Enjoy!
Chapter 25
"Shit! Now what?" Ichigo asked with a scowl as he and the other guests hurried to the windows to see what was going on. His eyes widened as he saw what looked like a fast approaching cloud, but he knew that wasn't what this was. The Garganta in the sky said it all. Grimmjow rushed up beside him and let out a whoop of joy as he raced outside to fight off the intruders, quickly followed by Hallibel and Nel.
The shinigami were already mobilizing as he turned and shouted at his father, "Keep the girls and Yuki safe!" He started for the door when he was grabbed by both Renji and Byakuya.
"Where do ya think you're going, baka?" his mate yelled. "You ain't goin' anywhere in your condition, think of the babies!"
"Kurosaki, stay here and act as a last line of defense for the children," Byakuya ordered, more diplomatically. "You know they are these hollows targets, they need you here."
Ichigo understood his taicho's words; he was right. He sighed and decided to bash Renji's head in later as the two men hurried out. Before he could do more than turn around, Yuzu cried, "Where's Yuki?" Her brother quickly looked for his son but didn't see him in the hall.
"I think the two boys that were with Kuchiki-sama are missing as well," Hikari said as she hurried over to Ichigo.
"I remember Yuki saying that the three of them were going to play outside earlier," Karin spoke up, now beginning to panic. The young man didn't hesitate before dashing outside to look for the boys.
"Ichigo!" he heard his father yell as he ignored him and took off across the grounds and into one of the gardens. A number of hollows were headed that way, and he had a bad feeling about it.
His family could see him from where they were standing since there were no trees to obstruct their view and they watched as he headed straight for an oddly-shaped boulder that turned out to be the three small boys. Ryuu had knocked the other two to the ground and thrown himself over the top of them, trying to protect them from the monsters zooming straight at them.
It was then that Ichigo realized that he didn't have Zangetsu by his side. He and Renji had left their weapons in their suite before the wedding and neither had thought to go get them for the reception. Thank the gods that the other shinigami had come more prepared! He looked at the boys and grinned at how protective the older boy was being.
"Good job, Ryuu! Stay behind me boys," he warned them as the hollows swooped down on them. He focused his reiatsu into his hands and prepared to engage the creatures with Kido as his only weapon, determination in his eyes.
Hikari watched in fear as the young man she'd grown to care deeply for stood seemingly defenseless as he faced off with at least ten hollows. He stood in front of the children, his hands out in a protective gesture and she remembered another time when she was the one protecting her child from one of those monsters with nothing but her bare hands. It was as if the time before was overlaid with what was happening now and she could do nothing but watch both scenes play out in horror.
Right as the monsters began their attack, Yuki looked up around Ryuu and saw Ichigo, standing alone and without his sword. His eyes widened as he screamed, "Papa!"
At the same time, Hikari shrieked, "Ichigo!" She broke free from Isshin's grip and instinctively ran to her son, calling his name repeatedly.
As the hollows attacked, a brilliant golden glow emanated from around Ichigo and as the hollows hit the defensive wall surrounding the four figures, they disintegrated on contact, kicking up a virtual hurricane of debris and dirt. It obstructed everyone's view of what was happening and knocked Hikari off of her feet. She scrambled back upright and bolted to where the wind storm was beginning to die down.
The rest of the party guests felt the massive energy release and the shinigami came running from all directions toward the source. They had each recognized that reiatsu as Ichigo's. Renji arrived in time to see his mate get tackled by the three boys and Hikari. He heard her crying over and over, "My baby!" as Ichigo cupped her cheek and smiled gently.
"I'm glad you finally remembered, Mom," he said right before he passed out from exhaustion.
He woke up inside of his and Renji's shared inner world to a strange sight. It looked like the spirits that resided there were playing with two bright balls of energy. He sat up in confusion before he scrambled to his feet, remembering the babies and the fact that he wasn't supposed to use so much reiatsu as it could hurt them.
"Shit! Zangetsu...the babies!" he yelled. The three spirits looked up and smiled as the old man stood and grabbed Ichigo by his upper arms.
"They are perfectly fine, Ichigo," he reassured the younger man who was frantically trying to figure out how to leave and wake back up. "Getsu protected them."
"What?" Ichigo gasped as he wrenched himself out of his zanpakuto's grasp.
"King, chill out. They're right here," the hollow smirked as he pointed to the two balls of light. "We realized what was happening and I shielded them with my power when the bastards hit ya. Zan upped yer Quincy powers at the same time to protect you. It's a good thing ya left the sword behind or we might not have been able ta do anythin'."
Ichigo took in the words as he watched the balls of what he now knew to be his babies' reiatsu dance around the three of them. He smiled and held out his hands as the orbs gently landed on his palms. One of the little balls of light was a bright orange and the other was a beautiful golden yellow. "Hello, I'm your Daddy," he said softly as he felt their energy tickle his fingers.
"Ya need ta absorb them back inta ya," the hollow said, equally softly, to his king. He sighed impatiently when he saw Ichigo's look of confusion, "Just focus on them goin' back to where they belong." His brighter copy nodded and the twin lights faded back into him.
There were tears in Ichigo's eyes as he looked at the being he used to hate with all his might and he quickly grabbed the hollow and hugged him tightly as Getsu squeaked in surprise. "Thank you," he choked out. "I will never forget what you did for us."
The hollow frantically flailed around to free himself; he wasn't used to this emotional crap! "It's my...our job to protect ya," he said a bit breathlessly once he was freed. "Now get back out there, everyone's freakin' out."
As Ichigo faded away, he smirked at the spirits and said, "Later!"
All hell broke loose at the interrupted reception when Ichigo collapsed. Renji gathered him in his arms and wouldn't let anyone near his downed mate. Unohana finally had enough and quelled the insanity with one look as she knelt beside the two men.
She looked at Renji kindly but with steel in her gaze. "Abarai-taicho, I have to examine him, please."
Renji took one look and glared back, ignoring the killing intent rolling off of her. "You can do it like this, Taicho." She sighed and nodded as she began. Her expression quickly morphed into one of concern as she tried to find the baby's reiatsu. It wasn't there!
"Renji, stabilize Ichigo's reiatsu," she quickly instructed the red head. Yuki hurried over but stood nearby so as not to get in the way as the two taicho's worked on his father. Unohana scanned Ichigo's abdomen again and sighed in relief as the baby gradually made itself known. Ichigo groaned as he slowly began to come around.
Yuki threw himself at the two men and settled between them as Unohana looked up at the crowd gathered around them. "He seems to be alright, for now," she said, the relief evident in her voice.
The group sighed as one while she instructed Renji to carry Ichigo (over his loud protests) to their suite. Yuki wasn't budging so the red head shrugged and picked them both up. A cheer went up from the crowd as the men came back into full view, Ichigo noticing that his three Arrancar friends were among the ones yelling the loudest.
"Lay him down on the bed so I can examine him fully," Ichigo's family heard as they waited outside the bedroom.
They grinned when they heard Ichigo say, very loudly, "They better not cut the damn cake before we get back!"
Karin smirked, "I'll let everyone know that he's going to be fine!" She hurried back to the reception to fill her brother's friends in on his condition...and to warn Rukia to postpone the cake-cutting!
Isshin watched her go before turning to Hikari...Masaki...he wasn't certain what to call her at this point. She was grinning after their daughter and then her eyes met her husband's. "I think she's right, our son will be just fine." When her words registered, Isshin whooped and scooped her up into an impromptu dance, stopping when she began to protest that she was getting dizzy.
"Y-you remembered?" Yuzu asked softly, tears shining in her eyes as she looked at her mother. Masaki nodded.
"There may still be some blank spots, but yes, I know who I am now," she began to laugh as the sobbing younger woman threw herself into her arms.
"Ichi-nii's well enough to want to be here to cut the cake!" Karin shouted as she skidded to a stop in front of a group that contained the Ishidas, Byakuya and his young family, and the Yamadas.
The Kuchiki head was on his knees, hugging his sons tightly to him. The boys were beginning to squirm as they protested that they were fine. Kenpachi and Yachiru were grinning in relief that the boys were safe, and in amusement at Byakuya's loss of control.
Rukia grinned at the younger woman. "If he's ready for cake, then he's just fine!" she laughed, happy beyond words that he was alright.
Keigo and Mizuiro heard the conversation and the more hyper of the two yelled, "If we're gonna put off the cake, let's get some music going! This party needs to rock!" The younger shinigami present agreed and before long the hall was filled with music.
Across the room, the Arrancar were talking to Shunsui and Jushiro. "How did they know the children would be here?" Hallibel asked the Sotaicho.
"I don't know," Shunsui returned in frustration. "It looks like there's a leak here in the Seireitei."
"How'd ya mean?" Grimmjow asked with a growl. Tier put a hand on his shoulder, cautioning him to calm down. Nel eased up beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist and he calmed almost immediately. He knew how worried she'd been about Ichigo, and he didn't want to cause her any more stress.
Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Hisoka walked up then and heard the older man's response. "When the hollows attacked the home, the children were mostly unguarded. It was just dumb luck that Juu and I were there. Once they came into the Seireitei, the sekkiseki walls protected them and the hollows couldn't gain entry. Today was the first day that the kids have been outside the walls since this mess started. Only the top officers of the Gotei knew that the kids would be here."
"And a few others, Shunsui-san," Hisoka stated quietly. He had a bad feeling about where this was headed.
Jushiro turned to the worried man with a genuine smile. "I saw how hard you fought to protect those kids during the first attack, Hisoka-san. And you fought by our sides just as hard today. No one believes that this had anything to do with you; you'd never harm the little ones." The younger man smiled his gratitude at the shinigami around him who heartily seconded Jushiro's opinion.
"But the question is: Who did?" Kisuke added as the mood turned serious once again
Back in the bedroom, Ichigo was loudly protesting that he was fine. Unohana finally had enough and snapped, "Kurosaki-fukutaicho, if you do not settle down this instant, I will forbid you from returning at all." That got his attention and he flopped down on the bed with a huff. She nodded in satisfaction and began scanning the younger man.
When she finished, she sat back with a satisfied, yet perplexed, smile. "Everything seems to be fine. But I don't understand how," she said, shaking her head in bewilderment.
Ichigo smirked, "Told ya." He went on to explain before she could get pissy again, "My hollow protected the babies while his other half protected me."
She nodded as she processed the information. "I see. And you are right, Ichigo. I can definitely sense two reiatsu bundles inside of you now."
He looked smug as he replied, "Yeah, I saw them."
Renji shot up as Yuki looked curious. "Ya saw 'em!? How?" the red head asked.
"When I passed out, I went to our inner world," Ichigo smirked as he explained. "Zangetsu and Zabimaru were playing with two little balls of energy. One was yellow and the other was orange."
"And your hollow protected them?" Unohana asked.
"Yeah, we owe him," Ichigo turned serious. "We owe him everything." Renji sat back down and gathered his suddenly crying mate in his arms. Yuki wedged himself between his parents, wanting to comfort his papa too. Unohana grinned at the adorable sight, and at Ichigo groaning over his out of whack hormones as she stood up.
"Well, I don't see why you can't rejoin the party. But take it easy for the next few days, alright?" Both men nodded as Ichigo suddenly brightened.
"So I can have some cake?" he asked hopefully. Everyone laughed at that.
"Yeah," Renji agreed. "I think you could use some chocolate right about now!"
A/N: Masaki's baaack! The plot thickens...a little. ^^ Also, in case anyone forgot who the children were: Ryuu/Nnoitra, Hei/Tesla, and Yuki/Ulquiorra.