Sorry my hiatus took so long, and I hope everyone's holidays have been well. I have more stuff, and I'm at that point where posting starts to help me write more and I have enough of a backlog to support it.
The late summer sun bore down upon the barracks of the Thirteenth as the sounds of construction filled the air.
Rukia was looking over her itinerary for the next month. It was largely dominated by her functions as acting captain, such as the coming captain's meeting and assessing Karin's progress in the substitute program.
It was largely light work, which she was thankful for. Since the head captain took off some of the load for her she had found herself much less stressed.
Thankfully the issue involving one of the tents losing its AC was resolved and the paperwork for requisitioning more had been submitted.
It was these little things that Rukia had learned long ago that made the biggest difference in morale. Her subordinates needed to know she cared about their wellbeing, that she was one of them. It certainly helped that many of her subordinates had actually served longer than her and knew of her time as an unseated, but eventually, that would no longer be the case. After a while, the relationship between her and her division would degrade to that of a normal captain-division dynamic if she wasn't careful.
Rukia then looked at Shino's progress report. Shino was a shinigami she was paying close attention to. She had potential, and could probably make lieutenant eventually. However, that wasn't the focus of the report. The focus was Ichigo's little sister Karin.
Shino's report basically stated that Karin had reached an 'acceptable level of proficiency.' Meaning she could be trusted for solo patrols should Rukia need to divert resources away from Karakura. While this was good news, Rukia needed to assess for herself.
Rukia was beginning to understand her brother's attempts to prevent her from becoming a seated officer. She had begun to see the twins as family during her stay with them during the arrancar crisis, and the thought of one of them coming to harm because of her decisions filled her with dread. So Rukia decided to assess Karin's readiness herself. Ichigo was at the level of a low-seated officer only after three months, meaning that it was possible she was at a similar level. She hoped that a personal assessment would stay her nerves.
Rukia then changed her attention to the rebuilding of the division. The spring batch of new recruits had settled in nicely, but soon she'd have to start looking over candidates for autumn.
This was where the pain of being in effect both the captain and the lieutenant was most felt. Not only did she have to oversee the drilling of her division as its lieutenant, she also had to work on assessing candidates for the division as its acting captain.
The process was normally extremely competitive. The number of potential candidates was always quite high, but the aptitude tests, both written and practical, were difficult by design. They demanded highly of the ones being examined, and if you didn't make muster, you had to wait six months to try again. The good news was the test was free to take, but the bad news was that the Gotei only accepted the very top percentage of those who took the test as applicants. This created a very small pool of individuals that came into the Gotei every year.
Rukia was lucky to get 50 shinigami into the division a year. Given that the expected strength was about a thousand? At this rate, it would take a decade at best to get the Thirteenth back to full strength.
This was where the vacuum left by Ukitake's passing was felt the most. Both training and selecting recruits required a deep understanding of the division and its running to do properly, and thus the responsibility for both fell to her. In this way, the division was already hers.
To say that Urahara had trouble tracking Yugure down would be an understatement. It was very clear that she didn't want to be found, avoiding cameras like the plague, but he had found her.
His back door into the monitoring network told him of a large burst of reiatsu that arrived in Seoul yesterday. Tracking the flights he tagged a private jet that had just flown in from the United States. The composition of the reiatsu also matched that of a shinigami, adding credence to the idea. Issue was he couldn't confirm this for himself. Seoul was too far to get to normally, and his responsibilities prevented a day trip. So he sent the information to Yoruichi and hoped that she could make more of the information than him.
Urahara changed his attention to the goings-on of the living world.
One thing that took Urahara some getting used to was how small the world was becoming. He had long ago gotten a tv, and it had really gone to show how connected the world was now.
Urahara could still remember 100 years ago when he first arrived when most of Japan was still mostly rural land. Since then much has changed.
When he first laid eyes on a steam locomotive he was impressed, now the fact the nearby train station allowed him access to the entire island chain in a timely manner was an afterthought.
Though the part that truly fascinated him though was the internet. It was an entirely new frontier. He was slowly beginning to sus out what the mortals were going to use it for, but that was not the thing he was focusing on.
No, today he found himself on the website for the Xcution cult. The rise of cults in Japan was something that Urahara had not expected, at least not initially. The secularization of the Japanese government as imposed by their terms of surrender after the Second World War had the benefit of increasing personal freedoms, but that had the negative side effect of allowing secret societies and cults to form. Most of the time these cults were thankfully quite harmless, or at worst simply gate-kept the higher echelons of society.
The worst case however?
Aum Sinrikyo came to mind.
Xcution at first glance seemed to be one of the more benign cults. Being more about collective benefit and social access than anything else, but they also claimed that Aura was an 'enlightened individual.'
Urahara didn't refute that claim, it was clear she was want for little. What footage he could get of her 'sermons' showed she was an eloquent individual and had genuine advice to give. What really caught Urahara's eye though were her 'miracles.' It was clear she was a fullbringer. The problem was that as he tried to track down what the focus of her fulbring was, he couldn't find it.
She had a consistent appearance, a suit jacket, slacks, and a pin, but it was clear that was out of personal preference. There were images of her in dresses, kimono, and other attire. There was no item she wasn't willing to be without. It was also clear she had little attachment if any to the world around her. Thing is, that's what fullbring needed to function, unless…
Yes, that could be the case.
—
Uryu was working on sewing together some of the uniforms that the bambis wore. Many of the requests for adjustments were reasonable. Meninas has complained about the top getting tight around the chest when moving her arms at certain angles. Bambietta had similarly complained about the pants not allowing her full range of motion with her legs. Given she was very kick-heavy in combat, that was kind of important. Litorrio had little to complain about. Her smaller frame was easy to work with and she didn't really strain her clothing that much.
Candice on the other hand… It was clear she had preferences in attire that he did not agree with. He had no issue with what she chose to wear, that wasn't his circus, but he would not make an outfit more fit for an adult video than a combat uniform. However, he did agree that the materials he was using could be more breathable. He'd have to look into finding different materials for use in their uniforms.
"Your majesty," Shaz Domino came into the room where Uryu was going over these requests and making quick adjustments to the current uniforms.
"Yes?" Uryu turned to look at the slightly taller quincy.
"There's someone on the phone," That surprised Uryu. Most calls were for his father, either due to business or due to him being needed at the hospital for emergency surgeries. Since his father was currently at the hospital right now…
Uryu picked up the phone that was nearby. "Hello?"
"Am I now speaking with Uryu Ishida?" the reserved voice was clearly that of a woman.
"And who are you?" The fact she knew his name, and went to lengths to contact him put him on edge. He was a nobody as far as the rest of the world was concerned.
"Aura Michibane, I believe you may have heard of me," That he did. She knew he took part in the raid on their old location. they had since set up elsewhere, but that inconvenience obviously didn't rule diplomacy out for her.
"If the shinigami found out we talked, it could put me in a compromised position," He didn't want to risk the Gotei's wrath. Not while the quincy were so freshly into their interregnum.
"They won't find out," That did not ease his concerns, but he didn't press the matter further. It would be better to just end the conversation as quickly as possible.
"What do you want?"
"Your neutrality," Neutrality? What did she have planned thar needed him firmly off the board?
"I don't understand," He tried running through ideas but he came up with nothing
"Allies of mine seek to make a play, a play that may create an opportunity to ingratiate yourself to Soul Society," Aura was clearly careful not to tip as to who that ally was. After all, he still had contacts within Soul Society.
Uryu hmmed at that. He would not put himself above making a move like that anymore should the opportunity present itself. He needed every inch he could take when it came to ensuring his people's survival. If that meant coming in as the cavalry for a fight that wasn't theirs, then so be it.
"And what do I gain for not taking the chance should it present itself?" A simple question. She was attempting to buy his neutrality, it was only fair to ask her price.
"An assurance of the quincy's continued survival in the new order," Uryu's blood ran cold as the line went dead.
Isshin had just finished another day at the clinic.
It was a slow day, and he only needed Yuzu's help occasionally. As much as he loved his daughter, he couldn't help but notice that she was more Kurosaki than Shiba.
In many regards, Yuzu was a dead ringer for her mother. The brown hair, the eyes, and even how she dressed herself. However he did have to admit that Karin was the one that took after Masaki the most personality-wise. Yuzu definitely had the demeanor of a Shiba. The absolute hijinks he and Yuzu got up to almost reminded him of his time with Kaien.
Isshin sighed at that.
Kaien was a loss he felt almost as hard as Masaki.
While at first glance Kaien might live up to the oafish reputation of the Shiba, he was a person who was almost as deep as the ocean his nature invoked.
He remembered the hours he and Kaien spoke about subjects as inane as how to make dango to as deep as the responsibilities the strong had to the weak.
Kaien would be the first to admit that Soul Society was screwed up, but he also held hope that it could change for the better.
The fact that Aizen made the monster that killed him was something that could make his blood boil on a bad day.
Isshin was never as unbothered as Kaien. He was a man of passion. He lived to enjoy life much as a flame burned. Responsibility was something he always struggled with when he was younger. Becoming a father helped with that, but he still longed for the leisure he enjoyed as a second son of a noble house.
Sometimes he hated that the world was so apathetic to what went on in it.
Byakuya stood in the family garden. The sakura trees and assorted flora providing a calming atmosphere for him to indulge in.
Being both a captain and the head of a great house was tiring, and often gave little time for relaxation. Thus Byakuya had to find ways to work while relaxing, or how to relax while working. This was one of his preferred strategies.
Thankfully the topic of the day wasn't stressful for once. He sought to speak with the family's head matchmaker about Ichigo's marriage request.
"Ah, Lord Byakuya, pardon my tardiness. The grandkids were simply rambunctious today," An old man, Shomei, walked up to Byakuya before sitting down on the bench. The head matchmaker was an old but cheerful man.
"The topic is not urgent, I simply seek your opinion," Byakuya understood the need to cherish the fleeting moments of life, even as he neared over two centuries, his short time with his wife taught him that life was still an ephemeral thing.
"Good good, so, what matter do you seek my opinion on? You are often quick to dismiss us," Shomei had a point. Byakuya was often quick to shoo the matchmakers off once business was done primarily to avoid uncomfortable topics.
"I do not do so out of disrespect, I simply prefer to avoid certain topics. Though as for why I called you here," Byakuya handed the elderly matchmaker a burnt-red envelope with a black flame on it. clearly a missive from the recently reinstated Shiba clan.
Shomei opened the envelope and then read its contents. It was clear whoever wrote it was very well versed in language, though not quite to the degree a scribe would. That implication, especially combined with the perspective of the writing was unusual.
"It is not often I see the request written by the one to be married," Shomei hmmed. The Caligraphy, while not done with a brush, was impressive, especially if it was written by who he thought it was. "This was the one who invaded to save her from her execution, yes?"
Byakuya gave affirmation, quick to move past that memory.
"I assume you have already done some of my work for me then, talking to friends, observing their interactions?" Shomei knew how Byakuya could be quite picky, and often wanted to personally assess the groom to be for any marriage, let alone for his own sister.
"Yes," Byakuya's stoic answer was contrasted by his relatively serene posture.
"Well, I'm sure the fact that he has gotten this far is a good indication of compatibility," Byakuya was quick to reject requests, seamingly on a whim at times.
"It simply means he meets my standards, compatibility is a different matter," Those were two very different things, and Byakuya didn't pretend otherwise.
"Finally recognizing my expertise, hm?" The older man teased the younger clan head.
Byakuya chuckled lightly. Normally such teasing would not be in decorum, but he had personally asked for a more relaxed meeting, again to keep the stress away.
"I will speak with the other matchmakers, as well as get some second opinions, but frankly, if you wouldn't have shouted me out of the room I probably would have recommended this myself," Byakuya silently conceded the point. Ichigo was an obvious choice for many reasons, and many of them weren't reasons he liked. However, he had felt his resolve to save her, he had witnessed the lengths he would go, and his nobility nor his upbringing as a human were relevant to the situation anymore.
He only hoped that the elders would see it that way.
So the wheels are moving, I hope you enjoyed, and as always, feedback is welcome.
