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Thread: [BitP:R] Soul Society 4

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    BlueKnightGuy

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    Default [BitP:R] Soul Society 4

    (Previous thread)


    Quote Originally Posted by Kuroimaken View Post
    [At the Training Field... OF DOOM!]

    "Well, Masaru-taichou, anytime you're willing to speak, I'm willing to listen." Kazuma noted idly as the field cleared. "Soutaichou, mind if I smoke?"
    Masaru gave on last look around, with all his senses, before he sighed and started to pace around a bit, clearly formulating his thoughts.

    "I'm going to give you the short version; later, you'll be able to read the "long version" for yourself."

    He stopped and turned to look at the Seated Officer of the 11th, putting away his reading glasses, which only made his serious gaze more intense.

    "Over two thousand years ago, some of the most finely skilled swordsmen in Soul Society were brought together under the vision of a single man. The only name we know of is 'Master Nakata'. He brought more and more students into the fold, and it grew from a sort of unofficial swordsman's club to a genuine martial order. Perhaps the most radical part was that spiritual power was not a prerequisite; only skill was. That attitude was one of the defining principles of the order throughout its history.

    I'll skip the intervening years, except to note that in that time, the order developed six major styles, or "forms", of combat with the sword. Each had a different specialty; defense, offense, mobility, and so forth.
    "

    Here the Captain of the 8th Division gave a small, confident smile.

    "I count myself an expert in three forms, and at least passably skilled in the others. Commander Ryouichi is actually more skilled than myself in one of the forms, and has experience in a couple of others."

    His smile faded as he continued.

    "The school grew, and soon it solidified its beliefs in supporting Soul Society, defending the weak, seeking enlightenment, and bettering one's body, mind, and spirit.

    About a thousand years ago, one of the students of the school, the Dai-jieikai as they came to be known, came to them hiding a desire for power, instead of knowledge. Nakajima Saiji hid his nature for a time, but was eventually cast out.

    He did not die, however. Instead, he founded the Suzume Shigumi in the shadows, hiding in the outer reaches of the Rukongi. He drew the most terrible sorts to his secret school, broken up as it was among small cells. They spread across a fair bit of the outer districts, though their numbers were never huge. Worse, not only did they train their bodies and deceive their neighbors, they took on their founder's terrible goal of eliminating the Dai-jieikai. So they plotted for centuries. They planted spies and agents everywhere in Soul Society, even in the Gotei. They never quite succeeded in again infiltrating the Dai-jieikai, but that was their only true failure.

    Finally, it all came to a head in a series of plots the Suzume Shigumi cooked up. They slowly rallied support from many noble families, Shinigami Officers, and even regular citizens of the Rukongi. They sought to discredit the Dai-jieikai so horribly, they would be wiped out.

    They miscalculated, and the Suzume Shigumi were suddenly hunted down. 2nd Division and the Onmitsukidō found and interrogated their spies and rabble-rousers. The unrest they'd been spreading in the Rukon was already started, though. That was all Central needed to take action against them.

    Unfortunately, even in death, even as 2nd Division struck down the Shigumi, they struck out at the Dai-jieikai. False evidence was planted that played into a couple centuries of rumors, "evidence", and unrest they had planted.
    "

    Masaru closed his eyes, an expression of pain across his face.

    "The Dai-jieikai were sentenced to destruction for disloyalty to Soul Society, inciting unrest, and amassing power that ran counter to the peace of Soul Society. Lies, all of it, but Central was in a panic, and almost all of them bought it. So it was that about 100 years ago, the Dai-jieikai were set upon in the middle of the night by 2nd Division teams. Teams led by the Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division, Fujiwara Akira wnet to the compound of the Great Word of Eternity. Many students died in their sleep. Others fought back, but surprise, and the presence of Akira, a fellow student, meant that only the Seven Masters and the Grandmaster himself put up a decent fight. 8th Seat of the 2nd Division, Hasegawa Seiji, was the Master of the Path of Raiju, the seventh form, and he had not known of the purge. He was told by his Captain to gather all the manuscripts of the Dai-jieikai, burn any copies, and bring them to Soul Society's library. It is unknown what exactly he did; officially, all that was received were simple manuscripts that couldn't teach more than the basics. Master Seiji waited until the purge was done to come before the 2nd Division teams and take his own life in the half-ruined school compound, decrying the slaughter of innocent men and women, all for fear of compromised power.

    Afterwards, myself, Akira, and Ryouichi were excused from guilt, as our high positions in the Gotei showed our loyalty. You know where we all went, career-wise, from there.

    I have carried this sadness within my heart for a century. Sadness, and a betrayal at the hands of a trusted comrade, a sword-sister, someone I trusted and-
    "

    He suddenly stopped, closing his mouth.

    "Forgive me. The point is, today I wish to begin instructing you in one or more of these forms. The legacy of the Dai-jieikai lives on in its remaining students, but I feel it is time to let that legacy grow a little.

    Do you have any questions, Kazuma-san?
    "

    He gazed at Kazuma, and the full weight of his four-plus centuries of life showed through his eyes.
    Last edited by KnightDisciple; 2011-10-23 at 07:04 AM.
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