Jun already knew what had set things off, but the Five Great Noble Clans had not driven the current situation. If anything, they were all victims in this affair.
A warrior had assassinated the three Shiba heroes. To the retainers' families, he was a warrior who had made a fearless sacrifice, but to all of Soul Society and every class outside the Five Great Noble Clans' retainers, he was a demon through and through.
For now, Jun had sought out everyone he could, so he waited for Shunsui Kyōraku to return. But he ended up waiting until evening.
Shunsui Kyōraku and Nambu Nobuyasu's standoff had begun sometime after ten in the morning and lasted a full ten hours. The depth of their spiritual pools left Jun stunned. If he had gone up there, he would have lasted an hour or two at most.
That kind of Reiatsu intimidation involved a cycle of energy outside the body. Once released, the Reiatsu could be recovered. A great deal was wasted, of course, but it wasn't simply released and lost. If it had been completely released, they would all have been dried husks in about half an hour, no matter how vast their Reiatsu reserves were.
That evening, after the standoff ended, Ise Rikudō led Jun to the Kyōraku Clan estate. Several of the clan's other retainers arrived with them.
"Oh~ Jun's here too."
"Brother Shunsui."
"We'll talk later."
"Okay."
Shunsui Kyōraku led the group into the meeting room and naturally took the seat at the head. The retainers sat down on either side, while Jun stayed with Ise Rikudō.
"I'm very tired, and I don't want to waste words. Has the clan suffered any losses?"
"Lord Shunsui! The Mikawa Clan on Nambu's side killed one of our people! My nephew died at their hands! Please see that justice is done, Lord Shunsui!"
"Lord Shunsui! The Date Clan smashed up our main family's business in the third district of Rukongai. I wished to bring it to your attention, Lord Shunsui."
They went on and on, one after another. Jun could understand those who had lost someone, but he genuinely couldn't understand the fuss over businesses.
To a certain extent, Soul Reapers in Soul Society could provide for all their own needs, and the souls in Soul Society were the same. Eating and drinking were an illusion, a way for souls to retain their humanity.
If a soul couldn't become a Soul Reaper and gain the ability to actively absorb Reishi, it would disappear sooner or later. During that process, it made absolutely no difference whether it ate food, dirt, or anything else, because a soul's daily breathing was already enough for Reishi exchange. Eating might be somewhat more useful for Soul Reapers, increasing their absorption of Reishi.
So Jun genuinely couldn't understand the point of businesses, but he put that aside. He hadn't come here to learn how powerful the Kyōraku Clan was.
Jun could see that Shunsui Kyōraku didn't like any of it either. He had spent the whole day confronting Nambu Nobuyasu and was dead tired, yet he had no choice but to listen, because he was the head of the Kyōraku Clan.
They finally stopped after more than ten minutes. Shunsui Kyōraku waved a hand. "I understand. Those of you who lost people, give me a list tomorrow. From now on, everyone in our clan is forbidden to go out for the time being. If anyone comes to attack us, kill them. But if anyone goes out and dies, I won't do anything about it."
"Lord Shunsui!"
"For those who lost people, I'll see that justice is done afterward. But from now on, who's going to go out and get themselves killed? You can ignore me and go out, and I can choose not to protect you. That's enough. You're dismissed. Jun, come with me."
Jun followed Kyōraku to the back courtyard, where the servants had already prepared the bath. Shunsui Kyōraku liked bathing; it was a particular favorite among his many hobbies.
"Join me?"
"Sure~"
The two grown men stripped naked and got into the bath. Jun found it quite relaxing. If Soul Society's businesses were all about comforts like this, he could probably understand them.
"Ah~~~" Shunsui let out a contented groan and lay back in the pool, resting his head against the edge and closing his eyes. "Is Jing all right?"
"She's fine." Jun lay back too, copying him. It really was comfortable. "Once everything happened, Jing realized something was wrong and ran home. Luckily, nobody went after her."
"Haha, she's a smart girl."
"I think my little sister's pretty great too."
"Hmm~ From what you're saying, you ran into trouble?"
"Yeah, but it was just a few people taking advantage of the chaos. Sasebo from the Tenth Division, Yagishiro from the Sixth Division, and Bu from the Ninth Division."
"Oh~?" Shunsui opened his eyes and looked at Jun in surprise. "Impressive. I sensed you entering the Seireitei at noon. Were you among the first to finish fighting? Three against one, and you still finished that quickly! Not bad!"
"Haha, you're a genius too, Brother Shunsui. You know that's how geniuses are. They misjudged my strength, and they deserved to die."
"Hmm~ I'm glad you see it that way. What worried me most was that you and Jing might get into trouble if you couldn't see these things clearly. Now I can rest easy."
"Brother Shunsui, how are things now?"
"It's complete chaos. Nambu and I managed to keep things under control between us and in the surrounding area, but I'm afraid it's no good anywhere beyond our reach. Besides, even though we did that, there are still people who want to take the opportunity to stir up trouble."
"Kyōraku and Nambu~?"
"We have a grudge, but that was a long time ago. Even if we wanted to settle it, this wouldn't be a good time. The Shihoin and Shiba Clans were set up. Things won't be easy for the Shihoin, but the Shiba might come out of this even worse."
Jun was startled by Kyōraku's perceptiveness. He had guessed exactly how things would unfold. He was indeed worthy of being the new stabilizing force who immediately took over after Yamamoto's death. Beneath his carefree exterior lay an extraordinarily keen and discerning eye.
"Brother Shunsui, what should I do from here?" Jun chose to trust Shunsui Kyōraku. What Jun could see came from working backward using the future he already knew, but when it came to being in the middle of events, he really wasn't as capable as Shunsui Kyōraku.
"If you ask me, stay put."
"I'd like to make a move."
Shunsui looked at Jun, and their eyes met. Shunsui gave a snort. "Ha~ What? You're already looking to climb the ranks at your age?"
"Not really. I just want to know more. As for climbing the ranks, the seventh seat is already dead." Jun grinned indifferently.
"Haha, well said." Shunsui stared at the ceiling in thought. After a while, he said, "If you want to make a move, take a letter from me to the Ukitake Family tomorrow and find Jūshirō."
"Captain Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division?"
"That's right. You haven't met Jūshirō yet?"
"Uh." Jun really hadn't met Jūshirō Ukitake. Although Jun knew who he was, everyone knew from the original story that he was always sickly. But after coming to Soul Society, Jun had discovered he was more than just sickly. Had they ever seen someone take sick leave for over twenty years in one stretch? Jūshirō Ukitake had done just that.
"Haha, go on. With my letter, you'll definitely get to see Jūshirō. Then ask him what he thinks."
"Uh." Jun was a little baffled. In the original story, Jūshirō Ukitake wasn't particularly calculating either. Although he had keen instincts, he was especially slow to catch on. In the original story, Shunsui had long since sat back and watched events unfold, while Ukitake, upon seeing Ichigo, had marveled, "Why does this boy look so much like Kaien?"
"What? Did you hear about Jūshirō from Isshin? Don't worry, Jūshirō is even more perceptive than I am. He can see the most important point straight away. If you want to get involved, you can't go wrong listening to him."
"All right, I'll go tomorrow."
"Mm, go get some sleep. I'll soak a little longer."
"Okay. Good night, Brother Shunsui~"
Jun got up to rest, leaving Shunsui Kyōraku in peace. After coming to Soul Society, Jun had learned from Jing about one of Shunsui's major quirks: he liked sleeping while soaking in the bath.
Early the next morning, after Jun got up and ate, Shunsui gave him the letter.
"Be careful."
"I know."
Jun headed northeast. The noble residences encircled the Gotei 13. The Five Great Noble Clans' estates stood right next to the Gotei 13, surrounding them. The high-ranking nobles lived in the next ring out, followed by the middle-ranking nobles, with the lower-ranking nobles in the outermost ring.
The Ukitake Family was a lower-ranking noble family, one of the few without a main family, so its estate was in a remote location, at the very edge of the Seireitei.
Jun encountered very few people along the way. After all the madness the day before, things had already calmed down today. Of course, it might also have been the calm before the storm.
Jun soon found the Ukitake nameplate and went up to knock.
After a while, someone cautiously opened the door a crack. "May I ask who you are?"
"My name is Jun Shimizu. I have come to visit Captain Ukitake with a letter from Captain Kyōraku."
"Oh, the letter..."
"Please give it to him." Jun didn't blame the person for being so cautious. In the current situation, one couldn't be too careful. He handed over the letter.
He waited at the door for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Then the gate opened wide, and a man in sleepwear, with long white hair falling over his shoulders, came out to greet him.
Jun knew, of course, that this was Jūshirō Ukitake, but he hadn't met him yet. "And you are?"
"Cough, cough~ I am Jūshirō Ukitake. I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting, Shimizu."
"Not at all. Given the circumstances, one can hardly be too careful."
"You're right, Shimizu. Please come in."
"Thank you. After you."
The two made their way to the tearoom, where Jūshirō Ukitake leisurely demonstrated the tea ceremony for Jun. Jun wasn't in a hurry either. There was no use rushing in the current situation, so he quietly watched Ukitake's performance.
"You don't seem to be in any hurry, Shimizu~"
"If being impatient would help me succeed, I wouldn't mind being a little impatient."
"Haha, you're an interesting person, Shimizu. Please, have some tea."
"Thank you."
It tasted like matcha, made with good tea leaves and a lingering aftertaste, but Jun wasn't much of a connoisseur of this kind of tea.
"How is it?"
"Good tea~"
"Hehe, Shimizu, the flattery is written all over your face."
"Well, it really is quite good. It's just that this is about as much as I can appreciate matcha."
"Then thank you for appreciating it, Shimizu."
"Not at all. My taste isn't refined enough."
"Shunsui sent you to me so I could show you a way forward. Ah~ After all these years, Shunsui still puts so much faith in my luck."
"If Brother Shunsui believes in your luck, then so do I."
"No need to be so formal. You and Shunsui call each other brothers, so we're brothers too. If you don't mind, call me Brother Jūshirō, and I'll call you Jun. Is that all right?"
"All right, Brother Jūshirō."
"Haha, cough, cough." Jūshirō Ukitake laughed happily, then began coughing, giving Jun a fright. "It's all right, it's all right. It's an old problem."
But Jun really was a little scared. Although he knew Ukitake had lived like this all along, seeing him in person made Jun realize he was genuinely afraid the man might suddenly die. Jūshirō Ukitake seemed so insubstantial that he gave the impression of a ghost, though strictly speaking, everyone in Soul Society was a ghost.
Jun waited a while for Ukitake. After Ukitake had composed himself, he said slowly, "Actually, I've been recuperating at home lately, and I couldn't learn everything from Shunsui's letter. But looking at the affair as a whole, there's one person who won't come to harm no matter what. Whoever it is, they'll make absolutely sure she's safe."
"She?" Jun's eyes shifted. "Yoruichi Shihōin?"
"Exactly."
"But I'm on the Shiba Clan's side."
"Your so-called position, Jun—do you think other people decide it for you, or do you decide it for yourself?"
Jun suddenly understood. What the hell am I afraid of? Who gets to decide anyone else's position? Besides, the Shihoin and Shiba were both victims in this affair, and so was he. If he had to take a side, he was on the victims' side. Why should he care which side those profiteering beasts thought he was on?
"I understand. I'll go find Captain Shihoin right away."
"Be careful. The safest place is also the most dangerous."
Jun thought for a few seconds. "You mean she's at the center of the biggest whirlpool, right, Brother Jūshirō?"
"Mm~" Jūshirō Ukitake smiled happily. "You're so clever, Jun. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Thank you. I'll be going, then. I'll visit often when I have time. I also have a little sister named Jing. I'll bring her along next time."
"You're welcome anytime~~ Cough, cough, cough, cough."
"Whoa! Are you all right, Brother Jūshirō!?"