Weeks had passed sicne Torin and Rida had trained in the Rukongai to acquire their shikai. Since that day Torin and Rida had drastically improved their skills. As raids like the one they had barely survived once before became more common their powers made them the unofficial leaders of their squadmates in battle. They vanquished many foes in battle and became the role models of their peers. They were unaware of the fame they were so rapidly gaining, so when they were summoned by Captain Ukitake they were not sure why.
"You wanted to see us Captain?" Torin asked as he stepped into the office, Rida followed shortly afterwards.
Captain Ukitake smiled and gestured for Torin and Rida to take a seat. "Yes, I wanted to personally congratulate you on your stellar performance in the recent battles and thank you for your efforts." he said
"I'm flattered Captain Ukitake, but surely a captain such as yourself has more important duties than complimenting us" Torin replied
"don't say that Torin, I like important people taking time to compiment... oomph" Rida began, but he was cut off by a quick jab to the stomach from Torin "on second thought... yeah its not that important..." he wheezed
Ukitake chuckled "always straight to the point with you Torin, loosen up a bit, accept a compliment once in a while." he said, then he became serious and folded his hands together in front of his his mouth as he leaned forward slightly. "You're right though, I did call you here for more than that, two more things, one of which must wait until the other person I have called arrives. I'll start with the other one..." he said as he pulled out two new uniforms and handed one to both Torin and Rida "Torin Inzanki, in light of your skill and acomplishments, I hereby promote you to 6th seat. Rida Itzakura, you are hereby promoted to 8th seat. Congratulations to both of you, keep up the good work."
"Thank you Captain!" Torin and Rida said with bowed heads
Ukitake smiled "with that formality out of the way, I'd like to say that this promotion is only the beginning, you both have shown remarkable talent, I remember noticing you had potential when you two joined my squad. I'm very proud of you both, which is why I made you seated officers." he said "but you're both still nowhere near your full potential, I can easily see you reaching Lieutenant level in maybe 10 years or so."
Torin and Rida were both shocked, Lieutenants in 10 years? They really grew that fast?
"Sorry I'm late Captain Ukitake!" Aurora said as she rushed into the office "I got held up by an enemy raid, but I got here as fast as I could."
Ukitake became serious once again "well now that you're here let's get down to business. Aurora Keisa, I hereby promote you to 7th seat." he said as he handed Aurora another uniform. "With that done, let's move on to my other purpose in calling you three here. Recently we have detected a growing of number of hollows and arrancar in the Rukongai, they seem to be gathering into an army in order to launch a full-scale attack. I want you three to go and investigate the situation. Your primary objective is to figure out how large the force is, but if it is at all possible to take out their leader or otherwise cripple their forces you are to do so." Ukitake said
"Wouldn't this job be better suited for the Stealth Force to handle? That's their specialty after all." Rida asked
Ukitake nodded in agreement "ordinarily you'd be correct, but currently the Stealth Force is in Hueco Mundo trying to infiltrate the enemy base, and we lost all contact with them about a week ago, it is entirely possible that they were eliminated." he said grimly
Torin sat up abruptly "but what about Captain Soi-Fon?" Torin exclaimed "if she went too there's no way they would be defeated so easily that we wouldn't even know what happened!"
Ukitake shook his head "we don't know, but considering the nature of the mission and the size of the enemy base, it is certainly possible that they were all eliminated.
Torin, Aurora, and Rida all gasped in surprise and fear, an entire squad and its captain wiped out on a simple infiltration mission? Without a trace of conflict? If the enemy was this powerful, what would happen when full scale combat broke out?
"Keep in mind I don't personally believe this is the case, if nothing else I believe Captain Soifon would escape, but as it stands we can't count on the Stealth Force returning to do this mission for us. Which means its up to the other 12 squads to protect the Soul Society, which is why I'm giving you this mission, Torin is the highest rank among you, so he will lead the mission. Please go and prepare while I speak to him." Ukitake said "Please be ready to depart today."
Rida and Aurora bowed and left, leaving Torin alone with the captain.
Torin fidgeted nervously, the news about the Stealth Force was bugging him "So... what did you want to talk to me about Captain?" he asked "is there something else about the mission I should know about?"
Ukitake shook his head "no, nothing about that, I wanted to address what I said earlier about you and Rida becoming Lieutenants in 10 years, that actually only applies to Rida, your potential is much different than his." he said
"Oh..." Torin said, he knew it was too good to be true
"You have the potential to become a captain in that same time-span" Ukitake continued
"What!?" Torin exclaimed as he leaped to his feet "what do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said, you aren't there yet, but if the 3rd seat position weren't already taken I would have given you that ranking. Your shikai is incredibly deadly, and it plays to your strengths even more than most zanpakto." Ukitake explained "On average it takes about 10 years to achieve bankai, at your rate of growth, and assuming you don't neglect your other skills while training for bankai, you should be able to hone your other skills to captain level in those same 10 years."
Torin fell back into his chair in shock "if this is your idea of a pre-mission pep-talk you should make it more believable." he laughed incredulously.
Ukitake shook his head again "it isn't, and I'm not the only captain who thinks this, Captain Shunsui also noticed your potential, and after discussing with me he pointed you out to head Captain Yammamoto himself, and he has also taken an interest in you."
Torin shook his head in disbelief "You all really believe I'm that special?" he asked
Ukitake nodded "I wouldn't lie about this, after this mission we're going to have special training to try and make you reach captain level as soon as we can, we have three vacant spots left by the recent betrayal, and in this time of war we need to try and fill them as soon as we can. So be sure to survive this mission Torin."
Torin got up and bowed "thank you very much sir! I promise not to let you down!" then he left to go get ready.
Ukitake was silent for a bit, then he said " Are you sure about this Shunsui? There's a good chance they'll die on this mission, they're still just children! Can we really ask this much of them?"
Captain Shunsui stood outside the window leaning out of sight against the wall. His straw hat cast a shadow concealing his eyes, making it seem like he might have fallen asleep standing up. "We don't have a choice Ukitake, you saw the file on the person responsible for this war, we're going to need their strength when the time comes, the only way to make them grow fast enough for that is to put their lives in danger. Besides, I've been watching Torin for a while, I've seen him train until he collapsed, and then I saw him get back up and train some more, he won't die on a mission like this, and you can bet he won't let his friends die either" he said
Ukitake sighed "If only I had your confidence Shunsui..." he said, then he had a coughing fit
"Yous should take it easy ukitake, with your illness you need your rest." Shunsui said
"I'm...fine... no need to worry about me..." Ukitake replied weakly " and I can't rest now, like you said, I saw the file, too much needs to be done to prepare for his arrival, I'll rest when this is all over."
Shunsui fell silent for a while, then stood up and stretched "well it's about time I got going too, Nanao whill chew me out if I dawdle any longer, later" he said, then he vanished in a flash-step, leaving Ukitake alone
Ukitake sat alone and drank some medicine, he couldn't put his mind at ease. All he could do now was wait and hope Torin and the others survived, they were the last hope of the Soul Society, and he had just sent them into a deathtrap.