14 Chapter 14: Regrets and Ruminations.

Riku's POV.

Taking my time to gaze at the familiar buildings of the Seireitei, I couldn't help but notice how little things have changed. It is to be expected, though, the Shinigami are a long-lived species. Although I've outgrown my mortality to an extent, it is still rueful to see progress halted in its tracks. Throughout my leisurely stroll, Rangiku and the Tenth division guy were walking right behind me.

My reishi sense was good enough that I didn't need my physical senses. By disguising my reiatsu as neutral reishi and sending it out to analyze the surface of every object in a five-kilometre radius, I get an accurate 360-degree reconstruction of the world at all times. The construction occurs faster than how people naturally piece together sense data. This actually became a problem decades ago when I developed the ability.

Getting real-time atmospheric readings or tracking millions of dust particles made it so that I passed out often from sensory overload. The differing sense data I received from my body didn't help the situation either. Gradually I adapted and willed myself to ignore random and redundant sense data at some point. In fact, I had a similar problem before I was imprisoned but obviously at a much lower scale and intensity.

Ignoring the glare the guy directed at me and the slight fidgeting of Rangiku, I continued observing my surroundings. I knew why the guy was nervous. You don't just forget feeling such disturbing reiatsu. But I didn't quite understand Rangiku's reaction.

Maybe there is some lingering guilt she has to deal with regarding me, or she could have just missed lunch. I never really got to know her.

As one of the premiere female Shinigami, if I had the chance, I would of most likely pursued her. It's one of the many inconsequential regrets I have. Although it's not a secret that she has or had strong ties to Gin, so my chances were likely slim anyway.

I brought my musings away from the present and towards my future plans. Firstly, staying in Soul Society long term would be an untenable situation. To put it lightly, the Gotei 13 are an unsatisfactory employer.

When the Quincy get exterminated any day now, I'm certain that I will also fall under the knife. That's just Gotei 13 policy, as I've come to painfully realise. Meaning any grand delusions of revenge will have to be shelved for a long while. I do plan to leave with a final middle finger in the air, but I know my limitations. The immediate issues revolve around getting high-level Kidō and escaping the consequent pursuit.

There were only a few places that I think contain knowledge of high-level Kidō - the Kidō corps headquarters, the First division and the clan compounds of the big five nobles. Attacking the First division is directly ruled out. Yamamoto rarely leaves the First division headquarters, which is understandable due to the headquarters being situated above the Central Great Underground Prison. The very same prison which holds the Muken. Attacking the headquarters just feels like delivering myself to prison...

Infiltrating the clan compounds is a great risk as well. Putting aside the Shiba clan, who seem to be down and out, the remaining families have stood strong for the past millions of years. They felled the Soul King, and I don't doubt that they have something hidden away that is set aside to deal with overconfident upstarts.

Realistically speaking, they are probably not as terrifying as they portray themselves to be, but I wouldn't attack them if I could help it.

For the Kidō corps, though, that's a different story. They are primarily a logistics division, meaning they likely do not have adequate defences to deter very powerful individuals. Their Captain and Vice-Captain are Kidō grandmasters, sure, but they aren't Yamamoto.

As with most wizards, if you hit them hard and fast, they crumble like paper-mâché. And I'm well aware that that criticism can also be levied towards myself. My tough physique should compensate for that weakness somewhat. At least until I have enough knowledge on barriers to keep one erected on my person at all times.

In fact, my abilities are a hard counter to Kidō users. When a Kidō master constructs a Hadō, for instance, they initially use their reiryoku to form the spell matrix, but to bring the spell into effect, they need to utilize their reiatsu.

That transition is key because if I want to, I can mess with that process with enough effort on my part. It is quite easy to 'infect' my opponent's reiatsu with my own. Doing so allows me to disturb their abilities somewhat, and if I push myself a bit, it should allow me to actually cancel out abilities if my understanding of reishi is not too off-point.

The reiatsu disruption alone is a devasting thing for Kidō masters since Kidō requires exceptional control of both reiryoku and reiatsu. Any deviations would and do result in the collapse of spells before they can even release.

I could already 'infect' foreign reiatsu a century ago, but my pitiful reserves and my weak control meant that this ability was mainly an area-of-effect technique used to combat further weakened weaklings.

The current me is substantially different.

Unless you have significantly higher reiatsu than me, or a special ability that neutralizes my reiatsu on contact, then facing me is going to be a nightmare. Imagine facing someone who will strip you of your abilities and block your ability to release reiatsu. That blockage, in particular, is a death sentence for Shinigami since their own reiatsu will rapidly destroy them from the inside out long before any wounds I inflict take their toll.

That is all to say that the Kidō corps are relatively soft targets.

The only real roadblocks I'll face would be the seals they have undoubtedly placed everywhere throughout their compound. The Nest of Maggots practically had seals infused into every brick of the building. I do not believe the Kidō corps headquarters would have measures that are any less thorough.

My knowledge on seals is rudimentary at best, meaning if I didn't take my time studying and slowly decoding those seals, then I would have to brute force my way through. If I could, then I would try to gradually undermine the seals and replace them with my own versions. But I, unfortunately, don't have that luxury.

...

Putting my plans on the back burner, I could now see the Tenth division headquarters coming into view. Seeing the familiar building seemed to have emboldened the fidgeting officer. Straightening his posture, he started walking in front of me in long, confident strides. His further actions allowed me to get a rough picture of his terrible personality.

Regularly glancing back at me as a parent would to make sure their excitable child doesn't wander off, his disdain for me was palpable. His smirk also made it clear that he knew exactly what he was doing. Not sure of his intentions, I just ignored him and Rangiku's nervous chuckle.

Instead, I started focusing on the reiatsu signatures in the headquarters. Picking up the Captain was easy. Judging from his smooth reiatsu, he seems to have matured a bit. The fiery 'flavour', though, also hinted at him not having changed too much. The remaining Shinigami seemed to be going on with their business.

It seemed like there wasn't a large welcome party. This is understandable, though.

After so long, it would be surprising if a Shinigami's strength didn't decline, not to mention miraculously increase. The low reishi environment and the lack of zanpakutō would make it impossible for the average Shinigami to retain their previous reiatsu volume. My threat level has, in their view, likely fallen to levels comparable to recent graduates or worse.

This benefits me greatly, so I won't go out of my way to correct their misconception. Surprisingly enough, for Shinigami, body size has little correlation to strength. So my physical changes aren't actually important. The prison officer's reaction during my release reflected his lack of knowledge more than anything substantial.

Two low-level officers were standing in front of the headquarters' entrance. They were visually thoroughly uninteresting people. Their weak reiatsu and typical Japanese male features made them blend in with the masses. Judging from their relaxed stance, even after seeing me, they likely fully subscribed to the strength misconception as well. Assuming they aren't great actors, that is.

Once the smug guy arrived at the entrance, he told one of the guards to show me to my room and immediately left. After a moment of silence with Rangiku seemingly trying to find the right words, she eventually just sighed. Watching her listless back gradually moving away, she seemed to be walking towards the Captain's position.

Before she got too far, I decided to clear the air. "Vice-Captain Matsumoto. It wasn't your fault..." The tremor in her shoulders as she paused slightly midstep told me enough.

...

Walking through the familiar black-and-white corridors, I was surprised that I did not have much nostalgia for the building. I had spent roughly four years here, some of the most exciting times of my life, if I'm being honest. Although I wasn't the most social person, I made good friends in this building. But despite having the good memory that comes with being a Shinigami, the faces and the names of those friends are blurry. Hell, I don't even remember the faces of the female officers I was sleeping with...

It seems that even back then, I subconsciously knew that this place was an ephemeral waypoint on my journey.

Or more likely, my bouts of insanity have degraded my memories of intimate and meaningful moments of in my life.

Pausing a bit when I saw my reflection in a metal nameplate. I realised that I couldn't be sure I was actually lucid at the moment.

It wouldn't be the first time I have had a realistic hallucination. The number of times I have thought that I was back home, enjoying the company of my family in the 'real' world. Or the number of times I have gently held my little girl's hands and listened to her cheerful giggles only to suddenly awaken to a cold empty prison cell...

The first time was the worst. I can't say that getting ripped away from your family gets better each subsequent time it happens, but it becomes tolerable. You learn to handle sorrow and pain. Because if you don't, you get crushed.

Ignoring the empty eyes looking back at me, I continued making my way through the building.

The irony of this whole situation is that I am a gracious person. The fact that the Gotei 13 allowed me to learn Kidō, is something I will forever be grateful for. I had expected to, at most, bounce around a few divisions until I found a squad to settle with. At which I would spend the rest of my days serving.

The gratitude I have and the necessity of the Gotei 13's mission would have ensured my loyalty. I know that I'm not particularly ambitious. Following or cooperating with Aizen is not an appealing prospect. Being on Yamamoto's shit list is not how I would want the rest of my life to go.

I expected to become a Captain or Vice-Captain, find a loving wife and maybe have a couple of rugrats. I expected to just be content in this afterlife.

Hearing Sōten ni zase releasing an encouraging hum in the back of my mind, I knew that I could not dwell on what could have been. Life goes on, and we have to learn to live with the regrets and the mistakes we made.

Coming to a stop outside a traditional Japanese sliding door, I raised an eyebrow to my escort. Opening the door, I immediately realised that I would be sharing the room. Blankly staring at the small room, I was assigned to, I did a complete scan of all the objects in the room, including the dodgy bunkbed and the fading walls.

I also absentmindedly listened to the officer telling me about how my rank had been reset and that I would only be allowed to challenge for higher seats once my one-year probation was complete. Apparently, I would also only get my zanpakutō after the probation.

Not having my zanpakutō is certainly a problem. If there is anything I need to leave Soul Society with, then it is my zanpakutō. I can't release my Shikai without the blade. I tried, repeatedly. This probation means that most of my plans have to be put on ice. But I've waited a century, what's one year...