A Death in the Family (Post Setsuna Meeting)

Maki sat at the back of a long meeting hall, head in her hand. Setsuna really did know how to cause trouble, didn't she? She guessed that was kinda her forte. She sighed and looked at the door. How was she gonna tell the other captains about her passing. Well, bluntly, she supposed. She had sent a message to all captains calling them here to discuss the situation.

She ran her hand through her hair, "I need a Drink."

(OOC: I'm sorry, I will be slow posting still due to work. I wanted to make sure I would post here at least however.)

The fourth division Taicho walked into the room, giving Maki a small nod. She was confused by the lack of Setsuna, but Maki's demeanor made her instantly on guard and worried. Icy eyes shining, she glanced around and noted a lack of anyone else yet. "Taicho Tsukino? What...Where is the Soutaicho?"

Masaru arrived shortly after receiving notice though he couldn't help but feel something wasn't exactly right...this meeting seemed rather...sudden. Something must have happened but he couldn't quite guess what exactly.

When he entered the room, he took notice of the other two in the room; Lakshimi and Maki, to which he gave a nod to as a form of greeting. Where was Setsuna though? His expression held a mix of concern and confusion as he took notice of this.

"Something's happened...hasn't it?"

Perhaps it was related to something one of his subordinates had reported sensing in the World of the Living. He hadn't received a full report on the matter as of yet, as the one that had sent word to him had not yet returned to give his full report.



[OOC: sorry about short post and shit, drama shit going down right now as I type so it's a bit difficult.]

Jurobei walked into the depressing scene with a scowl on his face. He didn't like to be parted from his greatest project in exchange for this petty gathering where Setsuna didn't even bother to show up yet. Just like her. She's just going to wait until all the Captains get bored out of their fucking skulls so that when she charges in through the doors she'll have an excuse to berate them for being unprofessional while on duty.

It annoyed him that people were pointing out the obvious. Only the dullest would miss the changes induced by having a Grand Ball take place where the most powerful beings from two opposing factions of Soul Society got together to make a bid for peace. They should be summoned here for a legitimate reason, regardless of whether or not Setsuna was there. She wasn't their mother.

I mean, wowww thought Jurobei, I debate over whether I worship the woman because she liberated me from certain death, but even I think this is needy much!

He kept his posture and neutral expression as he glanced at everyone, though didn't stay on any captain long enough to make eye contact, except for Maki, who had sent the arbitrarily vague message that a meeting would commence. Taking his usual seat, he peered into nothingness, waiting for this boring fucking peace to be stomped on by Setsuna.

Something was off. Norma could sense it. She knew something was wrong, her first clue was the abrupt message that Maki had sent. Setsuna was the only person who called captain's meetings, but her reiatsu abruptly vanished last night. Norma hadn't felt it at all today. Something was wrong, very wrong.

The elderly senior captain strolled into the meeting room, and took her spot, nodding to the people already there. She took special note that Maki was at the head of the room, a spot designated for the Captain Commander. Something was up, and this was a meeting to deliver the news.

Isaac walked into the room, looking around at all the tense faces. He frowned. This couldn't be good. There was a bad feeling about this. His bad feelings were rarely wrong. His brow furrowed and he scratched his head. He took his place, looking around the room and taking a long slow breath. He glanced at each of their faces before making a small "hm?" noise when he landed on Maki... She looked... troubled... not like the rest of them... They looked scared... There didn't seem to be any of that there... He gave a small growl of concern under his breath. A VERY bad feeling. He had a VERY bad feeling about this.

Meanwhile, Hideki scurried into the room, taking his place, nervous and trying to look polite. "S-Sorry! I um... Y'know, don't... I mean I didn't actually know where this meeting room was!" He rubbed the back of his head. "So.. Yeah.. I kind of... got lost... heh.."

One of the last ones to arrive, Alexander entered the meeting hall not too soon afterwards and traveled towards his place in the Hall. His demeanor was that of business, and it annoyed him because it was not his own. This was time that he was forced to spend away from his work.

He gave a look around the room to see who was already there, and who was not. Of course, right away he noticed Setsuna was included in the latter category, nor had he felt her energy level at any point in the Seireitei on his way here.

If she was dead, then this meeting was probably to determine a new leader, the scientist already thought to himself. While this prospect worried others, for the Squad 12 Captain, he was barely phased at all, or at least his face did not show it.

"Lets just wait for the rest." Maki said monotonously to the two who entered first. As everyone shuffled into the room, she rested her head in her hand. This whole thing was a very large headache.

"Alright, its seems everyone is here who is going to be here, so lets get started." Maki stood up and pulled out her shikai. A visual display showed a leveled wasteland, looking around showed nothing but devastation. "Last night I received a hell butterfly from Head Captain Fujihana stating to check this place if she was not back by the morning. It also mentioned that she had been called out by the Demiurge, Kepler." She paced back and forth, "I could not sense either of their spiritual pressures on either plane, and the site was wracked with the devastation of a nuclear explosion. I can only assume the worst. I believe the Head Captain has perished in battle with the Demiurge. I can't prove this without a shadow of a doubt, but the hollow didn't seem the one to take prisoners if provoked."

She looked at each of the other captains, "The head captain wanted me to take her place in the interim. I know everything she knew, that was the point of her disappearing act a while back. Are there any questions?"

Masaru froze, his eyes having widened a fraction at the news. Setsuna...was presumably dead? He didn't want to believe it. It was always a possibility...being what they were but...Setsuna? She was strong, stronger than any of them and to hear she might be dead?

It wasn't just that either. To him, throughout his life, throughout what he'd suffered at the hands of his father, Setsuna had been his rock. She was family to him, and even though he couldn't have told her what had been going on...she'd always made him look on the bright side of things, gave him hope...in a since saved him from falling to his emotions that had told him to give up when things just felt too difficult...

His eyes immediately glanced over at Lakshimi. Unlike him, Setsuna was family to her; true family. They hadn't been together for very long but...they were close, even the time they'd spent apart had not been enough to fracture their bond...

That occurrence that one of his officers had vaguely reported to him...had been this? Why hadn't he noticed anything? Why hadn't he received earlier notice of such strong reiatsu signatures coming into contact there? When it came to Setsuna, he hadn't believed there was much need to worry...she was undeniably powerful...How could something like this happen? In truth, there was probably nothing he could have physically done to prevent this but...if he'd noticed earlier...the fact that he hadn't carved guilt into his heart like a knife.

Laskmi's face paled several shades. Setsuna...was presumed dead and no one could find her after such an interval? Her only family left... Killed by the hollows? One shaky hand went up to her chest, clenching the cloth there as her heart raced. Grief danced at the edges her mind, even as she pushed it away to deal with the immediate issues. Freaking out in this meeting would do nothing, she had work to do... Gigi...

Her icy gaze stared at Maki, though the short woman shook lightly... So thats why Setsuna and her had been that way in the office. Maki hadn't seemed pleased with the Soutaicho and that could explain it. It explained it... But didn't make the loss any easier to bear. You can be upset later, just make it through this and do what you need to. She'd be upset with you if you lost it here. "We should send people in sweeps, just to be sure she's alive."

Please be alive. Please.

SHIT, late, SHIT, super late. Des had missed the announcement and was trying to get to the meeting as fast as possible. Upon reaching the door Des quietly snuck in and took a seat next Alexander. "pssst, Alex, who died?"

Norma brought her hand up to her mouth in shock. Her oldest friend was gone. She pissed and moaned about the way Setsuna did things, but she was still a good friend. They had spent many days together, just having fun and enjoying each other's company. Her dear friend. She was afraid this had happened.

"Someone is going to have to inform her daughters Ai and Takano. I don't know if her son would care, but he deserves to know as well."

Norma knew this day would come, but she always hoped that it wouldn't. She wished it wouldn't. Setsuna you old fool. Norma would miss her friend, and she would never forget her.

"Our gracious Head Captain. Or rather, former Head Captain I should say." Alexander remarked in a quiet manner, almost sounding like he was joking. He had no real strong opinion on the old woman one way or the other, so he was less affected by this announcement than the others. He noticed the most visibly shaken one was Lakshmi, which was no surprise. A hint of concern belied his normal emotionless visage for a brief moment.

Setsuna had let him do his work, and that was what really mattered to him. However, over the years he had noticed information and such struck from his Squad's records, and he wondered if the old lady had anything to do with those. Well, too late to ask now anyway.

"Captain Tsukino is apparently the interim Head Captain, or so she says."

Jurobei looked like he was going to have a brain aneurysm, and he felt his mask slipping. It was hard to filter what he was saying.

"Yeah, I have a question." he said vindictively. His whole body was shaking with a frustrated anger meant to be directed only at the situation, but it turned out the direction of his question to Maki. "How can you honestly believe that a crater is enough evidence to show and claim she's dead?"

"An explosion." He tried being straight faced but wheezed a disgruntled laugh of disbelief, his hand shaking until his right thumb and middle finger touched as though holding an invisible dart. "An explosion is supposed to take her life? ... No. Just, no. That is too easy an explanation."

His fingers were at his temples as he felt the blood pump into his brain. "Don't you get it?" His mind was trying to rationalize for itself the reason why Setsuna would just suddenly go lone cowgirl without telling anyone except Maki. He was supposed to be the Intelligence! Did Setsuna think he'd oppose her plans? He would have, certainly. She might have thought him weak after having being defeated by the Kenpachi, unstable because he almost committed suicide while in the coma. Maybe she no longer trusted him. He was so far in denial at this point over her death, and so fabricated a theory.

"Don't you understand?" He repeated. "Setsuna wants us to believe she's dead! Why did Setsuna give intel to the Captain in charge of the Academy and not to me, the one whose in charge of Intelligence? Don't you think that's a little strange? Don't you also think it's strange that if it really was Setsuna's intent all along to fight the 'Demiurge' why she'd go through all the trouble of setting up a Grand Ball here in Soul Society? I'll tell you why! To make sure than when that peace ended we'd be outraged enough over her death to launch a full scale war!"

"You're not fooling anyone Maki, certainly not me. You are in on her plan. I am ashamed for the lack of faith I'm seeing. An explosion... Her blood ties should know that a sweep would be a waste of time; she doesn't want to be found, and her power will guarantee that she isn't. I guess one should inform the rest of her family, but still don't expect me to believe such an obvious lie."

Jurobei couldn't accept it even if he was given a corpse of Setsuna to look at. She was his enemy, and no one else's. To die such a humiliating and pointless death was not the way she was meant to die. He was meant to triumph over her, an honor meant for nobody else. He wanted her to know that he wasn't weaker than she was, that the person she liberated was not the same person he was now. Setsuna was supposed to die under his hand in the grand web that he had built so patiently around her, to trap and make her his kill. He touched his face again, where water fell; he was crying without knowing it. Why, fucking why?!

Isaac frowned as the intelligence captain rambled on. As he continued, Isaac's frown hardened. He couldn't accept it? It was obvious. A crater that a meteor could have made. Nuclear fallout, a shockwave that spread around the world. "Shut up." He finally said to Jurobei. "Don't be a child."

Hideki kept quiet as things went on, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't know the Head Captain personally, but it was clear most people here did. He knew historically, the soul society had changed leadership before, though not recently. He sunk a little. He was too new at this to have any meaningful input...

Maki sighed and brought up multiple screens. One depicting the conversation they had before Setsuna killed herself (leaving out the suicide in question and the pheonix abilities of he zanpakuto), one depicting the hell butterfly, and one depicting the atom splitting nuclear explosion of her zanpakuto. Touching each one made them activate, sound and all.

"Hopefully that adds some credibility for you." She sneered at Jurobei. She didn't have time to deal with his breakdown. This is a goddamn military at its core, and sometimes people die. "She told me, the head of the Academy, because she trusted me. She trusted me with her secrets, and I feel she felt some sort of common bond because she used to run the Academy. Excuse me for not coming to you first, but I kind of have to do her job now, so sometimes things come up."

"Secondly, war is the last thing we need right now. We just lost our strongest, we shouldn't go swinging clubs. I am going to try and get an audience with one of the hollows, and possibly the Corona, and see what caused this. On the home-front, we need to prepare. Prepare for defense of the realm against a possible invasion if things continue as they are." She snapped in attention to the rest of the room. "Any other concerns?"

"The only concern of mine is that Setsuna was reckless enough to fight such a being without at least informing the rest of us first." Alexander spoke up first, clearing his throat afterwards. "For example, I could have engineered something to help her battle such a foe." He said, eyes scanning the rest of the room before settling back on their new Leader.

"I trust you will be more thoughtful, Head Captain Tsukino." The man simply stated. It could be taken as a snide remark by some, but to the Captain of Squad 12, he was just speaking what was on his mind. Well, almost everything. He was still suspicious of the ordeal, and why only Maki was informed and not the rest of them, but unlike the old rambling fool known as Jurobei, Alexander knew the meaning of tact. He could visit her later.

"I will inform the rest of the family. Taicho Norma? I would appreciate your help with that." Jurobei would be useless, as his breakdown showed Lakshmi. She was being cold, her eyes staring at nothing in particular though they glanced briefly at both Masaru and Alexander. Masabutt would be just as upset... and while she felt affection for the twelfth division Taicho, one date did not make him someone she could rely on for such a situation. Or maybe it was she was afraid to.

Taicho Tsukinos videos were enough for now, the seireitei needed stability above all else right now. If Gigi...were dead and not... away... they would know eventually. Her squad would be ready for any potentially awful situations. "None that can be addressed right now Soutaicho Tsukino. I will remain on standby for now, unless I am given leave to inform my...grandfather and aunts."

It wasn't common knowledge she was descended from the child who left and disappeared, but at the moment Lakshmi didn't care who knew. "Once it is safe to of course."

Des wasn't exactly phased by the info, she didn't really know the head captain and even then she was well aware of the fact that a clash between two titans of their caliber would most definitely end with somebody's death. She was however hoping that nobody would lose their shit and make her job more stressful, she really didn't feel like having to arrest a captain because they never had someone die near them. "Nobody lose their shit over this alright, stay calm and trust what the new head lady says or I can gladly escort all those having trouble coping to a nice secure cell."

Hideki leaned forward a little, looking concerned, but not upset at what Des had said. He slipped his glasses on, as if by habit. "W-Well hold on! I mean..." He shifted uncomfortably, now that he'd drawn attention by speaking up. "I just... Do we need prison threats right now? We want everyone to follow Ms. Head Captain Tsukino out of respect. She's not making threats, so wouldn't it be a little counter-intuitive... to... start making threats for her?" His tone wasn't confrontational. "I mean... If anyone DOES have concerns about the legitimacy... forcing them to stay quiet won't win them over... It's just going to boilerplate the issue.." His eyes glanced briefly at Jurobei. "We need to maintain order and the rank and file can just fall in line, but isn't it important that at least our leadership are all on the same page?"

Masaru watched the scenes displayed on the screens with some difficulty, not having wanted to believe the news...but this provided the reality he'd wanted to avoid. He knew it was unavoidable, he knew he couldn't just pretend like it wasn't true. He wasn't a child, it hurt but...he'd have to keep going. He was a captain and he had a job to do. He'd have everyone and himself prepared and on the defense out of precaution as Maki suggested.

Why hadn't Setsuna informed anyone? That thought crossed his mind at Alexander's words. If she were going to face such an opponent, why keep it a secret? He supposed, they wouldn't exactly have an answer to that anytime soon if at all but...

He mentally shook the thought, there was no use letting it plague his mind for now. He had to keep it straight, his grief and frustrations could be handled once they were out of a state of emergency. He had a job to do and that would be his focus.

Norma was disgusted by the behavior of some of the captains, especially Jurobei. They were all adults here, even the youngest of them. For there to be such an outburst was uncalled for.

"I think we should all get one thing very clear. Whatever her reasons, Setsuna left Maki in charge. Some of us have known Setsuna a very long time."

Norma glanced at Jurobei, Maki, and Masaru.

"We all know, that she had a tendency to do things her own way. More than a tendency. Setsuna did what Setsuna wanted, and it worked for ten thousand years. Setsuna was my oldest and dearest friend, and if she truly is gone I will miss her. As our head captain, dead or alive, we owe her the respect to carry ourselves with dignity, and with tact. She would not stand for such outbursts from her captains, and you all know this. We have entered into trying times, and now more so than ever we should stand united. Not go to our respective corners and throw tantrums like blabbering children."

Norma stood tall, her hands firmly planted on her cane. She had been a captain for too long, she knew how this business went. This at it's core was an army. Soldiers, including captains, came and went. Lakshmi spoke to Norma about going see Setsuna's children with her. Of course she would. She knew Setsuna's daughter Ai well, and it would be appropriate.

"I will go with you Mura Taicho. It will be an honor to accompany you. Your grandmother was a great woman in her own right, and her children deserve this, as do you."

[tl;dr my post turned out wax poetic]

Maki's mountain of proof crushed Jurobei's soul in a way that could not even the terrors of Norma's bankai could have produced. The rivers on that mountain ran dry. He had been deathly silent after that, locked in a seemingly infinite mental loop which played random sections of the footage he was given at the desperate rate of a supercomputer.

Demiurge. Explosion. Conversation.  Voice Inflection. Own attack. View Pans Slightly to the Right. Academy. Crater. Tilt. What is the meaning of this? Pause. Breath. Light. Trust. Hell Butterfly. Scene Cuts. Shūen no Megami! First Shockwave. Lone Dying Brush, Swaying in Nuclear Wind.  

Anything to hint that Maki's projections were fabrications because of a single logical inconsistency: in the ways objects were expected to move and in what was said through word and body. Anything to point towards the correct signs to indicate if and when the footage had been cut or altered, much like a cruel artist with the ability to lead people away from the truth with the medium of expression itself as the tool. He jumbled the entire mess together repeatedly without end in search for a permutation that actually made sense, to prove that Setsuna was still alive. Somewhere, in the place that had not been shown or said, was the truth. Only a small section of his mind stayed with the group itself; the events trivial, but taken into his perceptions as tools for the Greater Truth.

Let them believe that he was a 'child' for expressing his emotions, his pains for losing the only person that mattered in his life, the one that had liberated him and given him divine purpose in a dreary, meaningless world. Not even her own family could boast that kind of bond; it definitely showed by Lakshmi's inhuman reaction, distant as though talking about a month end financial report. He had a very good reason for breaking break down, because he had hidden his emotions for thousands upon thousands of years to gain the trust and respect of Setsuna, and now that reason was snatched away from him, casting him into a dark abyss of The Cell. Setsuna, his Sacred Enemy, was shown slain by her own attack.

Nobody had expressed themselves in a way that seemed even real to Jurobei; nobody readily stepped forward to rebuke the claim that somehow he was wrong in breaking down. That was what was wrong. Hideki had come close to refusing Des' extremely forward proposal to have him imprisoned, but ended up too chicken to say anything beyond what was safe and ended up taking the side of Maki's groupthink mob. Norma herself unashamedly jumped the bandwagon by calling his rebuke a child's tantrum. To them, he was but a rambling old man that should be locked away in a cell and never spoken of again. Yet, when Norma talked, the audience was captivated with her dry eulogy with little to no emotion attached whatsoever. It was a meaningless summary of a glorious life which then tacked on platitudes of remaining united under trying times. Only Alexander seemed to capture a glimmer of what he meant in his questions, through his warning of a more open approach in communication, but Jurobei doubted the extent through which Alexander understood. The scientific mind, in his own experience, only looked at objective facts. Beyond those facts, beyond sense perception itself, what isn't shown, was the truth that mattered.

However, he knew that their perceptions, sculpted by their fixed beliefs of how things were, was to his advantage, and that included his mask. If he was seen as a rambling old man that acted like a child and that he was no longer suitable to be called a Captain, then they could never hope to predict that Soul Society could be brought to its knees by the same man.

It frustrated him to no end that, while his fellow Captains had such a low opinion of him, he held such a high regard in return, a constant caution towards their individual potentials. He had underestimated a Captain once, the Kenpachi, and he would never again be as foolish. Killing all of them as he wanted to do would not be an easy task; he would not hurl himself into the fray and go down like the rash, needlessly self-sacrificing moron Setsuna was portrayed to be through Maki's television based witchcraft. Jurobei simply couldn't afford the luxary of lying to himself in this way, even if it could make him feel better temporarily. In order to win, his plan had to be perfect, with no flaws whatsoever. Every piece still had to be artfully placed, to ensure that for every contingency, there was a counter in place to meet it.

He had a new reason for his plans. If he couldn't defeat Setsuna because she ran away from his game, then he would force her to come back. He would plan to make Soul Society a beacon of light so bright that Setsuna will see again. Soul Society will burn.

"I understand." Jurobei said finally, after Norma had given her insincere drivel of a speech. His voice was a bit cold, for resentment lingered in his heart, but sincere, like a chilling wind. The shock was gone, and now the storm had turned calm.

"Martial Law dictates that 'In Event Officer displays Signs of Mental Duress that potentially Inhibits Performance of Duties, then Commanding Officer may Suspend, Discharge, Demote, or Imprison Officer without Due Process in Concurrence with the Informed Opinion of a Medical Expert.' "

It was a verbatum quote. The last part of that clause was written partly as a safeguard to prevent the abuse of this clause in the law, if the medical expert was moral and truly impartial. Lakshmi would be that medical expert, however, so in this case, the safeguard was moot. Jurobei's emotional slip had caused this meeting to spiral into a drumhead trial. It had to end, one way or another.

"It should be noted, however, that according to the need presented by the power vacuum that has been created that I cannot be given the luxary time to grieve in place of my duties as Captain. However, it is the Interim Commander's sole duty and responsibility to declare the final ruling. I accept any and all orders you henceforth give."

"What are you talking about?" Hideki's mouth hung open, brows furrowed. Was this guy NUTTERS?! Why was he going on about being indicted. This was a meeting to inform them of a situation and because he was upset, HE was suddenly pushing Head Captain Tsukino to pass a ruling on something nobody made anything but a vague threat about? He slowly pulled out his book and flipped to a page that had been empty before. He leafed through, scanning over the profile his zanpakuto had made by one Jurobei. He raised an eyebrow. Hrm. His personality was filled in then there was just a...blacked out segment? The hell? He looked back over at Jurobei, before flipping through to a chart of his soul, similar to a mood ring. It was just a solid wall of ice.

Either he felt absolutely nothing and this was all a charade, or he was hiding something and this was still a charade. Either way... Hideki shut his book. It's time for Mr. Ishimura to meet Mr. Nishimura.

"Why don't you stop acting, Captain Ishimura..." Hideki had a rare glare on his face. "You're in PERFECT control of your emotions right now.... I know... because I'm magic." He said, waving his book in the air a little. "Captain Des makes a snide remark and you start quoting martial law and pushing Interim Head Captain Tsukino to pass a snap judgement?" He had almost not said Interim, but figured he might as well be official about this. "You want to explain to us why you WANT to be court martialed?" He adjusted his glasses. "Or telling us how you REALLY feel about all of this?"

"Clearly, I was not in control of my emotions when I was made aware of Setsuna's death." Jurobei started. He wouldn't lose ground, but already he could feel the slip becoming worse. "In light of the additional evidence, however, I have come to accept what is true and the urgency of this situation, and have forced control over my emotions as I have been conditioned to do as Captain of the Intelligence Division."

He could hardly say he was in perfect control of his emotions. Rather, his emotions were in perfect control of him.

"Irregardless of the nature of Captain Des' remark, the importance of the Interim Head Captain's judgments at this time are no less critical. As a military organization, discipline and order must be maintained. I do not want to be court martialed, as I said before, but it is not within my jurisdiction to relieve myself of the offense committed when I openly challenged the authority given by our previous Captain Commander, an offense which I feel must be addressed. If the Interim Head Captain deems my points irrelevant, she is free to dismiss them."