Alright, moving right along! And we get our first look at Ichigo and Toshiro! Also, I posted a one-shot in this universe called Love Story for Toshiro's birthday. This chapter is also for his b-day! I hope you guys like it!

Chapter 4

Ichigo felt pain when he awoke. He winced, forcing his eyes open to look up at a dark ceiling that loomed above him. Slowly, he began to move his body, trying to figure out where things hurt and what was in pain on his person.

He found that he could move all of his limbs; nothing seemed to be broken. There was a minor wound on his shoulder, but it was nothing he hadn't dealt with before. He pushed himself up, looking around for some hint as to where he was.

Zangetsu was gone, and with the sword's absence, for some reason Ichigo felt drained and a little shaky. He could hear nothing from Ogichi either. He frowned, looking towards his right, and his chocolate eyes widened.

"Toshiro!"

Ichigo leapt up, scrambling forward to where the seemingly tiny form lay crumpled near the wall, his arms reaching out to see if he was okay. He refrained from moving him for a moment, but as soon as he discerned that there was nothing vital broken, he carefully turned him over to look into his face.

"Toshiro!" he whispered, his hand cupping the other's bloody cheek. "Come on, yuki hime, open your eyes!"

There was a soft moan in response, but there was nothing else to indicate that Toshiro was even alive. His chest was barely rising and falling, and his heartbeat was slow and sluggish. Ichigo could feel the panic rising in him, but he pushed it down in an effort to remain calm as he started to examine his husband.

Blood covered half of his face, but Ichigo could see that most of it was old, coming from a coated over cut near Toshiro's hairline. There was another wound on his shoulder, one that was no longer bleeding, but could still be a danger. His arm was broken as well, bloody and horrible to look at.

What worried Ichigo the most though, was the slice across his chest. While the wound itself wasn't horribly deep, the skin around it was inflamed and reddened; it was infected. Already Ichigo could feel a fever starting to take root in Toshiro's small body, heat burning up his normally cool flesh.

The orange-head chewed on his lower lip, his hand moving across his husband's hot forehead as he tried to wake him. Where in the hell are we? The last thing I remember is going to save Toshiro from that Arrancar…

His eyes widened as he turned to look towards the door at the far end of the room. He could hear footsteps.

As the door creaked open Ichigo clutched Toshiro to his chest, shifting to put himself between the intruder and his injured husband. He glared as he met the eyes of the man whom he had hoped never to see again, at least, not until he had his sword at his throat.

"Aizen…" Ichigo growled, his eyes flashing dangerously gold as he looked up at the smirking man.

Aizen stared down at him calmly, the grin on his lips never fading. "Welcome to Las Noches, Kurosaki Ichigo. It's been some time since we've seen you here. And it seems that you've brought a friend along, the little juuban tai taichou. Such a pleasure to see you both here."

Ichigo growled a little louder, more of Ogichi's feral nature coming out. "What do you want with us?"

"Nothing too much." Aizen said, his grin growing. "However, I believe that the both of you will be rather helpful in the coming battles. I'm afraid that means you'll have to battle some of your comrades, but nonetheless."

A snarl echoed from Ichigo's throat. "If you think that we're gonna fight for you, you're dead wrong. Both of us would die first."

Aizen's grin didn't fade. "Perhaps. We shall see. Now then, I do believe that you both require medical attention. It wouldn't do for our dear guests to be unwell."

Ichigo growled, clutching Toshiro closer to his body and glaring up at the man. At that moment he stepped aside, revealing Orihime, who was standing behind him staring down at her hands. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw her, her own doing the same. "Orihime…"

"Heal them. I will send Ulquiorra here in some time to fetch you." Aizen said coldly.

With that he shut the door.

Orihime rushed forward, already raising her hands to heal the two of them, but Ichigo carefully laid Toshiro on the floor, moving away from him. "Heal him first, please Orihime."

The girl nodded, kneeling beside the small shinigami and calling her Shun Shun Rikka to heal him. Ichigo felt relief flow through him as the soothing golden color enclosed his husband, his heart easing a little as he knew that he would be safe.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo murmured after a little while. "We've tried many times to get you back, Orihime, but once I became a shinigami I was bound by the soutaichou's will. I could not leave without permission. And then Toshiro became pregnant… things just snowballed."

Orihime shook her head. "It's okay, Kurosaki-kun. I've been fine here, they don't mistreat me. I understand. It's nice to know that you and Hitsugaya-kun are doing well. And you have children now?"

Ichigo smiled at the thought of his boys. "Yea, twin boys. They turned 19 this year. They're both in my squad, they're very powerful." His smile softened. "I'm so proud of them… I just hope that they're okay…"

The girl smiled. "I'm sure they're fine, if they're your sons. If they're anything like you, they're not going to be the type to give up very easily."

That made the orange-head chuckle. "That's for sure. They're both very stubborn."

"What are their names?" Orihime asked, her eyes shining as she eagerly soaked up the information about the man that she hadn't seen for many years.

"Yoru is the eldest, Sora is the youngest." Ichigo responded. "Yoru is much more like me, while Sora resembles Toshiro quite a bit. They even have quite similar zanpaktou."

Orihime smiled, happy to hear something about the friends that she had missed in the other world. She moved away from Toshiro as the tiny captain began breathing easier, his wounds healed. Ichigo was silent and still as Orihime began to heal him, her Shun Shun Rikka doming over him and bringing a soothing warmth to his body.

"I'm sorry, Orihime." Ichigo murmured after a moment.

"I already told you, Kurosaki-kun, it's okay. I don't blame you for something you couldn't control. Besides, I'm not hurt. Everything is okay, I promise." Orihime said gently. "I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're thinking."

Ichigo looked away from her blue-gray eyes as they met his chocolate ones. "Even so, I should have tried harder, and not left you in this horrible place."

Orihime smiled. "It's not so bad. Since I've been here for so long, I think I've made myself a few allies, if not friends. The teal-haired Espada, he isn't so bad. He has a rather quick temper and a harsh tongue, but he has never struck me, unlike the other Espada. He has even defended me once or twice."

Ichigo blinked in shock. "Really? Grimmjow? That's a laugh."

She giggled faintly. "I agree. And Ulquiorra makes sure that I am well taken care of, if nothing else."

The door opened at that moment, and Ulquiorra came inside, his usual look of disinterest on his face. He gestured to Orihime, turning. "Come, girl."

Orihime rose to her feet obediently, smiling at Ichigo as she did.

The door shut on the two of them, leaving Ichigo alone with his husband, who was still sleeping silently on the floor beside him. He gathered the small body into his arms, rising to his feet and going to the small bed in the corner. The least he could do was make sure that Toshiro was comfortable.

Ichigo was awoken as Toshiro was suddenly ripped from his arms, a snarl sounding in his throat and his arms locking around the small body.

Toshiro came awake as well, his fingers wrapping in Ichigo's shihakshou and his body tensing.

Fists lashing out, Ichigo managed to connect with the person who was trying to pull Toshiro away from him, his arms instantly wrapping tightly around Toshiro, his eyes flaring gold as he looked toward the attacker.

A diminutive looking Fraccion was standing in front of them, his face a little startled. He pulled his arm back, and then moved forward again, wrapping his hand around Toshiro's bicep and pulling.

Toshiro growled in his throat, wrenching at his arm and managing to pull away, but a moment later, the Fraccion lashed out again. Toshiro cried out as the Hollow slammed a hand onto the back of his neck, sending black across his vision as he slumped against the bedding.

Ichigo snarled, starting to push himself up to go after the attacker, but hands suddenly shot out from behind him, holding him back. The orange-head writhed in the grip, but the arms were like restraining straps, holding him securely back. He could only watch as the Fraccion lifted Toshiro, slinging the white-haired captain over its shoulder and starting to leave the room.

"Toshiro! Toshiro! TOSHIRO!"