Shinigami Savant Quest #73

You are Kusajishi Riku, Captain of the Seireitei's Ninth Division and the aunt of a certain pain-in-the-ass shinigami substitute. It's not exactly a clean-cut sort of relationship you have with the Shiba family, as you see Kūkaku, Kaoru, and Isshin as your siblings despite the fact that you're pretty sure Isshin and Kūkaku's sides of the family are cousins, but the Shibas have always played things a little fast and loose in that regard. To them you're family full stop, and with that complete acceptance comes certain responsibilities.

Chief among them, dealing with the fact that Ichigo and his friends seem to have this weird notion that you can solve any spirit-related problem they bring you. At the moment this means figuring out how to deal with “Senna”, a mod soul that's currently sought by the regai-Captains and their controller for reasons unknown.

“So what you're saying is she has a zanpakuto?” Ichigo concludes, excitedly. “Well, how do we get it out?”

“There's only one way I can figure,” you admit, recalling your own centuries of training and finding one constant. “She has to need it in a stressful situation.”

Senna glances at you nervously. “Why don't I like where this is going...”

“Because you have a good read on the situation,” Yoruichi replies cheerfully as your left hand's grip around the mouth of Tenkotsuki's scabbard tightens. “It's a rare skill these days.”

“Hey now, wait a minute!” Ichigo insists as it dawns on him what you meant. “That's not okay! Are you seriously gonna attack her when she can't defend herself?”

Senna's eyes dart away from you to rest on your nephew, then find their way back to you once more. “Not necessarily. I don't have to be the one to do it, though between you and me it won't be the first time I've trained a kid this way.”

“Hey, what do you mean 'kid', anyway!?” Senna retorts, nervousness temporarily forgotten.
>1/2

“You've had a body for what, a few days? Maybe?” you ask, shaking your head. “You have no zanpakuto, no training, no practical experience... for all intents and purposes there's no difference between you the way you are now and a child.”

“You said you've trained children before?” Tatsuki asks. “How did that turn out?”

“One of them is my Lieutenant, the other is a Captain,” you reply calmly. “In fact Rukia is the weakest person I've ever had a hand in training, and she's easily at the level of a Lieutenant. And still improving.”

“But do you really have to attack her to do it?” Ichigo asks. The boy still has his doubts about this plan, and who wouldn't? For an average person the thought of having to face off against a Captain is the stuff of nightmares, after all, and unlike the average person Ichigo actually understands how stupidly powerful Captains are.

You shake your head as a plan forms in your mind. “No, I don't. Because anyone would do, really.”

Ichigo's eyes narrow at you. “You mean you want us to attack her?”

“That's the point,” you repeat, calmly allowing him to glare at you as much as he likes. “If you're not comfortable with me doing it, then it has to be you. But we may not have much time to argue: you came to me for help, and I'm telling you this is the only way to awaken her powers quickly enough for it to matter.”

“Or would you rather let others keep placing themselves in danger to protect you?” you ask, staring straight into Senna's eyes. After a moment hers harden with a newfound resolve: she's made her decision.

“Ichigo, Tatsuki,” she instructs. “Thank you for your concern, but please do as the Captain asks.”

>Follow me. You can use my Division's barracks.
>Yoruichi, you mind babysitting? I have a quincy to kidnap.
>Someone should probably go debrief Abarai, Kira, and Hinamori.
>Other?

>Yoruichi, you mind babysitting? I have a quincy to kidnap.
Welp, I'm officially in uncharted territory now.

>Yoruichi, you mind babysitting? I have a quincy to kidnap.
This is going to be so much fun

>Someone should probably go debrief Abarai, Kira, and Hinamori.

>Yoruichi, you mind babysitting? I have a quincy to kidnap.
>Someone should probably go debrief Abarai, Kira, and Hinamori.

>Yoruichi, you mind babysitting? I have a quincy to kidnap.

>will get to writing in a few minutes

Is Rukia really the weakest person we've trained? I mean, she might not have bankai, but I wager she's stronger than Renji, and probably stronger than Hiashi too

Sorry, Hisagi. Dunno who Hiashi is or why my phone autocorrected

You didn't really train Renji in any meaningful way. Of the three current Commandos she's the only one without Bankai, and the former Commandos who've made Lieutenant all have 50+ years of experience on her.

>still writing, got distracted by an earthquake

To be fair we haven't really trained Renji, more shared locations while he trains around us.

As for Hisagi he is a lieutenant. And we haven't really seen him fighting in game.

“Yoruichi, mind taking care of the kids for a little while?”

Your wife of about a century raises a skeptical eyebrow. “What, planning on running off to do something fun without me?”

“I'm gonna go kidnap a quincy,” you explain, your deadpan tone catching your nephew completely off guard.

“Wait, what?” he demands. “You're gonna kidnap Ishida? Isn't that... you know, illegal?”

“Well technically nobody's getting killed,” Yoruichi shrugs, dismissing Ichigo's concerns. “And she's the Captain, so the amount of time she can spend doing it's at her discretion. So no, there's really no law in the Soul Society against kidnapping a human.”

“That's kinda terrifying,” Tatsuki mutters grimly. “You'd think the afterlife would be more on top of that sorta detail.”

“It's a feudal society,” you explain thoughtfully. “Murder is a thing. Violation of privacy, personal rights? Unless you're a noble, not really so much of a thing. Maybe not the best of situations, but in this case it works to my advantage. Ishida's too.”

“Why exactly are you kidnapping this Ishida person again?” Senna asks, having been somewhat left behind by the exchange.

You pat her on the shoulder. “Sometimes, Senna, a wayward young man just needs a kick in the pants to get him on the right path again. Ishida is in that position right now, and I know just the right foot to do the kicking.”

“His old man won't like it,” Yoruichi reminds you. “How do you plan to do this?”

>I'm going to punch that brat Ryūken in the nose and take his kid.
>Nobody's gonna get mad if nobody ever knows about it.
>You know, Masaki's probably got a plan or two for this sort of contingency.
>Other?

>I'm going to punch that brat Ryūken in the nose and take his kid.

>You know, Masaki's probably got a plan or two for this sort of contingency.

"Ask politely, of course! And if he says no, well, punchings can happen."

>"Ask politely, of course! And if he says no, well, punchings can happen."

>I'm going to punch that brat Ryūken in the nose and take his kid.
This can only end in hilarity.

>"Ask politely, of course! And if he says no, well, punchings can happen."

"Ask politely, of course! And if he says no, well, violence could happen."

>Other: Then I'll kidnap him as well so he can see who Uryu's new tutor will be.

supporting

>writing

what magnitude was the earthquake Queen?
I've lived through a 6.9 magnitude quake.

>"Ask politely, of course! And if he says no, well, punchings can happen."
Yeah I can back that.

>>You know, Masaki's probably got a plan or two for this sort of contingency.

You ponder the question briefly... as nice as it'd be to see Masaki again, Ryūken is the stubborn one of the two as well as the boy's father: it's him you'll really have to deal with. You could sneak in and out, but knowing the paranoia most surviving quincy live in these days it's entirely possible that Ryūken's cunningly hidden his son behind some sort of barrier. The path most likely to lead to success therefore is to try and convince the senior Ishida of the necessity behind having his successor trained.

And failing that, you'll go back to the plan of kidnapping him.

“I'll ask Ryūken politely, of course,” you begin. “Then when he refuses I'll punch him until he relents.”

“That sounds like as solid a plan as any,” Yoruichi admits.

Tatsuki cocks her head at you. “When?”

“Little Ryūken can be stubborn where his people are concerned,” you explain carefully. “Pigheaded, even. So it's not really a question of whether he'll resist the idea, but how hard.”

“Work through his wife,” your own wife suggests. “He probably listens to her far more than he'll ever listen to a shinigami.”

“Ishida's family seems to know mine too,” Ichigo admits with a frown. “His old man and mine don't seem to like each other, but he may listen to my mom.”

“That does have a certain appeal to it,” Rosa sighs inside your mind. It's almost more longing than frustrated, which coming from her is an almost alien feeling. “Getting the current generation in one room together to discuss the future.”

“Yeah, and it could backfire just as easily,” you observe. “I don't know what sort of politics are going on between them any more than you do.”

“Excuse me?” Senna asks, confused by the fact that to her you've just begun talking to yourself.

“She does that,” Yoruichi assures the mod soul. “Sometimes she forgets that we can't hear her zanpakuto too.”

“I can't even hear mine that easily,” Ichigo grumbles.
>1/2

"I don't forget," you correct Yoruichi. "I just stopped caring."

>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.
>We could probably get all this generation of Sternritter involved: like through Skype or something.
>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.
>Other?

>“I can't even hear mine that easily,” Ichigo grumbles.
This is a travesty. But at least our nephew does talk to his sword.

>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.

>>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.
>>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.

Yeah I was thinking Kanae was probably our best bet here anyway, since we've brought here up...

>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.

>>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.
>>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.

>>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.

>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.
>Tell Ichigo to git gud when it comes to connecting with his sword. Drag Rukia along, and Senna when/if she gets her zanpakuto

>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.

Not big, just around 3.5 or so. But it was close by, and lasted long enough to remind me of how a 7.0-range feels sometimes, where it starts off as nothing special but just doesn't stop.

Distracting, yes. Scary or dangerous, not really.

>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.
>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.

And yeah, Ichigo needs to talk with his sword more. Rukia too, especially since she has no bankai yet. Gotta get that, so Hitsugaya can feel inadequate and get stronger

>We could possibly bring Bambietta as well. Let her speak for herself.
>Let's get Masaki and Kanae in on it.
Bringing Bambi along would make things more tense due to what they remember/know of war-era Sternritter. But it would be best if we let them in on the happenings in Silbern. This is also a test of trust between Riku and Bambi as Riku's offering Bambi an opportunity to help out her fellow quincymen in exchange for Bambi's support in siding with the Shimigami.

How up-to-date are the Silbern Quincy with current events and current world culture in the mortal world? Because if they've been squatting about in that realm for a millennia, there's 1000 years of world history that they have to catch up on, yet they wear WWII-style military outfits.

Do Skype

It's fairly selective knowledge, which is the problem.

Supporting

Ichiruki date

OH BOY. All the mortal world shenanigans with Bambi! I bet she's act like a deer in headlights in the concrete jungle when she sees McDonalds and the automatic door on a convenience store.

>writing

Also,
>3d10, DC 6

Rolled 9, 1, 2 = 12 (3d10)

Rolled 7, 2, 6 = 15 (3d10)

inb4 critfail

Rolled 9, 10, 7 = 26 (3d10)

Rolled 7, 10, 4 = 21 (3d10)

Oh baby.

Rolled 7, 6, 8 = 21 (3d10)

...

CRIT

See

You have a plan, and a glance shared with Yoruichi lets her know as much before you head off running towards your Division's grounds. You can feel that the quincy have been taken into the prison wing, and that Bambietta Basterbinne is currently with them. So that's where you head, stepping through the recently-replaced door and letting out a brief burst of reiatsu to announce your presence.

But when you find her, it's not her fellow Sternritter you find Bambietta talking to.

“You're still a sad sack of shit,” she tells Cirucci, her arms crossed in front of her. “If you can't stand losing you shouldn't have been fighting in the first place, but if you've still got something left then quit fucking moping!”

You clear your throat, calling her attention. “So you done grilling her yet?”

Bambietta glances back at the arrancar. “Yeah, I think I'm done.”

“What the hell was that?” you demand once out of earshot.

She shrugs. “Even if she's a shitty person, it feels wrong leaving her like that.”

“Maybe you should leave the pep-talks to someone else,” you suggest rather gently.

Bambietta considers the point, then nods to herself. “Sure, guess you may have a point. So what do you need?”

“Just follow me,” you insist. “I've got someone for you to talk to.”

“Alright, let's see how this goes,” you sigh, ripping open a gash in the universe and stepping through it into the living world. Immediately, you're confronted by a problem: you can't feel the spiritual presence of the younger Ishida. It's almost certain that he's behind a barrier of some sort.

Bambi looks around nervously. “Should we even be here, Captain?”

“We're fine,” you insist. “Let's start at the Kurosaki clinic.”
>1/?

You knock at the door, and it's one of Isshin and Masaki's young daughters who answers the door.

“Ah, Auntie Riku!” the little blonde-haired girl greets you excitedly. “Come in, come in! I'll make you a nice cup of coffee, mom's in the kitchen!”

“That's sweet,” you tell her, “thank you, Yuzu.”

“She can't see me?” Bambietta asks, watching as the girl retreats deeper into the Kurosaki home. “You switched into a gigai that quickly?”

“Yup,” you nod. “Come on, Masaki's waiting for us.”

Sure enough, the mother of the Kurosaki house is sitting in the family room waiting for you, an apron set over the arm of her chair. You motion to Bambi to take a seat on the couch before joining her yourself.

“So where'd you get a one-armed quincy?” Masaki asks you as she takes a sip of her own coffee.

“Silbern,” you reply with equal calm, and Masaki nearly chokes on her drink.

“No way!” she retorts, glancing at Bambietta. “You mean... is she... you know...”

“E, the Explode,” Bambi clarifies. “Or at least I was, before shit happened. You're a quincy, right? Are you one of the current Sternritter?”

“I am,” Masaki nods, her expression growing just that much more serious. “We don't have epithets though, haven't done that in centuries.”

“No big loss,” Bambietta admits. “They were all so damned uncreative.”

“So why are you here?” Masaki asks.

“I need your help,” you reply.
>2/3

Eventually you find yourselves standing outside the Ishida's hospital, a shinigami standing outside with a living Sternritter and a dead one in tow. There's no way that Ryūken doesn't know that you're here, but he hasn't come to greet you. Coming from anyone else it might be easily explained, but from him? It's a snub.

>Allow yourselves in, get the two Ishidas in the same room.
>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.
>Find their son and bring him to his parents. Get everyone together.
>Other?

>Find their son and bring him to his parents. Get everyone together.

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.
Aizen is a manipulative jackass. Hostages, sacrifice, blackmail, extortion. He will undoubtedly try to use the living quincy as tools. That's what he does.

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

First
>>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.
Then
>>Find their son and bring him to Ryuken. Get everyone together.

>manipulative jackass
That's a funny way of spelling "Keikaku Master"
>Find their son and bring him to his parents. Get everyone together.

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

Or try to ferment trouble between the quincy and SS. I could see him inserting fake orders to take a quincy into custody or something

supporting these steps in this order.

>>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

you know this brings to mind, Aizen "could" just wait for everyone to gather their forces and when comes time to confront him, he'll simply flash his sword and his bankai to simply "win".

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

>Allow yourselves in, get the two Ishidas in the same room.

>Aizen's bankai
How does it feel that we'll never see it

>Speak with Kanae. Convince her first, then confront Ryūken.

Better version.
First
>>Speak with Kanae.
Then
>>Find their son and bring him to Ryuken. Get everyone together.

I'm still betting that he doesn't have one, and just Shin no Ippous himself like that fight with Riku and Yoruichi

He said that he had reached the pinnacle of Shinigami existence, maybe his bankai is underwealming compared to his shikai, or he doesn't need it because his shikai is so good.

>writing

I can assure you that Aizen has a plan that goes beyond the trick he used against you.

Oh, I'm sure. Doesn't mean he has an actual bankai though

“We should find Kanae first,” you suggest. “I believe she should be in her office?”

Masaki nods thoughtfully. “And it feels like Ryūken's actually working. He might have gotten a serious case that demanded his attention.”

“It's always possible,” you admit.

You manage to navigate through the hospital easily enough, and when you reach Kanae's office the woman is already waiting for you. Her dark hair is tied in a tight bun, and she seems much more stern than you remember her.

“You let yourselves in,” she observes calmly, glancing up from her paperwork. “Masaki, I expected a greater degree of courtesy from the matriarch of the Kurosaki family.”

“Well, you know me,” she sighs. “Never one to stand on formalities.”

“You may as well be a Shiba,” you smirk.

“That said there is generally a certain protocol to be followed,” Kanae insists, before her eyes fall on Bambietta. “Who is this?”

“A thousand year-old Sternritter,” Bambietta replies coolly. “And you are?”

“That's impossible,” Kanae insists flatly. “Who are you?”

“Don't make me repeat myself.”

Kanae, sensing that Bambietta's being deadly serious, rises to her feet, leaning forward to stare the vastly older quincy in the eyes. “No, it would seem you are not lying, are you? Silbern... was real?”

“Is real,” Bambietta corrects. “Unfortunately it's also full of borderline psychopathic quincy who long ago lost their grip on reality, but yes. It's real.”

“Why is she here?”

“To train your son,” you inform her. Her head snaps around, and her eyes lock on yours. You can tell she doesn't like the idea... in fact, there's almost a trace of fear in her eyes rather than simple uncertainty.

"Aizen's a manipulative jackass of the highest order," you explain, "and a threat to all of us. Uryū can learn a lot from Bambietta here, perhaps even things your husband never learned."
>1/2

Kanae seems to be listening, but you can also tell she's not yet convinced.

>Reiterate your main point: Aizen will probably use the quincy as a tool in his fight against the Seireitei.
>Appeal to her sense of duty: the quincy in Karakura town will have their work cut out for them in the coming days.
>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.
>Other?

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.

I don't get it. Why would she support Aizen. He's a shinigami.

>>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.

>>Reiterate your main point: Aizen will probably use the quincy as a tool in his fight against the Seireitei.
Correction Aizen is already using the quincy as a tool in his fight against the Seireitei, just not the ones in the living world that we know of.
>>Appeal to her sense of duty: the quincy in Karakura town will have their work cut out for them in the coming days.
>>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.
There all good points and none of them are mutually exclusive.

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.
>Reiterate your main point: Aizen will probably use the quincy as a tool in his fight against the Seireitei.

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.
Fairly certain Ryuken and Soken know/knew what the Vandenreich knows.

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.

>Appeal to her sense of duty: the quincy in Karakura town will have their work cut out for them in the coming days.
Also quincy honour

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.
>Other: Kanae, do you remember my question back then? I asked them: "What does it mean to be a Quincy?" Both men have their own definitions of what it means to be a Quincy. Now I'm asking you the same. For you, what does it mean to be a Quincy? In the face of a threat like the one Aizen poses for both, Shimigami, humanity, and Quincy, what would you do to fulfill the duty instilled in you as a Quincy?

>writing

>Appeal to her maternal instincts: Uryū's going to get himself in trouble and everyone here knows it even if his father refuses to acknowledge it.
"If it were up to me the Quincy would be able to live their lives without worrying about the Soul Society. Fortunately, as a shinigami captain I've had over a century to make it extremely difficult for the Central 46 to mess with you."

“Aizen is already using the old generation of Sternritter as disposable tools,” you continue to explain the situation to Kanae. “And you know Uryū better than I do... he's a teenage boy. He's gonna get himself in trouble, and as things stand he's not prepared for that.”

“His father may worry about him,” Masaki adds, “but if his heart's not in your son's training he won't push him properly. Same reason I'm not good necessarily the best person to teach Ichigo.”

“So why do you want to do this, Miss Sternritter?” Kanae counters, cutting straight to the heart of her concern. “What interest do you have in my son?”

Bambietta sighs, and her left hand quickly finds the stump of her right arm. After a moment, she makes an obviously self-conscious effort to stop fidgeting. “My generation may be lost, I dunno. Your generation's not gonna change much. But your kid... he's the next generation, and helping him reach whatever potential he's got...”

“That may be more your most important contribution,” Kanae completes the thought. “It is why our family has always held such respect for the Sternritter who saved master Sōken's lineage from destruction, and it is a notion to which I can agree.”

“So what about it?” you press quietly. “Will you tell us where Uryū is?”

Kanae starts. “Against Ryūken's wishes?”

>I just want to gauge his reaction.
>I want to begin his training as soon as possible.
>I want him to try and help you convince little Ryūken.
>Other?

>also, apologies for the pacing this session. a bunch of other shit's been going on this weekend, which is annoying as hell.

>>I want him to try and help you convince little Ryūken.

>>I want him to try and help you convince little Ryūken.

>>I just want to gauge his reaction.
>>I want him to try and help you convince little Ryūken.

>I want him to try and help you convince little Ryūken.

>I want him to try and help you convince little Ryūken.
>I want to begin his training as soon as possible.
No time to waste!