The New Captain of the 12th Division

The New Captain of the 12th Division is an event in which Kisuke Urahara is formally promoted to the position of Captain of the 12th Division and sets the start of The Hollowfication Incident.

Prelude
One hundred and ten years ago, the Lieutenant of the Fifth Division, Sōsuke Aizen walks through his division barracks, on his way to his captain's quarters. Along the way he is politely greeted by the Shinigami of his division who work under him and he greets each of them graciously in turn.

Approaching the door of his captain, he calls out to let his superior know that he has arrived and apologizes for his intrusion. When he enters, his captain, Shinji Hirako, is fixing his appearance in the mirror. His superior turns towards him and asks why he is not dressed up considering they were heading to what he considers to be a festival. Aizen calmly disagrees with this assessment, reminding Shinji he is not dressed up either and it's a ceremony they are attending, not a festival.

Shinji continues to maintain that a ceremony is a type of a festival and that captains do not need to dress up considering their uniforms to be suffice for this. Aizen replies that it would be as fun if he is the only one dressed up, going on to ask Shinji about the music he has been hearing playing throughout their barracks as of late that originates from his captain's office. Shinji informs him that the music is called Jazz and that it is the latest craze in the World of the Living, asking Aizen if he thinks its nice. His lieutenant replies that he wouldn't know of such things, prompting Shinji to sigh and ask why he brought it up in the first place.

Shinji and his lieutenant arrive at the barracks of the First Division for the ceremony they are attending. With the large doors close, Shinji calls out and announces his arrival to those inside. When he receives no answer, he comments that coming to the First Division barracks is always such a pain, as it always makes him feel tense and thus he hates going there. Behind him, Aizen sardonically asks if his bored expression was really one filled with tension and reminds him that it is all part of the ceremony so to be reasonable about it. Shinji mocks him, insisting he can't even see his face but Aizen calmly informs him that the door has opened so he should enter.

As Shinji moves to enter the barracks, he is suddenly kicked in the face by Hiyori Sarugaki, Lieutenant of the Twelfth Division, which knocks him flying back, passed a stunned Aizen, landing against a wall in the Seireitei. Hiyori proceeds to greet him mockingly whilst informing him that his face was just too easy to step on to let the opportunity slip by. With his nose bloodied, Shinji angrily calls out to her, about to insult her. However, Hiyori interrupts him and maintains that she refuses to apologize for her actions since she hasn't even begun to insult him yet.

Suddenly, from behind her, a large fist pounds down on her head, forcing her to the ground in agony. The perpetrator, Love Aikawa, Captain of the Seventh Division, orders Hiyori to apologize, asserting that she is such a handful to keep an eye on. Holding her head, Hiyori berates Love for striking the lieutenant of a division that is not his own but Love insists that since her captain is no longer around, someone has to keep an eye on her in the meantime. Hiyori demands that she should not be treated like a child to be looked after.

From behind Love, Shinji begins act chilishly, making faces to taunt Hiyori. Her anger peaks when she notices this and she again asserts her refusal to apologize. She tries to persuade Love to look at Shinji's face, insisting that he is showing his true colors covertly. Exasperated, Love sighs and accepts that she isn't going to obey him. He places his palm on her forehead and begins to push her back towards the First Division building so that they can all continue to the ceremony together. When they leave, a horrified Aizen requests that his captain stop his immature behavior, maintaining that it is not appropriate to make such faces in front of other captains.

Inside the building, Shinji follows Love asking if all the other officers have arrived and his companion confirms that most of them have. Seeing his absence, Shinji loudly guesses that the captain of the Eleventh Division is not going to attend the ceremony. Love agrees with this assumption asserting that the 10th Kenpachi, Kenpachi Kiganjō, is lazy and never obeys his orders. Shinji wistfully comments that he feels unsure about the 10th Kenpachi, wondering why they would even let someone like him become a captain. Love advises Shinji that it is the the fault of the previous captain for losing to the current Kenpachi in the first place.

The two captains are suddenly chastised for discussing a fellow captains attributes behind their back. The two turn around to see that Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake and Lisa Yadōmaru, Kyōraku's lieutenant, have arrived for the meeting. Love comments on how early Kyōraku is which is very unlike him. Kyōraku pretends not to notice, stating that he is always first to arrive but Lisa interrupts him, informing the others that she had to spank him in order to wake him up. A horrified Kyōraku asserts that Lisa shouldn't say such things as that while other captains are within earshot as it is not good social etiquette.

Changing the subject, Ukitake looks around and realizes that Kirio Hikifune has not shown up, wondering if she is not coming to the meeting at all. Kyōraku replies that she will not be in attendence and predicts that she has probably gone to meet up with "the others". Ukitake is concerned by the recent changes stating that he is nervous as a result of them. He admits that the process of promotion hasn't been sudden but he would have felt a lot better had the proceedings gone a little slower in the meantime. Kyōraku calmly agrees with his words.

A frustrated Shinji sighs over the situation, commenting on the constant promotions and changes in captains in recent years. He uses the fact that Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi was promoted to captain only two years previous to the meeting and now the Twelfth Division is going through a similar change. The entire process of new faces and captains makes him feel uncomfortable. He wonders out loud if the Gotei 13 will function properly with the constant changes that are making him uneasy. Kyōraku advises him not to be concerned as change needs to happen from time to time and that's what is happening now.

Kyōraku realizes that the only captains still around from the previous century are himself, Ukitake and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. He looks to Ukitake for confirmation on his summary but his friend looks worried. Ukitake reminds Kyōraku that he left out Retsu Unohana, who is still a captain and has been one for longer than them both. Stunned, Kyōraku becomes suddenly apprehensive due to his word this, disbelieving that he had forgotten about Unohana, predicting that he is probably going to get chastised for doing so, something he considers a scary prospect.

Kyōraku goes on to elaborate that these changes have not necessarily been the bad kind of change as the previous captain of the Third Division had retired peacefully and Hikifune has been promoted. He laments that things could have been worse as the captain of the Tenth Division had actually been killed in battle. He explains sadly that this is a negative change as in the recent promotions there was no loss of life involved which is never a positive thing to happen within the Gotei 13.

Introduction of the New Captain
The somber mood is interrupted by Aizen who wonders about Hikifune's promotion. Shinji berates him for listening into a captain conversation and his lieutenant immediately apologizes for his interruption. Kyōraku calmly brushes aside his apology and asks what is concerning him. Aizen clarifies that he originally thought that Hikifune was retiring as well and asks Kyrōaku to confirm that she is being promoted, which the captain does so. Aizen further inquires how a captain can be promoted as there is no higher post within the Gotei 13. He wonders if Hikifune has been promoted to Central 46, maintaining that he has never heard of this happening before now.

Kyōraku denies that Hikifune is being promoted to Central 46, informing Aizen that she is actually being promoted to the Royal Guard, which is also known to others as Division 0. This knowledge appears to greatly alarm the lieutenant who tries to press Kyrōaku for more information but he is interrupted by Kensei Muguruma, captain of the Ninth Division, who advises those in the room that the newly promoted captain has arrived for the meeting. He explains that Yamamoto has ordered that the all officers take their places and await his arrival. All the officers then get in line, standing at their designated posts to await the new captains arrival.

As the officers stand in line, the new captain rushes towards the meeting, finally arriving whilst shocked to see that he is later than everyone else. Smiling nervously and scratching his head, Kisuke Urahara, the captain of the Twelfth Division, meekly asks those in the room if he is the last one to arrive. The others are shocked by his arrival and Shinji declares that Urahara is a Shinigami who appears to be very carefree. Standing behind him, eyeing Urahara with a keen interest, Aizen agrees with his captains statement.

Kisuke apologizes for being late and asks if he may enter the room. 2nd Division Captain Yoruichi Shihōin scolds him for his timid attitude and tells him to act like a captain. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto pokes him in the back with his staff and tells him to hurry up. Yamamoto explains that seven days previously, Kirio Hikifune vacated her position as Twelfth Division captain due to her promotion and that all other captains received notice that elections for a new captain were to begin. One day ago, on Yoruichi's recommendation, Urahara, who was her Third Seat officer, underwent the Captains Proficiency Test in the presence of Yamamoto and three other captains. Yamamoto confirms that Urahara is the new Twelfth Division captain.

Later on, Kisuke introduces himself to his new subordinates. His introduction earns him a slap from his new lieutenant, Hiyori, who refuses to acknowledge him. Already upset with Hikifune's departure, she refuses to accept somebody from the Second Division as her captain due to his ties with the Onmitsukidō. Her fellow Shinigami tell her she is going to far, but she retorts that she is only saying what they are thinking. When Urahara nervously laughs, she questions why he is not angry that she is bad-mouthing his old division. Kisuke explains that he had decided that he was now a full member of the Twelfth and act accordingly. Hiyori refuses to accept this and kicks him before rushing outside to nurse her leg.

Aftermath
Later, Kisuke sits outside to clear his head. Hirako tells him that he suspected that Kisuke would have a rough time and reveals that Hiyori looked up to Hikifune as a mother figure, so it will be hard to try and replace her. Urahara admits that he would like to get along with her, but that their relationship will not be the same. Hirako tells Kisuke that he cannot please his subordinates all the time and he should do things the way he wants to. If nobody follows him, then it means that he was not a good enough to be a captain. As Hirako leaves, he asks Aizen how long he is going to watch, tearing away the Kidō he was using to hide. Aizen tells Hirako that he is a really scary person, but Shinji replies that he is the scary one.