(AN: I deeply apologise for the long wait.. I have tons of excuses but no reasons)
Chapter 3
Dear Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni
Gintoki Sakata is making grate progress in his training. He was already an expert with the sword when he arrived so we only trained him for about 2 mounts before he could hold his own against captain Kyoraku and beat me.
The 2nd squad's 3rd seat got the main duty of training him in hand-to-hand combat. It took Sakata a bit under 8 months to reach expert level. He has a talent for hand-to-hand combat according to the 3rd seat. He is now able to hold his own against captain Shihoin's bodyguard, Soi-Fong in sparring without use of weapons on either side.
His spell-training also went flawless, he can now use spells in 40-level without incarnations, and use spells in the 80-level with incarnations, although, he hates to memorize the incarnations. The power behind the spells are on the level of a vice-captain's.
He newly got to know the name of his soul slayer, its name is, if my memory serves me tight,"Ginsui". Literally meaning "silver water" and is a water soul slayer. He's currently training with captain Kyoraku, who have studied water soul slayers just in order to help Sakata train. Sakata is not too found of this power, as he prefers to fight close range battle but he says he'll master it. When he has reached expert level with his soul slayer's first release ability captain Kyoraku and I will bring him to the first held captain's meeting.
13th squad captain Ukitake Jushiro
.~8~.
There was a wide field just outside of district 33 which was often used for training. The field had relatively tall grass, few trees and a surprisingly large amount of boulders.
This training ground was currently occupied by aspiring soul reaper Sakata Gintoki and the two captains who were put in charge of his training. Yes, you guessed it, Ukitake Jushiro and Kyoraku Shunsui.
"One last time and I think we're done!" Shunsui yelled to a very wet Gintoki with an odd looking jutte in his right hand. The jutte had a traditional katana hilt with pale platinum colored metal and deep ocean blue threads. The weapon in itself had no sharp edges and was the same platinum color as the hilt and guard.
"Shure thing, Pinky!" The soaked apprentice yelled and fired consecutive and warying amounts of water at different boulders and even some of the flying pieces of newly shattered boulders.
Shunsui smiled a little smile before he yelled "OK, that's it, your training is done and you will be assigned a squad during the next meeting, Juu'll get one of his 3rd seats to get you!"
Gintoki showed his thumb to them and started to walk home.
"He's going to blow up something during the meeting, right?"
"We'll see, Juu, we'll see…"
.~8~.
Right after he started his training Gintoki got a little flat in the 18th district. This is where he was headed now.
It was not the largest apartment. It wasn't the most fancy one either, but it had all he needed except for one thing. It had nothing to soothe his feeling that something was off. It was not like he had any proof or any reason to me suspicious at all, it was just a feeling. A smell in the spiritual atmosphere if you like. It smelled like blood, war and despair.
It reminded him of a feeling he had when he was a child. It reminded him of the smell in the air right before the war reached his childhood village.
He shook his head and turned the key. He would investigate another day…
.~8~.
He grumbled all the way to the meeting the next day. The overenthusiastic 3rd seats had woken him from his peaceful slumber 3 hours before he had planned to wake up.
Seriously, he bathed, dressed ate and went to the 1st squad barracks with 2 ½ hours to spare and the annoying 3rd seats refused to let him leave the waiting room. Seriously, 2 ½ hours of empty nothingness.
He used that time to do something he never really did. He thought and he planned. He thought about the past and planned when he would do research and when he would investigate the odd and uneasy feeling lurking underneath his skin.
It wasn't before 15 minutes before the meeting started that he was thrown out of his train of thought by an old man with unbelievably many wrinkles. He had a nearly fully closed uniform. The complete opposite of Gintoki's extremely reveling uniform. The man also had a white haori with a cobalt blue lining. He had a pale blue muffler which totally hid any and all skin beneath his neck. He also wore black hand guards and his hair gray hair was pulled back by hair gel.
The man behind him was more bland. He had plain black hair, a plain soul reaper uniform and a plain katana. The only noticeable feature about him was the kenseikan in his hair.
Gintoki lifted his hand in a silent greeting and received a skeptical look as thanks from the old man.
The next duo was a mean looking woman with black and gray hair in a knot. She dragged a man with long blonde wavy hair after her by his ear. By the look of it the man was a captain.
After that the captains and vice-captains arrived in quick succession, the last one being Shunsui who arrived just as the doors opened.
"Follow me Gintoki, and stand behind my vice-captain." He quickly but calmly instructed as they walked through the massive doors.
The room on the other side of the door was massive, the distance between the celling and floor being at least 6 meters. The walls were a lovely shade of burgundy and the floor was yellow-ich wood. The middle of the wall opposing the entrance was pale yellow. In front of this piece of the wall stood an old man with the longest beard ever. He was totally bald, had the eyebrows of a saint and the scars of a veteran. He wore the standard uniform and a captain's haori. He leaned heavily on a wooden cane.
The captains lined up in two tidy lines on either side of the old man with their respective vice-captains two meters behind them and Gintoki half a meter behind Shunsui's decisive black haired vice-captain with short hakama, glasses and an unhealthy reading obsession.
The first half of the meeting proceeded in a calm and boring manner. The topics discussed were everything from "the 11th squad destroyed…" to "give us less paperwork bloody sadistic arseholes!"
Then finally just when Gintoki thought he could fall asleep standing the old man with the cane said: "And today's last topic is the topic of Gintoki Sakata. As you may remember we discussed a promising swordsman in the 78th district some time back. Now he is done with his training and will take a place in one of the squads. Captain Kyoraku, captain Ukitake, what rank do you think he is worthy of?"
Both Shunsui and Jushiro took two steps towards the middle of the rows and turned towards the supreme leader of the Gotei 13.
"He is of high ability, he could certainly be a 2nd or 3rd seat, but he is lazy and will most certainly try to escape from his paperwork." Jushiro reported. "I would say he's suited for the 11th squad… but I would like to have him as my vice-captain."
A hush fell over the room. Everyone was staring at Jushiro except for Shunsui and the captain-general. Shunsui looked thoughtfully at the roof and the captain-general looked at Jushiro with an almost bored expression. "Give me your reasons." He demanded.
Jushiro squared his shoulders before he started to speak. "He has the fighting ability of a vice-captain, he has the brain of one and my squad needs a vice-captain. Especially with my… Regular absences."
The room entered a one minute period of silence before captain-commander Yamamoto broke it. "Very well. Starting tomorrow Sakata Gintoki will serve as the vice-captain of the 13th squad. Dismissed!"
(AN: I will try to update more often than once every half-year... promise...)