NOVEL NEXT Chapter 297: Captain's meeting
(Ryoto's pov)
Captains' meeting, huh. I don't have a great feeling about it. I quickly took a look at Unohana and Rin, who both got the same message as me, but it didn't say what this meeting would be about. Not to mention that I'm still not fully healed.
I turned to Isane and Akio.
"Looks like something is happening. The Captain Commander has called all Captains for a meeting."
Both my partner and son looked worried and wanted to protest as I had just woken up after I lost consciousness because of my injuries, but I reassured them that I would be fine, and I said the same to the rest of my family.
With that settled, I clicked a hidden button placed on one of the many boulders, and pushing it opened a hidden space where I kept my spare clothes. Yama-jii asked me why I needed so many spares, so I told him that I have a technique that destroys all my upper clothes while using it. I just didn't tell him that it was a non-combat ability, although Shunko does the same, so I didn't exactly lie.
Everyone who didn't know me closely opened their eyes widely in shock as I started changing, and when I began losing the last piece of cloth that was protecting my modesty, everyone younger than me covered their eyes.
I rolled my eyes, which, of course, they didn't see. They came here to invade Soul Society, ready to fight and bleed, but they got flustered by a bit of skin.
It didn't take long to cover myself again, and I would have looked presentable and unharmed if not for the visible bandages and lack of arm.
I also looked at the Arrancars, and two of Tier's followers looked at me with a look that said, 'As expected of Ryoto-sama'. The last of Tres Bestias was red. I don't know if it was from anger or embarrassment. She was ready to confront me about it, but she was stopped by her fellow Fraccion members. Starrk covered Liliynette's eyes, who was protesting and tried to free herself, but it didn't work. Tier herself didn't have as big of a reaction as she observed me with great focus.
My daughters, Yukima and Rangiku, also looked away, not wanting to see their father's private parts. I would guess that they would already get used to my stripping habit, but I would guess wrong.
"Well, I'm off. I'll be back as soon as possible, but depending on the topic of this meeting, it may take more time. Behave yourself, and don't do anything stupid." With these words, I left together with Rin and Unohana.
---
We were among the last Captains to arrive at Captains' Assembly Hall, but I noticed that Aizen was nowhere to be seen. He usually is not early or late, but on time, and as I was already a bit late, it was suspicious.
Coming through the large doors gathered everyone's attention, and noticing my injuries sent waves of surprise. Before I was flooded with questions, I raised my hand to stop them.
"I'll explain after the cause of this summoning is sorted out."
Yama-jii looked me in the 'eyes' until he closed his eyes and nodded.
"Very well. Now that everyone has arrived, the assembly can begin."
*SLAM*
Yama-jii slammed his staff into the ground.
"The body of Captain of Squad 5 has been found. Aizen Sosuke... has died."
This news made everyone tense.
"Do we know the cause of death?" I decided to break the silence.
"Members of the 4th Division already did an autopsy, and as far as we are aware, the death of Aizen Sosuke was caused by a sword wound through his heart." He then turned to Unohana. "I will ask the Captain of Squad 4 to do the autopsy herself. Your expertise and experience would be invaluable, and double-checking the cause of death would not be a wrong choice."
"It will be done, Captain Commander." Unohana answered with a slight nod, at which Yama-jii nodded back in satisfaction.
"Do we have a suspect?" I asked, and Yama-jii turned his attention to me.
"The main suspects are the Ryouka, who attempted to infiltrate Sereitei not a long time ago."
That answer surprised me.
"Weren't the Ryouka stopped by Captain Tosen?" The youngest of the Captains stated the question. "Not to mention that we didn't get notice about a breach happening." He added.
"According to the investigation, there's no mistake."
"Forgive my disbelief, but I doubt I would have missed Ryouka hiding in Seireitei. Ever since I heard of the attempt to invade, I tightened the security. I even personally patrolled." I countered Captain Commander, but he wasn't the one who answered me.
"And what kind of assurance can you provide when you return injured as if you fought another Captain. Isn't it a bit... suspicious?" Mayuri accused me with a creepy tilt of his head.
"As suspicious as what you are doing in your lab, but you don't see me saying anything about it."
We glared at each other until the mad scientist decided to poke me a bit more.
"In that case, you wouldn't mind telling us where you were when Captain Aizen died."
"...And when was it?"
I have a bad feeling about it.
"According to the autopsy, it was about one and half hours ago. The body was found relatively quickly."
Was it truly just bad luck, or did Aizen, for whatever reason, wait for me when I was gone? Or did he somehow know about Akio's plan and was even aware of the Quincies? With him, you never know. Was his plan to frame me, or is it just a coincidence?
"I was together with Rin and our children. As a family man, I can't neglect them. Not something you would understand, I bet." I threw a jab at him, but he completely ignored it.
"So, no substantial alibi. For what we know, they assisted you with the assassination."
"The same argument could be used against you. If I remember correctly, you were a prisoner of Maggots Nest until Kisuke freed you so you could use your talents for the good of Sereitei, but since your old Captain is a traitor, we can't trust you. You may as well be his spy." I countered with a cocky smile at which Mayuri was ready to explode, but...
*SLAM*
"Quiet! Both of you. You are in a Captain's meeting, so act like it!" Yama-jii scolded both of us and turned to me. "How certain are you that the Ryouka didn't infiltrate Sereitei.
"As much as I can be. If they could hide from me, they are either so weak that I didn't register them as a danger, in which case they wouldn't be able to kill Captain Aizen, or they are more skilled at assassination than I am, and that would mean trouble for all of us because we didn't feel or hear battle Captain Aizen was killed quickly. That is also the second argument against me killing our fellow Captain. Looking at my injuries, you would certainly feel mine and Aizen's Reiatsu if we clashed."
Yama-jii nodded slowly and changed his attention from me to Mayuri.
"Anything to add, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Mayuri looked like he had eaten something sour as he stayed quiet. "Then, Captain Ryoto Yuuki, may you share who caused you such grief injuries. It may very well be the same culprit, or at least it may be a lead."
I nodded and didn't plan on mincing my words.
"The Quincy King has returned."
These words raised the room temperature until it was as hot as the hottest summer day at noon.
"Explain."
That single word conveyed more than a thousand more words, and I didn't want to test his patience. In moments like these, I am reminded that my teacher is still a monster worthy of his position.
"At the time of Captain Aizen's death, Akio discovered something unusual. There was some kind of dimension in the shadows of Seireitei. It was unnatural, so he obviously decided to investigate it. He was smart enough not to go alone and took his sibling with him. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Even with Masaru, who is at the captain level and multiple vice-captains level, Shinigami barely survived." Saying that, I released a bit of Reiatsu because of my emotions, but I quickly controlled it. "Luckily, they are stable at the moment, thanks to the help of Isane and Captain Unohana."
"I've noticed that you didn't mention yourself in that little scouting." The Captain of Squad 8, also better known as my Senpai, noted a small detail in what I said.
"..."
"Ryoto Yuuki, what did you do?" I could feel the heat in my Sensei's words.
"...At the time, all we knew was that Quincy did it, so I may have to go in and kill whoever did that to my kids, and that I did until the Quincy King revealed himself and his army. I didn't escape unscathed, as you have noticed. I also heard him calling me one of the War Threats. They are preparing for war, and I'm afraid that they will either attack very soon or retreat to prepare themselves even more."
My words brought silence to the room. Nowadays, Quincy and the Shinigami have a relatively good relationship, but this is still a new thing. For most of their existence, these two sides were at each other's throats, and it showed 1000 years ago when our dear Captain Commander killed the Quincy King.
"So youre saying that a lot of fights are coming to us." Zaraki Kenpachi said with a wild grin. Of course, he would love this news.
"That's not the point, Kenpachi. If what Ryoto says is true, which it definitely is, then we are in trouble. We already have inside conflict. Add outside concerns on top of it, and we will have a disaster. War on two fronts rarely goes well." Rin scolded the Captain of Division 11, at which point he rolled his eye and yawned, not bothering to start a discussion with her.
"We are, of course, discussing it solely as hypothetical because the whole scenario is as unbelievable as Ryoto Yuuki doing his paperwork."
Mayuri is really on my ass today. More than usual, I mean. Or is it the normal amount because we usually aren't in the same room for so long. I'm trying to avoid this creepy bastard, and he does as well since I'm a friend of Kisuke, not like he would admit to it.
"Oh, please. If I wanted to lie about something, I would make it much more plausible. Like training gone wrong or a mistake with a high-level Kido, but I said that I fought an army of Quincies, and the King of all Quincies was there when he should be dead. Can you tell me why I would do something so stupid?"
I challenged the mad scientist, who, of course, responded back, not letting me have the last word.
"Why? Because your stupidity knows no bounds. Even with all my genius, I can't predict your intention. Science is not omnipotent."
Our back-and-forth couldn't go on any longer as the giant doors to the Assembly room opened widely and suddenly, attracting everyone's attention.
It was a messenger, and he was breathing heavily as if he had run here without stopping at full speed.
"I have a message... for Captain Commander... from Central 46..." He had some difficulty speaking as he took a few breaths between some words. "The execution... of Rukia Kuchiki... has been moved again... The new time... is set to... tomorrow noon."
Now, this was information that I didn't like to hear, and I, of course, announced my displeasure.
"Captain Commander, with all due respect, but I don't believe that it's an appropriate time for something like that. With the possible danger coming at our door, we should focus on our defenses and not execution."
Yama-jii took a long time looking at me and then went back to the messenger before answering. The time he was silent was filled with tension and anticipation, but I didn't like what I heard in the end.
"We will follow with the execution date set by Central 46 while simultaneously preparing for incoming war." Before I could argue, I was shot down. "My decision is final!"
Just like that, we were dismissed, and everyone slowly started returning to whatever they were doing. Rin and I were walking slowly in silence until she took my hand into hers and squeezed it gently to comfort me, knowing that I was worried.
"You are upset." She finally said, and it may be an understatement, but at the same, it is an obvious statement. Maybe if I was younger and less experienced with controlling my emotions, I would lash out at her as undeserving as it would be, but she wasn't at fault, and it wouldn't be fair to her. I knew that she only cared about my well-being just as much as I cared about hers. It's just all this stress is hitting me after all this time, and all this development that happened didn't help with it. That's why I took a deep breath to calm myself down before answering.
"Yes. I always knew that Yama-jii was a stubborn old man, but I thought hearing his biggest enemy is alive would change something, but I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, I get it. Yama-jii lived for a long time, and he wasn't always the way he is now, and he does everything he can so he won't return to his old days, but he does it to the extreme, and it does not make my life any easier. There is time to follow the rules and time to break them, but Yama-jii follows them all the time. I still respect him and am thankful for training me but God dammit his stubbornness should be considered legendary at this point."
I rambled a bit, and Rin patiently listened to me, not letting my hand go the entire time. I'm sure if I had my other arm, I would have swung it around as I was talking, but it looked strange without it otherwise. I still sometimes forget that I don't have it anymore.
"Yo~ Kouhai-kun. I hate to come between lovebirds like you two, but it seems like we have some things to discuss."
The self-proclaimed cool Senpai approached me together with his white-haired best buddy.
"It seems to be the case." I turned to Rin and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Can you let everyone know that I'll come back a bit later?"
I didn't get an out loud answer and only a peck on my cheek and a reassuring smile as she left.
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END
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