A/N Ooookay, I know that cliffhanger was very, very rude of us. I apologize. ...but not really because that was fraggin' PERFECT. Anyway, ennnnnjoy~!

Chapter Warnings: Foul language, Magic (fucking DUH!), Curse, some...enthusiastic reuniting of mates, biblical references, blood and gore (mild), past extreme pain, mild threat, Mpreg- Goddamn it will whoever that is stop fainting?! WAKE UP YA *****!

The twins simultaneously jumped back with a duplicated, "EEP!"

Then Shiro pounced his mate, "QIO!"

"AGH!" The poor bat had been assaulted from both sides, and now his eyes crossed as pronounced ringing in both his ears made it nearly-impossible to focus on the fact that he suddenly had a double-armful of Mate on top of him.

"Ah! Gomene!" Shiro kissed the side of the pale demon's head, a small flash of soft pink radiating from his lips.

"Ah..." Ichigo looked nervous. "Is that another one of those King things?"

"He, and yes, he is," Aizen replied, all of a sudden right beside him. "Though…you shouldn't call your brother's mate a 'thing'."

Ulquiorra was too busy purring and nuzzling into his lover, wrapping his huge wings around him, to realize he'd just been insulted.

"I didn't mean him! I meant the fact that I said...eh...what I said, and then he showed up." The orangette rounded on the butterfly, scowling at being both misunderstood and being startled. That was happening entirely too much today. "So, your three are Horsemen, where's the fourth? Or rather...if he's Death...eh...Death is Fourth, right, Shii?"

"Uh huh." Shiro answered distractedly, and a little muffled from within the embrace of his lover.

Ichigo blushed and made his way out of the room, certain that the sight would make Aizen uncomfortable and to give the lovers a moment to reunite. "So, Death is Fourth, you're Third. Which is Grimm? And where's the last one? Or should I say, who?" He stepped out into the sunlight, unconsciously turning his face to it and smiling with his eyes closed.

"Your mate is First—Conquest. You've already figured out I am Famine. The second is War—your red-headed friend...no, don't say his name," he added quickly. "It will summon him and he is rather comfortable with his own mate right now. You do not want an angry Kitsune after you wanting his mate back, trust me." The butterfly was quite unruffled; he was used to every kind of expression of affection, physical and not. He had been around, and alive, for far too long.

"So, I'm not allowed to use their names at all?" Ichigo scratched his head. This was thoroughly confusing. Renji was...what? War? Well, that rather made sense considering. Then he gave a small shudder. "Guess I should probably tell Z I can't fight in his club anymore..."

"That is another power of yours that you haven't managed to get full control of yet. You are The King. When you speak, all of the cosmos bends to hear your voice, and the fabric of time and reality itself would dissolve should you so command it to," Aizen explained. "And you could continue to fight. You might simply cause your brother's mate a lot of work. You'll be able to call them by their true names when your abilities are better controlled."

"Eh, 'bout that..." A small silver-haired head appeared from behind a nearby tree. He looked around furtively for a moment, "I don't have long, my illusion won't hold if he wakes up, but couldja...um...tell Death...he...uh...there's a job?" The kitsune's ears flicked and he looked behind him. "Eh. Gotta go." And he was gone in a small puff of mist.

"Uh..." The King looked vaguely green. "Death has a job? Like...somebody died? Right?"

"That is generally what that translates to. However, if Gin is involved, it is a death that likely needs covering up. Ulquiorra," Aizen barked, suddenly commanding, "Gin has informed me you have work to do."

Ulquiorra, at the calling of his Name by the older and more powerful demon, went rigid. He rose and bowed. "Sorry, my mate, but I am required."

With that, he disappeared, and Shiro emerged from the building confused. At that moment from across the courtyard, Renji's irritated voice echoed and bounced off stone walls.

"THE FUCK, DEATH?!"

Ichigo practically jumped out of his skin. "I thought you said not to do that?! And why is Ren—uh…War so upset?"

"You have more power and no control. If you called them by Name, they would be forcibly summoned. I have the most control of anyone here, as I've been around longest. Therefore, I reserve the right to boss the other three around. And War is upset because...well, Death just popped into his bedroom, naked, where he was lounging, naked, with his newly pregnant mate…who might I add is also naked. I believe, he is rather displeased by that." Aizen betrayed himself with an amused quirk of the mouth.

"Qio appeared in Red's room!?"

"Newly pregnant mate?!"

The twins spoke at the same time. Then without waiting Shiro took off running, "Oi! Tha's MAH junk ta look at! Red git yer eyes closed!"

Ichigo whirled on Aizen, "PREGNANT!?" He felt the pressing of that same strange full feeling from before when Grimmjow had said he was speaking in Gaelic, which hauled him up cold. "I'm still speaking Japanese, right?"

"Oh, yes, yes you are. And of course, pregnant. He's a kitsune- sex demon." The butterfly still appeared slightly entertained.

"Oh good." He visibly relaxed for a moment, then exploded, "B-but how!? I mean, he's a male, right? Guys can't get pregnant! Oh my head." He held his temples.

"Kitsune are able to shape-shift, they're quite capable of getting pregnant regardless of gender. You could as well, if you commanded it so, but that's…how did you put it? 'One of those King things'." Aizen added with a serene flutter of wings. "Stop thinking of things by human rules. You are King. Everything runs on no rules but your own. Though I would ask you do not say that Gin cannot be pregnant. His body will abort to accommodate you and it would devastate him. You must start watching your words very carefully, My Liege."

That was like a punch in the gut. Regardless of whether it made sense, Ichigo wasn't about to abort the...kits? "No, no, no. I want him to have them." He frowned for a moment so he could figure out how to say what he wanted to say without screwing it up. "Um...I hope Gin's kits are healthy and strong and born easily when they're ready." He scratched his head. "How was that?"

"That was extremely good. It helps when you put 'I hope' or 'I think' or any other verbal statement that indicates what follows is not a command. 'I want' and 'I wish' are command predicates. Usually, if there is no predicate, that will still count as a command as far as Magic is concerned. Still, I am sure Gin's pregnancy will be fairly easy now," the brunette added with a little smile. "Once you learn to control your power as King, so not everything you say is a command, you will be able to return to normal speech patterns."

"Somehow I have the feeling that is going to be a problem until I figure out how to do that." The King rubbed his head again. "But what about this curse thing? I'm sure Shiro could tell me, but he's...heh...occupied at the moment." He blushed a little. "Walk with me? I always think better when I'm moving."

"As you wish. I hope you don't mind if I fly instead." His wings whirring to life, a fine dust settled over everything in the area as the demon hovered off the floor. "The curse is broken. Lifted. Gone. That is what the 'key' does, and my comrades have all found and mated with—essentially 'married', their keys."

"So what about you?" Ichigo scowled. "You said your key was broken. Are you doomed to be forever alone or something? Is there anything I can do? I mean...you said I could bend the fabric of reality to suit me, so, could I bring you your key?"

"You could. It would be...unwise. There is a reason I am the eldest. My key, as he existed and in the time he existed, was broken before I even found him. A priest. He had already been taken away…having devoted himself to his God. Bringing him, as I would need him, as he was then, would drive him insane and I would likely commit suicide. Or attempt to. I failed the other times." He looked oddly serene as he spoke, eyes distant. "Also, though reality will twist to suit you, there is no telling the far-reaching consequences, nor what paradoxes you might create and what events you may cause to never happen. It is best not to mess with such forces. Not every variable can be accounted for."

The orangette frowned deeper. "What about this life?"

"This life, he has been born outside the reach of my powers as they are restricted by the curse." His eyes abruptly refocused. "We have wandered into irrelevant subject matter. You wished to know about the curse?"

The King looked disgruntled, but allowed the shift. "Yeah."

"I am aware it is a unique torture to each of us. Death hated the darkness when he was alive. His curse was to live suspended in darkness, in nothingness where there exists no sensation, only consciousness drowning in the endless void. War and Conquest were sent into the human world on an impossible mission. They died, but with the mission parameters unfulfilled, they were forced to reincarnate on the human plane again and again, every life getting them further from who they were. They were, however, always drawn to the King's Line because of the nature of their mission." The soothing baritone eased the ache behind Ichigo's eyes.

"And you?" The question was quiet, but something about this composed, tragic creature called to him.

"Mine was the same as Ulquiorra's, but in one of my key's reincarnations he was able to Contract me. The terms however dictate that I will remain upon the human plane until reality turns to dust." The clipped answer brought the King up short, Aizen pausing with him.

"I can see how painful that must have been." A slip of the tongue and Ichigo fell to his knees gripping his head with open hand.

Centuries of loneliness and watching the humans the butterfly cared about dying with nothing he could do to help them. Years upon years of searching, hoping and finally that spirit breaking, destroyed by time as each time the Key was reborn either too far away or too many things in the way for them to even enjoy each other's company. Bloody tears streamed down his face, and he screamed, his other hand digging into the ground.

MIND BE STILL! EYE BE CLOSED! The command, again spoken in that non-voice, shut Ichigo's eyes to Aizen's long and painful history, the butterfly kneeling on the ground, using his hand to wipe away the blood as he rocked the young man, crooning soothing words to him.

"Sssshhhhh, ssshhh, young King, sssshhhh, don't think about it. And kindly don't ever say that again," he added, petting his hair.

Ichigo shivered, "So...much...pain...how...how are you...who did this to you?" His voice was weak, and his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Aizen took both hands in his own. "Why...the False God. Just as he cursed the others, so he cursed me. I simply had the poor luck of having a very...easily broken key."

"I know that's what you call him. Yama-jii said the same thing..." Ichigo climbed slowly to his feet, and something hard as flint shone in his honey-amber eyes. "I want his Name."

He said it deliberately, and there was a cast to his jaw and shoulders that left no question about his bloodline. To the others, when the orangette looked like this, it meant someone was going to be seriously injured.

Taking this change in stature made the Third inwardly proud of the young man in front of him. "Well, being as we were demons, bound and captured before we could do more than see his face, I'm afraid I don't know it. Nor do the others. However, Gin has connections...including one who knows just about everyone's Name, and will even give them out without a Price if he deems the receiver worthy."

Power rippled around the courtyard. Ichigo was a fast learner. He turned his head to the individual buildings that served as residences for the Four and Called...mentally. His tongue may have tripped over the language of magic, but his mind, his soul, knew exactly what it was doing. So, with the same way he picked up fighting, and the other hobbies he learned, his thoughts warped the energies around him.

Aizen merely bowed, already present. Grimmjow popped in, looking sort of frazzled, like a cat stroked the wrong way—he was a creature that hated to come when called. Ulquiorra came winging in with what looked like the mutilated remains of a dead body in his arm, and Renji arrived last, staggering a little when he ran into a wall, still not quite used to his new lack of depth perception.

"We have a mission, boys." In what Shiro called 'leader mode', Ichigo only had eyes for his target. "War, your mate has information I need. Death, dispose of that somewhere, we'll need your services." Then he turned and summoned his twin.

Shiro was instantly at his King's side with a psychotic grin. They already had something of a psychic connection. The twin effect most talked about, though this was the first time Ichigo had actively used it to share information. The albino read everything and gave a psychotic laugh and his eyes flashed gold. "Lemme get m' book, King."

Ulquiorra disappeared with the sound of ripping velcro and returned clean of blood. Nobody asked what he'd done with the body. While, Renji simply turned and Called for his mate. Gin could get to him faster than he could find the quick little kitsune. And Grimmjow sat back to watch what the twins were cooking up. When they got that look to them, shit tended to explode like a tie-dyed rainbow in the middle of Crazytown.

The silver fox emerged from a cloud, and looked to his mate before Ichigo cleared his throat. "Gin, I'm told you know someone who can find out the Name of almost anyone I could want to contact?"

"Yah, that sounds like Otou-san. Why?" One ear flopped down in confusion and the kitsune tilted his head to the side.

"We're going Hunting." This was a phrase the orangette used anytime there was a specific someone he wanted to taste his fist. "No one curses My court and gets away with it." Power rippled through the courtyard again like a velvet caress over all Four.

"Mah! Prrrrrr." Gin giggled. "He's got a little shop in Karakuracho now. Teaches th' kits 'bout magic an' stuff. I c'n take ya there. If ev'rybody's ready."

Renji nodded, stepping up to his mate, followed by Ulquiorra, who alighted on the ground close by the others. Grimmjow stood from where he'd leaned against the wall and grinned. And finally Aizen inclined his head. It had been a long time since the Four had ridden into battle together and to say that they weren't all interested in it would be a lie.

Shiro was back in a flash, one of his tricks that was half technology, half magic, carrying his book, and when he was settled, Ichigo turned to Gin. "This won't hurt your kits will it?"

"Nah. 'S too early fer them ta affect m' magic." The kitsune grinned...no, beamed. The King knew about his cubs! "Ev'rybody come in close, an' I'll transport us."

Once they had, a slow building mist grew from the ground, enveloping the whole group of seven. Higher and higher it climbed, until the outside world was blocked from view, much as he had with Renji when War had Awakened. In no time at all the cloud was dissapating again, and the surroundings came into view. A small, slightly run-down shop at the end of a wide, brightly sunlit alley, with a dirt area that in the spring was covered in soft grass and wildflowers. The sign over the shoji screen doors proclaimed, 'Shoten'.

"Urahara?!" Shiro gasped. "Yer Otou-san is Uncle Pervy Hat?"

Ichigo frowned and looked to Gin for confirmation. The kitsune merely shrugged, already walking up to the closed doors.

"He took me in when I was a kit. M' Kaa-chan was hit by a car bringin' me here fer somethin' an' Otou-san jus' kept me on. Taught me how ta use magic an' get ta the Other Side, 'bout Contracts an' stuff. There ain't nothin' he don't know."

"That is excellent, perhaps he—" Then the door opened.

Each Horseman stopped dead, and Renji gasped, "YOU!"

Grimmjow visibly recoiled, hissing and crouching protectively in front of his mate. Even Aizen and Ulquiorra both took steps back, wings coming around their bodies in a glaring and obvious protective gesture as Ulquiorra stood in front of his mate.

"Ah..." His voice was shaky, his legs more so. Time had not been kind to the blonde shopkeeper. He leaned heavily on his cane, deep lines carved into his face. "I was wondering when you all would show up. Very good job on the summoning, Shiro-kun. You've always been very timely with these things. Come in, come in, don't make an old man stand around in cold morning air." He turned and shuffled very slowly back into the shop, leaving the door open.

Ichigo and Shiro looked around them frowning a bit. The reaction from the others made the hair on the back of their necks stand on end.

"King...?" The albino asked.

Ichigo ducked around Grimmjow, and with a look at Aizen, stepped forward. "Gin, there is obviously more to this than we were aware. Should we need it, can you provide us with a speedy exit? I don't mean to cast suspicion on your father, but..." He gestured lightly to the Four.

"Ah...hai..." The little kitsune was just as thoroughly confused and more than a little hurt by the way his mate had responded to the man he saw as his father.

The Four looked at each other before Aizen nodded. The other three inclined their heads and, as a unit, all four stalked forward, mates encased within their diamond protective formation. Renji reached for his mate's hand to try and comfort the poor kitsune. Gin actually clung to the redhead's arm, whimpering a little and his mate responded by tucking him into his side with a soft croon. Shiro echoed the sentiment, looping Ulquiorra's tail around his wrist gently, which immediately gripped tighter, and the albino found a black, velvety wing wrapped around his shoulders.

"It appears that there is much explaining to do," Aizen said softly as he entered, at the front of the diamond. He had the least to lose.

Before they crossed the threshold, Ichigo, who was in the center of the diamond as both Grimmjow's mate and the most important person in their group, put a hand on Aizen's shoulder. Sad eyes conveyed the message, 'be strong, Famine.' He would be damned if that crushing loneliness would be allowed to haunt the beautiful demon any longer. He was Awake now, and that meant that these Four were as much his family as his twin. He was answered with a charming smile—the kind that was instinctively registered as a beautiful, non-verbal lie. The butterfly's hand gave his own a gentle squeeze. With a soft, sad sigh, Ichigo dropped back to be closer to Grimmjow, knowing the feline would need him for strength as much as the others would.

...This tale has been told, of the dark, dreary night, by those who in darkness truly delight...