So, today was the day. Well, there were going to be lots of important days in quick succession so perhaps “the day” was no longer an appropriate way to describe it. None the less, today was important. The 8th had been conducting their preliminary investigations for a few days since the initial assault on the factory and now they were starting to interview senior staff. Osamu was in part resentful and even furious that this was going on at all, but the timing was most inconvenient for him. Plan were in train, plans that needed careful supervision and this was a distraction he could ill afford. 

As the focus of their investigation Osamu was one of the first to be interviewed, though many of his senior staff had already been grilled, no doubt this would not be the last time he was subjected to such scrutiny. He refused to have this meeting in his office, he would not dirty its walls with the profane accusations and vile falsehoods that would doubtless surface. Instead he was holding this meeting in one of the many small conference rooms that existed in the headquarters of the 10th. He arrived on time and took his place at the table. Captain Hakkin however, was late. When she arrived she was smiling, as was her custom but Osamu was not amused. 

“Your late.” He said simply, in tones that could cut stone. 
“I had a lot of work to do.” Was her casual reply, still smiling. It was calculated to annoy him though and it was successful, but Osamu kept his composure, simply saying. 
“Sit down.” In a tone that seemed more order than polite invitation. Hakkin did so with a cheery ease whilst Osamu sat on the other side of the table, brooding. “Let’s get on with it Captain.”
“You don’t seem very happy to see me Iwakura-san” Commented Hakkin, with a mocking tone of false offence.
“Address me by my rank, whilst I still hold it.” There was almost a hint of threat behind those words, unwise perhaps but Osamu evidently felt so strongly about the matter that he was willing to risk it. Unfortunately for him Hakkin realised his position all too well and so said again.
“You don’t seem very happy to see me Iwakura-san.” This time there was a tad more playfulness in her voice which showed she knew exactly what she was doing. Osamu was tempted to be petulant and refuse to speak until addressed properly. But that would be childish and ultimately result in only further harm. Leaning back in his chair he sighed and looked off to the side before saying. 

“You expect me to be happy? Your company would be perfectly pleasant were it not for the situation. In case you forget I have been falsely accused of treason, that’s liable to make very unhappy indeed.”
“Falsely accused?” Said Hakkin with a perked eyebrow of disbelief. She did not reveal it yet but the material evidence pointed towards Osamu being correct, but she wonderd if he would reveal something in questioning. 
“A redundancy I suppose, both guilty and innocent men would say that. But I had to say it.”
“What if I were to tell you I believed you were guilty?” Said Hakkin, leaning back and folding her arms, examining his reaction closely. 
“I’d call you a damn fool and ask why.” Truth be told Osamu wanted to break her jaw for even saying that but he knew this was all just part of her job. He couldn’t hold it against her. She at least, was doing her duty.
“Why? You forget, I am the investigator here. I ask you why, you don’t get to know my thinking.” Retorted Hakkin with a vicious little smirk and a glint in her eye.
“If I don’t know your thinking how can I point out your flaws?” Osamu was suddenly very worried about this little chat. If no evidence was laid before him how could he defend himself?
“Sucks doesn’t it? It only gets worse for you I’m afraid. You know how the central 46 try people?”
“However they damn well please.”
“However they damn well please, your right.” Parroted Hakkin, almost in unison with Osamu’s reply. “They might try you fairly, allow you to present a case, lay all the evidence in front of you, give you time to prepare a defence. Or they might just decide in a back room, call you in and execute you there and then. They might even kill you if they think you are innocent, just to save face. Plus they and the noble houses share many connections, they have no such ties with you.”
“Then they..” Began Osamu’s protest, but he was cut off by the Captain of the 8th. 
“Shouldn’t be allowed to try you? That sounds like treason.” She said, still with a slight smirk and a tony bit of the, got you now, attitude about her.
“You said it.”
“You thought it!”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to, I just have to say it.” Hakkin was mocking him, taunting him openly, trying to get a rise out of him but what she said was true. The facts didn’t matter as much as what she said the facts were. Her efforts to provoke him were partially successful but Osamu did not leap into indiscretion. Leaning back in his chair with obvious frustration Osamu slapped the table with the palm of his hand and said. 

“Then what is this? If you wanted me dead there would be no need to meet me? You would just write up a report that condemned me and hang the facts.” In essence, he was demanding she show her hand, something Hakkin wouldn’t do quite yet. 
“Your right, I would.”
“Then what do you want?” Demanded Osamu, with his frustration still evident in his voice.
“Perhaps I care about the facts.” Suggested Hakkin, with a tone meant to suggest that perhaps Osamu had misjudged her.
“Only academically, you enjoy conspiracy and detective work but I doubt you let the truth get in the way of your work.” This prompted Hakkin to give a little laugh, but not one that was to happy. His words had wounded her slightly but as Captain of the 8th she had gotten used to stomaching worse blows than that. 
“There are more facts than just the material.” This was an interesting turn for the meeting to take.

“True, but you’re asking me to guess as to your soul now. I don’t like guessing about such things. I like to know for sure before I act.” It was clear that Osamu did not want to play ball but it was equally clear that Hakkin was going to make him. 
“You can’t know, you can only guess. Your choices are limited.” She said, smiling and seemingly revelling in her absolute power in this situation. She wanted to see which way he would go, his answer surprised her somewhat. Cracking a slight smile Osamu looked at her for some long time, sizing her up slowly before speaking cautiously, like a man walking on thin ice.
“You aren’t high born. You climbed up from the bottom but you had some help.”
“Perhaps you should do my job.” Hakkin said, with a slight smile and a slightly surprised tone.
“I didn’t intuit that, I read it. In your files.” Was Osamu’s flat and oddly crushing response.
“You have access to my files?”
“Please I run payroll, HR, accounts and so much more besides. Who do you think keeps your records?” Hakkin gave a tiny embarrassed smile, as if she should have remembered that but Osamu kept going. Now he was moving into intuition and character analysis. “You didn’t forget where you came from. Most people who have that opportunity never look back. They save their own skins and then that’s it. You remembered you want to help. But you don’t.” There was a tiny moment where Hakin’s smile faltered, a miniscule crack that Osamu pounced on. “You don’t because you don’t think you can. You are worried you would get stamped on just as I have. You lost your faith long before now.”

“I saw them for what they were first.” She said, slightly sadly and with an empty kind of shrug.
“You were perceptive.” Osamu swiftly commented in an effort to lift her enthusiasm but it was also a genuine compliment. 
“Perhaps, but it’s the nature of the job. The nobles and the central 46 aren’t interested in leading, they are interested in ruling. The status quo is all they care about because the status quo helps them. They call it balance but it’s no such thing, they are just scales weighted so heavily they never move.” She said, still seeming disappointed and defeated, not by this interview but by the world in general. 
“A boot on the neck rather than a helping hand.” Osamu helpfully summarised, equally disappointed in his tone but not as defeated, there was a bit of vim in there, hiding beneath the sadness.
“You threatened to make that boot slip!”
“Not intentionally I assure you, besides would it have been a bad thing?” Osamu could smell the trap suddenly. Of course, if he kept on telling the truth he would not fall into it but he would have to be very careful with his words and avoid falling into linguistic traps. Still though, he left his question in at the end to see how Hakkin reacted.
“For them, yes, and they are the law.” Was her response, clearly she was being as guarded as him and not revealing her personal opinions on the matter. Her previous words and tone suggested someone of sympathetic views to Osamu but that could have all been a front. 
“It can’t last.” Commented Osamu, again cautiously and in an attempt to flush out Hakkin’s thoughts.
“It’s lasted a long time, they think it will last a while longer.” Disappointingly she sounded like Yue on this topic, assuming things would carry on as they had before, failing to recognise that everything was changing, or at least threatened to change. 
“Not after the occupation.” Osamu said casually, in an attempt to make her see the fundamental changes that were coming without seeming like he was in any way driving it, and therefore being technically guilty of treason. 
“They don’t believe so.” Hakkin’s response was enlightening, it showed that it was not her thoughts she was reflecting, but rather the thoughts of the nobles. Everything she had just said was part of the job and did not provide any real indication as to her own thoughts. 
“They don’t want to.” Said Osamu as he leant forward and put his weight on the desk, giving a tiny shrug as he did so. 
“Even if they did, do you think they would act differently? Believe it or not they will fight it. In the change they have nothing to gain and everything to lose.”
“They could substantially mitigate their loss.” Pointed out Osamu helpfully, he was trying to offer the nobles the best way out as he saw it Hakkin’s response was slightly demoralising. 
“They are greedy, they don’t want to let go of anything. They have been used to everything for far too long. A lot, simply isn’t enough anymore. All or nothing.” Osamu wanted to believe that these were her personal opinions showing through but he couldn’t be sure. It could all be an interrogation tactic. This thought, justified or not, caused him to become more cautious. 

“I agree with you, that’s why I know you are lying to me. You’re telling me what I want to hear, you’re trying to make me trust you so I spill my guts out. You didn’t find anything in the records because there was nothing to be found. You know aggressive interrogation won’t work with me so you’re trying to be my friend. You already know some of my opinions but even Kuroda can’t justify that as treason.” Hakkin gave a slight nod, his analysis was certainly justified. What Osamu had just outlined was a legitimate interrogation technique and one that she had used in the past. 
“You’re right. That is how I would question you. I can see it won’t work.”
“Flattery won’t either.” Interjected Osamu, with a small and cautious smile. This was a tad closer to the barbs he enjoyed exchanging, but the stakes were far too high for him to take real pleasure out of this. 
“But would I not also act like this if I genuinely did agree with you, or at least sympathise?”
“You would, but I can’t afford to trust anyone right now.”
“If you don’t start trusting some people you will not survive this.”
“If I trust the wrong one I will surely die” The implied subtext being that he could hardly be blamed for not trusting the very person who had been assigned to investigate him and who’s division was traditionally as shady as you could get. 

“You trust Captain Yukihiro.” Was Hakkin’s unexpected response. Osamu wondered where she was going with this but even more alarm bells suddenly started ringing in his head. 
“What makes you say that?” Enquired Osamu, cautiously. 
“Our observation indicates that she entered your barracks a shortly after your run in with Kuroda. She spent some time here but left without any sign of a struggle or distress.”
“A professional visit, we had a battle to plan.” Was Osamu’s flat response, he was trying to give Hakkin as little ammunition to work with until he knew her plan. As it turns out she had the ammunition already. 
“It was more than that. It lasted too long and my men indicate you never went deeper into the building. ”
“Our discussion became heated, we had something of a debate about our previous meeting.”
“Yet you went unharmed?” Enquired Hakkin, clearly slightly surprised that Yue had not attempted to kill him then and there. 
“So did she.” Said Osamu with a slight smile. After all, they were both Captains, there would have been a decent chance he might have gotten the upper hand instead, or at least landed a few substantial blows. 
“Very civilized, unbelievably so.” Hakkin clearly wasn’t buying all of this quite yet, Osamu was unsure what she smelled but he knew she smelt something. 
“We didn’t walk out of that meeting friends. I still think she will try to kill me. But we were professionals. We had a frank exchange of views but we both conducted ourselves properly. Something the Captain Commander could learn from.” Whilst Osamu had not told a lie he had been economical with the truth. He trusted Yue, not with his plans and maybe not even with his life. But he trusted in her character. Certainly he had a certain fondness for the woman. He would not throw her into this mess by revealing that fact now. Had he done so the 8th would have knocked on her door just as hard as they had knocked on his, or so he believed. He considered it though, forcing a crisis, forcing a rift in the Captains. But he just couldn’t do it, not yet any way. Thankfully, she was satisfied with what he had said, clearly his words had assuaged some unspoken doubt. 
 
“I see. But that just means this investigation won’t expand to include her. There is still the matter of your own treachery. You attempted to wrestle agricultural control from the nobility and have already subsumed portions of Ichigawa responsibilities. Furthermore you seem to be building your own personal army. This all looks very suspicious.” Her previous attempts at friendship were gone, it had failed so now she had to pressure him more, be more direct in her accusations. Thankfully Osamu remained calm under pressure. 
“Too suspicious to be treason. If I wanted to bring the system down I wouldn’t do it in this damn silly way. I’m more dangerous than that. Everything I have done has been in the name of the war effort. Soldiers were starving so I turned over every scrap of land I could get my hands on. Still, it was not enough and any extra strain on the system would send us into disaster. Already fighting men would often go hungry when even a tiny deviation from the ideal occurred. I needed more food and more land and I knew the nobles were sitting on it. I was already sending them food but my data on their needs and production statistics was wanting. I knew for a fact however, they were not operating at maximum efficiency. For their own good, and more importantly the good of the war effort, I had to have control of their output.” His tone sounded a little indignant, even betrayed but he was keeping it in check. Crucially he was not straying into accidentally sounding like he was planning something treasonous.
“But they were better at it than you believed, they had reserves after all.” This was another, carefully calculated comment from Hakkin, designed to try and get a rise out of Osamu and tempt him into indiscretion. If there was treason in him she would find it. 
 
“Indeed they did, but that simply put a greater moral dimension on the problem. I have had to deny fighting men food in the past and they just sat there. Even when the food was flowing to all who needed it the diet lacked certain nutritional elements. Whilst I cannot prove a definite link between cause and effect anyone with half a brain would know that some people will have died due to the decrease in performance this food shortage created. Meanwhile the nobles, the central 46 and our Captain Commander just sat there. For what? I cannot comprehend. Men died whilst they sat and watched as their reserves wasted under them and they controlled the greatest concentrations of arable land currently under…” He was about to say, our control, but he realised how those words did not apply any more. It was becoming increasingly clear the nobles did not see themselves as part of the greater whole, instead they were somehow separate. Using a term that demonstrated a shared sense of belonging was not appropriate when discussing the ruling families. His arguments and passions played to a part of Hakkin that was not traditionally put on display. Even now she kept it locked down as she went about her job. His frustration threatened to tip him over into saying something stupid so she kept on pressing. 
“It sounds like you are angry with them.”
“Damn right I am, the deaths of servicemen are on their heads and this occupation may have dragged on for longer than it otherwise would. This pointless deceit went beyond callus and bordered on evil.” Evil was not a word used lightly by Osamu, hence why he said it merely bordered on evil, but the strength of his feeling was apparent.
“Traitorus thoughts?” Enquired Hakkin, she was close to finding treason in him, if any lay there. Osamu’s response though began to bring this line of enquiry under control. 
“To think others vile is no treason, as you well know. I would have to act.”
 
“You were taking the farms.” Was her opening salvo in a last attempt to force him into an angry or careless confession on this topic. All with the aim of making him admit to interference. 
“A misconception I have heard all too often. I merely wanted to control production and output, not legal ownership, as I thought I had made abundantly clear. Come the end of crisis they could have had all control back and they would have had the legal right to compel it. But they just couldn’t play along. Furthermore I would never have, nor did I, act against the express order of my superiors or against the law. Believe me, I hired too many lawyers to fall into that trap.”
“But you were interfering in their affairs.”
“I wanted their permission. I had yet to step outside the limits of the law, I assure you. Besides, they interfere in our affairs on a daily basis. As ridiculous as that legal protection is I will say one thing for it. Its draftsmen made it so it worked both ways. In reality though it works one way, they can interfere with us as much as they like but the reverse is not true.”
“So you wanted to interfere?” Asked Hakkin, but it was more of an assertion than a question. Osamu had just come dangerously close to accidentally stating he was planning a breach of the law. Not treason perhaps but still a serious crime. Enough to make him loose his commission and likely be imprisoned for a substantial period of his life. Osamu however, was too alert to how close he had sailed to oblivion to fall for it. 

“The thought had occurred but I had no plans on acting on it. I wanted to avoid this very conversation.” Everyone knew that simply desiring to do so was not a crime. If it were then everyone would have been imprisoned for conspiracy for one offence or another a very long time ago. 
“If you had control of their farms and food, would they have suffered for it?”
“The Ichigawa would have, almost certainly. They have an army that refuses to fight, there is no point in feeding soldiers who refuse to pick up their swords. Everyone that was useful to the war effort would have remained well fed, better fed probably. But I would have obtained the power in a non-treasonous manner, plus making that call is far from treachery. Indeed, the behaviour of the Ichigawa is the closest thing to treason to so far be mentioned in this meeting.” Osamu’s response was true in both fact and law. It may not have made him popular with the Ichigawa but it would not have been treason. Indeed, his counter accusation had some merit to it but more importantly it succeeded in shifting the focus of the discussion. 
“I agree, it is suspicious, but I cannot investigate it at this stage.”
“You have the legal power.” Stated Osamu forcefully, as if that should have been enough. 
“But not the practical power. I’d be out of a job and in a cell the moment I came sniffing. Regardless of the facts. Surely you learnt that lesson by now.” Osamu just gave a sad groan of acknowledgement.

Hakkin then continued. “What about the other powers you have been stealing away, from the Ichigawa in particular?”
“Again, all perfectly legal.” Osamu would have launched into a long explanation of how it was all well within the law but it turned out he didn’t need to. Hakkin already knew the answer. 
“I know it is, your lawyers papers were quite helpful on that point.”
“Those papers are legally privileged and exempt from any inspection or investigation.” Osamu was obviously indignant, illegal access to legal papers was one of the worst ways to violate the integrity of the legal system and fair trial. Hakkin just raised an eyebrow to criticise his naivety, an eyebrow that only went up further when he said. “Certainly it could never be used in a court of law.”
“Stop thinking the rules bind anyone but you. No one else here plays fair and the people who led to this meeting taking place not only write the rulebook but they cheat anyway. Law and Integrity mean nothing to these people and they only spew those words as a way of binding everyone else.” Osamu gave another dissatisfied groan, even though it was the very first piece of genuinely useful advice Hakkin had given him and little did she know but it would have a profound effect on him. Hakkin however, kept going. 
 
“What about your little army?”
“Again, legal.” Was Osamu’s uncooperative response. 
“I think we can take that as read. I’ll assume you start every response with those words from now on in. Now why do you need an army?”
“To win the war of course.” Osamu was still being cautious. 
“Against who?” It was clear that Hakkin was insinuating the war might have been against the nobles rather than anyone else but Osamu was not about to play that game. 
“The hollows, there are no plans to turn the NDV directly onto the noble houses.” Again, this was a truth but a slightly misleading one, he had considered using the NDV to pressure nobles but that was a plan that had only ever existed inside his own mind nor was it a plan he was irreversibly committed to.
“It could be said you are interfering with noble business again.”
“How?” This was a point Osamu genuinely didn’t see. Of course, not seeing it was justified. By now Hakkin was clutching at straws, a fact which became apparent when she spoke. 
“Armies are a source of their power. By creating your own you threaten this power, thereby interfering with them.” Her tone was confident but he words showed just how thin the case was getting. 
“More direct interference is necessary to pass that test. Besides, by that logic, the 13 Divisions should be disbanded.”
“If they could they would, but that event would spur every other Captain into open revolt. They keep us around because they haven’t worked out how to get rid of us yet. But the day will come.” 
“Sickening, but as I said. The NDV are being aimed out, not in.”
“Why create them?”
“Because we were losing the war. We still are, our latest victory is not enough to turn the tide on its own. It is obvious the old ways are no longer sufficient and they never will be again. No one else seemed willing to face up to that fact, so I acted. I took the most plentiful resource at my disposal, the common man, and turned it into a vital war tool. They are already having an effect.”

Hakkin's next question returned focus on hypothetical future events. “Will you disband them after the occupation is over?” Osamu smirked upon hearing the question, he knew she already knew the answer but what was odd was the fact she was trying to make him say it. It honestly couldn’t hurt him, unless he tried to hide it. 
“I could lie and say yes, but you would spot that in an instant. I have no plans on standing them down. I have made a full time, professional army and I will keep it. In peace time I shall make it stronger and fitter for purpose. The hollows now know they can attack this place, en mass and well. They will do so again one day, with even more forces. When they do come they will find my boy’s waiting for them as well as everyone else. Perhaps that would be enough to prevent this madness happening a second time and save countless millions in the process. The NDV also allows us to go on the offensive more aggressively, once the occupation is over.”
“Some nobles will find that threatening.” She said, but making them feel threatened or uncomfortable was no crime. That was a fault purely in the noble’s own minds. 
“Insecure, egotistical jackasses.” Was Osamu’s predictably bitter response. 
“The same could be said of you.” Was Hakkin’s playful counterpoint, all said with a smile. 
“At least I admitted it.” The pair indulged in a brief bout of laughter, some of the tension seemed to be lifting from this gathering. “But all of the NDV comes under either 13 division rules or my own personal affairs, neither of which the nobles can touch. Besides, treason does not extend to making nobles uneasy.”

“Indeed it does not, but what about your feelings on having ¾ of the NDV taken away from you?” Again, Hakkin was hoping to expose some treasonous plan that had formed as a result of Kuroda’s actions, even if none had existed before now. 
“Anger, sadness, fear, resentment. All the things you would expect. It was a pointless gesture. No one else knows how to use them and without my blessing they won’t follow anyone else into battle. Not now they see a threat against their darling father.”
“Kuroda might just order them disbanded then, for disobedience.” It was a certainly a realistic possibility, Kuroda didn’t seem the type to tolerate something beyond her control. Perhaps she and Osamu were more alike in that regard than either of them cared to admit. Still though, Osamu seemed unconcerned by the suggestion.
“If she does that they will just reform under a private banner, entirely beyond her control. Either that or she will light the touch paper on the very uprising she claims to be trying to avoid. I doubt even she is that stupid. It’s too late to get rid of them now. They are permanent. As for control, it will soon pass back to me in its entirety. As my innocence is proven and others are shown as unable to properly manage them. There will be no choice but to return control of my men to me. As a result there is no need for me to become aggressive or treasonous in my efforts to get them back. It will come back on its own. Once the situation is significantly different I can place portions of the NDV under different Captains, but it would be a slow process and relationships would have to be carefully constructed, this was always my original intention.”
 
Hakkin seemed to sit there for a while, considering the matter. She was processing the interview to date, the testimonies of other senior officers and all the material evidence at her disposal. She took her time as she mentally checked for inconsistencies or unexplored lines of enquiry. Eventually though, she seemed to settle on a conclusion. 
“Judging by your words, the words of your colleagues and the total lack of material evidence. You are entirely innocent in the eyes of the law. But that’s just passing the first test. Now we need to decide whether I want you to live.” She said, with a slight smile. “A voice in the back of my head tells me to kill you. Kuroda, a few short sighted Captains and all four noble families would thank me for it I wager. But…… I’m going to let you live. I don’t want to speculate about this strife that may or may not come after the occupation. I don’t need to look that far into the future. I think we need you, as you were, right now. We may not survive this war without you and your radical techniques and afterwards well…. I can’t say I wouldn’t be glad to see life improved for the others. I will write up a report, officially recommending you be cleared of all charges. If any funny business looks like it will happen with the report I’ll have it leaked. I will also recommend all your former responsibilities be returned to you, especially total control of the NDV.” 

“What about the farms?” Osamu was clearly anxious to get as much of his authority back as possible, for both selfless and selfish reasons. 
“You won’t get any more than you already had. Not until we have a territorial expansion and you can find some land the nobles won’t claim.”
“Unlikely, but that’s not what I a meant. I meant about managing the farms I had previously, and food distribution.”
“As I said, I will recommend that be restored to you as well. I must say, I never saw paper work like yours when it came to rations. But I’m not sure the Captain Commander would be willing to return your power to you on that front.”
“Then shes…..” But Osamu didn’t have the chance to finish that sentence as Hakkin finished it for him.
“A damn fool, perhaps.” It was unclear if these were her thoughts or if she was merely demonstrating how well she had understood that part of him. “But if she is a fool she is a fool with all the power and motives currently unknown to me.”

“So you suspect her of something?” Osamu was glad to hear he was not the only one who had aroused the good Captain’s suspicions and if he could cast the light of enquiry onto the Captain Commander and her allies then all the better. 
“Her actions in the meeting were odd, to say the least. All that business with the nobles and central 46 reeked to high heaven. But it’s nowhere near enough to spark a full investigation. Plus I would likely be assassinated before I get to see any evidence. Still. I’ll be keeping half an eye on her. I’ll be keeping half an eye on you too.”
“At this rate you will run out of eyes.” 
“I have many eyes.” There was then a brief period of tense silence, a tension which gradually eased as both Captains began smiling oddly, Hakkin even let out a tiny giggle. “Well, I must be off to write my report. Rest easy Captain.” Osamu noted with pleasure the fact he had been addressed by rank at last. 

What Hakkin said next though, troubled him. “I won’t be the one to drive the knife, real or metaphorical, into you. But watch out for Captain Yukihiro. Don’t trust her, she is the most likely person to hold the knife, for all sorts of reasons. You may not want it to be her but desire does not change the truth.”
“What makes you think I trust her, or would want to?” Asked Osamu, still eager to try and keep Yue out of this if he could. He didn’t want her dragged into the mess.
“Because when you were at your most vulnerable you called her. Not me, not your family, not the Captain of the 11th or 12th both of whom you have enjoyed good and strong relations with. You called on her. That strikes of something special to me. As I said, do not trust her.” 
“For the moment you are correct.” Though Osamu was not letting on to the fact that he already trusted Yue a tad more than Hakkin would have liked him to. Crucially though Osamu thought he could change things to the point where Yue really could be trusted, one day. Certainly though, Osamu did not like hearing Hakkin’s caution. 
“For the moment has nothing to do with it. If the central 46 want you dead, she will kill you no matter what her personal thoughts. If the Captain Commander wants you dead, she will kill you. If her father wants you dead, she will kill you and she may kill you for a hundred other reasons. These are factors that will not change. She barely has a mind of her own when it comes to these important decisions. She is a tool not an independent actor. The only way you can come close to trusting her is if all the above trust you as well. We both know that’s not going to happen, not without some serious effort and luck any way.” Hakkin almost sounded aggressive, not angry but certainly forceful in her opinion. It was if she cared what happened to Osamu but also knew that being gentle on this topic would not work. 
“Perhaps..”
“Perhaps nothing, I don’t know what it is you see that makes you want to trust her or think you ever could but I strongly advise you to find those thoughts and crush them. Her soul has already been bought wholesale and I don’t think anyone could ever prize it free. Whatever plan you have, give up. If you merely want the Captain of the second, rather than her specifically then sit back and wait. She will be married off soon enough and forced to resign her position. You could even speed that process along if you want. Make it so a new Captain of the second is forced to come along. That woman is useless to you.” She was sounding increasingly embittered and vitriolic in her criticism, hoping this would move Osamu. 
“No…”
“No you won’t or no you disagree with my analysis? Either way it doesn’t matter much. I hope you realise the truth of the situation before it’s too late. You care a great deal about a great many people. That, in a nut shell, is the main reason why I’m cutting you lose, aside from your innocence of course. But let her go, she is one person too many. You can’t help her and you can’t depend on her, ever, but the effort could kill you.” Now her tone had shifted to almost pleading.
“We will see.”
“Indeed we will, hopefully before it’s all too late.” 

There was a few moments of heavy, contemplative silence before Osamu stood up and waved Captain Hakkin away, they both had work to be getting on with. 
“Of you go then.” He began to walk out before he paused and looked at Hakkin, saying more gently. “Oh and Captain thank you.”
“No need to thank me, I’m only doing my job, and the right thing of course.” With that the Captain of the 8th stood up with a noticeable spring and a broad smile before lightly walking out. Her usual playfulness had returned instantly. It was an odd sight to behold but Osamu was glad of it, for now. This meeting had gone better than he had hoped. Of course he had no way of knowing how Kuroda would react but he couldn’t worry about that now. Hakkin’s caution about Yue though. That did worry him. Greatly.

But Osamu could not sit here all day and let worry and doubt consume him. He had to go on the offensive. In the main he was increasing the readiness of the NDV and putting in place the final preparations for a massive recruitment surge. However, he had something else to do as well. Osamu had always intended to establish a newspaper. Along with trains, tunnels, factories, damns, power plants, courts, a proper police force, an apolitical military and so many more things. Until now it had sat a long way down his list of priorities, it was to be something of an icing on the cake rather than something of substance. But, now he needed another tool in his arsenal aimed at controlling public opinion. He had his generosity and consideration for the refugees and impoverished, he had his attitude of classlessness, he had his capability, he had his NDV, he had his many deeds and word of mouth, he had those he employed to gently massage things and he had a gentle anti noble sentiment gently simmering away. But he needed another string to his bow. 

Of course, if he just set up a newspaper under his own name it would instantly be seen as the propaganda tool it was and immediately lose all credibility as well as make him a laughing stock amongst his foes and expose him to possible criminal action. No, he needed to be smarter than that. He needed to fund the start-up of the operation through extremely discreet means but that was no problem for Osamu. The man was a wizard of numbers and paperwork. He could make money appear and disappear like magic and that was when he was using strictly conventional methods. The machines would also be readily sourcable in a similar manner. The problem was finding an editor and senior sub editors who were loyal but also deniable. Osamu’s solution to all of this was surprisingly simple. 

For an editor he chose an old con man from the middle districts. Some would have described him as a naughty chap with a heart of gold. However, the people who called him that had all been tricked. He was a greedy chap with a chip on his shoulder and a taste for money and power. Thankfully he owed Osamu big time as Osamu had cut him loose on more than one occasion. Furthermore Osamu promised him what he wanted, namely the money and power that came with being a newspaper editor. But also, they shared a deep residing grudge against the noble classes and the powers that be. The man even held this almost vitriolic hatred above money. Even better he was utterly deniable, there was no paper record of Osamu and this man ever having been in contact. Once Osamu had this man on board the rest was simple. The man would be under instruction to recruit deputy editors from the educated refugee population as well as the majority of the rest of his staff. Then the paper could act freely, reporting on the war, societal issues, scandals, the economy, whatever it pleased and however it pleased. But, on issues where Osamu may take an interest he could control the headlines and articles to suit his agenda. It was perfect. And now, with the 8th off of his back, he needed to see a con man about the soul society’s very first newspaper.