Thirteenth Division

The Thirteenth Division's new headquarters was seventy percent complete.

The pond had been cleared, three or four lotus leaves had sprouted, the pavilion had been reroofed, and its pillars repainted. The main structure of the barracks was finished. There was no rush to build the remaining side rooms; they could be added gradually once there were enough hands.

Shuichi sat in the pavilion, with a low table piled high with documents before him.

It had not been like this at the start.

When it had first begun, there had been very few documents: a few personnel lists, a few equipment requisition forms. A signature here, a circle there, and everything was done in half a day.

But over the past few months, the paperwork had steadily increased. The table had gone from empty to full, then from full to unable to hold any more. Most of it concerned the division's own material inspections, equipment requisitions, supply allocations, and such.

The headquarters was sufficient for the time being, and there was no need to fill every spare plot of land with buildings just yet; it could be developed slowly. But the people who had become free could not simply sit idle. Training needed to be arranged.

Shuichi opened the personnel roster.

The Thirteenth Division now had more than seventy members.

He scratched his head.

More than seventy people did not sound like too few, but they had to rotate shifts, train, maintain equipment, and handle internal division affairs. Spread across everyone, nobody had it easy.

The Third Seat came over from the pond, holding a freshly drafted training plan.

"Captain, the training plan is ready."

Shuichi took it and flipped through it.

Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō—the four basic disciplines were all covered. The schedule was packed, but breaks had been left in between.

"Alright."

Shuichi glanced at the stack on the far left of the table. Over the past two weeks, the task documents transferred from the First Division had clearly increased: reports on Hollow exterminations in Rukongai, patrol scheduling coordination for the World of the Living. There had been almost none when the headquarters was newly established, but now that construction was nearly complete, the assignments had begun arriving.

"Captain, I can sign off on equipment inspections and supply allocations for you. I can arrange and carry out personnel training. I and the other seated officers can handle the routine documents as well. You only need to approve budgets, task requests, and personnel matters."

The Third Seat prompted him.

Shuichi considered it. "You'll handle the training."

The Third Seat nodded.

"You and the other seated officers can discuss and handle the daily affairs."

The Third Seat nodded.

Shuichi handed the training plan to the Third Seat, then sorted through the documents on the table and pushed part of them over.

"I'll handle the signatures."

The Third Seat gathered up the stack of documents, saluted, and turned to leave.

The following morning.

Shuichi sat in the pavilion, several appointment notices written the night before laid out before him.

From Third Seat to Tenth Seat, there were eight people. The Thirteenth Division's seated-officer ranks currently went only as far as Tenth Seat.

Everyone was present. The Third Seat stood at the front, with the others lined up behind him. No one spoke. They were all waiting for Shuichi to begin.

Shuichi placed the appointment notices on the table one by one.

"Third Seat."

"Present."

"You will oversee the training of the entire division. Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kidō—the four foundations. When they train, what they train, and how they are assessed, you decide."

The Third Seat nodded.

Shuichi picked up the second notice.

"Fourth Seat."

The Fourth Seat stepped half a pace forward. He was a middle-aged Soul Reaper, an experienced veteran seated officer.

"You'll handle logistics: equipment requisitions, supply allocation, headquarters maintenance—anything related to materials is yours."

"Yes," the Fourth Seat answered.

Shuichi took the third notice.

"Fifth Seat."

The Fifth Seat was a young man. Before the war, he had already been a high-ranking seated officer in the Thirteenth Division and was familiar with its personnel and assignments.

"You'll handle task dispatch. Assignments issued by the First Division—who carries them out, when they depart, when they return—you arrange it. Report to me after you've made the arrangements."

The Fifth Seat nodded.

Shuichi picked up the remaining five notices together.

"Sixth through Tenth Seats, the five of you will serve as task group leaders. When assignments come in, the Fifth Seat will distribute them among your groups. The group leaders will lead their people to carry them out. During ordinary times, your members' training falls under the Third Seat. When you're on a mission, you have the final say."

The Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Seats answered in turn.

Shuichi looked them over. "Dismissed."

The eight of them bowed slightly.

The Third Seat turned away first, and the others dispersed after him.

Once they had gone some distance, the Fourth Seat said quietly, "That was all? He called all of us over for that? I thought we were getting a lecture."

The Third Seat did not respond.

The Fifth Seat spoke lazily from behind them. "The captain doesn't seem like the type to give lectures."

"Doesn't he?" the Sixth Seat asked.

"Have you ever seen him lecture anyone?"

No one answered.

After the eight of them had gone, Shuichi was the only one left in the pavilion.

The work had been delegated. What remained was to see how well they handled it.

After the duties were assigned, more than half the documents on Shuichi's table disappeared.

The Third Seat took the training plans, the Fourth Seat took charge of the logistical paperwork, and the Fifth Seat handled task dispatch. What was delivered to Shuichi each day now consisted only of budget approvals, personnel appointments and dismissals, and important official documents requiring the captain's signature. Occasionally, there were a few task requests. The Fifth Seat had already divided them among the groups, so Shuichi only needed to nod.

Shuichi sat in the pavilion for an entire morning and signed five documents.

Then there were no more.

He looked at the empty table and fell silent for a while. Then he stood, walked to the pond, and crouched down to look at the lotus leaves. They were a little larger than they had been a few days ago. One still held droplets of water, glittering beneath the sunlight.

He reached out and stirred the water. Ripples spread outward, and the lotus leaves swayed.

"Captain Shuichi."

The voice came from the courtyard gate. Shuichi looked up and saw someone standing outside the headquarters entrance.

It was Shimura.

Shuichi rose to his feet.

Shimura stood at the gate without stepping inside, empty-handed. He looked thinner than the last time Shuichi had seen him, with dark circles under his eyes as though he had not slept well.

"What are you doing here?"

"Passing by."

Shimura said, "I stopped in to take a look. Things in the First Division have been slowing down lately too."

Shuichi leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

Shimura watched him as well.

The two of them were silent for a moment.

Then Shimura suddenly said, "You became a captain, and I never had the chance to congratulate you. Seireitei has been rebuilding everywhere, every division has been run off its feet, and we never got together properly."

Shuichi nodded.

Shimura turned and took two steps, then looked back. "I'm leaving. Once this busy stretch is over, find some time. Get Sakamoto and the others together, and we'll have a drink."

Shuichi neither agreed nor refused.

Shimura smiled, waved, and left.

Shuichi stood at the entrance, watching his back disappear at the end of the street.

One day.

The tavern in East District One was not large, but it was clean. Its wooden doors and windows were painted dark brown, and the lanterns outside had already been lit, their orange-yellow light reflecting over the stone road. Shuichi stood outside and looked up at it.

Shimura had only said, "The usual place."

Shuichi pushed open the door and entered.

At a large table by the second-floor window, most of the people had already arrived.

Shimura sat beside the window, with Okabe and Sakaki beside him. Ukai was pouring tea, moving slowly as though afraid of spilling it. Sakamoto and Endo sat together, each with a pot of wine before him; Endo's was already half empty. Kujo Shūi sat at the very end, holding a cup of tea and staring out the window.

Shuichi stood there for a moment, looking over the table.

"He's here, he's here."

Shimura spotted him first and stood up. "What are you standing there for? Come sit."

Sakamoto turned around and raised his wine cup toward him. "The great captain has arrived. Long time no see."

Endo added from beside him, "I'm not used to calling you Captain. Shuichi rolls off the tongue better."

"Ha ha ha," Sakaki laughed.

Shuichi walked over and sat between Shimura and Sakamoto.

Shimura said, "Nothing major today. Just what we talked about before—you became a captain, so we're celebrating. Seireitei's reconstruction has reached a pause for now, and everyone finally has time to catch their breath."

Holding his own cup of wine, Sakaki said slowly, "Though the rebuilding is not finished yet, we can squeeze out some breathing room. Shimura said we should gather, so we came."

Ukai set down his teacup. "After the war, everyone has been busy with their own work. We have never had the time to sit down together. Consider today a gathering of the First Division's logistics and field teams."

Kujo Shūi nodded without speaking.

Okabe rarely spoke at gatherings like this, but he poured a round of wine for everyone, including the cup in front of Shuichi.

Shimura raised his cup. "Come on, let's have one first—to Shuichi becoming a captain."

Several people raised their cups and clinked them together, the sound soft.

"Cheers!"