Disclaimer: I do not own bleach! All credits go to Tite Kubo
Soul Society Kuchiki Manor
Byakuya went calmly through his manor, he had gotten words from his servants that he had a visitor, he knew who the visitor was and it didn't always spell good news if he personally came down here, his visitor was a force to be reckoned with, but despite that he was one Byakuya greatly admired, an example of all nobility.
Byakuya entered into the gallary of the manor, and there he was, sitting, waiting for Byakuya to enter, his eyes closed, despite his age his health was in a good shape, Ginrei Kuchiki, Byakuya grandfather had come to visit him.
"Byakuya." Ginrei said as he opened his right eye to look at his grandson.
"Grandfather, it is always a pleasure to see you here." Byakuya said stoic is ever.
"It surely has been some time." Ginrei said as he stood up.
"Indeed it has, shall we go outside? The weather is good today." Byakuya said noting the sun with almost no skies in the air.
"That sounds great, would you mind brining us some tea?" Ginrei asked the servant.
"Yes Ginrei-sama." The servant said as she bowed respectfully.
They both went out and sat down by a table on the grass, it was a nice day in the Soul Society, tea was eventually served and Ginrei took a sip from his tea, Byakuya did wonder why his grandfather decided to visit, but let him speak first as a show of respect towards his grandfather.
"Byakuya. I have heard some troubling rumors about you, you have disrespected the emperor of the Wandenreich Ichigo Kurosaki is that correct?" Ginrei asked looking at the pond in the manor gardens.
"I am deeply ashamed of my actions, i know Ichigo Kurosaki deserves the outmost respect not because of his title but because of his deeds and contribution to the Soul Society." Byakuya said realizing why his grandfather was here.
"I hope you are, Ichigo Kurosaki has been a vital asset for the Soul Society for a while now, and as a matter of fact he still is, even if he is now the ruler of a sovereign nation and no longer has any allegiance to us." Ginrei said as he scolded his grandson.
"Truth is, the Quincy and the Shinigami has been at war for over a millenia, now that war has come to an end and we cannot allow another one to happen, we have two choices in the matter, have them as allies or as enemies. As the head of the Kuchiki family, one of the four great noble houses you represent a great many things of the Soul Society, and you must stand as an example! The Wandenreich already has rebuilt the majority of their infrastructure, and look at how the Wandenreich was! The damages to it was worse than the Soul Society and yet they have gotten so far! Not only that but they also had a civil war and still they stand strong, which makes them important allies of the Soul Society, they have resources we need, they have a big army, right now they are at their weakest and still we cannot fight them and hope to win a war against them. But thankfully we can have an alliance with them, i will admit that distrust is a major issue for the time being but that will fade away with good diplomatic relations." Ginrei said sternly as he looked towards his grandson with a stern gaze.
"I am fully aware grandfather." Byakuya responded looked back at him.
"Some amongst the nobility in gold and diamond trade are upset with them because they undersell them, therefore the Wandenreich sells a lot more resources and gets a lot of their economy through trading for the time being, their economy is blossoming already no doubt, we will use years to repair the Soul Society in comparison, but with the help of the Wandenreich we can repair our own damages faster, atleast with infrastructure. A thing i am happy for is Rukia's friendship with Ichigo, though i heard there was some problems there too?" Genrei said still looking at his grandson.
"There was just a simple misunderstanding between them that easily sorted itself out, their friendship is as strong as ever." Byakuya responded.
"Good, when you decided to marry Hisana i said nothing, because i knew she made you happy, when you adopted Rukia into the family i said nothing because you wanted to keep your vow, when Rukia was about to be executed i thought you would protect her, in the end Ichigo was the one who protected her, while i haven't mentioned my disappointment over your actions to pursue law over family, i will let it be known now. I am glad Rukia has a good friendship with Ichigo as she manages to represent the Kuchiki family to the Wandenreich through their friendship, a good thing for the Kuchiki name. And personally it also secures our position even better if our family is under threat." Ginrei responded as he carefully watched Byakuya's reaction.
Byakuya didn't respond to this, he knew he made a big mistake that day, how he should have aided Ichigo over the law, it was a lesson learned the hard way.
"I know you care for Rukia and you are jealous of Ichigo, you feel that he is a better brother than you are, that he is better than you are and you feel that it stomps down on your pride." Ginrei said surprising Byakuya.
"But the end of the line is he is trying harder than you are, Ichigo has his pride aswell. I will not tell you what it is because you already know it. You feel both jealous and indepted to him, which is why you act like you do when around him, he helped you with Muramasa and Koga, and he helped the Kasumioji family with their issues, the Kasumioji already holds the Wandenreich in a high regard, there are even talk of a diplomatic trip to the Wandenreich, which i believe is a good idea, if lady Rurichiyo manages to cause even better diplomatic relations it will be a historical stepping stone for the Soul Society, and even increase the Kasumioji family's power and authority if it goes well and they get a personal alliance with them which would secure their position in these troubled times, if the Kuchiki family joins in we will put ourselves and the Soul Society in a good position, Ichigo has already gained a lot of favor from his subjects. And if we get along with him we will get along with the majority of the Quincy." Ginrei responded sternly as he watched Byakuya.
Byakuya was surprised by this, he didn't expect this to come up, but what he didn't understand is how Rurichiyo had even planned to contact them.
"Grandfather, i apologize but i do not understand, how do lady Rurichiyo even plan on contacting Ichigo? The Wandenreich is mostly enclosed to avoid any intrusion that could cause further problems for the Quincy. Karakura town is under Quincy jurisdiction and we do not yet have an embassy or a contact point with them." Byakuya asked looking at his grandfather, waiting for an answer.
"It's simple really, Ichigo is Isshin Shiba's son, therefore the Shiba family has a lot of power in the Wandenreich since they are part of the royal family, kuukaku can easily contact the Urahara Shop and the Kurosaki household, Both which has direct communications directly to the ruling body of the Wandenreich." Ginrei responded.
Now Byakuya saw a contact point, his grandfather did have a point, Ichigo had the Shiba blood flowing through his veins alongside the Kurosaki blood, the answer was so simple Byakuya cursed himself for not realizing it earlier, Kyoraku had exchanged letter with Ichigo since they moved to Silbern, he had always wondered how they did it but never bothered to ask, it had to be the Shiba family working with the Kurosaki household and the Urahara Shop, probably Ganju being thrown around by kuukaku and beaten to a pulp if he so much as dropped a letter and had to pick it up again.
"I see, so the Shiba family is the main contact point." Byakuya responded closing his eyes.
"Yes, central 46 was a bit apprehensive of the idea since they had demoted the Shiba family and caused a messy affair, and now they are part of the Wandenreich royal family, forcing central 46 to recognize their names once more, the Shiba family lost it's noble status because Isshin Shiba disappeared, the main reason was for fear that the great noble houses would have more power and authority than them, therefore they became the unlucky ones, even if we were all a candidate, even the Kuchiki family, but thanks to Isshin's actions they are now part of the royal family instead, a bigger promotion with only a small demotion in the short term, the Shiba family holds more power now than any of the four great noble houses, and therefore outranks us because of Ichigo and the Wandenreich." Ginrei responded.
Byakuya was surprised over this, though he knew he shouldn't have been, it was obvious really, but he had messed with the Shiba family before, he knew he tried to kill Ganju because of his family name when Ichigo invaded, luckily that attempt didn't have any reprecussions now.
"I see, what do central 46 think about this?" Byakuya asked.
"They are scared of them, any wrong move or any insult can cause a lot of problems for central 46, they had once insulted them by throwing them down from nobility and casting them out, now the Shiba family has the entire Wandenreich covering their backs. The realization of Ichigo's ties to the Shiba family has caused a lot of embarrassment in central 46 and they even extended a letter of apology to kuukaku." Ginrei responded with a little bit of amusement.
"I see, but what about the other families that want the Wandenreich out of the picture due to gold and diamond trading?" Byakuya asked.
"Their hands are tied, they can't act on it no matter how much they want to, something that has caused a lot of internal problems here and discontent amongst the nobility where fingers are starting to be pointed around." Ginrei responded.
"Couldn't that cause a civil war?" Byakuya asked opening his eyes and looking at his grandfather.
"Normally one would think so but the answer is no, they are outnumbered and central 46 fears that the Quincy will take advantage of the situation should a war break out, leaving central 46 in a lot of problems, therefore ensuring that central 46 keeps them in line using the greater houses, primarily the Shihoin family through Yoruichi." Ginrei responded.
"How would the Wandenreich take advantage of that?" Byakuya asked.
"Simple, the Wandenreich creates weapons and sell it at a large price, and doing their utmost to ensure that the gold and diamond families fall, thereby leaving the Wandenreich with a lot of income through weapons, gold and diamond trade, the families that work with gold and diamonds know that fact, which further ties their hands since it would only help the Wandenreich in the long term should they take advantage of the situation, furthermore the Wandenreich could easily claim it to be a gesture of good faith and trust in our current government and future cooperation, effectively hiding their true intentions. And even worse, it is vital to remember that inside Silbern castle there is enough reishi generated to create Asauchi if the Quincy learn how, and in worst case create even more weapons then the zero division and sell them due to Ichigo's connection with the land." Ginrei responded looking sternly at Byakuya once more.
"I see, and we can't point fingers at their true intentions without ridiculing ourselves and sounding like paranoid idiots even if we are right on point?" Byakuya asked.
"Correct." Ginrei responded.
"I see, that would be a lot of benefit to the Wandenreich, effectively leaving them with the gold and diamond trade, including the resources we need for war and to rebuild, which they would sell us." Byakuya concluded.
"Correct, an internal war is something we cannot have now as the Wandenreich is the only one that benefits from it if they take advantage of it, in the end even if the rebellious families should win they would still be depending on the Wandenreich for emergency aid for a long period of time to ensure food and supplies, which would still cost a lot of money unless they want another civil uprising from the rukon districts." Ginrei responded.
"So regardless of the outcome the Wandenreich still wins the most of it and can enjoy the spoils of war without participating." Byakuya responded.
"That is also correct, if the Soul Society is damaged even more we cannot get away from it so easily like we can now, and it is already hard enough with the lack of a proper military force and resources, if it wasn't for the Wandenreich we wouldn't have had an insurance policy at all." Ginrei responded.
"Which is why good relations must be maintained, in order to ensure our own future in cases of emergency which we can't deal with right now, the Wandenreich is needed. And to have them on our side we would have to maintain good relations with them, even if a war does break out and the Wandenreich gains on it they are the only ones that could pull us out of the disaster we would be facing, and since we would be lacking an army the Wandenreich could help maintain peace and order and help us with our duties in the world of the living." Byakuya responded finally understanding what central 46 was thinking.
"So you finally get it? Good! I trust you will know what to do next Byakuya!" Ginrei responded as he took another sip of his tea.
"I will send Rukia, she already knows Rurichiyo alongside Ichigo, i will talk with the head captain and take care of 13th divisions paperwork and command for the duration of the visit." Byakuya said.
"Good! I will accompany her!" Ginrei responded.
"And how much money does the Wandenreich make through their trade, i know we started trading with them just a couple of days ago." Byakuya asked.
"Yes, they do make a lot of money on their trade, and we lose a lot because of repairs." Ginrei responded.
"How much?" Byakuya asked.
Ginrei took out a note and gave it to Byakuya, he looked at it and his eyes went wide when he saw all the trading they have done and all that it has cost them, the total number was stunning, and this was in just a couple of days since they desperately needed resources, and then he saw Kisuke's name... Oh the humility.
Silbern Infirmary
***The next day***
Sabrina had woken up, Bambietta had fallen asleep in her chair and was leaning into the bed, she had held Sabrina's hand all through the night and her head was leaning into Sabrina's body, it was still quite early, and Sabrina had to wake up properly to remember where she was, she saw how her sister was lying and thought how uncomfortable that must have been, but she had spent the night with her.
Her parents was also sleeping, her father was sitting in a chair leaning towards the wall, her mother sat besides him and leaned into his shoulder, Sabrina felt she didn't feel as weak as before, and she realized she was slowly but surely getting better, she didn't even use a lot of strength to move her arm anymore, Sabrina did wonder what time it was and looked up on the clock, she knew it was early but she didn't know how to read the clock. But she still looked at it.
She recalled the events yesterday, how she was put into the bed she was in, how the emperor himself had carried her, how her family was saved by the uniformed men, how the mayor and his family alongside the general was arrested and the militia taken care of, and how she had met her big sister, how her wishes and prayers for a peaceful life and the safety of her family and their happiness was finally answered.
Sabrina caughed a little, something that woke Bambietta up, she looked over to her little sister and saw she was awake, Sabrina just stared at her not saying anything, Bambietta couldn't help but to let of a small smile towards her little sister, before she raised her head up and looked at the clock, it was 05:14, very early in the morning something Bambietta wasn't used to. The sun has barely risen up when Bambietta looked out the window, the sky had a small light in it but the sun wasn't visable.
It was still unusual for Bambietta to see the sun in Silbern after being in the shadows for so long, but everyone was happy with it, finally having the sunlight appear in all of the empire was a welcoming sight, Bambietta looked back towards her little sister and saw her lips, they were dry.
"You thirsty?" Bambietta asked with a low but sleepy voice.
Sabrina nodded, she didn't drink a lot since she got sick, her throat muscles hurt whenever she swallowed, but she wasn't in any pain now, what with her being on IV pain killers and all that, Bambietta reached over and pushed a yellow button on the wall, and a small green light turned on, Sabrina have never seen that before, she wondered what the button did, in just a few seconds a nurse came in.
"Good morning, you are awake early, did you call?" The nurse asked as she pushed a green button on a panel next to the door.
Now Sabrina knew what that button did, it called the nurses. Sabrina looked back to the button and noticed a red and green one besides it, she didn't know what the two other buttons did.
"Yes we did, Sabrina is thirsty, would you get her some...hmm" Bambietta said as she was unsure of what Sabrina wanted.
Bambietta looked back at her and noticed her attention was on the three buttons, and noticed her curiosity, but she decided to tell her after.
"Would you like some apple juice?" Bambietta asked.
Sabrina just looked back to her sister, she had seen apple juice in the store but they could never afford to buy it, so she had never tasted it, so she did want to try it. She nodded at Bambietta who then looked back to the nurse.
"Apple juice." Bambietta said to the nurse.
"Alright, i'll fix up some grand mistress." The nurse said with a smile as she left the room.
Bambietta saw that Sabrina once more had turned her attention to the panel on the wall, she was really curious. Bambietta smiled as she decided to tell them the functions of the three buttons.
"Green is pushed when a nurse enters the room after being called or can be used to call off a nurse after you pushed the yellow button, the yellow button calls a nurse in case you need something, and the red one is in case of emergency or you need a doctor, after the yellow button is pushed a small green light appears, it disappears after the green button is pushed, if you push the red one a red light appears." Bambietta said to Sabrina.
Sabrina now understood what the three buttons did and nodded, happy for the answer she had gotten, Bambietta never understood why Uryu had ordered the buttons to be installed in the infirmary and hospitals, but she now saw the benefit of them, it would make things easier for a patient and easier for the nurses and through the warning system installed to find out who needed what and increased help efficency, Uryu had gotten the idea from his own father's hospital.
It didn't take long for the nurse to come back with Sabrina's apple juice, she put it on a table with wheels and rolled it over to her, Sabrina tried to grab the drink with both hands but her right hand hurt when she tried to move it, and she felt a little resistance, and noticed it was because of the IV needles entering her arm, Bambietta took notice and took the drink for Sabrina and used the straw they had gotten with to let Sabrina drink it.
Sabrina was surprised by the sweet and delicious taste, she had never tasted anything so good before, usually she only drank water since they couldn't afford a lot of drinks thanks to the mayor's special tax to them, though she did wonder, how expensive this hospital visit would be, they didn't have a lot of money and it could back fire on them, and doctors cost money, it caused her great concern.
"Is there anything else you need?" The nurse asked.
"Uhh, yes, would you ensure that Sabrina gets breakfast at 06:00? She needs to eat." Bambietta said.
"Of course grand mistress." The nurse said.
Bambietta watched the nurse walk of before watching Sabrina again and became troubled by the concern on her face, she saw something was wrong.
"What's wrong? Didn't you like it?" Bambietta asked.
"I did like it, it was delicious, but how will we pay for all of this? The mayor has taken most of our money, i don't want to be a burden to mommy and daddy even if they do everything to include me." Sabrina said, she knew she could only voice her worry with words rather than expressions.
Bambietta noticed this and internally she was furious, a little girl of 4 years old already worrying about economics because of some corrupt officials. But she knew the answer and wasn't worried at all.
"Don't worry about it, the state pays for it, if not then i will, my position makes sure i am very busy at times but it also pays a lot, i can afford it so don't worry about it and things will change, chancellor Uryu who is in charge of the welfare ministy which is responsible for healthcare, namely doctors and hospitals and so on including the empires economy brought up a issue of free healthcare in the empire, he has mentioned how the economy is going up already, we will talk more about it in a meeting i will have to go too at 08.00." Bambietta said.
"Free healthcare?" Sabrina asked looking at her sister.
"It means that you don't pay for hospital stays, and if you need a doctor visit you don't have to pay a lot for it and everyone can afford to visit a doctor." Bambietta said with a smile.
"Do you have a lot of meetings and work?" Sabrina asked.
"Yeah i do, i usually have a meeting at 08:00 every day where i meet the other chancellors and the emperor to talk about the matters of the empire, how things are going, how the different departments are doing and sometimes laws, and so on, though i might have to leave at 06:00 for other work that needs to be done, which is about 45 minutes." Bambietta responded.
"I see." Sabrina said a bit sad that her sister had to leave.
"Don't worry, i'll still be in the building, and if you need me you can just call a nurse through the yellow button there." Bambietta said as she pointed to the yellow button.
Sabrina nodded and continue to drink her apple juice, it was very tasty, and the glass was pretty big too. Ernst and Ausilia had also woken up and heard the conversation between Sabrina and Bambietta, though they didn't think about the economic costs until Sabrina brought it up, they were relieved to hear that the empire would pay for it, truth to be told for them it was always their daughter first and money second.
What amazed them more was the fact that Sabrina who was usually so shy and quiet had spoken with her sister using words rather than expressions and subtle hints like she always did, but then again, those concerns she had could only be said through words, they had always tried to keep economy a thing their daugter didn't have to worry about, she didn't need to think so much about that, she was too young.
But they knew that she knew better, she had been in a place where she had been forced to grow up mentally very quickly, a cruel place for a child to grow up in, with corruption running unchecked, and justice was nothing else but a word without meaning, it was horrible. She had seen people get executed by the milita, she had seen blood spilled everywhere, she had seen families torn apart, and she had known that one day that might happen to her family aswell.
And it nearly did had it not been for their saviors, but the nightmare was over now, Justice was now more than just a simple word, it was an action her own sister along with her emperor had put into play, and now the corrupt officials had nowhere to hide, the righteous hammer of justice had smashed down on their heads with a bang, as quick as a lightning strike, just like they deserved.
Silbern Royal Quarters (Bedroom)
***1 hour later***
Ichigo was woken up by his servants knocking on the door, they had brought his breakfast with drinks and clothing, one for him and one for Bambietta, though she wasn't there, they opened the curtains and the sun had begun to rise up, shining into the massive bedroom Ichigo slept in, all of Bambietta's stuff moved from her former chambers. Ichigo noticed he woke up alone and figured Bambietta had slept in the infirmary, something he did understand after all.
"Wakey wakey sleepy head." Bambietta said as she entered the room and approached the bed and sat down on it.
"You're awake early." Ichigo said as he looked at her.
"Yeah, i fell asleep in the infirmary, Sabrina woke up at around 05.14." Bambietta said as she looked at Ichigo.
"That's way too freaking early, she should be sleeping until 12:00 in the middle of the day." Ichigo said as he yawned.
"Hah, i don't think she does that." Bambietta said with a smile.
Ichigo did notice how happy Bambietta was, her sister was getting better, her family was here, it was all she wanted, and Ichigo knew it.
"That reminds me i have to speak to that mayor aswell. Guess i'll do it after the morning meeting is over." Ichigo said as he looked at Bambietta.
Bambietta took off her boots and sat on top of Ichigo.
"Yeah, i guess i want to join in on that talk." Bambietta said as she removed Ichigo's blanket and caressed his abs and chest.
"Heh, i thought you would." Ichigo said as he took Bambietta by the neck and reeled her into a kiss.
"So how was your night?" Bambietta whispered as her face was on top of Ichigo's
"Great, and yours?" Ichigo whispered back looking Bambietta right into her brown eyes.
"Surprisingly great despite the fact that i slept on a chair leaning into a bed." Bambietta whispered with a small chuckle.
Ichigo did notice something off with her, something was bothering her.
"I suppose there are personal reasons as to why you want to attend the conversation with the mayor?" Ichigo asked looking at her.
"Yeah there is, Sabrina is only 4 years old and was worried about how they were going to pay for her hospital visit, a 4 year old... I assured her that either the empire pays or i will pay for it and she had nothing to worry about." Bambietta said as she pulled away.
"The empire will pay for it, i suppose that being in that village for so long with how that mayor acted forced her to grow up more than she needed too." Ichigo said as he sat up.
"Yeah, it's like she never got to have a childhood." Bambietta said concerned.
"Well her childhood isn't over yet, she is just 4, she still has some years left, so let's make them count." Ichigo responded.
"Yeah, she's still young, but still... I don't believe that mommy or daddy forced economics onto her." Bambietta said looking at Ichigo.
"No i don't believe they did, but if she was watching from the sidelines she could easily pick up on a lot of things that her parents could be unaware of." Ichigo said stenrly.
"Yeah she could have, sometimes keeping secrets from kids is hard when your a parent huh?" Bambietta asked.
"It's a bit more troublesome, i suppose." Ichigo said as Bambietta let him eat breakfast.
"Have you eaten anything?" Ichigo asked.
"I was just about too, Eggs and bacon huh? You really love that." Bambietta said with a smirk as she took her breakfast plate and sat down besides Ichigo.
"Is it that obvious?" Ichigo asked while he looked at Bambietta.
Bambietta just laughed, Ichigo couldn't help but to let out a small smile at the sound of her voice.
"So how is she?" Ichigo asked eventually.
Bambietta looked at Ichigo, noticing his concern.
"She's better, the treatment is working well, she's already stopped using much strength just to move her arms, so it's looking better for her." Bambietta said with a smile.
"That's good to hear, i spoke with dad yesterday and he would arrange for the antibiotic she is currently on in the form of pills when she no longer needed to stay in bed, instructions will be given on how long she should be on it, but eventually she can walk and run around as much as she wants." Ichigo said looking straight at Bambietta.
"Thanks." Bambietta said with a smile following a soft expression, she was really grateful for all the help she received.
After they have talked about a variety of things and eaten Bambietta felt she needed to take a shower, Silbern had both bath's and showers, though the royal bedroom had both, Bambietta felt she needed to be quick, she had a lot of work today, and she did feel the need to change aswell.
Silbern Royal Office
***08:02***
They had all assembled in Ichigo's office for today's meeting, some coffee was brought out, in case anyone was tired aswell as snacks, a very vital request of Liltotto since she always stuffed her face with whatever she could get her hands on and since no one felt the urge to be eaten, snacks became a regular part of the morning meetings, though Liltotto did share since she didn't want to appear greedy.
"Well then, i believe we can start." Ichigo said as he looked at Bambietta and his chancellors.
"One of today's main topics was the talk about free healthcare in the Wandenreich, now Uryu has assured me that the economy is booming upwards thanks to gold and diamond trade, we also have additional trade materials such as Iron, stone and other materials the Soul Society eagerly wanted to buy for their reconstruction, which has gained us a lot of money, though i am unsure of the numbers." Ichigo said as he started the meeting.
"Indeed, a lot of people needed work outside of Silbern and many went to mining for the time being to make an income, currently we are having Kisuke do currency exchange for us as he gets to keep the currency Soul Society uses since we use another currency, the reichcrown currency, in both coin and paper, though we have taken Soul Society currency for our own use should it be needed at one point for something with the Soul Society, we currently have 765 million kan in our vaults which is a lot in Soul Society, though in value we have the same value as they do, so one kan is one reichcrown, though the empire is a lot more expensive we also hand out more money to our workers, the average worker gets about 30.000 reichcrowns a month, we are trying to arrange an electronic banking system for civilian use, so they don't have to carry around 30.000 reichcrowns in their purses or pockets, through trade in reichcrowns we currently have 243 billion in diamond trade, 744 billion in gold production since gold is in higher demand by the nobles, they pay a lot for it, and in other resources we are currently at 596 billion all in total, all thanks to the rapid increase of miners. leaving us with 1.583 trillion in just trade within the last 4 days, we still have a lot from Yhwach's time aswell. So we have plenty to go around, and we have also gotten a lot of money on cloth, it is one of the primary trading materials we have, though i do not know the exact number yet i know it is in the billions aswell." Uryu responded.
"That's a lot of money in a short time." Liltotto said in awe,
"If this keeps up where will we put it?" Meninas asked.
"We just build new vaults and more banks, simple." Bambietta responded
"But Silbern can only fit so much." Candice said.
"Then we build a vault outside." Bambietta said.
"Outside?" Meninas asked.
"We build military bases, fitted to guard the economy, bases with vaults in them, like a massive bank guarded by the military!" Bambietta said.
"Well it is of no concern just yet, we can still fit a lot into our vaults. Though Kisuke has been making a living out of it." Uryu responded.
"Yeah that reminds me me, how do we exchange currency anyways?" Candice asked.
"Kisuke made a machine that exchanges the currency, or transforms it and makes it viable here, the Soul Society has been paying Kisuke additional fees, and additional kan per kan he has transformed, he even created a machine to make 100 kan into a 100 reichcrown paper, and 200, and 500, and 1000. I believe he did that by having the machine count the amount of kan coins and if it is copper, silver og gold and do currency exchange by destroying the coins and forcing the reishi to take another form." Ichigo replied.
"So the sly bastard gets just as much as we do huh?" Liltotto asked with a deadpan and a huge sweatdrop.
"No, we are 765 million kan ahead of him considering the 765 million kan we took in." Uryu replied.
"So practically Soul Society pays double?" Meninas asked.
"Yup!" Ichigo and Uryu responded.
"Now that is a trade agreement for a life time, guess he can build some mansions wherever he pleases now." Bambietta said with a sweatdrop.
"Putting it mildly..." Uryu responded.
"Well he does have some counting job to do." Candice said.
"I doubt it..." Ichigo responded as he thought about Jinta and Ururu.
"Aaaanyways, back to the point, we can afford free healthcare soon." Ichigo asked Uryu.
"Yes, once we get some more factories creating more resources that we can trade like clothings and so on, we can maintain this trading relationship." Uryu replied with a smirk.
"One more thing, the military figured something out." Bambietta said as she read from her report.
"What?" Ichigo asked.
"We can repair the mountains and mines using reishi, meaning we won't lose our resources." Bambietta said with a smirk.
"Oh great, unlimited resources, and all the money the Wandenreich has is owned by the crown, god i love my job." Ichigo responded as he looked to the roof with a smile.
"Guess Soul Society didn't see that coming huh." Liltotto said with a small laugh, amused by the fact that they got limitless resources and the Soul Society don't.
"Well we aren't going to repair their mines, we keep to our own." Candice said.
"Agreed, mining is our greatest resource now, and it will continue to be so, regardless anyone up for free healthcare?" Ichigo asked.
"We can maintain it for the time being, if our situation keeps being as good as this we can maintain it for a very very long time, even after we calm down on trading and start using taxpayers money." Uryu responded.
"Then i'm in favor." Meninas said.
"I'm in favor." Liltotto said.
"In favor." Bambietta said.
"Yeah, i'm also in favor." Candice said.
"Well since i'm in favor too, Abrons, draw up the edict." Ichigo ordered as he gave the final order.
"Yes your majesty!" Abrons said as he started to started to draw it up.
"Anything else?" Ichigo asked.
"The military has gotten orders around the Wandenreich, we have used the schatten for the rapid transport of troops to a variety of areas, local police training is going as expected." Bambietta said.
"Good, let's keep it that way." Ichigo responded.
"Ansbach has been tested and the water source to the village was infected, there has been some cases reported about pontiac fever but none of them fatal, the water pumps was the source, it has been shut off and is being cleaned completely, the water in the village has been transfered to tanks and is being boiled at 120 degrees, though the bacteria dies at above 60 degrees from my understanding, but just in case of other bacteria and viruses Erwig decided to boil it all up." Liltotto said.
"Good, that's two major issues solved, law and order and the bacterial infection. Anything else?" Ichigo asked.
"We have here a letter from a certain Ryusei Kenzaki, also known as Kenryu, from the Kasumioji family requesting a visit between you and Rurichiyo Kasumioji, it is requested that Ryusei Kenzaki and Rusaburō Enkōgawa also known as Enryu is her escort for the duration of the visit, it is requested that the visit is here in the Wandenreich, The Kuchiki family also wants to visit, amongst the visitors there is Rukia and Ginrei Kuchiki." Candice said.
"Rurichiyo? I haven't seen that girl for quite some time, i suppose it is a diplomatic meeting, though i have my personal friendship with the trio, since we are doing so well i don't think there will be any harm, Rukia and Ginrei is also allowed unless there is any objections?" Ichigo asked.
"I believe that a state visit could be of major sagnificance to diplomatic relations, and it needs to be done eventually, when did they request this visit?" Bambietta asked.
"Next week." Candice replied.
"Then i approve since no one objects." Ichigo said
"Very well, i will make the economic arrangements." Uryu responded.
"The K.G is partially ready, as they were made up of elite units from before hand, they just need special forces training, Gina has assured me their new uniform is ready, we can use them during their arrival for security along with the Silbern guard." Bambietta said.
"Very well, but i want to see those uniforms." Ichigo said, though he had no doubt they would be extravagant.
"Very well, i was going to see them after the meeting, i haven't seen them just yet." Bambietta said.
"Now then, i have something i have talked with Uryu about as of yesterday, it is also about the Floriance riot, since the village is in ruins i thought we might rebuild it, aswell as dig up the mass graves, identify the bodies of the deceased and give them their own graves with names and dates in their own cemetary with a memorial statue or something of the sort." Ichigo said.
Bambietta remembered that riot, she recalled those moments, how horrible it was, though she managed to get away from the village it still haunted her.
"Indeed, though this is a field more for Liltotto's field due to science being needed to confirm the identities, but i think it should be done." Uryu responded.
"Very well, any objections?" Ichigo asked as he looked around, no one objected.
"Well let's do it then and if there is nothing more, then i guess this meeting is concluded." Ichigo said as he waited for them to say something or leave, no one said anything and left the office leaving him alone with Bambietta.
"Should we go and check on the uniforms?" Bambietta asked.
"Yeah, let's go." Ichigo said.
Silbern Gallery
Ichigo walked alongside Bambietta to the gallery where the new uniform for the K.G would be placed, Ichigo stopped alongside Bambietta in front of the uniform and they were both impressed with what they saw, it was an unusual uniform for the Quincy military that's for sure.
It white dress uniform with white standup collar, with two blue lines connected in the end on the collar and blue tassel epaulets and black shoes, white pants with two blue line on the side, all the buttons is in the center of the uniform in gold with a black belt around the waist, and on the edges of the top uniforms is thin blue lines, and on the waist of the uniform is a big blue arrow pointing upwards with three lines and a line under along with white gloves and a beret with gas mask.
It was quite extravagant indeed, befitting of the royal guard, it wasn't a secret that many Quincy wanted to join the royal guard since it was first announced, Ichigo and Bambietta agreed, this uniform would be perfect for the K.G to wear, it would be their standard uniform and combat uniform and ceremonial uniform, it functioned as all three after all due to it's extravagance.
"We still have some time to kill before i intend on speaking with the mayor, i have some documents to go through aswell in preperation, why don't you go see your sister for a little bit?" Ichigo said.
"Sure." Bambietta said with a smile as they both left the gallery
Silbern Infirmary
Bambietta went into the infirmary, her parents wasn't there, she wondered where they went of too.
"Where did mommy and daddy go?" Bambietta asked.
"Daddy had to go to work, mommy went out to see if she could get some candy since they didn't have it here." Sabrina said.
"I see, you could have just asked one of the soldats." Bambietta said.
"Guess mommy didn't think about that." Sabrina said.
Bambietta smiled a little at this, it was quite funny that the building was full of soldiers and yet she didn't think about asking one of them.
"What have you done today?" Sabrina asked as she looked at her big sister
"Well, have been through the meeting, we will be getting a state visit next week from two of the noble houses in the Soul Society, and after the meeting me and Ichi went over to check on a new uniform the royal guard will wear when they are officially in service which they will be before next week, i have some time to kill since Ichi had to go through some documents, most likely authorizations and had to put the staff to prepare for next week." Bambietta said as she went over to the chair and sat down.
"I see, you just call him Ichi huh?" Sabrina said as she looked at the roof.
"Heh, yeah i do, Ichi's father have made arrangements for antibiotics on pills when your strength return, that way you won't have to be bedridden during your entire recovery." Bambietta said.
Sabrina just looked at the roof in deep thought, she didn't react to what her sister said at all, it was almost like it just went into one ear and out the other.
"You alright?" Bambietta asked looking at her sister a bit worried.
"Nee-san, do you think i'm a burden to mommy and daddy? Do you think it would have been better if i just died instead? Do i even deserve to live?" Sabrina asked.
Bambietta became anxious and worried, these thoughts shouldn't even exist in a 4 year old, but a 4 year old had said it, her own sister, it was cause for alarm, and it made Bambietta sad and troubled to hear those words come from her little sister.
"Of course you do! And no it wouldn't be any better for them! You shouldn't even think things like that! What have even gotten you onto those thoughts?!" Bambietta asked sternly with a loud voice.
"Daddy was always beaten up trying to protect me, mommy was always hiding it but i could see her pain and tears, all because of me, if i died then-" Sabrina said as Bambietta interrupted her.
"They would be even more sad and their whole world would have turned upside down, they love you with all their hearts and they protected you because they want you to live." Bambietta said sternly with a hint of anger, but on the inside she had already shattered.
The mayor's time span might just have decreased a lot, Bambietta was going to have him killed one way or another along with that family of his, and now despite her own sisters forgiveness his whole family with him for allowing this to happen and participating in Sabrina's pain, she had to speak with Ichigo to allow the execution of the family, she wouldn't allow this to go unpunished any longer, the harshest punishement the law could give would come to them in one form or another.
Sabrina looked at her sister and did wonder about what she said but she did have a point, and Sabrina knew it, she knew she had hurt her sister by asking but how else could she have gotten the answer she needed? These thought have been troubling her for quite some time now, and she wanted an answer, so she felt she had to ask her sister.
"Have you spoken with mommy or daddy about this?" Bambietta asked curiously as she looked at Sabrina.
Sabrina just shook her head, she hasn't brought it up to them because she was knew what the answer would be, she knew they would say that they loved her with all of their hearts, but she felt guilt for causing them so much trouble. It saddened her to see her own sister act like that, to see her hurt, she never wanted to hurt her at all but she knew that if her sister that just met her recently acted like that then she couldn't imagine the pain her parents would feel if she asked them.
Bambietta and Sabrina noticed Ausilia come into the room, she brought some candy with her for Sabrina since she had heard she could eat it, though it wasn't much, perhaps for the best, should her blood sugar run high she might not be able to remain still in bed, Bambietta just looked at her mother until her mother turned her attention to Sabrina and noticed her eldest daughter.
"Bambi? Did you finish your work today?" Ausilia asked with a smile.
"No, i just had a small amount of time to kill until me and Ichi will talk to the mayor, i probably won't be finished until dusk or so i presume." Bambietta said as she looked at her mother.
"Oh i see, your father is finished around 4 or 5." Ausilia said.
"Yeah about that what does he work with?" Bambietta asked couriously.
"He works in the mines close to our village, he mines out stone." Ausilia responded.
"Ahh i see, high demand for miners now." Bambietta responded.
"Yes, though we fix our buildings and build using reishi if we are trained in manipulating it, i never understood why we continue mining, i know mining duties has been used for punishments for penalties given by the empire and the stone has been used for a lot of decorations since the building we make with reishi is always white, but why the sudden demand for it?" Ausilia asked.
"Trading." Bambietta responded.
"Trading?" Ausilia asked.
"6-7 months ago we were at war with the Soul Society thanks to Yhwach, Soul Society got decimated and it's infrastructere completely shattered, The new government which we represents along with the Soul Society wants a good relationship with each other rather than war, and we trade with the Soul Society since they can't use the reishi to fix their buildings by manipulating it like we do, so they need resources, the Soul Society's nobility pay a lot for gold and diamond trade, and the Soul Society's government pay a lot for regular stone and other resources that they need for reconstruction and repairs." Bambietta said.
"I see." Ausilia responded as she looked at her daughter.
"Do they really pay a lot of money for stone?" Sabrina asked curiously, though she didn't know anything about diplomacy she knew that stone could be gotten everywhere.
"Yes they do, in stone, iron and other trade around reconstruction resources alone we have received 596 billion in trading in the last 4 days alone." Bambietta responded.
"Is that a big number?" Sabrina asked.
"You don't know what a billion is?" Bambietta asked, though she knew it was a stupid question.
"Is it higher than one hundred or a thousand?" Sabrina asked.
Bambietta sweatdropped, she should have known better, she took out a pen and a notepad and started to write on it and show her the numbers she had written after she was done.
"Alright, here is the numbers, you have one, ten, hundred, thousand, million, billion, trillion, or to be more precise, this one, is a million, it is a thousand thousand, or a billion that is a thousand million, and it continues and continues with out stop." Bambietta said as she showed her sister the big numbers.
Sabrina widened her eyes over the many zero's that was visible, she know it was a lot of money.
"Anyways i got to go, you can have this paper if you'd like." Bambietta said as she tore out the paper and gave it to her sister to look at.
Sabrina took the paper and watched her sister go, but not before she stopped by her mothers side.
"You know, you could have just asked the soldats to do the shopping for you and Silbern would have paid for it." Bambietta said with a deadpan, causing her mother to sweatdrop.
"Now now, i didn't think that was needed." Ausilia said.
"Regardless you'll get the money back." Bambietta said
Ausilia was about to respond but her daughter left before she could, she didn't really want the money back, she thought it was rude and didn't want to be an economic burden.
To be continued
A/N: Alright so the Quincy royal guard uniform is inspired by the Norwegian and Swedish royal guard, if you search them up you will see them, if you see the swedish uniform it's the one with the white epulette, you can imagine that uniform only with inverted colours, and unlike the Swedes the Quincy wear shoes like the Norwegian royal guard.
The reason for the big amount of money involved in this meeting was in order to show how big Ichigo's empire really is, if they managed to get 596 billion in just four days of trading, you can imagine the grand scale of the Wandenreich's industry capabilities on maximum capacity, and it could also give you a picture of how big the empire really is, considering it should be the same size if not bigger then all of Soul Society combined, including all the branches, unified under one single leader, which is why i decided to make it into modern money using paper all the way up to 1000, otherwise Silbern would be nothing else but a house of coins if i used medieval methods and wouldn't stick well in my imagination *Sweatdrop*
Ichigo is also a ruler that listens to his councellors, while he is the sole ruler of the Wandenreich advice would be needed at times so, yeah, and yeah Ichigo owns all the money the empire owns... Who said being an emperor of an absolute monarchy paid poorly?