Post by Enma, Lord of Hades on Aug 13, 2011 3:15:17 GMT -5
It has been a few years since "The Shinigami Disappearance" case began. This case, essentially the one regarding the unexplained disappearances almost monthly, with no trace left behind, is the result of Ketsueki Nami's cannibalism, unknown to most within the Soul Society. However, as it has been quite numerous years, the victim count has grown rather high. It now reaches over three or four dozen. This can no longer be handled by lower ranked individuals. The Squad 7 Captain, Enma, has finally gotten involved.
Reference threads are:
Las Noches vs Seireitei Part 2: Spark - Page 4
The Devil's Kin
Ketsueki Nami (App)
Third Division Barracks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late June.
Enma, Lord of Hades. That was the originally given title to the Squad 7 Captain. People referred to him with this name because his real name was actually unknown to anyone but himself. All who had once known it were now dead. And, this same Devil, Enma, was now investigating something rather difficult. He'd experienced similar cases a few times before, which was why he could now investigate this one. He was within the Squad 7 Barracks in the Captain's Quarters, which were usually unused. In this case, he was sitting surrounded by papers in stacks. Whereas normal he covered himself, today he did not need to do so. Enma was alone in a sealed room. No one could get in, and only he was in the room to get out.
Enma's clothes were visible on some random table in the corner. His haori, weapons, bandanna, and beanie were all there. At that moment, his blue hair was visible, as was his actually rather good looking and pale face, which was usually hidden. The tattoo on his face was visible too. He wore his black pants, but no shirt. His body had good muscle tones. His Zanpakuto was visible in his grasp. He sat cross legged, his lap containing the unsheathed Zanpakuto. The sheathe was also over on the table. Enma exhaled. Earlier, a while ago, he'd bought some Surveillance Butterflies from Urahara's Shop. He'd already branded them as his, and released all of them into Seireitei. He'd set their path to monitor Seireitei only. They wouldn't stray out of it. It was unfortunate if his predator came from Rukongai.
However, Enma was hoping that this would not be the case. He doubted it was a Hollow or someone from Rukongai. A Hollow could never hide for years in Soul Society, least of all with Captains always around. This place had also been invaded before. There was no way a Hollow would ever have survived that long. There was also never any time when the dome or walls had been directly infiltrated. People would know. There was no possible level of expertise that allowed someone to slip in and out unnoticed. The only person that might be able to pull it off was a high ranked Shinigami. There was no way someone random was surviving and hiding this whole time, either. Enma was almost certain the culprit was also a Shinigami, like the victims.
More than that, the victims were mostly nonseats. Easily targeted, of course, they made the least fuss due to weakness. No one in the Seireitei at the same level as the victims would be able to pull this off without hiding their abilities exceedingly well. This was impossible. No one could go for years hiding such extensive battle ability without a single person finding out. And if the person happened to actually be weak, that should also be impossible. Considering all the victims, and the variety between them, it was certain someone would be given a struggle, and evidence would be left behind. The victims were not specific at any point. They were random and unrelated. This also meant that some had great battle ability, while others had little. Perhaps someone was very sneaky about this sort of thing, and good at lying, acting, and disguising.
Enma had considered that as well. That was even most likely the case. However, that kind of person wouldn't be able to successfully accomplish this level of crime or so easily defeat this many Shinigami if that person was also low level. Therefore, Enma's guess was that the person was most likely a seated officer. Seireitei's constant warring had left its rank pool low. This was good. Enma's investigating was made easy. In fact, that was what all the papers were. He'd have Squad 7 investigate all of these people secretly, and he'd gotten all of the files on all of these people. He hadn't exempted his own Squad from investigation of course. That would be biased and foolish.
Squad 1 had Kyousou Ningen and Aryuu Juuken. Captain Commander and Squad 1 Vice Captain with Bankai. It should be fairly easy for either of them to perpetrate it. However, knowing the kind of man that the Captain Commander was, and the type of man that Vice Captain was, Enma was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They were the most respectable men in Seireitei, Enma found. And, considering the business The Strong Man always had to take care of, he rarely ever had any free time. He spent most of his time indoors, and he was a hundred times busier than the other Captains. There was no way he could ever find time to pull this. Aryuu Juuken was Old Lightning's son. The old man had taken in Enma, and his son was someone respectable as well. Furthermore, he never hid his reiatsu. It was always flaring, and so people always knew where he'd been. He had an alibi for every single crime.
This dropped to Squad 2, Alkaid Alkane and Vice Captain Jeno Dakrie. Alkaid was not someone Enma could say he knew well, and she was also at the level where she fell victim to his sleep based ability. The same was true of Jeno. However, Alkaid and Jeno, being of Squad 2, were both people that hid their reiatsu. They were the stealthy ones, as was Fourth Seat in that Squad, Hariyama Kousen. Kousen was a kind individual who always preached of love, while Alkaid was quick tempered along with Jeno. All three hid their reiatsu, and had personalities that would befit a killer. Kousen could be an act, and Alkaid could be a killer due to violence in her blood, same as Jeno. Squad 2 was definitely the most suspicious out of all the Squads.
Squad 3 therefore had Ketsueki Nami and Shade Kawada. Both of them cloaked their reiatsu. Nami's medical records diagnosed her with Thanatophobia and Eremophobia. Fear of death was natural. Fear of being herself? That was rather odd. Perhaps she simply had self esteem problems, or perhaps trauma because of past actions had caused it. One could only speculate. Nami was always polite, proud, and blended. She blended with the other Captains well, was polite to them, and held her pride as a Shinigami in high esteem. Yes, it could be her. It was the same false personality as Azeru Cho. She was known to disappear randomly sometimes, and there was once a time during her days as a third seat that she disappeared from view completely for a duration of months. Shade was a shut-down man that focused heavily on training day-to-day, mostly from being in Squad 11. He was very emotionless, and seemed like the type to care only about power. Honestly, he wasn't too suspicious. Squad 3 was also quite suspicious, though not as much as Squad 2. Enma's prime suspect to house this criminal was thus far Squad 2.
Squad 4's Lorilad was always so busy within his studies and healing that he could not possibly be the killer. While it was true that a squad member, such as Fifth Seat Ritz Stridberg, could be like that within Squad 4, the fact was that Lorilad kept such a tight leash on them at all times that there was honestly no way any of them could possibly pull off a crime like this. They either had no time, or they'd just break from that pressure and Lorilad's given pressure. So, Squad 4 was to be expected as the least suspicious. Lorilad would brag about that if he knew of Enma's investigations.
Squad 5 had Shiro Takashi. That one was not suspicious at all. Arguably one of the weaker Captains, he was also one that was horrific at hiding his reiatsu. He couldn't disguise or hide it at all, meaning that he had an alibi for every single crime. Essentially, there was just no way that Shiro could be the perpetrator, considering his level and his lack of hiding ability. He was also known by his Squad members and by other Squads to be the Captain that handled paperwork the second most. He was shut up quite a bit. There was just no way for Squad 5's Shiro to be the perpetrator.
Squad 6 was closed. Squad 7 had Rin Minamimoto and Kaen Youji. These two had been under the harshest investigations, being Enma's subordinates. He didn't want to keep a blind eye, after all. And, luckily, through constant surveillance, background checks, and other methods, he'd concluded both were innocent. Rin and Kaen he'd also made sure to keep super busy for a while. He'd buried them in work, paperwork, and missions to ensure that they were too busy to commit the crime. The crime had persisted at the same interval even under their busy schedules. They were out of the question. Furthermore, they'd both been heavily injured during the Second Battle Above Karakura. This basically meant that their recuperation had further stopped them from being able to do anything.
Squad 8 had Ranmyaku Youmei, Anastasia Solis, and Akeru Kurohi. Akeru had sustained injury during the battle against the Arrancar, as had Anastasia. Furthermore, both were bad at hiding reiatsu, and therefore always had an alibi. Ranmyaku was the Captain with the most paperwork, running the money in Soul Society after all. This meant that he had so little time it was simply impossible. He was also known to spend his freetime training, and laying in the sun. Enma had fought him once, and also learned that while Ranmyaku was probably could at sneaking around, and had good skills and physical strength, it was highly unlikely that he could've persisted in his crime. The only time it would work to commit was at night. It got cold in Winter. There was no way Ranmyaku could've pulled it off. He was safe.
Squad 9's Akashi Benkei was very much possible as the criminal. He was supposed to be very intelligent, a strategic genius. It would come off as no surprise at all that he was the perpetrator. However, what knocked him off of the list was the fact that he'd been heavily injured during the Second Battle Above Karakura. It had taken him a while to recover from it, but the crimes had persisted at the same interval. This basically meant that there was no way for it to be Akashi. Squads 10 and 11 were both heavy battle oriented Squads that never hid reiatsu and were always rowdy. Not only was it out of character for any of them, but they all had alibis at all times. Okusa Shogen, Hiro Kaname, and Irudai Izumi did. Saix Shinra and Zieg Revolver did. It wasn't them.
Squad 12 was a bit suspicious. Squad 12's Bokuga Sayuri and his fellow members, especially Seiji Tatsujin, were always cooped up in labs performing experiments. They could always be sensed and seen in the labs, and were never outside doing anything. One could monitor the lab, and always see them there. Sure, they could create some kind of invention or monster to do this, and hell, the disappearances could be Squad 12 trying to find test subjects. However, that was why Enma had had them investigated well too. They were innocent, he thought, but certainly the third most suspicious. Suspicion went Squad 2, Squad 3, Squad 12, Squad 9, for the top.
As for Squad 13 and Arhellai Lagross...Enma figured there was just no possible way Arhellai had the capabilities to pull it off. Enough said.
Now, this left another investigation method. Those who had sustained injuries and exhaustion during the last few heavy battles could not be the criminals. They'd all been injured and recuperating for a while, and were exempted completely since the crimes had continued at the same interval during all of their injury healing. Basically, this meant anyone involved in The Second Battle Above Karakura was exempt. Kaen Youji, Akashi Benkei, Ranmyaku Youmei, Rin Minamimoto, Alkaid Alkane, Zieg Revolver. These people were all completely exempt because of that series of events. The rehabilitation and whatnot in addition to healing had kept them close and under surveillance and delving. Squad 4 was naturally exempt. All healers had been too busy. This narrowed the field greatly.
It was brought down to a simple list, really. Jeno Dakrie, Hariyama Kousen, Ketsueki Nami, Shade Kawada, Shiro Takashi, Anastasia Solis, Akeru Kurohi, Okusa Shogen, Hiro Kaname, Irudai Izumi, Saix Shinra, Bokuga Sayuri, Seiji Tetsujin, Arhellai Lagross. They were suspicious. Then, further elimination due to characteristics. Example, Shiro, Anastasia, Akeru, Okusa, Hiro, Irudai, and Saix were impossible. They did not hide their reiatsu at any time. Arhellai just there was no way. This further lowered the list.
Jeno Dakrie, Hariyama Kousen, Ketsueki Nami, Shade Kawada, Bokuga Sayuri, Seiji Tetsujin. That would compose the prime suspects. The most suspicious two up there would have to be Bokuga Sayuri and Hariyama Kousen. Kousen could be psychotic, Enma figured. "Love" to him could just be killing. He'd met someone very similar in his lifetime. As for Sayuri, he'd do anything demented, twisted, and just plain sick to get himself some new lab rats. If anything, he was #1 in suspicious on that list. Enma was certain of Sayuri being the most suspicious. However, it didn't feel right with Sayuri as the culprit. He was in his lab all the time. If he was the criminal, he didn't directly do it. He either sent someone like Seiji Tetsujin, or he created some kind of artificial being to do it for him.
So, the list was lowered to those few. They would receive the most surveillance. If reiatsu fluctuated at any point around them, if someone disappeared when around them, it increased suspicion. Enma exhaled. "Bankai..." he whispered. "Senjo Tomoshibi." This was the first time he'd used this in over a decade. It was for investigation, of course. His reiatsu flared and blasted out, and gigantic golden steel gauntlets materialized over his arms. They were easily larger than his body, and yet the flames surrounding them seemed to elevate them, keeping them light without strain. The golden flames began flickering. That was Enma's power. With each flicker, he could increase reiatsu strength or restore reiatsu. First, he sacrificed just about all of his reiatsu completely to connect to 2999 of the butterflies. He let his flames flicker four more times to connect to 100 more butterflies.
Enma continued this process of giving up reiatsu he generated so that he could connect to each butterfly. When he was connected to the last one, he was panting. Enma's whole body was covered in a waterfall of sweat, bringing it down his body like a river. It dripped off of him onto the floor. Good. Now he only had to connect to each butterfly while also reading files. He was going to delve deeply into the files of his primary suspects while he got information in his mind because of the butterflies. His Bankai faded, for he could no longer keep it up, and his body could hardly even move. Regenerating his reiatsu was so exhausting that it was barely usable in battle. He was sure even reading was difficult at that point. Time to begin.
Hour 1.
The invasion of the Arrancar in Soul Society. Of the suspects, only two of the six participated. Nami and Shade both participated, but Shade had been a Squad 11 Third Seat at that time. Shade had participated in battle against Arrancar, getting generally rather wounded, while Nami had taken no injuries at all. In reality, her only role had been to save Shade. Essentially, this ruled out Shade. At that time period, recovery had taken him for a few weeks. Even his Zanpakuto had been destroyed, and Squad 12 had had to fix it. Basically, at that time, with the killing interval staying at that level, it couldn't be Shade. That incident basically ruled him out, being a large scale invasion and all. Nothing happened during that hour of surveillance.
Hour 2.
Records of Shade, for Enma had further investigated him just in case, revealed him to be child to two Shinigami. This would explain his natural ability. He'd lived a reclusive childhood, and been a prodigy with his power from the beginning. His natural gifts and his general lack of emotion pretty much ruled him out. All of his time was spent fighting, and ranking up. He only cared about power and prestige. He was working his way up through promotions. People reported that especially in Squad 11, he ranked quickly. He was especially unfriendly towards his Vice Captain, Zieg Revolver. It was well known that not only did he covet Zieg's spot, but he was disgusted by Zieg's release, which did not befit Squad 11 at all. Then, he suddenly transferred to Squad 3, becoming the Vice Captain.
Odd. Why? The whole time, he'd been focusing on usurping Zieg. There was no way someone arrogant and strong like him would give up that goal. It was not only out of character, but it was just illogical. Shade had proven he could probably beat Zieg. Enma's investigations and Zieg's carelessness led to the realization that Zieg had a Bankai. If not for that, Shade could easily have usurped the spot. Did Shade want to attain Bankai? Yes, of course. That was probably one of his goals. In that case, did he have some reason that Squad 3 might help him reach his goal of Bankai better? Would he eventually return to usurp Zieg after training in Squad 3? Squad 3 did not train as hard as 11 at all. Squad 11 fit Shade far better. So then why was he in 3? Why had he transferred? Why had Nami specifically taken him? He didn't fit either. Someone like her, proud to her duties, would normally pick someone more fitting.
Why was Shade the Vice Captain of Squad 3? Enma made a note on paper to question Shade later, or have him questioned by someone else. Enma felt directly questioning him might work better. Of course, this meant he should investigate Nami next, since she was Shade's Captain. Shade had proven to have one suspicious thing on him. The transfer to Squad 3. In hour 2, nothing happened in the surveillance once again.
Hour 3.
Investigation of Nami revealed her medical records, showing her to be phobic not only of death, but of herself. Odd. Why would she fear being herself? She was a respected, dignified, and proud Captain of the Gotei Thirteen. She was strong, and most certainly she was very dutiful. Did she have a hideous release? Or was it something more? Was it trauma? Enma didn't know. There were countless possible reasons. However, looking through her known file, he did find anomalies. He started with her name. Ketsueki. Tracing back, she was the adopted daughter of Ketsueki Yukata, the basic ruler of the sixty ninth district. A crime lord. Nami came from a crime lord, and she'd grown up in that area. It was possible she even continued crime as a Captain, and that being a Captain was the ultimate coverup, and her personality was an act to make her seem super respected. Just like Azeru Cho.
Then again, why on earth would she continue petty Rukongai crime if she was a Captain? Enma immediately dismissed the idea. That was absolute blasphemy. Nami was a criminal, though. She had been known and feared, cruel and ruthless like her father. She'd survived and excelled in a ruthless world of drugs, violence, and death. She had been hardened. This personality that she displayed...was it really one that she'd been raised to? Her experiences didn't seem to justify that kind of personality. Shifting in power had been quite shocking to that area. Nami's original group had been annihilated. However, records did indicate that she'd returned later, the leader of a whole new "rebel group." She'd retaken that district. She'd been feared once again, cunning, ruthless, known to be not only crafty, but insane and cruel.
That same rebel group had been known to kidnap people and keep them as prisoners, starved, waiting to die in a room. Those with reiatsu would either die of starvation, or resort to cannibalism for survival, going mad in the process. Those without reiatsu would get neither hungry nor thirsty, and would either fall to insanity and eventual death, or would be released and join the rebel group after being trained up a bit. Some were no doubt killed by others that had gone mad, or used them for survival. Actually, Nami herself had been known by a few in that group, who had testified about this, to eat people sometimes. It could be surmised that she had gone rather insane, and started as one of the prisoners, and then used her crafty nature to rise up to the top. Enma knew even the old rumors, being the one in charge of dealing with all crime in Soul Society.
Anyone that tried to scan his mind would of course discover a lot about Soul Society that people in the Gotei might not want known. At any rate, Enma couldn't help but wonder if Nami's insanity was a reason to fake a personality, if she did such a thing. Did she still eat people today? There were no reports of this on the battlefield, and corpses from battle didn't disappear for her, it seemed. Enma did wonder. Was she still like that? Had something found a change of heart absolute within her? Digging around, Enma found that Nami's new set up, after a few centuries, was taken down because of a failed drug trade. They'd been busted by a tip-off from some prostitute, and strangely enough Nami had disappeared. It was like the first time. She'd saved her own skin, maybe? That seemed the most likely, Enma concluded.
When Ketsueki Nami reappeared, she was aiming for Shinigami status. She made it through the tests rather adequately, and trained her way through Squad 11. She rose to the Third Seat, eventually. Enma noted he'd have to continue research further. Nothing happened in surveillance during hour 3.
Hour 4.
Enma decided to delve into all of Seireitei's happenings. Shade had been too occupied to even do anything criminal during his time. He was pretty much ruled out as a suspect in fact, though Enma still had to question him, and he did have that one suspicious thing on his plate. Now, around the same time as Nami entered, bodies began disappearing from Squad 12's morgue. Quite odd. Why would Nami steal bodies? Was she like Sayuri? A sadistic freak that liked to experiment on bodies? It couldn't be someone from Squad 12 making the bodies disappear. They just flat out took the bodies and registered taking them. It had to be someone else. Now, plenty of people joined the Gotei at the same time as Nami. So, with no evidence to link Nami to the morgue case, Enma dropped it. The only reasons he thought it possible was Nami's previous known desire for human flesh, his consideration that she might still eat it, her crime background, and her possible insanity. But, it wasn't like he investigated every single person that entered at that time. So, dropping it was smarter. Dead end.
Nami's file continued to show she got third seat in Squad 11, unlocked Shikai, and lived as a Shinigami. At some point during that time, the disappearances began. They didn't begin as Nami became a Shinigami. They began afterwards, after a while too. So then, Enma was missing a factor. If Nami was the criminal, he was definitely missing something that linked her to this. Thus far, insanity would prove to be her only possible motive. Enma needed more leads. She went on to get Bankai, and to become the Squad 3 Captain. Her present attitude was nothing like she was raised to be. Nami was suspicious, indeed. However, nothing linked her to the crime thus far. Enma decided that while she was very likely, he'd investigate someone else in the next hours. Nothing happened in surveillance of hour 4.
Hour 5.
Quick scanning of Jeno ruled him out. He grew up a normal life in a well off district in Rukongai, taken into a typical Rukongai family like other spirits in Soul Society. Nothing suspicious to him at all. He entered the academy, he had adequate ability, he became a Vice Captain. There was nothing suspicious linked to his life at all. And, Alkaid sent him out on missions constantly. It was a known fact that Jeno was presently always on missions for Alkaid, and he rarely actually ended up back home in Seireitei. (OOC: The owner of that RPC is deployed in the Middle East in the military right now! So I'm writing him off.)
This reduced the suspects from five to four. Hariyama Kousen, Ketsueki Nami, Bokuga Sayuri, Seiji Tetsujin. Earlier, Shade had been eliminated, but Enma still needed to talk to him because he did have that one suspicious thing. Nothing happened in the hour 5 surveillance.
Hour 6.
Enma's investigations brought him to find that Hariyama Kousen probably wasn't it, either. He lived a normal life in Rukongai, and though his family and friends were slaughtered by a hollow, he dispatched that hollow on his own. When he became a Shinigami, he was a very popular person with many friends. While he could have motive that the hollow wasn't stopped by Shinigami on time, he had nothing else. He lived a normal life, and had a normal academy existence. His friends died in a fashion just like how others died. Essentially, Kousen's life was not out of the ordinary in any way. He was also just a random 4th seat. While it was possible he was strong enough to keep this up, and he hid reiatsu well, essentially he lacked true motive, or the personality to do it. He was also too busy. Like Jeno, Alkaid sent him out all the time. He had alibi. Rule him out. Surveillance gained nothing out of hour 6.
Hour 7.
Seiji Tetsujin. He came from a crime family, just like Nami. However, he abandoned it for the Seireitei first chance he got. He didn't like it, and didn't go through experiences that would give him motivation. He had no motivation in his background. He had nothing in his background that could possibly tie him to this. Also, he was always so damn locked up by Sayuri that it was probably impossible for him to be the perpetrator. Yes, Seiji was ruled out. Sayuri's background did not matter much. He was always sadistic, taking whoever he could to experiment sadistically. He had had experimental troubles with both hollowfication cures and portable gigai. He was a sadist, a man that had more motivation than anyone to commit this crime. (OOC: Seiji's player is MIA, so I ruled him out.)
Sayuri, despite Nami's suspicious nature, was definitely the most suspicious one, still. Enma was convinced after his investigations that it was probably Sayuri or Nami that committed the crimes. Of the two, he was pretty sure it was Sayuri. This was where it got good, then. He'd have to interrogate people. He was down to a few interrogations only. Time to watch everyone. Kousen had been ruled out, but still had possibility. He'd be watched keenly. Sayuri and Nami, Captains, would be watched and tested even more keenly. The fact that Enma was daring to suspect two Captains could be considered blasphemy. He had to be absolutely sure, and have absolute evidence before he did anything. That was it. He'd continue surveillance for a while from there. In hour 7, nothing at all happened.
-End of first post.-
Reference threads are:
Las Noches vs Seireitei Part 2: Spark - Page 4
The Devil's Kin
Ketsueki Nami (App)
Third Division Barracks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late June.
Enma, Lord of Hades. That was the originally given title to the Squad 7 Captain. People referred to him with this name because his real name was actually unknown to anyone but himself. All who had once known it were now dead. And, this same Devil, Enma, was now investigating something rather difficult. He'd experienced similar cases a few times before, which was why he could now investigate this one. He was within the Squad 7 Barracks in the Captain's Quarters, which were usually unused. In this case, he was sitting surrounded by papers in stacks. Whereas normal he covered himself, today he did not need to do so. Enma was alone in a sealed room. No one could get in, and only he was in the room to get out.
Enma's clothes were visible on some random table in the corner. His haori, weapons, bandanna, and beanie were all there. At that moment, his blue hair was visible, as was his actually rather good looking and pale face, which was usually hidden. The tattoo on his face was visible too. He wore his black pants, but no shirt. His body had good muscle tones. His Zanpakuto was visible in his grasp. He sat cross legged, his lap containing the unsheathed Zanpakuto. The sheathe was also over on the table. Enma exhaled. Earlier, a while ago, he'd bought some Surveillance Butterflies from Urahara's Shop. He'd already branded them as his, and released all of them into Seireitei. He'd set their path to monitor Seireitei only. They wouldn't stray out of it. It was unfortunate if his predator came from Rukongai.
However, Enma was hoping that this would not be the case. He doubted it was a Hollow or someone from Rukongai. A Hollow could never hide for years in Soul Society, least of all with Captains always around. This place had also been invaded before. There was no way a Hollow would ever have survived that long. There was also never any time when the dome or walls had been directly infiltrated. People would know. There was no possible level of expertise that allowed someone to slip in and out unnoticed. The only person that might be able to pull it off was a high ranked Shinigami. There was no way someone random was surviving and hiding this whole time, either. Enma was almost certain the culprit was also a Shinigami, like the victims.
More than that, the victims were mostly nonseats. Easily targeted, of course, they made the least fuss due to weakness. No one in the Seireitei at the same level as the victims would be able to pull this off without hiding their abilities exceedingly well. This was impossible. No one could go for years hiding such extensive battle ability without a single person finding out. And if the person happened to actually be weak, that should also be impossible. Considering all the victims, and the variety between them, it was certain someone would be given a struggle, and evidence would be left behind. The victims were not specific at any point. They were random and unrelated. This also meant that some had great battle ability, while others had little. Perhaps someone was very sneaky about this sort of thing, and good at lying, acting, and disguising.
Enma had considered that as well. That was even most likely the case. However, that kind of person wouldn't be able to successfully accomplish this level of crime or so easily defeat this many Shinigami if that person was also low level. Therefore, Enma's guess was that the person was most likely a seated officer. Seireitei's constant warring had left its rank pool low. This was good. Enma's investigating was made easy. In fact, that was what all the papers were. He'd have Squad 7 investigate all of these people secretly, and he'd gotten all of the files on all of these people. He hadn't exempted his own Squad from investigation of course. That would be biased and foolish.
Squad 1 had Kyousou Ningen and Aryuu Juuken. Captain Commander and Squad 1 Vice Captain with Bankai. It should be fairly easy for either of them to perpetrate it. However, knowing the kind of man that the Captain Commander was, and the type of man that Vice Captain was, Enma was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They were the most respectable men in Seireitei, Enma found. And, considering the business The Strong Man always had to take care of, he rarely ever had any free time. He spent most of his time indoors, and he was a hundred times busier than the other Captains. There was no way he could ever find time to pull this. Aryuu Juuken was Old Lightning's son. The old man had taken in Enma, and his son was someone respectable as well. Furthermore, he never hid his reiatsu. It was always flaring, and so people always knew where he'd been. He had an alibi for every single crime.
This dropped to Squad 2, Alkaid Alkane and Vice Captain Jeno Dakrie. Alkaid was not someone Enma could say he knew well, and she was also at the level where she fell victim to his sleep based ability. The same was true of Jeno. However, Alkaid and Jeno, being of Squad 2, were both people that hid their reiatsu. They were the stealthy ones, as was Fourth Seat in that Squad, Hariyama Kousen. Kousen was a kind individual who always preached of love, while Alkaid was quick tempered along with Jeno. All three hid their reiatsu, and had personalities that would befit a killer. Kousen could be an act, and Alkaid could be a killer due to violence in her blood, same as Jeno. Squad 2 was definitely the most suspicious out of all the Squads.
Squad 3 therefore had Ketsueki Nami and Shade Kawada. Both of them cloaked their reiatsu. Nami's medical records diagnosed her with Thanatophobia and Eremophobia. Fear of death was natural. Fear of being herself? That was rather odd. Perhaps she simply had self esteem problems, or perhaps trauma because of past actions had caused it. One could only speculate. Nami was always polite, proud, and blended. She blended with the other Captains well, was polite to them, and held her pride as a Shinigami in high esteem. Yes, it could be her. It was the same false personality as Azeru Cho. She was known to disappear randomly sometimes, and there was once a time during her days as a third seat that she disappeared from view completely for a duration of months. Shade was a shut-down man that focused heavily on training day-to-day, mostly from being in Squad 11. He was very emotionless, and seemed like the type to care only about power. Honestly, he wasn't too suspicious. Squad 3 was also quite suspicious, though not as much as Squad 2. Enma's prime suspect to house this criminal was thus far Squad 2.
Squad 4's Lorilad was always so busy within his studies and healing that he could not possibly be the killer. While it was true that a squad member, such as Fifth Seat Ritz Stridberg, could be like that within Squad 4, the fact was that Lorilad kept such a tight leash on them at all times that there was honestly no way any of them could possibly pull off a crime like this. They either had no time, or they'd just break from that pressure and Lorilad's given pressure. So, Squad 4 was to be expected as the least suspicious. Lorilad would brag about that if he knew of Enma's investigations.
Squad 5 had Shiro Takashi. That one was not suspicious at all. Arguably one of the weaker Captains, he was also one that was horrific at hiding his reiatsu. He couldn't disguise or hide it at all, meaning that he had an alibi for every single crime. Essentially, there was just no way that Shiro could be the perpetrator, considering his level and his lack of hiding ability. He was also known by his Squad members and by other Squads to be the Captain that handled paperwork the second most. He was shut up quite a bit. There was just no way for Squad 5's Shiro to be the perpetrator.
Squad 6 was closed. Squad 7 had Rin Minamimoto and Kaen Youji. These two had been under the harshest investigations, being Enma's subordinates. He didn't want to keep a blind eye, after all. And, luckily, through constant surveillance, background checks, and other methods, he'd concluded both were innocent. Rin and Kaen he'd also made sure to keep super busy for a while. He'd buried them in work, paperwork, and missions to ensure that they were too busy to commit the crime. The crime had persisted at the same interval even under their busy schedules. They were out of the question. Furthermore, they'd both been heavily injured during the Second Battle Above Karakura. This basically meant that their recuperation had further stopped them from being able to do anything.
Squad 8 had Ranmyaku Youmei, Anastasia Solis, and Akeru Kurohi. Akeru had sustained injury during the battle against the Arrancar, as had Anastasia. Furthermore, both were bad at hiding reiatsu, and therefore always had an alibi. Ranmyaku was the Captain with the most paperwork, running the money in Soul Society after all. This meant that he had so little time it was simply impossible. He was also known to spend his freetime training, and laying in the sun. Enma had fought him once, and also learned that while Ranmyaku was probably could at sneaking around, and had good skills and physical strength, it was highly unlikely that he could've persisted in his crime. The only time it would work to commit was at night. It got cold in Winter. There was no way Ranmyaku could've pulled it off. He was safe.
Squad 9's Akashi Benkei was very much possible as the criminal. He was supposed to be very intelligent, a strategic genius. It would come off as no surprise at all that he was the perpetrator. However, what knocked him off of the list was the fact that he'd been heavily injured during the Second Battle Above Karakura. It had taken him a while to recover from it, but the crimes had persisted at the same interval. This basically meant that there was no way for it to be Akashi. Squads 10 and 11 were both heavy battle oriented Squads that never hid reiatsu and were always rowdy. Not only was it out of character for any of them, but they all had alibis at all times. Okusa Shogen, Hiro Kaname, and Irudai Izumi did. Saix Shinra and Zieg Revolver did. It wasn't them.
Squad 12 was a bit suspicious. Squad 12's Bokuga Sayuri and his fellow members, especially Seiji Tatsujin, were always cooped up in labs performing experiments. They could always be sensed and seen in the labs, and were never outside doing anything. One could monitor the lab, and always see them there. Sure, they could create some kind of invention or monster to do this, and hell, the disappearances could be Squad 12 trying to find test subjects. However, that was why Enma had had them investigated well too. They were innocent, he thought, but certainly the third most suspicious. Suspicion went Squad 2, Squad 3, Squad 12, Squad 9, for the top.
As for Squad 13 and Arhellai Lagross...Enma figured there was just no possible way Arhellai had the capabilities to pull it off. Enough said.
Now, this left another investigation method. Those who had sustained injuries and exhaustion during the last few heavy battles could not be the criminals. They'd all been injured and recuperating for a while, and were exempted completely since the crimes had continued at the same interval during all of their injury healing. Basically, this meant anyone involved in The Second Battle Above Karakura was exempt. Kaen Youji, Akashi Benkei, Ranmyaku Youmei, Rin Minamimoto, Alkaid Alkane, Zieg Revolver. These people were all completely exempt because of that series of events. The rehabilitation and whatnot in addition to healing had kept them close and under surveillance and delving. Squad 4 was naturally exempt. All healers had been too busy. This narrowed the field greatly.
It was brought down to a simple list, really. Jeno Dakrie, Hariyama Kousen, Ketsueki Nami, Shade Kawada, Shiro Takashi, Anastasia Solis, Akeru Kurohi, Okusa Shogen, Hiro Kaname, Irudai Izumi, Saix Shinra, Bokuga Sayuri, Seiji Tetsujin, Arhellai Lagross. They were suspicious. Then, further elimination due to characteristics. Example, Shiro, Anastasia, Akeru, Okusa, Hiro, Irudai, and Saix were impossible. They did not hide their reiatsu at any time. Arhellai just there was no way. This further lowered the list.
Jeno Dakrie, Hariyama Kousen, Ketsueki Nami, Shade Kawada, Bokuga Sayuri, Seiji Tetsujin. That would compose the prime suspects. The most suspicious two up there would have to be Bokuga Sayuri and Hariyama Kousen. Kousen could be psychotic, Enma figured. "Love" to him could just be killing. He'd met someone very similar in his lifetime. As for Sayuri, he'd do anything demented, twisted, and just plain sick to get himself some new lab rats. If anything, he was #1 in suspicious on that list. Enma was certain of Sayuri being the most suspicious. However, it didn't feel right with Sayuri as the culprit. He was in his lab all the time. If he was the criminal, he didn't directly do it. He either sent someone like Seiji Tetsujin, or he created some kind of artificial being to do it for him.
So, the list was lowered to those few. They would receive the most surveillance. If reiatsu fluctuated at any point around them, if someone disappeared when around them, it increased suspicion. Enma exhaled. "Bankai..." he whispered. "Senjo Tomoshibi." This was the first time he'd used this in over a decade. It was for investigation, of course. His reiatsu flared and blasted out, and gigantic golden steel gauntlets materialized over his arms. They were easily larger than his body, and yet the flames surrounding them seemed to elevate them, keeping them light without strain. The golden flames began flickering. That was Enma's power. With each flicker, he could increase reiatsu strength or restore reiatsu. First, he sacrificed just about all of his reiatsu completely to connect to 2999 of the butterflies. He let his flames flicker four more times to connect to 100 more butterflies.
Enma continued this process of giving up reiatsu he generated so that he could connect to each butterfly. When he was connected to the last one, he was panting. Enma's whole body was covered in a waterfall of sweat, bringing it down his body like a river. It dripped off of him onto the floor. Good. Now he only had to connect to each butterfly while also reading files. He was going to delve deeply into the files of his primary suspects while he got information in his mind because of the butterflies. His Bankai faded, for he could no longer keep it up, and his body could hardly even move. Regenerating his reiatsu was so exhausting that it was barely usable in battle. He was sure even reading was difficult at that point. Time to begin.
Hour 1.
The invasion of the Arrancar in Soul Society. Of the suspects, only two of the six participated. Nami and Shade both participated, but Shade had been a Squad 11 Third Seat at that time. Shade had participated in battle against Arrancar, getting generally rather wounded, while Nami had taken no injuries at all. In reality, her only role had been to save Shade. Essentially, this ruled out Shade. At that time period, recovery had taken him for a few weeks. Even his Zanpakuto had been destroyed, and Squad 12 had had to fix it. Basically, at that time, with the killing interval staying at that level, it couldn't be Shade. That incident basically ruled him out, being a large scale invasion and all. Nothing happened during that hour of surveillance.
Hour 2.
Records of Shade, for Enma had further investigated him just in case, revealed him to be child to two Shinigami. This would explain his natural ability. He'd lived a reclusive childhood, and been a prodigy with his power from the beginning. His natural gifts and his general lack of emotion pretty much ruled him out. All of his time was spent fighting, and ranking up. He only cared about power and prestige. He was working his way up through promotions. People reported that especially in Squad 11, he ranked quickly. He was especially unfriendly towards his Vice Captain, Zieg Revolver. It was well known that not only did he covet Zieg's spot, but he was disgusted by Zieg's release, which did not befit Squad 11 at all. Then, he suddenly transferred to Squad 3, becoming the Vice Captain.
Odd. Why? The whole time, he'd been focusing on usurping Zieg. There was no way someone arrogant and strong like him would give up that goal. It was not only out of character, but it was just illogical. Shade had proven he could probably beat Zieg. Enma's investigations and Zieg's carelessness led to the realization that Zieg had a Bankai. If not for that, Shade could easily have usurped the spot. Did Shade want to attain Bankai? Yes, of course. That was probably one of his goals. In that case, did he have some reason that Squad 3 might help him reach his goal of Bankai better? Would he eventually return to usurp Zieg after training in Squad 3? Squad 3 did not train as hard as 11 at all. Squad 11 fit Shade far better. So then why was he in 3? Why had he transferred? Why had Nami specifically taken him? He didn't fit either. Someone like her, proud to her duties, would normally pick someone more fitting.
Why was Shade the Vice Captain of Squad 3? Enma made a note on paper to question Shade later, or have him questioned by someone else. Enma felt directly questioning him might work better. Of course, this meant he should investigate Nami next, since she was Shade's Captain. Shade had proven to have one suspicious thing on him. The transfer to Squad 3. In hour 2, nothing happened in the surveillance once again.
Hour 3.
Investigation of Nami revealed her medical records, showing her to be phobic not only of death, but of herself. Odd. Why would she fear being herself? She was a respected, dignified, and proud Captain of the Gotei Thirteen. She was strong, and most certainly she was very dutiful. Did she have a hideous release? Or was it something more? Was it trauma? Enma didn't know. There were countless possible reasons. However, looking through her known file, he did find anomalies. He started with her name. Ketsueki. Tracing back, she was the adopted daughter of Ketsueki Yukata, the basic ruler of the sixty ninth district. A crime lord. Nami came from a crime lord, and she'd grown up in that area. It was possible she even continued crime as a Captain, and that being a Captain was the ultimate coverup, and her personality was an act to make her seem super respected. Just like Azeru Cho.
Then again, why on earth would she continue petty Rukongai crime if she was a Captain? Enma immediately dismissed the idea. That was absolute blasphemy. Nami was a criminal, though. She had been known and feared, cruel and ruthless like her father. She'd survived and excelled in a ruthless world of drugs, violence, and death. She had been hardened. This personality that she displayed...was it really one that she'd been raised to? Her experiences didn't seem to justify that kind of personality. Shifting in power had been quite shocking to that area. Nami's original group had been annihilated. However, records did indicate that she'd returned later, the leader of a whole new "rebel group." She'd retaken that district. She'd been feared once again, cunning, ruthless, known to be not only crafty, but insane and cruel.
That same rebel group had been known to kidnap people and keep them as prisoners, starved, waiting to die in a room. Those with reiatsu would either die of starvation, or resort to cannibalism for survival, going mad in the process. Those without reiatsu would get neither hungry nor thirsty, and would either fall to insanity and eventual death, or would be released and join the rebel group after being trained up a bit. Some were no doubt killed by others that had gone mad, or used them for survival. Actually, Nami herself had been known by a few in that group, who had testified about this, to eat people sometimes. It could be surmised that she had gone rather insane, and started as one of the prisoners, and then used her crafty nature to rise up to the top. Enma knew even the old rumors, being the one in charge of dealing with all crime in Soul Society.
Anyone that tried to scan his mind would of course discover a lot about Soul Society that people in the Gotei might not want known. At any rate, Enma couldn't help but wonder if Nami's insanity was a reason to fake a personality, if she did such a thing. Did she still eat people today? There were no reports of this on the battlefield, and corpses from battle didn't disappear for her, it seemed. Enma did wonder. Was she still like that? Had something found a change of heart absolute within her? Digging around, Enma found that Nami's new set up, after a few centuries, was taken down because of a failed drug trade. They'd been busted by a tip-off from some prostitute, and strangely enough Nami had disappeared. It was like the first time. She'd saved her own skin, maybe? That seemed the most likely, Enma concluded.
When Ketsueki Nami reappeared, she was aiming for Shinigami status. She made it through the tests rather adequately, and trained her way through Squad 11. She rose to the Third Seat, eventually. Enma noted he'd have to continue research further. Nothing happened in surveillance during hour 3.
Hour 4.
Enma decided to delve into all of Seireitei's happenings. Shade had been too occupied to even do anything criminal during his time. He was pretty much ruled out as a suspect in fact, though Enma still had to question him, and he did have that one suspicious thing on his plate. Now, around the same time as Nami entered, bodies began disappearing from Squad 12's morgue. Quite odd. Why would Nami steal bodies? Was she like Sayuri? A sadistic freak that liked to experiment on bodies? It couldn't be someone from Squad 12 making the bodies disappear. They just flat out took the bodies and registered taking them. It had to be someone else. Now, plenty of people joined the Gotei at the same time as Nami. So, with no evidence to link Nami to the morgue case, Enma dropped it. The only reasons he thought it possible was Nami's previous known desire for human flesh, his consideration that she might still eat it, her crime background, and her possible insanity. But, it wasn't like he investigated every single person that entered at that time. So, dropping it was smarter. Dead end.
Nami's file continued to show she got third seat in Squad 11, unlocked Shikai, and lived as a Shinigami. At some point during that time, the disappearances began. They didn't begin as Nami became a Shinigami. They began afterwards, after a while too. So then, Enma was missing a factor. If Nami was the criminal, he was definitely missing something that linked her to this. Thus far, insanity would prove to be her only possible motive. Enma needed more leads. She went on to get Bankai, and to become the Squad 3 Captain. Her present attitude was nothing like she was raised to be. Nami was suspicious, indeed. However, nothing linked her to the crime thus far. Enma decided that while she was very likely, he'd investigate someone else in the next hours. Nothing happened in surveillance of hour 4.
Hour 5.
Quick scanning of Jeno ruled him out. He grew up a normal life in a well off district in Rukongai, taken into a typical Rukongai family like other spirits in Soul Society. Nothing suspicious to him at all. He entered the academy, he had adequate ability, he became a Vice Captain. There was nothing suspicious linked to his life at all. And, Alkaid sent him out on missions constantly. It was a known fact that Jeno was presently always on missions for Alkaid, and he rarely actually ended up back home in Seireitei. (OOC: The owner of that RPC is deployed in the Middle East in the military right now! So I'm writing him off.)
This reduced the suspects from five to four. Hariyama Kousen, Ketsueki Nami, Bokuga Sayuri, Seiji Tetsujin. Earlier, Shade had been eliminated, but Enma still needed to talk to him because he did have that one suspicious thing. Nothing happened in the hour 5 surveillance.
Hour 6.
Enma's investigations brought him to find that Hariyama Kousen probably wasn't it, either. He lived a normal life in Rukongai, and though his family and friends were slaughtered by a hollow, he dispatched that hollow on his own. When he became a Shinigami, he was a very popular person with many friends. While he could have motive that the hollow wasn't stopped by Shinigami on time, he had nothing else. He lived a normal life, and had a normal academy existence. His friends died in a fashion just like how others died. Essentially, Kousen's life was not out of the ordinary in any way. He was also just a random 4th seat. While it was possible he was strong enough to keep this up, and he hid reiatsu well, essentially he lacked true motive, or the personality to do it. He was also too busy. Like Jeno, Alkaid sent him out all the time. He had alibi. Rule him out. Surveillance gained nothing out of hour 6.
Hour 7.
Seiji Tetsujin. He came from a crime family, just like Nami. However, he abandoned it for the Seireitei first chance he got. He didn't like it, and didn't go through experiences that would give him motivation. He had no motivation in his background. He had nothing in his background that could possibly tie him to this. Also, he was always so damn locked up by Sayuri that it was probably impossible for him to be the perpetrator. Yes, Seiji was ruled out. Sayuri's background did not matter much. He was always sadistic, taking whoever he could to experiment sadistically. He had had experimental troubles with both hollowfication cures and portable gigai. He was a sadist, a man that had more motivation than anyone to commit this crime. (OOC: Seiji's player is MIA, so I ruled him out.)
Sayuri, despite Nami's suspicious nature, was definitely the most suspicious one, still. Enma was convinced after his investigations that it was probably Sayuri or Nami that committed the crimes. Of the two, he was pretty sure it was Sayuri. This was where it got good, then. He'd have to interrogate people. He was down to a few interrogations only. Time to watch everyone. Kousen had been ruled out, but still had possibility. He'd be watched keenly. Sayuri and Nami, Captains, would be watched and tested even more keenly. The fact that Enma was daring to suspect two Captains could be considered blasphemy. He had to be absolutely sure, and have absolute evidence before he did anything. That was it. He'd continue surveillance for a while from there. In hour 7, nothing at all happened.
-End of first post.-