Author's Note: I should have specified the time skip. Grimmjow realized he was pregnant about a month after he started doing it with Ichigo and Byakuya. ^_^ Heh!

Renji came back to consciousness slowly.

That was because he didn't really want to be awake. That would mean another round of that damned arrancar's experiments. Not that he went out of his way to make them torturous. Sometimes he even administered painkillers and sedatives, when he didn't want physical distress to affect his readings. But a lot of the time he wanted normal reactions and that was damned unpleasant to his test subject.

If only Szayel hadn't put this stupid collar on him. Renji desperately wanted to kill the Espada, but his collar was meant to mimic the more powerful ones that Aizen had created. It worked much the same way although he could disobey the Espada, very briefly, if he put all his will into it. Unfortunately he hadn't gotten much of a chance since this nightmare started.

When he finally woke up, though, he registered something odd. Szayel was fiddling with his collar? Why?

"It's keyed to you now. But you might want to get a proper one from Aizen kami when you can." Renji blinked blearily as he realized he couldn't feel Szayel anymore. He'd always had a sense of the Espada's moods, he'd felt them through the collar. Now he was feeling someone different, someone who was… aggravated?

"Yar, yar. How long are you keeping Ichigo?" That made him try to bolt up in panic but he found he just couldn't move that quickly. There was an arm around his shoulders, someone very familiar. Renji blinked and his eyes finally managed to focus.

"Taichou?" He said weakly then stared at Szayel and… "Who?" He could tell it was an arrancar, just from the hollow reiatsu. But he felt very weak compared to Szayel so he couldn't be an Espada. He was wearing a white and blue yukata with a bright red sash. He turned his face to look and Renji was struck by the strangest feeling of familiarity. He was sure he'd seen that face before, but… not. Who was this?

"Oi, you can't recognize me shinigami? Well, you never did see my released form." He reached up to scratch behind the bone 'crown' on his forehead and Renji blinked as he saw his hands were black and capped with retractable, feline like claws. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Quinta Espada."

"What?!" That was a shock but Renji quickly saw that yes, it was him. The power level though… "What happened to you?" He asked and Grimmjow barked a laugh.

"Sex. I'm knocked up." Renji couldn't help but goggle at him. Knocked up? "I'm a hermaphrodite. I've got girl bits."

"Pseudo-hermaphrodite." Szayel corrected him with scientific accuracy. "To be a hermaphrodite both of your genders would have to be fully functional." He explained and Grimmjow twitched his ears. They were on the sides of his head like human ears, but furred and very expressive.

"Yar, yar. Whatever. I struck a deal with the Octava and you belong to me now. Ready to leave for Kuchiki Manor?" He asked and Renji found he was more than willing to go. The devil you knew just didn't hold any water in these circumstances. But then he remembered what Grimmjow had said and felt a chill.

"Wait, Ichigo? What's going on with Ichigo?" He asked, panic settling into his heart. What had Ichigo done? It would be just like him to sacrifice himself for one of his friends! He hardly noticed as Szayel left the room, leaving him with Byakuya and the Quinta Espada.

"Be calm Renji." Byakuya's voice actually did calm him. His taichou knew him very well. "Unohana Retsu is supervising for us." That relaxed him even more. "It is time for you to come with us. You will need more rest."

"But… Ishida…?" He glanced around, hoping his friend was there. But it was just Byakuya and the arrancar. It was Grimmjow who answered.

"He's helping Nemu with Ichigo. Don't worry, he's fine. Szayel said Mayuri had left behind some huge files on Quincy in general, and he didn't see any need to reinvent the wheel and ruin a really great lab assistant." Grimmjow used his pinky to clean one furry ear, growling slightly in irritation. "This form can be annoying… yeah. Your friend should be fine." Renji swallowed but nodded. There was nothing he could do anyway.

Byakuya helped him, but fortunately the pace was slow. The Espada couldn't seem to move any faster and Renji frowned to himself as he examined the arrancar's reiatsu. It was seriously off. Dipping down to gillian levels, almost. Another arrancar or fukutaichou would have no problem taking him right now.

"Why's his reiatsu like that? Is it the pregnancy?" He asked in an undertone and Byakuya gave him a fractional nod. "…Huh." It seemed so strange to him to think of the incredibly aggressive arrancar as pregnant. And not entirely a man. That was just bizarre. He stayed quiet until they reached the manor and looked around curiously. Renji had been to the Kuchiki manor, of course, but it had been a while. Things hadn't changed much. "So how far along are you?" He asked the Espada, trying to strike up a conversation. Grimmjow shrugged.

"No more than a month." He said and Renji nodded. That was about how long he'd been in Szayel's clutches, so they'd gotten started pretty fast. "You get to be one of my bodyguards. There are dozens of arrancar who'd murder me in a heartbeat if they thought they could get away with it."

"Uh?" Renji was a bit shocked by that. "You have a lot of enemies?" He ventured and Grimmjow shrugged.

"Plenty, but that ain't it." The Espada licked his sharp teeth and took a seat on the edge of the fountain, running his hand through the water. "Mind if we stay out here a while? The fresh air and sun might be good for him." He asked Byakuya and Renji flushed a little. He was right though, the sun felt good on his skin. It had been quite a while since he'd felt it. Byakuya considered it a moment and nodded.

"Very well. I will remain until Kurosaki returns from his examination." He said and Grimmjow nodded before glancing back at Renji.

"There's a lot of reasons the other arrancar would want to kill me. For any who feel the urge to evolve, I'd be a damned fine meal. My reiatsu is only down because the cubs are taking it. If they ate me and the babies they'd get the full dose." He explained and Renji couldn't hide his shock and revulsion. Eat the unborn children? "The ones who are already really strong, like the Privaron Espada, would love to make a hole in the ranks they could step into. Dordoni and Cirucci would both try it. Gantenbainne might not, he's an alright guy. And it looks like he's going to make Octava Espada anyway." They were still sorting all that out. "Then there are my superiors. I dunno… Barragan probably wouldn't try anything, he's not stupid. Same for Zommari and he ain't here anyway. It's Yammy that worries me, he's dumb as a stump and incredibly powerful when he releases. And he gets stupider when he uses that form, too." Grimmjow turned to look into the fountain and Renji wondered what he saw there. "So I need bodyguards at all times. Byakuya has his duties so it's mostly Ichigo right now, but you can help out. Tosen doesn't seem to like you, hai?"

"…Hai." Renji snarled, remembering. It had been his own fault really but he couldn't bring himself to regret cussing the traitor out. "Okay, I can do that. So who's the father anyway?" He couldn't imagine who it would be. Grimmjow flashed him a quick grin.

"We don't know yet. Could be Byakuya or could be Ichigo." He said cheerfully and Renji's eyes went wide before he glanced at his taichou in absolute disbelief. Byakuya just met his gaze calmly. "I'm having twins, too. Szayel thinks we'll know who's the sire before the month is out."

"Uh, okay." Renji felt like his brain was breaking. Byakuya had actually…? He knew his taichou liked women. He'd been married before and it had been a love match. And Ichigo? He'd thought they hated each other with a passion! "This is going to be a lot to get used to." He said under his breath. The arrancar just laughed.

"Join the club, shinigami. Hey, are you hungry? I'm always hungry these days." Grimmjow said and Renji blinked as he realized he was ravenous. Byakuya summoned a servant with a look and gave a few quick orders. "The gazebo in the gardens? Nice, I love that place." Grimmjow said approvingly and Renji nodded. It was a beautiful day, lunch in the sun would be nice. And it would give him time to catch up with Byakuya.

He was sure Szayel would be keeping Ichigo for a while.

A week later

Grimmjow beamed to himself as he rested a hand on his belly.

Today he'd gone with Ichigo and Byakuya to find out who was the sire of his cubs and get the first ultrasound. They were developing very quickly – no surprise, panthers had a three month gestation – and the reiatsu pulse had been plenty strong enough for what they needed. They just hadn't expected such amazing results.

Both of them. He was carrying fraternal twins, one from each of them. Szayel had told him that it could only have occurred if he'd had sex with them both in quick succession, which neatly nailed down the conception date. Ichigo's hollow was absurdly proud of himself for 'poaching in' and making sure that one of the offspring was his. Ichigo was a bit embarrassed by his hollow but glad one of the children was his, and Byakuya was just happy he'd be getting an heir to the Kuchiki clan.

Now Grimmjow was wandering around the clan house, Renji at his back. He wasn't doing anything in particular, just stretching his legs and looking around a bit. To his puzzlement he heard the sound of wheels and heard a female giggle.

"What's goin' on here?" He asked before he turned the corner. A girl on a… scooter…? Nearly ran into him. "Who the hell are you?" He asked in confusion as he gazed at pink hair. Renji answered his question before he could.

"Yachiru! You're alive!" The pineapple sounded happy and Grimmjow moved aside so he could hug the girl. She just scowled and jerked on his hair. "Ow!"

"Let me down pineapple!" She commanded and Grimmjow grinned. He'd never actually used the nickname out loud so it was amusing to hear. "Who are you?" She looked at him with a frown on that cute little face and Grimmjow shrugged.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Quinta Espada . What're you doing playing here, girl?" He vaguely remembered her now. She'd always been hanging off the shoulder of that shinigami, the one who'd defeated Nnoitra then finally been obliterated by Aizen. The little girl looked at him thoughtfully for a moment then smiled cheerfully.

"I'm waiting for Ken-chan to get back! He must be lost again. Until he makes it I'm playin'." She said and Grimmjow's heart went out to her. From the stricken look on Renji's face, he'd heard of Kenpachi's fate.

"He's not coming back this time, cub." He said as gently as he could but she shook her head obstinately.

"Ken-chan always comes back! He's invincible." She claimed and Grimmjow sighed to himself. He wasn't going to get through to her. It was time to change the subject. "Why do you feel so strange?" She asked and Grimmjow grinned. His reiatsu was at its lowest point, no surprise with how fast the twins were developing.

"I'm pregnant." He told her as he smoothed the yukata over his completed six pack. Although it didn't look like a six pack anymore. He was starting to show, and developing a layer of fat besides. His hollow hole had vanished with the pregnancy. Yachiru looked confused and he continued. "I'm sort of a girl."

"Really?!" That seemed to excite her. "Maybe you can help me! I spoke to Nanao-chan but she said she can't. And Nemu-chan is so busy." Grimmjow tilted his head to one side. Nanao… he thought she'd been assigned to Yammy. He'd be surprised if she could do much of anything. "I want to start the Shinigami Women's Association again! So I need a new Vice President! You would be perfect!"

"Uh…" Grimmjow blinked as Renji choked. But he could see where she was coming from. It wasn't like he had anything to do, he'd been completely taken off active duty. "What is this thing exactly?" He got a rather garbled explanation from Yachiru. Renji clarified it a bit more. "So, it's basically a social club?" He was a bit interested. He was starting to make friends around Kuchiki manor, but everyone was still wary of him. Well, except for Kameyo. The kid waved every time she saw him.

"Yes! We do things to make Soul Society a better place." Yachiru said. From the look on Renji's face, Grimmjow doubted that was true. But the redhead had the sense not to say it right in front of the girl.

"Okay, why not." Grimmjow said agreeably, hoping he wasn't getting himself into something dangerous. But it sounded harmless and he was bored. "You know, if you're gonna be staying here you need a room. I'll talk to Byakuya about it." He doubted his mate would be hard hearted enough to kick Yachiru out. And if he was, Grimmjow could overrule him, although he would prefer not to do that. All his instincts told him to keep his mates happy with him. It should have pissed him off, but for some reason it didn't.

He was going to blame it on the hormones.

Unohana looked at the scans in front of her contemplatively.

The Fourth was more concerned with healing than the scientific. Like the difference between a doctor and a research scientist, they were more concerned with making things right than determining exactly how they had gone wrong. But she was still no stranger to scientific enquiry and Grimmjow's ultrasounds were of more than minor interest to her.

A panther's gestation was only three months, and that was showing the infants. It was slowed down slightly, likely due to his conversion to an arrancar and the gaining of humanoid features. Unohana thought the children would likely be born in five months. Considerably shorter than the shinigami norm but longer than almost any hollow. Being powerless in Hueco Mundo was exceedingly dangerous, even with a mate to help.

She contemplated her own situation and grimaced slightly. As the strongest surviving woman among the shinigami, she had been given to Starrk-sama. He was gentle with her and often gave her some pleasure, as well as possessing a surprisingly charming personality. He slept an amazing amount of time, acting far more like a cat than Grimmjow. Lilynette made up for it and Unohana was becoming quite fond of the young girl.

What she didn't like about her situation was the gestation period of a wolf. They made cats look like slowpokes, carrying their young for only two months. Unohana wasn't certain how that would translate to her but suspected any pregnancy would be very short. Still, she had her orders. They had been given to her from Starrk through her collar but the way he'd phrased it had made it clear he had no idea what he was asking her to do. The orders had actually come from Aizen-kami.

For shinigami, conceiving was always rather difficult. When they decided they seriously wanted children, they commonly resorted to kido and drugs to increase the odds. Unohana knew her body well and knew precisely which drugs would have the best effect. Finding the jar on the wall, she began fixing herself the tea. Szayel would no doubt have preferred an injection and that might have been more effective, but Unohana preferred a more holistic approach. It was better in terms of long term health, as well.

As she drank her eyes strayed back to the ultrasounds. It was too early to tell much about the children, but she strongly suspected that one of them was developing a tail. She was honestly quite curious to see how they would turn out.

It would give her some idea of what to expect when her turn came.

"Renji, what are you doing?" Ichigo asked in puzzlement. His friend was fiddling with something strange.

He was glad to see Renji coming back to normal. It had been hard the first few weeks, when he'd been prone to nightmares and often woke up thinking that he was in Szayel's tender care. But the effects of the trauma had gradually worn off and he was getting back to his usual self. Only without much in the way of duties, he was finding some odd ways to amuse himself. Byakuya did not approve but he was waiting for a good moment to bring Renji up to Tosen and see if their overseer would permit the redhead a place in the Divisions as a taichou. They were short enough on taichou that Tosen might forgive his outburst and decide his fiery nature had been tamed enough.

"It's something I got off that Saburo guy. It's a laser pointer." Renji demonstrated it, sending a dot of red light skittling across the ground. Ichigo scratched his head.

"Okay, I know what laser pointers are. But why do you have one?" He couldn't imagine what… Ichigo's eyes suddenly went wide as he thought of something. "Oh you are not." Renji's grin was not at all reassuring. "Grimmjow's going to maim you." He predicted and the grin only widened.

"He can't, remember? And it'd be worth it anyway!" Renji said gaily and Ichigo had to admit he had a point. His hollow was sniggering, too. "Let's see if it works. He's in the garden."

Grimmjow was indeed in the garden, dozing in the sun like a giant cat. He was wearing a new yukata today. Byakuya had called in tailors and gotten him fully outfitted. The loose garments were perfect for his anatomy and the growth that was expected. The current yukata was white cotton decorated with a pattern of blue flowers. The belt was yellow silk, an unexpected contrast to the white cotton. Ichigo blushed a little as Grimmjow stretched and yawned, flexing his clawed fingers into the grass. His yukata parted, giving them a glimpse of long, well muscled legs before he went still again.

Renji danced the dot of red light in front of the sleeping Espada, but there was no reaction as he dozed on. The shinigami took care of that by dragging the red light over closed eyelids. That made Grimmjow stir with a snarl and blue eyes opened, glancing around for what had disturbed him. He didn't spot the two of them but he did find the little red light.

Ichigo held his breath as he saw Grimmjow go from annoyed to puzzled, then curious. A black hand snapped down on the light, which darted away. The other hand followed, but then Grimmjow suddenly stopped, his brow furrowing. Then he deliberately lifted his hand and caught the red light on the back of it. Blue eyes snapped away, following the trail of the light to its source and Ichigo immediately pointed at Renji, who had a clear 'busted' look on his face. He wanted no part of the coming explosion.

But Grimmjow surprised them both by just giving them a look of complete disgust before yawning and rolling over, going back to his nap. Ichigo released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and Renji shrugged, putting the laser pointer away.

"I guess taichou is right. He's not stupid, just uneducated." Ichigo choked a little at that, although he could easily picture Byakuya saying it. He was very honest with Grimmjow and Ichigo could tell the arrancar appreciated it. "He caught on really fast. I doubt they've got any laser pointers in Hueco Mundo."

"Probably not. But don't do that again, Ishida will kill me if I let you get hurt." Renji just laughed but Ichigo was serious. Ishida had had some painful things to say to him about his failure to rescue Inoue and protect Karakura town. And he'd made it clear that as the least encumbered of them all, he needed to find out if everyone was alright. And if they weren't, he needed to make it happen. Ichigo had no idea how he was going to do that, but they key was Grimmjow. He needed to take advantage of the pregnancy as long as it lasted. It felt a bit manipulative, but he had no choice.

His friends might be counting on it.