Me: okay, so now Ichi will confront Ulqui and Grimm about the 'secret' kept from him. Enjoy the new chapter! ^^
Disclaimer: no, I do not own Bleach, only the babies born in this story.
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The halls were deserted and quiet as the Prince made his way to the room he and his two lovers shared. All three had their own rooms, but those were mainly for whenever they had fights and needed to be separated for a while. Of course, everyone stayed in their own rooms whenever the three argued with each other. Ichigo hoped they wouldn't start one of 'those' fights when he spoke with the two.
He stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall that had a large gothic zero carved into the stone before pushing against the door to open it. It granted him passage before he stepped in and closed the door as quietly as he could in case Ulquiorra was still asleep. He turned from the door to see that Ulquiorra wasn't the only one asleep on his black bed, covered by a dark blue blanket. Grimmjow laid behind him with an arm under his own head while the other was draped over Ulquiorra's side. His nose was just an inch away from the dark locks.
With a small smile gracing his lips, Ichigo stepped closer to the bed. Once he was in front of it, he sat at the edge and ran his fingers through the Cuatro's silky hair, his fingertips lightly tracing his jaw line. Ulquiorra stirred lightly, but it was enough to wake Grimmjow, who looked up at the Arrancar Prince before sitting up. Ichigo let him yawn as the Sexta ruffled up his own hair then looked at him.
"Tired?" Ichigo playfully asked. "Or just wanted a cat nap?"
"Funny," Grimmjow groggily snorted.
"I wasn't gone that long," the orange-haired Arrancar pointed out. "But I overheard something when I went to find Szayel."
"What?" the Sexta asked as he removed the blanket from him, showing that he was only wearing his white slacks.
"About Ulquiorra," Ichigo replied as he pulled his hand back. "I didn't know he was able to get pregnant."
Grimmjow froze slightly, swearing under his breath. Ulquiorra wanted to tell him when he felt the time was right, but the Prince found out by overhearing, or more like eavesdropping if he knew him as well as he believed. "He was going to tell you," he stated. "He just wanted to make sure the time was right. You know how he is. He was fucking surprised and actually scared when Szayel told him why he kept throwing up in the mornings. He didn't know what you would think and it took him a week to tell me!"
"I wouldn't have reacted too badly," Ichigo chuckled. "And you know that, Ulquiorra. Just like I know you haven't been asleep since I walked in."
Green eyes slid opened and looked up at him. "How the hell can you tell?" Grimmjow asked as Ulquiorra sat up.
"Simple," Ichigo scoffed sarcastically. "He's a light sleeper and as soon as he moves or hears something, he wakes up but acts like he's still asleep."
"It would surprise any enemies that would attempt attacking me in my sleep," Ulquiorra commented.
"Yeah, well, Szayel said you can't do any fighting for a while," Ichigo stated. "Those two are weakening you and absorbing your strength and reiatsu. Even your skin is getting weaker."
"So I have no physical defense?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Yeah, if you think Grimmjow and I aren't physical," Ichigo replied with a playful smirk. Ulquiorra hit his head. "Ow." Grimmjow tried not to laugh at the expression on Ichigo's face, but Ulquiorra hit him as well.
"Why are you hitting us?!" Grimmjow yelled at him, rubbing his head where Ulquiorra's hand made contact.
"My hand just has that urge to make contact with both your heads," the pale Arrancar calmly replied, lifting up his hand to stare at it. "Blame my hand, not me."
Ichigo snorted back a laugh as Grimmjow glared at the petite Cuatro. "Alright then, Ulquiorra has a sense of humor," he commented, earning another hit on the head. "And needs to stop hitting us before we lose all our brain cells."
"You have brain cells?" Ulquiorra asked, tilting his head to the side.
Grimmjow burst out laughing and promptly fell off the bed because of it. He didn't seem to care though, judging from his continuing laughter. "That was a good one!" he exclaimed. "Total burn!"
"Does your hand have that urge again?" Ichigo asked, looking at Ulquiorra.
"No," Ulquiorra replied with a shake of his head. "But my foot seems to have developed a wanting of meeting his scrotum hard enough so that I would not have to worry about carrying his offspring." Grimmjow shut up.
"Anyway," the orange-haired Prince sighed, rubbing the back of his head as Grimmjow climbed back onto the bed. "Aizen's decided to keep you out of the field for a while unless Grimmjow and I are both with you since we're pretty much your protection. He'll probably send you out for spying missions since you're the best at those, but he wants you out of all fights until the babies are born and you have all your strength back. I cannot say I can argue with him on that."
"So he'll be stuck doing paperwork?" the Sexta asked.
"Hey! At least the paperwork will get done!" Ichigo commented, throwing his hands into the air. "But I highly doubt it. Szayel mentioned that since the babies are taking most of his reiatsu to stay healthy and he needs to rest whenever he feels tired. Got that, Ulquiorra?" Green eyes momentarily glared at him as if daring him to ask if he wasn't paying attention again. "I'll take that as a 'got it'. But other than that, he said the pregnancy would be a lot like a normal human's. So that meanings morning sickness, nausea, mood-swings, cravings, –"
"Getting fat," Ulquiorra added blandly.
"You won't be getting fat," Ichigo sighed.
"Wouldn't he go right back to being skinny once the kids are out?" Grimmjow asked.
"Of course he will," Ichigo replied with a scoff. "Ulquiorra, it's not getting fat. Alright? It's being pregnant with two kids."
"I will still be gaining extra weight because of cravings for foods I normally would not eat and because of the two I carry," the pale Arrancar pointed out, his eyes down-casting slightly.
"After the birth, any extra weight you possibly gained would be easy to work off," Ichigo stated.
"I'll help!" Grimmjow exclaimed, raising his hand into the air. Both stared at him. "What? Spars help a lot. And so does sex."
"I swear, Grimm, that's all you think about," Ichigo commented with a sigh as Ulquiorra laid back down and tucked the blanket under his chin. Ichigo looked down at him as the green orbs started to close. "Szayel wants to do another check-up tomorrow in the afternoon, just to let you know."
"Very well," Ulquiorra sighed before drifting into a light slumber once more.
Ichigo and Grimmjow sat in silence, giving Ulquiorra enough time to go into an actual slumber than his 'half-awake and half-asleep' sleep. Ulquiorra's breathing evened out after a while and his being fell still.
"Makes you wonder sometimes, huh?" Ichigo suddenly asked.
Grimmjow looked at his curiously. "Wonder what?"
"Well, about us three," the Arrancar Prince replied. "I mean, there's Ulquiorra. He's quiet, serious, and despite looking like a porcelain doll, he's one of the toughest strategists amongst the Espada. He's full of surprises and pops out of nowhere all the time. Not to mention that he's just so…I don't know the right words, but you get what I'm saying, right?"
"Yeah," Grimmjow replied with a single nod of his head.
"Then there's you," Ichigo continued.
"What about me?" the Sexta growled.
"That, for one," Ichigo sighed with a roll of his eyes. "You're temperamental, more muscular than Ulquiorra and I, and you practically have Split Personality. One minute, you're on a killing spree and the next, you're the lovable kitty-cat that we all love." Grimmjow glared at him for that 'kitty-cat' comment, but it was ignored. "You're hot-headed, Grimmjow. Don't even bother denying it, a natural warrior."
"And what about you?" Grimmjow asked.
"Me? I guess we can say I'm stuck in the middle between you two."
"Literally," Grimmjow added, grinning.
Ichigo reached over and hit his head. "That's another thing, you're perverted."
Grimmjow just snickered. "So, what is there to wonder about us three?" he asked.
"How do we get along together so well? How did we actually get close enough to have this?" He waved his hand in a circle above his head, indicating all three of them.
The teal-haired Arrancar just shrugged slightly. "Maybe because Ulquiorra and I are opposites and you being in the middle just means you blend right on in," he said.
"I guess so," Ichigo sighed, looking at Ulquiorra from the corner of his eyes. "What if those kids he's carrying are yours?" he suddenly asked. "I mean, we both top him."
"Well you top him more than I do," Grimmjow pointed out as he laid down behind the pale Arrancar. "Probably what made him think they're yours instead of mine."
"What if they are yours? Would you want to be a father?"
"I'm gonna be anyway, ain't I? Even if they aren't mine by blood, us three are in one hell of a relationship."
"That doesn't answer my question, Grimmjow."
The Sexta sighed slightly. "I don't know," he replied. "Never gave it much thought when I was alive and none when I first became an Arrancar. I guess it wouldn't be so bad. I just don't know what I need to do about it. Hell, I doubt I'm even father material."
Ichigo smirked slightly. "Yeah, with your brash attitude, I think you would make a horrible father," he laughed before he felt Ulquiorra's hand unconsciously hit his head. "He does that in his sleep?!"
"Ichigo, I am no longer surprised about the shit he can do while sleeping," Grimmjow grumbled.
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It was still bothering her. How had Ichigo been able to hide his Arrancar form so well and how had Kon been able to act like Ichigo every other week without any suspicion? Of course what got to her the most was that they didn't even suspect that Ichigo was hiding something at all and that they didn't even sense anything.
Rukia sighed as she sat down on Ichigo's bed, Kon still residing in Ichigo's body. "I still can't believe it," she murmured.
"It takes a while to get used to the idea," Kon stated from his spot at Ichigo's desk. "But you gotta remember, Rukia. Ichigo isn't the type of guy who just betrays everyone he cares about and hands them over to some evil guy on a silver platter. That one thing about him is the only reason why I kept it from everyone, because I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody."
"He attacked Hitsugaya-taichou and everyone else," Rukia pointed out.
"Maybe it's because they attacked him first and hurt one of his boyfriends," Kon retorted, scratching the back of his head. "Come on, the Ichigo we know wouldn't attack anyone unless he had a good reason. And I've heard Arrancar are really protective of their mates."
"I suppose so," the Shinigami sighed, pulling her knees into her chest before wrapping her arms around her legs.
Kon sighed gently before going over to the bed and sitting down beside Rukia, placing an arm over her shoulder. "Rukia?" he softly called.
"He's working with Aizen now, how can we believe him never betraying us?!" Rukia exclaimed.
"Because unlike the Espada and other Arrancar, Ichigo is independent and has others here in the World of the Living and in Seireitei that he cares for," Kon replied. "Relax, Rukia. He wouldn't betray us. It's not in his nature. Remember what he always said about his name?"
"It doesn't mean Strawberry, it means He Who Protects," Rukia said in a low voice.
"Trust in that if it makes you feel better," the mod-soul advised.
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"You know," Gin said as he watched Aizen study the Hogyoku in his hand. "Ichigo may become a bit of a problem, koi."
"He is still a valuable asset," Aizen pointed out as he placed the Hogyoku away into its hiding spot. "After all, it is not very often the Arrancar Prince is reborn. Nor is it very often one can get him on their own side."
"He's still tied to the Shinigami and his family," Gin pointed out.
"Yes, but he has two mates here, two of my Espada," Aizen countered.
"He can turn them against you."
"He wouldn't risk them getting hurt in the slightest, especially with Ulquiorra in the condition that he's in. An Arrancar pregnant with one child weakens them, but with more than one, they are entirely dependant on their mate. Ulquiorra does carry two, so Ichigo wouldn't bother trying to turn anyone against me if he doesn't want Ulquiorra or Grimmjow hurt."
Gin tilted his head to the side. "Sou-kun, are you implying you would hurt your most valuable Espada just to keep Ichigo in line?" he asked before grinning. "I knew I loved your manipulative nature for a reason!"
Aizen just smirked before beckoning Gin over. The silver-haired man went over to his lover and was grabbed by Aizen's hand before pulling into his lap. He couldn't help the playful purr he made when Aizen started running his fingers through the silvery hair on his head. Who knew he purred? He didn't, but he found out one day and only did it with Aizen around.
"Just promise to be careful with Ichigo, Sou-kun," he murmured as Aizen's fingers continued running through his hair. "He's unpredictable."
"I know, love," Aizen chuckled. "I promise, Gin. I'll be careful when handling Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Good," his lover purred, wrapping his arms around Aizen's waist as his head pressed against his chest.
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Yamamoto sighed heavily as the other captains that were still in Seireitei gathered into the hall where they had their meetings while his own fukutaichou was waiting for the other vice captains to gather in their own little meeting hall. He glanced around before noting that all present captains in the Soul Society were there. He cleared his throat gently.
"Now, in case no one from the World of the Living has contacted and informed you of past events, I shall," he stated. "Two and a half hours ago, Kurosaki Ichigo started to cough up blood." Unohana almost looked ready to go and investigate Ichigo's condition. "He had lost consciousness and the current Shinigami in Karakura Town had to force his soul from his body. His body was apparently a gigai Urahara Kisuke specially built for him when Kurosaki was a child and died from an unusual illness. The news I had received from Hitsugaya-taichou was both disturbing and curious.
"Kurosaki Ichigo is the Arrancar Prince." A few gasps were heard as eyes grew wide, but one let a feral grin split his face in half. (I think we all know who that is.)
"Are you absolutely sure, sotaichou?" Jyuushiro Ukitake asked in a quiet tone.
"Kurosaki said it himself," Yamamoto replied with a low sigh. "He also has two mates; both are Aizen's Espada, the Cuatro Espada and Sexta Espada."
"So what do we do about Kurosaki?" Byakuya Kuchiki asked.
"For now, we will leave it to Hitsugaya-taichou and his team to try and bring Ichigo back to our side," the elderly Shinigami stated. "But with two of Aizen's Espada as his mates, the chances are slim. We may have already lost him to that side."
"That boy is always doing the unexpected," Mayuri Kurotsuchi commented. "But if there is one thing about him that is expected, it's his loyalty."
"What are you talking about, Mayuri-taichou?" Soi Fon growled at him. "He may as well have sent us a note saying he's betrayed us!"
"Calm down, Soi Fon-taichou," Yamamoto ordered. "I am curious as to your words as well, Kurotsuchi-taichou."
"He may have two mates that are Aizen's Espada, but he does have more friends with the Shinigami and everyone that are Aizen's enemies," Mayuri pointed out. "Why would he betray us when everyone knows that little fact?"
"Mates are more precious than friends to an Arrancar," Byakuya stated. "If a mate is attacked, it would send the Arrancar into a blind rage. If a friend was attacked, they would fight, but not as fiercely."
"Still, the boy wouldn't turn on his friends that easily."
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"Ever get the feeling that the world is just not right?" Szayel asked, playing with a strand of Nnoitra's black hair. "And no, I don't mean 'There's nothing left to kill' not right. I mean 'Am I the only sane one in this world?' not right."
Nnoitra shrugged uncaringly. "Nope," he replied. "Why?"
"Because I just got one of those feelings," the pink-haired Espada stated. "Don't know why, though. Others plotting, maybe?"
"Szayel, the world is just fucked up, alright?" Nnoitra sighed. "Seriously, Grimmjow tops the Arrancar Prince and Emo-Car and Emo-Car gets topped by the Arrancar Prince and Grimmjow. Let's not forget Emo-car is pregnant with twins. Aizen's tea is still shit and I don't understand how we all kept our kidneys from it. Gin's a crazy bastard always creeping others out with his smiles. You're the sub for the most violent Espada. The Shinigami are doing who know what and who cares. The world is just fucked and not right at all, so why do you care?"
"Nnoi-koi, that's the norm," Szayel spoke slowly as if speaking to a child. He earned a glare for that. "I mean I have that feeling that something is going to change and we just don't know what to do about it once it happens."
Nnoitra shrugged again. "I can say with as much honesty as I can impossibly muster, I don't care."
Szayel rolled his eyes with a sarcastic snort. "Oh!" he suddenly chirped. "Guess what I got you!" Nnoitra looked at him with a raised eyebrow before Szayel reached under the bed they were laying on and pulled out a box. "Be right back!" He jumped from the bed and ran into the conjoined bathroom.
"What the hell?" Nnoitra muttered under his breath as he waited for his insanely happy mate return to the bed where hopefully they could start working on the most important thing in life: sex! (His mind, not mine.)
"Nnoitra," a singsong voice called before Nnoitra looked back over to the bathroom door before his only exposed eye grew wide at the sight of Szayel…in black and exposing leather! "Well? You like?"
"Like?" Nnoitra repeated. "Don't like. Fucking love! Now get your ass over here!"
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Me: I'm sorry, I just had to add in that last scene. Ok, I wanna no, ppl. Should Szayel get pregnant as well, or no? Vote on it! And plz, do review!