Many weeks later.
Grimmjow was curled up in his nest when it started to happen.
It wasn't the first time he'd given birth, and while his panther form might have been quite different than his humanoid one he still recognized the tightening and the brief flash of pain. He also recognized the vague discomfort from the cubs. That discomfort would get worse, he knew. The cubs wanted to stay in their warm, squishy home forever, but that simply couldn't happen. They had to go, and it wouldn't be pleasant for them but he would comfort them through the process.
But he was torn on what to do. All his instincts screamed at him to remain hidden in his den and tend to the birth himself. His rational mind said that he needed Urahara and hopefully Unohana as well, with their skill and equipment. That meant he should leave the nest and go to the shop. But he absolutely did not want to leave his nest, did not want to go out into the world when he was this vulnerable.
"Grimmjow, can you stop making that sound?" Ichigo's voice came from his room, sounding irritated and Grimmjow realized he'd been making a high pitched whine of uncertainty.
"No!" He snapped, glad Ichigo was here. It was after school, thankfully. "I'm having fucking cubs in here – OW!" He hissed as a real contraction hit him. That hurt. There was a brief silence from the other side of the door and then it shot open.
"Are you serious?" Ichigo's eyes were wide as he dove into the nest, putting his arms around his mate. Grimmjow hissed again as his belly rippled very obviously. "Oh my god, you are! Grimmjow, what should I do?"
"Tch, you're asking me?" He muttered. Clearly Kurosaki was losing his mind, not an uncommon reaction for a first time father, he was pretty sure. "Call Kisuke. He'll tell you." He managed to say. Really, he had no idea other than that. "And get your dad." Isshin was a doctor, after all. They would still need Urahara but he was good too. Ichigo bolted out of the room, yelling for his father.
Soon Isshin was at the closet, gently checking him over. Grimmjow let him, although he had the feeling the process was only beginning. He was right about that.
"Your body seems to have formed a birth canal." Isshin was fascinated by the changes and Grimmjow glanced down, confirming it. His penis was still there, hanging limply but beneath it his sac was gone, replaced by a vagina-like opening. That was how his children would enter the world. It wasn't a pretty sight, but then, birth usually wasn't. "You're hardly dilated at all, yet." He murmured as he checked the organs in question. Grimmjow grunted.
"This is gonna take a while." He shifted uncomfortably. "Do I need to leave my nest?" He really didn't want to go. But Isshin nodded.
"You need to be at Kisuke's. We've set up full equipment for you there, and also a very nice nest." He said coaxingly and Grimmjow sighed. But his intellect and also his worries overruled his instinct, and he reluctantly let Ichigo's father help him out of the nest. Then Ichigo was there, putting an arm around him. That helped even more, as the familiar smell surrounded him.
"It's going to be fine. We'll take care of you." He said comfortingly and Grimmjow decided not to point out that he knew better. He'd watched his mother die giving birth to his sister. He knew about the horrible things that could go wrong. But he was an arrancar, an Espada, and he had all his powers back. Surely he would be fine. That was what he kept telling himself, at least.
They got him into the car, and the walls of the vehicle were comforting as he was spirited over to Kisuke's. The shopkeeper was ready when he arrived, Isshin had given him a call to warn him about the birth.
The shinigami had a lot of ideas about how he should give birth, but Grimmjow also had ideas, and he was pretty damned stubborn. He wasn't going to let a lot of stupid shinigami who'd never had a kid tell him what to do.
"This will work, I can tell." He said as he took a hands and knees position. "It feels right. And I looked it up online." He'd done his research with Ichigo's computer, concerned about his new bipedal anatomy. He had been relieved to find that the position he'd favoured as an adjuchas would work just fine in this body. "What?" He growled at a disbelieving Kisuke. "Go find me a bean bag chair or something. And some pillows. I feel too exposed." He wanted to build a pillow castle, if he could. Ichigo had an arm around his shoulders and just glowered at Urahara, who finally laughed.
"I can see this is going to be interesting!" It took a bit of searching but he managed to steal a bean bag chair from one of the kids. It took promises that he'd replace it if Grimmjow got 'stuff' on it, though.
"Tch, kids – OW!" That was a real contraction and Grimmjow gasped. He'd thought it was going to take a while but it seemed that his body had other ideas. But then, he wasn't a first timer and he'd been told it got faster. The cubs were freaking out and he reached for them, concentrating on soothing their fears. "It's okay cubs. It's okay. Your dam is fine and you'll be out of there soon." He murmured to them, although they couldn't understand. But they settled down a little anyway at his mental touch, and he gave them a warm feeling of love. Ichigo rested a hand on his belly and Grimmjow smiled as he felt the teen's power joining his, soothing the children as best he could.
Kisuke and Isshin tried to monitor and help the increasingly irritated arrancar. The monitoring equipment was okay, but the pep talks could go straight to Hell as far as he was concerned.
"Fucking shit on a stick!" He snarled as another contraction took him and his water suddenly broke, staining the ground. "Fuckfuckfuck…" He muttered as Isshin gave him a fake scowl.
"Are you going to be teaching all my grandchildren to swear?" He said with mock severity, clearly trying to get the Espada's mind off the pain. Grimmjow managed a credible grin before groaning as his belly tensed.
"Yeah, you're gonna have swearing toddlers old man, deal with it… yargh!" He spread his legs out further and rested his upper body on the beanbag chair, preparing for a tremendous push. Something tore a little and he yelped but didn't let up. This felt right, and his body would heal quickly enough. The cub coming out wasn't happy at all but he didn't sense any genuine distress. It was the girl, too, she was stronger than the boys.
"I can see the head. A few more like that and we'll see which one this is." Kisuke said, ready to catch the baby. Grimmjow grunted.
"It's the girl. Ow." He muttered. The next contraction was smaller, for some reason, but he followed the guidance of his body and didn't try to force it. She came out only a bit further. Then the next one was massive and he felt the cub's head leave his body. Encouraged, he pushed harder, and was rewarded as he felt the cub slide free. It was an oddly empty feeling, as the deep emotional connection he'd had with the cub became much less. But that was normal. He would still feel them, but it wouldn't be as intimate as it had been when they shared his body. He glanced back as she squalled, her little lungs working strongly as she drew her first breath. Then he grunted as a final contraction expelled the afterbirth. He did the obvious thing and incinerated the mess with a tiny cero.
The other cubs weren't inclined to quickly follow their sister, so he lay down a bit and watched as Kisuke cleaned off the baby and handled the cord. He was tempted to demand her immediately and give her a tongue bath, but the shinigami and new grandpa were clearly delighted, so Grimmjow decided to just rest. His cub was right beside him anyway, and he could feel that she was calming down and recognizing their powers as ones that had touched her. But then he felt her growing distress.
"Hey, hand the cub over. She wants her dam." Grimmjow demanded, sitting up. Ichigo still had his arms around his shoulders, watching his father and Kisuke do medical things, and he chimed up in agreement.
"We want to see her." He said and Grimmjow nodded. He was very curious to see his first humanoid cub. Isshin brought her over, beaming, and Grimmjow took her in his arms before just looking at her for a moment.
"Did your hollow do this on purpose?" He asked Ichigo who sighed a bit before reaching out to touch damp white curls.
"No. But he's disgustingly proud of himself at the moment." He said and Grimmjow looked at his cub again. She was white as freshly driven snow, and the eyes looking at him curiously were black and gold. It hurt a little, but he smiled as he saw what she'd gotten from him. There were black marks beside her eyes, just like his green ones, and they led to ears that were just like his in his released form. Black kitty ears with golden fur inside and when she yawned he saw she had come equipped with little fangs.
"Tiny kitten teeth." Grimmjow murmured, glad he had his hierro back. He was going to need it, to cope with that. "Masaki." She flicked her ears at the sound of his voice and closed her eyes in contentment as he held her close. "Do you want to hold her?" He asked Ichigo, wincing as contractions started again.
"Please." The teen said with a smile and carefully took the cub, supporting her head with his arm. Grimmjow felt no distress at all from her at the transfer. Isshin knelt down beside his son to offer the cub a finger, which she was more than happy to grip. He softly murmured her name to her and Grimmjow sat back on the beanbag chair, just waiting for his next cub to come.
The boys took their sweet time, and he was starting to get irritated when the contractions began again. Using the bean bag chair to prop up his chest, he went onto his hands and knees again. This really was a good position, for him anyway, and the first boy finally started coming. His water broke a second time, staining the floor again.
"Shit! Come on you little bastard." Grimmjow muttered as the contractions started to get very painful. But he was an old hand at dealing with pain and grunted as he felt the baby dropping further. "That's better." He snorted to himself as he felt the boys both freaking out. Despite how much they'd fought, they seemed very reluctant to be apart from each other. The girl leaving hadn't bothered them a bit, strangely. "It's okay cubs. You'll be back together soon." He murmured as a powerful contraction gripped him. "Ah!" He gave off a small whine of pain as the pressure built. This one was more painful than the first, for some reason. "Fuck." Lips pulled off white teeth as he snarled, hands flexing against the floor.
"Are you okay Grimm?" Ichigo asked worriedly and Grimmjow grunted. He was pushing, but not making much progress.
"No. This ain't right." He managed to say. Something was off, he could feel it. Isshin knelt behind him, taking a careful look.
"I can see the head, but I think the shoulders may be stuck." He said quietly. "I can manipulate –" That was as far as he got before a powerful contraction rocked the arrancar. Operating purely on instinct, he flexed his legs tightly to his abdomen. That seemed to rock something loose and he felt the baby slide out. "Or you can do that. Well done!" Isshin sounded relieved and Grimmjow wondered how serious stuck shoulders was for a humanoid infant. Could the cub have died? "Just a few more." He encouraged the arrancar and he nodded, struggling to bring his baby into the world.
It took only a few more contractions to bring the infant out, but instead of the afterbirth following, Grimmjow gasped as he felt the other child drop. He'd been expecting separate afterbirths for every child, which was what had happened the first time. Why were these two different?
"Shit, they were sharing a bag? No wonder they beat each other – ow!" Grimmjow whimpered softly as his abused body went into heavy labor. "For fuck's sake." He muttered through gritted teeth. At least the birth would be quick, even if it hurt like hell. He heard a loud wail from the boy, but couldn't spare any attention for his second born offspring. The third was coming out fast.
"Does that mean they're identical twins?" Ichigo asked, awed, and Grimmjow blinked.
"They're not." He said with absolute certainty. Ichigo looked a little disappointed at that response and Grimmjow waited until the next contraction was over before trying to talk. "Identical twins are really fucking rare for hollows – ah!" He grunted as his body decided to push, hard. "Ugh… and they don't feel the same." If they had been identical, he'd have expected them to feel the same in the womb, and they definitely hadn't. Grimmjow had been able to tell one boy from the other easily, although the girl had been more of a standout. "Don't know why they're coming together." That was strange, but he wasn't going to question it too much. He didn't have time anyway.
The Espada rested his forehead on the beanbag chair, beads of sweat staining the leather surface. This was exhausting, more tiring than the birth he'd had as an adjuchas. His pale blue hair was damp from his exertions and he still wasn't done. Growling, Grimmjow gathered himself to bring his last child into the world.
"At least there isn't six this time." He muttered and saw Ichigo wince at the thought. "I wonder if this body could even handle six. How would they fit?" He'd gotten huge from just three. Maybe his arrancar body had limits on how many cubs it could take. Ichigo's arms were around him again and Grimmjow leaned against him wearily, taking in his scent.
"Humans can sometimes have that many, but it's very rare and dangerous." Ichigo told him and Grimmjow gasped as he felt his last cub crowning.
"Just a bit more Grimmjow-kun. And this one has your hair." Kisuke encouraged him and that made him grin. At least they all wouldn't look like that damned hollow. Cheered by the thought, he gave it everything he had, snarling as he tore a bit more. But the baby was strong and took the pressure easily, slipping out of him with an offended scream. Isshin caught the baby and Grimmjow just rested as they dealt with everything. Having attendants had some nice perks. As an adjuchas, he'd bitten through the cords and eaten the placenta himself. The second afterbirth came and he tidied it with another cero. He really had no desire to eat it, not anymore. He flipped over onto his back and winced. His legs were a mess, covered in sticky and unmentionable fluids. Then Ichigo was wiping him down with a towel and Grimmjow smiled at him.
"Thanks." That really did make him feel better. His whole body ached like he'd been used as a punching bag, but now he'd at least be a bit less sticky. The teen smiled at him, his brown eyes warm, then looked up as Isshin and Kisuke brought them the two boys. Grimmjow held out his arms and took the first boy while Ichigo took the second. There was a long paused as the young parents examined their offspring. "Shit, Ichigo, our kid got hit by the ugly stick, hard."
"Grimmjow!" Ichigo yelped and slapped him upside the head, hard. Grimmjow winced.
"Hey, new mother here." He complained as he cuddled his boy a bit closer. "And I still love him even if he's ugly – OW!" That was Isshin giving him a slap.
"Grimmjow, your child is not ugly. He's just…" The new grandfather searched for a suitable word. "Unusual." He finished and Grimmjow sighed.
"Yeah, that's the diplomatic way to put it." He said, then smiled as he looked down at the cub in his arms. His second baby had pure white skin, coupled with Ichigo's orange hair. That was odd right there, but he also had red marks by his eyes and little horn buds in his hair. Grimmjow was sure that someday, those would be wickedly sharp weapons. His eyes didn't help a bit. One was blue and the other was brown, a fascinating oddity. "This poor kid better learn to fight, he's gonna need it." He added before exchanging babies with Ichigo. "And the only normal one is the one that looks like me!" He said with perverse pride and Ichigo snorted.
"Don't let it go to your head." He said teasingly as Grimmjow grinned. The little baby in his arms had peach colored skin, soft blue hair and green eye markings. His ears were human, but Grimmjow could feel something against his arm and a quick check showed that he had a tail. It was long and covered in bone, the first really hollow thing about the cubs. When he opened his eyes, they were a warm and familiar brown. "And he has my eyes." Kurosaki said softly and Grimmjow nodded, gently petting his cubs hair. There was a forlorn cry from the girl. She was already getting some attention from Isshin and Kisuke, but she wanted her parents.
"Bring her over here." Grimmjow said. As the first out, she'd probably be the first to get hungry. His body was already reacting to the cubs and he could feel the power beneath his skin, ready to enter the waiting children. Then he glanced down at himself with a frown. "Two nipples? This sucks." He'd had a lot more than that as an adjuchas. "Oh well." The cubs would just have to be patient with him. Kurosaki watched wide-eyed as he traded the boy for the girl and brought her to his chest.
"You're going to breast feed? …Oh." Grimmjow chuckled as the teen winced. Sharp little teeth were worrying his skin, but they couldn't begin to penetrate his hierro. They did stimulate his body to produce 'milk', though. It was nothing but pure power, fed from him to the cubs, and Grimmjow winced a little at the drain.
"You could do this too, if you ever learned to feed me without blowing me up, Kurosaki." Grimmjow said with a grin as his child settled in to suckle in earnest. "I admit, it's easier for me." He added as the teen looked a bit guilty. "This is instinctive." His body was just doing what came naturally.
"Will they accept power from anyone?" Kisuke asked, very interested and Grimmjow nodded.
"Hollow cubs ain't picky. They'll take whatever you have to give them." He said, looking at the boys. "You okay with the names?" He asked and Ichigo nodded. "Then this little guy is Kai." He smiled, looking at the white and orange baby in Isshin's arms. "And that one is Ryuu." He nodded towards his blue son.
"Ryuu, that means dragon. I'm sure he'll live up to it!" Isshin said cheerfully, smiling down at his grandson. The little Grimmjow look-alike was more than content to stay with Ichigo. Grimmjow smiled, a touch sadly.
"I'm sure he will." What he hadn't told any of them was the fact that that had been his name as a living man. But that man was dead and no longer using it, so it seemed fitting to pass the name along. "He'll have to look out for his brother. I bet they'll have a 'no one beats up my brother but me' thing going." He said with a laugh.
"Knowing you, they probably will." Ichigo said fondly, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. Masaki mewed a bit in protest as she got slightly squeezed. "I can't wait to show Yuzu and Karin." Grimmjow grinned at the thought then blinked as Isshin went into a small panic.
"My daughter's! I forgot to pick them up from softball practice!" Isshin quickly gave Kisuke his son and ran out of the room, heading for the phone. Ichigo chuckled and Grimmjow smiled. He was sure the girls had already walked home and they'd probably figured out why as soon as they realized Grimmjow wasn't there.
Showing the girls his offspring was going to be fun.
Ichigo glanced at his closet with a small smile.
Since the birth, things actually hadn't changed much. He'd anticipated diaper changing and midnight feedings, but half-hollow children had some wonderful positive sides. They were eating nothing but pure energy, and until Grimmjow switched them to solid foods there was no waste to eliminate. And as for midnight feedings, the Espada woke up at the slightest twinge from his children and satisfied their desires before they would do more than whimper. They hadn't woken up Ichigo once. From his perspective, this was effortless.
He wouldn't say that to Grimmjow, though. The Espada was getting a bit run down from the constant drain on his power and Ichigo's internal hollow had been concerned enough to offer to transfer some energy to him the proper way. Grimmjow hadn't been thrilled to be touched by him again, but he'd allowed it for the sake of the cubs. So now he was getting fed as many as four times a day.
Ichigo blinked as the door to the closet opened just a bit. A little pink hand waved, and the opening widened until his son spilled out, crawling across the carpet.
"Aw." Ichigo smiled, going over to the little blue haired boy. "Ryuu, you're not supposed to do that." He gently chided the baby, picking him up and tickling him. In addition to being born with all their baby teeth, the little ones were moving around early. That was probably why they were draining Grimmjow so heavily. Ryuu giggled and grabbed his hand, making Ichigo smile again.
Then there was a squall from the closet and he heard Grimmjow grumble. Opening the door completely, he saw little Kai was crying for his brother and Masaki was sleeping through the whole thing, cuddled up to Grimmjow's chest. The half-asleep arrancar glanced at him then closed his eyes as Ichigo set Ryuu down beside Kai. Then he choked as Kai immediately grabbed a white, boney tail and gave a tremendous yank, making his brother howl.
"Kids!" He scolded them as Ryuu retaliated by yanking on orange curls. Masaki stirred and looked at her brothers as Grimmjow grumbled and reached down, easily separating them. They didn't settle down, though. Ryuu began crawling over Grimmjow's legs as Kai crawled over to Masaki, trying to interest her in playing. She was having none of it and there was a high likelihood that Kai would get a bite if he continued. Ichigo watched the baby play for a moment, smiling, then decided to rescue Grimmjow.
"Want me to take the boys?" He offered quietly and Grimmjow sighed. Ichigo knew that Grimmjow's instincts were telling him to keep the children with him, but his common sense was saying he needed some time to sleep peacefully. He'd already confided in Ichigo that it hadn't been like this as an adjuchas. He'd left his children alone most of the day and let them feed all night, when he was so exhausted nothing could have woken him. Grimmjow had let his first litter settle their differences themselves, but humanoid cubs were a bit different. Without fur, the bite marks were very obvious and they were trying to keep it to a minimum.
"If you could." Grimmjow said reluctantly and Ichigo nodded, picking up Kai before retrieving Ryuu. "Take them to bother their aunts." He said sleepily and Ichigo laughed. Yuzu thought they were all the sweetest things, which Grimmjow said was nonsense since their offspring could never be sweet. Ichigo was inclined to agree with him.
Yuzu, Karin and Isshin were all downstairs and more than happy to entertain the children. Soon Ryuu and Kai were engaged in a game of 'Rugrat racing', as Karin had named it. Ichigo got to be Kai's handler, encouraging the little baby to beat Ryuu to the finish line. Unfortunately, he got distracted by a bird at the window and Ryuu beat him easily before trying to crawl under the sofa. Yuzu caught him with a laugh, tickling the baby until he squealed.
"They're growing so fast Ichi-nii. We should get them more toys." Karin said, offering Kai a stuffed cat. He was more than willing to cuddle with it, although he insisted on pulling the tail. Ichigo grinned.
"We should! And more blocks for Masaki." Masaki loved playing with blocks, and could manage to build towers. When she was a bit older, Ichigo thought a big box of Lego would be perfect for her. Isshin picked up Kai and cuddled him, making the boy giggle.
"Are they going to keep growing this face, Nii-san?" Yuzu asked, a touch concerned and Ichigo glanced at his father before shaking his head.
"We can't be sure, but Grimmjow doesn't think so. He says that hollow babies need to be mobile quickly in case the dam abandons them, so their growth might slow down soon." Ichigo rather hoped that it would. He was deeply enjoying playing with his children and didn't want it to end too soon.
He only hoped Soul Society didn't find out about them, or it might be cut short all too quickly.