Hello everyone. Today, January 20th is a special day to me, and my family. In my family it is tradition to give gifts to others as well on your birthday, so they don't feel left out.

The gift I have for you all is very special, and I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach.


Ulquiorra's hand was grasped firmly in that of his beautiful and pregnant wife, Orihime. The two were walking away from the library, where they had just been instructed in a pre-natal class by (brace yourself) Gin.

They were not harmed in any way.

It was a beautiful day as they go in Hueco Mundo. Aizen had shifted the fake sunlight to release snow as well, and the arrancar were both surprised and uneasy about the strange, cold white substance.

That is, until Grimmjow got hit upside the head with a snowball.

After that, it was an all out war. The gently falling snow was soon replaced by a howling blizzard of snowballs (more like snow bala…), small avalanches, and rolling heads. (The snowmen, not literally…)

Of course, the devious masterminds couldn't join the fun. Sure, after Orihime arrived, they were a bit down to earth but, SNOW?! That was beneath them right?

Yes, it was beneath them. Until all three got bowled over by a rolling snowball, then it was WAR.

They all spent hours outside, in the snow. Aizen was a little angry for them losing focus, and not spending their time training, but, everyone needed free time in their lives.

Though they seemed to be getting MUCH more free time with Orihime around…

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after the snow war, Orihime gave the arrancar who usually cooked for her the recipe for hot chocolate (free of bean paste, as per the public outcry.) And didn't let him leave until he promised it wouldn't be bland, like his ordinary cooking.

The arrancar who participated tasted their first chocolate that day.

Szayel chugged his, believing it increased his brainpower. Yammi poured his down his throat as well. Nnoitra and Nel were bickering over whose had more whipped cream, and Halibel and Stark were simply sipping theirs and chatting in the corner of the library, where everyone retired. Orihime and Ulquiorra were acting like lovers in the park. Gin was giving them tips on birth. How he knew, very few remain who know.

Everyone said their good nights and walked back to their own quarters, which brings us back to the beginning of this tale.

Ulquiorra's hand was grasped firmly in that of his beautiful and pregnant wife, Orihime. His eyes narrowed as he sensed tension in the air. But it was not the tension of battle, more so of excitement. He closed his eyes, and breathed out deeply.

Ulquiorra usually prided himself on his control of emotions, but, these days he was finding it hard to control. He battled with his hollow half, trying desperately to fight that hunger he felt, while, at the same time, he would not receive help from the shinigami side that he had been implanted with. So the question remained.

What was he?

He loved Orihime, more than his own life, but, he had to admit, his life was less complicated before he met her. He knew that he was a monster then, and a cold blooded killer, but, now, his blood had run hot, and his emotional mask was slipping. What was a monster that loved a human?

And what of their unborn children? Certainly, they would not be welcome in Soul Society, and Ulquiorra did not want them raised in Hueco Mundo, where he would have to protect them all from hollows. He knew that escape to the Human World was their best chance, but, what of Aizen-Sama? If he ran, even if it was for Orihime, Aizen would send others after them. The battlefield needed Ulquiorra.

But Ulquiorra didn't need the battlefield.

With the Winter War on the horizon, Ulquiorra knew that there was little to no chance that he would survive it all. And after Aizen destroyed Orihime's home, where would she be able to go to?

And what of Orihime's nakama? How would they react to her falling in love with an arrancar, the one who kidnapped her, none the less? How would they feel about her being pregnant?

They'd probably think I'd…

No. He was not Nnoitra, and he would never force Orihime. Never.

Ulquiorra sighed, and pushed the thought out of his head. He knew that there were few courses of action, and that only time would tell their fate.

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Black clouds of smoke billowed around Orihime as her windswept hair flew behind her.

She cried out for Sora, Ulquiorra, anybody. But neither her brother, nor her lover appeared. Instead, the scene shifted to a garden atop a large stone pillar, the grass swaying in the gale as a thunderstorm crashed down on it.

Orihime gasped as she saw Ulquiorra with Murucielargo released, standing before her, wings proudly flared behind him.

Suddenly, a light enveloped her, and she turned her head to see white wings, pure as snow, gently moving in the breeze behind her.

She turned to Ulquiorra, who smiled gently at her, before pointing an elegant finger behind him. She walked towards him, and he kissed her forehead gently, smiling as he does it.

Orihime's breath left her as she saw what was behind Ulquiorra. There, nestled amongst six different colored flowers, were two sleeping babes. She turned to Ulquiorra, who, still smiling, nodded gently.

She turned back, smiling to look at the two children. She saw black hair and green eyes, or perhaps orange and gray. She saw the flowers surrounding them were all of the Shun Shun Rikka, guarding them from the wind. She looked at these children, and saw one black, beautiful dark wing, and one pure, snow feathered wing. She reached down and hugged the two.

And then she woke up, and felt her water break.


"SZAYEL!" Ulquiorra yelled his voice hoarse as he used sonido like he never had before. He was looking for the mad scientist, who was probably the only one who could help right now.

He reached the doors to the lab, dodged explosions, acid spikes, and various other mind numbing horror type traps, before pounding on them with all his might.

Szayel opened the door a crack, and poked his head out.

"What is it, you ingrate?"

Ulquiorra breathed a sigh of relief, and only said two words.

"It's time."


Orihime screamed in pain once again, sweat breaking across her features as the sound filled the room like a tidal wave. Szayel nervously dabbed her forehead with a cloth, before giving her some anesthesia.

Unfortunately, Szayel knew very little about birthing. It was simply not a priority to him.

Fortunately, Aizen did.

"I once helped Captain Unohana of the 4th division with a birth. I will do my best." He had said.

Right now, Aizen's best seemed like a horde of doctors and nurses rushing down the halls to help them.

"I know its difficult Orihime, but you have to get through this." Ulquiorra said, calmly and coolly, to reassure his lover. In reality, he was panicking on the inside. Ulquiorra knew less than Szayel, and perhaps even Grimmjow when it came to this subject, but, he was here for his Hime-Chan.

Orihime let loose a scream that shook the walls of the room.

Ulquiorra, Szayel and Aizen calmly got up from the corners of the room where they had retreated, and got back to work.


The Espada and Fraccion sat in the "waiting room" outside Szayel's lab, once again. Every time an earth shaking scream or a resounding boom echoed, People reacted in different ways. Halibel cringed slightly and gripped Stark's hand. Nnoitra's frown deepened when Nel said she was afraid for Orihime. Ggio rocked back and forth in a corner, listening to the concerto of screams. Grimmjow was, for once, not smiling or laughing maniacally at Ulquiorra's distress. This was what they were all waiting for, and they were afraid of a tragedy that day.


Aizen sighed and wiped his brow, stepping away from the table for a few minutes. He was sure Szayel could manage for maybe 120 seconds, and then he would have to return to save the day.

Orihime was progressing nicely, but, it wasn't her progress that was worrying him. The children she was carrying were half hollow, half human. By all means, they shouldn't be able to exist. What would they look like, when they were born?

Aizen suddenly had a mental picture of a small lizard hollow that had scuttled in front of him once.

He chuckled to himself. They would be all right; their parents were so strong, after all.


"All right Hime-Chan, PUSH!" Ulquiorra yelled as Orihime screamed back at him. She pushed with all her might, but the labor had sapped her strength. She still pushed, and let out a strangled cry as she threw her soul into the single task.

Soon, her cry was joined by another.

Orihime gasped and flailed, trying to get to her child, but Ulquiorra held her down.

"Hime-Chan, our child is so beautiful, and you may see her, but, first, bring her brother into the world as well." He crooned, stroking the girl's twilight hair.

Orihime yelled with all her fury, all her pain, and all her joy. She pushed new life into the world, and a second cry was heard.

Aizen wrapped the precious, tiny lives in warm bundles, and gave them to Ulquiorra.

He looked down at those small, pure faces and tears ran down the green markings on his face. He knelt down next to Orihime, and places their children in her tired arms.

She looked upon the miracle that they had created, and cried as well. Tears of joy fell from the two parents, and they hugged each other tightly.

Ulquiorra held up the girl in front of them, looking at her eyes, the same green as her father's.

"Verity." He breathed, naming the child after the truth he saw in her.

Orihime held up the boy, his two colored eyes looking back at her. One green, one gray.

"Sora." She said, naming her child after her brother, in hopes that he could see this little miracle she held.

And everyone, the Espada, the Fraccion, the Ex-Shinigami, and, most of all, the new parents, cried tears of relief.

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Oh…I just love a happy ending. I can't believe it, I made myself cry.

But, don't think that this is the end! I will probably continue this story, or make a sequel. I just love this so much that I can't let it go.

I have given the children my birthday so that they are linked to my soul. These characters will be quite interesting, I believe.

Thank you everyone for all you have done, and for reading this story. Keep reading it, or look for a sequel. Those children will have their fair share of problems.

Arigatou,

-Twilight Symphony.