"Well.."
As Kouei took the floor, Danjūrō stepped over the debris of the table to stand next to Gyōja. He listened intently as his friend recounted the Vizard event, a moment of history all too familiar to anyone who called themselves an Eighth Division Shinigami.
It was Captain Kusumoto, the former captain of Eighth Division, that caused the Vizard event to transpire. Kusumoto had stolen the artifact Kouei discussed, from the deepest vaults of the Eighth’s archives, and given it to the great betrayer, Hitoshi Shihaimono. The artifact too, was familiar to Danjūrō, as the Eighth’s artifact appraiser, it was his duty to assess the potential danger of each tool in his division’s extensive treasury. Of them, the
Fūin no Kagi (封印の鍵,
Seal-Breaking Key), was one of the most dangerous.
It possessed the ability to shatter any limitations, both physical and spiritual, undoing seals, breaking barriers, crossing dimensions, and dissolving boundaries, including the boundary between shinigami and hollow. It was used not only to convert three brave shinigami into monstrous hollows, but also to free its very creator, former Royal Guard Keiko Kano, from the Muken (無間,
Infinite Hell). This act was the true purpose of the attempted coup over a decade ago, and directly resulted in the hollow invasion two years later, a tragedy that the Seireitei was only now starting to recover from. The fact that the Eighth allowed such an item to be used against the Soul Society was one of the division’s greatest failures.
In silence and shame, Danjūrō lowered his head, paying respect to the moment as he reflected on the tragedy Kouei spoke of. The shadows of the room obscured his stoic features, until Kouei mentioned the name Kasuka Rikai.
The former Vice-Chief of the Kidō Corps, Lieutenant Rikai was a friend of the Eighth Division. He had worked closely with the Eighth in developing their security and failsafes for handling powerful artifacts. His barriers were second to none, surpassing even the former Kido Corps Commander, Masanori Obara. One such barrier guarded Eighth’s gateway to this day, nearly fifteen years after the Lieutenant’s downfall, placed there as a safety measure during the civil war. It was Rikai who, sacrificing himself in the process, was able to return the Fūin no Kagi to the Eighth’s vaults. Danjūrō, an unseated shinigami at the time, admired the Vice-Chief, and studied his philosophy on Barriers (結界,
Kekkai) and Seals (封,
Fū) extensively. The fact that Rikai’s Bakudo wasn’t enough to save him was testament to the danger of the Fūin no Kagi’s ability.
“…This leads me to conclude that a relic of similar power resurfaced but was swept under the chaos of the war being waged on our doorstep. Put simply, there is someone in possession of something powerful. I'm not sure who, or what."
Danjūrō stroked his beard with curiosity, concern gleaming in his eyes. This was a serious accusation, especially to present to the elders of the Kuchiki clan. However, Danjūrō trusted Kouei’s intuition with his life, and so believed every word as fact, not mere speculation. If someone was out there with an artifact as powerful as the Fūin no Kagi, more than just the Soul Society was at risk. The very balance of souls could be placed in jeopardy. What’s more, it fell on the duty of the Eighth Division in particular to secure such a dangerous artifact.
Danjūrō grew nervous at that last sentiment. He thought again of Captain Kusumoto, who failed in his responsibility to keep the Fūin no Kagi secure, instead giving into the temptation to use such a dangerous artifact for his own gain. Then there was Lieutenant Chinen, Vice Captain of the Eighth division, who chose to step down from her role in disgrace for allowing the betrayal to happen, rather than rise to the position of her predecessor to make things right. As a result, the Eighth has been without both Captain or Vice Captain for nearly fifteen years.
Duties were delegated to the division’s third seat Hideo Shihōin. A man who, despite leading the division, has not spoken to Danjūrō for the entirety of his career. The same man who chose to move the artifacts he was sworn to protect, from the secure facilities designed to contain them, to his own family’s private compound.. Next in line to him, was fourth seat Suzume Fēng. Suzume shared a bond with Hideo which Danjūrō admired, but which distracted her from her own duties. Her loyalties were only further confused by clan politics, with the Fēng serving as retainers for the Shihōin. With both of them, it was clear that their family ties were more important than the responsibilities they owed the Eighth Division as a whole.
Time and again, the leadership of the Eighth Division had failed to uphold their sworn duty. Enough that now, in the face of a crisis, Danjūrō questioned if the Eighth was capable of serving their function to the Gotei Thirteen at all. They had spent their years growing complacent, distracting themselves with the pleasantries of art and culture, cataloging and polishing the Soul Society’s most dangerous arsenal as though they were trinkets to collect.
Danjūrō was no exception, both Festivities Coordinator, and unfortunately Artifact Appraiser. He knew more than anyone the danger such artifacts represented, and yet went about avoiding responsibility as best he could, a mere Fifth Seat.
He found himself reaching for his Zanpakutō, as instinctually as he stroked his own beard. Tachiyaku’s words repeated in Danjūrō’s mind, and he felt that perhaps the spirit had been right. He had been selfish, and cowardly, bringing shame upon himself and failing to bear the weight of his station. It fell on his shoulders now, and no one else's, to secure this dangerous item, redeem his division, and save the Soul Society.
A smile crossed his face, as Danjūrō realized both how foolish he has been, as well as how foolish he was currently being. He was not alone in this, he thought, as he looked on at Kouei and Gyōja. He was here with his two closest companions. Not only will they succeed, but they will succeed together.
Steadied, and determined, the large man stood straighter, already towering over the others in the room. Kouei circled back once more to one of the victims of hollowification, the vizard Hachi Ikimaku, former third seat of the Third Division, and right hand man to the former Kenpachi Otokogi Aijō. Ikimaku and Aijō together were responsible for the massacre of the Shiba Clan during their attempted coup. An action which would later incite the final member of the Shiba family, Densagi Shiba, to seek revenge and kill the Kenpachi, nearly destroying the Seireitei in the process.
Danjūrō recalled his own time spent in the Rukongai, prior to becoming a shinigami. Kouei was correct, Hachi Ikimaku was a legend considered by many to be a champion of the common man. His hatred towards nobles however put him down a misguided path, as the Shiba too were considered kind hearted benefactors to the Rukongai citizens. Danjūrō considered the massacre of the Shiba to be a tragedy, resulting in Kenpachi Aijō’s death, Hachi Ikimaku’s disappearance, and Densagi Shiba’s imprisonment in the Muken. The Rukongai had been robbed of three great heroes, pawns to be sacrificed by the politics of royal families.
His current surroundings were not lost on Danjūrō. Kouei had mentioned political unrest, and it seemed to Danjūrō that Gyōja was particularly restless, even if his demeanor remained poised. Though Danjūrō was not here to hear of the current political unrest between the four families and the Dates, he knew that there was a reason Gyōja would seek the council of both his family and friends.
“The Kuchiki, and the rest of the noble houses are in imminent danger. What I have yet to surmise is if these potential threats are connected, or if we are soon to be facing a war on several fronts."
Danjūrō felt that Kouei had correctly connected threads that remained unseen by the greater leadership of the Gotei Thirteen. All of the pieces were in play for history to repeat itself. The political landscape was primed for civil war between the Noble Houses, an artifact of equal power to the Fūin no Kagi was loose out in the world, and both set the stage for a greater machination, mere smokescreens set in motion for a greater scheme, just as they had been all those years ago. The Hollow invasion was just the most recent consequence of these past events, and the Gotei Thirteen still didn’t know why they were spared or where the threat has gone. Now they faced another tragedy while still dealing with the fallout of the first.
"So-"
Gyōja’s voice cuts through the tension in the air, softly regaining the attention of those in the room after such a dramatic closing statement from Kouei. There was much to process, with Danjūrō himself becoming tangled in his thoughts. None wanted to be the first to respond, but Gyōja, like always, rose to the occasion.
"We know someone within the Kidō Corps was involved with whatever this...unknown relic is. That's a good place to go for some more answers and perhaps clarification. Unfortunately I don't have any friends there, and no pull."
Ever the pragmatist, Gyōja sought solutions, and shared his first step. He mentions the Kidō Corps and Danjūrō nods in agreement, the two were on the same page there. It seemed the most obvious next step, but Gyōja was never one to let his family ties inflate his sense of self. He knew, as most did, that the Kidō Corps were an incredibly secretive organization. They operated outside the bounds of the Gotei Thirteen, reporting directly to the Central Forty Six. Lack of oversight made them isolationist in nature, unwilling to disclose information to anyone outside the organization. It also made them free from the political influence of the Royal families, something that, in this situation, was both fortunate and a hindrance. Getting in, let alone getting information, from the Kido Corps as outsiders was next to impossible.
"What say you, Danjūrō?"
Gyōja’s inquiry causes all eyes to fall on the large shinigami, clearly out of place in this regal environment. Some questioned what he was even doing in this place, while others still believed he should be labeled an intruder and killed for his chaotic entrance. The extent to which Danjūrō was known amongst most Kuchiki, was as a brute, a freeloader, and a drunkard who served only to distract Gyōja from his duties. Still, Danjūrō’s friends knew better, they had come to rely on his strength, true, but in this particular matter he had much more to offer: expertise.
“I-”
BZZT. BZZT. BZZT.
There was that damn vibration again, the repetitive nuisance brought on by the ringing of a Denreishinki. Only this time, Danjūrō wasn’t alone in his annoyance. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at both Kouei and Gyōja. They were the only two contacts in Danjūrō’s phone, and both were standing right next to him. His curiosity only grew as both of their own devices made the same sound…
A voice rang out in unison from all three of their devices. A Seireitei wide alert, brought on by the Second Division, activating on all devices at once. Danjūrō did not know they could do such a thing, but then again, he knew little about technology at all in any form. Fortunately, the message auto-played, or it was likely he would have never heard it at all.
‘Captain Ōhei, a hollow?’ Danjūrō thought, questioning the circumstance. Ōhei was the greatest healer the Gotei Thirteen had ever seen, he had been cleared as a vizard, and remained incident free from hollowification for over a decade. The fact something like this was happening now of all times, only lent more credence to Kouei’s theory.
A captain-class hollow rampaging through the Seireitei was of course a concern in itself, but Captain Ōhei was the only surviving victim of the Vizard Event, should he succumb fully to his hollow form or otherwise perish, Kouei would lose the only first hand testimony of what occurred that day. Danjūrō's thoughts turned once more to the hollow invasion, the humiliation of the Gotei’s defences, the disorganization of its captains, mismanagement of its divisions, and the countless victims caught as collateral damage in the ensuing battles. For a moment Danjūrō forgot himself. He felt in every fiber of his being that he should run from the Kuchiki compound and engage Ōhei himself. That his presence there would save the most lives, including the Captain’s, even if it meant losing his own.
A heavy sigh escaped Danjūrō’s nostrils, as he closed his eyes, gathering himself.
“I say that fate has both placed us on this path and dared us to stray.”
The illusion of a fool gave way to the truth of his wisdom and introspection.
“We cannot afford to be distracted. We must trust the Captains to deal with their own. The relic takes priority above anything else.”
His voice was calm, collected, a deep and patient baritone that reverberated off the walls of this dim and dire room.
“The Kidō Corps is the only step forward that promises more answers than questions.”
He knew the others would agree. While the Rukongai was a concern, it was simply too vast and too fragmented, and they couldn’t waste time and resources heading towards a potential dead end. The Corps would undoubtedly have some information on the disappearance of its members, and as the operators of the Senkaimon, they were the only ones other than Twelfth to have access to the records. Hopefully, they could even provide some insight on this mysterious artifact.
However, an organization as secretive as the Kidō Corps was unlikely to disclose any of its information to outsiders. By nature, the Corps coveted knowledge, and valued secrecy just as much as the other two branches. It was a rare sight to see one of their members outside of their headquarters unless performing duties integral to the function of the Seireitei.
"Besides!”
Just as quickly as it faded, the facade returned, as Danjūrō bloated out a bellow of exclamation, smiling wide.
“They LOVE me over there!”
Danjūrō, as most knew, was an incredibly outgoing individual, and his own responsibilities within the Eighth have overlapped with those of the Corps in the past. Could it be that this boisterous brute actually had more sway with them than the prestigious Kuchiki clan?
