Chapter Three: Political Animals

I have been making my way into the further districts of the Rukongai, mostly rural areas. Things are worse here. In the other places, you don't have to worry about being murdered in the street. But in this place, people walk in terror. No one dares go out at night, and for a good reason. I have several times been waylaid, and forced to fight. I am getting quite good at defending myself these days.

I have been interviewing the locals regarding their opinions. Most seem to be in terror of one gang or the other, or under the protection of a local warlord. These warlords provide a moderate amount of security. But in the process are allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want.

Soul Reapers are held in contempt. People who go to the Seretei are regarded as traitors to their communities. I've seen people killed in the street for speaking out of turn. This is very much like the Japan of the middle ages. People can be hacked in half for the smallest of reasons if the one doing the killing is a local warlord.

It wouldn't take much to force these warlords into showing some respect for the sanctity of life. A show of force, combined with a constitution would be more than sufficient to quell the worst of the issues.

The Soul Society seems to me more and more like a failed state. The Soul Reapers aren't a government, not really. They do not enforce order on the land, and neither do they endear any loyalty. The best that can be said of them is that they are a sort of hope. A chance to escape from the never-ending hell which is heaven.

-On the Rukongai, by Sosuke Aizen

On the Rukongai had been a very depressing affair. It chronicled horror after horror. And it became more barbaric and terrible as Aizen had delved into the more distant regions. Byakuya realized as he read it just how the Soul Society must seem to those ruled by it. A high and distant military order that cared nothing for the individual. Being a Soul Reaper had not been Aizen's first choice by any means, but he had entered out of despair. For a brief moment, there had seemed a chance that things might work out.

Despite its dark nature, Aizen made quite a few good points. Many of the idea for how to improve things were brilliant. If he'd only been more polite Central Forty-Six might have listened. He was too confrontational in his writing style. He was condemning the rulers of the Soul Society. He portrayed them as isolated and distant individuals with no real idea of what was going on.

Byakuya began to wonder if he had not been right.

When Byakuya wasn't reading his book, he was training himself to the limit. He was still nowhere near exceeding Yoruichi, but it was something.

A year passed, and over time Byakuya managed to have his life return to a semblance of normalcy. He read the document only sporadically, his initial enthusiasm for the subject waning. Then one day as he was training a stone slammed into his head from behind. He turned around. 'Alright, whose the wise guy who-' He stopped as he saw Yoruichi staring at him, unamused. 'Oh it's you, I should have known. What do you want?'

She put out a box in front of him. 'What's this?'

Byakuya smiled. 'What? Can't you tell? It's a box of hair ties.'

'Let me get this straight,' said Yoruichi, 'you gave me hair ties for my birthday?'

'Well you are always taking mine.' said Byakuya. 'So I assumed the Shihoins couldn't afford such an expensive commodity. Not that you ever need or use them, but who am I to judge?' It had, in retrospect, been a flawlessly executed case of payback. Byakuya was proud of himself.

Elsewhere Ginrei Kuchiki was drinking tea on his own. All of a sudden Yoruichi rushed past him, holding a cloth belt in her hands, smiling as she did so.

'Yoruichi give me back my belt!' called Byakuya.

'Now that I have enough hair ties I'll start taking something else from you.' called back Yoruichi.

'This isn't funny! What if someone sees me like this!' cried Byakuya.

'So you'll have to put up with this for one whole year!' continued Yoruichi.

'Alright, I get it! I'll get you something nicer!'

Ginrei went back to sipping his tea. Just another day like any other.

Normalcy was somewhat more frustrating then one would have expected.

Even so, Byakuya had not forgotten his plans and as he read through the reports. He spent time reading through laws and ordinances — the ones associated with operations in the Rukongai. Little by little a plan was growing in his mind. However, he couldn't enact it. Not yet, not until he entered the Thirteen Court Guard Squads openly. Yet that might not be for years more. That was why he had decided to speak to his Grandfather about it. It took a great deal of convincing, but finally, he had relented and agreed to go along with Byakuya's plan. Thus Byakuya made his way to the Fifth Division five years after he'd completed the book, and found the place a mess.

Byakuya had been to the sixth division several times, to see how his Grandfather worked. It was clean, efficient and well run. The fifth division was the opposite. Personal items were strewn around everywhere. Personal were idling about with no clear sense of duty. It was pure chaos, and no one even noticed him amidst it all. At first, he was discontent. This discontent mutated into irritation before finally he coughed meaningfully. No one noticed.

He snapped. 'I'm looking for the Lieutenant of your Squad!'

He'd shouted louder than he intended, and everyone came to a halt and looked at him in surprise. A blonde man with long hair glanced up. 'Aizen, you're looking for Aizen? Why?'

'I have something I'd like to speak to him about.' Byakuya said.

'Look, I'm the Captain around here, so whatever business the Kuchiki Clan has with Squad 5 goes through me.' said Shinji.

'My business is not with Squad 5.' said Byakuya. 'It is with Sosuke Aizen.'

There was a long silence as Hirako and Byakuya faced each other down. Byakuya was well aware that he stood no chance in a physical confrontation, but neither did he back down. Finally, Hirako shrugged. 'Fine, do whatever you want. He's through that door.'

'Thank you.' said Byakuya, before making his way over to the door and opening it.

Within he found paperwork. A lot of paperwork, far more paperwork than any lone officer should be expected to deal with. Amidst this chaos, there was a beacon of order in the form of Sosuke Aizen. He was going through the papers at an alarmingly fast rate. Byakuya shut the door behind him, and he glanced up.

'I'm a bit busy right now.' said Aizen, irritation creeping into his voice.

'…Shouldn't someone be helping you with this?' asked Byakuya.

'Oh certainly.' said Aizen. 'In fact, a proper examination of these papers should reveal something interesting. Most of them should be done by anyone else in the squad besides myself. Unfortunately, my Captain doesn't like me.' He motioned around him. 'So he expects me to do all the paperwork. What few people realize is that paperwork and how you do it is a much larger part of a Captains life than fighting. In effect, I am the Captain of this Squad in all but name.'

'That's a bold statement,' noted Byakuya, 'don't you think?'

'This entire room is sound sealed.' replied Aizen somewhat smugly. 'Even if they did listen at the door, they would hear nothing. Now, what is it that was so important you had to come all the way here to speak to me about?'

'I was reading over your book.' said Byakuya. 'And I think some of your ideas are entirely doable. I'd like to put some of them into action.'

Aizen stared at him, blinking as though one waking up from a dream. 'What?'

'Your plans for the Rukongai, they seem like they could work.' said Byakuya. 'Some of them might take more resources than the Soul Society would be willing to spend. Others would be a simple matter to execute. I think your problem was that you were too blunt. My Grandfather always told me that Central Forty-Six needs to be approached gently. If you imply, they were wrong, or made a bad judgment call they will dismiss you out of hand.'

'So what exactly are you suggesting?' asked Aizen with amusement. 'That I apologize and rephrase my argument? Once a decision is made by Central Forty-Six, they never go back on it.'

'We can circumvent Central Forty-Six entirely.' said Byakuya. 'I mean… well, that sounds pretty bad. But I mean there are other channels we could go through to get some of these plans through. For instance, your plan to plant a Soul Reaper in every section of the Rukongai. For the purpose of reuniting separated families. It would only take a few hundred, and we have many more than that on leave at any given time.'

'Let's say I go along with this,' said Aizen, 'what channels do you intend to work through?'

'The military angle.' said Byakuya. 'We just need to present Captain Commander Yamato a military objective. Side missions are commonplace on long term missions.'

'I think I begin to understand.' said Aizen. 'We assign a few hundred above average Soul Reapers to various sections of the Rukongai. For the purposes of fighting hollows, of course. We then ensure they have strong lines of communication. And give them a secondary objective of reuniting the pluses with their families. Hollows rarely appear in that section. So their main focus would be their secondary objective.

'What I don't understand is why you would come to me with this idea? Would not Captain Ukitake be an ideal sponsor?'

'Yes,' admitted Byakuya, 'but it was your idea, to begin with. I think you ought to get the credit. Also… well… I'm a noble; I haven't entered the Soul Society yet. If someone finds out I'm pressing for a major change in the military sphere it's going to look like I'm angling for higher power. The Kuchiki Clan is loyal to the existing structure. I don't want rumors that we are anything else sprouting up.

'But if you make the suggestion then its just a military decision.'

'And if anyone asks,' surmised Aizen. 'this conversation merely inspired me. To once again make an attempt to succeed where before I had failed. I must admit this is a very well thought out plan. I'm tempted to go along with it, however, first I have a condition.'

Byakuya was not surprised. Though he had been hoping ideology alone would be sufficient to convince him. 'So long as it is nothing dishonorable I will try to grant it.'

'Very well,' said Aizen, 'I'm going after the Captainship of Squad 12.'

Byakuya was stunned. 'You mean to kill Kirio Hikifune in front of two hundred-'

'No, no, nothing like that.' said Aizen. 'Kirio Hikifune is advancing in power and prestige. To a point where the Spirit King will want her in the Royal Guard. When that happens, there will be a vacancy. I mean to fill that vacancy.'

Byakuya wasn't quite sure how to respond. 'You are aware that that is a very ambitious plan? Most Captains worked for centuries before they were allowed to advance.'

'It's not quite so ambitious as you might think, actually.' said Aizen with a small smile. 'There is no obvious successor to Kirio, which means that there will be a scramble. Of course, until now I had long since resigned myself to losing due to a lack of political connections. Certainly, Shinji Hirako would never support my promotion; he's far too paranoid. With your assistance, however…'

'I am in no position to rig the process of becoming a Captain.' objected Byakuya. 'And I wouldn't even if I could. There are qualifications-'

'I've met them all, I assure you.' said Aizen. 'I just haven't announced it. I'm not asking you to do anything outside of the standard procedure. I just need someone to bring me to the attention of the Captains. Given that you are well acquainted with three of them it should be a simple matter. He might well look favorably on your request.'

'I'll bring it up with them.' said Byakuya. 'But I can't promise anything.'

'Perfect,' said Aizen, 'I'll be sure to contact Ukitake the first time I have a spare moment.' He paused. 'Now, you had best leave before my Captain incinerates himself with frustration. By now he has learned that I filled the walls with quark.' He arose and made his way to the door, opening it to reveal Captain Hirako.

'What were you two scheming about in there?' asked Shinji in suspicion.

'I don't know what you are talking about.' said Byakuya. 'I was merely voicing my admiration for some of his work, Captain Hirako.'

'…Sure, whatever,' said Hirako, 'just get out of here and quit wasting my time.'

There was a knock on the door, and Ukitake looked up. 'Come in.'

The door opened, and Sosuke Aizen made his way into the room.

'Lieutenant Aizen, this is an unexpected pleasure. What brings you to my Squad?' asked Ukitake, who didn't much trust the man.

'A strategy of sorts…' said Aizen.

Byakuya entered Squad 2, doing his best to appear regal as he entered the squad of Yoruichi Shihoin. The cat monster was leaning against her chair, waiting. She glanced up and saw him, and waved. 'Byakuya, how's it going?'

'Greetings to you Captain Shihoin, I wish to speak to you on a matter of some importance.' Byakuya glanced to see a girl his age, standing some ways to the left. She had a bowl cut and was wearing the garb of a stealth force operative.

'Fine, whatever, so long as you ditch the formal speak.' said Yoruichi. 'You need to lighten up.'

'I'd like to speak with you alone.' said Byakuya formally.

'Fine, Soi Fon wait outside, will ya?' said Yoruichi.

'But Lady Yoruichi, I must ensure your safety.' said Soi Fon.

'Soi Fon, if he can't even catch me while playing tag do you really think he could beat me in a fight?' Yoruichi asked in a long-suffering tone. 'It'll be fine.'

'Yes, Lady Yoruichi.' She bowed and left.

'Now what's so important you have to keep ultra secret?' asked Yoruichi. 'Need someone assassinated?'

'No nothing like that.' said Byakuya. 'I… I traded favors with someone recently.'

'Wow, not even a hundred and already a political animal.' said Yoruichi, sounding impressed. 'Your ancestors would be proud. So this someone asked you to ask me to kill someone for them.'

'No! I don't want anyone murdered!' snapped Byakuya.

'Then I don't understand why you are coming to the Head of the Stealth force for help.' stated Yoruichi, perplexed. 'We do have something of a one solution fits all policy around here, y'know.'

'I need you to recommend someone for the Captains exams!' Byakuya blurted out.

Yoruichi was silent for a moment. '…Oh, that, right. Who?'

'Lieutenant Sosuke Aizen. He provided me with some assistance and in return asked to be brought to the attention of the Captains.' said Byakuya. 'So I came to you. If you write to the Head Captain recommending him, he should be able to take the test. If he fails then it won't matter, I'll have done my part.'

Yoruichi rubbed the back of her head. 'You know this is awkward. See, I can't really help you, because I've already promised to recommend someone else.'

'Who?' asked Byakuya.

'A friend, nobody you know.' said Yoruichi. 'His name is Kisuke Urahara, he's a bit of an eccentric, but I think he'll fit the bill. The point is that if I recommend two people as Captain, they will both end up being competitors. And anyway I'm not really supposed to do that. Sorry, I can't be more help. Why don't you go to your Grandfather about this?'

'…Because I don't want to.' Was all Byakuya said.

Captain Ukitake was no more helpful than Yoruichi had been.

'I wish I could help Byakuya, I really do.' said Ukitake in a tired tone. 'Unfortunately, I already sent in a recommendation for Kisuke Urahara on Yoruichi's behest.'

'…Did you even meet him?' asked Byakuya after a moment.

'I meet everyone.' boasted Ukitake. 'I'm actually something of a social butterfly.'

'You want me to recommend Aizen for the Captainship exam.' asked Shinji Hirako.

'Yes.' said Byakuya.

'Me?' asked Hirako again.

'You are his Captain, so it seemed the most logical approach.' said Byakuya.

'I hate the guy!' said Shinji. 'Why would I ever recommend him for a position as a Captain?!'

'May I ask why you despise Lieutenant Aizen?' asked Byakuya.

'Because he's up to no good.' said Hirako. 'I knew from the moment I looked at him that he was planning something. So I promoted him as my Lieutenant in order to keep an eye on him.'

'May I ask what you are basing that accusation on?' asked Byakuya in a tired tone.

'…I don't need to justify myself to you!' snapped Shinji. 'I'm a Captain, while you aren't even a Soul Reaper yet. It's vitally important that I keep Aizen locked up too busy doing paperwork. That way he can't take any other actions.'

'This isn't something you want to hear, Captain Hirako.' said Byakuya. 'But based on your assumption, Aizen might want to be where he is right now.' stated Byakuya 'Maybe he chose you as his Captain, rather than the other way around.'

There was a long silence as Hirako stared at him. '…Get out of my office.'

'Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.' said Byakuya.

'Get out!' said Shinji.

Byakuya had decided he would have to ask his Grandfather. He could have gone to every Captain in the Seretei asking them to recommend Aizen. But he had a feeling that fate would conspire to force his hand anyway. So he approached Ginrei Kuchiki carefully.

'Grandfather-' He began.

'If this is about the Rukongai then I am truly not in the mood Byakuya.' said Ginrei Kuchiki.

'It's about something else if you will listen.' said Byakuya.

Ginrei eyed him. 'You may speak, Byakuya.'

'Captain Ukitake may have recently introduced a proposed mission. To send Soul Reapers into the Rukongai on long term postings.' said Byakuya.

'Yes, the Head Captain agreed with it.' grunted Ginrei. 'He felt it would increase efficiency, what I don't understand is what hand you had to play in it.'

'I… may have made a deal with Lieutenant Aizen of the 5th Division to propose it to Captain Ukitake for me.' said Byakuya. 'To hide my involvement.'

'You mean that mild-mannered individual that Captain Hirako inexplicably despises.' mused Ginrei. 'Yes, I assume he had some kind of price.'

'Yes, he wants to take the Captains exams.'

'Then I'm afraid he'll have to wait until there is an opening.' said Ginrei.

'Grandfather, I wasn't born yesterday.' said Byakuya. 'Kirio Hikifune is almost certainly going to be promoted soon. When that happens, Lieutenant Aizen wants to be considered to replace them.'

'She hasn't even left yet, and already the vultures are eyeing her post like a fresh carcass eh?' asked Ginrei with wry amusement. 'I assume you promised to play no favorites.'

'Of course, I made it very clear that he would have to pass it legitimately.' said Byakuya.

'Very well, very well.' said Ginrei. 'One cannot take the Captains exam without the written consent of a Captain, of course. Traditionally ones own. Hirako may pretend otherwise, but the man despises his Lieutenant. He would never tolerate Aizen reaching a similar rank. As such it makes perfect sense that Aizen should seek alternative methods to rise. I do not like Hirako, so I have no objection to recommending him. However, before you engage in any further favor trading, I expect you to come to me.'

'Yes Grandfather, I won't make the mistake again.' said Byakuya, grateful things had gone as well as they had.

'I'm sure you won't.' said Ginrei. 'Now that this nonsense with the Rukongai is out of your system, perhaps you should turn your mind to more important matters.'

'Of course.' said Byakuya.

Aizen was watched as Byakuya entered the office, tired out of his mind. The boy put down a sheet of paper on the desk. '…I got it. This is a recommendation from Ginrei Kuchiki for the Captains Exam. You can take it any time.'

This was excellent news indeed. 'Perfect, with any luck Hirako, will be drowned in paperwork.' said Aizen. 'Anything else I should know?'

'Well, you are likely to have a competitor.' said Byakuya. 'Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihoin is recommending him as well.'

Kisuke Urahara? Whoever he was he was an unknown element, and Aizen would need more information on him. 'I see, well I'll just have to be at my best then.' said Aizen. 'Thank you for your help Byakuya; this is the chance I've been waiting for.'

'I'd love to talk all night about it,' said Byakuya, 'but I've been rushing across the Seretei all day, and I need to get home.'

'Don't let me keep you.' said Aizen in amusement. 'By all means, return home.'

After Byakuya left, Aizen allowed his mask to drop as he considered matter. Sosuke Aizen had been planning to become a Captain for some time now. He needed the resources to fund his research. Unfortunately his superior had proven resistant. So much so that Aizen hadn't even bothered approaching him. His encounter with Byakuya was proving far more useful than Aizen had expected…

Authors Note:

One of the scenes in this chapter was based on a fan comic on DeviantArt by someone called Michsi. I thought it was so good that I incorporated it into my personal headcanon. So full credit to him/her for the scene. I asked him for permission, but after a few weeks, he thus far hasn't responded. So I figure I'll post it and give full credit, then remove it if he has a problem with me writing his scenes into my fanfic.

Second of all, the plot thickens. Some of you were guessing it was going to be Aizen Vs. Byakuya. I hope I've surprised you with how things are going.