The Sun Sets Over Inisfail [Private]

At one point in time, The Gotei 13 might have been known as one of the more formidable forces for good.. They stood for balance, aiming to exorcise spirits and hollows to protect the world of the living, while also keeping the peace among the spiritual realms, governing and preventing as necessary, wherever and whenever they were needed. The Thirteen Court Guard Squads were known for honor.. for integrity.. for respect, and valiance. So.. what happened?

One would expect for any force, that a constant would remain: The longer it exists, the more it learns, the more it grows, and the more that it truly improves. For major groups, strategies and allegiances can be created, crafted, and worked toward. Major plans can be made. The members within the organization? They can learn, and grow, as well. They can be trained further, they can develop themselves, they can learn, grow, and mature into the best warriors and most capable leaders within themselves.

This, however, was not the case for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Instead of progressing, they seemed only to digress over the past four hundred years. Since the winter war, the leaders and members had... slowly and surely degraded in quality.. The standards for those who were the face of the organization, the captains, had drastically lowered, to the point where it seemed anyone with a Zanpakutō could be a captain with little to no problem at all. The honor? Gone. Many of the members had no regard for their image, or their representation of the Gotei. Many of the captains as well seemed not to care in the slightest that they were supposed to be setting a positive example. The valor? Gone. Members had been deserted in their times of need. They had been left, scrambling for themselves, while enemies threaten the very center of what it meant to be IN the Court Guard Squads. The integrity? Gone. The defenses of the Gotei had lowered, it seems, as many a member who didn't belong anywhere near a positive or organized grouping such as this were right in the middle, and LEADING squads no less. Beyond that, the lack of a Captain Commander had sent everyone into disarray, proving further that it seemed people were unable to think for themselves in the slightest. There was no organization, no goals, no desire for peace or balance. There was only discord and chaos now.

Changes.. needed to be made. Immediately. There was no other course of action. However, with so many people who had no desire for change, opting to use the current situation as an excuse for a practiced and infuriating apathy, how is one expected to bring about such changes? Through words? Certainly not. Good luck attempting to get anyone to listen to reason or logic under such conditions. There was only one method that was... truly effective. Drastic and.. unorthodox action. But even that had proven fruitless as, time and time again, the Gotei responded to threats by simply tucking its tail between its legs, refusing to grow or adapt no matter how many times it gets kicked down. The very concept was infuriating.

The Mongrel Vizard, the former Captain Commander and Zero Division leader of said Gotei, was disgusted. Infuriated, even. The turn of events that showed the true underbelly of the Gotei had saddened him down to his very soul. So much so after his long and checkered career with the Court Guard Squads, and later the Vizard Corps, he had just about had enough of the organized idiocy all together. In truth, he was simply tired. The fight against Tora in Brazil had shown him how quickly the tides of battle can turn one to the most vile corners of their own mind. Xaver didn't want that. He didn't want to have to become something he wasn't just because he was too foolish to quit while he was ahead. He wanted to be done. He needed to be done. And in that, the Vizard's mind had been pretty much made up.

Leaving word with anyone for whom the information might be pertinent, Xaver left his postings entirely, venturing back to the land of his birth for some well-deserved time alone. He still had a modest land holding tucked away in an older part of the nation where he wouldn't be bothered.. it seemed like a perfect escape.. back to his home.. back to Ireland.

Xaver had spent his time there reflecting, beginning an almost cliche sort of self-meditative lifestyle wherein he would try new hobbies and things in an attempt to find things other than fighting that in some way fulfilled him. In doing so, the result was an estate littered with the products and remains of various projects, both complete and unfinished. Everything from macrame to clay, painting to baking. Some might see it as almost comedic for such a formerly prominent figure to be reduced to such things, but for Xaver it was almost therapeutic.

On this day in particular, the blue-haired son of light was checking on one of the few hobbies he had actually caught on to and maintained.. his small garden at the front of his house. Out of his traditional blue jumpsuit, Xaver wore simply a tank-top and shorts, a gardening hat shielding his eyes from the sun as he hummed to himself, watering the already-sprouting broccoli and kale absent-mindedly while doing so.