Future Contemplation [Murasaki/Byakuya]

The request Byakuya sent in to speak with the Captain Commander had been sent in weeks ago, before his meeting with Captain Hisakawa or the Kurata. With the number of events Byakuya recently heard about, such as the hospital bombing and the waves of hollow in Africa, it was understandable why he was made to wait. There was a time that most people would not dare make a noble wait. It was a strange occurrence for him, both frustrating, yet oddly refreshing to experience more normal treatment. Luckily, the passing years allowed his personality to mellow and obtain new levels of patience, while also learning to understand new point of views he may have cold shouldered in his younger years.

Byakuya wandered the old unchanged halls until he came to the Captain Commander's office. He arrived on time, maybe a minute after the scheduled time. He gave a solid knock on the door and waited for permission to enter. A moment later, that permission came and he stepped inside. Besides a few trinkets and decorations that the current Captain Commander put up, things were the same. It was a bit surprising that with all the changes, the office's appearance endured.

"Good afternoon, Commander Murasaki,"

There were very few things that Murasaki would have preferred to be doing less at the moment than dealing with nobles. The Gotei was kind of dealing with a lot, and she didn't have any duty toward the nobility. Certainly not because of her position, and even more certainly not because of her ancestry. That lack of particular interest in the situation was only made all the more outstanding in her mind by the simple fact that this was a head of one of the Great Noble Families. Someone who had been the head when she was born, and when her mother was sentenced to execution.

So, you know. She didn't think very highly of the man stepping into her office. But she was a master of self-control, the Buddha of Swords with awareness and grace well beyond what most people could even imagine. When Byakuya stepped into her office, there wasn't one iota of that contempt anywhere in her mind. She was professional, collected, and serious, the Captain Commander of the Gotei United.

"Afternoon, Kuchiki-san. Sorry it's taken a while to have you here, you know how hectic it's been. What can I do for you?"

He was just one more person here to speak with the Captain Commander, and so Murasaki addressed him as she would address anyone else who came to speak with her.

What little Byakuya understood about the current Captain Commander, he received the greeting he expected: calm, polite, professional. Even with some bumps among few shinigami, Commander Murasaki had a positive reputation.

"Don't worry," Byakuya said with his usual stoic tone, taking a seat in the available chair. "The Gotei is dealing with enough, and those struggles are one reason why I wanted to meet with you. I am curious about the current state of the Gotei. I have kept up with most current events, but would appreciate your point of view."

Asking such a question obviously came with intentions, ones that Byakuya had no interest in hiding. He was curious about possibly returning to work, to the Gotei.

What a loaded question that was. He wanted her point of view on the situation? Did he think this kind of question was worth taking time out of her schedule for when there were this many problems facing the Seireitei right now? No, she didn't think that even Byakuya Kuchiki would quite have that degree of self-importance. He had some ulterior motive or another behind that question, and there were only so many reasons anyone would ask that.

"I think the Gotei itself is on its way to being the best that it's ever been. It's not infallible or perfect or anything like that. Any leader who thinks that way's asking to get killed. But we're on top of things. We handle every problem that comes our way, and we're focused on results."

She was old enough to have been around for earlier days in the Gotei, after all. She remembered the Shino curriculum, and she remembered the Captains of the time. That was the whole reason she'd decided she didn't want to work for the Gotei in the first place back then, and the reason that she'd wanted to become Captain Commander. Not just to prove herself, but to make the Gotei into everything it had failed to be before.

"We don't let problems fester until they turn into a crisis. If there's a threat, we handle it."

The confidence in Murasaki's words was appreciated. She was honest; too many of the past had a habit of keeping things secret. It was a tiring cycle that only caused more problems down the line. He did notice the more positive outlook on the Gotei and the academy, though a few recent incidents piqued Byakuya's curiosity.

"Kanae Nagoshi. What are your thoughts on her being a Captain?"

Byakuya definitely heard of Kanae's return and how she became Captain. While he was someone who normally respected tradition, the fact that someone like her was allowed Captaincy brings into question this "best it's ever been" comment that Murasaki stated moments before. He had disdain for a certain previous Captain back when it was the Gotei Thirteen. Someone like Kanae, who became Captain in the same manner, was not much different than him. Unlike Nagoshi, Kenpachi did not kill a Captain outside of that idiotic tradition. She was a blemish now.

"She got the position the same way the Combat Division's always done it. Even if I don't necessarily agree with the tradition personally, I'm not gonna tell them how to run things there unless it's getting in the way of doing our jobs."

Of course, she certainly understood the broader strokes of his question. Kanae was an ex-convict, a murderer who'd spent a thousand years in prison for killing not only another captain, but her own lover. Did Murasaki like it? No. Did she necessarily trust Kanae on any personal level? Definitely not. She'd told Yuuto to keep an eye on the woman specifically because of that.

But, that didn't mean she was going to just stand in the way of someone who could just as easily have genuinely reformed. If Byakuya wanted to bring up all that, then he was free to, but he'd asked about her as a captain, and so that was how she'd answer.

"Besides, the captain before her was my Vice Captain for years. He wouldn't hand it off to someone who wasn't capable, and she had the control not to kill him in their fight."

She didn't feel the need to point out that even doing that was far more than could have been expected of that division's past captains.

"I understand there are plenty of justifications allowing someone like Kanae Nagoshi to claim Captaincy. I am more interested in removing the heinous tradition all together. In the last century, many traditions have been removed, some of them harmless. If the intention is to remove harmful practices from Gotei policy, maybe the allowing of anyone with the means to defeat a Captain in combat to take authority over a Division that helps balance the soul cycle should be one of those practices. The power grab was obvious; should a recently released murderer be allowed to participate in Gotei matters so soon after release?"

The question came off slightly rhetorical, a quick thought spoken out loud to help highlight his current concerns. Though, it did lead into another subject Byakuya wished to discuss: the current prisoner Kirei Tatsumiya.

"I recently had a conversation with one of your Captains," Byakuya said, creating a swift subject change that he figured would catch her attention. "Captain Hisakawa came to my manor recently, and our conversation led to a prisoner he is intent on seeing released: Kirei Tatsumiya. It is my understanding that this woman had been released on some sort of condition, but upon your promotion to Captain Commander, you saw the need to send her back. I've seen his view; I'd like yours."

"If I thought she was unqualified, I wouldn't let her keep the position, and if it came to light that she was actually doing something wrong, I'd handle the matter then and there. If someone has the means to defeat the captain of the combat division, then that sounds like pretty compelling reason for them to have that position instead. I don't have the 4th division handling patrol and diplomacy, just like I imagine the old Gotei didn't have Zaraki doing that."

Oh, now this was something new. Murasaki had wondered when this was going to come back up again. She'd already explained her position on this matter before to Saiko, but Saiko was someone she considered close to her, nearly a little sister she'd never had. Byakuya Kuchiki? He was just some guy, and one she didn't think very highly of.

"I think it's pretty straightforward. A prisoner who hasn't completed her sentence, for attempted murder of a captain and treason against the Gotei, was given conditional parole by the Commander before me. She stopped meeting the conditions of that parole, so she's been sent back to the prison. She was never 'released.'"

Was that what people were saying happened? She wouldn't be surprised if it was, but it certainly wasn't the truth. She'd nip that one in the bud right away.

That was a clearer explanation of what happened. Byakuya even showed a small ounce of realization in his eyes as he ran that scenario through his head. A conditional parole? That brought up another question...

"Tatsumiya stopped meeting the conditions of the parole?" Byakuya said, more of a statement even if the tone came of questioning. "From what I have gathered, she committed no new crimes during that parole. If that is the case, why was she not granted her freedom once the parole ended? What were these conditions?"

"No offense, but I'd rather not explain all the specifics of a prisoner's sentencing to someone outside the Gotei. Operational security and all that."

Murasaki didn't exactly like Abalia, and she didn't think the Kyoraku family heir was in the right for making those decisions involving Hime. But she wasn't the type to just throw someone under the bus, either, least of all when she was operating in the most professional capacity she could be expected to be in. Throwing free dirt to the nobility about a decision like that was definitely not in Murasaki's playbook.

"The parole wasn't ever going to remit the rest of her sentence. It wasn't cutting her time, it was just a different way to serve the sentence, and it was under a condition that I, as the current Captain Commander, wouldn't personally have allowed in the first place. Why would she get her freedom at the end of such a short period of good behavior? Do you think we should cut everyone's sentence if they've been well-behaved for a couple of years? Shinigami live a long time, Kuchiki-san."

There wasn't any anger or irritation in Murasaki's voice as she spoke, just a firm resolution as every word cut through the issue like a blade. Did this man seriously think that merited someone's early release? A couple years of good behavior? All those millennia of being coddled with special treatment must've really done a number on those noble brains.