Riku's POV. Three years later.

I was seated in my office, reading yet another rejection from the Central 46. I had the sneaking suspicion that regardless of your performance as a Shinigami, if you were not part of the Kido corps, then you had to personally explain to the higher-ups why you wanted those seals and barriers. Not wanting to give those old fossils any more of my attention, I decided to shelve my frustration.

I turned my attention to more important matters, my strengthening matrix. I had long since perfected the spell. 'As perfect as my knowledge allows anyway...' And the spell did not disappoint. If the tests ran on Hollows during my inspections were any indicator, then as early as two months into using the spell, I had vastly surpassed typical Hollow strength and durability.

'The stunned looks from the squad members when I ripped off the head of a particularly large gorilla-shaped Hollow were quite amusing, at least.' Even among the Eleventh and Second divisions, where physical prowess is emphasised, I reckon I could rub shoulders with their best. 'Excluding that monster of a Captain.'

Suppressing a yawn and deciding that I'm practically done for the day, I lightly push away the stack of unnecessary paperwork in front of me. Resting my head on the desk, the stagnant ambience of Soul Society makes itself known to me again. Adapting to the slow life of Shinigami has been a problem for a while now. Every time I feel like I have made progress, instances like this, remind me that I'm still very much mortal.

Hearing the familiar electronic hum, I know my partner is trying to help by distracting me. 'How are the simulations going?' Getting the detailed memory, I see that not much progress has been made. In hindsight, trying to design a new spell matrix to 'improve' everything about me was remarkably short-sighted. Hearing Sōten ni zase's hum of approval, I couldn't help but feel that his hum had a hint of sarcasm in it.

Filling myself with a bit of renewed vigour, I decided to start small with these 'improvements'. Shaking away my depressed mood, I went to work designing a spell I could potentially attach to my eyes to expand my field of view. Shuddering slightly as I remember the calf muscle I accidentally tore when using the strengthening spell, 'I don't want to mess with delicate organs again unless absolutely necessary...'

Riku's POV. Two weeks later.

An emergency meeting was called by the Captain. Extracting myself out of the pile of unfinished paperwork, I rushed to the Seated Officer meeting room. I immediately noticed the solemn atmosphere, which was surprising since the current Captain was a notorious jester. His boisterousness tended to filter throughout the division. Powerful individuals usually have that effect on the weak.

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Silently making my way to my position in the line-up, I couldn't help but start taking the meeting seriously, especially when I noticed the notable absence of the Fourth to Seventh Seat. A bit earlier, I had faintly sensed a larger-than-usual Hollow reiatsu but I didn't bother with it too much.

Since a few months ago, when I reached Vice-Captain levels of reiryoku, my reishi sensitivity had gone way up. To the point that I had to train my mind to ignore the many, many reiatsu signatures I constantly picked up.

The Captain didn't keep us waiting for long. "The Fourth Seat sent a distress signal around 3 minutes ago. They had deployed to purify what the Twelfth division described as a 'larger than average' Hollow pack. Clearly, things aren't that simple."

Taking a moment to survey our expressions, he continued, "I'll be taking all the Seated Officers to the last known location of the Fouth's squad. We will be joined by a detachment of the Eleventh and Third divisions. I want you all on your best behaviour." Turning to face the door, he finished in a deep voice. "Let those beasts pay for their arrogance in blood. Keep up..."

Narrator's POV.

Multiple Shinigami could be seen racing towards a district in Rukongai. A Shinigami in a Captain's haori was leading the squad. Feeling the fluctuations in his massive reiatsu, anyone could tell that he was not as calm as his expression portrayed.

Sounds of battle could be heard not far from them. More importantly, a large Hollow reiatsu was wreaking havoc on the battlefield. The Hollow reiatsu was surprisingly comparable to the Captain's. This led to all the Seated Officers taking on a more solemn countenance, including Riku.

Riku himself was trying to keep himself from puking his guts out. He had never felt so much vile and disgusting reiatsu in one place. Even with his sensitivity training, the spiritual stench seemed to wantonly taint his very soul. Stopping himself from immediately releasing his Shikai to erase that creature from existence, his reason told him that he would be curbed stomped by that Hollow before he even got a decent shot on it.

Arriving at the battlefield, the Officers didn't need instructions. They immediately went to assist the struggling shinigami in battling the numerous standard Hollows. The Vice-Captain and Riku started engaging the three Gillians that were roaming the battlefield.

The Captain launched a massive blade of compressed reiatsu away from the rest of the battle, carrying with it the assumed commanding Adjuchas. The powerful Hollow was idlely gorging itself on the body of the Fourth Seat before the Captain attacked, catching it by surprise.

Seeing the only real threat to himself predisposed, Riku could finally focus on his targets. Glancing at the Vice-Captain, she gave him a quick nod. Firmly grasping their individual blades, they each activated their Shunpo and raced towards their chosen Gillians.

Hoping to quickly finish off their targets so as to deal with the remaining lone Gillian, they immediately brought themselves to full strength. "Bask in the essence of creation, Sōten ni zase." "Growl, Haineko."