Throughout Seireitei
"Have you heard? The Seventh Division's lieutenant is transferring to the Third Division to take Captain Oda's place."
The words had been circulating through every corner of Seireitei since morning, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, silently spreading through every unremarkable crevice.
The first place the news spread was the Seventh Division's own barracks.
A seated officer in charge of organizing the patrol roster came out of the captain's office, still clutching a set of handover documents he had yet to file. As he rounded a corner in the corridor, he ran into a colleague, and the two leaned against the wall to exchange a few quiet words.
"Captain Huashen has already approved it."
"Then who's taking over the Seventh Division's coordination work once the lieutenant leaves?"
"Third Seat Aikawa, probably. I heard Captain Huashen has already sent the promotion paperwork to the First Division."
By lunchtime, more than a few people were discussing it in the Seventh Division's dining hall.
Someone carried his bowl over to a seated officer he knew and asked, "Is Lieutenant Ōtoribashi really leaving?"
"When did the lieutenant learn Bankai?"
"No idea."
"So will we have to call him Captain Ōtoribashi when we see him from now on?"
"Yeah, exactly."
The brief discussion broke up as another wave of people came through for second helpings. A few young squad members were still murmuring to one another as they walked away with their bowls, but the dining hall was too noisy to make out the rest.
Word spread quickly in the Fourth Division, too.
That afternoon, several female squad members who had just finished changing dressings gathered in the long corridor of the Comprehensive Medical Center. Their voices were quiet, but every word carried undisguised enthusiasm.
"Captain Ōtoribashi... I