[IC] Bleach: The Hollowing

[Phoenix]

As any other day he was actually in his Barracks, Akimoto seated at his desk to sift through paperwork across from Yuzuki who did the same. They enjoyed each other’s silent company, though this was never stated. He also knew she was antsy to return back to the officers to make sure they were performing their tasks satisfactorily.

"Where is 18th Seat Ine now?" Akimoto asked across the room. He didn't ask this as if to quiz her, for that would be counter-productive. He asked because she would know quite accurately his current location. She had close tabs on all the seated Shinigami as well as most others within their relatively small Division.

'18th?' It took only a few moments for Yuzuki to remember precisely who held the 18th seat, just by name. That particular man was far from being liked by her, having seen him slacking in his duties at times, much too often to be considered proper. "I sent Ine to the Fourth Division to run an errand for me, as I was busy with these forms." An unusually large amount of requests had flooded through and as they passed through Yuzuki first to be handed on to Akimoto, her desk was a cluttered mess piled high with stack upon stack of forms. The disarray had her frustrated and irritable, though she tried her best to mind herself in front of her Captain.

He was taking the time to look over some of the forms which had accumulated upon it during the time he was out. There were some documents which needed to go through him before Yuzuki could fill them out and perform the necessary processes in which to process it.

This particular form was for a mission which seemed more like a casual task into the World of the Living. Ever since the misfortunes his son went through there, he'd been more cautious in sending Shinigami into that realm. The Twelfth Division had made claims that Hollow activity had diminished as of recently, but he still didn't trust many places outside Seireitei. Some would call him untrusting and paranoid. He likened it to protective and conscientious.

After flipping through several more forms, he stamped an approval on them but then went back to Ine's request. "When's the last time he went to the World of the Living, anyway?" he asked, looking up at his stern and highly-disciplined Lieutentant. He would even deem her too hard at times. But she kept a neat and orderly Division and for that she was considered highly by him.

"Three and a half months ago but he was late getting there and coming back." A faint frown made its way across her face, remembering the man's inability to remember fine details. It had set her an hour and a half back, which she still wasn't happy about it as was evident by her rather disgruntled expression. Yuzuki hadn't gone out of her way to make life harder for him, just slightly more inconvenient.

She had worried the first time she sent him out, unable to see him doing a reconnaissance mission properly but he'd reported back to her properly at first, which was a good sign. Unfortunately, he'd missed his 12-hour mark and the next one after that, making Yuzuki nearly have a meltdown and march into the World of the Living herself. "He's not quite as reliable as I would like, Captain."

He mused over the last time he'd been sent to the Human World. Yuzuki's report was less than ideal but he chose not to be so harsh about since she took care of the discipline well enough for the both of them. "When's the last time you went to the World of the Living?" he, again, asked. Though, this was, seemingly, a disjointed question which didn't have much relevance to the current situation.

Yuzuki looked up from the form she was filling out in neat, orderly handwriting, mildly surprised at the abrupt question. "Me?" It took her a few seconds to think back to the last time she'd stepped out of the Senkaimon and several more to accurately pinpoint the time frame of her last visit. "I think... five months ago. Yes, five months ago, give or take a few days. If I may ask, Captain -- why?" Akimoto was one of the few people -- truthfully, the only at times -- that she bothered being appropriately polite with, having too much respect for him to be as brash as she usually was.

He sat there for a moment as if considering his words carefully. He was wondering if this might be a good idea. "I want you to accompany him." He paused for a moment after to allow the statement to sink in for the both of them. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he felt it might be best to have his Lieutenant "aid" in a mission of a seated officer. "I want you to show him how to accomplish a task efficiently and on-time." Perhaps a mask for his concern, but it was a legitimate reason to spare his Lieutenant of her regular duties for a time.

He looked up to make sure she wasn't totally shocked by his request. "And don't take too little time to finish the task," he said unironically. He always believed she should take a step back and take some time to relax. Everyone knew that didn't happen often.

"What?" Yuzuki's head snapped up, eyes wide, sure she'd heard him wrong. "No! Send someone else! Send 3rd Sest Aoi. He's equally as competent." Just the thought of what her office would become in her absence was enough to horrify her into fervently denying.

He eyed her lightly. "You and I both know that to not be true," he said that with a smirk. Sest was more lenient than he. "What are you so concerned about, Lieutenant?"

"Everything! The paperwork and the chores and the Division duties... who's going to supervise them while you're away? Don't do this, Captain."

A small smirk cracked on his face. "You fret too much, Lieutenant. We aren't all as incompetent as you might think." He purposefully placed himself with the others, bending her words as if to try and guilt her into accepting more graciously. "The Barracks will be fine. Sest is equally as competent." He could hardly say that with a straight face.

Yuzuki bit her lip, resisting the urge to talk back. He was purposefully using her own words against her! "But Captain..." It came out more of whine than she'd admit later, but her rational mind had all but disintergrated at the prospect of leaving the Division. Spending time with forgetful Ine was bad enough.

With the bulk of his paperwork done, he rose from his seat and pushed the chair back in neatly. He touched a few papers to coax them into a neater position before looking back at Yuzuki. "Make sure you take a back-up Butterfly for yourself," he advised as usual.

He started to make his way out of the room. "I'm going to do some training in the courtyard. Why don't you start getting ready to leave for the Human World?" And by that, he meant meditate and not be so riled up.

"Hn. I mean yes, Captain." Yuzuki gave him a rather irritated look, as subtly as she could afford to not get in trouble. "As soon as I finish with these forms." With that she went to work twice as fast, almost as if she was trying to make up for her absence already, filling up form after form and ordering them into neat stacks.

The rest of the day he spent in the courtyard. Initially it began as personal exercises but eventually became a Division-wide training session. Captain Akimoto mentored the seated officers in how to better control their Reiatsu, though he was hardly one to talk with having such potent spiritual pressure himself. It was difficult for him to keep it contained most of the time.

He spent the night in his quarters rather than spending the night in the Rukongai as he usually did. He wished to see Lieutenant Yuzuki and the current 18th Seat, Ine, off to the World of the Living. He’d taken care of the formalities himself in setting up a Senkaimon for the trip while authorizing the trip with both the Captain-Commander and the Central 46. Even for such a minor task, it was difficult to be granted permission. None would know of this, but he wished some of the formalities weren’t so rigid.

The Third Seat was, thus, in charge of the Division when Yuzuki, Ine, and Captain Akimoto left for the day. The man wasn’t akin to taking a leadership position, but it wasn’t beyond him to utilizing it effectively, which Akimoto knew well enough. However, he wasn’t even out of the Seireitei before he was summoned to return to the First Division.

“Captain Akimoto,” an Onmitsukido agent addressed him urgently. “There is a crisis in the Rukongai, your audience is requested from the Captain Commander.”

He paused for a moment in slight disbelief that such an event would even occur. What could be of such urgency? He’d seen no signs of obvious strife or rebellion among the Captains and they seemed to have reasonable control over their Divisions. He also worked regularly in the Rukongai himself. He didn’t bother asking the agent for details since they would have been stated if they were known. “Tell Third Seat Sest Aoi to send some capable Shinigami to the Twelfth and Eighth Divisions to aid in their investigations. Make sure it’s known that its urgent that they be capable,” he reiterated. His demeanor changed to quite a serious one. He knew the situation was grave to be sent to the First Division.

Ken’in Ho was known as the weakest form of Shunpo one to know, but Captain Akimoto used it almost exclusively. It’s inherently down-sided characteristics were utilized in a more aggressive manner by Akimoto. Regardless, it was the easiest, however slowest, for him to perform. It wasn’t unlikely that he was the last one to show up at the meeting. He could immediately tell that situation had degraded since being initially contacted. Only a handful of Captains were present.

He soon learned that the other Divisions were already on high-alert and had been assigned tasks to protect the Seireitei and seek out the cause of the invasion within the Rukongai. The Second and Sixth Divisions had been tasked with keeping the Seireitei as a whole under strict supervision as well as the Noble Houses. The Seventh and Eighth Divisions were both working with the Twelfth Division to obtain all the information they could on the invasion and reporting back to pre-determined authorities. The Eleventh and Fourth Divisions had been sent into the Seireitei for rescue and emergency care. The remainder of the Divisions had yet to be assigned tasks and their Captains had been called into this meeting.

Hollows had swarmed into the Rukongai in each Eightieth District. Their numbers seemed endless according to initial reports, but this would soon prove to be true. Casualties began to be announced before the identification of powerful Hollows. Eventually rumors of Espada and Vasto Lordes arose and panic flooded the Rukongai almost entirely. It was clear the Ichigawa House was unable to keep calm the citizens of which they were supposed to support and serve. Furthermore, the “infestation,” as the Captain-Commander put it, rapidly spread until it reached the 20th Districts.

This was over the course of 100 years. The Captains fought valiantly against the Hollows, but they proved to be overwhelming as well as awfully powerful. Some of the Captains died and the rest were driven back close to the Seireitei and held positions largely of defense rather than offense. The Central 46 and the Captain-Commander saw no need to continue pushing as it was clear that this tactic was increasing the casualty rate unnecessarily. Also, they couldn’t have their home invaded once again by that speedy Arrancar. They eventually learned his name to Srekklan Hallcon who was second among the Arrancar.

They worked quite well with the Hollow, which was initially bizarre but soon understandable. Their food supply consisted mostly of the spirits within the Rukongai, so eating each other was counter-productive to the ends they wished to meet. These ends had yet to be discovered as the fact that they were organized to such a degree was a phenomena itself.

Their technologies also seemed to improve. They had placed nine Largetto into the Rukongai. These were indestructible portals to and from Hueco Mundo that could only be used by the Hollow and Arrancar themselves. Anything with a heart could not pass through.

The Fifth Division worked with the Eleventh, Fourth, Thirteenth, on rescue and scouting missions. They also worked with the Eighth and Seventh Divisions on reconnaissance. The Tenth and Twelfth Divisions worked closely together to improve technologies and weapons to use against the Hollow. They reported to the First with any and all information in how to improve their defenses and keep their territory safe and protected. The Second and Sixth Divisions continued to work together to maintain security within the Seireitei. The Third Division worked more closely with the Noble Houses and the Central 46. The Gotei required positive relations between themselves and these parties at all times. In such a state of emergency, this was hardly a task. The Ninth Division was in charge of keeping light-hearted events on-going within the Seireitei and where they could in the Rukongai as well as burying the bodies of fellow Shinigami. Of course, these bodies were few and far between.

The labor between Divisions was a sore subject between most Divisions, but internal strife was likely to occur with a war in their back yard. There were no signs of secession among them, but aggression, grief, sorrow, and even aggravation had to be released somehow and permission into the Rukongai was difficult to acquire.

During the hundred years after the Invasion, Captain Akimoto’s Dojo had been, more or less, repurposed as a gathering place for Shinigami and NDV alike before they were to execute specific missions. Kouta remained there and acted as some kind of organizer or informant of these troops. Since he was not officially a Shinigami, he was not necessarily welcome within the Seireitei. It took time, but his authority was eventually respected amongst the NDV and Shinigami alike.

It was also a general training ground for new recruits rescued from the Hollow-Run Districts (colloquially “HRDs” by some veterans). The Academy had become much more hectic without Akimoto running most of its programs but had also become more of a pooling of prospective Shinigami of who, before this time, weren’t “prospective.”

It was discovered that the Hollow and Arrancar believed themselves to be enough to keep the Human and Spiritual Worlds in balance and sought to eradicate the Shinigami completely. They were being smart in waiting them out, making them use up their resources as the only resources they needed were souls, and those were aplenty.

Lieutenant Yuzuki was ordered to remain the Human World and keep a close eye on Hollow activity. Her emergency Butterfly came in handy as it would have been difficult for any Hollow to intercept these messages. It seemed the activity was unusually low, making the assumption that they were all within Hueco Mundo or the Rukongai. They couldn’t make a clear analysis with the continuous attacks and the numbers of the Hollows to keep stagnant somehow.

Captain Akimoto remained within his Division, organizing teams with the other Divisions and continuing the training of his officers. Most of his training consisted of chores and errands in the spirit of Yuzuki during her absence. Also, with the use of his Bankai during the Invasion, didn’t wish to put anyone else in danger. He expected this to be the reason the Captain-Commander remained in her barracks as well. Also, their presence was very much the beacon for an Arrancar or Vasto Lorde to appear. The reason they remained behind the scenes was also yet to be determined.

After the first 100 years of this war, a meeting for which was called for the first time since the Invasion. The Captain-Commander wished to brief everyone personally upon the millennia’s progress and assess what might be in order to begin the eradication of these vermin. However, she opened the meeting by pouring all the Captains tea and greeting them rather light-heartedly as she would in spite of a grim situation. Those who knew her well knew that this, alone, was a bad sign.

Akimoto greeted the other Captains as formally as he always had, regardless of their disposition. He kept six Hell Butterflies with him at all times. This was allowed of all the Captains so they could keep tabs on the goings-on throughout the Spiritual World.

[Edgeworth]

The war had been good to Osamu, well as good as a war ever could be. The life and death struggle had brought to light his predecessor’s inability and allowed Osamu to take the Captaincy. Even on the very first day of the occupation, when he was but the number 3 in his division, he saved a large number of lives and made a name for himself that carried more weight with the common folk than it did the shinigami. Come the end of that day he was the Lieutenant due to the old Lieutenant’s inability to keep his head attached to his shoulders and ever since then Osamu had been working away with a singular determination.

The tenth division itself was almost unrecognisable compared with the first day of the occupation. Back then it was small, understaffed, under resourced, unambitious and its shinigami were little more than glorified clerks. Now it was a whole different animal. Using the division’s ambiguously worded goal, pre-existing powers, emergency powers, the vast pool of refugees and idle manpower, the excuse of a war they were dangerously close to losing and the fact he was genuinely concerned, helpful and able to get results, Osamu had almost rebuilt the tenth from the ground up. The first thing he did was get almost all of the shinigami under his command out of organisational and logistical roles whilst simultaneously actively taking on new shinigami recruits with great enthusiasm. Those few still carrying out such tasks tended to function as senior managers and department heads. Osamu had replaced the shinigami administrators with civilian administrators. The ability to move like the wind, swing a sword and throw spells around was not a part of your average desk job or any non-combat duty, so why have shinigami do it? All you needed was a brain and motivation and he had civilians by the truck load that fulfilled those requirements.

The second thing he did was re train his shinigami, of course they had all successfully passed out from the academy but their combat skills were a tad rusty when he took command. Brining in a few retired veterans he refreshed their memories and put his division through proper combat training once more as well as expose them to numerous small scale skirmishes to give them a taste of battle and some confidence whilst simultaneously keeping casualties down. Through this initiative he brought his men up to the standard of a regular, non-specialist, combat troops. They were no second, eleventh or thirteenth division but they could hold the line.

The third thing Osamu did was radically expand the activities of the tenth. They went from absolute bare bones Logistics, HR and finance to something resembling a full-fledged national bureaucracy. Food rations, the courts aside from the central 46, civilian law enforcement, heat, water, electricity, sanitation, public health, education, homes, industry, agriculture, labour, transport, roads, infrastructure, military equipment, battle casualty replacements, payroll, accounts, finance, divisional funding, property management, pensions, large segments of the treasury, military and civil logistics and more all came under the umbrella of the tenth. Everything a shinigami did or had, from the food he ate, to the sandals on his feet, was somehow administered or controlled by the tenth and in these dark times the same was true of the majority of the civilian populace who he stepped in to provide for. In doing so he trod on the toes of some of the Ichigawa family who had been traditionally responsible for running large elements of the Rukongai. Some were glad for the responsibility to be taken away, it was a burden and in this time of crisis it was a near impossible one to manage. Others saw their power base being eroded, never to be returned. But they couldn’t do much to stop Osamu, he stayed just within the law at all times and he was getting results the likes of which the Ichigawa had not achieved for thousands of years. The Ichigawa had been neglecting the lower districts for millennia and they would have been entirely unable or unwilling to deal with the current crisis. Osamu exploited this fact to the fullest and so he was able to carry on with his activities whilst subtlety and indirectly reminding the general populace it was Osamu and the tenth who were helping them.

He was able to pull off these remarkable successes because of the huge amount of idle labour at his disposal, the surface of which he has barely begun to scratch, but also because he was a smart businessman. He had been raised to run the family business and there was little doubt that he would have been excellent at the task. The tenth, for all its previous small size, was bloated and horrifically run under the old captain. Osamu fixed that, he increased revenue, clamped down on high wealth tax evasion and tax loopholes and brought down costs. Some of this cost reduction was done through efficiencies but most was done through bringing things in house, or at least that’s what it would have been called in the private sector. In the public sector it was more akin to nationalisation. He was not so stupid as to outright seize private companies providing these services and their property, which would have been spectacularly illegal. Instead he simply used the resources of the tenth to set up publically owned competition with a non-profit motivation and then only use them, essentially bankrupting the private sector competition, then hiring their laid off work force to do exactly the job they had been doing any way, only in a more supportive environment as well as purchasing the relevant infrastructure from the private companies for a song as they went into insolvency. It was a surprisingly elegant way to fulfil his professional obligation, support the people of the soul society and push his social agenda all in one fell swoop.

The fourth thing he did was perhaps the most controversial. Osamu had set up a few departments within the tenth that were more or less purely internal. These included the committee for military theory, a think tank coming up with ideas and plans for the future of soul society warfare. They didn’t feed their results to any of the other divisions or even the captain commander unless Osamu told them to. They reported to Osamu and Osamu only. They functioned like a second idea machine for him, a second military brain. Their most notable output to date was actually the brain child of Osamu alone, who chaired the committee. That idea was the NDV or Neighbourhood Defence Volunteers. Osamu had far grander plans for them than their name suggested but for the moment they were a radical solution to the problems of military manpower and law and order. They were made up of people who were not spiritually powerful enough to be shinigami or who were borderline at best. At first they were pooled together, given basic training and assigned to patrol their neighbourhoods and the walls, dealing with low level hollow incursions and delaying the bigger ones until actual shinigami could turn up. They were also responsible for every day law and order and helping boost public moral as well as helping with some community issues. They also served a valuable propaganda purpose, tough very few of them realised it. It helped foster a sense of trust in the general populace, a sense of inclusion and reminded them that Osamu at least had not forgotten about them. This was doubly true amongst the refugee population from the lower and middle districts.

However, Osamu wanted them to turn into much more. To that end he had assembled NDV volunteers from the refugee population specifically and, after being sure they believed in the cause, began turning them into something resembling a proper fighting force. The model was an interesting one, with blocks of NDV troops forming the majority of the fighting men with shinigami acting as officers, NCOs, line fillers, reinforcements and shock troops. This was what Osamu had really freed his men up to do and though this particular branch of the NDV wasn’t quite ready for show time yet both Osamu and his shinigami were working hard to make them ready. To that end Osamu was also gently leaning on the twelfth division, trying to steer their research into weapon and equipment projects to increase the potency of the NDV and make up for their lack of meaningful spiritual power. In return for the twelfth’s cooperation their budget was protected and they received comparatively generous resource allotments given what Osamu had to work with. The twelfth had yet to produce a meaningful success that could be used in the field rather than just a lab but Osamu was assured the twelfth were close to something Osamu could use.

Still, as good as the war had been for Osamu and his agenda it had not been good to him personally. The man was juggling more balls than any one person should have to and whilst his civilian administration made his job a lot easier he still kept a close eye on things, determined not to let his original duties slip no matter the cost. As such the man was almost never seen at social occasions. He loved them but he had to work, he wasn’t getting enough sleep, there were hints he wasn’t eating enough and his actual bed was developing a noticeable layer of dust. The rumour was that when he did sleep he did so on a bed roll in his office. The man was briefed before and during breakfast every day and he read notes and prep files well into the night. He worked his people hard as well, but not unreasonably so. The tenth’s offices worked 24 hours a day with very few departments able to shut down at night. He had a rotation of three eight hours shifts per day constantly repeating. But he never worked any one person too hard and he kept moral up, less through joy and happiness but more through reminding them of the cause and the fact they were saving not just the soul society but civilization as they knew it. But Osamu worked himself far harder than he worked anyone else.

However, turning to the affairs of the present, Osamu was, as ever, punctual. He was too busy to arrive early and too organised to arrive late. Still though, he was making the best use out of every second. Even as he rounded a nearby corner and started to stride towards the imposing tower which would play host to this meeting he was still conducting business. Accompanied by his fourth seat the man was still giving orders and asking questions. The topic of the day was medical supplies and food. A hundred year siege tended to put a strain on those kinds of things. Osamu had already turned over every scrap of publicly owned green land he could get his hands on into a working garden of some sort, either growing food or medicinal plants. Still they were under producing. He had purchased some private land for war production but the biggest plots of open land still in shinigami control belonged to the noble families and due to the realities of diplomacy, politics and even law he could not get his hands on them. There were a lot of things Osamu wanted that he couldn’t get. But for now he had to pick his battles. His diplomatic instincts were not merely poorly tuned when it came to the nobility, they were almost non-existent, but even he got the funny feeling a war of words might come forth from this meeting. Especially given the fact he intended to try and address the very issue of food and medicine today, in what even he knew was a controversial manner. That was, if he had the opportunity. He had no idea why this meeting had been called and it may be that more pressing matters could take precedence. After all, the Captain Commander had summoned this gathering, she would doubtless have an agenda.

Leaving his number four at the gates to the tower, in order to take messages on behalf of the Captain, and then to fully brief him upon the end of the meeting, the Captain of the tenth made his way into the meeting room, pausing only to give a nod of courtesy to those already present. The man’s unceremonious entrance was exceeded by his unceremonious garb. He was wearing what he termed battle dress, he was still identifiable as a shinigami but only just. It was like he had stepped out of a parallel world or different time where shinigami were rather different. It rather encapsulated his entire attitude to the 13 divisions and the soul society as a whole. He didn’t want to be rid of the whole thing, he still saw great value and potential in it. But he wanted it to change, a lot. More to the point he was actually trying to bring about such change though even Osamu knew he had to bring both the people and the majority of the other Captains along with him and that was something far easier said than done. Especially since he was such a fresh face amongst the Captains. He had only come into the position a few years after the hollow invasion, when his predecessor had been made to step aside. A new face should avoid throwing his weight around too much. Throw in a civilisation threatening war on top of all that and well, reform was difficult. But utterly necessary.

Once present he cast his eyes gently about the room, taking in who was early, who was late, who was talking to who and about what. Unless directly approached however, Osamu would abstain from conversation. For now, he preferred to simply observe. He paid particular attention to the Captains of the second, sixth and eighth divisions. In the event of some form of internal strife those three would be the most important people around and truth be told, Osamu believed he was more at risk from the internal working of the soul society than he was from the hollow threat.

The Captain of the eighth, Hakkin, Kiyoko, worried Osamu. Her division was one of those most historically connected to dark deeds and internal intrigue yet she seemed to be a happy go lucky sort who just wanted to get along with everyone around her. This mismatch between her presentation and his own expectations caused almost every paranoid alarm bell to go off in his mind at once. He didn’t understand her, not in the least, and just like every man, he feared what he did not understand. He needed to know her, how she would behave, how she would respond to various developments before he could start working with her without always watching for a knife in his back. He would not make the first move, he was not about to start any internal struggle or civil war with the enemy at the gates and he wasn’t the kind of person who betrays his colleagues without a serious reason, but privately he was ready for someone else to be that stupid.

As for Yukihiro Yue, there was someone else he didn’t know the nature of nearly as well as he wanted to. Since she was in charge of Special Forces and assassins he desperately needed to know the content of her character, the second division wasn’t just something he wanted to quietly sit on the side lines he actively wanted it backing him. But he couldn’t read her she seemed well, far too normal to be believable. Too calm and well balanced, too pleasant and generally submissive yet she ran a tight ship, he knew that much. She seemed to ideal, plus no one as seemingly meek as her could run a division so well. Plus her noble connections troubled him. If push ever came to shove, which he sincerely hoped it would not, how loyal would she be to the Yukihiro family? How staunchly would she defend their interests and what, if anything, would make her stand away from her family? These were not immediate concerns but it was something he needed to know, if not now then later and Osamu feared he would not be able to crack that particular nut in time.

But, returning to the matter at hand, he took his seat and politely took the tea when it was proffered to him, with a little nod of thanks to the Captain Commander as well as a nod of greeting to the Captain of the fifth. He had not had the questionable pleasure of getting to know the Captain Commander, something he hoped to redress once the occupation crisis was dealt with. After all, he had only made Captain after the invasion and everyone had been a little bit busy since then. This meant he had no idea what an ominous sign the offer of tea was. So, he simply gently put it on the table in front of him, letting it cool gently until it was at a pleasant temperature. Part of him wondered where she got the tea leaves from, but after a few moments consideration he decided it must have been a small private garden. Besides, he had more important things to consider, such as why this meeting had been called in the first place? Sitting silently he waited for the Captain Commander to bring the meeting to order and get on with the business of the day.

[Oblivion]

Having witnessed most of the war from the sidelines, Yue wasn’t accustomed to having her decisions usually dictate who’d die in the line of duty and who’d have a chance of escape. The Second Division required her to devote most, if not all, of her energy to it – training the unseated officers, keeping tabs on the squads sent out, maintaining the security in Seireitei, sending out the Patrol Corps in various dangerous locations and keeping an eye on the prisoners within the Nest of Maggots, all with the highest degree of secrecy. It wasn’t something she couldn’t deal with but it had taken its toll on her considerably over the past few months. At least her Division members were behaving – of course, after she’d threatened to exact the old Captain’s punishments on them.

On top of all that, the Noble houses – particularly between Yukihiro and Ichigawa, yet again – were in the middle of another petty feud Yue found was rather stupid. All the same, she sat in the main meeting room of the Ichigawa House, watching two surly men argue about pointless things, considering they were in the middle of a war. Yue brought new meaning to the term ‘grin and bear it’, being the only borderline cheerful person in the spacious room lined with nobles of every age. She hadn’t bothered with a formal kimono like everyone else as she’d been called on too short notice to have the energy to change.

“You’re paying for the damages, Isao! Half of the southern compound is in ruins thanks to those hooligans you call Yukihiro’s!” The Head, Ichigawa Kazuhiro, spat at the man facing him. The man in question slammed his hand down on the low table, rising slightly from his seat.

“They were provoked!” He ground out, eyes flaring. “At least we contribute something to this war! What have you done? Watched the districts you were supposed to be protecting razed to the ground? Satisfying, I’m sure.”

Kazuhiro’s temper flared and his grip on the blade by his side tightened. “We did what we could! We don’t rush like savages into every battle like you lot!”

For the first time in her 247 years of living in Seireitei, Yue looked on in dismay. Ichigawa and Yukihiro had had their rivalry for thousands of years but it had never escalated into this. She’d seen her family members vandalize the Ichigawa compound plenty of times, watched the buildings explode and go up in flames while her family ran off, cackling. Likewise, the same had been done to her own family’s compound though to a lesser degree. Much of the aggression came in a diplomatic way, like right at before that moment.

She was broken out of her train of thought by the entire table flying up towards the side of the room the Ichigawa’s were sitting on. A flash of ashen wood was all she saw before the women on the other side scattered, shrieking. Above her, Isao had risen, Zanpakuto drawn, facing an equally armed Kazuhiro. Across her, Yue could see that Ichigawa Ryuusei, her fiancé, was equally horrified as she and he scrambled to stand up amidst the chaos. Moments later, he extended a hand to Yue who hopped up, narrowly avoiding the whirl of Isao’s blade.

A full-on brawl had resulted of the discussion that was supposed to have taken place that afternoon. The women were gone, cowering in the hallways, away from the brawling men. Yue looked on the from the outside as the delicate paper of the sliding door tore, her pale eyes calmly taking in the brutality her family was renowned for.

Yet Isao couldn’t have been solely blamed for his reaction; the Yukihiro house had already lost a tenth of their family to the hundred-year war and more were coming back either incapacitated or dead every day. Their tacticians worked night and day to maximize damage and minimize losses and so far, it had worked – if it hadn’t been for them, the casualties would’ve been much worse. The Gotei had acknowledged this and were now seeking to recruit the second family for their own use, something that Isao wasn’t on board with just yet. How that would play out was yet to be seen.

Furthermore, the House’s role in the war was undoubtedly important; being the militaristic generals of Seireitei, the Yukihiro planned and devised every move of the military not directly under the Gotei 13. However, Isao was already on the verge of pulling out on account of the devastatingly high casualties. He was torn between his pride – his House’s sole purpose for thousands of years – and the welfare of his family; what was the point of upholding a tradition when there was none left to do so?

Unlike their rivals, the Ichigawa House had barely lifted a finger since the war had started and seemed to be living the exact same was a hundred years prior. The war seemed to be of no concern to them; the Academy and upper districts were their only responsibilities and that’s what they devoted their energy to. The Seicho House stood in a similar position; it seemed only the Yukihiro and Usagi Houses were willing to take a stand.

Tuning out the racket, Yue’s attention shifted to the Onmitsukido agent she’d sensed approaching. He was panting by the time he got to her and shakily pointed in the direction of the First Division, his voice laden with exhaustion as he spoke, “Captain-Commander’s calling a meeting.”

It was the first time since Yue had become Captain two years ago that the old Captain-Commander had called a meeting, possibly since the invasion. With a quick “Thank you,” to the agent and a bow to Ryuusei, Yue Flash Stepped towards the First Division. She briefly thought back to the brawl behind her and worry crossed her mind as she wondered how they’d stop without her there.

The barracks of the First Division loomed up as Yue ran through the gates and made it just in the nick of time, taking her seat to Kuroda’s immediate left. None paid any heed to her entrance as far as she saw, probably unable to sense her suppressed reiatsu. It was the first time she’d seen all the Captains assembled together but it only served to stress their dire situation. Hell butterflies fluttered around her, getting in the way of her vision and one landed on the side of her teacup. However, unlike most others, Yue smiled and gently pushed them away. They constantly kept up a stream of information such as the status of the Nest of Maggots.

As she took a sip of her tea, her eyes roamed the room, absentmindedly taking in small, insignificant details of the other Captains. Captain Akimoto appeared to be surrounded by Hell Butterflies as well, probably relaying some sort of important information to him. He was something of a father to Yue and she greeted him with a polite nod and a gentle smile, just as she’d always had.

Her gaze flicked from one Captain to another, smiling when she made eye contact and in Hakkin Kiyoko’s case, accompanied by a wave. Osamu, as usual, sat by himself near the end of the room, three Captains seated between them.

Yue didn’t personally have an opinion on the man; nevertheless, he made her uneasy and she made an effort to avoid him at times. Something about him unsettled her, though she wasn’t sure what could be different. His ambition? That could certainly be a dangerous element in any situation and it could prove him as a difficult adversary to face. But that was ridiculous, he was far too loyal to his Division to do any damage anywhere. Yue found that avoiding people tended to be counter-productive and needless; with that in mind, she smiled at Osamu as well before focusing her attention on the Captain-Commander.

---

Ueshima, Yuzuki

Yuzuki wasn’t happy. The chatter of a certain Shinigami by her side was grating on her already frazzled nerves; the temptation of just strangling Ine and getting over with it was hard to smother.

“Listen here, Ine! I want to be done with this stupid mission and get back to work, you hear?” Ine’s chatter ceased for a moment, before he went into rapid-fire again.

“What are you teaching me? Did the Captain say so? Are we killing Hollows? ‘Cause if so, I’m ready!”

“No doubt you are,” Yuzuki ground back, her temper flaring. “Look here, unless you calm yourself and learn how to act properly in certain situations, you’re not being a very good Shinigami. And certainly not one fit for the Fifth Division! You’re lucky the Captain isn’t here to see you act like a child fawning over candy –“

Ine’s cut her off, barely fazed by her scolding. “Look, Lieutenant! A human soul! Are we supposed to perform Konso?” He rushed forward and was unceremoniously yanked back by Yuzuki’s tight grip on his arm. It was a miracle the bone hadn’t shattered.

“Ine, if you cannot bear to listen to my instructions that can easily be remedied by a return trip to Seireitei. That’s actually quite an appealing thought –“ Once again, Ine hurriedly cut Yuzuki off.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant. Please proceed.” His enthusiasm had died down considerably, possibly due to the dull pain throbbing through his arm.

Yuzuki guided him through several important processes upon entering the Human world – making sure the Senkaimon was closed, having enough gigai pills and how to use them. She herself didn’t bother demonstrating how to enter a gigai; it was a fairly uncomplicated process and she didn’t fancy losing her clothes. Ine listened intently, careful not to irritate his superior even further.

Fifteen minutes in and Yuzuki pointed to a small, silver device fastened to the sash of her Shihakusho. “This communicator is to be used as frequently as specified, Ine.” Ine responded by giving her a slightly guilty look. He’d overlooked his communicator last time and had had a spitting mad Yuzuki on his head for the next couple of weeks. “Whenever you don’t use this, the overseer of your mission which in most cases is I, will think that something’s wrong – at worst, you’re dead and at best, that you’re demented.”

Suddenly, Yuzuki found herself speaking to a head missing its cranium, forehead, eyes and nose. It was nothing but the lower portion of Ine’s head sliced cleanly off. Blood spattered onto Yuzuki’s skin and uniform – however, that went unnoticed as her blade deftly came up to block the whirling claw that functioned like an oversized saw. The woman sidestepped away from the Hollow’s tail and turned to face the monstrous head of the Hollow, its jaws wide open in order to make her its next meal.

“Oh no you don’t,” Yuzuki hissed, lashing out with her foot and knocking the whirling claw away before leaping high into the air, pushing a blast of reiryoku into her legs. Her right leg came crashing down on the Hollow’s head, reiryoku and all, the immense pressure cracking the monster into bits. It dissolved into dust, billowing out into the air filled with the screeching of Hollows.

She hadn’t noticed it before. The entire area was full of Hollows of every shape and size, emitting some sort of noise as they measured up their next target. Behind them, Yuzuki could see a couple of Menos Grande stretching up into the sky. She gritted her teeth, hand on her communicator. She hadn’t ever seen such a large amount of Hollows in one place, as organized as they were. This wouldn’t be good.

Just as she pressed the button, the first of the Hollows came leaping for her face.

“Lead Astray, Senmei Yoake!”

---

That had been around a hundred years ago.

Yuzuki now perched on the edge of one of the taller houses, setting her sights upon anything remotely resembling a Hollow. Activity in the Human world had been low lately, even in the entire area Yuzuki had been tasked with overseeing. It was considerably larger than any other Shinigami’s, possibly the entire area of theirs’ put together. She made contact with the odd Shinigami but overall, it was pretty bleak. And bleak was one thing she couldn’t stand.

After the attack, she’d been asked to stay back in the Human world and keep watch, as well as regulate the flow of Hollows. Most of it had been nothing but child’s play to her but it now served to bore her to hell and back. She sighed idly, playing with the blade of her Zanpakuto.

When could she return back to Seireitei? She missed working in the Fifth Division, doing paperwork and monitoring the rest of the Shinigami. ’Even socializing was better than this,’ she thought with a shudder. Yuzuki knew they were having a hard time in Rukongai, so why not send her in to help? Couldn’t a lesser Shinigami do the same job here while she hacked away at Hollow after Hollow?

[Venom]

Tick tock....tick...tick...tick...tick tock......

Kanashii was a patient man. Used to the drastic amount of time that anything in this bureaucratic nightmare took. But this time he was awaiting the approval to go on a "vacation". A release of his pent up aggression, some enjoy art, other physical exertion? Kanashii just needs to kill a few hollows.

He paced about his office, ensuring it was every bit within regulation not a single thing out of place. He looked down at his right foot, and can't help but smile. There is a odd bit of satisfaction when you catch something totally off guard, knowing they go on completely unaware of how. The smile expands as he chuckles to himself.

"Captain....First that is creepy second you are supposed to be meeting with the rest of the captains...er captain commander summoned you? No wait beckons!"

Kanashii looks up from his foot at the one who rudely opened his door without knocking. The smile shifts to a glare. Small in stature, hair styled in some outlandish manor, hands have a obvious weathering from training with a sword...but not enough to be any sort of powerful. Greenhorn in the unit. While He enjoyed the "boys" arrogance, he can't let it show.

"Are you new? Last Time I checked personal opinions like that are reserved for those that can match blades with me. Second make sure when you take important information, you don't. Third I hope you are better with a sword than you are in speaking, or else the time within my unit is likely going to be a short one."

The boy took a more confident stance as he actually had the nerve to retort.

"Yes sir! Started with you just this week! I am honored, and I am going to be better than you sir!"

Kanashii cant fight it, the grin returned!

"Oh really! Guess I should just kill you now, can't have you taken my station." With that he was behind the boy sword pressed against his neck his face ever so close.
"Damn but I have to be elsewhere." A flash-step and he was gone. The boy swallows hard placing his hand on his neck, "P-p-p-perhaps I should request a T-t-transfer."

---

Kanashii arrived hopefully within enough time not to stand out as much as he did in his head. First division always irritates him, Alot of the captains irritate him. Oh look the most Irritating one of the lot, Akimoto....Someone who had so much potential and they just throw it away. Kanashii your glaring his thoughts help him get his expression under control. They sip their tea, he despises tea, calms your head to much. "This meeting is going to be long and bothersome"...

Osamu was interesting enough, Kanashii didn't dislike him. Not really a fan of his bureaucratic tendencies but its helped him a few times, and his swordsman ship was well worth his station. A Brother in arms for certain. While other captains have spoken with him in the past, Osamu is the only one that seemed to actually respect him for more than his blade.

"The Midget." Yue, short. Very very short. That is all he really knew. She didn't use a blade the way she could, irritating. Short. His eyes soon follow hers to the commander...shorter. He awaits the reason from there.

[Phoenix]

The Academy

She served the tea at a tempo apt for her mobility. She served Akimoto last who sipped at it quickly knowing she wouldn't begin the meeting before everyone had had a taste of the tea. It was something the Captains and the other Shinigami had gone without for quite some time so it was a luxury they could be seated and taste the mildly bitter beverage in a relaxed setting. Of course, "relaxed" was used in comparison to their current disposition. As there was no sugar or honey to accompany the tea, she didn't have to worry about clinking tea cups.

"Over the past decade, casualties have remained at a stagnant level. They would be acceptable if previous years had not been so grim. Taiki, what have you been doing in the Academy?" The question was not condescending. It was rather genuine, actually.

"I have not had the privilage to enter the Academy for several decades now. I have since relinquished the responsibility to the Ichigawa House," he confessed rather sheepishly. It was clear he was ashamed of having to surrender one of his responsibilities for the sake of the war.

"Very well," she said as if she'd been disarmed. Certainly she may as well have been. Akimoto had provided great services and produced quality shinigami. She couldn't say the Ichigawa House were competent at making soldiers.

Knowing the relationship between the Ichigawa House and the Yukihiro House, she looked toward the Second Division's Captain. "Yue," she said expectantly.

Looking up from her tea, Yue turned to the Captain-Commander and bowed her head respectfully in acknowledgement. It was slightly surprising to be called on by the old woman, seeing as her family's relations weren't all that good with the Ichigawa. Particularly at the moment, Yue added to herself, hearing the faint sounds of an explosion in the distance. "I'm not sure about the state of the Academy, Captain-Commander. I can ask, if you wish."

"Please do, Miss Yue," the Captain-Commander said kindly. "And you, Taiki, I want you making more trips to the Academy and whipping them into shape."

"Yes ma'am," he started before Captain Iwakura decided to add to the discussion. The Captain-Commander even cut her gaze away from Akimoto as if expecting him to speak.

He paused for a small time, choosing his words carefully. He doubted the dependability of everyone in and outside the room. There was no one here he fully trusted. Some he trusted far less than others. But he trusted none less than the Ichigawa House. He had proven that his own capabilities exceeded that of an entire house. It was not merely ego which led him to believe he should run the Academy, but the fact he’d been responsible for and accomplished so much up to this point. He would not make the first move against any of them but he did not believe they would be so kind. So he had to guard himself. When he spoke he did so slowly, and with caution.

"If I may, Captain-Commander,"

"You may," she said quickly.

"The Academy is not performing as well as it could. Ichigawa control is resulting in inefficiencies that we can ill afford presently. According to my projections we will have a decrease in manpower and and in a quality of that manpower in the near future. There was a reason why it was run by the good Captain of the Fifth before now."

The other Captains looked toward Akimoto as they were impressed that such a conservative and strict Captain was complimenting another. Few had received any kind words from Captain Iwakura since his rise to captaincy. Akimoto only accepted the compliment rather than sullying it by correcting him.

"It is unfortunate he feels unable to continue in his duties but that does not mean it has to go back to the Ichigawa. It can be run better."

"The Ichigawa House has run the Academy long before Taiki was born," the Captain-Commander retorted, almost spat, as if correcting him. "They are anything but inadequate."

Opposition from the Captain Commander was very dangerous. Osamu could ill afford to stand against her for the moment, though it saddened him slightly to see her take this line. Still, he was not surprised. She was old and picked by equally old men from an even older world. He considered challenging her reasoning directly but opted against that antagonism. This did not look like a battle he was going to win today and so there was no point fighting it with any vigor. It was far better to rig the game for another day.

"Do you have any suggestions, Captain?" she asked. Opposite Captain Akimoto, using titles masked a disrespect or informality for the Captain-Commander.

"A few, yes. But now is not the time. If control will rest in their hands I will take it to the faculty directly." It made sense, after all. She only held an influence over the Academy and no real control. Furthermore, it would better mask his true intentions.

"I will schedule for you to meet with the Ichigawa Head later today, then," she said definitely and twisted her head as to indicate the end of the subject.

"Unfortnately my schedule is already entierly full. Allow my office to handle the correspondence. We can ensure they get the message." Osamu really was fully booked and he had no desire to give the Ichigawa face time at the moment. Besides, on this issue he wanted distance. A face to face meeting would prevent that.

"You will need to make room, then. The issue must be addressed today if it is to be addressed at all."

Suspecting something, perhaps something not even there, he only nodded in masked frustration. "I can shave fifteen to twenty minutes off of the tail end of the sewage works inspection." The bitterness in his mood was well disguised as respect and obedience in his tone.

"Captain Hakkin, please conduct the inspect for Captain Iwakura," she demanded before looking back at Osamu.

Casting a quick sideways look to Captain Hakkin, he raised a hand to gesture for her not to do it. In a friendly tone and with a slight smile he said, "don't trouble yourself Captain. If push comes to shove I will send one of my lower seats. We built the place after all."

"I need your ideas to be heard out and discussed with the Ichigawa, Osamu." Her tone transformed from a chastising one to almost pleading. Still, he was being a bit too resistant.

Then, turning his attention to the Captain-Commander he paused for a slight moment, registering her shift in tone. It should have pleased him, but the Captain-Commander did not seem like the type to plead so it bothered him instead. Still, he would do as he was ordered. "As you wish, Commander."

There was no need to be so reserved. She would make plans for Captain Hakkin to at least observe the inspection. Instead of arguing further with the stubborn man, she wished to conclude the subject at hand and move to the next item of discussion.

"Taiki, Captain Kanashii, I want you both to make a visit to the Academy tomorrow and inspect the instructors. I want to make sure they are capable."

Akimoto's eyes shifted toward the Captain-Commander with an air of uncertainty. He was uncomfortable leaving the Barracks without a proper leader. Of course his current third seat was anything but incompetent, but he was not Lieutenant Yuzuki.

"Don't worry about your Division, Taiki, they are in good hands," she reassured the Captain as if she hand-picked the third seat of his division.

Raid on the Western 22nd

She turned to shuffle her way toward her throne-like armchair. It took her almost too long to become comfortable.

"Along with the casualty rate, I'd like to discuss how we might improve combat. We have been able to keep a line, but progress must be had if we are to win this war. We need to take over the western 22nd Districts and usurp from the Whites the factories and farmland they hold hostage from us. Are there any suggestions on how to proceed before I make the command?"

Captain Hakkin shifted in her seat indicating that she had Intel on that very location. "The Hollows reside there at night but seem to retreat during the day. Activity spikes between 2 and 3AM. My sources claim they don't seem to be using the buildings or are preparing for anything to be erected upon the farmland. And whether or not they aren't hiding in plain sight has yet to be definitively determined."

"Captain Ume, I need you to send drones into the area and scout it out. Read for Spiritual presences and calculate accurate numbers."

The Captain of the Twelfth only sighed slightly before agreeing to perform the task. She was always rebellious and autonomous. It would have been difficult for her to participate in a meeting outside of the current circumstances.

“Captain-Commander, if I may?” She nodded shortly and twisted her hand toward him, caring little for his excessive formalities. At least, they were "excessive" to her.

“The men of the 10th are ready for a fight. They need one.” The Captain-Commander nodded in agreement. “I’ve been throwing the men into small battles (glorified skirmishes, really). It’s time to temper their mettle in something a little hotter. But don’t worry, they’ll stand. As for the how of it all…” He drew out a note pad from one of his waist compartments. The pages were covered in charts and lists and notes with all manners of marking and meaning among them. Once on a clear page, he scribbled. After a moment, he stopped to consider the lack of space the pad allowed. He glanced over his shoulder and toward the large door to the room.

"Lieutenant, would you be so kind as to fetch me a few maps? Bring me the official pre occupation maps of the relevant area, one to fifty thousand, one to twenty five thousand and one to ten thousand, a one to five thousand as well if you have one. Bring me the infrastructure map and the high view map of the area as well. Oh and any scouting maps and any photographs you have.”

There was a top-view map he’d ordered with a few revised versions. It highlighted razed regions as well as areas of constant White activity. Copies had been provided to each captain and even the Yukihiro House since then.

As he waited for the maps, he continued. “Capturing the damn things will be easy if we do it fast. Particularly if Captain Hakkin is correct, a day light raid against a weak position, minimal loss of life.” Indeed it would be easy, too easy. Captain Hakkin’s data was puzzling to the point of concerning. He couldn’t fully trust it. “We should confirm the Hollow behavior however, we can’t afford to get it wrong.”

"I agree," Kiyoko said. "Captain Ume, you said those spiritual pressure readers would be ready soon."

"Yeah," the woman nodded slightly. "They're still in a prototype phase but they're not so inaccurate that they couldn't be used immediately."

Drones were a good idea, but precautions might need to be had. “Might I suggest we send out drones to areas we also have no intention of attacking yet, but seem plausible. Otherwise even a child would be able to discern our intent,” Osamu said evenly.

"That's a good idea," the Captain-Commander added. "I want Captain Hakkin to contact you with key points she's discerned as low-threat."

He leaned back to continue matter-of-factly. “Holding the district will not be so easy. The initial attack has to be swift and relatively unopposed. If the hollows have any sense in their heads they will wreck the factory as soon as we come close, break every machine, strip every part. I can’t think of anyone more suited to the task than elements of 2nd division.” He casually gestured towards Yue as he spoke.

"Yue, I want your Lieutenant to head down to the Dojo and meet Captain Hakkin there as soon as possible. I want this mission to be top-priority."

Osamu considered a diversion for a moment, but reconsidered. Hakkin had described the Whites as unguarded and temporary. He felt the effort would go wasted. He continued. “Once the second has its objective more conventional fighters can move up to reinforce and hold against a counter attack. But we want to minimize fighting in and close to the factory and mines. We need to take and hold locations beyond it to allow the factory to work. This is doubly true of the fields as even casual raids would ruin entire crops.”

"I can erect a barrier around the factories for a time," piped in the Captain of the Thirteenth Division, Kawaguchi Aiko. "It won't be longer than a couple hours, though."

"I'm not sure if having three Captains in one location would be most effective," said Captain of the Sixth Division, Akiyama Yasu.

The maps had arrived and were spread out across the large table. He scoured over them with familiarity to more accurately discern what would be the best defensive positions to take as well as weak points and access routes. It seemed the best routes were the main roads and thorough fairs. The internal district walls were the best way to defend the area, but that meant little considered the Whites had already easily infiltrated the Seireitei.

“I suppose they will have to do,” said Osamu in a tired fashion whilst gesturing to the walls on the map. "I’ll make them better once the battle is done, make them able to hold against serious assaults with far fewer men. But for this assault….” He drifted off into thought again before tapping each corner of the walls. “If elements of the 2nd take these in their initial assault and hold until relieved the 10th can come up and hold the wall, 2nd falls back on the factory, reorganize, patch up and turn into a reinforcement pool. The tenth will stand there and hold against the inevitable, I believe vigorous, counter attack. We do not have an accurate picture of the quality of Hollow command and control nor do we know the size and disposition of their forces. So I recommend we have the entirety of the 11th on standby as a second reserve pool, in case things go south. If the hollows have one of their entrance points within the perimeter I intend to establish well….. any ideas?”

"I believe there should also be reserves from the 5th Division as secondary back up if we are pushed back toward the factories and the barrier fails." Matsuoka Tsubasa, Captain of the Third, made a good point.

"My numbers are lower than usual and with everything else we're required to do I wouldn't be able to send a decent back up. And what about the possibility of a counter-attack far away from that area?" Akimoto argued. Of course he would have made it happen if it was mandatory, but he always had his men's live on his mind.

"I trust Captain Iwakura's men will be enough with the 11th Division behind him to hold back the inevitable counter to occur at that particular location. I share similar concerns about an additional counter-attack elsewhere," Captain Maki Shiori of the Ninth Division, added.

“As our resident Yukihiro representative what are your thoughts on the plan,” he asked against himself.

He believed his plan was highly effective, but to not consult an individual trained in combat and war would have seemed more arrogant of him that he cared to portray. Still, he worried about his plan being torn into and his intelligence being compromised.

For a moment, Yue didn’t answer and instead continued looking at the maps laid out on the table. She noted the speed and accuracy of his ability to read the map accurately. His face was the proof of his tireless study of them. And yet, though he’d questioned her with seemingly good intentions, Yue felt apprehensive about answering him. Nevertheless, she turned slightly towards him and spoke, “As the ‘resident Yukihiro representative,’ I have nothing to say. You know they would approve of any steps taken to move forward instead of doing nothing and letting the districts fall one by one.” All too soon, there would be none left. “But I can’t keep the 2nd there very long so you’re going to have to move a fast.” There was no trace of the apprehension and hesitancy in her tone.

“I can’t take the entire Division there, either, but I’ll try my best to get as much as I can spare.” There were some troops Yue simply couldn’t send off towards the 20th, as they’d either gone scouting or were running messages. Despite that, she hoped they’d be back by the time they’d leave for the attack. “The Patrol Corps are all unavailable but the other units are available. I hope that’s enough.” The 2nd was a large enough Division, larger than most due to the additional organization. Yue felt it would be enough for the initial attack at the very least.

Considering her words, he nodded. He was internally grateful she agreed and backed his plans.

“You know your own men better than me. If you believe the troops you described will be enough to take and hold the objectives until relieved, then I trust in your judgment.” Leaning back in his chair slightly he added “my men can come up quickly; you would not have to hold the positions for long. It is a shame we would lose you as a reinforcement pool but I am confident my own men will be up to the task. If not, then we have the 11th on standby. Your men will be able to quit the field as soon as the 10th is in position.” He said, understanding her inability to commit longer than that. He made a mental note to consult her and discuss the idea of enlisting more men to her.

This was largely the reason the Captain-Commander held a meeting. She was tired, for the most part. 4,000 years of existence can make one fatigue for just being. Still, she wanted to keep face with the other Captains and make sure their relations were still positive, if only in front of her. In truth, she was tired not only from age, but of fighting.

Her life had been consumed in conflict even with the 1,000 years of peace before this invasion. She needed to know that none of the Captains had it out for one another, other than personal and philosophical differences. If they were to come out of this war intact, they needed to adhere to a sense of brotherhood that she knew all too well was a fragile thing in itself. She remained confident and stern as she listened to them speak their minds.

She knew this was going to be a difficult war after the initial Invasion. With their numbers and interception skills, she knew this enemy was vastly different than any she’d ever encountered before. Of course, she kept a front that alluded to the idea that she believed the war would be easy and swiftly won, even after the first decade. But now it was clear that everyone in that room knew this war was far more serious than any of them could have ever anticipated.

“I want Captain Kanashii on-call. I suspect they might counter at that location hard. I also suspect there to be a counter-attack elsewhere. Kiyoko, I want you to evaluate these maps and your own Intel and give me the coordinates of our weakest and strongest points. I know what you’ve already told me yesterday, but I want the most current information. I also need you to anticipate this movement of troops and reevaluate these points.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said respectfully and quickly.

FullBringers

“Now, we know numbers are down and they are not going to replenish as they once could. Information on the World of the Living has shown that Hollow activity has decreased to a halt. Because of this, this raid might affect the Balance much more than the Invasion. It’s clear that they’re keeping souls for their own purposes, but they can’t go so long without feeding. And if they’re not feeding on the Pluses then they’re feeding on each other. I don’t know how they’ve managed to not mess with the balance thus far, but this attack could seriously endanger our existence as a whole.”

She was looking down, solemnly. It was, indeed, a miracle that the Balance had remained so level over the century. Perhaps the Hollows were, indeed, capable of keeping the Balance themselves. Or was the King simply testing them? “I understand you have close communication with Lieutenant Ueshima, Taiki,” she said without looking at him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said simply.

“I want her on standby in the event Pluses must be sacrificed for the sake of the Balance.”

He paused. This request was almost profane to him. In all his time within the Gotei, he’d never heard her speak so grimly. The war hadn’t even affected her judgment in such a way. But they all knew that sacrificing their own troops would be counter-productive and what the Hollows would expect. They also knew the NDV was valuable at this stage in the conflict. “I understand,” he said, tilting his head down in some sort of sorrow.

“I also understand that she’s been evaluating Pluses with high Reiatsu. She needs to not kill these individuals. I want her to begin training them as FullBringers.”

There were few times she brought up the idea of messing with the Human world. This was the first she’d suggested such direct and even invasive tactics. She learned from the 12th that humans could affect the souls of items if they were attacked by Hollows in the womb. She also knew that they could be recruited long before this war. It seemed the Hollows had sacrificed the Human front for a Rukongai front. It had worked as a great demoralizer, but now that their options quickly diminished, controversial decisions had to be made. She had already been approved by the Central 46 for this particular plan of action.

“She needs to be in contact with Captain Hayashi for he knows much more about the nature of FullBringers than the rest of us.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said more quietly than before. He understood their current circumstance but couldn’t help but think she was grasping. This was a dangerous position for many to be in. But she was the Captain-Commander for a reason.

Osamu wholly agreed. He cared little for the idea of “balance” and wished to focus on victory, but he decided to keep that to himself.

“You can’t be seriously considering this, Captain-Commander. It’s not safe to meddle with Humans. They have no reason to remain faithful to us and this FullBring ability has yet to be fully measured. They could prove to be dangerous. Perhaps it might be better to send the NDV as backup on the Raid on the 22nd.” Captain Matsuoka was clearly unsettled by this plan of action. Some might have claimed its emotional base, but he brought up a valid point. Humans had yet to be studied more in-depth. He felt the Captain-Commander was reaching for advantages, a dangerous position to be in.

“It’s been 100 years, Tsubasa,” she stung back.

“I understand that, ma’am,” he retorted, shaking his head in physical disagreement. “Not only is this crossing ethical boundaries, we don’t know what they’re fully capable of or if they’d even be an asset to us. They might just be like the NDV, good for physical labor and simple scouting.” He didn’t look at Captain Iwakura. It wasn’t an insult but rather a harsh explanation of what the NDV was at the current time.

“We are losing this war,” she said darkly.

“He’s right, though, Captain-Commander,” Captain Hayashi joined. “I still know very little about the capabilities of Humans themselves, never mind FullBringing. Perhaps we should have Lieutenant Ueshima search for a capable FullBringer first and have her transported here and into my laboratories so I can conduct studies.” This was one of the few times the Captain had spoken respectfully and seriously.

“But that wastes time we’re not willing to waste,” Captain Hakkin added.

“I’d rather know what we’re working with than just jumping into something potentially harmful or unhelpful,” Captain Hayashi said back to her, keeping his level tone.

“Taiki, contact Yuzuki now and have her search for a FullBringer, any FullBringer, and tell her we’ll be summoning a Senkaimon within the day. If she does not have one by then, she will begin training humans into FullBringers,” the Captain-Commander decided. They were at a point in this war where decisions would be less ethical for the sake of effectiveness. Hopefully she struck a ground in the middle of what was of concern.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Resources

“Before I close this meeting, is there anything anyone needs for projects and missions they wish to accomplish?” She was growing tired of speaking. Or was she just literally tired?

“Captain-Commander, we’ve yet to meet a critical level but our medicinal herb rations have depleted a significant amount. I would just like to make you specifically aware of the effects this might impose upon the Division as a whole.” Captain Sato was not the only one to suffer limiting resources.

“Yes, we are all experiencing shortages of resources. I ask you and the rest of this council to not worry about such things until a time comes that I am worrying about them. Our rations will continue to diminish until this enemy is properly dealt with. But this is also the reason I wish to invade into the 22nd Western District.”

“Shanshutsu,” Captain Hakkin piped up. She preferred to call items their proper names.

The Captain-Commander only nodded politely at the girl.

“It won’t be enough," said Osamu, casually, quietly, evenly and surprisingly coldly. He waited for a moment before explaining further. “The farms in that district aren’t some magic bullet, and our needs will grow as we expand from absorbing back into our influence an unknown number of souls. Even if we can run the farms in that district at high efficiency we will still be notably under fed, not even touching on medicinal issues. Even in the best case scenario it will be over a year until we see a harvest and we cannot rely on the best case.” He seemed oddly neutral and nonchalant about the whole thing for now. He was simply laying out facts. Even he seemed just a tiny bit sullen.

"I think that goes without saying," Captain Hakkin added.

"But then what's the point of seizing this land?" asked Captain Sato.

Food was tightly rationed and Osamu knew this. Any irregularities in crops led to starving troops, and these irregularities were frequenting more as this war went on. Their main diet was that of vegetables, which did little to keep morale up. Water was in a similar state. Osamu did well in purifying the sewage throughout the Seireitei and upper districts. He could manage water to flow to the 4th and 10th Divisions, but it was still heavily conserved. Metal and other minerals were, of course, on the shortening side as well and he was finding it difficult to keep the reserves to a modest level. All the labor at his disposal did not make up for the fact that resources continued to deplete. This was something that affected everyone and Osamu took this issue entirely seriously.

“Many of you understand some of the problems we are facing but I doubt you know quite how close we have come to total disaster and how often we have come that close. We cannot rely on being able to meet our needs through expansion.” Pausing for another moment he subtle primed the Captains for his extreme request. “I need every land owner to cooperate with me, from a tiny back garden to the grand ornamental gardens of our wealthiest. Every piece of land, agricultural, industrial, decorative. Everything must be managed by the 10th.” He paused. He had considered going small, negotiating his way up in meeting after meeting, decade after decade but they could all be dead by then. A crisis loomed and he needed to try and sort it now.

"It's pretentious to believe we don't know our own circumstances and how grim they are," Captain Hakkin again added. She crossed her arms, visibly tiring Osamu's excessive speech.

"It's also pretentious to believe you're the only one who knows how to best utilize the available land," Captain Matsuoka noted and growing personally offended by such a request.

Osamu's words didn't surprise Yue in the least and confirmed her suspicions; he was an ambitious man. Different opinions were a given amongst a group of people but Osamu's were quite literally outrageous. In her mind, it was only something a dictator would demand, wanting something that obviously wasn't under his power. After a brief moment of wondering of whether Osamu realized the implications of his words, Yue abruptly spoke with her eyes glued to her tea cup. "I don't mean to antagonize you, Iwakura-san, but have you thought out the question of resources concerning the nobles through?"

Osamu's retort was short and to the point. "Yes." It was said simply and evenly. He could have elaborated but he didn't feel the need. No need to feed her points on which to disagree, he would let her do the work.

Osamu's response wasn't unexpected, only cementing solid the theory that he wanted power, no matter under what pretense. Did he really believe them so inefficient as to be unable to manage their own land? "Then you know that the noble houses aren't under your jurisdiction and you therefore cannot take control of their land, willingly or by force."

“I can take anything if it’s given to me willingly.” His point was slightly tongue-in-cheek but only ever so slightly. He had a robust sense of humor and was prone to self-deprecation but this topic was close to his heart. Leaning in he spoke more seriously. “I don’t need to take the land. I just need to control it for the duration of the occupation and the reconstruction period afterwards. To repurpose land that is wasted or used inefficiently, to grow and make what I need, what we all need and then send it to where it will do the most good.”

"And why are you the only one that knows how to properly distribute resources? That's been under the jurisdiction of the 3rd up to this point," Hakkin argued.

"But he's been organizing most everything else. Can't we trust his judgment and obvious skill?" Captain Maki piped up, backing Captain Iwakura.

Sighing in frustration, he leaned back in his chair. “I know the law as it stands does not allow me to compel this action. If I had that power I wouldn’t be asking. Even my emergency powers do not stretch that far. I am asking that those around this table who have the necessary influence ensure the law is changed or suspended so as that such behavior can be compelled. In the meantime, or should that prove impossible, I am asking the noble houses to voluntarily and temporarily forego their legal protection and privilege in this matter. For the good of us all.”

“Technically, you still can’t.” Yue didn’t bother elaborating further and instead turned ever so slightly towards Osamu, seated three people away. It was getting more tiring the more she spoke; she hadn’t counted on Osamu’s response and argument and had instead expected ignorance. Nevertheless, a small smile pulled at her lips. “How do you know that land is being wasted? Have you been to the Houses’ fields?”

Not waiting for an answer, she went on. “That’s the problem. While you may think we use it for growing flowers or something of the sort, it’s not. It’s not a matter of legal property more than it is for necessity. If they were indeed used for nothing or only a small portion, you could have had a justifiable argument but as of right now, you don’t. You saying ‘grow what I need, what we need’ is an invalid argument due to simply one thing: we’re using it. The noble houses don’t fall under the Gotei and therefore need to produce their own food to feed their own families, which usually span to around a thousand or so. How do you think we do that?” It was slightly ignorant to forego the families’ needs; Yue doubted he’d thought of the possibility that it was already being used, and to maximum efficiency. "You can't control what does not apply to you."

"But he knows this, which is why he's asking for cooperation," Captain Hayashi interjected.

"Why have they been so hidden throughout this war? We should at least know what they're up to," Captain Maki claimed.

Instead of arguing law, for which he had lawyers, he decided to challenge her on practicality. “I am the only person around this table who comes close to understanding the bigger picture here. I am the only person with the data. Even if every single noble devotes every single scrap of land to the war effort, a statement I know to be false, they can’t do it as well as me and my division. You do not have the requisition forms, you do not have the needs projections, you do not have national production data, you do not have my administrative expertise and staff, you do not have my techniques, you do not have my fertilisers and you do not know the plan. I have all of that, and more. Even if you are trying your hardest you are a lone, spinning cog that gets in the way of the machine built to save us, you included. Fit into the machine, you hurt us all by stepping out from it. Even now the machine feeds you, clothes you, and provides you with what tools and materials it can yet you bite the hand that feeds you.”

The other Captains remained quiet. It was clear he enjoyed hearing himself speak.

Growing more frustrated as he spoke, he leaned back and threw his arm up. “But as I said. I know not all nobles are as selfless as you are claiming. There are more noble houses than just your own and I know how much land every one of them owns and I know where that land is, some of it I can watch and what I see disturbs me. No noble house will let me in, let me know their needs and excesses, let me into their books yet they take what I offer, Yukihiro included. I don’t know everything I need to know but I know enough to know I need to act.”

He paused a moment, but it was known he was not finished with his speech. He leaned forward and placed his arms on the table. “As for your assertion this does not apply to me. As long as any war production goal is failed, a single soldier’s belly goes hungry, as long as disease threatens to purge our streets and men risk death by pneumonia, as long as walls go untended and as long as a single soldier wants for arms. Then everything is my concern.” He was not aggressive but, instead, convinced. His argument of morality was sound and could not go ignored.

He was arrogant to believe he knew what was best for the Soul Society. He seemed to believe that those who took “lesser” actions were less moral than he. Her mounting exasperation did not match her tone. “Think what you will. It’s your opinion after all. But the fact remains that you have no access to any major noble house and therefore cannot state whether or not they have the 'resources' you do. For all you know, we may have more than you. I really do wish you’d get rid of your view of nobles as surly old men drinking tea and surrounded by luxuries, because I assure you it is not. They’re noble for a reason, not for money or prestige. Do you think we’re incompetent enough to be unable to manage it as well as you possibly could? How have we survived since the creation of the Gotei, then?”

"She’s right. How can you make claims you have no evidence of other than the lack of appearance of something?" Captain Matsuoka said. "A lack of evidence does not make evidence."

Once again, she turned away to stared into her tea. It was almost over. “The noble houses are autonomous. There’s no need for national production data, requisition forms or needs projections. Don’t underestimate them, Iwakura-san, because you’re delving into something dangerous.” There was no threat, but her words momentarily lost their gentle touch. “We’re already separate from your ‘machine’, like we’ve always been. Of course they won’t let you into their ledgers, as you’re an outsider. A lone captain in a separate organization, with no ties. Why would they conform to your demands? No matter how much you want to change the law, a single House can exert more influence rather than you possibly can, to put it simply.”

His stern face and firm expression didn’t deter Yue in the least. She smiled in response, almost seeming happy. “Sadly, the noble houses aren’t your concern. I would suggest you look elsewhere but I have a feeling you don’t consider others’ opinions much.” At this point she paused and fixated Osamu with a determined yet knowing look. “The Yukihiro and Usagi provide an ‘army’ of sort to this war. Do you really want to compel them to withdraw?”

Osamu felt more disappointment than anger. Of course, he’d been brewing anger throughout this war but held it in quite well. He was disappointed in the waste of such potential and talent. Instead, she chose to wallow in the filth that was the stagnation of the current leadership.

He kept quiet and steeped his fingers before his mouth. Osamu maintained his composure and chose his words carefully. “I know you need me. Your family would beg for my food if I did not offer it. Your soldiers already beg with their eyes each time they see a food wagon go by. I know you are under producing, I can taste it. I can help, I want to help, but you won’t even tell me what you need. Nor will any noble house for what? Tradition? Law? Pride? Family? What good are any of these things when the whole soul society bleeds to death in the gutter? You call your selves noble, show some nobility!” Vitriol was starting to rise in him. It threatened to seep out from the corners of his mouth. But, as always he, stayed in check. “You forget, ruling is not why you are here, nor are you here to cower behind a shield of the past as the future tears towards you. You are here to serve! It’s about time the noble houses remembered that.”

Her assertion that they were separate from the machine further stoked Osamu’s fire. But, if anything, he calmed down. “You are not independent from the machine, it already feeds you and you would die without it. Do not pretend this is not the case. But it is not a one way street you must cooperate.” He trusted that the reason of this would be apparent to most everyone. As many resources as he needed, he needed the support of his “fellow” Captains to see his request be granted.

The face she pointed out he had no authority due to his lack of position and ties doomed her there and then. “A world where character and merit speak for nothing, a world where the birth of a man is more important than what he does, is that what we have built?” He was calm and even, still. He injected some sadness and resentment, however. He hoped this would solidify the other Captains positions against her.

Her statement the nobles were not his concern caused him to shake his head solemnly. “No, no man or family has ever been truly separate from the rest of us and now, more than ever, we are forced together. Every man woman and child in the soul society is my concern.” She was taunting him, mocking him with her smile.

Her point about an army though had some merit, their army was valuable or rather it could have been. But Osamu felt the need to draw the room’s attention to a simple point. “If the armies you mention think as you have been talking they are no soldiers of the soul society, they are not men to be relied upon. They do not fight in the name of anything worth fighting for, they fight for a family. They will do only what is in the families interest and nothing else. This makes them unreliable, un trustworthy, almost impossible to lead or coordinate by a man outside the family, liable to stop when it suits them, even betray the men around them. Such men are not soldiers particularly worth having.” Again, there was no anger, just a tone that conveyed fact and conviction with an odd sadness but no regret.

But there was something bigger he had to address. Turning to face the Captain-Commander directly, he said in a firm and instant tone that just toed on the right side of respectful. “Captain-Commander, pay close heed to what has been said by the Captain of the second. No land owned by a noble is to be even viewed, let alone managed by someone not of their blood. If you allow this to stand your assault on 22nd district will be an expensive waste of time and men, as will almost every other assault we will make in the predictable future. The noble families have legal claim to vast stretches of land and housing across the whole soul society and farm land will be their greatest holding. The farms in the 22nd district that you want to take, they own in the vast part. The mines and factories of the soul society are owned in greater proportion by wealthy industrialists, self-made men, but you can wager that the nobles will own at least some of it by purchase or marriage and we can’t afford for a single mine or workshop in our sphere of influence to come under the direction of anyone but ourselves. We do not have that luxury. If this is allowed, we will. Lose. This. War.” His opinion about their deserving to win the war went unsaid.

Repercussions

"That's enough," the Captain-Commander almost whispered. She then burst into a laughter that few had ever experienced. It lasted a touch longer than it should. She abruptly stopped, however, and glared at Osamu.

"What you say is treasonous. What you claim is treasonous. What you request is treasonous. I have every reason to commit you to the Central 46 with the information of this meeting solely. But that would be arduous and counter-productive." She took a deep breath as if she was already exhausted or that she was going to speak at length about something.

"I have experienced treason. I have experienced a civil war. I cannot allow that to occur again. I need complete transparency from you. I need to know who you've contact and when. I need to know what your men do and anything they've accomplished. I need all records of the NDV and records of verification on each individual. A fourth of the NDV will go to the 11th and 5th Divisions each. Another fourth will go to the Eighth. Food production and distribution will be reassigned to the Ninth, Sixth, and Third Divisions. All farms and plantations will be overseen by the 6th Division."

"Don't you think that's going a bit too far, Captain-Commander?" Captain Maki said. But it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

She looked around, her head pivoting slowly upon her ancient neck. "For purposes of my own, I have kept the following information from you. But since it has been brought up and scrutinized to the point of treason, I see no reason to keep it from you any further. The Noble Houses have been providing all the food they can and have been keeping them in stockpiles which will not be touched until I and the Central 46 deem it necessary to distribute them. I have requested that any information they provide only go to the Third Division which selectively provides such information to the Eighth. Only I know, in full, the production levels and amounts which have been stockpiled at this point. I have also gained permission of this mission and its secrecy from the Central 46." She needn't relay her permissions to the rest of them since she was the highest authority in the room. But she believed it would have put some minds at ease.

"Captain Hakkin, I want you to continue investigations of the Tenth Division as a whole. I need to be sure they are not performing suspicious activities." It was clear she was not to have further discussion on this matter.

He was frozen in rage. But he was also frozen in fear, something he’d little experience with. His brain fought against him in his need to stay composed.

“How dare you accuse of me of coming, even close, to betraying the only thing that ever mattered.” Again, he was silent for an eternity. “Worse still, how dare you do this to the countless innocents that will suffer and die as a result. Or do their lives not matter? Do you even see the chains that tie back to this room, this place? Can you even see the world as it is? Do you understand people at all? In this room I have been honest, open and forthright with you all. Trusting in the respect, openness and camaraderie in this brotherhood of Captains. A free flow of ideas and honest, healthy and open debate, all with the aim of saving the world. If I was a traitor would I discuss these matters openly in front of you? If I were a traitor I would be better at it than this.”

Again silence. Osamu leaned forward slightly. “Captain Commander, I urge you with all the sincerity at my disposal. Reconsider. You have made a mistake and far more men than me are going to suffer for it. Stop.” He had the desire to tear her down, not only her authority but also her body. He did all he could to keep it in. The Soul Society would not fare well without a dignified leader, no matter how mentally deficient.

She closed her eyes and smiled slightly. He was proud and she could respect that. "If you hadn't noticed, we are at war. We all know well how dispensable each of us is. Each commoner and each Noble is willing to sacrifice their well-being for the sake of the future of the Soul Society. It's best you remember that. If anyone is being selfish here, it's you. Now, please continue your tantrum in your own barracks before I'm forced to send you to the Central 46. I will await your files and resources to be distributed how I've previously described."

Closing

Captain Sato was appalled that his seemingly minute concern had escalated so quickly and violently. At least the true nature of one of his fellow captains had been revealed.
He shifted to indicate another item on his list. “I would also like to start training my men in higher levels of Kido. I request the Thirteenth Division to begin working more closely with the Fourth so they might learn some more useful techniques and better protect themselves on the field.”

“Very well, Captain Kawaguchi, I want you to be in contact with Rokuryou to schedule times within which his seated officers are to train with yours.”

She nodded both to the Captain-Commander and to Sato directly.

“Captain Kawaguchi and Iwakura’s men will head out to the western Haiiro no Kabe. Whatever Yue and Captain Kanashii can provide will arrive there for back up. Be in contact with Captain Hakkin at all times. Brief each other on finer points and have this mission end as soon as possible. Also, be in contact with Taiki and Captain Akiyama in the case they strike back elsewhere. Captain Hayashi, you are to work with both Lieutenant Ueshima and Captain Iwakura on the items of FullBringers and weaponization. Also, Captain Iwakura, your meeting with the Ishigawa is priority. Rokuryou, you keep on standby. Captain Matsuoka, I want you to contact the Houses as soon as possible and continue working on distribution of resources. Reference Captain Hakkin’s information if necessary. You are dismissed,” she said, turning her hand and motioning it toward them. “Captain Maki, I wish to speak with you in private.”

Akimoto was a touch surprised. He found it intriguing for Osamu to be leant more emergency authorities to his already abundant load. Akimoto would have thought that to be a relief to the Captain, but apparently not. What was he so desperately clinging to? Perhaps he held more pride in his occupation than Akimoto initially could discern. Perhaps there was an end he was attempting to reach. Still, he could not help but note Captain Iwakura’s sincerity. Hopefully the Captain-Commander wouldn’t follow through with any disciplinary action. Now was not the time to begin a civil war.

He could also not ignore the level of pride and even arrogance the Captain displayed quite openly. His opinions, also quite sincere, were troubling at the very least. He wished to not suspect Captain Iwakura of anything dishonest or even treasonous, but there was little evidence against it at this time. It was clear the Captain’s rage was held with a surprising degree of restraint, but again, the rage was sincere. It seemed he had some kind of utopia in mind considering his speech about the Ichigawa House. Why so much contempt for others’ competencies, or lack thereof?

He couldn’t bother himself with attempting to mediate the clear dispute against Captain Iwakura and the Captain-Commander, personally. There was clear bias on both ends and educating either side suggested ineffective at this time for him. Still, this was neither the time nor the place, not with the plans she had set into action. Action was needed, especially at this hour. Hopefully all would level out quite a bit for the Raid to prove successful. Furthermore, he was secretly thankful for the additional troops, regardless of their talents.

He rose with the rest of the Captains and bowed to them all at once before departing respectfully out the door. He wished not to bring up the elephant with anyone at this time. He had work to do. While Captain Iwakura met with the Ichigawa House, Captain Kanashii meeting with his son, and the rest of the Captains preparing for the Raid, he decided to make an immediate trip to the Academy.

“Sasayaki,” he addressed firmly as he exited the First Barracks.

“Ai,” he affirmed his presence before appearing behind the Captain’s right shoulder.

“Inform Third Seat, Nishimura Masaru, I am to inspect the Academy. All Shinigami are to be on stand-by for emergency commands.” He knew that would relay the fact that he’d be away for an indefinite amount of time and that he was to oversee the Division until then. He also knew that this slight command was asking a lot, considering their utter lack of numbers.

The Onmitsukido agent affirmed the message and disappeared to relay it.

“Lieutenant Ueshima,” he said soon after, knowing he was out of hearing range of others except the Hell Butterflies. Once he received her affirmation, he continued. “Yuzuki, you are going to be contacted by Captain Hayashi shortly. The Captain-Commander has ordered that you stand by in the case that the balance is threatened by our most recent plan of attack. Also, there will be plans for the FullBringers to come. I’m sure you’ve witnessed a least a few of them by now. Refresh them with any information you have gathered. I will brief you on the specifics later. All divisions are moving toward the execution of this Raid. Please, be safe,” he added rather unnecessarily considering her relatively safe surroundings.

“Kouta,” he then said as another Hell Butterfly fluttered closer.

“Yes, Father.”

“The Second Division’s Lieutenant and Captain Hakkin Kiyoko of the Eighth will be visiting the Dojo shortly to begin determining the best way to invade the 21st and 22nd Western Districts. Be ready with a sizeable group of NDV and Shinigami of the 10th to be sent to the proper locations. The battle should commence by tomorrow. Please, be safe,” he reiterated, suspecting Kouta to serve himself should the need arise. “Ai” was all the response he received.

He then performed proper Shunpo toward the Academy since it was much further away. He didn’t expect Captain Kanashii to arrive until after the Raid since Kanashii had a higher priority in the mission than himself. He was internally grateful for this. He felt himself stretched too far; however he placed himself as his troops. It seemed Captain Iwakura was able to think of his men as extensions of his hands, rather than his own hands.

“Captain Akimoto,” the students would say as he walked briskly through the corridors, bowing to each group deeply yet swiftly. He wished to make quick work of this “inspection.”

It was obvious his appearance at the Academy had been relayed soon after the meeting for most of the students and instructors had gathered into the courtyard at the center of the Academy. They bowed as the Captain neared and was returned when Akimoto reached the appropriate distance from them for it to be respectable.

The rest of the day was spent in detail about battle and the intricacies of fighting large groups rather than individuals. Of course, the former stemmed from the latter. Regardless, he sparred with many of the instructors, something he hadn’t done in quite some time. He was enthusiastic to physically train with other people. His socialization had decreased as the war prolonged. He was made to keep in his Barracks and work on paperwork most of the time if he was not preparing his own men, however marginally.

Late into the evening, Akimoto walked through the corridors and through the dormitories erected soon after the Invasion. He could tell many were affected by his Reiatsu which he worked to keep comforting instead of burning. It was unintentional, but he was persuading the students to like him, or at the very least feel comfortable around him. After he saw them off to bed, he returned to the Academy proper to speak with the instructors more formally.

In spite of his lack of talent of sensing Reiatsu, he could feel some of the students’ spirit and vitality when he used to frequent the compound. There was an utter lack of that now. He asked what was being done to prepare them for battle. The responses were merely that of combat and military tactics. It was more of a boot camp than actually a school. They weren’t learning about themselves and their brothers and sisters. They were learning about their common enemy and themselves. This was not bad in itself, but it didn’t create a sense of community that he believed was necessary during such times.

Throughout the day he was briefed on the most important matters concerning the impending Raid on the 22nd. It seemed there were several points around their current holdings which could be targeted for a counter-attack. They were working well toward securing the Western Districts, but it seemed that the other three regions would suffer protection. He couldn’t help but worry about an inevitable attack which would create a large-scale battle. He was not concerned about losing. No. He was most concern about the loss of men throughout the Gotei.

He met with the instructors personally after seeing the students to bed. The students seemed young and green to him. They also had an air confidence and zeal for battle. Perhaps this was the outweighing factor for their admittance. The instructors, on the other hand, seemed to be intellectuals of the Ichigawa House or elderly veteran from centuries past. This indicated to him the need for bodies throughout Soul Society. He wondered if their inability to physical present skills and tactics worked against the education of these students. Since Akimoto himself didn’t accept new Shinigami regularly, this was something he’d have to have the other Captains determine. Regardless, these instructors were knowledgeable and worked well to teach the students what they needed to know.

He asked for a syllabus in what the instructors taught, wondering what their programs were. He saw several items which could have been altered or omitted as well as some items which seemed to have been kept off the list. When he asked about these, he was given answers such as “there is not enough time,” or “it’s inefficient to teach.” They were valid arguments, but he didn’t believe them valid enough. Yes, they were teaching the basics and this would aid them tremendously on the battlefield, but there were intricacies missing. And they covered much of the philosophy of fighting, but that helped little with problem-solving. He scribbled these notes onto the syllabus so he’d know what to discuss with the Ichigawa Head as well as the Captain-Commander herself.

Since stepping in and changing much of the curriculum would be frowned upon, he left the Academy in the middle of the night to walk the quite alleys and byways of the Seireitei. He pondered on the new information concerning the Raid as it was discovered. They seemed to be making progress. He was externally relieved the plans were forwarding through without resistance, but his anxiety about their own organization and battle strategies grew. He could only mentally prepare himself for the battle to come.

“Kouta, sir, there’s a conflict in the courtyard.”

“Let them hash it out. Prepare for a meeting with Lieutenant Himura of the Second Division and Captain Hakkin of the Eighth. Now, Sergeant Takahashi.”

“Yessir,” he said apprehensively. There was not one conflict between the NDV and the Shinigami that he never intervened. They were growing less frequent but more violent, if arguably so.

The Dojo was always in a constant roar of men fighting and training. Arguments and shouting were a constant within the large, single-room building. He’d set up a sort of office upon the stage he used to instruct students upon. Now with all the need for organization and movement of troops, training was second to commanding. Of course, he was only following the orders of the Captains since he was technically not a part of the Gotei himself. The reason for this was personal, however, and most of the Captains appreciated his skill and aptitudes in combat.

A couple hours later and he’d received word his father had entered the Academy. He couldn’t help but think it was a minor effort over everything that needed to be done. He believed it should have been pushed back until after the Raid so all hands could work toward a successful victory. Nonetheless, the Lieutenant and Captain had arrived and it wouldn’t do well to dwell on his father’s personal matters.

Captain Hakkin and her personal team of informants had done well in discovering all routes of viable attack and defense all around the 22nd and 21st Districts of the Western Rukongai. It was clear that analyzing and comprehending tactical data was a skill she either held a tremendous talent for or had developed a powerful skill for it. She had also sent information to the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Divisions of the other Regions where the Whites were bound to attack. He considered the current displacement of the NDV and made a mental note to contact Captain Iwakura for orders of how to reorganize them.

A list of NDV members were provided to the Lieutenant and Captain before they left. It held a roster of the best, closest, and most available men he could provide them at the time. They thanked him for his services and he thanked them in kind. The meeting wasn’t very long but it was quite informative.

Preparations continued throughout the night and into the early morning. It was decided that this was the best time to attack. The drones created by the 12th Division was determined to be part of the Raid rather than utilized before it for the sake of speed and directness of said Raid. Hopefully it wouldn’t take more than five hours, for that’s all the resources they had planned to sustain the Raid.

The Second Division’s troops moved in swiftly and effectively with the drones. They picked up no additional signals of spiritual pressure outside of what they could sense themselves. Numerous nearby Whites, sensing the large influx in spiritual pressure by the Blacks, swarmed the area. Captain Kawaguchi moved in quickly to erect level 93 Bakuda spell meant to keep a single person confined to an impenetrable area. It had been modified to penetrate the ground as well as surround the large factory building. With that, few of the Second Division’s Protection Corps remained with Captain Kawaguchi while the 10th Division’s troops moved in to maintain their location.

Most of the viable routes determined by Captain Hakkin had been utilized and she clearly proved her ability to discern the tactical maps provided by Captain Iwakura. They held their position well enough to keep casualties to an understandable low.

After 4 hours of fighting, the White’s numbers continued to wane to a trickle. It seemed they weren’t determined to keep the position.

“Captain Akimoto,” Sasayaki appeared to him while he was speaking with some of his men personally. He bowed deeply short after.

“Yes, Sasayaki,” he said, unfazed by the lack of privacy. He was used to it during these times, not considering the fact he called for a lack of privacy himself.

“Raids have begun on point N-2, E-16, and S-7.”

There was a pause before Akimoto spoke. “Very well,” he said as he stood up, obviously prepared to fight. His third seat had been appointed to the station of S-7 and he wished to make sure he was well. He’d done well during Akimoto’s field trip to the Academy, from what he could determine.

Another Onmitsukido agent appeared soon after. “Captain Akimoto, Third Seat Nishimura has fallen and position S-7 has fallen to the Whites. Positions N-2 and E-16 are threatening to collapse as well. Captain Akiyama has been dispatched to the North and Nakamura to the East. Commands have been issued to acquire control over those positions again.”

His heart sank. “And what about the Raid on the 22nd?”

“They have been ordered to keep to their post. Captain Kawaguchi, Kanashi, and Iwakura are to remain there. You will be provided back-up shortly but you are to wipe them out as quickly as possible, as per the Captain-Commander’s commands.”

“Thank you,” he said to both of them before performing a proper Shunpo, which took up most of his focus. He was unable to properly depart from his conversation, but that was expected. He couldn’t even properly digest the idea of his Third Seat dying in combat. He was not appointed to the position hastily. The enemy was well-organize as had been his concern the entire time.

Now, three Captains were to be summoned to each Region to provide back-up support to each of those positions. They would later be dispatched to the other locations to secure those locations. Current information determined full assaults on those positions by the Whites and required immediate and heavy retaliation to re-secure them.

[Edgeworth]

So this is how it would be? His pleas falling on deaf ears, accused of the most heinous crime. No Captain speaking openly in his defence, with his strongest support being merely a plea for leniency. Referred to as a tantruming child when he had never even raised his voice. The smile of Kuroda as his gut was wrenched out would not leave his mind, nor would her vile and false words. Osamu was reminded briefly of the tale of Oedipus, most think of it as the story of a man who married his mother. Whilst true it was as much to do with the self-fulfilling prophecy. Kuroda’s words threatened to do much the same thing.

When Osamu walked into this meeting he was loyal, to the soul society, to her, to all the captains. He would have obeyed every order, perhaps not happily but he would have obeyed. What dissent he had would have been voiced openly and honestly, in the name of frank discussion and in the confidence of trust. When Osamu walked out of the meeting Kuroda had made an enemy where none existed before and his trust was gone. Not just for Kuroda, but for all of them. Osamu could no longer look at a Captain and implicitly trust him, have faith the man would defend or help him in even the smallest or most necessary degree. Before he had seen good men and women who, whether right or wrong, were at least trying to do the right thing. Now they were squabbling, scared, angry, stubborn and self-interested hypocrites. Perhaps this attitude would pass in time, perhaps not. For now he just had to supress his simultaneous urges to kill everyone else and himself. Oddly it was the same duty and loyalty that Kuroda denied that stayed his hand. He could not allow the soul society to fall solely into the hands of the men and women around that table, who either would not or could not do what was right. He had to live, he had to serve, if only to clean up their mess.

Still though he did not rest easy with it. The face of every captain at the fateful moment, was burnt into his mind. He could see them, in their every, tiniest facet. Their expression would live on in his mind, perhaps forever. He knew if they seemed shocked, disinterest or if they smiled. The smiles he would never forget. But for now he could not afford to make an open enemy of any of them. Partly because he would lose as things stood and partly because even if he won the soul society would be so weakened and distracted during the struggle that the hollows would rip them all to shreds.

So he just had to sit there and take it. He remained silent for the rest of the meeting, not even acknowledging Kuroda when she spoke directly to him. He was similarly silent when the meeting was called to an end and he walked out slowly. When he moved he moved as if in a dream, slightly detached, as if all of this was not quite real. The world began to sink in though, when he was outside, amongst the other Captains as he left the great tower. His number four was still there, waiting obediently. When his Captain appeared the man walked up briskly but before he could talk Osamu turned his head slowly to look at the shinigami, with an odd expression, forcing the man to come to an uncertain halt. There was an odd lopsided smile on his face, but it was empty and dead. His eyes expressed a worrying sense of knowing flecked with an odd sadness.

“Sir?” Asked Osamu’s number four, hesitantly. All the other captains were still around, aside from those who had remained inside or who had been particularly keen to get going. Pausing for a few moments Osamu eventually said in level, empty tones.
“Suppose there’s no sense in sugaring the pill. We have had a degree of authority stripped from us, our commander and noble houses have been lying to us for some considerable time and for seemingly no reason other than greed and paranoia and, oh yes. We have been accused of treason.” His subordinates jaw practically hit the ground, he almost staggered under the shock of it.
“Treason! But don’t they… but were…” Whereupon Osamu cut him off.
“Innocent?” He gave a low, empty chuckle. “I don’t think that matters quite as much as it used to anymore.”
“So what are going to do sir?” His number four still sounded shocked and appalled, even disbelieving that all of this was going on.
“I’m not entirely sure yet number four.” It was an odd trait of Osamu that he referred to his most senior staff by number, not by name. It was an odd form of endearment really. “But at this rate they will have our heads on spikes very soon, the whole division, food for the crows.” There was an odd moment before he added a tad more quietly. “And plenty more besides.”

Walking a few paces forward Osamu seemed to stretch before putting both hands behind his back, as he often did. “I do know this number four. We might not have long left, so let’s try and do some good whilst we still can.” He was smiling again, slightly wryly but you could tell there was no joy behind it. “Once we’re gone the 13 divisions won’t exactly have many good men left so we had better get busy.” Osamu then began slowly striding away, both hands still behind his back whilst his subordinate still just stood there. His subordinate only moved when Osamu called out in a strangely empty yet genuine voice, the words he so often said. “Come along. We have a civilisation to save.”