(With Esdeath)
Normally she'd be a picture of power and grace, normally she'd let her soldiers indulge in their primal wants and desires after conquering a nation or village, normally she'd present herself in that perfect standard of the strongest in the Empire after returning to the Capital after such a victory, and normally she'd go through the torture chambers to indulge in the screams of the weak. Things that were once normal were quickly fading ever since that Soul Reaper appeared. She still held herself to the same grace, as was expected of her, when she marched through the streets of the Capital with her dragon and Three Beasts but immediately made her way to the castle to give her report.
"You look like shit." Budo said, being the one inside the castle walls to give the icy general her welcome. "Were the northern tribes stronger than you expected?" He taunted as Esdeath chose to ignore him, electing to make her way into the throne room, where the Prime Minister and the Emperor waited. When she finally arrived, she noticed that the Emperor seemed to have a different air about him. She said nothing but continued to observe before kneeling before the monarch. Seeing the Prime Minister seem a bit more agitated than usual helped her conclude that Honest may be losing control of many things. Likely Ichigo was to blame, he even said that Budo told him about her sadistic nature.
"Welcome back General Esdeath." Makoto greeted, his usual tone that was ingrained in him to hold when dealing with matters of state. "You're conquest of the North was excellent and will be rewarded with ten-thousand gold pieces. Though, I'm somewhat concerned with the news that your army is on the march back. Care to explain?"
"The enemy army was utterly crushed and not a single soldier was left alive." She answered. "Shortly after that, the Soul Reaper appeared and tested my strength. There were... casualties and I did not have the military force left to keep hold of the territory." Not a lie, but not the whole truth. He knew she was effective and thorough, he didn't need to know of her sadistic tendencies.
"My lord, this requires action!" Honest cried out. "If what the general says is true, then Ichigo has broken his word on his neutrality. What's to stop him from siding with the rebels or strike at any of us!?"
"I agree with Honest." Budo spoke up. "With Esdeath's army cut to size, and her own condition, the military might of the Empire has taken considerable damage." Honest and Esdeath both glared at the military leader, but said nothing in the presence of the Emperor.
"Her own condition? Are you badly injured general?" Makoto asked, genuinely concerned for the woman.
"My fight with Ichigo Kurosaki has left a lasting injury that my medics insist I get looked at by one of the palace doctors." Esdeath answered, tensing up after another cardiac episode before starting to wheeze from the pain. "I felt that making my report was more important to the morale of the soldiers and people than to see me displaying any sort of weakness." She admitted before standing up to alleviate the pain to her damaged heart and lungs.
"Unacceptable!" Makoto yelled out, standing from his throne. "While in this time of crisis, you are expected to keep in good health general Esdeath. I order you to see our top doctors and get this fixed. I have need of you to deal with this Night Raid epidemic. Those assassins have been causing us no end of grief." Honest had a smug smirk, Budo seemed to be patiently waiting.
"Understood your majesty." Esdeath said, bowing to the emperor as he sat back down. "However, I've heard that this group has many Teigu users and would like to request Teigu users for my own force to combat them."
"Anything less than a Teigu would only result in failure in this endeavor your majesty." Budo chimed in. "If anyone can handle this Night Raid group, it would be her. You can trust her judgment." Makoto seemed to ponder the words of the generals, Honest gnashing his teeth silently while glaring at the lightning user.
"If you say so, Budo." The young emperor finally said. "Honest. I'll leave the matter of gathering Esdeath's Teigu users to you." Honest forced himself to put his gentle mask back on and was ready to say something, but never got the chance to. "Budo, I request you set up your own investigative team. Try to find anything that connects the victims together and bring that information to us." The ice general was shocked, the change in the air of the palace now explained. Honest's careful control of the capital seemed to be falling apart.
(With Ichigo)
"I've been in this world for almost two months," Ichigo said aloud as he typed away at his computer and keeping his journal audio logs, "and I've only just recently begun the secondary aspects of my being here; recruitment and study of the discoveries of this realm." He turned to the calcified statue of the new Arrancar. "First actual recruit is a Vasto Lorde, turning Arrancar, named Marik Muyomori. Special abilities involve gravity manipulation, will work on training those skills and development to improve." He typed away a command on the keys and deactivated a scanner, revealing the green eye of the Teigu, Spectator.
"Second, I've begun my full analysis into this world's ultimate weapons: Teigu." He grabbed the eye based tool and looked deep into its emerald gaze. "48 of these were in existence, with half being destroyed in a previous civil war, and the remaining 24 being used in the current civil war. The abilities of the Teigu are quite varied, some control elements, some are armor, some are support types, and a general rule in this world seems to be 'only a Teigu user can fight another Teigu user'. I've seen eight Teigu in action, with a few proving to be useful. The Teigu, Spectator, is a very dangerous one in the right hands as it pushes the power of 'sight' to its maximum. Abilities include seeing great distances, seeing through objects, seeing into people's minds, allowing some measure of precognition, and controlling what someone sees. Aizen has displayed how dangerous such a power can be, but the power of a Teigu requires compatibility." He said before putting the Teigu down.
"I've analyzed the other Teigu among the group, 'Night Raid', and am convinced that some can be replicated, but others require more samples to study. Maybe Teigu can be used to empower the Modsouls in Project Spearhead, but require more testing." Ichigo then sensed someone entering his underground facility. "The Reishi printer proves to be invaluable to my needs, easily creating anything I need so long as I can visualize it and can supply the Reishi necessary. The latest creation is a device Ulquiorra revealed to me that Aizen invented, a bracelet that covers one in a shell of spirit energy that makes one invisible to anyone but the creatures that supplied the Reishi to make it. In this case, only I can sense whoever wears this bracelet. It also allows for intangibility at will, making it a perfect stealth tool for this world. However, I feel more tests should be done." Ichigo said before suddenly reaching out and grabbing Lubbock by the arm.
"AHH that hurts!" The green haired pervert cried out as Ichigo squeezed on the arm and removed the bracelet from the assassin's wrist.
"End log." The hybrid said before closing the audio logs and turning back to Lubbock. "So, how was the test?" The string user grinned as Ichigo released him.
"It was amazing!" He exclaimed, clearly very impressed. "This is definitely on par with a Teigu. I spent the whole day using it, and no one ever noticed me. I even got to spy on all the girls in the group!" Lubbock got a nosebleed. "Leone's luscious curves, Sheele's elegant bod, Akame's toned form, I saw it all! It was glorious! Except for the boss, I respect her too much to peep on her." He said, Ichigo nodding along and recording the data, knowing that Lubbock's going to HATE him later. "With these, we could-"
"Stopping you there, the answer is no." Ichigo said, quickly shooting down the request before Lubbock could really ask it. "I didn't make this to give you guys an edge. I will repeat this Lubbock; I'm not on your side, I'm not on the empire's side, I'm on my side, the side with the least number of innocent people dying. Not helping assassins or a tyrannical government. This is for me to use as I see fit."
"But what's the point?" The string user asked. "Once you go spirit, you're invisible to the world. Why would you need this?"
"That's for me to know." The hybrid said, pocketing the bracelet for later while returning the eye Teigu. "Now get out. I've still got things I need to do." He returned to his computer, typing away and recording more data before grabbing onto the thread of the Teigu 'Cross Tail' that Lubbock had around the bracelet the instant it began to move. "I'm not an idiot Lubbock!" He called out, severing the string with a single slash of his Zanpakuto, followed by the pervert cursing and hurriedly running away. "Idiot." Ichigo whispered as he ensured that the Reimaku bracelet was in fact in his possession, releasing a Pesquisa pulse to finalize that it was there.
"Good, he stayed inside the base." He said before placing the thread into the scanner, but before he could pay any attention to the data he was receiving from the Teigu, Marik's shell began to crack. "That took long enough." The Soul Reaper sighed, setting his computer to the Reishi printer and began printing out white fabric. With that done, he walked over to his soon to be Arrancar as the cracks continued to spread until the white shell exploded, leaving a naked Marik kneeling on the ground and his duel blade Naginata in front of him. "Do you remember who you are?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes, my lord." Marik answered, grabbing his blade and pushing himself up. "I am Marik Muyomori, Arrancar knight to the king of Hueco Mundo, Ichigo Kurosaki." He stood to his full height, tall and strong with a tiger tattoo appearing on his left side. "I am ready to serve you my king."
"Good. We'll discuss what to do later. For now... get dressed." Ichigo ordered, pointing to the hundred feet of white cloth and sewing kits. "I'm heading out, wait for my return." He said before flashing away to reap the dead.
(In the palace)
Hours had passed and the day once more gave way to night, bathing the world in a crimson glow before the streets became alighted with the night life of the capital. The number of spirits occupying the city was nearing more manageable levels, having his intense speed was always helpful, but it was just one city and the number of people dying hasn't declined enough in his opinion. He needed more help, more Shinigami. He'd have Marik assist, but he still doesn't know the results of that experiment Mayuri and Urahara were working on. The only other option was to recruit a soul with the potential of being a Soul Reaper, then train them to become Soul Reapers.
"The question is who it could be." Ichigo asked himself, entering the palace with impunity yet again. Easy to infiltrate when there is literally no way to stop him. The closest thing he found to empowered humans were those with Teigu, and there were not enough Teigu in the world to mount a defense against spirits. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed a familiar icy presence in the area. "Guess Esdeath finally made it back." The hybrid mused as he made his way through the palace.
"I've assembled my team and they are starting with those that Night Raid have already killed recently my lord." Budo said as Ichigo came upon a trio of him, Makoto, and Honest, with the young emperor heading for his bedroom. "They began their search with a wealthy family when people began noting some retched odors on the property, finding a warehouse full of corpses. All of the victims appeared to have been tortured to death."
"And this was happening directly under our noses?!" Makoto demanded, sounding furious.
"Many things are slipping under the cracks my lord." Honest said, masking his agitation. "The rebellion is distracting us all and they knew how to cover their tracks, I would assume."
"Maybe I should decree surprise searches among the upper class citizens." The emperor contemplated. "See if any more dirty secrets are in the works."
"I must advise against it your majesty." Honest voiced. "One case does not set the standard. Such an act might encourage discontent."
"I agree. Wait until further evidence is obtained your majesty." Budo told his lord. "Rest assured, we will protect this nation." Makoto smiled gratefully before shutting the door. Honest and Budo went their separate ways and Ichigo phased right through that door.
"Look at you," Ichigo said after putting on his Gigai ring, "acting like a proper Emperor now." Makoto jumped as Ichigo came in, but sighed in relief at the sight of the Shinigami. "You've definitely made a lot of progress from the naïve little puppet I first met."
"Not enough progress." The emperor argued back. "I'd like to start projects to help the common people, but even Budo advised against it. Said to hold off until any threats to such policies have been dealt with. Narcotics and any organized crime group that may take advantage of the situation." It did make sense, ensure the country and people were safe before anything else. What good was food or medicine if they could easily be stolen and replaced with drugs? "So, are we going on another tour of the capital?" Makoto asked, bracing himself for more of the rotten city that was his home.
"Something similar actually." Ichigo said, fishing out the Reimaku bracelet. "Put this on." He ordered, letting the child slip the silver band onto his wrist. "So long as you wear that, you are invisible to the world. Only I can see and hear you and there are no barriers that can stop you." Ichigo pointed to the door. "Try it." Makoto took a breath, walked up to the door, placed his hand on it, and sank through like it was not even there.
"Wow! That was amazing." He said, muffled by the wall between them. Ichigo removed his Gigai ring and followed after the monarch, who was phasing through walls and being unnoticed by the guards. "Ichigo! This is more impressive than any Teigu I've seen!" He cheered, running up to the Soul Reaper and taking his hand. "Can I keep it!?" The emperor begged, holding on to and seeing Ichigo despite him being in spirit form.
'This requires further study.' The hybrid thought before kneeling before Makoto. "No Makoto, I should hold on to it when you're not using it." The kid looked sad, but seemed to start catching on.
"To keep it out of dangerous hands, right?" Ichigo smiled and nodded, proud that the boy was growing into his own. "Okay.... So what was it that you wanted to show me?"
"Let's go see Honest without the mask he wears around you." The emperor nodded and began leading Ichigo through the castle, listening to the staff and searching for the fatass that was the Prime Minister. They heard someone say that he was visiting with General Esdeath and began making their way to the hospital wing of the palace. It didn't take the pair long before they found their quarry, Esdeath in a hospital bed with a near invisible scar on her chest and Honest sitting at her bedside.
"-didn't think that he'd care so much." The Prime Minister said when they got into earshot. "In retrospect, we should've expected that he'd be stronger than what we saw. 'God' is still in his title, even if he prefers Soul Reaper. Still, to cause you so much damage." He whispered, rubbing his beard in contemplation. "If we could get any kind of sample of him, we could find something that could quell him."
"If you can secure such a sample for yourself, you're welcome to try." Esdeath returned, scratching at her nearly invisible scar and staring directly at Ichigo. "But, I doubt you'd be capable of succeeding there. You'd never know if Death is watching." Ichigo's eyes narrowed at the ice user, reminding himself how sharp her instincts were and wondering why she wasn't saying anything about him being there. "He could be making frequent trips here to talk to the emperor. He doesn't seem as mindless as you'd like him to be." She sent a smirk to Honest, who growled in irritation.
"That brat is getting annoying independent, I didn't spend all this time to lose control this easily." He admitted, frowning all the while. "And now Budo is actually doing something about this instead of focusing on the rebellion. I may have to frame Budo for treason. He might be supplying information to our enemies so it might work." Makoto had a look of betrayal on his face as he listened, both he and Ichigo remaining silent as the exchange continued.
"I doubt him telling Ichigo about my habits counts as treason." Esdeath said, despite Honest not paying attention.
"And if worse comes to worse, I'll just poison that brat." Makoto felt his heart break. "Have to be more careful than when I killed his parents. Children are just so fragile, I might kill him by accident. Need him to be the puppet I want."
"YOU FAT BASTARD!" Makoto screeched, charging at Honest before Ichigo pulled him back. "Let me go Ichigo!"
"Quiet!" The hybrid roared, instilling fear into the boy with the gravity of his presence. "There may be more and you must learn to control your emotions." Makoto growled furiously as they continued to watch.
"By the way, I need you to make some people 'disappear'." Honest told the general. "They may threaten my ruling here if they manage to come."
"Very well," Esdeath agreed, "I'll see what I can do. In exchange, I want to organize a tournament." Honest looked at her questioningly. "My latest scheme to get Ichigo to come to me. Fighting him backfired, so I'll hold the audience hostage. In exchange for their safety, he'll do something for me." Both smiled sadistically before Esdeath frowned. "I'll repeat this Honest. Trying to secure any kind of sample off of him will be your responsibility. I want something else from the Soul Reaper." Honest's smile faded into a frown and glare, but he agreed and left. Ichigo released the child monarch, who was shaking furiously.
"This is the face of corruption." Ichigo said, before Makoto ran off. Ichigo easily followed the emperor as they phased through walls until reaching Budo's private study, where the kid pulled off the bracelet.
"General Budo!" Makoto shouted, surprising the general as his master appeared literally out of thin air. "I want Honest arrested and executed for high treason!" Ichigo appeared in the room himself, putting on his Gigai ring.
"I'd be happy to do so my lord, but what brought this on?" Budo asked, already accepting what was happening because Ichigo was involved.
"He murdered my parents, plans to frame you for treason, and plans to poison me!" The emperor growled out.
"We watched Honest while invisible." Ichigo quickly explained, Budo merely nodding in understanding. Any time away from Makoto to watch the Prime Minister show his true colors was enough to justify the child's actions. It took all of Budo's power to keep his own emotions under control as he knelt before his leader.
"Your Highness, I would be glad to have him arrested and executed for his actions, but forgive me for this." He said while Makoto looked furious at the thought of Budo betraying him too. "Do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence!? I don't need evidence!" The kid roared. "I'm the Emperor! If I want him dead, your only concern is killing him!"
"Then you're not any different from him." Ichigo suddenly said, shocking Makoto with the accusation. "Doing things like that, 'because I said so', is no different than how Honest is doing things. You need to gather evidence to justify your claims, that's what separates just kings from tyrants. You want to be a proper king, yes?" Makoto nodded, tears falling down his face from the thought of just how much he must have failed his people. "Then you need to do things the right way. Budo will gather the evidence for you, when that is done then you may have him face his judgment." Makoto reluctantly nodded as Ichigo slipped the bracelet back on and took the Emperor back to his room. He had faced enough for today.
(Days later)
Ichigo wished he could say that the end of the Empire's corruption was within sight, wished that there would be substantially fewer deaths all around, unfortunately for him and those involved it wasn't to be. Mainly because Honest knew how to cover his tracks and, without reasonable evidence, they couldn't sanction more in-depth searches. Makoto seemed to be getting smarter, much to Ichigo and Budo's pleasure and Honest's chagrin, by keeping Esdeath and her Three Beasts in the capital to recruit and train new soldiers to join her army and they had to stick around until the recruits were satisfactory with Budo and Esdeath as judges. During that time, Budo made a list of possible targets that he gave to Ichigo, who gave it to Najenda, to give to the Rebellion leaders, on orders of the Emperor. Not that the rebels knew all the details and were just happy for the intel. Ichigo also made it a point to find and recover Esdeath's damaged organs from this really flamboyant scientist called Dr. Stylish. Wasn't sure which made him more uncomfortable, the heart and lungs he stole or the campy scientist. The point of that was that Esdeath's Teigu was mixed with her blood and he didn't want to risk another person with Esdeath's powers running around. One unstable cryomancer was enough in his opinion.
During that time, Tatsumi was trained by Sheele and Leone, failed to be compatible with Spectator, and Night Raid continued their assassinations. Marik had a bit of a fashion disaster that was later rectified by Mine after an accidental activation of the Soul Projector gave her quite a show, now he wore a white vest with a black tank top and white pants. Since then, Marik was patrolling the outskirts of the capital for any useful Hollows or other spirits while Ichigo continued to reap souls and pray that someone had the potential of becoming a Soul Reaper to aid him.
'This mess vexes me greatly.' Ichigo thought in annoyance, despite having a relatively slow day. He did send a pimp a to Hell, though he was beginning to feel something odd from the Gates of Hell as of late. Suddenly he noticed a bright flash of light, along with a dying life force. 'One more, than I'll call it a night.' He thought to himself as he made his way to where the light flashed. He sensed no Hollows and thus no urgency. He soon found a large force of Imperial Guard, each looking horrified, loud crunching, and some rather demented laughter. That's when he saw them, a giant plush like dog eating an arm and a brown haired girl that was missing both of hers.
"Papa, I defeated the evil villain on my own!" She said happily. "The light of justice shines on this world! Ahahaha!" She continued to laugh. Ichigo glanced at the arm that was soon swallowed by the beast, recognizing the pale purple sleeve.
"If I had any regrets," Ichigo heard a familiar voice from beside him, "it's that I can't hug Tatsumi anymore. Could you let me say goodbye to everyone myself Ichigo?" He turned to see Sheele, with bloodied bite marks on her body and a bullet hole on her chest, directly over her soul chain.
(Illustrated Guide to Assassination)
Why Lubbock hates Ichigo
"Jackass has no idea the amount of good we could do if we all had those bracelets." He grumbled while stomping his way through the base. Then he was sucker punched by a transformed Leone, with Mine and Sheele glaring at him. Akame was just there. "What was that for!?"
"Do the words, 'Leone's luscious curves, Sheele's elegant bod, Akame's toned form, I saw it all' mean anything?" Leone growled, cracking her knuckles while Lubbock broke into a cold sweat. "Ichigo said you were testing something for him, but he never said you were supposed to peep."
"And what about me!? Nothing!?" Mine roared before they began mercilessly beating on the pervert.
"Ichigo you traitor!"
Ichigo steals Esdeath's Heart
"The heart of General Esdeath." Stylish said gleefully, looking at the prized organ he took from the general. He was a tall man with spiky black hair with a white patch in it, wore a yellow suit under his white lab coat, and glasses over his blue eyes. "Such a graceful creature, to power through such extensive damage and completely adapt to that Danger Beast transplant. It would be my great pleasure to work further with you, dear general." He looked away for a second to write something down. "Maybe I'll make you a personal squad of lesser ice users to co-" He froze when all of the organs were missing, "AAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"It's like Yumichika, except I hate him." Ichigo said, clutching his visceral prize.
What's going on in Soul Society
"Well, he's certainly not wrong." Mayuri said as they received the data and audio logs that Ichigo recorded, not knowing that it was immediately sent to squad 12 every time. "Some of those 'Teigu' certainly sound interesting. If only I had the same materials, we could try to make our own versions."
"Only way that would happen is if Ichigo sent them via Garganta." Urahara said, already thinking about which improvements could be made and how to recreate some others. "Should we let him know we're watching though?"
"Depends on how desperate he is. Best to wait for when he'll be the least upset with our spying." Mayuri returned, tapping his fingers like he was irritated. "Still, would like for him to test my drugs and toxins sooner rather than later."