Sooner or later most of the senior officers of the Gotei visited Rangiku and her new baby. Toshiro's, "Are you done now that you have a girl?" Was probably the least enthusiastic reaction to Yukiko. Kinta, on the other hand, was thrilled and held her every chance he got. He was also working very hard to teach her that his name was 'nii-chan' despite being told more than once that there was no way a newborn was going to learn his name, and Toshiro knocking him over the head when he realized his little brother was trying to steal his title.
Miyako was over immediately to take Kinta and back the next day to help out, though Gin wanted to know what part of sitting around and gossiping was helping out, and Rangiku in turn wanted to know what part of sitting in his study was helping out as he'd taken the day off and she'd only seen him when he came out to complain about her friend.
"I'm very helpful," he told her and lifted the baby from her shoulder. "Come here, Yuki-chan," he said to the baby as he laid her against his shoulder and patted her back. "Let's see how you like The Annals of Seireitei. They were always guaranteed to put your brothers to sleep.''
Rangiku watched Gin leave in surprise. Even at his best, newborns really weren't his thing, but by the third one she supposed even he must have gotten used to them.
She shrugged it off and turned to Miyako. "When are you finally going to have one of your own?"
"I already have my own man, thanks," Miyako said. Then, when Rangiku continued to stare at her, she added, "When it's my own idea-honestly, Rangiku, your questions are a relief after all the little hints every member of the Shiba family feels necessary to make at every possible opportunity. We'll get to it someday, and until then the whole family can live with the terror of knowing Kukaku and Ganju are Kaien's only heirs."
Rangiku smiled at that. What excellent choices that would leave the family with! No wonder they were desperate for Miyako to have a child. Otherwise, their options were a hotheaded explosives expert who'd manage to blow off her own arm or a hotheaded idiot who liked to ride around on a boar. They'd definitely gotten the best of the siblings in Kaien.
"You should think about showing them a little mercy—what would they do if they ended up with Ganju?"
Miyako smiled. "It'd serve them right—now, I'm going to go make you a healthy lunch and you take a nice long nap—gotta take advantage of Gin's mood since we all know it's not going to last."
"You never know," Rangiku said. "Maybe he's decided babies can be fun."
Miyako raised an eyebrow and Rangiku sighed. "He may last half an hour before he's bored out of his mind."
"Try to sleep—I'll take her when he's done proving he's useful."
Yachiru was the next visitor. She arrived with Yumichika in tow, carrying her gifts for both mother and child. "Hey, Goldilocks!" she declared as she hopped up onto the porch and stepped into the house. "Heard it's another snowflake."
She stepped closer to get a good look at the baby asleep against her mother's breast. "Yep, another one. Think this one will grow up frosty too?"
Rangiku smiled at the too pale infant. "Shiro-chan was always cold. Yuki's nice and warm like babies are supposed to be."
"Huh," Yachiru said, then she added with much more enthusiasm. "We brought cake! I made Yu-yu and Pachinko-head get it for you from the World of the Living. It's chocolate! Do you want to eat it now?"
"You did? Absolutely! Thank you, Yachiru, Yu-chan! You've got to tell Ikkaku thank you from me! It's so nice of you all!"
"Since we heard a bottle of sake isn't a proper gift for a new mother," Yumichika said.
"Go cut everyone a piece of cake, Yu-yu!" Yachiru commanded. "And give me that other present!"
Yumichika did as instructed, having learned from experience that keeping Yachiru happy was of prime importance and obedience was the best way to accomplish that.
Yachiru sat on the floor next to the couch beside Rangiku with a pink wrapped present on her lap. "I'll open it for you since you've got your hands full," she declared, quickly tearing the paper away. She opened the box and pulled off the lid, revealing some sort of fluffy pink plush animal that was squeezed so tightly into the box Rangiku couldn't identify it.
"Isn't it perfect?" Yachiru demanded.
"Uh, thank you?" Rangiku tried.
Yachiru yanked it from the box, and Rangiku could finally tell what it was, an extremely fluffy nine-tailed fox. It was no wonder she hadn't been able to identify it; it was more tail than fox.
A huge smile spread across her face. "You're right! It is perfect!"
"I'm glad you finally got a girl," Yachiru told her. "But I hope you're done having kids 'cause the lieutenants meetings are no fun without you. Dustmop never loses his place anymore, and the Princess hasn't smacked the Idiot over the head for staring at your boobs in months-she's hardly smacked him at all! Married people are so boring when they're getting along."
"Fortunately that's a rare occurrence anywhere," Yumichika declared as he returned with tea and cake for everyone. "Speaking of which, where has your fox-faced other half vanished to this time? Lieutenant Kira told us he would be here."
Rangiku frowned. That was so like Gin. They had a two-day-old, and he was already back to vanishing. "Don't know, don't care," she said quickly. "More cake for me."
"Well, here you go, dear," Yumichika said, handing over a small plate with a generous slice of chocolate cake. "And I know you don't need me to tell you, but you have produced yet another exquisite child. This one might be the most beautiful of all."
"The most beautiful? I think they're all beautiful."
"But this one has your eyes."
"How can you-" Rangiku looked down. The sleeping baby was no longer sleeping but blinking wide blue eyes at her. "Oh."
Yuki turned her face to her mother and nuzzled against her, making the funniest little mewling sound.
"Damn, baby gets to eat first," Rangiku declared and passed back the plate to Yumichika. It was a hard thing to return to, feedings and diapers and no sleep-at least Yuki was cute.
Nemu came with Nanao to visit and sat very still holding the infant without saying anything at all while Rangiku and Nanao discussed childbirth and the difficulties of newborns.
"Shuhei wanted to come along," Nanao explained. "But the nanny's off today, and I thought Aiko would be just too much trouble. She's always following Kin-chan around." Nanao glanced at Kinta, who was sitting on the porch with a box full of frogs he had caught that morning. "It seemed better if he stayed at home with her, but he did want me to send his congratulations. We are both very happy for you, Rangiku. Oh, and the captain as well; he said it was high time you had a girl, and he hopes she grows up to be even half as beautiful as you."
"I have decided we will have twin boys," Nemu said, apropo of nothing. "With white hair and brown eyes exactly like Shiro-chan's. They will be quite beautiful."
"What?" Rangiku demanded.
Nanao also was quite startled by Nemu's declaration. "Are you-you're not pregnant, are you, Nemu?"
"Oh, no," Nemu answered, finally raising her dark eyes from the baby's sleeping face. "But I have discussed it with my father. I have promised him that I will allow him to help design my children if he will develop a treatment for Shiro-chan. I know my father will have no difficulty finding a way to make Shiro-chan's lungs repair themselves, even if he cannot cure the illness itself; I only had to find the proper motivation. He won't do anything he doesn't want to, and he does not care how Shiro-chan suffers. I have begged and pleaded with him, but he would not try. I am sure he is the most callous and uncaring person in the Gotei."
"You're going to let Kurotsuchi design your children?" Rangiku said in horror. She could understand Nemu's desperation, but allowing that monster to create innocent babies-it was unthinkable.
"I cannot believe Captain Ukitake would agree to that, Nemu," Nanao said.
"Within reasonable boundaries," Nemu said. "I have convinced Shiro-chan to allow it as long as I make sure my father follows our rules. The children will be made purely of our DNA. My father can pick and choose the best of our genes as he likes, but he cannot add anything; they will be our children, and they will not be grown in a laboratory. I will grow them and give birth to them naturally. They will be our children, only perfect. It is a reasonable deal, is it not? My father thought the rules were too strict until I pointed out to him that he would get to be a grandfather, and that is clearly an envied position throughout Soul Society. Captain Kyoraku brags constantly about Aiko. I am sure my father would like such an excuse to brag."
Nanao stared open mouthed at Nemu as Rangiku struggled to find something to say. It was hard to know what to say. She could understand her desperation. Watching Captain Ukitake grow weaker and struggle harder every day simply to breathe was hard enough for Rangiku, it must be like a waking nightmare for Nemu. But to sacrifice her children to the whims of the mad scientist, even if she was going to watch him, seemed far too risky—the only thing that scared her was the fact that she wasn't sure she wouldn't do the same for Gin if the only other choice was to watch him die. "Are you sure you can make sure Captain Kurotsuchi doesn't—you know—"
"Modify them?" Nemu asked. Her eyes dropped to the baby in her arms. "I will have to watch him very carefully, but I am sure I am up to the task."
Nanao spoke up. "Nemu, you know you aren't very good at keeping him within the lines. You've told me before about experiments he has conducted that you did not like but did not feel you could object to. You've even allowed him to do things to you that are completely unethical. Are you sure you could stop him if he thinks he has found a way to make your children into perfect shinigami?"
Nemu raised her head. "I've promised Jushiro so I will," she said firmly.
Nanao nodded. "I do understand, and I hope Captain Kurotsuchi will be able to help Captain Ukitake. I know my captain, at least, would be beside himself with joy if Captain Ukitake were to regain any degree of good health."
"Everyone would be," Rangiku said firmly. "Even Gin. Even he doesn't like to see Captain Ukitake suffering like he has for the past two years."
Nemu smiled her always soft, shy smile. "It is a comfort to know he is loved by so many." Her smile grew a little sad as she continued. "He has told me that it has always been enough for him, that he has never had to be alone, and in all his life he has never felt lonely or unloved; even if his time will soon be over he would have nothing to complain about because he has had the most blessed of lives."
"And I'm sure you're a big part of that, Nemu," Rangiku added, but she couldn't help thinking of her own husband who was so completely Captain Ukitake's opposite. She wondered if there had ever been a time when he had not separated himself from everyone and chosen to be alone. Even when he was home he kept himself separate from his family. It was why Toshiro never even tried to get close to him; he could feel the wall Gin always kept between himself and others.
She had always wondered if he felt lonely or if it bothered him at all that almost no one cared about him. She tried constantly to show him her love, but she was never quite sure if he felt it. Captain Ukitake had endured centuries of illness with a smile because the love of friends and family kept him going, but Gin, with his smile that was a lie, always pushing everyone, even Shiro-chan, away, had nothing but his own strength to sustain him. In the end his life might be considered the greater tragedy.