Part 9- He's What!
Grimmjow's body is covered in cold whiteness, the snow swirling up around him and leaving him in a new form. White armor lays close to his skin all along his body, a long slender tail twitching unhappily behind him, and long teal hair tumbling behind him. He snarls, his canines now long fangs and a crown holds back his hair. His clan mates are shocked, as Grimmjow never takes this form… it's a form they know of and have only seen maybe three times. Twice they've seen it in battle, blood covered and murderous, and once they've seen it flying away with Ichigo in his arms. Never does he use his wings, as Grimmjow loves the thrill running gives him as he feet slam against the ground more than the feeling of wind flowing along the membrane of his wings. Before they can even move, he's gone. One thing about Grimmjow, he may be weaker than them in his human form, but as a gargoyle he's one of the more powerful creatures they've ever seen… probably more so than Aizen, but he doesn't favor leadership as much as the egotistic brunette they follow. Grimmjow just like to have fun, like a cat chasing a mouse… and they're the mice.
"I can't stay and play long," Grimmjow says seriously from behind Nnoitra. "I need to find my mate."
"What's so special about this kid, anyway!" Nnoitra snaps. "What would you betray us for him!"
"… What? Who said that?"
"Aizen said you were feeding the kid information to pass to the Shinigami and you fell for his innocent little act," the raven huffs as Stark joins them. "I mean, I can understand that… the kids hot, but… we're your family, man! We've been through thick and thin and now you're bailing on us?"
"Aizen is a bare faced liar!" Grimmjow snarls viciously. "He wants Ichigo for himself!"
"That's quite a claim, Grimmjow," Stark remarks. "Have you any evidence?"
"It's not evidence you can see, Stark. But I'll tell you if you swear it doesn't go beyond us, got it?"
"You betray us and expect us to…"
"I understand," the brunette nods after hitting Nnoitra on the head.
"… Ichigo is special. He's the only natural born of all the clans and he can give birth himself… and use his abilities to fix other so they can as well."
"He's a walking miracle," Stark murmurs in thought.
"Exactly… nice way of putting it," Grimmjow smirks. "The Shinigami are fighting to keep him so only they can use him, Aizen wants to have Ichigo for his own mate so he can better control him, and his biological father happens to be the leader of the Visoreds! How messed up is this drama getting?"
"Yeah, not to mention he fell in love with you. What the hell was he thinking?" Nnoitra scoffs.
"Oi! I'm awesome, he's lucky to have me!" Grimmjow growls.
"Oh yeah, that's not arrogant at all, Grimm-kitty," the other snorts in humor.
"Grimmjow, if Aizen is misleading us for his own personal gain… he needs to be overthrown," Stark remarks.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm not doing it!" the feline snarls. "But I may know someone who'll have a few ideas. I just need you two to keep Aizen busy."
They nod in agreement, the three going their separate ways after. Grimmjow takes the streets faster now, his legs burning with the need to save his precious mate. The thought of Ichigo in a small cell, or waiting to be executed for something he has no control over, pushes him to the limit. He almost passes up the small shop, skidding at least five feet past it when he steps on the brakes. If that wasn't bad enough, he fell over Shinji's skateboard and barely caught himself in the bushes… Yorouchi's laughter fills the area in less than half a second.
"Oh my god, that was hilarious!" she guffaws.
"Where's Kisuke?" Grimmjow hisses as he hurries back over.
"In the back, why?"
"Ichi's gone."
That's enough to cut the dark skinned feline short, her cackling washed away to be replaced by a serious and level gaze. Grimmjow can tell, just from that gaze alone, that this woman is a powerful person you shouldn't tempt. She gets up in one fluid movement, ushering the muscular male inside as she calls for the blonde shopkeeper.
"What's all the commotion, Yorouchi?" he wonders. "Oh! Hey, Grimmjow, I thought you wouldn't be back until tonight."
"Ichigo's gone," he murmurs. "He left while I was here with you."
"… What? Where is he?"
"I'm pretty certain that Aizen sending a couple of my clan members to capture us is a dead giveaway he's not there, so I'm gonna bet the Shinigami lured him away."
"Did he every tell you anything about them?"
"Oh, loads. Said the man that raised him was like a brother to him, always smelled like cherry blossoms…"
"Byakuya," Yorouchi frowns. "Ichigo would've trusted him enough to at least listen to him, but the Byakuya I know would've never played tricks of any kind on an impressionable young creature like Ichigo."
"No… But Yamamoto would," Kisuke growls. "He probably filled Byakuya's head with false tails in order to make the noble think Ichigo is safer with them. If he thought Ichigo was in danger with Grimmjow, he would've done anything to keep him safe… even get him back to Seireitei."
"And he's very persuasive when it comes to arguments, that's probably why he was chosen to raise such a headstrong and temperamental kid."
"How do we get back my mate?" Grimmjow asks impatiently.
"The better question is… are you sure there's nothing concerning him that could harm him at the moment," the shopkeeper replies cryptically.
"… What do you mean?"
"The only reason they could possible have to want Ichigo harmed, is if he's carrying something they prefer him not to… like… say… an egg belonging to the one male they're trying to pull him away from?"
"Ichigo isn't… I mean… I didn't think he… there's no way," Grimmjow babbles nervously.
He never dared to imagine his little mate was carrying an egg in him, but… there's a possibility. A typical gargoyle carries for about a week, the attack was only a couple days ago… it could happen. He sits down, his knees weak from the news as his mind provides so many things he should've noticed sooner. Sign after sign flits through his head, his breath caught in his chest. Ichigo… his Ichigo… is carrying their egg in him!