"Wait for someone!"
Such an answer surprised Gosuke Shigure, and he asked again, "So… have you waited long enough?"
The woman fell silent and did not answer Gosuke Shigure's question.
Seeing this, Gosuke Shigure gave a slight bow, apologizing gently. "My apologies. That was rude of me."
The woman's tone turned cold and distant. "The Captain's haori is complete. You should leave."
She was curt—emotionally closed off, even toward a Gotei 13 captain.
But Gosuke Shigure was unfazed. He simply smiled. "Then I'll take my leave."
Still, before leaving, he turned back and added softly, "I just hope you can find a little more joy. You're not bad-looking—you'd look even better smiling. As for the person you're waiting for… who knows if they're alive or not?"
"But whether they are or not… please, take care of yourself."
The woman's eyes twitched slightly, and she locked her gaze onto him as he walked away.
Once Gosuke Shigure had left the room entirely, the woman finally whispered to herself, "Take care of yourself…"
It was a phrase she had heard before, long ago—more than a thousand years ago.
—
Elsewhere in the Seireitei, Gosuke Shigure walked with quiet steps, now dressed in his newly issued haori, the symbol of his captaincy. His expression, however, was conflicted.
"Senjumaru… why are you still here in Seireitei?"
It was genuinely unexpected for him to encounter Shutara Senjumaru here. He had assumed she had long since been promoted to the Royal Guard—the Zero Division. But to find her still within the Seireitei, seemingly hidden in anonymity, working behind the curtain of the 12th Division's Research and Development branch, raised many questions.
Most wouldn't recognize her. But how could Gosuke Shigure not?
They were more than acquaintances in their past lives—they were old "friends," bonded by the foundational era of the Gotei 13.
Back during the formation of the Gotei 13, Shutara Senjumaru had played a pivotal role. Though not one of the original captains, she had been the key figure behind their technological framework. It was she who had designed and created the first Shinigami uniforms—shihakushō, including the captain's haori.
Countless naming conventions and devices within the Soul Society bore her craftsmanship. The security clearance level "Shutara-class" was directly named after her. Though few current Shinigami understood the origin of the name, they used it regularly, never realizing it was tied to her surname.
With her accomplishments, she had more than earned a place in the Royal Guard. In the canon, she eventually became a member of the Zero Division—those summoned personally by the Soul King. She was the Great Weave Guard who oversaw the spiritual fabric of Soul Society from the Soul King Palace.
But evidently… in this timeline, something had changed.
Shutara Senjumaru had not departed for the Royal Palace. She had remained.
This left Gosuke Shigure with conflicting feelings.
Between her unchanged physical traits and the strange resonance of her Reiatsu—now faintly similar to his own—he began to grasp a troubling possibility. She hadn't gone to the Royal Palace… because she was still waiting.
Waiting for someone.
"I don't think you should wait anymore," Gosuke Shigure murmured aloud, his voice lost in the wind.
Though his spiritual pressure had evolved since his reincarnation, perhaps traces of his past self remained—faint echoes in his Reiatsu that Shutara could still sense.
Maybe that was why she had answered his question at all.
—
Soon after his return, another Captain's Assembly was convened by Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. The purpose: to formally introduce Gosuke Shigure as the newly appointed captain of the 11th Division.
Of course, many captains already knew him.
Unlike Urahara Kisuke—who was relatively obscure prior to his promotion from the Onmitsukidō and 12th Division—Gosuke Shigure had a longer public record. As Vice-Captain under the previous 11th Division captain, Takuyashiki, he had attended many Captain Assemblies and was no stranger to the others.
But familiarity didn't equate to status.
Now that he wore the Kenpachi title—the name given only to the strongest captain—he was no longer "just" a vice-captain. His presence carried far greater weight, and the responses from the other captains were appropriately reserved.
During the assembly, all the captains offered formal respect. Some, particularly the veterans, showed appreciation toward him for taking on the most volatile seat in the Gotei.
Once the meeting was over, Kyoraku Shunsui approached him with a grin. "Shigure, you've really done it."
"I always knew you'd pass the Captain Proficiency Exam and claim the Kenpachi title. You've never disappointed me."
Gosuke Shigure looked sideways at Shunsui, a wry smile on his face. "And yet… I wouldn't be here without a certain recommendation from the wise leader of the Eighth Division."
Though his promotion was now reality, it hadn't been his goal. After his reincarnation, he had wanted nothing more than to keep a low profile—to avoid attention, and to live peacefully within the structure of the Gotei 13.
But fate had other plans. As Vice-Captain of the 11th Division, and at a time when the title of Kenpachi was once again vacant, it had been inevitable.
Timing, politics, and history conspired to elevate him.
Shunsui gave him a playful nudge. "Well, I've always believed in you. Now that you're captain, and I'm your recommender, I expect a drink!"
Gosuke Shigure nodded with a chuckle. "That's fair."
"Let's go, then!"
And with that, the two made their way to one of the izakayas on the Noble Street—where Soul Society's upper echelons often mingled—and began drinking.
—
Later, Gosuke Shigure returned to the 11th Division barracks, reeking of sake.
He noticed immediately that something had shifted.
Since he had donned the white haori of the Captain, the way his subordinates looked at him had changed. They no longer bantered casually with him as before. There was no rough camaraderie or light teasing. When they addressed him now, it was formal.
Even the most unruly, free-spirited fighters of the Eleventh stood straighter and called him "Taichō" without hesitation.
The transformation was unmistakable—and somehow bittersweet.
Gosuke Shigure was taken aback at first but said nothing.
—
In the days that followed, life settled into a rare peace.
Peaceful, not in the absolute sense, but in the relative calm that came from not being entangled in politics or hidden agendas. As the captain of the 11th Division, his duties were mercifully simple.
What did the 11th Division do?
They fought.
The 11th was Soul Society's sword arm—its first into battle and last out. Unlike the Kido Corps or the stealth-based Onmitsukidō, they had no use for spells or subtlety. Their creed was brute strength, and their mission was direct: face the enemy, destroy the enemy, return.
It was a simple way of life.
Dangerous, yes—but in some ways… refreshing.
For Gosuke Shigure, who had once lived a life burdened with complexity, intrigue, and loss, the simplicity of the 11th Division's purpose was a strange kind of peace.
Perhaps starting over in the 11th wasn't such a bad decision after all.