Fight For What's Worth It

Author Notes: Sorry about the long delay! I've been caught up in other projects, including some with rapidly approaching deadlines, life in general, and getting ready for a big con this week, but I couldn't let you guys languish any longer! Without further ado, the penultimate chapter!

21: The Bird and the Beast

The waiting room had gotten crowded in the hour since Yumichika was taken to surgery, Byakuya with Takahiro sat on his lap, Shuhei and Rangiku playing Hanafuda with Renji and Shunsui, and Yachiru had returned from watching the soldiers in the Fourth's yard and settled into Kenpachi's lap. Kenpachi, meanwhile, urgently tousled her hair into strings and twisted it, his visible eye fixed to a featureless space on the wall.

"Th' hell's taking so long?" He grumbled, to a dismissive snort from Byakuya.

"Patience is a virtue."

"I ain't virtuous." Kenpachi sneered, and hit his fist against the arm of his chair. "Where's my guys?"

"Unohana has much to do." Byakuya adjusted his knees, moving Takahiro from one side to the other, then shifted his shoulders against the back of the chair. "We simply must wait as long as it takes."

"Gee, Captain." Renji glanced up from his hand and across the room. "Usually you're not this patient."

"Abarai." Byakuya's eyebrows rose with ire, and Renji shrank down.

"Right, right, sorry."

"I'm sick of waiting!" Kenpachi swung his hand back and into the wall over his shoulder, cracking the plaster. "I wanna know what's goin' on!"

"Pardon the interruption." All heads whipped around. Isane peered in, then edged back at the two Captains fixing her with a glare. "Ah- am I interrupting?"

"Nothing but a dick-waving contest," Rangiku sighed, to expressions of horror from Renji and Shuhei, another pointed glare from Byakuya, and a snicker from Kenpachi.

"Nah, you come on in, so long as you got good news."

"Ah, well." Isane's fingers brushed at her thighs, stiff and trembling, but folded her hands and smiled. "Ask and you shall receive. Yumichika's in recovery now. He'll be asleep a while, but he's pulled through just fine." There were sighs of relief in a range of volumes from around the room, but Shunsui hummed and sat forward, chin in his palm.

"That's one patient. Tell us about the other two."

Isane's lips curved to a thin, demure smile. "There are two more little girls in the Eleventh Division today." Yachiru was the first to react, with a squeal of delight, and Kenpachi had to catch her by the collar before she could launch herself down the hall.

"Yeah, an' how're they doin'?" Yachiru settled at his question, as Isane's smile sank away.

"They are immature. Their lungs are small. Baby A is four pounds, seven ounces. Baby B is four pounds, six. Both of them may have to stay in intensive care for some time." The mood in the room dimmed, Rangiku and Jyuushiro's faces falling, Byakuya and Kenpachi's brows furrowing. "But." Isane raised a finger. "They are stable, and appear otherwise healthy. They're doing as well as we can hope for, and they'll be ready for visitors soon."

"Well, that's good news!" Shunsui got up, fluffing his kimono out behind him and pulling his hat on. "Where's the proud Daddy?"

Ikkaku was sitting in an alcove outside of the intensive care nursery, down on his knees with his nose against the glass of a broad viewing window, as two nurses dressed his daughters around the tubes in their noses and the wires patched over their hearts. He didn't turn when Shunsui came up behind him, didn't react at his hand laid on his shoulder. "Oh, ain't they a sight." He set his hands on his hips and cocked his head. "Those're some beautiful little girls.

"They're so little." Ikkaku shook his head. "So little."

"Uh-huh." Shunsui patted Ikkaku's back again. "They sure are."

"They're supposed to be bigger, aren't they?"

"They sure are. You must be thinkin' of those pictures of Takahiro. He was a pretty big boy, y'know?" Shunsui chuckled, then bent his knees to crouch next to Ikkaku. "But Emiko was supposed to be bigger too. She was one pound, one ounce. A quarter the size of either of your girls." Ikkaku nodded, and glanced back at him, to receive an encouraging nod. "She came out fine. So will they."

"Yeah. They're my girls. They'll be strong." He smiled. Just then, the door swung open, and a nurse peered in.

"Mister Madarame, we're ready for you."

Ikkaku got to his feet, and Shunsui rose too, only to shoo Ikkaku towards the door. "The little ones like skin-to-skin contact, so go get cuddly." Ikkaku scoffed, but shuffled past him.

"Save your advice for the next time we go drinking." He smirked and entered the nursery, and Shunsui, chuckling to himself, stood back to watch.

The nurse made Ikkaku wash his hands ("I did it like three times already today, but fine, if I gotta..."), then urged him to sit in a rocking chair in the room. Once he was fully settled, she moved A into his hands. Her fragile, tiny form was welcome in his hands, and he curled her tight in one arm. He recognized the big, dark blue eyes blinking up at him, and she seemed to recognize him. Even under the tubes and wires, this was definitely the baby Yumichika made for him. One of the two, as he was suddenly reminded, because before he could react, a nurse was positioning B in his other arm. He resisted without thinking, but relaxed to let her work his arm into a sling and set her in the crook of his elbow. She was exactly as beautiful as her sister, all tiny fingers and round cheeks, big blue eyes searching him all over. He curled both arms closer, bringing the baby girls to his chest.

There were a lot of things he could have said. However, he'd never been much for fancy words. All that came out was, "Holy shit."

He sat with them a very long while, taking turns feeding them, laying them on his legs and lap in turns to give one arm or the other a break, with lots of help from the nurses to manage them. Soon, he was talking again, telling them about every and any stupid thing that came through his head. He was sure he told them they were beautiful a thousand times. He didn't notice the crowd gathering outside the window, as Renji, Byakuya, and Ukitake joined Kyoraku at the window, with Shuhei and Rangiku close behind. Rangiku took one look and squealed at a pitch that might break glass. Shuhei hid a smirk behind folded arms, and Jyuushiro started to tug Shunsui's arm. Renji beamed and caught Ikkaku's eye to give him a thumbs-up, and Ikkaku just nodded, beaming already. Even Byakuya cracked a smile.

"Ayasegawa would be happy." He then glanced to the rest of those gathered. "Does anyone else find it unfair that he'll be the last of anyone involved to see his own children?"

Ikkaku was sent out after half an hour to let them rest, and Nemu was the only one left waiting for him. He hadn't seen the others leave, all too focused on the baby girls that had comprised his entire universe for those precious minutes, but was grateful to receive a kind smile from her and an escort back to Yumichika's room. Yumichika was in the bed again, with only a heart monitor wrapped around his wrist and a bag of what looked like plain water attached to his arm, dressed in a hospital gown. Kenpachi was waiting there with him, occupying the seat that Ikkaku had taken before, with Yachiru tugging at his haori and prancing around him, until Kenpachi set a hand on her head and turned around to Ikkaku. "Well?" He sat back with a toothy grin. Ikkaku knew his smile hadn't faded, but it stretched wider.

"They're perfect. I mean, they're amazing. They got these big, bright eyes, and the hair, they're gonna look just like him!" He pumped his fists. "I'm so damn excited I could puke! They're gonna grow up strong and beautiful and cool and amazing! They're amazing, Captain!"

"Amazing, amazing." Kenpachi laughed. "'Zat all you got to say?"

"What else is there to say?" Ikkaku moved right to Yumichika's side, then bent over him and kissed his cheek. "Yumi here did somethin' fantastic. I wish I'd done more to help him."

"You done enough, and the work ain't over." Kenpachi got to his feet, taking Yachiru under his arm like a particularly chipper sack of flour. "Those two amazing things are gonna need lots of time and attention. I'll do what I can, but they're on you now."

"Yeah, I know." Ikkaku bowed his head, and took Kenpachi's place in the seat, but maintained eye contact. "Where are you going, sir?"

"Well, takes a village to raise a kid, yeah? I'm gonna go let the rest of the village idiots know they got double duty. 'Sides, he'll be wakin' up soon. That sounds like it ought'a be alone time for you two." He slapped Ikkaku's back as he passed behind him. "Come see the guys when you're done. Iba's been tryin' to cool 'em off, and he's at least herded 'em back to the HQ, but they wanna talk to you." He moved Yachiru to his shoulder. "Let's let Yun-yun and Cueball talk by themselves."

"Ooh, kissy kissy!" Yachiru giggled and made pecking gestures with pinched fingers. Ikkaku rolled his eyes and tugged on her leg.

"Don't be jealous, you'll meet a nice guy or girl or whatever when you grow up."

"Then how'd you do it?" She poked her tongue out at him, and Ikkaku pinched her toe.

"Hush, you." He sneered at her, jokingly, and Kenpachi chuckled under his breath and left before the argument could continue. Ikkaku settled back in his seat and faced Yumichika. "I grew up, didn't I?"

Yumichika's eyes fluttered open after about ten minutes of waiting, and Ikkaku clasped his hand as he came to. "Morning, beautiful." He kissed all of Yumichika's knuckles in turn, and Yumichika's eyes sparked with immediate awareness.

"Ikkaku? You're here..."

"'Course I am. I haven't been far." He squeezed Yumichika's fingers. "Hey, why'd you stop counting?"

"Counting?" Yumichika shook his head and sat up slowly. He was feeling all sorts of aches and twists as he did, like he'd pulled every muscle in his body, but had sense enough to scowl at Ikkaku. "I just woke up from surgery, and you start with nonsense?" Ikkaku grinned past his grim visage, and pulled the sheets back from his body.

"You were at eighty-two. Count slow, okay?" Ikkaku pulled a wheelchair from the hall and unfolded it next to the bed. Yumichika's eyes flashed, and he gasped.

"Ikka-! Oh, eighty-two! Eighty-one! Eighty-"

"Slow," Ikkaku reminded him with a warm, appreciative chuckle, and he carefully lifted Yumichika into the chair, then transferred the heart monitor and the plastic bag to the back of it. Yumichika giggled, patting his knees with glee, and counted on.

"Seventy-eight, seventy-seven..."

Ikkaku sped across the relief center, pushing Yumichika at top speed and weaving around nurses and carts. He ignored the shouts after him, tuned only to Yumichika's eager countdown: "Twenty-six! Twenty-five!"

Ikkaku slid to a halt at the window, steadying Yumichika's shoulders as they stopped, and finished. "Zero!" He gestured to the window with a flourish, and Yumichika's smile seized up.

Both girls were in their incubators, fast asleep, and Yumichika scrutinized the machines and tubes with dismay. "Oh... they're so small..."

"Yeah, they are." Ikkaku nodded, sobering a little, and tapped on the wall with his knuckles. "I think they might have to live here a little while." He folded his arms, then turned to smile at Yumichika, gesturing with one carefree hand. "Guess it's just as well. I still ain't finished getting them a new crib together, and it looks like we'll need a big one."

Yumichika tore his eyes away from the window to gaze, rapt, at Ikkaku. "You were getting them a new crib?"

"Uh, yeah." Ikkaku nodded, a faint blush brushing over his cheeks and a sheepish grin covering his face. "I, uh, was customizing it for ya. Just a few little things. I thought our Tori deserved the best. Turns out we had two comin', so..."

"Hm." Yumichika's eyelids drooped to a contemplative frown. "No. Tori doesn't suit either of them. It's not cute enough."

"No? Uh, guess you'd know better." Ikkaku rubbed the back of his head, and glanced back to both girls again, unable to chase off a little grin. "So, what'd you have in mind?"

Yumichika hummed, then touched the glass. "A is older, right? She has first dibs, so I think... Kotori." He glanced up to Ikkaku, trepidation in his knit brow. "Do you like Kotori?"

"Kotori... yeah." Ikkaku's face snapped into an eager grin, pumping his fists again. "Yeah, I love Kotori! That's our girl! That's a lot cuter!" He was on the verge of dancing, toes itching for it, and hurtled on, "Hey, for B, I got an idea!"

Yumichika's eyebrows bounced up with surprise, but he nodded. "Of course. They're yours too."

Ikkaku turned and touched the glass again. "Kotora. So they match. The phoenix and the tiger."

"Ah! A classic motif!" Yumichika clasped his hands together in delight. "How beautiful! I never knew you to have such exquisite artistic taste, Ikkaku!"

"Yeah?" Ikkaku's cheeks burned red, and he wondered if he'd been in the sun too long anytime in the last week, and he mumbled his excuses. "S'just some name. Like martial arts styles, too. All we really need's a dragon, right?"

"Yes, I-" Yumichika came up short when what Ikkaku had said really hit him. "What?" Ikkaku ducked his head down again, and he shuffled aside.

"'Less you don't want a dragon. I mean, we don't hafta. We prob'ly ought'a see how we do with these two first before we start talkin' about three, but I know I already love 'em a lot, and I kinda really want a boy, an' I want a chance to do stuff right." He fully flushed, shoulders hunched, and fidgeted with his fingers behind his back. "Like Renji and Captain Kyoraku. I wanna take care of you right, and them, all of them, the way I was supposed to. Maybe not now," he added quickly, turning ruddier by the second and shrinking down. "Maybe in a few years, but we got time, y'know?" He extended a hand to touch the handle of Yumichika's wheelchair. "I'll be here. I'm not goin' anywhere." His eyes hardened. "I'm not gonna die on ya, Yumi, and I won't let you die on me. I'll do everything I can to live for you and our kids-" Yumichika raised a hand and shushed Ikkaku.

"That's enough. It's too much." He swiped at his eyes, smearing off tears he'd only just felt forming. "It's more than I would ever ask of you."

"Yeah?" Ikkaku crouched down by the chair and took Yumichika's hand, all but genuflecting. "You deserve it, and more. After all, beautiful people should get what they want." He kissed the back of his hand and rose up. "So, hey, now I've got you all mushy, it's time to-"

A woman cleared her throat from the door, and Ikkaku froze up in panic when he and Yumichika turned around to see Captain Unohana observing them from the hall into the alcove. "Would you mind if I gave him a once-over before you did that?" Her polite but hard smile spoke volumes and hit Ikkaku like an icy wind, and he stumbled back, hands open and gesturing to Yumichika.

"All yours, ma'am."

Unohana scolded the both of them under her breath for haphazardly moving things around, and Yumichika silently trembled as she examined him, touching the stil-swollen skin of his belly, checking inside of his mouth and shining a flashlight into both of his eyes. She sat back after a cursory examination. "It appears you're in good order for the time being. You will, however, stay here a few days so we can continue to observe, seeing as you did just have major surgery and no less than four seizures, but your children will be here, too. If their progress is good, I may be able to move their incubators to your room, but you and your partner will have to be on your best behavior. Is that clear."

"Crystal." And with that, Yumichika fought on a twitchy smile. "Can I meet them now?"

Unohana let them into the intensive care nursery, helped Yumichika sanitize his hands, then carefully moved each girl into his arms the same way the previous nurses had done for Ikkaku. Yumichika naturally cradled them. "These are Kotori and Kotora Madarame," he announced, as much to himself as to anyone else, and Unohana smiled knowingly and went to mark the names down on the paperwork attached to each girl's incubators and then on their little plastic bracelets. Their dark triangle patches of hair swerved from opposite sides of their heads and diagonally across in mirrored directions, and Yumichika tangled his fingers into it on both sides. His eyes teared up a little. "They don't look very much like you."

"Eh." Ikkaku scratched his head. "That's okay with me. You're prettier anyway, and girls should have hair." Unohana giggled into a cupped palm.

"The likeness may be on the inside. Now that they're separate, you can surely tell the difference in their reiatsu signatures." Yumichika focused, and saw the different shades of purple, as Unohana explained for Ikkaku's benefit: "They're both still purple, but Kotori's is distinctly more red, and Kotora's is a shade blue."

Ikkaku's eyes sparked, and he grinned with vicious delight. "Hey, I'm red, right, Yumi? She's just like Daddy! That's gonna be my girl!"

"Don't plan her training regimen yet," Unohana patted his neck, sending shivers down his spine. "They may still be in flux. And besides, I'd be more concerned with diaper training them than imprinting them on asauchis."

"It'll come." Yumichika cradled Kotori to his chest and kissed her forehead, then Kotora, then cuddled both tiny things up under his chin. "I'll just be happy they're here and worry about the rest later." He kissed both of them again, between the eyes. "You were worth it, all of it, everything. And I'm so, so happy you're here..."

Yumichika spent the next four days in the recovery ward, and true to her word, Unohana let Kotori and Kotora spend the last two days in the room with him, packaged up in their incubators with all the tubes and wires but still, thankfully, close. However, even when released to his squad, he was released only to desk duty, and Kenpachi had shuffled all of that onto other squad members as much as he could so Yumichika could spend as much time as he wanted with his daughters. Just like that, Yumichika went from sleeping at the Fourth to not sleeping at the Fourth.

The twins were troopers, as Unohana put it, and fought through all their ups and downs. There were little setbacks. Kotora struggled to nurse sometimes, and had to go back to intensive care every time she inhaled her formula. Kotori had colic, stomachaches and constipation, and screamed all night sometimes. They would be alright for a day or two, then suddenly lose a few ounces and have all the nurses in a panic. Yumichika would stay at the Fourth Division with the nurses, all night and into the morning, observing Kotora's every shallow, wet breath, hugging Kotori and pleading with her to "feel better, please, feel better." Ikkaku came most days as well, but sometimes felt helpless next to Yumichika's desperate devotion. All he could do sometimes was stand back and watch, and catch Yumichika when he'd step out of the ward.

"Ikkaku," he whimpered after a sleepless night spent with the twins, one of so many, "What am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing, we're doing all we can." Ikkaku tried to dry his eyes for him. "You gotta believe me, it's going to be okay."

Yumichika struggled to believe that. Yumichika struggled. Ikkaku caught him crying in places where he thought he was alone, and realized that, yeah, maybe he was too busy taking care of the girls to put on his makeup, but he was forgetting to take care of himself in other ways. Eating, for one. Bathing. And sometimes, Yumichika would just tear at his hair and shut down, back pressed to the wall and completely closed over. Ikkaku knew there was more wrong than just frustration with the girls, but he also knew enough that he wasn't going to be able to fix it in the way he was used to fixing things. He did, however, know that he wasn't alone.

He went to Renji first, cornering him in the lobby when Renji came to visit. "Help him. All I can do is hug him and tell him it'll be okay, but he's stopped believing me."

Renji told him to go to Rangiku. He did, bolting right to the Tenth Division, and repeated it. Rangiku stormed right to her feet, only barely turning to ask Hitsugaya's permission and ignoring his complaints, and went to the Fourth with Ikkaku.

Ikkaku stood back as Rangiku marched up to him. "Sweetheart, I haven't seen you in two weeks." She patted his cheek as she marched to his seat by the viewing window. "I know you've been busy, but I think you need some time out."

Yumichika shook his head, eyes wide and sad and still fixed on the two babies in plastic boxes on the other side of the thick glass. "I can't, sorry."

"Don't give me that. You've got Daddy here to watch the baby girls." She jerked her head towards Ikkaku, then gave his arm another tug. "Let's go have a cup of tea together. I'll do your nails for you. You need a couple hours away from here."

"They need me, Rangiku." He pinned his hands to his thighs, never tearing his eyes away.

"Not like this." She circled around in front of him and shook his shoulders. "Yumichika, Ikkaku is here to watch the babies. You trust him, don't you?"

Yumichika's eyes flashed to Ikkaku, and he waved a little from his post by the door. "I'm here." Yumichika swallowed a whimper, and Rangiku took both of his hands.

"Daddy's there. You really need a break. It's getting to you." She didn't wait for him to answer, but took hold of his wrists and led him out.

She made him wash his face and comb his hair, and took him to the commissary at the Sixth Division. Yumichika didn't seem to wonder why she chose there, instead lifelessly picking at the desserts Rangiku had gotten for both of them to share. Rangiku, of course, swatted his wrist and pushed a manju into his hand when she noticed. "Eat. Your face is too skinny."

"I don't need to eat." Yumichika dropped the manju back onto the plate, his face falling after it. "I'm hideous and fat, anyway."

Rangiku rolled her eyes. "You just gave birth to twins hardly three weeks ago. You're losing the baby weight! That doesn't mean 'stop eating.' Seriously, Yumichika. Why are you down on yourself like this?" She closed her hand over his. "You have two beautiful little girls, and even if they're still healing up, they're getting better-"

"No, they're not." He shook his head, hard. "It's my fault they're so sick, isn't it? I'm an awful father. I shouldn't be here, I should be with them, because if they have to suffer, I have to-"

Rangiku yanked his face up and slapped him, and the members of the Sixth Division who heard it all turned around. She, however, wagged a finger in his face. "Don't. You. Dare. Yumichika, you did all you could! You did all you knew to do, and-"

Yumichika cut her off, babbling back, "I should have gone to the Fourth, I should have had them checked on, I should have known I was having twins before they were suddenly here and sick, and-!" Yumichika's frantic rant was interrupted by a slender hand on his shoulder.

"I imagine," Byakuya intoned serenely, having approached unannounced, "that this means Kotori and Kotora Madarame are not progressing as well as they should." He sat down at Yumichika's side, and Renji, right behind him, set down two more cups of tea and sat on Yumichika's other side. "Renji has kept me apprised, but I had not realized the situation was so dire." Yumichika didn't answer, and Byakuya, to the surprise of everyone who could see them, put his hand on Yumichika's shoulder. "I had not realized you, too, were so ill."

Yumichika shivered, eyes darkening, and hung his head. "With all due respect, sir, I'm-"

"As a compatriot and fellow mother, I must tell you that your feelings of inadequacy and failure are not uncommon. As such, you are not fine, but it is not abnormal." Byakuya let his voice drop to a low volume, so only Yumichika could hear. "Unohana had to counsel me for the very same thing. It's not uncommon for new mothers to experience a period of depression."

"It's the baby blues," Rangiku added, leaning in again, and wrapped her hand around Yumichika's again. "That's what they call it. You're coming down from a big, long hormone rush, and that combined with the troubles your girls are having is messing with your head."

"You will not be able to give your daughters the care they need if you cannot care for yourself." Byakuya withdrew, folding his hands and dropping his chin, displaying a shyness that he usually disguised with being aloof. Renji cut in, leaning to meet Yumichika's eyes.

"You said you wished you'd talked to Unohana before. Why not do it now? You'll do a lot better for your baby girls if you do." Yumichika buttoned his lip tight, but there was no arguing with that.

Rangiku and Renji walked Yumichika right to the Fourth again, and Unohana broke from her work as quickly as she could to meet with him in her office, seated in the two chairs in front of her desk. After a long conversation and lots of coaxing from Unohana, Yumichika spilled it all: "I failed them. I feel so awful about it. It makes me wish I... I were suffering, not them, and I'd rather be dead if it meant they'd live rather than have to watch them struggle a moment longer." He choked tears back, and Unohana wordlessly provided him with a tissue. "Is this... is this really normal?"

"Normal, yes. Healthy, no." Unohana pulled her chair close. "You should not have to feel this way. Your daughters know, and everyone else does, just how hard you fought for them. You have done well. If I have not told you that enough to convince you, that is my error." She took up her notebook. "I'd like to speak with you once a week for the next several weeks, until I can correct this error. I'd also like you to take some medicine that might help you remember to take better care of yourself." She made a few notes. "Take this to the pharmacy. And I will check to be sure you did, because you're stronger than this and this will help you see that." She patted his head, and he buckled under her hand and broke into tears. She shushed him, drew him close, and let him cry on her breast. Only when he calmed down again did she ask, "Would you like to tell Ikkaku, or shall I?"

Yumichika explained it to Ikkaku, stiffly folding his hands and staring at the tiles around Ikkaku's feet as Ikkaku listened, arms folded tight. Yumichika just couldn't make himself meet his eyes as he explained Unohana's recommendations. "It probably sounds stupid, needing medicine for being sad, but-"

"Shut up." Ikkaku closed the distance and hugged Yumichika's stiff form. "You need what you need, and you're gonna get it. I get it." He kissed his cheek. "Your body's not letting you be happy, and you should be happy. I'll stand right behind you until we can fix that."

He did. He reminded Yumichika to take his medicine in the same breath as he told him he was beautiful in the mornings, and offered to go to Unohana's counseling sessions with him. He was smiling again after only a week of treatment, and in that same week, the twins became much stronger.

Kotori finally broke 5 pounds and continued gaining after four weeks, and though Unohana and Isane debated releasing her, Kotora still struggled. Even Ikkaku noticed that both girls got weaker when put in separate rooms, their reiatsu dropping in synchronicity until they were reunited. Nobody wanted to ponder what would happen if the twins were in separate divisions, so they stayed in the Fourth. The babies were five weeks old when Kotora managed to gain weight consistently, but Unohana, out of an abundance of caution, waited until she'd put on at least an ounce every day for a week before performing a thorough examination and making her decision:

"They should go home to be with their family. We will happily welcome either or both of them back as needed, but I think you should take them home." She returned Kotori to Ikkaku's arms, and passed Kotora to Yumichika. "You're ready for your happily ever after."

Yumichika couldn't pack their things quickly enough, the little toys he'd brought in to keep them company, the clothes and tiny storybooks, as Ikkaku cradled both girls and told them about their new home.

"The toughest guys in the whole world live there. Not tougher than your Dads, anyway, but they're real tough, and they all wanna meet you!" He grinned as he looked back and forth between them. "Ain't that gonna be neat? You're gonna have like two hundred bodyguards." Yumichika giggled under his breath as Ikkaku sweet-talked them and they, more conscious by the day, reached for his face and mouth. As he closed their bag, there was a soft cough from the door, and both Ikkaku and Yumichika turned to see Isane waiting there.

"I hear two very special someones are going to sleep in their own crib tonight." She bowed at the waist to look closer at the girls, a smile claiming all of her features. "I'm just here to remove their tags." She knelt down and took a pair of scissors from her pocket, then carefully pushed a finger in around the plastic bracelet on Kotori's wrist. "We won't need to identify them anymore."

Ikkaku's face warped to an expression of horror, and he whipped his head around and mouthed something panicked at Yumichika. Before Yumichika had a chance to translate, Isane had removed Kotora's bracelet, but swiftly reached into her side pocket. "And I wanted to give you these. They're a gift from the SWA." She held up two tiny silver bracelets with rectangular tags, and beamed at Yumichika. "We wanted the honor of giving them their first piece of jewelry."

The bracelets were engraved with each girl's name. Ikkaku sagged with relief, and patted their backs. "You guys better get used to those. They ain't comin' off until you start lookin' different or grow hair long enough that I can cut it different." Yumichika snorted, but bowed to Isane.

"They're beautiful, and perfect. Thank you."

"I can say the same to you," Isane observed, and petted Kotori's hair with an admiring little smile, before meeting Yumichika's eyes again. "We'll see all three of you in a few weeks for a well check."

"Yes, ma'am." Yumichika saluted, and scooped Kotori out of Ikkaku's hold. "We're ready."

Flash step was risky with the two little ones still too weak to hold their heads up, and the walk to the Eleventh was long. Neither Ikkaku nor Yumichika minded. They spent the whole walk talking.

"You're feeling better?" Ikkaku gave Yumichika a pointed look over Kotora's head. "Still talking with Unohana?" Yumichika shook his head.

"I'm rather resolved with it. She wants me to stay on the medicine a little longer, and if I want to talk to someone, all I have to do is ask. But I am feeling much better." He gave Kotori a snuggle, kissing her cheek. "After all, I've got the prettiest little girls around, how can I be sad?"

"You got that right!" Ikkaku laughed sharply. "You're too pretty to be sad, anyway."

"Ikkaku!" Yumichika blushed, feeling a rush of schoolgirl butterflies at the roguish, sweet smile he wore as he cuddled his little daughter in his arms. "You keep saying it, I'll stop believing it."

"That ain't true." Ikkaku slung Kotora up to his shoulder and patted her back. "I'm gonna keep sayin' it 'til you know for sure just how beautiful you are, and then I'm gonna remind you."

"Ikkaku..." The blush was a furnace in his cheeks, but before Yumichika could speak further, there were voices from ahead, and he realized that they were close to the gates, and a few of the unseated members were bolting towards them.

"Senpai! Hey, senpai!" Yumichika halted to let them land in front of them, and Ikkaku moved himself in front of him with a scowl.

"What do you guys want?"

"We wanna see the little girls!" One of the unseated members grinned a crooked-tooth grin, and showed his palms. "I washed my hands real good, see? Let's see 'em!"

"Yeah?" Ikkaku raised an eyebrow towards Yumichika, then shifted his arms to let the unseated soldier see Kotora. "Ain't gonna be no holdin' just yet, they're still little and ain't so good for bein' around other people." Yumichika followed suit, laying Kotori out in his arms.

"This one's the reason I kept devouring ginger cookies and candy." He nodded to Kotora. "That's my vanilla ice cream craving."

The two unseated members chuckled to each other, muttering about how little the girls were, how tiny their faces and stubby little fingers. "Man, how're they ever gonna hold a zanpakuto like that?"

"Hey, they'll get bigger!" Ikkaku pulled Kotora back in, cuddling her to his chest and halfway hunching over her. "So what if they're little now?"

"Yeah, stupid," the other unseated member chuckled, as Kotori gripped his finger. He crooked his knuckle to give her tiny hand a squeeze. "She's already holdin' on tight, for bein' so little." Yumichika glowed with pride. Strength was beautiful, after all. In those short moments, though, a few more unseated members had gathered around, trying to take peeks at the precious infants, chattering and chuckling at one another.

"Hell, they're a couple of Ayasegawa clones. Gonna be flittin' around like sparrows, soon as they can walk."

"Bet they're gonna have some crazy cool zanpakuto, once they get 'em! Let's get 'em some asauchis right now!"

"Hah, no way!" One particularly intelligent dumbass blurted with a snort. "They're a couple'a girls, what good're they gonna be in a fight?"

Another, even more intelligent mouthbreather chimed in, "Third-Seat Madarame makes girls! How ya like that girly shit?"

"Hey!" Ikkaku, in a few swift, but careful motions, moved Kotora into Yumichika's hold, and cut through the crowd to find the two hecklers. "I don't make girls!" He gave Yumichika a pointed look, then turned back to the offender with gritted teeth. "I make perfect, beautiful, warrior princess angels, and-" He seized the other offender by the collar- "They'll kick your ass in once they get through Academy, you got that?! 'Til then, Daddy's gonna fuckin' enforce that shit!" And with that Ikkaku hauled both of them off, grasping both of them by their clothes with one hand and already drawing Hozukimaru with the other. The gathered crowd all followed Ikkaku in the direction of the sparring ring, whistling and cheering, leaving Yumichika with both twins. Yumichika chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"Looks like Daddy had to defend your honor already." He hoisted them both up and continued into the Division, only to find Kenpachi waiting with Yachiru perched on his shoulder.

"So ya brought the troublemakers home." Kenpachi curled his hands on his hips. "Bring 'em closer." Yumichika giggled at Kenpachi's crooked smirk, but came close.

"Kotora on the left, Kotori on the right."

Kenpachi crouched over to look, and let Yachiru do the same from her position. Yachiru cooed and squealed, and Kenpachi, after studying them with scrutinizing eyes, extended a grubby, callused finger and touched Kotora's nose. "Shit," he muttered appreciatively, and nodded his approval. "You done good." Yumichika held a frustrated noise at the bit of dirt now smudging Kotora's face, but pushed out a smile.

"Thanks, Captain. I'm also going to apologize in advance for the noise."

"Pfft, babies cry." Kenpachi snickered, his toothy, crooked grin spreading to show more teeth. Kotora blinked her dark blue eyes open, whimpered softly, then shut them again. "I don't mind much. You'll hear it louder'n me."

"Oh, that's not what I meant." Yumichika straightened up, just as a huge roar came from the sparring grounds. Kenpachi jerked upright, his mad grin losing whatever tenderness it might have had. "Ikkaku's having fun, and I imagine he'll take on anyone who offends him as a father."

"Let's go, Kenny!" Yachiru yanked at one of Kenpachi's bells. "I wanna see Baldy fight for his babies!" Kenpachi cackled and raced off to watch the fight, and Yumichika continued towards the barracks alone.

Well, not alone.

"This is where we're going to live now," he explained quietly as he stopped outside of the door to his- and now their- private quarters. He started to nudge the door to the Fourth Seats' nursery open with his toe, then sighed. Kotori and Kotora were both drowsy in his arms, quiet and content after their bask in the sunlight, but all Yumichika could think of was just how long and twisted their journey had been. "You two will never really know just what it took to get you here. I dunno if you should, either. We went through some tough times together. I spent so much time being hurt, and I would never want you to blame yourselves for that. No matter how it happened, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad I fought for you." He curled both of them up, and both of them looked at him, their unfocused gazes rapt at the sound of his voice. "Everything we went through was worth it."

"You're damn right it is." Yumichika's face sprung up, and he found Ikkaku standing close, his shihakusho rumpled and ripped in a few spots, his face and hands dirty, and a big, proud grin that told Yumichika everything he needed to know about the fight without him even asking. Yumichika met it with a warm smile of his own, and Ikkaku swaggered a little closer, his smile fading. "But, uh, let's try not to tell 'em the part where I was too stupid to take care of you three, too, yeah?"

"I'd never even whisper it, Ikkaku."

"Good, 'cause I really wish that hadn't happened." His shoulders sank. "I wish I could do it over right, y'know? Hell, I wish I could start our whole mess over. I" He put his hands on Yumichika's shoulders, shifting his weight from foot to foot and closing the distance. "But you should tell 'em I meant everything I said before. I'm gonna be better, for you an' for them." Ikkaku smeared his hand off on his hakama, then pushed the door open. "I'm tryin' already."

There it was, just under the window. An elegant white crib, with hand-carved birds perched on the posts, had been placed exactly where Yumichika had wanted it, laden with pale yellow sheets. A mobile of multicolored birds and cats hung over it, spinning slowly in the ambient air, and Yumichika could see indicative scratches that every animal had been carved by a very familiar hand.

"Ikkaku, you didn't-!"

"Uh, yeah." Ikkaku grinned sheepishly. "Renji helped. S'why I was hanging out with him some nights, when I wasn't doing night training. I bought the crib, just 'cause I didn't know if anything I built was gonna be safe, but me an' Renji, we made it real pretty, just for you! And it's sturdy, so nothin' me or the Captain could possibly do is gonna bust it up unless we're actually tryin' to." He spread his hands in a 'ta-da' gesture. "An' the mobile, that was Captain Kyoraku's idea." He pointed to it, still grinning madly at his own handiwork. "When you were stayin' with the babies at the Fourth, and I was just sittin' here, not sleepin', he said I should keep my hands busy doin' somethin' for ya so I wouldn't feel so useless."

"Ikkaku." Yumichika's heart clenched, and he tightened his grip on the babies. "I had no idea-"

"But now you're home, an' they're home, and none of you are ever gonna leave again, right?" Ikkaku took hold of Yumichika's shoulders again. "'Cause I love you, I love you and her and her, and nothing's gonna change that."

Yumichika had to take Ikkaku in. He was smiling, but it was tight and desperate, and his eyes were open and wanting, like a child at the window of a toy store. Yumichika knew what Ikkaku wanted, and got up on tiptoe to give it to him.

He kissed Ikkaku chastely on his dry lips, then a little deeper, and lowered his heels to smile up at him. "I love you too, and you know it."

Ikkaku looked insanely pleased, and he swooped in to scoop Kotori back out of Yumichika's arms. "That's right! Me an' your mama love each other, and that ain't never gonna change!" Yumichika laughed to himself, and carefully laid Kotora down.

"Ikkaku, let's be gentle with the tiny baby! She still can't hold her head up and you know it!"

Laughter and joy, pleasure all around. It had been a long, uphill battle, but they'd finally crested it and with these provisions, were ready for their next steps on the long march forward that was their lives.

End Notes: After this, there's just the epilogue!

… and a question.

Ikkaku mentioned adding a dragon to the mix. I was considering writing up sort of a long one-shot follow-up or secondary epilogue, taking place a little down the line. Would anybody be interested in reading that? I mean, it will take me a good while to do, but if you're interested, I can definitely try. So, if you're up for it, let me know!

I'll try to have the epilogue done soon. Let me know what you thought!