2.) A Noble House

The Shiori District. It was a pretty nice part of the Rukongai, governed by a lesser noble house. Nowhere near Kuchiki levels of cringe-worthy strictures, but this place was on a whole different level from the middle class, and the last district he’d visited on a trip into the Rukongai. That last trip, however, was actually why he was here, among other reasons. Dressed in his usual black Shihakusho and Gobantai Haori, he walked down the main streets like he owned the place, drawing attention everywhere, and he could only imagine he knew something along the lines of what the people whose eyes he drew were thinking, given the rumors that had already circulated back to the Seireitei.

“Hey, sorry to bust in on the party, but I’ve got some important business in the area.” He walked up to two older men who had just finished up a game of Go. “Which way is it to the Shiori household’s estate?”

Ultimately, his visit here came down to three reasons; first, the rumor that had circulated back to the Seireitei, that the Shiori were intending to get one of their own promoted to the position of Taichou in the Gotei 13. Given that all of the spots were currently filled, the most likely reason for this seemed to Shinji to be that there were those in Soul Society who wished to oust himself and his allies, Kensei, Mashiro, and Rose, from their newly regained positions. He had no doubts that some were not fans of people like him holding the positions, but they were already working hard enough just to keep them. The last thing they needed were more enemies among the upper class.

In addition to this, a while back he’d paid a visit to another Rukongai district nearby in response to complaints about strange noises; strange noises that turned out to be the sound of members of the minor house there capturing Hollows on their own, attempting to keep them in cages. He’d struck a deal with what seemed to be the head of the household, trading his son’s draft into the Gobantai for silence on the matter, assuming they didn’t continue the practice. However, since the boy had come to the Gobantai, he’d gotten to learn some about the household, and what he had learned was that they were a subordinate family to the Shiori, a well-known, well-off family from East District 24, conveniently named after them.

A connection that wouldn’t mean much to Shinji, had his close friend not been personally present when a prominent member of the household succumbed to Hollowfication and died.

This was going to be a delicate matter to approach without revealing the subordinate house’s misdeeds; after all, what was he if he didn’t keep his word? But he needed to know if the Shiori were involved in those events at all, and if they could’ve caused Tiru Shiori’s Hollowfication. If he needed to break his word to a lesser family to make sure these guys knew their place, or to gain a powerful ally, then so be it.

“I’ve got a few words for your boss.”

“Thanks, pal.”

With a wave he walked off in the direction that the old guy’d pointed out, surely leaving a very… Captainly impression on them. (Not a word? Deal with it.) As he made his way down the street, he only noticed more and more stares coming his way, and when he turned the corner by the shop and was getting closer to the main estate, it seemed he was drawing a crowd. How the hell were they hearing about him and gathering faster than he was travelling through the district? Whatever, it didn’t matter anyway. Even with all the extra attention, he walked like he owned the place, and he was sure word of this would reach the Seireitei- the old man would surely scold him again for running off and doing whatever the hell he wanted- but it would be worth it to see some noble types squirm.

He got to the front gates of the Shiori household, and with a nod walked in. Being a Captain had its perks, and one of those perks was that you could pretty much do whatever you wanted, even if you were the quirkiest of the bunch. With some help, he made his way through the estate. As he was moving through, he noticed that the place seemed very… cozy, he wanted to say. Everyone was laid back, not your usual hoity-toity sort. Maybe these guys wouldn’t be so bad after all; maybe they had nothing to do with the issues at hand. Maybe the Oshiro family had been acting out entirely on their own, with the Shiori none the wiser.

But there were still too many coincidences and concerns not to follow up on them.

Soon, he found himself in front of the doors that would lead him to the head of the family.

“Shiori Takkun,” he said, loudly, “I’d like to have a word with ya.”

As the doors opened to Takkun’s chamber, several young women ran out past Shinji, presumably his daughters. In his digging he’d read that all of his daughters around their age had enlisted with the Gotei, though he supposed nobles tended to lead their lives however they pleased. He had no doubt that their family spent most of their time at this estate either way. Shinji entered the room, standing before Takkun, examining him closely. He seemed humble enough, but looks could be deceiving, and Shinji was an expert at reading people. If this guy tried to pull anything on him, he would know.

“It’s fine,” he replied, “there are worse things for your children to be than excitable.” But he was sure Takkun knew all about this, given that not so long ago another of his daughters ended up dead in the world of the living. “But unfortunately, this isn’t so much of a social visit, but I hope it goes well anyway.” He cocked a grin, showing his toothy smile as he prepared to dig in for the long haul of trying to get to the bottom of these schemes, whether that meant finding out that the Shiori were behind them, or that they had nothing to do with them and, potentially, forming some powerful alliances going into the future.

“There are some interesting rumors floating around back at the Seireitei. You wouldn’t happen to know about anythin’ like that, would ya?”

When offered, Shinji accepted the drink. As the help leaned down to place his in front of him, he reached out and grabbed his drink from the tray. He wasn’t much one for these kinds of formalities, after all; he kinda missed living in the warehouse and not having to deal with any of this nonsense. As for the risk of it being tampered with… simply put, there was none. He’d made sure to let some of the Gobantai know where he was going, and though several objections were made to him slipping out to the Rukongai himself again (especially from Momo), he’d managed to slip out without anyone raising too much of a fuss. That giant at the eastern gate was starting to get used to it, it seemed. He hadn’t been reported by the big fella since the second time he’d slipped out to take a look around.

This had to be… what, the twelfth?

“Well, in that case, might as well cut to the chase.” Shinji took a sip from the drink, then put it down in front of him. “Word is, you guys are looking to raise one of yours to the position of Captain in the Gotei 13. I understand wantin’ to rise in the ranks… but don’tcha think it’s a bit bold, to be doin’ that when all of the positions are currently filled?” He paused for a moment, casually searching Takkun for facial expressions, body language, tone of voice in responses, anything that might give away his game here. If there even was any. “The last I’d heard of somethin’ like that happenin’ was Kenpachi killing his own Taichou to take the position. But I don’t think you’re the sort to resort to somethin’ like that.”

He took another sip of the tea, a sweet brew; if nothing else, this made the trip out here worth it.

“Unless I had the wrong impression of ya?”

“………”

Well.

“…Well, you seem genuine enough, so I guess I’ll take your word on that for now.” The Visored took up the biscuit and took a bite, followed by another sip of tea. He didn’t know much about the Shiori, but from his short confrontation here he didn’t see anything that suggested he or any of his closest would be the types to try to oust a current Captain for their own gains. As such, he and the others seemed safe in their position. “That said, that wasn’t the only reason I came here. I’d like to offer my condolences on the loss of your daughter. It’s a bit late, but in the span of lifetimes like ours, it was still only a short time ago.” He paused, his expression more dour now. “I trust it has been explained to you what happened to Shiori Tiru?”

He only knew what Kensei told him and that had naturally circulated around to him, but he’d heard that Tiru was discovered to be in the process of Hollowfication. Several Captains, including Kensei, had been sent to deal with the situation. Kenpachi and Soifon, impressively, had been dealt with in combat. After they were out of the picture and headed back to the Seireitei for treatment, Kensei handled the situation more peacefully, though he botched the report to avoid getting scolded for it. Tiru had died after the process anyway, so he supposed it didn’t matter.

“Hollowfication. A horrible way to go, when things turn south during it.” He took another sip of the tea. “Nothing to be done about it now though. But I have to wonder… you wouldn’t happen to know anything about how it happened, would you?” Though the words could be interpreted as another question of Takkun’s character, Shinji tried to soften the tone of it as much as he could; it was an honest question, trying to probe for how much, if anything, the man might know, rather than suggesting that he did know something about the illegal actions of his subordinates.

Now, the only question was, how far would Shinji be willing to push this?

Listening to Takkun’s response, watching his reactions closely, Shinji was able to get a better idea of who Tiru was, or at least who her father saw her as, as well as a better idea around the situation that had happened two decades ago as well, should this man’s views of his daughter be accurate. She seemed to be less opposed to Visored than most as loyal to the Gotei as she had been would be; he remembered Kensei mentioning about one of their kind being there, but one that had been Hollowfied more recently, conveniently with the muscle-headed Visored’s help. He said that the kid had been there trying to keep the Captains from taking her back to Soul Society. Perhaps he’d been her friend, and made her see the truth of their predicament?

“Of course not. From all the reports and readings I’ve found, it sounds like your daughter was a very upstanding and respectable member of the Gotei, and though her Captain is a bit young and eager to prove himself, the kid’s got a good head on his shoulders.” He took another sip of the tea. “I have no doubts about her integrity, and I’ve been no reason to doubt yours.” All the while he had a toothy grin again, as he played this game with words. But it was coming to the point; he either needed to cast the line and see if the fish would bite, or swim away. He wasn’t completely sure he could read this man well enough to catch if he would lie his way out of it, but if he avoided the subject, he wouldn’t get an answer either way.

So, cast the line it was.

“However, no matter how ya look at it,” he leaned forward, placing his empty cup down, “it would look pretty bad if it came to light that those under the thumb of a well-known noble house aiming for a position of Captain were attempting to deal with Hollows themselves under the noses of the Gotei.” He watched Takkun closely as he continued. “I’m sure we can both agree that exposing the people of the Rukongai to Hollows like that can only cause problems. So if there was anything that you might know about that… now would be the time to fess up.”

The man could admit to knowing about the Oshiro capturing Hollows, if he knew about it, or he could claim to not know anything about it, and the Visored could only hope to be able to catch if the latter was the truth or not. If Takkun slipped here, it would quickly become a shield for himself and his friends, as well as a weapon against the Shiori should they move against them; if he should convince the Visored, however, that he knew nothing of it, it would be the means to solidify an alliance with them, also keeping himself and his friends safe.

At the expense of his promises to the Oshiro… oh, well. Politics.