The meeting to debate and decide upon the candidates for the new members of the Central 46 had just been called to a close. This time Lady Shiba had spoken out against some of the candidates presented by the shadow cabal trying to attain power in Seireitei. She had access to information from outside of the walls that even Byakuya Kuchiki had not, and had shot down three candidates in a row on the basis of them violating one of the major rules of Seireitei... no nobleman was to directly interfere in events and circumstances out in Rukongai, excepting where it directly affects his/her Family and Clan. There was indirect involvement aplenty and there always had been, but direct involvement was forbidden. A noble could not, for example, own and operate a mine staffed with poor starving children from Rukongai and keep all of the profits and treasures for the benefit of his house (which had been what the first candidate had done). They could not own sweat shops where helpless rukongai orphans were forced to labor at making materials for the benefit of one man or Family.

The rules often existed for a reason. Many were the people who lived outside the walls who likely saw the nobles living inside the walls safe, well fed, and never lifting a finger to aid those outside the walls, but there were reasons for that. Nobles were born into the Seireitei mainly because they had spiritual power, granted, there were those on the outside who were born with it, but in comparison to the number of souls who came into soul society outside of the gates who did not posses spiritual power, their number was very small. If one wanted to look at it one way, Seireitei acted as something of a quarantine zone, keeping those with great spiritual power from inadvertently hurting those souls with little spiritual power. Direct interference was forbidden because it was too easily taken advantage of. If the ambitions and desires of the few were not reigned in tightly by Laws that held the powerful accountable, it was the many who would suffer. That was the rule that Kuchiki lived by and believed in.

:And those rules must be obeyed, to the letter,: he reminded himself sternly, ignoring, by dint of long practice, the pang of regret.

:He made his decision. He knew what the consequences would be when he abandoned his post in the middle of war-time to go and protect Rukia in her journey to Hueco Mundo and he made his choice to go regardless. It is my duty as a Captain of the Court Guard Squads and a nobleman to uphold the Seireitei Law.:

That did not necessarily mean that he had liked what Law had forced him to do. It was easier to see the look of dejection (if not regret) and sorrow on the face of a man who had snapped at his heels for decades than it had been to watch his sister accept her condemnation... but not by much.

He had not developed a soft spot for his erstwhile young former lieutenant; his voice was loud and his accent inelegant (and he refused to drop that awful street-cant of his) his manners unrefined, his attitude at once too cheerful and a trifle too defiant. Renji Abarai might defer to Byakuya Kuchiki as his captain, and to a degree to him personally because of their differing stations, but Kuchiki had the measure of the man... even when Renji bowed his head, his back was straight. He might be forced to defer to him, but Renji would never be cowed. Abarai respected Kuchiki, but only because he felt that Byakuya was naturally a man who deserved his respect. The redhead was a little intimidated by him, but only enough to make him wary of crossing his superior. If he weren't dense as a rock, Renji might have made a worthy opponent. As it was, their strange relationship relied on a great deal never being openly said or acknowledged to work. Reni's real ambitions (ie. his feelings for the younger, adopted Kuchiki sibling) were among those things not openly spoken of.

:As it stands at this moment, I'd arrange a match between them myself if it meant that I would not have that man with a way into the Kuchiki Clan,: Byakuya Kuchiki thought, his neck muscles tightening in anger at the thought of the viper trying to invade his nest.

Sakujun Gendai, the young man who was heir-apparent to the leadership of the Gendai Clan until the sword sang out the legitimate successor, was a man that Byakuya Kuchiki considered an enemy. The man was not aware that Byakuya considered him so, for he was very careful to hide his feelings (and when a Kuchiki hid their feelings they stayed hidden!). As it stood, the young man thought that he was currently running a successful campaign to arrange a marriage-alliance between himself and Kuchiki's younger sister. Sakujun thought he had every advantage and negotiated on an equal footing with him (and certainly those foolish Clan Elders approved of the match), he thought that Byakuya Kuchiki reluctantly but silently approved of the match because of the man's carefully cultivated reputation. He did not know that Byakuya Kuchiki would slit his own throat before he would let that two-faced conniving wolf marry into a position of privilege within his own Clan, and certainly not to his wife's little sister, whom Hisana had asked him to protect.

:It is a bit of a tricky situation,: he mused to himself.

In order to shoot down the match, as he had every intention of doing (Sakujun could marry his sister only over his own dead body, and the Head of Clan Kuchiki knew for damned certain that if Sakujun could have contrived it, he would have done so) Byakuya Kuchiki had to have a good reason for doing so, and the clever little bastard had not presented him with one yet. He had acted every inch the well-raised, gentleman of good breeding. There were no indiscretions, no troubling rumors to trace back to him. There was no reason for the Head of Clan Kuchiki to object, not overtly, and there was not a better match for her anywhere else either. The man was a scion of one of the noble clans, a man of good standing and good breeding with impeccable references of character. Byakuya Kuchiki loathed him, and it looked like the match would have to go through unless he found a reason to prevent it. Since the man wasn't likely to slip up and reveal what even Byakuya Kuchiki only suspected was there rotting beneath the surface of that urbane mask, then he might be welcoming in a new little brother.

Byakuya Kuchiki knew that the moment he had the viper under his roof, the snake would set his designs on finding a way to get rid of the Head of Clan Kuchiki.

:I wonder if I might subtly hint that she could run away with Renji again,: he thought in private amusement.

He'd never actually do it of course, bending the rules when it came to the Soul Reapers was different from violating the rules of inter-clan marriage arrangements. Taking advantage of his young former-Lieutenant's overwhelming loyalty to his sister to ensure that she had someone to watch her back in a war-zone (and he refused to feel guilty for doing so) was vastly different from manipulating that same loyalty and the deep love that he knew Renji felt for Rukia to Kuchiki's own purposes. For one thing, if the two of them eloped it would bring dishonor on both her and the family; Rukia wouldn't allow that even if Renji would, and Byakuya would be honor-bound to stop them, even if he didn't really want to.

:But just about anyone would be preferable to her marrying that Sakujun Gendai,: he thought to himself in carefully concealed frustration.

It was a quandary. Fortunately it was one that could wait, and perhaps would not even be a problem at all. After all, the man had yet to present himself officially to Byakuya to request permission to court his sister with intention to wed, perhaps something more advantageous might come along. It wasn't likely however, even if it was by mere adoption, Rukia was currently the second in line with regards to position within the Clan and if Sakujun married her, he would receive the same standing as his wife. Still, there was time. No official movements had been made, Byakuya still had time to confirm what he only suspected about the man. And if his intuition was correct... they had a score to settle.

Shiba had just shot down the last candidate for the evening and the council called to adjourn by the speaker, when the chambers resonated with the deep and joyous sound of a gong ringing out. Kuchiki felt the power of Earth thump through him at the first note that sounded, fading to a wash of sensation at each succeeding peal. Genbu had Spoken! The successor to the name and, more importantly, the Power of Gendai had been Chosen. He glanced quickly over to Shihouin and Shiba to ascertain whether they too had sensed it, and saw from the incredulous and relieved expressions they wore that his assessment was not mistaken.

Byakuya Kuchiki then looked to the north, where the members of the House Gendai and all of its vassals were seated. Seated, in this case, would be a relative term. All of them down to the last man had shot to their feet at the sound of the gong going off, announcing the the Head of Clan Gendai had been Chosen (and without any of them there to greet him properly too!) Rohku Gendai was shouting above the general pandemonium that ensued every lord and nobleman scrambling from thier place to get out as quickly as possible to see who it was that had become the legitimate successor. The reactions (aside of surprise and confusion as each asked a neighbor who it could possibly have been since any noble with even pretensions to Gendai blood were all within the council chambers) ranged from joyous with relief to irritated at missed opportunities. Byakuya Kuchiki focused on one face in particular, wanting, in this one unguarded moment when all was chaos, to confirm something to himself. He watched the face of Sakujun Gendai, the heir presumptive (until the moment that the sword sang) to the leadership of Clan Gendai.

If ever there was a moment that his true face would be revealed it would be this moment. He was an adept politician, and infernally clever as well, he might hide behind that mask of noble urbanity but Byakuya Kuchiki had always sensed the jaws of a hungry predator in him. Jiroh Gendai had died "by the machinations of a man who had poisoned himself in a fit of guilt over his actions," when the attempted coup fell through leaving the Clan (oh so coincidentally!) without an heir. In the aftermath of the struggle to cleanse the household of the rebels, this man had shown up from one of the estates in the countryside that housed cadet (and therefore unimportant) branches of the family. He had helped his grand-uncle, Rohku, to clean house, and stayed behind to help the aging man run the family. At all times he had been beside and slightly behind the throne making sure that matters were run smoothly and well. He was above suspicion, his actions, however minor, the epitome of nobility and familial duty, completely above reproach. And yet...

:There you are,: Byakuya Kuchiki thought with a grim satisfied triumph.

It had been little more than a flicker. His face had paled with thwarted rage, his mouth twisted into a repressed snarl of pure hatred, his eyes narrowed, turning cold and dead. His fists clenched, one of them had made and aborted movement toward a hidden dagger.

There was the face of the man who had manipulated a faction consisting of a third of his family into a murderous slaughter of a further half of the Gendai Clan (in their beds, many of them helpless women and their infant heirs) then ruthlessly and tidily led a man-hunt by the rest to "exterminate the rebellion." All so that he could move into his current position. He was the man responsible for the assassination of Jiroh Gendai, Byakuya's friend.

:We have a score to settle, you and I,: he thought at the face of the traitor.

In his life Byakuya Kuchiki could count the number of people whom he truly considered to be a friend to him on one hand and still have fingers to spare. As unlikely a type of man as Jiroh had been for the position, Byakuya had held him in high esteem. His loss was one that bothered the Head of Clan Kuchiki to this day. On that night when he held the cooling body of a man whom he had called friend and thought of as an older brother in his arms he had sworn that he would find the man responsible and bring him to face justice. After many decades, he now at last knew for certain what he had only slowly come to suspect... he knew the face of his enemy. It would not be long before he would have his sword at that man's throat.

"You saw him," Byakuya asked of a nearby shadow.

"I did, Byakuya-bo," the shadow confirmed, solidifying into the kimono-clad form of the Head of Clan Shihouin.

Her husband stood beside her, looking as unkempt and utterly brilliant as he always did.

"The nerve of him," another voice, feminine but rough and fierce, said scornfully.

"Not very bright of him to leave the old man alive in his little coup I gotta say," the Head of Clan Shiba commented as they all of them watched their target's face come back under his control with all the seasoned aplomb of a noh actor putting on his mask.

"He most likely thought that the whole "singing sword" business was nothing more than a bit of mummery that clan heads indulged in before anointing their successors. Joke's on him that it's serious business. Serves him right that he couldn't get appointed the legitimate successor without it," Shiba said, with satisfaction.

In all the long history of Seireitei, no-one had ever been allowed to assume the position of Head of a True First Noble family without the Clan Sword singing for them.

"Shall we go see who the new sucker is that got picked?" Yoruichi asked, ostensibly to her husband, but also to the other Clan Heads.

They might pretend otherwise, but he knew that they were as relieved as he was to have that final position filled. Byakuya Kuchiki had worried about that vulnerable, open spot on the north of their Circle. Now that the sword had at last sung, it would not matter if one of the Old Powers rose, they would have the manpower to deal with it, as the Noble Clans had always done.

With a look and a gesture he had a few of his house guard to escort his younger sister home, then left with the rest of the Heads of Clan to welcome their fourth member into their circle. They let the flowing crowd of the nobility of the north carry them along without fuss. The members of the lesser nobility milled about speculating and debating over just whom it might be, they knew that the nobles of the Main House would announce the legitimate successor from the south balcony over the wall of their estate once they had confirmed his or her identity, but it was still fun for them to speculate. Most thought that it must be some child gotten on a woman of the nobility in secret (Jiroh had been notorious for being in and out of the beds of the daughters of the lesser houses... and the wives too!) then passed off as the son of the man they were already married to.

"What do you think of that?" Yoruichi asked of Kuukaku indicating the speculations.

"Possible," the eldest of the Clan Heads, Lady Shiba, replied in a considering tone. "You know the boy loved his women."

"Frequently and with enthusiasm is what I'd heard," Yoruichi said with a crooked grin.

The two of them shared a very female look, and Byakuya vowed then and there he was never going to speculate or bring it up. Ever.

"But why wouldn't this prodigal progeny of his have come forward sooner?" Yoruichi wondered. "I can see why he wouldn't have moved right away seeing as there had just been a violent upheaval in his Clan, but why not come forward after all of the supposed "rebels" had been dealt with? The only thing he accomplished by waiting was for that man to get all of his people put into place."

Byakuya Kuchiki nodded agreement with what she had not bothered to take the time to say out loud. The new legitimate successor had just become, in essence, the new target on the haystack. He wouldn't have a cadre of personal guards whom he could entrust with his life to protect his back, and anyone that was assigned by House Gendai (and essentially by Sakujun Gendai) would probably take the first opportunity to stick a knife in it.

:Most likely one of us will have to "take him in for training in his duties" or some other such pretext to get him out of harms way while Rohku Gendai is able to select his personal guard.:

Mostly, the Four Noble Houses never interfered in the doings and machinations of the others, save through marriage alliances and the like, taking such a step in the training and education of a member of a noble house was unusual, and perhaps a bit insulting to that house, but these were desperate times. The other three clans could ill afford to wait another decade or two for another legitimate successor to appear if this one got killed off. Most likely it would fall to him to take in the new kid and show him the ropes. Despite the Wind Clan and the Earth Clan (Kuchiki and Gendai) being absolute opposites, fully as much as fire and water were, his was the one that had the best relationship with them.

"What's he going to be like I wonder," Yoruichi said softly.

"Keh," Kuukaku Shiba scoffed at this. "You know as well as I that Clan Heads run to a type, the sort that our true masters always look for."

Byakuya allowed himself a small smile at this. Yes certainly Clan Heads were nearly always direct descendents, but not always. Byako, Guardian of the Winds, had skipped a generation when he had passed over Byakuya's father for himself. The Guardians all Marked their Chosen based on the fibre of the soul, on those whose inner nature and temperament was a match for them. They never picked falsely, this was a truth that the Seireitei was built on.

Byako, the Guardian of the Winds tended to chose a type that ran to the icy calm, the coolly intellectual. Mutable Seiryu, the Guardian of the Waters, whose very nature was change, chose from those of a more playful and capricious nature. Fiery in all of its meanings, Suzaku, Guardian of the Flames, chose those whose temperaments and personality reflected the flickering explosive nature of its element. And Genbu, Guardian of the Earth, chose those of great love for the earthy delights, not just of flesh or food or comfort, but most notably of the fine steel of the warriors arts. Wind, Water, and especially Fire might epitomize the warriors arts in thier own ways, but if one wanted and enemy pounded flat until it could not move any longer... one called in Genbu's Chosen and let him go at it.

"He'll be a brawler, just like his father," Yoruichi predicted with a note of wry resignation in her tone.

Once upon a time, she had enjoyed playing games of catch as catch can with the Gendai too, but in his methodical plodding way he had been more immune to her attempts to drive him crazy that the then-young and temperamental heir-to-be of Kuchiki. Gendai was the clan of the ground fighters, the warrior-chosen, blessed with raw physical strength and endurance. Where the other Clans were known for their skill at kido, or flash-step (or the ninja-assassin skills of the Shihouins) or tactical brilliance, Clan Gendai had raw physical power and all the physical endurance of a mountain.

"So then, I take it the former master found a woman from Eleventh Squad," Urahara joked from behind his fan.

"Are there even women in Eleventh Squad?" Shiba questioned.

"Yes," Yoruichi, said ending with the punch-line to the old joke. "But they are indistinguishable from the men."

It was with light spirit then that the four of them approached the gates to the Man House of Gendai and were let in as a matter of course (for who would want to offend all three Clan Heads) by a harried-looking servant. The place was in an absolute uproar, people, both dressed in the livery of servants and dressed in the finer robes of their masters, scurried hither and yon shouting out orders and questions both that were disregarded in the general melee. After a few long moments of letting the chaos flow around them, the party of four managed to glean enough information from the general babble to make sense of things a little.

"Well, now that is unexpected," Urahara said, sounding deviously amused as always.

"My my," Yoruichi shared a smile with her husband.

The demon-cat had truly found her match with that one, only a man like that and a woman like that would find a situation like this to be fun. Kuchiki frowned.

"We all heard the bells toll, the main gong of Gendai's inner Sanctuary definitely rang out the announcement of the legitimate successor..." Kuchiki said, trying not to sound uncertain.

They had all definitely heard it. And as the Heads of the Clans they had also felt it as well, deep within the separate sanctuaries of their clans they had each felt their Clan Sword react to the choosing of the legitimate successor of Gendai. They knew that one of the four sacred relics within the shrine, one for each of the clans, had rung out the choosing of the new successor.

But according to the rest of the household, when they had entered the sanctuary to discover who it was that the sword had sung for, the shrine had been empty. There had been no-one about and though the sword had sung, the person who had made it sing was not to be found. The ribbon that had sealed the sword shut for decades had been untied on the floor, conclusively evidencing the fact that there had been someone there and that someone had woken the sleeping relic. Right now it was pandemonium as people looked frantically about for who it might have been, questioned the servants about who had been let into the shrine that day.

"Huh, it doesn't look like we'll accomplish anything here then," Yoruichi murmured with a shrug. "I suppose we'll just have to wait until they figure it out."

She grinned over at Byakuya.

"Or... you could just set that strong young lieutenant of yours and his sensitive nose on the hunt, and track the culprit down!"

"That's former lieutenant," he corrected stiffly.

Part of him was still twinging at the necessity of stripping the young man of the rank Kuchiki knew that he had worked so hard to attain. Byakuya knew that part of the reason why he had felt guilty was because the necessity of doing so was partly (somewhat) his own doing. The Head of Clan Kuchiki had known that Rukia would go, even if he hadn't subtly helped her along, but as her older brother (who could not interfere in her decisions as a Soul Reaper) he had not wanted her to go alone to face danger and death so he had given his little hint while his Lieutenant was in ear-shot, perfectly well aware that Renji's first loyalty would always be to Rukia, and that if she was going in to face danger then he was going to be right there beside her. Byakuya had known this perfectly well, had counted on their bond to relieve his own conscience. That was why it was trying to bother him now, even if he had known that Renji would not let Rukia go alone, he had also known that he would have to punish his lieutenant for his actions, and yet he had used him anyway.

:Of course, in a way, I suppose I am paying for it too,: Byakuya thought to himself.

His current lieutenant was somewhat incompetent and had gotten the position because Clan Kuchiki owed his family a favor. Byakuya Kuchiki personally suspected that Morii Korin's loyalties lay elsewhere. He didn't like or trust the man, but he couldn't afford to replace him right away either. Morii Korin was no great leader of men, but when it came to manipulating bureaucracy, he was a veritable wizard. The fact remained however, that even if Byakuya was forced by necessity to leave the day-to-day running of the squad to him while he attended these important meetings, he still didn't feel the man could be fully trusted. Sometimes, one reaped what one sowed.

"So you really did demote him..." Yoruichi said. "Rukia mentioned you had. She seemed upset about it."

"It was necessary," Byakuya replied, ignoring another minor little pang at the mention of his sisters upset. No doubt she took the guilt for that one onto herself too.

"I've met the boy a time or two," Shiba said unexpectedly. "He didn't seem to me to be the sort of man who stayed down for long."

"He has already accepted his next mission," Kuchiki said.

"Was that a note of pride I heard in his voice?" Yoruichi asked Kuukaku.

"It sounded like it to me," the Shiba agreed.

"I second the opinion," Urahara chimed in.

"It's settled then, Byakuya-bo is definitely proud of his subordinate."

To deny it would make them tease him more, to confirm it would not shut them up either, so Kuchiki said nothing save

"He is under orders from Fourth to be given light missions for the next while. He pushed his bankai to the limit during the last battle and his spiritual pressure has yet to recover, no matter what he says."

"And he's still so new to bankai too," Yoruichi confirmed the medical assessment. "He uses it like it's no big deal to him, but overuse when developing skills can strain muscles. Captain Unohana's right to be cautious right now. The last place Abarai needs to be is in an active battle zone."

"Thank you for your words of advice, but I am perfectly well ware of the needs of my subordinate squad members and can run my squad perfectly well," Kuchiki said stiffly.

He decided to ignore the little voice that cautioned him that he had been forced to turn over the day-to-day running of his squad to his new Vice Captain for the duration of the Seireitei Council Meetings to decide upon the new members of the Central 46. Kuchiki had not seen the inside of his own office for nearly a week, and would not be within his squad hall for anything barring an emergency. He would have to trust to his fearsome reputation and his new Vice-Captains (hopefully) impeccable skill at managing people to keep order in Sixth while he was gone.

That really, really bothered him.

"So I assume you've assigned him to paperwork then," Shihouin said.

"A light-mission in the mortal realm. Sixth has a new batch of raw, untested recruits that require further training than the very basics supplied by the academy. It will keep him busy."

Busy and out of public scrutiny. In this case Byakuya wanted his hot-tempered young lieutenant out of the way of possible harm... more out of concern for anyone foolish enough to pick a fight with Abarai than worry over Renji's well-being. Out of sight and out of mind would be the best solution all around, at least until Renji had finished licking his wounded pride. The demotion had dealt a demoralizing blow to the young man, and Byakuya wanted to give him time to recover from it without any outside interferrence. Once Renji was feeling better he could start to engineer the young man's career to suit Byakuya's designs for him, but until then, having the young man tucked safely out of harms way keeping busy at tasks he was suited to was the best think he could think of to do with a strong (even admittedly somewhat talented) fighter that was probably nursing a chip on his shoulder.

"Is that so?" Urahara asked, eying him keenly.

"The running of my squad and the doings of its members are not your concern. We should be trying to find out who the new Gendai Clen Head is," Kuchiki reminded him.

"I don't think we'll be finding out anything in this mess," Shihouin said, gesturing at the pandemonium going on around them.

"I suppose we shall simply wait until the announcement is made," Kuchiki said, pivoting on his heel and walking off.

"You're no fun, Byakuya-bo," Yoruichi called after him. "You should set your blood hound on the chase."

Now he would certainly do nothing of the sort. Besides, relations between him and his former lieutenant were... strained. They'd never been bosom companions before (and Byakuya was actually glad of that fact) but they'd understood one another. Kuchiki liked to think that even if Renji carried a grudge, he at least understood the reasons behind what he had done as a captain. Even so, Byakuya couldn't see himself personally walking up to the sulking young man and requesting personal favors right then. Renji would probably just happily turn him down anyway.

Besides, as the House in question, the right to discover thier own legitimate successor rightfully belonged to Clan Gendai.