Edited: March 17th

Returning Home

Kurotsuchi was in a foul mood most of the way back to the secured lab that acted as the 12th Division's base of operations. He had failed to gather the two very rare specimens they had stumbled across, one of them having escaped him twice now. While failure was part and parcel of any scientific endeavour, he preferred those that didn't result in an entire squad being thrashed by one substitute Shinigami with an attitude problem. At present, his intended specimens were guarded by Kurosaki Ichigo, a creature not even he dared tangle with, not only due to the Hybrid's impressive powers but because he had far too many annoying friends, including most of the other Taichou and that perpetual thorn in his side, Urahara Kisuke.

Still, as far as the accumulation of knowledge went, the day had just made a spectacular turnaround. He had never guessed that Hollows could breed, and the thought of it sent his mind reeling. All of his previous research revealed that Hollows were unisex or sexless, each one the same as the last without determinable eggs or semen. Granted, the Arrancar were something else: a hybrid of Hollow and Shinigami created by a simple, and yet powerful, jewel. His investigations had determined that the Arrancar did have separate genitalia, so perhaps breeding was possible now, although the females he had examined still lacked eggs or wombs and the males lacked a true form of semen. This left far too many questions as to how such a feat was accomplished and left him utterly confused as to how two males had managed to conceive without medical assistance. This matter definitely warranted further investigation.

Fortunately for him he had other specimens to which he could turn his attentions. Several Arrancar had been left dying on the field of battle, or were simply abandoned during the invasion, and he had been there to gather them up to make sure they hadn't lost their usefulness by pointlessly dying.

He entered the main control room and typed eagerly away at a control panel, pulling up the cameras that allowed him to keep tabs on each of his caged specimens. He hummed a little as he considered them, mentally tallying each one up and deciding whether or not they would meet the criteria necessary for his purposes. On one hand, he had a number of questions to ask. On the other he couldn't wait to try and bred them himself and study the offspring.

"Nemu," he called his assistant. "Have specimen A50 brought into the interrogation room. And then prepare…hmm," he paused a minute and studied the screens and their occupants before making a selection with a very wide smirk of irony that was oddly fitting, "specimen A15. Yes, I think that one would be suitable for the experiment I have planned," he chuckled wildly before bringing his laughter back under control. "Have A15 cleaned up and brought into one of the larger specimen rooms."

"Hai," Nemu bowed and left to complete her assigned tasks.

"Akon…"

"Yes sir?"

"We might as well try several techniques. Have Specimens A56 and A24 placed together in one of the larger specimen rooms as well. I will see to them after I complete my interrogation of specimen A50."

"Together, sir?" Akon asked a little hesitantly, though the curiosity in his voice was apparent as well.

The Arrancar specimens had always been kept separated since their acquisitions. Never once had they ever been permitted to meet up with or even catch the barest hint of each other.

"Yes, together. Where my orders unclear?" Kurotsuchi turned on him, now obviously annoyed. Akon realized his mistake and backed up a little.

"No, it's just unexpected and I wanted to be sure I heard them clearly. May I enquire as to why sir?"

"It has recently been brought to my attention that the Arrancar can apparently breed," he answered, damn near squealing in delight. "The increase in electrical output in section E6 turned out to be Kurosaki and his Arrancar mate, complete with a healthy cub."

He let that bomb drop and wasn't disappointed with the fallout. Akon stared at him in shock for a few seconds, and then recovered enough to bow slightly to his Taichou, the calm, neutral expression he normally wore in place once again.

"I see. I can handle the experiment involving Specimens A56 and A24 if you would like to devote your attention to the other, more complicated pair, Taichou," Akon offered.

Ah, Akon. He was, perhaps, the most reliable minion he had. He had proven his use and his worth time and time again, ever since the man was a child. He was one of the few Kurotsuchi knew he could leave to work unsupervised and would still conduct everything exactly as he would want and expect.

"See that it is done," Kurotsuchi ordered as he walked off. He had an interrogation to conduct with specimen A50 before moving onto the other phases of his latest interest.

As per his instructions, specimen A50 was strapped to the table when he entered the room, brown eyes staring vacantly up at the ceiling, not even flickering in order to acknowledge Kurotsuchi's presence. Matted, dirty blond hair, damp from having been recently washed as Nemu had made sure to clean him up a bit before bringing him to the room and strapping him down, lay limply about him. The lack of reaction was nothing new to him. Specimen A50 had never been particularly defiant or active since his acquisition, going through his imprisonment and experimentation with a detached, almost lifeless demeanour, and yet at the same time he never failed to answer a direct question if asked. It was his docile behaviour and willingness to answer questions that had made Kurotsuchi pick him for this experiment.

"Is it possible for hollows to reproduce sexually?" he asked as he stepped up to the head of the table.

"Yes," Specimen A50 answered monotonously and emotionlessly.

"How? Clearly no eggs or sperm are involved since your species lack both," he demanded.

Specimen A50 launched into a rather interesting description of the process, his voice remaining dull through the explanation. Kurotsuchi had never even considered that such a means of reproduction could exist and he felt a bubble of excitement erupt in his chest when he discovered gender wasn't the defining issue as far as hollow reproduction was concerned. The only complication Kurotsuchi could foresee in getting his experiments to mate was going to be getting them to both initiate the battle for dominance and then mate instead of kill each other.

He considered his choices again for this experiment. He was certain Specimen A50 would work wonderfully, but would Specimen A15? After a moment of contemplation he decided Specimen A15 would work if he offered something in exchange for obedience in this endeavour. Yes, Specimens A50 and A15 should work just fine, as long as he could secure A15's compliance. Specimen A50 was docile enough and he had no doubt the Arrancar would easily adopt and agree to a Beta-like role.

He asked several more questions for confirmation, ones that told him that Specimen A50 would likely be willing accept a Beta role, before sitting back and thinking. To his surprise Specimen A50 dared to speak outside of answering questions.

"It is clear you wish me to breed. I believe it would work better if I was the one to bring the subject up with whomever you have chosen to be my partner."

He thought about it for a moment before deciding the specimen might be right. While he was never that interested in studying the social aspects of his subjects, this time it might be worth delving into. In fact, the less interference, the better things might go.

After filling Specimen A50 in on what he was prepared to offer both of his chosen specimens for their cooperation in the experiment, he left the room, giving firm instructions to his staff that Specimen A50 was to be fully fed, cleaned and healed of all defects. He wanted the specimen in top shape for the coming events.

He gave similar instructions for Specimen A15's care. Once both had been tended to, he personally escorted Specimen A50 to the larger room in which Specimen A15 was confined.

Specimen A15 glared at him through long, wet, pale blond hair and with narrowed eyes as he entered the room, but didn't move from the slab-like bed he was currently resting upon. Despite every experiment he had gone through, Specimen A15 remained defiant, nothing like the docile Specimen A50.

"Today is your lucky day, Specimen A15," Kurotsuchi smiled at him, steeping aside to let Specimen A50 walk into the room.

Specimen A15 widened his eyes in surprise for a moment, as this was the first Arrancar he had seen since his acquisition, before narrowing them in suspicion. Kurotsuchi continued with his speech before the Specimen had a chance to demand to know what was going on.

"You will of course be closely monitored, but Specimen A50 here has been directed to inform you of this newest experiment and the benefits I am willing to grant you for your participation in it. Do enjoy it and have a good time," Kurotsuchi smirked before walking out and securing the door behind him.

He gathered up the voluminous folds of his hakama and haori and practically raced to the control room so he could begin his observations. Would they actually breed or would they have to go in and separate the two specimens? He knew Specimen A50 would co-operate fully but would Specimen A15 find the offer for freedom from further experimentation, full meals, and access to a room with bathing amenities attractive enough to submit as well? How long would it take for conception? He came away with the impression that conception was damn near 100% when the two participants observed the proper mating rituals. Only time would tell.

(POV)

It had been two months since anyone had seen or heard from Ichigo. The teen was expected to return soon though, so all of his friends and family kept one 'eye' out for the feeling of the young man's unmistakable reiatsu.

It was mid afternoon when the distinctive feeling of a Garganta opening rippled over the reiatsu field of Karakura Town, alerting all of those waiting and watching for it that Ichigo was on his way home. Even if they had failed to noticed the Garganta, the sudden spike of Ichigo's reiatsu fluctuating wildly in distress and anger would have been impossible to miss.

Kisuke barely had time to register it, let alone think about what it might mean, before Ichigo barged into the shop with a rather large bundle that left a trail of blood in its wake. At first Kisuke assumed something was wrong with the cub and that was what had Ichigo in a panic, but his burden was far too large to be the cub unless it had undergone one hell of a growth spurt. Grimmjow came in right behind the teen, cradling a small, grey bundle in his arms that was meowing in distress.

"Quickly, he needs help before he loses his cub!" Ichigo shouted frantically, invading Kisuke's home and his personal space in a few short steps.

Ichigo set his bundle down and unwrapped it enough to reveal another Arrancar, this one with blood stained pink hair and incredibly low reiatsu that was…no, make that two sets of reiatsu that were sputtering dangerously. Kisuke felt his eyes widen in surprise.

"This is an Arrancar," Kisuke pointed out and frowned, even as he set about sending his own energy into his patient as an emergency measure, desperately trying to stabilize both parent and child, but it was impossible for one person to do. He could only focus on one of them.

"What's going on in here?" a confused Ginta said, peering in through the doorway.

The rest of the occupants in the shop arrived at this point and the moment Yoruichi saw how dire the situation was, she left in a flash of Shunpo, only to have a very concerned Isshin take her place, his own reiatsu fluctuating with concern. No doubt Isshin had assumed that there was something wrong with his first grandchild and decided to break his cover out of pure worry.

"Isshin…" Kisuke said, sensing the man even as his eyes remained glued to his patient, "…good, come over here. You were always better than me at delicate work like this. I need you to stabilize the child," the shopkeeper ordered.

"Who is this? What's going on?" Isshin demanded as he rushed over to Kisuke's side.

The former Taichou's eyes widened in alarm when he saw the damaged creature before him and widened even further as he plunged his own reiatsu into that of the forming cub in a desperate bid to stabilize it. Recognizing the trace of reiatsu from at least one parent, Isshin stared up at his son in astonishment.

"Ichigo, what happened/what is this?" Kisuke and Isshin demanded at the same time. Ichigo, for his part, took a deep breath before he launched into an explanation.

"He was watching Cachorro while Grimmjow was out hunting and I was busy doing the laundry. Cachorro had destroyed a bag of sugar and busted open a carton of cream all over the nest. Zangetsu and H'tsu warned me something seemed to be wrong so we rushed back to the den to find Kurotuschi's men dragging him from his own nest by a harpoon speared through his ankles and trying to grab Cachorro."

The young man took another deep breath, this one in order to stay calm as he reported what he knew of Szayel's injuries.

"As far as I can tell, he has a broken collar bone, his left shoulder is dislocated and has two fractures, his left hip is fractured, his left fibula is broken, three of his left ribs are fractured, his right ankle is completely shattered, the wounds in both ankles from the metal rod are fairly large and he's got some pretty nasty bruises. The deep cut around his temple makes me worried that he may have a concussion," Ichigo concluded.

Kisuke was not surprised to discover Kurotsuchi was involved. He had recognized the poison spreading through his patient's system quickly enough, but didn't bother wasting any resources combating it. It's intent was to paralyze, not kill. If the patient suddenly did wake up under its effects, the resulting lethargy would stop him from making any sudden moves that might cause himself, or them, further harm.

What he was truly shocked about was the amount of damage the Arrancar had taken during his beating. Why had his own innate Hierro not mitigated more of it? Did being impregnated truly weaken a Hollow this much? Grimmjow had shown similar signs of weakness, but not this much before he'd returned to Hueco Mundo.

During Ichigo's recital of Szayel's list of injuries, his friends had arrived and remained standing at the door in various states of shock and concern. Thankfully, and perhaps wisely, they had not walked blindly into the room, nor had they made their presence known to the distraught teenager.

"And the cub?" Isshin asked in a strange voice. "It feels like yours Ichigo. Have you been sleeping around while I haven't been watching?" Isshin demanded sharply.

A gasp from the door brought Ichigo's attention to his friends. Orihime had her hands over her mouth, Tatsuki looked ready to murder him, Ishida was doing a poor job of trying to return to his normally cold, distant demeanour and Chad, mercifully, simply looked like Chad.

"It's technically not mine, I mean, it sort of is, it's my fault, but I wasn't the one who mated him, even though he is a part of me," Ichigo was rambling now, his panic starting to override common sense.

"Ichigo you're rambling," Kisuke cut in firmly.

"The cub feels like you," Isshin pointed out, eyes narrowing.

"It's H'tsu's," Ichigo snapped.

"What.. you mean, your Hollow's cub?" Kisuke questioned surprised, honestly curious how such an event came about.

"Yeah, stuff happened and Zangetsu and H'tsu were forced to manifest. I didn't know anything had happened until after it was too late. I mean, H'tsu is technically a part of me and I couldn't just leave him…" he motioned to Szayel, "when I am responsible for it happening. I should have looked into what H'tsu was doing sooner," Ichigo admitted sadly.

Isshin started at his son stonily for a moment, before running a hand through his short hair and nodding his head. Kisuke half expected him to return to his usual goofy front but was honestly surprised when Isshin remained serious.

"Taking responsibility for your mistakes, that's the son I am proud to say I raised."

Ichigo blushed in embarrassment and pleasure.

"Unfortunately," Isshin looked back at their patient, "I am sorry to say I do not know if we can save the cub. He is fairly banged up and both of their reiatsu is dangerously low and unstable."

"And I am no good at stuff like this," Kisuke sighed in reluctant agreement.

He could feel their patients slipping away. Healing had never been one of his stronger capabilities, let alone creatures different from his own. Everyone in the room stiffened in shock.

"Can I help?" Orihime offered hesitantly, piping up with her soft voice.

"I am afraid not," Kisuke shook his head sadly. "Your powers, while extraordinary, heal the body, but they do not restore reiatsu. This is a reiatsu-based problem and right now the cub is nothing more than forming reiatsu. There is no physical trauma for you to reject nor previous form for you to return it too. It would be like trying to use your powers to make a seed grow into a tree," Kisuke explained the best he could.

The room fell into stunned silence as Kisuke and Isshin worked desperately to save their slowly dying patients.

Then an overwhelmingly strong power entered the room, calm and comforting even as it conveyed a sense of strength to the rooms' occupants. Grimmjow instantly snarled and snapped his gaze over to the newcomer, moving to protect his son from the Shinigami who had dared enter their space. The intruder didn't seem threatened by him in the least and continued to walk serenely into the room, ignoring the hostile Hollow. Yoruichi entered right behind her.

"Gentlemen, Yoruichi-san has informed me you have a rather interesting dilemma. Isshin, it is good to see you again. It's been far too long."

"Retsu, it is good to see you as well," Isshin greeted her with a strained smile.

"We have an Arrancar here with dangerously low reiatsu. He's unstable, as is the cub he is carrying," Kisuke explained.

"A cub as well?" Unohana exclaimed with surprise as she joined the two beside their patient. "I was unaware hollow's could mate," she murmured in surprise.

Her hands glowed a soft green as she melded her powers with theirs and let them guide her through the energy pathways of their patient to show her what they had to work with. Her forehead creased in a deep frown as her survey of the two revealed the extent of the damage.

"We may not be able to save them both. I am afraid this is unfamiliar territory for me. Kurosaki-san, if it comes down to a choice between the parent and child, which should we try to save?" she asked gently.

A look of torment crossed Ichigo's face as she placed the heavy burden upon his shoulders. Pain flickered across his features as he wrestled with the choices presented to him.

"The parent," Ichigo sighed. "We need him to care for Cachorro and he can always… try again if he survives."

"Very well," Retsu said soothingly, aware of just how hard it had been for Ichigo to make that statement. "Kisuke, please permit me to take over, and we will see what we can do."

"Of course."

Kisuke moved over and retreated while Unohana took his place, both beside the patient and 'inside' of him as well. Another frown of concern marred her serene features as she took a closer look at the damage they had to deal with.

"This will take a very long time. It would be best if everyone were to depart except for Isshin and myself, as your residual reiatsu is interfering with the operation."

"Of course. If everyone would like to come with me I can put on a pot of tea and one of coffee," Kisuke added as his eyes caught Grimmjow scowling the moment 'tea' had left his lips. "I would also love to get a closer look at your cub," he said, smiling.

"Unohana-san…" Whatever Ichigo was going to say or ask he never finished.

"I will do all I can for him, and the cub, but I will be honest with you Kurosaki-san; it does not look good. I fear we will not be able to save them both," she admitted sadly.

He nodded and followed the others out. As soon as they were all out Unohana raised a protective shield around the room so that no foreign reiatsu, or any other distractions for that matter, could interfere with the procedure.

Kisuke led the group to another room before heading to the kitchen to set a kettle of water on to boil and got the seldom-used coffee pot going. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day and probably a longer night.

He was a little surprised how concerned Ichigo was over the fate of the pink-haired Arrancar he had dragged in. Kisuke really wanted to know the full story behind just how Ichigo's Hollow had managed to not only manifest, but impregnate the strange Hollow. Also, what did Ichigo mean when he said they needed the other Hollow to care for his cub? Regrettably ,his curiosity would have to remain unresolved for now was not the time to ask. He would put his curiosity aside until Ichigo had calmed down. If anyone stood a chance of saving the Arrancar and his cub it was Unohana and Isshin, but even Kisuke didn't think the unborn cub had a chance of making it.

"So, Kurosaki-san, would you care to introduce us to your cub?" he questioned as pleasantly as he could as he returned from the kitchen in a desperate attempt to lighten the dark atmosphere. "You said his name was Cachorro yes?"

"Yeah, for now."

"Oh, why only for now?" Kisuke asked curiously, hoping to distract the clearly distraught teen from the situation.

"Most cubs are named Cachorro until they earn their name," Grimmjow interjected, giving Kisuke a warning look that told him touching the child might not be a good idea at present, given the circumstances. "Others born into a pack are called Hijastro."

While Ichigo seemed truly concerned over his friend's fate, Grimmjow seemed a lot less caring, or at least the Hollow concealed his worry better. It was hard to say since Kisuke wasn't as familiar with Grimmjow as he was with Ichigo.

"Interesting. Oh, I hear the kettle going. Grimmjow-san, would you please help me bring everything into the room?" Kisuke requested.

At first Grimmjow looked about ready to protest or argue, but he looked over at Ichigo and reluctantly nodded his head. Ichigo jerked a bit in surprise when he was handed his cub, as if coming out of a trance. Without a word Grimmjow fallowed Kisuke into the kitchen. With any luck, he would be able to get the full story on everything that had happened over the last two months, including just who that Arrancar was and how Ichigo's Hollow had been manifested.

(POV)

Ichigo had been in a sort of trance, his mind whirling over the events that had just happened. He prayed that his father and Unohana could save Szayel and his cub. He wasn't sure how the former Espada would handle another miscarriage, especially so soon after the last two and with H'tsu's threats if he failed looming over his head. H'tsu was actually being rather silent on the whole affair, which was a bit of a blessing.

He blinked out of his trance when Grimmjow handed him Cachorro, his son's soft mews of distress igniting his protective parental instincts. Cachorro was still shivering in fright and Ichigo set him gently down in his lap, softly stroking his sons fur and murmuring assurances that everything was going to aright. After several minutes Cachorro finally stopped shivering.

His son seen to, Ichigo finally raised his eyes to regard his friends and family. He had no idea when Karin and Yuzu had arrived. He had been so out of it he hardly even registered that most of his friends were in attendance. Of them all it was Ishida his eyes went to first. The Quincy was very sharp and he had no doubt that Ishida had recognized just whom he had brought back with him. Pink hair was definitely not a common feature and the body was far to large to Yachiru.

"I don't even want to know how he's alive, or even how your Hollow knocked him up. All I care about is whether or not I need to worry about putting an arrow through his head when he recovers from this," Ishida commented, having apparently read his thoughts.

"No, he's safe now. I guess Hollows generally function in packs and I hold the position as Pack Alpha. Besides, how could you distrust someone who went through what he just did all for the sake of protecting my son? He could have abandoned Cachorro and saved himself, but he didn't. He took the beating and protected Cachorro the best he could."

Ishida stared at him intently for a minute before finally giving a nod of his head.

"So, this is our nephew?" Karin asked curiously, looking at Cachorro oddly.

"Yeah. I know, not what we were expecting, but this is him," Ichigo adjusted Cachorro in his lap so the others could see him more clearly.

"He's so cute!" Orihime and Yuzu squealed at the same time.

"Can I hold him?" Yuzu half-asked, half-demanded.

"Can I touch him? His fur looks so soft!" Orihime was quick to add.

"I am not so sure right now is a good time guys," Ichigo sighed. "Maybe later, after everything calms down."

Cachorro was eyeing the strangers distrustfully and Ichigo didn't know how Grimmjow would react to seeing the others touching his cub, especially so soon after such a stressful event.

"It's fine. If my child was almost killed or harmed, seeing him in the hands of strangers and former enemies would not make me comfortable in the least," Karin admitted and shrugged nonchalantly.

"How old is he now?" Orihime asked.

"Three days," Ichigo answered.

"He seems rather developed for having been born three days ago," Ishida noted sceptically.

"Yeah, I guess Hollows are born ready to defend and hunt for themselves, but Cachorro here isn't technically a full Hollow so he's really not that interested in hunting just yet."

"So what do you feed him?" Yuzu asked curiously.

"Ahh…"

Ichigo had no idea how the hell to answer that one. Thankfully, Grimmjow came to his rescue.

"Szayel feeds him," Grimmjow answered as he returned with Kisuke, food and the drinks. "All Natural Beta's are capable of feeding cubs."

Some of his friends caught on quicker than others. Ishida was the first to splutter in surprise and blush, Chad raised an eyebrow but said nothing, Orihime, Yuzu and Tatsuki remained confused while Karin let out a burst of laughter before controlling it and shaking her head.

"What's a Natural Beta?" Tatsuki asked confused.

"Basically a bitch, someone who likes to put his or her tail in the air and let whomever is strong enough ride them," Grimmjow explained crassly as he sat down next to Ichigo with a steaming mug of coffee, causing the young man to put his face in the palm of his hand and shake his head..

Ichigo felt some of the stress leave his body as they chatted, his friends and family asking questions about his son and Hollow Nature. He completely lost sense of the time, until Tatsuki's cell phone alarm went off, alerting them all that it was almost 9:30 at night.

Reluctantly, his friends left one by one until only Karin and Yuzu remained, despite Ishida and Chad's offer to escort the two younger girls home. Kisuke left the room shortly after with the intent to clean up the dishes from their gathering. Yuzu immediately offered to help and wouldn't take no for an answer, not that Kisuke protested the girl's help too much.

Cachorro had relaxed somewhat as time went on, but his son didn't completely relax until after almost everyone had left.

"Your reiatsu looks like it's back up to full, mind-numbing strength," Karin commented.

"What did you expect, for it to stay so pathetically low?" Grimmjow grunted.

"No, but I thought it would take longer to recover," she admitted.

The door slid open and everyone looked up as a very exhausted-looking Unohana walked into the room.

"Kurosaki-san, Grimmjow-san, may I speak to you about your companion?" she requested softly.

Ichigo felt fear bolt through him and his hands began to tremble, enough so that he had to set down his teacup lest he let it drop.

"Yeah, we will be right there," he assured her, looking down at Cachorro.

Even though he was positive his son didn't comprehend speech yet, he really didn't want his cub to hear any of what might be said, nor to be in such a depressing atmosphere.

"Oi Karin, can you watch him while we hear whatever she's got to say?" Grimmjow requested.

"Of course," Karin agreed, accepting Cachorro from Ichigo.

The cub squirmed for a moment but eventually settled down as he recognized Karin's scent and reiatsu as belonging to family. After a minute Cachorro had completely calmed down, nestling contently in Karin's lap as she gently stroked his fur with a soft smile.

With a heavy heart, Ichigo and Grimmjow followed Unohana out of the room and back to the room housing Szayel and Isshin. H'tsu still remained quiet although Ichigo sensed his hollow was riding very closely at the back of his mind. Zangetsu was also a quiet and firm presence in his mind, silently offering his support in the only way his Zanpakuto could.


/love all you faithful reviewers and welcome new readers. I feel all fuzzy and warm that I have managed to make the reader feel what I want them to feel for each character, regardless of how you felt about them before reading. /pat's own back. Can anyone guess who Specimen's A15, A56, A24 and A50 are? granted they really aren't that clever of a code.

I slept all day yesterday and didn't even bother going to work. I am so damn tired all the time now. Baby is still kicking a lot, which I guess is good, means I got a healthy, active baby right?

Until Next week