"There is no way to guarantee neutrality!" I slammed a hand on the table. "We are involved whether you wish it or not. We must pull our foreign-duty shinigami back."

Ukitake raised his finger. "We know all societies have sworn not to be influenced by the human world in their jurisdiction."

"Nonetheless they will be," Yamamoto reflected. "Human nature – or shinigami nature – tends to be closely tied to their notions of origin. We may not understand it as well as Aizen does; he is younger and thus still very attuned to nationality."

I sat back in my chair, feeling vindicated. There were too many empty seats about the table. Hirako had stunned every soul in Soul Society when he led his gang of – Vizards? Was that the term? – to break out of the penitentiary. I had not seen them, but apparently they had on hollow masks when they 'blasted the jail compound into atoms'. They had been missing for close to three months – no one was close to tracking them. I knew where they were – had known the day they disappeared, but I didn't wish to meet them.

Not yet, not until it was the most fortuitous time.

That day would be arriving soon – I just had to find a way to throw off Kyoraku and Ukitake from their scent...

I'll need to discuss this with Tousen. How are we going to distract the other captains from following the trail?

For the past month we had been debating whether to withdraw all foreign-stationed shinigami in view of the war in Europe. There was a clash between Japan and other nations over Qingdao, and reprisals would occur regardless of whatever treaty signed between the heads of societies.

Suddenly I felt a small tingle in the base of my spine.

Odd. What was that about?

Before I could ponder further, Yamamoto said, "It's been a long day, all. Tomorrow the search teams will change over to the new groups – Zaraki, your two will be under Komamura's directions and be sure to warn them I will come down like two tons of flaming bricks should they disobey."
"Yeah yeah." Zaraki yawned hugely.

It occurred to me that the two men actually respected each other greatly, despite their abrasive conversations. I suspected Zaraki knew the combative power of Genryusai was a level higher than his own, even as mine was. Having fought the brute I was assured that I could face him down once I released bankai, which he was incapable of.

"Aizen, you will oversee the recall of shinigami? And for those posted here, if they wish to return then process their applications first."

"Yes sir." I jotted a note in my file. It would be a mountain of a task, but Akagi and Ono could handle most of the liaison aspects. The couple made a formidable team.

"Kyoraku and Ukitake, I need you to conduct a drill in case this island breaks into full-scale war."

The two nodded in tandem.

Yamamoto gave the other captains their additional duties as well before ending the meeting. "Our priority remains the same, captains: to maintain the balance between worlds. We must hunt down Hirako and the other vizards before they disrupt the natural order. As for wars... well, they come and they go, and I'm speaking from experience. But I feel that this war would change the face of warfare as I know it, and in this I would gladly welcome insights from Kurotsuchi's longitudinal studies on imperialism and expansionism. Good night, captains."

The old man got to his feet and swept out of the room. I left as soon as propriety allowed. As I stepped out I felt the impingement of my senses again. It bothered me, like an itch in the back of my brain, like a nagging reminder that there was something forgotten in the house. But for my life I could not recall what it was.

Walking on pure subconscious memory, I strode down the corridor, engrossed with the logistics of moving three hundred shinigami bck to Seireitei. Housing alone would bring enough problems, and the reassignment of patrol areas was also a pending headache. Add to that the new shinigami graduating this semester... but there were a number of empty slots in the kido corps; the twelfth and the fourth always needed new bodies... perhaps also outer Rukongai could use some law and order...

Wait a second.

I stopped in my tracks. Very, very slowly I turned about on my heels.

Lounging in the deep indigo shadows was a figure I had not seen for a decade. An incredulous smile grew on my face as I took in the silver hair and the sorely-missed smile. He lounged casually against the wall, the grin on his face inscrutable.

He pushed away from the wall and headed towards me. He looked older, I noted, and there was a new air of wolfish menace draped over him. His reiatsu was colder, lighter, and also far more penetrative than it had been when he left.

Fegefeuer has improved you greatly.

My smile grew as I went on my way. I knew he was following behind at three paces, and I chuckled to myself.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

When I fell panting to the bed he rolled me to my side. The sheets were tangled and I was certain there was a tear somewhere – I heard the linen rip sometime between the first and the... hmm. When did it rip? Never mind.

"You're too far from me," Gin complained as I turned on my back. He pressed up behind me and his leg draped over mine. "Again?"

Sated, I sighed. "Right away again? I'm not a machine, much as Id like you to think."

"Not right away, but as soon as you're able..." he licked the back of my neck. "Or when I'm able..."

"Whenever you're ready then, I've done quite enough work tonight." I found myself rumbling with pleasure as his hand wandered over my torso. "Mmm... how was it over there, Gin?"

"Nice," he murmured into my skin. "Between the observations and Hartmann's training I learned a lot."

"Remember to write to your lover tomorrow, Gin," I said as his fingers scraped over my damp skin. "He'll miss you."

H propped himself up and rested his chin on my shoulder. "How did you know?" he demanded.

"I know you. Remember I molded you before you left?"

"Aren't you afraid I've changed over these ten years?"

I twisted around and kissed his collarbone. "If you had changed, you wouldn't have hunted me out and waited in that corner."

He grinned, his smile a sickle of white in the gloom of my bedroom. "I don't have a room now, do I?"

"The house is still yours,' I pointed out.

"Too far to commute daily." He turned me to lie face down. I slept on my folded arms and he rubbed hands over my naked back. I relaxed into his ministrations. "How about here?"

"Hmmm..." I considered the prospect. "Mizuki sleeps here occasionally though."

He wasn't happy about it. "You still with her?"

"I need the exercise as much as you, Gin," I muttered as he slid his hands roughly over my waist and hips.

"Break it with her, Aizen-sama," he urged, his diction clear even as his teeth nipped at the smooth skin on my shoulders. "I know you don't care if I'm monogamous or not, but I don't like sharing."

I raised myself on my knees and he shifted behind me. I could feel him pressed against my thigh while he raked his fingernails along my sides. "That's quite a lot to ask the day you get back to Seireitei."

"I know," he whispered as he lined himself with the plane of my body. "But Karl taught me to ask for the impossible."

"Karl?" I grunted as he pushed into me. "Ah. I think I know him. Tall, blocky, dark-haired? Karl Bauer?"

"Mm-hmm," he replied and thrust again. I gasped. He repeated. "Sweet fellow. Usually gentle in bed."

I growled as he slowed. "He... he likes it top or b-bottom?"

"Always top. He finds... finds giving be-better than receiving." His grunts of effort sped my breathing. "But we were-were talking about Mizuki."

"I'll thi-think about it – ahh." My words slurred into moaning. Panting I tried to get a grip, my fingers curling into the pillow.

His mouth moved over my skin even as his hands held me steady. "Pr'miss?"

I arched my back into his torso. "Yes... yes." When he slowed again I hissed, "You shouldn't ask a-at these times, Gin, you don't know if I'm – ungh – responding to your question... to your question or your... oh gods..."

"Or to my incredible- ah – sexiness... my sss-sliding in and mmmy driving – driving you insane?"

I chuckled and we stopped chatting, focusing instead on the pleasure of the moment.