Kukaku and her younger brother were at the marketplace when she spotted Ganju about to pick a fight with half-a-dozen shinigamis.
It would have been a problem no matter what, but the fact that these shinigamis were paying respects to a fallen comrade made it much worse. Kukaku wasn't going to let her brother get in the way of that - not when at least half their family tree was composed of shinigamis.
tags: Shiba Ganju &Shiba Kukaku, Shiba Kukaku, Shiba Ganju, Shiba Kaien (mentioned), Kurosaki Isshin (mentioned), funerals and wakes, respect, Rukongai, Seireitei
This one is part of the "Rukongai Dilemna", expanding on worldbuilding for Rukongai itself.
Because Bleach just doesn't say much on the matter, and from there you get the impression that Seireitei is absolutely horrible towards Rukongai, that they aren't trying hard enough, etc, but honestly, if Rukongai is the afterlife for all of humanity, even with the cycle of rebirth it's not the Gotei's 6000 shinigamis who will change everything in it. A lot of them could do better, sure, but it wouldn't make life perfect for everyone either.
(I'm considering that Soul Society isn't divided into 4 branches like it's been implied somewhere, in a databook or something, because we've seen nothing of it and I am not worldbuilding three other afterlife systems, especially not if one of them is "Burn the Witch" as we haven't seen enough of it to extrapolate anything logically. Even if Seireitei and Rukongai were only 1/4 of the afterlife, 6000 shinigamis would still not be enough to regulate all of it.)
As I've already said before, worldbuilding isn't a strength of Bleach. It's constantly hinted at, but rarely explored. Rukongai is, in many ways, poor "because" it's supposed to be poor, even if there are a lot of reasons we can extrapolate for that:
- a lot of Rukongai citizens spend their afterlife looking for their families and friends, which means they aren't actively trying to better their communities
- most souls don't actually need to eat, so no, they aren't starving, but their lack of constant agriculture (since they don't need it) does make it much harder for those who do need to eat
- violent souls end up in the higher-numbered districts because they are very, very far away from Seireitei and thus less likely to have shinigamis walking around, which makes life a lot more difficult for the normal people there too
- Seireitei doesn't get much involved with the rest of Soul Society
and somehow, a lot of fans jump on that last one and don't even bother thinking about the rest.
Same thing, everyone acts as if Seireitei is the capital of Soul Society... and I don't remember it being stated anywhere? It's in the middle of Soul Society, it's the most powerful settlement there, sure, but to me it seems much more logical to have it as a city-state doing its own thing and only venturing out (officially) when there are hollows about.
Maybe I'm wrong, but any worldbuilding I'm going to do will be on the assumption that Seireitei is a city-state.
Also, this happens roughly fifteen years after Kaien's death, eleven years after Isshin's disappearance, and eleven years before canon.
~ Walk of Sorrow ~
Kukaku watched over her younger brother as he looked around the marketplace looking for new shoes. Lately, Ganju had taken upon himself the "duty of protecting Junrinan from evildoers", which was all great and well if that didn't, in fact, mean that half the fights he picked were with shinigamis.
Even with shinigamis who weren't, actually, doing anything problematic.
As a Shiba, Ganju had adequate reiryoku, but nothing noteworthy – nothing close to Kaien or Uncle Isshin, and less than Kukaku herself or their parents. His qualities lay more with focus – ironic considering his goofy personality – precision and memorizing. He was what you'd call a natural at kido, even if he'd have a hard time pulling the higher-leveled spells given his limited inner power.
Ganju was also inventive with his kido practice and had already created a couple of new spells, which was impressive given his young age – he'd become an adult, what, three years ago?
None of that would keep him safe from trained shinigamis if he pissed them off bad enough. It might grant him a few minutes if he managed to surprise them with his custom kido, but all in all, he had no practical combat training.
Kukaku should look into getting him some self-defense training, except she knew for a fact that he'd take it as a validation of his skills and might, and would then pick more fights. Depending on who he'd pick those fights with...
It might not end well.
Kukaku had tried talking to him about what had happened to Kaien, but whenever she'd bring up the subject he'd start having selective hearing and storming out before she could explain.
Now that the Shiba clan had been ousted of Seireitei, she could hardly reach out to Ukitake and ask him if he'd speak with her younger brother, either – a pity, because even Ganju wouldn't manage to ignore Ukitake's gentleness. Shibas weren't welcome at the gates anymore, and any message she'd try to get through would need the help of a shinigami – and someone was antagonizing every single one of those he came across, all that while wearing the family's seal.
That wasn't helping the reputation they'd lost when Uncle Isshin had disappeared eleven years ago and accusations of disorderly behavior – of the criminal kind – had cropped up from the woodwork in various middle-numbered districts of Rukongai.
Seireitei didn't generally bother itself with the happenings of Rukongai unless it involved hollows, but some sort of discipline was still expected of its soldiers when they were out there. The Gotei didn't have the means to keep an eye on what shinigamis did while out in the districts, but they wouldn't ignore serious accusations with relatively grounded "evidence" if it was brought to them.
Back before Kaien had made vice-captain, a child had come to Shin'o with the bloodied shihakushos of three shinigamis who'd been assaulting Rukon citizens far out – he'd demanded to enter the academy and he'd gotten his wish. Everyone with a brain could understand that that child had killed three unranked shinigamis without having any form of training, which meant he had more than enough potential – and the Gotei didn't freely begrudge self-defense against its soldiers, even if they weren't closely watched when out in Rukongai.
That child was a captain, now.
Anyway, the point was that too many Rukongai dwellers had spoken up against Uncle Isshin – and Kukaku didn't believe he'd done any of it, of course not, but she had no proof to accuse so many of lying and he wasn't here to defend himself. The accusations had been too serious, too numerous to dismiss, and the whole clan had taken the fall instead.
As far as Ganju was concerned, that was only one more reason to hate shinigamis.
Just like his selective hearing, her brother seemed to have forgotten that not only had Kaien and Uncle Isshin been shinigamis, but so had been their father, both their grandmothers, and a whole slew of other relatives who might have been a bit peeved at Ganju's stance on the Gotei 13 if they'd still been alive.
Kukaku, herself, felt wary of anything linked to Seireitei, these days – those accusations against Uncle Isshin hadn't come from nowhere, and either a noble or an officer was behind it all – but she wasn't going to renounce everything that had made the Shiba clan up till now.
She'd just be... cautious.
...And she'd have to keep Ganju from getting himself killed. Patrolling Junrinan to keep gangs from forming and making life difficult for the inhabitants was all and well – though mostly unnecessary, because this was the first West district and no one really wanted to start trouble this close to Seireitei – but that shouldn't include insulting passing shinigamis.
"Ganju, you moron!"
Kukaku sped through the marketplace and towards the edge of the main street where she could see her younger brother bristling while half-a-dozen black uniforms grew closer. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could guess well enough.
A disgraced Shiba verbally assaulting several shinigamis was only asking for trouble.
As she got closer to the scene of the oncoming catastrophe, Kukaku blanched – in anger and in shame, aimed, she had to admit, at her brother. Aside from his cronies, who were just hanging around in a show of stupidity – sorry, solidarity – all the Rukon dwellers present were making space, getting as far away as possible from Ganju – and they looked afraid, yes, but mostly they were uncomfortable with his words, with the reality of what was coming. They'd seen what Ganju had completely missed, what would warrant a good trashing if he didn't stop before the shinigamis reached the marketplace.
"...what do they think they are doing, coming over here as if they had any right to..."
Kukaku didn't bother listening to more of her brother's foolish hatred – as if shinigamis had no right to walk across Rukongai, as if none of them had come from here in the first place, as if Rukongai citizens would be able to deal with hollows that slipped into Soul Society if not for the Gotei 13 – and hit him on the head as soon as she could.
Not that hard, but not lightly either.
He didn't deserve sympathy and care right now.
Ganju jumped in fright and around, ready to – try to – fight it out with whoever had hit him from behind...
...only to recoil when he recognized Kukaku.
"...Sis...?"
"Shut your goddamn mouth, Ganju, and don't you dare try and pick a fight with them."
"But..."
The shinigamis walked past them without looking at anyone, their eyes fixed ahead, far down the main street – towards the end of the village, Kukaku figured, where the street shifted to an uneven stone road, roaming the countryside until it found another Rukon settlement, and then again and again, all the way to the furthest district in the West.
Rukongai citizens got out of the way when the shinigamis passed, bowing slightly for most of them.
The woman at the head of the procession held a square box of white wood and wore an uchikatsugi hat with a short grey veil falling right at her jaw.
That should have been enough for Ganju to realize what was going on, but apparently her younger brother was too thick-headed and stubborn to even take a moment and look past the shihakushos.
At least he kept quiet, his eyes on the ground, until the procession got far enough that they wouldn't hear them speaking – though that might have something to do with Kukaku's iron grip on his left arm.
"Sis! Why did you...!"
Kukaku sent him a death glare that had him shrinking back on himself.
That wasn't good enough. Ganju wasn't challenging her, but he didn't get it. This might happen again, and then...
She wouldn't let him disrespect the Shiba name on that point, however unthinkingly he'd end up doing it.
"They were sorrowwalkers, you asshat. You'd know that, if you'd bothered looking before trying to pick a fight."
Ganju gave her a lost look, too confused to go back to feeling pissy quite yet.
"Sorrowwalkers...? What's that?"
Soul King forbid, did that boy never listen to anything the family tried to teach him over the years, or had he thrown out any cultural knowledge on shinigamis when he'd decided they were evil incarnate? It wasn't that he didn't care, Kukaku knew that – but Ganju could be so thick-headed sometimes, you had to push his face in the mud for him to notice it had rained.
"Shinigamis who come from Rukongai and die in service get a Walk of Sorrow for funerals. Close friends and colleagues from the same district who aren't dispatched to the Living World walk all the way there to bring their ashes back. You won't make me believe you've never heard of it."
Ganju's eyes lit up in revelation, and Kukaku had the strong urge to hit him again. She wouldn't, because he wasn't being purposefully stupid, but damnit, he was supposed to be ashamed of his intended behavior here – or at least, to grow a tiny bit respectful.
"Oh, that! Yeah, Otsune-sobo talked about that once, I remember now!"
"Great. So, do you understand why exactly that would have been in very poor taste for you to try and start a fight with them today? They are commemorating the life of a colleague who died fighting hollows. Even if you don't like them, you don't get in the way of something like that."
Immediately, Ganju bristled.
"What, no! I'm not respecting shinigamis, so I don't see why I should respect one of them just because they died being a shinigami, that doesn't make any sen..."
Kukaku's brother shut up when she sent a weak Sho past his ear.
"Don't you ever dare say that again, Ganju."
Even her brother's cronies were frozen on the spot, looking like they'd do anything not to be here. They were loyal to Ganju, sure – but they also knew they were definitely outclassed. Hell, only Sadatomo had anything resembling spiritual power, and that was just enough for him to need the occasional meal. Taichi was a very good swordsman, but his lack of reiryoku meant he would never damage anyone who did have spiritual power. Mitsuru could brawl, but had the same problem.
Kenji was just weak in all aspects.
Kukaku focused back on her stubborn brother.
"You don't have to like shinigamis. You can even think they don't do enough for Rukon dwellers if you want. But the soldiers spend decades, sometimes centuries endangering their lives against hollows so that humans and souls may continue living without being preyed upon. If they didn't, there would be hollows roaming the countryside and many more people would die out there. If you respect nothing about them, at least give them the right to a peaceful funeral."
"But, Sis! Hollows aren't the only problem here! We've been living in Junrinan for years now, and even here there are poor people! The streets aren't even paved! In the higher-numbered districts there are gangs and murderers walking free and no one cares! Back when we were in Seireitei I had no idea, but they should be doing more if they want respect, not just...!"
"And who would be chasing hollows then, Ganju? If the Gotei was busy keeping the peace across Rukongai, do you truly think they'd have enough manpower for their original duties? Let's be honest, there wouldn't even be enough shinigamis to keep all three hundred and twenty districts in order. At the best of times, the Gotei has over six thousand soldiers. Rukongai is the afterlife of all of humanity. That means roughly four billion souls nowadays, perhaps a bit less."
There were always about as many souls in Soul Society as there were humans in the Living World – but not quite. Hollows and Hueco Mundo counted as part of Soul Society in the balance of the worlds, though their position was a bit unstable at times, spilling over in the Living World.
It was absolutely ridiculous to expect the Gotei 13 to handle the entirety of Soul Society – and besides, most districts didn't want them to. Seireitei wasn't a capital in charge of a country; it was a city-state with an agreement with the rest of what was technically a gigantic continent to let them handle hollow threats, since about eighty-five percent of those who could do anything about them did live in Seireitei.
Granted, that agreement hadn't always been reached by quite diplomatic means. It was true, too, that Seireitei could try and spend more money on the well-being of their neighbors – the nobles especially. It wouldn't hurt, certainly. But they weren't obliged to, in the end, and many a Rukon dweller would look askance at any actual attempt.
Kukaku had found, after a decade living in Junrinan, that another clear divide of mentality existed between those who had to eat in Soul Society, and those who didn't. Those who had spiritual power – and with it the capacity to do a lot more damage, a passive protection against most attacks too – and those who had none.
Maybe Seireitei could do better in its relationship with the rest of Soul Society, but in many ways Rukongai ostracized those who would end up living in Seireitei and serving the Gotei 13.
It wasn't an excuse for everything, but it certainly explained a lot.
Ganju, him, had taken his anger against shinigamis and decided that everything started there.
To the point that he sometimes seemed incapable of logical thought or decency, like today.
"We can protect the people just as well!"
Kukaku boggled at the stupidity of that statement.
"...Ganju. Listen. Don't you realize that it's entirely idiotic to try and take away one organization's purpose that they mostly manage to fulfill to force them into another purpose that they cannot hope to achieve, while taking upon yourself their initial purpose, that you cannot hope to achieve on your own? Listen to yourself, damnit! Are you going to protect all of Junrinan, just you, and let's be generous, me too? The three cities and twenty-seven villages in the district? And what about the other districts, uh? What about the Living World? What's your solution there?"
Generally speaking, the Gotei did a good enough job of handling hollows – and the ones they couldn't manage in time were down to the fact that very few people had spiritual power. That the Gotei couldn't get much bigger for an overall lack of potential in the population. More than three-fourths of the soldiers were out there at any given moment – the rest kept guard over Seireitei and remained as backup if needed while training, and all unranked shinigamis took turns being assigned in the Living World or to the fields of arrival in Rukongai – and several of them died every year.
Giving them more to do, or putting fewer people on what they had to do – it just wouldn't work.
"Besides, you asshat, even if we've been thrown out, you are still a noble of Seireitei. We have no status left, true, but we've always been related to shinigamis. You could at the very least respect Kaien's work there, and the rest of the clan's."
Then Kukaku went for the sure hit:
"Would you have liked it if someone had been screaming obscenities on the side of the road when Kaien's body was brought back to us? If they'd started a fight with us, saying our brother didn't deserve respect because of his job?"
Ganju's jaw snapped shut, and he had nothing to say to that.
Kaien's situation had been different, of course. He'd been a noble from Seireitei, not a Rukongai citizen, so his body had been brought back whole – or as whole as could be, considering what had happened – and there hadn't been anyone on the side of the road to start a fight.
Still, the point stood. Kukaku would have been absolutely livid if someone had done to Kaien what Ganju had been planning to do to those sorrowwalkers. She hoped her younger brother understood and agreed, now.
"See, Ganju. Shinigamis aren't perfect, of course they aren't, but they are fighting and risking death every day, to protect others. And sure, maybe that's not always their motivation, maybe some of them only do it because they like it, or because they need the salary to eat, but in the end... Every single hollow they strike down is one less threat upon everyone else. You don't have to agree with how they do it, or with their attitude towards others, or with their choices in life, but someone needs to do the job they do."
Ganju looked vaguely repentant, now – or perhaps ill-at-ease because what Kukaku was saying clashed with his own feelings and yet he couldn't outright dismiss her words either.
"The least we owe them is respect when they are killed on duty. If there's one thing I will never let you get away with it's getting in the way of funeral rites. Confront those who bully villagers all you want, but never insult fallen soldiers on the way they fell. And since you are so bent on defending Rukongai citizens, never forget that about half the Gotei started out here."
"Alright, Sis... I, uh... Can I go now?"
Kukaku stared at her brother for a moment longer – he deserved to squirm for a bit, for what he'd almost pulled – but eventually she had to let him off the hook. In the end, he hadn't done anything irreparable, and perhaps this talk would prevent future offenses.
"Go on. Take your... gang... with you, too, and try being a bit more aware of your surroundings, for a change."
The young men practically scrambled away, then, and Kukaku sighed.
A look on the road showed her the diminishing silhouettes of the sorrowwalkers on their way. Kukaku bowed somberly in their direction.
"Thank you for your service, shinigami."