The War of Four: Courts and Circles

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Developing situations, Buisness as usual...
It has been nearly a week since the battle with the 10th Division and its Captain after cornering the infamous mercenary organization known as V-14. However, intel was weak and wasn't properly sifted through at a high price. Nearly Two hundred men lost their lives, with only a few dozen injured and a handful among them able to regain full recovery. Due to an unexplained, classified development within the Noble Takuji Clan, Captain Takuji of the 10th Division withdrew from the conflict and failed to capture or terminate a single member of the criminal organization. Since then, the Soul Society began whispering of a imbalance of power within the Takuji Clan as well as potential political problems between the other Noble Houses, a situation currently being mediated by the Head Captain as well as the other Heads of the Noble Houses themselves.

The damage done to the southeastern section of the Rukonagi District had long since been repaired, as a special task force within the 12th Division immediately secured the area once it was confirmed no hostiles remained and the area was available to be monitored and collect any incriminating evidence. Their unnofficial role as the "repair-men" of the Gotei 13 has led them to be highly praised and often beloved by the citizens of the outlying Rukon Districts, as they often improved what was damaged to a higher state of living or even provided incentives for the battle that had berift some of the unfortunate citizens' demises or circumstances.

During all of this, it only occured to some to wonder about the whereabouts of the "MIA" Hayate Clan's prestigious Kukkyōna Hayate, Captain of the 6th Division, and the prodigious heir, Daisuke Hayate also Lieutenant of the 9th Division. After the leave time had been extended an additional few weeks for the restoration project in Yūrei Ōkuko, Captain Hayate announced their immediate return to the Seireitei to resume active duties once more.

Which brings us to the Barracks HQ of the 9th Division...

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!

"Captain! I have urgent news!" 3rd Seat of the 9th Division, Seiryō Soyosoyo excitedly rapt his left knuckle against his superior's office door. His well kempt cropped hair slightly aloft due to the exciting news he had to brign to his attention.

"Hm?"

On the inside, 9th Division Captain Hachiro Horikawa looked up from the paperwork he had just finished writing and putting his signature on when he heard the knock at his door. With one hand, he straightened the round-lens glasses on his face, while the other hand set the quill back in the ink container. He could practically sense the enthusiasm on the other side, and it couldn't help but make him quirk an eyebrow and grin a little. Such was natural for the 9th Division of the present...

Slowly, he allowed himself to arise from his chair and walk over to his door. He grasped the knob and pulled it open, stepping back to see the man's smaller form. He blinked in a gesture of curiosity and surprise. "Seiryō? What is it, sir?" He questioned, looking at his subordinate expectantly. It was a habit of him to refer to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Seats as "sir". The rest of them were always referred to on a first-name basis.

Gleaming brightly at hearing the honorary term, Seiryō stood a little taller as he emphasized with a wave of his hands, "I just got word from the Air Traffic Control Unit from the 12th Division! Lieutenant Hayate and Captain Hayate have returned from their shore leave assignment of Yūrei Ōkuko's restoration. They'll be arriving in the Seireitei by one of their air transports!"

This caused the surprise to override the curiosity... and then turn into an amused satisfaction.

The Captain allowed himself to laugh in a brief, yet hearty manner, the grin emphasizing his mirth. "Well, it's about time!" He said. "I was beginning to think that they would've allowed themselves to stay. Do you know of when they'll be here, exactly? If I get the time, I'll make sure they get welcomed by at least a few of the others."

The young 3rd Seat then chuckled sheepishly, as he rubbed the back of his head with his eyes squinting, "Well, actually that's the thing. The control unit I told you about earlier said they're actually stopping by here first. As in...the vehicle they're using is going to land on the courtyard proximate to our barracks..."

Bonk.

With a raise of his fist, Hachiro promptly tapped Seiryō's forehead once, in the manner of knocking on a door. "That's "where", you little git." He grunted, although not in the manner of annoyance. Them landing in 9th Division's courtyard didn't worry him any, and he could probably chalk it up to Daisuke's intervention. "I asked "when". Minutes? Hours? Seconds? Right now? Because if it's immediate, the rest of 'em will just have to deal with not being the first."

Seiryō winced, feeling the strong finger poke him back a few times, going as far as sending him back a couple of steps, "Oh...sorry Captain. Ummm...last time I checked they were going to be here any minute-"

FLAP-FLAP-WHOOSH!

A great wind propelled by the clear sounds of a winged creature landing over quite surprisingly stealthy up until this point, sent a gush of wind through the Captain's office and towards the two conversing men. Seiryō's once perfectly sheen kempt hair was now flustered to a wild look, his eyes drooped and his mouth twitched.

"Right now, Captain," he said with dismay as he looked up sullenly at what happened to his hair.

"Perfect!"

Not much could be said for Hachiro. Considering his hair had a bit of a rough-looking appearance already, all the wind really did was make his coat billow in the intense winds. With the pleasant smile on his face, he allowed himself to make his way out the door. When it shut behind him, he folded his gloved hands behind his back and began walking. "Come on, Seiryō. The lieutenant would be disappointed if we kept him waiting..."

"Yes, Captain," Seiryō said in a disappointed tone, as he reached into his kosode and attempted to comb his hair back to its perfect sheen he had moments ago, even as he exited the door and followed his Captain to the courtyard.

It didn't take them long - only a few steps at best.

As soon as Hachiro reached the door, he pressed a hand to it and pushed it open. The feeling of the evening air hit his face full-force, and he couldn't help but take in a a deep breath. "I see that the day is still young..." He said, his blue eyes setting themselves on what lay in front of him. As his blue eyes set themselves on what was in front of him, he allowed himself to walk steadily with his hands still behind his back. One of them was pulled away to give a wave as he approached.

"This was incredible! I don't know why more of the Gotei 13 use these amazing creatures as air support?!" Daisuke said, deeply enamored by the large Dragonbird that they were able to utilize. Wearing Police Colors over its brilliant colored body, the bird was dominated the epicenter of the courtyard, gathering a good few dozen eyes to gawk and stare at the amazing beast.

"Mainly due to the fact that Soul Reapers can levitate by manipulating the spiritual energy underneath the soles of their feet," Kukkyōna spoke plainly, silently chiding his son for being so expressive and yet couldn't bring himself to do so now, "Hohō's basic practices is the ability to levitate in the air, to allow us more versatility. No high demand for the Soul Reaper arts where they keep these fair creatures," Kukkyōna looked over at Avaron, whom had sat near the middle, but in front of Kukkyōna while behind the other tomboyish-feminine passenger that came with them. He asked with a soft yet plain tone, "right, Avaron?"

In response, the said Avaron smirked in a gesture of pride. "Yup!" She said mirthfully. "You can keep your traditional and boring techniques. We've got pimped-out rides!" The sentence was made in jest, of course, and didn't have any insulting intentions. She looked out towards the courtyard she had landed in, noting all the slack-jawed expressions that her bird was receiving. "See? These Soul Reapers are so impressed that they can't even speak!"

The other female let out a heavy sigh, working out her neck and closing her eyes in an expression of slight discomfort. "Let's just get off this damn thing. Though all the attention's on the bird, I don't like being part of the center of attention..." She turned her eyes toward a blonde and considerably sized man approaching them, followed by what appeared to be his subordinate. Those same eyes widened slightly when he gave a casual wave.

"Wait a minute... doesn't he realize who I am? Why is he waving so casually? Does he even notice me yet?"

"C'mon, Sakura, you can lighten up just a little," Daisuke said, easily lifting himself off his perch and stepping down the ladder built onto the harness, hopping down halfway. He looked up and held hands in a gesture that looked expectantly at Sakura, "let's get down to buisness and introduce yourself to my Captain. I can't wait for you two to meet!"

Kukkyōna allowed himself to chuckle at the term, shrugging in admittance, "As you wish. After all, there's nothing about being less formal these days," he looked after the Captain approaching, waving his left hand while keeping his right hand wrapped around comfortably on Avaron's waistline, "hello there, Captain Horikawa! How has your Division faired without your Lieutenant? I hope we didn't deprive of you of an irreplaceable asset for too long..." Kukkyōna stretched out his lines, lightly joking with the Captain. Among the two closest of comrades, Ryouken and Hachiro have always been the least formal when around each toher. Acting like old war veterans who've shared many experiences together, the three would always know a way to get under each other's skin or charm them when desired to.

A chuckle escaped Hachiro's lips when he heard the elder Hayate speak the words to him, folding his hand right behind his back and stopping when he got close enough. "Ah, not to worry, Kukkyōna!" He said back, smiling in amusement. "The Ninth's been doing just swell as it always has been. Though, I was about to ask..." His eyes drifted towards his Lieutenant. "I hope Lieutenant Daisuke didn't cause too much trouble during your little get-away. I don't think His Majesty could've handled it!"

Eager to get off the bird and away from the prying eyes, Sakura allowed herself to grasp his hand and use his aid to pull herself on the way down. Avaron wrapped her arm around Kukkyōna's shoulder for her to do the same, giving a slight nod of appreciation at the gentlemanly gesture.

Kukkyōna chuckled nervously, "You probably need to get me drunk if I was to speak with you about what Daisuke's adventures got himself into..."

"Ha ha," Daisuke said dryly as he rolled his eyes, bringing Sakura gently by the hand towards the direction of his Captain, bowing first before speaking, "its good to be back, Captain Horikawa."

"Good to have you back, Lieutenant Hayate," Seiryō said, walking over to his Captain's side while smiling at Daisuke, "I was beginning to worry that I was going to take over all of your duties additionally for a much longer period of time..."

"Glad my presence is sorely appreciated," Daisuke said, laughing lightly at his joke with his friend and comrade.

Hachiro put a hand on Seiryō's shoulder. "Yes, Seiryō worked very hard while you were off dealing with the situation in Yūrei. If he hadn't, you would've certainly been stuck with a bunch of paperwork. Though he did his best to fill in your shoes, your presence was still quite missed." He tilted his head to the side, switching his gaze over towards a slightly narrowed-eyed Sakura. "And who's this particular girl, if I may ask?"

"Uh..." Avaron stood on her tip-toes so that she could reach Kukkyōna's ear and whisper in it. "Is it a good idea to let Miss Nihilism over there interact with this guy? Considering that he's Daisuke's Captain, I always thought he would carry a more optimistic nature and they could end up colliding with one another..."

Kukkyōna, having long since left the back of the brightly colored chimera-like avarian steed, arched a brow at Avaron's query, "Worrying that Daisuke's superior will be a bit too disapproving? He may be not as formal as most Captains go, but he knows when to hold his peace...you wouldn't believe how many times Captain Sasayaki tried to get a rise out of him, and always just get a laugh at his face."

"This is the woman I've been telling you about over the reports," Daisuke said with a wide smile, wrapping his arm around Sakura's shoulders and held her close to his side in a encouraging effort to alleviate her discomfort, "this is Sakura Kojima. She's my...umm...girlfriend," Daisuke blushed slightly, but still held the smile as he turned to his said girlfriend and flourished a hand to his superior and mentor, "this is Captain Horikawa, the man who's taught much of what I know now of being a Soul Reaper-"

"Don't mind me," Seiryō said, smiling slightly as he had a twitch residing above his browline, "I'm just scenery for you two to admire, I don't actually exist or anything..."

"And this egotistical glorified man who's dressed in black," Daisuke said in a overdamatic, jocular tone, bowing in heavy emphasis of his teasing, "is the great, magnificent, 3rd Seat Seiryō Soysoyo."

Hachiro nodded in acknowledgement, smiling at the woman despite the narrowed-eye look he got. "Nice to meet you--"

"So you're his Captain?" With the tone of voice she took, one could tell she wasn't going to be nice. "Yeah, you have to be. I can practically smell the optimism rolling right off of you, old geezer. You must be the happiest fucking guy in this military company, huh? Tell me, when you go to the bathroom to take a shit, do you fart rainbows and puke sprinkles?" She sneered at him, expecting him to balk at her insults or even cringe at her choice of words.

But to her slight surprise, he didn't.

"Nope!" He answered readily, as if seeing the insult come from a mile away. "Just intelligence, wisdom, and pieces of advice. I do it everywhere I go."

"Yeah..." Sakura was quick to go back to her rude and and snide tone in an instant. "Bet your wisdom was real good for the Lieutenant that died."

"Why you-!"

"Well what do you know?! I have yet to introduce you to the rest of the Division, Sakura!" Daisuke intervened narrowly before the 3rd Seat could retort with fire, pulling her away from both the Captain and the 3rd Seat with ease, albeit most probably dragging Sakura along her feet.

"Hmm," Kukkyōna observed with a frown as he saw Daisuke pull her away just as she began to speak vehemently towards Daisuke's superior, "I'm getting the sinking suspicion she decided to speak roughly to get back at Daisuke for bringing her in front of everybody...."

"Oh, wait a minute, Daisuke!"

However, Hachiro had moved quickly, placing a hand on his Lieutenant's shoulder just before he could get out of arm's reach. Unlike the 3rd Seat who had reacted with anger, he reacted as if he had been simply caught off guard by Daisuke's sudden intervention rather than what Sakura had told him. This tone caught her off her guard, and instinctively spun around to face him.

"Oh, what?" She said bitterly. "You were his Captain. He was your responsibility, and--"

"No, it wasn't."

Hachiro's smile had disappeared, but the positive and casual tone had not left his voice. He lowered his gaze so that he could stare into hers. "As my Lieutenant, he only served as my right-hand, not an apprentice." He explained. "My advice was merely a door opener. He was the one that made the choice to step through. He did it with confidence, valor, and the desire to protect the ones that he valued the most. He was one of the best soldiers under my command, and in the end, he died with honor and dignity. I could never ask for more than that out of my subordinates, could you?"

Silence. Genuine shock was on Sakura's face as she saw Hachiro smile again in a pleasant manner, the insult clearly not having penetrated him at all. She was rendered speechless. He had defended his Lieutenant without the need for rage, extreme defensiveness, or even emotion. It was almost... frightening to her, how easily he reacted to what she had said.

And thus...

"Heh heh heh heh heh~!" A wide smile came to her face, and she started chuckling in clear amusement. "I think Daisuke was right. We just might get along great, after all." She held a hand out for him to shake - a clear sign of respect. "Oh, and in case Sakura's a bit too much for you, you can call me by my birthname instead. Senkoku."

"Sakura sounds like a much more fitting name for you..." Hachiro answered, extending his own hand and grasping hers to shake it once in a firm motion. It made the girl roll her eyes as he pulled his hand away, but let her smirk remain.

Daisuke felt himself sigh in relief, glad his Captain managed to defuse the fire Sakura intentionally tried to create among his superior and peer. He locked eyes with Seiryō, seeing a slight disturbed look on his face before visible relaxing if not slightly scowling at Sakura. Inwardly, the young Hayate knew he was going to have problems if he didn't try to talk to him.

Meanwhile...

Kukkyōna looked to Avaron with a slight interested look in his eyes, whispering to her, "Do you feel like you're up to meeting my Division, Avaron-chan?"

"Well, you did bring me here to show us around..." Avaron said back, a smile donning her features. "So, yeah, I might as well start with your division." She moved herself, one of her hands moving to grasp Kukkyōna's. "Lead me on, noble..."

Kukkyōna smiled back, warmly squeezing her hand as he began walking out of the courtyard for the 9th Division's barracks, and onto the cobblestone streets where he'd lead her to the 6th Division's Barracks. The walk was a bit uneventful, as any patrolling Soul Reapers would merely bow to Kukkyōna's passing and look twice slightly at Avaron, if not to be backed off by Kukkyōna's subtle death glares. Eventually, he passed by the 5th Division Barracks that wasn't that far away from his own Division's Barracks.

Ryouken walked around the perimeter of the Barracks, happening upon Kukkyōna and Avaron as he was about to reenter, bearing a hearty smile upon seeing them, "Hello there, Kukkyōna-san! I didn't know you were arriving so soon...and with a woman I see, you sly dog-"

"Skipping your routine inspection and letting your Lieutenant do it for you, again, Captain Aizen," Kukkyōna looked knowingly, as he percieved the nonchalant way he was walking outside his own barracks and the slight derailing greeting he gave the two of them.

Ryouken smiled sheepishly, his eye twitched nervously at being caught, before dropping his head low and saying lowly, "C'mon man...I just needed a break to stretch my legs..."

"Gee, what an example to set for your minions and henchmen, Captain..." Avaron said sarcastically, rolling her eyes in good humor. She placed her free hand on her hip. "You make all of us hard workers look bad."

"Oh-ho, time out there," Ryouken said as he raised his hands in attempt to halt the verbal attack, "its not like I do it on a daily basis. I work here for a living you know, and I'd be fired if I slacked off all the time..."

"Just enough that you can get away with it," Kukkyōna said with a belated sigh, before looking Avaron with a smirk, slightly winking at her before introducing her with a flourish of his free hand, "in case you're wondering who this responsible beautiful woman is beside me, this is Captain Avaron Setsuko of the Yūrei Police Force. She'll be staying for a time here in the Soul Society."

"A pleasure to meet such a fiery spirit to match the equally stoic spark of the Hayate Clan," Ryouken spoke in a respectable, fetching tone while grasping her own free hand in a gentlemanly manner before kissing the back of her hand chastely, "Avaron-hime."

A sly smirk graced Avaron's features when Ryouken kissed her hand. "You men grace me with such strong titles..." She said lightly. "But it's nice to see that there's variety in the personalities in this big group. The pleasure's all mine..." She followed this statement up with a slight bow of the head - a sign of respect for the Captain.

"To be in the presence of the Head of the Noble House of Hayate in such a manner, you should consider yourself unofficially noble yourself," Ryouken said with a smile, crossing his arms as he conversationally continued, "by the way, I left long before you two did. I'm wondering exactly how is Yūrei fairing now?"

"I'd say it's been going pretty well." Avaron said truthfully, placing her free hand on her hip. "Ever since the integration movement, it's like things have been moving much faster in the capital city. Security patrols are much more active and motivated with the extra help and diversity within the population itself is growing to a substantial amount. I guess even the apocalyptic movement managed to teach us all a lesson in our lives, huh?"

"Good to hear," Ryouken smiled, before putting on a serious expression as he gazed out past the string of buildings that made the Seireitei, towards the Rukonagi Districts, "although, I don't think its left everyone in the same manner as others have."

"What do you mean?" The Noble Hayate probed curiously, not having heard any special briefing about the Soul Society's condition as a whole so far, "has something happened?"

Ryouken looked at him with a serious look, "Nearly a week ago, Captain Takuji of the 10th Division had recieved a confidential piece of information that would allow him to corner a dangerous mercenary group in the Soul Society. After carefully evacuating the citizens within that district, the Captain had nearly several hundred men surround the perimeter, with himself standing the closest in order to make himself a more visible target should they react. After audibly giving them a warning, they reacted with an unexpected amount of firepower...and decimated nearly a third of the neighbourhood, slaughtering over two hundred men while maiming nearly the rest of the survivors."

It was enough to not just shoot away Avaron's jovial mood - but shoot it straight down to Hell.

"Mercenary group, you say?" She was quick to go into business mode, her eyes staring into Ryouken's. Her hand had involuntarily slipped away from Kukkyōna's so that she could step closer to Ryouken, a slight scowl on her face. "How many where there? Any names, visual descriptions, anything?" She had a feeling that she knew who exactly he was referring to, but she needed confirmation.

"If you want the dossiers on the known affiliates, you'll have to take it up with Captain Takuji," Ryouken said, placing his hands on his hips as he locked his eyes with Avaron's with an equally serious gaze, knowing just how buisness talk with other people goes, "he's the one who recieved the anonymous intel package about them and their identities, as well as their current HQ. Apparently they're a mobile group, not staying in one place for more than a couple months before moving and clean house, leaving nothing to suspect of their presence."

"Do you happen to know where we can find him?" Kukkyōna asked, inwardly cringing at losing contact with Avaron's hand, but outwardly betrayed nothing, his stoic features emanated a serious understanding of the situation.

"The Captain, unfortunately, has closed off all access to his whereabouts and social access to the 10th Division," Ryouken said, emphasizing with quotation marks with his gloved fingers as he did so, "his talk with the Head Captain did not improve his disposition of his failure to capture them. That, and another more personal matter involving the Takuji Clan's two branches is affecting his duties, so he's currently leaving his 3rd Seat in charge of any extraneous information and management for the Division."

"...yeah. I think I already know now who's he referring to..."

Avaron turned her face away, her blue eyes narrowed in an angry look and the scowl becoming more prominent on her face. She folded her arms across her chest, drawing in a breath. "Four of their agents had infiltrated the city of Yūrei several months ago. 165 civilians had been killed in their rampage, as well as 40 police officers of the Sector 3 Overwatch. Four individual mercenaries armed with Kidō rifles managing to take down an entire platoon without suffering a single casualty... it's a song and dance I've heard over and over again..."

She walked a few steps away from them before turning around to have both of them in her vision. "With further research, law enforcement managed to acquire their names by extracting data from the corpse of one mercenary we managed to capture. They go by the names of Angelika Hartmann, Anton Semenov, Oliver Holmes, and Shou Yoshizawa. The last one was the one that had been captured and terminated..." Her lip curled slightly, as if the next sentence she was about to say would disgust her. "That very same agent somehow "revived" himself, killed the ones escorting him to the morgue, then proceeded to slaughter hundreds of civilians with the release of his personal Zanpakutō. What you've told me just now just supports my suspicions..." She closed her eyes and lowered her head for a moment in thought.

"I can guarantee that the problem you're dealing with is none other than the likes of the V-14, a very notorious mercenary group in the criminal underworld."

"I've heard of their group before," Kukkyōna spoke aloud with a solemn tone as he narrowed his eyes at Avaron, "they're a cold, relentless force that has a large grip in almost every part of the underworld within the Soul Society and beyond."

"They must have gotten ranked up, because Captain Takuji cornered them about a couple months ago, during your Ahijados war you were having," Ryouken spoke intuitively as he cupped his chin as he mulled over his thoughts, "they counted additional men besides the ones you never captured. A tomboyish woman that bears uncanny similiarities to another man, both of whom were gunslingers, but have no real relation we suspect. Another one matched the description of a personal subordinate of Captain Takuji's that disappeared a few decades ago for unknown reasons. The others seem to be the ones who haven't been caught, and the ones who've caused your incident in Yūrei incident."