*twitch*
Really? Has no one noticed the whole Reiatsu-seeing in the Manga (which was a while ago…), and NOT thought about my idea? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?
*cough*
80 reviews? How in the he- mmmmm…. Screw it. You amazing people deserve this!
I was alone as I flash-stepped outside to meet the Soutaicho. He looked at me through slitted eyes, and I glared at him with enough fury I thought he would melt. He didn't, but I could hope. He bowed his head respectfully, but I scoffed. He took no notice.
"Kurosaki-dono, your arrival is not unexpected, though Urahara completed his work sooner than I had hoped." I smirked, deciding to give the shopkeeper a bonus for pissing off the old man.
"However, I request your presence in my office. We need to discuss some issues that have come up." He shunpo-ed away without waiting for my reply. This was probably a good thing, since my reply would've been to throttle him. I growled and followed, arriving before him, but only barely. My lack of reiatsu slowed me down considerably, but I was still pretty freaking fast, even without going Bankai.
When he did arrive, however, he sat in his chair at his desk, and motioned for me to take one in front of it. I remained standing. He sighed a long suffering sigh, and placed his cane on top of his desk.
"Kurosaki-Dono, your first ruling year has gone unmolested, but I fear of uprising in the Rukongai." I blinked.
"Straight to the point, aren't you." I said sardonically, and he ignored me.
"When you left for the King's Dimension, you were asked to do one last task before you assumed your role. Do you remember?" He asked, and I nodded, getting suspicious.
"It seems the insurrection of traitorous Soul Reapers was not isolated to that single area. The only reason we were aware of their presence was the destruction of the 75th District and subsequent confrontation at the 74th. The shinigami you faced were the rebellious rebels, who apparently decided the main group's methods were to slow and misguided. Since their defeat, the main group has made no aggressive movements we are aware of, but I was recently informed of a large but unspoken hatred and dissent among the souls of the Rukongai towards the Seritei and their 'Orange-Haired Demon King'."
He showed no emotion during his entire briefing, but I stood in shock when he finished. I never really imagined my actions before I was forcibly remove from this dimension was anything larger than an angry mob in-the-making, but the idea of something this big was disconcerting, but what really pissed me off was that this was the first I heard of it; And everything else for that matter. My rage had been put off by this new development, but returned full-swing as I forced my reiatsu up as high as it could go, silently cursing my current lack of power, and glowered at the Soutaicho. He just raised his eyebrows and opened his tiny eyes a fraction.
"Kurosaki-dono, you must realize anything you do to me right now would be rather pointless, at your current level." He said, and I roared.
"How DARE you speak to me like that!" I wasn't the sort to rub rank, but I was his freaking KING. And I'd realized as I learned what it meant to be King, that sometimes rank mattered most to those close to yours. Not that he was, at all, but he thought he was, which made me furious. What made me see red, however, was the utter lack of reaction my response got. I reached over the desk and grabbed his shirt, pulling him up and close to me.
This got a reaction all right, I laughed silently as he reached for his cane, and zanpakuto, and I let him grab it before ripping a gate open and throwing him in, and followed, sealing it behind me.
I reached under my bed, and pulled out the plushie as Yamamoto righted himself. I also removed the remote to control it from my Kimono, and looked at the old man.
"You dare delude yourself into thinking you could possibly match my level, let alone defeat it?" I hissed out, and then pressed the button. I didn't care that I wouldn't be able to return for another day, my rage against that man was all that mattered. He sank to his knees under my returned pressure, but looked up, surprised, when it all but fell from his shoulders. He was still aware of it, but wasn't in danger of it. I laughed derisively.
"This is MY dimension. I decide who gets crushed or not. And fortunately for you, I haven't decided on your successor yet." I spat out, and watched as the Soutaicho all but shook with shock, and I hope maybe a little fear. He remained on his knees as I walked to my balcony overlooking the other universes, and looked down on them.
"Where do they work from?" I asked, and Yamamoto coughed before speaking.
"Center warehouse of the 69th District. Heavily protected and guarded, technically doesn't exist on any plane of existence, unless you've been told personally how to access it." He answered promptly, and I nodded. That explained why I hadn't noticed anything strange before. I took a deep breath and turned back to him. He'd regained some composure, and was looking at me with nearly the same expression he'd always worn, just with his eyes opened slightly. He did, however, remain kneeling.
"Why wasn't I told of any developments concerning this or my family before today?" I asked calmly. This is another reason I'd brought his here. In this dimension, I felt inexplicably calmer, more collected, more reasonable. I still wanted to rip his head off with a toothbrush; I was just more able to control the urge.
He gave a nearly-perceptible twitch that was probably a shrug, and my reiatsu control wavered slightly, making him sweat a little. I was okay with that.
"We have never relied on our King to rescue us from situations below their care, so we had no reason to change that. The matter of your family being moved without your knowledge was for security. No one save myself, and the Kuchiki's know exactly where they currently reside, and we came to the decision that any communication attempt between worlds was to risky with such delicate knowledge." I nodded, though disgusted. His plan made sense, but that didn't mean I had to just lie down and accept it.
"How did you communicate with the previous King?" I asked. He shook his head.
"We didn't. He 'communicated' with the Central 46, and they in turn gave us our orders. We were never privy to such sensitive information." I closed my eyes and sighed.
"And now they're all dead. Brilliant. Well," and my day got considerably better when I felt a gateway open behind the old man, and I grinned smugly, opening my eyes again to see his reaction as Urahara and Yoruichi stepped out of the gate, awe on their faces as they looked around.
"I'll have my Head Advisor get right on that." Urahara looked at me, eyes popping out of the shadow his hat cast, then raising his ever-present fan and waving it at me. Yoruichi took it from him and smacked him with it, then started lecturing him about proper respect or something.
The look on the Soutaicho's face was almost worth going through twenty-four hours stuck here again… though I still feared Rukia's wrath when I returned, having left without an explanation. I won't mince words. He bugged out, and threw a hissy fit.
"Kurosaki-Dono! You – you mean to say this – this traitor is your Head Advisor?" He asked, for the first time since I'd ever 'known' him, completely flabbergasted. Urahara, who was covering his head from the Flash Goddess's bombardment, chuckled.
"Well, nice to see all my hard work in the war has gone completely disregarded." He said slyly, as he whipped his fan from Yoruichi's grip and spread it in front of his face. I frowned at the Soutaicho.
"You haven't pardoned him yet?" I asked, my anger at him quickly returning.
"I do not have the authority." He replied calmly, and I counted to ten before speaking again, forcing myself to remember replacing him would be too much paperwork.
"Well, I do. Take a note." I said, but raised an eyebrow when Urahara whipped out a notepad and exaggeratedly elegant feather quill and ink well. Shrugging and accepting it, I continued.
"From this day forth, Urahara Kisuke, Yoruichi Shihoin, Tessai Tsukabishi, Love Aikawa, Shinji Hirako, Mashiro Kuna, Kensei Mugurama, Rojuro Otoribashi, Hiyori Sarugaki, Hachigen Ushoda, and Lisa Yadomaru – are hereby pardoned from any and all consequences of unwilling Hollowfication, and assistance to those unwillingly hollowfied. Furthermore, if they desire, they shall ALL," I looked pointedly at Urahara and Yoruichi, the former of the two with ink splattered all over from his furious note-taking. "Have the option to return to the posts that they were wrongfully stripped of."
I saw Kisuke stutter slightly in his writing and when he'd written it all down, he looked at me like I was crazy. I shrugged.
"I'm not forcing anything. Your choice." I said, trying to hide how, dare I say, desperate I was to keep him as my advisor. I had been fully aware of my tendency not to think things all the way through, and I hesitantly admitted to myself, never to him, that Uryu was the expert planner when it came to thought-out things. You know, the brawns vs. brains thing. I was relieved when he gave a genuine grin and shook his head.
"Kuro-… Ichigo, do you really think I'd leave such a high-paying job to go back to that chaotic trash pile?" Yamamoto glared slightly, but everyone ignored him. I snickered. I gave a pointed look at the shopkeeper-turned advisor as the Soutaicho's reiatsu gave away his mounting anger and suspicion when Urahara mentioned his pay. He nodded, and, grabbing Yoruichi's hand and stepped out the gate behind him, which had remained open. I gave my attention to Yamamoto… well, most of it anyways.
"Kurosaki-Dono, may I ask where Kisuke Urahara's apparently substantial paycheck is coming from?" He asked suspiciously, and I laughed sardonically.
"What? You think I'd add a new tax or something just to pay the guy? Nah, the old King never used any of the taxes he received, which explained the condition of the Rukongai, so I've got a near-unlimited amount in a storeroom somewhere. Right when I officially got to the 'throne'," I made air quotes. "I got rid of all taxes save sales tax. You obviously missed that." I said, smirking at the man's expression.
"Don't worry. All Shinigami's pay is guaranteed for the next millennia or so, even with all the reconstruction going on in the Rukongai, and the *ahem* gifts I've been giving out." I rolled my eyes. Not that I had anything against the majority of Shinigami, really, just four or five of the highest-ranking ones. I mean, the lowest ranked one I knew was a seventh seat (1)! I took a deep breath, getting back on topic.
"I will be sending my own messengers to those pardoned, and I expect no problems if and when they arrive. I will also be sending one to the Seritei on a daily basis if I cannot be there personally. He or she will have a password, but will need to be asked the proper question."
"Which is?"
"'What's the problem'." Yamamoto paused.
"What answer should I expect?"
"Tie-dye hollows." I answered, making up the most ridiculous thing I could think of on the spot. It worked, I think, seeing his eyebrow twitch and his tiny eyes narrow.
"Very well. Is there anything else you require?"
"Plenty, but not from you. I'll be checking in in two days." And with that, I tore a gate open under his feet, and laughed along with my Hollow when he fell through it, completely taken by surprise.
"Well King, seems like you DO have a sense of humor! And here I thought there was no hope for you." He ignored my inward growl at him, and sounded thoughtful as he continued.
"You said two days, but you'll be able to return in one. What's your plan?" I was slightly perturbed by his sudden attentative state, but answered.
"I think I should welcome some new arrivals."
A/N
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BWAHAHAHAHA
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(1) - Hanataro