First born
Chapter 6
A/N: I don't own Bleach or the river lullaby.
The moment you have all been waiting for; the birth of Ichigo's baby!
0000
Ichigo was in his eighth month of pregnancy. His belly had gotten much bigger than in his fifth month. Ever since the incident with Lolly and Menoly, Aizen kept his eyes on Ichigo, watching him closely. Aizen, although very patient, could not wait for the child to be born. From what Gin had told him about the child, the baby not only possessed one, but two zanpakutou, which proved the power of the child was great.
Each day, Ichigo had gotten more passionate for his unborn daughter. Every day Ichigo would tell Orihime and Nell about his child. Nell was very happy because she would soon have a sister to play with. Orihime admired Ichigo for naming the child in honor to his dead mother. If one day she has children, she would name her first son Sora; in honor to her brother. But for each day that Ichigo got passionate for his daughter, he also he got depressed. He didn't want his little Masaki being used as a weapon by Aizen. He only wanted his daughter to grow as a normal child.
"Ichigo."
Ichigo turned around and saw Grimmjow in the doorway.
"Whats the matter, Grimmjow?"
"I will have to go to a reunion with Aizen and the other Espadas. I don't know how long it will take."
The two had been quiet for some time. Since the incident with the girls, both had been different to each other. Grimmjow started to call Ichigo by his first name and started to think more about the things between them, although he still kept up the macho personality.
"I don't want you leave the bed chambers until I am back." Grimmjow said.
"Alright then, just don't take too long." Ichigo replied.
Grimmjow left the room, leaving Ichigo alone. Ichigo looked at the moon through his window. He wondered if he had a possibility to run away from Hueco Mundo and go to a safe place where he and his baby would be the saved. Then, Ichigo felt his baby kicking him again, but that was a strong one.
"I know, little one, I know. One day we will leave this place, and you will able to see the sun, your aunts and also your silly grandfather." Ichigo said, caressing his belly while looking at the moon.
0000
Meanwhile, in the real world, 4 people were ready to go to Hueco mundo to rescue their friends Ichigo and Orihime. Those four people were Rukia, Renji, Chad and Ishida. All of them were training to get stronger and now they felt ready to go to the world of hollows.
"Are you sure you wanna go now?" Urahara asked to the group. They all nodded.
"Yes." Said Rukia. "We already waited for too long. Ichigo would never make us wait this long."
"That's right. And we still don't have any idea on what Aizen might be doing to them." Renji added.
"We already made our choice." Chad nodded.
"And we don't want waste any more time" Ishida added after Chad.
Urahara nodded. Then, he opened the dimensional gate that would take the group to Hueco Mundo. The four adventurers had entered to the gate as the gate closed behind them. Urahara admired them for their courage. He wanted go with them, but his presence was more important in the living world than in Hueco Mundo.
"Good luck guys, and don't die." Urahara thought, looking at the spot where the gate closed.
"Urahara-dono, I believe in them." Tessai said " Drink this tea, it will make you feel better."
"Thanks Tessai." Urahara said, thanking Tessai as he accepted the tea.
But before Urahara could touch the cup, the cup cracked on its own. It made the shop owner become very worried, because it was a sign of something very bad was coming. He just hoped this bad thing was not too great.
0000
Ichigo was alone in his bed chambers, still waiting for Grimmjow's return. It has been a few hours that he had been by himself. At least he didn't have to go to this reunion as well. Though Aizen had stopped molesting him, Ichigo still felt very uncomfortable around him. And also for some reason, his baby was very agitated tonight. She was still kicking him. Ichigo decided to sit down on the wooden chair. Back and forth, Ichigo rocked in the wooden chair as he stared to sing a lullaby.
Hush now, my baby
Be still love, don't cry
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream
Sleep and remember
My lullaby
And I'll be with you when you dream
Drift on a river
That flows through my arms
Drift as I'm singing to you
I see you smiling
So peaceful and calm
And holding you, I'm smiling, too
Here in my arms
Safe from all harm
Holding you, I'm smiling, too
Ichigo smiled when he felt the kicking stop. It looked like his unborn child finally had calmed down. Ichigo remembered the time when he was younger; whenever he was very frustrated or scared, his mother always came to him to sing a lullaby to calm him down. And it worked every time.
"Good night, my little Masaki-chan."
Suddenly Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise as he felt four familiar spirit energies. Ichigo stood up and looked. He knew those energies; they belonged to Rukia, Renji, Chad and Ishida.
"You really came here?"
Then, Ichigo felt a big pain in his stomach as he fell in his knees. One hand was holding his stomach while the other was giving him support. His breathing had become labored and he stared to sweat. The pain was too great to handle as he lied in the round, crying in pain. That's when Ichigo figured out what was happening to him; he was going in labor.
"No ….. Masaki….not now…not here…" Tears were rolling down in his face, not only because of the pain, but also for angst. He didn't want his child be born there in Las Noches with Szayel touching his baby. "Grim… Grimmjow…"
0000
Grimmjow growled as he got out from the reunion room. It looked like four suicidal people decided to appear there in Las noches to start an invasion. He just hoped they were not Ichigo's friends, or else if they died, Ichigo would go in the emo mode like he did before in the beginning of his pregnancy. Then, he saw Nell running towards him.
"Gwimmy!!"
"What you want, brat? I already told you to not call me that."
"It's Ichi-moma! There's something wrong with him!"
"What did you say?!"
0000
Sometime later, after they had entered in the palace, Ishida, Renji, Rukia and Chad decided to split up to cover more grounds. Unfortunately for Ishida, he ended up being followed by Pesche Guatiche; a weird hollow that had a mask that resembled an insect head with a large pair of mandibles. He had his other fellow hollow, Dondochakka Bilstin; a large, spotted humanoid Arrancar with a Tiki mask and compound eyes. Despite his menacing appearance, he is prone to tear-filled outbursts at the slightest provocation, usually when he was worried about something. They both had met them when they were in the desert, somewhere away from Las Noches. They followed them to Las Noches because their little sister Nell was there as well and they wanted her back as soon as possible. Ishida disliked having that idiot around him, but he kind of helped him when he faced Curucci Thunderwitch.
They walked around for a while, until they located a room that looked like a laboratory. The room was filled with clutters of paper, expressing the fact that whoever the owner of the room was, it showed that person was being just a little less then organized lately.
Ishida hissed when he felt Pesche holding him.
"Can you let me go?"
"Can't help it, Renji," Pesche said. "Doesn't this kind of remind you of a torture chamber'?"
"I am Ishida Uryu, not Abarai Renji." snapped Ishida, as he finally got himself free from Pesche's arms.
Ishida couldn't help, but deep down, he had to agree with him. Indeed, this laboratory kind of reminded him of a torture chamber. No doubt whoever the owner of this room was, he used this same laboratory to do insane experiments. He just hoped Orihime and Ichigo weren't a part of any.
"What a fat folder." Said Pesche, picking the folder from the table
Then, Ishida saw the rather fat folder with the words "Project- First born" written in the top corner. Ishida decided to pick the folder from Pesche's hands to read whatever documents were written in there. For some reason Ishida felt he had to read those documents, because his instincts were telling him they were very important. The dark haired Quincy shivered when he read those documents.
"W- What is this?" Ishida hissed. He couldn't believe what he was reading.
0000
Grimmjow rushed to Ichigo's side when he and Nell returned to the room. Grimmjow took Ichigo in his arms and asked what was wrong with him. The Sixth Espada hissed when Ichigo told him he was in labor.
"Damn it! I have to take you to Szayel!"
"NO!" Ichigo screamed. "I don't want that bastard touching my daughter! Take me to Urahara's!"
Grimmjow looked at Ichigo's pained face. Though Ichigo was not saying anything, he begged the Espada to not let Szayel and Aizen touch their daughter. From all this time he and Ichigo had known each other, thanks to this pregnancy, Grimmjow started to have some feelings for the orange haired Shinigami. And it was that moment that he had to choose between his loyalty to Las Noches and his feelings for Ichigo.
"Nell, I want you to create a distraction." Grimmjow said to the child Arrancar. "Make the biggest mess you can ever think of."
"Gwimmy, what are you going to do?" asked Nell.
"I will take him away from this snake nest. Can you help me take him to a safe place?"
Nell once again looked at Ichigo. She did want to help him and his little sister. She knew Aizen had bad plans for them and she wanted to make sure Ichi-moma and her little sister were safe.
"You can count on me!"
Nell left the room, leaving Grimmjow and Ichigo alone. Ichigo was still feeling pain, he felt like he was about to be ripped in two. Grimmjow just kept whispering to him to hold on. Then, they finally heard an explosion; it was the signal they were waiting for.
"Hold on Ichigo. We're getting out here."
With this, Grimmjow opened the gate to the living world. Grimmjow just hoped this Urahara guy could help them.
0000
Urahara had seen every type of thing in this world, but nothing like this; in the doorway of his shop was an Arrancar with wild hair, carrying Ichigo in bridal style. Ichigo was taking deep breaths, sweating and holding his large stomach. Uruhara demanded what had happened to Ichigo.
Grimmjow had to explain everything that Aizen had done to Ichigo, involving the First Born project. Urahara rarely lost his cool, but in this type of situation it was hard for someone to not lose their cool. Urahara didn't kill Grimmjow after he had explained everything that was done to Ichigo, because Ichigo asked him not to, and told him that Grimmjow was on his side.
Ichigo was laid down on a futon with a cold towel on his forehead. Yoruichi was trying everything she could to make him more comfortable, even though the pain he was feeling was very great.
"I hate to ask this, but I need your help. I can't take back the others who went after him and that red haired woman by myself."
"Why are you helping him?" Urahara asked, still not trusting Grimmjow.
"In the beginning, I thought I hated him, and I even went so far when I raped him. But…." Grimmjow started, looking at Ichigo lying on the futon "… after a few incidents our relationship started to change. And when I heard the baby's heart, I wanted to protect her from Aizen. Aizen just wants to use the baby as a weapon, and I will do anything to keep the baby safe and make Ichigo happy. That's why I need your help to take his friends back from Hueco Mundo. I don't want to see Ichigo cry or be sad ever again."
Urahara wasn't sure if he should go and leave Ichigo in labor in his house. Yoruichi looked softly at him.
"You can go with him. I will take care of the things here."
"Are you sure?" asked Urahara. "You've never done a child birth"
"I did." Ichigo said through the pain. "My f-father helped a …arught… a lady in her…gasp …in her child birth…a cesarean… Aught!…. I can … I can…guide them. urght!"
Urahara had to think for a moment, it was risk but he had no choice. Urahara asked Yoruichi to call him if something went wrong. She nodded as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Grimmjow went beside Ichigo and told him not to worry, that he would return with his friends and also to see their child. Ichigo just smiled at him, and telling him to return soon with the others.
Urahara and Grimmjow went to Hueco Mundo while Yoruichi, Ururu, Jinta and Tessai would take care of everything in the shop.
0000
It was very painful for Ichigo throughout the labor. Aizen and Szayel were called geniuses in the Hueco Mundo. "Genius my ass!" thought Ichigo angrily. Though the uterus implant and pregnancy was a success, it seemed they forgot a little detail; they forgot to make an opening for the baby come out!! Ichigo's only option was through a cesarean. It was a risk, but Ichigo didn't want lose the baby. He guided Tessai and Yoruichi as much as he could remember from the time he and his father helped a lady to have her baby.
"Are you sure that this is the way Ichigo? I never did this type of thing before."
"Don't worry about me, just be worried about getting the baby out!" yelled Ichigo in pain. He didn't care if he lived or died, he just wanted his baby to be born and live happily.
"Yoruichi-dono?"
Yoruicho closed her eyes for a moment. She prayed to any god that the operation worked. She looked at Tessai and she nodded to him.
"Let get started."
Yoruichi used the blade to cut Ichigo's belly carefully not wanting to make too much damage. Tessai was helping with Ichigo's pain.
0000
"Man, the climate is heavy." Jinta complained.
While Yoruichi and Tessai were inside of the shop doing the emergency surgery, Jinta and Ururu were outside of the shop, making sure to stop any suspecting moves. Jinta didn't want admit, but he was freaked out when he saw Ichigo with that Arrancar, and even more when they heard he was pregnant and about to give birth.
"Poor Ichigo-san. I hope he will be alright." Ururu said, silently.
"Ah, that's where Ichigo-kun is, right?"
Jinta and Ururu turned around and saw a figure they didn't want to see at the moment. Before any of the two kids could do anything, the figure attacked them. Ururu and Jinta collapsed on the ground, unconscious. The figure turned his attention to the house as he heard a loud cry of a baby crying. He just smirked.
"Well, well, looks like he already gave the birth. Well, less work for me."
0000
Yoruichi couldn't help but smile as she held the new-born baby in her hands. It was a beautiful child. A healthy baby girl. It had the same orange hair color that Ichigo had. Though of the strange birthmark in her left check; two red strips, but she was still a miracle. It was something Yoruichi would never forget.
Yoruichi gave her to Tessai to cover her with a towel to clean her. Once she was cleaned, he gave her to Ichigo to see his new born daughter. Ichigo smiled in pure happiness when he touched his daughter's cheek. His precious Masaki was so beautiful and so perfect. And she has the most beautiful blue eyes. Then, Ichigo lost his consciousness from of the blood loss. Yoruichi noticed it.
"Ichigo! Tessai, lets close the cut or else he will bleed to death." Yoruichi exclaimed as she and Tessai were about to heal him when they felt a presence.
"I have to thank you for helping him to give the birth. You helped us a lot."
Both Tessai and Yoruichi turned around and they saw Ichimaru Gin. Their eyes widened in horror, Gin shouldn't have showed up now, not when Ichigo just gave the birth. Tessai and Yoruichi tried to attack Gin to protect Ichigo and his child. But ever since Gin had gone to Hueco Mundo, he had gotten stronger than he was when he was in Soul Society.
Gin had defeated both Yoruichi and Tessai easily. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw his opponents bleeding on the ground. Then he turned his attention to the crying baby. He went where Ichigo and the baby were. Ichigo was emotionless with his arms around the baby who was still crying.
"Heh, what a shameful way to die, Ichigo-kun. Blood loss. But don't worry…" Then, Gin removed Ichigo's arms around of the baby and he took her in his own arms. "I will take care of Masaki-chan, after all I'm supposed to be her uncle."
Gin smiled at the baby in his arms as he left the house with her. But before he left the propriety, Gin used his zanpakuto to destroy the house with everyone inside of it.
To be continued
Oh no! Gin kidnaps Masaki-chan to take her to Aizen! What will happen?
You have to wait and find out in chapter 7.
I hope you liked the chapter. As for River Lullaby, I admit I don't know any lullaby in english, so I was between River lullaby ( from the prince of egypt) and Once Upon a December ( from Anastacia) when I got in the lullaby part. I decided to use river lullaby because I LOVE this song!
Please, don't forget to send your reviews. I want to know your thoughts about the chapter.
I wanna thank xRandomHeartsx for beta writing this chapter.
Next chapter: The Final Battle!