An Independent Investigation (Ottozeo/Open)

Ichigo was... missing? What? That didn't make any sense at all. How the hell was Ichigo, a neigh unstoppable individual, just missing? Fuu let out a soft sigh "Aye if he vanished awhile ago then the two are unlikely to be related... though that isn't to say this wouldn't of happened even had he been around. Still it is concerning that he just disappeared." She shook her head, so little of all of this made any kind of sense. "Has anyone been in, and subsequently returned from, the inside of the hole that you know of? If so was there anything else they could report about it? What other organizations are looking into the hole and have the Shinigami crossed paths or blades directly with them?"

Fuu had a reasonable suspicion as to the answer the man might have for her, but truth be told she wanted to get all the information that she possibly could before making any assumptions. The Gotei's strongest asset was missing, presumably dead and... well if that were the case there was only one other place she could think of that he might be, and it wasn't somewhere she could get to let alone wanted to get too. "And, apologies if this comes off as rude, but if this is an all hands on deck situation, what reason do the Taicho's have for NOT showing up? Are they that afraid of what might be down there?" She didn't WANT to imply that the Gotei United Taicho's seemed weak compared to the Gotei 13's but... well, if they weren't going then by all accounts they must be, since to her knowledge the Gotei 13 would've sent at least one Taicho if only to survey the scene and help keep the peace.

Thoughts circulated through Fuurinji's mind, about where Ichigo could be... why nobody had heard anything, why nobody had gone looking, and most importantly, how he had even vanished. While a standard Shinigami going missing might be noted and put aside for a time, Ichigo was on the level of importance equal to Yamamoto himself. Every Shinigami knew of him, Every Shinigami was taught about him. Something that was simply overwhelmingly powerful must've happened, and it couldn't of have happened within the World of the Living nor Soul Society because that WOULD have been noticed of that she had absolutely no hesitation in saying was fact. That left but two places, Hueco Mundo and Hell, and the Gates of Hell only opened when a Zanpakuto cleansed a hollow that had been wicked in life... which meant Hueco Mundo was the only logical conclusion as to his location. So why hadn't anyone gone? It wasn't like Urahara couldn't send people there, he did it for Ichigo and the Captain's of the Gotei 13 had also gone there to fight Aizen's Arrancarr.

Alas, the Shinigami before her wouldn't likely have knowledge of how to directly access Hueco Mundo so it wasn't pertinent to bring up. Even so he began to explain how unlikely it was that anyone had actually entered the hole, much less come out, meaning no information on what exactly was inside the hole. Given the number of hollows that seemed to be appearing, there were only two conclusions that Fuurinji could come too. It was either somehow a portal into Hueco Mundo, or another Hollow similar to the one Aizen employed was down there spitting them out. Alas with nobody having entered the hole, it was impossible to know which was true if either of them was actually true. As for the defenses, it seemed pretty standard. Shinigami, Local Defense forces, Quincy, all cooper- "QUINCY!?" Her thoughts were instantly interrupted as her head turned upwards out of its contemplative stance and towards Tento "The hell are they doing there?!" Her entire demeanor and tone did an extremely fast shift, from questioning to almost pure anger. No, she couldn't let anger take the better of her. She took a quick but deep breath and let it out slowly to calm herself down, if they were with the Shinigami, at the very least she could hope they weren't doing what they used to do... or if they were, that the Shinigami would quickly stop them from doing so. She didn't have the full story.

But with that Tento himself was clearly getting a bit frustrated with her questioning, his response said as much. Speak and not fight? Guide and not be seen? She couldn't hide the fact that the one hand that rested near her right Zanpakuto tightened into a fist "Tch..." The corner of her mouth raised into a grimace, her teeth gritted together and she found his response all-together lacking. Tento justified the lack of a Captain because of improved general skills, Bankai's becoming more prevalent, and superior Shikai's to the past. But all of these things were merely products of that which would be required. After Aizen every Shinigami began to train, bankai's were already becoming more common within the Gotei 13 and improved general skills weren't something she thought were surprising in the least since such a thing was expected of all Shinigami. "The Gotei United truly are... lackluster. You think more common Bankai's means Captain's aren't required on the front lines? That more competent users of Hoho, Hakuda, and Kido means that a standard Shinigami needs no direct communication with their Captain's on the battlefield? Don't make me laugh."

Fuurinji turned away from Tento now, roughly in the direction of Karakura Town somewhere far off in the distance. "I was around when Ichigo and Aizen were at the heights of their power, aye, and Ichigo didn't let Aizen stop him. He went to Hueco Mundo, he challenged the Arrancarr directly, and he saved his friends. He didn't wait, but he didn't rush in recklessly. He was powerful and he knew it, he had the strength to save his friends and he knew it. The Gotei 13 hesitated and lost battles as a result, they allowed Aizen's power to grow and manifest and when they challenged him they lost. Do you see the difference, Shinigami? I do not speak as if your Taicho's are scared of a hollow, I speak like your Taicho's are scared of taking risks. Lives WILL be lost, regardless of your action or inaction. That hole appearing should be able to make you see that pretty fucking clearly, and now Ichigo isn't here to help us out apparently. We don't have the luxury of just sitting around and waiting, YOU don't have that luxury. So what if all of you have Bankai if, to this day, nobody has deigned to enter the hole? How can you expect to ever learn anything from something you know nothing about if you refuse to engage it? Aizen's power was a complete unknown, so he won every battle until Ichigo put him down. Not the Gotei 13, Ichigo. But it wasn't like he simply attacked Aizen on his own, no the Gotei was there to help him in full force. All of the Taicho's, not just the seated officers or the Fukutaicho's. We ensured that he had a chance at victory, and we accepted that there were going to HAVE to be losses. There is no way around such a thing. To claim otherwise is to claim ignorance. Ichigo shook the very foundation of Soul Society, he broke millennia long traditions because he refused to just let injustice survive and thrive. He made Sotaicho Yamamoto himself change his ways, a feat that no other individual could do."

Did she revere Ichigo? Of course. Did she revere Yamamoto? Absolutely. But she knew the consequences of inaction, she lived through it. "When the Quincy Massacre happened it was because of the Gotei took inaction against the Quincy's at first, hoping they'd see reason and stop trying to disrupt the balance. Their inaction caused thousands upon thousands of souls to be erased from existence. Aizen got away and grew in power and nearly defeated the entirety of the Gotei 13 by himself, because of their inaction. " Finally she turned back to Tento "Do you understand now, Shinigami? Your inaction is leading to far more chaos and death than if you sent someone down into that hole to gain intel. I'm sure you know of Mayuri, and I'm likewise sure that there's probably been someone else who has replaced him by now. Does that individual not have the same mental fortitude as him? For all your new found power, you still refuse to do what is required of a Shinigami. For all your new found techniques, you refuse to employ them. A Bankai is useless if you refuse to use it, and technique is lost when you do not put to practice that which you've learned. If anything, I'd say having bankai's so prevalent now has made the Gotei United more meek and fragile than the Gotei 13 ever was."

There he goes again, prattling on about how great the Gotei United are, what a pain. At each turn she waved her hand dismissively at his words "Firstly all of those things are things that all Shinigami have been taught within the academy, prattling on about working together or training better and acting like that is the end all be all and what makes you so great is pointless and makes you look more pathetic than you otherwise already are." She said, shaking her head and sighing softly "Secondly, I stood off to the side because I would legitimately only be in the way of those who could've actually fought. My being there would've caused them to have to hesitate and think about things other than the fight, so I CHOSE to stay out of it." She once more waved her hand dismissively and sighed.

"As for Ichigo, I do recall CORRECTLY that he saved his friends. Notice, however, that I do not specify he saved them ALONE, because to do so would be an impossibility. I also stated that he HAD the help of the Gotei 13 because they were forced into a decision, they were forced to go when they otherwise would've stayed placid and done nothing. He also was anything but desperate, Ichigo, unlike most, never gave into such base desires or wanton urges such as desperation, hell I'd argue such a word wasn't even in his vocabulary. Additionally, civilians die every single day as a result of the failure of Shinigami, that's just a fact of life. Shinigami are there to ATTEMPT to save them, our entire JOB is to purify hollows not save all civilians. Innocent humans die to the hands of more vile humans, do you go after them? No. You go after Hollows as is your duty as a Shinigami." Her tone was very much entirely dismissive at this point.

"Thirdly, Risks are apart of the fucking job. We have to take risks if we want to get anything actually done and not just chase around those that are far more than we are. As you just said, inaction causes unnecessary losses. The Gotei 13 many times did nothing and caused a lot to be lost in the process, but the Gotei 13 you speak of and the one that I speak of are extremely different. You seem to think I refer to the Gotei 13 as they were when Ichigo lived, but that isn't the case. To remind you, I speak of the Gotei 13 that slaughtered the Quincy for trying to disrupt the balance. Ichigo was so pivitol because the Gotei 13 you think I mean was weak and failed to ever even make an attempt at stopping Aizen in earnest until he had already achieved his goals. Your Gotei 'United' can have all the strength you think they have, but it still has yet to measure up to the Shinigami that stopped the Quincy from destroying the cycle. They refuse to go into the hole, yet the Gotei 13 I refer too would've already sent in troops to assess what might be down there. Your communication can improve all you like, it's doesn't matter when you don't use it. Lives MUST be lost during war, it's an inevitability of war. Shinigami are SOLDIERS., we fight and do battle every single day. To deny this is to deny your own existence." Fumiri scoffed and shook her head, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned to the side slightly.

"I refused to rejoin your organization after they were restarted because it wasn't the Gotei 13 I admire, that I wanted to join. The ones that protected my family from the Quincy's. They were scraps, remnants of what had once been a great and powerful military force. To believe that you can live your life free of any risk is to think this is some kind of fucking utopia, which it factually is NOT. If you wish to continue never taking risks, more people WILL die as a DIRECT result of YOUR organization's inactions. End of story."

It was like the past and present colliding, torrential forces never meant to connect yet here they were doing exactly that. An unstoppable force meeting an immoveable object as some might say, their ideals so starkly contrasted that it was something of a small miracle they hadn't already actually clashed with blades. Yet every word each spoke seemed only as if it were going to inevitably bring them together in a heated clash of more than just simply words. Perhaps to an outside observer their argument might simply seem like a pointless one, though they would likely be seriously wrong.

But, at least at first, his words made little sense, comparing those he'd never met before to those of his time. Though she was guilty of the same of course, having never sparred against any of the new Gotei United. But for Fuurinji that mattered little, she knew what the Gotei she admired was capable of... she'd seen and experienced it first hand. The track record of the Gotei 13 that came before him was spotty, it was weak and shallow. It was why they relied on Ichigo so heavily, and why she admired Ichigo more than them. Of course she admired Komamura as well, a kind yet powerful and unwavering soul unlike some within that very organization.

However his snapback at her comment of pathetic had her right hand immediately grab the hilt of her Zanpakuto and squeeze, her face twisting rather swiftly into a grimace of anger. "YOU THINK I JUST ACCEPTED IT?! THAT I CRAWLED TO A STALL AND LET MYSELF STAY THERE!?" This wasn't like Fuurinji normally, but like most she was easy to succumb to her emotions when challenged directly like this. "Your kind have no idea what the Seventh was like, what our duties were, what we could and did accomplish. But that's why your Gotei has changed, because it didn't understand. There were few even back then that could understand. Not that I'd expect someone like you to know that." She snapped. "And that boy, as you call him, was more of a Shinigami than most, was willing to do that which everyone else was adamantly AFRAID to do! That they REFUSED to do!"

"I know better than most that live now-a-days what hesitation and inaction cost, I'd wager I likely have experienced it far more times than you can count. You think I am no Shinigami, because of what? That I believe having the strongest of our kind be wiling to do that which no other is capable of? Just because they MIGHT be crippled or heavens for fucking bid die?! I have seen humans that surpass Shinigami in both strength and skill, yet you see them as nothing more than humans that should stay outta the way. You think their cops can handle that which happens in this world? Have you paid NO attention to how many of them are incapable of handling themselves!?"

She scoffed, turning her back to the man. By now her knuckles on the hand that gripped her Zanpakuto were as white as they could possibly get as she listened to him speak, speak as if she forgot tragedies. Who in their right mind could forget such events when they lived through them? It would be insane to do so at best and at worse? Ineptitude.

"Delay and hesitation go hand in hand, if you do not hesitate there is no delay. If you do not delay, there is no hesitation. Doing either means lives that shouldn't have been lost, are lost. Doing either means those that would have otherwise had entirely peaceful existences can never know such a thing. It turns otherwise innocent souls into victims of monsters that would rather see everything around them obliterated just because they CAN'T FOLLOW THE RULES!"

She took one long, deep breath before she spoke again. "The hesitation of the Gotei 13 to strike down those that would disrupt the balance cost the lives of friends and family that you never even knew once existed because all you Shinigami are the fucking same. Protectors of the Rukongai yet never there when it matters, protectors of the World of the Living yet always hesitating and delaying your actions because you fear someone might fucking die as a result of YOUR actions and never what your INACTION costs. We'll NEVER know and NEVER can know if what happened here could've been avoided, because we don't know what even fucking caused it to happen in the first place. The answers could be down there, but we'll never fucking know because those self proclaimed 'Gods of Death' are so god damn afraid of dying as if it wasn't apart of the fucking job. A god damn human cop has more willingness to die than a fucking god of it does. You're right, I wasn't useful when I was in the Gotei 13 when it came to fighting Aizen, but there weren't very fucking many that would've been capable of killing such a creature. You're right when you say our job isn't just about purifying hollows. But you fail to grasp the simplest of concepts, those that refuse to obey the ones in charge of the protection of the entirety of this reality do not deserve to dictate who lives and dies. We know this to be true because the Quincy's attempted it, and what happened to them? They were warned a single time to stop what they were doing because of the consequences, and yet they refused. So without mercy the war was brought, many hollows were obliterated that shouldn't have because they were offered a warning and given time to 'consider'. Tell me, 'Shinigami', have you ever lost someone because of that? Have you ever had your mother erased from the cycle because those ignorant bastards decided they wanted to challenge those that defended reality? I guarantee you haven't. You don't know the first thing about what it means to protect the souls that you're charged with. The Shinigami, the real Shinigami that defended the cycle died long ago, long before some of their actual deaths even. Because those Shinigami were the ones that protected my family when those damned Quincy sought to destroy it, and had it not been for them the Quincy would've ended all of our precious reality."

Fuurinji turned her head half back towards Tento and, in an eerily calm voice spoke once more "You say I am no Shinigami? Then allow me to explain to you as clearly as I can what I am speaking of, to ensure I leave you with no questions or wonderment about what I am. The Shinigami I speak of saved my family from the Quincy, I nearly lost my own life, my Sister, and my Father to them. But they ensured we lived, yet I will never again hear my Mother's voice, She cannot be reborn into the cycle. Because their artifacts remain and killed my Mother, erasing her from the cycle and resigning her innocent soul to oblivion. I am not afraid of death, 'Shinigami', for there is no death truer than the ones the Quincy deal in. You think that sending your strongest and best into dangerous situations is worthless and only serves to risk their lives, so what of it? Shinigami means God of Death, No death is worse than one at the hands of a Quincy for only their death ensures you will never know peace. Who better suited for the most dangerous situations than the most powerful among us? If they cannot prevail in such a situation then why bother even fighting against it? Why bother combating it and not just allowing it to take us? You send your best not because there is a risk of death, but because there is a risk that should they fail we have no hope. You do not send in the foot soldiers because their deaths ARE the meaningless ones. Their deaths serve no purpose other than to ensure the situation requires stronger and stronger Shinigami. The unknown deserves respect, and the only proper respect to be given to a powerful unknown is the most powerful of us. When we annihilated the Quincy for disrupting the balance we did so with unrelenting and overwhelming power and we didn't simply send the foot soldiers. We sent those that we knew would get the job done or ensure we would prevail. The hole is a threat, the hollows pouring from it are more powerful than the hollows that emerge from Hueco Mundo. That means it is a massive threat, that means it isn't something for an ordinary grunt like you or me. That means we would only be in the way. So you send in the best, because that's what they're here for. Ensuring that those we cannot deal with, can be dealt with."

In her eyes, he just simply didn't understand. He was neither old enough nor wise enough to be able too understand, but how could he be? A vengeful spirit she might've been by now... Perhaps being on her own, left to her own hateful thoughts had done this to her. But it mattered not to Fuurinji, for this man was a Shinigami of an age that no longer mattered, and he would learn that in time... just not right now. "Say what you will, for in the end it does not matter. You still have your loved ones, you still have those that you care for. You have things I can never again have, things I can only long for. No matter what you say, no matter what you experience, no matter what you do, until the Quincy have ripped them from you we will never be equals. You can be stronger, you can be faster, but you can never be my equal."

"I do not protect the Rukongai because it is, as you would say, simply not my duty. I do not protect the humans because, as you would say, it is not my duty. I do not do anything now because it is my duty, for I have no duty anymore. As you would say, I am a rogue going about my own path on my own terms in my own way. No longer am I bound to the constraints of your rules and regulations, I act as I desire and naught else. Vengeful? At least you're finally starting to see me for who I am. Perhaps I am no Shinigami, but then that is naught but a title bestowed upon you by someone who thinks themselves your superior. Yours do not desire change, yours desire power. Yours do not desire peace, yours desire conflict." She shook her head and let out a deep, slow sigh.

"If what you claim be true, then my blades shall never be drawn again for duty is not something I have known for longer than I care to recall at this moment. If your respect was something I cared for, our conversation would've never gotten to this point. The fact you feel the need to declare your lack of respect tells me more about you than you think." While her hand did leave her Zanpakuto, she wasn't without her readied stance. "The difference between us is that of the sun to the earth, you know only rebirth, while I only know death and loss. Your life experiences mean nothing, everyone you lose will be reborn and allowed to live and allowed peace. You have never had the Quincy erase someone you love from existence."

"If, by some miracle, you truly think you know more than me... Then come find me, Shinigami. If you truly think yours is so much better, perhaps then we will find who is truly in the right and who is in the wrong. Perhaps I am just waiting to die as you say, but if that were true it would not surprise me. As I have stated, the love and laughter of my Mother will never hearken to my ears. Never again shall she know the joy and gift of life and peace, and neither shall I."

By now she was walking away slowly, waving one arm meagerly in the air with that hand lazily drapped in front of it. "But even as violent as one of my Zanpakuto is, neither of them desire conflict with Shinigami. So I shall heed their words as I have always done, and you should heed yours. Go on back to your Master like a good little boy, perhaps when the Quincy have erased your families souls from the cycle you will be my equal, let us hope for their sakes I do not allow them that chance." Unless she was stopped, her form would soon vanish in a gust of wind kicked up by her Shunpo.