Urahara Kisuke, the former Captain of the Twelfth Division, also known for having been responsible for creating the Research and Development Institute, was the direct predecessor of the current Captain of the Twelfth Division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
Unohana described him as a traitor to the Soul Society.
She explained that he had been tried and convicted by Central 46 in one of the biggest scandals in the recent history of the Gotei 13. His crime being the conducting of forbidden experiments that involved both Shinigami and Hollows.
During those experiments, members of the Gotei 13 itself were used as test subjects and ended up undergoing the process called "Hollowfication", where their spiritual essence was corrupted and they began to partially transform into Hollows.
Urahara and the then Captain of the Kidō Corps, Tsukabishi Tessai, were sentenced to be stripped of their Shinigami powers and banished to the Human World forever. For all intents and purposes, it would be the end of their lives as Shinigami in the Soul Society.
But the carrying out of the sentence never happened. Before it could be carried out, Shihōin Yoruichi, then Captain of the Second Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, acted.
Ignoring all rules and official orders, she personally rescued Urahara and Tessai. She alone defied Central 46 and vanished from the Soul Society carrying the other two with her.
To this day, nobody quite understood how they managed to escape the pursuit, but somehow they did and ended up in the Human World.
And it was exactly in that setting that Keiji ended up crossing paths with Urahara Kisuke.
'Central 46, Hollowfication…'
Keiji had already heard about that disaster that happened about a hundred years ago. It was that episode that made Central 46 decree the absolute prohibition of any research that tried to join a Shinigami's essence with that of a Hollow.
Since then, any experiment along those lines came to be considered treason.
Urahara was the one to blame for that.
Or perhaps he was just the scapegoat.
{It seems like a problem older than us.}
Sora commented in his mind with a tone of pure disdain.
'Yes… that was probably where the feud between Urahara and our possible man behind the scenes began.'
An entire century of intrigues, manipulations, and quiet conspiracies.
For Keiji, just thinking about something that dragged on for so long was already irritating. He had no patience for that kind of slow game.
Maybe it was because the habits of a "human" had not yet been overcome by the perception of a "shinigami."
Unohana was quite curious about Keiji's interest in Urahara Kisuke, and he was very straightforward in saying that he ran into the former captain during the mission to search for Kuchiki Rukia.
Letting the Gotei 13 know Urahara's whereabouts could bring a few problems for the fugitive ex-captain, but Keiji did not care about that at all.
Most important was that with that conversation, Keiji eliminated one of his suspects. The calm, motherly façade of Unohana still left him suspicious, but he was sure she was not the mind behind the "fall" of the Soul Society, as Urahara had hinted.
'In that case, there are still two suspects left.'
{Shall we go after them?}
Feeling the impatient voice of his Zanpakutō, Keiji ran his fingers along the hilt of the weapon.
'Not yet. Let's take a look at Kuchiki-san first.'
After all, there was still something he needed to know.
Unhurriedly, he crossed the gates of the Sixth Division. The guards on duty watched him in silence, some with curious looks, others just lowering their heads.
In the middle of the corridor, just as he expected, Keiji crossed paths with Lieutenant Abarai Renji. The red hair tied back with a bandanna was impossible not to notice, as was the scowl on his face.
"Ayano Keiji? What are you doing here?"
Renji asked, frowning in suspicion.
Keiji raised one hand in a simple, lazy gesture.
"Nothing much. I just came to visit Kuchiki-san."
Renji measured him from head to toe, as if trying to find some hidden ulterior motive.
"Visit? She is in custody awaiting trial. This is not a situation for casual visits."
"It is just a quick chat, Lieutenant-san. I will not get in the way of anything."
Keiji replied with a light smile, without changing his calm tone.
Renji took a deep breath, his eyes still full of doubt, but he ended up yielding and made way.
All that conversation was obviously just a superficial probing by Renji. Keiji had already told Unohana that he wanted to visit Rukia, so she should have everything prepared.
If it were not like that, even as a Third Seat of the Fourth Division, he could not stroll into the Sixth Division so openly just because he wanted to.
Forget just Renji; Byakuya himself and all the Noble Clans would point their swords at Keiji if he did something like that.
"If you pull anything, you will answer to me."
"Sure, sure~"
Keiji waved, giving no importance whatsoever to the threat.
Following the corridor, he reached the cell where Rukia was being kept. The girl stood up slowly when she saw him, surprise written on her face.
"Ayano… Keiji?"
"Yo, Kuchiki-san, I just came by. How is it going in there?"
Rukia pressed her lips together, clearly not knowing how to answer.
"I… am fine."
Keiji leaned lightly against the wall beside the bars, crossing his arms.
"That is good~"
He tilted his head, finding it funny how Rukia tried to keep a cold expression like Byakuya's.
"And what about Pumpkin Head-san? Did your sweet onii-sama take care of him?"
Rukia clenched her fists, her gaze growing heavier as if she were recalling painful memories.
"We left him behind. With no one to save him… Ichigo is probably already dead."
She had managed to keep Byakuya from killing Ichigo, but he was not in the best shape either.
But Keiji was not very worried. He was almost sure Urahara would take care of the boy after they left.
He seemed like that meddlesome kind of person.
"Well, your trial should happen in a few days. There is not much to worry about until then. There should still be people willing to fight for you."
Rukia shot him a sideways look with a furrowed brow.
"Why are you… paying attention to me? We never met before."
Keiji shrugged, keeping himself leaned against the wall.
"Because I ended up involved in this. So I am curious to see how it will end."
She fell silent for a few seconds, not knowing how to react.
Keiji then straightened his shihakushō and gave a light wave of his hand.
"Hang in there until then, Kuchiki-san~"
Turning his back, he walked down the corridor without hurry. When he passed by Renji again, he only lifted his hand lazily, completely ignoring the lieutenant's suspicion-laden stare.
Renji said nothing, but the clench in his fist showed how unhappy he was to see Keiji so at ease inside the Sixth Division.
Already outside and breathing the fresh air, Keiji spoke in his mind.
'Notice anything, Sora?'
{Nothing different. Even outside the Gigai, her reiatsu is weak. So weak it barely qualifies as a Shinigami.}
Keiji sighed, lifting his eyes to the Soul Society's sky.
'So that is it. Nothing special, just another scapegoat?'
{Maybe the target is you.}
He let a crooked smile slip at that possibility.
"Yare yare~"
But until Central 46 issued a verdict on Kuchiki Rukia's punishment, everyone would remain stuck in a state of waiting.
Central 46, made up of forty judges and six sages, was the highest court of judgment in the Soul Society. Once they made a decision, not even a Captain could openly contest it.
And, considering that Rukia had transferred her powers to a human — something that had always been forbidden — the chance of a lenient sentence was practically nil.
Keiji knew that. Rukia knew it too.
Even so, it was impossible to believe that the full weight of the law would fall on a single person. She was still from a Noble Clan, a Kuchiki, so she had privileges that other souls did not.
Unless they had chosen Rukia to make an example.
Even so, with something of that magnitude happening, there would definitely be some people who would start moving behind the curtains.
Some trying to save Rukia, others trying to use her as a pretext for their own plans.
For Keiji, that scenario also created opportunities to check his suspects more closely.
And then, a few days later, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived and Central 46's decision was announced.
The Shinigami Kuchiki Rukia was sentenced to death.
[——]
Keiji was lying on the grass in the Fourth Division's garden with his arms behind his head, staring up at the clear Soul Society sky while his zanpakutō in a Shikai state rested on his chest.
He stayed like that even as the calm, controlled approach of a familiar reiatsu drew near.
"Ara, Keiji-kun."
Unohana's gentle voice echoed just before her shadow fell across part of his body.
She stopped beside him, the same motherly smile as always on her face, and lifted her eyes for a moment to watch the passing clouds too.
"The Captain-Commander has summoned all the Captains for a meeting. The subject will be Kuchiki Rukia's sentence."
Keiji turned his face to the side, looking at her with those idle eyes.
"All the Captains? Isn't that a bit much?"
Unohana gave a slight nod, the smile never leaving her face, even as her eyes dropped to Keiji's zanpakutō.
Once, when Unohana received Keiji's application to her division, she demanded that he show her his Shikai as a condition for accepting him into the Fourth Division and teaching him Kaidō personally.
That was the last time in centuries Unohana felt her blood boil with the desire for a battle.
Now, that same zanpakutō was released, even if apparently for no purpose at all.
"Such an unusual decision… it is only natural that everyone has a few questions."
Keiji looked back up at the sky, letting out a soft breath.
"Is there any chance that decision will change?"
For a brief instant, some of the softness left Unohana's gaze, even though her voice stayed calm.
"No. The Captain-Commander should have no intention of changing anything. For more than a thousand years, he has led the Gotei 13 keeping the balance. To him, the order of the Soul Society stands above the life of any individual. Even if that individual is a Kuchiki."
"So the unhappiness of a few weighs less than the stability of the many, huh?"
Unohana sat down beside him, calmly adjusting her shihakushō and her captain's haori.
"Exactly. Challenging Central 46's decision would bring a chaos far greater than the death of a single shinigami."
Keiji let out a low whistle. For a few seconds, only the wind filled the space between them. Then Unohana turned her eyes to him, watching her subordinate with interest.
"But tell me, Keiji-kun. You, who were involved… what do you think of this decision?"
"Even if it were to set an example, this sentence is far too extreme."
He answered while still lying in the grass.
Unohana kept smiling, but her eyes narrowed a little further.
"And what would you do?"
Keiji closed one eye, as if answering somewhere between a yawn and a passing thought.
"As a Third Seat, there is nothing I can do."
If the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 himself would not do anything, there was nothing a Third Seat could do.
Unohana looked at him for a few seconds, and her smile seemed to soften even more.
"The answer of someone who understands his role well."
Perfectly politicized… and nothing like Ayano Keiji.
"I remember a commandment they taught us at the Academy: 'Do not seek beauty in battle. Do not seek virtue in death. Do not make the mistake of considering only your own life. If you wish to protect what you must protect, cut down the enemy you must defeat from behind.'"
Unohana closed her eyes for an instant, savoring the words.
"It is a beautiful precept."
Keiji sighed, letting the wind blow freely over him.
"But is it not contradictory in a certain way? The Academy does not teach students to fight for the sake of their superiors or family. Instead, we were taught that a Shinigami should give his life to protect his friends and humanity."
He closed his eyes, not needing to see Unohana's reaction, letting the wind wash over him as if only he and the sky above existed in the world.
Everything else… was nothing but spectators...
"That does not look anything like what is being done now."