"Dear me. Forcing the Captain-Commander himself to come to their aid. What are today's officers coming to?” — Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryúsai.

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“So, when did that start?” He asked, pointing at Kaien and Miyako who were still in each other’s arms. “Some long lost relative or something?”

Now that he was focusing on the woman the Lieutenant was arms-in-arms with, she did look a lot like the Lieutenant’s Hollow-experimented-turned-traitor wife.

“Be quiet.” Itachi’s admonishment came before he could even voice the bizarre question that just formed in his head.

His words jostled the couple who had been lost in their own world, however before he could say anything Kaien, holding Miyako’s hands in his, took a step forward and both of them bowed in thanks to him.

“I don’t know what it is you might have assumed but I had nothing to do with your reunion.” He said, stopping Kaien from professing his unwarranted thanks any more than he already has.

“Be that as it may,” Kaien looked at Miyako and then stared directly at Itachi’s eyes with gratitude in his, “the fact that you never once threatened to draw your blade at her is more than enough for me to thank you.”

““Thank you, Captain Uchiha.””

“Hmm.” Seeing the Captain standing up and walking towards them, Kaien asked the question that Junpei was also curious about.

“Sir, does this mean that all the exiled Captains are okay and well?”

This was big news.

If the Captains were all okay and they were to return, the Captaincy of the Shinigami would not be in such dire straits.

“Kaien, and this goes to you as well, Junpei: no one must know about this.”

It wasn’t about the issue of trust because Itachi would bet that the other Captains, at least half of them, would be willing to trust the Hollowfied Shinigami more than they were willing to trust him should they decide to come back to the Seireitei as reinstated Shinigami.

The problem with this was just a single one: Yamamoto Genryúsai. No one knew his stance on the matter. After Aizen’s defection, both Itachi and Kyōraku have, on different occasions, hinted at the possibility of looking for the exiled Captains and trying to get more of the story they had all got wrong. And all the times they did that, the Head Captain never once gave his opinion.

“Do you understand?” Though the couple looked reluctant, they both nodded their heads. Miyako probably understood the reason behind his warning and it was good that she did.

If the others understood then good for them. If they didn’t, well Itachi wasn’t going to bother explaining it to them. Some things were better left to the understanding of others.

“It’s best we go back now. Mayuri would have definitely reported those spikes in Reiatsu to the other Captains and the Head Captain.”

“It’s alright. We’ll meet again another time. At the very least I know you are alive and okay.” Kaien comforted Miyako who looked dejected at the thought of parting.

“I understand. I’ll see you soon, Kaien.” With a deep warmth-filled kiss, Miyako left them and made her way to where the other Visored were watching and waiting.

“Haha, good to see you so uplifted, my dear Miyako.” Shinji said with a lopsided smile.

“Shut up, Shinji.” Miyako said, surprising everyone. The always demure Miyako who never insulted anyone and was always respectful – the most respectful out of this unruly bunch – not only snapped at Shinji but also referred to him without his redundant title.

Shinji’s smile fell to a more genuine one. “Well, I for one am glad for you, Miyako.”

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Miyako could say nothing to that. The smile on her face was already telling.

Over with Itachi, Kaien was looking in the direction where Miyako left trying to sense her but to no avail.

“Captain Itachi-”

“I know.” Itachi said. “I understand.” How could he not understand the matters of the heart? Such a shame that he understood it all too well.

The Senkaimon opened up in front of them, causing both Junpei and Kaien to release sighs of relief.

“Let’s go.”

They stepped through the Senkaimon and the first person they saw immediately after crossing over was a cold faced Soi Fon.

“A summon?”

She nodded.

No other words were said as they both left the two other Shinigami to their own devices.

“Well then, it was nice working with you, Lieutenant Shiba. See you later.” Junpei waved and left the emotionally upheaved Lieutenant to his own wonderings.

….

“Mind wanting to explain to me how the first time you leave the Soul Society in years you almost get ambushed by multiple Captain-level Hollows?”

“There’s a joke in there but I fail to see it.”

They arrived at the Head Captain’s office only to be welcomed with multiple grim-faced Captains.

“I don’t know if I should applaud your luck or curse it.” Kyōraku said and shook his head sympathetically.

“More importantly, why did you come back empty-handed? Do you mean to tell us that you, a Captain, couldn’t even capture one of these ‘Captain-level’ Hollows? What a waste.” Always the instigator, Mayuri was the first one to accuse Itachi of anything he saw as incompetence or anything that he could attribute to incompetence.

“Well, it is rather uncanny but I think it shouldn’t be said why he couldn’t retrieve a body of these Hollows.” Jūshirō, ever the pacifist, shot down Mayuri’s complaints in the most peaceful way possible.

“Arrancars.”

That answer brought them all back to the topic at hand.

Naturally occurring Hollows and not just any Hollow but those that had gotten so strong that they could afford to break their mask, bringing them closer to the unified soul that a Shinigami was.

“That bastard really is preparing for a war against us. This is worrying, Head Captain.” Kyōraku said with a low whistle.

“As much as I am loathe to agree, he is right.” Mayuri said in a rare fashion. “We have to do something about him as soon as possible. These are not naturally occurring Arrancars. He is already capable of evolving Hollows to a higher ceiling; the more we wait the more he fortifies his army. He even has a name for them. Tch.”

“Another thing we have to put into consideration is that the level of the Hollow also acts as a defining factor in how it evolves. I killed one of them while Lieutenant Shiba and Junpei kept the other one distracted. These ones, I believe, were created from normal Adjuchas level Hollows.”

Kyōraku adjusted his straw hat and scratched his stubble, already not liking where this was going. “Oh boy, here we go.”

“The one that came after and stopped me from killing the other Hollow was no doubt a Vasto Lorde turned Arrancar.”

“Oh my.” Unohana said softly.

“Oh my indeed.” Jūshirō agreed.

“Things just got interesting.” Kenpachi said finally hearing something interesting in this pointless meeting.

Mayuri scoffed from beside him. “Of course you will find this interesting, you knuckle-brained brute. Not that I don’t find it interesting, but I doubt our metric for that is on the same level.” He added.

Kenpachi completely ignored Mayuri and peered at Itachi to get a much needed clarification.

“Itachi, how strong were the ones you fought?”

“For the Spirit King’s sake, why ask it like that?” Kyōraku murmured under his breath, already having a picture of what Itachi’s reply might be and just who exactly it would offend.

“Probably as strong as Captain Byakuya while the other was as strong as Mayuri, I think.”

That seemed to deflate Kenpachi a little. “Hmm, so they were not too strong after all. No wonder you could kill one so quickly.”

To no one’s surprise, that angered the hell out of Mayuri and Byakuya who saw clearly through the insinuation of Kenpachi calling them weak and that Itachi could just as quickly kill them off.

“And what exactly do you mean by that, Zaraki Kenpachi?” Byakuya asked in a low voice.

Calling him weaker than one of the Captains he might understand. Comparing his strength to a Captain-level Hollow he might be able to get behind, but estimating his strength as equal to a Hollow that got killed in a minute was such a disrespectful comparison to make.

“Do you want me to kill you?” Mayuri snarled with venom dripping off his tongue.

Kenpachi who was picking his ear looked irritated when he saw two Captains looking at him with unveiled hostility. “What? It’s not like I said anything you don’t already know.”

“How about we step away from that and focus on something else. Something more important maybe?” Kyōraku, having had enough, finally put a stop to it before it got any worse.

Imagine a disagreement between Mayuri, Kenpachi and Byakuya. Mayuri was already as vain as one could be, Byakuya was the embodiment of noble pride while Kenpachi was just a simple stubborn brute. They were getting nowhere if this continued.

“And what is more important?” Itachi asked.

“The Hōgyoku. Whatever the hell it is, we need to get it from Aizen unless we’ll be stuck dealing with the symptoms while conveniently avoiding the cause.”

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