Battlefield Report [Kanae, Murasaki]

Wanton slaughter is a funny thing. Funny enough to nearly bring a smile to the Combat Division's Captain, Nagoshi Kanae. After months of coming apart at the seams, her little mask of humanity threatening to shatter at any moment, Kanae finally felt somewhat at peace. Satisfied, even. Ripping that Hollow into pieces was a fun time, but more than that she got to experience the joy that came with wetting her blade with the blood of the Shinigami, Quincies, and humans it had turned to gold.

As she made her way through the First Division's Barracks to a meeting she'd requested with the Captain Commander, her Reiatsu was noticeably less malevolent, less bloodcurdling, than it had been when she had last come here. The average Shinigami walking the same halls as her felt less obligated to give her as wide a berth as possible, even if the look on her face was as unkind and serious as ever.

Here it was, the Captain Commander's office. Last time she was here Kanae had to practically restrain herself, those one thousand years still fresh in her mind as she sat there sipping tea with a woman born centuries after she was sentenced to prison. Now she strode back as the triumphant Captain who helped destroy a terrible threat, though she would no doubt still feel the urge to make Murasaki's head and body strangers.

Rap, rap, rap sounded out as Kanae clacked her closed fist against the wooden door, her other hand carrying a plain manila folder. Though the folder's contents had been why Kanae had come here, her true objective was at the back of her mind.

Reports from the hole in Africa were at least relatively good, though Murasaki wasn't the sort to revel in any battlefield victories, per se. She'd be the first to admit that she enjoyed a good fight; she believed, perhaps to a degree that would have been unhealthy in a normal woman, that there was something to be found about oneself in the heart of battle. But that only really applied to herself. She hated to know other people were dying at her order, on her behalf.

But it was what it was, she supposed. The air in her office was the same as it always was, tranquil and free of tension. Murasaki had spent enough time dealing with her own predecessor that she knew a stifling air would only put people on edge, and she hated doing that to most people.

Or, in the case of this particular visitor, she just didn't want the woman feeling like there was any threat.

"Come in."

Though her voice cut through the air like a blade, there was little in the way of malice in it. It was simple authority, the cold decisiveness of a woman who knew the severity of her position. If this were a friend, maybe she would have spoken more cheerfully, but Kanae was a subordinate. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Tsk. Kanae nearly felt her good mood leave her as that reprehensible voice sounded out from behind the door she stood in front of. With a twist of a handle she pushed open the door and entered Murasaki's office, whereupon her violet eyes stared at the woman who was responsible for the sudden sharp pain she felt in her leg. Kanae knew it had been healed fully, as such this was no physical pain but a reminder of their bout that ended so bloody. A moment passed before a smile returned to Kanae's face and she turned to close the door behind herself, then approached and sat across from Murasaki.

"You're looking well, Kagayaku no Murasaki. Unlike many of the soldiers returning from battle. Don't worry about me, though. I'm perfectly healthy." A second passed, Kanae's words lingering in the air, before she raised and dropped a folder in front of Murasaki thick with paperwork. "My field report, among other things." After placing the folder down Kanae leaned back and sat almost inhumanly-upright, her presence and general mannerisms as strange as ever.

"Who could have guessed there were multiple Hollows that would require Bankai to kill? Don't fear though Kagayaku no Murasaki, I gave everyone else quick deaths." said Kanae, alluding to the description of golden thralls created from her opponent's gold spreading to her own soldiers and Quincies. "As I understand it the rest of the Hollows were wiped out. Well, all but one." Then with a shrug, she said "Oh well. Can't expect those subhuman Quincies to get the job done. If only another Captain joined the fray." At this Kanae's eyes narrowed nearly to a squint as she watched for the Captain Commander's reaction.

"That's the reality of being a shinigami. There wouldn't be much use in having members of the Gotei if they needed protecting, too."

Murasaki didn't treat lives as something disposable. She would take time to personally oversee the rites for everyone who had been killed in Africa, and to ensure any family they had were given some form of closure or another. The idea that their lives might have been wasted by doing their duty, however, wasn't one that was allowed any purchase in her mind.

"If only, but like you said, right? Who could have guessed. As for the Vandenreich, I'm not going to pretend my faith in them is ironclad or anything like that. There's a reason the Gotei doesn't just hand over our issues to them."

Every word delivered with perfect clarity and poise, as if she hadn't even needed to think about her response. Her own gaze remained clear as ever as she continued speaking, unwilling to give Kanae any particular satisfaction in her thinly-veiled criticism.

"Captains aren't the solution to every problem. Shouldering all the burdens makes everyone else complacent, and puts too much expectation onto too few people. If the issue had gotten worse, more Captains would have gone."

As her fearless leader responded to each of her digs with the quickness Kanae expected from her, she sat in silence, the eerie smile never leaving her face. Kanae wasn't particularly interested in whatever justifications or rationalizations Murasaki gave, after all she wasn't particularly interested in the things she herself had said anyway. Besides detesting Quincies, everything she had said was just ways to prick Murasaki with malicious spines, one of her favorite pastimes.

"We will just have to put it to a difference in approach then, Kagayaku no Murasaki. I believe overwhelming force is always the correct method for dealing with undesirables. Just ask the subhumans." Remembering the genocide following the Gotei's defeat over the Lichtreich brought a giggle to Kanae's lips, which she covered with the front of her hand. "Reminiscing isn't why I came here though. My report details the potential threat of leaving the hole as-is. The security detail placed around it is, in my estimation, waiting to be killed by whatever comes out of it next. I believe we should be searching for a way to close it permanently."

Did Kanae care about the lives of the security force around the hole? Absolutely not. The real tragedy of them dying is it wouldn't be by her own hand. No, it was merely a front to appear more considerate and problem solving as a Captain. The true reason for having come to Murasaki was only just now being voiced "I have another report to submit, which I've included in that folder. The second report is about Seireitei's nobles who appear to be growing restless with the current status quo. I have been approached multiple times by one such noble. Though he is of an inconsequential clan, merely a scheming rat with an inflated ego, there could be problems for the Gotei if these...people...are all of the same mind." The disgust with which Kanae referred to nobles as "people" may be the most sincere thing she's ever said to Murasaki.

"That'd be prudent, yeah."

Of course it would be. Murasaki would have expected just about any shinigami to come to a similar conclusion. If Kanae had any actual feedback for her, any suggestions of how to close the hole, then Murasaki was all ears. But otherwise, she didn't think what she was hearing now, dressed up in such straightforward racism, was worth the time it took for her to hear it.

"I'm not surprised to hear the nobles are unhappy, or that they'd approach you specifically about whatever it is they want."

Taking a sip of tea, Murasaki thought for a few moments about the situation before her. She didn't trust Kanae one iota, nor would she ever, she had to imagine. Even beyond the woman's past, and the way she carried herself, she put Murasaki on edge in a way that few others ever had. Was that enough to take action? Not inherently, no. But it was enough to keep her at arm's length, to take every word she said as having ulterior motive. Murasaki's instincts never failed her, and they hardly told her anything positive about the woman named Nagoshi Kanae.

"I don't suppose he's said anything explicitly treasonous to you, has he?"

How to close a massive city-sized hole that leads to Soul King-knows what, and is continuously feeding monstrous Hollows into the living world? Was this a problem for the Combat Division Captain to solve? As far as Kanae knew, it was that Fifth Division fool's responsibility. Unfortunately he managed to survive the hospital explosion, and even lived through a return to the battlefield in the Living Realm. Kanae had spent some time ruminating on other methods to end his worthless life, but with the ongoing lock-down it was difficult to find a method, time, and place that wouldn't get herself immediately discovered. Shame.

There were a few reasons Murasaki might have said what she said, in Kanae's estimation. Perhaps she still saw the most recent addition to the Gotei Captains as an outsider or untrustworthy. In Kanae's eyes if she was smart she would remain thinking both of these things, but ultimately it didn't matter to her. Eventually she, like all the others in the Gotei, would suffer at her blade.

Now the question was how far to throw Hitoshi under the proverbial bus. "He's born and raised "noble", it's all flowery speech from his delusional silver tongue. What I understand is he and his clan have a proclivity for smuggling goods into and out of the Seireitei. Not to mention I've had to punish his sister, my Division's Third Seat, for lying in reports and insubordination. None of them can be trusted."

For the first time Kanae's posture changed to be less rigid as she leaned back slightly into a more comfortable position, before continuing where she had left off. "I understand Soul Society's illustrious nobility has had much of its power stripped in recent years. I believe this has created another problem, and the Kurata are merely a symptom. By pushing the Nobles into a corner, all they can think of is clawing back the power taken from them. They are seething, and are an inevitable danger to Soul Society and the Gotei United. I believe there is a solution to this problem, one that has worked in the past in similar situations."

As if to emphasize her next point, Kanae leaned forward a bit, though that inhuman smile never faded "Total annihilation of Soul Society's nobility. Wipe all the rats out so there are none left to plot against us. I would be glad to have the Fourth carry the plan out. However..." Once more she leaned back into a more rigid sitting position "...if you cannot appreciate such a plan, might I suggest ending the lock-down. The Hollows have been dealt with, and it is my understanding little progress has been made in the bombing investigation as-is. A number of Shinigami have grown restless under their current limitations, and I have no doubt many more feel the same."

Murasaki understood plenty well how little the nobility could be trusted. After all, she was someone who had suffered no small amount because of the way they handled things. Were there some nobles she considered perfectly fine? A few, sure. But they would have been the same people one way or another. Birthright wasn't really something she put any value into, whether positive or negative.

"If they're conspiring against the Gotei, and using illegal smuggling to do it, then I'll have the 6th Division look into it. Killing people who might be a problem in the future isn't really how I do things."

Of course, she'd nearly been killed as just an infant for what she might become. However, Murasaki was hardly referring only to herself as she said that. The reality was that there wasn't a single particle of reishi in her body that trusted the woman sitting opposite her right now. If Murasaki were to cut down everyone she couldn't trust, the nobility certainly wouldn't be the first in line. But her instincts weren't hard evidence.

"And if they're smuggling things into the Seireitei like you said, then it'd be a good lead for us to make headway on these investigations. Looking into them and the people they've been working with, seeing who they know. I bet people would love it if they could head down to Earth for a vacation, but I don't think giving the culprit easier access to and from the Seireitei is gonna do much for their actual safety. Bein' restless is rough, but it's not quite as rough as gettin' blown up again."

Kanae scoffed. Dealing with potential problems had always been the Gotei's method for peacekeeping. Slaughtering the Quincies not once, but twice, were both evidence of it; not only that, but the Maggot's Nest prison itself was a monument to this truth. Shinigami with dangerous thoughts, beliefs, or even abilities were locked away remorselessly, simply because they may possibly prove problematic sometime in the future. While the first two didn't occur under this child's authority, the latter still operates under the same guidelines it always had as far as Kanae knew.

Uninterested in any investigation, Kanae metaphorically hand-waved that subject by responding to Murasaki's last comment instead. "I don't consider bombings to be threatening. Those who matter will survive, as evidenced by the Fifth Division's Captain making it out alive. As for the lockdown, I believe it is shortsighted to continue it for an indeterminate duration. Between the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Divisions, we can maintain heightened security even after the lockdown is lifted. Otherwise, angst and other issues will continue mounting."

It appeared to Kanae this woman was dead-set on the current path she had laid out for the Gotei, regardless of what she said. Whether it was because of distrust or hardheadedness, Murasaki's mind wouldn't be changed; a fine enough truth for Kanae. Eventually she would be given no choice, that much she was certain of. And if she did acquiesce in the future, all the better for Kanae's plotting. Death and destruction would come to Soul Society one way or another.

"I'd rather people angst than be dead. I'm aware you don't consider them threatening, but that's why I didn't come to you for insight on the matter."

Someone like Kanae was the last person Murasaki would go to when it came to the safety of Soul Society. The sort of person who referred to living people as 'undesirables,' who would so bluntly speak of simply wiping out an entire class of people as 'rats.' She did not, and would never, trust Kanae with much of anything, and it was only her willingness to abide people for their practicalities that she hadn't just fired the woman.

That thought, in itself, made Murasaki a bit unhappy. It reminded her that this position was turning her into someone she wasn't sure she liked.

"Let me make this clear. Every shinigami in the Gotei matters. It's my job, as the Captain Commander, to see to it that they can continue doing their jobs safely and securely. I wouldn't expect someone from your day and age to know much about that, but the Gotei of today, my Gotei, isn't the same gang of thugs that Yamamoto pulled together from the back alleys."

Kanae's job was one thing; combat. Murasaki was willing to let the woman be violent in such a capacity, as much as she'd been willing to let Urahara lead R&D. It was much, much easier to keep an eye on such dangerous people when they were your direct subordinates.