Return

Posts : 139 Join date : 2018-08-17

It was late in the day and the sky was beginning to darken over the Soul Society. It had already been an eventful day, but things were about to take an unexpected turn. Inside the Tenth Division grounds, an alarm began to sound. It wasn't an alarm that sent the Division as a whole scrambling, or even aroused too great of a reaction in the Division members on the ground. There were some questioning looks, and some began to ask about the schedule. This alarm sounded every time the portal that lead out, beyond the Crimson Edge into the infinite night that was Hueco Mundo, opened. Whenever a patrol went out or came back in, the alarm would sound. It aroused no great alarm in the Division members because there was a second alarm that would go off if things were wrong. All it inspired was curiosity and attention, and that was ever its purpose.

Inside the sealed off room that housed the Senkaimon that lead into Hueco Mundo, the scene was not the same. All Division members who were present wound be on alert. Even with the fore-warning that the gate would be opening, this was one of the most heavily controlled points in the Soul Society. Security here was kept as tight as possible, because what lay beyond this door was too dangerous to afford anything else. What came walking through that bridge from darkness however was a comforting sight to those in that room. The towering frame of Kaito Toma was not easily mistaken, and he raised a hand and his deep voice in a booming greeting that bounced off the walls of the room. He carried with him, under one arm, a stack of papers that looked like a toy-model compared to his size. What set some in the room on edge again however was that something was off about their captain. While most of his manner was normal, there was a quiet seriousness lurking behind his words and eyes that spoke of something not being right. Granted, this wasn't of particular news to many in the Tenth.

For their part, they had news for Kaito as well. Word had already spread through many of the Divisions of what had happened mere hours before to the Ninth Division, and so now the barest bones reached Kaito's ears. This brought a small frown to the normally affable features of the Towering Captain. He gave a nod to the news.
“It seems a good thing then that I already intended to stop in and talk with the Captain Commander,” he said simply, and turned towards the door. He stopped at one of the four division members standing at the door leading into the Seireitei and went through the procedure to open the door, a short but multi-step process that not only opened the door but released temporarily the barrier that surrounded the entry room. He waved over his shoulder as he left, calling out to them to keep up the good work.

As Kaito made his way through the halls of the underground portion of the Tenth Division ground where the doorway was kept, he attracted the attention of a pair of Hell's butterflies. He sent off two messages; one to his Vice Captain letting him know that Kaito was back in the Soul Society, and one to the First Division to let them know he was coming. He greeted the Division members he met along the way, but his stride did not slow, and once he had cleared the building and emerged into the growing night he stepped once more and vanished. Kaito had been alive longer than most other Shinigami that called the Seireitei their home, and his Shunpo steps were the practiced steps of a man navigating his home in the black of night. He made quick time to the gates of the First Division, and resumed walking once he arrived.

He was surprised to meet someone of note at the front gate, and the Lieutenant of the First Division was hanging out, leaning against the gate.
“Its turning into a busy night now, and one full of surprises. Welcome home, Captain Toma,” Joshua Jehanna said, pushing himself from the wall and giving a small bow to the much larger captain.
“Lieutenant Jehanna; I am surprised to find you at gate duty tonight. Did you get caught napping somewhere once more?” Kaito chided, with a small smile.
“Afraid not; as I said, its turned out to be a busy day already. I got wind that you were making your way over; boss already knows. I figure you know your way?” the Lieutenant asked, but it wasn't really a question. Joshua had passed along news of the Tenth Division Captains approach ten minutes earlier, personally, to the Captain Commander.

Kaito gave a nod, took note that in addition to the Vice Captain there were a handful of other Division members hanging around the gateway to the First Division and made his way in and up to the Elder Saionji's office. He knocked, and made his way in; he had to duck under the doorway to make it into the room, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him.
“Evening, Captain-Commander,” he said, not speaking loud but his voice carried well in confined spaces.
“Was hoping you had a minute to talk; I know your busy, but I think you'll be wanting to hear what I've got for you,” he said, laying a large stack of papers on the desk in front of the noble captain.

Subject: Re: Return Mon Apr 01, 2019 11:30 pm

The announcement of Captain Toma’s arrival came as a slight surprise. He was not expected back at this time the last time J. remembered checking. To prepare for the arrival, J. cleaned up some paperwork and sent off a few orders to different Divisions. It wasn’t long before he sensed Captain Toma’s approach, so he sat and waited for the arrival. It didn’t take long before the large man entered.

“Evening, Captain Toma. Are you well?” J asked from the seat at his desk. He looked down at the papers that Kaito brought and then back to the man. “Of course,” he agreed, nodding as he motioned for Kaito to sit on the couch, not the chairs since they were a bit smaller. J pulled the stack of papers closer and began skimming through what he had just been handed. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy.

“I assume you’ve been informed of the events that occurred today?” J asked before Kaito had a chance to get started on his end. If he had not, J would explain that a member of the Ninth Division has been brutally attacked and the Mikazuki are prime suspects. He does, however, express his own personal doubt since they haven’t returned with any evidence about the crime yet. He’s waiting for it.

J will also explain that Captain Fujino just sent him a report about Captain Arishima coming in with a strange insect to be inspected, just after Captain Arishima had sent a report himself. There is a moment of amusement in his tone when he explains that. “So, you’re seeing increased activity in Hueco Mundo?” J says after putting down a few more of the papers, “Captain Arishima is experiencing something similar in the World of the Living, so this news isn't too surprising. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say all three realms are under attack.”

J sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I doubt that is the case, however, if the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo are both seeing increased hollow activity, and now we’ve got an attack on our home front, I don’t know what else to call it. Obviously, someone is planning something.” J straightened his back and cleared his throat. “What is your opinion on all of this, Captain Toma? Any thoughts?”

Posts : 139 Join date : 2018-08-17

Kaito gave a shallow bow of greeting to the Captain Commander. “More of less, thanks for asking. Yourself?” he asked as he passed the papers to J. Kaito gave a nod of thanks and took his seat on the couch as the Captain Commander began to skim over his reports. Kaito was no stranger to patience, and let the room settle into a comfortable silence as J checked over the reports.
“Aye. One of mine at the gate passed along the bones of it; someone wiped out a patrol of the Ninth, and Mifune struck out into the Rukongai for answers. I'd say you're lucky to have someone whose got such an even head on their shoulders headed out all things considered. Could have been someone with a worse temper,” he said, though the words were carefully measured. It was clear that Kaito wasn't making light of the situation so much as expressing confidence in his fellow Captain's ability to keep a cool head under pressure.

Kaito listened as J expanded on the situation, a small frown on the large man's features. J. Saionji was not a slow man in the mental department, and it was obvious he was under no illusions that this was a matter of too much coincidence. He asked for Kaito's opinion, and Kaito gave a small hmm and let the air hang in silence a few moments as he put his various thoughts in order.
“I certainly agree that this is no coincidence. The events are too lined up; what Hollow or Arrancar takes a swipe at a Captain and Vice-Captain in the World of the Living. As stated in my reports, I've had a few take shots in my direction while I've been out as well. That's not expressly abnormal to be fair given my theater of operation, but they've become more frequent. We've had several coordinated attacks on various outposts in Hueco Mundo over the last few months, which is a significant increase in frequency.”

“I think, whatever is happening now, this is not the planning stage anymore. Someone or something has a plan, and has put it into motion. My gut tells me something is stirring in Hueco Mundo, something big. I'm likely going to talk with the old man about having some reinforcements ready for action soon, because my gut tells me that's the right idea. The events with the Mikazuki are concerning; the timing of their attack with the increased Hollow activity is too convenient, and leads to three possibilities that I see. One; they've some kind of alliance with a group of Hollows and are looking at destabilizing us for their own ends. Two; they've got spies in the relevant divisions and maybe even the First, and had caught wind that something is stirring so sought to make use of the increased strain. This would imply they've merely been waiting for a chance to initiate the conflict though, and I had hoped they were not as foolish as that.”

“Three; that the Mikazuki are being set-up to take a fall. If what I fear is correct, and something is stirring out in the White Desert, then somehow they may be trying to cause further conflict. The Hollows would view all of us into the Edge to be roughly the same, meals to be had, and so turning our attention inward in preparation for an attack is simply sound tactics. That would mean that somehow they had organized enough to then send out Hollows to do recon though, and that seems somewhat unlikely though certainly not impossible. I've witnessed Hollows and even Arrancar working together in short term to attain goals. This...doesn't feel like a short-term work though. This is something larger.”

Kaito let his thoughts hang in the air again for a few moments.
“I will state, option one feels the least likely. At best, its incredibly short-sighted on all fronts for all parties. I'd hesitate to say either of the other options are sure bets, but they're the best explanations I've come up with. No matter what, I do think that conflict is coming though.”

Subject: Re: Return Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:38 pm

The explanations that Captain Toma brought to the table weren't far off of what J had been thinking himself. The hard part was figuring out what exactly to do about it. What could he decide to prevent as much death as he can? Pulling people back would take people out of the line of danger, but the Gotei had their jobs to do. Keeping things as they were was an option, one to do only if waiting for more bodies to fall for the sake of evidence to profile the crimes committed, but that was way out of the question. He sighed in frustration.

"I believe the best course of action will be to increase Gotei presence throughout the realms." J said, though it was obvious that this decision was not completely certain on his part, "I will call on Captain Fujisaki to wake up the Reserves and send specialized squads to your Division, Captain Arishima's Division, and Captain Mifune's Division." J felt this would give each Division more power in all the major sections of the Realms, hopefully giving the squads more room to do their jobs. And if they are attacked, they had more watching their backs. "It's been a while since they've gotten off their asses."

A light smirk showed up on J's face. There was always this joke going through the Seireitei that the Reserves, the Seventh Division, are just a bunch of lazy couch potatoes because many of them don't have specified jobs. In reality, the reserves are a group of people who did their jobs previously and decided they didn't want to constantly sit in the line of fire. They "did their tour of duty" and then went off to act as a police force for the Seireitei. Besides, if you look at who their Captains is... calling that one fat and lazy was just... dumb. So, when J or any other Capt. or Lt. said it, it was always just a joke.

"She's running..." J had been writing up a bit of the paperwork and then sighed. They both would easily have been able to sense the incoming Lilith before. She had just been walking casually toward the office, likely unaware of Kaito's presence. However, a mere moment ago, she must have caught on to him being here because the pace suddenly increased. J stood up and pulled his desk backwards since it was once in the way of the entrance. He mumbled a kido incantation under his breath and a purple colored barrier covered his desk. "So they don't blow away... again. How do you handle such a woman?"

A short moment later, "KAITO." was shouted in way too much excitement through the halls of the First Division. Soon, Lilith came running in at full speed with her arms held out. She charged her old friend with the excitement one would expect from not seeing him in what felt like way too long. Also as you'd expect, he'd be tackled by the wild red-head without much hesitation or holding back. It was doubtful that the mountain she tackled would budge much, but yeah... "Where have you been? You're never gonna guess what happened!"

Posts : 139 Join date : 2018-08-17

Kaito gave a nod of approval to the Captain Commander's preparation ideas. Given the current situation it was a tactically sound series of options. Depending on the nature of the enemy the Gotei now found itself maneuvering against, a sudden increase in forces on the Gotei's side might spook them into backing down. A proper display of force was often good enough to make an opposing party reconsider the costs of full engagement. That was never a guarantee, but it was something. Only time would tell how that played out however, so all the rest of them could do was sit and wait. As to J's joke concerning the Seventh Division, that wrung a large grin out of Kaito along with a hearty guffaw.
“Bout time the Old Man came out of retirement,” he said by way of agreement.

The topic of conversation shifted, and Kaito gave a nod of acknowledgment before he pushed himself up to standing from the couch. J went about his preparations, and Kaito watched as he did so in silence until the Captain Commander put forth his question. Kaito gave him a very light-hearted grin as an answer.
“They same way you handle any other girl, though admittedly requiring more muscle,” he said as Lilith's voice rang out through the First Division. The Eleventh Division captain made her appearance, barreling forward like a freight train towards Kaito. Instead of just letting her run into him, which would certainly have resulted in him budging, Kaito scooped Lilith up into a spinning hug; he was one of the only people who could do that and knew she enjoyed the feeling since it was a rare treat.
“I have been where I usually am; out doing my job. What else has happened since I have been away?” he asked with laughter flowing through his voice. He set Lilith back down squarely on her feet.

Subject: Re: Return Wed Apr 24, 2019 11:07 pm

J stood in silence and observed with a stoic curiosity. That is all. Lilith's excitement forced a change in the entire atmosphere of the mini-meeting as she was swung around like you'd expect a woman much smaller than her to be. She enjoyed the rare feeling of being lifted. It wasn't often that she could feel dainty for feminine around anyone. "I know that, but you should come back more often. This place gets dull quickly." she said as she was put back on her feet. She brought both hands to her hips and leaned forward with a pout.

"You are never going to believe this!" she said, letting it hang there for dramatic effect before she went on her own half-irritated (yet proud sounding) rant, "Gen's got himself a girlfriend. A what!? Yes, a girlfriend! Can you believe it? No way! Yes. It's happened. AND I DON'T LIKE IT or her. Do me a favor?" Lilith brought her hands together and begged Kaito, "I can't let some little midget hussy from the Shojin distract him. He deserves better. Get rid of her? I would normally do it myself, but I can't or it'll be suspicious and he'll hate me."

Posts : 139 Join date : 2018-08-17

The dualistic nature of Lilith's tone in her rant did not slip past Kaito as he listened to her; very few things did concerning this woman, then again perhaps that would not be so surprising. Of all the people in the Soul Society, she was one of the closest to his heart. He smirked slightly at her tone as she laid it all out, and once she was done he took his turn to respond. He leaned forward so he was more or less on eye level with Lilith, clucking his tongue and shaking a finger at her.
“Ah-ah-ah, you're doing it again,” he commented with mock severity. “You cannot keep him safe from all the terrors of the world Lilith. We must each be free to chase after our own disasters,” he said, though there was a hearty chuckle in his tone.

“And besides, your prodigy of a son has never shown interest in any of those that have cast a gaze his way. What has you so worried about this one?” Kaito asked, straightening back up. For all the humor in his and Lilith's tone he had caught quiet truth in hers; something about this person she really did not like. Her joke about getting rid of this person was only half a joke, and that was more animosity than Lilith usually showed. No, perhaps the better way to say it was that if Lilith did not like someone she handled that interaction on her own. She was not someone that needed someone else to stand for her. In this case though there was a part of her that truly desired this person, whoever they were, to be gone and she did not wish to raise a hand against them. This was intriguing, and something so small was a welcome change from the large and looming problems he and the Captain Commander had been discussing only a few minutes before.

Subject: Re: Return Thu May 16, 2019 2:52 am

The only time a pout by Lilith Blake ever even seemed "cute" was when Kaito was in the room. The large man dwarfed her, even having to bend down to be at eye level. While there were other taller men, Kaito's insane height and muscular build only added to the equation. For while he was around, to the eyes of others, Lilith may have looked like a normal sized and almost feminine woman.

"I am not!" Lilith exclaimed and crossed her arms at his mocking her, a gesture that pretty much admitted to her guilt on the matter. However, the question that he brought up made her think. "You're right. It doesn't bother me this much normally..." Lilith's eyes widened and panic set in, "Does that mean she's actually a threat? I don't know what it is, but something about her SUCKS."

Lilith grabbed at the her hair, practically pulling at her scalp. "Frustration." she froze, not even breathing, and then let out the held breath in a huff, "She's this tiny little, flat-chested, brown haired tom-boy, with big ol' eyes that just radiate 'I am lovable.' I heavily dislike her. Won't say hate." Lilith put up one finger and waved it side to side, "Only one person to have existed that deserves my hate."

From the background, J stood there pointing at Lilith and mouthing the words "Green," "Envy," and "Jealous" as Lilith went on this little tirade. While he did not take part in any of it, it was obvious he was quite entertained by the scene unfolding here. If he were not, he'd stop it and continue more serious issues.

Posts : 139 Join date : 2018-08-17

As Lilith wound herself up and up, Kaito finally decided to step in; he reached out and placed a massive hand on the top of Lilith's head about the time she finally took a breath.
“There there, all will be well,” he said with the solid weight of stone in his voice. Lilith continued on, describing this apparent trespasser into her life. He did take not that for all the description Lilith gave she made no real mention of how the girl acted. He very much doubted she'd ever shared words with this new arrival. As for her mention of only one person deserving her hate, Kaito simply gave a nod of understanding; nothing more needed be said on that subject.

“I see. I will have to meet this one it seems, and see if she is worth all the fuss you are making over her,” he mused aloud with a smile; mostly, this proved a good excuse to smirk at the Captain Commander as he joined quietly in on the lighter fare of conversation from before.
“I think that indeed, I may have to end up staying around here for a while yet before I head back out into the desert,” he said, knowing that would likely bring much joy to Lilith. “That will give me a chance to meet this girl that has you so bent out of shape and see what I think about her.”

Subject: Re: Return Sat Jun 29, 2019 11:27 pm

Good news all around! Kaito was staying around for a while and he was going to "confront" the little demon that threatened to take Genpaku's interest. If eyes could sparkle, Lilith's would be and it would freak anyone who saw her out, except Kaito. "It'll be nice having you around for a while. There isn't much to do right now though..." Lilith's mind tracked back to her original reason for coming here and turned to J., "With all the stuff that's going on, Tsubine is going to use his contacts to figure some shit out. If we can hold off on declaring war against the Mikazuki for a bit, it'd be nice. He'll report back as soon as possible, but he doesn't believe that the incident with Mifune's Division would be something that the Mikazuki would do... At least, that was the implication. He wasn't exactly clear on everything; him and his secrets. That alright?"

"Preferable, actually." J said. He sat by leaning himself against his desk and cross his arms. He was silent for a moment and sighed. "I am not fond of using someone outside of the Gotei for information, but he's proven honest to this point. However, if he proves otherwise, Captain Blake, I will be counting on you to take care of the situation." "Understood." Lilith raised an eyebrow. She knew what it meant. If Tsubine were to betray them, she'd take care of it and she wouldn't hesitate. She shrugged. "He'll be fine. I trust him not to do anything stupid." "As do I." J nodded and turned to Kaito, "Anything else?"