I own neither Bleach nor Tropico. Would be a tad weird to write fan fiction if I owned either... or better yet both. (Squints.)

El Kurosaki!

Chapter Two: Getting comfortable...

El Presidente's office, Palace, (Viva la) Tropico(!), six months after the 'inauguration'

"This is TNT with disturbing news—"

Crash!

He didn't even bother looking up from his paperwork. It was surprising though—his office was on the second highest floor available. Still, there was paperwork to be done and orders to be placed. The previous presidente's stash of gold certainly thrust the country out of debt with thirty-four thousand to spare but it was ultimately a temporary relief given that maintenance had to be done and salaries that had to be paid. He did get that iron mine up and running though, plus a cigar factory to compliment the new tobacco plantations, plus a couple of tenements so as to reduce the number of shacks littering the island, never mind rehiring the previously sacked teaching staff... plus Penultimo's hair brained idea from earlier 'needing' more funds than what was originally proposed in hopes of reinforcing the sales attempt... As it stood now what remained was a tenuous thirteen thousand left in the treasury. Even so, number of people were still not happy however...

"The situation on the island is growing unstable! Rebels are getting bolder each passing day and the island military does not have the manpower to handle the rising threat."

"In related news," Sunny said as she took over for Juanito, "according to the latest polls El Presidente's popularity is dropping as more and more protesters are taking to the streets."

"Just like old times!" Juanito happily chirped. The disturbing amount of cheer in it was enough to stop mid-crumbling another note to give his radio a deadpan stare in lieu of the host. Regardless however it simply cut off to an equally off-puttingly upbeat Caribbean song just in time for another rock to smash through his office's window. Grumbling to himself, Ichigo once again pressed a switch on his intercom.

"Yes Señor Presidente?"

"Can you please someone up here to sweep up the broken glass and rocks?" Ichigo practically groaned as a third rock slapped against the windowed door leading out to the balcony. "And see if we can get someone to replace the windows later too?"

"Yes Señor Presidente!"

Crash!

"Ugh..." As he banged his forehead against his desk he languidly lobbed the paper wad at the second trashcan in his office. Do to his position he wasn't sure if the soft "thwack" of paper on metal meant it landed within the waste bin or outside of which. After simply resting there for several minutes he ran his hand through his hair and groaned when the angry chanting that filtered through the holes in his windows and doors refused to abate. He couldn't make out a word being said but he could get the gist of what they wanted...

He was tempted, he really was. There wasn't much in the way of stress relief on the island. Still no churches, only one pub, and so on and so forth. And the pub can only fit so many people at a given time. Obviously it wasn't enough to at least distract the mobs that pestered him as of late. But if he was to use the remaining amount the country would surely go into debt again. Even with a financial loan from the bank on top of the current one for the farms there were still wages to pay, maintenance to perform, government expenditures—

Crash!

... windows to replace lest his office gets rained in again...

"Fuck it." Immediately he began to pull the desk drawers at near random pattern till he found what he was looking for: a leather ledger. One he stumbled across which contained his predecessor's notes toward the overall costs for various buildings as well as various edicts he experimented with. As soon as he found it he opened it up and flipped straight to the section tabbed off as "Religion & Welfare". Soon enough he found what he was looking for, and was reminded of future projects to come yet had to be put on hold for financial reasons... Actually considering the iron mine that Weapons Factory in the industry section came to mind. Might be worth splurging on to increase their profit margin and get back out of debt all the faster... it was a little distasteful, yes, but he had a country to run and keep afloat considering he still can't leave it yet. That and... no, never mind. As far as he knew he didn't have a criminal record.

It was decided then. Without really thinking about it Ichigo leaned over whilst still glancing over the book and reached out to press what he thought was a section of glass only to catch himself a moment before pressing the edge of his desk, his cheeks red with embarrassment. He couldn't help but forget he wasn't in his command room at times.

Straightening himself, fixing his clothes and clearing his throat he took the book with him, more for peace of mind than anything, before heading toward the door and subsequently out of it whilst muttering a "good morning" to a pair of soldiers guarding the door to his office on the other side. As he walked away the man and woman dutifully began to follow him much to his quiet and swallowed irritation; he gave up that battle a long time ago much like he had with his reluctance with Penultimo's assistance. He still fought tooth and claw with the other issues though ("NO! I EVEN WENT AS FAR AS TO MAKE THAT AN EDICT! NO STATUES OF ME DAMN IT! IT'S NOT EVEN TUESDAY YET!").

Barring the occasional encounter with one of the staff and even a patrolling guard, each greeted the same rough way as before, his journey was relatively silent. Soon enough he arrived at his destination: another set of double doors guarded by another pair of guards which lead to a room similar to the size of his office yet bore no windows of any sort. It was finely decorated, yes, with more tasteful pictures and other decorations such as vases and small statues but that was beside the point. The true purpose of this room was to hold an that which by rights shouldn't exist outside either a sci-fi movie or a secret government facility... which it technically was, rendering the point moot in a way. Regardless however a table greeted Ichigo the moment he slipped through the doors with his guards in tow. A table of steel with a glass pane dominating the majority of its center which illuminated a holographic image of the very island the nation of Tropico was standing in. A brilliantly colored one at that to the point of being a literal eye sore but it was more than enough to accurately represent a 'live' reading of Tropico from his predecessor's spy satellite ("A ten second delay isn't exactly a "live" image...") which was linked to this system. Even so it was a bit awe inspiring to see miniature representations of both the citizenry and their vehicles going about their daily lives in utter ignorance of the spy system quietly monitoring them from orbit.

Regardless, and all but ignoring the technicians that maintained the system beyond the initial "good morning" to their dutiful "greetings El Presidente!", he put aside what lingering distaste he had with the Presidential Spy System in order to access a console on the side of the table. Before doing anything however he spared a long and hard look to consider just where to put everything he wanted to build. Obviously the church would go into town amongst the rubble. With luck the construction crews would be able to salvage some more material from said ruins, thus lessening the overall cost of the project. As for the Weapons Factory, that was trickier... He knew from personal experience that living near a factory did not do wonders for anyone's health. Yet he couldn't exactly place it out in the country, near the plantations and such where their crops would suffer instead, never mind the workers. In the woods then, by the mine? It was tempting. Yet between the ecological issues of cutting down the trees and the potential loss of profit despite the agricultural stations now built into the logging camps to ensure they had a steady supply of wood, he was considering down the road a bit...

And upon being reminded of his logging camp he couldn't help but squint his eyes shut as he debated whether to settle for a lumber mill instea—actually if he remembered correctly...

He paused in his deliberations to consult the industry section of his notes. As it turned out the lumber was indeed cheaper than the weapons factory. Financial conundrums solved!

With a satisfied and eased breath the president of Tropico tapped at the screen and combed through the similarly tabbed sections on the screen for the buildings he wished to have constructed. In a matter of seconds a green outline of a church was placed within the confines of the burgeoning city. Not long afterward a similarly colored representation of a lumber mill was placed next to the logging camp. Satisfied with their placements, Ichigo glanced down at the screen which he had just used to plant the buildings and tapped a button to confirm their placements which in turn would notify the construction office of their new tasks via email. In that same stroke the estimated amount of funds was transferred from the state treasury, presented on another nearby screen, leaving less than 800 and dwindling as other electronic transactions were occurring throughout the island. Still, within a few months the people would finally have some place to go to that doesn't involve destroying palace windows, not the mention an increased profit in sales due to the introduction of planks in exports...

In fact, now that he thought about it, what was the last estimated total of their export's profit? For that matter, when was the latest ship expected to come in? What was the current date?

A quick glance affirmed it was the 22nd of July. Typically the cargo ships start rolling by on a biannual basis from what he understood. Specially requests trade ships however operated on their own, often quicker shcedules... sadly last he checked Tropico didn't produce anything that the other countries were currently interested in; perhaps he should have Penultimo update the list again, just in case. Regardless, just to reassure himself, he had the display scroll over to their one and only shipyard and 'clicked' on it by tapping the screen which acted as the display's computer mouse. As the building was highlighted a series of displays along the edge of the table appraised him of the current amount of staff employed at the dock, the manager in charge, and a week old report of its inventory estimated to be roughly worth over twenty-thousand Tropican Dollars. No news of an incoming ship however. With a sigh he disengaged from the table and rubbed his shoulders.

"A massage, Señor Presidente?" a technician eagerly offered from his sighed.

"No thank you," he muttered—

"Special Report!" a radio he failed to notice blared to life with Juanito's voice, cutting off the music it was just playing a second ago. Not even a second after that red warning lights descended from the ceiling and began to flash as a warning klaxon roared to life. Barely a moment after that the guards soon slammed the double doors shut and trained their weapons on it whilst the technicians ran about in a state of panic. "That new rebel fad as blown out of proportion! We go now to Sunny out in the field!"

"We're transmitting live from the field where rebel forces have launched a full-scale attack against the palace." What confusion Ichigo had for the situation drained away along with the color of his face in surprise as he whipped his attention back to the holographic display. In took a few seconds but finally the aforementioned rebels emerged from their hiding places from various parts of the island and where immediately coated in red as they made a b line toward the very building he was in. Similarly soldiers either on guard duty or were around the island were coated in a green sheen as they made a desperate dash to the palace to defend it; current defenders took what defensible positions they could find along the first and second floors as well as the gardens out front. Even so, at most he had a rough total of twenty soldiers, including the ones in this very room, against what appeared to be thirty or so rebels. "The Army is ready to repel them and our own Penultimo is going to join the fight."

"That's right! I will give my life for El Presidente! Charge!"

"But Penultimo, the front is in the other direction!" Sunny heavily sighed. "Perhaps he just going out the back door to circle around them from behind," she half mumbled more to herself than for the audience, at least as far as Ichigo was concerned as he screwed his eyes shut for but a moment before turning to the technician that was now suffering a panic attack. Yet just before he said anything someone began to pound on the doors from the outside.

"Let me in! Let me in!" Penultimo desperately cried from the other side.

"Presidente?" a guard asked, never taking her eyes off the door.

Groaning Ichigo again clamped his eyes shut. "Let him in," he half growled.

Cautiously the guard edged to the door and reached out a hand. She spared her partner a glance and gave a nod which was returned in kind before she yanked the door open with her rifle at the ready. In a near flash Penultimo let himself in and practically plowed straight into the holo-table just as the door was slammed back shut behind him. Huffing and puffing, the presidential aide took his time to straighten himself and make himself presentable as he idly eyed the room. The second he noticed the President of Tropico however he went ramrod straight as he turned to Ichigo whilst his partially combed hair was left to wildly flop about. "Señor Preisdente! I, uh, came to, uh, warn you of the..."

The man didn't get to finish his thought and was left trembling as the white clad individual brought up a finger to not only silence him but to point to him as well. "Just tell me there's a cabinet of rum in here," he half growled with an irritated glower. Upon being presented with a welcomed distraction the man brilliantly smiled as he took a more relaxed posture.

"Certainly, Señor Presidente! There's one right behind you as a matter of fact!"

With a half lidded glare Ichigo turned on his heel to look at the wall that was behind him a second ago. It took a second before he noticed it, the cabinet. It was actually tucked into the corner. Without wasting a beat he all but marched over to it and threw open the cabinet doors to indeed find a bottle of rum and, surprise surprise, a magnum with a few ammo cases next to it. On a secondary shelf was a bottle of whiskey though in the company of what appeared to be a submachine gun... He blandly yet irritably glared at the two weapons for what felt like hours before again shutting his eyes as tightly as he could before forcing a breath though his nose.

"Viva La Tropico," he murmurs before reaching for the rum and, without bothering with the glass, popped open the bottle which he promptly drank from. After a swift chug he practically slammed the bottle back onto its shelf before grabbing the handgun and holding it within the palm of his hand. For a brief moment he considered simply surrendering so as to settle this situation as peacefully as possible... yet, try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Perhaps out of pride or stubbornness considering what he was doing for this country for the past few months, or maybe something else, but he didn't really know. Even so s flicker of unease and quiet resignation flickered through his eyes before he cocked the gun's cylinder aside to expose the bullet chambers to see if the gun was indeed loaded or not.

It was.

With a soft sigh Ichigo quietly closed the cabinet back up before beginning to head to the door. The guards looked over to him in utter mystification that they didn't stop him from opening the doors and simply leave the room at a deceptively calm pace before dutifully following him. Penultimo, in the meantime, simply resumed where he left off with his grooming as he turned over to the holographic table. The rebels had just reached the palace and were being held back by the defenses that were already in place. Though several squads of soldiers loyal to the presidente were still on the way, one finally reached the rear of the force and began their own attack.

A/N: I'll be honest, this is more of a late Christmas Gift than a monthly update of any of my stories. I have only myself to blame.

To those who are basically waiting for me to update this particular story, as I said before, I'm trying to get my other stories settled first before I can bring my full attention to El Kuroski! As such please be a little more patient. At the utter most expect a holiday (Christmas) update at the most.

For what it's worth I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.