It was about noon in the Soul Society, and in the Squad 3 barracks the entire squad was gathered together, they had been notified by their Lieutenant, Izuru Kira, that they had been assigned a new captain at long last, and they were eager to meet him, tales about him had already spread throughout the Soul Society, and as with all tales spreading far and wide, hey were leading to some misconceptions about what he'd be like.
"I wonder if he's as strong as Captain Ichimaru was" one man said
"Not sure, but I've heard stories about this guy, rumor has it that he obliterated an entire enemy battalion, commander and all" another replied
"that's all? I heard he was even stronger than that, I heard that he was so powerful, they moved him from just being a recruit to being a captain in just a few weeks!" yet another said
Kira walked in and stood at the front of the room, making everyone fall silent, the moment they were waiting for was close at hand
"Good afternoon everyone, I'm sure you all know why you've been called here... so allow me to introduce... Torin Inzanki, our new Captain" Kira said, then he sat down
Torin walked into the room, his robes blowing behind him as he made long determined strides to his spot at the front of the room.
The squad was silent, after all the hype, their new captain seemed awfully... young
"Hello men and women of squad 3, as you probably know, I am to be your new captain after the recent... incident with the former captain" Torin said
"So we're getting a teenager as our Captain? Is this a joke?" One man asked, a few other squad members muttered in agreement
"Does my appearance bother you?" Torin asked, staring directly at the man who had spoken with a stern look, not exactly angry, but certainly displeased. The man shifted nervously, he hadn't meant to be singled out like this, but he couldn't back down now.
"Yes sir, this squad has sunk low in the eyes of others since Captain Ichimaru betrayed the Gotei 13, and we need someone to bring honor back to the squad, I don't think a teenager is gonna do that. You're too young an inexperienced to understand the duties of a captain, you haven't suffered like we adults have and..."
At this comment Torin's eyes blazed with anger, and the man cut himself off quickly, knowing something had angered the man who could very easily kill him.
"You think I haven't suffered because I'm young? What's your name?" Torin asked, his voice so calm it was more intimidating than if he had begun to yell at the man
"uh...Mano...sir" Mano said, his voice weak. The rest of teh squad was watching with interest now, how would this conflict end? Would their captain put down insolence by force? Or would he prove his maturity by putting Mano down with words alone?
"Tell me Mano... Do you have parents?" Torin asked sweetly
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do" Mano said
"I don't, mine were killed 3 days after I was born" Torin said
Mano blinked in surprise "oh, sorry to hear that sir..." he said
"have you ever gone weeks without food at a time?" Torin asked, ignoring Mano's response
"Um... no sir..." Mano said
"I starved for months at a time, so that my friends could eat. When you were a young boy, did you ever had to fight against hordes of criminals, all of them armed to the teeth, with your bare hands?"
Mano was pale now "No..." he said weakly
Torin's voice betrayed his anger now "That was a near daily occurrence for me. How about this one, have you ever had the woman you loved die in your arms as you watched helplessly?" he asked
Mano gulped, but said nothing, his expression answered the onlookers well enough
Mano didn't even see Torin move, but suddenly he was looking up at Torin's face from inches away "Until you've suffered all of these things, NEVER say I haven't suffered again, whatever suffering you've experienced in your life, it is NOTHING compared to mine. Do you understand?" Torin said coldly
Mano nodded, and Torin turned away from him and walked back to the front of the room. Everyone was silent, there were no people muttering about Torin's age now, those who had initially scoffed at his appearance now looked at him with respect and sympathy.
"Mano made two good points at the very least, despite his ignorance" Torin said once he re-assumed his position. "Yes, I AM young, this he was correct about. However, that does not mean I am weak, nor does it mean I am irresponsible, and it does not make me any less of a captain, take Captain Hitsugaya as an example, he is even younger looking than I am, and he is a prodigy with the potential to become one of the greatest captains of our time, he leads his division fairly and well, and I will do the same, of this you have my word."
The room was silent, many were ashamed that they had doubted their new captain so easily because of his young appearance, when they had been living with a 10 year old as a captain of squad 10 for so long.
"The other point Mano made, and this one is something I'm happy he brought up, is that the reputation of this squad has, in fact, plummeted since recent events. It's understandable, we're meant to be the protectors of the Gotei, and here our former captain goes and betrays us in a bid to take control of the Soul Society. " Torin said "Which is why we're going to make some changes around here."
The squad was listening with undivided attention now, whenever a new captain came to a division he had the right to decide the squad's purpose, methods, and anything about the squad he wished, this was always most apparent during his initial appointment, as it was then the biggest changes were made.
"Currently we are known as the protection squad, but what is it that we're supposed to protect?" Torin asked
The room was silent for a few moments, then one squad member spoke up "the Gotei 13 right?"
Torin smiled "currently, that is correct, but as of right now, that is dead wrong!" he said
Torin raised his hands, and the murmuring his statement had caused ceased immediately "As of right now, Squad 3 exists to protect ALL of the Soul Society! The Gotei 13 of course, but also the Rukongai."
"But it's too large one squad can't hope to protect all of that!" a man said
"And that's the mentality that I want to crush beneath my feet, yes, the Rukongai is large, yes it will be difficult to defend, so that means we should just abandon it, retreat behind our walls, and let its citizens suffer?" Torin said "NO, it means that as shinigami, we should pride ourselves in our success in defending it from all threats, from hollows to crime, we will crush all of it!"
"This is not an easy task, but it is the most important task we shall ever undertake, the Rukongai contains over 90% of souls, and from those souls is where we recruit shinigami" Torin continued "By protecting those souls, we protect future shinigami, who will one day come to protect these souls alongside us."
The squad was getting excited now, they were beginning to see where this was going, and the vision of the future Torin was describing was becoming their vision as well.
"By doing this we discard our past!" Torin said "We are the protection squad, we protect the Rukongai, and in turn the future shinigami that come from the Rukongai, in doing this we aren't protecting the Gotei 13's past, nor are we protecting it's present. Whenever someone asks us what we work to protect, what shall we tell them? We protect..."
Torin was cut off by a simultaneous cry from the entire squad, men and women, high ranks and low ranks all "THE FUTURE!" they cheered, the energy in the room was overwhelming now, with just some simple words, Torin had turned a room of skeptics into fanatic followers of his dream.
Torin stood with tears in his eyes, overcome with pride and joy at how this squad had come to accept his vision, no... not THIS squad... HIS squad, they were his now.
"That's right!" he said "we protect the future! Now I am going to make an oath here and now to you all!"
The room fell silent, listening to Torin's words with all their hearts, waiting for the oath that would solidify his position as their leader.
Torin drew his blade "My zanpakto is an embodiment of myself, so I swear on this blade. I swear to you all, I shall work day and night to make this vision reality, I will protect you all in battle, laugh with you all in peace, work alongside you, and give everything I am to you, beyond the duties of a captain, I shall be there for you all, I will share your pain and your joy, your triumphs and failures will be my own, and my triumphs will be yours, and I shall not share my failures with you, for I shall never fail any of you in your times of need. On this blade I swear, I will be more than your captain, I shall be your friend, and I will live my life for each and every one of you. This I swear!" he said, his voice rose throughout his speech, his last words were spoken so loudly the room shook.
Torin put his sword away "That is my oath to you all, I am honored to be your captain, tonight we shall have a party in an hour to celebrate our meeting, I have arranged for the other squads to take our duties for the day, so I shall see you all shortly..." he said, he was about to dismiss them when a younger male shinigami stood and walked up to him, then drew his zanpakto an kneeled, laying it at Torin's feet
Torin's eyebrows raised in surprise in confusion, when the man spoke.
"I swear on this blade. I swear to you Captain Inzanki, I shall work day and night to make this vision reality, I will protect you in battle, laugh with you in peace, work alongside you, and give everything I am to you, beyond the duties of a squadmate, I shall be there for you , I will share your pain and your joy, your triumphs and failures will be my own, and my triumphs will be yours, and I shall not share my failures with you, for I shall never fail you in your times of need. On this blade I swear, I will be more than your squadmate, I shall be your friend, and I will live my life for you. This I swear!"
Torin was visibly shocked, the room was silent for several long moments, then a young woman stood and walked up to him, the man who had just made the oath picked up his zanpakto, sheathed it and walked back to his spot. The woman drew her own zanpakto and knelt, then repeated the same oath as the first man.
One by one, each and every member of squad 3 came and knelt before Torin, layed their zanpakto at his feet, and swore the same oath. By the time they were finished Torin was crying tears of joy.
As the last man walked back to his place, every squad member stood, then bowed in respect.
"Everyone... thank you all... You really have no idea how much that meant to me" Torin said, his voice choked with emotion "Now let us go, our party awaits!"
Torin's words were met with a enormous cheer from the squad, and they all filed out to attend the party.
Torin was left alone in the room, with Kira standing behind him. "I'll be there shortly, you may go too Kira" he said
Kira got up and began to leave then stopped "Your speech... it was very impressive Captain... it takes a lot to move the members of this squad like that. They've accepted you as their new Captain with all their hearts, even Captain Ichimaru didn't have this kind of relationship with the men. If you do anything to break your oath to them..." he said, his hand gripping his zanpakto tightly
"Don't worry, I don't swear oaths lightly, especially oaths on my zanpakto" Torin said "Every word I said I said from the bottom of my heart, I will not break my oath, even if it costs me my life."
Kira nodded then turned and smiled "then welcome to the squad Captain Inzanki"
"Please, no need to be so formal, call me Torin, the whole captain title feels awkward to me." Torin said, returning the smile "now, shall we Kira?"
Kira nodded "certainly Ca... er.. Torin... let us go rejoin the men" he said
Torin and Kira joined the party, and the squad's celebrations dragged on until late that night