World Event: A Shinigami In Trouble

[Gaz]

Central Forty-Six #1

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Central Forty-Six Judgement Chamber, Seireitei, Soul Society

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The large judgement room was dark, save for an individual spotlight that illuminated the recessed centre. In tiered rings around this lit dias were long benches where each of the members of the Central Forty-Six sat behind desks, veiled by low paper walls that obscured their faced from below.

“Captain Saeki Azai, you have been brought here to stand trial for the grave crime of Hollowfying your fellow Shinigami.” An anonymous voice boomed from behind a thin paper screen. Forty-six of these were arrayed in tiers around a central point that was illuminated by a bright spotlight. At the edge of the light was a small pedestal upon which Captain Saeki’s Zanpakuto rested.

Another voice coming from a different direction. It was eerily similar to the first one that called, the group were using a Kido to mask their voices to remain truly anonymous. "These are dire charges Saeki, and the outlook does not look good. What is your defence?"

The room went eerily quiet, the small murmurs dying away as the captain was illuminated, her wrists shackled to a chain that was bolted to the floor.

[Bobbie]

Azai Saeki #01

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Captain Saeki was very still, only occasionally shifting her weight and causing the chain that connected to the shackles to break the silence with a rattle. Her lips remained sealed as the anonymous voices boomed through the room. She couldn’t recognise any of them, although she could wager a pretty good guess of who might be behind the paper screens simply because she was aware of most people’s roles in the soul society… yet this is one audience she never expected to have.

As she waited for her cue to speak, she kept her head down in what might be misunderstood as resignation. In truth, it was a form of meditation for her as she soaked up her own silence to bring herself calm.

“I am not guilty of the crimes I have been accused of. Pointing the finger at me will leave you with one valued member of your own struck down unnecessarily, and a lying traitor in my stead.”

Azai’s voice was as calm as always, appearing rigid and proud as she usually does, even with her wrists bound and in such a predicament. On the inside, however, she was anything but. While her shoulders were still, her heart was racing. Her voice was steady, but her very soul ached with the rage that she felt toward whoever set her up. Her heart broke at the though of how the repercussions of the punishment that these people will deem fit for her will fall on her daughter, Lenalee.

Perhaps if she expressed her fear and heartache, the situation could be different, but as she raised her gaze to stare into the faceless adjudicators, her eyes remained as cold as ice.

Her unfeeling façade was not reflected internally… she thought about her squad, about her work. About the sacrifices she’s made over the years for the cause, all her studies now nullified, many of which she knew would be discarded as unethical and burnt in a feeble attempt to prevent a second incident like the one they presumed to have before them. She wondered how her daughter would handle this, although she knew the girl would be strong enough to survive this… but at what cost, she wondered? Somewhere in the corner of her mind, she also thought about Toshiro Adachi. They had good times together.

Perhaps I should have expressed that too.

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Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Central Forty-Six #2

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With the captain’s reply came a hushed murmur from the tiered benches that surrounded the illuminated captain. Moments passed before the large majority of the judges quietened down and a singular anonymous voice called. “Saeki, you choose this as your hill to die on?”

“The lie is that you convinced yourself that you were getting away with this! You are exactly the kind of member of this society we do not want.” The voice boomed again… no it was a new voice from somewhere else. There were hints of the tones being different, the words had been delivered by someone else. They were using a Kido to mask their voices to obscure themselves even more.

“The sheer amount of evidence against you is overwhelming.” Yet another voice boomed in an eerily similar tone to the last and from another direction. “Do you not think the trail of bodies that had traces of your spiritual energy lingering on them would not be discovered?” It carried on, spitting the question at the woman who stood in the spotlight.

The entire hall erupted in chatter again, some of them throwing out names of potential accomplices, some even had the name of her daughter on their lips. With all the voices sounded so similar it all became one homoamorous tone. It took a moment to settle enough to allow the accused a response.

[Bobbie]

Azai Saeki #02

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Taking a deep breath, Azai steeled herself to fend off the cruel accusations that were made toward her and control her fear of what appeared to be inevitable. There appeared to be no convincing these people. Would it matter if she defended herself? If she fought tooth and nail to prove her innocence, what good would it do if the evidence, as damning as it was, was all against her?

The captain closed her eyes as she listened to the chatter going on from all directions. The voices were all the same, but with different undertones. They masked their identities very well, but that didn’t remove all inflection.

Some voices were disappointed. Despite how loudly they boomed all around the dark room in an act of confidence and condemnation, the sadness behind them was very clear and although Captain Saeki was hardly considered an expert on expressing raw emotion, she could read it very well. They felt betrayed… these people truly believed that she had committed the heinous act of experimenting on her own, and it was that which crushed her hopes for seeing through this ordeal.

Others manifested their hurt in the shape of anger. She could understand the sentiment; she was angry too. The betrayal they were convinced that she was guilty of toward them was now reflected on her and presented itself at this very moment as she felt betrayed by her people.

Yet there were a few who came across differently. Not the indifferent ones, those didn’t bother her, but she could swear there was a hint of satisfaction in the voice of someone somewhere behind the screens.

Once the murmur settled into silence, Azai shifted her posture once more, the shackles causing some discomfort in his wrists.

“Has your perception of me grown to become so callous for this to be the only truth that you are all willing to believe?” For a brief moment, the Shinigami’s voice shook, her gaze fixed on the floor. She didn’t know where to look. She knew it wouldn’t matter. “If I were guilty of what you accuse me of, there would be no traces of my spiritual energy lingering on any bodies. Have you not once stopped to consider that in truth… if I wanted to get away with this, I would not need a lie to hide behind. It would be a reality. If I wanted to get away with this crime, I would get away with it.”

Something within Azai snapped and hidden beneath her calm exterior, a deep rage burnt within her. She could feel that she was digging a hole for herself now, but there was no going back.

“I am a scientist. You insult me and only show how ignorant you are if this is the best interpretation of the events you can manage! You call yourselves Judges! You are not worthy of judging anything.”

Pausing once more, she seemed to straighten her back and shoulders, as if to compose herself although her anger had been relatively contained and she had lost little to no composure during her rather tame outburst in comparison to a more explosive type. She took another deep breath and now looked at the paper screens all around her. Having no way to pinpoint who of them spoke, she simply decided to look at all of them with a piercing gaze that looked like it cut right through the screen to reach each and every member behind it.

“How dare you say my daughter’s name!?”

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Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Central Forty-Six #3

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The captain called back with a response that did not help her case in anyway. She responded with something many of the judges had not seen from the woman in a long time, anger. Her anger was not like other people’s, no, this anger was that of a woman with everything to lose backed into a corner and lashing out. It was enough to shut some of the judges up, stopping their quiet murmurs.

“There is more than just evidence of you being involved with the corpses, Saeki. You know better than anyone that you can never truly eradicate any trace a person leaves behind. If we could Captain Yoshino and his Onmitsukido would be the masters of it.” The one that seemed to be leading this prosecution spat in retort.

“This lab was found in a Valley of Screams that contained experiments of yours and prototype devices you that had crafted and then forgotten.” One voice came from behind, hidden by the same Kido that masked the voices. A click echoed through the chamber as images of Shinigami floating in vats showed on each of the paper screens, each body had a hollow hole in the chest, some partially had a mask formed on their face. The white porcelain substance was frozen gushing out of their nose, eyes and mouth. Each of the vats were in a lab that was surrounded by projects Captain Saeki had worked on in the past but left for other work, likely with the intention of returning to them when time was available.

All of the judges stopped and stared as other images showing the same things from either different angles or close ups on different aspects. There were even pictures of old notes that had been written in the captain’s distinctive incredibly neat hand.

“In light of this overwhelming evidence a motion has been made. One that will strip you of your rank, and executed with your own Zanpakuto, after it has been severed from your soul and your powers burned away.” The first voice spoke, calm despite the topic of the conversation. Every white wall that veiled the accused from the judges behind the podiums went blank. The Central Forty-Six were beginning to vote on the outcome of this trial, one of the paper veils had already lit up a bright green to say it agreed with the motion.

[Bobbie]

Azai Saeki #03

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Azai grew silent once more as the gruesome images of Shinigami, supposedly her test subjects, were displayed on the white screens. She knew she should have looked away, as that would be the most humane thing to do, a hint of human connection, but also of remorse… instead, she stared at each and every one of them intently, scanning every minute detail like a hawk.

She was looking for any glimmer of hope within them that could somehow indicate that it was not her doing, but whoever had done this did an impeccable job, perhaps even flawless. Omitted from the scene were things along the sidelines that prevented her from picking up on anything that could break the illusion that it was her doing from their context, and her handwriting was perfectly replicated… so much so that she began to question if she had actually written it herself or not.

Then the pictures were all gone and the calm voice that indicated what would ensue. Shaking her head, Captain Saeki, about to have that title revoked, felt an immense fear wash over her. She was still, but her mind was racing.

“I would be a fool not to fear such an end…” she spoke quietly, as her eyes glistened with fear. Her lips pursed, she inhaled deeply upon seeing the green lights that surrounded her, and closed her eyes fluttered closed. In a moment to be recorded in history, a woman known to reveal no emotions to her peers, underlings, or superiors, felt a stream of tears gently trickling down her cheeks while she made no sound of crying.

The sensation took her back in time to a moment of sheer happiness and joy so many years ago, distracting herself with such a thought to resist the immense weight of her current predicament.

The woman’s tears stopped flowing as suddenly as they had started as she opened her eyes once more and spoke. “I will not beg for my life or my status to be spared - you have all clearly made up your minds about what is to be done with me. I only ask one thing of you… allow me the courtesy of final words to my daughter.” Even at such a trying time, her tone resumed its calculated measure. “Delay my execution until her return. Allow me to say to her what has gone unsaid for too many years.”

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Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Central Forty-Six #4

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Lights started to turn green in a wave, the action of others marking their vote to proceed with the execution spurred others to go with their feelings. There was just too much evidence against the woman, it was safer to be over zealous and ask the big questions later. A few of the judges watched the woman from behind their paper screens and noted the rare and quiet show of emotion, some seeing it as resignation, others as anger to being caught. Not all had gotten to know the soon to be Ex-captain, but they all did know one thing. Saeki Azai was a woman who was notorious for keeping a tight lid on her feelings.

“We are truly sorry it came to this Azai.” One of the judges stated, their voice masked in the Kido, making it indecipherable from the others. Most of the votes had come in green now, it was enough to perform the motion… but as was custom all had to come in.

“We cannot, if you wish to spare her further scrutiny you will remain silent.” A cold voice spoke from a veil that had recently turned green. “There is currently no evidence to suggest she is involved, do not force us to look for traitors where there are none, Saeki. Your daughter will be spared with your silence.”

All the veils flashed green now, this was a unanimous vote the room fell silent. A new figure appeared, garbed in a white uniform and masked with a white veil to hide their face. This mysterious person was unknown to everyone, said to be ancient… they are the executioner. “Executioner, perform the severing.”

“Bankai, Akai nikuya no joō!” A young female voice called un-obscured, followed by a flash of green light. When the light faded an oversized butcher’s cleaver came down at a great speed as it swung between the ex-captain on trial and her Zanpakuto. In that moment the red string of soul that connected the former captain to her Zanpakuto was severed. This action would bring forth an unimaginable pain and loss to any who knew the existence of a Zanpakuto.

[Bobbie]

Azai Saeki #04

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The mother was shocked to hear her simple request turned down so insensitively. Her lips parted as she considered arguing, but their warning of what would happen if she did not accept this as her fate in silence was enough to prevent any words from escaping her lips. It was a despicable approach, but she put nothing beyond the heartless orators before her. She couldn’t risk Lenalee being dragged down with her - that would be the worst loss above all else.

As the command was given for the severing to be performed, Azai lowered her gaze and remained silent, her body trembling. Standing in the spotlight, wringing her hands, her lower lip appeared to quiver for a moment, until it became clear that she was whispering words. They were not intended to be heard by these people surrounding her. They were intended to simply float into the air, into the nothingness that her soul would soon be becoming a part of in the hope that, somehow, they could reach her daughter’s heart… that somehow she could forgive her.

In a single moment, the entire world around her shattered and came crashing down in thousands of pieces like a shower of razor sharp crystals. With a strained gasp that was anything but swift and graceful, the former captain pulled at her restraints to bring her hands up to her chest, but they simply couldn’t reach with the chain that prevented them from being raised higher than her waist.

Her heart was breaking… it felt like it was literally tearing into pieces inside her own body - a manifestation of her spiritual pressure that was now crumbling without its bond to her zanpakuto.

Collapsing to her knees, her breaths became quick as she struggled to feed her body the oxygen it needed. Flashes of blinding pain washed over her as she fell further on the ground, hunched forward in excruciating pain and trying to call out for mercy, but it was all guttural and unintelligible. It would be impossible to make sense of any sounds that the woman made, feeling her very being fading out of existence slowly and painfully.

Bent and broken, she was reduced to a shell of a captain, curled in agony as moans of anguish came from the deteriorating figure. Somewhere amidst her cries, she called out the name of her zanpakuto one last time before her energy was all sapped from her. Falling onto her side, her withered body was little more than a trembling mound as it ached and gave in to the torture, as there was nothing left in her body and soul. 

It was over... this was it.

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Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Central Forty-Six #4

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The weapon used to severe one from their own Zanpakuto was an incredibly rare one. It was storied and ancient, some believing it never existed. What they didn’t know is that it did exist, and it was the exclusive tool of the Central Forty-Six for its ability to sever bonds of the soul. One who had a bond severed in this way could never get it back, the Zanpakuto would exist in perpetuity… even if its original owner was long dead. The Kesshō Nakama was going to join a rather large collection that had been built over the millennia, since even before the Original Sin.

The cleaver bankai was dismissed and the executioner moved to pick up the now disowned Zanpakuto. Their white uniform hung loose as the veiled person inspected the blade from behind the white cloth.

Suddenly the entire judgement chamber was rocked as the doors were blown open and objects were tossed in. Small explosions rocked the room as a tall and slender figure clad in all black, their face masked, flash stepped next to Saeki Azai. A small orb was paced at the base of the chain on the floor before it popped with enough force to blow the woman back. The figure rolled their eyes as if they didn’t expect such a big explosion and darted to catch the limp form of the ex-captain.

“Time to go Azai.” A voice said, one familiar to the woman. A moment later and a few uses of Flash Step and the pair had vanished.

“What’s going on!” An anonymous voice called in the chamber. “Where is Saeki!?”

“Gone, my lords and ladies.” The executioner spoke, the new Zanpakuto in her hand being tossed to the floor. The white clad Shinigami turned around and began to walk out, their roll was no longer needed.

“Gather the captains! Captain Commander, tell them Saeki Azai has been exiled and if she is seen she is to be executed!” One of the voices spoke, barking an order to an elder man who was simply sat by the door. He simply nodded and rose to leave, things had been set in motion he would rather not want to deal with.

[Bobbie]

Azai Saeki #05

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Given up and spent, Azai resigned to her fate from which there appeared to be no escape. The former captain no longer had any will to fight or any energy to lift a finger. The severing took a tremendous toll on her physical body and emotional being as she completely shut down.

As a familiar voice addressed her, her eyes fluttered opened for a brief moment, but they soon closed again and she didn’t move another muscle, her body entirely limp like a ragdoll at the mercy of whoever had caught the fallen woman.

Azai Saeki had no idea where she was being taken, but knew that wherever it was, she could never return, as the command was shouted and it rang loud and clear to her even in her semi-conscious state. This person interrupted the execution… for that reason, they resorted to the next best thing - a shoot-on-sight order that would prohibit her from setting foot here ever again. The person carrying her saved her from death, but damned her to an eternity of aimless wandering… whoever it was.

A single word came from Azai’s lips in the form of a whisper, before she fell deathly silent once more.

“Sammy…”

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Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4