Assemble the Captains [Gotei Leadership]

Well, none of this was what Rukia liked to hear. She hated it, actually, but she understood the balance of souls perfectly well. If that was what was necessary to fix things, that was it, then. She just kept reading through the reports that were present, going over the information as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. When the acting captain finished her report, however, Rukia spoke up, gesturing to the papers in her hand with a tired expression.

"We already know who it was. Captain Nagoshi killed him, reportedly because he'd betrayed Soul Society. Your testimony doesn't really paint you in a very flattering light, you know. Apparently being left alive by one of these invaders, being brought right to the already-dying Captain Shiba. If not for the Captain's report taking responsibility for the act, that would all seem pretty suspicious."

Though, in all actuality, it still seemed suspicious. Captain Shihoin was Captain Nagoshi's vice captain. Rukia certainly didn't trust Nagoshi on any personal level, and she did trust Hakuyou quite a bit. Testimony like this didn't do much, as far as Rukia was concerned, other than confirm multiple parts of Nagoshi's report from an eye-witness. But, if they were collaborating, why be so open about the Arrancar's support, when that only cast the whole thing in doubt? Was Nagoshi setting Shihoin up to take the fall? Wouldn't that require they be working with said Arrancar if that was, indeed, an accurate testimony? There were too many questions here, and too much about the situation that felt squarely off to Rukia.

The problem, unfortunately, was that none of it was really anything worth making claims with.

"With all due respect, Captain Kuchiki, Captain Nagoshi's report is the first time I've heard anything concerning Hakuyou's death. Captain Hisakawa asked for a report, and I provided him with what he wished to know. I know there are parts of my testimony that sound absurd, but I can assure you: I entered that battlefield to fight for Soul Society's well-being. I was prepared to die. I cannot fathom why I was kept alive. I can only assume the act was done maliciously to mock me in defeat."

Rio acknowledged Rukia's words, maintaining a neutral expression as she suppressed the offense she internally felt at the implication of suspicion. No one had informed her of Hakuyou's apparent betrayal, nor was she told of the report placed in by her former captain. She understood her report was anything but valid, and that was why she initially withheld it until Hisakawa inquired about the subject moments ago.

To be certain, she couldn't fathom the thought that Hakuyou would betray the Soul Society when his only motive had ever been bringing glory back to the Shiba Clan's name. Betrayal would have achieved nothing on that front unless he wanted to overthrow the system and play some strange long game.

Momentarily, her gaze shifted in Kanae's direction as she furrowed her brows, maintaining a similar neutrality, though her inward emotion told a different story. Several questions cycled through her mind, but she simply brushed them aside for now, golden eyes settling on the inquiring stealth Captain.

"Do you have any other questions, Captain Hisakawa?"

Without missing a beat, she responded coolly. She had nothing to hide. As far as she was concerned, she would answer any question. She knew her purpose when she entered that battlefield and felt immense shame when she failed. This defeat brought the most soul-crushing shame of all.

Wholly ignoring Yuuto's beating around the bush, Kanae turned her attention to Rukia and chose that time to speak up once again. "I would ask Captain Kuchiki, who submitted a report that "paints them in a very flattering light?" On this point her violet eyes jumped from person to person in the meeting room before landing upon her temporarily reassigned Vice Captain "If my Vice Captain is guilty of anything, it is weakness. Like every person in this room she failed to protect the Soul Society we have been charged with defending."

Could Kanae throw Rio under the bus? Certainly. But as she considered the situation, that appeared to be one of the worst choices she could make; in her estimation it would immediately cast doubt upon her battlefield report, and upon her individually. As she stared at Rio, Kanae also decided she wasn't done with the woman quite yet either, and turning the woman away from her wouldn't help her plans at all.

"What Acting Captain Shihoin can be commended for is fighting to the last. As I understand it she was transported to the deceased's body only moments after I left the area, and yet even I could not sense her arrival. Evidently she was defeated, but only after nearly being killed." For just a moment Kanae's gaze turned to Yuuto before returning to Rukia, whom she addressed directly. "Captain Kuchiki, I understand you and your Division worked on the Gotei's casualties while the fighting raged. It is those who supposedly fought and neither defeated their foes nor lost their battles that I take issue with. Yes, even a Gotei suffering the loss of multiple Captains should have better protected the Seireitei; but is one's defeat not also proof of their dedication?"

A thousand years ago losing was simply inexcusable. You either died in battle or you won, there was no in-between or alternate path to take. Yet, as has been proven repeatedly to Kanae, the people of this age were softer...weaker. She frowned inwardly, knowing it was that damnable Yamamoto's fault.

"Why did you engage Captain Shiba instead of the arrancar, Captain Nagoshi?"

She looked up from the sheets of paper to put Kanae in the spotlight for her senses. Snippy comments when the meeting had began annoyed her, better to remain on the subject at hand. If Captain Shiba was to be the topic then she would continue with it. It had taken place in the Maggot's Nest, their confrontation, and the important detail of Unabara being executed was something of important detail that wasn't lost amongst reports.

If Nagoshi had not done that then it could only have been Shiba to execute the man. There was nothing suspicious there for the Sixth Division captain to undertake executions for dangerous criminals that could escape.

The stage was set. Now enter the Fourth Captain. The Sixth Division Captain releases bankai and utilises a forbidden technique. The Fourth Captain releases in response. The Sixth Captain dies.

"If the sixth division captain was a traitor, your intervention could only have provoked him, the circumstances suggest he was doing nothing suspicious at the time. So why did you engage him rather than put your efforts elsewhere and we resolve his treachery here with the evidence that caused you to suspect him. That is why you approached him, right?"

Her golden eyes were sharp when she asked the most important detail. It was a yes or no answer. A fifty-fifty. If it was not the case, Erika wanted to know what good reason the captain had for going to the Maggot's Nest in this time of crisis.

She'd scrutinise the loyalties of every individual here after Urahara's betrayal and weed them out if she had to do it with her own two hands.

Now that was unexpected. Kanae lifted an eyebrow at Erika's line of questioning. Doing nothing suspicious? Though taken aback, there was barely any pause before Kanae responded.

"As explained in my report, I was also near the Maggot's Nest when he conflict began. After sensing the nearest Captain, in this case Hakuyou, I made my way in his direction rather than blindly sprint into the unknown battle. My experiences from the vile Quincy invasion a thousand years ago, it was the overwhelming power of all the Captains together that led to victory. In addition, I also knew the presence of dangerous individuals in the jail and believed invaders would strike there."

After a second or two to give time for the rest of the people there to digest her words, Kanae continued on "My suspicions were raised as I sensed Spiritual Pressures be extinguished inside the jail. Those posted outside the Maggot's Nest were hostile toward me, furthering my suspicions. The situation came to a head as Kakuyou Shiba exited the jail, noticed my presence, and immediately released his Bankai and attempted to kill me with a technique I understand to be banned within the Seireitei."

Everything she said was near-verbatim what was in her official report, though what followed was not "If, Acting Captain Commander Masamune, Hakuyou Shiba had not immediately released his Bankai and attacked me, perhaps he would be confronting him about his actions now. Unfortunately, it simply did not resolve in such a manner. He not only attempted to kill me, but aided the invaders by destroying large swaths of the Seireitei and even a bordering Rukongai District. You and I may disagree on what is and is not suspicious behavior but I was the one nearly killed by another Captain's Bankai during a Ryoka invasion. I was not not concerned with provoking him or anyone, simply with killing the Gotei's enemies. Within and without."

While she was sure there was some truth in there, she also felt like there were some discrepancies. Let alone the past history of this woman as well. Two captains in self-defence was a coincidence but she chose not to believe in coincidences. It's how situations like Aizen and Urahara occurred in her lengthy service to the Gotei Thirteen. Coincidences that were handwaved that turned out to be patterns.

Evidence did not exist at the moment though and she was honourable enough to not condemn someone based on suspicion. No matter how guilty they were to her otherwise.

"With only your word and no evidence to verify either captain's guilt or innocence. There's nothing more here, at least you seem quite happy with yourself. Does anyone have anything else?"

Rather than turn this into a fight that could have as much consequence as the initial invasion, she decided to move on. Not before pointing out the behaviour from the beginning of the meeting though. She certainly looked very shaken by an ally suddenly turning on her which she did not suspect. She was elated when this meeting began but it's only when she was questioned on the validity did she seem bothered?

Shishiyuki's eyes moved to Erika as the question was posited, whether or not anyone had anything else to say. There was certainly reason to simply say nothing on the matter in her mind, given the personal degree of investment in it. She wondered, with no small intensity, whether or not it was justified to speak given that bias. But, ultimately, she realized that it was better to put the notion forward than to simply sit in silence and watch potentially disastrous consequences unfold.

"With all due respect, Acting Captain Commander, I would like to request that 7th Division oversee this matter rather than the 5th. If the matter requires subterfuge, then I am certainly capable of seeing that through. However, this is a matter of the utmost importance, which cannot be allowed to fail, and the 5th Division's captain is inadequate in that regard."

There was a faint degree of anger in Shishiyuki's voice as she spoke, even with a thousand years of noble poise to brace against it. But below that surface was hate which few could likely comprehend, a searing disdain which bore the face of every dead family member that she had not yet even had the time to put to rest.

"Hisakawa was not defeated on the battlefield, and yet the arrancar that he fought found its way further into the Seireitei. It was only after I engaged it, with further lives having been lost, that it was defeated. If a battle with an opponent on our own doorstep cannot be seen through to the end, am I to put my faith in him to see this much more complex mission to completion?"

"None. Thank you, Acting Captain Shihoin."

Unfortunately, her statement didn't give him much leeway. He wanted to go off his instinct, every fiber of his body screamed at him like it had every other time. He didn't believe anything that Kanae was saying. None of her words did anything to relieve what he felt, it all felt wrong, and he loathed that he didn't have anything concrete. Silent anger boiled in his heart, his fingers quietly, tightly coiled around the handle of his Zanpakuto.

The death grip only relaxed as he turned to face Shishiyuki upon hearing her comments. His expression remained unchanged, his wrist now idly resting against the weapon's handle.

"To admonish my failure against an opponent is one thing, of which I fully accept. All immediate evidence pointed that the Arrancar we fought was either dead or had retreated. There was no Reiatsu, nor physical trace of it."

Despite the sudden questioning of his capability, Yuuto's expression remained neutral, and his voice level. Now was hardly the time to be losing control of himself.

"To label me as inadequate for a task like this that is well within my capabilities, however, is another entirely. Put bluntly, no, Koizumi. You are not capable of seeing it through. You are blinded by personal judgement and a grudge, both of which need to be left in check at the door."

"Is that so? Forgive me, Captain Hisakawa, but given the circumstances, I think it rather reasonable that I would doubt your capabilities. You simply lost track of the arrancar, even despite requiring assistance to fight it? You were unable to even ascertain if it had died or fled, and yet you still moved on from the battle without confirming either despite its high degree of threat. If you wish to argue that you have the competence, what matter was as pressing as an arrancar which could snuff out so many lives so easily?"

There wasn't any further malice in Shishiyuki's voice than there had been before. Why should there be? Her fury was only at the notion that this man was remarkably nonchalant about such a catastrophic failure, and that it had cost the lives of countless shinigami as a consequence. She was not fazed by his childish decision to forgo a title exclusively for her, nor by the assertion that she had brought this forward simply as some personal matter. She would certainly not stoop down to the same level, either.

Why should she? It would be akin to internalizing insults from a child, still developing understanding of the world around it.

"I speak on your lack of capability simply because you have already demonstrated an inability to follow through on something even as important as the Seireitei's immediate defense, and the protection of those who live within Soul Society. Do you have similar evidence as to why I and the 7th would be incapable of seeing this through?"

"Understood."

Since Yuuto required no further answer, Rio allowed the meeting to progress as her current commander desired. There were factors to consider, of course, but each contemplation was weaved in collective silence. Kanae speaking on her behalf was unexpected, but her expression betrayed no sense of reaction on the matter. One part was perhaps appreciative, yet she couldn't shake the small sense of doubt that quietly danced in her mind.

When her attention shifted toward the conversation shared between Yuuto and Shishiyuki, Rio raised an eyebrow. There was no firm attachment toward either of them on a personal level, but she held both of their talents in high regard. On one hand, Shishiyuki was someone she held in high esteem as a warrior On the other, she didn't bear a wealth of knowledge concerning Yuuto. There were perhaps a handful of times she might've crossed paths with him, but this marked their first interaction, and the only thing she knew about him from anyone else was his reputation as one of the Gotei's strongest.

Whatever the case, she knew this much. Murasaki had always made it her sincere ambition to form a Gotei she could take pride in. Beyond the freedom of personal choices in division members, wasn't that the reason why most of the captains were standing here now? Since she held that woman's opinion in high esteem, she wondered about the merit of criticizing the other's capability. What would any of this achieve when the decision lay in Erika's court? Further division among their ranks?

"Enough. Countless lives were lost, among civilians and soldiers alike. Several others are injured and incapacitated. When it came time for us, as captains and vice-captains of the Gotei to defend our realm, we were overwhelmed and most of us failed to uphold that duty. Some of those failures were catastrophic and are undoubtedly the reason why we stand here today. Be that as it may, there is still work that must be done. And unless I am rendered incapable of doing so, I want to continue giving my all to the Gotei that Captain Commander Murasaki built despite my failures."

Rio exhaled softly as she continued, golden eyes shifting between every individual in the room. There was nothing wrong with presenting one's case, but now something felt decidedly personal. Perhaps it was foolish to assert herself as the voice of reason here, but so be it. They could call her out, too. On some level or another, they all failed. Soul Society's current state was undeniable proof of that. The question is, what would they do now?

"Captain Hisakawa. If you acknowledge your failure, then what purpose does it serve to accuse Vice-Captain Koizumi of a personal grudge and then personally address her without her title as Vice-Captain? It achieves nothing. Own up to your failure and move forward. Vice-Captain Koizumi. You've presented your case and, for the most part, I find no fault with what you've said. Since the responsibility of defeating the threat fell to you, and there were likely tremendous losses experienced on your end as a result, I do not blame you for voicing your concerns and criticisms on a matter of this magnitude."

Golden eyes shifted around the room until they settled on Erika. The one whose opinion and judgment were law and the deciding factor in all this.

"However, if I am to go by the idea that his failure to protect the Soul Society is indicative of his capability to do his job, then, by all accounts, someone like me shouldn't even be standing in this room right now, let alone occupying the position of Captain, temporary or otherwise. Or any other captain that failed to defend this realm for that matter. At the end of the day, the final choice lies with our Acting Captain Commander."