Disclaimer: I do not own bleach! All credits go to Tite Kubo
Rukon Arena (Quincy Grounds)
***Next Morning***
Ichigo woke up and his head was spinning, it felt like someone had run a truck into it, Bambietta woke up since Ichigo groaned and started to move, and she was definitely not any better, considering how she buried her head in the pillow and just wanted to stay in bed, last nights party really took off, Ichigo could have sworn that a lot of weird things he didn't know were even possible happened during the party.
For once, Ichigo saw Byakuya dance, which meant that he was either drunk off his ass, or hell has frozen over, then he saw Kyoraku flirting with one of the Quincy guards while being drunk, evidently Kyoraku got so drunk he couldn't see the difference between a man and a woman, which was evident since the K.G consists of only men, something that Kyoraku would definitely go to great lengths to cover up now.
Kukaku had decided to flirt with Ukitake for some reason or another, though it was probably just the alcohol, Yoruichi had started to strip and gave a sleeping Yamamoto a lap dance, Uryu and Inoue was caught by the guards having public sex behind the tent, right in front of everyone since the majority of the guards had tents behind Ichigo's own tent, which they happened to forget while being drunk, and they also forgot that they had a room in Ichigo's tent so they fell asleep outside.
Rukia and Renji decided to excuse themselves since they needed to talk for a couple of minutes so they went back to their tent before they came back, of course everyone heard their conversation and it was definitely not talking they were doing, when they did come back, the K.G had to hold Byakuya down to avoid having him shred Renji to pieces for what they did during their so called talk and after that Senbonzakura were confiscated by the K.G for the duration of the party.
Kaien and Miyako were drunk but had enough self control not to do anything stupid, they left with Yuzu and Karin since they were sober, primarily because Masaki and Isshin were playing public S&M, only without nudity or sex, but dirty words were used, something that most likely traumatized Yuzu, While Kaien had asked Ichigo to be a good brother and take them away, however Ichigo and Bambietta were to busy flirting and eating each other up, leaving them both with hickeys.
So today was the punishment for drinking too much, namely a massive hangover for most of them and some humility, or atleast Ichigo and Bambietta, and for Masaki and Isshin it was parental damage control for their daughters, and there were probably more that Ichigo would learn about later. Just as Ichigo was about to get up a Samund called out from the hallway.
"Good morning your majesty, Lady Bambietta, the time is 08:00, the time you requested to be woken up." Samund said on the other side of the tent door.
"Not so loud!" Three voices said simultaneously
Both Bambietta and Ichigo widened their eyes, they recognized the third voice, and they definitely didn't expect to hear it in their bedroom tent, the voice came from the empty bathtub, and when they looked at it, they saw a pair of brown legs, and it confirmed the voice it belonged to. Bambietta got out of bed and went over to the bathtub because Ichigo didn't dare to do so, so he decided to get dressed while Bambietta took a look.
And just as expected and Ichigo feared, a naked Yoruichi lied in the bathtub, half asleep, before even she opened her eyes and they went wide as Yoruichi tried to take in her surroundings, only to see a tent roof and Bambietta hovering over her.
"What are you doing in my tent?" Yoruichi asked Bambietta.
"It's our tent, not yours... Yours is a bit further down." Bambietta replied dumbfounded.
Yoruichi sat up and took in her surrounding more properly, and realized that this wasn't her tent at all.
"Ohh... I see... Then where did I put Yamamoto?" Yoruichi asked.
"Wait what?" Ichigo asked.
"He fell asleep so I put him in what I think is my tent but I'm not really sure..." Yoruichi replied.
"You lost him?" Bambietta asked.
"He's in here with us!" A voice yelled out from the other room.
Ichigo now fully dressed went outside his room and entered his parents room, Ichigo looked into their bed surprised, Masaki was sleeping on the right, Isshin was sleeping on the left and in the middle of the bed Yamamoto was sleeping with them, though they have woken up, they were still in bed, weirdly enough, they seem quite alright with their current arrangement and it didn't look like it bothered them that Yamamoto were sleeping with them at all.
If anything it looks like they had fun, since Yamamoto were telling stories about himself from when he was younger. Ichigo didn't even bother to ask due to his headache, he turned around and noticed that Yoruichi and Bambietta were peeking with their head out of the tent door, and they were quite surprised with what they saw, Ichigo decided to go out to the main tent where breakfast would be served.
'What the hell happened last night!?' Ichigo asked inwardly, clearly confused.
"Should I prepare for our two guests too?" Samund asked.
"Yeah, it would be rude not to offer them breakfast, bring lots of meat and bread aswell, and some painkillers please..." Ichigo said as he sat down at the table.
"Got a hangover Ichigo-kun?" Kyoraku said as he entered the tent with Ukitake, Byakuya, Rukia, Renji, Hisana and Ginrei.
"You're already awake?" Ichigo asked.
"We woke up an hour ago." Byakuya said.
"I assume last night got a bit out of hand." Ginrei said clearly embarrassed.
"Well, lots of things happened, I assume you want Senbonzakura back?" Ichigo asked Byakuya.
"Yes please." Byakuya said, as Ichigo waved to a guard that brought it out and handed it over to Byakuya, prompting Byakuya to thank the guard for retrieving it for him.
"Is that Sensei?" Ukitake asked as he listened to the voices in the hallway.
"He is currently sleeping between my parents in the same bed telling stories from when he was younger, while Yoruichi slept in my bathtub for some reason or another." Ichigo responded as a servant gave him some water and pain killers.
"Kisuke is on the floor over here in my room Ichigo." A voice said from the right wing, Ichigo recognized it as Chad, and realized that Kisuke and Chad had shared rooms for the night.
"And Kisuke is sleeping on Chad's floor." Ichigo said as he took his painkillers and drank some water.
"I see, I'm sorry for the trouble." Kyoraku said as he looked at Ichigo.
"There is nothing to be sorry about, it was a fun night and now we are just paying the consequences for the fun, it doesn't bother me at all." Ichigo replied as he noticed that Bambietta and Yoruichi had dressed and come out.
"Well I guess that explains your hickeys." Kyoraku said with a chuckle.
Ichigo and Bambietta looked at each other and noticed they were covered in hickeys around their necks, then Ichigo realized Kyoraku's serious expression, by now the rest of the Kurosaki family and Yamamoto had come out, Yuzu and Karin had already been awake for some time, the Shiba family, Uryu, Chad, Kisuke and Inoue also came out to the table.
"Anyways Ichigo-kun, I heard there were some trouble yesterday involving you and Bambietta." Kyoraku said, causing everyone to look at Ichigo.
"Oh?" Ichigo asked.
"Evidently you threatened the Uramadani family is that correct?" Byakuya asked.
"That is correct." Ichigo responded.
"Any particular reason?" Ginrei asked.
"Ichigo, the Uramadani family is a noble house, you cannot threaten them just like that!" Rukia said.
"I was well within my right to threaten them." Ichigo replied.
"No you were not! Ichigo this cannot be permitted or go without consequence!" Kyoraku replied sternly.
"Oh really? So the fact that they said that my sister were threatened with abduction and forcibly married will go without consequence and be permitted then?" Ichigo asked Kyoraku.
Kyoraku looked at Ichigo with a questionable look, wondering what Ichigo was speaking about, he haven't heard anything about that.
"Evidently you don't know do you? Then listen to this voice recording!" Bambietta said as she took out the voice recorder from her pocket and played it for all to hear.
Karin, Masaki and Yuzu were shocked, Kyoraku along with his party were surprised, Isshin along with the Shiba family were more alarmed, They all realized that Ichigo threatened the Uramadani to protect his sister, to keep them away from her.
"I see... So that is the case..." Kyoraku said sadly, realizing that the story was different.
Ichigo rose up from his chair and went right in front of Kyoraku.
"I decided to leave it be, to not make an issue out of it, because I saw no reason to start problems over this now that things were going so well, figuring that nothing would happen and the K.G would do their jobs should anything be attempted, but evidently you want to make an issue out of it, so fine, let's create a diplomatic issue out of it." Ichigo said to Kyoraku.
"I don't think that is necessary..." Kyoraku said, knowing he just pissed Ichigo off, hoping that it wouldn't become to much of an issue and it could be solved.
"Really? You were ready to just barge in here and demand consequences for it, so I'd say otherwise." Isshin said.
"And we do apologise for that." Byakuya said.
"I will not have my family threatened, and then have you enter my tent and threaten with consequences! The Wandenreich will not stand for that!" Ichigo said with a voice showing he was pissed.
"I suppose they want compensation?" Kukaku asked.
"They wanted a marriage agreement and economic compensation..." Ginrei said.
"Not happening!" Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, the Uramadani family is a noble house, you can't just refuse them like that." Rukia said scoldingly
"And last time I checked, royalty supersedes nobility." Ichigo responded nonchalantly.
"Well... True..." Rukia said embarrassed, it was noticeble that she had forgotten that Ichigo was royalty.
"So how do we solve this issue then?" Hisana asked.
"Simple, if they have business with the Wandenreich they can speak with me, Bambietta or Uryu, other than that, they will keep themselves away from my family." Ichigo responded.
"Well, it's going to be hard to keep them away from them, considering they demand to speak with them, and threaten to involve central 46 if they don't." Kyoraku said.
"Then let them." Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, you are aware that they want to take your sisters and not you to central 46 right?" Isshin said.
"I know, but what can they do?" Ichigo asked.
"Whatever they want?" Kaien said.
"No they cannot, we are a sovereign nation, they are dependant on our resources, and our military force to defend themselves, the last thing they want is a war to break out, which will happen if they touch Karin or Yuzu, they can talk about the balance all they want but we are not affected by it." Ichigo said.
"You aren't?" Ukitake asked.
The entire Shiba family, Yamamoto and Ukitake became surprised when they heard confirmation from Kyoraku that they weren't, and therefore the issues of the Soul Society weren't really the problems of the Wandenreich.
"I see, so that is the case, then it would be stupid of them to do anything." Yamamoto said as he scratched his beard.
"Agreed, let the Uramadani family sulk and cry as much as they want to, I'll not follow through with their demands, and that decision is final." Ichigo said sternly.
Kyoraku sighed, he was happy that Ichigo wasn't too insulted to make a bigger case out of it, but he still had a lot of problems now regarding this issue, and one wrong move could cause havoc from either the Wandenreich or the Uramadani family and if the Wandenreich got too pissed, well Kyoraku still remembers the incident with Mayuri and Karakura town as it was still fresh in his mind and he didn't want a repeat of that, especially not in the Soul Society or a repeat of the war that has so recently ended.
"Don't worry Kyoraku, we will not involve everyone else, if the Uramadani family wants to do so then let them, we will not make you a courier of information or drag you into it unnecessarily, just enjoy yourself, we will handle any issue with the Uramadani family or central 46, in diplomatic talks, furthermore we will keep it under wraps on our end." Ichigo said reassuringly.
Kyoraku looked at Ichigo as he sat down on his chair, considering what Ichigo just said, feeling a bit of relief hearing that it wouldn't become to much of an issue on the Quincy side of things, but Kyoraku was still worried about the Uramadani family, they would do whatever they could to get their wish, just like any other noble house.
"Very well then, I apologise for coming in like this and saying things about consequences, the situation with nobility can be stressful at times." Kyoraku said regretfully, it wasn't a lie, nobility could be a pain in the ass at times.
"I know, it was obvious just by looking at you, besides I have seen how nobility is anyways, so don't worry about it." Ichigo said calmly as the breakfast was served.
Ichigo noticed Kyoraku trying to leave, but Ichigo had one final thing to say.
"Kyoraku!" Ichigo said.
"Yes Ichigo-kun?" Kyoraku said as he turned towards Ichigo.
"You see that gate of the sun over there? That will transport the fullbringer officers here, figured I'd be interrogating them soon, just as we've finished breakfast, shouldn't be long. Feel free to stay if you'd like." Ichigo said.
"I think I might just take you up on that offer." Kyoraku said happily that they could finally get something out of the present situation.
Samund made the preparations for the transport, several guards entered the tent on Ulrik's orders for the sake of the prisoners, as they started to prepare for their arrival, Ichigo enjoyed his breakfast, and the company they recieved, everyone who came to the tent stayed, enjoying their time and laughing, until everyone finished their breakfast, Masaki took Karin and Yuzu out to train in the woods in the art of the Quincy, Ichigo ordered them to take 20 guards with them, which they did due to the Uramadani family, Inoue followed them aswell to avoid being noticed.
The schatten opened up, and outside came 10 A.N.U soldiers along with the chancellors from Silbern, carrying the two prisoners, a blue haired one and a brown haired one, both had tall figured, and nearly identical faces, the brown haired one had a indifferent look while the other was furious.
"Welcome to the Soul Society, lady chancellors." Kyoraku greeted them.
"Thank you head captain." Liltotto said.
"Ahh yes, for you who don't know, these are like Uryu, chancellors and my closest advisors, each of them run their own ministries aswell, beind third in rank of me and second in rank of Bambietta, who is the grand mistress and my second in command. In my and Bambi's absence, they are ruling the empire in my stead while I'm off having fun." Ichigo said before he introduced them to the chancellors and explained their positions and jobs.
"It's a pleasure to meet you lady chancellors." Yamamoto said.
"Thank you, It's a pleasure to meet you aswell former head captain, this time under much better circumstances." Liltotto said, surprisingly quite respectfully.
"Better circumstances this time? Have we meet before?" Yamamoto inquired as he studied them.
"No, but we served as sternritters of Yhwach's army back during the war." Candice said.
"I see." Yamamoto said.
"Despite our preparations I must say that you made sure the Gotei were quite prepared themselves, losing almost every sternritter in battle during the second invasion, Bambi lost to Komamura, and we got our ass kicked by several officers including his majesty himself." Liltotto said as she pointed to Ichigo.
"You're welcome." Ichigo said nonchalantly.
Candice groaned frustratingly at this, recalling at how Ichigo easily messed up her hair, the others laughed about it now though, but the introductions were kept short as the prisoners needed to be interrogated.
"Alright, I presume they haven't told the A.N.U anything?" Ichigo asked.
"No they have not, Pascal was almost going as far as to suggest torture, only the blue haired one has said anything." Liltotto said.
"What did he say?" Ichigo asked as he studied the blue haired man.
"That we killed his wife and so on." Liltotto said.
"Killed his wife?" Ichigo inquired.
"The woman that charged infront of the defences at Fort Karakura." The brown haired man said.
"Ohh so you do speak?" Meninas asked.
"SHUT UP BITCH!" The blue haired man yelled, before the A.N.U punched him in the stomach.
"I'm sorry for your loss then." Ichigo said.
"Yeah right..." The blue haired man said.
"So why did you attack my fort?" Ichigo asked, not expecting a response.
"I didn't think you'd speak with us about that." The brown haired man said calmly.
"How come?" Ichigo asked.
"Just figured you wouldn't care." The brown haired man said.
"Those soldiers, at that fort are men under my command, each and every one of them, and they have families that wants them to be safe, do you really think that I'm a heartless monarch? Not caring about my men? If so let me tell you one thing! I do! I will to the best of my ability protect these men, just as they are protecting the Wandenreich and it's territories!" Ichigo said sternly.
"I see, it's admirable really, but can you protect all of them?" The brown haired man asked.
"Maybe not all of them, but those I can protect, I will!" Ichigo said sternly.
"So be it then, you want to know why we attacked your fort? So we could claim it as our own!" The brown haired man said.
"What are you doing brother!?" The blue haired man said.
"It's better to speak with an emperor then an interrogator, it's more respectful according to our status, you know this." The brown haired man said.
"What is your status? Rank and Name!" Ichigo said.
"Maedar Lennareon, crown prince of the Dominion, This blue haired idiot is my brother, prince Aerion Lennareon, The woman you killed was Linly Lennareon." Maedar said.
Everyone widened their eyes, two crown princes captured, this was new, Ichigo looked at Kyoraku for answers on this Dominion, but he knew nothing, then Yamamoto, he didn't know anything, no one knew anything about them.
"So you are a new appearance then?" Ichigo asked.
"Not really, we've been around for a long time." Maedar said.
"Really? How long?" Ichigo inquired.
"How long did the Quincy wait for Yhwach to awaken?" Maedar asked, causing Ichigo to frown.
"I see... One thousand years." Yamamoto said.
"Correct." Maedar said.
"And what is your purpose?" Byakuya asked.
"Justice." Maedar said.
"What justice?" Yoruichi asked.
"The justice for all of our fallen." Maedar replied.
"Alright, so why attack us?" Liltotto asked.
"Because both you and the Soul Society are the guilty ones!" Maedar said.
Ichigo frowned, knowing where this would lead, but he decided to make sure.
"So you want justice? Is it possible to speak with anyone regarding it? To solve it diplomatically?" Ichigo asked.
"Alright, give us half of the Wandenreich's people then! And the Soul Society can do the same!" Maedar said sternly.
"For what?" Bambietta asked.
"For execution." Maedar said, causing every Quincy to stare daggers at him.
"Not happening." Ichigo said sternly.
"Why are you insisting on executing them?" Hisana asked.
"One thousand years ago, the first Quincy-Shinigami war broke out, they fought each other brutally and relentlessly, neither side wanting to budge, between the two swords were us, the fullbringers, caught right in the cross fire, both Quincy and Shinigami slaughtered us, they killed innocent men and children, raped our women before killing them, murdering boys at the age of 3 for fun, burning our homes to the ground and laughing at us while they did so, while our people screamed and begged for help and mercy." Maedar said.
"It was a thousand fucking years ago... A millenia... Get over it fuck face!" Liltotto said.
"We won't! It's our turn now! Our turn to make your men woman and children take a blood bath! Our turn to hear their screams! Our turn to laugh at you while you beg!" Aerion said.
"So you are striking now?" Ichigo asked.
"What better time? Both the Wandenreich and the Soul Society are weak from the war, what better time?" Maedar replied.
"I see, clever, so I presume that answers the question of war then." Ichigo asked.
"It does, we can never be at peace with you two lurking about!" Maedar said.
"I see... Where can we find this Dominion?" Ichigo asked.
"You really think I will tell you that? No... You'll have to find out for yourself!" Maedar said.
"Alright then, if there are no questions from these people here, take them back to their cells." Ichigo said, no one had anything to say so the order was given, before the last chancellors could leave however, Ichigo called them out.
"Candice, Meninas and Liltotto." Ichigo said.
"Your majesty?" They said.
"If they are indeed who they say they are, then these are valuable prisoners then I don't want them commiting suicide in their cells or harming themselves, so chain them up to the wall, and make sure they are fed, force the food down their throats if you must, but make sure they stay alive, they are no use to us dead!" Ichigo ordered.
"Yes your majesty!" The three said in unison as they left.
As soon as the gate shut everyone was quiet, no one saying a word, until Ichigo decided to break the silence.
"Well aren't they in for a surprise." Ichigo said chuckling.
"Guess they are." Bambietta said smirking.
"What do you mean?" Ukitake asked.
"Yhwach used special units during the invasion, we only had to replenish those, otherwise when I took the helm we still had 11.7 million men, now that number has increased to 26.3 million men, including elite soldiers as the royal guard which are all captain level fighters, with a number of 50 000 soldiers, our navy is coming along greatly, among other things, the Wandenreich has already gotten stronger and more united then it ever was during Yhwach's time, and due to our abilities to manipulate reishi, reconstruction wasn't an issue for us, it went quickly, Silbern has been rebuilt and so has the outlying regions, and Silbern is even bigger then the Seireitei, all that remains is purely political, and even that is well under control, further more the sternritters have been rebuilt and is combat ready in a short amount of time, they are the ones that captured these prisoners." Bambietta said smirking.
Yamamoto, Ukitake and the entire shiba family with Isshin as an exception was surprised by how quickly the Wandenreich had come along, and their army size was staggering, giving the Soul Society even more reasons to be on good terms with the Wandenreich.
"This went faster then I thought, we still have one and a half hour left." Ichigo said as he looked at a clock.
"Indeed." Ginrei said.
For the time they spoke about the war to come, Kisuke said he would do whatever he could to find any trace of them, Ichigo offered up Erwig and had Samund order Erwig on the case immediately, allowing him to take everything he needed in the Wandenreich to find the fullbringers, the sternritters were briefed through the chancellors and then the army would be briefed, the A.N.U would also be on the case on this one, Kyoraku had called up the captains aswell, as they soon came into the Quincy tent.
They were surprised to hear what they had heard, Soi-Fon promising to deploy the entire Onmitsukido, which Ichigo offered a joint operation, which Kyoraku agreed to, prompting Ichigo to introduce one of his new sternritters and the commander of the A.N.U, Pascal Egger to the Soul Society, who quickly arrived on Ichigo's order, Pascal and Soi-Fon decided to get along, to save precious time, as they needed to gather intel quickly.
The entire situation took 13 minutes to prepare for by giving out plenty of orders on both sides, after that the captains had been dismissed, as the tournament was still a go, and some captains were on the dueling list, Soi-Fon weren't on the list however so she started to whip the Onmitsukido into high gear with stern discipline, but she would attend the tournament for appearances sake.
After that they could only enjoy 7 minutes of fun talk before a disturbance arrived, which was heard from the guards, along with metal clinging, proving that the guards had blocked the path into the tent with their halberds.
"Hold! Who goes there?" A royal guardsman asked outside the tent.
"I'm a messanger carrying a summons to princess Yuzu Kurosaki and princess Karin Kurosaki from central 46!" A voice said.
Kyoraku cursed his luck, Bambietta and Uryu was frowning, Isshin sat quietly but nervously, Ichigo was quite calm however with an indifferent demeanor.
"Well that didn't take too long." Ichigo said.
"It did not!" Byakuya said with a stern gaze towards the tent entrance.
"Let him in!" Ichigo ordered.
"There are seven of them your majesty!" The guard said.
"Then let them all in then." Ichigo ordered.
"Yes your majesty! You may come in!" The guard said to the messanger.
And the messanger entered the tent, it was one of the Onmitsukido's messangers, Ichigo always thought those guys have funny hats, Ichigo would rather die in a ditch rather then to wear one of those, how they could wear them was beyond his understanding, it was humiliating really, behind him were several shinigami guards in shihakusho the messanger looked around but couldn't see his goal anywhere.
"Is the princesses here your majesty?" The messanger said as he knelt.
"Nope, they're not here." Ichigo responded.
"I have a message for them from-" The messanger said before Ichigo interrupted him.
"A message from central 46 I know, but they are not here." Ichigo said.
"May I inquire where they are?" The messanger asked.
"Anywhere that's not here, but I'll take the message for them." Ichigo said noticing the messanger had two letters.
"I'm sorry but I can't, these are for-" The messanger said before Ichigo interrupted him once more.
"For my sisters I know, but you will not deliever that message to them, you will deliever it to me! And that is final!" Ichigo said sternly.
"But-" The messanger tried to say.
"There are no buts, are you deaf or just plain out too stupid to understand what I'm telling you!?" Ichigo asked with a loud and stern tone.
"No I'm not but-" The messanger said.
"I said no buts! Give me the message." Ichigo said, showing that danger rised in his voice.
"I can't, these are for them only!" The messanger replied sternly.
"And those letters contains the message?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes, they do." The messanger replied.
"Then hand them over, that way you don't have to say the message." Ichigo said.
"I can't your majesty!" The messanger said.
"You will, everything that involves the royal family officially is my concern, as the head of the royal family, do I really need to explain it in detail to you? Are you really that stupid?" Ichigo asked.
"Just give him the letters! It is his right as long as it is official!" Ginrei said sternly to the messanger.
"But lord Gi-" The messanger said.
"Or perhaps emperor Ichigo would be nice enough to introduce you to his guards?" Byakuya propsed, and the guards acted on it as they quickly unsheathed the swords.
"No... That won't be necessary, my apologies your majesty." The messanger said as he handed over the two letters.
Samund took them and delievered them to Ichigo, who quickly opened them and read them in detail, but he noticed one thing that stood out on the first letter and he pointed it out to the messanger.
"You know what is in this letter?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes your majesty!" The messanger said.
"Then you are an idiot! These are requests not summons! Big difference!" Ichigo pointed out.
"My apologies your majesty, it is a force of hab-" The messanger said.
"I will not hear excuses, I will go to central 46 in their absence, as requesting their presence officially is a waste of time on their end." Ichigo said clearly insulted.
"But central-" The messanger said.
"Anything that involves the government or the royal family of the Wandenreich goes through me, not them!" Ichigo said sternly.
"Yes your majesty, I will tell central 46 of your arrival, when can they expect you?" The messanger asked.
"They can expect me now! Bambietta and Uryu are coming with me, you too Ulrik and take six guards with you, and get the girls, their guards will also accompany us." Ichigo ordered.
"Yes your majesty!" Ulrik said.
"I will be taking my leave then your majesty!" The messanger said.
"Alright." Ichigo said as the messanger and his party left, the messanger used shunpo to get to central 46's tent faster.
Ulrik prepared the six guards, Uryu, Bambietta and Ulrik were preparing to leave when surprisingly Byakuya and Kyoraku agreed to accompany Ichigo, it was obvious that they were intending to support him during these talks, something that Ichigo greatly appreciated, it didn't take long for Masaki, Inoue, Karin and Yuzu to arrive, since they weren't that far away.
Once they had arrived Ichigo told them of the situation, and his intention to take Karin and Yuzu with him, surprising Masaki but she had decided to put her trust in her son, figuring he knew what he was doing, Masaki was also permitted to come, something that Yuzu wanted, though Karin was looking more forward to seeing the Uramadani family, wanting to beat the living crap out of them, though Ichigo told her not to, once the party was assembled they were on their way to the tent of central 46.
Rukon Arena (Central 46 Grounds)
Ichigo noticed the massive round shaped tent, it looked almost like an umbrella tent, only it was massive, there were some guards stationed outside of it, Ichigo approached with a total of 16 guards, 17 if you count Ulrik in aswell, Bambietta, Uryu, Byakuya, Kyoraku, Masaki, Yuzu and Karin followed close behind Ichigo, the guards had a hand on the hilt of their swords as they opted to use that in this instance, figuring it was better, they held their hands there to avoid the sword being taken from them, that way they could resist should anything happen and anyone try to disarm them.
Once they approached the entrance a guard approached, wanting to confiscate the Quincy weapons, which Ichigo outright denied, telling them that they were the royal guard of the Wandenreich, guarding the royal family and that Ichigo had three family members with him, whom they would protect, while the guards tried to argue Ichigo pointed out that it was suspicious that they wanted to take their weapons, accusing them of wanting to harm the royal family as a fluke, trying to scare them into submission, which worked, as Byakuya and Kyoraku also pointed it out, and they entered with their weapons unsheathed.
Ichigo noticed the massive tables, Ichigo hard heard rumors from Kisuke how central 46 operated, if it was an interrogation, they would have blinds up with numbers, covering their face and the room would be dark, this was not the case however as all light were up, no blinds where seen, and everyone stood in respect of Ichigo, showing their faces Ichigo noticed Tozuma Uramadani with his elders, he smirked when he saw Yuzu and Karin, but Ichigo knew that the smirk would be gone in a minute.
Ichigo went to the center floor of the room where Tozuma stood, everyone was standing, while Masaki, Byakuya, Kyoraku, Yuzu and Karin stood behind close to the exit with the majority of the guards, Uryu, Bambietta, Ulrik and two guards came with Ichigo to the center floor.
"I'm sorry for this interruption and our rudeness, your majesty, we were not aware of the fact that you felt insulted that only your sisters were called in your majesty." A wiseman said.
"It's quite alright, though I must say that it's more a protective stance and a case of authority then insult, as I admit to being quite protective of my sisters." Ichigo said as he looked at the members.
"Of course, we understand that, it is your family right." A wiseman said.
"And for the authority case, they do not have the authority to reject or accept anything officially without my knowledge or consent, as what Tozuma is demanding is very official." Ichigo said.
"We are aware, we were intending to request your presence after the meeting with them, as lord Tozuma has requested your majesty, but this works out aswell." A judge said.
"Indeed, may I sit?" Ichigo asked.
"Of course we shall have a chair brought in." A wiseman said.
"That will not be necessary for me." Ichigo said as he took his cross and manifested his throne and sat down, surprising every one except the Quincies in the room.
"It's a nice looking throne your majesty." Kyoraku chuckled as he studied Ichigo's golden throne.
"Indeed, worthy of an emperor." A judge said while everyone nodded in agreement.
"We shall have chairs brought in for everyone." A wiseman said as they sat down after Ichigo had sat down as a sign of respect, which Ichigo did notice.
"Thank you, I've been working a lot on manifesting this throne, it's always easy to have a throne in a pocket when you want to sit." Ichigo said with a smile.
"Indeed haha." A wiseman said while the rest of them laughed a little, except the Uramadani family.
"Now then, perhaps we should get to business, I have decided to keep tabs on this issue, as I want it unofficial, if people knows it could become a big problem for our agreements and alliance as distrust would grow, so for now I want it kept a secret and handled unofficially if you agree with me on that one?" Ichigo said sternly as he looked closely at the members.
"Of course, things are going quite well now, it would be sad if a problem arose to shake our relations now." A wiseman said.
"Indeed, I believe you have already heard the Uramadani side of the story?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes, he says he asked for a marriage agreement, in which you threatened him in return?" A wiseman asked.
"That's only half the truth." Ichigo said.
"Alright, what is the Quincy side of this story?" A judge asked.
"I can let you hear it with lord Tozuma's own words, as every guard of the Keiserliche Garde, namely the Quincy royal guard, has inbuilt voice recordings in their radios, in case of attacks or investigations should they be needed, which are stored automatically in Silbern's vaults, and can be accessed through the tabled here, though the grand mistress here, Bambietta Basterbine also had a voice recorder on her at the time, but I will explain from the start in detail up until the elders spoke with us, where you can hear it for yourselves." Ichigo said as he manifested a computer tabled and pointed to the guard radios, causing Tozuma to nearly faint of shock.
Ichigo explained the situation in detail from the tent to the meeting with the Kasumioji family, central 46 listened to every word Ichigo said without interrupting him, when he was finished with his story Bambietta turned on the voice recording, shocking central 46 with Tozuma's words and his threats, realising that Ichigo threatened Tozuma with defensive actions and consequences should he ever touch the royal family, or his sisters.
"Tozuma!? What is the meaning of this!?" A judge asked furiously.
"You lied to us!" A wiseman yelled out.
"Our family is near ruin because of him! We need the Wandenreich by our side to survive! If one of his sisters marry into our family an alliance would also be sealed in marriage and blood between the Soul Society and the Wandenreich!" Tozuma said sternly.
"True... However what is the point of a marriage if it is an unhappy one?" Ichigo asked.
"Who cares about that!? There are greater things at risk!" Tozuma yelled back.
"Tozuma! Show respect! This is the emperor of the Wandenreich you are speaking to!" A wiseman yelled.
"Tozuma... People who care about their families cares about their family members happiness, I won't abandond my sisters to a loveless marriage, I will let them find their own suitable people to marry, of their own wishes and desires, people they love and want to spend the rest of their time with, people who will make them happy, I want my sisters to be happy, and I will do everything to make them happy." Ichigo said calmly.
"But a marriage in a royal family is official! You just said that they don't have the authority to do anything without your knowledge or permission! Doesn't that mean that you decide who they marry!?" Tozuma asked.
"Yes it does, by law they cannot marry without my permission." Ichigo said, shocking Yuzu and Karin.
"However, when the day comes, and they have found someone who both me and my parents agrees with are deserving of them, that treats them like the princesses they are, and not uses them for fame, or power or status or anything of the sort, but loves them for who they are, and they come to me and ask for permission to marry that person I will say yes without a second thought!" Ichigo replied calmly.
"So you will decline marriages for them aswell if it suits you?" Tozuma asked.
"If they are being used, like you want to, then yes I will decline, it is better for me to give them that hard truth, then have them realize it in the marriage and they are unhappy and sad because of it, if me and my parents find out that they are being used and I decline their marriage request, then I will happily bear that hatred towards me, because I know that they are smart enough to eventually realize that we were right, and did it to protect them, and then that hatred will stop, but I will not deny them the happiness they deserve." Ichigo said calmly.
Masaki felt a sense of pride over that law, realizing Ichigo put it up to protect his family's happiness, even Yuzu and Karin were happy to hear that, Byakuya let out a small smile under his stoic face, while Kyoraku smiled quite openly, Bambietta were content with what she heard, knowing how much Ichigo cared about his family, Uryu smiled aswell but he knew that this was the answer, even central 46 understood that point, and many were content with that response, causing central 46 to support Ichigo fully in his decision.
"I don't get it..." Tozuma said with a hint of anger.
Ichigo looked at him, wondering what he had trouble understanding.
"They're women... They shouldn't even be permitted out in the field! They are brood mothers meant to create heirs and secure agreements and alliances permanently and continue the family line! Their happiness means nothing! Just marry them off and forget them! They aren-" Tozuma yelled out before he felt chills down his spine.
Once Ichigo heard those words he let everyone feel his presence, and it sent chills crawling down everyones spines, even Tozuma managed to shut up, even the Quincies got terrified, even Karin were scared of her brother now, Ichigo had danger written all over his eyes, Byakuya had felt this feeling before directed towards him, only this time it was way worse, and they all felt fire and fury inside Ichigo like never before.
"Careful now Tozuma... You are about a centimeter away from stepping over a line you cannot come back from... Choose your next words very carefully..." Ichigo warned with eyes that promised torture.
"Don't you dare threaten me! Don't you know who I am!?" Tozuma said menacingly.
"I do, you are just some idiot who don't even know the value of family." Ichigo said sternly with danger still in his eyes.
"Well, I will be having my demand one way or another I promise you that! One of these girls are coming with me when we leave this tent!" Tozuma said as he walked slowly towards the exit of the tent, while looking at Ichigo.
"No they are not!" Ichigo said.
"Yes they are! One way or another one of them will come with me!" Tozuma said as he picked up the pace.
"In your dreams!" Karin said.
"Don't worry, when I leave I'll take you with me!" Tozuma said as he neared the exit.
"Not happening!" Karin said.
"Yes you are!" Tozuma said as he quickly turned.
Tozuma turned to try to grab Karin with two elders, causing central 46 to quickly stand up, however two royal guardsmen quickly acted and got between him and karin, and they took a step towards Tozuma and their swords was partially unsheathed, ready to be drawn at a seconds notice, prompting Tozuma to take a step back, as he noticed the swords, while the other guards grabbed their hilts and prepared for a fight.
"You touch the princess, you lose your hand!" One of the guards threatened in front of Tozuma.
Tozuma looked at the guard, and saw his eyes behind his goggles, and noticed he was serious, but Tozuma wanted to have his princess, so he took his right hand behind his back, something the guards noticed, and quickly drew out a dagger, trying to kill the two guards quickly, however to Tozuma's misfortune it didn't really go so well as the guards were still captain level combatants, and easily evaded the attack.
Once Tozuma's arm were stretched out a guard let go of his blade, and grabbed the arm, he grabbed the right hand joint with his left hand, locking his hand in place, before he pulled Tozuma towards him and quickly took his right hand on his shoulder, he put pressure on his shoulder and pushed it from him while he dragged the hand towards himself, forcing Tozuma to fall to the ground, restraining him using only Tozuma's right arm.
Everyone were impressed, except Ichigo, Uryu and Bambietta who knew that this would happen, The guardsman had locked Tozuma forcibly to the ground without injuring him, locking his body into place fully, as he was unable to get up or move his right hand, his left hand was limited in what it could do aswell as he couldn't move the hand so much backwards now that he couldn't use the rest of his body to assist the hand, the other guard had unsheathed his sword incase the elders should try something stupid, and attack the guard restraining Tozuma.
"Drop it!" The guard ordered.
"Go to hell!" Tozuma said.
The guard squeezed the joint on his hand and pulled his arm backwards, forcing the hand to open up and the dagger was dropped, another guard picked it up and confiscated the dagger, leaving Tozuma with nothing to use.
"Search him!" Ulrik ordered.
Two guards began to frisk him, as he laid there on the ground, using their hands to feel if he had anything else on him, eventually a guard noticed something in his Hakama pants.
"There is something here." A guard said as he took out a golden box, with the Uramadani sigil on it.
"That looks like something private, just hand it to uhhm..." Another guard said confused.
"I can take his items for you." Byakuya said as he approached.
"Alright, give it to him." The guard said.
"And the knife? It holds the sigil of the Uramadani family aswell." A guard said.
"That is a family heirloom, to think he used that as a weapon... Disgraceful!" Byakuya said disapprovingly as the guard handed the item to him.
"Alright let's search his front." A guard said as he grabbed his left arm to avoid resistance, and the two guards lifted him up and they began to search him.
"Found something." A guard said as he took out a knife from his internal chest pocket and handed it to Byakuya.
"What this?" The guard asked as he didn't recognize the sensation he felt as he touched where his leg was supposed to be.
"Don't touch that!" Tokuma said embarrassed.
"I don't recognize it." The guard said, allowing the other guard to touch.
Everyone stood there as the guards pondered what it was, nobody knew and everyone were quiet.
"You cannot allow this!" Tokuma yelled to central 46
"You brought this on yourself!" A judge said, allowing the Quincy to continue with their search.
Eventually a guard found a pocket and touched the object, before he recognized what it was.
"That's his penis." The guard said disgusted, quickly taking his hand back to himself.
"His penis?" The other guard asked surprised, causing everyone to be stunned.
"He has an erection." The guard said.
Tokuma was humiliated and embarrassed, never having felt this before as his masochistic and bondage part appeared, Byakuya and Masaki were both disgusted by Tokuma, Kyoraku were more stunned as he got an erection from this, Yuzu and Karin blushed but was also disgusted, though they did hide a laugh, central 46 had mixed reactions from shock to disgust. Uryu were shocked, though Bambietta and Ichigo showed no signs of caring about it, maintaining an indifferent face to the whole ordeal, though internally Ichigo did feel bad for the man, having undergone the same Humility at one point.
"Alright there is nothing more on him." The guard said.
"Let him go then." Ichigo ordered, figuring he had been humiliated enough.
The guards pushed Tozuma backwards and positioned themselves between him and Ichigo's family once more, blocking his path, Tozuma was furious and embarrassed, and opted to leave the tent quickly.
"We do apologise for that your majesty, we will handle that situation accordingly." Central 46 promised.
"Do not worry about it, he brought it on himself after all, and no one is to blame other then himself for his actions." Ichigo assured.
"Furthermore, we have some news on the fullbringers." Kyoraku said.
"I see, we have been waiting for an update for quite some time now, you have been unable to capture them or find them, and we are growing more worried, so what can you tell us head captain?" A wiseman said.
"Yesterday, at approximately 20.46, the fullbringers launched an attack on my fort at Karakura town, named Fort Karakura." Ichigo responded.
"They attacked you?" A judge asked.
"Indeed, a regiment sized unit, 5000 soldiers, of which 3859 were killed in action, the rest of them injured or captured, the entire unit was annihilated by my soldiers, no casualties on our end." Ichigo said as he looked at the wiseman.
"I see, have these men been interrogated?" A wiseman asked.
"We just did, a couple of minutes before your request for a meeting, two officers in fact, and if what they are saying is indeed true, and I have no reason to doubt it, two princes at that too, one crown prince and another the smaller brother." Ichigo said.
"Now that is news, so it is recent then your majesty, if we may ask, what did they say?" A judge asked.
Ichigo brought forth his tabled, found the time the gate of the sun was opened and used the recording on Ulrik's radio, which provided good sound, and they all listened in fine detail, and were surprised to learn that the fullbringers intended to bring war, Masaki, Yuzu and Karin were shocked at the thought of it, but they were shocked to learn what the fullbringers had gone through aswell a thousand years ago.
"So they intend to bring war then." A judge said.
"Indeed, The A.N.U has on my orders, launched a joint operation to find these fullbringers alongside the Onmitsukido, when we find them we will bring them to heel, with force if needed." Ichigo said.
"Indeed, we will not let them be a threat, if they want war then they can have it, but we intend on bringing it to them rather then our own back yard." Bambietta said.
"Furthermore, Erwig Reinmiri, the head of my research division is granted every resource at his disposal to find out where they are hiding if they are hiding in a different world, Urahara Kisuke has promised aid aswell, knowing my chancellors back in Silbern, O.D.K or the Wandenreich supreme command has already been briefed, and our armies are already on standby, once we find out where they are hiding the Onmitsukido and the A.N.U will do their jobs with recon and intelligence, after that it is just a matter of time before we come knocking on their front door." Ichigo said nonchalantly.
"And if they attack before we find out anything?" A wiseman asked.
"Then we will meet them in the field, but from the looks of things they lack intelligence themselves, it would be stupid of them to attack now as there is a high probability they would be running blind, while we are fighting in familiar territory, it would give us too much of an advantage, and it would prove that they don't have a single strategic thought in mind, evidently it appears that they were unaware of Fort Karakura's full capability, if they know about our alliance it would be too much of a risk for them to attack now when we can just march in, we have it on good authority that they remain unaware of the Wandenreich's military capability, which would give them quite the shock if they were to attack soon." Ichigo said honestly.
"I see, I'm no military man, but I know that you have participated in two invasions and repelled two aswell, I know that you are a seasoned veteran from two wars your majesty, but are you certain on these words?" A wiseman asked.
"When it comes to military operations everything is unpredictable, especially times of war and invasions, what I am telling you now is only our belief, but we cannot know what is going on in our enemy's head." Ichigo responded honestly as he studied them.
"I see... Do head captain Kyoraku agree on this point? As the supreme commander of the Gotei?" A judge asked.
"Everything emperor Ichigo tells you I am in agreement on, the assault on Fort Karakura is reason to believe it, but not reason to be certain as emperor Ichigo told you, we have limited information on this, but if what these prisoners said is true, then we do have a bargaining chip, which means it would be risky for them to attack now if they want to ensure the two princes safety, as the Wandenreich could have them executed along with every prisoner of war they have if they choose to invade, so it would be a big gamble on their end if that is true." Kyoraku said as he tipped his hat up.
"Alright, you two are more experienced in warfare then us, so we will put our trust and the trust of the Soul Society on that, can we assume that if worst comes to the worst however, that the Wandenreich gives support?" A wiseman asked.
"The military of the Wandenreich is on high alert, we have partially rebuilt our fleet, and we have 430 000 soldiers ready to respond to any emergency, of which 5000 are members of the royal guard, so yes, the Wandenreich will respond quickly if worst comes to the worst." Ichigo said.
"Thank you, well we will not hold you up for long, the matches are about to start in 15 minutes." A wiseman said.
"Indeed, saw there was some fascinating matches?" Ichigo asked.
"Indeed, the first rounds will be with lower ranking Shinigami, but afterwards it will be lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki of 13th division vs Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro of the 10th division, I hope you enjoy your majesty." A wiseman said.
"Indeed, I have a good feeling about this, and it would be interesting." Ichigo said as he stood up and dispelled his throne.
"Indeed, thank you for seeing us, and thank you for your aid, it is most appreciated. And we do apologise to your sisters for the trouble caused." A wiseman said.
"It's fine." Yuzu and Karin said.
Eventually they left to find their seats, waiting for the matches to start, Ichigo highly anticipated these matches, there were some he was looking forwards to, Rukia vs Toshiro especially, as he got out of the tent, Samund had a letter for him, Ichigo looked at it and noticed Inoue has been giving them information, which would greatly help them, the message was already passed along to Erwig and now she requested to send something else, which Ichigo read and agreed to, eventually he spoke alone with Kyoraku, who asked central 46 for a favor from Ichigo, which was approved.
Somewhere in the Dominion
***A while later***
Several people were in a room, many of them carrying red officers uniform, but one stood out in all of them, an elderly man with hair on his side at gray color, reading a letter, and he was not pleased, not one bit. He was furious.
"They have my sons... And they killed my daughter in law..." The man said in annoyance.
"Who your grace?" An officer asked.
"The Wandenreich, prince Maedar and prince Aerion were to eager to start early and walked into an ambush at Fort Karakura." Another officer said.
"Why!? We don't have a full picture of the place yet!" The officer said.
"Doesn't matter, we should continue as planned!" Another officer said.
"What about prince Maedar and prince Aerion? If we attack now their safety is compromised, we can't risk their safety!" Another officer said.
"If we don't attack now then they might find us!" Another officer said.
"The safety of our heirs are paramount! We cannot risk it! Not now!" Another officer said.
"MY SONS ARE TAKEN!" The elderly man yelled in anger, causing the entire room to go quiet.
"What do we know then?" The man asked.
The room was quiet, no one said a word.
"We know nothing?.. Is that what you are telling me? A thousand years we have prepared for this, and now we have nothing!?" The man asked furiously.
"We know everything about the Soul Society, but the Wandenreich is the issue your grace..." an officer said.
"Then what is this issue?.. Hm?" The man asked.
"They are a different realm not connected through the Dangai, not connected to the balance, and is therefore working on a different principle, getting there is next to impossible unless you are a Quincy, as the shadows protect the realm, we are unable to send our spies in and know nothing about them anymore." The officer said.
"They had a war, just recently, the second Quincy-Shinigami war, which they lost!" The man said.
"And now we believe they have licked their wounds and healed greatly." Another officer said.
"How come?" The man asked.
"The Wandenreich gives a lot of trade materials to the Soul Society, helping them heal from the conflict, the amount they are sending have dramatically increased, furthermore our spies in the Seireitei say that they have sent a military detachment to the Soul Society, a regiment sized one, though their exact number is uncertain, the amount they are sending is so massive that it looks like they have fully healed." The officer said.
"The Quincies manipulates reishi, reconstruction would be childsplay for them, it's the political that is the issue, but if Ichigo Kurosaki has managed to unite the Wandenreich, then he is dangerous, if we attack now without a clear picture, we might get surprised and annihilated, especially if this message is true, a letter arrived from our spy just now." Another officer said as he pulled out a letter.
"What does it say?" The man asked.
"That the Wandenreich has an army of around 11.7 million soldiers in total, furthermore their fleet is also reconstructed, and the Wandenreich has already been repaired in it's infrastructure." The officer said, shocking the room.
"That's impossible." The man said.
"But your grace, evidence points that the information is correct, atleast with it's infrastructure." Another officer said.
"I'm not talking about that, how can they have 11.7 million soldiers when the vast majority of them got annihilated during the war?" The man asked.
"I don't know." The officer said.
"What else does it say on their military might?" The man asked.
"There is nothing more on their military might regarding it, the Wandenreich doesn't share much evidently, but it does say that the royal family, grand mistress and a chancellor is in the Soul Society as we speak, watching a tournament." The officer with the letter said.
"I see, prepare some men." The man said.
"Your grace? Are we going to attack?" Another officer asked.
"You cannot do this! Think about our sons!" A woman said as she came crying into the room.
"I am thinking about them my love, but this is necessary, if we go there we might learn something." The man said
"Don't do anything to get our two boys killed, please..." The woman pleaded.
"I won't, I will find them somehow, and I will not risk their safety." The man promised.
"Thank you." The woman said, as the officers prepared to depart.
To be continued.
A/N: I really couldn't think up any other name for the fullbringers, turns out that finding names are difficult, but I did think that the Dominion did sound a little cool atleast.
Many of you may wonder, I mentioned naval and fleet in this chapter, while I do not intend on showing any naval battles since I do not usually consider it part of bleach, I do consider it a vital part of a military, every army must have a fleet for troop transport and naval superiority, it's a basic military strategy involving armies, and once more I stress out that this is a story about Ichigo, Bambietta and the Wandenreich, which includes their entire military force, but whether it gets shown in later chapters or not remains to be seen, but for now it's only mentioned.
in the story, it's been 9 months since Ichigo took over, which explains the quick troop increase, as basic military training can take just a couple of months so I decided to go with that, since many Quincies already know how to use their abilities, it's my belief that they only need to be taught military warfare and combat, including materializing weapons.
