bakerstreet | /insert jail quote HERE

/insert jail quote HERE

The Jail Cell Meme

You are now trapped in a jail cell. You may or may not know why or how you got inside of it; having been teleported into one due to the fickle whims of a resident deity is just as acceptable as getting arrested. (Maybe because of this?) You also might be innocent. If you're innocent and confused then it really sucks to be you.

You have company. Their circumstances might be the same or different from your own. But you're stuck together for a while.

What do you guys do?

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[Byakuya doesn't worry about all of them being released. Some of his worry would be alleviated if Rukia were to remain behind bars, or somewhere else until he plays his role. Unfortunately, he doubts she will. She is ever present, with Kurosaki Ichigo at her side.

Irritating.]

I have little doubt we will be released. The time shall not go to waste.

[Plans, plots, checks and balances. He'll go over all of it within his mind, and hope that in the end, he will prevail.]

[Nanao just hopes that they'll get out and be able to walk outside without the next catastrophe and the next "entirely justified" act of lawbreaking" occurring.]

[Oh, yes, she should probably pass this bit of information on as well.]

I understand that Sixth Division has temporarily been placed under Unohana-taichou's direction, in the absence of yourself and Abarai-fukutaichou, sir.

[Well, to be fair it was entirely justified. After all, he was sticking it to the Royals. And with it, he gains a bit of standing with the nobles, and hopefully occupies the royals long enough for him to unite enough of the nobles to stand for a shogun, and thus a free Soul Society. He hopes, anyway.

Her statement brings the smallest twitch of his lips.]

No doubt my grandfather refused.

[He knows his third seat could handle it, if necessary. She's very competent. Just like he expects.]

[Nanao adjusts her glasses.]

I cannot possibly speak for your grandfather's motivations, sir. Though I suppose it is possible that he might not have wished to flaunt the whole issue of the Kuchiki clan's honor being a reason for involvement in recent action, or to emphasize how much a whole Division of the Gotei 13 had been passed down within a single clan...

But that would be supposition on my part, of course.

[He manages to keep his face impassive, but he finds it hilarious. No, his grandfather refused on the grounds that he's old, and has retired, and raised his grandson to be the taichou. He wanted nothing to do with running the division as long as his grandson is capable of doing so.]

Of course, fukutaichou. No doubt you are correct.

However, the division is within safe hands. As is yours, no doubt?

[Nanao has the appearance of one who has bitten into a pickle and is endeavoring not to show it.]

Well, with Kyouraku-taichou busy arranging our release, and in my absence, I am quite sure that the Eighth Division as a whole will conduct itself sensibly and with proper decorum.

[Because they know that she'll tear them a new one when she gets out of jail if they go and embarrass her.]

I am sure your taichou will not neglect the division in your absence.

[She rules Kyouraku with an iron... set of glasses. Even Byakuya respects that.

He wants to ask something, because he respects her opinion. Being here represses his reiatsu and means he can't tell certain things beyond his cell. On purpose, but it's annoying and frustrating.]

Ise-fukutaichou, did you meet any of the royals?

[She shakes her head.]

I was not with Kyouraku-taichou at the moment when it would have been feasible, sir, and I had no excuse to come into contact with them after that. The most I have done is seen them from a distance.

[And doesn't that gall her.]

Can you tell me anything about them, Kuchiki-taichou? ... er, that is, if it is permitted.

[Well, so much for another perspective. He'd been hoping that she'd had a chance. Her analytical mind would be a welcome one with his plans.]

I cannot tell you much. Even those that have been staying as our guests are... quiet.

[Yes, Kuchiki Byakuya is calling someone else quiet. That should say how little the guests speak.]

And Kyouraku-taichou ... doesn't discuss them.

[And that's relevant, too. Since when does Kyouraku Shunsui not talk about things?]

[No he would not. It's something anyone with a drop of noble blood is learning not to do. Even Kira-fukutaichou doesn't speak about the Royals.]

A precaution. No doubt he wishes to protect you.

[She's silent for a moment. She'd worked that one out. She knows that he does it. She understands his motivations now better than she used to. But she's not convinced that it's helping.]

That time - when I saw them from a distance...

[She hesitates.]

I almost thought that there was something strange about their eyes.

[He turns to look at her.]

What do you mean?

[She shakes her head, retreating in on herself.]

It was probably just my imagination, Kuchiki-taichou. I only saw them from a distance, after all.

[He actually does trust her observational skills - and her mind. She's one of the few, though he's never told her that. He wishes more people understood the subtleties of what he does, because they would learn to read things that he doesn't know how to say.

So, instead, he retreats behind the mantle of taichou and the Kuchiki. Two things that hardly ever fail to give him what he wishes.]

Ise-fukutaichou.

[Though the tone is flat, it's definitely an admonishment.]

[She straightens her shoulders and raises her brows.]

Yes, Kuchiki-taichou?

[He wants to sigh, to admonish her for things that are unsaid. But he can't. Mostly, because this is his fault. Well, partially his fault, anyway. He watches her for several moments before managing to find someway to convey what he wants.]

Your observations.

[About the Royals.]

[She took a deep breath and adjusted her glasses.]

Well, their language is clearly a distinguishing point. They used phrasing and forms of address which have not been current for - well, for centuries. I haven't seen such things except in some archival documents. This supports their statement that they have had no commerce with either the world of the living or with our world.

[She tries to think what else she has observed.]

Except - no, wait. Hisagi-fukutaichou was standing more closely than I was, and he said that the bindings on the hilt of the zanpakuto of one of them, the tsuka-ito, was leather rather than silk. That surprised him, because we both expected that silk would be the automatic choice for people of rank. And certainly silk used to be the proper material for everyone, didn't it?

[Of course, it probably still is for people from the noble clans, like Kuchiki-taichou.]

[He'd noticed the language barrier. Byakuya had an easier time of it, being the keeper of the archives and of the Kuchiki clan diaries. He'd read far more archaic language than they used.

The observation about silk did surprise him. Anyone of samurai rank - and that included the Royals, definitely - should have been using silk, not leather. Leather is a far more common material. It made a certain amount of sense in context, but he did wonder about it.]

It is. The leather would indicate that something has changed.

[But he didn't know... leather is a sign of war, but so can silk be. He doesn't like this. The hairs on the back of his neck rise, his instincts screaming at him that he's missing something important. Since the fight for Karakura, he's felt that their mission isn't completed. He'd protested not allowing people to recover and then staging yet another incursion into Hueco Mundo.]

Has there been an increase in Hollow sightings, either in Soul Society or the Mortal World?

[Not that she read Kyouraku-taichou's official memos in order to force-feed him summaries of them or anything, but...]

The reports from Kurotsuchi-taichou's monitoring of the Mortal World suggested a statistically disproportionate increase of Hollow sightings, sir, but he also noted that those currently active in Karakura were dealing with it. He did also add a note querying whether the Hollow sightings might have risen because of those people currently active there and the ambient reiatsu resulting in it, so he couldn't be sure whether or not this actually betokened a genuine reason for concern as yet.

[And of course there had been the regular request to bring in said people currently active in Karakura for "study", but Kuchiki-taichou would know about that.]

[His mind swirls over the possibilities. If there is increased Hollow activity, here and in the Mortal World, then that could be a problem. They cannot fight a war on three fronts. And he has a feeling it's coming to that.]

I will have to speak to Kurotsuchi-taichou when we are released.

[Because he doesn't like the implications at all.]

How many shinigami are in Karakura?

Only the standard assigned one, in addition to Kurosaki-kun's ... er, team, sir. And Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi, of course.

[And anyone else that they're hiding in their attic.]

At least, that's the official count, sir.

[Not that she's trying to imply that he might know something she doesn't. Heavens, no. Of course not.]

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/insert jail quote HERE

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