Chapter 1: The Old And The New
"Kyaaaaa, this blows hard," a youth bitterly exclaimed. Garbed in entirely black robes, a mask obscuring his face, he kicked aside a pebble in frustration.
"Relax," murmured the juvenile man's companion, in a soft and even younger tone. He was clad in the same uniform, though hooded and sans mask, a shadowy visage was all that could be seen.
"I can't help it!" screamed the other, leaping up into the air to further signify his internal anguish. "What else can I do? I mean, look..."
Sighing, his partner refused to listen to the rest of his 'friend's' diatribe. More or less, he would complain about being given such a meager duty when they, members of the Keigun, a high and prestigious faction within the Gotei, should be within Seireitei aiding the Shinigami in tracking the Ryoka. After all, they were experts at such a task. Their life's work focused upon looming within the Court of Pure Souls, remaining relatively in the shadows, enforcing the law. So why not do their actual job, instead of patrolling the Bloodstone Gates surrounding the City?
To be frank, the more immature of the two didn't know anything.
Genki Daitokuji was a fresh recruit in the Keigun. Or rather, he was relatively new. He was accepted into the ranks several months ago. Further upping the standard for the police force's inductees, he was flawless in every tested rank. The son of a great squad's leader Genki was raised to be as such; to not be accepted into the Keigun would mean disownment, or a fate similar to death. Constantly pushing himself to his limits, the young man was now eager to test his prowess. The only thing visible on the man's facade was his shining steel eyes, ablaze with determination.
However that left Genki under the care of a more experienced 'veteran'. Although physically appearing younger than the green soldier, Tian Cai contained knowledge well beyond his stature seemed to dictate. Roughly his body was that of a thirteen year old- but the truth was he had been alive for well over a century, learning, watching time pass by. Tian Cai's 'lone wolf' persona didn't bode too well with many of his superiors and peers, so he was assigned to someone whom he would be forced to get along with. He knew all too well of Genki's situation. Like the youth's name dictated, he was robust, full of energy, invigorated through the core with the passion of his duties.
The hooded Tian Cai was indifferent; he was more suited to sitting back in the shadows, preferring to wage mental wars. At times he thought that was why he was inducted to the Keigun instead of-
"Are you even listening?!?" hissed Genki, interrupting Tian Cai's dwellings.
"Yes," his shining auburn eyes shied away from the attentive gaze of Genki's. "You find it insulting to us that we're relegated to such a lowly task as 'patrol'."
"Exactly, man, you seem like such a space cadet sometimes." The mentally younger of the two folded his arms behind his head, huffing with disdain. Characters like Tian Cai were a let down; their dreary 'keep to yourself' attitude only frustrated him, for expressing yourself was something that Genki held vital to living. "You know that there's going to be nothing out here... all the action is within Seireitei, with those four Ryoka floating around. There's only four of them for crying out loud! We could-"
"Be in there, finding all of them before those Shinigami could. Am I correct?" Tian Cai finished Genki's apparent statement. He didn't need to listen to his partner, hence his mind roaming elsewhere. Genki was easier to read than an open book. That and he showed no respect for his superior; it reminded him greatly of someone he knew well.
"Yeah! Can you believe this?! I want to be in there, not out here... this is ridiculous. Show me the action, not some pointless duty that some other bumbling Shinigami could do. We're protecting empty areas of Rukongai!" The fire within the masked man's eyes flared momentarily, as he gripped the Zanpakutou to his side, his knuckles turning white.
"You've heard of diversions, correct?" Tian Cai lazily turned his head to his partner. "What if, just perchance, that these Ryoka are only here to throw us in disarray. While another force, far greater than four outsiders, is waiting for us to run around as if we were headless chickens. Which is where we come in, along with the others relegated to this task- Soutaichou Amagawa Sougen-sama and the other Captains have assigned their own forces to mobilize, whereas the rest of the Gotei is performing their normal routine." The hooded man sighed heavily; Genki was far too caught up in the prospect of action to think of the larger picture. Though it made him smile underneath his darkened visage. The exuberant partner of his, in all their time together, reminded him greatly of Jinsoku sometimes...
"Oh," halted Genki, having finally soaked in the obvious. "But still! The likelihood of that is nil. The Hollow Army is almost nonexistent after the Battle of Ultimo Crepsculo. The eventuality that Vizards would want to send in Ryoka, let alone work with others besides their own stature, is infeasible. So... what I'm thinking is that these Ryoka are here for... is that they're part of a Rogue group of Shinigami. Perhaps those that Shinkou Masaru led?"
"Interesting theory," smirked Tian Cai. For once the green recruit was thinking... and that was a good thing. The similarity to Jin was becoming more and more apparent. "Though that's highly doubtful. One of the men who left with former Soutaichou Shinkou-sama, the ex Captain of the Tenth, Jinsoku, is one of my great and old friends from the Academy. There's no possible way that he would suddenly turn against Seireitei... let alone Shinkou-sama and the others. That is for certain," his voice left the childish preteen tone he normally carried and entered one of confidence. His hazel eyes locked with Genki's for a moment, their nearly frozen exterior seeming to radiate with positive and vibrant feelings.
"I'll believe you..." the rookie murmured, never seeing the usually cold superior of his speak with utmost certainty. "But man! I really wanted to see how Daikiri here fared against others..." a downtrodden voice of his trailed off, tapping the Zanpakutou at his side.
"Easy killer," the veteran began walking, continuing their patrol around the perimeter of Seireitei. A light smile was now gracing his features; the straightforwardness and fight lust of Genki truly did remind him of Jin sometimes. "Let's actually hope that we won't have to encounter anything too serious- remember, the Gotei is in chaos due to so many Captains taking their leave, and our numbers having been thinned since the Battle of Ultimo Crepsculo. The new Soutaichou, Amagawa Sougen-sama, is a strong individual. But personally, all the strength in the world holds little value if there isn't any morale. I sincerely wish that we don't encounter anything out of our control."
The prayers of Tian Cai would not be heard or so it seemed. For blaring through the empty areas of the First Districts of Rukongai, an eerie fanfare of a trumpet could be heard billowing- cutting through the silence.
"Kyaaaaa, this blows hard," a youth bitterly exclaimed. Garbed in entirely black robes, a mask obscuring his face, he kicked aside a pebble in frustration.
"Relax," murmured the juvenile man's companion, in a soft and even younger tone. He was clad in the same uniform, though hooded and sans mask, a shadowy visage was all that could be seen.
"I can't help it!" screamed the other, leaping up into the air to further signify his internal anguish. "What else can I do? I mean, look..."
Sighing, his partner refused to listen to the rest of his 'friend's' diatribe. More or less, he would complain about being given such a meager duty when they, members of the Keigun, a high and prestigious faction within the Gotei, should be within Seireitei aiding the Shinigami in tracking the Ryoka. After all, they were experts at such a task. Their life's work focused upon looming within the Court of Pure Souls, remaining relatively in the shadows, enforcing the law. So why not do their actual job, instead of patrolling the Bloodstone Gates surrounding the City?
To be frank, the more immature of the two didn't know anything.
Genki Daitokuji was a fresh recruit in the Keigun. Or rather, he was relatively new. He was accepted into the ranks several months ago. Further upping the standard for the police force's inductees, he was flawless in every tested rank. The son of a great squad's leader Genki was raised to be as such; to not be accepted into the Keigun would mean disownment, or a fate similar to death. Constantly pushing himself to his limits, the young man was now eager to test his prowess. The only thing visible on the man's facade was his shining steel eyes, ablaze with determination.
However that left Genki under the care of a more experienced 'veteran'. Although physically appearing younger than the green soldier, Tian Cai contained knowledge well beyond his stature seemed to dictate. Roughly his body was that of a thirteen year old- but the truth was he had been alive for well over a century, learning, watching time pass by. Tian Cai's 'lone wolf' persona didn't bode too well with many of his superiors and peers, so he was assigned to someone whom he would be forced to get along with. He knew all too well of Genki's situation. Like the youth's name dictated, he was robust, full of energy, invigorated through the core with the passion of his duties.
The hooded Tian Cai was indifferent; he was more suited to sitting back in the shadows, preferring to wage mental wars. At times he thought that was why he was inducted to the Keigun instead of-
"Are you even listening?!?" hissed Genki, interrupting Tian Cai's dwellings.
"Yes," his shining auburn eyes shied away from the attentive gaze of Genki's. "You find it insulting to us that we're relegated to such a lowly task as 'patrol'."
"Exactly, man, you seem like such a space cadet sometimes." The mentally younger of the two folded his arms behind his head, huffing with disdain. Characters like Tian Cai were a let down; their dreary 'keep to yourself' attitude only frustrated him, for expressing yourself was something that Genki held vital to living. "You know that there's going to be nothing out here... all the action is within Seireitei, with those four Ryoka floating around. There's only four of them for crying out loud! We could-"
"Be in there, finding all of them before those Shinigami could. Am I correct?" Tian Cai finished Genki's apparent statement. He didn't need to listen to his partner, hence his mind roaming elsewhere. Genki was easier to read than an open book. That and he showed no respect for his superior; it reminded him greatly of someone he knew well.
"Yeah! Can you believe this?! I want to be in there, not out here... this is ridiculous. Show me the action, not some pointless duty that some other bumbling Shinigami could do. We're protecting empty areas of Rukongai!" The fire within the masked man's eyes flared momentarily, as he gripped the Zanpakutou to his side, his knuckles turning white.
"You've heard of diversions, correct?" Tian Cai lazily turned his head to his partner. "What if, just perchance, that these Ryoka are only here to throw us in disarray. While another force, far greater than four outsiders, is waiting for us to run around as if we were headless chickens. Which is where we come in, along with the others relegated to this task- Soutaichou Amagawa Sougen-sama and the other Captains have assigned their own forces to mobilize, whereas the rest of the Gotei is performing their normal routine." The hooded man sighed heavily; Genki was far too caught up in the prospect of action to think of the larger picture. Though it made him smile underneath his darkened visage. The exuberant partner of his, in all their time together, reminded him greatly of Jinsoku sometimes...
"Oh," halted Genki, having finally soaked in the obvious. "But still! The likelihood of that is nil. The Hollow Army is almost nonexistent after the Battle of Ultimo Crepsculo. The eventuality that Vizards would want to send in Ryoka, let alone work with others besides their own stature, is infeasible. So... what I'm thinking is that these Ryoka are here for... is that they're part of a Rogue group of Shinigami. Perhaps those that Shinkou Masaru led?"
"Interesting theory," smirked Tian Cai. For once the green recruit was thinking... and that was a good thing. The similarity to Jin was becoming more and more apparent. "Though that's highly doubtful. One of the men who left with former Soutaichou Shinkou-sama, the ex Captain of the Tenth, Jinsoku, is one of my great and old friends from the Academy. There's no possible way that he would suddenly turn against Seireitei... let alone Shinkou-sama and the others. That is for certain," his voice left the childish preteen tone he normally carried and entered one of confidence. His hazel eyes locked with Genki's for a moment, their nearly frozen exterior seeming to radiate with positive and vibrant feelings.
"I'll believe you..." the rookie murmured, never seeing the usually cold superior of his speak with utmost certainty. "But man! I really wanted to see how Daikiri here fared against others..." a downtrodden voice of his trailed off, tapping the Zanpakutou at his side.
"Easy killer," the veteran began walking, continuing their patrol around the perimeter of Seireitei. A light smile was now gracing his features; the straightforwardness and fight lust of Genki truly did remind him of Jin sometimes. "Let's actually hope that we won't have to encounter anything too serious- remember, the Gotei is in chaos due to so many Captains taking their leave, and our numbers having been thinned since the Battle of Ultimo Crepsculo. The new Soutaichou, Amagawa Sougen-sama, is a strong individual. But personally, all the strength in the world holds little value if there isn't any morale. I sincerely wish that we don't encounter anything out of our control."
The prayers of Tian Cai would not be heard or so it seemed. For blaring through the empty areas of the First Districts of Rukongai, an eerie fanfare of a trumpet could be heard billowing- cutting through the silence.
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