So, Now for Kukaku to try to keep Ichigo from starting a civil war, and try to help Ichigo parce Tokinada's lies.
Kukaku was not happy. Tokkinada was finally making his move and had predictably used his underhanded means to try and secure what he wanted. She had to calm down a furious Ichigo from starting a civil war and had just now received news that a closed-door meeting was being organized and Ichigo was invited directly to represent the Shiba.
"So he doesn't think he can win you over?"
"Of course not, Kakyo's murder is something none of us who were alive when it happened will ever forgive," Kukaku was only a little girl when it happened, when she, Kaien, and Isshin were nothing more than little terrors running amok.
To know such a monster got off with basically a slap on the wrist compared to his crimes? Her blood boiled thinking about it, even hundreds of years removed.
"Do you…"
"Think he'll make good on his threat?" Kukaku took a drag from her pipe, the acrid smoke filled the air as she tried to calm her nerves. "Damn right, he will. Tsunayashiro don't make empty threats, and Tokkinada is the worst of them all. Hell, I think he wants you to call his bluff."
Anyone with half a brain could tell that Tokkinada didn't actually want Ichigo to involve himself. It was why the threat was made in the first place. However, Tokkinada was a sadistic bastard, and so he'd probably enjoy the anguish his act would cause.
Tokkinada always loved inflicting pain, but he also was very intelligent. There had to be something about this, something that Ichigo would disrupt heavily by being involved.
"What did he tell you he wanted to do?" This was a big deal. Not only would it give Kukaku a glimpse into what Tokkinada had planned but also likely how he intended to do it.
"Reveal the existence of Soul Society to the living world," That was what Ichigo interpreted, however, "But that wasn't all he told me," Ichigo didn't know what to make of it. The fact that he and the rest of Soul Society were lied to about the origins of the Soul King? About how the world came to its present order? And that it was Tokkinada that revealed this to him? It twisted his stomach.
"What else did he say?" Kukaku didn't know what to expect. Tokkinada knew a lot, probably just about every dirty secret in Soul Society.
"He told me how Soul Society was founded," Ichigo didn't know how else to describe it. Tokkinada's use of 'original sin' seemed fitting. Such a mutilation done under false pretense was damning, even if what came of it was what needed to happen.
Kukaku took a draw of her pipe before sighing. She understood the distress he felt. Learning about such a thing was never easy to take, especially when you were raised to understand the intrinsic value of life. However, Tokkinada could have left out important details.
"Did he mention each family's deal to join the conspiracy? Or who was the one to butcher the Soul King?" Ichigo's face said it all. His look of utter befuddlement. By omitting those details Tokkinada had painted their ancestors as selfish and cruel when that was hardly the case.
Ichigo sighed. Tokkinada was telling the truth, but not the whole truth, of course, he wouldn't!
"What did he leave out?" Ichigo was frustrated. He got lied to again, and this time it was clearly meant to undermine his trust in those around him. At least it didn't work.
Kukaku didn't know how to answer. Each bargain their ancestors made were Faustian in some way shape or form. Sure, they had thousands of years of generational wealth, as well as responsibilities befitting their station, but they had to uphold the current order at all costs.
"I don't really know how to explain it. There was a lot he left out, but do know that the founder of the Shiba created the Final Getsuga as a way to hopefully relieve the Soul King of his burden," Kukaku knew what he wanted to know, and it really wasn't something she could explain easily. How do you explain that the reason shinigami are sacrificed on the altar of Oetsu's forge is because that was the term for your ancestor joining a world-shattering conspiracy? Or that they didn't know that's what it would take to purify hollows.
"Tell me straight, It can't be worse than what Tokkinada said," Ichigo's words were correct in a way, but it was very close.
Kukaku sighed as she collected herself.
"Each family cut a deal with the man who would become the leader of the Royal Guard. The Kuchiki ancestors wanted there to be order to the primordial chaos. This would be fulfilled by the cycle of transmigration, The Shihoin ancestor wanted the cycle to include nature spirits and what you would call yokai."
"Like Komamura?"
"Yes. The Yayahara meanwhile, were concerned with the newly formed realm that would eventually be called hell, and the Tsunayashiro were scared of the Soul King turning on the fledgling humanity," Kukaku recounted the story as she was told by the clan's historian upon her ascension to clan head.
"In exchange for their terms, they would also have to give something in return. The Kuchiki would become historians, keeping the record of what happened, the Shihoin became the ones to protect the realm as its chief military force, the Yayahara would monitor hell, and the Tsunayashiro would monitor the living world. All roles each clan still fills to this day," Kukaku took another deep drag of her pipe, coughing slightly as she exhaled the smoke. She wasn't one for long-winded stories like this, but this wasn't something she could just skim over. This was the very foundation of the world she grew up in, and that Ichigo was now a part of whether he liked it or not.
"And us?" Ichigo noticed the absence of the Shiba in her explanation. He wasn't suspecting anything, it was clear she was building up to that. He just wasn't sure why she was delaying.
"Our ancestor noticed the fact that human souls and the souls of hollows were only superficially different, how they were two sides of the same coin. They wanted a way to purify hollows so that they could partake in the cycle as well," Kukaku let Ichigo fill in the blanks. It wasn't hard to figure out the rest.
"We're the reason zanpakuto exist…" Kukaku's nod simply confirmed Ichigo's realization. The subsequent responsibility, being the logistical connection between the Royal Realm and Soul Society so that the zanpakuto could be distributed, was not hard to figure out afterward.
"Yup, And I also assume Tokkinada told you about how the Soul King was mutilated," Kukaku noticed Ichigo's confirmation. She already knew that's what happened, as that would paint every family in the same shade of guilt. "That wasn't the plan."
Ichigo was surprised that such information survived tens of thousands of years, and the fact that each clan had agreed to hide this, the math playing out in Ichigo's head was making him uncomfortable.
"Then what was?"
"They would parlay with the Soul King, pitch the plan to him, and have him agree. From what I could gather from speaking with Yoruichi, the plan to force the Soul King into this was a contingency, a last resort,"
"That the Tsunayashiro ancestor did without waiting…" Because of course, they did.
"Yep, and one our ancestor was entirely unaware of from what I was able to figure out. This coincides with the earliest records I could find on the Final Getsuga as well, so that was probably our plan," A plan that would never be used, and was quickly repurposed.
Ichigo braced himself against the wall as he considered this. This was a lot of information to process, and Ichigo didn't know how to respond.
Was this what the Soul King was trying to tell him when he was training? Was he trying to tell him this history so he understood what he was fighting for?
Or was he warning him?
"Did the Soul King fight back?" Ichigo didn't know what caused him to ask that question, but something in him felt it was important.
"From what I could gather, no, he didn't."
A benevolent creature, one who would gladly help, mutilated for the sake of humanity.
What a cruel joke.
Rukia was nervous.
She had put into motion events that would forever change her life, and at this very moment what happened to her was out of her control.
It was not a comforting feeling.
At this very moment a bunch of old men who she hardly knew and most definitely didn't care about her were deciding if allowing her to marry the man she loved was politically beneficial to the clan.
She had elected to sleep in her officer's quarters in the thirteenth. While she usually slept there it was not for the reasons she did so now. The clan would be abuzz with gossip and speculation. She had heard many opinions on Ichigo, and how many of them flipped the moment it became known he was blood Shiba.
Now that it was known Ichigo was looking to marry her? The estate was likely to be a viper's nest.
She was already disliked heavily by many of her so-called family, with only Byakuya and Ginrei being comfortable faces.
No. The less spent on that the better.
She would hear if they would be allowed to properly begin courting soon.
The thought of that made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was hard to put into words, it was something she had almost never felt in her fifty years as a shinigami, something beyond just the monetary happiness she felt every now and then, and even beyond what she normally felt when around Ichigo. The thought of being together for a lifetime… Was this joy?
Even as the nagging fear of this being denied to her crept around in the shadows of her mind, the thought of that potential future was like a beacon.
The fact she had become like this was surprising. She was always a career-focused woman. Even though she knew that this would eventually happen, or perhaps because of it, she had never taken pleasure in the thought of marriage. Often the idea scared her, to lose the autonomy she had now was a scary thought, but Ichigo would never take that from her. He respected her too much to make such demands.
It was ironic. The very thing she once dreaded, was now the very thing she looked forward to the most. The irony of it all caused her to chuckle lightly as she tried to slip into slumber.
Yoruichi found it hard to sleep as usual. There was simply too much on her mind. Tokkinada was making his move and she didn't know what it was. Hell, they had hardly found out what he even wanted.
The meeting tomorrow was probably going to fix that issue, but it was going to be on his terms.
Even if they could get the Central 46 to agree to a search, they wouldn't be in session again until after the meeting Tokinada had.
They were so close to exposing them, but they weren't fast enough.
So Yourichi broke a rule of these meetings. She informed Shunsui that this meeting was happening, and who was invited, she had also informed Kisuke.
If they were going to stop whatever Tokkinada had planned, they needed to be ready to go at a moment's notice.
She sighed as she considered what was happening. So soon after the bloodiest war in the history of Soul Society and they were right back on the brink of a civil war. She hated all of this, the planning, the scheming, the knives hidden behind every corner, she was thankful that the Central 46 and the Gotei Thirteen largely put this in the past, but they were still there. Adversary houses waiting to strike at the slightest misstep.
Why was the only way to ensure peace to point a knife at every throat?
One more chapter before the boom.