Chapter 24 - The New Captain Shusuke Amagai: The New Addition
Byakuya's POV
"This meeting should be an interesting one. . ."
"'Interesting' is a peculiar word to use in this case Senbonzakura," I admit as I walk through the gates of the First Division barracks. "It is, after all, only a meeting."
"A meeting where the subject remains hidden from all who received it . . . If the topic is not going to be mentioned in the message, then you have to admit that the meeting could be about anything, correct?"
"That is a fair point to make, but at the very least, I suspect it does not involve anything life threatening," I suggest as I entered the building, moving toward the side hallway that led toward the meeting chamber. "If it did, the alarms would have been raised by now."
"Hmm, that's a fair observation . . . Still, it doesn't hurt to speculate a bit."
". . . Unless you are one of those people that over speculate to the point of driving themselves mad."
"Well, that was a grim response."
"But am I wrong?"
"Well, aren't you just a sight for sore eyes Princess!"
"Well, we should have seen this coming. . ."
"That does not mean I welcome such interaction Senbonzakura."
The urge to resist any show of disdain on my face as the familiar voice of the 11th Division's captain rang through my ears was great, but I managed to hold steady as I found the brute standing just opposite of the meeting room's entrance, as if he was waiting for me to arrive.
Waiting to annoy me more like it.
"What? No hello?" Zaraki asks, watching me with a sadistic smile on his face, as if he was the predator and I the prey.
Knowing him, that was exactly the case . . . He likely will never leave me alone until I give in to his blasted demand for a fight.
"For you, no." I say, leaving no room for argument as I entered the room to find that all the other captains had already arrived.
Well, all except for one . . .
"Hmm, where is Captain Kurotsuchi?" Captain Unohana was the first to ask as I claimed my spot between herself and Hitsugaya, with Zaraki doing the same between Ukitake and Komamura. With the defections to our ranks, there were noticeable gaps within our ranks lineup, but we have continued forward, even when the defections felt even more noticeable. "He's usually one of the first ones here."
"Only because he wants to get it over with as fast as possible. . ." Captain Soi-Fon mumbles beside her, a voiced sentiment that is not entirely off base.
"I'm sure he received it, Captain Unohana," Ukitake pipes in with that ever-present smile on his face. Judging by how pleased he looked, it appeared he was having one of his better days, health wise. "Knowing him, he's probably having a hard time pulling himself away from one of his experiments."
"Whatever experiment that is, I hope it's not particularly life-threatening." Komamura muses, sneaking a glance at the doorway.
"This is Captain Kurotsuchi we're talking about," Hitsugaya reminds the room. "When are his experiments never particularly life-threatening?"
"Hmm, you have me there Captain Hitsugaya."
"Probably not the best question to ask, but I'll just ask anyway . . . Can't we start without him? Just this once?" Kyoraku dares to ask, turning to see the Captain Commander silently staring back in response. ". . . I'm sorry I asked."
"Why did he even ask when he even thought it was a bad idea?"
"Would you like to come out and ask him yourself?"
"And get myself wrapped up in one of Katen Kyokotsu's games. . ? Nope, no thank you."
"I thought so. . ." I say back as I barely tune out the voices around me. It would be even noisier if the zanpakuto spirits were allowed to be physically present for the meeting, but the Captain Commander had long stood firm that only the captains themselves would attend the meetings, despite the fact that the spirits were a part of our very souls rather than entities that were completely separate from us.
Maybe it's because Ryujin Jakka cannot be present himself . . . Considering that the Captain Commander has stated that too much damage would be done if his zanpakuto spirit ever walked the Seireitei streets, it would not be entirely out of line to think he created the rule out of consideration for the spirit.
Thankfully, we did not have to wait too long for the Twelfth Division Captain's arrival, as he walks in mere minutes later with that ever present creepy grin of his in place. He was likely well aware that he was late enough to be the last one to arrive, and he was relishing in it.
To do so in the Captain Commander's presence though? I know the man is supposed to have a high level of intelligence, but his actions are bordering on callous at this point.
"Oh, I see you've all been waiting for me. You are all too kind!" Kurotsuchi declares as he walks to his spot next to Hitsugaya; the white-haired captain looking none too pleased to be standing next to him.
"Okay I'll ask . . . What took you so long this time, Kurotsuchi?" Soi Fon mutters as she looks down the row to shoot the mad scientist with a hard glare.
"An experiment . . . Obviously," he says, speaking as if it could not have been anything else.
In truth, considering the kind of person he is, it was a rather redundant question to ask.
"I wanted to ensure the results of my experiment were sound before leaving it to come here," He added, offering more details that none of us truly needed nor wanted. "So, Captain Commander, there must be a reason as to why you have called for this meeting in the first place, yes?"
"Quite forward, isn't he?"
"Captain Kurotsuchi has never been known for his respectful nature, regardless if the person could flatten him with ease or not Senbonzakura."
". . . Hmm, at least someone was willing to ask," He gruffly voices, slowly making eye contact with every single one of us with his old, calculating eyes. "I've called you all here today to introduce you to the latest captain joining the ranks."
"A new captain?" Komomura asks in shock as he turns to the older shinigami. "That was quick."
"I assume this promotion was not done through one of the usual avenues then," Kurotsuchi further adds, raising an eyebrow at the man.
"With Aizen and his lackeys still on the loose in Hueco Mundo and thee Central 46 still busy recovering from his attack, my emergency powers still remain, and so I have decided to act accordingly," Yamamoto declares. "The Third, Fifth, and Ninth Divisions cannot remain without captains forever. Today's appointment will be just the start."
"Hmm, that would explain why all the captains were ordered to send the names and evaluations of their top five division members to the Commander's desk two weeks ago. . . I would not want to be the one of the names on that list."
"And why would you say that Senbonzakura?"
"Think about it for a minute . . . The other options necessitate the need to have others vouch or corroborate a captain candidate before they are granted the title, right?"
"That is very much the case," I say in return. "The proficiency test requires multiple captains to witness the candidate's bankai, and personal recommendation has to come from at least six of them. As for the trial by combat, it's a barbarous option . . ."
". . . One that requires hundreds of witnesses to make it legitimate. You may call it barbarous, but it's still a viable option, one that at least one division takes full advantage of."
"You do not need to remind me of that Senbonzakura," I say, chancing a glance at the 11th Division captain, who was smirking at no one in particular.
Knowing him, he was already trying to picture a future battle with this new captain.
"Even though this is well within the rights of the emergency powers granted to you, Captain Commander, I must admit, picking new captains for the divisions that need them is a bold move," Captain Ukitake admits, looking unsure despite the smile on his face.
"I have to agree with Ukitake on this one," Kyoraku adds, bringing a hand to his chin. "Frankly, has this ever been done before?"
"No, it has not," Came Unohana's rather blunt reply as she watched the Captain Commander with a rather unreadable expression. "A decision like this has not been made since the original Gotei 13 captains came to power."
"Ah, making a bit of history, aren't we?" Kurotsuchi teases, as if he was daring the Captain Commander to contradict him.
"I can see why you all would say that this move I made is . . . unprecedented, to say the least, but this is a decision that's needed, and I will not hear any of you say otherwise," orders Yamamoto as two distinct spiritual pressures hit our senses. The first one I easily recognized as Minata's, but the second one was an entirely new presence to me.
Judging from the faces around the room, aside from the Captain Commander and Soi-Fon, it was new to them as well.
"Come in. You are just in time."
The sliding doors slowly open to reveal Mina standing beside a male shinigami with disheveled shoulder length black hair and matching stubble along his chin. Nothing about the man was particularly striking to me. Already dressed in a captain's haori, his eyes immediately scanned the room as he stepped in before settling on the Captain Commander, respectfully nodding his head at the older man before stepping forward.
"Thank you Third Seat Fukudome, that'll be all."
She silently nods from her spot by the doorway before shunpoing away before the doors could fully slide close. Seeing Minata, even for a short while, was now the highlight of a rather mundane day so far, but now that she has left, I was forced to put my focus back on the reason we were having this meeting in the first place.
Despite how rather unkempt he appeared, this man must be skilled enough to warrant his promotion to captaincy.
"Everyone, I would like you all to meet Shusuke Amagai, the new Captain of the 3rd Division."
"Ah, so you're the one taking Gin's place then," Kyoraku says, his face friendly, though his eyes held a calculating glint that was rare for him these days. "Were you promoted from within the Third?"
"Oh no, I originally started in the Onmitsukido," He admits, surprisingly not nervous in the face of one of the Gotei 13's oldest captains. "Rose through the ranks to be Lieutenant Omaeda's second in the Patrol Corps before he alerted me that he suggested my name to Captain Soi-Fon for captaincy consideration."
"Really?! Omaeda is the reason your name was put into consideration?" Ukitake asks as all eyes go to Soi-Fon, looking completely unfazed with the newfound attention.
After all, it was not a hidden secret that the woman did not like her lieutenant very much. Still, his skill must have warranted his current positioning, though not many have seen said skill in action to truly believe that the Omaeda Clan scion warranted his high place in the Second Division in the first place.
"You could always ask Mina for corroboration," Senbonzakura pipes in. "Or her cousin Akira. She's also a viable option."
"I'll consider it. . ."
". . . Omaeda managed to put in a compelling case for him. Looked over his file and decided it wouldn't hurt to add him to the list," Soi-Fon reluctantly admitted. "To be frank, I did not expect you to be the one promoted, Amagai."
"To be fair, I didn't expect it either," Amagai concedes, before suddenly turning to face Zaraki, the movement moving his haori to reveal a second sword sheath hanging from his belt. "Especially not when the Captain Commander had me face Captain Zaraki for my exam."
"Seriously?" Kyoraku asks as he adjusts his sunhat. "Talk about being thrown straight into the fire."
"Hmm, did you really think I would simply appoint a candidate without having their skills tested first?" Yamamoto asks.
"Well, knowing you, the path to a captain's seat would not be smooth sailing for any candidate, emergency powers or not," Kyoraku admitted. ". . . And you put him against Kenpachi of all captains?"
". . . I want solid shinigami to fill the positions that remain empty. Testing them against some of our best fighters is the quickest way to do it," Yamamoto admits. ". . . Amagai's performance was the strongest one to warrant a promotion."
"Got to admit; the guy knows how to handle a blade," The brute mutters. "This Patrol Corps product really knows how to put up a good fight."
"If he thinks that, then maybe he will be less inclined to badger me for a duel when he feels the need for it. . ." I couldn't help but think as Yamamoto finally called an end to the meeting.
As some of the captains remained to further welcome Amagai, I joined the minority in leaving the room. Instead of heading back to the Sixth, I found myself moving through the halls until I reached Mina's office, only to be stopped when I felt a familiar presence nearby.
"Can I help you with something, Lieutenant Sasakibe?" I ask, turning my head slightly to find the older man standing in the doorway of his office.
"More like I can help you instead . . ." He says in that curt manner of his. Some may consider it disrespectful of him to be speaking in such a way with someone that was professionally ranked at a higher level than him, but considering his age and level of experience, he was likely the only person in the Soul Society that can get away with it . . .
. . . A thought that he was well aware of, and used to his fullest when he was in the mood for it.
"And how would you assume so Lieutenant?" I decide to ask, turning to properly face him.
"Come now Captain Kuchiki; I am not blind, even if my eyes naturally give that impression," he says in admonishment. "You only have one good reason for going down that hallway, and unfortunately for you, she's not there at the moment. . . Any other reason you could possibly say at this point would be a lie, and we both know it, especially since the only other room down that way is a supply closet, and I doubt the Sixth is in desperate need for more ink wells."
"Well, he certainly has you there master, and has he always been this sassy?"
"Shush you," I say as I feel the samurai slip out from our Inner World. "When you say it like that, you leave me no other option to concede to your point. . . Where is Third Seat Fukudome at this time?"
"If you would be so kind as to turn around Captain Kuchiki, you'll know."
Obliging, I turn to find both Mina and her cousin standing a few feet away, both with tea in one hand and a wrapped bento in the other.
Hmm, it was midday after all.
"Well looks like we did not have to look far after all," I can hear Senbonzakura mumble as Mizukiri and Kage Mai quietly appear behind their respective mistresses.
"Indeed," Sasakibe says in agreement. "Third Seat Fukudome, I think I'll leave the rest to you?"
"Always Lieutenant," She calmly says, looking slightly amused as her superior retreats back into his office. "I thought you would have already returned to your division by now, captain."
"I would have, but I wanted to see if you could answer my inquiry before I left," I admit, my eyes looking over to her cousin. "Actually, both of you could offer some insight, if you are willing."
"Do you want to answer some more questions? You've said that you've had to deal with them ever since you stepped into the Second this morning." Mina suddenly asks her cousin, whose face betrayed no emotion.
"I'll sit this one out this time around," Akira admits. "At this point, you know just as much as I do on the topic, so you'll be fine without me."
"You did say you stopped by here to get away from all the questioning at your division. . ." Mina says, smirking as her cousin shoots her a sheepish look before moving toward her office, her smirking zanpakuto spirits following in tandem.
"So not even the Second Division is immune to gossip then?" I couldn't help but ask as we watched them leave.
"The problem of essentially being the spy division of the Gotei 13 is that people tend to be a little too good at keeping things hush-hush," She calmly explains as she takes a sip of her tea. ". . . So, what exactly do you want to know about Amagai?"
"Hmm, I would have understood if Amagai was a seated officer with a growing reputation among the divisions, but from the Onmitsukido's Patrol Corps Unit? Not many make that sort of jump without being a part of the Second first."
"In that regard, consider Captain Amagai part of a rare breed . . . There have been Onmitsukido members that have made the jump to the Gotei 13, and some have successfully become seated officers once they made the switch, but Amagai is by far the first to make the immediate jump to being a captain."
"Uncharted territory indeed . . . He had to face Zaraki for his test before he was promoted, so he must be skilled."
"As you have probably heard, he was essentially the Patrol Unit's second in command before he was promoted. . . From what I remember, he's definitely been a team person that leads from the front. Always preferred working in the field rather than behind a desk."
"If that is the case, the shift from the open field to the Third Division barracks will be quite the culture shift for him."
"And that likely lays his biggest weakness," Mina says after taking another sip of her tea. "Before today, Amagai has essentially been an Onmitsukido lifer. His work barely brought him into the Second Division barracks, and now he will have to take over an entirely different division, one that is not going to be very receptive to an outsider coming in, especially when they're still reeling from what happened with their last captain."
"There will certainly be some growing pains," Senbonzakura mutters for me. "But if he is able to go toe-to-toe with Zaraki, he should be able to take control of a division that is entirely new to him."
"It's certainly doable," She admits, smirking slightly. "Is there anything else you would like to know before you leave?"
"There actually is," I say, remembering what I had witnessed earlier. "Is Amagai a dual wielder? I saw a second sheath hanging from his belt."
"From what I've heard, he's not a dual-wielder in the strictest sense like Kyoraku or Ukitake, and apparently that second sheath isn't even a sword," She admits. "He doesn't really use it unless the situation calls for it, but it seems to be a unique item in his arsenal, even if it is a fork."
"A fork?"
"Akira describes it more as a tuning fork, but like I said, it's a unique item," She corrects herself. "Anything else?"
"No, I think that is it for now . . . After all, I believe I held you up enough already," I say apologetically. "Thank you for answering my questions."
"You're welcome. Now then, you best be on your way before the Captain Commander starts wondering why you're still here."
"So quick to make me leave, are you?"
"Not usually, but you are holding up my lunch break and I'm needed in the training yard once the hour is up. Plus, the Captain Commander will come for you if he sees you idling in these halls." She warns, though her tone remains playful as she starts to move toward her office. ". . . Can you blame me for not wanting to see you in trouble if it can be avoided?"
"If it helps, it is much appreciated, even if my master is showing a sudden lack of self-preservation in this regard."
"I am this close to forcing you back into our Inner World Senbonzakura."
"It was worth the risk." Came his immediate answer, not even bothering to hide his amusement through our connection. "But still, we should be heading back to the Sixth."
"Hmm . . . very well," I concede, seeing that I was in the minority on this occasion. "We'll leave, but not before I receive your guarantee that you will join me for dinner tonight."
"Byakuya, is this supposed to be your latest overture in our courtship?" She couldn't help but ask, looking over her shoulder with a gaze that bellied her interest.
"I believe my intentions are quite clear," I say in return. "I simply would like to enjoy a night in your company, preferably over a meal."
"In public, or in the privacy of your manor?"
"I do not believe either of us has the appetite for presenting ourselves for public viewing at this point in time."
"It will eventually happen though," She counters. "There will come a time where we would have to bring our courtship into the public eye . . . It's all a matter of when."
"And yet when is not tonight," I say in return. "Considering our positions, we should be able to enjoy our shared privacy as much as we can before we're forced out into the public eye. Tonight is just the latest opportunity, if you are interested of course."
"Hmm, when you explain it like that, how can I not say yes?" She says in return. "I will see you tonight then. Your private dining room of course?"
"Of course . . ." I agree, already penning the message I would send to my steward so that preparations for tonight's dinner can start. Before I could say anything more, she moved back, quickly kissing my cheek before disappearing down the hall into her office.
"Well, should we be on our way then?"
My eyes followed Senbonzakura as he walked into my line of sight, amusement dancing through our bond as the feel of Mina's kiss still lingers on my cheek.
". . . Might as well," I concede, knowing that our time here at the First was done for now.
Taking our leave, we exit the barracks to find that we were not the only captains to still linger after the meeting. The newly christened Captain Amagai was speaking with Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku by the gate, and from our perspective, it seemed to be quite the animated conversation.
Captain Ukitake was the first to spot us.
"Ah Captain Kuchiki, I see that you're still here! Do you mind sparing us some of your time? Captain Amagai has an idea about increasing collaboration between the divisions that I think you should hear out."
"First day on the job and he already has far reaching ideas. . ."
"A bit of idealism never hurts Senbonzakura," I say as I feel him return to our Inner World. "Maybe his ideas prove fruitful once put in practice."
"And if they don't?" He asks as I start approaching the three, knowing that it was not going to be too much of a bother to spare some time listening to the latest to join our ranks.
"Well, it is not like his idea is completely impossible . . . Unfortunately, the Gotei 13 tends to be very slow to change."
"Like you, for instance. . ."
"Senbon. . . "
"Sorry."
A/N: We head back to the main arc in the next chapter. Leave a comment if you like!