A gentle breeze brushed past, stirring faint ripples across the translucent, pale red tea inside the white porcelain cup. The sunlight spilled down warmly; the weather in the Seireitei was perfect as it just entered early summer.
"Sasakibe is quite fascinated by the Western culture of the World of the Living. The black tea he recommends is far more mellow and fragrant than most found in the Seireitei." The exquisite, elegant white porcelain cup was raised and lowered as a deep, calm male voice spoke again. "However, Head Captain Yamamoto isn't very fond of it. I heard he tried it once, and that was the end of it."
"It truly is a pity to lose an opportunity to drink tea with the Head Captain, Captain Aizen."
The Gotei 13's Squad 5 barracks was built over the water, boasting beautiful scenery. Drinking a cup of tea here when the weather was nice was simply perfect.
Wearing his loose white captain's haori, Captain of Squad 5, Aizen Sōsuke, exuded a comforting presence just by being near. This approachable and friendly captain was highly respected within Squad 5, especially among the younger members.
"It is not a pity at all, Gin." Aizen picked up his porcelain cup and took another sip of tea. A sudden commotion in the distance piqued his curiosity; their squad was not usually this lively.
Sitting opposite him, the Squad 5 Lieutenant addressed as 'Gin'—Ichimaru Gin—seemed to read Aizen's mind. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "I'll go see what happened."
"I leave it to you, Gin."
At the same time, in the grand courtyard of the Shihōin clan, Shihōin Yūshirō—who bore a striking resemblance to Yoruichi—learned of a recent event from a servant.
"Lord Kōe has returned!"
There were others with the Chōzuka surname in the Seireitei, but the only one worthy of being called 'Lord' in front of the twenty-third head of the Shihōin clan was Kōe Shihouin, even if the Shihōin clan was no longer as powerful as it once was.
Although Yoruichi had covered her face when she rescued Urahara and the others from Central 46, for someone like her, whether the mask was useful or not didn't matter. Running off to the World of the Living with Urahara immediately afterward was tantamount to exposing herself anyway.
In Kōe's words, she would have been better off just annihilating Central 46 entirely and leaving a letter saying she went to chase the real culprit. That way, there might have at least been some room to argue her case, even if the chances were slim.
"For assisting the convicted Urahara Kisuke in his escape, and subsequently vanishing out of fear of exposure, she is stripped of her positions as Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō and Corps Commander of the Executive Militia, and shall never be employed again!"
On the surface, Central 46's order was a punishment for Yoruichi. In reality, it was a warning and a penalty directed at the Shihōin clan while still preserving their dignity. After all, strictly speaking, the Executive Militia and the Onmitsukidō were the private armies of the Shihōin clan.
Although the current Shihōin clan was still one of the Four Noble Clans, their influence in the Seireitei was now severely limited. Of course, both Yūshirō and Dōzō—who had recently become obsessed with mystery novels—were quite open-minded about the matter.
However, now that Kōe, Yoruichi's fiancé, had suddenly returned to the Seireitei, Yūshirō wondered if he knew about his sister's disappearance. Thinking of this, Yūshirō hurriedly asked, "Where is Kōe right now? Squad 1?" He wanted to go find Kōe immediately.
"Lord Kōe is currently..."
...
"I just got back to Squad 1! My seat wasn't even warm yet—no, I didn't even get to sit down! I was brought here right when I reached the gate! How would I know where Urahara is right now?"
In the massive chamber of Central 46, Kōe stood in the center with his hands tied behind his back, undergoing interrogation. He looked small, weak, and helpless.
"Lies will not work here, and you should know that, Kōe Shihouin!"
"I know that, but I really don't know where Urahara is!" Kōe said with a bewildered expression. "Why don't you call Yoruichi and ask her? She should know where Urahara went to fool around."
Although he had anticipated being investigated upon his return, he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. Perhaps everything else he said was a lie, but one sentence was absolutely true: he really had been tied up and dragged here before he could even sit down!
He glanced at the sages on the high platform, their faces obscured by wooden plaques bearing numbers. *They even know how to bluff me. These old geezers still have a few tricks up their sleeves.*
Since entering the Seireitei, Kōe hadn't made contact with anyone. Central 46 was likely well aware of this fact.
Under these circumstances, directly asking about Urahara Kisuke's whereabouts was a trap. If Kōe showed even the slightest hint of knowing that Urahara had defected from the Seireitei, Central 46 would have enough confidence to suspect he had been in contact with Urahara and the others. That would make his reason for returning to the Seireitei highly suspicious.
But looking at it now, Kōe Shihouin seemed completely oblivious to the events that transpired fifty-two years ago.
"Urahara Kisuke and Shihōin Yoruichi have defected from the Seireitei. As their close friend, are you claiming to be completely ignorant of this?!"
"Defected? When did this happen?" Kōe's face was full of question marks as he continued, "Did this happen before I left the Seireitei?"
"Stop playing dumb!"
"How am I playing dumb?" Kōe teased with a laugh. "I have to say, you old men are quite amusing. When I left the Seireitei to train, Yoruichi and Urahara were perfectly fine. Now that they've defected, you're asking me?! You don't actually think we made a pact to hold hands and defect together, do you? And then for some reason, I came back—like, maybe our personalities clashed?"
"Insolence!" Such an attitude naturally displeased Central 46. But before they could say another word, Kōe erupted. "You're the insolent ones!"
Standing in the center of the room, Kōe straightened his back, his piercing gaze sweeping across every sage on the platform. "I am the Ninth Generation Kenpachi, Captain of Squad 11! You forcibly brought me here for an investigation without a shred of evidence. Every question is predicated on the assumption that I am guilty, and you dismiss my answers based on mere conjecture. Is this how Central 46 conducts its investigations? Is this how you manage the Seireitei?!"
"I have ample reason to suspect that you are deliberately steering the direction of this investigation just to pin unwarranted charges on me. This is absolutely a conspiracy against me!"
Kōe was throwing around increasingly massive accusations, leaving the forty-six sages on the high platform momentarily stunned. Just who was investigating whom here?
"Ridiculous!"
"Absent from your squad without reason for seventy-two years, do you think you still have the right to be the Captain of Squad 11?!"
"You were expelled from the Gotei 13 long ago. Strictly speaking, you are now nothing more than an ordinary commoner from the Rukongai. Don't think too highly of yourself!"
"Your attitude alone is enough to convict you!"
Since the establishment of the Seireitei, Central 46 had been the authority holding the power of life and death over all Shinigami, eliminating any dangerous elements that violated or might violate the rules of the Seireitei.
Its dignity allowed no one to trample upon it!
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