Chapter 25: News
*One Week Later*
Ichigo sat outside with his sisters enjoying the warm weather as he held Mia and kept a close eye on Hyou, who was currently toddling between them. Orihime giggled and the small child stumbled and scooped him into her arms quickly.
"Be careful Hyou, you don't want to hurt yourself."
Rukia rolled his eyes at Nel who giggled as Ichigo sighed. "He's fine Orihime, don't worry so much. He's a boy and can take care of himself."
Orihime's eyes widened and she hugged the squealing child closer. "How can you say that?! He's your son."
"He's fourteen months old, Hyou's fine with a small tumble. It's not like he's crying, in fact he's laughing." She looked down at the giggling child doubtfully before letting him go. Hyou pulled himself to his feet and walked towards Ichigo, who handed Mia to Karin to catch him when he fell. "Hello Hyou."
"Mama!" Hyou grabbed his shirt and pulled on it, looking up with wide, brown eyes at his mother.
Ichigo grinned and pulled the child closer, kissing his head before nuzzling him. "You're too cute baby." Hyou squealed and squirmed in his arms.
"No! Mama, no!"
"Ichigo?"
He pulled away and looked up at Masaki with a smile. "Yes mother?"
She looked around at everyone and looked back at him worriedly. "Can we speak privately?"
"Ok?" Ichigo frowned in confusion before setting Hyou down, ruffling his hair when he pouted. "I'll be back in a minute Hyou, I'm going to go talk to nana."
He glanced at Masaki and smiled, reaching out to her. "Nana!"
She smiled and took his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Hello Hyou, we'll only be a minute ok."
Ichigo followed her away from the group so they wouldn't be overheard. "What is it?"
"We just received a message from the Pantera Kingdom."
"What about?" Ichigo frowned and folded his arms, he had already made arrangements to go down in a couple of months when Mia was old enough to travel so there shouldn't be another message. When Masaki hesitated, Ichigo started to worry. "Mother what's happened?"
She appraised him quickly before stepping forward to grasp his shoulders. "It's about Grimmjow."
Ichigo's eyes widened and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "W-what about him?"
Masaki sighed and rubbed his arms soothingly. "A week ago, there was a storm and something, they don't know what, hit the grounds where his grave was."
Ichigo inhaled sharply and shook his head. "No-"
She pressed her finger to his mouth to stop him. "Let me finish." He nodded and the finger was removed. "Rangiku went down to see what had happened and she found a body. It was Grimmjow's."
Ichigo, having enough, pulled away from her. "It couldn't have been! He died over four months ago! There probably isn't a body anymore!"
"Ichigo!" He stopped as Masaki yelled his name, closing his eyes to calm himself down. "I haven't finished yet." She approached her upset son again and pulled him into a hug. "He was breathing and had a pulse. When Grimmshaw joined her they took him to their physician, Szayel. He hasn't woken up yet and is believed to be in a coma."
Ichigo's body shook as he pressed his head to Masaki's body. "It's not true, it can't be…" He shook his head and clung to her tightly. "H-he's dead, I killed him and watched him die." After a few minutes, Ichigo pulled away and shook his head. "I have to go down there to see for myself if this is real or not."
"You can't."
"Why not?!"
"Mia needs you." Masaki grasped his shoulders and looked into his eyes earnestly. "She's not old enough to be without you or to travel. At least wait until she's old enough like you originally planned for your visit."
Ichigo groaned and rubbed his head, shifted through his emotions and urges to either just go despite the consequences or stay for his daughter. "…Fine. But I'm going in two months when she's old enough."
"Ok." Masaki let him go and stroked his cheek with a soft smile. "You've grown up to be a fine young man Ichigo, even with all the difficulties you've been put through recently."
Ichigo rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "I couldn't exactly go to pieces with two children relying on me for their upbringing."
"Hyou!" Ichigo turned at Yuzu's shout to see Hyou walking towards them and moved to scoop him up.
"Where were you going?"
He giggled and patted Ichigo's cheek. "Mama!"
"Yes sweetie?"
Hyou frowned and touched his cheek again, bringing it away to stare at the wetness with fascination. "Mama sad?"
Ichigo's eyes widened and he touched his face to find he was crying. He smiled reassuringly at the frowning child and wiped the tears away. "It's nothing baby, I'm fine." Hyou just giggled and held on tighter, nuzzling his head to Ichigo's neck with a soft sigh. Ichigo chuckled and cupped the back of his head. "Go to sleep Hyou, you're exhausted."
He yawned and quickly fell asleep. Ichigo sighed and readjusted him to cradle his body gently, looking down with a soft smile at his sleeping face.
"Ichigo?"
"Hmm?" He looked up at Masaki and smiled reassuringly when he saw she was worried. "I'm fine mother, it can wait two months."
"Ok." She answered doubtfully before smiling and kissing his head. "I'm going to go find your father so we'll talk later."
"Yeah." Ichigo watched as she left to return to the castle before sitting back down with his sisters and made sure Mia was fine.
...
...
...
*Two Months Later*
Ichigo paced in front of the carriage nervously, waiting for his mother to join him. When he heard a small cry he sighed and stepped into the carriage. "What's wrong Mia?" The small girl was crying and waving her fists, Ichigo frowned and picked her up, cradling her gently before ruffling Hyou's head. "Are you ok Hyou?"
"Yes." He nodded and returned to his toy, bouncing it on the floor, yelling out when it bounced back. Ichigo rolled his eyes and stepped back outside, sighing in relief when he saw Masaki walking down the stairs.
"Mother."
She smiled and joined him. "Sorry about being late, Isshin was getting emotional."
Ichigo rolled his eyes again. "We're only going for a week, it's not that long."
"You know what your father's like."
"Yeah." Ichigo shook his head but didn't further the matter and let Masaki into the carriage first before getting in after her, sitting down next to his son. "Hyou?"
He lifted his head and frowned, reaching out to him. "Mama?" Ichigo chuckled and handed Mia to his mother, scooping Hyou up to kiss his head which elicited a squeal of delight from the child. "Mama!"
"Listen well Hyou." Ichigo pulled back to look at the giggling child. "We're going to see your grandparents ok?"
Hyou frowned in confusion and clutched his shirt. "Nana?"
"Yes nana and grandpa."
He looked at Masaki and grinned. "Nana!"
Ichigo chuckled and kissed his head again. "Your other nana sweetie, I need you to be on your best behaviour whilst we're there. I have some very important business to do. So no playing up, be good."
"Good!" Hyou giggled and tugged on Ichigo's shirt. "Be good!"
Ichigo smiled softly and nuzzled his head, glancing over at Masaki with a smile before reaching out to take Mia back, sliding Hyou between them both. "You too Mia, no playing up." She yawned in reply and blinked sleepily at him, before resting against his chest and falling asleep. Ichigo smiled and stroked her hair, resting his head against the seat to gaze out the window.
"Ichigo?"
"Yeah?"
Masaki reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Are you ok? I know this must be difficult for you."
Ichigo snorted and turned his head to look at her. "I was told almost two months ago that my dead husband, who I killed, was found alive the same day I gave birth to our daughter, and is currently in some sort of coma. I don't know what to think, or even if I believe that it's real." He sighed heavily and rubbed his head. "I don't want to get my hopes up, only to have my heart broken again. I won't recover this time, not after everything we've already had to deal with."
She smiled sadly and squeezed his arm. "It's going to be ok Ichigo. They wouldn't lie about something as serious as this."
"I know. I just can't hope for something like that."
Masaki smiled sadly and let go of his arm, deciding not to further the matter as Ichigo already looked close to tears. She sighed and glanced out the window. "We should be there in a few hours." Turning back to Ichigo, she took note of the dark circles under his eyes. "When was the last time you slept?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Dunno. I've been finding it difficult to sleep through the night." He sighed heavily and fiddled with a lock of Mia's hair. "I wake up and for a split second, I forget everything that's happened. Then I turn around, and the bed's empty, he's not there. It hurts so much, every time I feel my heart break that little bit more and I can't stop it."
They lapsed into silence for a while before Masaki took Mia from his arms. "Get some sleep, you'll want to be alert and refreshed when we arrive."
Ichigo nodded tiredly and sighed, resting his head on the seat before rubbing his face. After a few minutes, Ichigo slipped into deep sleep, unaware of anything until Masaki was shaking him awake after what felt like ten minutes.
"Ichigo wake up."
"Are we there yet?" He mumbled, opening his eyes slowly before sitting up straight with a groan.
"We will be in a few minutes."
Ichigo opened his eyes further when Mia started crying and reached out to cradle her to his chest. "Hey Mia, what's wrong?" Rocking her gently, Ichigo looked out the window to see the castle come into view, his stomach fluttering in a good but not-so-pleasant sensation. He looked down at Hyou and ruffled his hair. "You ready to see nana and grandpa?"
Masaki watched Ichigo with his children and smiled softly, glancing out the window as well when the carriage came to a stop. She got out and picked Hyou up, resting him on her hip and waited for Ichigo with Mia to join them.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok?"
Ichigo looked at the castle in apprehension. "No. But I have to know."
He hitched his bag on his shoulder, striding up the stairs and she watched him with a sigh before following with Hyou secured safely. Once inside, Rangiku rushed over to greet them.
"Hello Masaki, Ichigo." She smiled and kissed Mia's head before taking Hyou from Masaki. "How was your journey?"
"It was uneventful, the best kind I suppose."
Rangiku chuckled and looked towards Ichigo. "How are you?"
Ichigo smiled and shrugged. "I'm not doing as well as I hoped I would. Your letter from two months ago changed a lot of things."
Her smile widened into a grin and she pulled Ichigo into a hug. "He woke up yesterday."
Ichigo glanced at his mother who smiled encouragingly before he nodded, forcing a smile onto his face. "Can we go somewhere more private, with the kids?"
"Of course." Rangiku lead them though the castle to a small room, occupied by only a table and a set of chairs. "Wait here and I'll go get him." She placed Hyou down and turned to look at Ichigo at the door. "He's a bit disorientated so please, don't expect too much."
"I won't."
Ichigo gave his mother a look and she nodded before following Rangiku from the room, leaving him alone with his children. Ichigo sighed and dropped the bag on the floor, opening it to pull out some toys for Hyou to play with. Hyou eagerly accepted the items and grinned as he identified them.
When Mia started crying he smiled softly and placed her next to Hyou carefully before delving into his bag again to prepare a bottle for her. He sat down on one of the chairs and picked her up, placing the bottle at her mouth for her to eagerly start sucking on it. Ichigo sighed and lent back, closing his eyes to calm his nerves.
Once Mia had finished, he quickly winded her before laying her down on her mat before turning to check on Hyou. His eyes widened in panic when he saw Hyou wasn't with his toys and he whirled around when the door opened, only to freeze in shock.
Hyou was stood at the doors entrance and giggled when it opened, reaching out to the person opening it eagerly. Said person stood staring at the child for several moments before slowly bending down to pick him up. Once Hyou was secured, he looked up at Ichigo and offered a small smile.
"Hey Ichi."
"G-grimm?"