User blog comment:DazzlingEmerald/Not Another One! Fanon Canon: Plot "Z" (Soul Society Civil War)/@comment-18812574-20150412044823/@comment-2089817-20150412144022

It wouldn't be out of a sense of loyalty but one of like-mindedness. As you said, nine years is a long time to mull over what to do with the Quincy. And as far as we know, the Gotei did not do anything because they were busy rebuilding after the Wandenreich. All the while, shit is going down and now we have Kraven on the stage. It would be more like... shared aggression toward a common enemy. Soul Society, not JUST about Quincy, do a lot of wicked things. Maggot's Nest? They throw people in there because they have the potential for harm, when they haven't done anything wrong. Imagine it. Many of those, even newcomers, would strongly despise the Soul Society for that. Raian announced his intentions to move independently of the Gotei, which would be the same as... Ichigo telling them to suck it as he does what he wants. If the fourth movie and the Hell incident is any indication about what happens when the Gotei doesn't keep a tight leash on dangerous elements like Raian who basically is doing the same thing. If they want to keep it secret, about this discord, I'm sure they'd send the Onmitsukido to handle it as covertly as possible. Oooh, the makings of a new battle.

And Raian is defecting from Soul Society as their long-time ally. He is a former Captain, Royal Guardsman, and one of the most influencial swordsmanship teachers in Soul Society. His declaration to move independently of them in order to do their job in his own way while trampling on their laws, yes, I would indeed call that a defection.