Soul Society Reclaim Part 1, The Gathering

Kazama gave a half hearted smile to captain Jensen. "First time I will have been faced with such a decision sir. I would prefer......" he stopped, shaking his head as he realized the foolishness of what he had been about to say. They were going to war, cruel bitter war. People would die. And as much as he hated it, it was kill or be killed, or worse, have one of those depending on him get killed. As much as it pained his soul, he knew he would be forced into killing. A thought that sat well with him not at all.

Asuma smirked and punched Kazama in the shoulder. "Tell ya what, you knock em down and I will finish em off, no blood on you that way." he said with a grin. Despite his words though, he was also concerned for his friend. Kazama had never killed anyone before, he didn't even kill hollow, he had others kill them for him! And if Asuma and Kazama were together, then his friend could continue in his way of blood free life. But in the coming turmoil, Asuma would be needed elsewhere, away from his equally powerful friend. He could say all he wanted to comfort Kazama, but he knew that his friend would lose a part of himself in this fight. And it pained him to see his friend suffering so.

Garanzo gave the head captain a cocky little half smile he was known for among his men, doing his best to hide his nerves. Anyone who knew him well though would see right throw his façade. Gotta give up smoking he told himself as he blew out a large cloud of smoke, listening to the small speech by the former captain. He admittedly hadn't known him well, having become an officer after the man had left, and neither did he care about why he left. All he cared about was having an extra sword in the fight. How he wished they could have brought more.....

Jensen looked at Aki after the man stepped back from his speech. "Sorry.. You owe me nothing. Its good to see your alive. If i came off cold earlier, it was becuase I wasn't sure if you'd come back to try take over again. No offense, you made a good leader, but that girl is what the gotei needs, and I have no patience for politics and squabling over that kind of thing. Again though, glad your alive." He said. He wasn't speaking loud enough for most people to overhear, undoubtedly only people with high senses would hear what he'd just said. Captain Akira said a few words next. Jensen patted Aki on the shoulder smiled and stepped up to give a little speech of his own.

"I know many of you. We've trained together, faught together, Bled together. At one point, many of you expected me to step up to the plate and lead us, but I didn't. Not because I didn't want to, but because I do not have what it takes... However I seen something in the woman who leads us now, and I knew she was the key to our future the moment we met. Any of you who hold doubt in her should cast it aside now, for doubt will surely lead to failure.

"We must believe in our leader. We must believe in our friends and allies. But most of all we must all believe in the strength of our own soul! Believe in our will to right past failures, to fight for our home and our loved ones! We have been beaten, cast from our lands by criminals, but today we will show the worlds that we will not lie down and give in! We will show them that our will cannot be broken! When we set foot on the battlefield, stand tall! For today, you are all the heroes of soul society!"

Jensen stepped back then as cheers rose up again. He looked to the faces of those he knew who'd doubted Gráinne. Some were members of his squad. They were cheering now too.

Miyuki shivered at the mention of Aizen. She hadn’t even been an Academy student back when Aizen had mounted his (first?) attack on the Seireitei but she remembered the feelings of dread and terror that had accompanied the Winter War. And when the call for action came, her voice was amongst those shouting their agreement; perhaps the last time her voice would be heard until the end of the battle save for the release of Akatsukimi.

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Gráinne listened intently to what the other Captains had to say. Akihiko Iyou stepped forward and spoke to the troops, addressing what had happened before as well as what they were about to do. The troops roared in approval, but Gráinne was lost in thought. When the former Captain-Commander finished his speech, he turned and offered the floor to the rest of the Captains. Captain Tanaka stepped forward and said a brief word, assuring Akihiko that no one person was to blame. In a rare show of emotion, Akira vowed to fight for his people and to succeed in the mission. There was a couple of quiet words shared between the Captains and Vice-Captains, before Captain Reinhart stepped forward.

It was Jensen's speech that struck her the most, as up until now Gráinne was sure that Diath and Diath alone was the only one that trusted her as Captain-Commander, and that the rest merely tolerated her as she came from a relatively low background. She was genuinely touched by Jensen's words, almost brought to tears by the revelation of his trust and belief in his leader. As Jensen finished up, amid the raucous cheers of the troops, Gráinne did leak a solitary tear, disguised with a trademark swish of her hair.

When the cheering had started to die down, Gráinne knew that her time was now. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and cleared her throat. Though she was not one for talk usually, she had learned from her new post that talk was sometimes necessary. She swished her hair again to calm her nerves as the area became silent.

"I'm not much of a talker, so I beg your forgiveness if I mess up." Gráinne gazed around at the faces of the soldiers that she was about to order into battle. They all stared intently back. "I realize that I am a relative unknown to most of you. I am also aware that it is difficult to trust an unknown in a position of power. I do not order you to trust me. After all trust is earned, it cannot be ordered from you. So my order is simply this. Do not fight for me. Do not put your life on the line for me. Do these things for yourself, and for all of your brothers and sisters that fight alongside you." Gráinne was drawing confidence from the murmurs of approval from the crowd.

"There is one more thing I must ask of you. Close your eyes. Take in everything in this moment. The calmness in the air. The peace in the ground beneath you. But most importantly, soak in the feelings of strength and empowerment you get from your comrades, knowing that everyone has the same goal."

Gráinne drew her sword and slashed through the air. The sword left a rainbow trail that formed into a massive Senkai Gate. "Remember all of this, for no matter what lies through this gate, you are not alone. Remember the calmness. Remember the peace. But most of all, if you find yourself in trouble, in a seemingly hopeless situation, with your back against the wall, remember - you are fighting for your brothers and sisters, just as we are fighting for you! You are not alone! You will never be alone!!!" There was a earth-shaking cheer as the Captain-Commander's last words resonated around the area.

Gráinne turned to the other Captains. "I guess we have a home to liberate." She walked over to Elayne and Raiden, and ushered them over to one side. "Now that that's over with, I can address you properly. I cannot overestimate the importance of your mission. We all know the price of failure. However, I do not believe that you will fail. I trust both of you implicitly. You can do this." She waited for a response from the two Vizards before opening a smaller Senkai Gate that would deliver them to a different location closer to the Maggot's Nest, but where they hopefully wouldn't be detected. She gave them each a hug. "Good luck." Gráinne then turned to the other Captains and Vice-Captains. She gave them each a warm hug, before stepping back and saluting them. "Shall we?"

Raiden stiffened when he and his sister were finally addressed. Compared to his more childlike behavior and the like, he was dead serious. "Naturally. Elayne and I have a plan. But we should tell you that when you feel our and the Maggot Leader's reiatsu disappear it does not mean that we're done. It means we just started. You'll have a while before we're back in the same dimensional plane if you finish before we do." Grainne gave them both a hug and wished them luck.

Aki spoke to Grainne. "I don't know what the plan is...but I'm not gonna leave your side unless an old rival shows up. I'll be watching your back. *turns to the other captains* You can probably expect some head hunting. Watch yourselves." When the Senkaimons opened...Aki was the first one through...and he wanted to be the first one in...