Aspect of Blades
A Bleach fanfic
Chapter 37
Ichigo's POV
-zanpakuto speaking in the inner world
-zanpakuto speaking outside the inner world
-Ichigo's Thoughts or speech in the inner world
"Yamamoto-taicho, I'm here to report the current movement of the Bounts," Soi Fon says. I nod, ready for her report. It's been a week since I got stuck in the Fourth, and I'll be here for another week most likely while I finish my recovery. I'm getting my new leg to work properly for the most part, and that will likely take at least a week, maybe more while I adjust.
"Very well," I say when she doesn't continue. "But first, why did your messenger come to me?" I ask, wondering why the soutaicho didn't know of the attack first.
"Standing orders. When a major incursion is confirmed, the combat divisions are contacted before any others. The Eighth and the Eleventh were the only ones not deployed at the time, so the messenger came to you and Zaraki first. We need a swift response to such attacks, and reporting it to the soutaicho first would have slowed the response, costing thousands of souls, most likely," Soi Fon explains.
"Reasonable. Now, continue. And have you spotted the Vizard?" I ask.
"The Vizard have not been found, despite our best efforts. I apologize for this failure in a matter so vital," Soi Fon says. All the captains were told of my Hollow problem, and Soi Fon has been driving her division into the ground to attempt to locate the Vizard. Apparently, now that she has accepted me as a Shinigami, she will put forth her best effort to keep me alive. Right now, the Gotei 13 needs every captain class fighter it can get, so that probably explains her actions. She holds duty above all else, after all.
"Apology accepted. But a question, if you don't mind," I ask.
"Ask your question. I will answer it if it pertains to something you should know of, Yamamoto-taicho," Soi Fon replies warily.
"Why are you driving the Second so hard to find the Vizard?" I ask. This seems to have become a personal thing for her, rather then simply a matter of duty to the Gotei 13. I am curious as to why something like this should be so important to her.
"If you do not learn to master your Hollow from them, you will die. To let you die is to fail in the charge Yoruichi-sama and Yamamoto-soutaicho set me, to keep you alive at all costs. It is almost certain that you will be the next soutaicho, and to lose you is for the next generation to lose much of its strength. Apparently, your reiatsu has effected the entire Eighth Division and all others you associate with, allowing them to become stronger faster. Your reiatsu is a catalyst, allowing others to reach heights they never could before. If we lose you, we lose that influence on the Seireitei. Already, you grow strong enough that your reiatsu reaches over the whole Seireitei, only faintly present in some areas, but still there. Every currently serving Shinigami is becoming stronger due to that. Once your reiatsu reaches the Rukongai, we will likely see more new recruits from there coming in every year. You are the future, and must be protected," Soi Fon says.
"So no more risky missions for me without more backup and through scouting first, I guess," I say, resigned.
"Indeed. I will not fail this charge, sir. In fact, when you enter the world of the living, I will accompany you to ensure your safety, along with you bodyguard and Komamura-taicho," Soi Fon replies, clearly refusing to listen to any protest against that.
"Very well," I respond, knowing she'll just knock me out if I try to argue the point.
"A place is being prepared where you and your first ten combat teams will reside while you are on duty in that town," Soi Fon informs me. "Your fukutaicho has also requested three of my division members be transferred as part of the effort to rebuild your ranks," Soi Fon says.
"I see. I take it she picked well?" I ask her, wondering if Nanao picked people who will have to be forced through a harsh training regimen, or if she picked people who can be integrated into the ranks quickly. Well, somewhat quickly. It will take time for the combat teams to accept the replacements. After all, each team eats together, sleeps together, trains together, and spends almost every moment of the day with each other. That swiftly creates a bond between them that very few can intrude on. The new members will have to be integrated into the teams before they will be any use. Each team member knows the capabilities of every other team member perfectly, and they work together at an efficiency level at least twenty times that of a group of Shinigami handpicked for their ability to swiftly work together. This bond lets each team member know what their comrades will do next, and plan their next blow based on what their comrades will do, even while said comrades are planning their strike based on the results of that blow.
"Very well. Two of them are seated officers, and the other just needs to attain a bit more proficiency with her Shikai and she will be of a grade to replace Omaeda. I suppose I can give up the two officers, but I keep the other," Soi Fon says.
"Fair enough. We can find more elsewhere. As the Eighth is now officially a combat division, we are given priority when we request the transfer of Shinigami to our division," I say. Combat divisions always get priority, as those are the divisions that lose the most Shinigami. With the front lines constantly needing to be patrolled, combat divisions are required to maintain a strength of at least two thousand Shinigami at all times, and at least one in ten must have Shikai. This ensures the divisions are ready to respond to any threat.
"Taicho, I have a bit of paperwork that requires you to approve it," Nanao says, entering the room. A sheaf of paper is under her arm, probably the paperwork.
"Transfer papers?" I guess.
"Yes, sir. We need to replenish our losses before we can return to the field," Nanao says. I nod, understanding this. Without the teams being at full strength, their combat ability is diminished, which is very bad for us.
"One of the three from the Second will not be transferred. All others will be approved," I say. Nanao nods and hands me the papers.
"I expected at least a few wouldn't be approved, so I made sure of some redundancy, and included ten extra potentials in the transfer requests," Nanao says, picking three sheets of paper from the pile, and sending a questioning look at me as her other hand draws one sheet of paper from a smaller sheaf of documents.
"The one who isn't a seated officer," I clarify. Nanao nods and removes the paper, handing it to Soi Fon. Soi Fon takes it and looks it over, then nods in approval.
"Very well, our business is concluded, Yamamoto-taicho," Soi Fon says, leaving. I sense several reiatsu signatures that her reiatsu was masking while she was here.
"Tell your spies their stealth is worse then Zaraki's, if they need you to help them hide," I say. She turns towards one of them, wrath clear on her face.
"Incompetent fools," she hisses, dragging him out of concealment. Now I know what to look for, it's easy to spot the others. "I told you to keep from his notice unless he was threatened, and you can't even do that! You're worse then Omaeda," she growls at him. The black clothed Onmitsukido member winces.
"Now that's just uncalled for. Compared to Omaeda, Zaraki is a master of stealth," I say. The Onmitsukido member in Soi Fon's grasp nods in confirmation. "They're worse then Zaraki, but definitely better then Omaeda," I say, trying to defend those who will possibly give their lives to preserve mine.
"True enough. No one is worse then him," Soi Fon says in disgust. "His family paid the Gotei 13 to take him. Then we drew straws to determine who got stuck with him, and I drew the short straw," she explains. I wince in sympathy.
"I honestly pity you for that stroke of bad luck. No lieutenant is better then an incompetent one," I say, and she nods in agreement.
"Mind incinerating him by accident if I station him as one of your guards?" Soi Fon asks. I consider, then nod slowly.
"If he gets in the way of Ryujin Jakka or Kikouou, he may accidentally run into my flames, and get turned to ash. No promises, and it's a very tricky thing to arrange, accidentally incinerating someone..." I trail off. "He might even need to have a little accident beforehand? Perhaps slip and fall?" I muse. I knew Omaeda when I was Shiba Kaien. He was all money, no skill. He has little brains, and his presence in the Gotei 13 began to detract from the abilities of the Second shortly after he joined them, as the lieutenant is responsible for drilling the warriors of the division. He slacked off on that, and the Second now loses 326% more people on a mission then they did before he joined them. Taking him out would put Soi Fon in my debt, and do the Gotei 13 a favor.
"I'll see what I can do," Soi Fon says coldly. We are clearly in agreement, which I never thought would happen. But so be it, this is for a cause greater then either of us. This is about seeing fewer comrades die. This is for the Gotei 13, and for the sake of removing Omaeda from the Seireitei, not that the latter isn't a worthy goal all on its own.
Well, Omaeda is probably about to return to the cycle of reincarnation. A pity for him, but what can you do? If he is hindering the Gotei 13, subtract him from the equation and the Second might actually become the elite group of warriors they are supposed to be, rather then going down in a flash and leaving the taicho to fight for herself. Read and review, thank you.