In case you're all wondering... Yes, it was a bad idea to let Ichigo visit Grimmjow. Yes, it was an even worse idea to allow him inot the same kennel as the other two. And yes, Ichi and Grimmjow get a litter in this chapter... Wait... I wasn't supposed to tell you that ;p

Grimmjow: A litter? Who gets a litter! 0.o

Ichigo: We do! Yea! =D

Grimmjow: ... Can we talk about this?

Ichigo and Vaerin: *glare heatedly at Grimmjow*

Grimmjow: ... I didn't think so.

Chapter 9

It's been three hours, far past the time Shuuhei was supposed to return the little orangette to Rukia, and he's on the phone with said raven now. He's standing outside the kennel, Ichigo curled up within the double embrace of his older brother and his mate, and the three are anything but cooperative at the moment.

"Ichigo, please come here," he begs.

Ichigo's ears are laid flat to his skull, the growl coming from his lips enough to sway the majority of those that know how vicious Bali Demons can be. Grimmjow is snarling and Shiro is hissing, both flexing their claws in warning as they keep the Bali between them.

"Come on, Ichi, please," Shuuhei whines. "Rukia's gonna kill me."

"Mine!" Shiro and Grimmjow hiss in unison.

"Do you hear this, Rukia?" Shuuhei sighs. "I can't get anywhere near him without those two tearing me apart! I already got claw marks down my right arm and across my chest, bite marks on my shoulder, and even bite marks on my leg! They don't fuck around!"

"I'm sorry, Shuuhei, but nii-sama is mad enough about Ichigo visiting Grimmjow… Wait… 'They'?" Rukia questions on the other end.

"Yeah. You remember that white tiger Byakuya bought, right? The one Renji just absolutely fell in love with? Well… as a pet, not as a lover," Shuuhei blushes after a thought. "Well, it turns out he's Ichigo's older brother! Shiro likes Grimmjow, so he's sharing a kennel with him at the moment and Ichigo is between the two."

"Oh, how cute!" Rukia squeals.

"Cute? They're fucking vicious wild animals with a taste for human flesh!"

"Let me talk to Shiro!"

"I'm not going near that insane cat!"

"NOW!"

"… Shiro, she wants to talk to you," Shuuhei sighs.

Shiro tilts his head to the side, scooting forward just an inch or two. Ichigo is immediately pushed behind Grimmjow, the teal panther not about to take chances with his mate's second shield drifting. The Bali Demon scowls at Grimmjow as he rights himself, leaning against the strong back and purring when the panther's tail wraps around him.

"Who is it?" Shiro wonders.

"Rukia… um… Renji's best friend? She was always with him when he was training you," Shuuhei comments. "I do believe she's the one that always tending to both your injuries."

"Oh! I remember her!"

His ears swivel forward as he grins, the white tiger moving closer to take the phone from Shuuhei. Once he has it, he quickly returns to the bed with Grimmjow and Ichigo. Shuuhei attempts to move into the kennel, however Grimmjow and Shiro immediately start to snarl and he retreats. Once the raven haired Shinigami reluctantly moves out, closing the door behind him, Shiro goes back to the phone.

"Midget!" Shiro grins into the phone.

"Don't call me that!" Rukia screams over the line.

"But that's what ya are!"

"Damn it, Shiro!"

"Awe, that ain't language a noble midget should be usin'," Shiro scolds playfully.

Rukia growls in irritation, the white tiger cackling more at her attempt to calm down. After a long moment, the younger Kuchiki muttering a repetitive sentence to soothe her anger, Rukia tries to negotiate with the Demon.

"Okay, Shiro, please set aside your twisted humor and listen to me," she grumbles. "Ichigo needs to come home. Byakuya is really pissed that I let him visit in the first place, but I'll let him visit again."

"No. Ichi is my baby brother, which means he belongs ta me. It don't matter how much ya paid fer him, ya didn' buy him from me and that's illegal."

"… You're right," Rukia gasps. "It's become tradition to buy pets from their parents or owners. Since Ichigo didn't have parents and neither of you were owned by the scientists, he does belong to you and they sold him illegally!"

"Exactly! Ichi and I were born ta be wild, so we were supposed ta be let loose after we reached a good age," Shiro explains. "I showed signs of aggression and was sold ta Byakuya fer his soldier program, but Ichi was too pretty fer that…"

"I'm not pretty!" Ichigo shouts.

"Yes you are," Grimmjow snorts.

"I'm not!"

"Anyway," Shiro growls. "The point is, the scientists didn't create us ta own us, they created us ta repopulate endangered Demon species. We were never meant ta be pets, therefore we've been wild since the moment we were conceived."

"That won't fly with nii-sama," the other sighs. "I'm going to have to think of something crafty to get past him this time. Don't worry, I think I know what I'm gonna do! I'll have you all together soon!"

"Ichi's stayin' here," Shiro growls. "I ain't lettin' him near that pompous asshole!"

"… Just tonight," Rukia offers. "He has to come home tomorrow afternoon, no later… Or nii-sama will punish Ichigo himself… or sell him."

"… Fine," Shiro sighs reluctantly. "But he comes back once a day!"

"Agreed!" she states joyously. "Give the phone back to Shuuhei so I can tell him!"

Ichigo watches the raven haired Shinigami as his face falls, a loud groan that comes dangerously close to a whine leaving his lips. After a moment, he hangs up and grumbles to himself before locking the kennel. Yachiru is just carrying a tray of food over to feed the pups in the kennel down the hall, the small girl stopping and giggling at Shuuhei.

"Silly," she laughs. "The white kitty will just unlock it. You should've left it undone!"

"Yeah, yeah," he huffs. "Be careful down here, will you?"

"I train the pups," Yachiru frowns. "I can take care of myself!"

Shuuhei sighs and walks away, leaving the pink haired female in front of the trio's pen. After making sure the other is gone, the bouncy little girl grins and makes her way over to the kennel. She sets down the tray and digs around in her pocket a moment.

"I brought the pretty kitties some goodies!" she chirps. "Here you go! Don't tell Kenny, though, you're supposed to be on time out."

"Ah, yer such an angel, Pygmy," Shiro purrs. "What did ya bring me this time?"

"Tuna from last night!" she grins. "Kenny won't miss it; he didn't like it last night."

"Mm," Shiro utters as he licks his lips. "Ya spoil me, little girl."

He takes the container from her, licking her cheek before moving back toward the two on the bed. Yachiru waves goodbye and skips off with the tray of food for the pups. Ichigo and Grimmjow are speechless, the two unable to comprehend what's going on. Both know Kenpachi to be mean and apt to beat Demons that don't listen, yet Yachiru seems to spoil the more untamed ones.

"Why is she sneaking you treats?" Ichigo questions.

"She always does. I play wit her when she don't got no one else ta play wit," Shiro waves off. "She's fuckin' hilarious! Ya'd think she was a Demon herself. Here, there's enough fer all of us."

Ichigo purrs as Shiro hands him some of the tuna, licking at it before biting into it. Grimmjow waits for Ichigo to finish; handing him a portion of his own fish to make certain the orangette gets his fill, and then finishes off his own meal. Once they're all done, Grimmjow licks Ichigo's hands and face clean before himself before they all lay down to sleep.

"I don't want to go back," Ichigo sighs.

He's sandwiched between Shiro and Grimmjow, the three having to curl into a large ball to all fit on the cot. The darkness around them is quiet and Yachiru has yet to skip past again, making Shiro nervous as he knows how rough that one pup can be.

"She said you'll visit daily, Kitten," Grimmjow assures. "We just have to trust her, she's on our side."

"But… you said we can't trust them," the Bali growls in reminder.

"In a place like this, any ally is welcome," Shiro scoffs.

Before the Bali can say anything to that, they can hear a scream and Shiro is dumping the other two out of bed as he shoots to his feet. Carefully, the two follow Shiro after he breaks the lock on the kennel door in his haste. Down the hall and into a separate room, they find Yachiru with a broom handle and teeth marks on her left arm. The culprit is a wolf Demon older than her by five years, one that should've been taken out a few days ago and was forgotten. Shiro streaks over, low to the ground and hackles raised, and he positions himself in front of Yachiru protectively.

"Jinta!" Shiro snarls.

"Stupid tiger," Jinta growls.

"Grimmjow, put the pups back," Ichigo states. "I'll take care of Yachiru."

Grimmjow merely nods, leaping up to run along the tops of the kennels there and avoid the vicious wolf pup. Although he's normally good with pups, the older ones like Jinta are considered challengers and he won't hesitate to harm him should he need to. Ichigo moves over to pull the pink haired Shinigami pup to safety, shutting the door of an empty kennel to keep the wolf pup out and give him time to tend her wound. Her eyes are filled with huge tears as he gently lifts the arm and looks it over, the smaller Bali licking it clean. His saliva has the same properties as his brother's, all the better to care for his charge once he was sold. That particular trait was first designed to give the Bali Demon a better chance of survival in the wild, considering it was laboratory bred and raised in captivity the first few years of its life… but that objective didn't last very long.

"Get out of my way, tiger!" Jinta howls. "I'm gonna kill that Shinigami!"

"She ain't done nothin' ta ya!" Shiro hisses. "I ain't gonna let ya hurt her needlessly!"

"She's keeping up locked up like animals!"

"The way you're acting, I can see why," Grimmjow scoffs.

He lifts a couple toddler felines up, the two automatically cuddling with him to find warmth, and sets them down into a nest of blankets. They try to follow him out, however he growls quietly in warning and they stay put. Ichigo finally has Yachiru's injury healed to just a scar, the little Shinigami pup curled within his arms as he watches the young wolf vigilantly. She's watching Grimmjow more than Jinta, trusting Ichigo to keep her safe from the angry wolf. The feline cubs are always very difficult to get to listen to her, even if they happen to be tame they still have an attitude, but they listen to Grimmjow so naturally. He catches a tiny lion cub by the scruff of the neck, his other hand reaching for the lioness within the litter of four easily. With a slight hiss and purr, the rest turn and follow him playfully. Shiro has trapped Jinta with his gaze, the young wolf not about to attack the white tiger after what happened to Kenpachi. Finally, the last pup, a female wolf named Ururu from Jinta's litter, is picked up and placed in her kennel.

"Get back in yer damn kennel," Shiro hisses in warning. "Or Kenpachi ain't gonna keep me from hurtin' ya!"

"Shiro," Ichigo gasps. "He's a pup!"

"He's old enough ta challenge me, that's all I need ta know!"

Ichigo tries to protest, but Jinta knows better than to ignore a warning from the white tiger. He slowly backs into the kennel Grimmjow holds open for him, growling as he tucks his tail and flattens his ears. Grimmjow is just locking up the last kennel when he hears the litter of lion cubs mewling, the teal panther giving them a curious side-glance before finishing up with the lock and heading over to them. Yachiru doesn't take her eyes off him as he opens the cubs' kennel up again, letting the little ones pull him to the ground and curl around him for warmth. It's at that moment that the door is thrown open by Ikkaku, Kenpachi and Yumichika following him closely. Shiro is quick to leap onto the kennels and hiss at the approaching Shinigami, his body lounging as his eyes stay on Ichigo just in case he needs to help him. He doesn't like speaking around the adult Shinigami, doesn't even like being within arm's reach around them, however he can't just leave his baby brother. Though he normally exits quickly when more than one Shinigami is around, he's not about to leave his baby brother again.

"Yachiru!" Kenpachi calls.

"I'm here, Kenny!" she grins. "I'm okay. The big kitties kept me safe!"

"Come here, panther," Ikkaku growls. "You shouldn't even be out."

He moves closer to the cubs surrounding Grimmjow, the panther snarling as he gently draws the cubs beneath him protectively. He hisses, growling angrily as the cubs mewl beneath him. Before Ikkaku can reach for him, Yumichika grabs the collar of his shirt and drags him away.

"Do you like getting beat up by that panther, or are you just that stupid?" he snaps. "He's protecting a litter! Only females are allowed to approach any Demon protecting a litter!"

"And where exactly are we gonna find a female to approach him?"

"… I'll do it," Ichigo murmurs as he carries the small girl through the kennel door. "I'm technically female anyway. Here you go, she's all better."

Ichigo hands Yachiru to Kenpachi and carefully makes his way over to Grimmjow. The panther stops growling; however his eyes are still on the two Shinigami he deems too close. The Bali drops to the floor and crawls over, Grimmjow immediately pulling him beneath him with the cubs.

"Grimmjow, they're not going to hurt the cubs."

"They're evil!" he hisses. "If they abuse me when I do nothing, they'll harm the cubs without regret! They're just babies, damn it! I won't let them near them!"

"Grimm, they don't want to harm them…"

"He was going to kick one of them, I saw him moving to," the teal panther growls.

"Ikkaku!" Yumichika gasps. "You evil asshole!"

The bald male huffs and looks away from the other, his raven friend aghast in shock at the news. Without another word, Yumichika hits his co-worker. Ichigo wiggles his way out from under Grimmjow, grumbling when he's pulled back beneath him and the cubs start crawling over him. Kenpachi is mumbling with Yachiru by the door, the larger man nodding as she swings her arms around expressively. Finally, he walks over with her on his shoulder and stares down at the panther that now guards the Bali and a litter of cubs.

"Yachiru says she wants you to help her with the cubs from now on," he mumbles reluctantly. "You seem really good with her and she's always had a problem getting the cubs to listen. You'll still be going through training, mind you!"

"Of course."

"We can have our own litter!" Ichigo snickers as a lioness kneads his side.

Grimmjow smirks at his mate, yet keeps his eyes on the Shinigami. Yachiru grins down at him, yet Shiro is about ready to leave. He's restless already, nervous with the three most common trainers in the room. He doesn't mind Yumichika, but Ikkaku and Kenpachi have split a few too many hairs with him.

"It's time ta go ta bed!" his growls lowly. "Ichi has ta go home tamarra!"

"I don't want to," Ichigo mumbles.

"Mommy," a little lion cub purrs as he grips Ichigo's side. "Mommy!"

"Momma!" the little lioness repeats with a purr.

"Momma, momma!"

The four little lion cubs purr the word on a choir as they latch onto Ichigo, one tiny lion moving away and gripping Grimmjow's arm.

"Daddy," he purrs.

"Awe, hell!" Shiro cackles. "I'm a uncle!"

"Shut up, Snowflake, it ain't funny!" Grimmjow snarls.

"They're so cute," Ichigo purrs. "Can we keep them?"

"… Ichi, they're pets," the panther murmurs. "The Shinigami own them, we can't take them."

Ichigo frowns at that, sadness evident in his amber orbs as he curls tighter around the cubs. Kenpachi notices this, but can't figure it out. Demons don't care about their young; they abandon them as soon as possible… at least that's what they were told. Yamamoto was the descendant of those that first stumbled up the Demons and he's had all their knowledge passed down to him, so anything he says about them has to be true. Seeing these two, however, draws many concerns from the large male.

"Panther, put the cubs away," he sighs. "Shiro's right. It's getting really late and you have stuff to do tomorrow."

"Like what?"

"For starters, you have to get the cubs fed and get them ready for play. Yachiru will show you the ropes. Before dinner, you need to go through training."

"I'm not a tamable pet!" Grimmjow snarls. "Your fucking training isn't going to change that!"

"Just listen ta him," Shiro sighs. "Ya still haven' tamed me and ya ain't gonna. Some Demons just can' be tamed."

"… Whatever, just get to your kennel."

Grimmjow glares at Ikkaku harder until he's pulled away by an ear, courtesy of Yumichika, and then he slowly backs away from Ichigo and the cubs. The two make short work of getting the lion cubs to bed, Shiro waiting until they're at the door to the room before jumping down to join them. The hall is silent as they walk through it, Kenpachi watching after them with a curiosity his own parental instincts toward Yachiru stirs. Once the trio is back within the safety of their blankets, Ichigo can't help but rub his body against Grimmjow's in a purely feline fashion.

"Kitten?" Grimmjow murmurs.

"I want a litter, Grimm," Ichigo purrs. "Will you give me one?"

"Oi! I don't wanna be around when ya talk all cutesy!" Shiro growls as his ears lay back. "It's fuckin' embarrassin'!"

"Okay… Grimmjow, will you… um… knock me up?" Ichigo blushes fiercely.

Shiro purrs in approval, curling up to sleep as he eavesdrops on their conversation. Grimmjow is speechless, so many thoughts running through his head at once that's he's beginning to get dizzy. He would've given his fangs and half his claws to hear something like that from Ichigo when he first marked him! Unfortunately, now they're in the world of Shinigami… and pets can't breed unless their masters allow it. Grimmjow sighs heavily, the look in his eyes drawing sadness from his little mate… It just isn't fair.

I apologize for taking so long, but I'm sure other people take far longer ;p I'll update as soon as I can, I promise. But right now, I turned myself around somehwere in my book's ouline and I have to go figure out what the heck I did ^^; It happens often in case you're wondering =) Until next time!