>>3793701
The next exchange is a brief clash of blades, with Aizen barely managing to evade your flaming ‘tails’ as they attack him completely on their own volition.

“Please give me some room!” you shout to Yoruichi as she narrowly evades one of your tails herself. “I cannot quite control them yet, so any aggression is likely to draw their attention!”

“Wait, you mean you really aren’t in control!?”

“At the moment?” you call back as Aizen continues to probe the speed your tails can maintain.

“Well then what should I do?”

“Get creative!” you shout back. “Come on, I believe in you!”

>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.
>Try to use bakudō again and use that opportunity to burn Aizen.
>Wait for Yoruichi or Tia to come up with something while Aizen is overly focused on you.
>Other?

>>3793718
>Wait for Yoruichi or Tia to come up with something while Aizen is overly focused on you.

>>3793718
>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.
We gotta test our new form.

>>3793718
>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.

at the moment.

>>3793718
>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing
Let's see what we can do

>>3793718
>>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.

>Gonna take it a bit slow tonight, see how the rolls go before the weekend

>>3793718
>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.

>>3793718
>Try to use bakudō again and use that opportunity to burn Aizen.

>>3793718
>>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.

>>3793718
>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.
>>3793701
>(Final)
This can’t be the end Queen, we still have classes to finish at Karakura High.

>>3793718
>Shift to the offensive, use the flame-tails for spacing.
>>3794950
Anon, school festival next week and we are not prepared for it at all.

>>3793718
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 2, 3, 3 = 8 (3d10)

>>3795664

Rolled 3, 5, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>3795664

Rolled 9, 10, 10 = 29 (3d10)

>>3795664

Rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5 (3d10)

>>3795664

File: rngesus.jpg (88 KB, 640x640)

88 KB JPG

>>3795674

File: ichibei-hyosube-to-crush-(...).jpg (143 KB, 780x852)

143 KB JPG

>>3795664
You decide that the best way to proceed is to attack, and use your tails to maintain spacing. While this will make it harder for Yoruichi to fight, overall it should be more effective as keeping you from incinerating him will take all of Aizen’s focus.

The first move you use is a charging flat thrust, which Aizen evades by deftly sliding into the blind spot along the spine of your sword. But too close, the flames of your tails reach out for him and force him to backpedal, right into Yoruichi.

“Raiō-ken!” she roars, unleashing a barrage of punches that are all enhanced by Raijūsenkō. Only a few connect through Aizen’s guard, but even those he blocks batter him for what feels like several seconds.

With a grunt Aizen swings his blade at Yoruichi, and she uses her forearm and the electricity wrapped around it to push the swing away as she evades. A blast of water forces Aizen to break off, preventing him from chasing her down, and as he turns his attention to Tia you take the chance to attack.

“Hadō 90: Kurohitsugi!” Aizen declares, raising one finger as the black walls of a Kurohitsugi form around you at fantastic speeds. “Seeping crest of turbidity, arrogant vessel of lunacy...”

Before Aizen can reinforce the hastily-begun hadō your tails lash out wildly to incinerate the kidō before it can encase you both.

“A suicide attack?” you frown. “I suppose that means this battle between us is finally in its last stages, if you have grown that desperate.”

“I will regenerate!” Aizen declares. “Even if I have to kill myself to kill you with me, if I can come back anyway it will have been worth swallowing my pride!”

In an instant, before you can reply, Ichibē makes his move. And it’s pathetically obvious when he does.

Much like Aizen, Ichibē’s attack with Ichimonji is indiscriminate. But unlike Aizen, you have the ability to counter the incoming rainstorm of ink. The viscous black liquid sizzles as it incinerates against your tails of literal hellfire, and leave you untouched.

Aizen on the other hand is left covered in the nefarious substance from head to toe.
>1/2

>>3795735
“Shirifude Ichimonji.”

The ink slowly forms characters… spelling the word ‘Novice’.

“I shall spare you some indignity of being defeated at your full power,” Ichibē grins maliciously. “Instead you shall be defeated with the strength of a rookie shinigami, one of the weak, ‘ordinary’ people you show no regard for.”

“Which, I believe, is all you have underneath what you have done to yourself.”

Before Aizen can retaliate, his limbs are no longer attached to his body. The powers of Ichimonji must have weakened his sensory abilities to those of a complete novice as well to match his new name, so he probably never saw Ōetsu move.

In dash Tessai, Urahara, and Kaoru, who have been waiting in the wings since they arrived.

It’s almost hard to believe that after more than one hundred years, it all comes down to this. A beaten and broken man, deprived of his zanpakuto, all his ill-gotten powers, and even his own name, covered in black ink, being sealed away by three people who aren’t you.

Even Yoruichi joins in the process, pinning Novice’s arms and legs separately and adding them into the winding strands of reishi that rapidly form a denser and denser cocoon around the former Captain. One who for more than a century was your arch-rival, who raised an army of quincy and arrancar to destroy everything you love for reasons you still don’t fully understand, has been reduced to nothing.

Were he not biologically immortal you could reach down and strangle him without effort.

“It feels… hollow,” you admit as Tia joins you at your side.

“That is. Perhaps, understandable,” Tia nods quietly, placing her hand on your shoulder. Since there’s no longer any combat here she can get that close without your tails trying to incinerate her very existence.

Wait… did he really…

>Ignore the fact that Ichibē just tried to betray you. That can be dealt with after he seals Mimihagi.
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.
>Ichibē has betrayed your trust for the final time. Yoruichi can handle Mimihagi, you don’t need Ichibē anymore.
>Other?

>>3795759
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

>>3795759
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

>>3795766
>>3795759
This
*sigh*

>>3795759
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.
Fuck him. If he does something shady one more fucking time we destroy him.

>>3795759
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

>>3795759
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

>>3795759
>“I shall spare you some indignity of being defeated at your full power,” Ichibē grins maliciously. “Instead you shall be defeated with the strength of a rookie shinigami, one of the weak, ‘ordinary’ people you show no regard for.”
>“Which, I believe, is all you have underneath what you have done to yourself.”
Ichibei may be kind of the worst, but I feel like that's one hell of of a karmic defeat.

>>3795759
>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

>>3795759
>>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

>>3795759
>>Confront Ichibē, but do not attack him. He and his comrades all know what he did.

for the record we technically -kind of sorta know how to kill ichibē

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>>3795759
“There is something else I must take care of,” you tell Tia calmly as she removes her hand from your shoulder. “Care to accompany me?”

She shrugs. “My blade is yours to borrow.”

“Thank you,” you nod in return, before walking straight over to Ichibē.

You don’t exactly startle him with your plain declaration. “I know what you did.”

“And what do you believe I have done?” he counters with a smirk.

“I lied,” you admit. “You see I can be quite selfish, so there is no way that any part of me or my power would attack Yoruichi.”

That smirk gives way to a frown. “What do you mean?”

“These tails of mine do not respond to any hostility, as I led you all to believe,” you explain.

From your side comes a further explanation, courtesy of Tia. “So when he used Ichimonji...”

You nod, confirming her suspicions. “Had he not intended to hit me with that attack as well as Aizen, there would have been no response.”

“Damn you,” Ichibē glares daggers at you.

“It was your fault for forgetting that kitsune are natural-born tricksters. Of course I would deceive you… but unlike my fox-faced son I prefer to save my trickery for a single, crucial moment.”

“So where does that leave us?” Ichibē demands.

“You have broken our agreement,” you accuse him sternly. “I have trusted you too many times to put aside our animosity for the good of everyone else, and you have demonstrated your unwillingness to do so time and again.”

“Once the situation with the Soul King has been resolved, there will be no further agreements between us.”

“Then we may as well...” he begins.

>No. Once the present issue has been dealt with we can fight if you desire that. Not before.
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion.
>I have no intention of fighting you. Get that through your thick skull.
>Other?

>>3796938
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion
I don't want to fight him, I just want to get rid of him, he needs to meditate on his own short comings

>>3796938
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion
This is plain mercy at this point. If he dares, I'm voting to yeet this fucker off existence.

>>3796938
>>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion.

>>3796938
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion.

>>3796938
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion.

>>3796938
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion.

>>3796938
>I refuse. But I WILL expect you to surrender your Ōken and go into seclusion.

>>3796938
>I have no intention of fighting you. Get that through your thick skull.

>>3797434
I mean, in a way he IS Soul Society. Telling him to retire feels like agreeing to fight him just in a way that makes us look good. Bit who knows, maybe the rest of squad zero is tired over how he won't stop antagonizing us.

>>3796938
“I refuse,” you interrupt him swiftly. “Categorically. But I will expect you to surrender your Ōken at the end of all this to go into seclusion.”

“You realize that requires me to sacrifice a limb?” Ichibē glares at you angrily.

“You should have considered that before trying to betray me,” you counter. “Again.”

“And you believe I’ll just sign off on this coup?” he raises his voice. “How arrogant can you be?”

“Your Shinuchi cannot affect me,” you lay our your reasoning, “and upon my revealing your attempt just now, I very much doubt you will be able to keep the support of Ōetsu, Shutara, or Hikifune.”

“You mean to imply they would become traitors?”

“I mean to imply that any impartial member of the Royal Special Task Force would view your own behavior as a betrayal,” you explain. “I had thought, as likely your own comrades did, that you finally understood that to make me into an enemy when I am naturally strongly inclined to be an ally would be a mistake.”

“She’s right, ya know,” Ōetsu admits, laying Sayafushi across his shoulder. “Ask me what I think an’ I’ll tell ya no lies, you know that.”

Ichibē is silent for a few moments before replying. “What do you think, Tōshin?”

“I think ya done fucked up, Monk,” Ōetsu immediately tells the Monk. “And I’m tired of tryna explain that to ya. We all are.”

“Ōetsu, you can’t be serious!” Kirinji protests loudly.

“I am, my man,” Ōetsu insists. “Either the Monk goes or I do. An I don’t think ya’d hear much different from Kirio or Shutara.”

“Either one or three...” Ichibē sighs, sealing his zanpakuto. “Very well. I see how it is.”

With a single smooth movement the Monk raises his blade into his left armpit and severs it at the shoulder.

“With that, I am no longer a member of the Royal Special Task Force.”

>That… deserves a few words, at least.
>Head over and find Yoruichi. You and the remaining Royal Guard must now deal with the Soul King.
>Other?

>>3797476
>>That… deserves a few words, at least.
if he ever manages to change his outlook on everything, he could come back
at heart he did it for his duty, which might be the only thing we could agree on in the end

>>3797476
>That… deserves a few words, at least.
>Eat the shinreiryoku in his oken, don't make the mistake of letting someone find and use it at some point

>>3797476
>That… deserves a few words, at least.

>>3797476
>Head over and find Yoruichi. You and the remaining Royal Guard must now deal with the Soul King.

>>3797493
i think might actually legitimise his concerns about us, also we really don't need it.

>>3797476
>That… deserves a few words, at least.
Thank you for doing the sensible thing in the end.

>>3797476
>>That… deserves a few words, at least.

>>3797476
>That… deserves a few words, at least.

>>3797476
>That… deserves a few words, at least.

>>3797476
>Head over and find Yoruichi. You and the remaining Royal Guard must now deal with the Soul King.

>>3797493
Nah, someone else can take his place at Squad Zero. Or they could just keep it on ice for a while and maybe in two hundred years living as a normal (albeit still really strong) Shinigami, Ichibei will develop some perspective.

>>3797476
>>That… deserves a few words, at least.

>>3797603
Fair enough, i guess.

>>3797476
>That… deserves a few words, at least.

Good job, King of Darts. You did good. This is Empress Theresa levels of writing, just perfect, exactly what I expected. Did this quest have liquoring up and raping little girls in it too? Or will the next one?

>>3797476
At the end, even this seems like an anti-climax.

“Hyōsube Ichibē,” you begin, carefully considering what to say at this moment. Eventually, you incline your head. “Thank you for your cooperation in dealing with the traitor Aizen Sōsuke, and my apologies for troubling the Royal Special Task Force with the Gotei’s affairs.”

“If I were confident my ink would work I would not be leaving short an arm,” Ichibē insists. “You do know that?”

You nod. “I know. And you consider that part of your duty?”

“I do.”

“And I consider ending this as peacefully as possible to be a part of my duty,” you point out. “So even now, it would be wrong not to acknowledge that you and the Royal Special Task Force played a crucial role.”

“I understand.”

“Then farewell, Hyōsube Ichibē.”

After a pause, Ichibē offers a response over his shoulder. “I will not tell you to ‘stay out of trouble’, Inari Riku. Trouble seems to be your native habitat. But do try not to cause any yourself.”

“I can only promise to try.”

And with that, the leader of the Royal Special Task Force passes into an early and quite unexpected retirement.

>So, Ōetsu. Who will lead the Royal Guard now that Ichibē is retired?
>Perhaps this is a chance for institutional change within the Seireitei.
>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.
>Other?

>>3798760
>>Perhaps this is a chance for institutional change within the Seireitei. (this for later, since there is important stuff to consider)
>>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.

>>3798760
>Perhaps this is a chance for institutional change within the Seireitei.
>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.

>>3798760
>>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.

>>3798760
>Perhaps this is a chance for institutional change within the Seireitei.
>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.

>>3798760
>Perhaps this is a chance for institutional change within the Seireitei.
>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.

>>3798760
>Perhaps this is a chance for institutional change within the Seireitei.
>Shutara, Kirio. I will need your help for the next task of importance.

>>3798760
This may actually prove to be a good thing for the Seireitei in the long run… a new Head Captain, the old leader of the Royal Guard out of power, Aizen gone, and a new Soul King? Plus a sitting Captain with ties to the kami? It’s a perfect opportunity to make some improvements to how things are done around here. Nothing too drastic of course, at least not within the next few years. But two thousand years of turmoil are all but wrapped up, giving a real chance for things to be different in the next thousand years.

And now it’s beginning to dawn on you that you may actually have that long. This is just one particularly dramatic chapter of many you will write. That gives you some much-needed perspective… yeah. This is just act one for you. Aizen and Ichibē are out, but some other purpose will come along sooner or later. Until then, you can simply enjoy the sort of life you were fighting so that others could have.

“You okay?” Tia asks you carefully.

You smile back at her. “Yes. Yes, I suppose I am.”

“Kirio! Shutara!” you call out to the other Royal Guards, drawing their attention. “Yoruichi and I will need your assistance for the next step in this process.”

“You mean, with the Soul King?” Kirio asks skeptically. “Are you sure you wanna… you know.”

You stare at her until she finishes her thought. “Trust us?”

“You have done me no wrong,” you point out. “Besides, you have expertise we need to be certain that we do this properly.”

“Consider it done,” Shutara nods slightly. “First, we will need to remove the Soul King from the equation.”

>Remove, as in… ‘seal him’?
>So, who wants to kill a god?
>This was partly my idea. That task falls to me.
>Other?

>>3799564
>>So, who wants to kill a god?
also, why does the novice have a name again?
this somewhat worries me

>>3799564
>>So, who wants to kill a god?

>>3799564
>So, who wants to kill a god?

>>3799587
I was half considering making it Momo that you just sealed when you mentioned that, but nah. We're about 12 months past the time when that sort of twist would've flown.

>>3799564
>So, who wants to kill a god?
>>3799632
Since when where you under the impression it has been 12 months past the time when that sort of twist would've flown?

>>3799564
>>So, who wants to kill a god?

File: Tenchi_Riku.png (99 KB, 440x526)

99 KB PNG

>>3799564
“So,” you lead in with a superficially casual air. “Who wants to kill a God?”

Your question attracts a series of awkward glances and stares, and leads to a lot of awkward silence. Eventually, Yoruichi puts her hand up.

“I’ll do it.”

“You do not exactly sound enthusiastic,” you point out.

“I’m not,” she admits. “But, I’m the head of one of the Noble Clans. My ancestors are the ones who laid the foundation this whole mess was built up on, and the Soul King is the cornerstone in that foundation.”

“And if someone’s going to take out that cornerstone it should be someone like me.”

“You always did resent all the formalities of your position,” you sigh. “But if you feel like you need to do this, then as always, I will support you.”

Yoruichi nods calmly. “And I’m grateful, as always.”

The trip to the Royal Realm is uneventful, but still somewhat more dramatic than you anticipated due to the various lesser divine beings and servants that watch your arrival in complete silence. From towering faceless figures to more demure ones with featureless eyes, all attention is on your party.

“They know?” you guess.

“They suspect,” Shutara corrects you.

The last of the divine beings before you reach the central building where you presume the Soul King is housed is familiar to you.

“Tenri,” you incline your head.

“Ma’am,” she bows deeply in return. “You have welcomed me into your home, so allow me to welcome you into mine.”

“She’s an unusually talkative one,” Kirio observes. “Wonder why that is.”

“I told her she could,” you shrug. “Thank you for the welcome… so far things have been somewhat...”

“Creepy?” Yoruichi offers. “Disturbing? Cultish?”

“Any of those would work,” you admit.
>1/2

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>>3800964
“I believe you will find what you are looking for in here,” Tenri waves you into the ornate structure before you. “I cannot follow you, so I will wait here for your return.”

“Thank you,” you nod in acknowledgement.

“Seriously, was that an option?” Kirio whispers over her shoulder to Shutara as your group enters the building.

Before you is a dark being with purple orbs for eyes. Legless, armless, unblinking, with a featureless face. So this is the Soul King?

Yoruichi’s expression darkens. “I suppose this is it. Where is Mimihagi?”

From seemingly under her haori Kirio produces a large cocoon of pale fabric which Shutara opens to reveal Mimihagi.

“Are you prepared?” the hand demands.

The Soul King, whose eyes you would have expected to be fixed on his missing hand, seem instead to be gazing at someone else in the dimly-lit room. They’ve fallen on you.

>Approach the Soul King and address him.
>Ask one of the Royal Guard about it.
>Gently encourage Yoruichi to hurry up.
>Other?

>>3800965
>Gently encourage Yoruichi to hurry up.

>>3800965
>>Approach the Soul King and address him.
If there is a way to make this more easy for everybody, lets at least try

>>3800965
>>Approach the Soul King and address him.

>>3800965
>Approach the Soul King and address him.

>>3800965
>Approach the Soul King and address him.
>Address him by his real name: "Izanagi-no-mikoto"

>>3800965
For some reason, you find yourself approaching the Soul King, and politely inclining your head.

Yoruichi watches in confusion. “Riku, are you… remember what I said about how you freak me out sometimes?”

“Everything is fine,” you assure her calmly. “Izanagi-no-mikoto, allow me to apologize. While I can perhaps understand your reasons, I also cannot allow you to destroy the world for your own personal reasons. Were it my wife I would feel the same, though her own sentiments would prevent me from going as far as you have.”

“In your case it falls to us to stop you. Because neither of our own personal problems can take precedence over the rest of the souls of this world.”

Izanagi does not respond. He cannot respond, and never will respond.

“I know that this could never be a conversation, that I will not have a chance to even try to convince you,” you continue. “I can only assume that others tried in the past. So all we can do is end your existence in your current state.”

“I hope that you fare better in your next life.”

With your final words having been said, Yoruichi promptly uses her Bankai to wrap the crystal cage entrapping the Soul King in razorwire, then motions for Kirio and Shutara to release the layers of spells surrounding him. With each fallen barrier the wires snap taut, one after the other, until they’re digging into flesh.

With the Soul King so suspended, she adds the final touch.

“Zangerin Zanshu.”

Between the kidō and the razor wires, what remains of the Soul King’s body is sliced into hundreds of pieces. Those pieces fall to the ground in a pile, and by the time they start to bleed they’re already being incinerated by Kirio and Shutara.
>1/2

>>3801523
When you return to the Seireitei, the debriefing is unusually sombre. In fact you hardly speak, only adding your voice to Yoruichi’s recounting of what happened when directly asked. A fact that Shunsui clearly notices.

“Something is troubling you, Captain.”

It isn’t a question.

You can’t help sighing, mulling over your words.

>I think it’s about time I stepped down as a Captain. Left the Ninth in the hands of the next generation.
>I was considering what happens next. Everything is slowly changing, and I think the Seireitei has been too resistant to that change for too long.
>Just… feeling a little aimless at the moment. Sorry if my own thoughts and concerns had become too obvious.
>Other?

>>3801561
>I was considering what happens next. Everything is slowly changing, and I think the Seireitei has been too resistant to that change for too long.

>>3801561
>>I was considering what happens next. Everything is slowly changing, and I think the Seireitei has been too resistant to that change for too long.

>>3801561
>Just… feeling a little aimless at the moment. Sorry if my own thoughts and concerns had become too obvious.

>>3801561
>>I was considering what happens next. Everything is slowly changing, and I think the Seireitei has been too resistant to that change for too long.

>>3801561
>I was considering what happens next. Everything is slowly changing, and I think the Seireitei has been too resistant to that change for too long.

>>3801561
>I was considering what happens next. Everything is slowly changing, and I think the Seireitei has been too resistant to that change for too long.

>>3801561
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 9, 1, 2 = 12 (3d10)

>>3801672

Rolled 7, 8, 6 = 21 (3d10)

>>3801672

Rolled 7, 9, 3 = 19 (3d10)

>>3801672

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331 KB PNG

>>3801672
“I was considering what happens next,” you admit, weighing your words with unusual care. This is one of those moments where if you were not careful it would be easy to misinterpret your words as having some seditious intent. And given that Aizen Sōsuke is no longer an imminent threat, there may be some in the Seireitei that will be less tolerant of such careless words in the future.

“How do you mean?” Captain Hitsugaya asks.

“Aizen is gone,” you reiterate. “There is a new Soul King, a new Head Captain for the first time in most of our lives, and the leader of the Royal Guard has retired. We now know that both quincies and arrancars exist and some of us are even on good terms with them. Our contacts with the outside spiritual world have increased in the last century, as has our contact with the Kami right here in Japan.”

Shunsui frowns as he begins to catch your meaning. “Things do certainly seem to be changing rapidly.”

“Not as rapidly as they could be,” you observe, “but it could be treated as an opportunity.”

“An opportunity for what?” Unohana enquires, seemingly more interested in what you have to say than concerned by it.

“Well, that depends,” you reply carefully. “There are many things that are possible, but may not be advisable.”

“And who do you propose to determine what is...” Sui Fēng asks with furrowed brow. “Advisable, as you say?”

On the one hand… but then again… although…

“You okay over there?” Gin asks you with a smirk.

>I think that should be us. The Central 46’s authority is all but gone, and a majority of the current heads of the Great Noble Clans are among our number.
>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.
>That falls within the Central 46’s jurisdiction, doesn’t it?
>Other?

>>3801773
>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.
I am not okay with the military running things, but the Central 46 haven't done a good job either.

>>3801773
>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.
>We are no longer in a time of extreme crisis, the military shouldn't go on deciding everything on it's own.

>>3801773
>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.

>>3801773
>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.

>>3801773
>>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.

Personally i'd prefer the central 46 to be replaced by a council of captains, with each captain advised by one representative from the noble houses and one from the common people.

Likewise, there would also be a council of nobles to manage their own affairs, and a council of commoners to manage theirs, each with a few representative advisors from the other councils. The noble and commoner councils would have limited power regarding the creation and changing of laws, but enough that they can do what they really need to. The council of captains on the other hand can technically do anything, but only by large majority vote, and only under extreme or dangerous circumstances. At all other times they'd have the same power as the other councils, and would only manage the inner court itself.

The truth of the matter is, the captains are by and large the oldest, the wisest and undoubtedly the strongest by their very nature. When it comes down to it, the captains are the ones who get things done and clean up the messes left behind by others.
But, i want to ensure everyone is kept aware of the needs and desires of the others in times of peace. We don't want another situation where the councils becomes stuck in their ways, refusing to change with the times or make things difficult for captains trying to clean up messes.

>>3801773
>There should be an ongoing dialogue about that. Many peoples’ interests are at stake.
Adaptability is probably the way to go.
Military junta seems more like last resort if Noble Clans and Central 46 refuses to cooperate completely in the face of a new age.

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>>3801773
“We have all the authority we need right here in this room,” you observe calmly, stating what you feel should by now be obvious. “All of the Captains together represent the greatest concentration of force in the Soul Society, and among our ranks are a majority of the Noble Clans’ heads. If Yoruichi, Byakuya, and Kaoru agreed with four other Captains, there would be no avenue to deny what they had decided.”

“But the immediate emergency is over,” you continue. “I don’t think that the Gotei 13 should be dictating policy.”

“By that reasoning, shouldn’t we stop wearing our swords?” Hitsugaya wonders aloud, only to find you staring daggers at him.

“Over my cold dead ghost corpse,” you counter in a low, dangerous growl.

The younger Captain gulps nervously.

“Fashion choices aside,” Shunsui interjects. “The Captain has a point. While change is inevitable, maybe even something to be encouraged, it can’t be done using the same autocratic methods.”

“Some form of permanent council should be a priority, allowing both the Central 46 and the Gotei 13 to have a voice in the process.”

“And what of the Rukongai?”

Unsurprisingly, the one to raise the question is none other than Gin.

“Kaoru,” you reply, calling your adoptive sister. “Our clan still lives in the Rukongai, don’t we?”

She nods thoughtfully. “Yes, yes we do.”

“And Kūkaku has contacts with leaders in at least a few of the districts, doesn’t she?”

“She does.”

“So there’s our answer,” you shrug. “At least in the short term. Include Kūkaku, give our clan slightly disproportionate representation on the council to increase representation of the Rukongai on issues which affect the residents there. Kūkaku in particular can help bring concerns of the actual residents to our attention.”

After about an hour of debate, you’re happy to hear that the Captains’ council has some sort of plan moving forward. Though since it took them that long to work their way back to your original suggestion, you can safely say some things will never change.

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>>3803431
>EPILOGUE
It’s been ten years since the events of Aizen’s rebellion came to an end, and much has changed in the afterlife.

The biggest difference is that now the Gotei has a branch office in England, which has drawn many of your officers there: some left for lack of political pull and chances for advancement, others for a sense of duty. Among those were Kai and Renji, both of whom are Lieutenant or low-Captain class fighters who possess Bankai, as well as Tessai who elected to leave Japan rather than make peace with the Soul Society which had banished him. Rukia has also left, for reasons she never fully articulated.

You also understand that several of the Visored have done the same, establishing themselves apart from the place where they have such a checkered and contentious past.

Bambietta and her fellow surviving quincies have settled over the last several years in Hueco Mundo, along with the remaining arrancars under the de facto leadership of Tia Halibel. After briefly returning to North America to learn a little more about his roots, Starrk elected to go with Tia to work on making Hueco Mundo a more hospitable place.

Las Noches, the abandoned palace of Aizen Sōsuke in Hueco Mundo, has become something of a Babylon: a walled city in the desert with lush growth and comparatively opulent buildings, a seat of great power on par with the Seireitei. It’s an oasis of stability, where the once unchangeable laws of Hueco Mundo have begun to slowly evolve towards something more in line with Tia’s ideals.

In some ways Hueco Mundo is the opposite of the Soul Society in spite of your attempts to change the Rukongai for the better. The best you could manage was to agree with the divinities of Japan to reduce the lifespan of an average Rukongai resident without any reiatsu. That way the Seireitei can work to improve living conditions, particularly in the outermost districts, without concern for the cycle of rebirth stagnating.

It’s been a long process of change since the old days, and lasting change will take longer still to take root, but today all that can be set aside.

Today is a beautiful day for a wedding.
>1/2

>>3803433
“Ah, good to see you!” you hear a familiar voice greeting you upon your arrival at a shrine outside Tokyo city. “I’m glad you could make it!”

Tatsuki doesn’t really fit well in a kimono, you decide on the spot. Not in the sense that there’s been some error in tailoring, nor would you say she doesn’t look good in it, but it’s more a matter of not really suiting her personality.

“You say that like you expected us not to show up!” you smile at your former student, now in her mid-twenties. “I’ll admit, I’ve been trying to decide what kimono I wanted to wear since you made the announcement.”

“She’s never this excited about stuff like that,” Yoruichi smirks from your side. “So you know she’s serious.”

“Rukia didn’t respond though,” Ichigo replies, joining his soon-to-be wife to greet you. Unlike Tatsuki, he looks uncomfortable enough in the formal kimono he’s being obliged to wear that it kind of works for him.

He looks unusually uncomfortable with what he just said too, for that matter. Which is dramatically less endearing.

“She’s busy with our London branch,” you sigh. “She’s really thrown herself into her work lately.”

“I see...”

You can tell he suspects that Rukia is staying away for other reasons, but you don’t know what’s going on in her head any more than he does. Before you can work out what to say to him, an older woman comes up to join the young couple.

“So you’re Ichigo’s aunt?” the woman greets you warmly. “You’re much younger than I expected, even to be Isshin’s younger sister!”

>I’ve aged well, that’s all.
>By adoption, so that’s why we’re so far apart.
>So you must be… Arisawa-kun’s mother?
>Other?

>>3803434
>I’ve aged well, that’s all.

>Appaci didn't win the Berrybowl

How could you do this, King?

>>3803434
By adoption, so that’s why we’re so far apart.
>So you must be… Arisawa-kun’s mother?

>>3803434
>I’ve aged well, that’s all.

>>3803434
>By adoption, so that’s why we’re so far apart.
Poor Rukia, she lost even here. At least it wasn't to Orihime this time.

>>3803434
"By adoption, so not only have I aged gracefully but I started off younger."

"I see," Tatsuki's mother nods in acceptance.

“So how are all your classmates?” you ask.

“Surprisingly good,” Ichigo shrugs. “You remember Chad?”

“Big guy, not much of a talker?”

He nods. “Started taking bass real seriously, tours with a band now. He’s pretty successful.”

“And that Orihime girl?” you ask.

Tatsuki immediately starts laughing uncontrollably. Once Ichigo can get her to calm down, she explains her reaction. “She went to college for media studies, and works in advertising now. She makes more than any of us!”

You nod sagely, finally understanding. “That would explain some of the commercials I’ve been seeing lately.”

“And what about you?” Tatsuki asks. “It’s been a while since… well, you know.”

You and Yoruichi both sigh. With Tatsuki’s mother hovering over you it’d be foolish to say too much.

“Kai and Kaoru are doing a long-distance thing,” you shrug, keeping it vague as possible. “Since Kai is working for our London branch now too. They needed a guy with his skills.”

“That must be rough,” Ichigo frowns.

“Not as bad as you might think,” Yoruichi explains. “We’ve been working on integrating the various branches.”

“You work for a multinational business?” Mrs. Arisawa asks curiously.

You nod, coming up with a quick lie. “Security and intelligence consultancy.”

It’s not that far from the truth, actually.

“How about Mirai and...” Tatsuki struggles for a fake name. “Her boyfriend?”

“They see each other pretty often,” you inform her. “Mirai works for Rangiku now heading my old Division, and Starrk works for our Spanish-language office.”

“Why is that a thing?” Ichigo asks at long last.

You shrug. “Way above my paygrade, kiddo.”
>1/2

>>3803458
Chad has actually found something worthwhile, didn't see him playing in a band coming, although he has the perfect attitude for a bass player

Orihime makes way too much sense

happy to hear Kai and Kaoru are making it work,
and even more happy that Starrk and Mirai are a thing now

>>3803458
“Ah!” Yoruichi declares, suddenly remembering a detail you’ve both forgotten. “Here, where’s the gift table?”

“You didn’t have to...” Ichigo tries to insist, but Yoruichi simply ignores him and follows Tatsuki to a long table set up near the hall where the wedding is to occur.

“This is a gift from the Shihōin family,” your wife declares, withdrawing a box from her over-sized bag. She quickly opens it, setting a small, glistening blade on a presentation stand.

“A… sword?” Ichigo asks incredulously.

“Not just any sword,” Yoruichi insists. “A Masamune tantō… they’re said to bring good luck.”

“A Masamune?” Tatsuki repeats. “We can’t...”

“It’s an old tradition,” Yoruichi shrugs, “but one which my family still respects.”

Tatsuki’s mother is apparently stunned.

“From the Shiba family,” you add, withdrawing another smaller box from the bag. “Something a bit more practical.”

“It’s a dish,” Ichigo observes.

“One of a full set of handmade servingware,” you explain. “We hope you get a lot of use out of them.”

“… thanks?” Ichigo replies, now somewhat stunned as well. He can tell by looking at the quality of the craftsmanship of this single dish, your gift is hardly as shabby as one might think based on what it is. In fact, he can tell that the red Ryūkyūan-style lacquer is impregnated with no small amount of gold powder in deeply traditional motifs.

“And from the Kuchiki family,” Yoruichi concludes, producing two relatively small pieces of woven white silk. “Two scarves, the same ginpaku kazahana silk as Byakuya wears.”

Tapping into your Teiteikura tattoo, you smirk as you silently explain the last gift’s significance. “Welcome to the Nobility, kids.”

Meanwhile, Tatsuki’s mother whispers at her daughter over her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re not marrying into the yakuza or something?”

“Well, we shouldn’t keep you!” you smile at the young couple.

>Find Isshin and Masaki.
>See if there are any other familiar faces here.
>Reminisce with Yoruichi for a while longer.
>Other?

>>3803470
>>See if there are any other familiar faces here.

>>3803470
>See if there are any other familiar faces here.

>>3803470
>>See if there are any other familiar faces here.

>>3803470
>See if there are any other familiar faces here.

>>3803470
>>See if there are any other familiar faces here.
Yep.

>>3803470
>>See if there are any other familiar faces here.

>>3803470
>See if there are any other familiar faces here.

>Are you sure you’re not marrying into the yakuza or something?
>Tatsuki, to her mother: Don’t be silly, they’re just wealthy
>Tatsuki, in her head: At this point, I’m starting to wonder

>>3803442
Why on earth would you curse Appaci with ichigo?

>>3803470
Determined not to monopolize the young couple’s time any more than you already have, you begin to scan the small crowd for any other familiar faces. You see some of Ichigo’s classmates, Asano and Mizuiro you think, over by a table chatting with someone who can only be their former homeroom teacher. A vaguely familiar woman with dark hair and a large chest is watching the whole thing with an amused expression… you think her name was Ikumi? Isshin catches your eye, and taps Masaki on the shoulder to get her attention, and the two smile at you knowingly.

You can talk to them some time later.

“Well, I see you decided to make an appearance after all,” a familiar voice greets you. “Miss Yoruichi, Miss Riku.”

“Ishida,” you greet Uryū politely in return.

“How’ve you been, brat?”

“Working,” he replies vaguely, adjusting his glasses. “As I’m aware you have been.”

“You’re working at Ryūken’s hospital, aren’t you?” you ask him with a smile. “Kinda like how Ichigo’s working at the Clinic.”

“The similarities aren’t lost on me,” he admits.

There are a few moments of awkward silence. He’s grown up to be more like his father than he’d probably care to admit.

>So how has your ‘secret project’ been going?
>Didn’t you have a thing for that Orihime girl?
>So, how have things been in Karakura?
>Other?

>>3803690
>>So, how have things been in Karakura?

>>3803690
>So how has your ‘secret project’ been going?
>Didn’t you have a thing for that Orihime girl?

>>3803690
>>Didn’t you have a thing for that Orihime girl?
>>So, how have things been in Karakura?
if he is this stiff, we have to do our best to shake him up

>>3803690
>So, how have things been in Karakura?
>Didn’t you have a thing for that Orihime girl?

>>3803690
>So how has your ‘secret project’ been going?
>Didn’t you have a thing for that Orihime girl?

>>3803690
>>So how has your ‘secret project’ been going?

>>3803690
“How have things been in Karakura town?” you ask quietly, ignoring for the time being the fact that Ishida has been trying to communicate with other surviving quincy across the globe for the last several years. It’s about the worst-kept secret in the spiritual world, honestly, but it might be more tasteful not to bring it up at a wedding. “Busier? Less so?”

“The rate of incidents has definitely decreased,” Ishida informs you calmly. “Compared to how things were in the early 2000’s. But still, definitely elevated.”

“That’s to be expected,” you sigh.

“Karakura will always have that problem,” Yoruichi agrees. “Even on top of the general increase globally. That’s why we have to rely on you guys too.”

“So it was a global phenomenon after all,” Ishida muses, a frown creeping across his face. “What does your ‘Mexico Branch’ have to say about it?”

“Tia can’t account for it either,” you report. “She’s looked into it in some detail. Whatever’s going on here is different.”

Ishida reaches into his pocket for a cigarette, but then seems to think better of it and pulls out just the lighter to fiddle with instead. “That’s a disturbing thought. Should I tell Kurosaki?”

You shake your head. “Let them have this for now.”

“Have it your way,” Ishida sighs dramatically. “But they’re gonna want to know. Even Kurosaki already suspects something.”

“In due time,” Yoruichi insists.

“For now, just trust us,” you nod.

“Whatever you say, miss Emissary.”

Emissary… a contrived title you were given a few years ago when you officially stepped down as Captain of the Ninth Division and took over the newly formed Diplomatic Corps. A position that due to your ties to the other afterlives, to various deities, and especially that tie with Tia Halibel that nobody has the backbone to ask you about directly, you are perfectly suited to filling.

The Ninth is still unofficially affiliated with the new Corps, much as the Second Division remains associated with the Onmitsukidō even after Yoruichi handed it off to Sui Fēng’s permanent command to make room for new up-and-coming officers. With Rangiku as the new Captain of the Ninth it should have been expected… your new headquarters is literally adjacent too.

These new foes, like hollows but different, classified as ‘dragons’. Branch offices in Europe, the Americas, and Africa to coordinate. A budding permanent settlement led by Tia and many others from your former motley crew. A gradual return of the Gods to active roles in the afterlives of the world.

Even for one such as Aizen, time did not cease to flow. The world continues to grow and change in new and fantastic ways.

One chapter may have closed, but your story is far from over.

>>3803967
Thank you for running, it was a pleasure to see this play out and it might be a good thing for the world to not have a riku that is actually getting bored

>>3803967
Hell of a journey, even if I joined up part way through.

End of an era, thank you for all the time you've spent for us

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>>3803967
>EPILOGUE, PART 2
The evening has fallen, and the light has faded.

Most of the wedding-party has departed. Only a few have chosen to linger.

The groom catches a warm breeze, stepping away from his new wife and his family to gaze out at the moon.

Atop a nearby telephone pole, the death god stands.

Their eyes meet.

The traces of a smile, no words need be exchanged.

The death god is here for the groom, but not to take him with her. The groom must live his life. Both know this.

She disappears into the night.

He returns to the party, his heart relieved.

We stand in awe of that which cannot be seen, and we respect with every fiber of our being that which cannot be explained.

And we hold close that which we can only feel.

Thus must the blade be wielded.

>The End.

>>3804081
>>The End.
Oh jeez, I feel a little hollow inside. It's been an honor.

>>3804081
What a ride.
Thank you King.

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>>3804081
And that is now the end of Shinigami Savant Quest. It's been a hell of a four-and-a-half year run, and thank you all for playing along with it. Those of you who were there from the beginning, and those who joined along the way, without you this would have been impossible.

At some point there may be a Burn the Witch spinoff, but not for a while. In the mean time I will continue running Claymore, and will probably start up a Naruto quest starting in the Hidden Rain Village some time in the next few weeks.

If you're interested in that keep an eye on my twitter handle @QMKingofHearts, and maybe I'll see you again for one of those projects. If not, it's been real, and I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I did writing.

>>3804103
This has been an amazing adventure, thanks for the ride

>>3804103
Thanks for an awesome ride. Easily one of my favourite quest among a lot of that I have read in both /tg/ and /qst/. You really did make Bleach shine.

>>3804103
Damn, i can't believe it's over just like that. It's been running since early 2015.
Riku was right, it really does feel like an anticlimax... there were so many loose ends i wanted to see taken care of.

>>3804123
You are absolutely right with that, I can only agree

>>3804165
Such as?

I'm not dead, if there are any questions I CAN answer I will.

>>3804182
Did kyoraku and Lisa get some time to explore whats between them?

Do the other arrancar, sadbat and grimmjow, join Tia and her faction, or did they leave to make their own?

Did the Shiba eventually adopt the pulled girl? (I can't remember her name)

Those are the ones I can think off, nothing major

>>3804182
I would have loved to see gin and rangiku together, and the grandbabies.
Whatever happened to jushiro and old man yama in the end, whether we found a way to save them or if they died.
What happened to aizen after he was sealed, and whether he changed over the years or was still a menace when he got out.
The arguments with the central 46 over... everything that happened, really.
Mayuri, and whether he managed to do what he felt he needed to. Maybe he met nemu again after he died?
Did okita ever end up going anywhere? Did he ever learn more about who he was in life?
What about apacci? did she ever find herself a nice guy?
Did riku ever finally give up her mortality after however many millenia, and become a god? Did yoruichi find a way to go with her? Did they both choose to die together as mortals?

There's just so much... i'd have to reread the whole quest to remember them all, and i'm sure you don't want to answer all that.

>>3804206
Pill girl, the one ichigo and the kids found when we dealt with the clones

>>3804206
Oh fuck, yes. Sadbat and Madcat. I'm almost 100% certain they chilled out and joined tia at some point, but what happened with them in the end? Did they manage to find families for themselves? did they manage to shrink their hollow holes like tia and the others?

And what happened to lonely artificial yoruichi?

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>>3804217
I'm thinking the bee got a cat after all in the end.

>>3804206
>Did kyoraku and Lisa get some time to explore whats between them?
Sort of. It's something of a Genji-esque situation where part of what makes it beautiful is that neither of them can really move forward from where they're at. So you wouldn't really call it a 'happy ending' per se, but in the classic Japanese sense it's rather romantic.
>Do the other arrancar, sadbat and grimmjow, join Tia and her faction, or did they leave to make their own?
They ended up joining her faction, along with the surviving handful Sternritter. That faction is somewhat reliant on the Soul Society for certain goods and services, but will continue to gradually establish itself as independent.
>Did the Shiba eventually adopt the pulled girl? (I can't remember her name)
By that do you mean Senna? If so yes, Senna eventually found a home among Rangiku and Gin's corner of the Shiba clan.

>>3804225
oh right, did lil bee get it together enough to ask best cats brother for some wholesome Shihoin fun?

>>3804103
>Naruto quest
Fuck yes, that sounds amazing. Naruto turned to shit plot-wise after a while, but, like Claymore and Bleach, its core concepts can work extremely well for RPGs and quests. I know you'll do an outstanding job with it.

Anyway, thank you for the ride, King. It was fucking incredible and rekindled the love I once felt for this series, more than 10 years ago.

>>3804209
>I would have loved to see gin and rangiku together, and the grandbabies.
They would, eventually, but not in ten years. after all Rangiku would still be getting used to being a Captain at this point.
>Whatever happened to jushiro and old man yama in the end, whether we found a way to save them or if they died.
Jushiro would not be coming back. Part of his story was that eventualy the force keeping him from his fate had to be removed from the equation. Yamamoto is still alive in the same sense as Aizen: more or less permanently out of the picture.
>What happened to aizen after he was sealed, and whether he changed over the years or was still a menace when he got out.
He would basically never be allowed out. When the Soul Society figures a way to erase him from existence they'll just do that.
>The arguments with the central 46 over... everything that happened, really.
Protracted and pointless, like everything else about them.
>Mayuri, and whether he managed to do what he felt he needed to. Maybe he met nemu again after he died?
He dead, dead and reincarnated. By this point he'd be ten.
>Did okita ever end up going anywhere? Did he ever learn more about who he was in life?
Okita would have gradually learned more about his past life, yes. He'd still be an officer in the First Division.
>What about apacci? did she ever find herself a nice guy?
I'd see her hooking up with with Shuhei to be honest.
>Did riku ever finally give up her mortality after however many millenia, and become a god? Did yoruichi find a way to go with her? Did they both choose to die together as mortals?
That is a question I feel is better unanswered. But either way, there are some things that survive both death and rebirth. Even if they did both die, they'd probably just meet again in another life.

>>3804234
When he's older, yes. That probably would happen at some point.

>>3804103
Thanks so much boss, it's been a trip. Thanks for sharing so much of your time with us.

>>3804251
i really can see the shuhei and apacci pairing
and i hope Okita eventually makes captain,
the others are pretty much what i expected

>>3804103
Quite the ride Queen, thanks for taking us on it.

>>3804103
Easily one of my favorite quests and somehow managed to get me to catch up to over a hundred threads, as well as keep coming back until the end.

Thanks for writing!

Thank you. Was a hell of a ride. You have my gratitude.

Archive reader chiming in, it's been an excellent adventure Queen. Glad to see you end things properly.

>>3804251
So, did Nel ever manage to prank Gin?

>>3816321
Eventually. But by the Epilogue she's had about a decade to try.

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>>3816603
There’s only one prank to end this quest on. His sandals get stolen.

>>3816697
Sooner or later, it all comes back around doesn't it?

>>3817204
Things will only come back around when Riku has her sandals stolen by a street-rat with spiritual talent and nothing to lose.

I know its a bit late, but I just wanted to comment on how great this quest has been and how much I've enjoyed reading it over the years. Rare that a quest gets a good conclusion like this one.

I'll have to start looking into your other quests, Queen!