A.N.: Normally I don't do this anymore but this is directly to the reviewer named Khy Dragon, who keeps filling my works with requests to continue the stories right this instant: Khy Dragon, stop your ceaseless prattling. I lost my father not four months ago and to say that this hasn't been a happy Christmas and New Year's would be a massive understatement. I have not been feeling well since my father's passing and I haven't felt like writing all that much this month. I do NOT appreciate being pestered day after day with "Continue this story" or "Well? We're waiting".

I apologize but this hasn't been a very merry Christmas for me and this wasn't helping. Now then, on with the story…

Chapter Twenty-Four

Urahara Shop

"Ah! Mr. Kurosaki! Ms. Halibel!" Kisuke Urahara greeted as the pair entered the shop. "You're back sooner than I expected."

"Hey, Kisuke," Ichigo said as he walked into the shop, Halibel's hand in his. "Mind if we talk to you?"

Nodding, Kisuke gave a glance to Tessai. "Watch the shop," he ordered his friend before gesturing for the couple to join him. He guided the two to a spare room and closed the door behind them. "What's up, Ichigo?"

Halibel spoke first. "Things have progressed even worse than we thought."

Narrowing his eyes, Kisuke looked at the pair and knew that something horrible happened in the short time Ichigo had left the shop. "What happened?" As quickly as he could, Ichigo told Kisuke of Aizen's visit. Kisuke listened and nodded once he finished speaking. "I see. It looks like the walls are closing in on you two."

"I'm going to help Ichigo tame his Hollow. May we use your space beneath your shop?" Halibel requested.

Kisuke was silent, a stern look on his face as he looked over at the pregnant woman, his eyes looking down to her belly. "Are you sure that's wise? Your condition…"

"I will bear it, Kisuke," the Arrancar said with resolution in her voice. "If Ichigo is to have a chance, he needs this."

"Halibel, you could go into labor at any second," Kisuke warned. "And with the captains here, if you go into labor and they see your child…" He let the implication linger.

"If they want to hurt my baby," Halibel's hand balled into a fist, "They'll have to go through me. I am an Espada for a reason."

The shopkeeper looked at the woman before nodding. He knew that she wasn't bluffing and suddenly felt a little admiration for the woman. "No wonder Ichigo loves you," he muttered. "Alright then. I'll help you. But fair warning: the captains are down below too. They'll no doubt want to watch this to keep an eye on you two. I'll go let them know so they don't try to stab you on sight." Kisuke turned to leave before he remembered something. "Oh, and Ichigo? You might want to call Mr. Sarutora."

"Chad? Why?"

"He asked me earlier to help train him. I figured that you two could train once you've mastered your Hollowfication."

"That will not be necessary," Halibel interjected. "Once Ichigo has control over his Inner Hollow, his friend won't be able to keep up." Ichigo looked at his lover, hurt for her callous attitude towards his dear friend. "But," she quickly said, glancing over at Ichigo, "if he needs sparring partners, my Fraccións will be more than suitable."

Ichigo thought about it and decided that maybe Chad being trained by the Tres Bestia could be a good thing. "Okay. I'll go call Chad."

"Make sure you call Orihime and tell her to bring my girls."

Her lover and Kisuke left the room, leaving Halibel alone. Turning towards the window, Halibel looked up at the sky before looking down at the baby in her belly. She put a hand over her stomach and could feel her child within. "Whatever happens, I'll protect you."

"That remains to be seen."

Turning around, Halibel saw a young boy enter the room, his appearance just as bizarre as hers. Despite his small stature he still wore a captain's coat, his white hair a sharp contrast to his bright green eyes. "Captain Hitsugaya," Halibel deduced, scowling.

"You know who I am?" the captain asked as he sat down in front of her.

"Aizen informed us of the captains who rule the Soul Society," Halibel explained. "Why are you here, Captain?"

Toshiro cocked his head to the side, as if he wasn't quite sure of that himself. After a few seconds he finally responded, "I wanted to see the Hollow that Ichigo was so determined to protect." He remembered the meeting the captains had with Ichigo and how the boy struggled to answer his question about whether or not he'd protect his friends or Halibel and their child. The captain couldn't deny that he was curious about the Arrancar. Never in the Soul Society's history had anyone done something as insane as fall in love with a Hollow and he wanted to try to deduce what it was that made Ichigo so protective of the woman.

Soul Reaper and Hollow locked eyes, both trying to get the measure of the other. Halibel knew of this child. Aizen had told her that he was considered a prodigy among the Soul Reapers in the same light as Gin Ichimaru. And yet, despite the boy's youthfulness, there was a certain wisdom in his eyes that told her that the boy earned the coat he wore. Sitting back in her chair, Halibel tilted her head back. "You believe that I am working under Aizen's orders in order to mentally trap Ichigo into siding with him, correct?"

"That is the assumption most of the captains have. But Ichigo seems determined to defend you. I wanted to understand why."

"He loves me, Captain," she said plainly. "And I love him." When Toshiro blinked in surprise, she raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"It's just…I've never…"

"Heard a Hollow speak of love before?"

Toshiro nodded. "It is a Human emotion. Hollows by their very nature are incapable of it," he said, pointing out the contradiction.

"Yes. I am a Hollow. But I have never felt like most of my brethren, even when I was a Vasto Lorde," she confessed, recalling her life when she was a pure Hollow. "And I believe that becoming an Arrancar, becoming more like a Soul Reaper, helped me become able to feel Human emotions again. And even if you don't believe it, what of it?" She glared at the boy with stern eyes. "Ichigo is the only person who matters to me. Well, for the moment." She patted her pregnant belly. "Soon there will be two people who matter most."

Sitting in his chair, Toshiro felt a little awkward in the presence of this woman, this Hollow. Her demeanor, her spiritual pressure and her killer presence she commanded. Everything about her screamed that she was a Hollow inside and out. And yet, like Ichigo had said, she seemed surprisingly human. He began to understand what Ichigo meant when he said that she was more Human than most.

However, Toshiro still knew he had to be on guard. Even pregnant and inside a Gigai, Toshiro knew that this was a dangerous woman. Had she not chosen to stay with Ichigo and instead fought the Soul Society, he'd no doubt that the two would most certainly cross blades. "I see." He stood up and politely bowed. "I'll take my leave then. I'll need to inform the other captains about what you and Ichigo intend to do."

"You do that."

Toshiro left the room, leaving Halibel alone. Sighing, the Arrancar stood up and pushed herself out of her Gigai, having the natural ability to knock souls out of physical bodies. Back in her masked, white-clad form, Halibel saw her reflection in the mirror on the wall and groaned at her image. "It's going to take weeks for me to get rid of this baby weight…" Even more embarrassing, her boobs had gotten bigger now that they were full of breast milk, her white top unable to keep the upper half of her breasts contained. "Ichigo said his Quincy friend had tailoring skills. Perhaps I should ask him for something more comfortable."

The door opened up behind her again. Turning around, Halibel saw Ichigo and Chad enter the room. Not a minute later did Orihime come in with Halibel's subordinates. "I trust my compatriots have been on their best behavior?" she inquired.

Orihime smiled and nodded. "They have! I let them pass the time with my karaoke game." She left out the part where Kisuke soundproofed her apartment after Apacci and Mila Rose got into an argument over said game.

Chad could tell that a lot had happened to the two and turned to his best friend. "Ichigo, what happened? You look pale."

"Well…"

Ichigo quietly relayed the same story he told Urahara, everyone gasping at the part where Aizen got involved. "That's the score of it," Halibel said once her student finished. "The facts are clear, we need to get stronger. All of us. I will teach Ichigo how to master his Inner Hollow. Girls," she turned to the Tres Bestia and gestured to Ichigo's friends. "I want to train Orihime and Chad."

"Um…actually, Halibel," Orihime interjected. "Rukia asked me to train with her."

"Rukia?" both Chad and Ichigo questioned.

"Yeah, she said that she got her brother's permission to train with me in the Soul Society."

"Very well then," Halibel nodded. Thinking about it, she figured that Orihime would do better being trained by a friend rather than three Hollows she just met. "What about your Quincy friend?" she asked Ichigo. "You said that he lost his powers in the Soul Society. Might your friend with the hat find a way to restore them like he did yours?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know. I'd ask but I don't think Uryu would like the idea having a Soul Reaper help him."

She shook her head. "That's too bad. His pride was what undid him in the Soul Society. One would think he'd learn," she said. Regardless, she turned back to the Tres Bestia. "Alright then, you'll be training just Chad then."

To Ichigo and Orihime's amusement, they saw Chad blush from the look the three beautiful women were giving him. Mila Rose grinned from ear to ear. "The three of us with this hunk? This should be fun…"

"Don't break him," Halibel told them with a stern look.

Sung-Sun nodded loyally. "Don't worry, Master Halibel. I'll make sure these two don't hurt him…much."

Both Apacci and Mila Rose pulled Chad out of the room, Sung-Sun chuckling behind them. Orihime quickly left as well to gather her things before she left with Rukia. Nodding at each other, Ichigo and Halibel left the room and headed for Kisuke's underground chamber.

At this point, it didn't really surprise Ichigo to find the four captains whom the Head-Captain left behind waiting for them. Byakuya scowled as he took in the sight of the pregnant Halibel. "I assume this is the Arrancar?"

"I am Tier Halibel, the number three Espada," Halibel introduced herself.

"Byakuya," Ichigo quickly said, putting himself between Halibel and the captains. "Why are you guys here?" He blinked when he noticed another pair who was among them. "Kenpachi? What are you doing here?" He remembered him leaving with the others.

The spiky-haired man grinned. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this." His sword, already drawn, dragged along the ground. "There's no way I can resist fighting you again. And if you get even stronger then all the better."

Sitting on a rock, Soi-Fon spoke, "Have you forgotten, boy? Our orders were to keep an eye on you and this…thing," she spat, not wanting to acknowledge the Arrancar.

The quiet Captain Unohana walked up to the teen. "Kisuke Urahara informed us of what you and Halibel intend on doing. You're attempting to control your Hollow, correct?"

"That is what we intend," Halibel said, feeling wary of the woman. She seemed pleasant and kind but she knew that Aizen seemed pleasant and kind at one point and looked where it got the Soul Reapers. She turned to Byakuya. "You witnessed the power of Ichigo's Inner Hollow, have you not? Certainly you must see the necessity of Ichigo learning to control it if he's to have a chance of helping you fight Aizen's army."

Byakuya recalled his fight with Ichigo on the Sokyoku Hill and narrowed his eyes. "Yes, his inner demon is powerful. However, even though Ichigo was able to quell it at the time, I could tell that its power was volatile. If he Hollowfies and loses control he could run rampant."

"He will not lose control," Halibel adamantly defended. "I won't let him run rampant."

Soi-Fon raised an eyebrow. "You? What can you do? You've got a bun in the oven so what's the poi-"

Before anyone could blink, Halibel disappeared. Soi-Fon found herself with the Espada in front of her, Halibel's sword drawn and pointed right at her. The woman tensed in shock, her hand instinctively reaching for Suzumebachi as her eyes widened with alarm. Halibel glared down at the woman. "Don't think that because I'm with child that I'm defenseless," she threatened. Lowering her sword, she sheathed it and walked back over to Ichigo. "Back to the matter at hand," she told Byakuya, "I intend on teaching Ichigo to control his Hollow powers."

"Then the four of us will watch over the two of you," Byakuya said. He looked over at Ichigo. "Ichigo, you and your friend are free to do as you please. But a warning, if it appears that things are going to get out of hand, we will step in."

"Step in?"

"Yes. If you cannot control your Inner Hollow and become a certain threat, we will put you down. Both of you."

To be continued