Nanao had not been surprised at the amount of paperwork Shunsui dropped off to the quarters she was sharing with Starrk in Soul Society. The former Espada didn't care where they were, just so long as they were together. Karin, now Queen of Las Noches, had an army of volunteers to care for her cubs. Nanao didn't have as many assistants, but she also didn't need to worry about her babysitters potentially mistaking her pups as a light snack.

Shunsui was silently fuming about her mating with the former Espada, but there was nothing he could really do about it and he was thankful for the added strength in defending the realm from Quincy. It was amazing how quickly the cowards fled when Starrk arrived at a battle. Starrk's reiatsu alone was poisonous to the Quincy and often he only had to show up on the field to kill most of the cannon fodder. The Quincy would break upon his reiatsu like waves against a cliff.

With little to do and unable to venture far from the eight pups under her care, the paperwork was a welcomed distraction. Starrk, for his part, seemed content to nap in the nearest sunbeam with their pups unless called for to point his guns at invaders. With access to reliable resources, they even managed to find formula that the pups could drink from bottles, making feeding less painful, and something Starrk could participate in.

"Nanao-san may I enter?" Jushiro called softly from the doorway so as not to disturb any sleeping pups.

"Of course," she called back with a soft smile.

Jushiro was a godsent. He got along well with Starrk and adored the pups, more than willing to take bottles and pups to help feed, and even watch them to give both her and Starrk a break when needed. Jushiro was, perhaps, the only person in Soul Society that Starrk trusted, other than herself of course. Something to do with Lilynette from what little he had shared with her.

"Don't tell me he hasn't let you leave your quarters still?" Jushiro asked as he sat down beside her, eyes drifting to the basket of slumbering pups.

"Not directly," she sighed, wishing they were talking about Starrk. "Some of this stuff belongs to the fourth and seventh seat," she grumbled, holding up one of the offending documents.

"I see."

"Pick a few," she smiled at him, watching as he gleefully picked up two of the pups to curl in his chest without disturbing their slumber. They were so accustomed to his reiatsu they didn't even stir and even nestled deeper into his inviting warmth.

"They are so soft and warm," he sighed happily. "When did they eat last?"

"An hour ago," she answered.

"Go return those forms to where they belong, and if you get lost on the way back, I won't complain," he offered.

"Thank you, Ukitake-taichou. Please make sure you pick up some burn cream when you leave, he's going to need it," she growled as she gathered all the reports and stormed out.

She returned the unfinished paperwork to the proper recipients before marching into the main office with the finished pile. She set them gentle on the desk before picking up four bottles of unfinished sake and walking over to the slumbering man taking a nap in the sun. Without warning, she smashed three in quick succession on his head.

"Aie, the sake! Nanao-chan how…."

"Shut it," she snapped at him. "I am not, nor was I ever, your 'Nanao-chan.' Nor am I your babysitter. I am a distinguished officer who is now also a mother and do not have the time nor the patience to deal with a man child. So, either step up, or I am gone. I have my own children to raise with a man that actually respects me for my skills and impute. I also have a standing invitation to join the court in Las Noches, and you are very sorely tempting me to take the job offering. So either grow up, or lose me completely!" She smashed the fourth on him before storming out.

"Nanao-chan," Shunsui cried, scrambling to his feet to chase after her.

She responded by throwing a fire based kido at him, watching in satisfaction as his sake-soaked clothing quickly caught fire. He let out a yelp and jumped into the nearest source of water, which happened to be a rather muddy pond that had been left unkempt during the wartime status. He came out singed, missing his hat, and covered in foul smelling mud and algae.

She turned her back on him and kept storming away as he wadded quickly through the muddy pond, peeling off the layers of his singed clothing and trying to catch up with her. She knew she couldn't outpace him with shunpo, so settled for storming away. He pulled himself out of the pond and ran up to her, cursing the soaked hakama that tangled up his legs.

"Unless the next words out of your mouth are, 'I apologize for my improper behavior, Starrk-fukutaichou, and will rectify my improper behavior immediately,' I do not want to hear it," she snapped at him before he could dare to speak, taking dark satisfaction at the way he flinched when using her new family name.

Before he could speak, Starrk suddenly appeared before them, the sound of his sonido arriving half a second after his arrival, and gracing Shunsui with a frown before turning his attention towards her.

"I felt your power flare, what is going on?" he asked concerned.

"You have corrupted my sweet Nanao-chan," Shunsui pouted at him like a perturbed child.

"Seems more to me like you insulted her capabilities… again," Starrk noted, eyeing the bedraggled looking man.

"When doesn't he?" she snorted.

"I see. The pups safe?"

"Ukitake-taichou is with them."

Knowing Starrk wouldn't let Shunsui follow her, she finally took off with Shunpo, arriving home to a thrilled Jushiro covered in pups that were content to either nestle with him or chew on his clothing.

"Dare I ask?" Jushiro asked without turning his attention away from the pile surrounding him.

"I set him on fire," she answered with a shrug, which earned her a raised eyebrow. "Starrk is dealing with him now."

Jushiro laughed, before it broke off into a cough. He waved her instant concern away with a hand and quickly regained control of his breathing. "I would have loved to see that."

"I cost him several bottles of sake. It is amazing how well alcohol fumes ignite and burn," she smirked, just a little, before regaining her decorum.

"Was it the good stuff?" Jushiro asked.

"No, I would never be cruel enough to waste that much yen… or at least, he hasn't pushed me that far yet. If he keeps this up for another month I may get to the good stuff."

"It hurt him pretty hard thinking you were not just dead, but had your soul obliterated by an arrow," Jushiro defended his friend.

"I understand. He is not the only one to have suffered though. Imagine being helpless while being forced to watch your subordinates be torn apart by hollows and worse, be raped by them. Karin and I got damn lucky. I wouldn't be here if it were not for her or Starrk. I would be just another soundless soul in the collection of a Quincy slave." The admission made her shiver and she rubbed her arms. Everything had been in such a rush that it was only now that she had some time to contemplate everything she had witnessed and been done to her.

It hit her hard, and she started to shake. All the bottled-up emotion and stress and horror suddenly came flying at her, and she broke down onto the floor in racking sobs. Images of people being killed and torn apart with blood spurting everywhere and staining the sand into bloody mud hounded her thoughts. The horror of blood spurting when Jackal jerked away to kill the boar that had charged him and the blood curling scream that had accompanied it.

She hadn't heard what happened to the other women and hollows that had been held there. Shunsui had refused to let her see the files or talk to her about it. Since she was so close to the situation, she was not permitted to take the case or work on it. She didn't even know if they had been brought to Soul Society or were still in Hueco Mundo, or how many other women there were.

Jushiro abandoned the pile of pups and pulled her to him, making soothing noises and rubbing her back as she had a full mental breakdown in his lap; tears soaking the front of his uniform.

"I wondered when this was finally going to happen," Starrk said softly as the Arrancar arrived, making no motion to take her from Jushiro. Instead, the Espada gathered their offspring up and moved to another room, leaving her to shake with wracking sobs in Jushiro's arms. It took an hour for her to sob herself asleep.

Nanao woke the next morning feeling just wretched. Starrk was in bed with her, the pups asleep in their basket. She didn't feel worse, but she didn't feel much better either. If anything, she felt numb, and slightly horrified for breaking down on Jushiro like that. Her mind went to Karin and hoped the young woman was doing well. Karin had seen more than she had, although the human hadn't known anyone there. She could only imagine how the recovered slaves from the 4th were doing.

"You must think me weak," she muttered.

"No," Starrk answered, letting his eyes open and rolled onto his side to stare at her. "I told that fool trying to drown you in paperwork was just causing the trauma to build up. We are lucky the dam broke here instead of on the battlefield."

"I worry about Karin."

He had nothing to say about that. Maybe she would call Karin and see how her fellow mother was doing. Later though. Right now, all she wanted to do was curl back up and go to sleep.

Starrk was stiff before her but loosened up and wrapped his arms around her when she nestled into his warmth. It was nice having arms to hold her secure. Although if she were honest with herself, she missed the expressiveness of his ears and tails.

She fell asleep again, her body and mind still numb and exhausted. When she awoke a second time, it was to the pups crawling over her and demanding to be fed. Starrk was just sitting down with a basket of bottles to feed them.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, scoping up pups one by one to get them settled with their meal. They were big enough now to support their own bottles.

"Tired, emotionally drained, like I don't want to move," she admitted after a moment.

"Hmm. I told taichou-san to stuff it and that you were mine for the next week, minimum. He lost any attempts at argument when Jushiro backed me up."

"He's the soutaichou now," she pointed out absently while sitting up and stretching. It took more effort than she cared to admit, but she knew hiding in bed wasn't going to fix anything. She had to keep moving.

"Unohana-san wanted to know when you awoke, and if you would be willing to speak to her when you did."

"I should," she reluctantly admitted. Everything had been so hectic since their escape that she hadn't had a proper checkup since the one the quinces gave her. She was well overdue for one.

"You should," he agreed. "I was told you were unlikely to be hungry, but that you need to eat, so I found some sliced fruit."

She stared at the sliced fruit without any appetite but forced herself to eat a few pieces. It helped, more so because fruit hadn't been on offer in the prison. There was nothing on the plate to remind her of hell. The sweet juices melted in her dry throat and she found herself finishing the plate and wishing there were more.

"You are a good man, Starrk," she admitted. "I wish we had met differently."

"If my presence upsets you, I can leave," he offered softly.

"No," she was quick to assure him. The thought of him abandoning her was surprisingly terrifying. "I meant that, I wish we had met in the market or something, without any emotional baggage attached. I don't hate you," she found herself assuring him.

"But not love?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," she answered slowly and carefully. "We have only known each other for such a short time Starrk, too short for love to be a real thing."

"You are not opposed to the idea though?" he asked almost hopefully.

"No," she assured him with a slight blush. "Assuming, you don't get it in your head that I will put up with being cloistered or, heaven forbids, pregnant again."

He looked disappointed in that and licked his lips before speaking. "No more pups? Ever?"

"Maybe not forever, but not for a long time," she stated firmly.

"So not never than?" he asked hopefully, and she could almost see his now gone tail wagging happily.

"No, not never," she agreed. "Not anytime soon. First, these eight need to be grown up, raised, and supported. They will be able to talk and such right?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

Now that the cuteness and awkwardness of the situation was starting to wear off, terror for the future was coming back to haunt her thoughts. Would her children have anything resembling a normal life? Would they be trapped as animal-like creatures forever? Would they have the unsuitable hunger of a hollow and hunt her colleges? Would she need to cull her own children, or send them to live solo in Hueco Mundo? Would they turn on each other?

"Please speak to me," Starrk said. "I know we have differences between our cultures and expectations. Don't hesitate to bring them up to me or let me know if I say or do something to upset you. I will explain my view, you will explain yours, and we will work it out."

She couldn't help but to laugh a little, how many women wished to hear such things from their husbands and boyfriends? It was nice to know he was open to her thoughts and opinions. That he was willing to listen to her concerns and consider them.

She voiced her questions starting with one that held a large amount of her curiosity; why had he joined Aizen when he seemed so determined to avoid conflict? The answer left her feeling sad for him, and at the same time, she understood so much. She had been alone for so long, but to be alone with not even the shadows of people around you… she didn't dare try to fathom it. It was just too terrible.

When the subject came around to her fear of the pups' futures, he assured her if he had to return to Hueco Mundo with them, he would do so without hesitation and return to her once they were secure on their own. They would work through their problems together.

"Do not hesitate to speak to me, please. I refuse to go back to loneliness and even if the conversation is hard, at least it is a conversation," he encouraged.

"Have I told you you're a good man?" she asked again.

"You have, but I do not mind hearing it again," he offered her a small smile.

They rested in silence, for all of five minutes after their heart to heart before life got in the way. Children had no concept of private time and when they wanted attention, they wanted it now.

"I will tend to them," Starrk laughed. "You have an overdue appointment with Unohana."

"You are a dear, Starrk. I will return as soon as I can." She offered him a smile and a shy peck on the cheek before heading out. The look of surprise, followed by pleasure, that crossed his face was worth the daring and the blush that followed her to the 4th.

Unohana was pleased to see her and led her to a room almost immediately.

"How is Shunsui doing?" she asked hesitantly.

"Singed," Unohana laughed. "And well he deserved it. Now, how are you doing?"

She relayed her entire morning to Unohana, who listened silently. As she got near the end, Unohana seemed pleased with Starrk's support.

"Good. You will take the week off, and if Shunsui even mentions work to you, I will have informed Starrk to cero his ass back to the First. You are to rest and recover before you crash when we can ill afford it. I would threaten to send you back to Hueco Mundo with Starrk, but he is far too valuable here."

"And here I thought I was the one valued," she pouted.

"You are, but not on the battlefield as a sword. You are far more valuable wielding the swords."

The compliment caused a blush to dust her checks. It was high praise, more so because it was coming from Unohana.

"Now, to more important business. The president would like to know when you plan on brining your pups to the next SWA meeting? There is one scheduled next week, battles permitting."

"I will see what I can do," she promised with a smile. If anyone could handle hollow pups, it was Yachiru.

When she returned home, it was to find the pups missing and Starrk waiting for her with a basket in hand and a small, hopeful smile.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

"I was hoping we could go somewhere to eat," he answered hesitantly.

Like a date, she realized with a fuzzy feeling forming in her chest. He really had been listening when she spoke to him.

"I would love to," she returned his hopeful smile with a pleased one. "Let me change into something more fitting."

Nanao flittered into the house with a skip to her step as she threw her uniform to the floor and pulled on something a little looser and more comfortable. She even took her hairclip out and let her hair free before skipping back out.

"Did you have a place in mind?" she asked.

"Ah, no. I was hoping you would choose the place, being more familiar with the area."

"I know just the place. How long do we have?" she asked.

"Jushiro took the pups, so I would say the next week at least," he answered with a chuckle. "I was thinking we should name one after him."

"I think he would like that." Jushiro would probably actually be beyond thrilled and be honoured to have a pup named after him. With eight to name there were still a few who needed names. She wondered if Karin had named for her six yet. "We should visit Las Noches during this break. I want to make sure Karin is doing alright. She was there longer than I was and I don't know what kind of support she has."

"She has her family," he pointed out. "Yuzu seemed to know what she was doing."

That had been a shock to learn the fair-haired twin had not only developed her Quincy powers, but had done so in a way that made them a boon and no threat to the universe. To heal by stitching broken riki back together again. Kisuke was apparently lurking around with an army of equipment trying to figure it all out and she skillfully dodged all attempts at scientific inquiry from him with a smile.

She could have continued down that topic, but she was supposed to spend this week relaxing, and Starrk was reaching out to her. She decided to reach back because she really did want this to work out. Mustering up some courage, she moved closer to him and leaned against his side. He looked down at her with a look of surprise, before a small smile touched his lips and he leaned back against her, daring to rest an arm around her shoulders.

She soaked in his warmth and felt a small sigh leave her. She felt loved and appreciated for the first time in her life since Lisa. For all his incredible strength, Starrk was the gentlest soul she had ever met. The arm over her shoulder didn't feel possessive, but supportive. As if ready to catch her should she fall instead of steadying her so she wouldn't. She never felt that way with Shunsui, it always felt like he was shielding her. She understood it was because of the way he lost Lisa, but it still didn't make his action right. Maybe she would ask Lisa to kick more sense into him.

The park she directed them to was quiet and slightly overgrown due to wartime neglect. It was fine and they found a spot to sit down and enjoy the meal she suspected Jushiro either made or assisted with. When she found a mangled, but still tasty, omelet roll, she settled on assisted with and informed Starrk it was very good. That earned her a light blush that tickled her tummy.

For a few hours at least, she was able to relax and she spoke about her past and hobbies. He had little to share with his solidary life but did express an interest in learning to read. She offered to teach, and he accepted. By the time they headed back to her home, she felt they had grown much closer, and she silently thanked both Unohana and Jushiro for the nudges. She hoped this worked, she could see it working when she thought about it.