Chapter 90: The Future Captain Commander Does Not Allow Laziness
Since it was called a dinner party, it naturally could not be just Takeru, Ichigo, and Orihime.
The moment they stepped into the private room, they saw several familiar faces.
The other two members of the Shino Academy four person group, Hachihara and Rindo Yu.
Orihime's temporary guardian, Rangiku Matsumoto, the Tenth Division vice captain who had already exchanged contact info with Takeru.
Shuhei Hisagi, the Ninth Division vice captain, who had been dragged into complaints along with Ichigo.
Izuru Kira, the Third Division vice captain, who had been hauled over by Rangiku the instant work ended.
When Takeru first entered, he thought it was an actual party.
Hachihara and Rangiku had their arms around each other, shouting like old drinking buddies. The dishes on the table were untouched. Their cups were already empty.
Shuhei was tugging Kira by the sleeve, complaining nonstop, and occasionally asking Rindo Yu to mediate.
If Hachihara and Rangiku were kindred spirits at first sight, then Rindo Yu and Shuhei were the type of friends forged by arguing until they understood each other.
Just those five had already made the room lively.
Still, they did not forget who was treating them tonight.
As soon as Takeru and the other two appeared, Rangiku immediately started teasing.
"Oh, they're here, they're here. The hottest celebrity in the Seireitei has arrived."
"Are you talking about Ichigo?" Takeru asked casually.
He sat down on the tatami, poured water for himself, Ichigo, and Orihime, then quietly watched everyone bicker.
Rangiku snorted. "Ichigo is famous too, but mostly for the wrong reasons."
Ichigo slammed a palm on the table. "Do not even start. My bad reputation is your fault. You made me do things I am bad at, then watched me embarrass myself. Yes, I'm talking about you, Matsumoto. Hisagi is the best one here. He got scolded with me."
Shuhei scratched the back of his neck. "If it was only scolding, fine. But lately, when I go home at night, I get this chill. Like someone is following me."
"Eek!" Hachihara and Rangiku yelped at the same time.
"I'm serious," Shuhei insisted. "I'm not joking. And I'm not some narcissist who thinks he has female fans stalking him."
Kira glanced at him. "…If you had not added that last part, I would not have even thought of that possibility."
Orihime nodded earnestly. "I believe Hisagi is not that kind of person."
Shuhei's eyes lit up. "Inoue!"
Orihime continued, innocent as ever. "Because he said all his fans are male, not female."
Shuhei's face turned bright red. "Miss Inoue!"
Takeru, looking completely helpful, added, "Someone who can follow a vice captain without being noticed might be a noble's revenge. You should be careful lately."
The lively air instantly cooled.
Everyone turned to stare at Takeru and Shuhei.
"A noble's revenge…" Rangiku's cheeks were flushed from drinking, but her eyes were sharp. "Shuhei, what did you do this time?"
"I, I did not do anything," Shuhei said blankly. "Ever since Ichigo and I got scolded by the Captain Commander, I have behaved. The editorial reports we publish are all old topics that already passed review."
"So the previous incident is not over," Kira said, his expression darkening.
"Didn't the Gold Seal Association already file a complaint?" Ichigo frowned.
"Maybe they felt that was not enough," Kira replied.
Hachihara's eyes widened. "Is this really retaliation? What do they think the Gotei Thirteen is? Central Forty Six is gone. How dare they act like this?"
"Precisely because Central Forty Six is gone," Takeru said, thinking aloud, "the Gotei Thirteen is temporarily handling their functions, but it is not Central Forty Six. That means it has no right to interfere with the Noble Council. These disputes must be handled by the Noble Council itself."
Silence fell.
Shuhei drew a sharp breath. "So the Noble Council is using my insignificant little problem to vent their dissatisfaction with the Gotei Thirteen? They look like they are targeting me, but they are really aiming at the Captain Commander?"
Takeru's expression turned slightly strange.
Instead of correcting Shuhei, he cleared his throat and smoothly continued along that line.
"They will not be that aggressive. Angering the Captain Commander has consequences they cannot afford."
"Personally, I suspect this is a lingering consequence of Kaname Tosen."
The moment those words landed, not only Shuhei, but everyone's expression changed.
Kaname Tosen and Gin Ichimaru.
Those two names were rapidly becoming taboo inside the Gotei Thirteen.
Especially for people who knew them, the names carried a kind of mental trauma that was hard to put into words.
Takeru acted like he did not notice the shift and continued calmly.
"According to the Second Division investigation, more accurately, the Onmitsukido, Tosen had a conflict with the nobility before he joined the Gotei Thirteen. Captain Soi Fon and I discussed it and agreed his kidnapping of Central Forty Six is very likely connected to that."
"What?"
"No way."
"Captain Tosen…"
"That really happened?"
"Could it be that kind of execution was not the first time?"
Everyone was shaken.
"That was hundreds of years ago, and the details are hard to verify," Takeru said, his tone steady. "All we know is that Tosen had a female shinigami friend who married into the Tsunayashiro family, one of the Four Great Noble Houses."
"Not long after, she could not tolerate her husband's evil deeds. They fought, and she was killed by her husband. Yet the culprit was not punished severely."
Takeru took a sip of water and continued, almost like he was reading a report.
"At the time, Tosen was still a vagrant. He was dissatisfied with the ruling and forced his way into Central Forty Six to appeal. He was beaten and thrown out."
"He vanished after that, then suddenly reappeared one day as a Shino Academy student. He joined the Gotei Thirteen while wielding his friend's Zanpakuto."
"Captain Komamura met Tosen around that time. We only managed to piece this together after Captain Komamura gave us advice."
"According to him, Tosen inherited his friend's dying wish to fight for justice. Now it seems that in Tosen's version of justice, Central Forty Six and the nobility represented evil."
The room went completely quiet.
They had just been forced to see a side of Kaname Tosen they had never known.
Shuhei's fists clenched, his voice unsteady. "So Captain Tosen was not betraying us in the end. He decided on revenge from the beginning. He wanted to overthrow Central Forty Six and overturn the Seireitei's political structure. That is why he threw himself into darkness and allied with Hollows."
His turmoil was obvious.
If that was true, then blaming Tosen felt wrong.
But if he did not blame him, then where did that leave Shuhei himself?
Takeru looked at Shuhei, caught in a whirlpool of contradictions, then at Ichigo and the others, whose expressions had turned complicated. He said nothing. He simply started eating, calm and unbothered.
Somehow, that made everyone else hungry too.
And also speechless.
Ichigo scowled, grabbed a piece of fried shrimp, and started eating. "Hey, Takeru. You did not tell us all that horrifying stuff just to ruin our appetite so you could eat everything yourself, right?"
"Of course not," Takeru replied after swallowing. "I was helping Shuhei analyze his situation."
"Tosen had a conflict with the Tsunayashiro family, and he kidnapped Central Forty Six. Those two things might be linked. And Shuhei, as his vice captain, suddenly applying for an interview to dig into old secrets makes it very easy for people to get suspicious."
"So the feeling of being followed might be spies sent by the Gold Seal Association, or even the Tsunayashiro family. They want to figure out your intentions. Are you acting under Tosen's instruction, or do you have another motive."
"So that's what it is," Shuhei muttered, and a spark of anger flickered in his eyes.
"He is clearly a villain. He killed his shinigami wife and got away with it. So this is the Tsunayashiro family of the Four Great Noble Houses? They are nothing like Captain Kuchiki."
Ichigo snorted. "I do not want to praise Byakuya, but I am sure he is just a rigid idiot who cannot think outside the box. He is not the type for schemes."
Rangiku leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "So, Shuhei. What are you going to do?"
"For now, I will pretend I do not know," Shuhei said. "I am not even certain I am being followed. What if it is just my imagination?"
He inhaled, then his voice turned firm.
"But after hearing this, I have decided."
"Regardless of Captain Tosen, I am going to dig up the scandals those nobles committed, expose them in the Seireitei Bulletin, and ask the Captain Commander to preside over justice."
"If they have the guts, let them send assassins after me. I just hope they send serious ones. I do not want people thinking the Ninth Division vice captain is only this strong."
Rangiku slapped the table. "Ooooh, Shuhei. You are finally acting like a man."
Shuhei glared. "Matsumoto, you are drunk. I am a man."
Kira nodded solemnly. "Brother Hisagi, I do not know whether Captain Ichimaru also had a female shinigami friend who was killed, leading him to leave. But I am willing to support you."
"Even if you get assassinated, I will not forget to visit your grave."
Shuhei's face twisted. "Kira. Why do you not save me instead."
Orihime raised a hand brightly. "Brother Hisagi, starting today, I am your first female fan."
"I am the second," Hachihara declared immediately.
Shuhei's eyes went misty. "Miss Inoue, Hachihara. I am touched, but also inexplicably sad. So maybe do not bother."
Ichigo lifted his glass, a competitive grin on his face. "Anyway, Shuhei. If trouble comes, do not forget the guy who got yelled at and suffered with you."
Shuhei paused, then lifted his glass too. "Oh."
That crude male battle challenge immediately warmed the room again.
Everyone set aside their burdens, drinking and eating freely.
Then someone raised a glass toward Takeru.
It was Kira.
"Takeru," Kira said quietly, "I used the method you taught me. I had a proper talk with the squad members who ended up in the General Relief Ward. They were very moved, and they even volunteered to persuade the ones who had not come."
"Training in the division is much more active now."
Takeru blinked. "Let me guess. They did not think about revenge on me, but they did think about giving my subordinates trouble once I become captain, right?"
"Ahaha…" Kira laughed awkwardly.
Takeru raised his glass and drained it without a care.
Ichigo stared, envy written all over his face. "Takeru, you made people thank you even after doing something that brutal."
If he could, he would love to solve problems with something so simple and violent.
"Do not be jealous," Rangiku said, swirling her cup and winking. "That was a special method tailored for the Third Division."
"The method was rough, sure. But Takeru is not an official captain. He does not need to use methods that look elegant."
"Those clever methods take time."
"Takeru's time is precious. Everyone is waiting for him to put out fires. Efficiency matters."
"As long as the situation improves, the rest is within Kira's ability to handle. Besides, giving him something to do is not bad."
"When it comes to low morale and internal disunity, Kira, this gloomy and repressed man, is pretty similar."
"Seeing the squad members handled that harshly, he definitely felt terrible. That shame will push him to act."
"With the worst victims, the ones betrayed by their direct superior, setting the example, the rest would not dare stir trouble again."
"And they keep running to the Fourth Division. By the time they are done, they will be so moved they will be ready to swear loyalty."
Kira flushed. "Matsumoto, you are exaggerating. I am only a vice captain. If everyone swore loyalty to me, it would be a problem when a new captain arrives."
He hesitated, then added, "Though if Takeru became captain, I would not need to do anything. Everyone would truly be convinced."
"Even if you say that," Takeru replied calmly, "the Captain Commander would not agree. Ichigo and I are still students."
Kira's face fell with disappointment.
Rangiku, on the other hand, looked delighted, like she had just witnessed a tragedy for fun.
"Then you two have a long road ahead," she said. "Try not to end up bald like Ikkaku by the time you graduate."
"How could that happen," Ichigo protested.
Yet for some reason, he felt a chill on the top of his head.
The gathering ended not long after.
Outside the restaurant, everyone exchanged farewells.
"We are heading off now," Hachihara said brightly. "May your First Division duties go smoothly."
Shuhei and Kira also offered their good wishes.
Only Rangiku, completely drunk and needing Orihime to support her, still managed to tease them.
"Thanks for the treat. Come visit the Tenth Division when you have time and I will introduce you to some pretty girls. Oh, right, you two do not have free time like me. Never mind. As long as you come help me with work often, I will still introduce you to some pretty girls."
"That woman is unbearable," Ichigo muttered.
He glanced at Takeru. "Hey, Takeru…"
"I understand," Takeru said, eyes narrowing slightly. "I will find something for her to do when we get back."
A dangerous glint flashed across his gaze.
When the Seireitei was welcoming a new era and everyone was drowning in work, a vice captain dared to slack off openly.
As the future Captain Commander, he absolutely could not allow that under his nose.
The next day was Monday.
Rangiku, staggering into the Tenth Division office with a hangover, collapsed onto the sofa, ready to fall asleep again.
The door suddenly flew open with a violent bang.
Before she could complain, Toshiro Hitsugaya cut her off with a cold order.
"Matsumoto. You are here. Good. Saves me from sending someone to get you. Stop spacing out. Come with me."
"Come with you?" Rangiku rubbed her eyes. "Where? I am so sleepy. Can I just catch up on sleep first. One, three hours."
"In three hours, it will be the Captain Commander's turn to call you," Hitsugaya said flatly.
Rangiku's eyes went wide. She sobered instantly.
"Did something happen again?"
Hitsugaya's voice turned sharp. "Yes. According to Takeru's report, and confirmed by the Onmitsukido, the dangerous explosive called the Pure Realm Chapter is currently unguarded underground in the Seireitei."
"If someone with ill intent detonates it, we are finished."
"The Pure Realm Chapter?" Rangiku blinked. "What is that?"
"Something that can blow up one tenth of the Seireitei," Hitsugaya replied. "And the worst part is this. There are dozens of them buried underground."
"What?"
"Move," Hitsugaya said, already striding out. "Before the news spreads and causes panic, all captains and vice captains must cooperate with the Kidō Corps on a secret operation to seal them."
Rangiku stumbled after him, suddenly serious. "How long will it take to seal this Pure Realm Chapter?"
"According to Captain Kurotsuchi's analysis, we will not have time to rest for the next week," Hitsugaya said. "Because besides the sealing operation, there are still division duties."
"So you will not get to slack off."
"You will be taking on double the normal workload."
"What?"
Rangiku's vision went black on the spot.
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