A/N: Oh my goodness I cannot stop writing this story! It just keeps coming out of my head! I'm seriously losing sleep over the dumb thing. :) Oh well, I guess you guys get to enjoy my obsessions! Not much happens, a little fluff and some recap for Urahara when Inoue gets back, and then a little more fluffy stuff. More action next chappie!

Someone has added this story to a group called Reportable Offenses! I don't know how to make it leave, but if something happens, my deviantart is also phoenixreal and I will publish my stories there as well.


Chapter Nine: A Promise Kept

True to his word, an hour later Ulquiorra returned. He looked them over. "Have you decided?" he asked.

Before anyone could speak, Rukia stood up. "Take Orhime, please. Take her to Kisuke Urahara's Shoten."

He nodded and reached his hand out to the busty woman. She looked back at him. "Can I say good bye to Kurosaki-kun?" she asked softly.

Ulquiorra looked thoughtful and nodded. "He is still in Szayel's lab, but you can. I prefer he know we have kept our word."

He led her out, then grabbed her into a sonido and escorted her into Szayel's lab where Ichigo was laying out on the table, a great purple bruise covering most of his jaw and his left hand bandaged. He was sleeping. As soon as Ulquiorra got close, his head turned toward him slowly as though he felt his presence.

"Ulkea?" he muttered, trying not to move his jaw.

Ulquiorra came around where he could see him. "That's an odd way to put my name. I have brought the woman to bid you farewell. As we Stark said, we will send one of your friends home."

Inoue walked over beside the green eyed espada and tried not to cry. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun but the others wanted me to go, I wanted to stay. Ichigo shook his head. "No, came here fa ya, ya go home safe, 'kay?"

He smiled, but it quickly turned into a grimace as pain lanced around his face. He looked up at Ulquiorra and there were tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Inoue hugged him clumsily. "I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I'm sorry that I took away the first babies without knowing it! I'm sorry I got taken here and dragged you into this mess! And I'm sorry…"

Ichigo pushed her up and gave her a slight smile. "Shh, no. Go home. Tell my dad I love him, tell hat'n'clog that I'm okay, and him to talk to dad please. Don't cry for me."

She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead and he grasped her hand tightly. "I've always loved you, Kurosaki-kun," she said finally and nearly ran out of the room. Ulquiorra followed.

They went into the hall and Ulquiorra called up the garganta and led her through. They said nothing on the walk but it opened directly above Urahara's shop. As soon as they stepped out, Urahara was out the door holding his cane in front of him, but seeing Inoue he paused and watched as Ulquiorra brought her to the ground.

"Espada, where are the rest of them?" he asked, fearing to know the answer.

Inoue ran forward nearly tripping and grabbed Urahara to bury her head in his chest, starting to sob. Urahara looked at her then back to the passive espada. He pulled the sword fee from the cane sheath and pointed it at the espada.

"Where are they?"

Ulquiorra looked thoughtful and saw that Inoue was incapable of speech currently.

"Since the woman is distraught, I will tell you. They are safe, but confined. Inoue is being returned per agreement with Kurosaki Ichigo. Should Kurosaki continue to abide by our agreement, another of his friends will be returned. Once all his friends are returned, he will remain with us. At that point, he will choose not to leave," he said, impassively.

Urahara frowned. "What do you mean? He will choose not to leave?"

"Kurosaki is not a full hollow, therefore he will not abandoned his offspring," he said watching for a reaction.

"Offspring? What?" his mind was racing to try and comprehend it.

"Kurosaki is being used to breed stronger arrancar/vizard hybrids. Thus far he is successful in carrying an unknown number of offspring, and we do not know the sire involved with them. Espadas primera, myself cuartra, quinta and sexta have attempted to sire with Kurosaki. We are certain at least one has taken," he said, his eyes showing no emotion.

Urahara blinked. "How can he carry offspring? He's a human male."

Ulquiorra had thought this particular man more aware. "Kurosaki is half hollow. Hollows offspring is dependent on physical sex, only on alpha or beta status. Kurosaki is a male beta capable of carrying offspring. His hollow subdued him once they had been in Hueco Mundo long enough for him to begin a heat cycle for impregnantion. If he had not come to Hueco Mundo, his hollow would not have gained control. Only Espada ranked six or above are capable of mating with him due to his high level of power."

Urahara stammered for a second to wrap his head around this, and that never happened. Never. Never was Urahara caught off guard or surprised by something. This ones the one incredible exception to that rule.

"I will leave you, I must attend to Kurosaki. He has entered a vulnerable stage, and must be protected by us. I will see you if Aizen decides to allow another of his friends to go free. Until then, they will not be harmed," he said passively and flicked his hand to open the inky blackness and stepped in, letting it shut behind him.

"Is this true, Inoue?" Urahara said softly.

"Oh god, Urahara-san, it is true! They've done some horrible things to him, and we couldn't help him!" she cried into his green top. Urahara looked up as a familiar shinigami flash stepped in front of him.

"Inoue!" Toshiro said as he moved closer, the small captain frowning. "Urahara, I felt an espada's presence, what's happening? Where did it go?"

Urahara sighed. "I think we should go inside and talk and I'll tell you what the espada said, and then get Inoue some tea so she can tell us what she saw."

Toshiro frowned but nodded following them into the shoten. Urahara made the tea, and to Toshiro's surprise, the small captain saw his hand shake. And that was something he had to admit to having never seen. He then sat a small recording device on the table and turned it on. He seated them all around and recalled what Ulquiorra had said. Toshiro was just as surprised.

"You said it was true, Ohrime-san?" he said softly.

She nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah, I was called to heal him when they were brought in. The really tall freaky looking one had bitten his neck, and he was bleeding, so I healed it, and we were in front of Aizen. They were talking about him like he wasn't there, like he was some thing for them to use. Then the blue haired one, Grimmjow just grabbed him up and tossed him over his shoulder, and told him to be still before he broke his ribs. Then he told me they'd probably need me later. I was scared, and they took me, Abarai-kun, Kuchiki-kun, Sado-kun and Ishida-kun to an apartment. But later they called me back to heal him…and oh god they almost killed him Urahara. The tall one said to heal him or I'd take his place." She swallowed hard.

"This pink haired espada, Szayel came in and explained that Kurosaki-kun could carry babies, but because I had healed him, the ones that may or may not have been forming were rejected along with the wounds. So I couldn't be allowed to heal him… Then Ulquiorra came and dragged him away. When he brought him back the next day, he had bites and bruises, but not like before. He passed out and the pink haired one came back and said he was carrying a reiatsu bundle that might or might not turn into a baby. Then this little girl came and said the primera espada wanted him and Kurosaki-kun wanted to stay, but she said if he came with her, then he would talk to Aizen about letting one of us go. So he went, though we begged him not to. He said he had to. He came back later, and he looked sleepy, and half dressed."

She blushed suddenly. Urahara frowned. "What is it, Inoue?"

"They had him wearing this awful set of clothes, with slits down the sides of his hakama almost to his ankles and a kusado that covered his shoulders and that was it. It was nice, though, in a way," she said, blushing again. She had to admit, viewing him in the scant outfit had been interesting. "But he went to shower and fell, getting dizzy. They took his clothes and he had to wrap up in his sheet instead until he could figure out how to get some more."

"Inoue, what happened to his shihakuso? His reiatsu should have reformed it," Toshiro said frowning.

She nodded. "His hollow somehow repressed it, and we could hardly sense him even in the same room. Something about how the reiatsu spikes before a heat, and then is almost nonexistent so they can be overtaken by the alphas," she said, blushing at the thought.

Urahara nodded, mentally charting all the information he'd been given. "Where do the souls come from?" he asked suddenly. "Hollows aren't born, they're made…"

Inoue nodded. "We asked that too, Szayel said that it is a matter of instinct, not necessity, and since hollows are made up of tons of souls, they basically implant one of those souls using their reiatsu. Then the one that is carrying it accepts or rejects it. And Aizen told us that if Kurosaki-kun didn't accept at least one, he'd be killed."

They were silent for a moment. "What happened then, Inoue-san?" Urahara prompted.

"Oh, yes, he fell, and had his head stitched, and Szayel said his heat was cut short because of being human. So he would form the reiatsu chambers for the babies soon. But Grimmjow came and got him again, saying he had something to show him. I don't know what happened, but later Nnoitra brought him back with Grimmjow and laid him in the bed, then Stark and Ulquiorra came in, and they all went in there with him, and there was a lot of strange reiatsu, and they ended up falling asleep on the bed with him, all of them, just laying against him and holding onto him. It was so strange, and almost like…like they cared about him," she said softly.

She breathed harshly. "Kuchiki-kun was angry. She didn't understand how he could just let them do those things, and she wasn't thinking clearly. I think she was angry at herself because she got Kurosaki-kun involved in the shinigami. But the next morning she woke him up for lunch, and he didn't seem bothered at all by the espada. They got up and left, and Kurosaki-kun was trying to act like everything was okay, and we all knew it wasn't. So…so Kuchiki-kun yelled at him, and said something she shouldn't have."

"Like what?" Urahara prompted, reaching out and touching her hand gently.

She breathed deeply. "That they turned him into something different, that he wasn't fighting them, that he was enjoying it. I saw it when he snapped, the fury and hurt in his eyes, Urahara-san. He was so mad that his reiatsu nearly choked me. He told Kuchiki-kun that he would do anything they told him if he thought it would save us and send us home. And he said she was accusing him of being…being…" she stopped. "Of being a whore for them. And that he would rather lay down with them than stand there any longer. He barged out somehow breaking the seal to the door and sealing it back, even though we couldn't budge the door before or after that no matter how hard we tried."

Her tears were filling up again. "But he was alone, and he was weak, and two of the other arrancars ran into him because the espada were with Aizen. And they hurt him because he tried to fight them off, but he couldn't. His alphas came back afterward and were angry, really angry because he was hurt. I never thought I'd see them angry about someone else, you know? But they figured out pretty quickly how he got so mad. And they told us what happened because of it. And that he wasn't just there for anyone to use, and he wouldn't give in to anyone, because he was still fighting them after they broke his jaw and his hand, because he knew…he knew that they didn't have the power to help us like the espada. And so Kuchiki-kun refused to come back when we were told one could return, and she insisted it be me. I think she feels responsible for everying, Urahara-san," she said sighing deeply.

Urahara sighed again, his head swirling. He clicked off the recording device and pulled half of it off and handed it to the slight captain.

"For you to take to soul society, Toshiro-chan. Please hurry," he said softly, and poured Inoue another cup of tea. He picked up the phone with a shuttering breath.

"Hello?" came the reply.

"Issin-san, it's about Ichigo-kun. Come to my shop, please," he said softly, then closed the phone.

Innoue looked up. "You know Kurosaki-kun's father?"

Urahara nodded. "That I do. Would you like to rest here or go to your home, Inoue-san?"

She thought. "I don't want to be alone, Urahara-san, may I rest in one of the rooms?"

Urahara smiled and nodded, leading her into one of the spare rooms where there was a comfortable futon to lay on. As he came back into the front, a familiar man was standing there waiting for him. This was not a discussion he was looking forward to having right now.

"Come in, sit down for tea, and I'll play the recording I just made for you," he said softy.

-Las Noches—

Ulquiorra headed back to the room with the others and informed them that Inoue had been handed over to Urahara Kisuke and the eccentric shop keeper had been given an explanation from Ulquiorra himself. He then headed to check on Ichigo, and found him resting. As he stepped outside he ran into his three fellow alphas.

"I returned the woman. I believe the gesture will improve his mood," he said to them.

Grimmjow growled. "What would improve my mood would be to fuckin' kill Findorr and Ggio right now."

Nnoitra grinned. "Now now, ya know as well as I do, they're wishin' he had killed 'em right now. Their rough treatment of our beta will not be repeated. And I think when he's had them cubs, those two should be healed up, and I think we should let him have at them, show 'em how weak they are compared to him. He'll rip their faces off!" he said gleefully.

Grimmjow found a smirk tugging at his lips. "Yah, ya know I like that. They called him weak. I wanna see that one. So I guess I'll let 'em live. Just watch Ichi kick their asses."

Stark snorted, waking himself up where he'd fallen asleep against the wall. "Yeah, I'm going back to sleep. But first where are we going to keep him? He can't go about alone, and if he has the moods…"

Nnoitra blinked. "Shit, if fergot that one. Fuck, he's gonna be a pain, isn't he?"

Ulquiorra nodded. "He already went off on the Kuchiki woman and stormed off. We cannot trust him to stay behind any sort of barrier. His reiatsu is too strong and can burst out when he is agitated."

"So he needs one of us who can actually command him around at all times," he said softly.

"Should we take one of those apartments Aizen-sama built like his friends are in, and stay together until the cubs are born? There are four rooms for us," Ulquiorra said thoughtfully.

Stark snorted again. "Oh, we could do that. Lillynette will have to come with me, of course."

Grimmjow nodded. "Well, I ain't got no fraccion left to worry about. I'll go ask Aizen-sama about it. But I doubt he'll have an issue. If he wants his hybrids healthy, we gotta keep 'im happy."

He wandered off leaving the other three. Stark yawned and headed back to his mountain of pillows. Nnoitra sighed. "I'm gonna go kill some piss-ant hollows."

Ulquiorra watched them all leave and went into the room to watch the beta sleep. The purple of the bruise on his face was fading, and Szayel had removed the bandage off his hand. Szayel came in and looked up. "He'll be ready to leave in an hour or so. Could you find him some clothes? It might be beneficial so that he's not running around nearly naked to keep the other arrancar from assaulting him again."

Ulquiorra nodded and went off to find something for him to wear. He managed to find a set of hakama that looked his size, and a jacket the reminded him of the black and red bankai coat he wore. They were, of course, white. But he headed back to Szayel and found that he was helping him sit up on the bed. He rubbed his jaw absently.

Ulquiorra nodded to him, and handed him the clothes. "I have found some suitable attire for you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo looked at it skeptically. "It's not the prostitute get up again, is it?"

Ulquiorra frowned. "It is something I thought you would like."

Szayel and Ulquiorra helped him down, the sheet falling away, and though he knew it really shouldn't bother him, he felt a mad blush creep up his face. Ulquiorra helped him into the hakama and pulled the obi tight around his waist. He was glad to see they were normal hakama. Then he helped him shrug on the kusoda, which was long and form fitting, much like his bankai cloak, with a high collar and buttons that came up to his collarbone. The sleeves weren't as long, only three quarter of the way down his arms, but they were tight fitting. He looked up at Ulquiorra and smiled. "That's much better."

Despite himself, Ulquiorra felt a flutter in his chest of…happiness? He'd done something that Ichigo liked and he was pleased about it. He smiled in return and led Ichigo to the room with his friends. They dropped out of sonido and Ulquiorra held on for a moment, looking up at him. He was a few inches taller than the espada, but the green eyed man seemed to grow when he wanted to. He reached up and brushed the greenish bruise on his jaw and frowned.

"Because of this, one of is will remain with you at all times, we cannot let you risk the health of the cubs or your own health. So we will not hesitate to command you if you are going to hurt either," he said and released the seal and led him into the room by the hand. Ichigo looked down where his hand was clasped in the paler one and didn't mind at all.

As soon as he entered, Rukia was in front of him apologizing franticly and begging him to forgive her because she upset him. He sighed and ruffled her hair and walked into the room, pulling Ulquiorra with him to the table at the kitchen.

"Midget, forget it okay, I'm trying to do the same," he said over his shoulder, his eyes tired. "I'm going to find something to eat for me and Ulkea." Ulquiorra's lips twitched into a small smile. He actually liked that nickname even though it had come about from his inability to use his name with his jaw clamped shut.

Rukia and Renji looked at each other. Renji mouthed Ulkea at her. She shrugged and glanced at the passive espada and realized that he was watching every move Ichigo made in the tiny kitchen. His eyes never moved to the others in the room or anything.

"Thank you for taking Inoue back," he said, smiling as he sat down some rice curry he'd made. He looked over at the others. "Oi, you going to eat or stand there gawking!"

Before long, they had all sat around the table and ate quietly, not really knowing how to take the espada that was sitting with them. Finally Ichigo frowned. "Because of this," he said, motioning at his jaw, where the bruise was fading to a dark brown now. "They're going to stay with me, at least one of them, all the time. They don't want me going postal again, and then getting messed up by someone's stupid fraccion," he said frowning, massaging his still sore left hand. Of course he couldn't do much about the searing pain that was still shooting up his back every time he moved.

"Those particular fraccion will not be up and in condition to move for quite some time," Ulquiorra stated.

Uryu looked up, one raven brow arched. "Were they punished by Aizen?"
Ulquiorra shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that Grimmjow and Nnoitra were furious, and neither of them has the ability to hold their tempers very well. If they had not been segunda espada Barragan's fraccion, I believe they would have been killed outright. Primera almost did however he claimed laziness and chose to let Grimmjow and Nnoitra take out their frustration on them."

Uryu and Renji exchanged glances. "That's…interesting."

After they eat, and Ichigo had cleaned the dishes away Ulquiorra looked at him. "You must sleep. Today has been difficult, and your energy is ebbing."

Ichigo frowned. "I've been asleep half the day!"

"Yes, and you must continue to rest until we know how many reiatsu chambers are forming. The more that form, the more the drain will be on you. Now, you must rest again."

Ichigo practically pouted, and crossed his arms. "Fine. You're coming with me right?"

Ulquiorra nodded. "Of course."

"Night, Renji, Chado, Rukia, Ishida!" he called and grabbed Ulquiorra by the hand and pulled him into the bedroom he'd come to claim as his.

They blinked at each other. "He's positively domestic," Renji commented. "Is that normal?"

Uryu pushed his glasses up and crossed his white clad legs in the chair. "It is for human females to nest, so I suppose it is possible for Kurosaki to experience similar instincts."

"This is too weird!" Rukia exclaimed. "And he's even calling that one pet names!"

Chad spoke up finally. "No matter how we feel, it is Ichigo's child, and one or more of them are the father of it. I am sure that Ichigo does not want to lose them, he would want to protect them."

The sat in silence again. "Kurosaki would want to protect them. They are innocent. And to protect them, he needs the espada so incidents like today don't repeat. Animals do it in order to protect their young, to get a strong mate to keep predators at bay. The same instincts are being used here. He is our same Kurosaki, but with that instinct added. And seemingly hormones like any mother experiences."

The door opened and Grimmjow sauntered in. He glanced over at them grouped around the couch and chairs and fixed them with a grin, the casually flipped them off and disappeared behind the door to Ichigo's room. A while later, Rukia got up to check on them, and eased the door open. What she found surprised her. Ichigo was lying on his back in the middle of the bed, and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had each snuggled in one either side with his arms were under each of their heads. Each one rested their head in the hollow of his shoulder. Both had a hand lying protectively on his belly, and there was a soft pulsing of reiatsu emitting from each of their hands every few moments. Gentle and soothing, and then dissipating into him. Every so often a small pulse of black reiatsu would meet the green and blue then fade.

Rukia looked behind her to see the others gathered watching. She looked back and then shut the door gently. She looked at them.

"What if…what if this is more than we thought? What if this is more than them using him?" she whispered.

She met the eye of the four men around her and she knew they were all wondering the same thing.