Yes...another Bleach chibi story. I can't help myself, its too much fun! And its not as if everyone out there doesn't enjoy it, am I right? Of course I am! So, on with the show! :D
Summary: While working on an experiment concerning a virus of some kind, Szayel Aporro makes the comic mistake of breaking the vial and releasing the altered result of said experiment. The result? A few chibified Espadas, of course! And Ichigo just doesn't have the heart to leave them alone to suffer at the hands of the crazed scientist that, for some reason, remained unaltered!
Chapter 1:
Ichigo rushed down the halls of the huge palace, looking around warily. He wasn't sure where he would end up in this strange place, but sooner or later, he knew he'd have to run into one of the Espadas. And when that time came, he was ready for a fight! He would save Karakura Town and all of his friends, just like always! But that was before the explosion...Ichigo skidded to a stop, the loud explosion shaking the floor beneath his face. What was that?! His eyes widened and he continued to jog ahead, only stopping when he came to a wall that now had a large hole opened up with smoke spewing from it. The orange haired teen chanced a glance inside the room, eyebrows raising at a pink haired Arrancar that laid sprawled out on the floor, seemingly unconcious.
Slowly, Ichigo stepped into the room, cursing as he choked on the smoke. Whatever caused the explosion, the smoke smelled terrible and made his throat burn, his eyes watering slightly at the feeling. He quickly covered his mouth, stepping further into the room and looking around. Vaguely, he wondered if the arrancar on the floor was dead, but he pushed the thought aside. If so, maybe it was for the best and if not, well...Ichigo wouldn't fight someone who wasn't at their best.
A loud cry drew Ichigo's attention away from the arrancar; it sounded like a baby! But what would a baby be doing in a place like this?! Quickly, Ichigo waved a hand in front of himself to clear the smoke away, his amber eyes widening slightly at the sight before him. There, sitting on the floor, crying and screaming in complete hysterics was a blue haired infant, completely nude. By his mouth, there was a familiar piece of a Hollow's mask. A jaw of some kind.
"G-Grimmjow...?" Ichigo stuttered, eyeing the infant nervously. He remembered Grimmjow quite clearly from their fight in Karakura Town a few months back and this infant was the splitting image of the crazed Sexta Espada. But right now, whether it was really him or not, he was clearly in distress. In a motion, perfected from handling his sisters when they were babies, Ichigo scooped the sobbing Arrancar into his arms and held him to his chest, bouncing him lightly and cooing softly. Slowly, the little Espada quieted slightly until there were only soft hiccups sounding from him. Ichigo glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the infant open his mouth wide and begin to suck lightly on his ShihakushÅ. Ichigo cringed slightly at the drool that seeped through his uniform. "Great, you're hungry..."
Scowling slightly at his rotten luck, Ichigo looked around the room carefully. He didn't know what he expected to find, but what he did see sure as hell didn't help anything...curled up in one of the corners, sleeping soundly, was another infant. Judging by the half helmet mask and the horn that protruded from it, Ichigo guessed it to be Ulquiorra. Yet another Espada he despised, but he was also just an infant. He couldn't bring himself to hate a baby. They were too innocent. Sighing heavily, Ichigo walked over to the other infant and hoisted him up carefully, shifting Grimmjow as well. Deep green eyes opened slowly, peering at him tiredly. Unlike the usual Ulquiorra, the eyes actually held some emotion, though Ichigo couldn't tell what. At least he wasn't screaming and crying like Grimmjow had been.
He should've known better than to count his blessings though, as Grimmjow's little hand reached over and gripped the horn of Ulquiorra's mask and tugged roughly, making the black-haired infant scream and begin to cry softly. Ichigo groaned miserably, quickly shifting Ulquiorra out of Grimmjow's reach. Of course, the blue-haired arrancar giggled, apparently quite amused by Ulquiorra's reaction. "Come on, don't cry..." the orange haired teen muttered, bouncing Ulquiorra carefully. Honestly, by Grimmjow's usual nature, Ichigo should've known that he would be trouble. He'd have to keep that in mind.
Sighing heavily, Ichigo looked around for somewhere, anywhere he could lay the two infants for the time being until he could make sure there were no other infants around that may have been hurt in the explosion. Conveniently, there was a pen of some kind set up in the corner (though Ichigo had a feeling it was used to hold something other than babies usually). Ichigo walked over, sitting the two infants down (making sure they were a decent distance apart) before taking another look around the room. There was a lot of broken glass that littered the floor, which made Ichigo a little more hurried to search for anyone else that might have suffered from being chibified.
Another cry caught Ichigo's attention, making the teen inwardly groan. He had hoped that there wouldn't be any other infants around, but karma wasn't that good to him. He rounded the corner, looking under one of the counters and raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him. There were two infants. Not one, oh no...two. One appeared to have an eye patch over his left eye and black hair, and as he screamed, Ichigo noticed a 5 on his tongue, marking him as an Espada. Then there was the second one, a brown haired infant with a jaw-like mask that went around his neck, and on the back of his hand was a 1, marking him as the Primera. Ichigo frowned, watching the scene before him.
The Primera was knawing relentlessly on the Quinto's arm, making the Quinto cry loudly. The Primera didn't seem bothered by the sound and growled quietly, chomping down harder, making the other cry louder. Ichigo quickly grabbed the two, jerking them apart, glaring warily at the brown haired infant who looked up at him with a tired expression. It seemed to poor Ichigo that all the infants were hungry, and unfortuantely, there was nothing Ichigo saw that could be used to feed them. Not that he expected the Espadas to have a random bottle with baby formula in it just lying around...
Moving quickly, Ichigo sat the other two infants in the pen with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, running a hand through his spiky orange hair. Sure, he knew Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, but he had never seen the other two, didn't have a name to put to the faces. He would have to think of something to call them.
"Itsygo! Look what Nel found!" Ichigo froze, glancing back. He thought Nel had left the palace to find safety! And yet, there the girl was, holding something under its arms. Yet another infant...
"Nel?!" Said infant was squirming uncomfortably, eyes watering slightly, clearly stressed by how he was being held. But those eyes..."You!? How?!" Ichigo pointed at the infant accusingly, further distressing the infant. That did it. The white haired Hollow screamed, tears streaming down his face, making Ichigo wince. That watery, shrieking voice made him shudder slightly. "Shiro...how the hell did this happen to you to?" the teen asked, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. He quickly took his Inner Hollow from Nel, sighing heavily.
Thinking back to when he had walked into the room, Ichigo remembered the smoke that had made his throat burn. Could that have been what caused this? And he had stupidly walked in and breathed it in without thinking. Whatever it was, it must have infected his Inner Hollow, just like it had the Espada.
"Itsygo! Nel knows them! How'd they get so tiny?" Ichigo looked over at Nel who was peering into the pen, staring at the four Espada. "What'd you do Itsygo?"
"Me? I didn't do anything!" Ichigo groaned, glancing over at the pink haired Espada who remained unconcious. He didn't seem to be affected by anything. "If anyone knows what happened or how to fix it, I bet its this guy. But he's out cold."
Ichigo made his way back to the pen and sat his Hollow down beside Grimmjow, shuddering at the idea of the two chibis getting along and plotting his downfall eventually. Dammit, he'd have to be sure to keep them separated. For now though, all the chibis seemed calm enough, though there was still the matter of getting them fed. But what was he supposed to do about that? Its not as if Hueco Mundo had a grocery store around.
"Nel, keep an eye on the babies. I need to make sure there's no one else around here." Nel smiled and nodded, more than happy to do whatever Ichigo asked of her. Nodding slightly, Ichigo continued to explore the lab.
By the time he finished, Ichigo was relieved to see that there didn't seem to be any other babies lying around or screaming. That was one problem solved at least. But he didn't see anything around that would work to feed the infants either. And he could already hear sniffles and whimpers coming from the pen. It wouldn't be long now until they were all screaming and crying again, begging to be fed. What a nightmare.
Finally, Ichigo stopped by the pink haired Arrancar, nudging the still body with his foot. A soft groan was his only response, making the teen frown. He nudged him again, scowling as he only received a slight twitch this time. He needed this guy awake and he needed him awake now! Growling in frustration, Ichigo stomped his hand down on the man's hand, causing the Arrancar's eyes to snap open and let out a howl of pain. The pink-haired man gripped his hand and backed away from Ichigo with wide eyes, looking around his destroyed lab for clues of what had happened. Finally his eyes landed on the pen in the corner and his eyes narrowed angrily, before he jumped up and rushed over to the fussing infants.
Nel let out a startled squeak as the Espada rushed at her, rushing out of the way with wide eyes. "I-Itsygo!" Nel hurried over to Ichigo, gripping his leg fearfully. "That's Szayel, the 8th Espada! Nel thinks he's really mad Itsygo..."
Ichigo nodded in agreement, watching Szayel warily. The Espada glared down at the infants, gripping the side of the pen in a tight grip. "You bastards! This is all your fault! You couldn't take your stupid little quarrel outside like I asked, could you! I ought to kill you, right now while you can't fight back!" He reached down towards Grimmjow who screamed and fussed in response, squirming restlessly as tears leaked out of his eyes.
That did Ichigo in. He flash stepped between the Espada and the infants, pointing his sword at Szayel, eyes narrowed angrily. "Look, I don't know what happened or what they did, but they're just babies! You can't hurt them like this, you bastard!"
All the infants were now screaming and crying, making Octava Espada twitch in annoyance. As if the other Espada hadn't caused enough trouble, now he had this stupid Soul Reaper in his way, keeping him from smothering the brats like he so dearly wished to do. "Have you not realized that they're Espadas, just like me? I'd be doing you a favor!" he insisted, glaring straight back at the teen.
"That doesn't matter right now! I know what they are and I know that eventually, I'll probably have to fight all of them, but for right now, that doesn't matter!" Ichigo narrowed his eyes, though his speech lost a lot of its bite when he had to yell it over the cries of the infants. Szayel twitched more, moving his hand and opening a Garganta in one fluid motion.
"Get them the hell out of my sight and out of Hueco Mundo! If I see them again, I will kill them!"
Ichigo eyed the Garganta and then glanced at the infants, sighing in defeat. Well, he did need to get them something to eat, and where better to find something than in his own world? Grumbling to himself, Ichigo began to gather the infants carefully, glancing at Nel. "Could you carry one of them?" he asked, relieved when she nodded enthusiastically and lifted Nnoitra easily, trying to get a good grip on the squirming infant. Getting a decent hold on the four he carried was difficult enough, but without further argument, Ichigo stepped through the Garganta, followed quickly by Nel, who seemed in a bit of a hurry to get away from the still-twitching Octava.
Ichigo had stopped on their way, using his uniform to make a type of sling that held two of the kids, while he continued to carry the other two. Nel kept up fairly well, though she obviously struggled with the little Quinto's constant squirming. And finally, Ichigo saw the end of the Garganta, letting out a sigh of relief. Once he stepped out, he found himself in Urahara's underground training room, and face-to-face with the man himself. Urahara eyed him and Nel curiously, hiding his face behind his infamous fan.
"I'm...surprised to see you back Ichigo. What's going on here?" Urahara eyed the five infants and the toddler that had followed Ichigo, noting the masks they all wore, with the exception of the little pale one that Ichigo held in one arm. That one looked as if he were a miniature version of Ichigo.
Ichigo panted, sending a weak glare at the shopkeeper, just knowing he was hiding a stupid grin behind that fan of his. "I need formula. And maybe some Gigais..." he muttered, looking at Urahara pleadingly. "Look, I know they're Hollows and all, and I know some of them are even Espada, but this guy was going to kill them and their just babies. And what's so damn funny!?" Ichigo scowled at the shopkeeper who was now laughing, still hiding his face behind his fan.
"Who wouldn't laugh? These are some of Aizen's Espada? This is so cliche, its funny! But if you really want to take care of them, I guess I can make some Gigais that would work for now and hide their powers so they can't use them. In fact, there's a new type of Gigai I invented recently, just to try it out. It grows with the soul that posseses it, so this is a great chance to try it out!" Snapping his fan closed, Urahara walked towards the ladder that would lead him back to his shop. "But...the formula is all on you. And I don't babysit."
Ichigo twitched slightly, fighting the urge to curse at the shopkeeper. Sure, the infants couldn't understand, but Nel could. Speaking of the little Arrancar...Ichigo glanced back to see her looking around curiously. He supposed she would be interested in the human world, but the wasteland of rocks wasn't all that great of an impression. "Come on Nel. We'll go up to the shop, and when I go to the babies so formula, you can come with me. I think you'll like it outside."
Nel's eyes sparked in excitement at the very thought and she nodded, hurrying up the ladder, while being careful not to drop Nnoitra. Though, that was easier said than done.
Ichigo eyed the infants and Nel, nodding in approval. The Gigais were, thankfully, clothed and he had gotten them all into their Gigais with minimal effort. "Thanks Urahara."
"That's the best I can do for you Ichigo. Though, I did ask Tessai to go out and get a little something for you that might make things a little easier." Urahara stood up, motioning in the corner where a stroller sat, one specially made to fit multiple children. There were three rows of seats in the back and two in the front, plus a top that could be put up to keep the infants shielded from the sun. Ichigo groaned, thinking about how ridiculous he was going to look, carrying five infants and a toddler around. Damn his luck.
"Thanks, I do appreciate it," he grumbled, pulling the stroller over and loading the infants into it. Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, and Grimmjow sat in the back three seats while he hooked Starrk and Shiro into the front, his eyes lingering on his Inner Hollow. How could someone who had been such a big pain in the ass before turn out to be so adorable? Said Hollow yawned cutely, his gold eyes peering up at Ichigo sleepily, before his eyes slipped completely closed. "What a pain. I hope this isn't permanent."
"Well, there's always the chance that you can rewrite their memories Ichigo. You know, replace previous memories with happier ones. Who knows, maybe you can 'raise' them to be allies instead of enemies. Better treat them well." Urahara grinned, waving his fan in Ichigo's direction. "Now, just how do you plan on affording everything you'll need for them?"
Ichigo thought for a moment, before a sinister smile came to his face. Grabbing his wallet from his back pocket, he pulled out a card that clearly read 'Isshin Kurosaki'. "My dad gave me this to use 'in emergencies'. I've never used it before now, but I think now's a great time to break it in. Besides, I do consider this an emergency. And anyway, I don't have to pay the bills." Urahara seemed amused by this, shaking his head slightly. "Now, I really have to get these kids something to eat. Ready to go Nel?"
Nel smiled, nodding quickly. "Nel's ready Itsygo!" Ichigo nodded, gripping the stroller and pushing it out of the shop, glancing at Nel as she skipped after him.
Szayel grumbled angrily, sweeping up the glass that had been scattered around by the explosion that those fools had caused. He twitched at the memory of the four Espada. They were all inferior and just more trouble than they were worth! Worthless!
A sudden spike of spiritual pressure made the Octava Espada tense and turn slowly, coming face to face with cold brown eyes. Aizen smiled pleasantly, glancing around the room. "I seem to be missing some Espada, Szayel. Do you know anything about this?"
Szayel shivered, his legs quivering slightly. It was obvious that Aizen already knew the answer. Curse the cameras they kept littered around the palace! Szayel swallowed thickly as the spiritual pressure continued to gradually rise. "Y-Yes, Lord Aizen."
"I thought so. You realize you will have to be punished, right? You've set our plans back, thanks to the concotion of yours. And you left them with the enemy."
"Forgive me, My Lord!"
Ichigo watched the infants in triumph, crossing his arms over his chest. He was currently squeezed into a small men's restroom, trying his hardest to get all the kids fed. His first purchase had only been to by the formula and bottles that he needed for the babies, which landed him here, trying to warm the formula enough for the infants, and thankfully, after about an hour, all of the infants were now feeding hungrily. Ichigo was relieved to see that they were all old enough to hold their bottles on their own.
That still left Nel though, who was currently poking around the restroom, asking questions about everything. Finally, she pointed at the urinal. "What's this Ichigo?"
Ichigo eyed the urinal, rubbing his neck. "That's, uh...where boys...potty." Nel furrowed her brows in confusion.
"Why just boys?" she asked innocently, looking at Ichigo curiously, walking over to the teen.
"Well, because. Boys and girls are just...made differently." Ichigo rubbed his face, silently cursing his luck. This really sucked.
"How are they different Itsygo?" Ichigo's eyes widened at the innocent question, fighting the urge to scream and rush out of the bathroom so he didn't have to answer.
"Someone help me..." he sobbed.
That's the end of the chapter! Like it? Hate it? Want more? Drop me a review and let me know what you think!