Breaking Point
Author: SanadaSayuri
Disclaimer: BLEACH is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and all affiliated producers and distributors. I make no profit from this work of fiction.
Summary: When Urahara's tinkering brings five Substitute Shinigami together in a chance meeting on the Tokyo Tower, Ichigo is drawn into a coup centuries in the making that will forever change the Gotei 13's structure and perhaps end the war with Aizen before it even begins.
Chapter Summary: With the revelation to Urahara of the reasoning behind the mole and the excess funds, it finally sinks in how much as been heaped onto the shoulders of a teenage boy who had been literally forced by his elders into a position of power. Urahara begins to wonder: How much more must the Soul Republic's teenage leader give before he has given everything he has to give?
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Chapter 5
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"Would you care to explain, Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara singsonged the moment Ichigo entered his office.
.
The teen smiled at the former twelfth division captain, seemingly unfazed by the combination of Urahara's teasing tone and the furious reiatsu bearing down on him.
"And how are you, Urahara-san?" the ginger haired teen said pleasantly. "I'm fine thanks, although I'm rather confused about what it is that you want explained to you."
"Don't play around!" Urahara hissed. "Why the hell have you allowed the mole to stay in the Republic and where is all this Reiryouku conductive material and excess money coming from?!"
Ichigo sighed. "I know exactly who the mole is, and that is how we're getting the materials that we normally wouldn't have access to."
"Bribery?" Urahara asked, "Do you have any idea how much trouble that would get us in not only with Seireitei, but also with the Representatives in the Republic?"
"I know," Ichigo said as he took a seat, "but it has to be done. Tate must run everything past me before he reports in. Nothing of true importance is passed to Aizen, and the meetings are often in places that shinigami are known to pass near. The idea is that it will allow Seireitei an idea of what plans have been compromised and react accordingly." The ginger haired teen smiled wryly and said softly, "I overestimated them though. I thought that they would find out about the mole a lot sooner."
Urahara sighed. "Sometimes we give people too much credit in the most crucial of times, and sometimes," here he gave Ichigo a hard look and continued; "sometimes we give people too little credit. Whatever it is you have planned, I hope it doesn't blow up in your face."
Ichigo closed his eyes and said tiredly, "I hope so also." He opened his eyes and said grimly, "Because if I cannot find a way, no one will." He took a deep breath and said sadly, "And because if my plans are discovered prematurely, then my life and freedom is surely forfeit."
The former captain's eyes widened in shock as the implications of the teen's words sank in. "Ichigo," Urahara whispered, "what have you done?!"
"The unforgivable," Ichigo murmured, "I have set the Republic on the knife edge between enemies in a position to wage a double sided Holy War."
"And apparently allied the Republic with the one person Seireitei would like nothing more than to rend apart limb from limb!" Urahara hissed. "Do you realize what will happen to us if the shinigami find out about this?!"
"I have my suspicions," Ichigo said, "and our Allies are working to lower the chances of discovery on Seireitei's part."
"What possessed you?!" Urahara hissed.
"We needed the resources," Ichigo admitted, "and the more I think about Seireitei's ways and his words during our encounters, the more I think that an alliance is a beneficial setup. In the end, we might have been able to create the Republic without funding from that particular corner, but it would have taken longer by which point, Seireitei could potentially seal the powers and memories of everyone concerned to keep us under control if they don't outright execute us all. Our methods may be different, but both of us agree on this much, Seireitei must change its ways if the shinigami want to survive."
"Ichigo… You… You are the mole?!"
Ichigo nodded slowly.
Urahara slowly sucked in a breath and released it in a long, quiet hiss. "Then this… This changes everything," the former twelfth division captain said quietly.
Ichigo sighed and said, "I know. Everyday that passes Seireitei draws closer and closer to uncovering the link between the Republic and our Allies. I needed someone who can slow down Seireitei while Shuusuke and I come up with a way to lure in Soul Society into defeating him without cutting off the Republic from the allies and resources that he's set aside for us."
"You tricked me, you devious little…"
Ichigo smirked.
Urahara sighed and took off his hat to run his fingers through his hair. "So what can we expect from your new friend?"
Ichigo's smirk vanished as he opened a drawer and pulled out a folder. He handed it over to Urahara wordlessly.
"He's created a ward that Kyuu should set up sometime next week that will allow only me and whoever is keyed into them to see the true nature of certain sensitive documents. Until then, these documents don't leave this room," Ichigo warned.
Urahara nodded as he opened the file.
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Urahara found that he couldn't sleep. The person whose experimentation on Hollowfication that had gotten him exiled was working closely with the Republic. The more he tried to convince himself that Aizen was corrupting Ichigo, the more the knowledge that Aizen had similar plans as the Republic stung. How had Ichigo known seen what none of them had? If they, the older and ore experienced former captains and vice-captains had seen the similarities first, it wouldn't have been Ichigo who would have gone into Hueco Mundo. Not young, vulnerable, inexperienced Ichigo, whose skill set was irreplaceable to the Republic. But then if it had not been Ichigo who had gone, would they have all the materials and advantages that they had now?
Ichigo had taken a lot of risks for this project that shinigami far older and more experienced and powerful than him had dreamed up. He had been so dedicated, so intent on the success of their plans when they had practically forced him into the position of power. Didn't the boy feel any resentment about how his own father had used the moral and ethical code that he'd drummed into his head against him? Didn't he resent any of them for putting him in this position in the first place? Why had it taken the better part of two months for him to consider for once, the child that they had all placed their hopes on?
He had been exhausted when he was rallying the Representatives the first time, Urahara thought. We all chalked it up to the paperwork it took to make this shadow organization legal and airtight. But even then, was Ichigo already opening negotiations with Aizen to get us the support and resources that this organization needed to survive?
Urahara groaned as he realized that he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.
"Little bastard probably knew what all of this was going to do to me," he muttered as he got up and made his way into the basement where the building in which the Republic's Headquarters was based was being erected by many hardworking mod-souls around the tent that the master terminal was currently housed in.
It would be just like a politician to find ways to deprive his assistants of sleep in revenge, Urahara grumbled as he climbed down the ladder. Of course, that would be if Ichigo had any intention of actually depriving his assistants of much needed sleep, Urahara thought as he realized that the ginger haired teen was still up and working on documents for the smooth running of the Republic.
"You should get some sleep, Kurosaki-kun," he said as he entered the hollowed out rock formation that served as a makeshift office.
Ichigo put down his pen and stretched. "We used Kurosaki funds to jump start the Republic," the teen said, "I need to validate how much was used, and ensure that the government doesn't jump on us for embezzling."
"You can do that tomorrow after school, Kurosaki-kun," the blonde shopkeeper said.
"The sooner it's done, the sooner I can rest easy," Ichigo replied.
Dear Kami-sama, Urahara thought, how much has he done for us so our plans could actually take flight? How much more will we make him give up for us before the end?
"There's a spare room upstairs when you're done then," Urahara said, shoving aside his sudden bout of self-loathing. "I'll have Isshin call the school tomorrow also."
"Thanks Urahara-san," Ichigo said as he picked up the pen and continued working.
Urahara nodded slowly and left, feeling as if he had just been punched in the stomach.
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TBC…