Bleach: The Forgotten Captain - The Memoirs of Akari Miyazaki

Chapter 26: The New Soul King

I strode down the hallway with determined steps, pushing open the door to the living room. There, Yamachi stood before a mirror, carefully examining a scarf he had draped around himself. Seated beside him in an armchair was Ikkaku, who straightened up as I entered.

"It's all right," I muttered, and Ikkaku relaxed.

"I still can't quite believe that you're the head of the Miyazaki family, Yumichika," he grumbled, and Yamachi shrugged his shoulders.

"I played my role well, didn't I? I took acting classes at the etiquette school back in my childhood, that came in handy."

"And you and Commander Kuchiki are childhood friends, for real, right? I just don't get it."

I chuckled, opened a drawer, and handed Ikkaku a photograph. It displayed Byakuya, Yamachi, and me at the age of about ten. We stood in our garden, covered in sweat and dirt, after our training with practice swords.

"Whoa, I've never seen you so dirty! Seriously!" Ikkaku marveled, and Yamachi shot me a mildly annoyed look.

"Have you finally decided which scarf Your Highness will wear for the ceremony?" I asked sarcastically, and Yamachi turned back to the mirror.

"This is an important day for me. It's the first time in many decades that I represent our family again. I can't look like some random-" I rolled my eyes and stopped listening.

"I'll be back in ten minutes, and you'd better be ready," I scolded him and slipped through the patio door into the garden.

Without giving it much thought, I leaped onto a branch of the large oak tree and landed in the neighboring garden, startling Rukia in front of me.

"Forgive me, old habit," I mumbled, and she gave me a grin.

"Ni-Sama is in the living room," she explained, and I thanked her. Just like in our earliest childhood, I used the window, not the door, to enter the Kuchiki family's house.

Byakuya pushed open the door to his old room, he must have noticed my presence.

"Brings back memories," he mumbled, his expression a mix of an eye roll and a smirk.

"Are you both ready?"

"Absolutely. I assume Yamachi needs a little more time?" he chuckled, and I laughed.

Rukia appeared behind us at the window.

"Ikkaku just yelled over the fence that they're ready," she explained, and I gave Byakuya a meaningful look. "We should hurry before Yamachi changes his mind."

Within minutes, we marched through the streets of Seireitei. Byakuya in his white captain's haori, Yamachi in the finest silk, and me in a simple outfit.

I absorbed every inch of Seireitei, examining every corner, every nook, and observing the people and Shinigami who greeted us as they passed. Finally, we reached the grand square, already filled to the brim with people.

We made our way through the crowd until we reached the front. Seats had been set up for Byakuya and Yamachi, as well as for the other noble houses and the Gotei 13 captains. I sat next to my brother, letting my gaze wander. Yoruichi waved at me, and Kisuke sat beside her, grinning.

One by one, everyone had gathered, and Captain-Commander Yamamoto-Genryusai took his place on a platform. He struck the ground with his staff, and it became instantly silent.

"Residents of Seireitei, as well as those who have come from Rukongai to witness this ceremony. After all the years of war and suffering, we now welcome an era of peace. To uphold this peace, we have decided to mend the strained bond that has hung by a thread between us and our rulers for the past decades. For this reason, we are celebrating the crowning of a new Soul King for the first time here in Seireitei. Bow your heads, bend your knees before the one whose watchful eye will hover over us, whose hands will protect and guide us."