Independence Day [500nw]
Jul 3, 2013 15:59:59 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2013 15:59:59 GMT -8
It was over. He had failed.
The passed few years had consumed Yoshiya, leaving him a shell of his former self. A cracked shell, where what most considered to be 'human' came spilling out. And he couldn't control it.
Dissent had been growing for centuries. There had always been those opposed to the Seireitei plan. Those too stubborn to accept that they had been forced to abandon their homes, to fall back to this fortress designed by Malik Tanaka...the numbers had generally been small. But time causes forgetfulness. A new generation had risen, ones who did not know of the hardships of the Hollow. They were relatively easy to disperse, from atop the walls of Seireitei. Even some of the elderly had forgotten. It would be a mistake to call Seireitei a utopia. It did operate under martial law, and some valued liberty.
"Liberty? Heh. That's just some people talking."
His parents had taught him and his sister of the harsh times before Seireitei. When they had little defence against the infected beasts that had harassed them for millennia. The exact duration was unknown. Records were not readily available. Some documentation existed, but he was no archaeologist. He was an economist, and the two elder Watsons had made him abundantly aware that they were better off under the Taicho's government.
But resistance grew. There seemed to be no betterment of their situation. The number filled with idealised dreams of the outside grew. Eventually the number became sizeable. Their voice had become significant. They could no longer be ignored. It required government action.
Efforts to convince them to stay failed. Them staying was both better for them that left, and for the majority that remained. They had spent five centuries rebuilding their population. The loss of such a large number of human resources would set them back...it was estimated at about a century and a half.
He would have to make one last attempt, one desperate final speech to convince them to remain. And that is why he was at the North gate to the city, where most of the negotiations had taken place. Symbolically a large procession of the newly dubbed 'Rukon Citizens' were marching that way, having shed their uniforms.
The man was shaking. The past few years of augments had taken their toll on him. His face was haggard and wrinkled, though his uniform was smooth and pristine. He looked more like a ghost under a sheet. It seemed as if this so called "god of death" was about to be taken by its icy grip.
He raised his voice and spoke loudly to the approaching parade, standing between them and their future.
"Brothers, sisters! I beg of you to reconsider! Turn back from this folly! Inside these walls we are Shinigami! We have overcome death! But past this gate you will succumb to it. Here we are perpetually safe from the Hollow outside! In time we can move out and retake more land, but this is not the time. For now we must grow and then we can destroy them."
He did not know what the Taichou's plan was, but the had to expand at some point. Eventually their population growth would mean that the land inside the walls was insufficient to support them all, though the point that it would start to be a concern would be in about six hundred years time, and even then it would hardly be critical.
"Have you forgotten how it was before the time of the walls? For those that are too young to remember, the documentation is clear and obvious. The words of the majority of our elders are testament to this! Even I, who is younger than this city by over two hundred years know this to be true! I hear you speak of freedom and liberty. I tell you now, the only liberty you will find out there is negative. The lands out there are ruined and infested by the horde. How will you feed yourselves? How will you defend yourselves from becoming food to the Hollow? I beg of you, on this day, do not err. Remain here, safe and united!"
The crowd had heard all these arguments before. For years the debate had been raging. If any were persuaded to change their minds, it wasn't evident to Yoshiya. The swathe of people kept moving forwards.
The passed few years had consumed Yoshiya, leaving him a shell of his former self. A cracked shell, where what most considered to be 'human' came spilling out. And he couldn't control it.
Dissent had been growing for centuries. There had always been those opposed to the Seireitei plan. Those too stubborn to accept that they had been forced to abandon their homes, to fall back to this fortress designed by Malik Tanaka...the numbers had generally been small. But time causes forgetfulness. A new generation had risen, ones who did not know of the hardships of the Hollow. They were relatively easy to disperse, from atop the walls of Seireitei. Even some of the elderly had forgotten. It would be a mistake to call Seireitei a utopia. It did operate under martial law, and some valued liberty.
"Liberty? Heh. That's just some people talking."
His parents had taught him and his sister of the harsh times before Seireitei. When they had little defence against the infected beasts that had harassed them for millennia. The exact duration was unknown. Records were not readily available. Some documentation existed, but he was no archaeologist. He was an economist, and the two elder Watsons had made him abundantly aware that they were better off under the Taicho's government.
But resistance grew. There seemed to be no betterment of their situation. The number filled with idealised dreams of the outside grew. Eventually the number became sizeable. Their voice had become significant. They could no longer be ignored. It required government action.
Efforts to convince them to stay failed. Them staying was both better for them that left, and for the majority that remained. They had spent five centuries rebuilding their population. The loss of such a large number of human resources would set them back...it was estimated at about a century and a half.
He would have to make one last attempt, one desperate final speech to convince them to remain. And that is why he was at the North gate to the city, where most of the negotiations had taken place. Symbolically a large procession of the newly dubbed 'Rukon Citizens' were marching that way, having shed their uniforms.
The man was shaking. The past few years of augments had taken their toll on him. His face was haggard and wrinkled, though his uniform was smooth and pristine. He looked more like a ghost under a sheet. It seemed as if this so called "god of death" was about to be taken by its icy grip.
He raised his voice and spoke loudly to the approaching parade, standing between them and their future.
"Brothers, sisters! I beg of you to reconsider! Turn back from this folly! Inside these walls we are Shinigami! We have overcome death! But past this gate you will succumb to it. Here we are perpetually safe from the Hollow outside! In time we can move out and retake more land, but this is not the time. For now we must grow and then we can destroy them."
He did not know what the Taichou's plan was, but the had to expand at some point. Eventually their population growth would mean that the land inside the walls was insufficient to support them all, though the point that it would start to be a concern would be in about six hundred years time, and even then it would hardly be critical.
"Have you forgotten how it was before the time of the walls? For those that are too young to remember, the documentation is clear and obvious. The words of the majority of our elders are testament to this! Even I, who is younger than this city by over two hundred years know this to be true! I hear you speak of freedom and liberty. I tell you now, the only liberty you will find out there is negative. The lands out there are ruined and infested by the horde. How will you feed yourselves? How will you defend yourselves from becoming food to the Hollow? I beg of you, on this day, do not err. Remain here, safe and united!"
The crowd had heard all these arguments before. For years the debate had been raging. If any were persuaded to change their minds, it wasn't evident to Yoshiya. The swathe of people kept moving forwards.
