Journal 11 - Entry 16
The 11th Division has always been an unconventional place. Like everybody else I joined it cause I wanted to fight as much as possible. I mean, there are exceptions like Yumichika, but who knows what goes on in his head.
The man who embodied the spirit of our division more than anybody else, however, was Captain Zaraki. Was he insane? Probably, but that's a prerequisite for the job as Captain of the 11th. When the news came in that he had been killed fighting in the Wahrwelt, nobody truly believed it, I mean, the Captain was way too strong to die, especially after finally unlocking the power of his zanpakutō.
We got the full story when Captain Hitsugaya managed to make it back. Apparently Captain Zaraki killed the most powerful Schutzstaffel of all of them, the Miracle or whatever the fuckin' stupid title they go by was. He managed to use his Bankai to do it, but the backlash was too much and he was killed by another member of the Schutzstaffel. Some coward that shot him from far away, without even the honor of a fight.
Apparently the Head Captain managed to kill that bastard. Wish I got the chance to do it myself.
We were never able to find Lieutenant Kusajishi in the retreat, so she was declared MIA. We fear she may have tried to go after Captain Zaraki. They always had a strange, but very close bond.
But that meant that the 11th had no Captain, and we took heavy losses during the battle, so someone had to man up and take over. I never wanted to be Captain, you have to deal with bein' a leader and shit. I was always able to just focus on fighting. I mean, so did Captain Zaraki, but he had a charisma about it that spread to all the members of the division. I tried everything I could to get out of it, but my options were stay here, or go be a lieutenant of another division, and you know damn well I'm not doing that.
So now I just had to take over while we were retreating. On the plus side, because I was a Captain, I got to be part of the rear guard, which meant there was no shortage of fights against those Quincy fuckers. They lost most of the Sternritter guys in the battle, but they had a whole backup set ready to go, which is bullshit if you ask me. But that just meant I finally got a chance to go at it one-on-one with one of 'em.
Called herself Sternritter F, the Friction. Completely unhinged, psychotic bitch. If I came within a meter of her, I couldn't move. But she could only hold it for around 5 seconds at a time. She was sliding around like she was on ice too, tough to catch her, but she didn't have any hard hitting attacks, which meant I could draw the fight out. Eventually Hōzukimaru was at max power, and was finally able to rip through when the time on her power ran out, before she could skate back. She would not shut up the whole fight, really annoying, but really who cares? She's dead now, that's all that really matters.
There were still so many they started to get past us, but Captain Hirako said he'd handle it with his Bankai. Not too sure what it did, but a couple hours after he stayed behind, the pursuit just kinda stopped.
Took a little while after that and eventually we made it to that fake Karakura town where the fight against Aizen happened. They started sectioning off areas for the divisions, and we were able to get organized. The city was renamed Yōsai (Bastion). Pretty on the nose but it got the message across.
Thankfully my sister was also able to make it out. I've brought her into the 11th Division. I know it wasn't something she wanted initially, but after everything that has happened, we both feel more comfortable near each other.
Every surviving lieutenant was placed in the Captain position of divisions that didn't have a captain. These were still considered interim for the time being while we were still getting organized, but that officially put me as Interim Captain as the 11th Division. Basically my worst nightmare.
So keeping with the tradition of the 11th Division, I opened challenges, and anyone who could beat me in a duel would be handed the Captain position. Obviously, the other Captains weren't too happy with this, but it is in line with how the 11th Division operates, and I technically had the authority of a Captain, so there wasn't anything they could do. Unfortunately everybody still around who might be able to defeat me was already a Captain or Lieutenant, so even though a few people challenged me, they couldn't come close. Even though I may not want the Captaincy, it would be an insult to simply hand it over to an unworthy warrior, so I still will put my all into the fights. It helps that the fights were fun.
I was hoping Ichigo would challenge, but he was focused elsewhere, and I wasn't going to force him into anything.
But finally, a couple days ago I received a challenge, one that finally, truly excited me. Everyone, from the other Captains, to the other squad members were against, however, the challenge was issued, and the way of the 11th Division from the very beginning never did specify that the challenger had to be a shinigami.
So when the arrancar Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez requested a match, there was no way I could refuse. Especially after the stories I had heard from Ichigo about his fights with him. And fuck yes, the fight lived up to expectations, and then some. Grimmjow was ferocious, brutal, and feral, one that fought with wild abandon, no thought for his own safety, fighting purely for the thrill of combat, letting pure instinct guide his actions. We conversed with our blades, and once I released my Bankai, and he released his Resurrección, we clashed again, and I was outmatched. I could tell now that he had beaten me but was having so much fun that he was letting the fight continue purely for the joy of it. There was only one other man I had fought that did such a thing, and in that moment I knew who was going to be my new Captain.
Grimmjow had fought alongside the shinigami in the Wahrwelt during the battle. He seemed to hold respect for Ichigo, which was the reason he came in the first place, but I think he stuck with us for a similar reason that the 11th Division exists, the thrill of combat.
He was still an arrancar, so I wasn't sure what the reaction would be after he defeated me, after all, so far he had only shown respect for Ichigo, but I was surprised he offered his hand as I was lying on the ground after our duel. I guess I managed to earn his respect as he did mine. Keeping with tradition, at the next Captain's meeting I nominated him for Captain of the 11th. As expected, this was meant with extreme backlash. Especially from Captain Soifon. But I had a plan that may have been a bit underhanded; I got Ichigo to come and endorse it. Turns out Ichigo held a level of respect for him as well. Especially after Captain Grimmjow came to help at the Wahrwelt. His endorsement pushed it over the edge, and thus the first non-shinigami Captain of the Gotei 13 was appointed.
Captain Grimmjow (he prefers his first name) took over and started right away fighting every member of the division to see what their strength was and get an understanding of all the men and women in the 11th. Turns out his method of training is the same as Captain Zaraki's, that being just fight each other and him 'til you get stronger.
I've returned to my position as Lieutenant, which I could not be happier about. I wished to fight and to die under Captain Zaraki's command. It was why I never took a promotion in the first place. I survived and he didn't, I failed my goal, but there is a prevailing feeling, a theme that is dominating the Gotei right now, the sole idea holding up morale. It is that no matter what has happened, it can't be undone, so we must continue to press forward with all our effort.
So I will do so, and despite failing Captain Zaraki, this time I swear I will not fail Captain Grimmjow.
Apparently we're going to attempt to move into Hueco Mundo as well, with the eventual goal of taking Las Noches. I hope it doesn't take too long before we get everything organized. I'm dying to finally see some action.
.
LT. Ikkaku Madarame
11th Division
November 13, 2003
(You find a book that contains records of enemies from the war, and looking through you find a record and sketch of the person Ikkaku mentioned)
Sternritter F (2nd Iteration) - The Friction - Seike Taroumaru
i. postimg. cc/ zXgBB3Kq /Screenshot-1. png
Author's Notes:
The first major shakeup when looking at the Captaincy. With so many dying in the first battles of the war, there will be interesting developments in that department. Look forward to it!
A note concerning OCs. This is entirely personal preference but I like using existing characters from other stories/franchises to base characters off of. It's not a crossover, these aren't the actual characters from that story, they're just based off of them to better let you visualize their appearance, personality and actions.
And on that note Sternritter F is based on Seike Taroumaru from the Toaru series. (and yes she is a he that wears female clothes, but Ikkaku doesn't know that)
Either in the next chapter or the one after, I'm gonna do something that may be controversial. IDK, but let's just say that the shinigami can't continue to fight a war with the Quincys that have ranged weapons (bows), while the rank-and-file shinigami just have swords. Gotta even the playing field somehow, and leave it to Urahara to find a way…
Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
