The First and the Future {Hirato}

It seemed that he had an unexpected guest. The overwhelming reiatsu presence of his predecessor was singular and powerful. At least, her presence would be overwhelming to the majority of the Shinigami in the 1st Division. To him, it was simply a reminder of the gap that remained between his abilities and Demizu-san's, especially in the realm of Kido. She was an exceptionally gifted Kido user who effortlessly integrated it with her Zanpakuto abilities. It made her a terrifying opponent.

Or in his case, it made her an extremely reliable ally. Hirato looked up as Xiaoyu apologized for not visiting him earlier and reminded him that Kaoru was missed by many. None of them miss her like I do, though, Hirato thought quickly, keeping his true feelings to himself. Instead, he said, "It's fine. You were busy," managing to maintain an even and composed tone despite the personal and sensitive nature of the conversation. It was grimly amusing that he had gotten so good at hiding his true feelings that he wasn't sure what those were sometimes.

Hirato shook his head when Xiaoyu mentioned reestablishing communications with Revy in the human world. "I haven't contacted her yet. My first priority is still repairing all of the Soul Society's Senkaimon gates. Once that is done, I will contact Revy." In all honesty, the Captain Commander would like nothing more than to establish secure communications with Revy and find out what had been happening in the human world since the Senkaimon were destroyed. He had reports from the detachment of the 13th, of course, but that was only part of the picture. As it stood, his information about the human world was dangerously limited. That could not go on for much longer.

Hirato didn't respond as Xiaoyu acknowledged that they had all been busy lately. It was true enough and there was not much else to say on the matter. The Captain Commander looked concerned as Xiaoyu winced while moving around her false leg and rubbed it. Clearly, her prosthetic leg was proving quite an annoyance to the former Captain Commander. "I'm sure the 12th division could provide you with a better prosthetic if you asked," Hirato commented quietly, noting that her current prosthetic seemed somewhat out of date and obviously didn't work optimally. The 12th division remained as innovative as ever despite their diminished resources resulting from the Civil War.

The Captain Commander listened while Xiaoyu agreed with his sentiment that repairing the Senkaimon took priority right now. In addition to its use by the Quincy, the Soul Society needed them to reinforce their forces in the human world and properly evaluate the situation in a more intimate fashion. Hirato looked up at the mention of Renko's name. "Yes. Renko Kagurazaki," he responded, the shadow of a smile on his face. Honestly, he had enjoyed meeting her once again, even though the circumstances were less than ideal. Hirato hoped that the two of them could meet more often...

"I'd appreciate anything you could do to accelerate our repair efforts. I believe the 13th's Senkaimon is the most heavily damaged, so perhaps you could assist them in repairing it." It was indeed quite helpful to have such a reliable predecessor still around to ask for a favor every now and then. Over the history of the Soul Society, succeeding Captain Commanders often did not have the luxury of their predecessors remaining alive. After all, the position was generally for life and a Captain Commander's death was what spurred finding a replacement. Xiaoyu remaining alive could prove useful in other ways, as well. Renko had mentioned an Arrancar Queen who was getting out of hand...

The Captain Commander sighed a little as Xiaoyu refused to seek a better artificial limb from the 12th division. She did not want to bother them now that they were focused on rebuilding Soul Society. Hirato understood how she felt, but figured that the 12th division would be more than happy to accommodate her desire. Nevertheless, he left that subject alone for now. Xiaoyu was committed to managing with her current prosthetic and Hirato replied, "Very well. As you wish." accepting that it was unlikely that the former Captain Commander would change her mind. Hirato looked back at her as they discussed the Kaiser of the Quincy.

Xiaoyu mentioned that Renko was very similar to her ancestor. Hirato nodded. Renko did indeed seem quite similar to her ancestor Ren Kagurazaki, although their situations could not have been more different. Ren was no longer part of the Order while her descendant Renko was its leader. Hirato nodded again when Xiaoyu said that making contact with Renko was a good step. "I wish it had been under different circumstances, but yes, it is a step in the right direction," he commented, vividly recalling their reunion only a few days ago. Renko had suddenly emerged in the Soul Society injured and with news of an Arrancar Queen who was on his level. It was a memorable event.

Now the subject turned toward the barrier that protected Soul Society from the Hollow. It had been damaged in the Civil War like so much else and they were working toward repairing it. Lhin had given him a report recently stating that progress was slow but steady on that front. "Yes, I got a report from her recently. She's steadily repairing it. As to expanding it, we will explore that possibility once repairs are complete," Hirato responded, recalling that report from the current Captain of the 5th division. His knowledge of Kido was insufficient for him to guess whether expanding the barrier was even possible, but in any case, repairing it took priority. Any expansion would only come after the barrier had been fully repaired.

He smiled slightly as Xiaoyu responded that he didn't need to be so formal with her anymore. Xiaoyu also added that she was still getting accustomed to acknowledging him as the man he was now instead of the student he had been to her in years past. Hirato felt similarly. Even though he technically outranked Xiaoyu now, the fact that she had served as the Gotei 14's Captain Commander for so long meant that he hadn't yet adjusted to treating her as such. "I did my part to end the war, yes," Hirato replied simply, not wanting to exaggerate the part he had played in ending the Civil War. It was his duty to bring the conflict to an end as soon as possible and he had wanted to do so for personal reasons as well, since he had a funeral to plan and a wife to mourn.

The Captain Commander looked away when Xiaoyu mentioned those who had disappeared during the Civil War. There had been no time to look into these disappearances during the Civil War, when the Gotei 14 was tearing itself apart. However, following the end of the Civil War, the 2nd division had investigated these disappearances. No leads were ever found, though. Hirato thought of one person in particular: his former lieutenant, Nao Takeda. The Captain Commander did not know what had happened to Nao, but he was classified as missing after the war.

"Yes, I know what you mean. Unfortunately, virtually nothing has been found to help locate such missing Shinigami." Hirato commented quietly, still thinking about his former lieutenant. Though the war was now over, the Gotei 14 had many higher priorities than missing Shinigami who had disappeared years ago with no leads. He didn't like the idea of abandoning anyone, but he recognized that their resources had to be devoted to other projects. The repair of the Senkaimon network and the reestablishment of a permanent force in the human world were more important than anything else. That was the reality of leadership: limited resources meant prioritizing some tasks above others.

Hirato looked at Xiaoyu evenly. He was pleased that she thought he was keeping his priorities straight, but he frowned slightly when she mentioned unseen threats coming out of the shadows. The Captain Commander knew of one in particular: the recently discovered Arrancar leader described by Renko. An Arrancar comparable to himself and Renko in strength was quite a concern. "Yes, you taught me quite a bit." Hirato replied, smiling slightly. He was happy that Xiaoyu thought he was doing a good job, but in his own mind, he still had to prove himself as an effective leader of the Gotei 14.

The Captain Commander considered her next words very carefully. He recalled that there were those in the Gotei 14 who did not wish to participate in the Civil War and he could hardly blame them. The terrors unleashed by the Central 46 on the Gotei during that time were dangerous and fighting them off was akin to risking your own life. Hirato remembered his own battle with his clone created by the Central 46, a fierce battle that nearly cost him his life and left him with several permanent scars he carried to this day. Xiaoyu, of course, had her own share of battles during the Civil War so he knew she understood the danger of the conflict.

"I've considered it as well, but I haven't come to any decisions just yet," Hirato responded quietly. With the news of a new Arrancar leader, the threat of the Arrancar in Soul Society, and rebuilding the Senkaimon, he did not have much time to consider what to do about this particular issue just yet. He would not punish any of them and would welcome them back into the Gotei 14 with open arms. It wasn't like he could afford to sacrifice potential manpower for anyone's past decisions in the current circumstances.

The Captain Commander nodded. Xiaoyu had done all that she could while she was leading and had done an excellent job training the next generation to lead the Gotei 14. Now, he, a member of that generation, did lead the Gotei 14 into the uncertain future. Hirato was happy that she felt proud of him and the other Shinigami she had mentored as they now held leadership positions within the Gotei 14. "I wouldn't be Captain Commander if not for your guidance," the red haired Shinigami replied honestly, knowing that her guidance had indeed been essential in preparing him to take up his new role as the Captain Commander.

Hirato was still considering the past as Xiaoyu commented on his decision to table any action on those who had not participated in the fighting during the Civil War. He nodded again when she recommended that he did not do anything rash or out of character regarding those individuals. Doing something like that was not part of his plan in any case. "In all honesty, I think we should let them rejoin the Gotei 14 if they wish. I don't blame them for staying out of the conflict. Besides, we can't really afford to alienate those who would bolster our ranks at this time." Hirato responded to her curiosity about which way he was leaning about his decision. The Gotei 14's most concerning problem, aside from the many damaged Senkaimon, was a worrisome lack of manpower. Bolstering them by almost any means was a good decision in his view.

He frowned slightly when Xiaoyu asked about anything developments coming out of Hueco Mundo. There indeed were developments and they were quite problematic for the Gotei 14. Hirato opened a drawer in his desk and took out the report he had written on Renko's encounter with the mysterious Arrancar queen. Opening it, he said, "The Kaiser of the Quincy, Renko Kagurazaki, was attacked by an Arrancar in Hueco Mundo a few weeks ago. The Arrancar is apparently their new leader and was capable of holding her own against the Kaiser." The Captain Commander couldn't help but sigh deeply at their bad luck. Not only did they have problems at home, but now a Vasto Lorde level Arrancar had appeared. This Arrancar was strong enough to be on his and Renko's level. She would have to be eliminated as soon as possible or the situation would quickly get out of hand.

Hirato looked at her evenly when Xiaoyu said that he was one of the only Shinigami capable of replacing her as the Captain Commander. He still wasn't sure. Hirato enjoyed his new position and had great plans to rebuild the Soul Society, but he still had not proven himself to the other Captains and the Gotei 13 as a whole. Xiaoyu smiled in approval of his policy of not punishing those Shinigami who had remained out of the Civil War. While the Captain Commander did believe that such a policy was the right decision, he also had little other choice since he could not afford to alienate large numbers of Shinigami at a time when the Soul Society was recovering and rebuilding.

The Captain Commander nodded and took the information book regarding those who had stayed out of the war. "I'm glad. Their manpower will indeed help solve the lower strength that the Gotei 14 now possesses," Hirato responded approvingly, now making progress toward solving another major problem the Gotei 14 now faced. Once the manpower of the Gotei 14 had been restored to prewar levels, he would turn his full attention on repairing the Senkaimon. Doing so would allow the 13th Division members who had remained in the human world for years to come home and give him a more complete picture of the human world's situation. Secretly, Hirato realized that it would also let him see his son Hiro once again, since he had not seen him for quite some time.

His cerulean eyes looked over Xiaoyu with interest as she claimed that she had fought the Arrancar who had attacked Renko. The fact that the Arrancar queen had survived an encounter with Xiaoyu only lent further credence to her abilities. "I see. Well, it seems likely Renko and I will have to devise a more permanent solution to this Arrancar queen," Hirato commented coldly, clearly intending to eliminate the Arrancar queen by any means necessary. Such an opponent was far too dangerous to spare, especially under the current circumstances. After such a long time, the Captain Commander would have to return to the battlefield.