#commandinginferno

Thoughts and Headcanons

God, there’s so much.  Yamamoto considers Kyoraku to be one of the sons he never had, so there’s a whole bunch of little things that about Kyoraku that bug the shit out of Yamamoto that he would write off as typical Captain eccentricities if they were coming from anyone else.

I think the biggest thing is how lackadaisical Shunsui acts.  Yamamoto knows that his future successor isn’t actually a lazy layabout, but the Captain of the 8th Divison is certainly skilled at fooling those who don’t know him.  It gives his troops the wrong impression and paints the 8th Division in a worse light than it deserves.  As a Captain, Shunsui should show more of his serious and competent side, as is befitting one of his true talent.

Sparring/Fighting Things

It had begun with a fluke.

Yamamoto did not often have much time to spare. What time was not spent doing paperwork was spent playing politics with the nobles. What time was not spent not playing politics with the nobles was spent inspecting the 1st Division. What time was not spent on inspecting the 1st Division was spent training.

Usually, when he trained, he did so alone in a private facility specifically built to handle the rigors of his capabilities. Unfortunately, as with any facility put under a great deal of strain, it required a decent amount of maintenance to maintain its stability. During those time, Yamamoto had no choice but to train in a room set aside within the 1st Division facilities, and he had to restrict himself purely to hakuda and swordsmanship.

The latest such day happened to coincide with the arrival of one Desmond Hayden, as the foreign soul toured the various Divisions to better understand the military he had so recently joined. Yamamoto didn't know what it was, but the sight of him performing his usual hand-to-hand style had sparked something in the young man.

Hayden had come every day since then, asking Yamamoto to teach him that style. Every day, Yamamoto told him to that the Captain-Commander was too busy to entertain the delusions of an infant like him. Yet Hayden persisted. Day after day after day, the young man made the same request. Yamamoto was honestly running out of ways to tell him to piss off.

Now, strictly speaking, Hayden was being incredibly rude with his badgering. The disrespect that Desmond displayed by not acquiescing to the Captain-Commanders decision the first time he'd asked was more than enough to warrant punishment. For any other offense like this, Yamamoto would have brought Hayden to heel and humbled him before a throng of his peers. But he didn't.

Yamamoto took a moment to glance at Sasakibe.

That stubborn persistence to better oneself was rather nostalgic.

Eventually, despite the precedent it set, Yamamoto caved. He began to set time aside for instruction. He was a demanding instructor, but Hayden was a perfectly acceptable student. No matter how many times Desmond ended up on his back, he always got up, ready for the next lesson. A good trait to have, especially in one so young.

It was in one of their sparring sessions that Hayden had attempted to throw out a Sokotsu. Yamamoto was almost impressed with his audacity. Almost.

Naive. Far, far too naive.

The elder warrior quickly thrust his fists into the space between the younger's before using them to split Hayden's arms apart, breaking both his blow and his guard. Then, before the youngin' could react, Yamamoto struck with an impromptu Sokotsu of his own, his fists stopping just a centimeter short of Hayden's face and chest. Yamamoto kept his fists in that position for a second to allow what just happened to sink in before he dropped them back to his side and stood upright, the spar concluded.

Sparring/Fighting Things

The war was over. For the Gotei 13, it had been but mere months. For the wrongly exiled, it had been a full century. Yet, no matter how long one had waited, it was now finally over. Thanks to the valiant efforts of one Ichigo Kurosaki, Sosuke Aizen had finally been defeated. Plans of universal conquest from an egomaniacal madman were finally brought crashing down by a yet living teenager and those who had supported him most. At long last, victory.

Now came the aftermath. With the great evil defeated and the Living World now secure, Yamamoto's priorities had to return to Soul Society. There would need to be rebuilding, restructuring. They'd need to ensure that something like this couldn't happen again. Aizen had come too close. His schemes had exposed a weakness in Soul Society that Yamamoto couldn't afford to ignore.

That being said, such a thing would take time, and before that, he had more immediate things to take responsibility for. The exiles-now calling themselves the "Visored"-had deigned to remain after the battle, if only to recover from the exaustion afflicting them all. Or perhaps, simply taking the time to let it sink in that it was finally over. Regardless, Yamamoto had words for them.

The Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 had gone to each of the Visored, swallowed his pride, and had bowed his head and apologized. He admitted that the sentencing they had received was wrong, accepted responsibility for allowing and enforcing it, and swore that it would be revoked as soon as he returned to the Seireitei. They would be free to return to Soul Society as they pleased, and if they chose to do so, they would be welcomed back to their old positions that rightfully still belonged to them. He swore all of this on his pride as the Captain-Commander.

He had not expected any of them to entertain the notion. They had been horribly mistreated by the Gotei 13; even with Aizen defeated, that would not change. It would only make sense for them to spit in his face for what he had allowed (though he doubted any of them would go quite that far). Still, the apology and acceptance of responsibility both had to be made, as did the offer to return to their old positions. The individual's justice could never outweigh the world's justice, but luckily, the world's justice had more important things to focus on than this.

As it turned out, they surprised him; Shinji Hirako, Rojuro Otoribashi, Kensei Muguruma, and Mashiro Kuna had all elected to return to their old posts. They had not come to their decision immediately, but the fact that they had chosen to return at all was still shocking to Yamamoto. He was not sure he would have been a big enough man to do the same, had he been in their position.

Even so, their return-while unexpected-was as far from unwelcome as such appointments could be. Of course, the fact that three of the returnees were Captains meant that they had to pass a Captaincy Exam. It was the barest formality; Soul Society couldn't afford to turn them away, and besides, Yamamoto had already promised the jobs to them and he would not renege on that. However, allowing them back without such a formality could create...complications if the newly-appointed Central 46 decided to be difficult later on down the line. Sometimes, one had to go through tedium in the present in order to prevent problems in the future.

So it was that Yamamoto and Captain Otoribashi found themselves opposite one another in a specially prepared facility. This exam was very simple; show that his skills had not declined, and he passed. Considering the coordination he'd shown during the battle at the fake Karakura Town, Yamamoto wasn't too terribly concerned. And, well, even if he did fall short, Yamamoto would pass him anyway. The performance didn't matter as much as the fact that he had performed at all.

The initial clash had proven Yamamoto correct when the one others closer to him called "Rose" successfully warded off his initial strike and proceeded to take a stance that made a follow up difficult.

Interaction Ideas

You got it, maestro.

Let us get perhaps the most obvious one out of the way first: Aizen has just been defeated. Unohana and Orihime are running to-and-fro to save everyone and patch everybody up. While everybody begins to really let it sink in that the war's actually over, Yamamoto takes the time to personally go up to each of the (conscious) exiles. He shocks them to their cores by not only outright apologizing for their treatment at Soul Society's hands, not only giving his guarantee that their exile would be lifted and that they could return to the Gotei 13 if ever they so desired to, but also outright bowing to each. The interaction would, naturally, begin when Yamamoto gets to Rose during his apology spree.

Another somewhat obvious one, after Rose decides to return to Soul Society and take up his old position as the captain of the 3rd Division, Yamamoto takes it upon himself to aid the newly reinstated officers in catching up on everything they missed over the past century.

Interaction Ideas

I'm going to be honest; given that Yamamoto considers even Lieutenants expendable, I don't think he'd give those who are Fourth Seat or lower during his life the time of day normally. So this is going to be one part contrived and two parts cheating. With that said, here we go:

It is the day of Kaien's death. Yamamoto visits the 13th Division in order to pay his respects and offers his condolences to Ukitake. On his way out, he happens to pass by a young Kotaro. While normally Yamamoto would be far too busy to waste time on an officer of such low rank, this is a solemn day. Thus, for once, he has empathy to spare and offers his condolences to the nebulously-low-numbered-seat as well. They have a conversation that spins off from there.

In a different world of steampunk wonder, Kotaro's skill with his air canons catches the eye of billionaire unintentional-playboy philanthropist Ukitake Jushiro. Ukitake takes such a liking to the street cleaner that he takes the young lad to Yamamoto. Unbeknownst to anyone outside his inner circle of Ukitake, Kyoraku, and Unohana, Yamamoto is the real power behind the city. He founded it, he owns 90% of the buildings and utilities within it, and the actions and agendas of his key agents make sure that everything keeps running in relative order. Kotaro, ever the humble street cleaner, has suddenly been thrust into a much bigger world with much darker alleys...

Interaction Ideas

So this is super difficult because A) Quilge is a quincy, B) Quilge is The Worst, and C) Yamamoto isn't too tolerant of people who are both enemies of Soul Society and gleeful in their terribleness. Please forgive me if these suck. Here goes:

Yamamoto and Quilge end up crossing paths at some point during either war. Quilge, naturally, tries to Jail the Commander, but because Yamamoto is Yamamoto, he can see it coming. And if you can see your opponent trying to envelop you in something, you're not just gonna stand there and let them. So it becomes a back and forth with Quilge trying to catch Yamamoto and Yamamoto trying to pry Ywach's location out of Quilge.

Same as above, except Quilge actually manages to catch Yamamoto. However, since Yamamoto is Complete Horseshit, Quilge isn't able to actually hurt him. However, the Jail's unbreakable, so it's not like Yamamoto can just punch his way out. Thus, the two are left to just...awkwardly twiddle their thumbs until Ywach shows up (as awful as Quilge is, I really fuckin' doubt he'd be dumb enough to try to outright steal the Emperor's prey for himself).

Honestly, the only way I could see them being on even relatively civil terms is if Yamamoto were the Quincy Emperor instead of Ywach. So there's an idea; Quincy Emperor Yamamoto's first encounter with Quilge, eventually culminating in making Quilge one of the Sternritter.

79 AD.

An unknown Hollow presence on Earth has led to fundamental unbalancing of the spiritual cycle. Yamamoto has taken it into his hands to see the death of such a beast.

A winged creature let's out a roar, it's horns beginning to collect energy between it's tips. A shining of blackened reiatsu lights up the morning sky, those beneath them totally unaware of the battle taking place in the skys above. The stoic figure of Eijisai Shigekuni Yamamoto standing across from them, unperturbed. As if the thing before him was nothing more then a petulant child, about to be disciplined. The shining mass between its horns steadily growing, soon much larger than the either of them. The air around them began to crackle and sizzle, until it was launched a Yamamoto.

Only slightly did Yamamoto's eyes open at it made contact with the Shinigami, having decided at the last second to raise his blade. The entire form of Yamamoto being engulfed by the energy, a wave of force echoing from the sky shaking the land around them. The city beneath them only briefly aware that something was afoot. As the smoke died down, Yamamoto would be found standing. The only noticeable change was that the skin on his knuckles had actually managed to be burned away. The eyes of the famed founder of the Gotei briefly looking to the marks on their body, then to the Hollow.

Courtsey was not something the Hollow possessed.

A clawed fist would smash into Yamamoto, a solid crack echoing from his jaw. It held no technique to it, instead overwhelming power and fury. It's face the visage of a biblical demon, it's masked mouth cracking into a wide roar. Spittal flying onto the face of the master Swordsman. A wild barrage of fists would be thrown towards the male. The brief surprise would be overcame as the two settled into a battle-flow, every strike thrown by the beast either deflected or blocked by the man. It cannot be overstated the gravity of such an event. This was abnormal.

The malice which flowed from the creature, the contempt, was almost familiar. Almost.

A flaming slash would swallow the creature whole, with ease that only Yamamoto could possess. For most, for almost anything, such a motion was an assured condemnation. Burned away as if they never existed in the first place. The spiritual energy in the air was even reduced to ash, leaving the world silent for a moment.

That was until a hand burst from the flames, its entire body aflame. Wings spreading outwards pushing away the flames, as a clawed grip settled on the throat of the founder of the Gotei. Its wings flapping sending them towards the direction of a mountain, it's body now a fireball as it sought to crash the man into the mountain. Yamamoto's hand gripping onto the forearm of the creature, unimpressed and unamused. Veins pulsed from both of their hands, seeking to crush the other. Until finally they crashed into the mountain, once more shaking the surrounding landscape.

The Hollow would have lost it's grip on the man by then, as it tumbled through the bedrock. Stone crashing and crumbling as the two figures emerged in the depths of a Volcano. The hollow out of rage beginning to slam both it's hands within the volcanic rock sending Magma and debris everywhere. A shaking was felt, as it let out a roar extending it's wingspan once more. It almost felt like it was getting stronger with each passing second, every clash of their bodies causing it to grow.

Yamamoto decided it was time to end this.

"Reduce All Creation to Ash, Ryūjin Jakka."

The entire Volcano erupted, consuming both the Hollow and Yamamoto.

Many years later, this event would be known as Eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii.

Sparring/Fighting Things

Yamamoto was a very busy man. He had to coordinate all of the Squads, assign budgets, determine which dilemmas were most pressing and which Divisions were best suited to handle them, go over the various surveillance reports provided by both the Onmitsukido and the 12th Division, train to maintain his prodigious strength, obey and enforce the rulings of the Central 46, and keep the Nobility placated enough that they didn't raise too much of a fuss at any given time. None of that even got into his duties as the Captain of the 1st Division!

As such, most days, he simply didn't have the time for those who were not at least Lieutenants. It wasn't that those seated below Lieutenants didn't matter; they most certainly did. That's why those positions existed, after all. However, the problems that faced those of the third seat or below simply weren't on a dire enough scale to warrant the attention of the Captain-Commander, and with all of his other responsibilities in mind, he already had so little attention left to spare. Thus, he simply couldn't afford to waste those precious moments on those of lower rank...of other Divisions.

However, it was different for the seated officers of his own Division. He may have had his responsibilities as the Captain-Commander, but he also had a duty to the Shinigami of the 1st. Just as they had a duty to properly obey him, he had a duty to properly lead them, and a part of leadership was supporting and cultivating the potential of one's subordinates. He may not be able to do so for literally every member of his Division, considering just how many people were in it, but he could at least spare the time for his own seated officers, whether they were his 20th Seat or Chojiro.

So when Hozuki Avira, his fourth seat, came to him and asked for instruction, he had agreed. Her kido was excellent, her endurance was quite impressive even for her rank, and her nimbleness was above par as well. However, her Zanjutsu was not at what he considered was an acceptable level for a 4th Seat, and considering how many of their duties required the use of their blades, that was a glaring weakness. Yet, she had come to him to train, so if it was a weakness she recognized, it was a weakness he would aid her in dealing with.

The dojo was filled with murmurs as Yamamoto took his stance opposite of Hozuki. On some level, it simply couldn't be helped; after all, it had been a long, long time since anyone had the sheer, unadulterated gumption to request Yamamoto's personal tutelage. Yet Yamamoto was ever the unmovable mountain, his calm and composure unshakeable no matter the scrutiny.