The man Central 46 chambers sought was named Kisuke Urahara and when he was finally traced, he was at his home in the living world, within his modest little cottage.
Kyoraku Shunsui took off from Seiretei just about three hours after Yamamoto concluded his meeting with the central 46, after he received his new orders. The Kido corps had worked in record time to create a Senkaimon gate for him, and they had it ready before he had even arrived.
With two hours time-difference, Kyoraku made excellent time as he arrived at the world of the living. He carefully made his way through Karakura town, until he arrived at Urahara Shoten.
As he made his way forward, unbidden, memories of an earlier time assaulted him.
Urahara's lineage and his familial roots were unknown to everybody except for the ones whom he deemed worthy to reveal it to. From his young manhood, he had always had private means but what marked him out in those early days was his intellect.
An intellect, which was so profound, that none who came near him, escaped its effects. To the young man who had swept through everything his tutors could throw at him, and one who mastered all skills, including forbidden and dangerous kido arts on a yearly basis, it was no longer a surprise when he was invited by the Gotei 13 to join its ranks.
Inside the Gotei 13, he rose fast because he was unstoppable and if his detached intellectualism did not make him the Seiretei's most popular, he cared not a fig. Moreover, his true nature was hidden, behind the spurious façade of a nervous, and flustered young man. As an introvert, he kept almost an extremely close-knit group of friends, friends who had just as meteoric a career like him. Friends, which included the likes of Shihoin Yoruichi, Tessai Tsukabishi, & Hirako Shinji; and even the legendary Kyoraku Shunsui, who became a mentor of sorts to them all.
His departure from the Seiretei fell squarely into the category of the old puzzle: did he walk or was he kicked out? He, naturally, would maintain the former. A charitable observer would call it mutual. However, dark rumors abounded, of his less than charitable reputation as a sinister intellect, which was whispered to be the cause of the demise of more than half the roster of the Gotei at the time. The Central 46, in desperation, had implemented a policy of silence, which was enforced brutally, and even whispering about those events was forbidden to everyone, unless they desired a one-way trip to the Maggots nest. Though the rumors stopped after a few dozen years, their memory lingered as a sleeping ember capable of erupting into a wildfire at any given time.
It was completely dark as he made his way inside the pathway, even as he banished all those thoughts to the farthest corners of his mind.
He paused for a second as he gazed at the cottage, and tried the door. It was on the latch. He walked straight into the wide cool ground-floor sitting-area. By the moonlight, Kyoraku could make out a man's room – cowhide rugs over quarry tiles, easy chairs, an old refectory table of Spanish oak, and a wall of books.
Kyoraku took a step forward, only to feel the needle tip of a sword just below the lobe of his right ear and froze. The man had come down the tiled stair from the bedroom without a sound.
"Long time no see, Urahara," said Kyoraku in a low-voice. The knifepoint of the blade moved away from his jugular.
"Tiring journey," Kyoraku continued, "mind if I sit?"
Urahara was wearing a cotton wraparound from the waist down, like a sarong from the orient. Bare to the waist, lean, work – hardened.
"Whatever it is, I am out of it, Shunsui," said Urahara. He seated himself at the refectory table, opposite from the captain. "I'm exiled, if you care to remember."
He pushed a tumbler and the earthenware pitcher of sake down to Kyoraku, who poured a glass, drank and nodded with appreciation. A rough draught. It would never see the tables of the rich. A peasant and a soldier's wine.
"Please, Kisuke, hear us out," Kyoraku began, and after a nod from Urahara, continued for the next twenty minutes, as he explained everything that had happened.
"I'm not coming," said Urahara, even as Kyoraku came into view, with his pink kimono now hanging free.
"Kisuke, the business 100 years ago, I know, I may not know what exactly happened, but I know you're innocent. So, please, consider this, you are being offered your life back, Kisuke; all of you, a chance like this will never come again."
"Can't you understand? I'm out. It's over. No more. You've wasted your journey. Find someone else."
"There is no one else, Kisuke. Soul Society has good people, but none of them has the level of skill and experience that you alone possess. When it comes to the affairs of Hueco Mundo & the hollow world, we don't have anyone to match your skills."
"Seiretei wants to protect its ass," snapped Urahara. "They always do. They need a fall-guy in case this goes wrong."
"Yeah, maybe," admitted Kyoraku, "One last time, Kisuke, not for soul society, but think about young Soifon, she was like a daughter to your wife, for her sake," Kyoraku tried one last time.
Urahara smashed his fist on the desk, "Do not talk to me about a 'daughter', Shunsui! I know better than anyone. It is the reason why Yoruichi left me, there is always someone's daughter or sister or niece or some damned soul getting into trouble of one sort or another. You can't protect them all," he snapped as he took a deep drink of his wine.
Kyoraku just gazed at Urahara, and continued in a shallow tone "Where are Tessai and Yoruichi, Kisuke?"
"Where are they?" he reiterated again, with a hint of steel entering his tone.
"Don't know," Kisuke replied lazily, as he looked at Kyoraku who looked deeply troubled, "Tessai stayed with Hirako and the others, when we came here a hundred years ago. I haven't seen him since then. Yoruichi and I stayed here for a while, alone. Then, things began to go well for us, as well as they could be. We had a daughter," Kisuke paused, as his voice mellowed, while Kyoraku looked in sheer amazement at the man.
"Things were surprisingly good. She was a great girl, Shunsui, a great girl. We hid all knowledge of our origins from her and raised her as a normal human. She grew up, full of life, met a great kid, and they got married as well. Then…," he paused, as his face drooped, while Shunsui became alert.
"Then…," Kisuke continued in a hollowed tone, as he looked at Shunsui, "Ten years ago, she was killed by a hollow. Yoruichi blamed me for her death; naturally; because it was my decision that we never tell her about her heritage, and we never allowed her to become a soul reaper, hell, she didn't even know about the existence of Soul Society, for that matter. I think that was the last straw for Yoruichi. She didn't mind when we lost everything after our exile, but losing her daughter hit her hard. She left me, and now lives near my son-in-law's house," Urahara concluded in a soft tone, with a deep sigh, while Kyoraku lowered his eyes in regret.
"They will never come, Shunsui; Tessai, forget about him, you will never even find him. Yoruichi; she hates soul society with an even greater passion than me. Your trip was a waste even before it began, for what it is worth, I am sorry," Kisuke muttered as he got up.
"No, Kisuke, I am sorry, sorry that everything turned out like this," Kyoraku replied, as he got up. Kisuke, on the other hand, stared around at his few treasured possessions as if he might never see them again, for a moment, as if he was considering something.
"I have a price," he said at length.
"Name it," said the captain of the eighth squad simply.
"No, let me talk with the old man, personally," Kisuke said, even as he got up and went inside.
They walked outside ten minutes later, Urahara hefting a gunnysack, dressed in dark trousers, sneakers on bare feet, a shirt, with a black cat perched upon his shoulders, and with a walking stick in his hands.
At the Soul Society, the meeting took place in the office of the Captain – commander. In presence were all the captains of the soul society, which included three very nervous captains amongst them (Guess who?).
The captains stared at Urahara in silence. Urahara did not even spare them a glance and walked straight up to the commander, literally snubbing all the captains who were present, and made his way to the chair at the end of the table and sat down without invitation and said, "I'm here, old man. Talk."
Pin-drop silence.
Just 'Old man', no deference, no greeting, no bow of respect, not even the most basic courtesy offered. Moreover, as expected, it riled up most of the newer generations of captains, except for Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Unohana, who alone were aware of the history between their visitor and the captain commander; along with Aizen, Gin & Tosen, as well, but for obvious reasons, those three could not and would not reveal that information, ever.
Without being phased in the slightest, Yamamoto made his way to the opposite end of the table and sat down, as he gazed at him.
"I have a proposition to put to you, Urahara," Yamamoto began brusquely, as he gazed at the younger man, "In a way, it is a request from the central 46. I would be grateful if you read this first. Here. Now," he muttered, even as his lieutenant handed over a file to Urahara, who took it, crossed his legs elegantly, and read the report. It was a completely detailed report, made up of Kurotsuchi's observations about Ezekiel, complemented by supplementary reports from the other captains about the events, which occurred on the day of the kidnapping.
"What do you think?"
"Interesting, but hardly innovative. What do you want of me?"
"The Central 46 wishes to know this. Would it be possible with all our technologies, and powers, to find out what is going on in Hueco Mundo, and how we can deal with this new breed of hollows, these accursed 'Arrancar'?"
Urahara gazed at the ceiling.
"A five-second answer would be useless. We both know that. I will need time to conduct research of my own."
"How long?"
"Two weeks, minimum. In addition, I will need a letter of empowerment requiring every authority in the state to answer my questions frankly and truthfully, no matter their status or position. Otherwise, the answer will still be valueless. I presume neither you nor the central 46 wish to waste time and effort on a project doomed to failure?"
The captain-commander stared back for several seconds, then rose and strode from the room. He returned five minutes later with a letter. Urahara glanced at it. He nodded slowly. What he held was enough to overcome any bureaucracy in the entire Soul Society.
Afterwards, with a curt bow to Kyoraku, ignoring everybody else, he walked out, and in that instant, the protests began.
"This is preposterous, Sotaicho – dono, that man doesn't even wish to be associated with shinigami, and you wish to bestow upon him the power of life and death over every shinigami in existence?" Tosen made his displeasure quite clear.
"Indeed, that man clearly holds no respect for law or authority, how someone like him, ever became a shinigami is beyond me," Komamura muttered distastefully, while others too tried to make their opinions heard.
"I too must regretfully question this judgment, Sotaicho–sama, to give an exiled traitor that level of authority is, in my opinion, most unwise." Byakuya spoke out as he fingered his zanpakuto.
"Well that is ironic, Byakuya-kun," a sarcastic voice came out, and everybody turned around in surprise to see that it was Kyoraku, and not the captain-commander who had spoken.
"I find it ironic," Kyoraku continued, as he looked at Byakuya, with a harsh look adorning his face, which surprised everyone, even as the man continued in a scathing tone, "I find it ironic that you should mention his status as a traitor, Byakuya, considering the fact that the only man whose name surpasses Urahara's on the list of traitors, is your own father himself," he concluded.
Even Yamamoto's gigantic eyebrows widened to their furthest limit, as he looked at Shunsui with his mouth agape, while Byakuya glowered and unsheathed his blade in anger, as Shunsui Kyoraku dared to do the unthinkable, and mentioned the name of Kuchiki Kouga.
"I suggest you choose your next words, very carefully, you know nothing of what you speak," Byakuya growled, as he looked at Kyoraku who raised his eyebrows at the younger captain.
"Is that actually a threat, boy?" he asked, even as he released a bit of his spiritual pressure, miniscule enough for him, but powerful enough to inconvenience most of the captains in the room, save for Yamamoto, Unohana & Aizen.
"I could say the same to you, Byakuya-kun," Kyoraku continued in a condescending tone, surprising everybody once more, for they had never seen the jovial captain of the eighth squad in so hostile a mood, if ever, "You were but a snot-nosed little brat, picking your nose at the time when the events which led to Kisuke's exile occurred. Therefore, I suggest that you shut your mouth, and keep that abnormally large ego of yours in check, before you offend the wrong people, who would then be forced to do it for you," Kyoraku retorted harshly, before pulling his hat down, and walked out of the conference room, without throwing a glance at anyone, leaving Kuchiki Byakuya behind, who was seething with a murderous look on his face, even as an extremely uncomfortable silence settled down in the room.
After a moment, abandoning all pretenses, Ukitake ran after his friend, while Gin let out a slow whistle of appreciation at what he had witnessed. Even Unohana & Yamamoto seemed to be quite flustered at the sudden turnabout of the events.
Kisuke Urahara found he needed four weeks to complete his study. Yamamoto summoned him twice but he would not be hurried. When he was ready, he met the captain commander again.
"Well," demanded Yamamoto, who prided himself on what he called his no-nonsense approach and hardball attitude but which others referred to as sheer rudeness, behind his back of course. "You have come to a view?"
Many of the captains were watching the conversation carefully, and none more so than Sosuke Aizen.
As a master tactician, he prided himself on being able to judge to a tee even the minutest expressions that appeared on a person's face. Just by observing a person for a few minutes, he could literally build a complete profile of the person, with such an uncanny speed and clarity that it could put a world-class psychologist to shame.
He was closely watching Urahara, to monitor his reactions, and what he noticed, troubled him. To Aizen's eye, he looked like a person who retained control of himself. However, the eyes bothered Sosuke. He had seen the soft moist eyes of weaklings, the dull shuttered eyes of psychopaths and the watchful eyes of soldiers. The eyes of the former captain of the twelfth squad were open and stared back with frank candor. Except for the irises, which were of flecked grey so that they seemed smokey like the hoar mist on a winter's morning. It took Aizen a few seconds to realize that they had no expression at all. Whatever thoughts did go on behind the smoke screen, nothing came through, and for the first time in a hundred years, Aizen, felt a worm of unease. Like all men created by systems and procedures, he did not like the unpredictable and therefore the uncontrollable.
Nevertheless, what worried him most was the lack of reaction from Urahara. This was an unprecedented and absolutely unacceptable development, as far as he was concerned.
"I have," said Urahara. "Subject to certain conditions being rigorously fulfilled, we can mount an effective rescue of Captain Soifon, and nip this threat in the bud."
"How?"
"First, how not. Forget about going after the perpetrators for now. You have no idea as to their abilities, their skills, their numbers, and their locations, all of which are in another dimension anyway. Besides, attempting to attack a hollow of this caliber in its home turf would be nothing short of suicide, even for a shinigami of your caliber."
"So?" said Yamamoto, already running short of his severely limited patience. "What do you propose? That we sit here, doing nothing and keep on twiddling with our thumbs?"
"No, despite the extra-ordinary skill that this hollow known as Ezekiel has displayed, he has shown one fatal flaw, and we can exploit that, pursuant to some conditions of course," Urahara concluded, while Yamamoto just grunted and stared across at the blond man. The man stared calmly back, seeming not to care a damn if his findings were accepted or not.
"So, can I tell the central 46 that this project is a 'go' and that you are willing to take it on?"
"Not entirely. There are conditions. And they are not negotiable."
"Are you threatening the Soul Society, Urahara Kisuke?" Yamamoto growled in anger as he glared at the younger man who shrugged his shoulders casually.
"It is not a threat, old man, it is a warning. If the conditions are not met, the project will simply fail, expensively and embarrassingly, these are they."
Urahara handed a single sheet of paper to Yamamoto, who glanced at it. Five paragraphs. Numbered. He read the first.
I will need total independence of action within the ambit of absolute secrecy. None but the tiniest group around the captain-commander need know what is happening or why, no matter how many feathers are ruffled or noses put out of joint; and even the captain-commander may know what he needs to know, subject only to my approval. Only a select few captains, whom I deem trustworthy will be allowed to know a few things about what I intend to do, while the rest of the captains will be kept out of the loop, and they must not be allowed to interfere with my work.
Staring incredulously at Urahara, Yamamoto could do nothing but gape at the sheer effrontery being put forth by the man. He continued to read.
I will require carte blanche authority from the Central 46 giving me powers plenipotentiary to require and receive without demur complete cooperation from any other agency or military unit whose cooperation is vital. That must begin with automatic patch-through of every scrap of information and knowledge that the Daireishokairō possesses. This is absolutely vital.
"Impossible, the central 46 will never permit it," Yamamoto growled, as he looked at Urahara, who actually stared back at him with frank candor. Yamamoto knew above all, that information was power, and no one willingly ceded even one smidgen of their power; and the entire knowledge of Soul Society rested inside the Daireishokairō.
I will need to recruit my own staff. Not many, but the ones I need must be seconded without query or refusal.
Yamamoto had no objections to that until he came to number four.
I operate my own way, and I alone will retain supreme authority in making decisions necessary to running this project, to ensure its success. The Soul Society will have to fund the entire project, without any objections, no matter how astronomical the costs may rise to.
Yamamoto began to tremble with rage, as he read the list of demands.
There had been projects before, but never on this scale, and all this, upon the say so of an exile?
"There has to be supervision of expenditure," he said at length, after taking a deep and calming breath. "The central 46 won't wear the departure into the clear blue sky of unlimited funds because you want to go shopping."
"Then it won't work," Urahara replied calmly. "The whole point is that when action is taken, the enemies must not see it coming. Forewarned is still forearmed. The nature of the acquired equipment and personnel would betray the game plan, and that will assuredly leak to some nosey little parker, the moment accountants and book-keepers take over."
"They don't have to take over, just monitor."
"Same difference, old man. Once they get involved, cover is blown. Moreover, once your covert is blown, you are dead. Trust me, I used to run the Onmitsukido, I know."
It was an area the captain-commander knew he couldn't dispute. He passed to condition five.
He nearly came close to unleashing Ryuujin Jakka upon Urahara the moment he read what was written in the fifth paragraph. Nearly.
"No. This is tantamount to breaking all our laws; it could very well lead into a civil war itself. I will never agree to this. The central 46 will not either," Yamamoto stated flatly, while Urahara nodded in agreement, even as he tacitly admired the old man's self-control.
"I expected as much," he replied calmly, "if that is your response, then I will leave, and poor young Soifon will die after suffering unspeakable tortures at the hands of those hollows, who will then unleash a wave of destruction that will bring the soul society to its knees. This I guarantee," Urahara replied nonchalantly, while Yamamoto finally lost it, as his cane vanished and Ryuujin Jakka appeared in his hands, unsheathed.
"Or, is maintaining your pride worth risking the destruction of the entire soul society and the universe? What will it be, old man? You have to decide, along with those other forty-six old geezers as to how squeamish you are. When you are done, and there is not much more to say, come and contact me; but these are the conditions without whose fulfillment, it cannot be done. At least not by me."
Without being bidden to leave, he paused in the doorway as he looked at the captain-commander.
"Please let me know of your response in due time. I shall be at my home, not this wretched place, but the one in the living world."
Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryuusai was not accustomed to being left gazing at a closed door.
As he gazed at the closed door, Kyoraku picked up the crumpled sheet, which lay at feet of the seething captain-commander and read the fifth paragraph, which had so infuriated the old general. Even Kyoraku Shunsui felt his brow dampen with sweat, as he saw what had been written in the last paragraph.
In order to mount a rescue of Captain Soifon, who has been kidnapped by the Arrancar's, we will have to mount an effective rescue operation. However, the fact remains that this needs to be a covert operation, which cannot be performed by shinigami, even captains. I have conducted my own research, based on the data that you have provided, and I have come to the conclusion, that the hollows of Hueco Mundo have devised a means to negate the powers and abilities of any shinigami who sets foot in that accursed world. As such, it is physically impossible for any shinigami to actively work in Hueco Mundo. Therefore, our only hope lies in sending a squad, whose members are capable of operating effectively in Hueco Mundo. Basically, this means sending a group that is affiliated to the Soul Society, but a group whose members must possess necessarily … the abilities of a hollow.
There exists only one such group, in this world or the next, the Vizards. The former captains and lieutenants of Soul Society, whom you unjustly accused me of conducting Hollowfication experiments upon. They are the only ones who are able to use the abilities of a soul reaper and that of a hollow simultaneously, and they are the only ones who can survive in Hueco Mundo, and bring back the kidnapped victim, and the precious intelligence that you require.
However, because of the callous nature in which you have treated them, they have refused to aid the Soul Society anymore. However, I have called in a huge debt that they owe me, and they have agreed to co-operate, albeit with one proviso.
It is the only demand that they have made, and even I will not accept anything less, and it is this.
In front of the entire soul society, from which they were banished, the Central 46 and the Captain-Commander must offer an absolute and unconditional apology to them; and admit that they had made a wrong judgment, and that they had unfairly sentenced the Vizards to banishment and death, and then they must formally revoke the punishments, after apologizing; and offer proper compensation.
As he read the crumpled note, Kyoraku thought that his sensei had showed enormous restraint by not unleashing his Bankai and turning Urahara into a pile of cinders, and that was just for starters.
Authors note:
Can anybody care to make a guess and tell who Urahara and Yoruichi's daughter is (or was)? It will be revealed in next chapter of course.