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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.
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.
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.
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."
'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.
"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.
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.
"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."
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.
"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."
"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.
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."
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.
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."
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.
"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.
"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.
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.
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.
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."
"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."
"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?"
"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.
"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?'
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."
"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."
"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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
"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."
"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.
"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."
"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.
"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?"
"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.
"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."
"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.