Meeting (CAPTAINS ONLY)

[Sakata Saburo]

The day was neither sunny nor wet. It was a cloudy day and the wind breezed through Soul Society. It was not very hot out but neither was it cold. It was just lukewarm. On a day such as this, several Hell Butterflies flew through Soul Society, heading towards the offices of the various Captains of the Soul Society in order to inform them of the Captains Meeting, which was to take place in ten minutes.

In the meeting chamber, in a seat that in a sense acted as a throne, a Shinigami sat in said throne. He wore a black shihakushou and a white haori with long sleeves. The sleeves were so long that one could not see his hands and the haori so large that it was hard to tell what sort of build the man had. He face too was hidden behind a mop top of brown hair that was a very light shade, due to his age. The hair seemed to hide his true age from others, making it impossible to see his wrinkles let along his eyes, and he had a goatee the same color as his hair. However, despite all this, his light shade of hair was a giveaway to the age the Shinigami had over others.

Sighing, the Shinigami looked towards the clock before looking back to the door. 'It seems that trouble is stirring... The Soul Society is under threat... From what we've gathered, the Vizard and Arrancar have joined forces. These are bad times for the Soul Society. I can only wonder what Yamamoto-san would do in my position. Even he wasn't threatened by both groups at once...' he thought as he sat in his chair, waiting for the Captains of Soul Society.

[Toria Mifune]

"We shall meet there later..." Mifune sighed, he had just gotten a message from the hell butterfly as his lieutenant had talked to him. He wanted to go for a drink, because it was soa damn weather. But even so, this was more important for now, most likely something so important, he couldn´t come up what it was.

Aww, geez. Wh yhad it to be such damn lukewarm weather, other would say it was just right. For him it wa hell, it was unbearable to properly work inside, because it heated up that much and outside was as bad as inside. The sun would burn him to nothing. Mifune stood up and put jis shinigami uniform back in place, sighing again. Picking his captains vest up and cursed himself for being an advanced captains, the young un´s got the sleeveless ones, he had to bear with sleeves.

He tried to put on a rather normal face, but as soon as he lookedinto the mirror that was hanging around, he stopped, with a smiling face, he looked even more stern. "Let´s go" he murmured with the least bit of his enthusiasm, just before he shyunpoed to the HQ, pushing the doors open, he said: "Hi there, hope I´m not to late."

[Kyoko Renamori]

Kyoko had recieved the notice from a Hell Butterfly that there was a scheduled Captain's meeting for the day. Surprisingly, Kyoko was caught up with most of his paperwork with only a few documents left to sign, so the meeting wasn't too much of an inconvienence. Wrapping up the few pieces of his work, he brushed off his sleeveless haori before getting up from his desk.

It wasn't that far of a walk, but he would've enjoyed it if the weather was a bit more on the pleasant side you could say. Walking the wooden path to the grand room, Kyoko sighed slightly as he brushed his hand along his Zanpakuto's sheath for a moment. He could feel the resonance of the entity within and whispered lowly back.

"I know, I know, the weather will be better though." He muttered back. His Zanpakuto's spirit was quite picky when it came to the weather sometimes. It never liked it to be dull out, rather having the sun beating down brightly. It was almost a comfort more or less for the two of them. Noticing the doors sill open, Kyoko stepped in slowly to notice only two others were in the chamber aside from himself.

He gave a curtious bow before taking his place in line where the 10th Division Captain would be. They each had assigned positions, however most of the Captains haven't even arrived yet.

"Interesting I didn't recieve the details earlier about this." Kyoko murmurred for a moment placing his hands behind his head. He sighed for a moment gazing around the room, which he did sometimes when he was bored.

[Sakata Saburo]

Saburo looked at the two and raised an eyebrow. It seemed only two had arrived of the twelve others that were supposed to come. Usually all of them would arrive as quickly as possible so they could begin. "My my, where is everyone? Are they all sick?" he asked the two. "It wouldn't really be a meeting with only three Captains. I wonder when the others will arrive".

Looking at the two, he immediately identified them as Kyoko Renamori and Toria Mifune. The Captains of Tenth Division and Thirteenth Division respectively. Both very good Captains in his opinion. Although Mifune did have a sort of attitude problem concerning what he thought of most, if not all Shinigami.

"I was hoping for more Captains to some. If this is all, I'll just have to have it with you two and ask that you pass on the details later to the rest of the Captains" he told the two. "After all, it would be better if we could start as quickly as possible. There are several important announcements that I have to make on behalf of the Central 46".

[Toria Mifune]

Central 46? That seemed really very important, he rememberred the time as it was newly established, but since then they had always somehow kept quiet and were only announcing really important things. But also he rememberred the time as central 46 was used that easily that they all had been fooled by Aizen and his companions.

But even so, today was another day and some things had changed after all, and now he had also the chance to do something, he was after all a captain. As he risked a look around, he saw that there was no other one for real, where would they be? Maybe drinking already again? Or just napping a bit longer? Yes, something between these lines, but what was he to talk, everyone had his mistakes, but even so, his opinion in this had made him become someone who was said to think bad about all shinigami.

[Tsukiyo Kyohaku]

Zuki stood up from her desk. "Oh, this is just a brilliant time for a captains meeting!" She said, annoyed. She scribbled some words down on a piece of paper, then switched papers and scribbled more words down. She collected a stack of papers in her arms.

The hell butterfly skittered away and she walked outside. "This wheather is AWEFULL, why can't it just snow in the soul society for once, talk about extreme heat for people who like the cold." She threw her captains robe around her shoulders and pulled on her slippers.

She opened a door to the labs where her subordinates were working. "I'm going out, captain's meeting. By the time I get back I want the paperwork finished, the test tubes alphabetically ordered and the expiriments classified by their numbers. And I want all these papers in there rightfull files, if anything is not done or done incorrectly I will get anygry," She handed her leuitenant the papers. "Got that?" She asked they nodded. "Good."

She shut the door and ran down the street. She could shunpo but decided to ake her time. Knowing some of the other captains, she of all people wouldn't be late. Her hair twisted around due to the violent speed at which she was running. She crashed through baffled looking underlings and skidded to a stop infront of a pair of doors. She opened them, walked in, and closed them. She looked around and saw only three other captains. "I'm here." She slowly walked into the room towards her standing spot. Where is everybody? She thought. Her feet made a soft padding sound on the floor that was only heard if you listened closely.

[Kyoko Renamori]

Kyoko's ears perked up as he heard about Central 46. What could be so pressing now that had everyone in an uproar? Certainly it was important enough to call a Captain's meeting for. It was a little odd to trust Central 46 after past events, however they still held more power which had to be obeyed.

Looking over, Kyoko's eyes fell upon another Captain who decided to show up. He identified her as the Captain from squad 12. He watched as she moved to her spot which was relatively close to his. He still had yet to really meet with any of the other Captains, however he was sure it would come in all due time.

The matter at hand was the current meeting. Then again if not many Captain's came, he could deliver news to a few of them and get aquainted better. That was always something good, however his attention reverted back to the meeting.

"What's exactly going on then? A new law?" Kyoko voiced out his question, rather bored of the situation already, however made his best to stay somewhat interested.

[Sakata Saburo]

Looking over the three, Saburo was a bit stressted. Only three Captains besides himself were at the meeting. Where were the others? Weren't they in their offices? No matter, he decided it was best just to go ahead and have the Captains relay the message later, or possibly have a member of the Onmitsukidou deliver the message. It would be easy enough to ask the Second Division Captain later.

Standing up, he decided to begin anyway since most likely, the others would not come if they hadn't come yet. Only Captains Renamori, Kyohaku and Mifune were there but he was sure they would deliver the message. As he looked at the small group, his thoughts were on the message he was about to tell the group.

"Captains of the Gotei 13... We have recently received orders from the Central 46 regarding what to do now that Soul Society is aware that the Espada have been revived and are working together with the Vizard. The first of these new orders is that, as of now, there is a special wartime exemption regarding all Shinigami. That is, as of now, all Shinigami are permitted to carry Zanpakutoh and, if engaging an enemy, release their Zanpakutoh within the Seireitei itself!" he announced to the group, awaiting their reaction.

[Tsukiyo Kyohaku]

Zuki sighed. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. This order hadn't happened in a while, which meant this whole situation was worse than she thought it was. She opened her eyes, she was calm on the outside but stressed on the inside. She’d have to use a great amount of captain skills just to keep her squad from panicking when they heard the news. They were an unsteady bunch, unsocial too, like a great deal of scientists.

Central 46…I wonder which one of them gave the order… She thought, thinking mostly of her father than of the other Central 46 members of equal importance. Personally she didn’t think this was a good idea. The Shinigami in Seireitei aren’t stupid. If they hear this order they may get frightened. Not to call them cowards though, but people crack under pressure. I They should only allow captains to 6th seat to carry zanpakutohs, that way if there is an attack we could hold them off while ordering the others to prepare for battle, just a little mental time. But unfortunately, it’s not up to me.

She shifted her feat uncomfortably. This was really war, and a dangerous one. Shinigami are just shinigami, but when a shinigami combines with a hollow, or vice versa, then they gain extra power. She hoped that if the time did come then the shinigami could fend them off, but hope was the only thing she really could do.

Her squad of all, next to the medical squad, was probably the least trained in battle. More-so that the medical squad but not as much as the other squads. They could fight, but not as well. The upside though is that they could probably out-smart their way to winning, if necessary. She was very proud of this attribute of theirs but she still worried, but then again, Zuki was usually worrying, about something or other.

[Kyoko Renamori]

A wartime order? This was beggining to sound all to much like a little history lesson long ago with the old Gotei 13. The wartime order only brought chaos and confusion to the ranks of everyone, not to mention the horror most Shinigami that lived in the immediate areas felt. It was something that just didn't sit right with Kyoko.

Once again Central 46 gave down such an odd order. What could have prompted them to do such? It confused Kyoko slightly, however he would follow the orders as he was given. He began to think of how the rest of his squad would react to such an order. While they were fairly adept at combat, they weren't nearly as skilled as the trained combat division.

Whether it would land him with a verbal reprimand or a physical one, Kyoko stepped forward out of the barren line where he stood. "Is this absolutely the order passed down by Central 46?" He was stepping out of line...again. Kyoko did this frequently, however he only meant to find out as much information as possible. He landed in trouble a few times, but the information was well worth it sometimes. That and informing his fellow friends about it.

He eyed the 12th Division Captain for a moment before turning his gaze fully to Captain Saburo. He wondered if she felt as uneasy about this as he did.

[Sakata Saburo]

Saburo stared and watched their reactions carefully. Obviously they were all feeling the same: None of them particularly liked it at all. But at least he had expected something like this. The same had happened with the old Gotei 13 and they had been tricked by Aizen with ease. Still, he realized just how necessary this order might be, despite what could happen because of it.

"I am afraid that it is" he replied to Kyoko. "But you must realize that both Vizard and Arrancar can use Garganta to break into Soul Society without having to go through the Sekki-seki barrier. They could attack anywhere at any time, although I know they might be still planning an effective method to defeat us all at once" he told them. "However, this is not the only order I have been given. In addition to this order, the Second Division is now in charge of investigating and finding out the Vizard and Arrancar plans, due to their ties to the Onmitsukidou. Finally, the 12th Division are in charge of finding out how to create a Garganta. Kyohaku-Taichou, I hope you can get this done as quickly as possible".

[Kamiyama Mito]

When Akito received the message from a Hell Butterfly he wasn't that surprised as he already knew what the emergency was. Well, that and the fact that he was practically talking to Kamiyama when the message reached him. His former Captain had told him about the recent alliance between them and the Espada and that his help was very much appreciated, not that he could refuse anyway. Bidding his goodbye as the small portal closed, he slowly got up and put on his Captain's haori. He smiled at himself in the mirror and noticed that his smile looked more painful than it already was to begin with. Sighing, he slowly left the confines of his Division Quarters and trekked the rather long, for him it was, path towards the meeting chamber. Along the way, he greeted his subordinates with a smile, left and right, and they smiled back at him which made it even more difficult for him. The burden was engulfing his heart and slowly killing it with all the guilt he's feeling.

"-you can get this done as quickly as possible." It was all he heard as he slowly opened the door. It seemed as if he was late, but was rather confused when he saw that only three other captains were there excluding Sakata-soutaichou, of course since he was the one who sent the message. He guessed he was a bit early or probably the others haven't arrived yet. In any case, he bowed a little at the Soutaichou and the other captains and smiled at them. He knew that they think of him as one of the 'peaceful' and 'loyal' shinigami, boy did he fool them all. He laughed at himself in his head, he was a disgusting traitor and he hated himself for it. He was coward who couldn't even stand up for himself, allowing his old captain to still control him like a pet. He deserved to die, he thought.

"Um, sorry..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling rather sheepishly. "I got a little caught up in my cooking lessons..." Having said his excuse, he slowly walked towards his position as the Fifth Division Captain, just opposite in line with the already present captains.

[Taishita Kaen]

The office of Taishita Kaen, the taichou of the Ninth Division, was a rather quiet place. The Division had quickly learned that Kaen liked his private time, and if they had to come in and speak with him, not to be so loud. He was kind and didn't mind helping out the members of his division, having promised to take care of them in every way as part of his pledge when he became a taichou. His dark green eyes made their way across the piece of paper he was looking at, as his right hand brought a cup of sake to his lips. To the surprise of many Shinigami, Kaen had shown himself to be quite the drinker, as a man who could hold his liquor pretty well, and he enjoyed the alcoholic drink. The fiery liquid burned down his throat, and he set the cup back down. Glancing at the form he was filling out, he sighed. He always had an immense amount of work to do, and no matter how many hours he spent hacking away at that pile, it always remained the same, even larger at times. Many Shinigami would kill to have the power he had, but they would realize the immense responsibilities the taichou's had put on their shoulders.

He picked up his pen and was about to continue writing when the familiar soft bell sound of a Hell Butterfly sounded and he looked to see one had come through the window and fluttered by his face. Kaen's eyes narrowed slightly and he listened. It was a summons to the meeting room in order to discuss a situation that had come up. The Ninth Division taichou was no fool, all the rumors and reports that had been going about signified that SOMETHING was going on. He knew of the situation with the Vizard and the Arrancar, the resumption of two threats from their distant past. Why? He had no answers, but he could only do his part in protecting his division and follow orders. There was nothing else to do. Getting up, he put his pen back into its ink well and reached for his haori which was hanging in his closet. Slipping his arms through the sleeves of the haori, which hid his hands due to their length, he put his Zanpakuto on his belt and walked outside. Deciding on speed instead of convenience, he vanished as he used Shunpo and soon made his way to the meeting room. The door was already opened and he heard the voice of Mito-san, the taichou of the Fifth Division. Walking in after him, as the Fifth Division taichou walked into his line of captains, Kaen looked at Saburo and bowed his head a little in respect.

"Greetings Sakata-taichou. I apologize for my delay, but it took some time for the Hell Butterfly to reach me and I was in the midst of my paperwork. What is the matter about that has caused us to come here?"

He began to walk to his place in the line of captains when he heard the answer, about how the Central 46 had approved the special wartime order concerning their Zanpakutous and the release of them in Seireitei. Kaen, now in his place with the other captains, stared at the Soutaichou in shock. He understood the situation was bad, but wasn't that going a little far? This would stir everyone up, worrying everyone. His eyes narrowed; the coming days were going to be dark indeed. He heard the explanation and understood their reasoning, however. Their Garganta ability, as displayed by the Hollow rescue of Aizen and his two subordinates those many centuries ago had proven that they could form them within the shield. It was only natural they had to take precautions....but the measures of having the 2nd Division seek out the enemy's plans and the 12th's mission to find a way to open Garganta's drove the point home.

They were at war.

[Kyoko Renamori]

Kyoko didn't back down from his staggered position out of line. If the rest of his fellow Captains weren't gonig to ask questions, he sure would whether they wanted him to or not. They all had to be asking themselves the same thing or something close. If they weren't...then they truely had no clue what was going on in this new war. His eyes didn't waver as his hair slightly fell in front of them. He took a moment to brush the dark locks out of his way before hearing the familiar footsteps on the floor of the room.

Out of the corner of his eys, he noticed two more Captains emerge. Ninth Division Captain Kaen as well as Captain Mito of the Fifth Division. He turned his attention back to the Captain Commander as the two took their place in line. "I quite understand those are the orders, however...what do you expect the rest of the Gotei 13 to do? Just sit here and wait?" His voice rising ever so slightly in slight frustration.

"I realize the 11th Division is our combat Division, however why must the 12th Division and 2nd Division be active participants? All of our Divisions are quite capable of performing specialized tasks." He looked to the rest of his comrades to verify that he was right before turning his attention back. He could feel his fist tightening slightly as his frustration grew more.

"I worked this hard to become a Captain to protect Soul Society yes, but to deny my Division as well as the other Divisions a chance to help out, a chance to close the war even quicker?" It was almost an insult that the Captain Commander hadn't given any other assignments to the other Divisions other than just to be on standby. Had he gotten through perhaps to him? Did his comrades think he was crazy? He didn't know, all he felt was his heart pounding after he finished speaking.

[Sakata Saburo]

Saburo watched and listened as the group took in all of this information. Their expressions were just as he expected yet again. At least some of the other Captains had come, such as Akito and Kaen. Those two were both excellent Captains in his opinion. Heck, all of them were. But even so, he knew that they were concerned about the orders and their subordinate's reactions.

Hearing Kyoko speak up again, he turned to look him in the eye and sighed. It seemed that he always had to be the one to say what everyone was thinking. Not that that was a bad thing though. "These are merely the orders given by the Central 46. These decisions were based on the 12th Division's access to research files and 2nd's connection with the Onmitsukidou. The truth is, I received a personal order to take command of the Gotei 13. That is, as Soutaichou, I am to make any and all decisions in war, along with the other Captains' consent. That is why I now give another order: Until our next meeting, I demand that the remaining Divisions I have not mentioned fortify the defenses of Soul Society" Saburo answered. "This is war, Ladies and Gentlemen. We, the Gotei 13, will be working towards stopping this threat. Before you go however, I ask that one of you send a representative to the Human World to ask the Quincy for assistance. Any volunteers?" he asked.