He closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Shaking his head, Kyuketsu turned to the men and women of his division. He looked at them with the same perceiving gaze as with that of the Captain’s. Shifting his sights amongst the crowd, his vision locked on to Asuka as he made his way towards her. The Vice-Captain stood before the young lady, holding with him a firm look of conviction.
"Give me a name,” he said—his tone flat and monotonous.
Hesitant at first, the stewardess nonetheless handed the lieutenant a piece of paper with the details inscribed within. He slid the parchment into his pockets as the swordsman began walking away. Giving one last glance to the rest of his division-mates, he raised his voice and spoke up to all of them, "As the Captain said: you are all free to pick whichever road you choose to tread. Follow her at your own discretion. I’m only going to prevent any unnecessary casualties between the nobles and the Rukon citizens. Whether you choose to stand with her or with the Forty-Six, that’s your call. I never promised the Captain anything... and neither should any of you.”
"Well when ya put it that way, it really isn't fair at all. That's why we'll be there. To prevent something like that from happening," Ryoujin cooly replied, noticing Hinome's bewildered expression at seeing him cartwheel. Although he would have liked to explain the idiosyncracy right then and there, now wasn't exactly the most opportune time to do so.
"And like Kyuketsu said, you shouldn't feel obligated to do this if it doesn't sit well with you."
Cartwheeling his way up to Asuka, he took a slip of paper and pocketed it within his shihakushou. He didn't really like dealing with any affairs involving nobles, but that was just the way it was going to be.
Facing Tetsuo, Hinome, Zakeriah, Hayashi, and other Templars that he could make out amongst the crowd, Ryoujin locked gazes with each of them. The gravity of their predicament had already settled in, and it was primarily up to them to decide how far they would be willing to take this. As he opened his mouth to say something, he stopped himself. Although minuscule in comparison to the more hefty soldiers of the Gotei, the boy's face was unmistakable. Sure enough, shoving his way through a crowd, an irritated medic struggled to locate his charge.
"Guess it's back to the wards for me. My caretaker's probably gonna have my head," the pink-haired Templar said to them. "See ya around, yeah?"
Without further notice and before the young healer could advance on him, the co-third seat made his leave as well, disappearing behind the many structures of the Eleventh's compound with a series of half-assed cartwheels. As eccentric and light-hearted as his demeanor may have been at that moment though, an unusually troublesome feeling weighed down on him.
Sure he had perhaps the worst luck of all time, but first Earth, then Hueco Mundo, and now his own turf? This pattern of trouble seemed to be more than just a coincidence.
Well, it seems that Tsubaki got some really good followers after all. Still, that speech could've been better...
His thoughts didn't betray the movents of the rugged man. Making his way towards Asuka, Tetsuo mimicked the actions of the vice-captain, and merely asked for a name. Once it had been delivered to him, the current co-third seat of the division turned on his heels and addressed the young, seemingly quite troubled, blonde girl.
"Fairness has nothing to do with this, girl. If you keep thinking about that, I’m afraid you’ll never unsheathe your sword again.”
He offered no morals or explanations to his words before walking away, nodding even so slightly to James as he left the commons. The old man deserved respect for surviving that long while serving the Eleventh and Tetsuo could swear that he had been sent on one or two missions alongside him. Regardless, the times ahead seemed... promising, if anything.
I'll trust you this time, Tsubaki. For old time's sake, you better make it worth my while...
That man’s words ran through her head like a gust. He, and most of the other men and women, did not seem to be afraid of the coming storm. At all. How many dreadful wars they had been through? She could not tell. But she was afraid. She wondered if she would be able to stand up strong, as they surely would, or if she would be wiped out by the riptide.
Hinome was not able to ease her nervous visage as she saw high several ranked officers parade in front of her, receiving their assignments. By the other hand, she also saw groups of shinigami, most of them as low ranked as her, discreetly walking away. A gentle tap on her shoulder, brought her attention to the young man next to her. Hinome’s teal eyes met the familiar face of a red haired colleague she knew since her Academy days.
"Oh, hi, Benimaru-kun...” she greeted, with a polite smile.
"Miyamori-san, we better get to the barracks...” he muttered, discreetly. "This things is totally out of our league. Leave it alone for the high ranks... Me and the guys are going aleady.”
Looking past him, she saw a two scared looking familiar faces. She waved discreetly at them.
"I’ll meet you there soon,” she replied, tapping Benimaru’s shoulder.
"M’kay! See ya there,” he said, giving thumbs up.
Hinome simply nodded, vaguely.
As she saw them disappearing within the crowd, Hinome felt an uncomfortable weight in her heart. There weren’t many things she was sure of. But she knew that watching her fellowmen fight, and even die, for her sake would make her suffer. She had absolutely no doubts that seeing the people in Rukongai - her people - be hurt while she simply watched, would tear her apart.
"Yeah... I guess you’re right,” she whispered to herself, staring at a certain nameless man vanishing within the crowd, "it’s not a matter of fairness.”
As Hinome saw the large number of Templars getting their assignments, she foresaw the proportion that their actions would take. The uprising was official, now. Things would change. People would change. It scared.
She walked.
The magnitude of the incoming storm was beyond her understanding. She didn’t want to think about it. She was already walking. There was no looking back or hesitation. She was impelled.
Into the storm.
A firm resolved loomed in her eyes as she reached Asuka-san.
Zak exhaled another cloud of dark smoke and watched with no lack of humor as Ryoujin cartwheeled away after he finished speaking to the young blonde recruit. Indeed, the only reason he didn't burst out laughing was the simple fact that he needed to maintain his demeanor to the younger soldiers. The other new, if far more powerful, recruit made a good point to the young woman before collecting his own assignment and making his way through the crowd, much along the lines of what Zak might have said to her himself.
As the seated officers left the gathered Templars dispersed as well and Zak made his way over to Asuka. "I suppose I had better take mine as well." He smiled and took the slip of paper he offered. As he left he couldn't help but wonder what it was Tsubaki had in mind. While he would certainly be satisfied with crushing the talking heads like annoying gnats, it was another thing all together to have to take on the whole of the Court Guard Squads. He took another slow drag of his cigar before pitching it aside.
In the end he trusted Captain Tsubaki and hoped she would not lead them down the same road as the forty-six she sought to topple and engage her division in a hopeless battle. No, she would never allow that.
