Encounter of the Apex! Sword Creator & Sword Wielder [Ōetsu, Midori]

Back down in the Soul Society, what a time this was. A hella cool joint and so much different from the last time he was here. It was just so cool as heck to be back in the stomping ground. A little grandoise for his tastes for their new name, call him a stickler for a bit of the older ways. It was a good thing this was on the down low. A larger than life individual like himself had strolled his way all the way into the Captain Commander's office, gave her the important deets of his purpose here, just so you know. She knew. Pretty cool chick.

But back to business. He wasn't here to mess around was he? Had to attend to his job here and hunt out Midori who was here on her own business. Ah it was just so nice, he missed seeing her about the joint up top. Sure she was a looker but how many people could take it beyond Bankai like she did? And that way that she found another way to make zanpakuto? God damn. He'd put a ring on that if things were different.

Either way, sip the tea and keep it quiet. A guy like him was used to the looks, nah. He loved the looks that he drew and the queer looks they tossed at his haori with its symbol. How many people could actually believe that someone from the Royal Guard was sitting in this cafe. Bwahahaha.

"Eyo, just a bit more of this tea. It's rockin' boss. Tell the lady she's mighty fine at this. Shouldn't be loooong before mah girl gets here."

It wasn't particularly uncommon that Midori dealt with her fellow members of the Royal Guard. In fact, if anything, she was one of the few who could be called something of a social butterfly among their ranks. After all, she did make sure to host somewhat regular teas and dinner parties.

Walking into the cafe she'd been invited to, and taking a long pull from her kiseru as she sat, the woman offered a small smile of greeting as her gaze met Nimaiya's. She certainly got along with him well enough, and due simply to their mutual mastery of zanpakuto, she respected him professionally more than most. If she were especially in the market for a significant other, he would certainly be a contender.

"Nimaiya. I was certainly surprised to receive your summons, though of course I welcome a visit from one of my peers. I imagine this must be a fairly serious matter if you've come down to discuss it with me personally, hm?"

"Bwahaha. I can't get tired of ya escaping my eyes, girl. See ya man's still in yo little girl's hands."

He remarked with no small amount of energy, t'was just so easy to be excited when things happened. Better spent getting hype down here than angry everytime he watched Erenyata break his goddamn sword and remake it. That damn beligerent bastard of a man. Ugh.

"Soooooomethin' like that, maybe I just missed ya. That bastard's still breaking his swords and the others are doing their things. 'Couple of matters, the first one's how ya assignment's goin'."

As he spoke he was moving his hand on the table, a little red circle with a dot and leaned over like he was doing a romantic gesture to tell a secret and pulled away for one to be next to her on the table. Placing his own finger on the dot in the circle he waited for her to do the same and let the kido take form. A hella cool one designed to obscure what was being said by the two for the rest of the people around them. That monk was a pretty smart one when it came to obscuring things, good on 'im.

"What's tha' dealio with that thing on Earth, ya get me?"

He could bring up his own matter after she gave her report.

"My man, hm? Please, he hasn't been my man in a long time. But I've missed having you over for tea, you should find a reason to come down more often."

Midori allowed herself a quiet laugh at both Nimaiya's personal question and his casual tone. Frankly, she wasn't even sure why she had bothered to maintain the formality that she would have for most of her peers. Of course, she leaned forward and matched his gesture, completing the kido to protect anything they said.

"It's the same as it has been, I'm afraid to say. It doesn't seem like anything has made it too much of a threat, but at the same time I won't pretend we can just change our surveillance. I think it's every bit as much a danger as we thought, though. We'll need to keep an eye on things for a while longer."

She couldn't say she was terribly happy about that, of course. The threat posed by this sudden usurper down on Earth was something hard to ignore for the Royal Guard, and while she didn't especially like the thought of them needing to act, she knew it was always an option if it truly became necessary.

"Rightio. Ya know why it hasn't made a move yet?"

He skipped over the other parts, he knew when business needed to be gotten down to rather than have more fun with her. That could come later, he was the one that Ichibe let have the chance to come down here. Clearly the monk just knew when to respect the Numbah 1 Zanpakuto Creator, the one and only. Well, for a long time. Another was right opposite him.

That was on his mind though, if this being who had the capacity to replace the Soul King existed and was powerful then why wasn't it causing a ruckus? Where was it, what was it doing? What was its shtick? It left people agitated upstairs and no one up there liked when there were too many questions to answer but no goddamn ones.

"Is it waitin' for ya little girl to take over? Yeah, congrats btw. Current Captain Commander let that one slip. Must be proud but things can get dicey when leadership changes. Ya remember when Old Man Yama died and how long it took."

"I'm very proud of her, yes. I just hope she's ready for it."

Midori took another pull from her kiseru, much longer this time. The thought of her daughter as the Captain Commander was one she was conflicted on, to say the least. She knew full well how much Murasaki had always longed for the position, but it was one she didn't envy. That responsibility was a heavy one, and one that put your life in a great deal of danger in the event of an all out conflict.

"I doubt that it even knows about any changes in leadership, frankly. As far as I've seen, it simply does as it pleases. I'd thought it was some ploy by the Vandenreich, but it almost seems to just be hanging around them."

She thought about it for a moment or two longer, though that was more on account of thinking about how she ought to word this. Given it had been her entire reason for staying in Soul Society, she'd obviously thought about this extensively.

"I think that only makes it that much more dangerous, really. It could just act at any time."

"How'd it come to exist... nah, who made it? We kiddin' the Gotei but let's be real bub, we both know the Soul King ain't nothing but a farce, just a linchpin. Replacements don't simply come about like this. Ya make 'em no different to me making zanpakuto."

He reached down and took another sip of that sweet tea. Sucking that tasty stuff down to enjoy, been a while since he got it straight from the Seireitei. Still, why exactly would it be hanging around the Vandenreich? Left him wondering, surely they did have a part to play or there had to be some connection for it to hang around them.

"T'would be a pain in the ass if it acts on a whim."

Nimaiya looked out the window thoughtfully, considering the situation and formulating his own report for the monk upstairs. Damn, he was hoping it would be more concrete rather than like this although something did occur to him to ask and he turned his serious expression back to Midori. Poising just another question for her to answer among the ones thus far.

"You've been down here the longest, doin' this job. So tell me, think tha Gotei as it be now can handle it?"

"From what I've gathered, it simply appeared one day, but I have a theory based on the intelligence I've gathered. Don't consider this part of my report, seeing as it's just a theory, but keep it in mind."

Another pull from her kiseru, and Midori continued on, clearly taking this every bit as seriously as Nimaiya. After all, this was something that demanded the utmost attention from her.

"At one point, the Grandmaster of the Vandenreich displayed the same ability as this potential replacement that we've been keeping an eye on. This power was given to him, and as far as I've been able to find, he wasn't always such a force. He used to be quite unremarkable, like the Vandenreich itself. I think, whoever created this, they're someone going out of their way to avoid our attention. Someone that may well know exactly what we do."

How had Midori put all of this together? It certainly paid to have been an accomplished member of the Onmitsukido in her day. Her own natural talent for gathering intelligence may have been one thing, but there was a network of contacts that she could ask for assistance that extended far beyond the current Gotei's 5th and 7th divisions.

"I think the Gotei can handle it, yes. If I didn't, I would have already sent a summons back up. There's a fire in the current members of the Gotei that I haven't seen in a long time. I don't imagine they'll be able to treat it like a stroll by the riverside, but we don't need to intervene just yet."

"Atta girl, that's why I like ya work. In that case, pursue it or turn the Gotei onto finding it. I don't need ta remind ya the history of that gang. That bratty prince Y.H., rest his wittle soul and that blasted Lichtreich. Don't care how friendly that lot act, it'd be wise of ya little girl to not trust 'em. More than one bad apple in that lot I bet."

He said, feeling like it was coming to a natural conclusion to assess the situation in regards to the Soul King. It was good that Midori felt so confident about the Gotei, he just hoped that the lot indeed the fire to match the heat of his forge as Midori said. They'd had tough times based on all their prior reformations lately.

"I guess ya curious about my own business, huh? The gang is talking about a potential candidate for Zero Division down here, and since ya girl Kyoraku's looking to drop soon there's no need for that muscle. Ya know who I'm talking about?"

Oetsu was referring to one of the few individuals besides Midori to acquire Shikokai and she had quite a couple of other feats based on what the monk told him. She was a being from another world, fused with reflection just to name a few. Kuruyashiki was offerred a position based on his power alone. This girl met a hefty amount of the qualifications to deserve it on more than just her power.

"She's made it pretty clear to me that she doesn't put any stock in their jurisdiction on Earth. I wouldn't be surprised if we see another war between the two soon."

She certainly didn't like that thought, but she was also far more willing to accept that than this Vandenreich upstart simply coming in and replacing the Soul King. This was major, whether people knew it or not.

"That Everfrost girl. I'm hardly surprised you would come down for her. I think it's really a long time coming. But you'll probably have a bit of trouble convincing her to come, you know. I heard she just got married, and not everyone's quite as fortunate as I am to have a situation where they can bring their family with them."

Honestly, she doubted quite sincerely that Magnolia would even accept. And, if she did, it would only be with so many caveats that the Royal Guard likely wouldn't approve. Still, it was worth asking. Especially if things went south with the current situation on Earth.