Hello all you curious readers! Welcome to my latest story! I do sincerely hope that you enjoy it, as it is a story that (once rereading it again) I've come to realize is really awesome. I wrote this several months (probably closer to a year) before posting it, so I've probably improved since then. This story isn't finished in the least (especially considering that this is all I have written for it), but I hope to keep it going eventually. I've have to slightly reeducate myself on some of the terms and characters, but I do hope you'll bear with me. My love of Sonic has NOT died and neither have ANY of my stories (if you read any of them), so no worries there. I'm supposed to be sleeping now (doing my homework, rather) but I decided to post this beforehand.

This story didn't even have a title or a summary until I started to post it, so I hope that you'll read it, even if the summary drives you off a bit. Now, some warnings for you people and a disclaimer.

WARNINGS: AU, some OOC-ness, a mess of characters and terms that I must get used to again (but for now it's fine), little to no plot (as of now)… SWEARING, of course… Violence (duh)… I think that's it

Disclaimer: I will do this only once; I do not own Bleach. This is a FANfiction site.

Establishing a Kingdom

Chapter 1

"What's going on in here?" an irritated voice called out. The room fell quiet as its occupants shuddered in slight fear. Great. Now they'd done it. They went and pissed off the strongest of them all!

'We're all gonna die!' was the unanimous thought running through everyone's heads.

"I said," the voice went on, "'What the fuck is going on in here'!" The speaker came into the room and suddenly each being was filled with absolute dread. The owner of the voice was not only the strongest, but the most terrifying of them all. While most had small fragments of their masks remaining, the other had most of it. He glared down at the lesser Arrancar and growled through the mask, his voice sounding gravely and distorted. "Well?" he pressed when the silence had stretched on. "Who the hell did what and when, and why and how the fuck did they do it?"

Grimmjow tried not to visibly shake from fear. "W-well; U-um… Nnoitra and I were just discussing with Ulquiorra about the recent additions to the Arrancar ranks. Nnoitra and I agree to sift through them and, uh… sort them based on power level…" Grimmjow willed himself not to stutter or to look weak in the face of the ominous presence. "Ulquiorra, however just said he didn't care either way, really, though he was arguing by saying that someone else might be better for judging their strength besides us."

"Hm." The Arrancar seemed thoughtful, though it was rather hard to tell. "Maybe you're all right. It's a clever idea, I'll admit," Grimmjow and Nnoitra looked somewhat pleased, "but Ulquiorra may or may not be right. While the two of you," he motioned to the satisfied duo, "are strong, you're also young and weak compared to several others. Combined with your shared loved of violence, that makes you poor choices to test the new blood. However, it is because of your love of battle that you may be better for this." The other Arrancar who were uninvolved looked thoughtful as they considered this. Most of them could see how it could be both a good and bad thing. Some other just looked confused. "Humph. Fine. I'll think on it. I'll let'cha know when I have yer answer," the top Arrancar drawled, turning and waving an arm.

Our answer? Grimmjow thought. But it wasn't a question! Or even a request! Hm. Whatever. At least now he knows what we really want. With that, he huffed and stormed out into the corridor, heading towards his own room. Maybe he could take a catnap and then go rough up his old 'partners'. Yeah. That's always fun. He smirked.

o0o

Sighing, the top Arrancar stepped down the small, narrow hallway and into a darkened room. Flopping onto the soft bed, he curled on his side and thought about the blue haired Arrancar's idea. His story seemed likely, and almost made up on the spot, but it held good ideas. So good of an idea, he let the commotion he'd heard slip by.

Sitting up, he rolled up his sleeve to rub his right eye. It was golden in color with black sclera. It was also the only eye on his face that was exposed to view. His mask, which was shaped simply like a regular skull, was mainly white with dark red-black stripes stretched across the left side only. The stripes covered the forehead, cheek, and chin of the mask, with the only breaks between them being the eye hole and the set of razor sharp looking teeth. The right side was white save for the small black strip trailing from the bottom of his right eye, skipping over the teeth, and ending at the chin. The fact that he had most of his mask and was still the strongest was almost as strange as the fact that it had marking on it. If he had to guess, he'd say that the red stripes on the left cheek of his mask were also on the left cheek of his face underneath.

But it was just a guess.

He closed both eyes and lay flat on his back. The eyehole in his mask, which usually let out a shocking yellow glow (the color of his eyes), was dark as let his mind wander briefly. He entertained the idea of that creep Dordonii helping Grimmjow and Nnoitra supervise the newcomers, but tossed the idea out. Didn't need to scar them for life (death?) with the other's crazy antics and frequent shouting of, 'Niño!' Sighing, he fell asleep.

o0o

He was not happy. Not in the slightest bit. Here he was (Him! Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!), going through the numerous newly formed ranks of Arrancar (as per his 'request') with Nnoitra (as it was also his idea) and, no matter how much he hated him, here was Ulquiorra; hands in his pockets, acting like he owned the damn place.

And, if it wasn't for that lazy, selfish, and admittedly frightening bastard that accepted his plan, Grimmjow thought that the green-eyed Arrancar might've. Owned the place, that is.

"Alright. We need to sort through this trash and see how much of it needs to be taken out. The higher ranks, according to him, are to be named the 'Espada' and consist of only 10 members. After that, the rankings go from 11 to 99 and are to be called Números, with 11 being the oldest, 99 the youngest," Ulquiorra explained in a monotone. "Got it?" he asked. The other two nodded. They needn't ask who 'he' was… "Excellent. Those that are Espada can request to have Fracción; Números Arrancar that must obey their master/Espada superior." He walked calmly through the long hallway and made a left turn. Grimmjow rolled his eyes as he followed him.

Soon the trio arrived in the first of the series of rooms that contained the new Arrancar. Several of the faces were familiar from the day or so prior when they attracted the attention of him. The ones that were present were a group of 5 males (Grimmjow's group and future Fracción, as he was sure he would get an Espada seat), the two idiots that accompanied Nelliel, a group of three bickering females, two more females with identical masks, and two more very large and kind of dumb looking males.

Several new faces were among the crowd, though. There was one that Grimmjow identified as the brother of one of his 'friends', a guy with an afro, a gothic girl, an Arrancar with a fish tank for a head, and a dark skinned male were also in this room with them.

Sauntering over to his 'comrades' Grimmjow yelled, "Oi! Dumbasses! We've arrived. Shawlong, Edrad, Nakeem, Yylfordt, Di Roy; get your asses over here!" The group of 5 glanced over at Grimmjow and rolled their eyes. Moving over to the stronger Arrancar and possible future Espada, they greeted him in a friendly-yet-condescending way. He either ignored it or didn't notice.

Heaving a sigh, Ulquiorra explained what the three were here to do. When he finished, he gave the obligatory, 'Do you have any questions?' line. Receiving a negative, he nodded. Since skirting around the truth wasn't in his character, he decided to be very blunt- as per usual. "If you are weak, you will die. Only the strong can survive. We are going to test your abilities, and since most likely none of you will succeed in becoming the Espada, we advise you tred carefully. That said, let us begin."

o0o

Nelliel Tu Odershvank didn't like fighting. In fact, she despised it. She, along with several other Arrancar lived somewhat peacefully in Las Noches before he arrived, and she was sure that once he established enough order, things would be peaceful once again.

It also helped that the two were becoming good friends.

"Lil' Ichi!" she shouted into the dim and quiet meeting room. No response. Poking her head through the door, she squinted into the dark trying to find the other Arrancar. Seeing no signs of him, she took small steps into the wide area. As she made her way further inside, she looked around. There was a long table shoved against one wall and platforms of varying heights on the left and right on the room. The wall behind was blank except for the humungous double doors. The opposite wall had steps leading up a short distance to a flat platform that formed the length of the room. One the top of the platform were columns that were evenly spaced apart with dark between each. Walking up the steps, she swept her eyes back and forth, noticing idly that there were dark doorways on the walls at the end of the row of pillars.

Scrunching her nose, she wondered where they led.

Pacing slowly along the row, she glanced in between each, expecting to see wall behind them. What she didn't expect, however, was to see a small, narrow hallway between the two middle columns. Leaning into it, she saw a barely visible flicker of light coming from somewhere inside of it. "Little Ichi?" she softly called down the hallway. Expecting no response, she didn't wait, and froze when she heard the muted sound of moving fabric. Blinking, she leaned in closer. "Ichi…?" she called again, this time louder.

"Nel…?" came the quiet reply. Hearing an affirmative, he pulled himself up and straightening his clothes before moving to the door and peering around the frame. Catching sight of the green haired Arrancar, he motioned for her to come back and join him.

Nelliel cracked a wide grin and dashed down the narrow corridor and wrapped him in a big hug. "Hello, Ichigo!" she cried, threatening to smother him. His eyes were wide as he struggled to remove her grip from around him. She was pressing his face against her chest and it was getting hard to breathe.

"Nel, please! I need some air!" he told her, gold-black eyes wide. Holding her firmly by the shoulders, he pulled his head away and stepped away as she let go. After a few seconds of gasping for breath (which created a weird, echoing sound through his mask), he turned to face her, eyes warm. "Hello, Nelliel. What brings you here?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Nelliel smiled. "I just wanted to know if you planned on going out today. I'm sure you've noticed the large spiritual pressures that are outside of Las Noches…?" she asked, hands clasped behind her back.

Giving a slight, unseen smile, he cast out his senses in a Pesquisa search, looking up slightly when it found two rather powerful pressures. He closed his right eye in thought as he tried to determine whether or not the two were Arrancar. Giving up when it didn't work, he reopened his eye and looked at Nelliel. "Say, Nel, you wanna go with me? I'mma go look for 'em." She nodded. "Alrighty then. Let's go!" He grinned and sonido'd off, leaving Nel to follow. Smiling herself, she took off after him.

Once he reached the hallway, he slowed to a run. Looking around, he almost laughed at all the shocked looks he received. Nelliel appeared behind him, chuckling at his behavior. Giving her a nod, he sonido'd off again, this time to leave the gigantic palace.

o0o

Ichigo and Nelliel had been walking the sands of Hueco Mundo for hours searching for the high spiritual pressures. Just when Ichigo was about to forget it and go back, Nel pointed to a duo of figures hunched over on the opposite side of a sand dune. Grinning, he ran off towards them waving his arms over his head like an idiot. Shaking her head, the female Arrancar sonido'd over to him, stopping him. "Try a more subtle approach, and use a bit of intimidation if you have to- but not too much. We don't want to start a fight."

"Hm. You're right. That's a good idea!" he conceded, thinking. With a shrug, he calmed his features- both visible and non-visible- and walked calmly to the two that had just noticed their presence. Nel noticed with some interest that their duo consisted of a tall man with dark brown hair and a short young girl with light green hair. She also noted the fact that they were both Arrancar and seemed to resonate with the same reiatsu.

The man stood to his full height and shoved the girl behind him. "Who are you and what business do you have here?" he demanded.

Ichigo, who had bowed his head to hide his own Arrancar status, lifted his head, revealing the nearly complete, yet broken mask. "Hello," he replied simply.

"An Arrancar…?" the man spoke aloud. "State your name and your reason for being here!" he shouted to the impassive one. His eyes were narrowed in threat.

"My name is Ichigo Shirosaki and I have come to ask you to live in Los Noches with the rest of the Arrancar," Ichigo responded, his eyes half lidded to prove he wasn't intimidated.

"Los Noches… the palace of Hueco Mundo?" the rogue asked incredulously. "Why would we want to?" he asked again.

"In Los Noches, we can provide protection, basic needs, and companionship. May I ask for your names?"

The taller snorted but answered anyway. "I am Coyote Starrk and this is Lilynette Gingerback. We need to discuss this. Please excuse us." Starrk turned to grabbed the girl into his arms and used an extremely fast sonido to distance himself. At the speed the two moved, Starrk was probably counting on neither he, nor Nel to see them leave. Nel didn't, being weaker then the male, but Ichigo saw every step he made as if he was moving in slow motion.

Ichigo watched them until they got far enough away, and then waited while the man and girl had a heated argument. Several minutes passed until they seemed to come to an agreement. They used another sonido to get back, and Starrk nodded as soon as he reappeared. "We've decided to accept your offer and come with you to Los Noches."

"Excellent choice. I'm sure you'll be happier and enjoy living in Los Noches with the rest of us!" Ichigo smiled and whirled on his heel. "Okay, then. This is Nelliel Tu Odershvank and she's one of my friends. I hope that we can get along as well." Nel smiled and waved at the newcomers as Ichigo ran ahead.

He ran for a few yards before spinning and flopping down onto the sand. He gave a sigh before rubbing his right eye. Looking up at Nel, he whined, "I hope we find the other one soooooon… I'm so bored… D'ya think I can get Ulquiorra to release on me and spar a little? I haven't had any good matches recently."

"Why don't you get Grimmjow or Nnoitra to fight you?" Nel asked. She hated fighting, but she figured it was a little better if she didn't have to.

"'Cause I don't wanna kill 'em. I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop if I fight them. They get so into the battle, I'll probably end up killing them. Then where would we be?" he responded as if it was the most simple answer in the world.

Starrk gave him a look before asking, "What are the two of you planning on doing now?"

Ichigo glanced up and shrugged. "Dunno. I wanna go back ta Los Noches, but Nel says we need'ta find that other spiritual pressure we sensed," he explained in his double-toned voice. Starrk suppressed a shudder. The other sounded creepy without intending to.

"Whatever. We dun wanna hang around here, we do, Starrk? Can we go back to the castle?" Lilynette spoke up for the first time.

Nelliel chuckled. "Sure. I'll escort you there." She gave the make on the ground a stern glare. "Lil Ichi, go find that powerful Hollow!" He groaned.

"Fine. I'll see ya later." With that, he sonido'd off, too fast to be seen.

Starrk twitched and eye as he and the girl followed Nel back to Los Noches.

o0o

Ichigo wandered off for a while before using a quick burst of sonido in the appropriate direction. Trusting his instincts, he followed the powerful energy. Though not as strong as Starrk and Lilynette had been, this one would rank a close second with Nelliel right after. After traveling for a while, he finally found the source. It was a female judging by the face and certain features, and it was mostly human in appearance. Her eyes and most of her skull where visible, instating her a position of being a semi-Arrancar. One in the early stages of the transition. Dashing forward, he caught her before she entered a dark cavern type opening with steps leading upwards. Choosing to skip the pleasantries, he stared impassively down at her. "Halt. I am Ichigo Shirosaki. I wish to speak to you of important matters." He subtly raised his spiritual pressure. "State your name, if I may know."

"Tia Harribel," she replied, politely kneeling, her eyes cast down. "I must implore you continue. I am curious as to the matters you wish to speak to me about."

o0o

Mere hours later, Nel, Starrk, and Lilynette were arriving back at Los Noches. Ignoring the pointed looks of some of the lower level Arrancar, Nel moved swiftly to the meeting room that lead to Ichigo's personal quarters. Avoiding all the questions thrown at her, she turned to the new arrival with a small, apologetic smile. "Thank you for being so patient. It's not often Lil Ichi goes off to recruit new Arrancar. That, and we're just starting to develop new laws and order here in this wonderful palace. Ichigo-san should be back soon. He's heading here as we speak. If you would please wait here until he gets back. I must check on some important matters elsewhere in the facilities."

Starrk nodded as the tall female left him and his shorter counterpart waiting in a grant conference room with suspicious looking pillars and hallways. Seeing nothing better to do, he sat down and laid his head on his arms. A short nap wouldn't hurt.

Hope none of that was confusing or anything. I also hope you liked it! (Bad title is BAD!)

Next time: Grimmy, Emo, and Spoon-head test the new blood (and maybe experience some ass-kickery…?) and Ichi-kun explains the basics. Laws are made, disappointments are laughed at, and eyes are rolled. The Espada are raked, as well as the Números, and the Fracción claimed; meanwhile, more and more powerful Hollows are disappearing into the Arrancar-forbidden land of the 'Real World', and certain groups get seriously involved. Joy.

(Oh, by the way, I came up with that off the top of my head. Be proud of me; I'm bad at that.) Review, please? Enjoy! Until next time!