[10th Division] Headquarters & Barracks

[Bloodedge]

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4346/36103009283_0c80f82916_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X1imRi)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4334/36076802224_38ec8911f4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WXZ3ps)

[Apollymi]

The Captain's office in the 10th Division was a very clean open room. The desk itself was completely clear of papers and gave the overall look of a very comfortable space. The desk overlooked a double set of couches with a coffee table between them, which were very comfy and the windows gave view of the sakura tree in the court yard of the 10th Division. On top of the desk in the Captain's Office would be a simple white box with a closed lid and a note atop it.

The note atop this box was addressed to Raizen and it read very specifically,

"When you're made Captain, you'll need one of these. I figured, I could give you my first one, it was way too big anyway~" was scribbled in Saori's handwriting and signed with her name. "Good luck" was written right after that. Inside the box would be a hooded haori sleeveless with the 10th Division's insignia on the back. Inside it had a golden lining with ornate white lines and designs. This would be the final gift left by Himotoya Saori, for her Vice-Captain. It was as if she knew that the young man would eventually become the Captain of the 10th Division.

[Bloodedge]

Shortly after the ordeal involving Nijo Kenpachi and the Ouin, Raizen entered the 10th Division's barracks and made his way to the Captain's office. Once inside, he moved toward the desk, which he walked around while running his hand along its edge. He was already disheartened by the sudden departure of Himatoya Saori, as he'd grown quite fond of the young woman during his short time as her Vice-Captain. Soon, he picked up the note left atop the box she'd placed here. He opened the box while reading. "Captain?" he read aloud with curiosity while looking toward the haori in the box. "Taichou... did you know?" he wondered. Only two sane, living people had seen his Bankai thus far, and he knew they were not ones to tell the secret. For Himotoya Saori to write this in her note, she had to be making the assumption about his development. Clenching the note, Raizen came to a single conclusion. "Sou ka. I guess I'll be on my way then..." And with that said, he took hold of the haori, even donning it with its hood before making his way toward the 1st Division's Headquarters.

[Apollymi]

Within the 10th Division Kisaragi Saya busied herself with a bit of work in the aftermath of their lost Captain. She'd been reassuring some members and making sure that there would be as little hardship in the transition as possible. Even so, she'd heard some rather crazy things and had only not gone to investigate them herself because she figured the truth of them would be determined soon enough. Instead of worrying too much about it, the young woman sat in the common area having a cup of tea. After all, she'd just returned from her family house and seeing off the previous Captain and wondered fully what had happened in the last few hours since she'd last been here. 'Yare yare, I wonder if all that about him challenging the Kidoushuu is really true...' she thought as she sipped tea from a small cup holding it with both her hands.

[Bloodedge]

As if to answer Kisaragi Saya's silent query, the white-haired male who'd very recently been appointed Captain returned to the barracks with the haori of the Kidou Corps Commander slung over his shoulder. "Konbanwa," he greeted upon seeing Saya and preparing a cup of tea for himself. He fully intended to sit with this woman and enjoy a lovely hot cup of tea while they conversed, as he had a few things to go over with her. "It looks like things have been going well. Gomen... I meant to inform you of the goings-on earlier, but I've had quite the busy day."

[Apollymi]

'Shit.' she thought, as the young man she'd just thought about rather suddenly entered the room. Beyond this, he seemed to be carrying with him the Haori of the Kidoushuu leader as well as wearing one of his own. Saya had trusted that they wouldn't be without a leader too long and given what she'd seen of this young man's combat she'd assumed he might be made Captain, but for him to take the Kidoushuu leadership position as well was something almost unheard of. "Evenin'... Kumori-taichou, I'd say you had a busy day. I suppose congratulations are in order. Gomen, I couldn't come see your victory, it was kind of crazy when I got back from seeing Himotoya-taichou off..." she stated calmly since the young man was content to have tea with her she saw no problem with continuing to enjoy her own.

[Bloodedge]

"Arigatou," Raizen said as he properly settled in and put down his fresh cup of tea. While Saya spoke of the busy state of their Division, he picked it up for a single, refreshing sip. "Mm. Good tea," he commented before having another. When his cup lowered next, he decided to get right down to the business he'd found this woman for. "I can't say it is at all pleasant to know Himotoya-taichou is gone for good, but I'll be assuming my duties immediately. I won't beat around the bush; I would see you as one of my Vice-Captains, if you be willing to accept the position." Interestingly enough, one could note that Raizen still wore the badge of honor belonging to the 10th's Vice-Captain. He hadn't bothered taking it off, knowing the moment he was made Captain who he would chose as his second-in-command.

[Apollymi]

The young man sat and had a decent sip of tea, he'd yet to say anything of real interest and as such Saya was content to keep drinking. She too, felt displeased at the fact that Saori had been taken by the Royal Guard, especially so soon after her return. She couldn't say she'd have had as much fun as she did transitioning back into life within the division without the young female Captain around. Beyond this, Raizen seemed to want her to be his Vice-Captain and upon hearing these words the pigtailed woman took pause pushing glassed up on to her face so that the glint over her eyes disappeared. It was very strange that one this strong would want someone like her as his Vice-Captain, she didn't actually expect the offer. "Um, what? Wait... " there was an extreme amount of pause from this woman as she frowned. "Alright leading statements are leading you want more than one Vice-Captain, and you want me to be one of them? What exactly have you been up to today that would make you want more than one Vice-Captain and one like me if you already have someone else in mind as well?" she asked. She knew she'd been assigned to Saori at that lass' request given her own inexperience, but beyond this it seemed pretty outlandish that this young man would choose her of his own accord. Beyond this, it was already obvious that she wasn't nearly holding enough of a candle to this new generation as he did, so it was a bit unfathomable to her that he'd request such a thing. She didn't see the logic in it.

[Bloodedge]

"Ah, right. Gomen; I got ahead of myself." As he spoke, Raizen set out the Kidou Corps Commander's haori between himself and Saya. "The Kidoushuu has been ordered to assimilate with the 10th Division. In addition to the Vice-Captain of this Division, I intend to keep the Vice Kidou Chief as well. Essentially, two Vice-Captains, but one being a downgraded version for the Kidoushuu alone. As my true Vice-Captain, you would of course have domain over both. I'm sure your experience will be invaluable to me; no one else in this Division is suited to the title."

[Apollymi]

There was a brief pause, during which Raizen explained that he'd gotten a bit ahead of himself. He went on to explain that he'd ordered the entirety of the Kidoushuu to assimilate with the 10th Division. She'd heard that before the Kidoushuu became its own organization it was once apart of the Division which housed the Captain who'd created Kidou, but that was supposedly thousands of years ago and was eventually separated for some unknown reason. For Raizen to be doing such a thing was rather extraordinary but she couldn't imagine the mess of paperwork this would eventually be. He also went on to explain that he wished to have her as an overarching Vice-Captain, and a Vice-Captain specifically for the Kidoushuu. "Sou ka, you're building an empire. The way that works out the Division would practically run itself, but I don't envy you the paperwork." she said as her glasses slid down her nose and she took a sip of tea. A smirk came to the woman's face, she'd rejoined the Gotei simply to give herself something to do without any students in her Dojo. Rejoining this Division was somehow one of the best decisions she could have made, and would end in her favor in some incredible way. All of this was generally made possible by a little redhead scientist who'd once called her a hag and argued with her on a daily basis. "We'll I can't say I have anything better to do. And I am all about helping out the really young, so if you want me on hand. You have me and my experience at your disposal," she said decisively. She had no problem helping this lad build his division and wondered what other kinds of changes she could expect.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai; something like that. The paperwork will be worth the outcome to me," Raizen said to this woman as he raised his tea cup to his lips once more. Soon enough, Saya accepted his proposal to take on the Vice-Captain's mantle once more. With this knowledge, he stripped himself of the arm badge, and presented it to her immediately. "I was hoping you'd say that. Onegaishimasu."

[Apollymi]

"As long as you know what you're getting yourself into," the woman said. This boy was very strange, and she didn't imagine a month ago, when her former protege came from the 12th Division that she'd end up a Vice-Captain again so soon. Soon enough, Raizen was stripping himself of his Vice-Captain's badge and handing it over to Saya, she hadn't seen one of these in over half a century for herself anyways. A bit of a smirk came to her face. "Hai, I'll do my best!" she said accepting it while sitting down her tea cup. She'd then spend a few seconds affixing it to her person, feeling strangely right about herself once more. "So, I assume what is next is choosing your Kidoushuu Vice-Captain, you know any of them?" she asked, wondering what kind of strange things that group could have had going on.

[Bloodedge]

Raizen had begun steadily sipping tea, seeming satisfied with the day's outcome, excluding of course the leave of one Himotoya Saori. Saya wondered who his other Vice-Captain equivalent would be with the full addition of the Kidou Corps into the Division, and frankly, he had no clue. He recalled two specific prospects from the Shino Academy, but only one would be an option at all for him. "I'm not entirely sure. I don't know who they have currently, if anyone at all, but the only one I can really think of is someone named Nomura Daiki, whom I met in last year's academy class. If not him or an existing person, I may have to outsource, unless you have someone in mind."

[Apollymi]

Having finished her tea already Saya remained in comfortable status. It seemed that Raizen knew at least one name of an individual whom he'd want for his secondary Vice-Captain, and it was a name Saya was familiar with but not directly. "Nomura Daiki? I didn't know that kid was out of the Academy already... but... I suppose it would make sense if he was," she'd heard of this particular child of another noble clan, but mostly because of her own position within her clan, she'd never actually laid eyes on the boy at all. When further pressed for any ideas she had she simply shrugged. Contrary to what most would believe she'd never actually recommend the other person she knew to be best at Kidou for this particular posting or any seat higher than the one she presently had. "Iie, I've got nothing. But, I'll keep an eye out if you'd like or if you can't locate Nomura Daiki," she said affirmatively. Of course this was about all she could expect to do at this point. She imagined as the Kidoushuu became integrated there would be a bit of business going on around here.

Soon though woman with her raven colored locks done up in two horns came walking into the Headquarters of the 10th Division. She wore a white haori over a purple dao which looked a bit like a spider. She walked with purpose hands tucked into the pockets of ballooning hakama and soon enough she encroached upon Raizen and Saya where they sat discussing the setup of their new Division. She actually came with a bit of reasonably good news and it was something that had taken her a little bit of time to retrieve. "Kumori-taichou, congratulations on your promotion. And your apparent return, Kisaragi-fukutaichou." said the woman who was now the Captain of the 2nd Division.

[Bloodedge]

Saya had no outright suggestion for who could be the Vice Kidou Chief within the Division. Normally, Raizen would have no issue with this, but he happened to know better. There was a very specific reason he'd avoided listing another individual, but he'd expected to hear Saya recommend that person. The fact that she didn't, made Raizen's eyes narrow over his tea cup. "Nothing, you say? Interesting. Tell me; what reason do you have to not suggest Niwatoko?" he asked without hesitation. Just then, though, the Captain he'd been familiar with longer than any other living individual in the Soul Society walked into the office. She, too, offered her congratulations to both leaders of the 10th Division. "Arigatou, Han-taichou. Surely you wouldn't be here just for that, though. Tea? Kisaragi-san makes a good blend."

[Apollymi]

When Saya mentioned that she had no one to suggest, she didn't expect to see Raizen's eyes narrow. She figured at some point he'd likely question what she knew about her protege but she didn't expect it to come up simply because she didn't recommend the girl for a promotion. Beyond this his immediate demand for information about why she didn't made the woman sigh, "It's..." she was then immediately relieved of the need to explain the situation by the arrival of Han Juri who was apparently now Captain of the Second Division. A smile came to the woman's face as she was greeted by someone who'd been a classmate of hers at the Academy. "Han-taichou now? Look at you~" she said seemingly amused by the entire thing.

Raizen's commentary to Juri made the woman smile. "Of course, I didn't come by for just that, it'd be weird if I did. Actually, I have something for you, but I couldn't carry it or anything, take a walk with me instead?" she said before turning to Saya and smiling. "It's a really long story, I'll come by later and have that tea and explain it to you. She definitely makes the best tea~" she said of Saya who smiled and nodded. She was sincerely hoping she was off the hook at least for a while.

[Bloodedge]

"I get something else today, do I?" he asked in rhetoric. Juri had come at an interesting time; one which seemed to make Saya believe she'd avoided the topic of Niwatoko Benihime's potential promotion. Raizen wasn't very keen on dropping this matter, but since Saya was obviously reluctant to answer, he figured he could do without pressing the matter in front of others. As such, he stood and took a side to the 2nd Division's Captain. "Very well. Let's take a walk, then," he agreed, being prepared already to follow wherever Juri led. When he said this, though, his eyes were locked onto Saya, as if to let her know he'd be bringing the topic back at a later time.

[Apollymi]

"Well, just one more thing..." said Juri. Who upon looking at Saya realized that she'd likely interrupted a conversation. Even so, Saya seemed relieved which she intended to use as leverage later. But as much relief as was on the woman's pig-tailed face, it immediately drained away with a moment of eye contact from Raizen. It seemed the freshly assigned Captain would not be letting go of his inquiries into her protege, and this would likely come up as a topic of conversation a bit later. She figured if this was going to be the case, she'd likely be honest. The woman palmed her own face after Raizen and Juri exited and frowned deeply. 'What on earth did I get myself into?' she wondered as she got up to clear the dishes from the tea and tried to organize in her head the answer to his most recent question.

[Bloodedge]

A few hours later, Raizen returned to the barracks. He seemed quite different from his initial appearance, as he now wore various pieces of jewelry adorned with gemstones black as night, as well as a pair of black and white fingerless gloves adorned with his family crest, which was a thing unseen for centuries now. His Captains' haori was no longer present; he wore instead a small haori emblazoned with his family crest atop the haori of the Kidou Corps Commander. With his return, he expected to once again find his new Vice-Captain, whom he intended to have clear up his curiosities from earlier this day.

[Apollymi]

Saya could be found, having already been given the official mantle of Vice-Captain she'd been seen in the office which originally belonged to Raizen. She found herself cleaning it up and readjusting it, technically back to the way it was before Raizen was made Vice-Captain. As she finished this up, she collapsed into a comfortable chair she'd set up in the light of a window so that she could look out as was her habit, when she noted the return of her Captain, she had no doubt he'd intended to sate his curiosities about her student and she supposed she could do nothing more than answer him. As such she had two cups of tea on the table before her and a seat near her own. "Wow, that must have been some present. Welcome back, Kumori-taichou," she said seemingly still in about the same humor as she always was.

[Bloodedge]

After a few minutes of searching, Raizen located Saya in the Vice-Captain's office. Truthfully, he had avoided the room by force of habit, as he was still quite used to it being his own personal office. When he came to think of it as hers now, he made his approach, only to find it changed already. "Sou ka. That's going to take some getting used to," he said about the change in offices, as well as the physical alterations of this office in particular. Figuring the open seat and cup of tea were for him, Raizen took a seat. Just as he'd done previously, he went straight ahead to his point. "Now then... explain to me why this Niwatoko is still a 5th Seat, and somehow not a Vice Kidou Chief option given by the Maker of Captains. Perhaps this story will make me understand the curious nature surrounding this person."

[Apollymi]

"Hai, it will, it's why I changed it. I didn't want to confuse myself," she said knowing that it was easier to settle into spaces if you made them your own, and knowing that it helped to ease the tension of moments like these if one felt at home in their surroundings. Even so, it seemed Raizen had no problem with her taking a bit of imitative and changing her space, but beyond this simply went on to question why the young woman who was this legendary Vice-Captain's protege was still only 5th seat but as good as she was, was somehow not a candidate she'd consider for this man's secondary Vice-Captain. "As I told you before, if she is fifth seat, it's because that's what she wants to be." she said of the girl's current placement within the 12th Division. "As for why I don't consider her a candidate for any seat higher than the one she presently possesses it's because I value her life."

[Bloodedge]

"I assume then, this is more what it looked like before my time? It must have been very long ago; this room was empty when I first arrived," he said while raising his tea cup. He enjoyed this cup while awaiting the answer to his question, and it came as he sipped quite casually. There was one answer for why Benihime left herself at 5th Seat, and another for why Saya did not recommend her for anything higher. Though Raizen could form a connection between these two things, there was still the fact that something was somehow missing, as far as details were concerned. "Surely you're not telling me something so simple as a higher threat of one's life, is the thing responsible for this low ranking?"

[Apollymi]

"Hai, I was last Vice-Captain here, about 60 years ago," she said to explain the emptiness of this room upon the arrival of Raizen. She wasn't very surprised that it had taken Saori a while to consent to taking another Vice-Captain after her, the girl had felt a bit responsible for what happened with Saya, even though that was no ones fault at all. Moving right along it seemed the initial explanation provided by Saya about the small girl she'd kept as an apprentice an extremely long time wasn't enough for Raizen. She hadn't expected it to be, and it was why she'd made the tea. She was sipping from it when she heard out what he had to say about it and she simply shook her head. "Her existence puts her life in danger. It isn't that she lacks strength. She's the strongest member of her family to be born. And it's that strength that'll get her killed," she said not really knowing how to explain it. "Niwatoko is a name which belongs to one of the lesser noble houses, but most people haven't heard of it, couldn't name a single important person with that surname." she said knowing that it didn't make sense. "The family is cursed, and those were the words they used to explain it to me..." she said. She had no idea why she was telling this man anything about this girl, he didn't need to know any of this information and it felt strange to share it, but she supposed there was no real harm in it.

[Bloodedge]

"Her... existence?" he replied immediately. He would of course continue to hear this woman out, as his interest was more than piqued already. It seemed the issue the redhead was having, was one which had become something of a trait in her family. Upon hearing this, Raizen paused his drinking and sighed, lowering his cup slowly. "What you're insinuating is that this Niwatoko family has some sort of curse which dooms them specifically when they are ranked above 5th Seat in the Goteijuusantai. I'd like to call that ridiculous, but I can only assume there is history to back up this outrageous claim." With that said, Raizen fell silent. He began staring into his tea, wondering something within his own mind. 'Mugen... could this be related to why you've been so insistent?'

[Apollymi]

Saya found herself looking at the young Captain before her and giving the smallest of nods. "That is exactly what I'm saying. But... I understand, I also felt like it was ridiculous, so I looked into it," she said. "Tens of generations of men in this family, none live longer than a week or two after receiving a rank higher than fifth seat. I thought it superstitious but it's so consistent its almost scientific." she said. "And you're clever enough that I know you know I said men. Let me clarify, that before Benihime there wasn't a single female born into that family. Apparently it was something of a morbid joke, they only make males and they live hard, marry young and die before 400." she said of the young woman who'd been her best student. "Benihime had 6 brothers, one of whom, was a member of the 7th Division. That boy was a hard worker, he'd apparently decided he wanted nothing to do with a curse or anything like that, the boy changed his surname and lived his life like a layabout. Pretty talented combat specialist though..." she said. "He accompanied his Captain on a mission took a promotion to 3rd seat after proving his worth, and died a week after, defending said Captain's infant son from an assassination attempt," she said more specifically of the girl's immediate family. "This was apparently only a few months after Benihime's birth, so her parents moved her and her remaining siblings out of the Seireitei. They thought she might be able to escape this fate as a girl so they simply left to protect her."

[Bloodedge]

"Yare yare," he said. This was a bothersome bit of news he was receiving about this family now, and his Zanpakutou wasn't seeming very willing to respond to his query. "A family of only men, a death curse, and the only girl born into the family in a desperate struggle to avoid her fate. Interesting." There was quite a bit more to this matter on both ends, Raizen believed, but he thought he could perhaps draw out more information if he gave a little. It was incredibly rare that Raizen was totally clueless about something; now was such a case, though, and he wished to rectify this as soon as possible. Of course, he would aim to do so without revealing too much unnecessary information. "So... I was advised against interactions with this woman, and I'm still looking for the answer as to why. I'd hoped to gain some insight to this, but I'm failing to see any relation between that and this fate of death."

[Apollymi]

"Yeah, that about covers it..." said Saya. She still wasn't all that inclined to understand all of this. But she'd promised to look after the girl when it became obvious she was too strong to hide out in the Rukongai. Raizen went on to reveal that he'd been told by someone to avoid the girl, but Saya couldn't imagine any reason for this, there was nothing she knew that would affect the man. And though it was more than obvious this particular young man didn't like not knowing things, unfortunately, Saya didn't really have any answers for him. "Sumimasen, I've literally told you everything I know with any certainty," she said knowing that if this young man wanted to know the real reason he'd been told to avoid the lass he'd have to ask whoever told him that information.

[Bloodedge]

Sadly, there was no further information to be given by Saya about this issue. If Saya wasn't in the know, and Mugen would not answer him for her own reasons, Raizen was left with little to no choice but to make his own decision. He wouldn't be going without answers, so he'd have to find them without the help of another. "So be it, then. I suppose I'll be going to one of the sources," he said. Just then, his Zanpakutou finally decided to share words with him. 'Ara ara, you're too persistent! If it's only answers you want, you should just go home. Still, stay away from that girl. You have to make me that promise,' she spoke. This brought a grin to the Captain's face as he rose, choosing to go through with this right away. "Right. I suppose I should be going home, then. Keep an eye on things while I'm gone." With that, Raizen would take his leave, unless otherwise interrupted from doing so.

[Apollymi]

Strangely enough the Captain of the 10th Division didn't seem to want to let this go. He even claimed he'd be leaving again to continue seeking sources of information so he could be in the know about the answer to his question. In this particular moment, Saya was reminded of the little redhead she'd helped teach to fight, as once she caught something it seemed to bother her until she knew the answer. Even so, he simply asked her to keep an eye on the division in his stead and that was something Saya could always do. "Hai hai!" was all that was said by this woman as she watched the young man leave and then watched outside of the window for whatever reason while she tried to think only to end up with a headache. 'I don't envy the inquisitiveness of youth...' she thought with a smirk.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed like an eternity had passed since Raizen last set foot in the barracks of his own Division. After a reasonably long period spent researching his own lineage, he'd ended up working toward the conclusion of an issue that plagued the Gotei for centuries, at the fault of his own grandfather even. With everything finally coming to a close, and with his own personal life mostly sorted for the moment, Raizen was actually content to take a break in the place that had become something of a comfort zone. Various members of the Kidou Corps seemed to have settled into the area, while others remained in their usual headquarters. This was to Raizen's expectations; he only cared to have the corps under his belt, so to speak. "Huu~" he exhaled, finally having a moment to take a breather. "Tadaima."

[Apollymi]

Within the barracks of the 10th Division many people could be see moving around. In a common area the Vice-Captain was currently sitting in a chair with a redhead across from her having cups of tea. Vice-Captain, Kisaragi Saya had kept the Division running smoothly, but there was a small mountain of paperwork in the Captain's Office. Still the pair seemed to be having a pleasant conversation before the Captain made himself known. "Really, I didn't do anything I swear..." Benihime said seeming to have been chastised for making her Captain upset with her. "Yeah yeah, I don't believe you. You, the one student who would routinely sneak out every other week and take the others with you..." Saya said which only made the girl chuckle. "Oh it wasn't that bad. And combat experience is good for everyone, you taught me that~" Benihme said. Still the announcement of the arrival of the Captain shifted both of the women's attentions. "Okaerinasai, Kumori-taichou," said Saya who seemed to find his arrival surprising. "Okaeri, Kumori-taichou~" Benihime chimed in though she didn't move from enjoying her tea, leaving the pair to talk. She also hadn't actually told Saya why she was here or what she'd been up to in the past week. "I am guessing you had something to do with everything that happened near the 8th Division and that everything should be okay now?" she said mostly rhetorically.

[Bloodedge]

"Konbanwa," Raizen said to the pair of women as he encroached upon their current place of rest. With every step he took, Raizen seemed to become more relaxed. It was as if all the tension of the past few weeks was now leaving through his moving feet. With a deep inhale, he breathed in the bouquet of the tea these two were enjoying. A grin passed his lips as his eyes closed, and his head leaned back. "Sugoi~. Kisaragi-san, tell me there's more tea," he spoke, choosing not to seat himself until he'd received an answer and, potentially, a cup for himself. "Yes, everything should be in order now, bar the annoyance Ayatsuki-taichou and I may have to deal with for what happened. It was relatively entertaining, though. I even met my grandfather."

[Apollymi]

"Hai, there is more tea, and even a cup for you... I always save one since I never know when you're coming back," Saya mentioned as she retook her seat across from Benihime who hadn't bothered moving in the first place. Her eyes cut to the redhead as she wondered how long she actually intended to hang around, but since she hadn't moved she continued hearing out Raizen's story of what he'd been up to, likely while he prepared his own tea. She heard out his tale and nodded seeming to appreciate it. "It wouldn't be the first time Ayatsuki-taichou got a stern talking to from the Captain Commander. If you don't make a habit out of it, I'm sure it will all be fine..." said the pig-tailed lass. She decided to sip her tea in that moment but it seemed she hadn't fully thought about everything Raizen had said. Benihime watched the woman's face intently. 'Wait for it...' she thought with a happy smirk appearing across her lips. Saya then almost choked before turning to view Raizen. "Wait, you met your grandfather, Juuniibantai Taichou, Kumori Mōryōmaru?!" she said seemingly surprised. She thought she'd felt something familiar out in the Seireitei earlier but she'd brushed it aside as an impossibility assuming instead that Raizen might have been getting into something. Saya was old enough to have known the prior Captain of the 12th Division and found it hard to believe that Raizen had met the man and it wasn't a bigger deal. If anyone bothered looking in Benihime's direction she was grinning over her tea cup. Not saying a word, but appreciating the random shock Raizen seemed to have caused his Vice-Captain.

[Bloodedge]

"Arigatou gozaimasu," he said sincerely while moving toward the tea cup set aside for him. In a matter of moments, he managed to pour his cup and join the others in sitting. He nodded when Saya stated that all would be fine so long as he avoided making a habit of such things, and he immediately went on to begin sipping his tea. He was quite a fan of tea prepared by his present Vice-Captain, so he sipped quite slowly to savor it. As he did, though, Saya expressed her shock at Raizen's claim of meeting his grandfather. "Hai," he said, retaining utmost nonchalance while speaking between sips. "The parasite Hollow incidents that have been occurring in greater magnitudes recently were actually Kumori Mōryōmaru. His disappearance centuries ago was, in fact, due to an experimentation with Bakkoutou that resulted in him becoming a primitive form of Hollow-Shinigami hybrid... if it could be called that."

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai," Saya said seeming to not require thanks for something she was going to do anyways. Moving right along, Raizen soon confirmed that it was the man she thought it was that he'd confronted. He went on to explain that Kumori Mōryōmaru had become Hollow like in his search for power and had become an enemy of the Gotei in the meantime. "That's a shame, Mōryōmaru-jii was a nice guy, and an absolute legend. We always wondered what happened to him, it's kinda sad actually," she said seeming to have had at one point, a great deal of respect for the former Captain of the 12th Division. "Anyway, it is good that's all cleaned up now. I heard a bit about the parasite Hollows from some of the members and it didn't seem like something that should have been allowed to fester," she said as she went on about her tea. But when Saya spoke of him, she spoke as if she'd known him a great deal of time, which made Benihime curious, so when the young woman spoke up after lowering her tea cup it was something which one might have thought to be a bit rude. "Saya-sama, I'm going to need to know how old you actually are now..." said the redhead which made Saya look over at her, eyes narrowing as a glint was created over the frames of her glasses. "Hime-chan are you trying to pick a fight with me?" she asked the girl but the red head only smiled. "Nope, I'm not... just legitimately curious at this point. You've had time to master all forms of Shinigami combat without the instinct to specialize in anything... that's just focus and time, now I am just wondering how much time such a thing would take," she said most genuinely. "Fine then, I'll sate your curiosity since you finally stopped by for a visit. I'm nine hundred and fifty."

That number just hung in the air and Benihime's eyes widened drastically. Aside from the fact that this woman almost a thousand years old, which was wonderous especially considering Benihime's own age had her less than two hundred. There was something else which bothered the redhead about this woman's age, and that was the lack of power she displayed despite having lived so long. She didn't say this aloud but instead just stared at the woman as if she'd grown another head.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. They had plenty of reason to be distressed, though none among our ranks were affected at all. I find that rather... strange, to say the least. I didn't consider it anything worth looking into, considering how we chose to solve the issue, but... us, and perhaps a few other Divisions, were completely untouched by this event," Raizen said. He did consider this realization very strange, but it didn't particularly matter now that the former Captain had been dealt with. In the midst of this light chat, Benihime questioned the age of the raven-haired Lieutenant due to her general knowledge and combat experience, which had to take some great deal of time to reach her present level. The answer given was quite the high number when one considered the relative age of the others present in this conversation, but Raizen actually found it to be rather low for the skill this woman possessed. "That is a very short amount of time for such Zankensoki. There are seasoned Captains who've yet to achieve such a feat. Am I to take this as a common trait among the members of the Kisaragi family?"

[Apollymi]

"Hm..." Saya thought about it for a moment and wondered if the elder Kumori still held some sort of soft spot for the Divisions that were previously run by himself and his progeny. Though given Raizen's lack of general concern she didn't see any reason to stress the matter and ask more questions. No instead she got to look up and see the rather dumbfounded look on Benihime's face as it was made obvious that the woman was older than maybe the girl had thought. But this wasn't really Benihime's issue with the woman's age. But that didn't matter soon enough she allowed her face to go back to normal and found herself whispering into her tea. "Yare yare..." was all that she said before she went back to drinking it as if nothing was amiss.

"Arigatou, Kumori-taichou." she said in response to the compliment of her skills, about her family she could only nod. "All of us who have shown any skill are like that, my brother was also a master of Zankensoki. I don't know if I should say it's a trait of the whole family but I hear, Obaa-san was pretty scary a long time ago too.. And Shusuke, if he hasn't gotten too lazy with no one else around should be pretty good too." she concluded. Such an idea made the assumption that at least 3 generations of this family showed mastery of the Shinigami Arts and as such they had at the very least a respectable legacy. "If Shu-kun wasn't lazy he would have been in the same graduating class I was... all of that for him to leave me bored attending classes. I blame him for being rusty..." said Benihime who hadn't put in much physical practice aside from slaying Hollows while being in the Academy because she lacked what she considered a proper partner for the practice. "Uh-huh, well, I'd feel bad for you and all but it seems like you aren't rusty at all. So obviously you found yourself another training partner..." said Saya who knew the girl's abilities had carried her through a tournament, and thus she couldn't have actually been too rusty to begin with. While this happy conversation took place a messenger appeared with the signed paper work from the 12th Division officiating Benihime's transfer to the 10th Division. This person would aim to deliver the message to Raizen before disappearing from sight.

[Bloodedge]

"Sou ka," he said between sips of tea while Saya explained her family's abilities. He recalled his mother once mentioning some form of connection between this clan and his own, but it was interesting to think of the Kisaragi family being a band of generally skilled individuals. What he did have a problem with, was something involving Saya's very existence as a member of this esteemed family. "So then, was this to make up for a certain shortage of Reiryoku, or do the Kisaragi have a habit of abandoning their spiritual selves to further their bodies?" he asked outright. With that out of the way, Raizen nonchalantly extended his free hand to accept the letter from the member of the Onmitsukidou who'd entered the barracks. Prior to this individual's departure, he spoke to them. "Oi. Send my message to Han-taichou. Tell her to meet me at our old playpen tomorrow. She'll understand."

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" said the messenger before they disappeared back into obscurity. Soon after the departure of the messenger, there was another rather blunt question being asked of Saya this day. It was so startling she could have almost sworn Benihime was the one who asked it, except the male voice that accompanied it, made her realize it wasn't. "So... we are just asking blunt, borderline inappropriate questions today... alright," she said thinking about how best to answer the man's question. To be best of her approximation, no one else in her family was underdeveloped in anyway, and her own shortcomings were specifically her own. "Assuming that reference is to my Zanpakuto, I just don't use it that much. I tend to rely on my own skills more... it's never really been a problem of my family. My brother was a proper Captain... Though I suppose it is fair to say I don't have a lot of Reiryoku and using my Zanpakuto is a bit of a strain," she concluded. Such a thing made Benihime look at the woman and think about her. If Zanpakuto were a reflection of ones self she could imagine Saya's not taking very kindly to being abandoned in such a way. It was probably being stifled by the woman's skills but the redhead didn't say anything about it. Instead, she was content to watch to see how Raizen chose to deal with this particular issue.

[Bloodedge]

"Basically, yes," he replied. Saya's explanation thereafter seemed a little strange. Any explanation as to why she only possessed as much power as she did had been thrown out the proverbial window, but suddenly... Raizen realized what the reason was. His eyes widened when he did, and his teacup lowered from his mouth as he stared over it at the Vice-Captain. "Bakana... you never reached Bankai. All this time, I never even considered the possibility that Shikai was the limit of one who'd gone on to master Zankensoki. That's rather underwhelming, Kisaragi-san."

[Apollymi]

Saya found herself sucking her teeth creating an annoyed clicking noise as she did. After all, it was a bit of an understatement that she found this man's speech along with that of her former student to be a bit more annoying than she normally liked. Of course, this annoyance didn't simply get to end and drift off into nothing in these moments. Instead the Captain of the 10th Division went on to say something as if he'd cracked some centuries long case. The raven haired woman's eyes widened as the man came to this conclusion and she managed to look at him as if confused. "Of course, I don't have Bankai, why would I?" she said seeming to find the assumption a bit outlandish if it was based solely upon the fact that she'd learned the rest of the skills of a Shinigami but not that one. Benihime, had already moved on from tea and was now eating looking up from her snack to frown gently. "Because you spent all that time, learning and mastering skills. Why wouldn't you have mastered the thing that embodies you?" she murmured after a long silence. This caused Saya's attention to move to Benihime and the look in the other woman's face let the redhead know everything she needed to. "Sou ka, I'm not the only one with trust issues~" Benihime finished, but this just seemed to upset Saya in some what. "Look it isn't about me having trust issues. Literally no one has more trust issues than you, but... it isn't like I hadn't tried to achieve Bankai, my Zanpakuto and I don't really get along like that... so more skills practice, less Zanpakuto use," Saya finished up, with her normal demeanor but something else right behind it, like that of a petualent child tired of trying to explain.

[Bloodedge]

When Benihime responded to Saya's query, Raizen pointed at the redhead to make his agreement known. Further explanation by the Vice-Captain only made things more complex in nature, as it was unheard of for a Shinigami to so brazenly ignore their Zanpakutou. It seemed to Raizen that the woman had led herself into a catch 22 of sorts, which he imagined would make her a very formidable Shinigami to deal with, should she be able to get out of it. "That's... interesting. Forgive any rudeness, but did you ever consider that being the problem? If you rely more on yourself than your Zanpakutou, I'd say you're basically trading your Zanpakutou's power for that of your physical self. At the very least, now that you have reached the limits of your soul's ability to master Zankensoki... do you intend to return to Jinzen? Trust me when I say, Bankai alone opens a lot of doors for your own development. You could become even more of a master than you are now. I could even give you a jump-start."

[Apollymi]

Saya saw Raizen's point to Benihime, as if the pair simply shared the same wavelength, which only furthered the point of exacerbation. It seemed the pair though it was a rather easy jump to make, from master of skills to Bankai, but Saya saw it as no easy task. Her Zanpakuto was disagreeable and that meant Jinzen never really worked out when she tried it. Aside from achieving Shikai she'd never gotten much use out of it. Soon enough Raizen was speaking up again, this time aiming to clarify what he thought was her problem and maybe even a potential way of sorting it out. Saya's brow rose with the idea that maybe she'd been relying too much on herself and not enough on her Zanpakuto. But given the issues she had, that didn't seem like it was that much of a problem, a sigh escaped the woman as Benihime watched her face intently. "I've been considering Jinzen, wondering if it'd be worth a try now. I don't see it going much different or anything... though to be honest, I never really considered that self-reliance in any case could be a 'bad' thing," she said frowning slightly. Benihime chuckled as this woman's hypocrisy came to light but said nothing on the subject. This seemed like something a bit more annoying than Saya had in mind for an afternoon tea. "Though I have to wonder what kind of 'jump-start' you say you can offer, because last I checked, Jinzen was a solo activity," the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division said.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with self-reliance. In no way is it a bad thing; look how far you've come by being the way you are. On the other hand, though... there are limits to everything, and at a certain point, there is no way to surpass some limitations alone. Zanpakutou are a catalyst to become stronger than a Shinigami can alone, by channeling their normally innate powers into an external source. It's all in my family's archives." With that said, Raizen raised his teacup once more, and began to sip again. He was quite relaxed here and now. The conversation progressed with the Captain retaining absolute nonchalance, even as Saya went on to question how he intended to offer her assistance with her Jinzen. When she posed this query, his eyes closed. "Jinzen is a solo activity, but the materialization of a Zanpakutou spirit is something I find myself easily capable of doing for myself and others. I can even manage a physical form that will be tangible to others. If your Zanpakutou won't materialize for you, I can make it do so."

[Apollymi]

Raizen's explanations made sense, and it seemed beyond this that his research into Zanpakuto was a bit far-reaching, going back into his family knowledge of such things. She imagined that with the Kumori being such an old family within the Seireitei they probably knew a lot about a wide plethora of varied subjects. Even so, she once again found herself choking on tea as the young Captain before her explained that he had no problem making his own or any other Zanpakuto spirit materialize. This was a rather strange thing to say and didn't seem like the sort of power any person should have, she was in awe a bit as she looked at him. "That... um... is kinda scary, Kumori-taichou," she finally managed which made Benihime chuckle. Saya had seen a lot in her days as a seated officer but never had anyone before boasted of such a power in such relaxed tones. "It astounds me how often people mispronounce cool~" she said but this just caused her to shift her gaze to the redhead. "And before you say anything, I don't have any problem with it. I actually think it's cool and likely useful especially for someone like you who would take probably a couple of years of intense trust building exercises to establish it on your own," Benihime finished as she had another of the snacks from this bag which happened to be some sort of shortbread tea cake. Saya looked from her to Raizen and frowned. "Well, I wouldn't turn down the help, still seems extremely invasive."

[Bloodedge]

"It's not as bad as it may sound. I wouldn't worry much about it," he said just before taking his final sip of tea. Raizen then placed his cup on the table and rose from his seat, taking a brief pause to yawn thereafter. "If you ever find yourself wanting that help, just let me know. For now though, I imagine there is plenty of work for me to do since I left. Oh... and speaking of work," he continued. With these words, he held out the transfer papers for Benihime, which listed her as an official standing member of the 10th Division. "We have a new member: Juubantai Sanseki, Niwatoko Benihime."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Raizen didn't think his abilities were as scary as the black haired woman thought they could be. And Benihime seemed to have a ringing endorsement of this Captain which was a bit out of place considering what the girl was normally like. As they moved right along, it seemed that Raizen thought he might have a considerable amount of work to do, a chuckle escaped Saya as she nodded. "Your desk is covered in paperwork. I would have done it for you... but... I figured you'd want to do something yourself~" she said seeming to find it amusing for some reason. She had a small round of nostalgia thinking about forcing the previous young Captain of the 10th into doing her paperwork as well. But before she could rather happily enjoy that trip she was confronted by information she'd thought she never hear.

"What?! Kumori-taichou," she seemed completely stunned looking at Benihime and then to Raizen. She'd already had this discussion with this man, she simply couldn't agree to it. "Oh? Aya-tai finished it up already? She must have really enjoyed that present I left her. I feel like I should apologize to her, I think my personality triggers her a bit," she said of her previous Captain before looking to Saya. Who was rather obviously waiting for the explanation which Benihime had already failed to provide. "Saya-sama, you should calm down,"

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. I'd rather do it myself than give you the extra work. I had a look at the members on my way in, and they all seem to have much better postures than they had before. Only you can take credit for that, so you deserve as much of a break as you can manage." Raizen was content to leave the discussion there, but he expected more from Saya after his introduction of their new 3rd Seat. Mostly, he expected her to question this ranking after the information she'd shared with him previously. When Saya spoke his name, Raizen turned to face her, his left hand upon his hip and his right brow raised. He knew this was coming, but he wondered to what extreme it would. It was all but another experiment on Raizen's part. "Are you opposed to this in any way, Kisaragi?"

[Apollymi]

"Yes well, I can't take all the credit for that. But... I'll take a break I suppose," said the woman on the matter of the work to be done. Still there was the matter of this introduce of the new third seat, which Benihime was oddly silent about given she was the person being discussed. But, Saya knew enough of the girl to know she'd only speak about it when she was ready and to know already the full reason Saya didn't support this decision. "Kumori-taichou, we had this conversation already. You know I'm opposed to it, and you know why. I'm only thinking about her safety. Her transfer here is fine, I actually miss her bratty company but... don't promote her like that," said the woman who was rubbing her face. She was pleading for this girl's safety which was a very strange thing to do from the perspective of anyone who could see outwardly that the girl was more than capable of taking care of herself. Beyond this point, Benihime herself didn't seem to care one way or another. Saya couldn't believe the redhead had agreed to such things, but she supposed the man before her was one of the few she couldn't outwardly convince or push around. Meaning she had to have accepted this. She looked to Benihime as if questioning the motivations behind accepting this but still the girl remained silent, her face and body language just as unreadable as they'd been for the last 9 months.

[Bloodedge]

Raizen patiently awaited the exact retort of Saya, wondering to what extent she would argue this sudden promotion of Benihime. When she finally outright argued against the promotion, she looked toward the redhead. All the while, Raizen's gaze remained fixated on the black-haired woman. "Yare yare. I wondered the extent of your faith. As your Captain, I'll be expecting more of you in the future. If I told you that I've already managed to discover the cause of this 'curse' and gone out of my way to remove it from the Niwatoko family, what would you say then?"

[Apollymi]

Raizen's retort to Saya's plea seemed to make her somewhat astonished. The claim that he'd already gone out of his way to clear up any curse surrounding her pupil before acquiring her for his own division and promoting her was a bit outlandish. He also claimed that he expected more faith from her in the future which didn't make sense, because making such an assumption would be far outside the realm of possibility. "First, if you did something like that, you can have all the faith you want. I mean... I've got no idea why you'd do something like that... but if you say you did, and she obviously agrees in someway since she still sitting there just not saying anything..." Saya paused, she had no reason to assume he wasn't a man of his word, and Benihime the girl of infinite contradictions hadn't bothered uttering a single correction so she had no reason to assume it wasn't true. She shuffled through several emotions before settling on one and finishing her speech. "I'm happy we have her," she said rather calmly. This man was something frightening given what he had to say, Benihime just continued to watch the emotions run across the woman's face and the one it settled on was relieved. "I was just enjoying the nostalgia of being discussed like I wasn't sitting here..." she said as if bored. "Saya-sama, you worry too much. Onegaishimasu~" the girl said standing and giving a bow to the woman, who seemed content to accept her into the division.

[Bloodedge]

"You may consider it one of many things I've managed to do over the past few weeks. Either way, you're free to save your worries for something else. I'll be going now," he said while beginning to move in the direction of his office from the common area. On his way, he recalled one train of thought he'd had for his Vice-Captain. He soon stopped to share these final words. "Oh... You should probably be prepared for random questioning involving my Captaincy. I imagine that will be happening quite soon. Himuura should also be finishing his duties and stationing himself here soon. Ja." And with that, he was off.

[Apollymi]

Saya found herself acknowledging Benihime's statement in a somewhat comical way. All the time she'd known the girl, this was likely the only proper greeting she'd ever been given. "Hai, nice to know you've finally learned to say hello," she said to the girl who gave something of a laugh before she went back to what she was doing. Raizen on the other hand seemed content to go to his office and complete this mountains of paperwork. But before leaving he told his Vice-Captain that she could use her worries on something else and relayed a message on the likelihood of her being interrogated about his Captaincy thus far. Which seemed a bit extreme considering it'd lasted all of a week but, she supposed he was beyond what most would consider young for the position and initially she was confronted with similar tasks about Saori. "Himuura?" she said this name unfamiliar to her. But she supposed she'd find out soon enough. "Come along Hime-chan, I'll show you around the barracks and to your office." she said to the girl who had no intention of ever being in the barracks but would allow the tour just the same. "Hai hai!~"


Several hours after the fall of the Captain of the 4th Division and all the events surrounding it. The Gotei at large would settled and the Captain of the 10th Division would get a knock at his office door. "Kumori-taichou, urgent message from the Captain Commander." the voice from the other side would say. What was the urgent message being delivered right just now? A summons the the Captain-Commander's office, but Raizen wouldn't be the only one summoned this way.

[Bloodedge]

After only a matter of hours, Raizen was approached by a messenger bringing summons from the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. Raizen at such a time was at his desk, filing various articles of paperwork left over from his absence in the Division. It seemed he was fated to be interrupted before making much headway in this. Whatever the case, he knew it would come eventually, and he begrudgingly extricated himself from his office chair to open the door for the messenger. "Ou. Arigatou gozaimasu," he said without awaiting the official message. Eye contact was not even made with this individual; Raizen simply kept walking past them, making his way toward the 1st Division's headquarters right away.

[Apollymi]

Benihime re-entered the 10th Division after what had become a bit of standard morning exploration for her. As she moved through the division what what had become her standard attire, she seemed to nod at various members she'd had the pleasure of meeting and moved seemingly with purpose. It was mid-morning and she'd just come from witnessing the coronation of the boy who was her best friend into his status as a 3rd Seat in the Third Division. With this in mind, she seemed pleased, though she simply seemed this way always. As she came to a stop in front of a particular door she stood with her left elbow rested upon the hilt of her blade with one hip poked out. She'd come here with something in mind, and her crimson eyes burned with amusement and something else. She reached out with her right hand and tapped the door with just the knuckle her index finger exactly three times. It wasn't an intrusive knock, but nor was it timid, as she waited outside of this door, one would note, that it was the Captain's Office of this Division, belonging to one, Kumori Raizen.

[Bloodedge]

On this morning, the 10th Division bustled with activity unseen until recent months. The Kidou Corps had been fully implemented into the Division, and its members worked in tandem with both seated and unseated officers belonging to the Gotei's official Division. In the midst of the goings-on, Kumori Raizen - the Captain of this very Division - sat within his office amongst a few large stacks of unfinished paperwork. Also within the office was a blonde male with red eyes, blonde hair in a long plait with bowl-style bangs, and two vertical dots on his forehead. This man wore a heavily-modified uniform featuring a white turtle-neck shirt in place of a kosode, slim pants, full black shoes, and an off-white haori with the Kidou Corps emblem on its back and either breast. He sat in the chair before Raizen's desk, conversing with the Captain. "Iie. I don't think Yuji would have even attempted something like that, but... most people probably wouldn't. It sounds rather insane, even for a member of your family... Taichou," he said immediately prior to a knock on the office door.

"Come in," Raizen said to whatever individual had approached his office this time. With that said, he went on to continue speaking with the blonde male. "It may sound preposterous, but everything will work out in the end. It wouldn't be the first time this was at least attempted, now would it?" he asked while looking with narrow eyes toward his blonde comrade. The other male was taken aback by these words, so much that he fell into an immediate state of silence with his eyes widened, and his mouth agape. This expression of shock quickly turned into one of what seemed like remorse, as he finally found the words to speak again. "... Hai. One may only hope things don't end the same as they did last time. The Central 46 would not take kindly to the idea, either."

[Apollymi]

Little did Benihime know there was quite the discussion being had within the Captain's office, between the Captain himself and an unknown blonde male. A few seconds after her knock she was cleared for entry, which she did opening the door without the slightest bit of hesitation, though now she could hear someone else in the room. Upon doing so would find a young blonde male obviously from the Kidoushuu seated within the chair opposite of her Captain. A knowing smile came to this young woman's face because though she didn't know who this was, she could only imagine the kind of conversation she'd walked in upon, especially given the final sentence spoke from the new man before she managed to speak herself. "Oh? Someone else is here... Gomennasai Kumori-taichou. I didn't mean to interrupt~" the young woman with her crimson locks chimed though she was obviously undeterred by the amount of tension in the last few sentences she heard. Though undeterred seemed to be a bit of an understatement as she was now most curious. "I could come back later..." she mentioned with all due politeness given to both parties, even the male she didn't know.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm sure you are fully aware of how little the Central 46 would even comprehend on this matter. They will know what they need to, when they need to." Raizen's final retort caused the other male to sigh. Though he was not one to question the white-haired man's abilities, what they were discussing was something that went beyond all reason. There was no getting around the improbability of it working, even for a moment, as far as he was concerned. "Hai. If that is what you wish, you'll hear nothing of it from me."

With this exchange out of the way, the now-smiling Captain set his gaze upon the redhead who'd so recently entered the room. "Konbanwa, Niwatoko. Don't worry yourself over interrupting; we were just finishing up. Himuura, you're dismissed," he said. With that, the blonde extricated himself from the chair he'd been sat in for the duration of the conversation, and bowed before taking a swift leave of the office. Once he was well and truly gone, Raizen looked toward Benihime once more. "That was much easier than I expected."

[Apollymi]

The juicer tidbits of this conversation caused the red haired girl to raise a brow, though she said nothing else, waiting rather patiently to be addressed. She couldn't help figure whatever the blonde man had to say in this conversation, he'd already been broken of. Watching someone interact with someone else, in a manner so similar to how she tended to act herself brought a bemused grin to the girl's face. But soon enough the blonde man known as Himuura was leaving and his seat was now empty not that she'd be taking it immediately. That smile only seemed to widen as she was finally greeted and told not to worry over having interrupted as the meeting taking place before her was apparently already over. The blonde male exited with a swiftness that was hardly expected. "He seemed a bit defeated, can't say I recognize the face though," she said of the man known as Himuura, though she had to have heard his name at some point. Of course, she could gather his purpose and likely even the nature of the conversation he'd been having with Raizen before her arrival. "What was easier than you expected? Being mean to him, Kumori-taichou?" she asked in a manner most teasing.

The pair of them now happily alone together, she'd lean over his desk to peck him on the lips before taking over the abandoned chair, seeming to remember at the final moment that she'd been greeted properly. "I'd point out the strangness of your word choice, but... I get it. Konbanwa, Kumori-taichou~" she finished having her seat but not bothering to start explaining why she'd come here. She would choose instead to first sate her own curiosity about the situation she'd walked into, unwittingly.

[Bloodedge]

"Himuura is all there is to his name. He is Fuku Kidouchou, for the time being," Raizen stated while lacing the fingers of his hands together in front of his face, having already replied in kind to the more affectionate greeting by his 3rd Seat. "As for the ease of that interaction, our friend Himuura believes I should avoid the creation of spells that delve into Hollow-related abilities. Of course, he doesn't know about the abilities I possess yet... but I'll probably leave that information out for now." A light sigh escaped the Captain after this was said, and his eyes closed briefly. Himuura was sure to be an asset to the Division for the duration of his stay as Vice Kidou Chief, but fate would see to that only being for a limited amount of time. Speaking of time, Benihime thought to mention some understanding of his strange time-based greeting. "Oh? What is it you get, Benihime?" he asked of the lass.

[Apollymi]

The unknown man was apparently the second in command of the Kidoushuu, this made the young woman's eyes widen slightly as the memory of where she'd heard this man's name before returned to her. "Sou ka, that's why I've heard it before. There are a lot of one name people floating around..." she mused, thinking about the Vice-Captain of her former division and counting him among those she'd seen. One more would make it some sort of conspiracy, not that she needed something like that to chase at present. Raizen went on to comment that he'd not explained to Himuura the nature of his abilities and how he would likely be able to have no problem creating Hollow-related Kidou and abilities. A chuckle escaped the young woman at this point as she nodded. "It is more strange that he'd be so adamantly against it. Unless of course, someone else tried before and they experienced the mass casualties associated with trying that sort of thing without understanding all the variables," the young woman chimed in. "Do let me know if you come up with anything interesting, it could be good for my study of spiritual particles," she added knowing that she'd find any research the man did to be quite interesting and that she could likely glean something from it for herself. She figured that Raizen probably wasn't the first person to think of such a thing, but it was already against the law to try and have the abilities of Hollows and it was likely made this way because of the soul deaths incurred by those who tried and failed before.

As their conversation progressed, it seemed he was more or less interested in what she had to say about his time based greeting. "I get the night-time greeting. When one's world is steeped in darkness and they spend enough time there... it is always night. If given more time, I could have easily developed a habit like that myself~" she mused. Her own inner world as a forest of dark thorns steeped forever in the darkness of the night sky with only the moon to illuminate it. Given their similarities she figured Raizen had something similar of his own, though he didn't strike her as a forest kind of guy. Regardless this was the most obvious explanation for the constant night time greetings in spite of the fact that it was in fact broad daylight. While she sat on this hypothesis, and waited for confirmation she reached into her pocket, pulling out a small piece of origami, folded to look like a butterfly which she tossed towards the man's desk, if he unfolded it, he would find the flyer for the festival she wished to attend, Tanabata. "It also means you should get out more~ Fancy a stroll through the festival?"

[Bloodedge]

"Indeed there are. There also seems to be a reason for each one of them to be in such a state," Raizen said as his gaze found a set of papers related to state of affairs within the division. He allowed himself a moment to scan the top sheet for information while Benihime spoke, though his ear remained open to her words. "It has been attempted twice, on record. A member of my family first tried it as an alternative to the Bakkoutou, likely thinking spells would not be as dangerous for the user as Hollows in weapon form. Most records of that attempt have been wiped. The second person listed in such attempts... is Himuura. He melded the research of himself and my predecessor when founding an organization within the Kidoushuu called CROW. In the end, the experiments were worse than the Bakkoutou. It goes without saying that CROW was eliminated long ago." With that said, Raizen returned to leaning back in his chair. He found it interesting that Himuura was against his idea, even though he had obviously been quite into the idea of one of his clansmen before. Raizen figured a true inquiring mind would not let something like that go so easily. Moving on from that matter though, allowed him to address Benihime's thoughts about other things.

"I suppose that's close enough. You can't see the light of your own world either, then? Interesting," he commented. Aside from this matter, was one Benihime brought to the proverbial - and literal - table, in the form of an origami butterfly. Raizen went on to open this figure, finding it to be a strange piece of parchment for origami alone. When he opened it, he also heard mention of a festival. Raizen had not been out recently enough to hear of such a thing, but the flyer alone was more than enough information. "Tanabata? I've never attended something like that, honestly. If it's something you're truly interested in doing, I suppose I can't say no... though I find it strange for you to be interested in it at all."

[Apollymi]

"Hm, I guess I hadn't really thought much about it," Benihime said of the seemingly vast number of people who didn't have surnames. Of course, sitting here having this conversation now she considered that it might be the case that a great many of them had their names stricken from records for misdeeds or that they didn't have any to begin with because of the circumstances of their birth. Regardless of this it seemed that Raizen was content to sate the young woman's curiosities with a full explanation on the topics he'd previously been discussing with the Vice Kidou Chief. The explanation he gave let her know a great many things, and also gave her a bit of curiousness. "Sou ka, maybe he has a guilty conscience then, having done research that turned out worse than the other forms of it. Though it's a bit of a tease to start something like that without seeing it all the way through, even if it gets a bit messed up in the middle," the young woman concluded. Her own inquiring mind wouldn't allow her to let anything go if she could figure out a way around it. Such was evidenced by the things she'd come up with during her stay in the 12th Division. Given this though there was an inkling in the back of her mind about what Himuura might have done to himself, as most scientists would at least give their work a try if they really thought it viable. But perhaps this was simply a difference in motivations.

As they moved on in conversation, Raizen commented on the interest in the fact that she didn't see light in her world either. She shrugged at this. "I see other things in my world... but not really light," she commented absently taking a gander at the butterfly in the man's hands as he took it apart. This man had seen her inner world so he knew the details of it about as well as she did considering his stellar memory. Beyond this point though there was the matter of the flyer she'd folded into a butterfly which she felt the need to clarify a bit. "I ended up with that flyer after doing a bit of exploring around the Seireitei earlier. And I got bored while waiting for the 3rd Division to welcome its new recruits," she mentioned of her need to busy her hands. As for the festival itself, she found it surprising that Raizen hadn't attended one before hand and more shocking than that, he was surprised by Benihime's interest in the festival as well. A bit of a smirk came to the young woman's face. "I've been to a few of these before in the Rukongai, usually dragged along by one of my brothers. I am usually uninterested in their themes, as I tend to find them to be a bit superstitious... but the game stalls and food are good," she said remembering such things from her childhood and viewing them rather strangely. "Oh and people watching~" she said with a most devilish grin crossing her face. She might have been more interested in people watching, than any other aspect of the festival. In fact, she might have manipulated a scene she'd find fun to watch at some point, which she probably would have gone to watch regardless of the man's interest. "Even without outright interest in the festival I figured you could use a bit of a break from all the paperwork and meetings~ At least for a little while," she finished, her explanation of her own interest in the festival and her reasoning behind bringing it to the Captain of her Division rather clear by her explanation.

[Bloodedge]

"Other things, you say? And what might those be?" he asked. Raizen had entered this woman's inner world twice, and there were a few key things about it that were subject to individual perception. The fact that she could not see the light of her inner world was interesting... and simultaneously disturbing. Yakouboku could see the light, so why was her master incapable of seeing the same thing? "Have you spoken to Yakouboku about the curse?"

Apparently, the festival was something Benihime found while wandering around the Seireitei earlier this day, and she was no stranger to festivals and the like. Her interests in these things did not seem to be related to the festivals themselves, but instead the other activities she could take part in during the festivals. Her offer for him to accompany her to this one was based on the idea that he could use a break. "A break isn't really something I need. Realistically, the more work I do now, the less I'll have to do for an indefinite period of time later. Still... I'll go. When would you like to go?"

[Apollymi]

Benihime found Raizen's interest in her inner world to be one which she didn't really understand. Of course, since the man had actually visited it on a couple of occasions she thought it made a bit of sense he might be curious. Beyond that, there weren't many who could say they'd seen someone else's inner world in the first place. As for the matter of what she sees within her inner world she smiled then. "I see... butterflies in my world," she mentioned without much thought. "I always have, though they weren't clear at first, they kind of just looked like eyes glowing in the darkness, but... that was their wings... I see them all clearly now... swarms of them," she explained, though now that she explained it she wondered if Raizen had seen them too. Beyond this was the question of if she'd spoken to her Zanpakuto Spirit about the nature of the curse which plagued her family for an extended period of time. "I have asked her before and she wasn't willing to tell me much. Which is strange considering," she said with a slight frown. "But when I most recently asked her a day ago, she said she'd tell me something useful if I had the right form for my darkness. I am not sure what that means... but when I was last there she gave me an orb... I'm supposed to change it. It's on my to do list..." she said brushing the thought aside for now. She'd already decided the shape she wanted it to take, but... didn't know what that had to do with anything. The mystery surrounding her Zanpakuto was perplexing and kind of fun, it would have been more fun if she'd not have to deal with the potential negatives herself.

As their conversation went back to the festival, it seemed that Raizen didn't need a break but was content to take one with the girl since she'd offered. "Eh, sounds too boring, but... that's fine. I want to leave in a bit... I have to get dre..." she paused that thought instantly as she remembered something kind of important that she'd been putting off. Benihime for all the work she'd been doing over the past year almost two since the death of her family, hadn't bothered replacing all the things lost to her when their dwelling was destroyed. This included all aspects of formal attire. "Actually, I might need more time than I initially anticipated. I don't have anything to wear and I should probably do something about that."

[Bloodedge]

"No light, but butterflies. What an interesting view you have of your own world, Benihime," was the only thing Raizen had left to say about the matter. Of course, there was more to say, and more to think... but that was best saved for another time. For the moment, he would focus on this festival. Though Benihime had been the one to bring forth the idea of the festival, she had forgotten a very important thing needed to make the trip: her outfit. Raizen had numerous articles of clothing he could don, but more to the point, the house he had returned to so recently was one stocked with clothes for various shapes and sizes. "I might have something you could wear at home, if you're interested. My family was very big on procreation, so it seems there is much excess clothing laying around."

[Apollymi]

"Sou ka..." she said to his statement about her inner world. This would lead the young woman to believe that the man before her hadn't seen the butterflies in her world when he'd visited. Beyond this, there was the rather strange matter that her Zanpakuto also never mentioned them, which led to to wonder if she'd been going crazy at some point. But now there were other things to consider as as they moved over this. It would be something she kept in mind to ask about the next time she performed jinzen which would likely be some time later in the night or the next day considering other variables. Regardless of this point it was soon brought up that Raizen himself had an excess of clothing he had access to, and he was even kind enough to offer Benihime some use of it. A grin spread across her face as she considered this offer. "Hai, I'll take you up on that. And add clothes shopping to my to do list~" she said pushing it off for at least a little while longer. This would likely give her time to consider a proper update to her own wardrobe, something she hadn't properly thought of doing throughout her own life. "Arigatou Gozaimasu~" she thanked the man for his kindness, figuring since they'd both be dressing at his place that she'd follow along whenever he got ready to go.

[Bloodedge]

"You should shop in the human world. I don't know if you've taken leisure time there yet, but it's a great place to be," he said regarding the need for clothing in this woman's repertoire. Raizen himself was quite fond of things found in the human world, and he very frequently visited said world, even during his free time. With Benihime accepting his offer for clothing to wear during the festival, he rose from his chair. He, too, had to find something worth wearing, so he had to make the trip home anyway. "Alright then; let's go get changed," was the statement which proceeded Raizen leading the way through the office door. His intention was, quite obviously, to move onward until reaching his home.

Before the two escaped the 10th Division's Headquarters, they were destined to pass the Vice-Captain's office just as its door was being flung open by a certain 3rd Seat of the 3rd Division. He entered the room without a care, and immediately began yelling at the woman he expected to find within. "Oi, Saya-oba! I need clothes; make me clan head!"

[Apollymi]

"I have, and I also find it amazing. Though I haven't been just for leisure in quite a while, the last time I had such a visit... I spent everything I had~" she mentioned of her shopping trip. Obviously the human world was full of things which she admired and enjoyed and as such she'd make it a point to get back to such shopping trips at some point. In fact she quite enjoyed the idea of shopping without limit at some point in her life, but that was for another time. For now, Raizen was content to head back to his home and as such she'd remove herself from her chair and join him, as they strolled out of the 10th Division, they passed the Vice-Captain's office in time to see a rather different kind of exchange. At the boy's entrance without care, Benihime could only smile, a muttering under her breath of a simple phrase might hint that she'd considered this a possibility for the day. "Late as ever..." she muttered. Only to continue on her journey with the Captain of her Division.

Saya on the other hand, was indeed found within her office. And she was quite stunned that anyone, bar a certain redhead dared enter with such force and blatant disregard for authority. Though upon seeing who it was she supposed it should have been expected. She found herself pushing her glasses up onto her nose and frowning at the disrespect given out at this point in time. "This is a Division, kiddo. You don't get to come in making demands of me, especially not like that. Where's your manners?" she replied. Though at some point she'd expected him to come to her for this exact thing, she hadn't expected his reasoning to be simply because he wanted the clothing. Something was amiss here, and she hadn't quite figured out what it was yet.

[Bloodedge]

The passing pair evaded the notice of the 3rd Seat, whose attention had been focused solely on the raven-haired woman ahead of him. The Vice-Captain of the 10th, Saya, had a first response that involved a distaste for his choice in approach. The young Shinigami, named Shusuke, hardly had time for this sort of reaction. However, he wasn't thinking things through at the time, and he hardly cared even now. "Manners? Didn't you hear me!? I need clothes!" he exclaimed right away. "Y'know, that fancy clan head stuff! I'm ready to be clan head, so... gimme. Besides, being head honcho and all means I can talk to you however I want."

[Apollymi]

Shusuke was so absorbed in his demands he saw not the pair passing behind him. If Saya noticed the Captain and 3rd Seat leaving together, she had naught to say about it right now. Obviously, she had more pressing matters to deal with, like her young nephew apparently forgetting how to approach people with 2 years spent in the Shinigami Academy. "You're not naked right now, so I don't see you needing clothes," she said first. "Second, whether you end up being clan head or not, right just now I still outrank you and I won't be taking this kind of sass from you nor anyone else..." she mentioned. "Third and finally, the overall decision on whether you become clan head, isn't my choice, its Jii-sama's and..." she paused. "I can't take you home until you're ready, and judging by that entrance, you definitely aren't!" this would end the tirade which came from Saya as she stood from her desk taking up her sword as she did. "Outside!" and just like that she was ready to go, one could say the raven haired woman was simply being ill-tempered but this would be how this meeting turned out, regardless of how the lad had approached it. He'd simply made it easier for her to make the decision to act.

[Bloodedge]

"Ugh, you know what I mean!" he replied in a huff. It didn't seem like he would be getting his way while he was in a rush, but he didn't have much choice other than rushing. Tirena, the lass he was intending to meet with for a not-so-favorable trip to the festival, could only take so long to get ready. Knowing his grandfather, Shusuke was already guaranteed to be held up by several minutes. The word outside was spoken after a brief period of chastising, and by the time it was, Saya was standing. "I really don't have time for thi-" he began, pausing after coming to the realization that the woman was indeed standing on two feet before him. "Wait... no. When the FUCK... did you get TWO LEGS!?"

[Apollymi]

"No, I don't have any idea what you mean... if you care to explain, do so while we walk," she said, this young man had rushed in, obviously in some kind of huff... which she had nothing to do with. Regardless of this, she'd do whatever she could to help him out. Having stood with Zanpakuto in hand, she began the process of properly attaching to to her person so she could fight with it properly. It was in these moments that Shusuke apparently noticed the return of her previously missing leg. She looked at the young man and took note of his swearing with a scoff as she passed him she aimed to reach out and tap him on the forehead with two fingers. "Language! Geez you're as bad as Hime-chan!" she exclaimed only to sigh. "And it was her, a few months back. She invented some thing in the 12th Division that would allow people to grow back body parts and she used it on me to re-grow my leg. I still don't really understand it, but it got me back on active duty rotation," she stated as she moved forward swift steps would lead to an area outside the barracks which wasn't the courtyard but instead a closed off space near the back which doubled as a training ground, where Saya held her minor morning training for division members. "Alright, it's time for you to prove you're ready," and with that statement she drew the sword at her side and would rather quickly close the distance between the pair of them, her body twirling counter clockwise, in a circle as she aimed to take the boy's head off, holding nothing back in this particular moment.

[Bloodedge]

"I don't care to explain! I care to get what's mine and get back to what I was doing!" True enough, Shusuke was completely disinterested in banter between himself and his aunt, bar the shock factor of the returned leg she'd been missing for all his life. Either way, a test was apparently an inevitable fate to be met on this day. He didn't really have time to go through with this, but he also didn't have the time to argue against it while still getting what he needed out of this meeting. As such, he followed suit into Saya's training grounds, where she rather quickly prepared to - and did - attack him. Shusuke never even got the time to formulate a response to her opening statement before being forced to defend himself, which he did by dashing away while unsheathing the katana at his left hip. By the time it was fully removed from its sheath, he held it in a vertical reverse grip against the incoming blade of Saya. His strength alone would have sufficed against a normal attack from this woman at this point, but the momentum of her spin made his arm buckle. His right hand was quick to react by unsheathing his second blade, which slammed against the first to add power to his defensive maneuver, and allow a proper parry of the opposing sword. "I thought I was impatient. Can't you give a guy a second to get ready!?"

[Apollymi]

"Like the second of warning and explanation you gave before you barged into my office, ruining my afternoon?" this bit of sarcasm left Saya's mouth as her left brow rose as Shusuke added to his original block a secondary blade. She'd seen many a Zanpakuto in her time, and her nephew's was already seeming to be a bit stranger than the norm. "Two?" it was a question, but it was most rhetorical as she could obviously see both blades. She'd felt the initial buckle and knew the boy could have been cut down with just one, strange as it might be though, she was quite happy with his development. "Cute..." her eyes narrowed behind the glint of her glasses as she was parried, her blade and person shifted back into a singular flip. As soon as her left foot hit the ground after this maneuver she pushed off, launching herself forward again. This time with a series of piercing stabs aimed towards the boy's torso starting at his chest and moving down towards his navel, with the hilt of her blade held firmly with her opposing hand against the pommel of the sword. These were deep stabs aimed to get deep into the boy's flesh, she wasn't holding any strikes in this battle. She needed to see what this boy was made of, and as such she continued as she was hoping to see what this boy actually had to offer, and enjoying a moment in which anything could happen.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, why not? Something like that..." Following his parry, Shusuke was afforded a very brief period of relaxation. During this time, he was able to hone in on Saya with both gaze and senses, and begin the process of doing something else entirely. By the time she was next upon him, he retained incredibly focused eye-contact with the woman. Her stabbing maneuvers came in a flurry, and Shusuke began swaying left and right while stepping around the area. These movements of his allowed him to avoid critical damage of any sort, but his Shihakusho and flesh were being slit on either side of his body, as well as his fore, throughout the assault. Still, Shusuke's ability to perform these evasions were no simple feat; every movement he was making was thanks to a particular breathing technique in a sword style known only to the family these two shared. He had not yet reached a proper state to use it without fault, but the requirements were tedious ones to meet in the middle of combat. "Cut the shit. What's gonna get me what I came for?" he asked in a rather demanding fashion, showcasing a quality of seriousness that could have been considered impossible to the version of him that existed in Saya's dojo only a couple of years prior.

[Apollymi]

The boy seemed to completely miss the point of Saya's earlier statement. Regardless of this fact she was left to marvel at the fact that he'd managed any kind of evasive maneuver against her. She recognized this method of course on sight, and found it strange that he was able to manage even this against her, though her blade made contact a few times, it wasn't nearly at the depth or precision she'd come to expect from her own sword work. There was a slight in Saya's eyes, which was something akin to respect for the lad's efforts, she might have congratulated him on his ability, but his own words after would stop her from doing this. Instead of the last push forward of her blade, she turned it, leaving her arm to perform a sweeping motion across the boy's chest downward from his left shoulder to his right hip before she responded. Her aim of course to make contact and see how he handled this quick shift in tactic, but she didn't surge forward again, after all this boy was obviously in a rush, and though annoyed she wasn't completely callous. And besides that point, if he was actually able to take over, she wouldn't have to deal with the clan's politics directly anymore. "Watch. Your. Mouth. the woman fumed wondering why this lad chose to speak in such a way, and in the moment regretting his bratty behavior fully. "And it should be obvious already what will get you what you want," she said frowning slightly. "You have to prove, here and now, you'd make just as good a candidate as I currently am... Mastery of the Shigure Soen, by virtue of creating a new form, or... possessing its power within your Zanpakuto. I take it you're another one, who came out of the Academy with a Shikai, Shu-chan?" she asked as if the question was completely rhetorical. But with this sentence, the sword within her hand began to glow a gentle white and shimmered before him, her body as well seemed to take on this smoky white outline. "Sake..."

What would happen next was likely something completely unseen by this lad. During the training of this boy, as well as that of his peer Benihime, Saya had never made it clear that she possessed a Shikai of her own. She'd always left out her own abilities, and relied only on her base skills to guide them towards their own level of mastery. Of course, both were clever enough to likely realize she had the ability, but... this would be the first time she revealed it for the lad in front of her. "Hanakamemushi." the shimmering white glow settled on her blade but the raven haired lass made no move. She'd either be responded to in kind or this lad would be left here to ponder what he needed to do to get his clothing. She sort of hoped at this point, he wouldn't lead her to disappointment, after all, she was almost assuredly interested in the kind of Zanpakuto the lad had, given the form of his sealed swords.

[Bloodedge]

"Urusai, baka-oba," Shusuke spoke in a monotonous tone. At this point, his eyes had reached a perpetually-narrowed state. The technique he had chosen to use that led to his evasiveness against Saya's jabs was one created by one of his distant predecessors with more focus on singular attacks, but Shusuke seemed to already have a knack for using this particular form as a style of its own. Perhaps this was some sort of sign? Still, he was far from completing the adjusted state of the form that would likely one day be his own heightened version of it. With this lack of mastery, he was left with an inability to deal with the agility of Saya's tactical shift, whether he had the ability to feel it coming or not. He seemed to be swaying back to avoid the slash, but blood soon splashed from his torso. A line crimson in color appeared in diagonal form on his chest, and a split had appeared in his Shihakusho to match it. Shusuke, in his less brash than normal state of being, looked down at it as if he were curious about something; Saya spoke of the requirements of this session in the meantime.

"Shigure Souen..." he repeated with a strange, azure glow in his eyes - one that had been gradually building since his use of the defensive breathing technique. His eyes rose, setting their sights upon the first seen release of Saya's Zanpakutou. As surprising as this would have been two years ago, he understood what was expected of him... and yet, it didn't seem like something he should have been trying to do. "Shigure Souen, not Shigure Souen-ryu... That's what you want?" he asked. A scoff followed, but there was only one thing he could do; he couldn't exactly keep it hidden or anything. "Uchikese..." Shusuke held his own blades in front of his torso to form an X. When he did, his Reiatsu flared and became a visible, rippling water-like aura that was blue in color. This strange form of aura seemed to predominately stem from the swords themselves, which underwent their transformation when Shusuke slashed out and downward to break his own stance. The formerly golden hilts became wrapped in blue as an akita figure appeared on his left blade's pommel, and a swallow appeared at the same point on his right blade. These were not the only alterations, as he also gained bracers on both wrists and hands, and metal-clad sandals. "Kyouka Suigetsu." With the name of his Shikai spoken, Shusuke's blades produced a more tangible form of the aura that previously encompassed him. This release would not be the only thing he showed Saya; he fully intended to meet all given requirements, leave no questions related to his readiness to become head of the Kisaragi House, and simply get this over with. A flick of his right wrist released the swallow from its pommel with a large torrent of Reiryoku. Shusuke charged forward while inside said torrent, aiming to sweep past Saya while slashing at her right side using his right katana. Whatever the end result of this attack, contact with the Reiryoku surrounding Shusuke would result in exposure to said energy's special property, which robbed its victims of strength and capacity of movement.

[Apollymi]

"One day, Shu-chan..." the Vice-Captain said. This boy, had a habit of annoying Saya in a way only he could. There were other things which annoyed her, and other people even, but Shusuke's attitude and behavior always bothered her a bit more than everyone else, particularly in these moments of boorish behavior. But, it seemed it wouldn't last long, after her forward charges had stopped she got to see the results of her work, an attack which made contact with the young man's person. A frown came to her face as she mentally assessed what such a thing meant as Shusuke himself thought over how to get his right to clan leadership. 'Hm, not quite a master of all forms... but...' whatever thought she had of the lad and his peculiar abilities, she'd soon be met by a sight she'd not previously assumed she'd witness anytime soon. The unveiling of the lad's Zanpakuto. Which by virtue of his very release looked strange to her. It changed not only the shape of his weapons, which seemed to shift only slightly from their original forms as katana, but also granted the boy a shift in clothing by granting him armor pieces. Such a thing was something Saya had never seen before in almost 1000 years of life and she was stunned to say the least. "BAKANA!" she managed.

"That doesn't look like a Shikai at all... but this feeling..." she paused, the feeling and tangibility of the boy's Reiatsu was something she'd come to expect of the clan leader. In fact she possessed a lesser version of a similar feeling, there wasn't as much weight to hers though, it was left lacking in feeling by comparison, and one would definitely notice if they felt hers and Shusuke's side by side like this. But there was hardly time to consider all this, they were after all, locked in the middle of a spirited battle like test. As it played out, Shusuke apparently intended to show more than simply the form and shape of his Shikai and his obvious possession of the Shigure Souen in his Zanpakuto. The further step taken involved a move the young woman had never seen before, a swirling vortex was created as he aimed to dash through it and attack her. She moved to brace to try and avoid the attack as the insects of her Zanpakuto flowed out and aimed to consume a bit of that which was expelled. It managed to give her a little time to try and mount a defense, leaving her enough time to raise her sword, but without the strength of her body to back it up, she was sent flying away and through it, tumbling along the ground just a bit. In this moment, she saw Shusuke, not as him self, but halo'd by the glow of this watery Reiatsu, and saw not his face, but that of her adorable younger brother. It was, enough for her in this moment to accept his readiness without question. And with no direct contact with the boy's expelled energy she'd eventually be able to tighten the grip on her sword once more.

"Yare yare, I'm getting tired of kids these days... I should retire like Baiken... set up as a nice 3rd seat and not deal with this any more. Kumori-taichou would go for something like that..." she muttered to herself, lamenting the obvious difference between the breed of person she was, and the children who came with natural abilities and talents a class or more above her own. Her current Captain was one such person. A few moments later she managed to pull herself into the sitting position pushing her glasses back onto her face. "Alright kiddo, move your ass. We got something to do, and though you can rush me into this... Jii-sama takes his sweet time. Ya' know since it's all he has now..." she said candidly as she stood sheathing her own weapon and cancelling her Shikai. She'd then turn towards the west, "I don't fall behind, it will only take longer if I have to double back," and with that disappeared by usage of Shunpo headed for their family's estate located on the far west of the Seireitei.

[Bloodedge]

Shusuke's attack, though successful in getting him what he'd come for in the first place, left a sensation of emptiness in its wake. His right blade clashed against another, and his aura pressed against the existence of insects created by Saya's Zanpakutou, but... that was all. In all honesty, the young 3rd Seat had allowed himself to be a bit riled up by Saya's challenge, test, or whatever she wished to call it. He'd even momentarily forgotten his initial purpose, just for a few seconds, while matching his breathing to that of his aunt. Remaining in this state after his first attack using Shikai, Shusuke's eyes fell once more. This time, he gazed into his arm. There was something amiss with the way he used this method, as if every time he even considered switching between evasion and mounting an offense, a gaping hole of some sort opened in the wall between his calm state, and the normal thoughts that hindered combat ability. Whatever the case, it seemed Saya needed to see no more. After she rose from the knock-back of his previous attack, she sealed - and even sheathed - her Zanpakutou. "Che! Next time we stop after I kick your ass for all those years of boredom," he commented in a snarky fashion, befitting of his usual self, as he also sealed and sheathed his weapon. Since Saya had already taken off, he chose to do the same and keep a pace that left him on her trail all the way to their family's estate.