Chapter 1: God Knows
A figure can be seen running on the endless desert sand. Wrapped in a ragged blanket and clutching something close to his chest. On closer view, one can see the figure covered in bruises, eyes full of fear and blood covering almost all of his body. Suddenly his hand shoots out and he barely manages to gasp out the words ''by the power of the earth, the sky and the unknown, the place I wish for be shown!''. Suddenly he disappears into thin air leaving behind nothing but his trail of fresh blood.
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Elsewhere
From under the rubble a hand shoots out and a groaning can be heard. Then, a figure is seen standing up. The hatred in his amber eyes was as fiery as his blazing red hair.
''I'll get you, you bastard. There's no place where you can hide.''
He was immediately attended to by a brown eyed and pony-tailed man.
''My lord, I don't understand why you will not let me hunt that filth, I can take him down in a second.''
His eyes went wide and he let out a choking sound when his neck was seized roughly. He was held on a chokehold a few centimeters of the ground.
''You will mind your tongue when you address him, Kheelan [1]. You might be my most honorable and steadfast advisor but I will not stand by and watch idly as you slight the object of my fondness.''
Kheelan tried to pry of the other's finger but to no avail so he managed to rasp out an answer.
''Yes, your highness King Oberon, your wish is my command.''
He was released onto ground immediately and left to inhale precious air. Oberon frowned and stared at the ground.
''Kheelan, I want you to track him down for me. It won't be that hard for you''
Kheelan noted the way his king was staring and realized that he was frowning at a trail of blood. He thought with complete disgust:
''Guess the slut didn't get off so easily after all''
''Anything for you my lord, I'll get to it right away''
As he shouted off directions to his minions he couldn't help but think:
''What is it that the king sees in him? Grimmjow Jaegerjaques…even your name tastes foul on my tongue. To think that simply addressing you in a lowly manner angers him such, you who holds no mantle to him. You who slept in the arms of another even after the king conveyed his wish to obtain you. Che, I will hunt you down and if it needs to, I will use my power to subject you into the arms of my king. You will be his, body, mind and soul. I shall see who will stop me then you foul whore''
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Seiretei, Division 13, Captain Ukitake's chamber.
The captain of the 13th squad was not in the best of moods. His illness had attacked him yesterday evening and his 3rd seats had annoyed him with their never ending bickering. The mountain high paperwork was not really helping either. So everyone who had the slightest of common sense steered clear of him. ''Hell hath no fury then those of a silent man'', everyone thought.
Suddenly, the silver haired captain heard a dull thud in front of his closed doors and some mumblings. Huffing in annoyance he stalked towards the door in a manner that opposed his usual gracefulness. The voice sounded awfully familiar.
''I swear if this is anything short of the end of the shinigami realm, then the one outside will get a whole new definition of fear''
Instead to his surprise what greeted him was the sight of a bundle of tattered blanket. Another thing that piqued his interest was what the bundle was saying or rather what whoever in the bundle was saying. Frantically.
''Ichigo, help me. Don't let him get me. Please save me. He'll hurt us if you let him take me. Don't let him take us''
Just as sudden as the figure in front of his door came the hysterical mumbling stopped. With a jolt, Ukitake realized that one: the figure had passed out and two : he was bleeding on the floor. The sickly captain gently pushed of the blanket away from the figures face while kneeling down. Shocked by the sight that greeted his eyes, he gracelessly fell flat on his bottom. All of his previous annoyance was knocked out of him along with his breath.
But this was Ukitake we are talking about and enemy or not when someone is hurt and needs help, he was not one to refuse it. He was reluctant to call anyone for this favor so he picked up the figure himself and using the Lightning step, he deposited both of them in front of the infirmary. He headed to a ward and gently placed the eerily still figure on it. Immediately the captain of the 4th squad, Unohana was by his side.
'' Ukitake-taichou, are you ok?''
She was thinking that he was experiencing another attack.
'' I'm fine. Now I don't want you to panic and cause a scene. Just treat him personally and get everyone else out of here at once. I'll go get captain-commander Yama-san immediately''
Unohana seemed to hesitate and looked like she wanted to say something.
''Retsu, trust me. You shouldn't worry about healing him''
Whether it was the use of her first name or the confidence in Ukitake's voice, she didn't know but she suddenly started calling out orders.
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Sometime later
As Unohana finished healing her new patient she could already feel the intense spiritual pressures of everyone outside; Yama-san and his lieutenant, Byakuya and Abarai, Ukitake and Rukia, Toshiro and Rangiku and the humans Chad, Orihime, Uryu and Ichigo.
Ichigo's was by far the most less restrained with his pressure. Every single strand dripped with venom and impatience. It was merely Ukitake's words and Yama-san's order that was keeping everyone at bay. Unohana sighed, she expected as much. Her patient, Grimmjow wasn't exactly everyone's favorite but now that she found out the true extent of his physical condition, she felt a change of heart herself.
She cleaned of her hand and walked towards the not-so small group lounging in a far corner. Since the infirmary was now empty, there was a lot of space available. She was glad Ukitake made sure everyone was far away from Grimmjow. He was a smart one that Ukitake.
Ichigo talked first.
''Tell me you healed him completely so I can beat him to a pulp''
She gave him a stern glare and answered.
''You can't do that Kurosaki-kun''
Yama-san voiced out next.
''That's right, it will be up for soul society to take action though I can assure you he won't get anything lighter that the death sentence''
Unohana was a little amused but rather hesitant as well to tell the truth.
'' You…you can't Yamamoto-sensei''
His next words were anything but questioning. It was more like a how-dare-you-answer-back-to-me?
''Excuse me, Unohana-taichou?''
Everyone seemed shocked by her statement as well. Unohana sighed and thought 'if you guys think that's shocking, wait till you hear this'
'' It's the truth; you can't sentence him to 'anything'. It's because…ermm… because well it's pretty much in our law to do so.''
Ichigo: '' What exactly is in your law?''
Unohana gave the much dreaded answer.
"You can't punish anyone who's expecting''
A look of genuine puzzlement was displayed on everyone's face which was generally comical. They practically looked the part of slow-witted people. Unohana rephrased her words.
"You. Cant. Punish. Him. Because. He. Is. Pregnant''
She paid careful attention to each of their expression and it was nothing short of her expectations. Shock, skeptical, dread and curiosity. When you're someone as laid back as Unohana you pretty much expect their expressions a tickle to her funny bone.
Finally everyone found their voice.
Uryu: ''That's just…wrong. It's impossible!''
Yama-san: ''It's not funny taichou''
Ichigo: ''I can't believe it''
Byakuya: '' It's certainly preposterous''
Renji: '' Yeah, taichou. That's just ridiculous''
Rukia: ''I agree''
Ukitake: ''well, if Unohana says so then it's true. She wouldn't joke about that so it most certainly is not a lie. Though my curiosity is piqued I must say''
Unohana was ticked off by their comments. Yes, it was hard to believe but how could they even think she lied? Ukitake was their savior, if he had not said so she would have gladly kicked them out of her haven.
'' I thank you for your vote of confidence Ukitake. I was genuinely surprised as well. I found out as I was healing him that his abdomen was giving of a weird aura. As though an energy barrier. I tried to intensify the pressure but it completely deflected it. So I tried using neutral spiritual pressure and that's when I realized that he was carrying a child. I concluded that he made a spiritual barrier for the baby using a simple kido spell. Very smart really or the child could have gotten hurt by all the banging around he's been up to.''
Ukitake suddenly made a noise.
'' Of course! When I found him, he was mumbling about 'us' hurt if captured. Though at that time since he said Ichigo's name, I presumed that he was talking about them. I realize now he was talking about him and the baby. I don't know what is more surprising, the fact that he is carrying or the fact that he seems to care for it.''
Orihime: ''Baby taichou not it''.
Ukitake: ''Oh, right. I'm terribly sorry. That was disrespectful of me''
Byakuya: ''I'm wondering why he was looking for Kurosaki in the first place.''
Uryu: ''Or why he would come to Soul Society at all. I mean he surely knows that he's our enemy and that he would get attacked.''
Unohana: '' Perhaps he was hoping for a sliver of compassion from us? Perhaps he was in danger and he was seeking refuge somewhere thus coming to us? God knows he deserves a chance at least for his condition, don't you think?
Yama: '' If that is indeed true have you thought Unohana-taichou, that since he is a formidable opponent himself then the one after him must be more powerful than him. Thus, by coming here he is endangering us as well?
Unohana was starting to get exasperated. She was merely stating that Grimmjow needed help not hate.
''Well, he must have a good reason for being here so instead of bickering amongst ourselves perhaps we can simply ask him?''
Her statement was met with no backlash. Taking the silence as an indication of agreement she voiced out again.
'' Well then gentlemen, perhaps we should let the poor thing have his rest? Not to mention that I need a breather as well, so if you could kindly leave my infirmary?''
It wasn't a question instead it was said with a sharp glare and a sweet smile. It was something that only Unohana had perfected with time.
''Sometimes these men needs to be shown who's the boss around here or they'll be all over you in a second''
Everyone left the infirmary though Ichigo could be heard grumbling about Grimmjow needing a guard.
'' I assure you Kurasaki-kun; he will be closely monitored to prevent any mishap. I hope you do not doubt my squad's ability? ''
Sheepishly Ichigo shaked his head symbolizing denial of the atrocious accusation that Unohana voiced. Then he promptly ran away with Orihime and Renji on his tail. The other remaining people were careful to keep their face stoic and made a mental note to never say anything to intimidate the healer's patience.
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A/n: [1]-Irish/Celtic for warrior
I'm thanking anyone who takes the time to read this. My love goes to you. I was actually intending to keep dear Grimmi's identity a secret until Ichi sees him and throws a fit but this seemed to flow in a better way. I've got a decent idea on where this will be heading and I'm working hard on keeping it on track .I absolutely love the evil streak in Ukitake and Unohana. I think that Ukitake always has this short temper when a person messes with him and Unohana loves her job too much to have anyone condemn it!
I know that this may seem a little slow paced but bear with me as I hope to speed things up in the chapters ahead. I hope you guys will like Kheelan and Oberon, my mysterious characters. I'll give you a clue; the identity of Oberon is in his name. Also please bear with my ever-changing way of dialogue writing and name calling. Just so you know, the chapter names will be song names cause I Like to listen to songs as I write and this chapter's name; 'God Knows' is by Aya Hirano (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). The chapter name will also make an appearance in the dialogue so you can say it's like a teaser for you readers! Look for it!
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