Grimmjow grinned as he playfully tapped the top of the cage. The little hollow within made a high pitched hiss, sounding like a tea kettle that was about to boil over. His students murmured to each other, peering at the cage.
"It's so kawaii!" One of the girls exclaimed and Grimmjow laughed, glancing down at the hollow. It really was pretty damn cute, about the size of a real housecat. It was very animalistic, unlike most basic hollows, and had a full body of tawny gold fur. The hollow skull mask it was wearing made it a touch less cute but for a hollow it was still adorable.
"Alright, listen up!" He called the meeting to order and the students snapped to attention. "Today, we are having a special guest victim." He tapped the cage with another grin. "So, how powerful would you say this hollow is?" He asked and there was a moment of silence.
"…It's small, so it should be weak." One of the students, a boy, finally answered. He sounded like he distrusted his own answer and Grimmjow laughed.
"I'm glad you said that like you didn't believe it! No, she is NOT weak. This is actually a very dangerous, very rare form of hollow. If you ever see one in the Living World do not fight it. Go to your fukutaichou, or even an arrancar, and we'll take care of it." The cadets were all looking at the hollow dubiously now and Grimmjow grinned before leaning down to peer in the cage, his face almost at the bars. Presented with such a close target the hollow couldn't resist and its mouth distorted, becoming impossibly wide and filled with three rows of serrated fangs. They clashed wickedly against the bars for a moment and Grimmjow laughed before straightening and looking at the students. They all looked petrified and he could see that 'kawaii' had turned into 'horrifying' in the blink of an eye. "What you're actually seeing is a hollow that's learned the trick of condensing spiritual pressure early. Normally, that's a vasto lorde and arrancar only trick." He explained and the students listened attentively. "She's not really much more powerful than a regular hollow, but it's condensed, a lot like Ichigo's spiritual pressure when he uses bankai." That was a daunting comparison and Grimmjow could see they were getting an idea of how dangerous this thing could be. "Now, I'm going to demonstrate what one of these can do. You got the wards in place?" He asked the third man in the area, a kido instructor he'd borrowed. The man nodded.
"Hai." He said and Grimmjow grabbed the handle, yanking up the front of the cage. The little hollow erupted from her confinement, utterly furious. Grimmjow pulled out his sword just as she attacked, using it to block razor sharp claws.
The battle was entirely unequal, of course. He was a former adjuchas, an arrancar, and he'd been just like this thing as a basic hollow. The little beast was completely outclassed but didn't care a bit, pulling out every trick at her disposal to destroy him. Tentacles erupted from her back and flew at him, trying to impale him. Grimmjow deflected them easily and grinned as a few raised very fine scratches on his skin, just barely penetrating his hierro. From another adjuchas that would have been pathetic. From a basic hollow it was damned impressive.
After playing with her for a suitable amount of time, Grimmjow decided to put an end to it. Impaling Pantera in the ground he leapt at the hollow, snagging her in his arms. Teeth clashed on his hierro and he winced faintly as they struggled to dig in, raising more fine lines. Growling, he dragged her back to the cage and shoved her back in, shutting it again. The hollow inside went berserk, lashing out at the bars in a frantic effort to reach him. Grimmjow just shook his head and turned away as the kido instructor dropped the wards.
"That is why you don't want to engage one of these." He said before reaching up and wiping away a small trail of blood from his forehead. The little cuts were already healing but the drying blood was still there. "I was just like that, when I was a basic hollow. I think I ate about five shinigami before I made Gillian." He stated factually and the cadets all looked at him in fascinated horror. "Might have been more. Ulquiorra was like this too and he ate three. Barragan was the most prolific, he thinks he got about ten. And every time it was the same damn thing… the shinigami underestimated us. Don't be one of those guys. If you see something like this, run to your fukutaichou. Don't be heroes. You got it?" He waited until he got a response before setting the cage aside. "Now, let's get down to business." He spent the next hour training them and by the end he was glad to be done. He'd infused the baby bottles with reiatsu right before he left, but the cubs would likely need food soon. They ate very frequently and he did not want his little ones to go hungry.
Hurrying home he found his timing was just about perfect. Ichigo was beaming and holding Tigre, who was sucking on a bottle. Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow at him before quickly infusing a bottle and taking Hisana from Miyaki. The little girl was fussing but that quickly turned into contentment as she latched onto a food source.
"I managed an infusion!" Ichigo said happily and Grimmjow grinned. "My hollow says I've graduated from hopeless to remedial." He said with an eyeroll and Grimmjow snorted.
"Oh yeah? And why hasn't your hollow been doing the infusions, if he's so smart? I bet he can't." He said and Ichigo laughed. "I bet he can't even do a cero."
"I think you hit a nerve with that one. He's swearing now." Ichigo said, highly amused. "You know, I've never seen him use a cero." He said thoughtfully and Grimmjow chuckled. He decided to leave off provoking the hollow any further, though. He wanted to be able to walk tomorrow. "Hey, I was wondering. What's going to happen to that hollow?" Grimmjow had handed it off to a couple of numeros.
"They're going to take her to the Gillian forest and feed her to one of the gillian." He said and Ichigo frowned. "She's not weak, she deserves to evolve." Life wasn't fair and sometimes it was survival of the luckiest, but Grimmjow just didn't like the thought of eliminating that vicious little hollow. She would be strong someday.
"Mmm, I suppose. But shinigami do exist to purify spirits." Ichigo pointed out and Grimmjow shrugged.
"Yeah, but Hueco Mundo does need to have souls. If the shinigami somehow got too good, it would throw the balance out." He said and from the surprised look on Ichigo's face, he'd never considered that. "Don't worry, it's not going to happen anytime soon." Hisana let go of the bottle with a small pop and Grimmjow placed a cloth over his shoulder before gently burping her. A little bit of milk stained the cloth before his daughter was satisfied. "Aren't you the cutest little thing?" He murmured then winced as his son squalled for attention.
"Tigre doesn't agree." Ichigo said with a laugh, cuddling the boy. He was reaching for Grimmjow, though. That made him grin.
"He's jealous of his sister. Pass him over, hey?" He set the bottle down and sat down beside Ichigo, taking Tigre into his other arm. The little boy beamed and gripped his jacket before trying to eat the fabric. "That's not edible, brat! I think we should all go outside." Hisana was getting squirmy too. They would probably like to crawl along the grass and they needed to make the most of it anyway. Autumn was fast approaching and soon things would get rainy, and then the snow would begin. Grimmjow remembered snow from his living days, but the old man had only seen it once, when he was marching through the mountains. He was looking forward to seeing it.
It would be something new.
Ichigo smiled as he watched Hisana and Tigre play together.
The twins were sweet together. They often got along and played well, but sometimes they fought, just like any siblings. He could remember Yuzu and Karin having moments like that. As if the thought had caused it, Hisana took that moment to bite Tigre on the arm. Ichigo winced at the howl that followed, then grimaced as Tigre grabbed Hisana's ear and yanked on the sensitive fur. She started to wail and Grimmjow went to break up the little fight.
"I saw you, you started that girl." He said severely as he pulled his children apart. "Don't be a brat." He said severely and Ichigo laughed as he glanced at the trees. The seasons were changing…
He suddenly stiffened as a thought occurred to him. He didn't have a calendar in his room and the date was largely meaningless information now, but… it had to be soon. Swallowing hard, he looked at Grimmjow.
"Grimm? Do you know what the date is?" He asked. The arrancar glanced up, eyes narrowing for a moment as he thought about it. Then he supplied the date. "…" A week away. And Szayel was taking Grimmjow for his egg harvesting tomorrow, so there would be plenty of time for the Espada to recover. "Grimm? Can we go to the Living World next week, and bring the kids?" He asked and the arrancar frowned.
"I guess we could. But why?" He asked and Ichigo swallowed. It was painful to talk about but at least he thought Grimmjow would understand.
"My mother. We always made a trip to her grave, on the day she died. It was a family tradition." He explained and Grimmjow's expression became sympathetic. "I would like to introduce her to Tigre and Hisana." Ichigo was sure that Masaki would have loved them both. And it would feel like he was introducing the baby to the rest of his family, too. The grandfather and aunts he would never meet… the thought brought tears to his eyes and he blinked as he felt a warm arm around his shoulders.
"Sure we can." Grimmjow said comfortingly and Ichigo let himself relax into the embrace. "Szayel has control over all the portals, but I'm an Espada. We can travel through at any time." The shinigami were still using the gates, of course, but they were on the approved lists and their comings and goings were tracked. Ichigo wasn't on any kind of list but Grimmjow could take care of that. Ichigo nodded.
"Thanks Grimm." He said softly, hugging his mate for a moment. Then they both looked up at a loud laugh. "Oh for… Renji, what the hell!" The redhead had slipped past them while they were distracted and now he was dangling the feathered cat toy above Hisana's and Tigre's heads. The little ones thought it was the best thing ever and they were reaching up for it with big smiles.
"Doesn't this cat joke get old for you, shinigami?" Grimmjow asked, cleaning out his ear with one pinky as he watched.
"Not really, no. And they love it!" Renji said with a grin and Ichigo and Grimmjow exchanged an amused glance. That was certainly true. "Whoops!" Hisana was attempting to balance on her back legs, but she was just too young. She fell back and landed on her tail, starting to cry. Tigre hugged her and everyone aww'd at the cuteness. Ichigo smiled, almost forgetting about the date coming up. Almost, but not quite.
Nothing could entirely remove that pain from his mind.
Grimmjow glanced around warily before drawing his sword. It was nighttime and the moon was high and full in the sky, without a single cloud to hold back the silvery radiance. That was why he'd chosen tonight for this.
"Grind, Pantera." He said quietly, forcing the power to release slowly. It coiled around him like blue mist, very gradually forming bone armor. It was delicate work but he kept hold of his reiatsu the entire time, banking it even as it awakened. "Mmm, yes." He stretched, feeling the power coursing through his veins. It was beautiful.
Glancing up at the moon, he grinned and leapt up, grabbing a tree branch. Perched on the strong limb he howled, letting his voice sing through the night air. Then he leapt from branch to branch, looking for the perfect spot.
This was not how he would have hunted in Hueco Mundo. There, his options had been limited by the endless sand and the nature of his prey. But his panther instincts recognized the forest and knew how a panther should hunt his prey. Finding a good spot near a small pool of water he hunkered down behind a rock and waited for his prey.
It took a great deal of patience but as he'd suspected, water was the perfect draw for other animals. Blue eyes narrowed as he spotted a deer. Licking is lips, Grimmjow began to stalk the doe. He could have simply leapt on it, tore it to shreds with his sonido and claws. But what would be the fun in that? He was hunting like an ordinary panther, exercising his skill in stalking. It was much better that way.
Panthers could use every bit of concealment with remarkable cunning, and Grimmjow was every bit as proficient. The deer had no warning before he suddenly leapt out, his clawed fingers digging in before he tore out the beast's throat with a single, powerful bite. It went down in a spray of blood and Grimmjow drank the hot, salty liquid. It tasted like ambrosia.
Someday I will teach my cubs to do this. He thought dreamily, imagining it. Tigre and Hisana, stalking after him with kittenish clumsiness and wide eyed curiosity. They wouldn't catch anything at first but they would get better with time.
He was just starting to gut and clean the kill when his sharp senses detected something. He lifted his lips in a rumbling snarl before leaping up and snagging another tree limb. Finding a good spot, well concealed with branches and leaves, he settled in to wait. Whoever the intruders were they were making plenty of noise.
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed as he saw a pair of commoners. They were trespassing on Kuchiki property, technically, but he knew enough of shinigami ways now to know that was not really an offense. As long as they didn't hunt on the Kuchiki lands there was nothing to stop commoners from passing through. One of them almost fell over the deer with a yell and he grinned, fangs flashing in the moonlight. That was funny as hell.
"A dead deer. And it's still warm!" The first man said and Grimmjow settled in to watch.
"It looks like a big cat killed it." The second said, glancing around nervously and Grimmjow gave him some credit for good sense. But the first man scoffed.
"There are no big cats around here, not with the wolf pack in residence." Grimmjow almost snickered at that. The wolves had probably heard his howl and pissed themselves. "Although it doesn't look like a wolf kill. This almost looks like the work of a person." He was examining the cut in the belly and Grimmjow nodded to himself. His work at cleaning the body would look far more intelligent than anything a cat or wolf would do. "I wonder if we could take it? It's already dead."
"No!" The second man sounded afraid. "If someone sees they'll want to know how we got it, and it's a prime doe. They'll think we poached it." The first man nodded reluctantly and Grimmjow sighed to himself. The penalties for poaching could be severe.
"I wish we could though. So much jerky for the winter." The first man sighed and Grimmjow chuckled out loud. "What?! Who's there?" The two men looked around as the Espada stretched, digging his claws into the bark of the tree. They needed no sharpening but it was another pleasant, instinctive thing to do.
"Take the kill." He told them, his voice soft and almost purring with pleasure. He was feeling good, very good. "I don't need it." He really didn't. He had planned to bring it back to the Kuchiki manor but they didn't need it that much either. The two men backed up then froze in fear as they spotted him.
"An arrancar!" The first man said apprehensively and Grimmjow just nodded, his tail lashing lazily where he was lying on his tree branch. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here." He said indifferently and the second man blinked.
"But the only arrancar who lives here is the Espada…" He ground to a halt and both the man looked petrified again. Grimmjow huffed a laugh before pushing himself up, arching his back in a catlike stretch.
"Take the deer. If anyone asks, tell them Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez gave it to you." He advised the two then vanished in a burst of sonido. He could feel his children stirring, feel their growing hunger. They would want a midnight feeding soon and they would need him for that. He did hope the commoners took the deer, though.
It would be a shame to let the meat go to waste.
"Hi mom." Ichigo knelt in front of the tombstone, gently placing a vase of flowers in front of the grave. Grimmjow glanced around, feeling a touch nervous.
Karakura town was not entirely deserted. There were people who looked like soldiers to him as well as people who reminded him of the science weenies at Szayel's Division. Grimmjow couldn't recognize modern weapons but he knew soldiers, knew the bearing and the attitude. And science weenies were easy to spot. Lots of equipment and notepads.
That made him nervous because he knew it was possible to detect spiritual phenomena with technology. Szayel did it all the time, what was to say the Living World couldn't figure out the trick? Normally it would have been impossible, with shinigami busy modifying memories and sending them off on blind allies. But right now things were so unsettled. Had Tosen thought about this? Grimmjow silently resolved to remind him.
"I want you to meet Tigre, mom." Ichigo said quietly and Grimmjow's attention went back to him. He knelt down beside the teen, holding both Tigre and Hisana. "And this is Hisana. She's not mine but she's beautiful too. Dad… I hope you're here too. I hope you can see them." Grimmjow could feel his pain through the collar. It was an old pain but also a new pain. The loss of his mother was old but the loss of the rest of his family was fresh. "Karin and Yuzu. I hope you can – "
"Ichi-nii!" Ichigo's head jerked up, his eyes wide as saucers. Grimmjow blinked as pure shock came through the collar then blinked again as two girls ran up, followed by… was that a shinigami? He'd never seen the woman before but her spiritual aura was powerful. He had the sense to stay silent as he watched Ichigo getting hugged senseless but he really wanted to ask.
What the hell was going on?
For one brief moment Ichigo felt like he was losing his mind.
Karin. Yuzu. He thought he was seeing their ghosts. Or perhaps he was hallucinating. Perhaps something had finally flipped in his mind and he'd completely, utterly lost it. But Yoruichi was behind them and he wouldn't include her in any fantasy… and then his sisters were hugging him. They were warm and real and alive.
"Karin? Yuzu?" His arms went around them and Ichigo felt the tears rising in his eyes. He couldn't hold them back and didn't try. "Karin… Yuzu…!" They were real. They were alive. Then there was a sudden pain on his head. "Ow!"
"Where have you been Ichi-nii?" Karin demanded, her eyes damp with tears as he rubbed his head where she'd just elbowed him. "We thought you were dead! We thought we'd be stuck with that stupid plushie forever!" Ichigo blinked before realizing what they were talking about. His body was still alive and Kon had been in it all this time? He'd sort of assumed his body was dead and he was a spirit now.
"Oh Ichi-nii I'm so glad to see you." Yuzu said tearfully and Ichigo smiled before glancing at Yoruichi. To his surprise, she was looking at Grimmjow in a calm but ready way. The Espada was meeting her gaze with equal calm as he cradled the two children. Deciding to leave that for the moment – Yoruichi couldn't seriously consider Grimmjow a threat with two little babies in his arms – Ichigo turned his attention back to his sisters.
"I've been in Soul Society. I thought you were both dead. What happened?" He asked and it was Karin who answered.
"Goat face. The old bastard said something was happening and put us on a train to Tokyo with some money. I'm glad Yoruichi found us or we would have been in pretty dire straits." Karin said grimly and Ichigo winced to himself. He could only imagine. They had no family on his father's side and his mother's family came from far away. There was no one in Tokyo to take the girls in.
"Miss Yoruichi's been taking care of us Ichi-nii." Yuzu said and Ichigo decided not to ask how that was going. He didn't want to know. "Who is this?" She asked, noticing Grimmjow for the first time. The Espada tilted his head at the young human girl. "Oh my god they are so cute!" Ichigo couldn't help but laugh as Yuzu fawned over the children and Karin crossed her arms with a scowl. It was just like he'd imagined, except…
"Yoruichi? Dad, is he…?" He asked and swallowed as she nodded, her expression solemn. "And Kisuke…?"
"Dead. I'm the only one that survived. A few of the Visored made it but I don't know where they've gotten to." She said and Ichigo felt a deep pain. He closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. It wasn't his fault, it really wasn't. "I've been staying here because your sisters need me, and I have no interest in becoming part of Aizen's breeding project." She said with an edge of harshness and Ichigo winced as her gaze fell on the babies. Tigre in particular. "Ichigo, that one. Is he…?"
"Yes, he's mine." He admitted and that made Yuzu coo a bit more. Karin blinked and looked at the child before giving her brother a wondering look.
"You're a dad Ichi-nii? Who's the mom?" She asked and the girls both looked up at Grimmjow's rumbling chuckle.
"That would be me." He said and they both goggled at him, shocked. "I'm a hermaphrodite so it's not something weird." The Espada said easily and they exchanged glances as Yoruichi lifted her eyebrows.
"Wow, that's still pretty strange… but he's cute, for a baby." Karin said grudgingly and Ichigo couldn't help it. He hugged her again, feeling joy surging through his heart. His sisters were alive. His dad had come through, when it really counted. "Hey, watch it!"
"Are you coming home Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked and Ichigo felt his heart freeze for a moment as he met imploring brown eyes. But there was no real question of what his response should be.
"I can't. I have two babies to raise." He said softly, glancing at Grimmjow. The Espada was frowning a bit. "I have a mate, too. And Aizen would never let me leave Soul Society." Aizen and Tosen wanted the powers that couldn't be trusted, but were too valuable to throw away, securely under their thumb. That was why they'd put the shinigami taichou under the control of the Espada. It only made sense, really.
"No, he wouldn't." Yoruichi agreed, gazing at Grimmjow again. "I don't think he knows I survived, or he hasn't informed Tosen of it. Will you be letting him know?" She asked directly and Ichigo blinked. He hadn't thought of that. Tosen would definitely want to capture Yoruichi and possibly put her with Barragan and Soi-fon. Grimmjow just snorted, adjusting the children.
"Shinigami? I don't see a shinigami here. I see a woman with purple hair. Is she important? 'Cause no one ever told me." He said casually and Ichigo smiled warmly at his mate. Yoruichi relaxed a little as she saw that. "Tosen should talk to me more if he wants me to know stuff, hey?"
"Sounds fair enough to me." Ichigo agreed. "Yoruichi, where can we meet you next? And when?" Now that he'd made contact with his sisters he wanted to let them see Tigre again. His body… would probably have to stay with Kon. There wasn't much he could do with it anymore. But Yoruichi probably wouldn't want to give them their address and Ichigo didn't want to risk leading a watcher there. "Can we spend the day together today?" He asked wistfully and Yoruichi nodded.
"It should be safe enough or I wouldn't have brought the girls here. You can spend some time with them as long as big and blue doesn't mind." She glanced at Grimmjow who laughed.
"I'm on parental leave, no one gives a damn what I do. Sure, let's go to the park or something." He said cheerfully and Ichigo smiled, his heart swelling with pleasure and happiness. It was the anniversary of Masaki's death, but now it was also the day he'd discovered his sisters were alive.
No amount of pain could take away the happiness he was feeling now.