Meeting of the Captains: Where is Magatsuhi?

''The Hell Butterfly arrived in the daytime skies of the Seireitei, arriving to spread Captain Hotaru Fujibayashi's message to the bulk of Soul Society's Captains. Shortly upon receiving the message, newly appointed Captain-Commander Shōyō Shakyamuni sent out the message for a Captains' meeting.''

The Gates of the First Division Barracks opened with a mighty roar, like that of thunder, as Head Captain Shakyamuni entered with his newly appointed lieutenant Suzaku Kawahiru following closely behind. Shōyō took his standing position at the front of the meeting hall, awaiting the arrival of the other Captains. Lieutenant Kawahiru stood at his side, being told to be seen but not heard.

The great doors that kept the chambers hidden from view opened to reveal Hotaru striding in. Rather than flash step, she simply walked to her "spot" in the open chambers, pausing only a few steps away from it to acknowledge the Captain-Commander. Her "spot" was not really a spot: it was more like a part of the floor where she had to stand to represent her division. It placed her. to Captain-Commander Shakyamuni's right, as one of the two captains that stood closest to the head of the Gotei 13. Without further communication, she waited for the others to arrive.

"So what have we been called down for now?" asked a sleepy voice. Hikaru Kurosaki, the captain of the 7th Division, took his place in the hall. He stood at his division's spot and looked up at the ceiling. "Things are just getting way too hectic." He looked over at Suzaku, "Wouldn't you agree, kid?"

Suzaku turned to acknowledge Captain Kurosaki's comments, but remembered being told by Shōyō to stay quiet. However, strangely enough, Shōyō merely smiled and nodded to Suzaku. Lieutenant Kawahiru decided to then speak up, "Yes it is, Captain Kurosaki. It seems we never get a chance to relax." he replied.

Hikaru smiled in such a way that seemed to put the young lieutenant at ease. "You're Sei's kid right? Nice guy. Great fighter. I see his spirit within you. I know you'll become a great Soul Reaper someday."

Walking from the same direction as Hikaru, Yōshoku Morimoto casually entered into the room. He scratched his head let out a sigh. "While this is quite urgent, I think I left the oven on." Yōshoku thought taking a seat diagonal to Hikaru.

Ken'omaru Imikirau, Captain of the Third Division, entered the room with his usual swiftness, striding to his place at Shōyō's left with absolute calm, but his passing was still like that of a storm, utterly placid but with lightning ready to be released. After a quick nod to Shōyō, he began to scan his compatriots' faces.

Takeshi and Shion entered with their usual sad but kind expressions, wearing the captain's Haori over clothes obviously of the make of the World of the Living. They seemed bored by the meeting, and whispered something to eachother before standing at their positions of the Sixth Division. Takeshi almost immediately placed his arms in front of his chest and propped his head toward the side; tilting it as so to rest, taking a nap with one eye open. Shion on the other hand retained a more alert position, but otherwise was staring off into something no one else could see but her.

Hokōra Shimura, upset that no one had told her about the meeting, arrived in a hasty manner. After fixing herself, she entered with her trademark seriousness. Striding to her place with calmness & seriousness, she stood straight, politely and lightly. After giving a brief stare to Shōyō and all the other captains, which they knew from her was a hello, she stood at her position.

Aoko Sonozaki, captain of the 4th division made her way to the meeting hall. She greeted her fellow captains with a smile, and then took her standing position. She began to wonder about the meeting as it had been a while since there has been a meeting amongst the captains and that the situation must be serious for the Head Captain Shōyō to assemble all the captains here. She continued to wait patiently, expecting the arrival of the remaining captains anytime soon.

Skipping merrily into the hall came the smallest captain of all, Amaririsu Itami. With a beaming expression, she planted her feet on the ground and waved to everyone in the room crying, "Hiya everyone!" With a few exceptions to the more serious captains, most of them responded to Risu's greeting in some manner.

Though some Captains didn't return Amaririsu's greetings, Captain-Commander Shōyō greeted the whimsical Captain in a similar way. Hikaru also gave a wave as well, being one of the most laid-back of the Thirteen Captains. Amaririsu was also greeted by her fellow Captain, Aoko Sonozaki.

Risu then hopped on her tippy toes to her spot at the end of row on the left of the commander.

Though seemingly late, Captains of the Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth, and Kidō Corps had arrived; Keiji Gatotsu, Kibō Minarai, Kenpachi Kiba, and Kaito Kawahiru all took their standing positions among the other Captains.

Nichihare entered the room casually, staring up at the ceiling. He apparently didn't care about the fact that he was one of the later captains, nor did he great the others. When he reached his place, he stood up tall and began playing with his bell-like necklace, obviously irritating some of the other captains with the sound.

The Meeting Begins
After all the captains had arrived, Hikaru stared up at the ceiling and said, "So, can we get a clue about what is happening? Eh, Shōyō?"

Nichihare looked up to his fellow captain. "Yeah, who's attacking us now?"

Captain-Commander Shōyō Shakyamuni stood up tall, meeting the other Captains at eye-level. "My fellow Captains. As many of you are quite aware of, ex-Captain Commander Magatsuhi Sakyōnosuke Yōjirō went missing over two days prior to the defeat of Madara Kawahiru and the Espada. So far, the trail has been cold. However, just recently, Captain Fujibayashi had discovered the corpses of two Onmitsukidō. After having done a thorough analysis of their bodies, we have reason to believe a special type of poison was used to immobilize them prior to being slashed to death. After comparing the reiatsu signature of the poison used against the Arrancar in the War over a year ago, they appear to be very similar. Does anyone have any questions pertaining to this?" he had asked, after explaining the situation.

Aoko Sonozaki was the first captain to speak, asking "who is responsible for these attacks and is it related to the ex-captain commander's disappearance. She then asked that the bodies of the two Onmitsukidō members be sent over to the fourth division, so they could be further analyzed". Aoko says that she will be able to create an antidote for the special poison used by the attacker, by gathering enough data from the dead bodies.

"Currently, the bodies are being examined by the Onmitsukidō in the field. I will send a hell butterfly to inform my lieutenant to prepare the bodies for your division's examinations," Hotaru said. "There is reason to believe that the assailant is linked to the disappearance of Yōjirō, since bits of his reiatsu signature were detected in the region where the two Onmitsukidō were found dead. However, it is impossible to determine who killed them with the information we have available. The region where the two corpses were discovered is a forested area and would provide a decent place to hide for a while. It was only recently that I obtained what I believe to be a scrap of the former Captain-Commander's haori. Of course, I attempted to use it to track Yōjirō down, but this trail went cold a long time ago."

"So after listining to Captain Fubayashi's analysis regarding the situation, where do we go from here Head Captain Shoyo," asked Captain Aoko. "Will an order for a manhunt be issued against Magatsuhi or shall we further investigate the area where the two Onmitsukidō member's were attacked, since the assailant still might be hiding within the surrounding area," said Aoko.

Shōyō gave a small sigh and looked straight at the Captains once more, eager to hear the Captain-Commander's comments on this matter. "We do nothing." he answered, short and simple.

"Reason?" Hotaru asked. It was an action that she did not expect, especially with such a fresh lead in the form of the corpses. The captain did not take the deaths of her men personally, but it was a lead that was the best that they had.

He turned to face the Captain of the Second Division with a serious yet calming facial expression. "Magatsuhi left for reasons that are surely betrayal. Otherwise, he would have most likely submitted a resignation. I believe he will eventually come to us, and therefore, we must prepare for a possible invasion. As we've learned from the Winter War, and the Kamui Incident, both Yamamoto and Magatsuhi were foolish in sending reinforcements to the enemy. Rather, we should ration our military forces for when Magatsuhi and whoever else he is teamed up with decides to pay us a visit." he explained.

At the Seireitei's Gate
Ryan appeared outside the stone walls of the Seireitei, staring at the Soul Society's night sky. "What a nostalgic sight. It's been a year since I last came to Soul Society." he thought to himself. His goals had changed drastically; he had no more care to protect the Human world or the Soul Society, but he did have a goal and he considered it crucial to his and Matthew's existance. He began to walk closer to the gate, but, as expected, a Gate Guardian approached him and drew it's blade, "Halt! You may go no farther." the large man bellowed. Ryan's eyes narrowed and he slowly drew his zanpakuto, "Cut quietly." he whispered. Soon after, the night sky was filled with the scream of the Guardian and the sound of his collapse, marking his death.

And then, within...
Before the captains could continue their meeting, a loud knocking on the great doors sounded, followed by them opening. Hotaru's eyes narrowed as one of her Correctional Force took several steps in, completely out of breath.

"What in the world are you doing?" she demanded, her voice echoing throughout the chambers.

"My apologies captain," the messenger answered, finally regaining his composure. "The Seireitei has been breached - east entrance."

Hotaru scowled before turning to Shōyō. "My lieutenant is still in the human world, so I'll rally the Executive Militia to arrest the ryōka."

Without waiting for a response, she gave a bow of respect, and flash stepped out of the small opening the doors provided.

Risu asked the the man, "When you say the east entrance has been breached, how so? How did this ryoka actually get in?"