[10th/Captains][Taishuu] Week 288: From Under Shadows

[Time Lady Katie]

Ancient and powerful. Adelaide was surrounded by ancient and powerful lately. From using ancient and powerful magic to making ancient and powerful arenas simply blink out of the normal universe, to restoring them with sheer effortlessness, the redheaded Mystic was accustomed to being among the most ancient and majestic places Seireitei offered. And even she stood with held breath, feeling so small in the Proving Grounds.

Often, the noblewoman had said she lacked this particular ambition. She had said as much during the conversation that had turned out to be the Moral part of this very test. This was never a place she dreamed to stand, which made her feel all the smaller when that moment did arise. She didn’t think of herself as being here to attain some title, or some status. She wasn’t here to improve her own standing or increase her own worth. Adelaide Pierce once said she was a footnote in the face of history. Things changed. Fate’s hand worked its way into her life and took from her the Captain of the Tenth Division. From there, nothing went as Adelaide always had anticipated.

And it led her here. All the preparation she had made leading up to this morning seemed utterly laughable as it dawned; it seemed so woefully inadequate. All the times she had stood in the presence of Gods and madmen, of nightmares and nobles, seemed so inconsequential standing here. This was a hell of a birthday party for the two-hundred-and-one-year-old; that was certain. She was shocked she had lived this long, against all odds, but she felt utterly trivial now. She was not Lilith Maikeru, and to stand where she was standing, to earn the right to be here, she needed to be.

This was the place, now was the time. The Tenth Division needed someone to lead it, to keep the Mystic’s home intact. That person had to be Adelaide. “Lapsus,” whispered the Briton softly as her katana burst into the form of a scythe, in preparation for what was going to come to pass in mere moments. It was time to prove that she was the true legacy of the Tenth Division.

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362 Total​

 

[Wayne]

Among all the captains, he was the first to arrive. Whether or not his (surprising) punctuality was deliberate mattered little. The air of nostalgia hung over the air, drawing him closer to the canyon’s rustic, hermetic sanctuary. All around him, it appeared as if nothing had changed, like he had waltzed back into the past unto the very moment where he first flashed a blade against Maikeru and Katsuji.

Reminiscing was a pleasing distraction, yet apparently not enough to quell the irritable little fly that buzzed at the back of his head. A rumor, as it came to be, was like a virus. It had a nasty habit of spreading quickly, reaching out to all types of ears and all types of people. Indiscriminate, yet brutally effective. The concept of ‘whom’ just so happening to hear ‘what,’ was but an unfortunate byproduct carried by the plague of hearsay. Sooner or later, the right pair of ears will meet the right set of lips.

And those lips, upon his ears, spelled something which drove one to question the boundaries of camaraderie and jurisdiction. The same boundaries of one’s home and one’s domain.

“Ah, Maikeru Lilith the Second. It’s your show now, it seems.” Sharp and unapologetic. Cold and scrutinous. “I do hope we don’t accidentally misplace the entire arena.”

He smiled.

220​

 

[Apeiron]

“That might be a tad difficult,” Haresuno’s voice seemingly jumped up from nowhere. Try as they might, however, there was neither hide nor hair of the Fifth Division’s captain. To Adelaide’s right, sitting atop the ledge of the Proving Grounds, the air shimmered and flickered like some dancing strands of liquid glass. Haresuno’s presence was suddenly there, solid as stone, as sure as the seasons, and boiling like a thunderhead.

As the air around his place faded away the tall captain was perched with one leg dangling over the edge, while the other was tucked up under it. Sitting across his lap peacefully was an unornamented wood staff, and tucked away in his obi was his zanpakuto. His face, normally a remote but somewhat jovial, held no trace of the joking manner he had begun to adopt. Instead, raven-black bangs framed a perfectly stoic - and perhaps harsh - chiseled face. As if someone had made his face from hard granite and worked it into a fine, almost life-like, sculpture.

Across his shoulders was the haori. The symbol of responsibility and duty that every attending member today also held, and which they all would be judging Adelaide Pierce. It’s numeral for “Five” not visible, but known.

If she couldn’t already feel the judging eyes of Kyuketsu, Haresuno’s eyes weighed heavily against her. Something churned beneath his cyan, a burning light that cast a pall over his eyes and turned them azure.

Adelaide wanted the Tenth - no. She wanted to live up to Lilith, even Hare could see that. And with how his best friend treated the young woman, he knew that Lilith was placing her trust and confidence in the mystic even as she had moved on to become Forty-Six.

Bitter bile rose up from his stomach, but he willed it away, and instead used the sickening feeling to fuel everything else that he would need for today. He ground his teeth and gave a chipped smile that made the harsher features of his angular face more prominent.

“After all,” he picked up shortly after a small pause, “it’s hard to misplace the land that I conrol.”

[358]

 

[Kago]

“No one doubts that, Haresuno,” Kago announced from behind the fifth division captain. The former assassin abandoned his usual, spontaneous appearance via Reiatsu no Senpuku in favor of the traditional path to the crest. As the acting captain of the eighth reached the edge of the canyon, he placed a single hand on his friend’s shoulder and nodded to Kyuketsu.

Then, his eyes searched for the outline of his former subordinate below. A hint of pride reflected in them when they found their mark. With the familiar form of Lashiel at her side, Adelaide stood prepared to fight for the respect of the captains gathered. If Sayis himself had not asked him to attend, Kago would not be here to witness her attempt to earn the haori.

Returning to this place reminded him of the weight of the white cloth on his shoulders. Immediately, the nobleman recalled the aftermath in which Senesati bequeathed the division and temporary title to him. In the days since, he did not have the opportunity to take the taishuu; however, he pushed forward, leading his division regardless of title and witnessed Adelaide doing the same in Lilith’s absence. He silently hoped that she would prove her capability as a captain today.

“It is an honor to stand before these taichous, Adelaide,” Kago called down to the fukutaichou. “I pray you do not take this occasion lightly.”


[221/221]

 

[IshinOnigami]

"She better not."

It was the last voice they had expected to hear. The words were tinged with so much emotion that it seemed, for a moment, that they had misheard the voice that had spoken them. But when they looked, there he was. The goliath of the Captains. Dwarfing all of them with his immensely tall frame, the man stood over them like a watch tower over an army base. He was, after all, the most senior of the captains. His reign over the prisons had begun even before Sayis had started the Tenth in the incarnation before.....

"Kyuketsu, do us all a favor, and never call her that again. Ever."

He shuffled up to the edge, his feet barely leaving the ground. His demeanor was vastly different than in the past. The recent experiences, as well as his time sequestered away from the world, had apparently changed him. As he looked down, images flashed through his mind, faces forever etched into his memory. One was down there. One had moved on. One was gone forever.

Yet he stood, as always, ready to judge the new hopeful.

"Adelaide Pierce. Do you truly think yourself ready to stand among us?"

 

[Time Lady Katie]

A warm smile was an unusual response to the poking and prodding she was getting, particularly because of how deeply unsure she truly was about what was about to come to pass, still something Ishin had said tugged at the corners of the redhead’s mouth and she looked up at the tall figure. Until this moment she had remained silent in the face of tall words and brazen challenges, figuring these idle taunts to be routine, and in her case quite warranted. But Ishin’s presence made her smile.

Maybe it was a subconscious nod, a blessing he carried for someone who Adelaide figured no longer found her place at these events, or maybe it was the fact that she wore his bankai on her wrists. Or maybe it was that she had kicked his ass last time they spent any real time together. One of those facts made her decide his was the taunt to respond to. And respond she did.

“I would hazard a guess that no one is truly ready, Captive Captain,” she kept one eye on Haresuno, not really trusting him to wait for things to properly begin. “Those who claim they are have no idea what this particular event means. Those who admit they aren’t are tempted to run and hide. Still, I have a higher motivation. You, Katsuji Ishin, have seen that motivation up close more times than anyone else here. Want to tell the Gardener about how I lit you on fire?” she spun her scythe idly in her hand, “I’d be a fool to say I’m ready, but I stand. Kyuketsu, Kago, Katsuji, I stand before you today nonetheless.

“Because I’m too damn stubborn to run away.”

This was a playful remark, one more friendly than due the moment, still one that carried a certain weight of magnitude nonetheless; her tone was one laughing in the face of danger, almost mocking the coming storm that was going to prove her to be what she knew she was: a pale imitation of the original.

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[IshinOnigami]

A small smile flitted across Ishin's face momentarily at her remark, and Ishin nodded.

"You lit the body on fire, and by fire it was cleansed. Regardless, it isn't me you fight this time."

Nonetheless, Ishin drew his weapon, and with a flick of his wrist spun it as it transformed into his shikai. Then, with all the care of a toddler playing with a toy, tossed it into the air and jumped on top of it, using the floating weapon as a seat.

 

[Apeiron]

“Have a care, Miss Pierce. You’ve tried setting me on fire before, too. If you remember, it did little to persuade me you were ready for Vice-Captain and it will do nothing to persuade me that you should be a captain.” Breaking his gaze for just a moment, his eyes casually rolling over to the other captains, Haresuno counted the still missing from their numbers.

Still waiting for Nana and Sayis at the least.

Returning his gaze to Adelaide, gaze still just as even and eerily chilling, he debated whether to say more. “And Captain Katsuji is right. You will not be fighting him. Your stubbornness will not be enough for your fight today. Nor will it, or should it, be something you are particularly proud of. The stubborn mule is often led astray, and the Gotei has no shortage of stubborn mules.”

[506]

 

[Rob]

Okay, so Nana was late. And, okay, she didn’t have any particularly good reason to be late either. She just was. There was just something about this whole thing, this whole plan, these whole past few days, weeks and months that had rubbed her the wrong way.

Perhaps she was just getting bitter - something that might very well even be the case - or maybe she was just overworked, either could’ve been the case really.

When she appeared next to the other Captains, she didn’t spoke a word. The only exchange made was the one where her eyes met Adelaide’s briefly and rested upon for a while. She wasn’t sure whether the Mystic was up to the responsibility, but honestly...

Who had ever been ready?

[125]

 

[swaswj]

"Being stubborn isn't all bad," Sayis spoke up from the ledge, revealing himself now that the captains had gathered. After all, he had quite his own share of stubbornness. The Soutaichou stood tall, peering down at Lilith's vice-captain. His long grey hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, his goatee neat and trimmed and the rest of his face clean-shaven. Placid grey eyes met Adelaide's gaze from across the distance.

The man's one-sleeved haori billowed in a sudden burst of wind before settling. Sayis turned his sleeved right shoulder toward the woman, silver numerals for one through thirteen stitched down the white cloth. "Adelaide Pierce," Sayis called down with no preamble, "you stand before the captains of the Thirteen Court Guardian Squads, intent upon joining their number. You currently serve as the vice-captain of the Tenth Division following the retirement of Lilith Maikeru. Tell me, what makes you worthy of picking up her haori? What can you bring to your division, to the Gotei Thirteen, that you cannot already as vice-captain?"

A different voice interrupted, just as Sayis was beginning to feel like the ritual was becoming rote. "Maikeru Lilith served as a formidable and adaptable captain in battle, as well as an inspiring and eloquent diplomat in more delicate situations." The Soutaichou frowned as he looked off to the side, spotting the gateway of Charon's Road -- an arch formed of three monolithic stones -- and Yoshinari Matsurine stepping forth from its depths. The Soushireikan of the Onmitsu Kidou favored Sayis with only a brief glance before continuing his words toward Adelaide. "To bear the haori of the Tenth division is not just to pick up the pieces. You must become the equal of Maikeru Lilith, or exceed her. Are you fully aware of this?"

The imposing Soushireikan had a similar build to Sayis, moderately tall with broad shoulders, but carried it much more threateningly. He had long black hair, a coarse board, and deeply shadowed eyes. His black robes were tied down by crimson cords to prevent them from flapping about.

Behind him came four others, the Gundanchou of the other Onmitsu Kidou corps and current Taichou o Daiyou for several of the uncaptained divisions.

Ashanti Kwasi, head of the Keiratai and sub for the Second Division, was a shorter, bronze-skinned man with red eyes, a heavy brown hooded traveling cloak shrouding most of his body from view. Nakamikado Kyuushi, head of the Riteitai currently overseeing the Ninth division, was of a similar height to Sayis and Matsurine, but significantly thinner; he wore form-fitting maroon clothing and carried a heavy backpack, forgoing the angled cap of his corps and revealing himself to be bald and blue-eyed, with a braided goatee. Takeda Inori, head of the Kanritai and looking after the Thirteenth division, was a few inches shorter than Matsurine, with a mature face and stringy hair; his apparel was similar to a white gi, but buttoned across the shoulder and with no belt. The last to exit was Inori Shahei, the Eiheitai Gundanchou currently substituting for the Sixth division, a towering man nearly the equal of Katsuji Ishin; he wore a dark blue sleeveless kikko katabira, covered in little hexagonal armored patches that gave the cloth the appearance of scales.

The five substitute captains spread out along the edge of the chasm, joining the official captains in waiting for Adelaide's response.

[564/564]

 

[Time Lady Katie]

“In elegance and grace I believe it impossible to surpass Maikeru Lilith, my esteemed friend from the Onmitsu Kidou, in that much I can only hope to be her equal,” Adelaide admitted this weakness at the outset. The shoes she had to fill were not at all suited to her, at least in terms of how wonderful a human being Lilith had been. But that was not the only measure of what a Captain was.

She turned her gaze to meet the gray eyes of the Soutaichou and took a slow breath. “During my Taishuu Moral, many months ago, you asked me what I would be as a vice-captain. I told you this moment was not my ambition. But it has come regardless.” She spun, addressing everyone around her, as if speaking to an audience, without taking an eye off Haresuno. “I drove back the night on Mount Fuji. Since the events of Dunan I have made a solemn oath to prepare my Mystics, to preserve their lives by giving them the tools to preserve their own. This has been my goal. I have taken on students, apprentices, in the Mystical arts as well as in the demon arts, teaching the advanced skills needed by Mystics and Kidouists alike. And I stand before you all as one of the greatest practitioners of the demon arts in the history of the Gotei.

“Since your mark was left, Commander, the Tenth has been a magical division, in many senses of the word. And under my guidance this will grow and prosper to new levels. I submit that my control over the Mystical arts surpasses even that of my mentor and friend Captain Maikeru, and that the loyalty, faith and love I have for the Mystics of the Divine meets or exceeds the love you all have of your divisions. Of your homes.” With a small nod to herself she turned back to face the leaders of the Gotei and the Onmitsu Kidou. “I am not here because of an ambition to wear white on my shoulders; I am here out of a love of my division. I believe in this way, I meet the standard set by the one who walked this path before me, and I believe in time my Mystics will become a force unlike anything the Gotei has known in centuries.”

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[Wayne]

“Impossible to surpass? Only her equal? Meet the standard?” Kyuketsu cringed, stopping himself short of laughing. “I know you’re trying to play the ‘humble’ game, Pierce, but at least do so with the right choice of words.”

His hands tightened into fists, arms interlocking in place as if to shut off any response. Eyes dyed with the purging luster of gold, the Eleventh captain’s sights fell and swarmed the lieutenant of the Mystics.

“You sound like you’re already placing limits on yourself. As if you have no ambition, no drive to go above and beyond.” He glanced at the other captains, and giving only a passing attention at the substitutes. “No one can deny the impact Maikeru has done in service to the Gotei... but to accept her as a role model and nothing more? That’s an insult worthy of a severed limb. Remain thirsty, remain desirous! Surmount your predecessor, and settle for nothing less than the unlimited.”

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[Apeiron]

“Easy, Captain Reijuu,” Haresuno spoke up immediately afterwards. “Not everyone can share in your...,” he purposefully paused and let his rueful grin stretch into a cheshire’s smile. “...ravenous ideology. Not everyone is capable of reaching out for whatever is in front of them without reason.” His smile withered and the stoney face resumed. “At least not without a better reason than ‘because’ that is.”

Heaving a heavy sigh, the Founder-Captain past a casual glance around the arena. Looking to the fill-ins and his fellow captains. He should have known there would be more than just the Gotei now, but even so.... Well, hope was out the window.

Slipping from where he sat, down into the arena and hitting the ground with a solid thud, Haresuno rolled his shoulders. “Well then, Miss Pierce, I do so hope you are quite ready for this. Whatever happens here, today, you and I need to have a very long conversation afterwards. I’ll be sure to prepare a very nice tea, too. Anything in particular?”

Canting his head to one side, left eyebrow raised in question, it was strange to hear his voice now at odds with his whole demeanor. But there it was, with him casually twirling the wooden staff in his right hand while the left rested on the pommel of his zanpakuto.

[726]

 

[lilmangoseed]

“Spare the tea talk, my friend. There will be more time for that after the battle. And who knows? Perhaps after the match, Adelaide’s tastes may change for a flavor more fitting of either a captain or, depending on the circumstances, a failure.” Smooth steps walked toward Ishin’s side as delicate fingers slid casually over his forearm. “In the meantime, my time is short, and I’d like to see as much of this battle as I can before I am summoned back to my seat.”

As eyes followed the feminine voice, they swathed over the former captain of the Tenth Division. Dark hair fell in long cascades that rolled to the small of her back as violet highlights glistened against the drifting sunrays that flecked over her form. The ornate Taidan still traced over her right cheek, but rather than wear her haori, she donned a new, long ivory uniform. Lilith Maikeru’s presence was not an unusual sight, but the few weeks since her departure from the Gotei had formed footprints of an unfamiliar attribute. Slight shadows were cast under her eyes and an uncharacteristic paleness had worn away at her usually glowing aura. Her voice, while maintaining its musical tone, also tended a more regal and booming quality as well. Nonetheless, though her lips remained neutral, the woman seemed pleased to stand amongst present company. She may have accepted the robes of Forty-Six, but the hard skin of a captain had yet to fully shed.

“And Adelaide,” Lilith called down to the redhead below, “while I expect that you will one day surpass my relationship with the mystics, do remember that I am the first in millenia who forged the amity and trust between mystic and shinigami. Not you.” She offered a challenging smirk as she looked down upon her subordinate. “While I have always appreciated your expressions of both humility and confidence, know how and where to direct them, my dear. It may save your life.”

[smth]​

 

[Time Lady Katie]

The immediate joy at seeing her friend dulled considerably upon hearing her tone. The story of Isogu and Issei was already beginning to unfold again. But this time, the story would end differently. This time it would end the way Isogu and Issei’s story ought to have ended. “You are my mentor, my Captain and my friend, Lilith,” the potential replacement smiled at her predecessor, “and you did amazing work forging the Mystics in the fire of what was the Arcane Specialists before. You made the asauchi. I’ll turn it into a zanpakutou.” This was big talk, but it was a big moment, and now the guest of honor had arrived it was time for a party to commence. All she needed to do was get Haresuno to assume the party submission position.

“I prefer chai. Cream, but I can take or leave the sugar,” she addressed the gardener calmly. He was a jack-of-all-trades which gave him a decided advantage, but he also was one of Adelaide’s strongest critics. Making him submit was the meaning of earning her haori.

But before things really got exciting, she shot Kago a smile, apparently taking everyone in turn, “You know, you should be down here next, Takimoto. Earn that haori you so brazenly wear. Maybe I doubt my ability to exceed Captain Maikeru’s grace, but I certainly don’t doubt my ability to exceed her strength, or my ability to take her Mystics and make them my fearsome soldiers. What doubts keep you from joining me?” Part of her wondered if he was here to be some curve ball thrown into the mix, and if he was, this taunt should’ve lead that to expose itself. Better that the quantities of the fight be known before it began than discovered at a more pivotal moment.

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[lilmangoseed]

"Adelaide, wipe that smile off your face." The former captain removed her grip from Ishin's arm as she stepped forward, wearing a disappointed grimace. "You are disgracing the Tenth and insulting the Gotei Thirteen. You still stand below the others, not among them. It's true, you have many accomplishments, but captaincy is not one of them, Leftenant Pierce."

Lilith gripped the bar before her and remembered how her own crimson fluids had poured into the ground when she had been ripped open and crushed by the Soutaichou's Bankin. How Haresuno had been torn asunder by the power of the all-mighty Blade Spirits. She had seen the visions of Ishin and Sayis, both clinging to life at the conclusion of their own practical examinations. And the image of a ruined and shattered Kyuketsu still haunted the cold grounds. Their blood had forever stained the walls, the floor, the air of this glorious and hellish hole.

"If you were half the mystic you claim to be, then you would know that you stand at the chasm soaked with the defeat, shame, and destruction of men and women that have towered over you in power and success. You are not the strongest to stand in that chasm. You are not the smartest or the most clever. You are not the best sword or the best kidouist. You are simply one of millions who have aspired to be a leader."

She tilted her chin up, glowering down at the fiery redhead.

"As I told you only a mere moment before, beloved Adelaide, know how to direct your confidence... and your apparent arrogance. Not only will it save your life, but it will salvage any remaining dignity you hope to keep."

 

[Time Lady Katie]

“I know this place is soaked in the pain and torment of the failed, and I know that presuming my success is premature. Even should I defeat Uchiharu, the test – this Taishuu – does not make someone a Captain. It is only with years of fighting, experience and turmoil that someone earns that title. Contrary to popular belief, I do have lucid moments, I do know that my story more than likely ends here,” the mystic spoke in a kind of honesty she hadn’t since she entered the arena, “And you, who I thought my idol, are remiss for seeing an assumption of triumph as arrogance. I simply find it hard to operate under the assumption that I have failed before I have tried. I played that game too long.”

Indeed a lot of her bluster hid insecurity, but that wasn’t something she was going to say out loud. “I was asked what would set me as a Captain apart from myself as Leftenant. I have answered this question: I will not tear down your work, but build upon it.” She stopped herself – she had wanted to spit venom at the feeling of betrayal she felt from the Captain of her division. She wanted to say the new title she had already started her down Issei’s path, that Lilith no longer understood Adelaide as well as she thought, but she stopped herself.

Instead, she did what she didn’t want to do: she showed weakness.

“I never wanted this for myself. I am not driven by ambition, by a lust for power, by a desire to control or rule my people. I follow in the footsteps of someone I admired; of a reluctant leader adapting to circumstances I never had anticipated. I still don’t stand here for myself, I stand here for Yuurei, for Satoru, for Adele and Creed and Apphia. For the person I admired. I stand here, and I risk my life, because they need me to. Because they depend on me.” She tightened her grip on her scythe’s pole, and narrowed her eyes, “If you think I am too certain of my ability, too expectant of victory, this is because I cannot afford to fail. I must be what they need me to be; a guiding force and affirming flame keeping the torches ever-burning. If I fail them here, today, let it be the last time I let them down.”

She turned her back on her friend, on her Captain, and looked at Haresuno; “Let me, this one time, this last time, stand with my home and risk my life on the hope that they all can be stronger for it. And if I am to die, your Honor,” the title was impersonal, distant. Clearly, Adelaide was separating her Captain from the Judge, and letting idealized memories motivate her instead of the woman who no longer had her back, ”I die trying my hardest for them.”

And, she added, her taidan flashing, for you.

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[lilmangoseed]

While the passionate warrioress turned her back, resenting the judge for 'changing,' Lilith's lips curled into a small simper as she returned to her station beside Ishin.

 

[swaswj]

Sayis frowned as he watched and listened to the two. Finally satisfied that they had finished, he responded to her earlier inquiry... or perhaps challenge. "A captain must be a leader as well as a capable warrior. You stand here today for that second purpose, in the proving grounds where all of we captains gathered before you have spilled blood, giving of our bodies and souls to hold ourselves up as worthy. Focus on the challenge that lays in front of you: Uchiharu Haresuno.

"Takimoto Kago's role is one that does not concern you."

Across the deep cleft in the stony ground, Matsurine lifted his head, his shadowed eyes meeting Sayis'. "It should be opposite, should it not? According to the records, Takimoto Kago was previously a captain, has a wealth of experience above Lieutenant Pierce, and has been in an Acting Captain position for a long time compared to this one who has been in the role for a matter of weeks."

"I did not bring him here today for that purpose," Sayis replied flatly.

"Then let us consider it a happy opportunity," Matsurine retorted placidly. "I believe they should both be tested together. They have previous experience with training together, surely they can show us their cooperation in battle." The Soushireikan turned and faced Haresuno. "Takimoto Kago, report to the battleground, if you please."

For a long moment, Sayis frowned, feeling the eyes of the others on him. For a moment, he considered simply overruling the man. Though ostensibly they were peers, here in the Gotei the Soushireikan was only borrowing authority on the level of a captain, and therefore was subordinate to Sayis in that respect. In the end, it was curiosity for what Matsurine had up his sleeve that won out. Turning to Kago, Sayis gave a nod, affirming Matsurine's order.

"Very well, then. There are indeed merits to testing Adelaide's propensity for teamwork... and also advantages to pairing Kago with another shinigami. However, Haresuno..."

"--is not fit to take both of them at one time. Inori Shahei will join him."

[346/910]

 

[IshinOnigami]

Ishin had not said a word since Lilith had joined them at the summit. His eyes never left her. He had not seen her in weeks, and she had seemed to change quite significantly and drastically. He waited until she was done with her former lieutenant, then shifted his body. Coming around behind her, he did the one thing he could think of to calm her apparent moodiness. With one fluid motion, both of his arms encircled her, wrapping her in his haori. He then rested his chin on her head, letting his simple presence be his voice of comfort.

It was then that one of the fill ins took a step down a path that was not his to tread. Ishin's head turned in his direction, his eyes partially lidded in contentment. Choosing his words with care, he called out the one that had spoken. His words were delivered in a pleasant enough way, but the meaning could not be more clear.

"Oddly enough, you aren't wearing the Soutaichou's number, so it would be greatly appreciated by all true captains present if you did not step into his realm of command. It is very disrespectful to him, and to all gathered here that earned their positions."