This is for everyone in my div, even those of you who weren't present in HM. If you have an existing NPC or one that you wish to add to the Templar feel free. I will be leaving certain NPC's absent from this meeting, the reason for which will be apparent later. Wayne, you may already have some idea what this is.
Report to the main Division grounds. You have five minutes to comply.
The voice spoke with unequaled clarity in the mind of each and every Blood Templar, a calm but firm order from the Captain herself. While many of the newer recruits and additions to the ranks looked at each other in momentary confusion and the paranoid query of whether others had heard the voice as well, those who had been in the presence of the Templar Queen more directly simply stood to follow the instruction.
There were no alarms as before, no pealing din to resound throughout the Gotei to alert others of what was to come.
On the main common grounds of her Division, Tsubaki stood waiting. There was no grand stage, no elevated platform or pedestal to hold the Captain above those she commanded. Such a gesture would have been in poor taste to say the least, and a monumental step backwards if she wanted her plans to succeed. Within moments she would know who among her ranks would choose to stand at her side, and who would not. Of course, the Captain had planned careful contingency for both scenarios, but it did little to stymie her nerves.
Sleep had been a rare and nearly unobtainable luxury in the days before this, before the Captain literally staked everything she had worked for and her very life on the plan that was now set to unfold. Her skin was pale, to say nothing of the nearly exhausted features on her face. The crown of ebony locks that normally carried itself in sheer elegance around her countenance was frazzled and messy. The choker that so wonderfully matched her hair color grew more irksome by the day, sometimes itching with no hope for relief, some days content to merely sear the skin underneath it.
It had to stop. It all had to stop.
And she would stop it today.
Additional note
I'm expecting all the regulars, but I'd also like to see Switch (if you're reading this Tom), Issaru, and the BT that have somewhat fallen by the wayside. Get posting.
The lieutenant had a habit of blending with the crowd during Division meetings. From his first gathering with the Eleventh to the one before they set off into Hueco Mundo, he always remained by the sidelines until he saw the right opportunity to talk. He liked to watch the movements of his comrades whilst away from the spotlight, observing and detailing their every gesture. This time was different, however. Kyuketsu made sure he came as early as possible, walking alongside a few other Templars whom he met along the way. He strode closer towards the Captain, pausing only when he knew nobody else could possibly block his view.
He looked intently at Tsubaki, noting even the minutest of features which defined her current state. She appeared tired and weary—as expected of someone who was about to deliver news of such colossal proportions. Kyuketsu crossed his arms as he locked sights with the Queen, and yet he said not a single word. There was reason for them, after all. All that was needed to be said was already given during their last private conversation. Now, the Vice-Captain simply had to witness and see how the woman’s plan would play out.
Tetsuo was actually quite far from Tsubaki. He stood atop a nearby rooftop, sat in a very nonchalant manner while observing the gathering of his division comrades.
Judging from his past experiences, Tsubaki had a certain penchant for talking loudly, even shouting, when addressing the entirety of the division, which would make the task of hearing her words quite an easy one.
With that knowledge in hand, Tetsuo could only wait for Tsubaki to start her speech. That and smoke some cigarettes while the slower division members took their sweet time to reach the commons.
The co-third seat was, as always, announced by the powerful aroma of tobacco laced with cinnamon. Zak was surprised at the surroundings, Captain Tsubaki often stood upon something like a stage in order to see the whole of the gathered Templar. This was meerly a gathering upon the main grounds of the division, perhaps she was surprising everyone with another trip to the beach. He let out a breath of dark smoke that caused a few of the more whiny shinigami coughed to make a statement, as though he might care.
"Vice Captain." He saluted and took the cigar from his mouth.
"Captain," He bowed deeply (without his damned collar forcing him to). "what brings us here today?"
For the sake of moving ahead assume Hotaru, Arashi, Kuromichi, Hinome and Hayashi are present.
"A choice."
The words left her lips with all the might and authority the Haori upon her back demanded, commanding as much attention and heed as it had upon the shoulders of the men and women that wore it before her. "In recent months, how many times have we been sent blindly into impossible situations?"
The question was directed to everyone and no one at all, if such a thing could truly exist. Rather than wait for tens or possibly even hundreds of voices to begin prattling, she continued.
"How many of our fellow soldiers, our friends, have died?"
Again, her words resumed without seamlessly, not missing a single step in their intensity and eloquence.
"How many more will not be here with us in a week? A month? How many more will be unable to fight at their peak against an enemy that stands firmly atop theirs?" The augmented blood in her veins raced like lightning, and burned with the same fiery intensity the Templar Queen brandished against her foes. It was unspoken, but only because it was unmistakable. Every man and woman that called themselves a Blood Templar was able to and was feeling it as well.
"Constant observation. Restriction. Unabashed bondage of what we are, and what we do." The twin leonine irises that had bore back without fear, without hesitation into the faces of an endless number of foes, now looked out upon those in her command.
"They watch. They watch, and they demand. They watch, and they do NOTHING, and they carry the unrivaled GALL to demand." Each peak in her fervor, each heightened shout of purpose echoed across the silent audience like a thunderclap, not one erring to waver.
"They will watch us die, and they will demand we die."
Her right hand slowly moved to the silver halberd at her back. "I am not afraid to die. But not here. Not like this....and not for them."
I stand before you today as a Captain and as a woman. As both I care about each of you, and it is that care that does not allow me to simply wait. To simply demand.
Or to simply watch you die.
"For months I have worked to secure our freedom. To remove the shackles that stop us from doing our job. Shackles that keep the balance from being restored."
"The day has come to remove them. If such a thing is possible I will accomplish it without spilling the blood of the Central Forty-Six, or any other citizen of Soul Society or Rukongai...regardless of their means. However...if they will not bend, or if they endanger the lives of my friends and my people..."
The look in her eyes grew deadly serious, to say nothing of the intense ferocity it had carried before.
"...then I will forever more mark them as my enemy."
It was actually the first time Hinome could see the Captain from that close.
Standing in the courtyard, within the entire division, she was not able to fight the cold weight in her chest. At first, she thought it was simply admiration and thrill for being in the presence of the woman she admired so much. It was what she expected to feel in front of a legend.
But that would be an naïve assumption.
Yet, she couldn’t help feeling so small... Hinome was not as experienced and battle forged as most part of her fellow Templars. No scars of war were carved on her soul. She didn’t even know if she could bear the title of a Blood Templar herself. There were no losses of loved ones on the path she had trailed so far, or situations that were bigger than herself. She was ashamed for not being able to fully understand the grief her Captain was bearing and which, with such brutal honesty, she exposed in front of her underlings.
"Mabara-taichou...”
Still, a feeling they shared. Hinome knew in her heart the resolve of protecting her people. The humanly ache caused by the simple thought of losing the ones she cared about. That was the reason she was there, wearing black robes, holding a sword; to shield them from harm. The trembling girl could quite understand the unimaginable sacrifices her Captain would accept to endure to do so.
Something vast and dreadful is coming...
In that moment, Hinome could truthfully understand the cold clutch in her heart.
She could probably instill some sense of urgency or awe on those that weren't accustomed to such situations by mere use of her bravado, her eloquence (which, mind you, had evolved immensely compared to her past self) and her passionate speech. Yet, there were those who were far more experienced than others, and to those, she was still nothing but carefully chosen words so far.
However, Tetsuo wasn't a fool or an arrogant man. He would give her the benefit of doubt, mainly because he had not participated in the last Gotei-wide mission she spoke of. Besides, she had just begun to talk; maybe the juicy bits were reserved for later?
All in all, he sincerely hoped that she would prove to be more than talk.
Hinome was pushed away from her thoughts by a sudden shove from a buffed guy that was almost twice her size. More people tried to approach the Captain so they could see with their eyes what their ears could only hear. With an absolute lack of gallantry, another man pushed her against the other watchers, taking her place.
"Hey!" she tried.
The man ignored her and kept talking to his companion. Both bulk and scarred. Their shoulder plates and gauntlets had drips of red on them, blood for sure. It looked fresh. The smell of sweat and the lashes on their faces foretold that they had recently arrived from a violent mission. Did they lose someone -or something- in there?
Resigned to give up her spot, Hinome sighed and drifted through the crowd clump to reach better spot. Agile and quick stepped, she pushed her way as gently as possible, overhearing several comments within her fellowmen...
"...what else would she expect? Clemency?”
"...our division has been carrying a heavy burden, for which no one cares!”
"...the Soutaichou is a fuckin’ Kidou master.... He doesn’t give a shit about our burden!”
"...but it will bring ruin upon us... It will...”
"...this is insurrection... We can’t brandish our swords against the Central...”
"...but Mabara-taichou is right! We’re being played like pawns for too long!”
...
"...but listen... Isn’t our duty to risk our lives to protect our people?”
That simple man’s words hijacked Hinome’s attention. He was right. It was their duty. Wasn’t it? But if it was, why, deep within her heart, something felt like being not quite right?
"Huh?”
Lost in her thoughts, Hinome pushed the void. Like under a shock whip, she turned her head and realized that she had passed the front row and was only few steps from pushing the Captain herself. Mortified, she smiled vaguely and discreetly stepped back, praying for not being noticed. Yet, from that close, her intrigued eyes were locked in the Captain.
"Now, now," said a rich, refined voice from the back of the crowd, "Tsubaki, my dear girl, you must not rush into these things blindly and out of anger. You could get hurt. The Division...the Division you have brought back to glory, would not survive. Actions such as this, Tsubaki, ones with consequences great and resounding can drive even the closest of friends apart."
James stood up, for he had been leaning elegantly against a low stone wall, and walked forward. He glanced briefly at the direction of Tetsuo and could see, for all their difference, the same unease and suspicion written across the other man's face. Their Captain, like all her predecessors it seemed, was about to bite off more than she could safely chew. Tsubaki was a fine young woman, James knew that very well; a powerful shinigami but an action like this could cause her to lose what little of herself was left in there.
"Though I cannot say I disagree with you," he finished is his rich, deep voice. Even still, the distinct air of "but" hung thick in the atmosphere around the elder man.
Silence seemed to settle in for a few moments. In those choking moments, one Arashi Ryoujin found himself to be out of place.
Like James, the feeling was mutual for some others. A stifling uneasiness and doubt seemed to linger around a good number of Templars. How long had Tsubaki been planning to carry out something like this? And what exactly were they going to do? After all, they couldn't just barge in the Central 46's doorsteps and ask for them to step down. If it were that simple, then it would have probably been done a millenia ago.
Taking a quick survey of the immediate area, he noticed this mutual feeling and shook his head before finally raising his voice.
"Eh, I understand where you're coming from, and it may lead to consequences... but no one said we have to do this. We've got a choice. Tsubaki's always been there for us in Tokyo... and in Hueco Mundo," he began, staring momentarily at the cursed amulet around his neck. "And she makes a good point. I don't know what her plan is exactly, but if no one is willing to support her, then I will."
Even if his movements were limited at the moment, the pink-haired youth wasn't about to allow his Captain to lead a revolt alone. To the eyes of many, maybe it was not the most logical and safest thing to go about doing (hell, he even knew that this was a pretty ballsy move), but he had been prepared for something like this for a while. Kyuketsu had already questioned him about it before, and he had made his intentions clear back then. The only question that lingered in his mind now though was whether or not the lieutenant, Tetsuo, Zakeriah, and some others would raise their swords against the Court that they swore allegiance to if it were to escalate to that. No matter what choice they would make though, Ryoujin had already made his.
He still didn’t say anything. Despite the many rhetoric placed by his comrades, Kyuketsu didn’t bother to speak his own regarding the matter. Besides, he had already made himself clear to Tsubaki even before the meeting began. The Vice-Captain already said what he needed to, and would not utter another word about the issue. Though Ryoujin was quick to jump by the Queen’s side, Kyuketsu was still very much on the fence about the entire affair. And by on the fence, he only needed to see a single nudge from either party to finally pick a side. Either he would side with Tsubaki or with the ruling nobles, the deciding factor to his wildcard complex would come as swift and instantaneous.
He gave a bouncing glance to all who were there, starting from Ryoujin to Zakeriah to Amaya. And finally, he laid a firm sight on the former lieutenant of the Eleventh in the far distance. Kanzaki Tetsuo had apparently been back for some time now, but not once since his homecoming did he and his successor exchange words. Kyuketsu could only wonder what was going on inside that man’s head... aside from Tsubaki’s plan, among other things.
Someone spoke, someone Zak did not recognize, someone that shops have been thankful they were not within his reach. "You do not address the Captain so informally." He spoke to James, he did not shout but the Third Seat spoke with such a deadly edge to his voice that it cut through any din and right to its target. His words were accentuated by an exhaled cloud of smoke and a flaring of embers at the end of his cigar. "I don't care how familiar you believe yourself to be, if I have to tell you again I will be far less pleasant about it." He shifted his gaze back toward Tsubaki then looked over the soldiers in the crowd. He was the formal trainer for most of the younger soldiers and almost all but the newest knew him.
"I stand with the Captain against whoever she deems our enemy. I have trained many of you to do the same and I expect you to honor your division and teachers. Our duty is, as always, to be the sword of the Soul Society against anyone that may threaten it. Captain Tsubaki is the hand that guides this sword. If any of you did not trust her then you should not be here in the first place." Of course if anyone actually stood and left right now he'd cut them down before they took more than a few steps, but then, anyone that trained with him probably knew that...
Rumors and voices rose from every corner of the audience. There was a commotion of doubts and allegiances sworn to the liege of the Templars. A scent of turmoil could be noticed inside the soldiers. Hinome was standing on the tip of her feet, trying to see the man who had just spoken.
But it is not the point... Can’t he realize it?
Reaching as high as she could, Hinome saw, across many heads, a stark looking face of a man she never formally introduced to, but she knew who he was.
Third Seat Zakeriah...
The Third Seat's reputation dismissed any further introduction. She heard that he was the kind of man who would not tolerate taints within the values of the division and would brandish his sword against anyone who wouldn’t abide by them. He was seen as a zealot by many. It only swollen the ache in her heart, full of doubts.
"Yeah, I could get hurt." Her eyes singled out the man who had emerged from the throngs of others apparently only to condescend her and the endless thought and planning that had gone into the moment they now shared. "And if I wanted to be spoken to like that, I would already be in the judge's chambers, boy."
"People can get hurt, maybe even killed. That's why each and every one of you is here. Because you have a choice." The temporary ire in her eyes retreated, just as the Captain's focus drifted back towards the crowd as a whole. "What I plan to do will be labeled many things. Protest at the very least...and treason at the very worst. I am your Captain, but I am not going to order a single one of you to stand at my side in this against your will."
"If you choose to do nothing, if you choose to simply walk away and return to your individual quarters there will be no reprisal, no negative consequence from your action. However, I will insist that you remain there until this operation is concluded, for better or for worse." The reasoning was sound enough, given the magnitude of what she was about to do the Forty-Six would surely want to round up any other Templar if the plan backfired. If those who decided not to participate were confined to their quarters it would at least give them a fair shot at being reassigned rather than imprisoned.
"I did not come to this plan lightly, nor should any of you. All I can ask you to do is what you believe is right. I am not out to shed blood today, or even brandish a weapon if things go as I hope. No matter how much they think themselves our masters, they need us...now more than ever. And I intend to remind them of that."
Treason or not the Third Seat didn't bother to answer the Captain's call for his answer was known. The mocha skinned man had never questioned Tsubaki's orders even when those of higher rank did. Instead he carried his gaze over the crowd and those that might not simply be questioning this course but actually considering Turing against the Templar Queen. Tsubaki might be willing to allow the cowards among them to hide under their covers and wait until the storm had passed but Zakeriah would know their faces and that would prove the end of it.
"Quite a scary and unnecessary glare you have there, Zakeriah-san."
The man, who was standing away from the crowd just moments before, was now within the inner circle closer to the Captain, where most of her higher seated subordinates stood. His movements seen only by a few, his unmistakable presence felt surely by them all.
"You'd do well in learning how to best follow the wishes of your Captain if you are to be loyal to her. She said that those who do not agree with her are to be spared from reproach, did she not? I believe she expects you to heed her words as much as I do.”
Tetsuo allowed a moment for his words, and their meaning, to sink in. He hoped his peer would take them to heart. He really did. Regardless, he soon directed his glance, and words, to the woman in the spotlight - Tsubaki.
"You're asking far too much of them, Tsubaki, and explaining far too little. As you said, you did not plan this overnight, and neither are your motives something that you just recently came across. You expect your subordinates to make a choice without having time to think the consequences through?
As I see it, the majority of people here would be compelled to follow a group sense of camaraderie, a foolish emotion of unity, and throw themselves into the fire for something they barely understand. Aren't you tipping the scales towards your favor a little bit too much?"
He didn't mean to oppose her, but merely allow her to see. Not all of those standing there were forged through steel, fire and betrayal as she had been. Her speech wouldn't move them, not like this.
"You're right, I suppose." The ironclad resolve softened, if only for a slight moment. "In reality, all any of you will have to do is go to a certain location...and just stand there. These past few months I've had a select few members of my Division out rallying the citizens of Rukongai to march on the noble families."
"To this end, I'm going to have members of the Blood Templar present outside the gates of each and every noble house, their purpose there is as a neutral party." Sensing more than a few confused glances in the crowd, the Captain continued. "You are not to harm either the citizens of Rukongai, or the guards of the estates. I am not deploying my people to start a war, merely to be an active presence while I negotiate with the Forty-Six."
"Which reminds me..." Tsubaki paused, turning towards one of the seemingly unoccupied Division buildings behind her. "I know you're there, Akihiko, and I know you've been listening."
Inside the offices a startled yelp cut the silence, followed with several hurried footsteps of bare feet against lacquered wood. A bony hand opened the door as its owner stepped out into the courtyard. He was small and frail looking, but had a very gaunt meanness to his features that any member of the rodent family would be rather envious of. "You-you're damn right I have! Captain, this is..this is going too far!"
"Not your decision to make. You are their eyes and ears in this Division, not their voice. However, for the time being you can be my voice to them. Run to the judge's chambers and tell them I am coming to speak with them. I will not be armed, and I am not going to harm them."
Unless they make me. The thought was hers alone, and a sobering one at that.
The man departed without another word, running hastily around and out of sight of the accumulated Shinigami. Turning her eyes and attention back towards the crowd, Tsubaki seemed to wear a strange sense of calm on her features where anger had lingered moments before.
"It would seem I need to get going, before he has enough time to send their guards after me." Giving Kyuketsu a slight nod, the Templar Queen started to walk slowly towards the crowd. "If you choose to follow me you need only stand and keep the peace between the wealthy and the poor. Asuka will assign you a house, and from there its only a matter of arriving there quickly."
The soldiers began to part around her as she walked, some still wearing the same puzzled expressions they had moments before. In truth, Tsubaki had told them as much as she possibly could about what was certain to lie ahead. The rest, and more specifically the act of dealing with the Forty-Six itself, was a much more dangerous and malleable future.
That was why it fell to her.
[494/1,614]
Note
Not my final WC for the week but Tsubaki is leaving this thread pdq. Talk amongst/between yourselves, have conflict if you wanna, but this one wraps this week.
The Captain had passed right beside her. The sleeves of their garments touched each other for a brief moment. In that ephemeral proximity, Hinome could feel the depth of the abyssal gap that parted them away. It felt like her heart skipped a beat and her lungs stopped. Something mute but overwhelming ran through her existence, rendering it in cold torpor.
Get a hold on yourself, stupid...
Her eyes rolled to the man who had just spoken to the Captain; he was standing right next to her. His words still lingered in her thoughts. There was some kind of discreet grandeur on his presence, for even the Third Seat, Zakeriah didn’t dare to glare at him as he did towards the others. Something about that man whispered the many ghosts of the several blood-bathed battles he had gone through. He had to have enough depth of authority to address the Captain like that! Hinome just wondered about who he was. His words expressed how she felt for, even after the Captain’s words of explanation, there were many questions she still wanted to make. But she too afraid of making them...
What kind of negotiations is Mabara-taichou intending to make...? Why do the Templars need to step up in Rukongai as vigils? There is something about the harmless manoeuvre that is not being told here.
Hinome’s eyes settled on another group of Templars that stood not that far from her and realized that they had also just arrived from a rough mission. They still had blood on their faces. There was a really young boy with them. He had red soaked bandages covering his left eye and part of his face. She noticed the placid smile on his lips as he stood proudly amongst his peers.
"It is dangerous what we do. We are very likely to die when we cross the go out on a mission...” she mused, speaking her thoughts louder than she should. "But regardless by who we are sent against the dread... if we don’t fulfill our duty, who will?”
"Oi! That's a good question, but not the right mindset to have," he began. "If we don't carry out our duties, then there are other shinigami who will. We all have our own reasons that drive us to carry out the things that we do. I'm sure you have one yourself. Tsubaki taught me that and made sure I remembered it. Those that have worked under and trained with her will also step up. She has had an influence on a lot of soul reapers than ya think, even outside of this Division," Ryoujin replied to Hinome's question. He seemed to stare at the Templar Queen as she made her way through the crowd - her figure seeming to swell with conviction. Tetsuo had done well to question her earlier, but if she was about to go to the Central 46's doorsteps and even have them be notified about it, either she's as reckless as I am or she's really thought this through enough, Ryoujin thought.
Well not much I can do at this point. Turning (and chartwheeling) to look at the woman once more that had voiced aloud her thoughts earlier, recognition showed. A part of this girl reminded him of Hotaru back when she had joined the division - filled with doubt and innocence. If she stayed here, she would be thoroughly tested... just like he was.
"All the more reason though of why we can't fail."
Smiling warmly at the new recruit, he continued, "I'm assuming that we're overseeing noble houses because of their influence and ties with the Central," the pink-haired youth continued. "I guess acting as peacekeepers between the Rukongai citizens and the nobles was not what I had in mind, but something tells me we're going to need to watch over them." Or it could be something far worse, he thought, understanding the implications behind Tsubaki's explanation after having heard about the reports of the United Kanda and other insurrections taking place in the Rukongai districts. The thought was better left unsaid though; there was already enough strain amongst the ranks. Whenever shit hit the fan, they would be the first ones to know...guaranteed.
Hinome stared at the officer with composed bafflement. Well, maybe his behaviour was as eccentric as the pink color of his hair but his words were reasonable. It was true that their division did not carry - or have to carry - the burden of Soul Society by themselves. But, even from her humble, inexperienced, point of view, Hinome could not picture the Central Forty-Six cutting them any slack. Because life just didn’t. As long as there was darkness and evil within the worlds, there would always be violence, death and sorrow.
...but is righteous to say that the people in Rukongai will need us there to shelter them from whatever may come out from our insurrection. If things really are as Mabara-taichou just said, violence will invade our walls and the civilian streets. Our protection will be needed.
A frost bite clutched her heart when she thought of her grandfather and her friends in Jurinan. If things went wrong, as they probably could, they would also be affected by the skirmish. "...I just wonder,” she started, addressing the pink haired fellowman, "if the civilians in Rukongai might get caught in the crossfire...” she made a heart felt pause, "... then just how fair is our protest?”
