Legacy [Komamura, Erika, Shishiyuki?]

Sajin had to hear why from the mouth of the person who had done it. He could not stand idly by while everything fell to ruin around him, especially not now that he had finally once more stepped foot out of the shadows and back into the light of Soul Society. There were rumors sure, but many were unsubstantiated; all he could go off of, with any amount of certainty, was what Lyza had told him. And that wasn't enough.

Despite the terrible circumstances, Sajin felt an amount of nostalgic freedom as he walked through the streets of the Seireitei without the helmet he had hid behind for the last century and the years before he first took it off as a Captain. It was nice to feel the breeze on his fur, but that was all; just a trifle.

Having reached the Koizumi estate's main gate, Komamura hailed a nearby attendant and hoped his name would still mean something to someone in the Seireitei. "Please inform the master of the house and Erika Masamune that Sajin Komamura is here to speak with them. Urgently."

Fortunately she was on her way out. Erika had every intention to go assist Rukia Kuchiki in her efforts for the injured but the attendant informed her of a surprising visitor. She had read in the battle reports that he had reappeared to face Ichigo and act for the Seireitei's defence. She might've sought him out if allowed more time but the situation had changed quite quickly in a day, had it not.

"Komamura Sajin. Long time no see."

The Winter War and Third War had been a century ago, while she held her own fancy title of vice-captain of the fifth before he disappeared she can't say she interacted with captains beyond her own that much and Iba was always a bit too intense for the kind of person she was back then. There was no point having feelings of saudade right now though.

He could only be here for a reason and she'd hear it out like any others that wanted to approach her.

"What brings you here?"

A sense of relief, though shortly lived as it was, washed over Sajin as he saw his former colleague appear from the estate. Had this attendant not recognized his name, in a tempestuous time such as this he may have been turned away at the gate. Luckily she had chosen this instant to come out and approach him.

Erika was right in that it had been a long time, over a century in fact since the world accepted Sajin's death as his fate, but to him it felt like just yesterday he stood side by side with men and women he respected in the Gotei. Time had passed, and things had changed though...though he still towered over this woman like a tree over a blade of grass.

"Erika Masamune. I'm sure you have already guessed, but I needed to hear from you why you did what you did to the Gotei. Rumors abound, each as trustworthy as the last. Only you can tell me the truth of it."

"As I have heard nothing of you in a hundred years, I will not assume you have knowledge of the circumstances of Soul Society right now. The Gotei you speak of is not the same Gotei Thirteen we served in a hundred years ago. The Gotei United was formed independently after the demon incursion - an event occurred solely by the actions of the captain commander appointed by Central 46. The incursion of demons was not an external attack, it was not even the responsibility of a traitor within the Gotei Thirteen. It was the negligence of the leader appointed by the government to welcome those creatures into Soul Society and they took advantage of that."

She did feel bad to give him a history lesson by coming here - a catch up - on everything he could've missed. To assume he knew everything as a ghost that reappeared just the day prior was disrespectful and could make the reason for her actions not as clear.

"It is for that very reason that Ibiki Suika formed the coalition in the manner she did and since then the aristocracy have not enjoyed the same authority they once did to cover up scandals, corruption, or leverage their familial ties in nepotistic ways such as Kuchiki Rukia being appointed a seated officer by the decision of her brother and not by her own merit a hundred years ago."

Now that it was out of the way she could explain herself.

"Now listen and listen well. Kagayaku-no-Murasaki and her predecessors did not pour their blood, sweat, and tears into cultivating the Gotei United for it to be handed over to the aristocracy and perverted by them. In the wake of the attack last night they spent all that time discussing who should be their captain-commander while the very people they wanted to inherit died and bled for their sakes. Not a day has passed since Murasaki was missing-in-action and they elect their own. They might preach good intent but I am not a stupid woman, Komamura. If they had good intentions they could've cooperated but instead opt for control. If the Soul Society suffers it is because the noblemen would rather it suffer for their benefit than swallow their pride and cooperate."

"I would die before I handed it to them, I disbanded the Gotei United to put it to rest standing for what it was created for. I relieved all shinigami from duty to return the choice to them rather than hand them over to the nobility with shackles. If they wish to serve the noblemen they can pledge themselves to Byakuya Kuchiki and his lot but I will not force any other shinigami that served under me to not have a choice in who they answer to or what they believe in."

"She speaks the truth, Komamura-dono. Central 46 acted swiftly to restore their power over the Gotei. Far swifter than they have ever acted prior. We have all spent long enough in the Seireitei to know that acting within 24 hours is far from typical for them."

Shishiyuki was not a difficult woman to reach when her family called for her attention; as such, it took precious little time for her to answer this summons, as well, and though she would not truly answer on Erika's behalf, she would certainly give her own knowledge of the situation, as well, alongside a respectful bow to Komamura. She had addressed him formally, her respect for his past far more important to her than any difference in birth.

"Though not every house voted in agreement, the influence of the Kuchiki name is undeniable in those chambers. Having made the head of the Kuchiki into their own self-styled Captain Commander will simply consolidate that military power under their own banners of authority. A return, they would like, of power and prestige being tied up wholly in name."

She might have preferred to speak with this man in person for the first time under better circumstances. Even if perhaps his ideals were all wildly different from her own, Shishiyuki respected those of strong conviction. Those who would shed blood unwaveringly for what they held.

Sajin knew most of what Erika explained, at least when it came to the past. He may have lived in the shadows, but he did not live under a rock. He had personally dealt with some of the demons who had the ill fortune to wander close enough to his clan's home in the Rukongai. Rumors circulated afterward of the then-Captain Commander's complicity in the invasion, and it was a turn of good luck that man was dealt with one way or another.

What became clear to Sajin as he listened to Erika speak was her devotion to her Captain Commander....not unlike his own devotion to Genryusai-dono. Her explanation, swiftly backed up by the arrival of the house's master, Shishiyuki Koizumi and her own explanation of events, was something he once would have ruminated on for days. As it was, his heart was unsure to say the least. Thinking about what he would have done in her shoes only worsened his condition.

"Byakuya Kuchiki was a...loyal man. An upstanding one. We may not have agreed on everything, but he fought for the Gotei we both served, though I dare to think we did not share a love for it. Can the Central 46 truly see him as a tool with which to control Soul Society?"

Even if they did, would he allow them to control him? Would that even matter if enough of their control across the Seireitei was restored anyway? These questions, as well as the revelation they had so swiftly gathered to conspire together like so many schemers, grew within Sajin a rage he had not felt since Tosen's betrayal.

"Does the selfishness and greed of the nobles know no bounds or shame?!" Sajin was trying to control his anger, but after so long spent hiding away and only a day removed from nearly dying to an old friend, he just couldn't manage to.

His rage brought on a feeling of sickness that she quickly suppressed and centered herself. Something was certainly different about him than before but she couldn't place it until the spiritual pressure and his strong feelings shone through.

"Regardless of Kuchiki's intentions, he is one man in a sea of crooks. Even Kyoraku Shunsui, a former Captain-Commander of the Gotei United, recognised the issues of the government and sought to hold them accountable as any other would be - and to keep them out of the Gotei United's operations and he is of noble birth himself."

"However, it is because he represents them that I cannot abide handing it over and without the Senkaimon I had no means to financially support the Gotei United in a way that did not indebt it to others that would try to exploit it."

She didn't care if anyone agreed with her choice or were inconvenienced by it. The cards had fallen and the hands were played. She wasn't a politician or a diplomat. She was a soldier and so she answered schemes with an act of sincerity.

"I hope I have provided you insight to my decision, I understand that others would have acted differently but I would die before I let someone disgrace my friend's hard work after she saved me from my own personal hell."

"Indeed it does not."

Much like Erika, Shishiyuki was not so overwhelmingly resilient as to totally ignore the weight and uneasy feeling of Komamura's pressure. But she had spent a thousand years staying composed, and she would continue to do so even now. Only after Erika had finished speaking did Shishiyuki do so, her voice still firm and resolute.

"Though the Koizumi are of noble blood, we have seen firsthand what it is that the rest of the nobility will do to even their own kind. The Shiba cast out; Murasaki held to account for no crime other than her existence, and forced into exile. I believe, regardless of Kuchiki's personal intentions, that he is a man who will operate in the nobility's best interests. His own sister would give the strongest testimony of all that he is a man who will not change. If he serves as a tool, it is because he does so willingly."

Shishiyuki had worked alongside Rukia more than once, and she knew quite well how the woman's stance on Byakuya had shifted over time. She knew, just as much, that someone like Komamura, who had not been present in the Seireitei for those 100 years, would consider it a stark contrast to what he might have known.

"My niece has served dutifully in the position of Captain Commander, and I will not allow myself to fail her again. If Central 46 wishes to allow the nobility to govern themselves again, then I will ensure they know the gravity of that choice."

One thing Sajin regretted to miss out on was working with Shunsui during his tenure as Captain Commander. Though his laid back demeanor was very different from his own, and at times Sajin questioned the man's commitment to the Gotei, he knew he was one of Genryusai-dono's favorite students and had proven himself time and time again. It didn't surprise him at all to learn Shunsui would not have stood by and allowed the nobles to do as they please.

Sajin waited and listened until both Erika and Shishiyuki had said their piece, absorbing the meaning of their words to the best of his ability. He sensed many things within their hearts, but beyond it all he could tell they were being truthful and earnest, both clearly strong willed women who would not be stepped on by those vying for control. He thought in silence for a short time before replying, first to Erika then to Shishiyuki.

"You have, Lady Masamune. Though I do not know that I would have made the same decision as you, I wasn't in your place. I can't know what it was like for you to consider such a drastic measure. I at least understand the feeling of not wanting the person you admire's legacy to be tarnished."

The more he spoke, the more Sajin's alien Reiatsu receded. A calm returned to him, one as sorrowful as the wrath that had momentarily consumed him. He felt sympathy for Erika, while also admiring the resolve it took to make the decision despite the knowable consequences. Shishiyuki on the other hand was more aggressive in tone, or at least meaning; she seemed to welcome conflict with the nobles.

"You will oppose Central 46 and their choice for Captain Commander? I must admit while I do not seek to bring more conflict to Soul Society, I cannot stand by either and let them do as they please without a thought for the people they so desperately wish to govern. It is still my duty to guard Soul Society. As well, I do not believe the Captain Commander is lost. At least not for good. If you will have me Lady Koizumi, I would work with you to see Soul Society restored and the Nobles rebuffed. They cannot be allowed to run roughshod over the Rukongai and the Seireite's people."

She had little more to say. Erika had not explained herself with some ulterior motive of manipulating him into abandoning his own ideals and take up her own. She did not seek sympathy for the position placed onto her by Central 46, only that people understand why she did what she did and no matter what circumstances tried to compel her otherwise - Erika would make the same decision every time in that moment. There was no timeline where she changed her stance in that moment.

"I did it not just for Murasaki but all those that came before her and the one that established the Gotei United. If I handed it over to them, I would have nothing less than Ibiki Suika to come and slay me for disgracing her."

His attention was on Shishiyuki now and Erika had made clear that she had no intentions on supporting Shishiyuki anymore than she was required as a retainer of Murasaki in her service. The politics of this place were beyond her interests and her mind was solely on what her best friend stood for.

"If you will both excuse me. I was on my way to go assist Kuchiki Rukia with the injured. It is the least I can do for any shinigami that served Murasaki, regardless of where their loyalties go after my decision."

She wasn't going to abandon them like she could wash her hands of all responsibility. Murasaki valued these people and because of that, she still had a responsibility to them. How could she expect her successors to follow through on that?