Future Contemplation [Murasaki/Byakuya]

"No," Byakuya said bluntly and gave a light wave of his hand, as if to get away from that line of thinking. "I am not privy to the exact details of her crimes, so I can only question the sentence with what knowledge I am allowed."

Byakuya made an assumption based off what he obtained from others about Tatsumiya. There was a reason he was asking questions. Having given his support in the possible release of this woman, he needed as much information as he could get. His absence from Gotei matters for so long was proving inconvenient.

He was still calmer, even casual in the conversation, lessening the rigidness he was known for. One hundred years of humility could do that to a person. And since it was clear he would not get details of the woman's situation, there was little way he could continue with that. He would have to discuss it with Hisakawa again.

"I appreciate what you've been able to answer. It has helped me in making a decision I have been contemplating for a few months now... I would like to offer my assistance, possibly even return to the Gotei." Byakuya said, creating another shift in the conversation. "I understand and fully accept the shift in operation. Removing noble influence was needed, so you would not have to be concerned there. With certain situations dealt with on my end, I have the time to work again."

"The crimes aren't a secret. Attempted murder of former captain Kirio Tatsumiya, and treason by way of high-level support of the Kokuryuteshi in the aftermath of World War Three."

In the abstract, there was more to it than that. After all, the Kokuryuteshi had been...something else, back before. Murasaki still remembered it. Still remembered a lot of things that, in a way, she wished she didn't. But that didn't matter right now. The Kokuryuteshi had still existed, they'd still been firmly against the Gotei. It'd just been a little less horrifying, nowadays.

"And if you came back, what would you want to do?"

Murasaki had to imagine there were only so many ways that someone like this would especially want to come back to the Gotei. She expected a fairly specific answer, but she still liked to hope that maybe he'd say something else. You never know.

Byakuya thought about that question enough in the past. He had a few answers, some obvious, others not. He wasn't an idiot. The current Gotei was not what he was used to, so he was not interested in jumping back into his old position. However, his specific set of skills could put him anywhere that needed help.

"I am quite confident that I would not do well in Research and Development... or the Combat Division," Byakuya said, and it sounded like a half-assed joke, or a bland attempt at humor. "Who is currently running Shin'ō Academy?"

Murasaki didn't exactly care enough to try and figure out if that actually had been a joke on Byakuya's end. If it had been, though, she had to wonder how seriously he was actually taking this whole meeting, or how casually he felt the two of them ought to be. Murasaki might have been a woman known for being casual with her friends and the people in her division, but he wasn't either of those things.

"Ukitake Jushiro's been the headmaster for the past decade or so."

She wasn't exactly looking to replace him, though it wasn't like Murasaki had any real strong feelings on that one way or the other. She didn't know Ukitake, and he hadn't been involved in the Academy during her time there. He did his job well, though.

And again, humor was not his strong suit. There was a reason an old acquaintance went nuts when he claimed to tell a joke. That was enough testing the waters. he had his questions answered and found what he was looking for.

"If there are no open positions suitable for my skill set, then I may speak with him about a position as an instructor then." Byakuya said. He felt like he had something to offer this new generation, so he was willing to just be a teacher. Going home to fall back into the monotonous routine of noble work was much less enticing.

"Do you have any thoughts on my request?" he asked, referring to joining the Gotei, the Academy, or maybe even both. He had the time, so why not explore his options?

"I think it'll be a good opportunity for people to learn from, so it sounds like a good idea to me."

Of course, that was only speaking on the matter of him in the Shino Academy, but Murasaki wasn't really one to just offer a captaincy to someone she didn't have any trust in. She'd be an idiot to try and pretend he didn't have a history of impressive service, and he had plenty of skills that'd be worth having around. But she'd rather keep him somewhere that she didn't immediately need to worry about his authority. After all, the nobility were still more than a little bit of a headache for her.

"I'll let Mr. Ukitake know to expect you then, he's pretty accommodating so I don't really imagine it'll be too troublesome, especially since he already has a pretty good idea of how you'll do."

"I appreciate that," Byakuya said, taking in a quiet breath. The first part of his plan with reassimilating himself into the Gotei seemed to go well. If he could not Captain a Division, he wanted to do something equally as impactful, and becoming an educator for future generations was right up there with Captaincy.

"Thank you for this meeting, Commander Murasaki." Byakuya stood up from the chair and leaned forward into a respectful bow. "I am available if the Gotei should be in need of my assistance. Just send word. Until then, have a nice evening."

A less composed woman might have frowned as she heard the man before her use her first name. Murasaki was, by all accounts, a fairly casual woman. She didn't mind the people in her division calling her that at all, and honestly, pretty much anyone in the Gotei could probably call her that if they'd met more than once. But Byakuya Kuchiki was not in that category, and she didn't think she'd be changing her mind about that any time soon.

"Of course, Kuchiki-san. You have a nice evening too."

Sure, she could have called him by his first name too, but Murasaki wasn't quite that petty, and besides, it could just as easily make it seem like she was, in fact, fine with a first name basis here. She wasn't, and as the Captain Commander, she had every intention of retaining her air of genuine authority and composure. Throwing back little barbs and the like wasn't the way to do something like that.