Chapter Text
“You know, when I was told to report to the first division, I thought maybe I was going to be invited out for drinks, but seeing you three here I’m wondering if our fun night out over the weekend got reported.” Rangiku mused, looking at Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika as the three approached. Usually on payday weekend, many of the high-ranking officers liked to go out together to drink, celebrating their survival of another two weeks. Most of the time they were peaceful evenings; officers gathering around tables, venting about the ridiculous events that happened, annoying new recruits, frustrating superiors that don’t understand what they are doing, or aspects of the job that didn’t go the way they were supposed to. After everyone spent what they assumed was an appropriate amount of money and was deemed intoxicated enough the group would disburse to their designated quarters to nurse off the hangover through the weekend. Yet there were some nights where things went very different.
“Oh please, don’t act like you weren’t the one to start that fight.” Yumichika huffed, brushing his hair back over his shoulder. The group all knew that wasn’t entirely fair, but Rangiku was indeed the one to throw the first punch. They had decided to go to a bar in the first district of the South Rukongai, a bar that was owned by a former member of the fifth division. A Rukongai resident got too much liquid courage however and thought it would be a good idea to swipe at Rangiku’s ass. She reacted and one of the man’s friends stood up in response. None of them had any idea what the friend had been about to do, maybe defend his friend or take the drunk home but Ikkaku, always ready for a fight, had seen what he deemed a threat to his friend and reacted. Soon a full blown brawl was occurring and the bar owner along with a few bartenders gathered the group together and shoved their fighting out into the street. It was too bad too, they wouldn’t be allowed to go back to that bar for at least a month.
“That asshole had it coming.” Ikkaku said. Rangiku nodded in agreement, reaching over to pat Ikkaku’s bald head. The eleventh fukutaichou snarled in response, pulling back so Rangiku couldn’t reach anymore. Yumichika gave the two of them a fond smile.
“I don’t think it’s about that.” Renji said. The group turned their attention to him. “If it were, they wouldn’t have waited this long to call us in, and it wouldn’t be just the four of us.” Renji pointed out. The group knew that was true. It was Wednesday and if this was about the weekend they would have been called in two days ago. In addition, they weren’t the only ones who had been out. Izuru, Marechiyo, Momo, Iba, Shuhei, and Rukia had been out with them too. Not only that but Iba was one of the ones in the thick of it along with Ikkaku while Yumichika had stood off to the side with Momo and Marechiyo, shaking his head at the foolish antics of his fellow officers.
“Huh, that’s actually rather intelligent of you to notice.” Rangiku teased. Renji shot her an un-amused look but before he could respond to her, the door to the office opened.
“Oh good, you’re all here.” Nanao said. She opened the door wider, and the four officers could see from her face that she was exhausted. Nanao was one of the longest serving fukutaichou’s, having joined the Gotie Thirteen well over a hundred years ago. Her diligence and exceptional Kido control was well respected among the officers, and she insisted upon those traits being cited on why she was selected to be the first division co-fuktaichou. It was also well known that she was the only one who could keep Shunsui in line which is what most people assumed was the real reason she received the appointment. Yet the first division had many more duties then the eighth, and Nanao and Okikiba had worked together to keep up with the bar set by Sasakibe-fukutaichou before them. The work took up so much of her time that Nanao wasn’t able to run her book club or continue performing duties in the Shinigami Women’s Association. Not that the latter had many willing to continue running it any longer. Not without Yachiru or Unohana. “Come on in.” Nanao added, moving aside.
Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika passed the female officer quickly, but Rangiku hesitated long enough to place a comforting hand on Nanao's shoulder as she passed. She missed seeing Nanao and wanted to show some support to her friend. Nanao gave her a small, strained smile before closing the door. As the four lined up in front of Shunsui’s empty desk, Nanao moved to a door to the side and knocking once. “Coming, coming Nanao-chan!” Shunsui’s voice sang through the door. Nanao rolled her eyes a little at that but moved to stand by the desk.
A few moments later the door to the office opened and Shunsui stepped in. Behind him was Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Okikiba. The four officers shifted, standing at attention and awaiting orders. Shunsui waved a hand at them as he sat at his desk, dismissing their formality. “Sorry for calling you all here so early.” He said. Mayuri rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed at the polite small talk but the group didn’t pay him much attention. “I have a mission for the four of you.” He added. That got all four’s attention very quickly. Getting missions in general was normal. Each division had districts of the Rukongai that they were responsible for and would patrol regularly. There was also the security of the Seiretei, which was primarily handled by the Ninth Division who got support from the Second Division and the Eleventh as needed. There were also missions outside of the Soul Society. Each division had districts in the World of the Living and they sent officers on rotation to protect those locations. Yet those missions were always appointed by the division the Shinigami came from. Yet this was the First Division appointing a mission. That wasn’t common, only done in times of emergencies or great concern.
“Kurotsuchi-taichou has brought a concern to my attention.” Shunsui said. Mayuri seemed to take that as permission for him to take over the briefing because he stepped slightly closer to the four officers and started to speak.
“Fugai, the eightieth district in the Western Rukongai has had a number of souls vanishing in the last six months. This past month however, the number has nearly tripled.” The taichou said. His tone was almost board as he said it, like the words had no real meaning to him outside of a puzzle needed solving.
“And? Souls vanish from the higher districts all the time.” Renji said. He grew up in a seventy-ninth district, so he knew just how hard the high districts were. Food wasn’t plentiful and if you had any amount of reiatsu it was almost impossible to survive. Bandits and thieves ran rampant and if you weren’t killed by them or Hollows moving between the thinned barriers between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, many people just wanted to run away to easier districts. Either way, very few people cared when someone vanished, it meant less stress on those left behind. Less competition for resources. Shunsui sighed, nodding to show he understood the concern.
“Yes, but this isn’t people leaving and going to another district. It doesn’t appear to be hollow attacks either, as the records of hollows appearing in the Rukongai hasn’t changed much over the last few decades. Souls just seem to be…vanishing?” Shunsui said. The four paused at that. It was concerning to hear that souls were vanishing, especially because the balance between worlds was still very sensitive after the battle against the Quincy’s.
“And we’re sure the twelfth division had nothing to do with it?” Yumichika challenged. Mayuri bared his teeth in displeasure at the eleventh division’s third seat, but Ikkaku nodded to show he felt it was a valid question. Not to long ago, Ikkaku and Yumichika were sent out to investigate an entire village disappearing. After checking the location, they later discovered that it was the twelfth division who rounded up the entire village and executed them in order to balance out the souls that the Quincy’s had destroyed.
“No, the twelfth division had no part in this.” Shunsui said, holding up a hand to calm Mayuri. The four knew that Shunsui was one of the officers who treated the twelfth division with the most suspicion and caution, so if he said they hadn’t done it then it was the truth.
“I see. And the ninth division isn’t investigating this?” Rangiku asked. It was a challenge, one that very few officers would make to the Soutaichou but Rangiku was a special case. Shunsui was a very laid back and relaxed individual, nothing like Yamamoto-soutaichou before him. He had a friendly relationship with many of the officers and was a regular drinking companion of Rangiku’s. She had known him for her entire military career, just under a century, and she knew how far she could push. Shunsui smiled, his smile very similar to the one Nanao gave them when they came in.
“Ah, you caught me. Yes, Fugai is the ninth division’s responsibility, but Fugai has some rather…painful memories for the ninth division. If I informed Muguruma-taichou about it he would insist on investigating himself and neither he or Kuna would even consider letting me send Hisagi.” Shunsui said. That surprised the four of them.
“Painful enough that you not only won’t send them, but will send four fukutaichou level officers instead?” Yumichika asked. Shunsui let out a low, humorous laugh.
“You’re going to force me to explain myself aren’t you?” he asked. Shunsui stood up from his desk, taking a few steps to the side to remove the barrier between him and the other officers. “I can’t go into the details, as Central Forty-Six sealed it, but what I can tell you is Fugai had an incident a hundred and two years ago where souls started disappearing. We investigated and the source was addressed, but we suffered heavy losses. Now…” he said the last part quickly, raising a hand to stop the questions when Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Renji all opened their mouths to speak. “I don’t believe this situation is related to that. At least not at this time. It’s too different in forming, and the perpetrators of the first incident are long gone. However, like I said, there is too much scar tissue from the situation before to justify not sending fukutaichou level officers from the start.” Shunsui said. That made sense to the four, it did, and yet at the same time they felt they were still missing information.
“So you want us to just look around and see if we can find the source?” Renji asked. Shunsui nodded.
“Yes, that’s all I want from you. Investigate, find the source of the missing citizens, and report back.” Shunsui said. Rangiku frowned at that. If this was an investigation mission, then wouldn’t the twelfth’s Department of Research and Development or the Onmitsukido be better to send? They could do tests, find residue or proof of what was occurring, and find answers better then the four of them.
“Why us?” Yumichika asked, almost like he had the same thought process as Rangiku. Shunsui’s smile strained even further.
“There’s a second part for this mission, another reason I wanted to send four fukutaichou’s. I’m hoping to send a message.” He said.
“A message?” asked Renji, confused. Shunsui nodded.
“There is a large divide between the Seiretei and the Rukongai. Many members of the Rukongai feel the Seiretei has abandoned them, that the Seiretei doesn’t care about them. I am hoping that us taking such a strong stance on this from the start will show that we are taking steps to better care for the Rukongai.” He explained. Yumichika nodded.
“That still doesn’t explain why it’s the four of us.” He said. Shunsui nodded.
“Well, the Rukongai citizens still don’t trust Shinigami. I thought maybe four Shinigami from the high ranking districts would help encourage citizens to work with us on this.” He said. That made sense, since Rangiku was from Kagarashi, the sixty-second district from the North; Renji was from Inuzuri in the south; and both Ikkaku and Yumichika had been from high level districts as well. Compared to the other officers, they were the best choices. Iba’s mother was a former fukutaichou as was Sentaro’s father, which meant they grew up in the Officer’s District of the Seiretei. Izuru was a lesser noble, as was Marechiyo and both were raised in the Noble’s District of the Seiretei. Nanao was from a major Religious Clan and Momo was from Junrinan, the first district of the west meaning they both grew up just outside of the protective wall of the Seiretei. Isane and Kiyone had grown up in the lower districts so that struck them out too. Meanwhile no one knew where Akon came from, least of all himself. He had been practically raised in the Maggot’s Nest and hardly knew what life was like outside of the Seiretei any longer. While Rukia was also from Inuzuri, she was now a part of the Kuchiki Family. She would easily be seen as the ‘enemy’ by any resident of the Rukongai.
“That makes sense.” Yumichika agreed. Shunsui nodded.
“Seems easy enough.” Renji added.
“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE IT!” Nanao’s outburst was so expected and sudden, it apparently even surprised her, judging by how red she turned. Shunsui quickly put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a warmer smile then he did to the others. Nanao looked away, mumbling an apology under her breath. After all, while being annoyed was almost a constant state for Nanao while dealing with Shunsui she very rarely raised her voice or lost her composure. That, more than anything else, told the four this was much more serious than they thought. Shunsui, Nanao, Okikiba, and even Mayuri were concerned about the situation, despite their words.
“She’s right you know. The last time officers were sent to Fugai, we lost eleven taichou’s and fukutaichou’s as well as three additional seated officers of the ninth division and ten unseated officers.” Shunsui elaborated to them. And that suddenly explained why he wasn’t sending a random scientist from the twelfth division. If the last time something like this happened everyone died, then he couldn’t justify sending anyone below the rank of fukutaichou. The four nodded their understanding. “I already informed your divisions about the mission, so you can leave when you’re ready. Remember, investigate only. If you find the source, report back and we will send reinforcements.” Shunsui said.
“Yes Sir!” all four said.
Xxx
Shuhei looked down at the paper in his hands, almost in disbelief. He glanced up at Kensei and Mashiro before returning back to the paper. “I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong?” he asked. A puff of air made him look by up and he could see Kensei rolling his eyes while Mashiro was stifling giggles.
“You’re so funny Shu-chan!” Mashiro giggled. Kensei sighed.
“Damn kid, this isn’t a punishment! Only you would think time off meant you did something wrong.” Kensei snapped, crossing his arms over his chest as Mashiro completely fell into fits of laughter. Shuhei looked back at the paper. When he came into work this morning the last thing he expected was for Kensei and Mashiro to pull him to Kensei’s desk and present him with this, an approved leave of absence for two weeks.
“Then why?” Shuhei asked. Kensei’s annoyance only increased, but he learned a while ago that Shuhei didn’t respond well to his lack of patience. In a way, the three of them were good for each other. Since Kensei and Mashiro’s return the three of them worked hard to support the division. Kensei was still brash and impulsive, but dealing with Shuhei he had learned to reign in his temper more. He wasn’t gentle by any definition of the word, but Shinji and Rose had mentioned a number of times about how Kensei had rounder edges since working with Shuhei. Having Shuhei and Mashiro as co-fukutaichou’s had also been interesting. At first nothing really seemed to change. Mashiro was lazy and preferred to spend time with her sister in the twelfth division and Shuhei still took on any work he could get his hands on. Kensei had anticipated that he would need to intervene, but surprisingly Mashiro had developed a fondness for Shuhei and took initiative on her own. She preferred to be active, so Mashiro took much of the training and patrols from Shuhei and Shuhei focused more on the Seiretei Bulletin’s reconstruction and the paperwork for the division. In a way, Shuhei taught Mashiro to work more and Mashiro had taught Shuhei to take time for himself.
Yet it had only recently been brought to Kensei’s attention that Shuhei hadn’t taken any time off since before Tosen betrayed the Seiretei. It wasn’t fully Shuhei’s fault, as there had been little time to do so. When Tosen left, the running of the division fell onto Shuhei’s shoulders. Then the Winter War happened and Shuhei still had no help with the division. When Kensei returned giving Shuhei time off wasn’t an option either. The division had become very loyal to Shuhei and very attached to the fukutaichou. With the addition of a co-fukutaichou many seemed to think Kensei had been planning to slowly phase Shuhei out, which had never been an intention of his. Shuhei had to stay around to assure the division that Kensei had not been planning to demote or transfer him. Then the Quincy War happened. Shuhei found himself in charge of the ninth again for a while due to Kensei needing to recuperate from being turned into a Zombie and Mashiro had been at his side the entire time, giving Shuhei the burden of running things alone once again. Shuhei never complained about it, just took it all on. Now that things were calming down, now that the Seiretei was focused on rebuilding, it was time for Shuhei to take some time to decompress.
“You haven’t taken leave in a few years.” Kensei said. Shuhei frowned.
“I had a week off after the battle against the Quincy’s.” Shuhei objected. Kensei closed his eyes, taking a heavy breath and Shuhei knew that the man’s temper was reaching its end.
“You were in a coma for a week. That doesn’t count. Also you went to Aizen’s resealing just hours after waking up, which by the way I heard the fourth still hadn’t technically cleared you for and you only were able to go thanks to that friend of yours.” Kensei added. Shuhei winced. He remembered how hard it was to convince Aoga to let him go. Kensei opened his eyes, giving Shuhei a more sympathetic look. “Look, two weeks of rest to put everything in order isn’t that bad alright.” He said. Shuhei looked back at the paper, knowing it was coming from a good place.
“Where am I supposed to go?” Shuhei asked. Since this was sprung on him, Shuhei didn’t have enough time to clear a trip to the World of the Living. He could stay in the Seiretei, living out of his quarters in the Ninth Division, but he doubted that would be approved by Kensei and Mashiro. Maybe he could go to the mountains in the north? He sometimes went out there on days off to play his guitar. He didn’t know any place to actually stay out there though.
“I don’t know. You got any family?” Kensei asked. Shuhei felt his breath catch at that, and Kensei and Mashiro zeroed into that instantly. “Who?” Kensei asked, curious and surprised. In the entire time they had worked together, Shuhei had never mentioned having family.
“Two older brothers.” Shuhei admitted. Kensei nodded.
“Huh, wasn’t expecting that.” He admitted. Shuhei was confused by that, but Kensei didn’t seem to dwell on it too long. “And when is the last time you spoke to them?” Apparently Shuhei’s silence was very telling because Kensei looked annoyed again. “If you have to think about it, then it’s been too long. Go see your brother’s Shuhei.” He practically ordered. Shuhei hesitated a moment but then nodded. “Go on, get out of here.” Kensei added. There was a smirk to his voice and Shuhei gave a small nod before he departed, headed to his quarters.
It didn’t take long for Shuhei to pack, mostly because he was only taking a little money with him. He moved over to the closet and pushed to the very back, where a folded robe sat that he hadn’t worn since his first day at the Shino Academy when he started wearing uniforms. Honestly he should have thrown it away years ago, but he had hung onto it. Always figured one day he may return home and knew any cloths that he wore outside of clothing from the Rukongai would stand out to anyone there. The cloth was worn, threadbare and pulling apart at the seems. It may have been a vibrant purple at one time in it’s life, but now it was so faded and light as the color bled out. He wouldn’t stand out with this.
After changing Shuhei laid Kazeshini on his folded futon and stuffed a little cash into his pocket. Then he moved to the door and locked it before heading out to his childhood home for the first time in decades. Heading for Fugai.