Just Cause [Murasaki, Makoto]

Murasaki was, at this point, pretty much finished with anything she needed to do as far as settling into her position. She was confident that anything left was just a matter of picking up the few pieces left behind by her predecessor, getting those loose ends tied up, that sort of thing. Of course, when she thought about those loose ends, one particular figure came to mind that she realized she didn’t know all that much about.

Vice Captain Arima was, by every metric, an exceptional shinigami. Professional, very driven, and talented in every shinigami art. Murasaki had to hand that much to her, even she wasn’t so competent. Then again, Erika had told her she ought to be, and she’d have to take her up on her suggestion to train in kido eventually. But one thing at a time. In a lot of ways, Murasaki knew perfectly well that Arima was the exact sort of person she normally would have seen as a model shinigami, and probably spoken to by now. That, however, would have been relying on two factors not being present.

The first, and perhaps more immediate, was the fact that Arima had been exceptionally close to Abalia, if the notes left behind were to be believed. There wasn’t anything wrong with that in a vacuum, admittedly. Elyss had been too, and that didn’t mean Murasaki trusted her any less. But she had a history with Elyss that she simply didn’t have with the 6th Division’s vice captain, and that made things hazier here. The second factor, and one that was entirely personal, was the matter of her relationship with Murasaki’s aunt. She wasn’t exactly the sort to pry into other people’s personal lives if she wasn’t close to them, and she could hardly say that she and Shishiyuki were close, even if they’d made at least some headway. But that strained relationship did make the idea of reaching out to Arima in a more casual capacity feel…well, a little bit awkward.

So, she did what made the most sense. A formal summons, though not one that suggested anything was actually wrong. Murasaki wanted to learn more about her subordinate, but she didn’t want the woman to feel like she was in trouble.

"Come in!"

Murasaki waited for Makoto to enter, her expression genuinely cheerful in contrast to the vice captain's reserved, pleasant demeanor. Despite her misgivings about this situation, she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, and she wanted to have full trust in the people beneath her.

"Do you want a cup of tea? I just put it on a little bit ago."

Admittedly, Murasaki realized it might have been a better choice if she'd used the tea that Shishiyuki had given her as a gift recently. Then again, that might've also come across as insincere, so maybe not.

"I'm sorry for asking you here so suddenly, I know Realm Enforcement has a lot going on and I don't want to keep you longer than necessary. But you're the only vice captain I don't really know anything about, so I wanted to get to know you professionally. The previous captain commander's files were pretty detailed, but I'm not interested in just an impersonal dossier. What you consider your strengths, your weaknesses, what your specialties are in the zankensoki. Your zanpakuto, any really standout hakuda techniques or kido you happen to specialize in. The kind of things that might slip past a formal, organized report."

Naturally, being captain commander meant knowing when and wear to apply any given member of the Gotei most effectively. If the paperwork said someone was skilled in hakuda, for example, but that person wasn't confident in their own skill, then the official record wouldn't tell the whole story. Murasaki wanted to know her subordinates as people, and that was just her nature as both a woman and as a leader.

"That's a good outlook to have. My vice captain says the same thing, and it's definitely a weakness of mine that I spent so much time away. Made my kido a little rusty."

That was a colossal understatement, but Murasaki wasn't really trying to lay out her own skills by any stretch. This wasn't supposed to be an interrogation, it was just a conversation, and she had every intention of keeping it that casual. Even if Makoto had declined a cup of tea, Murasaki poured one for herself as she continued speaking.

"That's good to hear. The zanpakuto is obviously an important part of being a shinigami, but relying on it too much is dangerous. I think a lot of shinigami would benefit from learning more about hakuda, but I'm getting a little off topic. What about bankai? Any headway there?"

Murasaki, naturally, made zero indication that the mention of her aunt had even particularly fazed her. In truth, it certainly had raised a few more questions, considering she knew better than most people that the Koizumi were pretty insular. But that wasn't the topic of conversation, and really, it didn't matter at all. This was about Makoto as a shinigami, nothing else.

Murasaki certainly had a few ideas of what could in theory be holding the vice captain back in that regard, but she didn't know Makoto even remotely well enough for any of them to be more valid than any other. But it was just in her nature to inquire when it came to zanpakuto-related matters, and there was a reason she still taught advanced courses at the academy for it. She considered it something important to cultivate for every shinigami.

"Not everyone is a prodigy, you're right about that. Bankai is a long process, but I think part of that reputation comes from how secretive people used to be about it. They weren't helping to unlock it, training and sharing their knowledge as well as they could have been. Bankai isn't easy, but I think someone with your drive could probably get there faster than most people would imagine. Definitely faster than how long it used to take."

After all, Murasaki hadn't unlocked her own bankai for decades. Centuries, in the case of her father's bankai. She didn't personally believe talent or natural inclination really mattered all that much, or she would have had hers far quicker than that.

"A good teacher goes a long way when it comes to these things, you know? If you ever want any help, I'd be happy to. It's the least I can do as Captain Commander to make sure one of my vice captains is getting the best possible results from her training, right?"

"Oh, I totally understand! No need to apologize. I'd be happy to offer you other advice besides just talking with your zanpakuto, but honestly I feel like you've got that part down pretty well already. Whenever I get students in my class who've been in your zanjutsu lessons, they've got a great base."

Murasaki wasn't the type of person who just complimented people for no reason, and while her voice had the same youthful exuberance it always carried, there was a more subdued sort of maturity to it as she praised Makoto's teaching. Even if Murasaki was a fundamentally cheerful woman, she took things seriously when they deserved to be taken seriously, and this conversation fit the bill without a doubt.

"I mean what I said, though, even outside of just zanjutsu. If there's anything you think would help you get more out of your practice, or anything you think your division needs to do their job more effectively, don't be afraid to tell me. It's my job as Captain Commander to be a leader everyone can rely on if they need."

That was really what she considered the greatest difference between herself and her predecessor. Murasaki had always viewed Abalia's approach as one that relied on the rest of the Gotei, used them to build each other up, but she didn't think that was right. Murasaki didn't simply expect the best from the shinigami below her, she'd help them become their best.