Definitely Maybe – Chapter 4 – Hollows, Secrets Exposed, Old Souls
9 Years Later
(Grimmjow's POV)
In the throngs of sleep I hear my subconscious penetrated by some sort of argument. "Shit, what are they going on about now?!" I think as I roll off the bed and head to the twins' room. But what I find isn't so much an argument as an excited conversation. Before me I see my son Rocky successfully holding a full barrier over his sister Michelle while she was trying to break out of it.
"Oi pip-squeaks, we told you no training in the house! What happens if you blow something up?" I say with less anger than I would have normally. I'm just too damn proud of them to really let them have it. They both smile sheepishly and stop what they are doing.
"Sorry dad, we're just so excited to get started and I wanted to practice one more time before aunt Rukia and uncle Renji picked us up," Rocky says as he helpd his sister up from the floor.
I smirk before ushering them downstairs to get breakfast. In the hall we run into their brother Wilhelm. He looks up and with large eyes says, "Daddy, can I go to Soul Society too? I want to train like Rocky and Michelle!"
Indicating for him to join us I answer, "Willy, we talked about this. This summer your brother and sister are going and next summer you'll go with your cousin."
He pouts but doesn't say anything more, he knows I am not one to take kindly to whining.
Orihime is already in the kitchen making breakfast for us all. I kiss her cheek and sit down with the kids at the table.
"Are you all packed? We'll be heading to Kisuke's right after breakfast," their mother asks as she flips pancakes on the griddle.
"Yes mom, I put our bags by the door last night, we can't wait to go!" Michelle exclaims.
The twins are ecstatic that they will be spending their summer in Soul Society being trained by their aunts and uncles on the "other side". We had begun some with them in Kisuke's shop but that wasn't always available. Orihime had mentioned our plight to Yoruichi and somehow she'd wrangled them permission to stay with the Kuchiki's at their manor for the summer to get trained. It would be their first venture to Soul Society without us and they couldn't wait.
Wilhelm is still pouting enough that his mother notices (he's got her wrapped around his finger I swear) and after she'd set the food on the table she crouches down so her eyes are level with his as he sat in his chair, "Wilhelm what's wrong?" she asks softly.
"I want to go to Soul Society too! I have powers, it's not fair that they get to go and I don't," he exclaims.
Shaking her head Orihime answers, "You know you'll get to go next year with Kira and you'll have so much fun with her." It's nice when we agree on something every once in a while when it comes to the kids. He sighs, "Yeah, but she's just like uncle Uryu, so serious all the time." I chuckle in agreement with my son, that apple has not fallen too far from the tree.
After this we enjoyed a relatively quiet breakfast for our family which gives me time to reflect on the event that prompted us to explain secret lives to our kids. How we'd kept them in the dark for as long as we did I'll never know but that day there was no more hiding anything from them.
Two years ago
(THIRD PERSON POV)
During a particularly hot day right before summer vacation Grimmjow was on patrol in Karakura while his kids were at school and his wife at work. With the kids in school he could more easily do his patrols as he did not have to babysit them during the day. He only had to make sure to avoid being seen by them when he went by the school. He'd timed his pass over it when he knew they were inside and had very little chance of being seen. Plus he'd move in Sonído anyway so the likelihood of them seeing him was even lower.
He'd just finished his pass over the school and was making his way towards the park when he suddenly felt a spike in spiritual pressure coming from the direction he'd just left.
"Shit, please no," he thought as he sped back to the school. As he rounded the corner he came upon a Menos hollow towering over the school building.
"Damn it!" he thought as the hollow slowly bent down, almost as if he were looking for something. Grimmjow hadn't noticed any errant spirits in the area so unless it had followed him…"NO!" he shouted as he noticed the giant hand moving towards a classroom window, right where he saw his daughter sitting. She had been listening to the teacher but he saw her suddenly sit up more straight in her seat, almost like a hound coming to attention on a particular scent.
Grimmjow'd never Sonido'd faster in his life but he was still not quick enough to get there before the giant hand had swiped at the window causing it to shatter. He heard the screams and shouts of the children and teacher wondering what happened to the window. Michelle had ducked under the desk and was thankfully little harmed by the flying glass. Grimmjow saw his daughter make eye contact with him and her eyes went wide. Then she noticed the hand coming back and her eyes widened even more. Surprisingly she didn't scream but he figured she was so terrified she couldn't do much more than stare at the site before her.
Grimmjow had pulled his sword and cut the hand reaching for her, causing the Menos to shriek in pain. He was near enough to the window to talk to her, noticing that the teacher was yelling for everyone to get in the hall. "Go on Michelle, follow your teacher, I'll take care of this," he said. She blinked and then nodded, getting up from the floor and moving to the door. Grimmjow sighed and got back to the task at hand.
The Menos was coming after him now and that's what he wanted. He stood just outside its reach trying to lure it away from the school. However, it moved around the building again and he had to chase after it.
"Fucking piece of shit, come get me!" he shouted but the Menos was intent on its search of the school. Grimmjow knew his kids had their own spiritual pressure but he also knew that he as larger prey should have drawn it away. Now he could only fear that it was because his kids were of a completely different caliber that this monster was still after them.
The next instant he saw a flash go past his eye and an arrow imbedded into the Menos' side erupting new shrieks from it. Ishida was here.
"Grimmjow, what the hell is going on? Why aren't you leading it away?" he called irritated.
"Like I don't know what the fuck I'm doing Quincy, I've been trying but it's fixated on my kids!" the ex-Espada shouted back.
"Dad, dad!" they heard from below and looking down both saw Rocky and Michelle running from the building.
"Damn it," Grimmjow cursed flying down to them, "what are you doing out here? Where is everyone else?" he growled in his frustration. Both kids winced slightly at his tone but Rocky answered, "We told them to go to the basement and we'd follow but then when we saw whatever that is coming after us we decided to lure him away."
Ishida had reached them to hear this last part and smirking said, "So much like their parents, especially their mother."
Both kids smiled despite the danger but at the next roar of the Menos they dropped their countenance and all looked behind them. The Menos was slowly making its way to them.
"Dad, we have to get away from here, take us with you, he'll follow!" Michelle yelled.
Grimmjow hesitated but knew they were right. Risking the wrath of his wife he picked up Rocky while Ishida picked up Michelle and they both flash stepped away as fast as they could. While they were moving Grimmjow couldn't help saying, "You're both really calm for having found out there are monsters and that your dad and uncle can practically fly."
Rocky smirked, "We've known for a while that something was up. Both of us overheard you and mom talking about something that made no sense but we knew she didn't want us to know about it so we pretended we didn't." That made him laugh despite their current situation.
By now they felt Ichigo's reiatsu approaching them and he met them in the field of one of the parks.
"What the hell are the kids going here!" he shouted at Grimmjow, causing the blue hair to almost deck him in the face.
"Calm down Kurosaki, the Menos attacked the school trying to get to them. Ironically the safest place they can be is where we can see them because if we move them to another location it'll just go after them there," Ishida answered.
Grimmjow looked over the parking lot and saw his wife's car, her standing next to it with her eyes wide. He grabbed both the kids and Sondio'd to her. "They'll tell you what happened I have to get back to the fight. I love you," Grimmjow said hurriedly as he kissed her check and raced back to help the shinigami and the Quincy.
Ishida and Ichigo were in the full throngs of battle with the Menos now. They were flying around it, each attacking from different sides and dodging attacks.
As Orihime kept her eyes on the fight and where the Menos was throwing his attacks her children told her what had happened at the school. She hugged them both to her tightly and said, "I'm so proud of you both, you are so brave. So much braver than I was when I was older than you by a number of years the first time I saw a hollow."
"Mom, I knew dad was there before I saw him, I could feel him and knew he would take care of us," Michelle said proudly. Orihime looked down then and smiled at her daughter. Grimmjow was Michelle's hero just like he was hers.
"Orihime look out!" she heard and saw as an errant cero blast was making its way to them. "Santen Kesshun!" she shouted and her shield dome appeared in an instant deflecting the blast.
"WOW mom! I didn't know you have powers too!" Rocky exclaimed, his eyes wide. She couldn't help feeling happy at how awed and proud he looked staring at her. Another blast slammed against the shield but it held firm.
"Enough is enough, Koten Zanshu!," she shouted and off Tsubaki flew towards the Menos mask. She could see the men were having a hard time reaching it because of the attacks so while they were distracting it she'd focused all her energy and attention on it. Tsubaki hit it with full force and a large crack appeared. The next moment the whole mask fell away and the Menos shrieked before it disintegrated.
"Way to go mom!" both kids shouted together and Grimmjow smiled widely at her. He was so proud of how much stronger she'd gotten over the years. Reaching them he embraced his wife with the kids between them, hugging both their parents.
"I'm so glad you're ok, I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you fast enough," Grimmjow said to the twins.
"What are you talking about dad? You were there almost instantly! Now, I want to hear ALL about everything!" Michelle said jumping up and down. "Yeah, tell us everything!" Rocky agreed.
Starting that day they and their brother were introduced to everything having to do with Soul Society, their aunts and uncles, hollows and where their father came from.
Grimmjow's POV
"Grimmjow, hey, are you ok?" I hear my wife say and realize I was daydreaming. She must be rubbing off on me after all this time.
"Yeah, sorry babe, just lost in my thoughts," I answer with a slight smirk.
"Renji and Rukia should be arriving soon, let's get over to Kisuke's," she says smiling back at me.
Grabbing the kids' bags I head outside and load them up in the car. After we're all buckled in I drive us to the shop.
"Ah, the little munchkins are ready for their big summer in Soul Society eh?" Kisuke greets us at the door.
"We're not little anymore uncle Kisuke! We're 12 for crying out loud," Rocky says with a huff. This just makes the man grin more as he ruffled my boy's dirty blonde hair.
As the rest of the greetings were going on we hear the Senkaimon open and turn to see Renji and Rukia arriving from Soul Society. Unlike the rest of Orihime's friends these two gave me the least trouble, possibly other than Chad and that's just because the giant never speaks.
Shaking Renji's hand I say, "Thanks again for doing this, the kids are really excited."
Renji smiles as he hugs my children hello before Rukia takes her turn to greet us all.
"Ok, you guys ready to go?" she asks looking at the twins.
"YES!" they both exclaim their eyes wide with excitement and anticipation.
Both of them turn to Orihime and I hugging us tightly. Orihime kisses both of them on the top of the head as she says, "Be good, I don't want to have to deal with an irritated Byakuya Kuchiki."
Rukia laughs at this and we look at her, "Orihime, you should know by now that nii-sama absolutely loves your children. He may seem cold on the outside but he's warmed up a lot. Especially since he and Rangiku got together."
"I know, I just don't want them to wear out their welcome, ne?" she replies looking at the twins. Overall they are good kids but they have a penchant for mischief. I guess they get that from me.
"Ok, enough talking, let's go!" Renji exclaims. Then looking at Rocky he asks, "Rocky, do you think you'll be able to run this time? I have to carry the bags and your sister so I doubt I can carry you too."
I feel Orihime tense up next to me and put my arm around her as we hear our son say, "No problem Uncle Renji, I've been practicing. I can carry my own bag too!"
My chest swells with pride as I watch my son, just barely 12 years old, speaking and behaving like a young man. Pride in others was nothing something I was used to for a long time but now I enjoy the feeling. Having feelings, even after all this time, sometimes catches me off guard.
Renji nods his head, "Ok then big man, let's go!"
They all load up and head to the gate as it opens. With one final wave we watch as our children embark on their own adventure into Soul Society.
Next to me Orihime is crying of course and I hug her, planting a kiss on her head, "They'll be fine," I say quietly to her. She nods and we take our leave with Wilhelm.