Central 46 Compound

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The Central 46 Chambers Compound (中央地下議事堂, Chūō Shijūroku Shitsu; lit. "Central Underground Parliament") Building is a highly restricted area in the Seireitei in Soul Society that serves as the headquarters of the Central 46.

Most of the building is underground, with only a small portion visible from the surface. It houses the Central 46, the central government of Soul Society. The Central 46 rules Soul Society on behalf of the Soul King. They make all of Soul Society's laws and try those who are charged with breaking them, whether the crime was committed in Soul Society or in the Human World.

The Underground Assembly Hall is where the Central 46 meets. It is an octagonal structure located in a large open space within the main building, and was also referred to as the Diet Building. Beyond the entrance to this structure there is a staircase leading down into the hall. The benches and high-backed chairs of the 40 wise men are arranged in two concentric rings, one higher than the other, surrounding an open area. In the walls there are recesses with stairs leading up to them, where the six judges are seated. There are large banners on its walls. It has thirteen levels of protection to keep out or at least stall intruders.

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The Seijōtōkyorin (清浄塔居林, Tranquil Forest of Residential Towers; Pure Pagoda Forest) is where the Central 46's members reside. It is the only place in all of Seireitei that is completely off limits to all except the Central 46, no matter what reason they may have. The residences are tall, thin tower-like buildings with the entrance raised off of the ground and accessed via a short stairway, with a wooden walkway surrounding the building. There is a tall, narrow window in the wall starting just above the door that continues to the top of the tower. Little of the interior is seen beyond the entrance, with no furnishings visible. It is unknown if there is only one floor, or if there are multiple levels inside the towers. It is not revealed if there is a difference between the residences of the wise men and the judges.

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Also known as the Daireishokairō (大霊書回廊, Great Spirit Book Gallery) is a repository of all the knowledge and history of the Soul Society. This is another area to which access is restricted. As a result, few are familiar with its inner workings even among the captains.

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Within an hour of the events which brought the Tournament of Power to a screeching halt. A few Captains of the Gotei Thirteen stood before the randomly assorted heads of the Central 46. The two concentric rings of forty wise men sat below the dais of six judges who would have final say. Their words were abuzz with information about the thing which had taken place in the Tournament of Power. One voice spoke out above the others, among the people in this gathering would be the Captain of the 10th Division, who had her hood pushed back revealing the lightest of blonde locks pulled up into a ponytail on top of her head the rest left to fall down about her face. Her arms cross under her chest, she was dressed a bit like a combination between a ninja and a samurai with the changes made to her Shihakusho. To her left the Captain of the 12th Division, a woman with little cat ears hidden among large tufts of hair on top of her head. Her own haori marked with the kanji for the number 12, included large cat like paws at the end which were closed off for some unknown reason. She had around her wrist giant metal rings of gold which moved the sleeves as she moved her arms. The accused was likely also present. He would be held guard by members of the Kidou Corps four of whom were using strange red bindings attached to a collar to keep hold of the young man. "Kumori Raizen, you stand accused of acquiring the abilities of a Hollow. You have shown this to almost the entirety of the Seireitei..." the voice of the speaking person appeared behind a placard marked with the number 32.

The recently-appointed Vice-Captain of the 10th Division, Kumori Raizen, had been woken and escorted to the Central 46's building, bound by his arms and held by a sealing device around his neck. He had yet to see this building for himself until this time, and now that he was inside, he had to say he was less than pleased with the situation which brought him here. The first individual to speak within this darkened room gave the reason for this summons, and when he heard said reason, Raizen raised a brow. "Hoh. Is that what happened? I didn't think that would be an issue I had to deal with after the first time. Nevertheless, what sort of reason is this to bring me here? Surely I didn't manage to kill Tamamura-taichou, even with that power."

"Using the abilities of a Hollow is strictly forbidden. If you'd continued to act that way at the time you would have been executed on the spot as a Hollow. But... you are now conscious enough that you are here instead. To be honest the end result will likely be the same unless a proper reason can actually be presented for why you should be allowed to live," the person behind the number thirty two mentioned. After this a scoff came as the information Raizen presented on his own behalf was processed. "The first time?" a person behind a different number chimed. "If I may..." started the voice of the 12th Division's Captain who had both hands resting on her hips. The murmurs of people could be heard. "You are able to freely address the Central 46, Ayatsuki-taichou, though you being here can't bode well," said the voice behind the number thirty two. "This happened once while we were visiting Hueco Mundo following an increased bit of Hollow activity which required more direct looking into. He didn't acquire the powers of his own accord, they weren't even something actively used until the first time it happened. As far as I know, if he'd done it to himself, he wouldn't even be here right now to have this conversation with you. He's far too useful a research material and something entirely new, for you all to be deciding at random he needs to die for something completely out of his own control," she said pleading the young man's case. "Also, just so you know, Tamamura-taichou is fine. She's recovering in the Infirmary, after being forced to go there by Soutaichou," she said to Raizen directly.

"The boy must be executed! He follows in the footsteps of the others!" another member of the Central 46 blurted out in the midst of the trial. "Others?" Raizen questioned. Immediately, though, he returned to addressing the original anonymous person who'd spoken to him. "Ayatsuki-taichou is right. I haven't acquired anything, nor do I have any idea where this power comes from. Since Hueco Mundo, I've been theorizing ways of erasing it to no avail, but this talk of execution is unwarranted if I haven't broken the law of actually giving myself this Hollow side. I suppose, though, I'm still not exactly permitted to walk away now." With that said, Raizen shifted his gaze toward Akiko, raising a brow in the wake of her statement. "The infirmary? Well... that's an interesting and unexpected development."

"Execution is a bit of a leap though. What if he hasn't actually done anything wrong? We'd be crippling our own armed forces prematurely..." a voice from behind the number 23 spoke seeming to be a bit younger than most. Still this voice was overridden yet again. "Better to be rid of him and take the hit on that front than it would be to have to deal with what could happen if he chose to use that power against us. Apparently several candidates for Vice-Captain have become obvious over the last week or so, it couldn't possibly be considered crippling to execute him right now." said that voice. "Can I address the Central 46?" asked Saori much to the stir of the group at large. "We will accept testimony from Captain of the 10th Divison, Himotoya Saori," said the voice with a pause, "Say what you will, Himotoya-taichou," and it would be at this point that she'd defend the young man's character against the claims made by the one voice earlier. "Raizen isn't following in anyone else's steps. He's walking a path all is own. He's never been anything but helpful to me and my Division and he's never done anything wrong. This condition of his isn't something worth ending his life over, especially given his young age. You can't try him for crimes he hasn't committed nor hold against him things done before he was even born. And even if other candidates for Vice-Captain are obvious, you're still losing one of your number and not gaining anything by his loss." her words caused more murmurs among the group.

The words of Himotoya Saori reached all members of the Central 46, but many seemed to disagree still. "Maybe he hasn't done anything wrong, but this Vice-Captain managed to inflict a major wound on Tamamura-taichou. What if he continues to strengthen? We can't allow that sort of thing to fester with the powers of a Hollow," said one female voice among the crowd. A male replied, "You're right. This Kumori Raizen has shown exceptional skill as a Shinigami, the likes of which have not been seen in the history of the Shinou Academy. He just admitted to an inability to handle this power himself. He's likely to gain incredible strength as a Shinigami, so leaving the potential for another transformation like what we've seen today will surely have catastrophic consequences later! For the good of all creation, we must act now!"

The speech of random Central 46 members let Akiko know this conversation wasn't going as intended. It seemed that they liked the idea of killing off something they didn't understand instead of properly utilizing it. This was a typical reaction of the Central 46, one which Akiko herself had fended off, both in the creation of her Cyborg Vice Captain and a couple of other things she'd done in her time as a Shinigami. "This is the same reaction you give every time you encounter something new or that you don't get initially. And him injuring Tamamura-taichou shouldn't be considered a big deal, it was in the middle of a contest to test power, one approved by all aspects of the Soul Society, and technically speaking followed the rules of combat laid out by us. If he'd actually managed to kill her, he would have become Captain, you know, in the same way the Kenpachi is generally replaced." she said taking a deep breath, exploiting an easy technicality in their logic was usually a good start for Akiko. "Seriously, you can't punish him for what he could be capable of. For all you know, he'll use all that shining intellect and power to lead the Soul Society into a new age. Giving his peers a higher totem to reach for than even they ever thought was possible. That isn't a reason to kill him at all. And if you think it is, you're going to contribute to a stagnation in power that will leave us and all the rest of creation vulnerable to the growing Hollow threat, something growing and diversifying at an astonishing rate even as we speak," she said looking around the room at the random numbered plaques. "We've both already said we were looking for ways to disperse the Hollow influence and allow him to retain his normal Shinigami abilities. If you kill him for being clever, being good at his skills, and for being powerful, the only things you can actually say he is right now. The only thing you'll do is set a precedent that one has to be secretive to develop and that hiding what you're capable of will keep you alive. And that... won't do for keeping the general peace. I am simply asking that you give me a chance to actually work, is that so much to ask, before you jump to any rash decisions like an execution that can't be undone." a few of the members of the Central 46 came to mumbles about this, if a Hollow menace was growing who were they to keep them from working in a proper solution. "We don't know what he did or didn't do, if you can't prove it, if he did it on purpose, how are we supposed to let him live?" questioned the first speaker. "So you want me to prove he didn't acquire these powers of his own accord, but you're holding him prisoner?"

"Hmph. This is predictable," Raizen stated abruptly, though under his breath to avoid the ear of the Central 46 at large. Due to proximity, of course, the two Captains and the members of the Kidou Corps nearby were likely to hear his speech. "No matter how this conversation progresses, I'm not walking away free from this. The Central 46 fears their own lives, and fears an occurrence which would prevent members of the Gotei, Onmitsukidou, and Kidou Corps from keeping them out of harm's way. They couldn't do anything but keel over if an internal uprising happened from someone stronger than everyone else in the Seireitei." With that, Raizen fell silent for the duration of Akiko's conversation with the Central 46. Many members still seemed adamant about an execution, but there was hardly any arguing with the 12th Division's Captain, as she was very much correct. Still, these individuals were very against letting such a potential threat roam free, and would have rather left these potential studies undone. Raizen spoke again. "Your next line is, 'Very well. We will imprison him for now, until evidence is brought forth to say no crimes were committed.'"

The under the breath statements of Raizen were heard by all immediately around him, Saori had to lower her head to keep from laughing. While the members of the Kidou Corps who were holding him had their eyes widen but were able to stifle any other sounds they made. Akiko shot a side ways glance in the young man's direction the smallest upturn of her lips taking place. But soon enough one of the six judges was speaking. Since none of the Central 46 had heard what the Vice-Captain had to say, none would know the irony of his speech. "Very well. We'll imprison him for now, until evidence is brought forth to say no crimes were committed." said one of the top six judges. A few seconds thereafter a smile spread across Akiko's face and she bowed. "That is all I ask, also, since I'm in charge of this branch of investigation, as part of my independent study, myself and a few choice members of my Division will need unfettered access to Kumori-fukutaichou where he is being held," she said. "That is fine, Ayatsuki-taichou...." said the voice who'd declared the ruling. "Oh... and since I will be investigating and pouring a lot of my Division's time into this proving of innocence which should be assumed, I should be allowed access to the Daireishokairō. There is no way I can provide a full analysis without all the proper information. I have been shooting around in the dark this long, so I'd rather not keep grasping at straws."

"And there it is," Raizen said upon accurately pre-quoting one of the judges. Having already discovered that there would be no getting out of this from his end, Raizen allowed himself to be carried by the Kidou Corps members to whatever form of jail/holding cell they had in store for him. Wherever he was going, he could only hope Akiko's research could have him freed in some reasonable amount of time. While Raizen awaited escort, another of the six judges spoke to the pink-haired Captain regarding her most recently announced wishes. "That would be my jurisdiction. Very well. I, personally, would like to see young ones such as this flourish and bring something new to our forces. I hope whatever you find is of use, Ayatsuki-taichou."

"Hai hai, arigatou gozaimasu," the Captain of the 12th Division said. The Captain of the 10th Division also bowed politely though she wasn't nearly as pleased. Akiko would turn to Raizen and speak to him in a hushed voice, "I'll get you out as fast as I can. It's going to take a little bit of time. If it was just me alone, I'd give you an estimate of about 6 months to process and calculate everything and do all the reading. But I should have a decent bit of help now... so, 4 at the latest. If you could avoid doing anything bad until then, I should be able to get you out. I might be sending someone around to ask you some questions if I can't leave the lab, be nice and answer them and it will help out~" she said to the young man as she headed off to the Daireishokairō for the necessary research material, and a few unnecessary ones, that she was simply interested in. Saori would also speak to Raizen, "Don't worry, I'll accompany you to your temporary home. Aki-nee seems adamant about this, so I know you'll be out soon enough." she said to her younger Vice-Captain. "Escort Vice-Captain Kumori Raizen to the Senzaikyu for the duration of his sentence." the judge said, figuring if his innocence could not be proven he could at least be contained until a proper time for his execution was established. The Kidou Corps people would nod understanding their job and begin the process of escorting the young Vice-Captain to his holding cell.

Nearly three months later, the Central 46's judge, who was charged with the vast library kept within their compound, returned to his seat among the members. "I hear we are to expect Ayatsuki-taichou again. I feel she will be bringing quite the amount of evidence to the contrary of our earlier beliefs," he said upon taking his seat. Afterwards, another individual scoffed. The voice which emerged from said person thereafter was that of an elderly woman. "It won't matter. The other houses are in outrage of the Kumori's return. They will not stand for this child being on the loose!"

As the last sentence was spoken Akiko entered the Central 46 Chamber. She walked with purpose, and much like the first person who'd spoken, she now knew completely what she had to do and say to obtain the freedom of one Kumori Raizen. Beyond all this, she'd spent the last three months deep in research, about the workings of the Soul Society, and the Noble Houses as well as the placement of the Kumori within this. Beyond all that, she was now an expert in the various types of souls and how they could be modified and augmented and incidents which could occur that changed souls. "Ladies and Gentleman, sorry to keep you waiting. It took me a while but I finally found it all..." she said bringing in a large bound tome which was rather freshly created, it was her own work, a manifesto on the innocence of Kumori Raizen. "If I may speak freely, Kumori Raizen is completely innocent of any wrong doing and what I have here, and three months of my own research and the combined efforts of a few of my more loyal lab assistants proves it," she said leading into the ultimate factor of her information, the crux piece as her fur ears twitched within her hair. "Kumori Raizen was born with his Hollow Powers, they are innately part of his soul, and as such nothing he did was against the laws created to oppose the gaining of Hollow or Hollow-like abilities."

With Akiko before them, the Central 46 fell silent to hear her speech. Various annoyed grunts followed her claim that the man known as Raizen was not guilty of any crimes he'd been accused of. One particular individual - the very one who sided with Akiko and allowed her research - seemed pleased, though. Still, others would speak. "Preposterous! You come before us for a retrial, and this is what you have to offer? He was BORN with it!? What more information do you have to make such a ridiculous claim as this seem even remotely realistic!?"

"Come now, we've had these types of conversations at least a dozen times since I became a member of the Gotei. Have I ever stood before you making a claim I couldn't prove?" she said looking towards the voice that spoke and offering a wink. Many other voices seemed to mumble though it wasn't all happy some seemed to remember that it was true that this young woman had never come up with anything that she couldn't prove before. "First there is the matter of there already being a precedent for a soul being born with a Hollow's influence. A variation of human souls was discovered not too long ago, with the ability to wield Hollow-like abilities through a medium which was an object that they had some kind of attachment to. It acted as a Spirit weapon would, but with a variation of abilities very similar to Hollows," Akiko explained turning through the pages of her bound tome. "We called them Fullbringers if you care to remember..." she said laying the ground work for a rather fabulous connection. "Fullbringers are created when the mother of an unborn child survives a Hollow attack. The unborn child is affected by the Hollow's Reiatsu, and gains spiritual abilities in various forms but they are always like that of a Hollow, causing the quality of their Reiatsu to feel incredibly Hollow-like while being exerted," she said giving the explanation. "The case of Kumori Raizen is an unfathomable parallel to one of those, only instead of a standard Plus he's a Shinigami."

"Fullbringers, you say? Interesting. I recall storing away a few chapters involving them, but I did not believe that sort of thing could happen to a Shinigami in such a way," said the man who was likely the more reasonable of the judges. Once his piece was shared, another judge spoke from his left side. "That sounds very outlandish. In what way does this relate to the Kumori boy, who dons the actual mask of a Hollow, according to our information?"

"By all accounts this thing can and has already happened. Though with slightly different starting circumstances," she said to the first man who spoke. He was by far one of the kindest individuals to sit in the Central 46. As such most of Akiko's speech was usually directed at him as she was quite sure he enjoyed hearing the new information provided him. Instead of trying to poke holes through it. Speaking of hole poking, there was another right now, doing that exact thing, Akiko's head turned to face this voice the smallest of smirks appearing on her face. "Kumori Raizen is the Shinigami equivalent of a Fullbringer. The abilities of a Fullbringer only make themselves known initially when that person is in immediate danger. Kumori Raizen by all accounts is a genius of unfathomable potential, he even outscored me at the Academy," she said frowning slightly at the thought. "So, by all accounts he's never faced anything which was a serious threat to his being. Tamamura-taichou in their fight in the tournament could probably be counted as the first of any real threats to his person, a legitimate life or death situation which caused the powers to flare up and protect him as their host. The Hollow mask he dons is the manifestation of the Hollow powers in his person. The Hollow powers like those of the Fullbringer are bound to an object close to him, something influenced by his Reiatsu and on his person at all times..." she said leaving a bit of space for a grand reveal.

"The Shinigami equivalent... of a Fullbringer?" said the last man to speak, following up on claims by Akiko. The other male who'd been doing most of the speaking for the judges thus far seemed more interested in something else, though. "Your records were beaten? I wasn't aware of this. Perhaps you should have sought this one as your Vice-Captain. While I don't completely follow what you're saying, I believe I understand just enough to say you have more than enough evidence of Kumori's innocence. Of course, I dare say we should have probably followed that train of thought months ago."

"Yes, don't worry, I going to give the short hand explanation in a moment," the young woman said with her cat ears twitching. It seemed their most talkative judge found it amusing and interesting that her own records at the Academy had been beaten and thought that she should have taken Kumori Raizen as her own Vice-Captain. "Iie, I am not really interested in having someone potentially smarter than me as an Underling. They deserve the room they need to grow into whatever they wanna be," she said of Kumori Raizen and the amount of clever he was, she had similar feelings about someone else, but... that was a matter for another time. Finally, the judge who normally said yes or no to such things as the evidence already presented spoke. And he seemed to have a bit of a problem with something mentioned by Akiko. "I see you've spent a lot of time on this, but there seems to be a hole in this logic. Kumori Raizen was born within the Seireitei, and his mother, by all records and accounts was a Captain not even on active duty while pregnant. There have only been two known cases of Hollows in the Soul Society and both of those have happened in the last year. Given this, aren't you wrong to assume how he got his powers in the first place?" he said. He was among those who'd been recently swayed into believing in the necessity of Raizen's death. He'd postponed it for a while to give everyone a chance, but now he had more than what he needed, to know this young man likely wouldn't be stoppable if he was released.

Akiko's head leaned forward and she reached into her sleeve for a lollipop she removed one from her sleeve and began to eat it. "Oh? You really think I'd walk in here without having covered all the bases. Alright..." she said. "The real reason I needed access to the Daireishokairo was because I needed to know about the Kumori Clan before its fall. What I found out was, about an item being worked on by them called Bakkoto. Ever take one of those apart?" she asked as she moved the lollipop around in her mouth. "Because I did, and each one is made up of a single Hollow Soul. Kumori Raizen's mother aimed to take her own life with one of those before she found out she was pregnant by all accounts listed in the records. She survived it, the Reiatsu from the weapon, counted as a near-death experience with a Hollow. That's how you get a Shinigami born with Hollow influence," she said the judge who'd spoken looked stunned. With information like this, the boy's innocence in this matter was all but assured, as he couldn't have had anything to do with something that took place well before his own birth. "I... see." said the man. "Oh simple version for you..." she said pointing to the man who'd spoken first in this exchange with the lollipop so recently removed from her mouth. "Hollow knife, tried to end a woman's life. She was pregnant, got Reiatsu contaminated by that Hollow knife, had a baby who grew up to be a super clever boy who is a great Shinigami, who you all have had locked up like he's waiting for execution for something he didn't actually do. Questions?"

At least one nonbeliever existed in spite of Akiko's information, and he spoke with the intention of discrediting her evidence. Of course, the Captain swiftly produced further information of substance to solidify her clause, and it was then that silence once again fell upon many members of the Central 46. This silence was broken by one of the judges, who began to clap. Of course, it was the very same man who had always sided with Akiko. "Good job! You've done well with the books I gave you access to. I think we'll all be in agreement now... wouldn't you say?"

A big grin spread across the young woman's face and soon enough at least one of the judges was clapping and commending her for presenting the evidence she had. A small bow came from Akiko at this point. "Arigatou Gozaimasu," she said before the judge who'd tried to discredit her spoke up again. "In light of new evidence we have no choice but to order the immediate release of the Kumori-fukutaichou and order the immediate return to his duties as well as clearing his name completely within the records. He's done nothing wrong..." said the judge though he was still quite miffed that he'd been so easily cleared. "Hai hai, I hope you don't mind. I'm going to spring him myself... it took a shorter amount of time than I thought it would. I'm sure he'll be pleased to move around again," she said giving a final bow before she exited the place apparently to go free the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division. The acknowledgement came from this final judge in the form of a grunt with an accompanying head nod. He could only hope something else would be done about this Vice-Captain in his weakened state.

Soon after Akiko would leave, a small redhead would show up at her side. Noting the woman's stride and the lollipop she was presently consuming the young woman smiled. "Kumori-fukutaichou is being released isn't he?" she asked as she fell in stride with the Captain of her Division. "Hai, I wondered if you were following along, you didn't break in did ya'?" she asked of the young woman who looked shocked by the accusation. "No... of course not... no one could just walk into the Central 46 without being detected or anything like that. I just thought it was the case based on your upbeat movements..." she said as she followed the woman towards the Senzaikyu.