"Agito Diabolos," said Yamamoto-soutaichou in the midst of all the seated Shinigami officers of the First Company. As per custom, I was kneeling on the floor on one knee, my head bowed as if to be knighted. "Your actions during your latest mission pertaining the attack against three hollows and a delusional Shinigami have been reviewed and reported excellent response and effective actions of an authority figure.

"With the Seat now open, I give the title of Third Seat of the First Company to you. May you uphold the title with rigid responsibility and act as the perfect role model for the entire Gotei Juu-san. The world's eyes rest upon you, Diabolos, don't disappoint me."

I rise from my kneel and slam a fist against my heart, "I humbly accept this great honor and swear to uphold the standards set for as a Third Seat."

There was a polite round of applause from everyone. It was customary.

I've never made too many friends in the First Company and there was unspoken knowledge that the higher rank you had, the shorter your contact list becomes. Especially in the First Company. The First Company held near the perfect standard of what all other Companies should be. But other Companies were lead by other, more flavorful, taichou and not the great War General Yamamoto. Exemplary behavior, skills, knowledge, and professionalism were not only standard but expected as the norm.

At times, I loved the First Company because their rigidness was the inspiration and mold to my own controlled emotions.

Other times, I loathed the First Company because of their immovable mindset of being perfect the first time around than to fail and progress.

I could feel it in the room, the expectation. The eyes of the world rest upon me? Please, I'm not that vain. The eyes of the First Company are waiting for me to break. But I will not break. I will not falter. I am the mountain, unshakable. I rise to the height of the heavens and don't tumble.

I am unconquerable.

"As part of your Third Seat privilege, I give you now the permission to seek the form of your bankai," said the soutaichou.

"Bankai?" I asked. Bankai? Where the hell is he getting the idea of bankai from? I barely managed to master my shikai why the fuck would I even try-

"It is your choice whether to train for your bankai or not and now it is your privilege to do so. Do you know already if you want to seek out the next stage of your zanpakuto abilities?" the soutaichou asked.

"No," I said, "I mean, I don't know as of yet."

"Take time to actually understand what is being given to you. Should you decide to do so, please inform the fukutaichou of your pursuits. Training to unlock bankai is a very dangerous, sometimes deadly journey. Especially for you, Diabolos-san." He meant it to be a kind reminder than my zanpakuto's abilities were volatile at best, chaotic at worst. But to the other seated officers around who have never witnessed my zanpakuto and just 'randomly' jumped from twentieth seat right up to the top, it was a remark about my blade and my skill.

They will judge me by my answer. The correct answer would be to say that I want to pursue bankai. But logically I know that my bankai won't be easy to grasp and even harder to master. It took two hundred years for me to master shikai. Bankai? Please, I'd be lucky if I die of old age having mastered bankai.

"Thank you, soutaichou," I said as formally as possible, "I will consider my options and report to you my decision as soon as possible."

He didn't say anything. His face barely moved. But I could have sworn that there was a little twinkle in his eye as if he were proud of me.

"You are all, dismissed!"

...

"Lady?"

I trudged through the woods, following the familiar path I've walked countless times over the decades. Tristan was following after. At first, he did not question where we were going or why I asked for him to follow me into the woods. But the further we traveled, the more suspicious he got.

"We're almost there," I answered. Indeed we were. After about three minutes of hiking, we entered the familiar clearing to find my twin sister, Rue and best friend, Byakuya standing around waiting.

"Well if it isn't the Third seat of the First Company, coming to grace us with your presence," mocked Byakuya. I made my way over to them.

"Oh? Does the little Fifth Seat of the Sixth Company have something to say," I challenged. Byakuya smirked before pulling out his zanpakuto.

"Yeah, a lot!" I unsheathed my own zanpakuto, so used to greeting my best friend with a blade that it was naturally to attack on sight.

But before that, Rue knocked our heads together.

"Knock it off you two! I swear, even if you guys are nearing your quin-centenary prime but you still act like twenty year old babies! Besides, don't you have someone to introduce?" Rue asked. Tristan stood there impassively just watching interactions like he always does.

"This has been an introduction long waiting," I said, "Tristan, I want you to meet my best friend and the greatest pain in my ass, Byakuya Kuchiki. Byakuya, this is my disciple."

"Disciple?" Byakuya said, "How long have you had a disciple, Agito?"

"...ten years?"

"You've had a disciple for ten years and you never mentioned him once?"

"I'm mentioning him now," I said, "And he's here for a reason. It's been ten years since he graduated and he hasn't met his zanpakuto spirit."

"You haven't tried to kill him?" Byakuya asked, clearly remembering how we all trained together to gain our own zanpakutos which involved life and death situations.

"That won't work," I said, "Fear, stress, desperation ... those emotions won't work. Let's try it the other way around."

"It won't work?" Byakuya stated with disbelief.

"Do you doubt me?" I challenged. I didn't realize it until after I said it that I had a tone. There was no tease in my voice, nothing familiar.

I pulled my command voice on my best friend.

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, that was a shit thing to do."

Byakuya, who looked like he was slapped when I pulled command on him, crossed his arms and glared at me. Which I deserved.

"Tell us your game plan so I can kick your ass." I gave a short laugh and the tension drained away. Damn, I need to get away from my work more.

"Negative emotions aren't gonna work here. We fostered these negative emotions by putting self into dangerous situations. 'I will die,' 'I am afraid,' and 'I can't.' The start of us meeting our zanpakuto spirits was when we finally began thinking, 'I refuse to die,' 'I won't be afraid,' and 'I will.' It's a direct rewiring of our brains neuron pathways brought on by stress.

"But if someone isn't built for selfish thoughts of self, we just have to change it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Byakuya said.

"Sorry," I said, "Rambling. Figuring it out right now."

"Oh, this should be good."

"Shut up," I say before continuing, "Tristan has self but he doesn't feed into it. He feeds off of-"

"Okay, wait now you're just being creepy right now," Rue interrupted.

"Good gods people, you're all headaches," I turned away and thought long and hard quietly about what to do.

Tristan ... he doesn't feed off of selfish thoughts like other people. Just by his personality, it's obvious the boy is more of a defensive type fighter than he is offensive. He's not like Byakuya or me in that regard. He's more like ... Rue.

Rue needed to protect and help someone and something. Tristan needs to do the same. But I can't do exactly what I did with Rue. Back then I was horribly impulsive and stupid, hurting myself badly to create a dramatic situation that didn't need to happen. Whatever training I decide to implement, it can't have any negative implications. Negative events like someone getting seriously hurt could trigger him to regress in meeting his zanpakuto.

So he needs to protect someone or something without the consequence of a harmful failure.

"Who wants to play tag?"

The exercise was simple. Rue, Byakuya, and I would simply play tag with shunpo around the area, forbidden to go out of bounds. Tristan though would be the un-tagable person. The person who is 'it' must never ever touch Tristan, only seeking to tag someone else. But Tristan could use that for his advantage. By getting in between 'it' and it's prey, Tristan would act as a shield and defense.

Every 'tag' would act as a 'kill' therefore making the scene a little more dramatic. It as perfect. No one gets hurt. Tristan gets into a 'defend or die' mindset without the pressure of blood. Everyone works on their shunpo in close combat because everyone needs to improve when compared to the Goddess of Flash, Yoruichi Shihoin.

"Tag! You're it!"

And the games were off.

...

"Fucking hell!" I cursed, my hands on my knees and my breath wheezing out. We've all been running for hours, absolutely killing our thighs and lungs cause goddamn are people cheating everywhere.

How should I have known that Yoruichi taught Byakuya in Hohou for two months? Punk had such a smug look I wanted to punch off after he managed to tag me. Me! I got him back though ... by purposely jumping on his back and rubbing dust onto his sweaty face. And then Rue-chan was ruthless! She went off making this an aerial battle nine times out of ten and diving at us like a falcon out of the sky when she was 'it'. Tristan had a lot of difficulty defending us against each other but the more into the game he got into it, the more reiatsu began to grow inside him.

I think it'll take a while for his zanpakuto spirit to finally be called out but at least we're on a good start.

Rue threw her hands up in the air.

"Is it just me or are you guys starving?" I chuckled as Tristan immediately flopped to the floor, dead tired after running around so much. Byakuya was graceful enough to stuble his way under a tree for shade before collapsing. As I made my way over to where the group was gathering, I am not ashamed to admit that my stomach decided to introduce itself.

"Ugh. Barbarian," Byakuya complained.

"Ugh. Socialite," I complained back.

"No fighting or I'll ground you both for a month," Rue threatened as she passed around bento boxes that she always prepared. Good thing that she always prepared seconds because she was also able to feed Tristan too.

"Yes, mum," I tease while opening up my bento box. Right there in the middle of my rice was a pickled plum. "Mmm, pickled plum. Yay."

"Just cover it up with the rice and eat it," Rue said knowing that pickled plum is nasty but still feeding it to everyone.

"Pickled plum was created for those who hate themselves and life," I said, "If you wanted to kill me, you don't have to use poison."

"Stop being a baby."

"You're a baby."

"Wow, real mature Agito," Byakuya said.

"Wow, real mature Agito," I said.

"Stop mocking me."

"Stop mocking me."

"You're a jerk."

"You're a jerk."

"I'm a bitch ass piss baby with no dreams and a STD."

"Really Byakuya? You should get that checked out."

After I managed to escape Senbonzakura's shikai, laughing my ass off as I did so, we returned to eating and I managed to choke down the pickled plum with only a little bit of vomit.

"Hey, have you guys heard about the mysterious disappearances of souls?" Rue asked as she passed out food.

"You mean the reports about random souls in Rukongai that disappear without their clothes? Who hasn't heard of it? It's causing a huge uproar in Seireitei," Byakuya comments.

"What is First Company doing about it Agito?" Rue asked. I sighed.

"We're not exactly doing anything but keeping a close eye out to any suspicious hollow or even unusual bursts of reiatsu. All evidence if being collected and taken straight to Twelth Company where they can assess anything. It's not very helpful though, especially if Twelth Company is still scrambling to get used to the idea of it becoming the Research and Development Department."

"The Research and Development Department huh? I think it's a useless idea to open up something like that. Sure, it might be helpful in the beginning but what happens when a whole bunch of scientists get together and decide to start experimenting on souls? It's gonna become a big conspiracy and sully the name of Gotei Juu-san," Byakuya gave his input.

"Wow," Rue said, "I never would have thought you were a conspirator. What truths do you believe in? Is the Earth flat? Did Nazi's go to Antarctica for a Mars mission? Did humans not land on the moon?"

"Tristan, do you have anything to say?" I asked the boy, trying to ignore Rue's snickering and Byakuya's glower. I had noticed how Tristan looked down when we started to talk about the Twelfth company.

"Suspicious," he mumbled, "Twelfth Company turns to science. Now there's a supernatural mystery." It definitely was suspicious. Seireitei was nearly in the dark ages in comparison with humans. With the Twelth Company turning into a powerhouse to fuel research for future discoveries, there's no telling how advanced our technology would take off. But just when everyone was getting used to the idea of modern science, suddenly souls started to disappear without their clothes.

It was almost frightening.

When a soul dies and passes onto their next life, their clothes fade with them, leaving no trace behind. But with evidence of their clothes still around and their bodies simply vanishing into thin air, everyone could tell that whoever killed the souls must have killed them in an extremely unnatural, horrific way.

"You have a good point, Tristan. What if the Research and Development Department was connected with the souls disappearance?" I question.

"My, that's a scary thought indeed," came a voice hidden between the trees.

We all got to our feet, having not sensed our visitor and honestly, some random interloper greeting us in a secluded training ground is screaming sexual sadist. We all grab our zanpakuto and it wasn't until Michael clicked out of his sheathe did Byakuya realize exactly who was there.

"Aizen-fukutaichou?"

"Ah! Forgive me for startling you. I noticed strange bursts of reiatsu that was coming from this direction so I decided to investigate." Out from the shade of the trees stood the fukutaichou of the Fifth Company, Aizen Sosuke. I snapped Michael back into his sheathe, easing out of my combat stance.

"Aizen-san," I greeted, "Sorry if we took you away from anything important. We had just finished training together."

Aizen was a tall young man, not at all psyically imposing wearing an unchanged shinigami shihakusho and glasses. He had brown eyes and floppy hair and why the hell was he here? The man may be a fukutaichou and no doubt skilled with a blade but he was more well known for his scholarly side, teaching a class at the Academy in caligraphy.

"Don't worry," he said with a reassuring smile, "I was just passing by when I sensed you here. With the investigation going on, I wanted to investigate. Tell me, do you train here often?"

"We train here twice a week Aizen-fukutaichou," Byakuya answered. Aizen-san now studied him, probably noting the dirt still smeared over his cheeks.

"Kuchiki-san, does your grandfather know you're here?"

"Grandfather knows. Is there something wrong, Aizen-fukutaichou?" Byakuya asked. Aizen bowed his head politely.

"No, nothing is wrong, Kuchiki-san but I have something to ask Diabolos-san."

"And what would that be?" I asked, honestly surprised that he would speak to me. I had met him briefly before and had instantly known that we wouldn't become friends. He as a philosopher at heart, painfully optimistic, and spoke very eloquently compared to me. Me; a warrior at heart, ruthlessly cynical, and always presented myself as a sharp individual in personality, speech, and skill. I didn't think that he would ever seek me out at all but here he was, looking me in the eye.

"I was wondering if you are training or even already gained your bankia yet. The feel of your reiatsu reads as if you are."

"Then I'm sure you would be surprised to know that I'm not training for bankia as of yet." His eyes widened.

"Truly?"

"Wha-" Rue-chan suddenly interrupts, "Agito! Why not? You would be amazing!"

I had to sigh because everyone keeps on telling me that.

"Maybe I can but it still took me two hundred years to completely master shikai. I would like to have a brief respite before moving on with my training." There was a sudden sharp sting flashing behind my eyes like a fever. "Oh fuck."

"What wrong?"

I closed my eyes and focused, noticing now that the pit of my stomach burned as if infuriated.

"Michael's angry at me at the moment. It'll pass."

"I'm sorry if I caused grief for you Diabolos-san. I should be going now. All of you take care!" he called out cheerfully before leaving the clearing. We all sat down to enjoy our last few bites of lunch and the shade.

"You said that you were about to start training for your bankia right Byakuya?" I asked.

"Grandfather said that we'll start training in a year. I have to concentrate on jinzen and increasing my interactions with Senbonzakura," he answered. Tristan tugged at my Shinigami uniform sleeve.

"Michael?" he asked softly. The boy called out my zanpakuto's name and suddenly my skin started burning, the spirit rising up as if he was going come out of my Inner World and kick my ass.

I unlaced my zanpakuto from my side and rested my blade against the grass. Michael was so angry, heat waves were radiating off the blade and drying out the grass around the sheath.

"Michael wants me to learn bankai," I said, "He's pissed right now."

"What's a real reason why you don't want to learn bankai?" Byakuya asked, "I think you're giving us a bullshit answer."

I had to give it to him. He might be an asshole but he was a perspective asshole.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because if my shikai is the literally translation of raining fire and brimstone, then my bankai must be earth shatteringly strong. I have more chance of dying from just learning my bankai than actually training with it. Michael is a bastard. I nearly died a couple times just training with shikai. If I go after bankai, he'll really kill me."

"So ... you're just being a coward."

"I will shave your head," I threatened.

"You're just stalling destiny," Byakuya said with such calm surety.

"Destiny?"

"Yep. Out of all of us, you were the first one to achieve shikai. You've been in near constant training over your reiatsu and have been under the tutorage of the soutaichou for over two hundred years. Clearly, Michael knows something you don't if he's being so passionate for you learning his bankai. Maybe it's destiny.

"Besides. If I learn bankai and you don't, I'll be that much stronger than you."