One Week Later [Kasha, Saionji]

His venture to Earth had proven quite fruitful in more ways than one but he remained to show that. The only person he had really enlightened to his foray was Shishiyuki and he trusted her discretion with whom she shared it to. He wouldn't want to compromise her position but he also hadn't ruled out the possibility of her captain being a culprit. It was unlikely when all the evidence pointed him in a different direction.

There was no point to share that though yet and so Kasha reported as he was directed a week ago by Ms. Saionji to her brother. Dressed in his current fashion so that people could be familiar with his everchanging tastes of looks, it was consistent for a purpose in this investigation. Once it had resolved he might as quickly change his tastes on a whim.

"Officer Saionji? Koizumi Kasha, as directed by Third Seat Saionji."

He said with a knock to the sliding door that was his office. It was courtesy to knock but he had told them that he was expected and could make his own way to the man himself.

It was later in the afternoon when J decided he should take his lunch. He finished dealing with the files on his desk and submitted them to the appropriate places through one of his assistants. By the time lunch was over, he would likely have a few more, especially since he sent a few people to collect a bit of information for him. That was all a separate thing, but he was trying to do someone a favor…

Anyways, when the knock came to the door, he was already moving toward it to leave. He was not expecting company, though he had been warned of a specific person possibly coming to see him. He waved his assistant off, having gotten the warning of the Koizumi’s arrival. He sat down behind his desk, waited, and called the guest in once the second knock came. “Welcome. Please, take a seat.”

“I was given very little detail about your possible visit. It seems Third Seat Saionji prefers my making my own opinion on this situation. What can I help you with?”

Kasha kept himself from pouting at the comment. One whole week and the good third seat had left her brother to twiddle his thumbs rather than make any progress of his own. My my, she was a cruel one. Kasha had to wonder if she was setting him up to remain a fourth seat for clout by having a higher position than him. Never mind that though.

"I am here on authorisation from the First Division to conduct an independent inquiry into the bombing of Soul Society a few months ago."

He said with a small bow in recognition of their ranks. Of course he was happy to lead and summarise the details between one another.

"I believe we should begin with identifying the situation. A few months ago, a hollow explosive was detonated in the Seireitei, it destroyed a hospital and casualties were sustained. The Seireitei has since been in a state of lockdown which has restricted the freedoms of many souls and shinigami, enforced by the Gotei United, and to this day no culprit or motive has been identified. No further attacks have been made with this modus operandi. A few weeks ago, a series of murders has also been committed."

It was very summarised but Kasha was also angling for Saionji to reveal his own insights from the Sixth Division's investigations as well.

The bombing… J had been tentatively working on the case, but never really got the evidence he needed. He had a theory, one that would not be spoken aloud until enough evidence was gathered. J gave a nod and returned the bow out of respect.

“Correct. If I am up to date with the case’s information, Captain Hisakawa was likely the target. Since there have been no other attacks, and one of his close friends was involved, that is easy to deduce,” J said and returned to his seat. He leaned back in his chair and watched Kasha, not an ounce of emotion on his face. He wasn’t the most revealing man, especially when talking business, preferring stoicism.

Forensic reports must support what the officer was saying. Preliminary ideas were quickly dispelled that the hollow explosion originated from Hisakawa's person, not that it wasn't within his capacity to frame himself but that theory had no support so far. He had more leads to pull on for the moment.

"Why him, sir? Surely it must be because he became a vizard prior to the explosion, or because he was in someone's way and the culprit thought they might eliminate him?"

Kasha spoke of anti-hollow sentiments but it was too specific to support that in his head. Vizards have operated among the Seireitei for so long at this stage, for a shinigami to become a victim now and cause this attack was too coincidental. Vizards such as Zefa, Otoribashi, even an arrancar was walking around the Seireitei. For this to be anti-hollow motivated did not add up.

So either he lost control or someone was trying to get rid of him in some capacity like an obstacle to be removed. That left him thoughtful while letting the officer weigh in.

The only reason J was disclosing any of this was because of his sister giving the all-clear. Still… it was strange sharing these details to someone outside of his Division. J sighed and thought for a few moments on Koizumi’s question.

“Motive could be any number of things,” J said, thoughts swirling in his mind. “Yes, hollow-hatred could be a reason. As well as hating Captain Hisakawa specifically, wanting one of the most powerful Gotei Captains out of the way… Creating a distraction, like forcing the Gotei to lockdown soul society while chaos rules the World of the Living… Also, I have yet to find out whether it was a coincidence or intentional that the bomb went off with one of his closest allies in the building.”

"Based on the timing the bomb was detonated, I believe it was delivered through the postal service. By depending on mailing systems, it's unlikely that any perpetrator could make all those factors occur at the same time. There's too much chance involved, sir."

He guessed because the entire details were not something he was aware of but the casualties were known. One of which he was able to determine made deliveries and he was dead but Kasha was also happy to pretend that he had read any forensic reports of the sixth division. Having their former vice-captain involved with the Koizumi head was very beneficial in making someone find it more believable he had been given the idea rather than deducing it.

Kasha did find it interesting though he discussed the world of the living. They were of similar mind then that the choice of target spoke of distractions more than meaningful offence and that Hisakawa was a great obstacle for whoever wanted to get rid of him. If someone was trying to get rid of the captain that worked in the shadows then it meant that someone was trying to scheme something and didn't want to be found out.

Though what Koizumi explained was more likely, there were still ways of orchestrating this plot. It was possible that the postman in question was being manipulated. In world with “magic,” who knew what other elements they could be missing. It is possible that Captain Hisakawa’s friend was in on it and left when she realized the post was being delivered. Possible? Yes. Probable? Not very.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, J released an exasperated sigh, “Is there anything new you have to add to my investigation?” J was not sure what this… gi-… guy? was getting at right now, but this was information he had already known. Was there a line of investigation J was missing? Did Koizumi need help on a specific lead? He was not fond of the back-and-forth happening. He needed a break in the case…

"That I have yet to determine, sir. I need an understanding of where you're at to be able figure that out. Third Seat Saionji wasn't very helpful, she just told me to see you in a week after she approved this evaluation that aims to narrow your investigation by elimination."

Kasha said with more emotion, his high voice sounding tremendously sincere in apology when he gave an over the top bow to reinforce it. Even if it was deceitful, the primary goal here was to rule out things as opposed to add new things. A panorama could be very pretty but if it had too much going on in its composition, the eyes would struggle to see its beauty.

"You brought up the living world, right? If the aim is to restrict our movements then the culprit is likely connected to the living world and so we ought to look into how someone could get a bomb from there to here."

He offered like he was a flushed maiden. This strong and imposing officer of the sixth division was so no nonsense and to the point. Hopefully his sharp tongue could be a bit more gentle rather than hurting the poor unseated shinigami's confidence.

J took a moment to think. How would someone get a bomb from the world of the living to the soul society? There was only one path in and out. “The Seventh Division gives approval to enter the World of the Living, and the Second Division are the ones who actually open the gate. I’m sure they keep separate records. If records don’t match, we have a lead…” There was a visible change in J’s demeanor as part of him was able to calm down. All of this, plus the issues with the murders happening in the Seireitei, had been stressing him out for a while now.

J stood up and began walking toward the door. He would do this personally, not rely on another lower ranking official who couldn’t cut through red tape or would be given the run-around. As he moved to open the door, he looked back to Koizumi, “Would you like to join me in receiving these records? If not, I’ll update you later.” Happy about a new lead, J just left the room. Kasha was welcome to follow.

It wasn't just mismatched records he would look for though. Any record of those coming in with packages that they had not left with, excess numbers of departures and returns, suspicious or unlike people to leave for any good reason...