Stormclouds [Murasaki, Henrex]

There was always something to do as Captain Commander, but that was fine with Murasaki. Frankly, it was better than just sitting around filling out paperwork. Even if she didn't have any work to do, she had her advanced class at the academy she still taught, and being at the academy made it easy enough to follow up on another important thing she'd wanted to address for a while now.

"Hi hi, Mr. Astillon. Hope I'm not dropping in at a bad time."

Of course, the Academy was closing up for the day, so she knew perfectly well he probably didn't have anywhere he needed to be right away. But maybe he had a date to get to or something, Murasaki didn't know.

Teaching at the academy had been a bundle of mixed feelings for him. As the time to closing ticked nearer, Henrex found himself taking the time to keep his mind off the the clock, using the last bits of time that he had before going back home to read. He had already made sure that he was finished with everything that was needed for his classes and students anyhow. Hearing Murasaki enter and speak, his gaze lifted to face her.

"Hardly, Murasaki."

Slipping a bookmark between the pages, he closed the novel and set it on his desk, then turned his attention back to Murasaki, ruby eyes holding her gaze with a gentle, firm attention. He tried to push the growing dread of the new Head Captain personally dropping by. He had at least one idea of why she might be here, though, he figured to let it run its course.

"Is there a problem? I doubt the Head Captain would visit me unless it was important."

"Nah, not a problem or anything like that. Important's right, though."

Murasaki would have sat on his desk if they were more personally acquainted, but given this was ultimately still a professional meeting, she opted not to do that, instead simply taking a seat opposite him as her cheery expression grew just a little bit more serious. In spite of her girlish attitude, she understood when she needed to show some tact.

"I'm not really the kinda person who likes to dance around a topic or anything, so I'll just ask. Do you think you'd be willing and able to be Captain of the 5th again?"

She didn't exactly have much love for the current captain, though not on any personal reasons. Murasaki was building the best possible Gotei, being the best possible Captain Commander, and the reality was that she couldn't afford to have a captain that was questionably present. She'd already started looking for more qualified people, filling spaces that weren't filled.

Of course, she understood that Henrex had been removed from the position before. But she also knew why that had occurred, and that was why she'd asked in the way that she had. She wasn't outright offering the position. She was asking if he wanted it, and if she could trust him with it.

That dread gnawed at him as she sat down, alleviated briefly only by her comment that, thankfully, there was no problem. But, the moment she spoke, his lips briefly parted, a quiet, yet still audible gasp coming from him. He had kept his ear to the ground when he was in Soul Society, he knew that the Gotei had undergone many changes in the time that he had been gone, as well as, by extension, the academy itself, judging from what he had heard around the grounds. After all, information gathering was a specialty of his.

The only thing that came to mind when she said that was one word: doubt. He had never expected Murasaki to come to him with this kind of offer. He had expected any number of things to happen from her visiting him. He expected to be removed from the academy or some other kind of punishment, but, that was not one of them. A period of silence filled the room as he processed what was just asked of him, breaking it with apprehension in his voice.

"Is this a joke?"

"Nope."

Murasaki didn't joke when it was time to be serious, and she certainly didn't joke about something as important as captaincy. She knew how much the job meant, and she knew that it probably stung a lot having lost it. This was, at its core, an entirely serious conversation.

"I wanna know your honest answer. Would you wanna be captain, and do you think you'd still have it in you?"

Her approach as commander was, in some ways, pretty radical. She knew she was entirely ignoring previous commanders' views, and overlooking what had been a serious concern. But that really didn't matter to her. If Henrex was trustworthy enough to be teaching here, she couldn't really see any reason not to trust him with other responsibility.

His gaze lowered at the realization that...she wasn't lying. This wasn't some joke at his expense. It was a genuine offer back to the Gotei. For a moment, the coldness in his eyes faded, replaced by surprise and hope. A chance to have what he had before, right in front of him. But, he still doubted. It was so very tempting, but, it was too good to be true.

An offer back into the Gotei as a general member would be less cause for suspicion than this, but an offer to return to the captaincy position? It was too sweet a deal.

"What's the catch? You pop in, out of the blue, and all of a sudden offer my position back, with no strings attached? I find that hard to believe."

He stopped for a moment, his hands moving from the desk to his lap, fingers digging into his knee. He had nothing but questions at this point. He wanted to break down every last bit of the offer, to learn and know about everything that was there, to know exactly he would be getting into, should he go back.

"And why me, of all people? Why come to me, someone who's been unceremoniously kicked out?"

His voice shifted in the last few words, his words having more vitriol and hate than anything else. To lose everything he had worked and built for without reasonable cause was infuriating. But, more than anything, it hurt. He had given all those years of his life in service to the Gotei, only for it all to be torn away from him in an instant. Why him? Even moreso, what incentive would there to be to return to the place that so easily cast him aside and replaced him?

Part of him desired to go back, desperately so, but there was a hesitation that gripped his heart. Would it be worth it? Perhaps it was, given that she had come to him, but, would he have to give something up? And if so, what? The day he was kicked from the Gotei was one that would remain in his memories forever, the questions and potential branches of fate having occupied his mind ever since.

"Because unlike the people who came before me, I think people can grow. I think they can change. And I know you wouldn't be here teaching if you didn't care about the Gotei."

Murasaki's voice was about as stern as it really got, which wasn't all that stern if you compared it to the average person. But, when compared to the bubbly way her words tended to come out, it was fairly clear just how serious she was being at the moment.

"I've read all the reports from the war. I know it wasn't just unceremonious, I know it was over a friend. And I'd be lyin' if I said I agree with the idea of hiding that you've got a friend with ties to Shadow Fall when when we were at war, but the commanders haven't exactly been any more honest about how they operate."

That, really, was her biggest problem with all of it. The hypocrisy of it.

"I know what you can do. I need a new captain for the 5th, and I know you want to be here in the Seireitei. Either I can trust you, or you've been foolin' everyone around here, even Miss Kyoraku, for a long time. If that's really the case, you're so good at bein' sneaky that I'd still want you leadin' that division."

It was just the reality of the situation. Murasaki didn't pretend that she felt every captain she had was a moral paragon. In fact, she wasn't sure she felt that way about any of them, really. But that wasn't what she cared about. She wanted them to do their jobs well, and she wanted them to be at least decent people, who she wouldn't have to worry were out there doing evil things.

He always had the sneaking suspicion that his removal had been about Arianda, but, when he had been called to the Head Captain's office, he had never received an explanation. Just told that he had been removed from his position, effective immediately. No chance to defend himself or understand what was happening. Yet, all of it had been done to keep her safe. He hadn't known what the Gotei would do at the time, finding out that he had a friend tied to Shadow Fall, and he didn't want to find out.

He just didn't want to have someone close taken away from him again.

He remained silent as she spoke, keeping his eyes pinned to his desk as he listened. As she finished, another bout of silence washed over the room. The half-breed's expression softened, and the fingers digging into his knee loosened their grip. Now, the vitriol and hate that had plagued his voice for even just a few words had receded. He spoke softly, quietly -- a tone of voice that Murasaki would likely know better than the cold firmness that he had before.

"If you really do believe that, believe that people can change, and that you really do want me to come back to the Stealth Force, then...okay. I'll trust you, and I'll do my best to keep hold of the trust you're placing in me."

His gaze relaxed and looked up to face the Head Captain.

"I have one request, though: Hime Tatsumiya. I want to negotiate her freedom. Either with parole, rehabilitation, whatever. It doesn't matter if it's now or in the future. That is all I want. At the very least, I ask that you consider it."

There weren't many things that he felt so strongly about nowadays, but, this was one that he would fight for with every ounce of power that he possessed.

Hime Tatsumiya, huh? Murasaki certainly hadn't grown any more fond of the thought of the woman since she'd sent her back to prison, and the thought of negotiating her freedom was a complicated issue, to put it really lightly. After all, she knew a lot of the scope of her betrayal wasn't even true anymore. That Kin Iramasha just...never existed. But, at the same time, she was still there for a reason.

"We can talk about it, yeah. Not right now, but we can schedule something to go over it if ya feel that strongly about it."

It almost made Murasaki feel bad. She hadn't even known he'd care about the woman's position, given she had only seemed to care about Elyss when she was getting sent back to her cell. Did he know that? She hoped not.

"I'll get started on the paperwork for you takin' the position. Think we probably still have your haori sittin' around, so it'll mostly be the formality side of things."

And, of course, the 'current' captain of the division. Murasaki couldn't exactly say she was much of a factor, though. That was the whole reason she'd been looking for a new captain.

He let out a sigh of relief at her accepting his request. He didn't even care that it wasn't right now, he was just relieved that there was a chance at all. It was something, and even if that chance was tiny, he wouldn't give up. He gave a small nod in response to her, chuckling quietly to himself. They might still have his old haori around? Seriously? He had figured the thing would have been destroyed not long after his removal.

But, that was something to think about later. There was one last thing he had on his mind.

"One last thing. I assume Shuten was made Captain after my removal? Will she be moved down, or, will I also need to look into getting a new Vice Captain?"