Propaganda Begins at Home, for 31_days

[quiet_curiosity]

Title: Propaganda Begins at Home
Fandom: Bleach
Characters: Gin, Loly, Menoly (mentions of Aizen, Tousen, and the rest of the Arrancar Reign)
Words: 1091
Rating: PG (not really strong although there is a word in here which is strongly disliked - it shows up once and I don't think its presence really elevates the rating.)
Disclaimer: Bleach is the brainchild of Kubo Tite and is distributed by Shueisha in Japan and Viz Media in the US. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.
Summary: There's battle raging in the spiritual world...whose side are you on?

For 31_days, Prompt February 2, three seeds



At Revolution’s Eve…Whose Side Have You Chosen?

We live in dire times. Anyone could tell you that. I’m sure all of you – human, plus, and hollow – have heard so many conflicting reports on who we should blame for our dreadful spiritual predicament. But who is right?

Here in Hueco Mundo, most reports blame the recent shinigami invasions on the Arrancar Reign, particularly on its founders – Aizen Sousuke, Ichimaru Gin, and Tousen Kaname – and their loyal army, the Espada. The word traitor is being passed around so much about this group that it has lost all meaning. What have they really turned against? The answer is clear – Soul Society and the status quo of the spiritual world. Soul Society has regulated the input and output of souls for millennia and has kept real dissension amongst their ranks out of the view of outsiders. How did three shinigami manage to break ranks in such a defiant way and why would they go to the trouble to do so?

Once again, the answer is simple – the way of Soul Society is the way of disaster. The shinigami within Seireitei, the rich center of Soul Society, have mismanaged the care taking of souls so much that the problems have become unbearable. I know that many of my hollow brothers and sisters have never been to Rukongai, the outer settlements that surround Seireitei, so I will tell you of the horrors that exist there.

Rukongai is where all of the "no talent" souls go to “live” out the rest of their lives before dying and returning to Earth. One might think that this life is very similar to the life the person previously lived while on Earth. Think again. Rukongai is an over packed, overrated slum. Most homes are unpleasant and, at most, moderately sized. Unfortunately, one is expected to stuff over a dozen people inside its walls. You may ask, “But aren’t you living with family members that died before you? Isn’t that better than spending a seeming eternity alone?” If only you were correct. Though the shinigami have been known to promise a family reunion to the souls they capture, they make no effort to deliver on this promise. Family units are made up of bands of people who just happen to take each other in.

Though the inner edges of the Rukongai are relatively peaceful, this atmosphere changes as you travel to the outer edges. Districts such as Kusajishi and Zaraki are literal death traps filled with mayhem and gang violence. “Surely,” you ask, “Soul Society must send out shinigami to police these areas?” They do not. In fact, they recruit these barbarians to serve in their upper echelons. The captain of the 11th division and many of his direct subordinates hail from these areas. Does Soul Society really need bullies and thugs to gather up the souls of the dead?

Of course, considering the slipshod manner in which they collect souls, does it really matter whom they allow to do it? Tell me, how many of you became hollows while waiting around for a shinigami to find you and send you to Soul Society? From my acquaintances both amongst hollows and arrancar, I can say that those who answer “yes” are too plentiful to count. If their job is to gather up souls and save them from the despair that breeds hollows, why do they allow this to happen? According to the testimony from maid of Las Noches, Inoue Orihime, her brother became a hollow in such a way. And who, you may ask, purified his soul? He did so with an inept shinigami’s zanpakutou. They blame us hollows for all the ills in the world but they breed the ground for us to exist. Lazy, no?

So this, my friends, is the world from which former captains Aizen, Tousen, and Ichimaru broke free. I have heard from Aizen’s own mouth about how much he yearns for the company of his old friends but how he has given them up because he could not stand to live in luxury while the rest of the world’s souls languished. Ichimaru grew up in Rukongai and has forever felt the sting of living in its squalor. Tousen has always followed the peaceful path but has chosen to fight with us so that all of the spiritual universe can live in harmony. These men have given up so much for this ideal. What have they given to us?

Through the power of the Hōgyoku, these men have given us the power to defeat our enemies. Under their lead, the arrancar have become more organized and better trained. Through their example, they have shown us that all we need is the initiative to get things done. With their help, the spiritual worlds will be aligned and the hollows will no longer fester at the bottom rung of spiritual society.

Only a fool would believe the worthless propaganda spread throughout our realm by the shinigami. Now you know what kind of creatures they are. So tell me, can you really trust them?

* * *

“Here!”

Ichimaru Gin turned around to see Lolly and Menoly standing in front of him. They both bowed sharply before Menoly handed him a piece of paper. “I take it that this is…”

“Yes, sir! It’s the piece Aizen wanted us to write about the rebellion,” answered Lolly.

“We read over what the shinigami left in Las Noches before they were forced to return to Earth,” said Menoly. “We’ve tried to counter all of their points and I think our work will measure up to Aizen’s standards.”

“Well, he’ll be the judge of that.” Gin accepted the paper and began to walk back to the antechamber. However, as soon as he began to walk away, he realized that the two young arrancar weren’t moving. “Is there anything else, ladies?” he asked, exasperated.

“Um…we just wanted to know if any of it’s true,” said Menoly.

“Does Aizen really care about us and is he really fighting for everyone’s well being?” added Lolly.

“Sure! He wouldn’t ask you to write it out if it weren’t true.” The girls let out a sigh of relief. “Now move along, girls. You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Thank you, Ichimaru sir!” They bowed and ran off down the hallway.

Gin waited for them to disappear before he began to scan their document. He made it halfway through the second paragraph before he had to stop, barely able to contain his laughter. “Stupid fucking hollows,” he muttered. “They’ll believe anything you tell them.”