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Post by Lt. Izuru Kira on Oct 30, 2024 22:48:13 GMT -6
Izuru gawked at Renji, his shot glass of sake halfway to his lips. He held up his free hand in pause. “Wait, wait a minute. Why the hell would Captain Kuchiki say something like that out of the blue? I mean, yeah this is Byakuya Kuchiki we’re talking about, but he’s not the type of man to just… blurt things out. So what reason did he have for digging that up of all things?”
Renji grimaced and turned his head to face away from Izuru and Hisagi. “Because… he thinks Nagano is…” He turned and looked around the bar then leaned in close, Hisagi and Izuru leaning closer as well. “He thinks Nagano is protecting Fuu Ayumu from something. That she knows more than she’s letting on and Nagano is lying for her.”
Izuru nodded slowly in understanding. Captain Kuchiki brought up the fact that Renji protected Rukia and even fought the captain himself for her life to make a point to Nagano that choosing loyalty over duty had consequences.
“Wow… even for Captain Kuchiki, that’s… cruel. Not to mention that whole fiasco was over Rukia and the Hogyoku in the first place. And didn’t you tell us that he regretted his decisions in all that?”
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Post by Lt. Renji Abarai on Oct 30, 2024 22:49:02 GMT -6
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Renji growled in anger, his features twisting as he sneered. “Apparently all he meant was that he regretted making two promises that conflicted with each other. And after he dismissed Nagano, he made me stay. He tried to tell me something but… well, I told him I didn’t want to hear it. I told him…” Renji let his head fall to the table, placing a hand over his ponytail and squeezing as though the bundle of hair was a stress ball. “I told him that I knew Rukia longer than him and that my loyalty was to her, and then I called him a coward. And if that don’t get me fired, then it sure as hell will make my job about a million times harder.”
Hisagi sat there in a daze wondering what Fuu learned that she did not share with him. He looked across the table at Renji. “Do you know what it was that Fuu learned?” He shook his head. “It had to be pretty good if it had Captain Kuchiki all up in arms.”
Renji lifted his head and rolled his eyes at Hisagi. “Really, man? I just told you I called Byakuya fucking Kuchiki a coward and your first thought is about what kind of juicy gossip Fuu learned?”
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Post by Lt. Hisagi Shuuhei on Oct 30, 2024 22:50:45 GMT -6
“Yeah, you damn right. It seems this also has something to do with my Third Seat.” Hisagi took a slow sip, watching Renji carefully, he was stumbling over his words minutes ago. There’s something he’s not saying. And it’s got to do with Fuu and Yorusuke.
“So… let me get this straight,” Hisagi started, setting his glass down with a soft clink. “You’re saying that Yorusuke’s gone out of his way to protect Fuu, even though she’s supposedly only been helping me with the Robin Hood investigation? That she’s sharing things with him that I don’t even know about?”
Renji shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable under Hisagi’s scrutiny. “Look, Hisagi, it’s not like that. I mean—well, yeah, maybe Yorusuke stepped in here and there, but Fuu was doing her own thing, you know?”
“Uh-huh.” Hisagi raised an eyebrow. “That ‘own thing’ got her forced into a leave just a few days ago. That doesn’t exactly sound like nothing.”
Izuru leaned back, watching the exchange with interest. Renji looked down, his fingers tracing the rim of his glass. His stammering was too obvious, and Hisagi wasn’t about to let him dodge the truth any longer. “Renji, if you know something, it’s best to tell me now. Especially if Fuu’s mixed up in something serious.”
Renji sighed, clearly caught. “Alright… I’ll level with you. Yorusuke thinks Fuu got wind of something big—maybe bigger than she even realizes. She was working on it for your paper, but whatever it is, it’s got ties to the Robin Hood cases, and Captain Kuchiki is very suspicious. Yorusuke’s just trying to keep her safe.”
Hisagi’s gaze hardened. “Then I need to know everything. This isn’t just a story. If she’s at risk, I can’t let this slide.”
Renji exchanged a glance with Izuru, realizing Hisagi was dead serious. “Alright. I’ll tell you what I know… but let’s keep it between us, yeah?”
They huddled closer, and as Renji spoke, Hisagi’s mind began racing with questions—and a new determination to uncover whatever it was Fuu had found.
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Post by Lt. Renji Abarai on Oct 30, 2024 22:51:53 GMT -6
Renji quickly but clearly recounted his conversation with Yorusuke, wanting to only have to tell it once in public. He really didn’t want to be saying it at all, let alone in a bar. But with everyone drunk and stuffed with food around them, no one had the mind to listen to them.
“Fuu Ayumu found out that the Masanobu clan–yes, that Masanobu clan–is connected to the Koriyama clan. They’ve controlled them for centuries. Fuu was investigating the Robin Hood clan as promised, and while investigating them, she came across what she thought was a lead. Well, that lead led her to a former member of the clan. She used her zanpakuto on him and as a result… well, I’m sure you get the rest. She told Yorusuke so he could tell Byakuya Kuchiki but… something spooked her. I don’t know what. She chickened out and told Yorusuke to keep it quiet. I’m not sure what happened after that. Yorusuke hasn’t told me.”
He threw his hands up then grabbed his mug of beer again. “That’s it, that’s all I know!” The waitress returned with the rest of their order, setting kara’age, gyoza, edamame, yakitori, and some sushi rolls in front of them. Renji grabbed a skewer and tore into it. After the waitress was gone once more, he continued. “If Fuu got put on leave, then she told somebody or somebody found out. Obviously not my captain if he’s busting our balls about it.”
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Post by Lt. Hisagi Shuuhei on Oct 30, 2024 22:52:25 GMT -6
Hisagi lifted his beer again, draining it before snapping apart his chopsticks and reaching for a piece of sushi. He paused, the sushi halfway to his mouth as he took in Renji’s words. “So this is that serious,” he murmured, almost to himself. “No wonder Byakuya’s trying to get to the bottom of it. If what Fuu discovered goes public, it could put the nobles in a world of hurt.”
He took a bite of his sushi, leaning in. “So Fuu dug up a link between the Masanobu and Koriyama clans… and now she’s worried enough to back off.” His voice dropped even lower. “That explains why she’s been out of sight lately. And why Captain Kuchiki is breathing down your necks.”
He glanced at the food spread before them, before the waitress departed, he ordered another beer. “So she’s using her zanpakuto on informants to get them to talk. Hmm?”
Renji looked up, skewering a piece of yakitori with a fierce bite. “Yeah, and if she’s on leave, someone higher up had to find out. But Yorusuke… he’s been tight-lipped. Whatever she uncovered is sensitive enough to keep him quiet.”
Hisagi gave a resigned sigh, gripping his chopsticks a bit tighter. “This isn’t sitting right. Fuu might’ve pulled out of fear, but I need to know exactly what she’s sitting on. If it puts her—or anyone else—at risk, we’ve got to find out the full story.” He turned to Renji. “What do you think? Is Yorusuke hiding more than he’s letting on?”
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Post by Lt. Izuru Kira on Oct 30, 2024 22:53:10 GMT -6
Izuru, who had been sitting quietly, listening to the back and forth between his two friends, spoke up. “If Fuu is being careful and staying out of it, then I think it’s safe to assume she hasn’t. Seems contradictory for her to tell Yorusuke to stay out of it and keep quiet only for her to feed him more information. Though there is the possibility she told him more before that.”
Izuru finished off his third shot of sake and set the cup aside, grabbing a gyoza dumpling with his chopsticks. “I think it's possible that Fuu may have gone to the Koriyama clan themselves, and as a result, they got her put on leave to keep her from digging further. But the better question is…” Izuru tilted his head. “How did the Robin Hood clan lead her to the Masanobus? Is there a connection there we’re not seeing?”
Renji sighed and rubbed his brow. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Suigetsu Koriyama is originally from Rukongai, like me and Hisagi. And a bad district, from what I hear. Maybe…”
“The Koriyamas control the Robin Hood clan as well?” Izuru nodded in agreement. “It’s a reasonable theory. Murders follow the worst of the worst who have been robbed. Like the Konoba case. Sometimes it’s murders then robberies. The Koriyamas have the ability to orchestrate both of those things. If they’re connected, that would give them a reason to want the investigating to stop.”
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Post by Lt. Renji Abarai on Oct 30, 2024 22:55:08 GMT -6
Renji sighed and shrugged. “But then why would Kuchiki want the Robin Hood clan caught so badly? Unless it’s all a front to make sure they don’t get caught. Neither Yorusuke nor I know exactly how much our captain knows. And like hell he’ll tell us.” Renji finished off his beer, then waved down the waitress for another. “There’s so many damn possibilities in this case, it’s no wonder we can’t get anywhere. We’ve got a dozen theories and nothing to back any of them up.”
“Let me talk to Fuu tomorrow and see where all this has led her,” Hisagi nodded, “then maybe it will give us a good perspective of where we… or even Captain Kuchiki stands in all of this.”
After finishing his yakitori skewer, Renji grabbed some edamame pods and pulled the beans out with his teeth, sucking the spices and seasonings off of the pod. “Anything that gives me insight into that man’s brain is a gods send. I’d give my left nut to read his thoughts.”
Hisagi and Izuru both gave him a look. Renji scoffed at them. “Oh shut up, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same if he was your captain.”
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Post by Lt. Hisagi Shuuhei on Oct 30, 2024 22:55:44 GMT -6
The three men exchanged looks over their half-finished plates, the shared frustration and confusion over the “Robin Hood” group thickening the air between them. Hisagi sighed, nodding. “Renji’s right—this case is a mess. Every time we think we’re close to a breakthrough, something new flips everything upside down.”
Izuru set down his glass, his tone thoughtful. “And if Fuu’s digging into noble connections, that’s all the more reason Captain Kuchiki is up in arms. If these leads are correct, the clan connections run deep, which is… well, a scandal even without the criminal element. But yeah, Renji, you’re lucky if you get more than a sentence out of him.”
Renji groaned, shaking his head. “You two have no idea. Trying to read Captain Kuchiki’s mind is like trying to fish in the desert.” He tilted his head to Hisagi. “Still, if you can get Fuu to talk, it might just shed some light.”
Hisagi picked up another piece of sushi. “If Captain Kuchiki wasn’t so… Byakuya, this case might actually get somewhere.”
As they shared a laugh, the conversation drifted away from the heavy subject. Renji leaned back, sighing. “I don’t know about you two, but the last month’s been brutal. Between this case, extra training, and my captain’s… quirks, I haven’t had time to sleep, let alone think.”
Izuru nodded, his gaze distant. “Tell me about it. My desk is buried in paperwork every time I turn around. Even Captain Kurotsuchi’s been piling on. He’s in some kind of frenzy to rebuild, and Third Division’s practically his errand squad.”
Hisagi chuckled, lifting his beer. “You guys aren’t the only ones. Between my duties, the paper, and now this, I can’t remember the last time I got a full night’s sleep.”
Renji raised his mug as if in a toast. “Here’s to finally getting a damn break sometime before we’re all gray-haired old men.”
They clinked their glasses, the camaraderie between them cutting through the tension of the last month, if only for a moment. Downing their drinks, Hisagi waved down the waitress one more time and ordered a round for the table.
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Post by Lt. Izuru Kira on Oct 30, 2024 22:58:12 GMT -6
Izuru finished off his sake and dug into the kara’age, squeezing a bit of lemon on the pieces he took for himself. His mind took him back to all of the times the three of them had shared drinks after work. It was a regular pastime for them. Even before each of them had earned their current ranks. Since they were lowly seated officers.
No, even before that.
“You remember the first time we went out for drinks? It was so long ago, I’m surprised I remember.”
Renji hummed over his mug of beer and nodded, grabbing some kara’age for himself as well. “Yeah, I remember.” He laughed and pointed his chopsticks at Izuru. “I remember you getting absolutely trashed and us having to carry your sorry ass back to the academy dorm rooms!”
“Hey! I’m better at holding my alcohol now!” Izuru raised his second round of sake in protest.
“Oh yeah, I remember,” Hisagi chuckled, grinning as he finished off one of the sushi rolls. “It was a few weeks after I got this,” he pointed to the three thin lines of scars down the right side of his face. He scowled as he tried to recall the details. “Wasn’t that day my idea?”
Izuri nodded with a smile. “Yeah. You said you owed us for saving your sorry ass. You invited Momo-chan too, but she refused. Said she would rather study than tag around and watch us drink ourselves silly.” His smile fell as he looked down into his sake cup, recalling Momo’s face that day when they asked her to go out drinking with them. That image quickly faded into oblivion, replaced by the time he had fought her over Sosuke Aizen. Now she was just… gone. “Things… really have changed, haven’t they? So many of our comrades are gone. Or worse.”
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Post by Lt. Renji Abarai on Oct 30, 2024 22:58:46 GMT -6
“Yeah, everything’s been hell in a handbasket. Pretty shitty gift basket if you ask me,” Renji grumbled, biting into his chicken and washing it down with his beer. “Kinda makes me wish we could just go back to the academy days. Back when things were easy. We knew what we needed to do. What was expected of us. We knew what was waiting for us on the other side. Who was waiting for us.”
He shook his head and took another swig. “Now, we have no idea what the hell comes next. Even as we try and rebuild everything that bastard Aizen took from us, it will never be enough. The people we lost will never come back. Their souls will eventually make their way back here, but they’ll be different. They won’t know who we are and we probably won’t know them either. All we can do is accept the cycle of life and keep moving forward.”
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Post by Lt. Hisagi Shuuhei on Oct 30, 2024 22:59:16 GMT -6
Hisagi’s laughter faded as he set his glass down, his gaze drifting to the half-empty plates before them. Memories of simpler times hung heavy in his mind, but his thoughts settled on Rangiku—a memory now, as painful as it was precious. She’d been the heart of their group, the one who’d drag them all out for drinks, lifting their spirits with a laugh that could drown out their troubles, even if just for a night. But now, her laughter was something he’d never hear again. He clenched his jaw, feeling the ache of that absence.
“Yeah… things aren’t like they were.” His voice was soft, heavy with unspoken grief. “Rangiku would’ve been here with us tonight if she was still… if things had gone differently.”
Izuru’s eyes dropped to his glass, nodding in silent agreement. “She was always there, somehow. No matter what.”
Renji gripped his drink tighter, staring down at it. “Hell, she was like a sister to all of us.” He shook his head. “It just… doesn’t feel right, being here without her.”
Hisagi lifted his glass, his gaze somber. “To Rangiku,” he said quietly, the three of them lifting their drinks in her memory.
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Post by Lt. Renji Abarai on Oct 30, 2024 23:00:41 GMT -6
Renji lifted his glass high, nodding firmly. “To Rangiku who could outdrink the best of us.” The three of them gave a soft chuckle.
Izuru softly clinked his glass with the other two. “To Momo… who deserved better.” Hisagi and Renji both murmured quietly in agreement.
Renji added, “To the ones here today and the ones we lost on the way.” The three of them drank deeply from their cups, draining what was left. Renji let out a heavy sigh as the alcohol went down. “We gotta do this again. And maybe drag some new people into our tradition.”
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Post by Lt. Izuru Kira on Oct 30, 2024 23:01:53 GMT -6
Izuru smiled and nodded, pouring himself another cup of sake and taking a yakitori skewer. “Yeah, I’m sure we could find plenty of people willing to unwind after work. Especially nowadays.” He thought of who they could invite. Definitely Kairo Namori and Ikkaku Madarame. Izuru blinked and looked up with a grin. “Hey, maybe we could make it an upper-ranking officers’ night. Captains, lieutenants, and third seats.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Hisagi lifted his mug and bellowed out for the waitress, “another round over here!” When she turned and looked at him with a scowl, he cringed slightly, following up with, “please and thank you.”
“Question is, when the hell do we do it?” Renji shook his head with a shrug. “All the divisions are swamped. Like hell we’ll all get a night where no one is doing overtime. Especially you.” Renji pointed at Izuru.
Izuru smirked and shook his skewer at Renji. “I think you underestimate the captains. Once we tell them we’re planning a party after work, they’ll send everyone home in an effort to avoid overtime work.”
“Even Captain Overtime himself?” Renji grinned. “You really think Captain Hitsugaya will send everyone home if there’s work to be done? Hell, you think he’ll leave work if there’s still work to be done?”
“I think so,” Izuru nodded. Their next round of drinks arrived and Izuru poured himself a cup of sake. “I hear he’s been taking it easy on his officers. He might take this as an opportunity to maintain morale.”
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Post by Lt. Hisagi Shuuhei on Oct 30, 2024 23:03:04 GMT -6
Hisagi chuckled, shaking his head as he thought it over. “An upper-ranking night, huh? I like it. And as for when... if we aim for the end of next week, we might actually have time to spread the word, maybe even rope in some of the captains.”
He lifted his drink with a determined nod. “So, next Friday then—let’s make it a real event. We’ll give everyone a reason to look forward to a break, especially if it means the captains might ease up for a night.”
Renji grinned, nodding approvingly. “That’ll give us enough time to smooth-talk Captain Hirabayashi into going too. If she’s there, even Captain Hitsugaya might show up. Besides, morale is shot lately. I think a night out’s long overdue.”
Izuru laughed, the weariness in his eyes replaced with a rare spark of enthusiasm. “Next Friday it is, then. If we’re lucky, we might even convince some of the older officers to join us.”
“Perfect,” Hisagi said, lifting his mug again. “Here’s to next Friday—and a much-needed break for all of us.”
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Post by Lt. Renji Abarai on Oct 30, 2024 23:04:08 GMT -6
“Hell yeah! Let’s make it happen!” Renji clenched the fist that wasn’t holding his beer. He grinned widely. “We’ll pick a place to have it in the next couple days, that way we can make a reservation. If we try and bum rush a bar the day of with no notice, they might throw us all out on our asses.” “And I would not blame them one bit,” Izuru shook his head with a chuckle. “It’s party time then,” Hisagi raised his beer.“Damn straight!” Renji raised his as well.
The three of them continued to drink until all of the food had been eaten and they were nearly falling asleep at the table. Eventually, the waitress politely ushered them out the door after they had split the bill three ways. Renji laughed and offered his room in the barracks to Hisagi after watching the man stumble down the road towards his division. Hisagi waved him off and as Renji parted ways with him and Izuru, he made a mental note to check on the two of them in the morning.
Back in the comfort of his barracks, he let out a sigh of relief, feeling some of the stress from the day leave his body.
They really did need a break.
-END- "All Hollows’ Eve: The Ghostly Trials"
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