File: GoteiRosterUpdated.png (715 KB, 1154x873)

715 KB PNG

>>1099002
“What's all the noise about?” Yoruichi grumbles as she shuffles into your office. Unlike you she's taken the time to get into her proper uniform, and aside from her expression she looks ready to go.

“Someone attacked Shunsui yesterday and the Central 46 has pinned Rukia as the guilty party,” you explain, and Yoruichi raises a skeptical eyebrow. “I'm trying to figure out what gave them that idea.”

You pick up the phone on your desk, dialing the number for Retsu's office while Yoruichi produces her own phone and begins typing out a message. Probably to Kisuke, you reckon. After listening to the dialtone for several seconds, someone picks up.

“Captain Kusajishi?” Retsu's voice greets you. “I've been expecting this call. How much have you been told?”

“Barely anything,” you tell her. “I need to know the details, and the Central 46 gagged their messenger. He couldn't tell me squat.”

“That's bizarre,” your fellow Captain muses. “I was sure they'd request a forensics team.”

“Who's handling the investigation?”

“Hang on, let me check the report I got... Eleventh? That can't be right.”

Your expression darkens, realizing the thought process that got the Central 46 to that point. “They don't want to rely on a Division that has ties either to their suspect, their suspect's Division, or the victim. Given how many Lieutenants were drawn from my Commandos at some point and how many Captains I'm close with, that left few options.”

“Wait, have they already declared someone to blame?” Retsu asks, clearly surprised. “All I could tell them was that the Head Captain was hit with an ice-type attack, but that much was painfully clear from the start!”

“They chose to go after Kuchiki,” you explain. “Halibel was with us all day and I don't doubt she's heavily monitored already, and Captain Hitsugaya is with the Royal Guard. The next highest-profile user of an ice-type zanpakuto is Kuchiki Rukia.”

“Anyone who knows Hyōga Seiran has an ice-type attack,” Retsu observes. “The only reason they'd go after Miss Kuchiki...”

“... is because she has no alibi,” you complete the thought. “They made a snap decision to have her arrested because too many Captains and Lieutenants spent the day elsewhere. Thanks for confirming that, Retsu.”

“Of course.”

“And is Shunsui doing okay?” you ask after a momentary pause. “There's something he needs to know about when he's able.”

“He's recovering,” Retsu tells you, “but his injuries were quite severe. It is my judgment that a Third-Seat probably could not have managed this.”
>2/3

File: 54786074_p3_master1200.jpg (68 KB, 354x354)

68 KB JPG

>>1099015
After you're done with Captain Unohana, Yoruichi can report the results of her brief conversation with Kisuke.

“Kisuke hasn't been contacted about it,” she tells you. “Seems like you're right, they wanna keep us out of it.”

You sigh, weighing the options in your mind. Storming into the Central 46 and shouting something about Hyōga Seiran would make your point, but if this is being done over opposition it's unlikely that those calling for immediate arrests are the reasonable sort who would simply back down. You could also go start your own investigation at the scene of the presumed crime, try and come up with more definitive evidence that Rukia was not involved. Or... you could always do what the Central 46 is asking for. Bring her in to face trial and defend her as best you can, then use whatever grace period between the trial and execution of the sentence you get to prove her innocence without the Central 46 breathing down your neck.

>The Central 46 has gone too far this time, you won't let Rukia go through this again.
>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.
>At least give the appearance of complying, buy yourself some time to act.
>Ask Yoruichi what she'd do in your place, draw on her experience as a Noble.
>Other?

>>1099022
>>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.
>Ask Kiuske to write up a report on the possibility of Mayuri potentially stealing the mod soul technology from his ex subordinate. With that as an alternate explination C46 will hopefully fear looking like an idiot again

>>1099022
>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.
Can't allow that

>>1099022
>>Ask Yoruichi what she'd do in your place, draw on her experience as a Noble.

>>1099022
>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.
Jesus christ. Are we the Donald Trump of the C-46?

>>1099022
>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.

>>1099022
>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.
>>1099072
In what way are we even close to Trump?

>>1099022
>The Central 46 has gone too far this time, you won't let Rukia go through this again.
>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.

Hello, my name is Kusajishi Riku, and i'm ripshit pissed.
It couldn't have been rukia because she's weak as shit, it couldn't have been halibel because she was with us, and it couldn't have been ice-shota because he's training with the royal guard.

Someone from the outside just tried to assassinate our head captain, who even i would have trouble with in a fight, and you retards are wasting time trying to pin it on a weakling.
Incompetent bastards.

>>1099022
>>If investigation is left to the Eleventh Division Rukia's as good as exiled. Go help them.

>>1099089
For one thing her stance on ghost Mexico is totally different.
>writing
>3d10, DC 17, Crit 22

Rolled 4, 2, 3 = 9 (3d10)

>>1099103

Rolled 3, 9, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>1099103

Rolled 9, 5, 7 = 21 (3d10)

>>1099103

Rolled 3, 2, 10 = 15 (3d10)

>>1099103

Rolled 7, 2, 6 = 15 (3d10)

>>1099103

File: 1372441847771.jpg (193 KB, 600x600)

193 KB JPG

>>1099115
So close, so clutch, yet so far.

File: 1485569520013.png (12 KB, 104x118)

12 KB PNG

>>1099115
>one short from critting
DICE PLS.

>>1099115
So close....but at least it passed.

>>1099111
>>1099116
>>1099117
Seriously look at all these average rolls.

>>1099125
looks like you're the chosen one this session. the one who will roll the crits.

>>1099164
Just gotta be careful not to jinx the triple 1s

File: 237Ikkaku_profile.png (190 KB, 740x480)

190 KB PNG

“You follow up with Kisuke, then do as you see fit,” you tell Yoruichi, taking a moment to ensure that your hair is presentably-arranged. “I'm going to the spot where Shunsui was attacked, if I hurry there will still be residual reiatsu there.”

“I'll prepare a team,” Rangiku offers, retrieving her own phone. “They'll be a bit behind you.”

It takes you a few minutes to orient yourself: you're not as familiar with Madarame and Ayasegawa's reiatsu and they're a good distance away. But you manage to get there in time to see their team of shinigami packing it in. The site itself is along a broad walkway between two walled courtyards, and there's even a bit of ice still clinging to one of the walls and wedged into the great rends and cracks in the paving stones.

“Captain Kusajishi,” Madarame grunts, noticing your approach. “Wasn't aware you were being sent here.”

“I'm here on my own authority,” you tell him, crouching next to a small crater and prodding some of the ice around its rim. “Ice is clinging pretty tenaciously.”

“Yeah, but aside from that it's tough to tell what happened,” Ikkaku shrugs. “A couple of the impacts are obviously more recent, same way a new crack in a sword stops at an older one, but there's just so much damage.”

“Well, I can say for sure this wasn't Kuchiki Rukia's doing,” you muse aloud, intrigued at what you're feeling. “It's not her reiatsu, nor is it anyone's I recognize. It looks a little like the patterns I've seen when Hitsugaya's used his zanpakuto, but it's not him either.”

“You can tell?” Ayasegawa asks curiously. “I knew that our Captain's reiatsu-sensing abilities were poor... are yours considered normal for a Captain?”

You shake your head. “They were supposed to help counter Aizen, since sight was clearly no good. Took a hundred years to get to this point, with a little practice every day.”

“So you don't know who was responsible?” Ikkaku muses. “Way you talk you'd think you knew everything, so this is a little weird.”

An arched eyebrow lets the Third Seat know he's walking a thin line. “I'll agree, it's weird. But there's two likely explanations: someone we didn't know about with powers we've underestimated, or someone who's especially proficient with kidō that I've never met.”

“You said 'likely' explanations?” Ayasegawa asks.

Surprising that anyone in the Eleventh Division would pick up on that.

>Meeting the Central 46 seems urgent now, you can now testify to Rukia's innocence.
>You have no evidence of who did it. You need that to make a case, and the Shihouin may have it.
>The Central 46 may allow you access to their own records.
>Other?

>>1099195
>>Meeting the Central 46 seems urgent now, you can now testify to Rukia's innocence.
Fucking hell diamon dust rebellion arc.

>>1099205
>Diamond Dust Rebellion
AWWW SHIT.
NOW SHIRO'S "ALLEDGEDLY" GONE TRAITOR.

>>1099195
>You have no evidence of who did it. You need that to make a case, and the Shihouin may have it.

>>1099195
>The Central 46 may allow you access to their own records.
It may help with our credibility with them as a show of willingness to play by their book. But we're still gonna say Rukia is innocent in this.

>>1099195
>The Central 46 may allow you access to their own records.

This is what i get for not following bleach since the old days.
No clue what's happening, but that makes it exciting. inb4 spoilers.

>>1099195
>>The Central 46 may allow you access to their own records.

>>1099233
>writing

>>1099243
This is a good chance to show that we can actually work with them and aren't just rampaging dickholes.
Could help us get a little more on their good side.

>>1099249

Is quite suspicious this happened right after we talked to them. Who eanna beat at least a few of them are compromised? And did the idiots forgot about the regai? Is not like we can know we catched all of them.

Granted this seems a different thing but when we JUST FACED COPIES A FEW DAYS AGO... nevermind..

>>1099228
What's happening is filler movie called "Diamond Dust Rebellion"
Apparently Captain "Shota Jobber" Toshiro is deemed a rogue captain because someone attacked another captain in the dead of night where there's traces of ice at the crime scene. So the C-46 being bureaucratic idiots pinned the blame on the shota.

>>1099282
we haven't even captured all of them. so it makes sense that there could be a reigai shota captian doing guerilla operations at night. But reiatsu analysis tells us that it's not shota jobber nor is it Rukia's reiatsu. So in conclusion there is a mystery ice culprit at large.

>>1099284

This seems like a provocation.

>>1099284
That's really dumb, there's no motive.

>>1099293

Not to mention we can probably get witness about were Rukia was at that time.

As I said, provocation.

File: Hitsugayatoshiro.png (444 KB, 640x423)

444 KB PNG

>>1099243
“So,” Ayasegawa muses to himself, “we're looking for someone who's like Captain Hitsugaya, but isn't Captain Hitsugaya... it's almost like a koan. What is the sound of two shotas clapping...”

“So, by the way, Captain,” Ikkaku mutters. “I have... well, I've got a problem I'd like you to help me with, if you're willing.”

Inspiration strikes you suddenly, like a bolt from the blue. A memory of an event you weren't actually there for, nearly a hundred years ago, and a connection that you can't deny.

“I have a hunch,” you declare quietly, leaving the two bemused Eleventh Division officers far behind. You keep up the insane pace until you reach the Central 46 chambers, and gently set your rather annoyed zanpakuto against the wall by the entrance.

The two guards on duty stare at you, and one tries to say something. You interrupt.

“Single fingerprint on either of those and someone dies,” you grumble, inviting yourself past them and into the underbelly of the complex.

“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Yoruichi's father demands as you subsequently invite yourself into the meeting chamber. His tone is more one of genuine confusion than of anger.

“Apologies, Mister Shihōin,” you offer, rushing to get to your point, “but I've all but proven that Kuchiki Rukia is innocent of the attack on the Head Captain. The physical evidence doesn't resemble any of her shikai's attacks, and the reiatsu left behind isn't hers or anyone's that I've ever met.”

“You should have sent a messenger,” the elder Shihōin observes. “I trust you will be able to verify your observations soon enough?”

You nod quietly. “But that's not why I'm here. I need access to your records. The Central 46's I mean.”

“And why is that necessary?”

“Because I have a hunch about who did attack the Head Captain,” you explain succinctly. “The evidence was consistent with Hyōrinmaru's basic attacks.”

“So you believe Captain Hitsugaya was involved?”

You shake your head. “Of course not, he's with the Central 46. I said that I think Hyōrinmaru might be involved.”

There are several seconds of total silence in the chamber as the various members present, which can't account for their total number, consider what you've just said. Finally Yoruichi's father speaks.

“You have my permission,” he acknowledges your request. “Please report your findings when you have them Captain Kusajishi, I know many of us who know what your implications add up to are rather concerned that you may be correct.”
>1/2

>>1099308
>it's almost like a koan. What is the sound of two shotas clapping...
That is some weird context right there queen. it almost sounded dirty.

>>1099308
Central being helpful! Who would have thought we'd see the day?
Be sure to thank them kindly.

>>1099308
>Of course not, he's with the Central 46. I said that I think Hyōrinmaru might be involved.”
Don't you mean the Royal Guard?

>>1099308
You send Yoruichi a message that you've accessed the Central 46's archives, with their permission even, and she responds quickly that she's on her way with help. Eventually she arrives with Lieutenant Kurotsuchi in tow, as you're still trying to figure out the archive system. The terminal is out on a catwalk at the center of a tall, roughly cylindrical room lined with files and books, each of which is loaded into a small frame designed to be retrieved by a manipulator arm of some kind.

“It's a non-standard keyboard,” you announce, turning over operation to Nemu. “Can you make sense of it?”

Nemu nods thoughtfully. “Master Mayuri designed this system, so I am fully versed in its operation. What would you like me to find?”

“I need you to find any evidence of a student being killed by order of the previous Central 46,” you instruct the Lieutenant. “Should be somewhere around fifty or sixty years ago.”

“You think this has to do with the execution they ordered, back when the Maggot's Nest was attacked?” Yoruichi realizes aloud. “I see, so the student who was executed was killed under that old rule.”

“To which rule are you referring, Lady Shihōin?” Nemu inquires, still focused on her work.

“Two shinigami cannot possess the same zanpakuto,” she explains with a frown. “Always figured that was a rule because it actually happened at some point. Guess this'll prove I was right.”

“A lot of really stupid rules only exist because of corner cases,” you shrug. “But the same zanpakuto appearing in two wielders' hands stretches belief.”

“Maybe Nimaiya would be able to explain how it's even possible,” Yoruichi muses to herself, still somewhat enraptured by the impossibility of what you're discussing... at least under conventional knowledge. “I'll believe it when I...”

“Records located,” Nemu announces, bringing up a file on the archive's computer interface. “I can have the original print material delivered in a moment.”

“Well I'll be damned,” Yoruichi chuckles as a small cord-bound folio drops into her hands. “And I didn't have to memorize where everything was!”

Inside the folio is a picture and a name: Kusaka Sōjirō. Noted as possessing a copy of Hyōrinmaru, forced to challenge Hitsugaya Toshirō to a duel for the right to wield their zanpakuto and defeated after a close-fought battle. Only problem: he was listed as executed by the Onmitsukidō, on precisely the day you and Yoruichi suspected. Nothing in the folio suggests ways he could have actually survived.

>Present your evidence to the Central 46 as-is, see what their response is.
>Get Kisuke working on explaining how your hunch is right and the official records are wrong.
>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is.
>Other?

>>1099355
Indeed.

>>1099392
>>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is.

this is going to be really fucking cruel though, digging up old wounds.

>>1099392
Have Yoruichi:
>Present your evidence to the Central 46 as-is, see what their response is.
While we go get more info:
>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is.

>>1099392
>>Get Kisuke working on explaining how your hunch is right and the official records are wrong.
>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is

>>1099392
>Present your evidence to the Central 46 as-is, see what their response is.
Time to present evidence. and solve this case in court.
>Other: Try and press for the angle of improper bureaucracy done by the old C-46. Try and hold them accountable for this, you'll be willing to forgive the C-46 if they take responsibility.
>Don't tell Hitsugaya, he needs time to focus on his training.

>>1099392
>Get Kisuke working on explaining how your hunch is right and the official records are wrong
Could be Aizen. We know he was aware of the incident because he took advantage of it. Could he have used his illusions to rescue him and gain a minion?

>>1099392
>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is.

>>1099404
This.

>>1099392
>>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is.

>>1099392
>Get Kisuke working on explaining how your hunch is right and the official records are wrong.
>Hitsugaya should know. His reaction will be useful regardless of what precisely it is.

Why not both?
Get em' in the same room together and drop the bomb.

>3d10, to see how Hitsugaya takes it
>taking the second roll

Rolled 3, 7, 2 = 12 (3d10)

Rolled 6, 5, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>1099451
Everything is fine!

>need one more linked roll for the sake of consistency

Rolled 10, 1, 7 = 18 (3d10)

>>1099451

>>1099455
With that roll, I think we will be.

>>1099463
Writing.

>>1099420
Our last ememy could copy swords remember... just because we killed him it doesn't mean he didn't have a student... or that there weren't leftovers...

File: 1461298386092.png (251 KB, 1793x1300)

251 KB PNG

“Hitsugaya needs to know,” you assert, quietly regretting the fact that you even considered that necessity. “We're talking about his friend, from what I can tell from the files.”

“If you think that's best,” Yoruichi shrugs. “I can see it going either way. I'll inform the Central 46 what we've found, present it as the most likely theory.”

You excuse yourself, leaving Yoruichi behind in the Central 46 chambers to do her task and picking up your swords at the exit. After inspecting each, you're confident that neither was touched while you were down there.

“I will inform Captain Urahara,” Nemu offers in a quiet monotone. “Is that acceptable, Lady Kusajishi?”

“Go ahead,” you nod before leaving for the Fourth Division. But when you arrive you learn quickly that things have changed here since you last visited.

“Where's the tower?” you demand loudly. A passing Fourth Division medic stops nearby and looks the same direction as you.

“Well, the Royal Guard returned to their realm.”

Shit. That doesn't make things simple for you. In the end you waste an hour and a half setting up to get into the Royal Realm, using the Valley of Screams as a springboard. Just as you're preparing to leave, you hear a voice.

“You intend to intrude on the Royal Realm?” Tenri asks, having apparently followed you.

“That's the plan.”

She nods stoically. “Be careful, ma'am. The Royal Guard is unlikely to approve of this move.”

Fair point, this does mean that your original plan won't work. You'd just assumed they'd erected a barrier of some sort, or gone to the space under the execution grounds rather than another plane of existence entirely. Even if you told Hitsugaya he may not be able to act on the information, given the situation.

>Do it anyway.
>Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.
>Other?

>>1099550
>>Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.
>Or ask our clan ehad fire a message firework to relay it.

>>1099550
>>Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.

>>1099550

Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.

"Sword God, did you study the copied swords the Regai had?"

>>1099550
>Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.

>>1099550
>>Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.

>>1099550

>Other: Ask Kukkaku to send a message firework.
>Go back to the C-46 and present your findings. Push the angle that the old C-46 fucked up.

>>1099550
>Do it anyway.

>>1099550
>Kisuke may have a way to contact Hitsugaya.
It's not like we're *incredibly* short on time here.

Bust the door down is a solid second option.

could we just ask nemaiya why he made 2 swords for the same spirit?

>writing

File: 1450576576212.gif (152 KB, 450x450)

152 KB GIF

>>1099644
Time to pass out.
G'night King, don't let us died when i come back.

>>1099694
oh my, If I know my timezones right, we have a britbong. sleep tight. god save Queen and all that jazz.

>>1099708
Anon, I don't know how to tell you this...but Queen...well, Freddie is already dead, anon.

File: 1468557150323.jpg (294 KB, 600x838)

294 KB JPG

>>1099644
“You have a point,” you shrug, gesturing towards the stable portal to the Seireitei. “That's a lot of effort, and I don't know how easy it'll be to get back.”

You lead Tenri back through your office, and gesture for her to sit at your desk. “Please call Urahara using my phone, his number is marked on a card in the top drawer on the left. Let him know that I'm going to get Kūkaku to send a message for me. I'd like it if he could prepare a report on how two people could have the same zanpakuto.”

“You get all that?”

“I have excellent short-term recall,” Tenri insists before repeating all of your words back to you in perfect order. “See?”

“Okay, I get it,” you raise your hands. “I'll be going out into the Rukongai now.”

The Shiba residence is in one of the first districts now, between the North and East quarters. The familiar stone arms and chimney greet you, as do the servants who usually guard the door. They both know better than to hinder you at this point, and instead bow as you pass and head down the stairs. You find your older sister down a long hallway, tinkering with something at her low-slung desk.

“Hey, sis,” she greets you, motioning for you to sit. “I was just workin' on a little somethin' you might be interested in.”

“It's an action,” you realize, examining the parts laid out in front of her. “Semi-automatic, meant for a small round.”

“It's a hobby,” Kūkaku sighs, setting the pile of metal aside. “Keeps my brain from goin' soft. You mentioned somethin' yesterday about seeing Isshin?”

That's right... in the rush to figure out what was going on you'd totally forgotten your promise.

“Actually, I need a favor,” you tell her, shutting your eyes. “See, there was an attack last night...”

You quickly summarize the situation for her, beginning with your rude awakening and continuing all the way up to the point where you decided to come to her instead of forcing your way into the Royal Realm yourself. Your sister listens patiently until you're done.

“Well I can see why you're late,” she shrugs. “An attack on the Head Captain's serious business. I'd be happy to help, but there's one condition.”

“And that is?”

“You've gotta learn how to do it yourself,” she insists with a smirk. “Then we'll talk about meeting Isshin.”

>If you send it I can take you to Isshin's place right afterward.
>Okay, deal. Then I'll set something up for you and Isshin.
>I'll learn, but I may have to put off the meeting until the C46 calms down.
>Other?

>>1099775
>I'll learn, but I may have to put off the meeting until the C46 calms down.

>>1099775
>Okay, deal. Then I'll set something up for you and Isshin.
I still vote for the valley of screams loophole.

>>1099775
>I'll learn, but I may have to put off the meeting until the C46 calms down.

>>1099775
>>I'll learn, but I may have to put off the meeting until the C46 calms down.

>>1099791
Yeah I'll back this.

>>1099775
>>If you send it I can take you to Isshin's place right afterward.

>>1099775
>Okay, deal. Then I'll set something up for you and Isshin.
>Other: I got a place that's completely off the grid where you can meet Isshin without violating C-46 law by technicality.

>writing

File: typicalfamilyvacation.png (49 KB, 256x190)

49 KB PNG

>>1099860
“I'm always willing to learn,” you shrug, “but I'm going to have to really consider the meeting with Isshin. As much as I wanna just do it, make it work regardless of what the Central 46 thinks, now might not be a great time to get them even more riled up.”

“That doesn't sound like a no,” your sister observes, and you nod in agreement.

“It's not,” you admit. “I think I have a plan to make it work.”

“That's all you ever need in life,” Kūkaku grins. “Alright, let's get upstairs and show you how it's done.”

Once above ground your sister leads you to the wide base of the specialized cannon she keeps in her yard, and opens the bottom up for you to place one of her cannonballs in the bottom with a paper ofuda strip stuck to it. Your message is simple:

Kusaka possibly used Hyōrinmaru in attack on Head Captain. Please inform Hitsugaya and Sword God of threat, reply with assessment of theory – Kusajishi.

Satisfied, Kūkaku produces a large calligraphy brush with ink. “Draw a circle around the ball, typical of our style, and a connecting line out to the firing platform.”

You do as she instructs, painting an intricate circle around the cannonball and trailing messy cursive script out to where she stands watching. “Good. You remember the basics?”

Tenkotsuki flashes as her blade leaves your sheath, biting into the stone at your feet as you kneel ready to fire the weapon. “Of course.”

“Now, picture a river flowing from your fingertips and down Tenkotsuki's spine, then through your markings as though the ink were the water.”

The mental image isn't important, of course. But the feeling of extending your reiatsu through the connected markings is, and you know even before you check with your eyes that you've expanded the cannonball from a distance.

“Good,” your sister nods thoughtfully, her eyes wandering up the line of script. “No gaps, good power transfer. You're ready to fire it off, but you need to know the incantation.”

“Eastern lights, Western sands, Northern seas, Southern winds,” you repeat Kūkaku's instructions verbatim. “Gather twenty-nine brass orbs in the dusk, scattering ten thousand chrysanthemum petals that rise upon a swift dawn!”

With a cacophonous blast and a pillar of fire the cannon sends your message streaking skyward until it slams against an invisible barrier, so high above your heads it's difficult to even judge the distance. It could be ten kilometers or more from you, and the point of impact fluctuates. It sends ripples all the way across the sky, from horizon to horizon.

Kūkaku lets out an appreciative whistle. “Nobody's used that technique in decades, but I still love watching it!”
>1/2

>>1099947
>dice3d10 to do the extradimensional shenanigans without being detected
>DC 19, crit 24

Rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6 (3d10)

>>1099958
SHENANIGANS COMMENCE

Rolled 5, 5, 9 = 19 (3d10)

>>1099958

>>1099958

Rolled 5, 7, 2 = 14 (3d10)

>>1099958

File: 1448242884183.jpg (23 KB, 640x480)

23 KB JPG

>>1099968
wew lad.... that's a close one.

>>1099968
Fucking close

>>1099968
>the only person who notices is Kisuke

>>1099989
if we critted, would swordbro Oetsu notice as well? or would no-one notice?

>>1099989

"A cannoball? Well at least that's something I can do too!"

File: Isshin-isshin-kurosaki-33(...).jpg (42 KB, 640x480)

42 KB JPG

>>1099989
Moving quickly, you call Halibel on your Denreishinki.

“Can I get you to do me a favor?”

“Can you?”

“I'd like you to take my sister Kaoru to the Valley of Screams,” you request politely. “I'll be bringing Kūkaku along shortly.”

“You want to make good on your promise?”

“Of course,” you insist. “I don't make promises if I don't intend to keep them.”

There are a few moments of silence from the other end. “Halibel?”

“Thank you for that.”

Wait, what? “You're welcome, I guess.”

Putting away your phone, you begin a series of rather complex maneuvers. First you open a garganta to the Valley of Screams and leave your sisters together with Halibel. Then you open a garganta back to the Seireitei, and then subsequently to the Living World. You find that Isshin is the only one at home right now, and you grab him by his collar.

“We're going on a trip,” you tell him without really explaining anything, and you rip open a hole to your barracks, then another hole to the Valley of Screams. Finally, you deposit a deeply confused Isshin with his two cousins.

Isshin stares at them in surprise for a moment. “Um... hi?”

Kaoru throws herself at Isshin, wrapping her arms around him in a powerful embrace. “You left without saying anything.”

After a moment of struggling to find a response, you hear Isshin offer a quiet response. “I know. I'm sorry.”

“You could've called,” Kūkaku smirks, though it's obvious she's happy to see her cousin as well. “Dumbass.”

“Sorry for being a dumbass,” Isshin offers apologetically. “And thanks for welcoming me back, even if it's for a little bit.”
>1/2

File: efea462f3ad604256339c3eb2(...).png (571 KB, 564x780)

571 KB PNG

>>1100114
You quietly excuse yourself from the emotional scene, and Halibel swiftly joins you. She places a hand on your shoulder as you watch the three Shibas talk, Isshin no doubt talking about his family to them and explaining why he felt compelled to stay with Masaki.

“That was good,” Halibel muses softly. “Even if the Nobles disagree, it was the right thing.”

“It was never a question,” you sigh. “Do me a favor and escort them home when they're ready? I have to get back to the investigation.”

Halibel nods to you in agreement. “Gladly.”

>Regroup with Yoruichi and Urahara, see what they've concluded.
>File your own report with the Central 46, get them up to speed.
>There has to be something you missed. Check in with Rangiku.
>Other?

>>1100159
>File your own report with the Central 46, get them up to speed.

>>1100159
>>There has to be something you missed. Check in with Rangiku.
I am taking the picture as a hint.

>>1100159
>Regroup with Yoruichi and Urahara, see what they've concluded.

>>1100159
>>There has to be something you missed. Check in with Rangiku.

>>1100159
>File your own report with the Central 46, get them up to speed.

>>1100159
>>There has to be something you missed. Check in with Rangiku.

>>1100159
>There has to be something you missed. Check in with Rangiku

>>1100159
>>1100175
>>There has to be something you missed. Check in with Rangiku.

Yeah, sounds good.

>>1100175
>>1100244
But the background is red. Damn herring.

>>1100190
>3d10, taking roll #2

Rolled 1, 1, 5 = 7 (3d10)

>>1100281

Rolled 2, 7, 1 = 10 (3d10)

>>1100281

Rolled 9, 6, 3 = 18 (3d10)

>>1100281

Well...

>>1100281
great... another scenario roll to see how FUBAR the event is
>>1100288
fucking dammit. we never did well on these.

>>1100303
It's understandable though in this case. Reiatsu has been previously established as a tricky thing to measure and record after the fact, and the stronger reiatsu released means more of the other evidence gets degraded or destroyed.
>update inbound

File: 61093989_p0.jpg (1 MB, 1200x1600)

1 MB JPG

>>1100356
Deciding that Rangiku and her team must certainly be finished with their work, you move to join them back in the Seireitei. When you arrive Rangiku glances up from where she's been kneeling at the base of a wall.

“Hey, check this out Captain,” she waves you closer, placing her fingertip against a strange mark you hadn't noticed due to the severe cracks and ice earlier in the morning. “We found evidence of scorching.”

“A fire-based attack?” you muse, looking at the charred bit of plaster. “If it was really a zanpakuto that did it, that means there must have been a second attacker.”

“Not just that,” Rangiku continues, pointing out a strange-looking spiderweb of cracks. “This looks like something was arcing across the surface. If we're right, this mess was caused by three different elements.”

“The plot thickens,” you frown. “Nice work. The team get any good reiatsu samples?”

“It was so badly degraded by the time we got here it was tough to get any samples,” one of the lower-ranked shinigami admits, handing you a small case presumably full of mostly-empty specimen vials. “The ice-based attack also blew away the traces of the other two, which were probably lower-intensity.”

“So no,” Rangiku adds, “we didn't really get good samples. You think Captain Urahara can do something with 'em anyway?”

“Probably,” you shrug, taking the case under your arm. “But I'm not holding out on a positive ID or anything.”

“Well then it's something,” Rangiku sighs. “Let me know if anything changes with the investigation, and I'll call you if I hear anything about Shunsui.”

With the samples under arm you go to visit Urahara, eventually working your way deep into the SRDI complex. Old-styled facades are covered in exposed pipes and wires, and hallways normally kept dim light themselves up for the brief time you're passing through them. Finally you set the case down on Urahara's desk.

“So I take it you've been caught up?” you ask Yoruichi and Kisuke as the latter examines the samples.

“So far as we know,” your wife responds calmly. “What did Rangiku have to say?”

“Evidence of charring and electrical arcs,” you recount. “Maybe as many as three zanpakuto at work.”

“Three makes a conspiracy,” Yoruichi shrugs. “Brainstorming time?”

>Definitely. So what are we missing?
>How could Kusaka be alive?
>I'd rather go do something else until we have more information.
>Other?

>>1100450
>>How could Kusaka be alive?

>>1100450
>Definitely. So what are we missing?

>>1100450
>>Definitely. So what are we missing?

>>1100450
"Think they might be using copies like the Regai did? I mean, if I had someone who could copy both Shinigami and their swords and the copy swords can be basically be used by anyone strong enough for it..."

>>1100450
>Definitely. So what are we missing?
>How could Kusaka be alive?

>>1100450
>>Definitely. So what are we missing?

>>1100491
This is going to steer the convo in an entirely different direction. There is 1 shingigami and 2 arrancar. No regai

>>1100547
quit yer metagaming.

File: 501b33c5055e468c660058eca(...).jpg (83 KB, 353x530)

83 KB JPG

>writing

>>1100450
>*jokingly*Lightining, Fire, and ice... I'd be damned if there was some hollows posing as that legendary bird trio in Pokemon. Maybe use the elements as a point of reference?

>>1100547

It just seems a waste to not save a few swords but whatever.

File: 2011041658821393.jpg (76 KB, 758x1055)

76 KB JPG

>>1100572
“So what are we missing?” you ask thoughtfully. “Aside from the obvious Pokemon reference.”

“Damn,” Yoruichi grumbles jokingly.

After a moment, Kisuke speaks. “A motive, for one. What would someone have to gain from attacking a Captain like this, but not finishing them off?”

“It seems like an accidental encounter,” Yoruichi suggests. “As if someone were getting the lay of the land and ran into someone they didn't expect.”

“Shunsui-san was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?” Kisuke muses, stroking his chin stubble. “It certainly seems like a better explanation than a plan that we can't puzzle out. So now we're missing the where.”

“Hueco Mundo,” you offer.

Yoruichi nods in agreement. “Muramasa survived there seemingly against all odds.”

“You think these are actual hollows?” you muse.

Kisuke shrugs. “Unless these reiatsu samples are better-preserved than I thought I couldn't tell you. It could be this Kusaka person you suspect, it could be a hollow that absorbed Kusaka, or it could be neither of those things.”

“There's one other question remaining,” Yoruichi mutters.

“What was he scouting for,” Kisuke nods. “What does he want in the long run, and how does he intend to do it?”

“There are too many possibilities,” Yoruichi muses. “So many things that don't exist in Hueco Mundo that'd be worth coming here for. I doubt we can plan for all the contingencies, so it makes some sense to plan to react instead.”

“Or we could try and work out what the goal is and act preemptively,” Kisuke reminds you. “Much less risk of letting the enemy get what they want.”

>We should set up sensors to detect future incursions, be ready for a quick response.
>We could probably narrow down the possible goals based on what Kusaka might need.
>If we went to Hueco Mundo maybe we could track them down and strike first.
>Perhaps if they had a tempting target we could lure them into a trap?
>Other?

>>1100450
>We could probably narrow down the possible goals based on what Kusaka might need.

>>1100751
>>If we went to Hueco Mundo maybe we could track them down and strike first.

>>1100751
>Perhaps if they had a tempting target we could lure them into a trap?

>>1100751
>We could probably narrow down the possible goals based on what Kusaka might need.

>>1100751
>We should set up sensors to detect future incursions, be ready for a quick response.

>>1100751
>Could we ask Shunsui some questions on his assailant? He could provide some clues as to the identity on whether or not it's a hollow or another entity.

>>1100896
He's still unconscious.

File: dammit shiro.jpg (75 KB, 640x360)

75 KB JPG

>>1100931

>>1100751
>>We could probably narrow down the possible goals based on what Kusaka might need.

File: shihouin_yoruichi_by_zyra(...).jpg (29 KB, 683x500)

29 KB JPG

>>1100931
“If we could narrow things down a little it could help in any event,” you suggest, striking a balance between the two. “What might Kusaka need, given what little we know?”

“He might not be stable,” Kisuke suggests. “Muramasa certainly wasn't, so if Kusaka survived the same way he may be searching for a way to deal with that aspect of his existence.”

“Maybe he's searching for a way to get revenge,” you offer, “a way for one Captain-level fighter and maybe two of his henchmen to cause as much harm as possible. A weapon of some kind.”

Yoruichi closes her eyes, leaning back in her deskchair with a sigh. “Or he just wants Hitsugaya.”

You consider the point briefly. “Hitsugaya was his friend though, by all accounts he didn't even want to fight. So you really think there'd be that strong a grudge?”

“Forgiving your killer takes something extraordinary,” Yoruichi muses, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice. “Not everyone has that in them.”

“You may have a point,” you admit. “He may really be that bitter, and it really could be that personal. In fact it makes a certain amount of sense.”

“In which case he may not be coming back at all, since Hitsugaya-kun isn't even here right now,” Kisuke sighs, leaning back in his own chair as well. “Or you were right after all, and he's trying to get his hands on a weapon. Only he knows.”

“Yoruichi, do you think you could narrow down a list of possible targets he could be after?” you ask.

She pauses for a moment of thought. “The Ōin maybe. But it's hard to guess how he'd even know about that, or when we were planning to move it.”

“Can you check the archives?”

Your wife nods resolutely. “Of course. Among other things I was born to do it.”

>Join your wife in her search.
>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.
>The Ōin sounds like a good idea for bait.
>Other?

>>1101105
Sorry, but it's getting late here. I need to break off for the evening, but I'll continue at least a little bit tomorrow at a time to be determined. I may even skip SoZ depending on how things go through the day and whether I get the chance to really settle in and prepare for the quest.

Feel free to vote and ask questions, I'll be around for a bit.

>>1101105
>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.

>>1101105
>>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.

>>1101105
>>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.

>>1101105
>>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.

>>1101105
>The Ōin sounds like a good idea for bait.

>>1101125
Thanks for running!

>>1101105
>>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.

Omake ideas:
>Riku and Yoruichi's wedding. From Apacci's perspective.
>The day Riku/Yoruichi proposed to each other to get married. but the big question is who proposed first? Who's going to be the bride? and Who will be the groom?
>A typical day in the misery filled mind of Aizen prior to his open defection. With lots of pranks/trolling by Gin. Oh the mental torture he endures.

>>1101105
>Update the Central 46, request some leeway in how you progress.

>>1101275
What about
>other squads gossiping about 9th and riku, coming up with silly things they'd heard from who knows where, only to find out the truth

>>1101275
>The day Riku/Yoruichi proposed to each other to get married.
Can be done.

>>1104668
Thread will probably resume in about 4-5 hours.

>>1105394

A mighty kek, sir.

>>1105408
Yeah, yeah. It was bound to happen sooner or later, I'm just glad I didn't accidentally post in someone else's thread.

>writing

File: hwaml.com_1304792536_274.png (150 KB, 327x578)

150 KB PNG

>>1106465
“This is what we've found,” you begin your report, this time to the fully-assembled Central 46. “The damage is consistent with three different types of elemental attack, though the electrical and fire damage at the scene was obscured by the ice and the reiatsu from both were badly degraded. It'll be hard to make heads or tails of either, but the reiatsu from the ice-type attacks were well preserved enough to exonerate Kuchiki Rukia.”

“Interesting,” Yoruichi's father replies, taking control of the discussion on his end. “And what of this mystery zanpakuto of yours, the one which seems to resemble that of Captain Hitsugaya?”

“There was a student by the name of Kusaka, who was in the same class as Captain Hitsugaya,” you recount the results of your investigation into the Central Archives. “The previous Central 46 declared that the two students should fight over the right to wield Hyōrinmaru... it should be obvious who won.”

“And that battle ended in the death of Kusaka?”

You shake your head. “The records are vague. But it's clear that an unauthorized action was undertaken by members of the Onmitsukidō's detention squad, and the records were sealed.”

A different judge speaks up... you think this one is the Kuchiki. “And what of these rogue officers ostensibly under Lady Yoruichi's command?”

“Dead,” you reply. “Many in later actions, their leader at Yoruichi's hands the night of.”

“She killed him?” the Kuchiki asks.

You nod sternly. “Yes. His decisions left an opening that allowed Aizen Sōsuke to infiltrate the Maggot's Nest and execute the prisoners inside in an attempt to silence a potential material witness to his crimes. Such gross negligence and unscrupulous self-aggrandizement does not go unpunished under her command.”

“Is that all you have to report?” Yoruichi's father asks.

>For now, yes. It is.
>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.
>Captains Urahara, Shihōin, and I may need you to grant us some leeway in how we handle this.
>Other?

>>1106539
>>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.

>>1106539
>>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.

>>1106539
>>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.

>>1106539
>>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.

>few minutes' leeway for stragglers

>>1106539
>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.

>>1106539
>I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation, the Sword God may shed some light on how this is possible.

>dice+3d10, DC 16

Rolled 10, 9, 9 = 28 (3d10)

>>1106683
Err, okay. Since it looks like the votes are rather unanimous on this, might as well ask if Rukia will no longer need to be detained?

Rolled 3, 4, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>1106683

Rolled 3, 8, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>1106683

File: 1476628373915.jpg (36 KB, 600x345)

36 KB JPG

>>1106684

So is that somehow a crit?

File: 1427330945397.jpg (121 KB, 513x576)

121 KB JPG

>>1106684
Nigga calm down!

File: 493_render_yoruichi.png (337 KB, 916x1023)

337 KB PNG

>>1106683
“I've informed the Royal Guard of the situation,” you reply, deciding only to tell the Central 46 what they strictly need to know. “I was hoping Oetsu Nimaiya could shed some light on how this was even possible, whether he could confirm or deny our conclusions.”

“A sensible measure,” Yoruichi's father replies. “Unless any of my colleagues have anything further to add, I believe that is sufficient.”

As the members of the Central 46 begin to file out through their own special exits, you notice something peculiar: Yoruichi's father hasn't gotten out of his seat yet. He's not holding still mind you, or at least not perfectly still. One of the most powerful men in the Seireitei, right at the top of the feudal food chain, and he's...

“Fidgeting,” Tenkotsuki realizes. “The man is actually nervous about something. Noblemen would not fidget otherwise.”

Once you're alone with the man, he sighs loudly. “Well, isn't that a bother!”

He rises to his feet: an older man, with hair that's already gone a steel gray and a worn face that's carved with deep laughter lines. His warm, dusky complexion and glowing amber eyes though... those he clearly shares with his daughter.

“You mean the meeting?” you shrug. “I get tired of it too, I can only imagine how you feel.”

“All of it, really,” he continues, walking down towards the floor where you've been obliged to stand. “But at least I've found the time to meet you properly... I've heard about you from my daughter, Captain. And I must say, you're as much of a handful as I'd expected.”

“I don't know whether to apologize or thank you for the compliment!” you joke. “Maybe a little of both is the right balance?”

“Maybe so,” the man admits. “Ah, you have no idea how good it feels to indulge my love of conversation for once... these lot are mostly stuffy bureaucrats. Their minds are as old and brittle as their bones.”

“But that aside, I do have a question for you... strictly off the record.”

“That's unusual,” you muse, having never heard of such a thing among the Central 46. “I'll bite, what is it?”

“There have been certain rumors among the noble Clans about my daughter,” he mutters, as if wary of some unintended listener. “That she may have taken a spouse, having kept it secret even from her own clan. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, being such close friends with her?”

>She's married, yes. Don't worry about it. She's aware of the intricacies involved.
>I can't confirm or deny that. It's her own personal affair to deal with as she sees fit.
>... guilty.
>Other?

>>1106795
>>... guilty.

>>1106795
>>... guilty.

>>1106795
>>I can't confirm or deny that. It's her own personal affair to deal with as she sees fit.
>Perhaps, you should ask her as a concerned and loving father, instead of as a clan head or member of c46?

>>1106795
>>... guilty.

>>1106795
>>I can't confirm or deny that. It's her own personal affair to deal with as she sees fit.

>>1106795
>... guilty.

>>1106795
>>... guilty.

File: 1485657624560.jpg (161 KB, 846x571)

161 KB JPG

>>1106795
>... guilty.

I didn't think I'd get to use this image so soon!

>>1106810
>>1106818
>>1106822
>>1106827
>>1106847
If she hasn't told him, why should we?

>>1106795
>>>I can't confirm or deny that. It's her own personal affair to deal with as she sees fit.
>>Perhaps, you should ask her as a concerned and loving father, instead of as a clan head or member of c46?

>>1106857
Has a point

File: 1484511021368.png (138 KB, 375x375)

138 KB PNG

>>1106857
What part of "if I cannot find it, I will create it" you didn't understand?

>>1106857
we've both stopped putting effort into keeping it secret, and have been telling people who ask about it.

what is yoruichi's relationship with her father?

File: 3826741_p0.jpg (58 KB, 1024x768)

58 KB JPG

>>1106795
“Have you asked her?” you ask. “I mean, as a caring and concerned father?”

“Not allowed,” he sighs, “Politics. There's a certain set of sequestration rules in place for former Clan heads and members of the Central 46 to keep us out of Clan affairs...”

“Including marriage.”

“Especially marriage,” he clarifies. “Doesn't stop me wanting to know of course.”

You sigh, wondering if a lie here would be worth the effort and deciding against it.

“... might've done.”

Yoruichi's father cocks his head in confusion. “You what now?”

“I might've married your daughter a little.”

“A little?”

You take a deep breath. “A lot.”

After a few more seconds, the older man erupts into riotous laughter.

“Wow, that was not what I was expecting to hear!” he exclaims between guffaws. “I didn't even realize she swung that way!”

“I'm still not sure either of us does,” you admit, “after about a hundred years of what looked an awful lot like courtship it just kinda... happened.”

“But she's happy? And you're both being faithful?”

You frown at him. “Of course! What're you trying to say?”

“Nothing!” he insists. “If my daughters are happy then it's good. That's all there is to it and anyone who says otherwise can kiss my arthritic brown backside.”

“This whole women marrying thing isn't weird to you at all?” you ask cautiously.

“Of course it is, at least a little bit,” he admits. “But given all I've seen Yoruichi has better taste in women than she does in men anyway. If she got hitched with that little Urahara scamp I'd have had to have some stern words with the boy. Put the fear of the gods in him, you see.”

“I'll tell him you send your best!” you laugh.
>1/2

>>1106966
“Now then,” your father-in-law sighs, “it's probably time you got going again, girl. Don't let me keep you from your duties.”

Before leaving you stop yourself and turn to bow graciously. “Thank you... for being so accepting when you didn't have to.”

“Just be careful who you let in on this,” he replies with a cheerful wave. “At least for the time being. Not everyone would be so willing to see you and my daughter marrying for love when it's so easy to see a political maneuver.”

“Thanks for the advice,” you reply.

Back at the SRDI you find Kisuke hard at work while Yoruichi lounges on a nearby couch, sipping coffee and eating some sort of rice crackers from a bowl on the floor with a book propped up against her thighs.

“Done already?” you ask.

She doesn't take her eyes off the pages in front of her. “Got a list of events my Clan usually oversees during this month, Nagatsuki in the old calendars.”

“Anything stand out?” you ask.

“Other than the one we already know about, no. Mostly blessings and checks on barrier strength nothing that you could consider a sudden vulnerability.”

>Then maybe our first instinct was right. Let's read up on the Ōin.
>Maybe it's something set to happen this year? Perhaps next month?
>Maybe his immediate target really was Hitsugaya.
>Other?

>>1107034
>>Maybe it's something set to happen this year? Perhaps next month?

>>1107034
>>Then maybe our first instinct was right. Let's read up on the Ōin.

>>1107034
>>Then maybe our first instinct was right. Let's read up on the Ōin.

>>1107034
>>Then maybe our first instinct was right. Let's read up on the Ōin.

Not going to have a throwaway comment about Yoruichi's dad wishing Kisuke the best and that Riku told him she married his daughter?

>>1107034
>Then maybe our first instinct was right. Let's read up on the Ōin.

>writing

>>1107133
“Message for you Kisuke, by the way.”

“Oh? Who from?”

“My father-in-law,” you explain. “He says hi.”

Kisuke pauses for a moment, seemingly holding back an immediate panic response. “Okay. That's nice.”

“Did he ask if we were married?” your wife asks.

You nod. “You figured he would eventually?”

“Where do you think I got my deep respect for the rules came from?” she jokes.

“Maybe our first instinct was actually right this time,” you suggest. “Maybe he really is after the Ōin?”

“That's the best idea we've got,” Kisuke shrugs without turning away from his own work. “And it would be a sensible thing to try and secure in his position.”

“The Ōin is one of the Bōgu,” Yoruichi explains for your benefit, “a set of tools supposedly granted to my clan's care by the gods. Its function appears to be to reorganize space, it's activated by cutting it with a zanpakuto, and I'm confident that it uses shinreiryoku to accomplish this. But it's my understanding that it takes extraordinary reiatsu control to manage: nobody who lacks mastery of Bankai could possibly survive the attempt.”

“But at least in the short term,” you reason.

“You would have the powers of a god” Yoruichi summarizes. “Therein lies the problem, what could a god do in the time alloted?”

“It could be a disaster,” Tenkotsuki admits. “Destroying the Seireitei, reshaping it entirely without lifting a finger oneself, and most significantly forcing one's way into the Royal Realm. All of these things and more are possible.”

You repeat your zanpakuto's assessment to an increasingly grim-faced Yoruichi. “That's bad news. If it wasn't on our to-do list, securing the dumb thing is at the top now.”

>You said it can be activated by zanpakuto? What happens then?
>We could cancel the move, or increase security.
>Maybe we should bring Hitsugaya back down here.
>Other?

>>1107266
One more update post after this, I really need sleep.

>>1107266
>>You said it can be activated by zanpakuto? What happens then?

>>1107266
>>You said it can be activated by zanpakuto? What happens then?

>>1107266
>You said it can be activated by zanpakuto? What happens then?

>>1107266
>>You said it can be activated by zanpakuto? What happens then?

>>1107266
“So what happens if someone cuts this thing?” you ask aloud. Yoruichi looks up from her reading. Kisuke turns around from his computer monitor.

“We both get branded traitors is what happens,” your wife asserts. “Even if we're vindicated by time, neither of our careers would ever recover.”

Kisuke shakes his head. “I get where you're going, and damned if I don't like the idea itself. It's clever and simple, elegant really. But I don't think it's worth it.”

You shrug. “Hey, I didn't say anything about cutting it myself. I just wanted to know what happens to the physical object when it gets used. Can it be stolen or destroyed, that sort of thing.”

“You mean you weren't planning to... you know.” Yoruichi seems a little surprised.

“I mean, we were all thinking it,” you admit candidly. “But if between the three of us and all our resources we can't keep one little stamp safe from maybe three attackers, maybe we'd deserve to be exiled.”

“... point,” Yoruichi admits. “So, we come up with a plan to defend the Ōin?”

A frantic beeping from the computer nearby draws Uraharas attention, and his expression sours. “Well, you'd better think fast. Three powerful reiatsu signatures just appeared near the execution grounds, two of them are arrancar... and the third matches our mystery attacker.”

>>1107378
And that's where we stop for the evening... or in my case, morning. Hope you enjoyed that snippet, and I look forward to seeing you back when I restart this weekend after next! Archive is right where it's always been, and I'll check back for questions/jokes/comments later this morning.

Expect an omake or two this week to tide you over.

>>1107388
Thanks for running dude.

>>1107388
Hey Queen, if enough power was used to badly injure Kyoraku, shouldn’t Riku, Yoruichi, Kisuke, or Kisuke’s instruments have noticed it?

>>1107714
in the time it took for them to take samples, it had degraded too much to be of any use. or are you asking about why no one noticed someone attacking kyoraku? they probably did, but given that kyoraku was there they probably thought it was him doing the attacking or something like that.

>>1107761
The attack as it happened. The amount of power needed to leave Kyoraku in that state should not be insignificant.

>>1107825
And since Rukia doesn't even have Bankai yet... idiots.

>>1107714
in theory. but there are bits of bullshit that could have stopped it. shinreiryoku, high-level barrier kido maybe, or a zanpakuto ability of someone we haven't seen

>>1108585
No question there, but if something is capable of hiding all that, then that’s another thing to keep in mind.

>>1107714
Captains usually sleep at night, and although some (Riku) have been known to spend hours meditating in lieu of sleep the night after a party wasn't such an occasion. As for Kisuke's instruments, they're mostly pointed at the living world for signs of Aizen's next move and there are a lot of things that could possibly fool said sensors.

>>1109846
But Riku doesn’t sleep. She waits.

In all seriousness, that makes sense.
Though now I imagine Kisuke will be thinking about how to get around said things.

Do we know arrancar with fire and lightning powers?

>>1110569
Yin and Yang.

>>1110569
IC no, OOC anyone who's seen the movie knows. I had to really strain the brain to make them distinct enough from that plotline to warrant inclusion.

File: mirai.png (24 KB, 106x300)

24 KB PNG

-OMAKE-
Dozens of students of all sorts of ages and walks of life fill the lecture hall, chattering incessantly about the same thing. Some are clearly from the outer districts, unpolished in appearance and manners but hardened by years of struggling just to eke out a meager existence. Others are more obviously nobles, or the distant relations of nobles, there not for their experience but for decades of constant training and refinement which shows in their prim appearances. But none of them, noble or not, are sure what to make of the fact that their instructor is late.

A few moments later the door to the lecture hall opens, but the figure who steps through it isn't their instructor.

“My apologies for the delay,” the slight, almost dainty woman begins, striding quietly to the podium. Her dark hair falls behind her in a tight braid that ends in a band of shakudo and gold filigree, and small metal flowers of similar make are pinned to each of her ears. More strikingly, she wears a white sleeveless haori with a sword at her hip, its irregular tsuba appearing more like a piece of roughly-worked shale with a single line of flowing characters engraved into it with gold wire. About her wrists she wears a pair of white half-fingered gloves which reach up nearly to her elbows.

“I was obliged to complete a task for my Captain which took more time than either of us anticipated.”

A hand goes up near the middle of the room. “Are you a... guest lecturer, or something?”

The woman in the haori nods ever so slightly, as if trying to remain as still as possible while still completing the gesture. “I am Mirai, co-Third Seat of the Ninth Division.”

Another round of whispers and murmurs rounds the hall. “You should have been told of my visit? As part of an introduction to the Divisions of the Gotei 13, I was to understand?”

“We were never told anything like that,” one brave student finally admits.

Mirai blinks once. “Unexpected, but quite irrelevant now that I am here.”

She walks out from behind the pedestal and jumps up onto it, perching there with her legs dangling over the font. “I suppose you have all heard rumors? Perhaps we should start there. Much of what you have heard doubtless has basis in fact, but as with any facts they must have become distorted in the retelling.”
>1/?

>>1113432
“Is your Captain really half hollow?”

“Yes and no,” Mirai replies swiftly and calmly, having evidently anticipated this question well in advance. “For several decades after being caught in the traitor Aizen Sōsuke's machinations she had what is referred to as an 'inner hollow', a portion of her soul that had hollowfied and become a hostile entity residing inside her. But with training and a lot of stubbornness she was able to forge that portion of her soul into a second zanpakuto.”

“She is now considered to be one of two living shinigami who possess not a double zanpakuto, but two distinct zanpakuto.”

“Living?” the same student inquires.

Mirai nods. “The distinction is necessary. Prior to the invention of the asauchi some of the old 'balancers' would try and gain power by forging a second distinct zanpakuto. But these attempts found limited success, and the practice was abandoned. There are many such irregularities in our history: for example, there is a reason why 'two shinigami cannot possess the same zanpakuto' has to be a rule. That is because such a thing has in fact occurred in the past.”

“So which Division is the strongest?” a rough-looking man in the back of the room asks without raising his hand.

“Discounting Captains, Lieutenants, and my own unit, the Eleventh maintains a high standard of individual strength,” Mirai explains, choosing to make very careful distinctions in the scenario for the sake of precision in her answer. “Ninth Division's strength comes through rigorous training, a unique modern method of force organization and multiplication, and the presence of veteran officers mixed into smaller units. Second Division, as it is associated with the Onmitsu, has the highest operational capacity at any specific point in time due to its overwhelming manpower and manner of operation.”

“And which Division is strongest overall?” the man presses, seemingly annoyed at the reply.

“The Ninth, without question,” Mirai replies. “Our Captain is among the strongest of this current 'strongest generation', our Lieutenant is without doubt the strongest currently to bear the rank, and even our Third Seats would be more than most Lieutenants could ever hope to handle. However we rarely concentrate that force in such a manner, as we more often serve to reinforce fireteams and squads that encounter trouble in their own duties.”
>2/?

File: 8637915_p0.jpg (297 KB, 750x1056)

297 KB JPG

>>1113837
“You serve as relief for your subordinates?”

“That is how we have so many hardened veterans” Mirai frowns at the man, of whom she seems to have grown tired. “Most of our Division literally owes their lives to at least one of their superiors, often to our Captain herself. I personally would not be here without her intervention and guidance.”

“And what are your normal duties?” a new voice asks.

“Regular patrols of course,” Mirai explains, “along with special duties as they arise. For example dealing with surviving quincy, protecting areas in the living world with high concentrations of reiatsu, and dealing with disasters and war. One of my earliest full deployments was during the Great War, in Europe. We regularly engaged groups of hollows, and even the odd menos.”

There's a murmur through the crowd at confirmation of that particular rumor. “We also maintain our own internal medical services, the Seireitei's news printing press, and the only trained team of forensics specialists.”

“How exactly can your unit fight menos?” a cleanly shaved young man with a scar over his eye asks. “Would that have something to do with your rifles?”

“Each member of our Division trains in riflery, and is assigned to a role that suits their skillset,” Mirai replies, raising three fingers. “Three shinigami with one rifleman make a fireteam, three fireteams plus a squad leader make a squad. Each squad has a kido specialist and basic first aid training available, and operates in fireteams within a given jurisdiction. Against particularly dangerous threats they operate together in ten-person formations. Each squad of ten rotates to reserve status if it incurs significant injuries or losses, or when they have remained active for too long and require a break from regular duty. Reserve squads and fireteams are assigned lighter duties such as standing guard or training.”

After a few moments of silence, one last voice chimes in. “So nobody's gonna ask the big question?”

Mirai glances up to the far left corner of the audience, where a red-haired woman sits with her legs crossed over. “Go ahead.”

“Do you really work together with actual hollows?”

A sigh, then the sound of sandals falling lightly to the wooden floor. “What you are taught in this Academy is not wholly correct. Not all hollows are animals, some are very much capable of malice and cunning as well as possessing powerful survival instincts. Those who fight alongside our Division are of a far rarer quality: staunch allies, capable of the same empathy and loyalty that you or I are.”

“Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter I am grateful to consider them my friends, and you are fortunate to count them as allies. That is all I will say on the matter.”
>3/4

>>1113944
"How are Commandos selected? From the Division's squad leaders?"

"No," Mirai replies in a flat tone. "We are selected by the Captain herself from outside the Division. That way we have no prior attachments to any single squad or fireteam, and squad leaders are not under pressure to improve their standings. It breeds proper loyalty within the lower ranks and objectivity among the higher."

One final hand goes up, belonging to a soft-spoken young man. "If you had any one piece of advice for us going forward, what would it be?"

"Your shikai will only get you so far," Mirai begins, speaking slowly as if choosing each word and phrase carefully. "Instinct is the foundation for developing technical mastery, and it is only when technical mastery is married to creativity and passion that one can consider oneself an artist. Never settle for less."

"Is that how you attained Bankai?"

She pauses introspectively for just a moment. "Bankai requires self-mastery, which means something different for each zanpakuto and its wielder. It is less the end result of a process, and more a state of being... at least for me."

"I think I understand," the young man nods gratefully.

Mirai simply shrugs. "Unless anyone has further questions, I believe that is all we have time for. If you have an interest in joining the Ninth Division, consider it carefully. Your instructors will be able to tell you how to apply for the qualifying tests."

Without further explanation, Mirai leaves the room just as calmly and confidently as she arrived amid a similar atmosphere of uncertainty.

>>1114078
Fun

>>1113944
>Not all hollows are animals, some are very much capable of malice and cunning as well as possessing powerful survival instincts. Those who fight alongside our Division are of a far rarer quality: staunch allies, capable of the same empathy and loyalty that you or I are.

What are you talking about Mirai? We don’t have any hollows in our Division.
>“Head Captain?” you continue. “There are no hollows here, correct?”

>>1114078
thanks king

>>1114426
well yeah, but it'd probably confuse the students more if she tried to explain what arrancar are. especially if she talked about drinking with one who split himself in half so he'd have a friend and is now pining after her

>>1115526
Well, one half is kind of pining. The other half is busily trying to figure out how to turn the ceiling fans into a personal helicopter.

>>1115526
Yeah, I know, I just didn’t want to let the joke go by.

File: 1475764504960.png (159 KB, 730x548)

159 KB PNG

I'll just leave this here...

>>1115953
Not nearly enough good fanart of this series.

File: 1464329611637.jpg (112 KB, 728x1075)

112 KB JPG

>>1116143
I think the bar is set a little too high by the art in the actual mango.

Also, people probably skip it after seeing it labeled a romance series. It's just not as popular as shonenshit.

>>1116143
>>1116180
What IS the series anyway?

>>1116182
Have you tried using image search?

File: 1481650401495.jpg (82 KB, 584x389)

82 KB JPG

>>1116182

Otoyomegatari, or A Bride's Story, a manga by the incredibly talented Kaoru Mori.

>>1116180
Fair points both.
>>1116182
Otoyomegatari.

>reminder that I will be otherwise engaged all weekend
I'll do what I can to do a second omake though.

>>1120899

>What if Riku had ended in the eleventh Omake?

File: Gin_Ichimaru.jpg (103 KB, 1600x889)

103 KB JPG

>>1122757
Ask and ye shall receive.

>>1123193
>What if Riku had found Nelliel before Aizen?
Riku bringing that possibly up got me interested. Could be any of the times we wandered through HueCo.

>>1123208
Nel was definitely a possible encounter, as were Spoony, Grimmjow, etc. I'll do one or two of those after >>1122757

>>1123239
>could have met queen dense, prince sadist, or king pride-and-lack-of-common-sense

I'm rather satisfied we got stuck with emperor lonely+gun and duchess aimlessness+retainers

>>1123239
What I really want to see is Yoruichi interacting with Tenkotsuki or Rosa without Riku also being in the room...

>>1123950
And now one's a lovesick bro and the other one's driven and happy

>>1123239
What about the less amiable ones, like Jarhead, Pinkie Pie, and the two with the three forms?

>>1123239
I vote for Nel as well. I always liked her

>will try posting in a bit

>>1126545
“What barbarism,” Captain Tōsen frowns from behind an opaque visor, surveying the scene before him. “Not only did we lose several Captains to Urahara's betrayal, now one has been murdered in broad daylight?”

“Disgraceful. Officers of the Gotei 13 should be above this sort of vulgar display of power.”

“With due respect, Captain,” a bald-headed man counters with a sharp glare of his own, “the previous Kenpachi earned his title the same way. Things work a little differently here than in the Ninth Division.”

“Madarame!” the current Third Seat Iba Tetsuzaemon barks. “You're talking to a Captain, you'd do well to remember your damn manners!”

From the back of the crowd, a new voice groans. “What's all this commotion so early in the morning? Some people are trying to sleep!”

“It's nearly noon, Lieutenant,” Iba replies in disbelief. “Also our Captain's dead, shouldn't that be more of a concern?”

“Dead, you say?” the woman asks, cocking an eyebrow. “Well, shit. I was hoping to do that myself. Who killed him?”

Iba points at the killer, a giant of a man with a shock of wild black hair that falls down past his shoulders. “That'd be me. You got a problem with that?”

“He didn't release his sword, did he?” the Lieutenant muses, glancing at the scene. “Well then, guess now's as good a time as any. Two hundred people here?”

“Yes, Lieutenant Kusajishi,” Iba nods sternly, “it's all official.”

“Kusajishi?” a small girl with bubblegum-colored hair chirps, peeking out from behind the Kenpachi's killer.

“Give us some space, Yachiru,” the man insists quietly. “This woman seems like she wants to fight. Or did I figure wrong again?”

“No,” the Lieutenant shakes her head. “I don't intend to fight you. That's not how it works.”

“I intend to kill you.”

The man laughs maniacally at the news, a mad grin spread across his face. “Now that's what I like to hear, none of that shit the last guy tried givin' me!”

The Lieutenant's body is a blur of motion, drawing her sword and striking in a single, beautifully smooth stroke that her opponent's blade tilts to block. The hard strike stops cold, and she withdraws her blade and arcs it around to fall against his left shoulder. But this second attack too meets the same result.
>1/2

>>1126547
“You're strong,” Kusajishi acknowledges with thrust. “I can see how you killed the last guy.”

“And you're not worth my time either,” Kenpachi grumbles, batting Kusajishi away with a powerful swing that slides her backwards on her feet.

“Subjugate,” she growls with a diabolic glint in her eyes. “Tenkotsuki!”

Nothing about her blade changes, but each slash comes faster and stronger now. Enough to force the Kenpachi to release as much reiatsu than he had against Kiganjō, except that this time none of his attacks bifurcate his enemy the way he did to immediate predecessor. The two fighters trade bleeding wounds, but neither lands a decisive strike for what seems like an eternity.

“This isn't going anywhere,” Tetsuzaemon mutters from the crowd. “She's gonna do it soon.”

“Do what?” Ikkaku frowns. “The hell could she possibly have up her sleeve?”

As if to answer his question, Kusajishi lets loose a laugh of her own and begins to slowly and methodically sheath her zanpakuto. “I couldn't have asked for better! You're gonna be perfect for showing it off...”

“Bankai: Tenkotsuki Iaihime.”

The blade at her waist morphs ever so slightly, with sheath and handle being replaced by wooden equivalents in pale, featureless nurizaya. Her kosode sits open around her shoulders, revealing the white wrappings of her sarashi underneath.

“Bankai?” Kenpachi shouts as an overwhelming wave of reiatsu bowls most of the assembled shinigami over. “Are you really so weak as to need such a thing?”

Kusajishi's eyes narrow dangerously. “Your arrogance will cost your life.”

In a flash Kusajishi attacks, this iaijutsu even faster than the first which opened the fight. It's not immediately clear to the observers whether she missed entirely, but the look of disbelief on Kenpachi's face is a good indication to those with a keen eye.

A thin line of red, the clatter of half a sword against stone tile, and the dull thuds of a body falling in two. Zaraki becomes the first in the name's history to bear it less than a day.

Kusajishi Kenpachi sheaths her sword and allows her bankai to fade away, then reaches to retrieve the haori from the ground near Zaraki's corpse before his blood can reach it.

“If anyone wants to complain about my Captaincy,” she declares, shrugging off her kosode and pulling on the tattered Eleventh Division haori instead, “then either speak now or get over it.”

Then, after several long seconds of stunned silence, she nods. “Good. Then someone clean this up, I'm going back to sleep.”

For a moment the new Captain of the Eleventh Division glances about for the pink-haired girl from before, but she seems to have gone missing. Oh well. It's not her problem anyway.
>2/3

>>1126549
Connection issues at hotel, will try and finish later.

>>1126549
The next day, men and women in white coats are already assembled by the time Captain Kusajishi arrives. Her presence is a sudden distraction for many, as she's not exactly subtle despite her tardiness. Her uniform is also a departure from the norm: she still hasn't replaced her tattered kosode, instead electing to wear nothing but sarashi under her haori.

“Apologies,” she nods curtly, “I was resting from yesterday.”

“I can tell by the fresh scars,” a Captain with a garish pink kimono over his haori cocks an eyebrow. “So you would be the Eleventh Kenpachi?”

“Twelfth,” Kusajishi corrects her new peer. “The Eleventh didn't last very long... Zaraki, I think he called himself.”

“If I may,” a brown-haired man in heavy-framed glasses inquires, “how did you best the man who beat your previous Captain?”

“My Bankai is impossibly sharp,” she explains in deliberately vague terms. “So sharp that it ignores reiatsu entirely. Cleaving the flesh off a Captain is as easy as slicing a piece of paper to someone with the technical skills... and believe me, Captain Aizen, my skill at cutting things is [i]peerless[/i].”

“Well, if you show up [i]late[/i] instead of not showing up at all you'll have already acquitted yourself,” Shunsui shrugs.

“Don't worry, I may be Kiganjō's replacement but I'm not his protegee by any stretch of the imagination,” Kusajishi sighs to herself, dismissing thoughts of the last long-term Captain of her Division with a vague air of disgust. “Speaking of missing people, where's Captain Shihōin gone to? That silly mop-head Urahara too for that matter... we seem short staffed.”

“That is the purpose of our meeting today,” the Head Captain grumbles loudly, calling the meeting to order. “Several of our Captains have been exiled for crimes in violation of the laws of the Seireitei, leaving a number of vacancies.”

“Shame,” the Kenpachi shakes her head. “She seemed like fun.”

“It would be appreciated if you would keep your commentary to yourself, Captain Kusajishi.”

Kusajishi shrugs dismissively. “No concern of mine anyway.”

And so would have begun the bloody reign of the Twelfth Kenpachi, were it not for a chance meeting in the Rukongai ninety years before. Soul Society would have been denied one of its most stalwart defenders, instead gaining one of its most terrifying killers. What further effect this may have had... well, no one can say for sure.

>>1126938
Ah, one of the disadvantages in changing IPs: Can't use text formatting once the address changes to something else from the OP post.

Still, that's a rather interesting outcome. I reckon piquing Unohana's interest would also happen way faster in this timeline. And it's a rather interesting bankai divergence too.

>>1126966
To clarify, I'm not queen. I just copy and pasted what he put in a pastebin and put on twitter.

>>1126977
Oh, my bad. I also forgot formatting would've still been tied to the trip ID anyway.