I like a little fun as much as the next girl, but...” The young Captain of the Twelfth Division, Garland, vented her frustrations with a sigh, having observed the others whilst remaining firmly in her post, before reaching into her sleeve for a rectangular shard of glass. Standing in the center of the assembly, she lifted up the shard for all to see, the city Ikeda and its numerous transpirations both past and present reflected upon either side.

“This is Ikeda,” Garland intoned with integrity unbefitting of her usual character. “I’ve monitored the Human World closely with my powers, oftentimes from habit, other times for my own sense of security. Recently, by chance, I've stumbled upon something interesting.” As though Garland had wordlessly cast an influence, the shard of glass began to reflect an event more abstract: the beckoning of a Gillian by the hand—or rather, the invocation—of several figures clad in dark robes.

“It’s only one of many such events I’ve encountered. To say that the rogue affiliates of the Kido Corps is involved could be a bit of a stretch—I wasn’t there back then, after all—but it does beg for some sort of investigation, does it not?”

"It seems like it," Mizuko will say from a seiza position. She had finished drinking her tea, and had calmed down a bit now they had gotten into the meeting itself. She refrained from actually drinking any alcohol, as she didn't feel it was appropriate for the meeting. "The question I have is just why Ikeda. Is there anything of importance there?"