Lex Talionis
Chapter 8
"Do you understand what you are asking, Captain Hirako Shinji?" the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 asked solemnly as he sat behind his desk in the 1st Division.
The hunched Captain of the 5th Division, with half-lidded eyes, casually replied, "Ah, Captain-Commander."
The Captain-Commander exhaled with a sigh, feeling especially heavy while sitting in his chair, the weight of his responsibilities pressing down on him for just but a moment before he regained his strength, the likes of which have not been surpassed by anyone in one thousand years, "Do you have any evidence to support your suspicions?"
Shinji merely looked up while scratching the back of his head, as if they were having a discussion over this month's Seireitei Communication magazine, "It's as I already told you Captain-Commander, I don't like the look of him, and my gut is tellin' me not to trust him one bit."
The Captain-Commander opened his eyes ever so slightly, "Very well, I shall inform the Central 46 since it involves a Lieutenant, along with your recommendation."
Shinji merely smiled widely before nodding and leaving the Captain-Commander's office.
* Elsewhere, Soul Society *
"I said give it to me!" Byakuya yelled angrily as he planted his feet in the ground and flared his arms out aggressively.
Ichigo merely eyed the boy, both amusement and curiosity dancing in his eyes, "Do not make me repeat myself, boy."
The last drop of restraint Byakuya had evaporated and he rushed towards the 2nd Division Lieutenant with a flash-step, which was quite impressive given his age, but not nearly impressive enough to concern Ichigo.
Byakuya swung his Shinai in a sideways arc in an attempt to strike Ichigo on the side of the temple, but Ichigo simply brought up his forearm to block the attack. The Shinai touched his forearm and split in two the moment it made contact, much to Byakuya's surprise.
"You have no weapon, and will have much less if you continue to remain in my division, boy," Ichigo said with no friendliness in the tone of his voice whatsoever.
"As the future head of the Kuchiki Clan I will not be ordered around by the likes of..." Byakuya spouted, but not before Ichigo flash-stepped behind him, grabbed the back of his robe, and vaulted him like a javelin out of the 2nd Division.
He flew farther away into the sky, likely yelling obscenities, but the sight and sound of him both faded into the distance.
The 2nd Division members who were training on the grounds all chuckled at the sight, that is, until Ichigo interrupted their collective laugh, "As I said before, if you have enough time to stare, then you are not training hard enough! Back to work or you will end up with a worse fate than that boy!"
Most of them choked on their laugh trying to quiet themselves, one even stumbled in his footing and almost lost his balance, but all of them obeyed immediately and went back to their katas and spars.
Ichigo glanced over at the one of the individuals who remained vigilant in his training without Ichigo having to criticize him at all, "You," he acknowledged the man.
The man stopped his kata before standing about face and bowing at the waist, "Sir!"
Ichigo stepped towards him, gauging his reiatsu, before asking, "What is your name and rank?"
The man came up from his bow, revealing a strong muscular build, with chin-length blueish hair that was rather unkempt, "Amagai Shūsuke, 5th Seat!"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow when he mentioned his rank, as he imagined it would've been slightly higher given his reiatsu, "You will oversee their training in my absence."
Amagai's eyes widened slightly in surprise, glancing over at the 4th Seat, "But sir, I am outranked by 4th Seat Soifon, it would be...improper," he said.
Ichigo simply turned around to address the men and women training, "5th Seat Amagai will be overseeing your training while I'm gone, all of you will answer to him," he stated, looking directly at Soifon to make his point clear.
Even at this distance, he could see the clenched teeth and narrowing eyes of Soifon as she did her best to contain her anger, much to his satisfaction.
* Somewhere in the sky, Soul Society *
Byakuya was in quite the predicament. He was flying probably fifty feet or more above the ground within the Seireitei, so he couldn't gather reiryoku under his feet to walk on the air. The momentum itself was preventing him from even turning his body, let alone adjusting his position for a less dangerous landing.
He was profusely worried. He couldn't do anything, and whether it was by accident or intentional, he was actually heading directly for the Kuchiki Estate. Byakuya, the next head of the Noble Kuchiki Clan, was going to die in a crater made by his body at his own home. His fear of death, and the embarrassment brought by how he would die was all that plagued his mind, so much so that he didn't notice the fast approaching figure underneath him.
The figure leapt off one of the many walls of Seireitei, vaulting upwards into the sky where it intercepted Byakuya, grabbed him by his robes, and brought him back down to the ground.
They landed, either by accident or intentionally, directly in front of Kuchiki Ginrei, 6th Division Captain and current head of the Kuchiki Family.
Byakuya was starting to think that the direction he was thrown, and now the point of landing, were all on purpose, which he more or less confirmed at the sight of his savior, Lieutenant Ichigo of the 2nd Division.
"What is the meaning of this, Lieutenant Fushou?" Ginrei asked curiously.
Ichigo gave the same slight bow as he did when they were first introduced, "Captain Kuchiki."
The Captain glanced at Byakuya, who averted his grandfather's gaze, much like a child in trouble.
"I merely evicted the boy from the 2nd Division. Nobility or not, I cannot allow individuals to run rampant on our grounds, especially given our need for secrecy. I'm sure his little trip at one hundred feet above the Seireitei will make him think twice about his rash behavior," Ichigo half explained and half lectured, before placing a hair band on the ground and departing.
After noticing the hair band, Ginrei was sure this was some sort of plan conspired by Captain Shihōin. He merely shook his head, slightly exasperated, before closing his eyes and walking away from the scene.
Byakuya merely sat there, thoroughly bewildered. Meanwhile, Ichigo decided that now would be a good time for him to do a little bit of research, and no better place to start than the Spirit Library.
Since he now bore the rank of Lieutenant, he had no need to sneak into the Spirit Library as he had full access, much to his convenience. He settled for walking there at a casual pace, for he was in no hurry.
He passed by several Shinigami, all thoroughly busy with their workloads for the day, although they still had the presence of mind to stand aside for Ichigo as he walked down the hallways of the Seireitei.
Eventually Ichigo found himself at the familiar corridor that led into the Spirit Library, however something or rather someone caught his attention, causing him to halt from entering through the doorway and instead continued walking.
Ichigo stopped in front of the person and knelt in front of them, "Are you lost little one?" he asked softly.
The child, who appeared to be already nervous as it was, frantically searched for the voice she heard, staring wide-eyed as she took in Ichigo's appearance, "Umm..." was also she could sputter as she nervously shuffled a book that was in her hands.
Ichigo's eyes softened at her anxiety, "I am Lieutenant Fushou of the 2nd Division. What is your name?"
She held her gaze at the ground beneath, but managed a reply nonetheless, "Ise Nanao. I'm part of the 8th Division," she finished quickly as if she would forget the words.
She stood at about three and a half feet, with short black hair and large spectacles.
"Well," Ichigo pondered, "the 8th Division isn't anywhere near here. Are you looking for someone?"
She turned her book sideways, trying to keep her eyes occupied so she didn't have to look up, before she lightly nodded her head.
"If you tell me who you are looking for, I'm sure we can find them," he offered before standing back upright.
"Well, umm, normally Lieutenant Yadōmaru reads with me at the beginning of every month, and when I couldn't find her at our division I became worried," she said quietly.
"Lieutenant Yadōmaru hmm?" Ichigo said aloud, more to himself than the young child before him.
Ichigo closed his eyes, concentrating on the reiatsu signature he memorized when Yoruichi introduced him to all the Captains and Lieutenants at Urahara's ceremony, and he quickly found it over at the 8th Division.
"Found her, she's back at your division. I'll walk you there," Ichigo said, before walking towards the reiatsu signature. Young Nanao frantically regained her wits before trailing behind Ichigo, using her small legs to try and make up the distance between them as to not lose him.
Shinigami walking in the opposite direction glanced at the pair with curiosity as the imposing form of Ichigo strode down the halls, followed by a frightened and nervous young child, the contrasting figures drawing a bit of attention as they walked towards the 8th Division.
Meanwhile, the Lieutenant of the 8th Division was starting become a bit frightened and nervous for completely different reasons than her younger division member, "Where could she be? Ugh, if only she had a little bit more reiatsu she'd be easier to track!"
As if the universe heard her thoughts, not two seconds later and both Ichigo and Nanao walked into the 8th Division and within the sight of Lisa.
Lisa approached the two, relieved at her return, and apprehensive at his appearance.
"I found her over by the Spirit Library. She was looking for you and I offered her assistance getting back to your division," Ichigo explained, the soft spoken words and friendly expression gone from when he tried soothing the child next to his leg.
Lisa's eyes softened, and her apprehensiveness disappeared when she discovered the truth to her disappearance and Ichigo's involvement in the matter.
"Thank you Lieutenant Fushou," Lisa said with a slight bow of the head before approaching Nanao, "Would you like to read, Nanao-chan?"
The young girl nodded enthusiastically, her anxiety having been a thing of the past, much to Ichigo's amusement.
"Excuse us Lieutenant," Lisa stated before walking off with Nanao in tow, but not before gracing Ichigo with a smile.
Ichigo was a bit disarmed by her expression, but took his cue to leave nonetheless. However, before he could quite make his way out of the division he was called on by a familiar voice, "Ichigo-kun."
The Lieutenant glanced towards the flamboyant 8th Division Captain, "Yes Captain Kyoraku?"
The senior Captain approached with a smile, "Why don't you join me for a drink? It's the least I can do for you helping young Nanao-chan return safely to our division."
Ichigo turned to face the Captain directly before replying, "Perhaps another time Captain. I was heading towards the Spirit Library prior to helping your subordinate for some research, and I'd very much like to use what little time I have to pursue this matter."
"The Spirit Library?" the Captain said while scratching his chin, obviously pondering the comment, "Well, most of what you can find in the Spirit Library I know the details of, so how about we make a trade? You drink with me, and I'll answer your questions," he offered hopefully.
It was Ichigo's turn to ponder, "That might not be a bad idea. Records can be altered, or simply not written down, I may get more information out of him than I could have at the Spirit Library."
Kyoraku stood there, hopeful that his offer bared fruit as he often could never share a drink with anyone these days, much to his disappointment. Low and behold he was rewarded with Ichigo's reply, "Very well, I accept your offer Captain Kyoraku."
"Excellent, excellent," he replied, the tone in his voice more friendly than ever as they walked towards his office, a skip in the Captain's step that hadn't been there before.
Kyoraku slid open the door to his office, which revealed the kinds of things you'd expect from the easygoing Captain. A various number of paintings adorned his walls, all of which were of women. He had numerous sake sets that varied from ceramic to glass, he even had a wooden set, all of which had unique designs emblazoned on the sides. They walked through the office until Kyoraku stopped at another sliding door in the back, which revealed another room complete with a low-table and seat cushions, in addition to a sake set on the table top.
Kyoraku plopped himself down on one of the cushions and began preparing the sake he had in hand to be served, "Please, sit down Ichigo-kun," the Captain said kindly.
Ichigo closed the sliding door before he propped his sword against the wall alongside Kyoraku's swords, and sat down on the cushion opposite of the Captain.
"I had this back room built into the office so I could have a little more privacy," Kyoraku stated as he handed Ichigo a saucer of sake, "it can be quite unfortunate to have an interesting conversation interrupted after all."
Ichigo chose not to comment and accepted the saucer handed to him.
Kyoraku poured himself a serving before raising it with his hand in a toast, "To an interesting conversation," he said with a smile.
Ichigo simply nodded before taking a sip, its vapors entering through his nostrils, and the hot liquid traveling down his throat, the alcohol leaving a strong aftereffect.
Kyoraku was surprised at Ichigo's tolerance of the beverage, or at the very least of how little it seemed to faze him, "Do you drink often Ichigo-kun?" the Captain asked curiously.
Ichigo paused in thought, recollecting several memories before he pushed them away from the surface and calmly replied, "I did a long time ago when I lived in the Rukongai," taking another sip.
"Oh? I've heard the bars in Fushou can be rather dangerous, then again, all districts that far away from the Seireitei are quite dangerous," Kyoraku mused.
This caused Ichigo to quirk an eyebrow, which didn't go unnoticed by the laid back Captain, who smiled lightly, "When you've been a Captain for as long as I have, you become quite familiar with the districts of Rukongai, both the safe and the dangerous."
Kyoraku took a healthy sip from his own saucer before saying, "Speaking of my old age, you had some questions, Ichigo-kun," with a bit of humor in his voice at the small joke.
Ichigo handed Kyoraku his saucer for a refill before he cleared his throat, "Yes. I was curious about...the Quincy."
Kyoraku paused while filling Ichigo's saucer, before he continued and sighed softly, "Ah, I was there for that. Not one of my most fond memories as a Captain, but we have responsibilities after all," he said before handing Ichigo back his now full saucer.
"The short story is that spiritually aware humans trained to combat Hollows, but the problem was that they completely destroyed them. They were creating an imbalance among souls, an imbalance that would have annihilated the world. There were negotiations between the Quincy and Shinigami, we requested that they leave the handling of Hollows to us, but the talks fell apart and we were left with the unfortunate decision of killing them," the Captain said with a saddened look before taking a large sip of sake. "But why are you interested in something that happened ninety years ago, Ichigo-kun?"
Ichigo knew he had to tread carefully if he didn't want the observant Captain to become suspicious, "If I know the choices made in the past, I can make choices better in the future," he replied simply.
Kyoraku chuckled lightly, "Learn from our mistakes, huh Ichigo-kun?" he said.
"Something like that," he replied with a light smirk, "Do you know if there were any survivors?" he asked curiously.
Kyoraku looked up, as if trying to recall his memory, "Hmm, there were some scattered throughout the world of the living that we kept track of, there were only a handful though."
"Only the world of the living?" Ichigo asked, a tone of surprise subtly hinted in the tone of his voice.
Kyoraku was mid-sip before he threw back the rest of his drink down his mouth, "Yes, where else would they go Ichigo-kun?" he said halfheartedly.
Ichigo looked down into his saucer, confusion spreading across his features, for what reason Kyoraku knew not, "Would there be any survivors in say...Soul Society?" Ichigo asked as he looked up from his drink.
Kyoraku considered the question with a lot of thought, "I'm fairly certain it's impossible for a living being to enter our world. I'm curious though, what brought this question on Ichigo-kun?"
Ichigo quickly took a sip of his drink before calmly replying, "Just something I wondered about when we covered the topic at the Shinigami Academy."
Kyoraku didn't quite believe his answer, but couldn't think what other reason he might have that question, so he let it slide. Desiring to brighten the mood, Kyoraku asked a question that completely caught Ichigo off guard, "So is there something I should know about between you and my Lieutenant, Ichigo-kun?" he said with a smile behind his saucer as he took a slow sip of sake.
Ichigo was, for lack of a better word, flustered, "I...I have no idea what you're talking about Captain Kyoraku."
The Captain merely maintained his gaze as he purposely took a slow sip, wanting to hide the grin on his face, which had the desired effect as Ichigo was soon beginning to feel like a man speaking with the father of a woman he was romantically involved with, which wasn't the case in either instance.
Kyoraku took advantage of the situation though, "I saw how you looked at her when she left with young Nanao-chan. It's nothing to be ashamed of, she is a beautiful woman."
Ichigo was having great difficulty formulating words, so he merely drank his sake, which didn't work very long as he ran out. Looking up from his drink, he saw the playfulness in Kyoraku's eyes, as well as the corners of a smile on the outskirts of his saucer.
"Well played Captain," Ichigo said feeling duped.
Kyoraku laughed happily, "Come now Ichigo-kun, I was only teasing, but you were looking at Lisa-chan with an interesting expression."
Ichigo simply held out his saucer with a slightly exasperated face, which only added to Kyoraku's amusement. The Captain generously refilled Ichigo's saucer, only for their conversation to be interrupted by the sound of someone's voice, "Lieutenant Fushou! Lieutenant Fushou! I have an urgent message addressed to you directly!" yelled a man from outside of Kyoraku's office.
Both Ichigo and Kyoraku shared a look before Ichigo drank down his entire saucer and stood up, exiting the back room and opening the sliding door to the 8th Division Captain's office, with said Captain standing behind Ichigo.
It was a messenger from the 5th Division of the Onmitsukidō, the Inner Court Troop, "My apologies, but this message is strictly for Lieutenant Fushou," the messenger said to Captain Kyoraku.
"It's fine. What is the message?" Ichigo commanded.
The messenger looked back and forth between the two of them before resigning to Ichigo's order and said, "You are to report directly to the Central 46 chambers post haste, and you are to leave your Zanpakuto behind."
Both Captain Kyoraku and Ichigo were shocked, but Ichigo quickly recovered from the reeling news and looked behind himself, "Captain Kyoraku, may I inconvenience you with holding my Zanpakuto?"
Kyoraku recovered from his surprise, "It's no inconvenience Ichigo-kun," he said waving it off as nothing.
Ichigo nodded solemnly, "Very well, it should be resting against the wall in your office."
He immediately nodded towards the messenger and disappeared in flash-step, his thoughts of worry and concern growing from the pit of his stomach.