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| - With his mothers words driving him on, Itazura entered the eleventh division barracks with Fox flanking him. He and she had only been away the guts of an hour and a half, yet the division was starting to come to life already despite the early hour. It couldn’t be anything much after four in the morning. The dojo’s where filling up with trainees and the seated officers who’d caught a break where starting to show their faces again. And so the day began. Huh. If only Itazura’s could end. Even an hour’s sleep would help him immeasurably. But he wasn’t going to complain about it. Sure, he wanted too, but he had an example to set now. As a seated officer (even if it was only the eleventh seat), he was expected to be an acceptable role model to the younger members of the division. Strange that. Ten years ago he was considered one of those younger members, and now he was a seated officer? Life was funny sometimes. He cut a path right through the heart of the division. He spoke to those he knew with a friendly but brief tone, encouraged those he knew to be recent recruits, and generally ensured them that the latest onset of assignments would slow eventually. He only stopped when he stood in-front of the office his father frequently used. ‘I was wondering when you’d show up,’ Tadashi greeted when they entered. ‘Sorry, didn’t se you there, Fox. Come in, and make yourselves at home.’ God he looked a wreck! Itazura was used to seeing his father, Tadashi Kori, dishevelled. Seeing the Captain Tadashi Kori that way though took him by surprise. His red hair was messed, his haori was scuffed, and his black garb was loose and unprofessional. ‘You need rest, pops.’ He wouldn’t have dared call him that with his squad-mates nearby. He tried his hardest to keep his father distant at the barracks. Stopped any talk of unfair treatment amongst the men. ‘You look like hell.’ ‘So do you, but it doesn’t look like we’re going to get any anytime soon.’ He motioned to the stack of reports on his desk. The stack was piled roughly ten inches high! ‘Those came in this last hour past.’ Fox flicked through them in silence while Itazura regarded his father. ‘Mother’s started the investigation surrounding the Advanced Spear Unit’s recent dead. She’s come to the conclusion that an Arrancar is responsible; One that can absorb its victim’s spiritual power.’ Tadashi shook his head and sighed dejectedly. ‘Are you sure you caught her right? I didn’t think so.’ The optimism drained from his features. For once Itazura thought his father looked… well old. ‘Between this and mysterious emblems… Bah! Is nothing simple anymore? Don’t answer that,’ Itazura directed his father’s attention to the paperwork. ‘Is there anything interesting among that mammoth pile of paper?’ He harrumphed. ‘It’s the same as usual mostly. Averian’s army’s on the move again, with Saburo Ryū at the helm, no less. At least we now know why the Hollow didn’t dissolve back to fighting amongst one another.’ He took a breath before continuing. ‘Disappearances have been reported throughout the Rukongai -- North, south, east and west. Poof! And it’s not just the resident souls, either.’ ‘Let me guess,’ Fox interjected, ‘Shinigami too? I bet that’s got Shin annoyed. Most of the Shinigami patrolling the Rukongai are of the Seventh Division.’ ‘More than you can guess,’ Tadashi agreed with a weak smile. ‘He’s practically shitting kittens, though I haven’t seen him this animated since that debacle with Shori and that dome.’ ‘Well, I think that may be our Arrancar, too.’ Itazura revealed, ignoring the insults being hurled at his uncle. ‘No, it couldn’t be, son. There have been too many disappearances across too wide an area for it to be the work of a single person. No, what we’re dealing with here… is an organized group. And one we know sweet zip all about.’ ‘Fox and I are free,’ he volunteered. ‘Mother told us to report back here. Said the three of us weren’t needed in Kitagun. Give me the names of the districts and we’ll investigate.’ ‘I’ve already got someone on it… but don’t worry. I’ve got something else in mind for you two.’ He motioned towards the papers Fox held, who gave them over carefully. Tadashi riffled through the stack until he removed a single report. ‘This one caught me eye, when I was kind of hoping it wouldn’t. Read it.’ ‘You requested this then?’ Itazura sighed, but still he read through it. It was a schedule detailing the times the Senkaimon throughout Soul Society had been used in the last week. ‘The time slots between one am and three am are missing.’ He handed it over to Fox, who also picked out that a half-an-hour slot between four and half past four, am, was missing also. ‘What does this mean?’ ‘It means our mysterious organization has an insider,’ Tadashi concluded, ‘one who has access to the Senkaimon records’. Thinking like that, he or she is probably affiliated with the Twelfth Division.’ Not only that. The perpetrator was probably a seated officer to boot. Could this day get any worse? Itazura seriously hoped not. He was sleep deprived enough as it was. If this continued he’d start getting sloppy. He’d already missed the point Fox brought up about the Senkaimon times. What else was he overlooking? ‘But why would they need Senkaimon access?’ Fox asked, dragging him back to the present. Itazura had one very convincing thought. ‘Probably so this group can smuggle something, or someone, into the Seireitei. Like our mysterious Arrancar killer, perhaps?’ ‘My thoughts exactly,’ Tadashi nodded. ‘If we’re to assume this is the work of multiple individuals, then judging by the intervals between disappearances, and the general pattern between the chosen districts; the next attack will be…’ ‘… That would be district number one of western Rukongai, Junrinan.’ Fox finished in her Captains stead. ‘I keep forgetting how sharp you kids are,’ Tadashi managed a chuckle that was even somewhat energetic. ‘I want you both to hightail it over there on the double. Put yourselves at Indra’s disposal, and follow his orders.’ ‘Consider it done,’ Itazura nodded sharply. ‘Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Hei and Yuri are investigating our mysterious emblem. The emblem either belongs to the Shuuten of Heisekai, or a group of vigilantes roaming the Rukongai. They should report back soon enough.’ ‘… I seriously hope it’s the latter…’ Tadashi came close to punching the tabletop. ‘Get going you two. I’ve got other orders to give as well.’ Unfortunately nothing ever went according to plan nowadays. At least that was what Heiwajima Taira was beginning to notice, at the very least. The vigilante group proved to be a dead end lead. Yes, they used a cloud as their standard, but they didn’t use a viewing scope alongside it. As things stood right now the emblem they had discovered most likely belonged to the Shuuten, as Itazura had said earlier. If that was true then the implications were much more serious than anyone had thought initially. He just hoped Yuri had better results than he had had. ‘Are you alright, sir?’ The voice was that of a female. ‘You look… distracted.’ The giver of this question was a young woman with neatly combed blond hair and sparkling green eyes. She wore the staple Shinigami garb in addition to a green scarf that covered her entire neck, as well as the V-neck split that would otherwise have shown her cleavage. She was short beside Hei as well. ‘My apologies,’ Hei replied with a warming smile. ‘You and your friends have been most helpful, thank you.’ He wouldn’t have done his duty so swiftly without them in fact. Her comrades’ consisted of a young male with black hair, a 69 tattoo on his right cheek and a blue strip that ran beneath his left eye and down his left cheek, which stopped at his chin; a young female with striking light pink hair and two pink-coloured tear marks at the edge of her eyes near her nose. She wore staple Shinigami garb but kept her right arm free, showing a series of bandages beneath the kosode, which entwined her stomach and chest. The boy wore similar garb, though his was unaltered. Looking at them Hei couldn’t help but grin. ‘You all look so much like your parents.’ He told them. The blond-haired girl was called Naoko, and was the daughter of Izuru Kira. The boy was Yori, and the son of Hisagi Shuhei. The pink-haired girl was Yoshi and, believe it or not, was the daughter of Ikkaku Madarame. Each where recent graduates of the Shinō Academy and new recruits of the eleventh division. When he’d asked them why they chose that division the answer varied a little, but Naoko and Yori merely wanted to improve their skills, while Yoshi wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. They had helped him in his investigations, mostly because it was a good excuse to keep them out of trouble. But they’d performed above and beyond his expectations. They had a bright future ahead of them, of that Hei was certain. ‘Shall we return?’ The three bounded off ahead of him with energetic steps Hei wished he could replicate. ‘… Lovely,’ Yuri remarked as he shook his head. He stood at the heart of Seireitei Communication while a young officer ran his request through the on-screen monitor. The image of Kazuma Nishiki, Sub-Commander of the Dragonforce, with blond hair, a red jacket and a pair of loose trousers, appeared on-screen. ‘Kazuma,’ Yuri greeted. ‘I thank you for giving me a moment of your time, despite the late hour.’ ‘Hiroshi? Well, this is a surprise.’ Ever since the Shirushi brand had been removed, Kazuma was back to his old, energetic self. ‘Don’t mention it though. I wasn’t sleeping. Besides, this gives me a good excuse to skip out on the paperwork Tyrell gave me.’ ‘Then consider it forgotten,’ Yuri replied. ‘Sadly, however, this isn’t a social call. I wish it was. Tell me, have any members of the Shuuten crossed over into the Soul Society? We found an emblem, you see, which Itazura says is the emblem of the Shuuten. Thing is, we didn’t find the person it belongs too.’ Seriousness dropped onto Kazuma’s face like a mask. ‘… A number of members of the Shuuten, the Jōren, and our own Dragonforce have gone missing lately.’ His image began pacing while his hand cupped his chin. ‘We also have reason to believe that no less than six members of the Shuuten’s first division left Heisekai four days ago. Where they went, however, is unknown to us.’ ‘So it’s possible that our emblem belongs to one of these six?’ Kazuma nodded. ‘Thank you for your time, Kazuma. You’ve been very helpful.’ ‘Give my regards to Tadashi, Shin, and the others.’ With that his image vanished. ‘Thank you,’ Yuri told the officer seated at the monitor. Turning on his heel, the young Hiroshi clansmen retraced his steps. He would need to make his report immediately. Sleep it seemed would have to wait for another day it seemed. Next Story > Skirmish in Junrinan.
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