Juushiro felt absolutely sick with nerves. He felt a warm hand on his back and looked into Shunsui's face, seeing the worry in those grey eyes. He smiled back, struggling to hide his trepidation for Shunsui's sake. It was a bit strange, really. Shunsui was taking the most risk but after his meeting with his grandmother, he'd gained a newfound confidence in his decision. Now it was Juushiro who was trying to stay calm.
"Yama-jii! It's so good to see you." Shunsui greeted their ultimate superior cheerfully. If there was any strain there, he didn't show it.
"Genryusai Sensai." Juushiro bowed slightly, not realizing he was clearly revealing his tension. Even someone who didn't know him well would have picked up on it and Yamamoto did know him well.
"It is good to see you too, Shunsui. Juushiro, are you well?" He asked, concern in that warm, old voice. Juushiro swallowed, looking down. "Is it about that boy from your unit?" The whole incident was already the talk of the Seireitei and opinions were bitterly divided. Most of Ukitake's unit were up in arms on Lupe's behalf but many others did not feel the same.
"Yes." He said softly, glancing at Shunsui. He just smiled back, letting him speak for now. "Sensai, we want to ask you to take direct action on his behalf."
"Yes, it's more than time for Soul Society to begin moving with the times, eh?" Shunsui said with a winning smile. It was hard to tell what Yamamoto was thinking. "To help with that, Juu and I have decided to come out about our relationship." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world but Juushiro knew it had to be a minor bombshell. Yamamoto was alarmingly quiet.
"If you wish to relieve us of our duties, we understand." Juushiro said softly. It was quite possible that would happen.
"We know it must be a shock – " Shunsui said, slightly unnerved by Yamamoto's continuing silence. Then he suddenly chuckled, to their surprise.
"Shock? You really think so?" Yamamoto rumbled as Shunsui and Juushiro exchanged a confused glance. "Idiot child! I've known about your relationship practically from the day it started!" He said sternly and Shunsui stared as Juushiro put a hand over his mouth. "Have you forgotten that the Onmitsukido answers ultimately to me? Did you think they would be ignorant of such things? Yoruichi and Soi Fon have both held your secret for centuries!"
"Oh my kami." Juushiro whispered as Shunsui just looked stunned. All this time and Yamamoto had known? "You… you never…" He said and the old man shrugged just a bit.
"I have never much cared about such things, beyond the possibility of blackmail. But now you propose to bring it into the open?" Yamamoto's tone turned dark and Juushiro swallowed as Shunsui winced. "All for this man you've known for so little time? You will turn your lives upside down for him?"
"Yes, because he needs our help and he deserves our help. We don't want to be afraid forever." Shunsui said firmly and Juushiro knew that Lilinette's words on that had resonated with him. Because right now, they were afraid. The fear had gone down considerably when they hadn't lost the support of Shunsui's grandmother, but it was still there.
"And it's time for this, sensai. More and more plus souls are coming to us without the knowledge to keep such things to themselves. The Rukongai is moving with the times. There are at least two districts known for their immoral behavior." Juushiro said, blushing faintly. He'd never been to visit those districts – it wasn't the kind of thing a taichou did – but he knew Lupe had procured his toys there.
"Also, there is something else you should know about Lupe. He's the purified soul of the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk." Shunsui said seriously and for the first time, Yamamoto's eyes widened with surprise. "He can manifest his zanpakuto and must be very close to bankai. Yama-jii, do we want to throw someone like that away?"
"He remembers almost nothing of his past as a hollow." Juushiro said as the Soutaichou digested that. "And he may be only the first purified arrancar we will see. The others might be more recognizable. And none of them will understand the code of silence." That was precisely what had gotten Lupe into trouble and after all the things he'd told them, they were sure any purified arrancar would have the same problem.
"You trouble me. But… ah!" Yamamoto sighed and for a moment, looked very old. "I hate to have to do this. I'd hoped to leave it to my successor. Is it too much to ask that one of you younglings could take care of this after I'm gone?" He sounded querulous and Shunsui couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh Yama-jii! You could live another thousand years." He said teasingly and the old man snorted.
"Not likely. Two hundred at the most." He said firmly and Juushiro blinked. He knew Yamamoto was very old – he'd been old when they were in the academy – but he was that certain of how long he could live? He had to be very old indeed. "But I suppose even that is too long to wait. Very well. If your grandmother can hold the Kyoraku clan off long enough, we should be able to rescue your man from his troubles. Then we can begin the process of making such attacks unacceptable. It will not be easy." Yamamoto warned and they both nodded. "Watch yourselves, children."
"We will." Shunsui said seriously and Juushiro nodded. It was unlikely someone would try to attack them as they had Lupe, but not impossible. Drugs would work on them as well as anyone and retaining collars could be made with a taichou's reiatsu in mind. "Thank you so much, Yama-jii." Again, it seemed that everything was working out. Juushiro smiled to himself at the thought.
They had secured the help of Shunsui's grandmother and Yamamoto. What could go wrong now?
"Finally found something with my name on it." Starrk settled onto a large piece of broken masonry as he unfolded the scrap of paper. It was very thin yet very long. "A timeline? Was Szayel giving presentations on me? Amusing."
"Well, you were kind of important. But you realize this means the rest of your records are totally under that rock you're sitting on." Lilinette said and Starrk glanced down at it. It was a big rock.
"Great. Well, I'll just have to hope they're not completely pancaked." Examining the timeline he nodded. "All my major life events. Oh, I like this, he noted when I achieved shikai and manifested you for the first time. All my injuries, too… oh kami. You told him about my naughty ouchie?"
"Hey, I had to! And the medics would've let him know anyway. They told everyone! Another one into Halibel's trap." Lilinette said and Starrk grimaced. That was too true. He'd gotten teased about it for a while.
"Hmm… broken arm, I remember that… naughty ouchie… terminated a pregnancy… wait, what?!" He backtracked to that particular portion of the timeline. The words did not change. "…What?"
"Okay, that's not yours. That's for Halibel or something." Lilinette said and Starrk swallowed as he looked over the timeline again.
"It has my name on it. And everything else seems to match." He bit his thumb, chewing on it as he kept looking at the paper. Lilinette snorted.
"Starrk, you're a guy. That's absurd." She said firmly. He bit his lip. She was right, he was most certainly a man. "You are a guy there right? Let me check – " He blinked as she grabbed the hem of his pants, then recoiled as she tried to pull out his hakama.
"Lilinette! Stop that." He snapped as she giggled. "Of course I'm a man. But this says I was pregnant." A terrible suspicion was beginning to gather in his mind. A buildup of reiatsu in his abdomen… nausea in the mornings… his increased appetite but odd pickiness and strange cravings… glancing down, he frowned at his belly. It was completely flat. "If this is a pregnancy it's nothing like a normal one. A reiatsu based pregnancy?" If what was involved was pure reiatsu that might explain why he was showing no physical signs. Lilinette was giving him a strange look.
"You don't really think this is serious? Starrk, you're a guy. Guys don't have babies. Period." She said firmly and he bit his lip. "I know it feels like something you were meant to do but why in HELL would Aizen have wanted you knocked up? Heck, if that timeline is right he already flushed one out of you!" That made him wince.
"I know you're right but… come on, help me. We need to unearth these records." If they were intact. Starrk prayed they were intact as he began to work on the stones. He had to take his bankai to shift the largest but with the boost to his strength, he and Lilinette were able to shift it. "Oh!"
"There's a hollow under it. Nice!" Lilinette said approvingly as Starrk lifted out folder after folder. But which one was his? "Here it is! Oh. Hope that wasn't important." She said as broken pieces of some piece of equipment fell out. A CD? Starrk wasn't certain but it didn't matter.
"None of the computers work anyway. Let's get this to my rooms." The folder was rather thick. Starrk swallowed, wondering what he would find inside its pages. Soon he was sitting on his cushions, reading through the history of his own creation.
They quickly found many surprises. Szayel had included his own thoughts on the matter and they were easier to read than the medical and genetic records. Starrk's eyes widened as he read over the rationale behind his existence.
…Aizen-sama is quite concerned that royal blood may prove to be an unknown variable. Gin in particular would like to dismiss it as merely a relic of antiquated beliefs but Aizen is certain that the royal lineage possesses unusual properties. It has taken some time but I believe his conclusion is correct. The DNA he managed to collect is very unusual… it seems quite possible that this genetic marker may be an important factor to claiming the throne. If so, Aizen-sama will need a puppet King to hold the throne of heaven.
Starrk choked a little at that as Lilinette growled. Swallowing hard, he continued to read.
I have fully isolated the DNA in question and completed very extensive research. The royal line is most interesting, genetically speaking. The active form of it only passes through the female line. Given that the noble houses mark their descent through the male line, that makes matters quite difficult. And it is more complicated than just that… if a female with the active form of the royal lineage mates with a man who is too low in reiatsu, the genetic marker will not be passed on. Fortunately, Aizen-sama already had a sample of the active form of royal genetic material. It was apparently taken from a composite hollow he created some time ago and belonged to a man named Kaien Shiba. With this DNA I will begin the next stage of my project…
Success! The child has been sufficiently matured and removed from the life-support equipment. Interestingly, he has been 'born' with a sword spirit and Aizen-sama has already made contact with it. He has yet to name the child, however. We must determine if the royal lineage is active. Splicing that piece of DNA into the two existing was a challenge. If it proves to be inactive, we will have to see what he wishes done with this sample.
After extensive testing we have determined that the royal genetic code is fully active. The child has been named Coyote Starrk. His reiatsu is truly impressive and Aizen-sama is quite pleased. His passive personality, while unfortunate in some ways, is ideal for a royal puppet…
"I am not a puppet!" Starrk bit off the words, feeling extremely offended. This was only Szayel's musings but he was quite sure the scientist's logic paralleled Aizen's. "No wonder he didn't get rid of me." From the perspective of a figurehead, his hollow persona must have seemed perfect. Of course, Aizen had probably known it might change when he got on the throne. He said that and Lilinette growled from her spot beside him.
"Yeah, but that would've been after he massacred the old one. You're not dumb Starrk. You wouldn't have given him any trouble." She said and he had to swallow. She was right. He'd always known how intelligent Aizen was… Starrk couldn't hope to outsmart him and even with the throne behind him, he would not have had anything like the hogyoku. "And if you did he could just make another and get rid of you."
"…" Starrk rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "So I'm royalty. So what? Let's try to find out how I could be pregnant." He said firmly, unwilling to be distracted by this. Clearly Aizen had kept more from Lilinette than either of them had suspected but they could worry about that later.
Unfortunately, the two things turned out to be intertwined. The first notes on the 'growth' in his body were sort of funny. Szayel clearly had no idea what it was. Then he'd figured it out, which was rather amusing. After consulting with Aizen they'd decided to purge it and very nearly killed him in the process. Starrk swallowed as he remembered.
"That time I was ill. They told me I'd accidentally contracted something in Szayel's lab." He whispered, remembering. "I was so sick… this was what caused it? But how?" He kept reading, his mind cushioned with shock.
…It took a great deal of work, including the kidnapping and torture of a very high noble, but I believe I now have the solution. It seems to be a desperate measure for the continuation of the royal line… theoretically, if only a male of the line were alive the royal genetic legacy would end. However, it seems there is a way around that. Under very specific circumstances, a male of the royal line can procreate directly. It's partly triggered by the lack of any other members of the royal line in close proximity. Since only reiatsu is involved, it's in fact possible for a completely heterosexual man to conceive in this manner. Most interesting! Given that Starrk is the only member of the royal line in Los Noches, it's understandable that this facet of his heritage would be activated.
We're very lucky we caught it so early, however. I just barely managed to remove the growing reiatsu without too badly disrupting his aura. Any later and any attempt to remove it would have been fatal. And letting him carry to term then removing the reiatsu cluster from his body would have been extremely difficult. According to the man we questioned, it would require a healer of incredible skill to do so while keeping the subject alive. The Royal healers are specifically trained to deal with this scenario. I'm glad I didn't have to experiment with it on Aizen's only son! Although that would have been fascinating, ahah. I've devised a reiastu shielding so this won't happen in the future. It will have to be renewed regularly, I'll see to it during his checkups.
"It must have expired a long time ago." Starrk murmured, feeling sick. "What will happen if the reiatsu is not removed from my body?" He kept searching through the notes and managed to find the answer a few paragraphs back. "Reiatsu poisoning? What does that mean?"
"…That's really bad Starrk. That'll kill you." Lilinette sounded subdued and Starrk swallowed as he began to understand. Then a thought occurred to him and he checked the timeline again.
"My first child… who would it have belonged to?" He murmured, trying to figure it out. "Kami, I was a bit of a slut wasn't I? Hmm… It could have been Gin or Grimmjow. Szayel said they caught it quickly, which narrows things." He couldn't have been pregnant more than a week or two, if Szayel's notes were right.
"Bet you a hundred yen it was Gin. Who knows if you could even get knocked up by an arrancar?" She said and Starrk frowned before shaking his head.
"If I couldn't get pregnant from a hollow the shield would have been almost unnecessary. Tosen wasn't interested and I wasn't very interested in Gin." That first time with him had been the only time. "Hm." For a brief moment, Starrk thought about that child. What would it have looked like? "It might have been beautiful." He whispered. It suddenly hurt, knowing that he'd lost a child without even knowing. Aizen had made that decision for him. It had probably been the right choice but it still hurt.
"Look, nevermind that. Starrk, you need to focus. You're way further than a couple weeks along now!" Lilinette sounded stressed and he bit his lip. She was absolutely right. When had his nausea started? Ah, yes, the time he'd gotten drunk and taken them both. How long ago had that been? Five months, roughly. If this kind of pregnancy had the same duration as a normal one he was very well along at this point. "If that Orihime chick couldn't get it out without killing you, no one can. What are you gonna do? Who's going to deliver it?"
"…" Starrk just stared at her helplessly, seeing the same feeling reflected in her face. "I… don't know." Who could deliver his child for him? Szayel was dead and he hadn't thought he could do it. "Unohana probably could but then she'd know what I am." There was no way a purified plus soul could have active royal blood. She would immediately try to find out why he was in this state and would easily detect that he was a construct. "…I don't know what to do." He whispered, feeling faint. He'd never thought it could be lethal. Starrk took a deep, gasping breath before he put his arms around Lilinette and held her close. She hugged him back, lending what comfort she could.
There was nothing more they could do.
Several days later.
"So have you thought of anything yet?" Lilinette asked as she draped herself over a nearby cushion. Starrk just swung his feet, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Starrk!" She reached over and rapped him sharply on the head, making him wince.
"You really want to know?" He asked and she scowled at him. "Fine… I've thought of just shooting myself. Quick and relatively painless." He said and she made a face.
"Okay, let me rephrase. Have you thought of anything that doesn't involve you dying?" There was a long pause as Starrk stared away, his gaze blank and his expression filled with quiet sorrow. "Oh man. We are so totally screwed." That made his lips twitch in unwilling humor.
"Yes, most definitely screwed." He said and Lilinette winced as she suddenly caught the gutter humor. "I've thought of making a try at breaking Aizen out." He said and she looked blank for a moment.
"Huh? Why would you do that? You can't stand him now!" She said and Starrk sighed, shrugging.
"It just seems like a good way to die with honor. On the other hand, it would give everyone the wrong impression. I really don't want Juushiro and Shunsui to remember me that way." As a crazed lunatic giving his life for another crazed lunatic. No, that wouldn't be good to put on his tombstone. "I've thought of turning myself in and begging them to deliver my child before they execute me." Starrk said with poignant sadness as Lilinette swallowed. "But I doubt they would honor my request. Aizen's grandchild and a scion of pure royal blood… no. I can't see them letting him or her live."
"Even if they did they'd probably put the kid in a lab somewhere." Lilinette muttered and Starrk winced. "And you might be in there too. So they can try and figure out how Aizen made you."
"Making constructs is hardly that impressive. Kurotsuchi can do it. But my active royal blood… I imagine they would be curious about that." Starrk said bleakly. "We could try and see if Orihime could deliver my child but…"
"Yeah, no way." Lilinette concluded and Starrk nodded. "Her power is kind of a blunt force instrument. You need some real subtlety here. She'd just kill you and erase the kid."
"Yes, I think so too." Starrk agreed sadly as Lilinette bit her lip. "So I think I'll just stay here. Maybe the reiatsu poisoning when the child dies won't be lethal. And if it becomes too painful, I always have my guns." He smiled at her and she sniffled, reaching up to wipe her eye.
"It's not fair." She said and his smile warmed as he sat up and offered her his arms. Lilinette sniffled again before settling against him, hugging him gently.
"No, it's not fair. But the world isn't fair sometimes." Starrk whispered as Lilinette buried her face against his chest. "Why don't we go practice our bankai? Give ourselves something to do." There was no hope for him and he wasn't going to pretend there was. But that didn't mean he had to give in to despair. In fact, Starrk was feeling strangely free. Lilinette pulled back and there was a wary look on her face.
"Starrk? You're getting kind of creepy. You feeling okay?" She asked and he couldn't help it. He laughed.
"For a dying man? I feel wonderful. Come on Lilinette, let's enjoy our life while we still have it." Starrk said with a grin before he surged to his feet. Lilinette looked even more alarmed and hesitated before shrugging and following him. She knew there was something very wrong with Starrk, but he had given up any hope of a future.
A strange reaction might be expected.
"Where in hell can he be?" Shunsui wondered as Juushiro felt tired.
The Onmitsukido was combing the Living world for Lupe and coming up completely empty. That was partly to be expected. Soi Fon had mentioned how difficult the task would be and told them how Lupe had detected one of her top men as a mere cadet. But still, they had anticipated finding something, some kind of trail. It was as though the young man had vanished into thin air.
"Hey!" That hail made them both turn in surprise. Ichigo was there, scowling at them. "Are you looking for Lupe?" He asked and they both exchanged a surprised glance.
"Yes. Have you seen him?" Juushiro said, suddenly hopeful. Ichigo's scowl increased.
"That depends on what you want him for. Are you going to be dragging him back so those bastards can punish him for something that wasn't his fault?" The substitute shinigami demanded and Shunsui smiled at him before shaking his head.
"No, things are really going rather well. Soutaichou Yamamoto has agreed to support us. Admittedly, something could go wrong – he will have to face a trial – but right now it appears that he will be acquitted on grounds of self-defense." Shunsui said and Ichigo's scowl lessened, replaced with relief.
"Oh good. I was going to go to Soul Society to protest but Kisuke said I should give them the chance to do the right thing first." He said and Juushiro smiled as Shunsui chuckled. "Lupe, he – he means a lot to me. We're not in a relationship or anything but he took my virginity." Ichigo admitted with a blush and Juushiro choked a bit as Shunsui looked blank with surprise.
"He did what?! He never mentioned that to us." Juushiro said, shocked and a touch upset. Although not too much. They were already sharing Lupe with each other, after all. And Lupe probably hadn't wanted to reveal Ichigo's inclinations to them, any more than he would have revealed them to Ichigo.
"Why would he – hey!" It was like a lightbulb going off over Ichigo's head. "You guys are the ones he's with! And… you're with each other?" Ichigo sounded a bit confused and Shunsui laughed.
"Yes, since our days at the Academy." He admitted easily. Now that they were coming into the open it didn't matter who knew. "Please, can you tell us where Lupe is? We really need to find him." He said more seriously and Ichigo nodded.
"Right. He's gone to Los Noches." He said and they both stared at him, shocked. "He remembered how to make a garganta. If you go to Kisuke, he's expecting you. His garganta maker is up and ready."
"Oh. Thank you." That did explain why no one had been able to find Lupe in the Living world. He'd left for Hueco Mundo. It seemed like a rather ominous choice, though, and Juushiro frowned as they shunpo'd away. Then he shook away the foreboding and smiled to himself.
Soon, they would find Lupe and bring him back home.