HALCYON DAYS
Volume Two: Retrograde Masquerade
Chapter Two

Word of the Tenth Jūsankentaikai spread fast the morning the summons were dispatched by Central 46. The reactions were a mixture of incredulity and excitement. On the one hand, the decision to stage a tournament during wartime struck most Gotei officers as ludicrous. On the other hand: news of the Jūsankentaikai was met with great fanfare amongst the masses.

The announcement received its warmest reception in the Rukongai, where denizens were happy to receive any bit of good news. The defection of Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen had scandalized them; the two captains had both been lionized for being Rukon natives who succeeded in the Seireitei.

Some parts of the Rukongai wouldn't have minded that Gin and Kaname thumbed their noses at the Gotei, but word that they had allied with Hollows automatically made them hated figures.

The idea of some unholy alliance between Shinigami and Hollows put everyone on edge; there was a growing fear of an imminent invasion by Hueco Mundo's forces. Because the Seireitei itself was impregnable from enemy portals, any invaders would have to cut through the closest districts of the Rukongai first to breach its walls.

In lieu of those anxieties, the prospect of a grand spectacle like the Jūsankentaikai gave Rukon villagers a reassuring sense of normalcy. If the Gotei 13 was confident enough to throw a tournament, then things must be more manageable than met the eye.

However, the seated officers who would actually have to fight in the Jūsankentaikai were less enthusiastic. Captain Kyōraku suggested offering every volunteer a week's vacation from administrative paperwork. That carrot won the eager buy-in of Rangiku Matsumoto, at least.

The roster of participants was slowly taking shape, but there were still some large question marks looming.

The Fifth Division had lost its lieutenant, Momo Hinamori, and its largely unknown third seated officer was rumored to be a bit of an oddity. Meanwhile, Mayuri Kurotsuchi forbade Nemu from participating, which prompted speculation that she would have been disqualified anyway. The Thirteenth Division's fighter was also an open question, with no appointed lieutenant and two Shinigami jointly occupying the third seat.

"It should be you," Renji Abarai told Rukia Kuchiki while they walked through the Sixth Division garden together. "You're the best fighter Ukitake's got."

"I don't qualify, Renji," Rukia replied dismissively. "Only seated officers can compete."

Renji frowned, looking over at a cherry blossom tree that had only recently ripened into full bloom.

"It's his fault," he gritted. "The least he could do is let you be officially instated."

Rukia halted in her tracks, visibly upset.

"I won't entertain that rumor, Renji," she whispered, head bowed.

Renji looked at her sympathetically. It was an ill-kept secret that Byakuya Kuchiki had used his considerable influence to keep his sister from being promoted to a seated officer position. Her official designation as a basic foot soldier was ridiculous; she had been Kaien Shiba's protégé, after all.

For her part, Rukia never acknowledged that dynamic. It wasn't because she was naïve about Byakuya's protectiveness, but because becoming officially seated would likely attain her the lieutenant position – Kaien's position. Renji intuited that Rukia never felt worthy of succeeding her former mentor, and that's why she was comfortable with her brother's subterfuge.

Realizing he had hit a nerve, Renji decided to change the subject.

"C'mon," he sighed. "Let's go get some food."


It was a busy day at the Gotei 13's central mess hall; the troops were out in full force to gossip about the upcoming tournament. In normal times, the grunts and seated officers would eat in their own respective company barracks, but the edict that everyone be retrained made lunch a more collective experience.

Shinigami shuffled across the line in a massive atrium, all of them sore from the training, The head drill sergeant, Seventh Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba, surveyed the grunts while having a smoke.

"Hey, Lieutenant Iba, when's Captain Komamura gonna show his face?" shouted one irascible soldier from Seventh Company. "I hear it's a real showstopper."

Tetsuzaemon, lit cigarette tucked between his lips, honed in on the snickering subordinate and strode up to him with unnerving coolness. The Lieutenant took a puff of his cigarette and ashed its ember directly into the foot soldier's tray of food. The grunt's laughter trailed off into a nervous murmur.

"Funny that you'd ask," Iba drawled angrily. "The answer is TAKE FIFTY MORE LAPS AROUND THE TRAINING GROUNDS! HOP TO IT!"

The Shinigami, realizing he had incurred the lieutenant's wrath, ran away sheepishly to go and fulfill the command.

"Future Jūsankentaikai champion, coming through!" laughed Marechiyo Ōmaeda, squeezing his way through the crowd with four bowls of steamed rice in hand.

The Second Division Lieutenant plunked down on a table full of his peers and stacked his haul up like a tower, digging into the top bowl with relish. Isane Kotetsu watched with disgust while he spooned heaping mounds of rice into his mouth.

"Fair warning to you all: I won't go easy on any of you," Ōmaeda proclaimed, his mouth chock full of food.

"Duly noted," Isane murmured while daintily picking at her bowl. "Has anyone seen Nanao?"

"She was summoned away by her Big Shot aunt," Izuru Kira said derisively. "We're here eating with everyone else, but she's having lunch at a castle – ow!"

"Don't talk ill of Nanao like that," Rangiku asked Kira sweetly while repeatedly jabbing her chopsticks between his ribs. "She's a very nice girl, and you are one moody boy."

Kira frowned and rubbed his smarting side, not daring to talk back.

Shūhei Hisagi was quiet, futzing with his bowl of rice without taking any bites.

"What's with the long face, Hisagi?" Ōmaeda asked, his cheeks swollen with food. "Afraid I'm gonna kick your ass in the ring?"

"Absolutely terrified," Hisagi replied sarcastically. "I'm just thinking about how none of this feels right. We only just buried Hinamori, and now the Shisonka wants us all fighting each other? Doesn't that seem a little... sick?"

The whole table fell silent. Ōmaeda even closed his mouth, chewing his overload of rice quietly while reflecting on his memory of Momo.

Rukia watched them from across the mess hall, her shoulders slumped and hands clutching a bowl of rice. She stood around indecisively, then turned to make her way back to the Thirteenth Division Barracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" Renji asked, halting her in her tracks. "Come sit with us."

Rukia turned and looked up at him with a sheepish expression before finally averting her eyes. Socializing with everyone again was awkward after everything that had happened. Some of those same people had stood by watching her execution before Ichigo intervened.

"That table is for seated officers only," she replied meekly.

"You belong just as much as anybody else," Renji asserted, crossing his arms. "I'm inviting you, Rukia."

"And I am respectfully declining, Renji," she replied. "Thank you."

Renji watched her leave, feeling a twinge of regret. He sighed and made his way over to the others, sitting between Isane and Rangiku. He didn't notice the grim pall that had fallen over the group, instead honing in on Marechiyo's gluttony.

"Think you got enough portions there, Ōmaeda?" he asked agitatedly.

"I've got to build my strength up if I'm gonna win the whole Jūsankentaikai, Abarai," he snorted, working on his third bowl already.

"You, the winner?" Renji guffawed. "It's a martial arts tournament, not a cake eating contest."


Nanao Ise gingerly approached the ornate gates of her ancestral mansion, Kedakaigaku. The massive hirayamjiro castle was nestled beside a pristine lake, the water's surface reflective as glass and perfectly mirroring the sky above. Kedakaigaku itself was 200 meters wide and 25 stories tall, its front face a burnt gold and sloping roofs a vibrant crimson. Home to Tenrai-chō Kōbucha Ise, it was one of the Seireitei's grandest marvels.

Kōbucha had invited Nanao over for a chat but hadn't hinted at its purpose, much to the lieutenant's dread. She took a nervous gulp when attendants emerged to usher her inside. She always uneasy about spending time with her aunt, who was something of a bulldozer.

Before she could get her bearings, Nanao was whisked into the castle and brought up to the 20th floor, where she was planted before the Tenrai-chō and served a slim cup of Kin'iro Ekijū.

金色液汁 Kin'iro Ekijū (Golden Sap)

Brewed from the herbs that exclusively grew in Kedakaigaku's garden, the tea had a blonde and glowing texture that looked delicious, but in actuality had a very bitter and displeasing taste.

"Well?" Kōbucha said expectantly. "Have a sip, Nanao."

Nanao meekly nodded and slurped back the golden brew, trying not to pucker her mouth in disgust. Members of the Ise Clan were taught to drink the spiky tea without betraying any reaction; that discipline informed all other aspects of their family etiquette.

"I see they've been feeding you well at the Eighth Division," Kōbucha observed, fanning herself with a crimson-hued uchiwa embroidered with a black sika deer.

"Yes; I am well taken care of, Auntie."

"A little toowell!" Kōbucha harrumphed, snapping her fan shut and using it to prod Nanao's perfectly flat stomach. "Do not let that oaf Kyōraku make a cow of you, my dear."

Nanao blushed scarlet.

"Why did you summon me, Auntie?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I called you here because I hadn't received confirmation that you're competing in the Jūsankentaikai," Kōbucha replied. "I wanted to hear it straight from your lips."

"Captain Kyōraku hasn't chosen our division's champion yet," Nanao answered uneasily. "We're concerned that I will be disqualified –"

"Because you don't possess a Zanpakutō?" Kōbucha interjected. "That won't be a problem. The rules have now been clarified so that you may compete. And you will compete, my dear."

"But I –"

"I won't hear any buts," Kōbucha said flintily. "With your Kidō prowess, you are far more formidable than those hooligans from the other Gotei companies. And remember: you won't be representing the Eighth Division – you will be representing the Ise Clan! Do us proud, and I will carefully consider your future in this family, my dear."

Nanao blinked in bemusement, unsure of what to say. Kōbucha did not have children of her own, but she had dozens of nephews and nieces she could make her successor as the Ise Tenrai-chō. She often dangled "consideration" for the honor whenever she wanted something.

The implication was clear: Nanao wouldn't necessarily be moved to the front of the list, but defiance would definitely push her to the very back.

"I'll make you proud, Auntie," Nanao nodded, feeling completely defeated.

She took another sip of Kin'iro Ekijū to cleanse her throat, only to be reminded of its tart taste. The tea was so regal in presentation but so unpalatable in practice.

Just like my family, she thought.