Safe in my Arms
Shadow of an Echo
A/N well here is the promised epilogue; I hope you like it. I am going to mark this story as complete now because the actual tale is done. However please be on the lookout for those alternate beginnings I mentioned that will updated sporadically over the next few weeks as I love writing them so won't take me too long.
Epilogue
In The End
The next few days of hectic confusion exhausted everyone. Many people needed medical attention and rest while those still capable of taking care of things were left to sort out the hornet's nest that was figuring out who would be in charge of what.
The Captains that fought with them returned to their posts, and the Visoreds that were once Captain filled in empty spots. Anyone who surrendered could earn their spot back in time if they wanted to. They just had to prove their surrender was genuine and not just a cover to turn on the new regime.
The Arrancar and remaining Visoreds stayed in Las Noches the parents needing much contact with their children. Things had been such a mess they didn't want to interfere with their young lives than they already had. Szayel was still planning on going to the Soul Society with Kenpachi but he wanted Nnoisla to be older and much less vulnerable. They had plans to leave when he was walking unaided and Szayel fully recovered from the drain of having him and fighting so hard in the last battle. He had healed himself the best he could physically, the rest just needed time to sort itself out.
He wasn't the only one that needed long term rest to get back in shape, Ichigo had pushed himself to the end of his endurance. He slept for a near solid week following the battle, waking only a few hours at a time to see his children and eat something before he was back in bed.
The others were in better condition, and improved much more rapidly, the two Alphas taking over the repairs on their side. They were working to create an informal Fourteenth squad, made up of the Hollow hybrids and any Shinigami brave enough to come train with them. They wouldn't be called on for regular duty, beyond their original promise of keeping Hollow pests from getting into the Living World in the first place, but they would be willing to fight alongside the Shinigami at times where it was needed.
Once Ichigo was moving around again, Ulquiorra decided to take him somewhere, but wouldn't tell him where until they were approaching a small band of Hollows, one with a very familiar face. "You brought me to see your family." He realized, Ulquiorra nodding in approval.
"I brought Starrk as soon as he was able to come, but I wanted you to meet them too," He explained before approaching his family, Kugiuroko coming over to them first.
"I warned Restaban that you would be bringing someone else, I have both his mate and him ready to see you." The Alpha had yet to decide whether to remove his mask or not, and the rest of the family had been extended the same option through Ulquiorra.
The first thing Ichigo thought of when he saw Ulquiorra's youngest son was a griffin. He was purely white, but had slim armored wings with a lion like face and body each paw had long sharp claws. The Alpha was sitting in front of his mate and still new litter, ready to face the threat if that turned out to be the case.
"Restaban, I won't bring anyone here that would hurt your young, come meet Ichigo. I think you two will get along well." Ulquiorra encouraged, the large bodied Hollow approaching his slimmer father and brother cautiously.
Restaban observed Ichigo sharply before speaking, "I trust Alpha, but you are new. I want you to know I am giving you a chance, don't ruin that." He cautioned.
Ichigo nodded in agreement, "Thank you for letting me stay. I know how hard it is to let new people around a young litter. I have three children of my own, they are only about a year old, and it can still be hard to let people I do not know see them."
A look of curiosity crossed his face, "They aren't Alpha's are they? The one that came before was his mate, I thought Alpha would tell me if he had a second Beta."
"No, not his," Ichigo informed, "Mine belong to Grimmjow, but I wouldn't have minded Ulquiorra."
Another voice called out to them, interrupting the conversation, "Restaban, is everything alright?" His mate was calling him, looking up at them in concern but had yet to move from standing over his litter protectively.
"Yes Andalroux," Restaban called over, "Just making sure, I'll bring them over now."
His mate appeared much like a bear with a heavy body and curved mask that drew up into what looked like rounded ears. The four young at his feet were curled together defensively, awake but frozen in place to not attract attention. This litter did not have the safety of Las Noches to grow in, they were much more cautious than the children living in the fortress. Andalroux did not relax at all until the small group got close enough he recognized the claims on Ichigo marking him as a fellow nesting Beta.
He leaned down to nuzzle into the warm pile of children, letting them know it was okay to come out and see who was here. They were still very young, not able to truly walk, but they were able to scuffle across the sand in a rather cute half-walk half-crawl. They were a little less developed than the twins, but much stronger than Nnoisla. Ichigo could tell they had been born at Vasto Lorde and had only been surrounded by those of that level since birth. They had grown strong quickly.
The first to reach his father was an adventurous little one that looked a lot like a flying fox, he had a larger build than Ulquiorra's slim one but his features were much the same. After that was a little girl, this one wingless, she was very cat like, almost like Grimmjow, but more lion than panther. Another boy followed, slender and smoothly armored, the first to have any black markings showing up as black lines radiating from his eyes across the white mask, he was a bit like a ferret or mongoose.
The last one had not left the shelter of the Beta, staying just behind his left front paw, looking around the limb in curiosity but not willing to follow his siblings. This one took after his carrier, heavy frame with the same smoothly curved mask, this one though, as he shifted they saw the black wings settled down on his back.
Ichigo sat down on the sand and let the little ones come to him in their own time, their natural curiosity drawing them to him as long as their father didn't have a problem with the new person. The girl was the most forward, and he soon found himself with a tiny Hollow in his lap, stroking down her back as she practically purred at the attention, spurring her brothers to get closer too.
He smiled softly as he found himself swamped with children trying to get attention from him, reminding him of his own brood at home. These young ones were so cute, he knew in that moment he would be having many litters, children were always something he enjoyed but now he could barely imagine a time not having them.
He looked up to see the fourth dragging himself over, going slowly, but finally wanting to see what all the fuss was about. Ichigo rewarded the effort by pulling him up in his lap next to his sister, the little Hollow deciding to curl again his chest laying his head on his shoulder. They all enjoyed this soft newcomer, the people around them before all possessing Hierro.
The three adults had watched Ichigo patiently wait for the children, and then gently handle them like any good Beta would. Finally Restaban and Andalroux realized their litter was safe with the Visored,
"What is his litter like?" Restaban couldn't help but ask. The Beta, no matter how human he looked, was drawing his attention and making his Alpha instincts perk up and take notice.
"They are strong, two boys and girl, they were born Vasto Lorde as Ichigo is one as well. I know he doesn't look like it but he is every bit one of us." Ulquiorra knew the oddity was confusing to his sons that were still getting used to the concept of Arrancar let alone the opposite. "I know you are interested, but you will have a lot of competition for him. He is highly cherished by a number of strong Alphas, he will have a wide choice in mates for future litters."
"You're one of them aren't you?" His son asked perceptively, Kugiuroko nodding in agreement with his brother before their father had the chance to say anything.
"That is his choice," Ulquiorra reminded modestly, looking over to Ichigo once more only to have a look of surprise come over his face. The four little ones had claimed a spot either on or leaning against the Beta, and they took the opportunity to have a warm soft mattress to sleep on for once, it helped that they could soak up all the power they wanted from Ichigo while they slept. He was holding onto them carefully, laying back slowly so he would be comfortable and wouldn't wake them up. He had his arms surrounding the two boys burrowing into his side, with his hands resting over the boy and the girl cuddling up to his chest and stomach respectively. He looked so content surrounded by young that it was easy to tell he was a natural at raising litters.
Ulquiorra heard a rumbling chuckle come from both his boys, but Restaban spoke first, "Something tells me it won't be hard to get him to say yes."
"I have watched him for a while now, if you ask, he will not turn you down," Kugiuroko assured confidently. "Didn't you hear what he said to Restaban? He wouldn't have minded if his litter was yours, makes me think he has plans for you in the future."
Andalroux spoke up then, addressing Ulquiorra, "I know what has been offered to us. If we allow ourselves to become like you, will they have a safe place to grow?" His litter was strong and healthy, he would do anything to keep them that way.
"Even if you didn't we can find room for you," Ulquiorra assured. "We are reaching our limit of Alphas though so we may need to expand to the outlying towers, but if you want to bring them to Las Noches you would be welcome."
A sharp looked passed between three full grown Hollows, Kugiuroko taking the lead, "Restaban and I would like to make the switch-over to Arrancar as soon as possible. Andalroux wants to wait until the children are big enough to decide what they want and he will go along with their choice."
"We can arrange for that," Ulquiorra approved. "We are not quite ready to attempt removing any of your masks yet but we are getting close. I meant what I said, if you want to bring them to Las Noches you would be welcome Arrancar or not."
"Bring them first, I will stay here so you will only have three Alpha's on the compound, we can come up with something more permanent in time if I come later." Kugiuroko encouraged, giving his brother and his mate the opportunity they needed to get the children to safety.
It was Ichigo that answered, "We can bring them back now. The Shinigami and Visoreds have returned to the Soul Society, I know a few want to move back and forth but we will have time to get the six of you settled in before that happens." He was speaking quietly to not wake the young curled up against him, but he wanted the invitation to come from a Beta too.
They waited until the children woke up before attempting to move them, each adult securing a child, Ichigo holding onto the shy little boy who hadn't stopped clinging to him since the first time he got pulled into the Beta's lap.
The family was welcomed warmly and one of the adjacent towers was swiftly prepared for them, wanting to keep them far enough apart Kugiuroko could join them too. They worked out a schedule that the Betas and children could come and go as they please, but at least one Alpha had to be in the new tower or out hunting at all times. It was a rough few days getting used to it, but the strong family ties helped smooth it over until they were comfortable with the restrictions.
At Ichigo's request another tower was set up for the Visoreds, who would all be under the same rules as Ulquiorra's family. They were being as cautious as possible with the Alpha rules, but it wasn't too big of a deal when Kensei had retaken his spot as Captain leaving Love as the only Alpha Visored that could move freely.
A few months after the battle Szayel left them to join the brute of a Captain that had rapidly become his unconventional Alpha. No not a Hollow, but as close to one as a Shinigami could get without being a Visored. He knew another litter even in the relatively far future would probably kill him, or the young, so he was more willing to take a mate that couldn't give him one. Nnoisla would be fine in Soul Society as Szayel revealed their children could feed on Shinigami power just as easily as Hollow.
The children, now surrounded by a growing percentage of powerful Hollows, grew swiftly. Ichigo and Starrk were both proud and a little sad at watching them grow from toddler, to child, to teen. Around their 7th year, when they appeared about 15 or so, their power grew strong enough for them to find their Zanpakuto. All of them had one. Ichigo's children trained and trained until they figured out they were capable of taking on the three forms of their Beta. For the first time since his birth, Ichigo got to see Amon's face without the mask. His little boy looked just like him, only with Isshin's black hair. Tsume and Hikari were definitely a blend of their parent's features.
Hibiki and Ran could seal their wings away with their Zanpakutos. They had learned to fly when they had the appearance of a ten year old. They sparred often with anyone available, their skills delicate but deadly. They almost looked like they were dancing as they fought.
As for Ulquiorra's two older boys, they did eventually get their masks off, revealing two handsome young men, while Andalroux took longer. The children and him all took theirs off at the same time, Andalroux was mostly androgynous, a lot like Szayel. The kids were a mixture of their parents and grandfather, without knowing what Restaban's carrier had looked like Ichigo couldn't place anything that may have come from them.
It was a happy time, but another sad time came when the children decided they should spread out more, making their own places out in the desert. Close enough to visit often, but giving them their own space.
It was ten years after the war that a simple spar between Ichigo and Ulquiorra turned into something more. With the children grown and away, he was once again able to take a mate. He's barely realized what their spar had turned into until he was tackled into the sand by an enthusiastic Alpha. He bared his throat and let himself be taken over, this time knowing full well what he was agreeing too.
XXX A few weeks laterXXX
"I need someone to cover for me when it's my turn to hunt," Ichigo requested as he curled up into a comfortable ball on the soft cushion in the meeting hall with Ulquiorra beside him, Restaban was there, Tia and Starrk, plus Nel.
"Is something wrong?" Tia asked in concern.
"I'm starting to get sick whenever I use Flash Step." Ichigo confessed. He was trying to hide his smile at seeing the raven haired Alpha next to him with an expression of stunned realization. "And it's all Ulquiorra's fault." He added on letting the smile break free.
He was almost knocked down by the Alpha in Ulquiorra's rush to grab onto him kissing him deeply and holding him tight while running a slim hand in circles over his stomach, "It worked?" Ulquiorra couldn't help but ask.
"Yes it did. I'm going to have another litter, and it's yours." Ichigo confirmed soaking up the attention as strong arms held him with his Alpha covering his neck face and lips with kisses.
They planned a trip into Soul Society wanting to check up on their missing family members and spread the good news. Ichigo waited long enough the baby had started moving before heading over, he was only carrying one this time, he wanted to share the happy moment.
His first stop was the Eleventh, leaving Ulquiorra to track down Grimmjow and tell him separately. There was the steady sound of metal on metal, a familiar sound in this Squad, so Ichigo figured that would be the most likely place to find his target and he turned out to be right.
Szayel was waiting on the edge of the training arena watching the match attentively, and Ichigo swiftly realized it was Kenpachi fighting Nnoisla. The two of them clashed over and over, matching bloodthirsty grins on their faces. Nnoisla kept his wings tucked securely against his back, he could use them to turn his poison into a vapor that could either kill or incapacitate his opponent, but didn't want to use them for this.
Instead he preferred to fight like Kenpachi, just with swords and his body, which was deadly enough as he proved when he leaped towards the Captain with his elbow out, anticipating the dodge and driving the armored point of his knee into Kenpachi's stomach. The large captain immediately stopped moving, completely frozen in place. Nnoisla put the edge of his sword next to his neck grinning widely in victory. "My win!" He claimed backing away, the paralytic slowly leaving Kenpachi's system, he hadn't used much but it was very potent.
"This time, but next spar you won't be so lucky!" The chastisement might have drawn more heat if it wasn't overcome by pride.
Now that the fight was over Ichigo drew their attention to himself, not prepared to have his overgrown son throw himself at him eagerly. They had hidden nothing from Nnoisla and he fully acknowledged Ichigo as one of his fathers. "Careful, you don't want to hurt your little brother or sister," Ichigo warned, but couldn't stop his smile at the enthusiastically happy grin on Nnoisla's face.
Nnoisla drew back out of the hug, looking down to see the baby bump Ichigo now sported, gaining Szayel and Kenpachi's attention as he put his hand over the baby feeling his soon to come sibling squirm against his hand. "This is so cool!" He proclaimed loudly, unable to control his excitement. He had very strong emotions whether or not he was happy or angry.
"Congratulations Ichigo," Szayel said warmly with a hand on his shoulder, "Let me guess, Ulquiorra?"
"Yep, it's his baby." Ichigo admitted easily.
"Another one, huh?" Kenpachi commented, "Be careful or you will be overrun with kids."
He couldn't help but respond ruefully, "That doesn't sound too bad to me actually. I like having them."
"Not real surprised at that one," Szayel admitted, having to shake his head as his son was practically cooing over the little one inside Ichigo. Strong fighter or not, Nnoisla was proving he really was a Beta no matter how much he didn't like admitting it in this squad full of warriors. He was still young enough to get confused between being a Beta and being Submissive, but he would learn in time.
They were interrupted by a rapidly running blue haired bundle of once again overexcited hybrid. Tsume stopped so quickly he found himself skidding across the floor for a moment until he gained his balance back. The children didn't always stay in Heuco Mundo, they were safe travelling back and forth, and he had been shadowing Renji until he heard Ichigo was here, "Beta! Beta! I missed you!" He was about to throw his arms around him when he realized what his half-brother was doing. "You're having another baby?!" He asked happily and Ichigo had to wonder just where his children got all of their energy from, he was blaming Grimmjow and Nnoitra for that.
A second hand went over his abdomen, the two older boys getting into a small scuffle over it until Ichigo pulled their hands to separate spots to feel the baby kick. It was a very active child, often kicking in more than one place at once as it stretched and tested out its steadily forming legs and arms.
Ikkaku and Yumichika found them like that, and both broke out into laughter at the sight of Ichigo getting more or less glomped by two of his children. "Well look at that, I guess we're going to have another little Ichigo running around," Ikkaku noted, picking on his long-time friend.
Ichigo looked over to him and smirked, "Not necessarily, we might get a little Ulquiorra instead."
"I'm guessing he's off gloating… I mean telling Grimmjow?" Yumichika realized, the other Alpha had come here to do some training with the young Shinigami who wanted to learn more about them, leaving Ulquiorra and Ichigo alone long enough for the Beta to be sure which was the father to the baby inside him.
"Yeah he is, but it won't be too bad. Grimmjow already knew I was probably going to mate Ulquiorra at some point, he just didn't know when. Also a little birdy told me that perhaps he will have his own litter to look after soon, at least if Starrk has anything to do with it." Ichigo informed, happy for both his current and former Alpha.
It took several hours for him to get to meet anyone else in the Seireitei they had taken up so much of his time, he wanted to see a few of the Captains he had missed. He was looking for Ukitake, but when he found him Kyouraku was with him.
He endured another round of gushing over the baby, and the pale Captain's gentle hand feeling it kick, before he was able to discuss anything else. "How have things been going here lately? I keep out of it for the most part." Ichigo admitted.
"They have been going well," Shunsui assured. "Things finally seem to be settling down. We have rehabilitated a lot of those who were on Yamamoto's side in the war, and the new students in the academy are taking to the Arrancar and Visoreds well. They are open to learning from them at least, and that is something the older ones are still having a bit of trouble with unless they were actually involved in the fighting and saw what they did for us. The rules are changing, slowly, but it really is getting better."
"I'm glad, I did what I did to make things better for everyone not worse. I know it was rocky for a while I just want to know it was worth it," Ichigo admitted.
"It was very much worth it," Jyuushiro insisted. "You did what was right, something that has needed to be done for a long time but until you and those three babies challenged things we didn't have a rallying point. Hard to get a real offense going when you are all fighting for something different."
Ichigo couldn't help but agree as he felt his baby moving around, this little one might have never came to be had Yamamoto been allowed to run free. He could have hunted them down and taken them out while they weren't expecting it if they hadn't taken the fight to him first.
It was good to hear that everything he had done was good for more than just him. He was a protector and while his family came first he wanted to make sure his goals never put people in the line of fire that didn't deserve to be there. That is why he gave people the freedom to fight or stay out of it, he only wanted the people who truly wanted to either support or oppose him putting themselves at risk. Even then he didn't want deaths on his hands. He was happy that so many people surrendered. For every one that allowed themselves to be taken in through that method there was one less person heading for reincarnation.
It was in a comfortable and serene atmosphere that he went through the last few months of his pregnancy. This time so much different from the last, he knew he was safe and loved, and the baby would be welcomed with open arms. The lack of fear doing a world of good for him, keeping him excited and upbeat right up until the end.
He was attempting to get some sleep when contractions started, rousing him and making him go to his Alpha in the middle of the night. With it being still so early in the process he shed his clothing and climbed into Ulquiorra's bed laying with him, letting the Alpha soothe the pain with his touch and comforting presence.
"I can't wait to see our baby," Ulquiorra whispered softly in the darkness when pain grew worse and he heard a low moan coming from Ichigo, he drew his laboring mate closer to him in a gentle embrace.
Slow deep breathing revealed the presence of a contraction, but he was soon able to speak, "Won't be too much longer." He remembered what Szayel had told him about second litters being faster, and now he knew the more experienced Beta was more than right. This little one was nothing if not enthusiastic about coming, already settling low inside him.
"I hope so, for your sake," Ulquiorra rubbed soothing circles into the sore flesh over their baby for a few moments. "Do you want me to get you anything, or bring anyone else to you?" He offered, before feeling the muscles tense under his hand again.
A shake of his head was all Ichigo could muster until the next contraction relaxed, he didn't want to fight the pain to speak, letting labor help the baby come like it wanted without interference. When it was over, "No, we're fine, just us." He had his first litter with only him and his Alpha, he wanted this one to come the same way. It was definitely on its way too, there wasn't much more than a minute between pains anymore.
"Need down, baby's really close," He warned between heavy breaths. They had to hurry, the baby was dropping quickly and he wanted to be in a better position. Ulquiorra understood the urgency and aided him in getting down onto the floor. His knees were as wide apart as they would go, Ulquiorra helping him get more comfortable by sliding a blanket between his knees and the floor cushioning them, as he leaned forward onto his arms using the height of the bed to allow gravity to help him have the baby. It was much like when he had Tsume, but instead of holding his upper body low, he was raising it up.
He knew in the next few pains he was pinned in place, they had barely managed to get him settled before it would have been too late. A familiar urge to bear down started rising, and with one push his water broke. "Coming now," He warned as the pain ended and the heavy mass of the baby's head was resting just on the edge of emerging.
"Good, I can't wait," Ulquiorra said again, keeping up the massage with one hand while using the other to slide downwards ready to help guide their baby free. Ichigo pushed one more and something round and solid brushed against his fingertips making him smile, "I can feel the baby, you're doing so well." He complimented, kissing his Beta's neck.
A shaky smile came to his face, this was not the first time he had done this, at least for this baby he had a clue what he was doing and the comforting presence of his Alpha was giving him an anchor in the pain. Another push and he dropped his hand down next to Ulquiorra's wanting to feel the baby come for himself. Feeling its warm wet head steadily crowning helped distract him from the stinging pain at least a little bit.
"That's it, keep going like that, you'll have our baby very soon." Ulquiorra encouraged, once again speaking softly, he wanted the baby to arrive into a calm environment, and it seemed to be helping Ichigo through it too.
Deep panting groans accompanied the head's decent, Ichigo pushing hard, not having to hold back to protect other children. The baby was responding well, and half of it was weighing heavily in their hands by the time he was gasping in much needed air in the break between pains, brought into pushing again all too soon. A muffled shout was pulled from him as he turned and pressed his face against the Alpha right next to him, the baby's head coming free in a rush of pressure and pain.
"Almost done," Ulquiorra soothed, nuzzling into his Beta's messy orange hair as Ichigo burrowed into his white clothed shoulder.
Getting the shoulders out had another low cry coming from him, but his baby's slippery little body emerged into the world rapidly after that. The loud wailing announcing its birth had him carefully backing up a bit so Ulquiorra could help him get a better hold on the baby allowing him to pull the newborn up against his chest, only turning over when he had the little body clutched securely against him.
A quick check as the baby's hearty cries started to lessen told him what he had, "It's a boy," He announced happily, his Alpha helping him calm the baby with soothing words and touches.
Their little one had black hair, and white armored wings, but had the tail of Ichigo's Hollow like his sister, "Uh Ulquiorra, I think we know now what happens when you mix a lizard with a bat. We made a dragon." He realized with a slowly growing grin looking over the baby that most definitely looked very dragonlike. He pulled the baby up to kiss his head, soft laughter making black ringed eyes open sleepily and another much quieter cry at being woken up that was quickly soothed away.
"I love you little boy," Ichigo said quietly, turning his head up to kiss his Alpha while holding their newborn son safe in his arms.