[10th/10th] Week 315: Fear Burns Down to Ashes

[Time Lady Katie]

Katie as Adelaide Pierce and Dys as Adele Pierce in
Fear Burns Down to Ashes
7000 Words
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She was Captain of nothing. It was an interesting feeling, being so utterly without purpose. It was honestly a little refreshing, but she mostly assumed it was because those damned Spirits weren’t watching over her shoulder anymore. It had been a week since the lake was taken away, and it was far from the only burnt bridge. She needed to call the former Mystics together and have a little talk with them. Maybe set a few people on fire. Immolate two or three and the rest fall in line pretty quickly. But more than anything she was done with her home being the staging ground for bad behavior. Well, unsanctioned bad behavior, at any rate.

All these ambitions and aims for today, and what was she doing? Sitting outside the headquarters reading the ‘Gotei Gazette’. It was morning and honestly, she was mostly waiting for Adele to find her. Her sister had tried to wrangle things when she was ‘gone’, or rather, just watching the mourning process take place. They had to let go of Lilith’s Mystics to attempt anything new.

“Such crap,” she frowned at the one-sheet tabloid, “Luce should’ve just left the reporting business to Seireitei Communications.” Seriously, someone thought that Feng had a thing for her? If that thing was an oath of hatred and scorn, yeah, he certainly had that. An undying contempt perhaps. Romance? The idea was as insane as it was repugnant. Normally the Briton appreciated Lucia’s particular brand of crazy, but this was just a bridge too far. “Yakekoge.” A small push of her magical power ignited the paper in her hands and that was, as they say, that.

Now, just to wait for Adele.

Adele wouldn't need long to find her sister. She probably would have found Adelaide much sooner if she had actually looked for her. The nekogami had not sought out her older sister so far because she hadn't had the faintest idea of what to say to her, how to feel. She hadn't wanted to come after her sister while upset, that would have been rather unfair. All the same avoiding her wouldn't be a viable option, either.

So when Adele sensed Adelaide's spiritual pressure that morning, she wondered whether or not she should seek the other out. She looked at her palm to see a few small scars, a reminder of exactly how her zanpakuto spirit felt about Adele refusing to face her problems. A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled out of bed. She hadn't been sleeping anyway.

Adele approached Adelaide just after the ashes from the Gazette fell from the redhead's fingers. "Good morning, Onee-sama," she greeted quietly.

“Look at you,” remarked the Captain, not looking up to address her sister properly. She didn’t sound particularly angry, even if her words could be taken that way, “taking charge.” It was almost as amusing as it was upsetting, much unlike the article she had just destroyed. Adele had made multiple attempts to essentially run the division while the Captain had been busy doing things like fighting with Lilith or fighting with Lashiel or generally just being awful.

“I know the hierarchy of the division has thinned out considerably of late, but I’m not dead. Hell, Yuurei’s even still around.” For what that’s worth, the Captain mentally added, but held the remark back. “And you’re shocked that they all got angry with you? They’re so pissed at me they’re pissed at you. Doesn’t help that you’re acting like a Vice-Captain when they don’t see you that way.”

She gave a small laugh and looked up, finally meeting her sister’s glance, “You shouldn’t feel bad. Success wasn’t possible. You weren’t going to bring them together in some spirit of brotherhood. We’ve managed to amass the most spoiled and self-righteous division in the entire damned Gotei. The First has less pretension.”

A sigh exited her lips, her little speech over, “I assume, though, that you’d like to yell at me, a decent enough proxy for all of them yelling at me.”

Adele's lips set themselves into a firm frown. "I didn't want to... I would have left them to their own devices if not for Ren-chan and Crescendo-chan..." she really hadn't. It made her wince inwardly how much she agreed with her sister's description of the division. It sounded so harsh in Adelaide's bitter voice. The nekogami supposed she was no better for thinking it.

She shrugged. "I almost didn't humor Robin-san and try to make things better afterwards either for that same reason, you know. I guess I was hoping for better." If she was going to be honest, Adele had wanted to in her heart of hearts abandon the Tenth in favor of sulking. That sentiment had been ripped to shreds via Crescendo's teeth.

"I suppose I could yell at you..." she didn't sound energetic enough to raise her voice past the soft, dejected tone it had taken on let alone yell. Adele didn't have the energy to be angry at Adelaide. "But it wouldn't achieve anything... wouldn't even make me feel better." She gave the area a cursory glance; she was sulking again and Adele knew how exactly Crescendo felt about that.

Adelaide looked out at where the lake once sat. No one else was altogether certain of where it was, but Adelaide knew it was there. Her magic put it there. Of course, not quite remembering meant that Adele probably thought her sister was staring off into space. “I don’t think any of you have enough distance to see it, but I did what I did for you. It was something I should’ve done the moment Lilith left, and it was her lingering that kept me from ripping off the bandage.” She wasn’t sure she’d believe it in their position.

And why would they? The Spirits were masters of complacency; they made the Mystics rely on them and in exchange stunted their growth. Adelaide had come from the Enchanted Blades before joining Lilith’s division, she appreciated the work and effort it took in other divisions. She was able to replicate most of the Spirits’ gifts without them because she had bothered to learn and practice not just the abilities, but what underpinned them, their deeper meanings and how they truly functioned. No other Mystic had seemingly felt the same need. And while her independent work was less refined, that would wear off with time and practice.

Adele stiffened slightly, but relaxed somewhat seconds later. To think that severing the connection to the Spirits was necessary was not a pleasant idea. Though she had not been particularly close to them, they had been a constant present in the Tenth and she had just started to realize how important a relationship with them could be. Still, Adelaide would not have done this without reason and so Adele took a few moments to process what had been said before reacting.

It was nothing new, what her sister was saying. Adele had already come to the conclusion that her captain thought her actions necessary. Kenshi would at least find out the reason before deciding anything... Adele reminded herself.

"You are correct, I don't see why it had to be done, Onee-sama. What was it that you saw so far ahead that made severing our connection to the spirits necessary?" Perhaps the question was asked a bit more accusingly than Adele had meant, but she did honestly want to hear Adelaide out. The younger shinigami followed her elder's gaze, but saw nothing, not even recognizing the place Adelaide stared at as the former location of Shinkouteki.

The accusational tone wasn’t really a problem for Adelaide, she accepted that the things she had done were, for some, unacceptable. She was prepared for the accusational tones of others, why would Adele be any different? She took a long, slow breath. “Mystics had their strength supplanted by the Departed Spirits. How many of you actually understood Taidan? Ot Soshi? And that made us dependant. Servants.”

It was a lot of work to not sound bitter, but she had to explain it to someone, “Without Lilith, they were going to end this support eventually. Their deal was with her, and to say that they don’t fancy me is something of an understatement. They don’t even fancy people who fancy me. The cord was going to be cut, so it was cut on my terms, on my schedule. Imagine if they had cut their support during a crisis? Or while our access to communications and mobility was compromised?” She accelerated the unavoidable conflict, but that didn’t make it any less unavoidable. She was going to lose the Spirits’ support, so were her Mystics. Without Lilith, that was a reality the Tenth had to face. And because of Adelaide, they faced it now.

So, now they were alone, but free. “Without the Spirits, we can develop our own destiny, forge our own place in the world. And we can do it now. Not when we absolutely have to, but right now. And I am throwing it all in on the idea that what we make for ourselves will be stronger, more reliable and more unified than anything someone else gives to us.” That, she couldn’t hide a bit of venom saying. The Captain didn’t like the Spirits or what they made the Tenth become. The spoiled pretension she wanted to address was, to her way of thinking, the fault of the Spirits and the complacency they created.

Adelaide's words made sense to Adele. They were not what she wanted to hear, but they provided an understandable and in Adele's mind a legitimate explanation for the loss of the lake. That, the nekogami decided, was enough.

She would not pretend to understand what the spirits were like beyond being ever-present yet illusive. If what Lilith had told her was true, the departed spirits probably still watched shinigami though now they did so from afar. She still regretted that she hadn't gotten the chance to experience what had made her former captain so fond of the lake, but that couldn't be helped. The relationship between the Mystics and the Spirits as Adelaide had said, wouldn't stand to strengthen them at all. Not with the way things had been.

"I think I get it, at least a little. You did this for independence." The concept of self reliance and being responsible for oneself was not foreign to Adele; it was an idea that Kenshi had done his best to instill in her. Coddling was equal toba death sentence in his eyes. "If you coddled us, we would be in danger. So even if sending Shinkouteki away was... unpleasant, it's necessary. Thank you, then. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner." Though her reaction might have been a little odd, she spoke solemnly and with conviction. Adele would not disappoint Kenshi this time.

Though it was her own rationale being repeated, Adelaide didn’t like the way it sounded. “Care and affection and a gentle hand are good. They’re the mark of the talented teacher, the person who loves her charges. When you can’t protect yourself, though, I’ve failed you.” Allowing the Mystics to rely on the Spirits, therefore, was a failure of Adelaide’s lack of desire to lead. Maybe it was important that Adele knew Adelaide wasn’t like the other Captains, she wasn’t harsh and aloof and distant.

Slipping a hand in her pocket, she went back to another topic, “It sounded like they wouldn’t let you be taken seriously, though. And they were asses, but not wrong. It takes authority, more than a Tenth Seat can muster, to try and unify a mourning, complacent and hateful group that badly needs to remember that it takes a hell of a lot of power to remove a lake from existence and they ought to fall in line,” Adele had taken a losing battle on to herself, and clearly the elder Pierce disliked that idea. “You had to know they weren’t there to listen.”

"I know." She admitted quietly, her tone softening. "I was angry with them for... well I didn't like the way they were behaving. It was a disservice to the Spirits and the relationship we should have had with them. At the same time ignoring them isn't right. I had to try something besides sulking.

"What kind of leader am I if I do nothing even if it looks hopeless? I might not be the that important in the chain of command, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't at least say something when I see something wrong." She sighed, "Though I probably would have done nothing if it hadn't been for Ren-chan and Crescendo." Adele studied the ground, nudging at a pebble with her toe.

“Good for them,” Adelaide offered affirmingly. She pulled a wooden badge on a cloth band from her pocket and tossed it in front of the pebble Adele was playing with. “The problem wasn’t you. The problem was everyone else. The road forward from here isn’t a comfortable one, it isn’t a walk in the cherry blossoms. They didn’t have respect for a Tenth Seat and I can’t fix that overnight. This, however...” She nodded to the badge sitting in front of her sister.

She was concerned about a number of things; the appearance of nepotism was the strongest, but the fact that Adelaide had nearly mastered her Bankai before being appointed to this very position was another. She was throwing her sister off the deep end without a life preserver, and she knew it. Hell, if anything the extreme risk she was offering was more than enough to assuage her guilt over the apparent nepotism; she was actually doing her sister more harm than good.

The redhead swallowed and fixed her eyes on the adjunct badge on the ground. “No one but you and I has to know about this moment. I’m going to ask you to do something that is almost as crazy as what I did last week; it sure as hell won’t make you more popular or make me look any better. But, if you’re willing, I’d like you to jump off a cliff with me.” That was really how she saw this offered promotion; she saw it as joining Adelaide in freefall. “I need everything I can gather to bring the Tenth into control. I waited too long, was afraid of the necessary changes and that entrenched the opposition to change and growth. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think that Ren, Satoru and the others betrayed me, especially Satoru. But there isn’t any room for fear or doubt anymore. Now I need to marshal everything I have left and change the world. You’re not ready, I know that. But if you pick that up, it’s the credentials to do the things you know need to get done.

“But I’m not going to sugar-coat it. If things were better you wouldn’t get this offer for a long time yet. Longer than most because of your last name. You’d have to work twice as hard and achieve half as much. And not without reason - of all the Leftenants you’ll be the weakest. It might not inspire a ton of confidence and it sure as hell will piss some people who are gunning for badges of their own off. They’ll say it’s because you’re my sister. Or worse. Probably worse. There will be rumors about you that you’re not going to like. If I were sitting where you were, I’d walk away. But without a Vice-Captain, the changes that are about to happen are going to be so much harder to implement, and the disrespect for your position, shortsighted and factually incorrect though it is, won’t change easily.”

She turned her gaze back to the former location of the lake. “Normally, I doubt a Captain would forgive turning this down, but I pride myself on not being a normal Captain. And in all honesty, I’m not offering you a dream job, I’m offering you robes way too big for you.”

Adele looked at the badge, her expression turning unreadable. There was a time when the nekogami would have jumped for joy at such an offer, though at that time she had imagined this moment not happening for years. At that time, she had been much more idealistic and had idolized Adelaide the way many people did those they looked up to. She had fancied herself ready to serve the Tenth and help protect it, following Adelaide to the ends of Rukongai.

But now, Adele was acutely aware of how ill-prepared she was to do much of consequence. The World Tournament had done an excellent job of showing her how easily she could be smacked around like a ragdoll. The other vice captains, she imagined, were no doubt at least strong enough to crush her with their spiritual pressure alone. Even in answering Haresuno's question, she had realized she hadn't even the power to do much more than say something. She had been powerless to act.

Still, she had thought even then that she would do anything to protect her division. That she would love the Tenth and fiercely protect it and her comrades. Adele had never imagined that anything would have included this. Could she follow Adelaide to the ends of the world? Could she do this, take this risk that was paramount to jumping off a cliff when the ground was nowhere in sight?

Crouching, she inspected the badge lying on the ground. No, that's the wrong question... would I be helping the Tenth by doing this or weakening it? Can I really risk the Tenth's well being on my ability to step up?

She reached for the badge and carefully lifted it from the ground. "I suppose I have a lot of growing to do though not a lot of time." She stood, looking at her sister and pocketing the badge, "Do you know anyone who can train me? I don't think I could I hope to grow fast enough on my own to even begin to fill out this position.''

She nodded, “Me,” was the simple reply.

“I’ve worked out an extensively potent training regimen, it let me develop remarkably fast. Besides that, we can hone the techniques that will be the hallmark of our new Tenth, we can do that faster together as well.” And she knew just the place for clandestine training sessions. Her own intense training was something she didn’t have a whole lot of time for, but this was more than a coincidence, this was a necessity.

Adele nodded, her cat ears flexing. She was mildly surprised Adelaide was making time to train her. She hadn't specifically asked her sister to do it under the impression that then changes her sister meant to bring to their division would keep her busy. Not that she didn't think Adelaide wouldn't make time to train her, but Adele hadn't wanted to make assumptions.

"When do we start?"

“Soon,” the Briton brushed the ashes of the Gazette from her hands, “but first we need to bring these waffling children in line. I’ll not have a handful of instigators make the entire Tenth a crowd of madmen and reactionaries. That ends today.” From there, the next task was finding out what niche the new Tenth would fill, how the newfound agility of not serving as the Spirits’ enforcers was going to affect their place in the Gotei. And some of the Spirits gifts could be replicated, and for those that couldn’t a new direction altogether was needed.

She had one thought about this, the sole thought from which her nre confidence came; “I’ll tell you this, Imouto, puritanism is more a weakness than vices. Those Spirits wanted paladins and holy warriors, people of unassailable virtue. I think people are stronger because of their vices, not in spite of them. It was pride that helped me find the strength to cast them out instead of living in constant fear of them, I think we can embrace tools others are too... chaste to see.”

"You are correct. How do you suggest we bring them under control?" Adele doubted beating up all the Tenth members would be suitable. Though the beating from Crescendo had done her some good... she pushed the thought aside. Violence was probably not the answer.

"Too chaste," she mused. Adele hadn't thought of using vices as strengths before. That line of thought was unique and rather creative on Adelaide's part. Dabbling in vices could be dangerous, but mastering one's own vices could make one equally deadly. She couldn't help but feel if Kenshi were here now, he would approve greatly. Adele didn't know how she felt about that.

The nekogami wasn't exactly prude or focused on chastity; her days before adopting her siblings had involved lying, cheating, and stealing as a method of survival and then at Kenshi's bequest. Adele certainly wasn't 'too good' for dealing in things that a moralist would frown upon. By the same token, she hasn't exactly revelled in her amoral ways either. When she didn't need to steal, she paid, she didn't lie for fun, she preferred not to kill, and pride lead to falls.

If she understood her sister correctly, moderation was the name of the game. The Tenth's members would have to humble themselves in order to 'stoop' to admitting their vices but be proud of their ability and what they represented. Similarly, they would likely learn to wield lust like the sharpest sword, but would have to be weary of being controlled by it. Adele could understand and agree with that.

"Yes, we can find powerful tools amongst our vices. But we'll have to be more careful and strict with what we teach; vices are valuable but can be rather dangerous. I imagine you aim for us to learn to control our vices for our own use, not the other way around."

“Like any tool,” explained the elder Pierce, “you have to know how to use it. If your vices control you, you’re not a skilled user of your tools.” She was feeling more hopeful than anything she had so far. There was a lot of potential, and Adele taking to the idea like she had meant that it wasn’t as controversial as she expected. This wasn’t to say that some wouldn’t find problems with their new approach or object to it’s lack of puritanism, particularly considering that Adelaide thought the Gotei needed to adhere to a notion of justice.

The Captain shot a smile, somewhat improper given the circumstance, to her lieutenant, “For now, we restore order. We can start our personal training when our division isn’t eating itself.” It was a matter of necessity, she needed to restore some calm to the division, the mourning was reasonable and something she meant to encourage, but things had gotten out of hand again. And hopefully giving Adele real, much more tangible authority would do both the nekogami and the division some good.

“We’ll gather them up, have a nice little chat. We’ll be calm, polite, and absolutely unyielding,” she explained. That was what they needed right now, they needed stern and solid control, leadership. They couldn’t be allowed to fall apart like this. The healing wasn’t beginning, it wasn’t happening the way it was meant to.

Adele inclined her head in agreement, her lips twitching upwards at the corners in response to Adelaide's smile. Inwardly she considered the difficulty they would face in not just calming their division but bringing about change. The nekogami's acceptance of her sister, and captain's, ideas was influenced by having been raised by a drug dealer. One who came from that type of background was bound to have fewer reservations conserving chastity. The others... they had been Mystics of the Divine, emphasis being on divinity. They would have more difficulty accepting Adelaide's ideas.

Despite the numerous reasons that would make what Adelaide planned to do difficult, Adele was going to help her. Reassured that her sister was still the same good person who only wanted what was best for the Tenth, she felt much more at ease than she had in the Tenth all week. As a proverb she remembered from some time ago went, 'a million kilometer journey starts with a single step.' The subtle upturn of her mouth grew into a small smile, "That sounds like a good place to start."

The smile didn’t vanish, but it grew faint, more measured and affected by reality. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. Honestly, as long as you’ve known me I’ve been terrified. But we don’t have the luxury of being intimidated, or unsure of ourselves, or afraid right now. The first vice you and I have to embrace is pride.” Pride was a great tool to wield against fear. It was what let Adelaide liberate herself of the tight chains that often surrounded her.

“I know that everything you’re going to hear, you’re going to want to believe. I want to believe the things people’ve said about me lately. But you are a noblewoman of Nearer Rukongai, you are personally responsible for having trained at least half those wild masses. If not for you, what state would most of them be in? Pride can be your armor, it can help you overcome your weaknesses. This is step one.” She took a deep breath and made herself feel resolute by doing the sort of thing she was encouraging Adele to do.

Two sisters against the world made a compelling story, but the reality wasn’t quite as thrilling. But this armor of pride would help them, it would be something they could draw from and use to control the passions of the masses. “Are you ready?” she asked, knowing that if the answer didn’t have to be ‘yes’, they’d likely both have answered ‘no’.

Adele didn't have to think long to know the answer to Adelaide's question. Nervousness was trying to eat away at her, reminding her how she was putting her division at risk. She was probably the weakest person to ever make vice captain. Her division had ignored her the one time she really tried despite herself to be brave. What kind of difference could the shinigami who could pass for a wallflower in the eyes of her division make now?

But she couldn't say that and back down. Even if nobody paid her any mind, she couldn't face her sister and say she wouldn't try. Adele didn't want to disappoint Adelaide. She couldn't, even if she would be forgiven.

"I have to be, Onee-chan," the nekogami replied quietly, "I have to believe I'm ready and find my pride. I don't have anything else to work with right now."

"If I let myself be scared now, I really won't have anything. I don't have much power or skill. I don't have the adoration of the people like Maikeru-sama or their respect from proving myself strong like you. I found that much out." If only I knew what to be proud of. "Pride will have to do, otherwise I'll never be ready."

“Good,” the Captain nodded, “let’s begin.”

So it was time, then. Now or never, she supposed. And at least now she had the strength she was trying to inspire in Adele to prop her up. “Grab Apphia, gather the division, bring them here.” If what little Adelaide knew about the divinity of the former Mystics was true, she shouldn’t have had much problem with doing this here, in fact it was, in fact, the best place to do it. “Probably best if you put the badge on after they’re all assembled here, though. Tell them that it’s time to have a little chat. At Kosui Shinkoteki.”

"Hai," Adele nodded and she was off, walking quickly, feline ears moving as if searching for something.

Finding Apphia was easy; the nekogami checked the headquarters and found the secretary there. "Apphia-san, Taichou needs to speak with everyone at Kosui Shinkouteki. If you could tell anyone you see to come along on your way, it would be appreciated." She was already walking away once Apphia had agreed. Adele checked all the offices, shooing disgruntled former Mystics away from their paperwork to go see what their captain required. She was only mildly surprised to find Robin, the young man who had recently joined the Tenth in her office. "Pierce-san," he greeted her, smiling cheerfully. The expression faded when he saw the determined look on her face.

"I need you to find as many of your division mates as you can and bring them to meet the captain and me at Kosui Shinkouteki. You may not know where that is, but when you're close you'll be able to sense Taichou." He nodded, bowed, and was rushing off to do her bidding after a quick, 'yes Ma'am!'

At least one person would probably still like her after all of this was over. Adele brushed the thought aside as she travelled as quickly as possible, tracking down as her division mates. Popularity was not important. She had given that up the moment she'd accepted the badge resting in her pocket. The nekogami brushed her fingers against it as she walked towards her sister's spiritual pressure, ignoring the aggravated questions and annoyed complaints of the Tenth following her.

Finding Shinkouteki was difficult. She felt as if she was going in the wrong direction and had to be careful not to accidentally turn around. Ignoring it, Adele persisted towards her sister, using the redhead's powerful spiritual pressure as a guide. Adelaide was her sister and her captain; Adele could always find her when Adelaide wasn't hiding, always. Adele was proud of that fact and had no intention of letting anything change it. When she saw her captain, the feline reaper went to stand by her side and pulled the badge of the Vice Captain from her pocket.

"They're waiting. I don't think they're ready for this, but they're waiting for it," Adele said softly, fiddling with the badge. They haven't much choice either, they have to be ready too.

Adelaide hadn’t really gone anywhere, maybe a hundred feet at most. She could sense the thrumming of the magic behind her, though most people couldn’t - certainly no one in the division. Inuzuri could. The fact that he hadn’t paid her a visit was a mild shock, honestly. Slowly, people gathered, mostly looking confused and unamused - they thought they were going to remember where the lake was, and that wasn’t going to happen. Not yet.

“Take a few deep breaths,” advised the redhead quietly to her sister, “and then remember that I have faith in you. And despite them not showing it very well, they have faith in you, too. They’re hurting, they haven’t forgotten all you’ve done for them,” the instructions were calm, presented in such a relaxing voice. Her goal was to be comforting, and give her a bit of pride to cling to. “When you have, very calmly put on the armband. It belongs there.” There was some hypocrisy in that remark coming from the first Captain to not wear her haori in living memory. But Adele had to look as ready as she was making herself feel.

She nodded her thanks to her sister once she had reined in her nerves, taking a few calming breaths. Anxiety had steadily festered just below the surface since she had gone to collect the people. Pride, she reminded herself, left no room for fear or uncertainty. What pride?No, never mind that... breathe. With a calm countenance, Adele slipped the band onto her arm. She was their vice captain and she could not fear her own comrades her own... subordinates. Pride would allow no such thing. I have to believe it... I have to...

The feline soul reaper turned to face the rest of the Tenth. “If I could have your attention?” They fell silent. Was it her sister’s presence or the band on her arm keeping them quiet? “Thank you. Despite what you may think, you do not know why our captain has called us here today.” A few protests and errant shouts came from the crowd, but they quieted when the nekogami inhaled deeply. Good. They remember the Dragon’s Breath. “The last time I had you gathered before me, it was to admonish you. I know you have been restless since the spirits have been gone. You are hurting and you are angry. You may have felt alone, as well, but you are not alone. Even without the mystic voices filling our division with sound, you have not been alone. Your captain has felt what you feel, I feel what you do. We will not abandon you and leave you powerless.”

“We will help you and guide you. You are not weak. You are soldiers and you are strong. Without the spirits to rely on, you will grow because you need to. We need to. You will not do this alone, we will be with you. It is time to heal so that the memory of Shinkouteki can be a fond one that gives a us strength instead of a painful one that cripples us. It will be hard, but you are ready. We are ready.” Adele didn’t look to Adelaide for approval. The people couldn’t see her doing that if they were to ever respect her and rely on her. In the eyes of the people, leaders had to be confident and strong. Do I dare to look these people in the eye and tell them that I will protect them when I am so weak? Never mind that... I have to.... Adele looked them in the eye without flinching.

She let a moment’s quiet settle before she took the reins of the meeting from her sister. It wasn’t a stirring call to action, but she’d only been on the job a couple hours. It would do. But speeches were certainly part of Adelaide’s forte. “One week ago, while most of you were mercifully asleep, the bond between the Tenth and the Departed Spirits was severed. You are soldiers, we are an army. You have no inherent right to know why this bond was broken. Yours is not to question why,” she could feel them seething, and it was something she had purposefully pushed them to. Why? Because she wanted them at their most upset before any reversal; “However, I have always considered this division to be as much a family as a fighting force, and I cherish you all, dearly. So it is in this light that you deserve the best answer I can provide. Because despite this recent anger, we are stronger because of this connection.

“And we are stronger without the Departed Spirits. How powerless have you felt? How blind, deaf, impotent have you all felt? And you felt it in a time of relative peace. No Vasto Lordes threaten all existence, no mortals are making the White City’s streets run red. The connection was going to be broken eventually, and if it happened in a crisis the Tenth would fall. Without question, reprieve, or remorse from our former benefactors, I might add. But I did say we are stronger now, and I believe it.

“Now, more than ever, you are aware of your limitations. You feel the absence of the outside force overcoming those for you. But I believe you are capable of rising again. It just takes ingenuity.” To drive home her point, in an interesting call-back to earlier in her career, the Captain pulled a small orange from her pocket and threw it. The metal of her bracelets grew warm and the satsuma hung in the sky in much the way it absolutely shouldn’t. “You don’t need someone else doing the heavy lifting for you anymore, my family. You can learn to support yourselves.”

The crowd listened anxiously, but remained quiet until Adelaide levitated the fruit. Then gasps, murmurs, and whispers rustled through them. They had been skeptical until their captain displayed an ability they thought lost with the spirits. Now, however, they watched wearily with baited breath. There was undeniable proof before them that all was not lost. The people were hovering between hope, doubt, and a bit of outrage.

Adele listened to her sister talk, eyes widening as the redhead levitated without Soshi. It was not as surprising for her as it was for their audience, from their conversation earlier she knew her captain would do something like this. It seems as if Onee-chan stood on her own two feet before she ever asked anything from us. I wonder if that's what she was doing all last week... The nekogami smiled.

Amidst the crowd, a new recruit watched with awe. Robin couldn't believe that Adele was vice captain. He had just watched her get promoted from Tenth Seat to Second. Wow.... On top of that, his captain had invented a new item. That glowing bracelet looked pretty neat. Grinning, the American began to clap, ignoring odd looks he received. The applause was contagious, a few other new recruits followed his example, and slowly others joined until the majority of the crowd was clapping for their captain and vice captain.

The feline soul reaper's small smile broadened. She had been waiting for the crowd to show a definite reaction. Adele was glad someone had decided that reaction should be positive. She fought the urge to look at Adelaide to gage her reaction. Adele mentally thanked whoever had started the polite applause surrounding them. It was much nicer than apathy. Perhaps they still have faith as Onee-chan said.

After waiting for the applause, which she hadn’t expected but greatly appreciated, to calm down, the Captain pressed on with her speech. “The Spirits did not fill this division with life and music. You did. The Spirits did not make this place a home, you did. The Spirits will not carry you into the future, you will walk proudly. Secure in the knowledge that you are the men and women of the Tenth Division, and no one is responsible for your success and greatness but you.” She gave words cadence, rhythm, a melody all their own. This was a performance, and her words, for the sake of the performance, were her music. And her symphony appeared to be moving the crowd.

She took a slow, measured breath and continued. “We will do what is hard in order to achieve what is great." Now was a rest in her masterpiece. She turned away from her followers and drew her weapon. A simple, slow cut across the air shattered what looked like green glass that appeared out of nothingness. As it shimmered, shattered and dissolved into speckles of green light. a lake became visible where it wasn’t before.

“This is your lake. This is the symbol of what we were. Our mystic past. But there is nothing sacred. We have a symbol of our past, but moving forward the only thing we need is us. Some of you will rise to greater challenges. Stay vigilant, my darlings. Believe in yourselves as much as I do.” That was pretty much her capstone.

The crowd, once it had settled was more receptive. They listened almost raptly, tentatively considering that what their captain said might be true. That they could rely on their own strength. That they might achieve more without the lake. And then the lake reappeared and a collective gasp swept across the crowd.

Shock and awe, I haven't seen that used in a while, Adele thought. She was surprised at the reappearance of the lake, but the recognition of the technique her sister used in her speech also got her attention. Onee-chan is a master of motivation. If they had any doubts before, those inklings of disbelief had been crushed. Shattered. Adelaide had proved single handedly that they did not need the lake. She had made it disappear, used the same abilities that had been supposedly been gifts of the spirits on her own, and then brought the lake back (sans spirits) on a whim. It was the most effective display of power she had seen in a while. The best argument.

The crowd did not analyze their captain's actions the way Adele did, but they were equally impressed. Thunderous cheers and applause broke out from a people who dared hope they could accomplish things on their own power. Adele relaxed. Her division was alive and the oppressive quiet had been lifted. "May the Tenth never be silenced," she murmured, happily watching her noisy division. The Tenth's music was back.

The Captain lifted her hands while the crowd cheered before her, “Let there be song! Let there be celebration! Yesterday we mourned, but today we celebrate! We celebrate our bright new future!” She wanted them to enjoy today, to revel in the feelings she was inspiring in them. She wanted them to abandon fear in faor of joy, of delight and hope. This was the day that everything changed.

The hard work of forging their future was going to be easier with them unafraid, and with the music struck up shortly after her request, things grew even more optimistic than she had anticipated. If Adelaide had doubts about her Captaincy, she certainly couldn’t doubt her power as a leader. She could marshal her troops with such potency that it was undeniable. She vanquished their fears, and she had diminished her own with them.

She stepped aside and smiled warmly to her sister, “Take notes, imouto.” She was unsure how much of this was really her honest and slow recovery and how much of it was the energy her speech granted her. For the first time in forever, she felt like she knew what she was doing, where she was going, and that things were going to be alright.