"Oh dear." Unohana murmured as she stepped up to the bed. "I should have anticipated this." She looked over the Espada in her care with amusement. Then she gently set a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. He was sleeping in one of the nearby chairs. "Kurosaki-kun, could you please wake Grimmjow-san for me?" She could do it herself, of course, but given his current state it would be better from someone he knew and trusted.

"Huh?" Ichigo rubbed his eyes, straightening and wincing at a few muscle pains. "What do you – oh!" He exclaimed as his gaze fell on Grimmjow. "…I was hoping that would last longer." He sounded very disappointed and Unohana allowed herself a small laugh as a bone covered tail twitched.

Grimmjow was back to all his lean, dangerous glory. The hollow hole had returned, right in his abdomen where it should be, and his armor had reformed. The babies were cradled in the crook of his arms, one on either side. Unohana wasn't worried about them. Their position kept them safe from the Espada's razor sharp arm blades. Still, it would definitely be better if he sealed up his power. Right now he could easily destroy the bed.

"It does mean that his power had returned to normal levels." She advised the teen, who nodded before gently touching Grimmjow's shoulder. The Espada grumbled and twitched, one arm blade digging into the blankets. Blue eyes opened and he blinked groggily.

"The hell is it?" He growled. Ichigo smiled, gesturing at his body and Grimmjow followed his hand with a puzzled look that quickly turned into surprise. "Woah! That didn't last long." He said, carefully lifting one arm and examining the bone. "Sec." He quickly resealed his power, the bone vanishing and his sword appearing in one hand. "Uh. Can you take this? Pointy objects and babies do not mix."

"Right." Ichigo quickly took Pantera, setting it in a corner of the room. It leaned there proudly, sharp and dangerous as always.

"Your clothes are right here, Grimmjow-san. It's probably time for you to go home. I believe the Kuchiki clan is looking forward to seeing the children." Unohana said with a gentle smile and Grimmjow huffed a laugh as he very carefully disentangled himself from the children. The care was for naught, as they both woke up with matching whimpers, unhappy at the loss of their mother. The clothing was his blue and white yukata. Grimmjow quickly pulled it on, put his sword in his sash and gathered up Hisana as Ichigo took Tigre. He noted, with amusement, that the teen always took his own son and left the girl to him. But then, his hollow would certainly want to give their boy more attention than Byakuya's daughter.

Grimmjow frowned a little at the thought before forcing it out of mind. It was natural and he would just have to work with it. He didn't think Kurosaki would be cruel or cold to the girl, and that was all that mattered. Cuddling Hisana close, he smiled as a tiny black hand gripped the silk of his yukata. Her hands were just like his resurrection, black and clawed.

"I wonder what the Kuchiki clan's going to make of this." He said to Ichigo as they started out. He was feeling a bit sore, but his healing factors and the kido they'd used had done the trick.

"I have no idea and I don't want to guess." Ichigo said and Grimmjow barked a laugh. "Byakuya said something about a formal presentation to the elders. I think you'll have to wear that kimono he got you."

"Oh yeah? I might like that." He hadn't tried the kimono yet, not really. It was black and white and very unisex. It would look good on him, and very masculine at the moment. His sealed form definitely looked more male than his 'pregnancy' resurrection. Although the thought of parading his children in front of a bunch of strangers made his instincts uneasy. It helped that they were relatives, but still… "Do what I have to do." He mumbled to himself. These weren't hollows, they were shinigami, and everyone always wanted to see the new baby in the family. Maybe they would give him some time to settle in though. That would be pleasant.

When they got to the Kuchiki manor his nest was mostly unchanged, but there were additions. A cooling box and freezing box… the shinigami equivalent of refrigerators, they ran on kido… with a supply of breast milk. Also there were two attendants assigned to him, pleasant girls with plenty of experience with children under their belts. They were named Miyaki and Chiyo. Chiyo went to fetch them some food as Miyaki helped Ichigo get the milk ready. She had a neat little kido trick to heat it and Grimmjow grinned at the thought of Ichigo trying it. He'd melt the bottle, for certain. That was if it didn't explode.

"Do you want to feed her?" He asked Ichigo who looked surprised. "I want to feed Tigre." So far, he'd almost always fed his girl while Ichigo fed the boy. The only exception had been when Byakuya was there, but then Grimmjow had let them both feed the children while he napped. It hadn't been long but he still wanted the experience of feeding his little boy. Ichigo got an odd look on his face for a moment and Grimmjow was willing to bet he was talking with his hollow. Then he gave him a warm smile.

"Of course." He said before gently taking Hisana. She gazed up at him with wide eyed curiosity that was quickly replaced with contentment as she was offered the bottle. Grimmjow took a seat and cradled Tigre in the crook of his arm, smiling as the little boy fed. Bright blue eyes gazed up at him raptly and Grimmjow felt a deep contentment. He was home, safe in his nest with his offspring.

All was right with the world.

Of course, it couldn't last.

Grimmjow gazed at himself in a mirror before nodding. The kimono he was wearing was largely black, with a bit of white embroidery on the sleeves. That embroidery was very appropriate to him, a stylized, tribal panther running under a full moon. The belt was white and the whole ensemble was very nice.

"Ready to go." He said, turning to look at his children with a smile. Hisana's furry legs made any kind of pants impractical, but that was just fine for a little girl. She was dressed in a baby yukata, a beautiful purple with pink sakura blossoms. Tigre was in Ichigo's arms, wearing nothing but his diaper and a smile. The Kuchiki clan thought he was adorable, but the elders weren't interested in seeing him. Today was for Hisana.

"You're okay with this?" Ichigo said, slightly concerned and Grimmjow nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He knew why Ichigo was asking, but Szayel's fears about becoming nestbound had proved groundless. He needed help to nurse his babies, in the form of fresh milk and he'd quickly gotten used to having attendants. That and his own personality had ensured that he didn't stick in the nest. Grimmjow was restless and feeling his powers returning, he needed to get out and about. "Just don't let silly there get poop in his hair again." He said and Ichigo grimaced, looking down at his son. Tigre looked up innocently. "You're not a monkey, brat, you don't play with your poop." His diaper had overflowed and the little baby had thought it was great fun. No one else had agreed.

"He thinks he's a little monkey, don't you?" Ichigo asked the boy, who giggled and reached up. Then he smiled and rested a kiss on his forehead. Grimmjow looked up as the door opened. Byakuya had been getting ready in his own rooms, with his attendants, but now he was here. He was wearing a similar kimono to Grimmjow's, but embroidered with a small pattern of sakura blossoms.

"You are ready?" He glanced over Grimmjow and the Espada nodded before picking up Hisana. She grasped the silk of his kimono with a surprisingly strong grip for a newborn. Little claws dug into the fabric and Grimmjow was sure there would be a few marks. Those would be wickedly sharp weapons, someday.

"Yep, we're both good." He said, glancing down at his daughter with a smile. She had been born with a very full head of hair, so the girls had even put in a very tiny sakura blossom clip. The baby didn't seem to mind at all. Byakuya gazed at his daughter with a smile before nodding and turning away.

Byakuya led him to a new part of the manor. It was behind the seal, in the same spot as the archives, but Grimmjow had never been there. He looked around curiously, examining the style of the place. It was similar to the rest of the manor, rather minimalist compared to the things he'd seen as a ghost. But there were beautiful potted plants and tiny, carefully sculpted trees everywhere. What were they called? He couldn't remember but they were quite beautiful.

The room he was brought to was protected by very strong kido. Grimmjow could sense the wards that were meant to defeat attacks and attempts at spying, but they admitted him easily. The elders of the Kuchiki clan were waiting there for them. There were five of them and Grimmjow blinked at their obvious age. Three of them looked like they had a foot in the grave and the other two were just as old, but clearly more vigorous. Byakuya bowed to them respectfully and they bowed back. Grimmjow performed his own bow, carefully balancing Hisana. Her nails went a bit deeper into his kimono, but other than that she didn't seem to mind.

"So this is the long awaited heir to the Kuchiki clan." The lone woman in the group said with a smile. Her hair was a steel grey that had probably once been jet black and her kimono was quite ornate. "I am Kuchiki Akari. May I hold her, Jaegerjaquez-san?" She asked and he nodded.

"Of course, Kuchiki-san." He said before passing the baby over. His instincts didn't like giving up his offspring even for a moment, particularly to someone he didn't know, but his intellect knew better. This was necessary. All the elders would test the child for resonance to the clan, ensuring that Hisana was a legitimate heir. The little one blinked curiously, not at all put out by the stranger. Then Hisana giggled and reached for Akari's necklace. The woman smiled as the baby gripped the pendant, enjoying the feel of the large piece of jade.

"A very beautiful child." She said approvingly. "And most certainly a member of our clan." She added before gently disentangling the girl and passing her to another of the elders. It didn't take long for them to all verify that Hisana was most definitely Byakuya's child. Grimmjow thought they could have just gotten a blood test from Szayel if they wanted absolute proof, but apparently this was the way it was done.

"Will you be continuing this liason?" One of the 'foot in the grave' ones asked, to Grimmjow's annoyance. The disapproval wasn't blatant, but he wasn't stupid. He could hear it. Byakuya just looked at the man serenely.

"We had intended to. It would be much better for the Kuchiki clan if we had multiple heirs." He said and Grimmjow nodded. Kurosaki's hollow would have something to say about that, but he was all in favor of more little Kuchiki's. Of course, it probably wouldn't happen for a while. He'd gotten pregnant astonishingly quickly the first time.

"An honorable marriage would be preferable." Akari said with gentle regret and Grimmjow scowled as he felt Byakuya stiffen fractionally. It wouldn't have been obvious to anyone who didn't know him well, but they were pretty close now.

"What we do isn't your business." He said bluntly and they all looked offended as Akari frowned. "I'm still the Espada of Destruction and what I say goes. We're going to have more kids, deal with it." It was better for him to take responsibility rather than let them snipe at one of his mates. And they seemed to have forgotten that he was in charge here. Just because he hadn't used his authority didn't mean it had vanished.

"Of course, Grimmjow-sama." Akari said politely as he glared at them dangerously and the matter was dropped. They were allowed to leave and Grimmjow felt better as they exited the seal. He approved of that place in general – it would be an excellent spot to put his children if there was an attack – but the kido felt a little claustrophobic.

"You handled that quite well." Byakuya observed and Grimmjow chuckled softly as they got back to his rooms.

"You mean by not killing them? …Woah, what is this?" Grimmjow asked, startled, as he saw what Ichigo and Tigre were doing. Tigre was trying to crawl and Ichigo was gently urging him on. "He can do that?" He said with a bit of concern. Crawling wasn't something a week old infant should be doing. Of course, Tigre was doing a terrible job at it but still. Ichigo looked up at him with a smile.

"I think they're growing faster than normal." He said and Grimmjow bit his lip. He really didn't want his cubs to grow up too quickly, but memory informed him that adjuchas cubs typically took about a year. Glancing over at Byakuya, he saw the shinigami was frowning too. The only one who seemed unaffected was Ichigo. "I don't care, he's perfect." The teen murmured, picking up Tigre and gently cuddling him. That made Grimmjow smile.

"Yeah, he is." That made him decide not to stress over it. It wasn't like he could change it, anyway. The cubs were what they were and if they grew up quickly he would just have to keep trying for more. That was a cheerful thought and Grimmjow gently set Hisana down on her belly. The little girl looked up at him quizzically, trying to figure out what was on his mind.

"You want to try too sweety?" He murmured but she showed no inclination to follow Tigre's lead. Instead she screwed up her face with effort and Grimmjow chuckled as he caught a familiar smell. "I think someone needs a change. You want to help?" He asked Byakuya. Normally a noble would never do such things, but he seemed to be finding that he enjoyed being hands on with his daughter. If Chiyo and Miyaki thought it was odd, they weren't going to say so.

"Certainly." He said with a smile before picking up Hisana. She gripped his formal kimono, her little claws leaving more punctures behind. Grimmjow helped out a bit, removing the little sakura clip so they could remove her yukata more easily, but Byakuya did most of the changing and he thought it was beautiful to see.

His children both had very attentive fathers.

"You're not getting out of this, shinigami." Grimmjow taunted, enjoying the wind in his hair and the weight of a sword in his hand. Not that he was moving, it was just a windy day. But he was more than willing to put his sword to use.

"Try me arrancar!" Ichigo's grin was wicked, his eyes already bleeding the gold. Grimmjow grinned before lifting his sword and attacking with all of his considerable power. It felt so good to finally have it back! Not that he'd let himself get out of practice when he was pregnant. But it was galling, knowing his opponents were holding back so they wouldn't hurt him.

They clashed multiple times, their reiatsu filling the air with power. Then Kurosaki managed to cut him. It was only a thin slash, nothing important but a reminder of how powerful the hybrid was. Grimmjow grinned and pressed his attack, enjoying every moment of it. This was what he lived for –

Then something, a mother's instinct perhaps, made him completely lose interest in the spar. His head turned and he scowled, making Ichigo pull back. They both lowered their weapons in an unspoken agreement and Ichigo looked puzzled before Grimmjow cursed.

"The kids!" He sheathed his sword and used sonido to head back to his quarters. Ichigo's eyes went wide and he followed suit, following close behind. As soon as they got close they could hear the screaming. "Shit!" It didn't sound like hunger, unhappiness or anything else he'd gotten accustomed to. It sounded like terror and that made Grimmjow's hair stand on end. Running in he saw the girls were holding both the twins, confused and trying to comfort the little ones. "What's wrong?" He demanded, glancing around for any threat. There was nothing. Chiyo was the one who answered.

"We don't know Grimmjow-sama. They just started screaming." She said, quite distressed. Grimmjow blinked and frowned before taking Hisana as Ichigo took Tigre, trying to comfort his boy. Grimmjow checked her over with his reiatsu and found her reiatsu was in a state of high distress and she was looking at him with tear filled grey eyes. But what had…?

"Oh shit. I'm a moron." He said out loud and Ichigo gave him a questioning look as the children started to settle. "It was us, our spar. They felt my power releasing and then they smelled my blood." It was all so clear to him now. With hollows, the mother was supposed to be kept safe in the den while the father or fraccion hunted. Even if the mother had to hunt, she wasn't supposed to be hurt near the den. Smelling their mother's blood and feeling his power would have spelled terrible danger for the little ones. "Aw, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He crooned to Hisana, who gave him the most accusing look he'd ever imagined in an infant. Tigre's look was even better, all big, teary blue eyes. Don't scare us like that again, mama! If they could speak Grimmjow was sure that was what they would be saying.

"Oh. So we can't spar?" Ichigo said, almost disappointed. Their spars usually ended in a good fuck. Grimmjow considered it a moment and frowned.

"We'll have to go somewhere else to spar, like one of the Division training grounds. Which means you'll have to tell your horndog hollow to hold off until we get back." He said and Ichigo blushed. The Kuchiki clan had learned to leave them alone until well after the sparring was done, but he couldn't expect that from the Divisions and he was damned if he'd put on a show for them. "For now, why don't we take the kids into the gardens?" He suggested. The twins were still recovering from their shock, they might start howling again if he left them alone.

"We could get you some snacks and tea." Miyaki suggested brightly and Grimmjow grinned. He was getting a reputation for having a sweet tooth. Not as bad as Yachiru, but he still loved his sweets.

"I'd appreciate that, thanks." He didn't ask what the sweets would be. He was in the mood for a surprise. The kids were both feeling much better as they took them outside and set them down to play in the garden. Not that they could do much playing at only a few weeks old, but Hisana was attempted to crawl too now. There was a hole in her yukata for her tail and Grimmjow grinned at how the stubby little thing stayed bolt upright as she tried to move around. It was simply adorable. So was the way she chirped and tried to grab a butterfly, then landed on her face. That made her cry and Tigre burble with laughter at his sister's silliness. Grimmjow settled back to enjoy the sun and the antics of the children, smiling as he felt Ichigo's arm around his shoulders.

Despite his interrupted spar, all was right with the world.

"Oh fuck you too." Grimmjow groaned as he listened to the hell butterfly. "Shit." Szayel wanted a checkup with his children and was rather pointedly reminding him about his promise to hand over some eggs. Along with a warning that his ability to create reiatsu infusions might be compromised for a day or two, so Ichigo and Byakuya would have to feed the babies. "…" That posed a serious problem, but one they had actually been working on. "Hey Ichigo, how are your kido lessons coming?" He called and the door to the bathroom opened a bit.

"Huh? It's going alright… why?" He asked and Grimmjow couldn't help but smile. Ichigo was wearing nothing but a towel and the water on his skin made him look absolutely muncheable. He was tempted to jump the teen but manfully held back.

"Will you be ready to do reiatsu infusions soon?" He asked and Ichigo frowned. "Szayel is calling in my debt for giving him Renji. He wants my eggs and apparently I'm going to be sick as a dog for at least a day afterwards." He wasn't looking forward to that. Grimmjow was pretty sure Szayel was underestimating the discomfort he would be in. Ichigo hesitated then nodded sharply, a steely glint of determination in his eyes.

"I'll work on it day and night if I have to. When does he want you?" He asked and Grimmjow grinned. He was sure Ichigo would manage it. There might be a lot of exploded bottles, but he'd get it in the end.

"No date set yet. I need to find out when Byakuya can get a few days off." That would be a bit difficult. Things in the Rukongai were still pretty bad. A few of the new judges and other officials had been assassinated, and the newly made police force was having a rough time. On the plus side, the shinigami and arrancar seemed to be coming to a kind of balance. There were a lot less warriors disappearing, anyway. Quickly summoning a hell butterfly Grimmjow sent it back with a message that he'd get to it as soon as possible. Then he glanced at the children. They were asleep together in their crib, arms and legs tangled together. Grimmjow was very glad they were twins. It seemed to make it easier for them to sleep away from him, since they had the other twin there. "I bet they wouldn't notice if we left for your room." He said in as insinuating a tone as he could manage, eyeing the water that was still beading on pale skin. Ichigo looked surprised, then smiled before advancing on him and letting the towel fall away.

"In the mood for some midday fun?" He asked, and Grimmjow grinned before doing what he desperately wanted and licking away the beads of water, savoring the taste of his mate's skin. Ichigo nuzzled him before giving him a feral bite and Grimmjow shivered at the feeling of blunt teeth against his skin.

"You've turned me into a sex addict." Ichigo said, his voice husky and his eyes lightening to gold. "I just can't get enough of you." Hands were impatiently working on his hakama but Grimmjow stopped him, taking a step back.

"The other room, and grab your towel. We don't want to scandalize the girls." He warned and Ichigo paused, a frustrated look on his face. Grimmjow glanced down and couldn't help but grin. "Fold it really well." If not, the girls would still see plenty. That raging hard on was pretty obvious.

"I hate you sometimes." The warmth in Ichigo's voice was wrath but also something much nicer. Grimmjow laughed, giving the teen a grin as he retrieved the towel. Then he started out, casually warning the girls to cover their eyes. Ichigo's yelp made him grin even more.

The teen would punish him for this and he'd enjoy every moment of it.