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Ryan didn’t exactly know how he managed to get dragged into one of Sōritsu’s schemes but it certainly helped to break up the monotony of everyday life. Maybe if he was lucky he could finish this particular assignment quickly so he could have some free time? His mother was already taking care of all his duties as Family Head in his absence, so he was covered in that regard.
‘The answer is no.’
He sighed. Miria had consented when he asked her to accompany him. But did she have to act like she could read his mind?
‘That is so weird!’ He replied. ‘Stop doing that!’
‘Maybe later,’ Miria grinned at him deviously.
Why had he asked her to come again? Oh, yeah. Now he remembered:
Sōritsu sat with his arms crossed in the antechamber with a harsh expression on his face. Ryan always had to suppress his urge to laugh when others looked upon Sōritsu’s ragged scar running through his right eye. The look on their faces was always priceless! It was even more so now after being told to leave. Ryan walked towards his mentor and only father-figure.
‘You have a job for me? Isn’t it usually the Family Head who tells people what to do?’ Ryan asked.
‘Sit down, close your mouth and open your ears.’
Sōritsu kicked a chair across the room and Ryan took it reluctantly. Sōritsu was making him feel like a child who needed to be disciplined and he didn’t much care for it. It reminded him too much of the old days when he ran after him crying “Katame-sama” in reference to his scar.
‘We have a problem.’ Sōritsu went on to say.
If he had a Kan every time someone in the Seireitei said that to him he’d be fit to commission himself another silver-white windflower light silk scarf that was only given to Heads of the Kuchiki House. And those things do not come cheaply.
‘Garian and I have reason to believe that an enemy from our youth has returned. We believe he is responsible for the attack on Captains Yume and Sadao, as well as the Hiroshi family.’
The elder Kuchiki took a deep breathe. Much of the stiffness had left his shoulders which told Ryan that this particular enemy had Sōritsu worried. The man he knew as fearless was now worried? He stood unflinching as a Quincy attacked him with his own Bankai during the Vandenreich Invasion without batting his one eyelid! And now he was worried? Who was this person?
‘We need you to investigate something for us. Garian believes that a Quincy is aiding this individual.’
‘That can’t be good.’ Ryan cut in. ‘The last time Quincy visited the Seireitei they nearly decimated us. I remember: I was there.’
‘I told you to shut up.’ Sōritsu said harshly. ‘Now listen. Garian identified that the Quincy is masquerading as a Shinigami, meaning that he has infiltrated the Seireitei.’
Ryan was shocked to say the least. It was pretty gutsy to do what Sōritsu was suggesting. Infiltrate the Seireitei? He wouldn’t have thought it possible. But wait! Was it? Wouldn’t someone have noticed? He didn’t recall any strange reports about missing people so this Quincy had never been discovered for him to need to hide his tracks.
‘Do you have any leads?’
‘Yes. Garian narrowed the candidates down to academy students.’ He got to his feet. ‘You may require help in this task.’ Sōritsu said. ‘I trust your judgement but keep your confidants small. I do not want this Quincy knowing we’re onto him or her. Now leave me. I’m going to vent my anger on something.’
Ryan wouldn’t be surprised if he got a note later saying that half of the Kuchiki’s personal training ground had been blown to bits and that he needed to pay for it.
‘So,’ Miria began to say, dragging him back to the present, ‘how are we approaching this?’
Ryan wasn’t rightly sure himself. He could go in and rough the students up a bit but would likely pay for it in some way or another later. On another hand he could interview them separately so he could judge their reactions and mannerisms, though keeping them quiet afterwards would be next to impossible. He could end up alerting his target instead of getting the drop on him.
‘I have no idea.’ Ryan replied.
Miria rolled her eyes in exasperation. She then began twirling her long blond hair about her right index finger: a sign that she was lost in thought. When she was thinking she also had a habit of muttering to herself. Some had thought she talked to herself when she was really only running through plans or ideas.
‘Okay!’ She exclaimed suddenly. ‘I’ve got it! The academy curriculum still doesn’t cover much on the Quincy beyond simple facts.’
‘By simple facts you mean the whole “they destroy the balance thing” right?’
Miria grinned wide and Ryan couldn’t help but grin back at her.
‘The Head Instructor owes me a favour anyhow.’ She went on to say. ‘We’ve both fought against the Quincy, so we know a lot about their abilities and the like. I’ll get him to schedule a special compulsory class with us as instructors.’
Ryan liked where this was going…
‘I’m gonna throw in a lot of personal believes,’ he said with delight. ‘I’m gonna make our Quincy so mad that he’ll end up blowing his own cover.’
‘What will you do in the meantime?’
‘Get some insurance. Go ahead and visit the Head Instructor.’ Ryan began walking as he spoke and finally turned to look at Miria over his shoulder. ‘You’ll find me at the Twelfth Division Barracks.’
The Twelfth Division of the Gotei 13 was home to the eccentrics and oddities and the man Ryan was here to see was no different. The Lieutenant of the Twelfth Division was known simply as Sakata. He sported messy dark blue hair which was usually slicked back, a white lab coat, and his Lieutenants badge on his left shoulder above the elbow and always managed to look like everyone belonging to him had just died. He was shorter than Ryan but shared the same bold brown eyes, though Sakata’s always seemed to be glued to the nearest computer monitor while Ryan’s seemed to have more life in them.
‘Have you any idea how difficult it is getting through what you call an office? It’s chaos in here!’
A single desk occupied the rooms centre. Sakata himself was seated at the end of the table opposite the door Ryan just entered through, though he had yet to lift his head to acknowledge his friend and colleague. Spread across the floor haphazardly where multiple sheets of paper with numerical data, graphs and notes all written in Sakata’s neat and tidy handwriting. On a table set against the leftmost wall where many small vials, bottles and tubes. On the rightmost wall was something Ryan truly hated. Hanging from reinforced brackets was a mechanical humanoid entity with polished synthetic features that eyed Ryan mechanically. The sight of Sakata’s Bakkōtō always sent a shiver up his spine.
‘It is not “chaos”.’ Sakata said without lifting his head. ‘I prefer to call it “organized chaos”.’
‘So you admit that it’s still chaos? Huh. You must be having an off-day or something.’ Ryan said with disbelieving tones. ‘What are you working on?’
Sakata was tinkering with some mechanical device Ryan knew nothing about: origin, who made it or what it was originally (he could at least tell it had been taken apart a few times and reassembled). The device was small and circular with a hollow centre. Was it a wristband of some sort? No… the thickness wasn’t right. The perimeter was segmented and inlaid with symbols Ryan couldn’t read so he stopped trying. No need to make himself look stupid.
‘A reishi restrictor,’ Sakata replied. ‘It repels reishi away from the person you attach it to. Think of it as Quincy bane. And… there! Finished,’
Maybe Sakata could read minds too? It was too much of a coincidence for Ryan to pass it up.
‘We could have done with one of them during the Vandenreich Invasion.’ Ryan mused. ‘But, I was wondering if you’d do me a favour?’ Sakata finally lifted his head. ‘What? Okay, this is just wrong: me asking you for a favour is what gets your attention? Pfft.’
So he told him: all of it. The mission Sōritsu set him, the worries he and Garian probably shared and how the person he was hoping to flush out was a Quincy masquerading as a Shinigami. Suffice to say Sakata barely blinked. Most men and women of the Gotei 13 would have responded with shock, surprise or at least a frown! From Sakata you were lucky if you got his eyebrows to move. He was as cool as a cucumber. The only signal he gave that he was even interested was the fact his fingers were interlocked on the desk of the table. He was even leaning forward as Ryan spoke.
‘What I need from you is a lesson plan: some trivial points about the Quincy, their nature and finally their powers. Miria and I are gonna flush this person out by being derogatory a little.’
‘Mingle for an hour.’ Sakata said as he turned towards his computer monitor. ‘I’ll have your points by then.’
So Ryan turned to mingle -- Mingle! -- with the eccentrics and the oddities and for the second time since coming to the Twelfth Division Barracks he felt a very annoying chill run up his spine. Somehow this was all going to go pear-shaped.