Soi-fon walked through the halls of the Shihoin clan house, Findorr, Abirama and Charlotte at her back.

She wasn't entirely certain why they were following her. Maybe it was because she was essentially in charge when Barragan wasn't around. He'd made it clear to his fraccion that as a taichou, leader of the Onmitsukido and his mate, her standing was vastly higher than theirs. They were to obey her as they did him, and when he was busy they did tend to hover around her. It reminded her of Omaeda, and she couldn't help but miss the bumbling idiot. If only he hadn't gotten killed…

"So, pretty lady, I was wondering if you might come with me to this private show? I managed to get tickets – OOF!" Her fist hit Findorr neatly in the gut and the other two fraccion laughed. "B – nrk." Findorr shut his mouth as Suzumebachi pressed lightly against his throat. She gave him a cold stare, daring him to complete that word. Fortunately the fraccion had more sense.

"I told you she wouldn't be interested." Charlotte said, pushing back a bit of his curls as Abirama grabbed Findorr and yanked him back a bit, away from the point of her weapon. Soi-fon let it happen, turning away. "Honestly, I can't imagine why you thought she would."

"I have fantastic sex appeal." Findorr grumbled as he adjusted his clothing. "Whatever. I can – "

The power surge hit without warning. Soi-fon gasped, bending over in near pain as the fraccion were all flattened to the ground, unable to withstand the incredibly dense reiatsu. As quickly as it came, though, it lightened and she straightened, grey eyes wide.

"What was that?!" Findorr gasped out, pushing himself to his knees and looking around.

"Are we under attack?" Abirama asked and Soi-fon's eyes narrowed. That was her first thought as well.

"Charlotte! Go to the kitchens and make sure the servants are all right." She snapped at the fraccion. He was the least likely of the three to give her trouble about being sent away from the danger, and the kitchens were the most likely place for a terrible accident to have occurred. "The rest of you, come with me!" She turned and ran towards the disturbance, the fraccion following close behind her. It was outside the manor, in the training grounds.

They burst outside to see the cause of the disturbance, looking at his weapon and frowning. It was a man Soi-fon had never seen before in her life. He was tall, with deeply tanned skin and a regal bearing. Pitch black hair, well groomed and silky smooth, was pulled into a low set ponytail. He wore a headdress of gold and magnificent feathers. There was something strange on his back, a cloak? But she didn't spare his appearance much attention as she attacked, intending to wipe the intruder out of existence.

To her shock, he moved with incredible speed. A hand slapped down on her shoulder before shoving her away with blinding force. She rolled with it, leaping back to her feet in time to see Barragan's fraccion suffer a quick and demoralizing defeat. Findorr took a single punch to the face and lost almost his entire mask – fortunately, it was meant to come off – and Abirama was flung through a nearby wall. The stranger wasn't even using his weapon. A great golden axe, it was currently dug into the sand of the training ground.

"Can none of you recognize me?" The man said, his voice young and strong yet strangely familiar. Soi-fon's eyes narrowed as she tried to move up behind him while he was distracted. "Kneel before your king, woman!" The command took her completely off guard and her eyes went wide as she felt the collar clamp down on her. She fell to her knees instantly and the fraccion stared from where they were pulling themselves out of the dirt.

"…Barragan-sama…?" Findorr asked uncertainly and the man nodded before stretching out a hand and examining it. Soi-fon stared, shocked into speechlessness. Now that she knew, she could see the resemblance. But this was like seeing Barragan's grandson. His face was strong, handsome and untouched by age.

"Such a peculiar thing. My first resurrection takes away my flesh, and my second returns it." He mused before pulling his axe out of the dirt. Soi-fon tensed but he just peered into the surface. "This is a terrible mirror." He complained and Findorr quickly sorted through his clothing, coming out with a small compact. "Hm? Ah." Barragan dug his axe in the sand again before accepting the tiny mirror, examining himself thoughtfully. "Ah, this brings back memories. The face I wore in my living days… how ironic." Shaking his head he handed the compact back to his fraccion before noticing that his consort was still on her knees. "You may rise." He said to her and Soi-fon stood, still a bit stunned.

"Are you wearing a cloak…?" She asked, staring at him. She didn't think so. In fact, it almost looked like wings? Barragan glanced over his shoulders with some surprise, and the 'cloak' stirred before spreading and unfurling. It was actually great dragonfly wings, easily twice the length of his body when they extended. They shone in the light of the sun, glittering like a captive rainbow and Soi-fon felt her breath catch in her throat. "You are handsome like this." She said without thinking and blushed as Barragan gave her a startled look. Why had she said such a thing?

"…This has possibilities!" Findorr said, suddenly enthusiastic and Soi-fon grimaced as Barragan gave the fraccion an amused glance. "If you want to use this – "

"Fool. No one can control their reiatsu in moments of passion." Barragan said sternly, folding back his wings. "I would turn you all into dust." Soi-fon nodded. Even when he wasn't using it, she could sense the incredible density of his reiatsu in this form. If he were to climax in this shape it would explode from him in an uncontrollable wave, probably even stronger than when he first made the change. Then Charlotte appeared in a burst of sonido.

"Soi-fon! Uh… who?" He looked at Barragan in confusion and the Espada snorted in amusement.

"It's Barragan-sama. He's found his second stage. The servants?" She prompted the arrancar as he stared wide eyed. Charlotte blinked and shook his head, refocusing.

"Mostly fine, but one poor fellow chopped off the fingers of one hand." He reported and Soi-fon grimaced. She wasn't too surprised. Being suddenly knocked out when working with knives was not good. At that they were lucky, someone could have gotten horrifying burns. "I woke up the guards and they're getting him over to the Fourth."

"Hm. I had not considered that my power might destroy the barriers on the training grounds." Barragan mused, glancing over the training area. The kido wards were completely gone, utterly shattered by his release of power. "Foolish of me… if the Fourth cannot reattach the fingers, see that he is sent to Orihime and tell Ulquiorra it is on my orders." Soi-fon blinked at that. It was a surprising amount of consideration for a mere servant, but Barragan was clearly in a good mood. Now she knew why he'd been practicing so hard. Determined not to let Ulquiorra outdo him? Something of that nature, certainly. "I still need to master this form. I have no idea what my powers in it are. I will go to – "

"SOI-FON! BARRAGAN-SAMA!" They both winced at the yell, then stared as Ggio slid into view. He was wearing a heavy, enveloping cloak and looked completely disheveled as well as… excited? "Soi-fon! Yes! Where's Barragan? I have to report!" There was a rumbling chuckle and Ggio noticed the stranger. "Who is this? Oh, it doesn't matter!" Soi-fon glanced up to meet Barragan's glance down. Fortunately he seemed highly amused by this. "I have information! I stumbled into a meeting I wasn't supposed to and I saw one of the ringleaders!" That caught both their attention and Barragan spoke sharply.

"Not here. This place is not secure." He said and Soi-fon nodded. The old hollow was right, although she doubted there were any spies left here. But loose lips could be every bit as bad and the servants and Shihoin nobles would be awakening soon. "Come with us to the starting room." That was an interrogation room, but one meant for gentle questioning. It had a table and rather uncomfortable chairs, as well as cold water to wet the throat. Then Barragan glanced down at himself and began resealing his power. Darkness swirled around him and he slipped back into his skeletal form, then finally back to his ordinary human shape. Ggio and the rest of the fraccion watched the transformation, wide eyed.

"Barragan-sama?! That's you?" Ggio said, flabbergasted, but Barragan waved it away impatiently.

"It doesn't matter." He said and Soi-fon smiled to herself. The momentous breach of an internal barrier was suddenly taking a backseat to skullduggery. It was very much like him. "Findorr, Abirama, see to my weapon." Arrogante was in the sand, in the exact same spot the golden axe had occupied. She sometimes wondered why he preferred to keep it in that rack of bone… but then, it was a very large weapon, unlike Suzumebachi. He would have to be constantly watching it or vases and paintings would likely die sad, unlamented deaths. Putting aside those thoughts, Soi-fon followed the two arrancar to the starting room. Soon Ggio was in a chair and explaining what had happened.

As many lucky breaks occurred, it had started out with something rather stupid. Ggio had gone to the Rukongai in search of a whorehouse Findorr had recommended. Soi-fon wasn't really surprised. Except for Charlotte, who seemed to be much like Barragan, the fraccion was all bisexual. Barragan was indifferent to what they did as long as they did it in their free time, so whenever they wanted a woman they went to find one. However, Soi-fon did not consider rape acceptable and she'd managed to prevail in that area, so the fraccion usually visited the ladies of negotiable virtue in the Rukongai. It was easier than trying to court the servants.

However, in this case, Ggio had written the address down wrong. It didn't help that the Rukongai was a rat's nest of random streets. The fraccion had gotten hopelessly lost and had finally ended up with a group of men wearing cloaks and moving purposefully. Hoping that they might be going towards a whorehouse, he'd let himself go with the flow. By the time he'd realized they were going somewhere else entirely it had been too late. They had slipped into an abandoned building and Ggio had realized that trying to extricate himself would probably draw unwanted attention, so he'd followed as they went into a well concealed staging ground.

What had followed had been the most nerve wracking hour of his life. Soi-fon almost pitied the arrancar. There had been a stage and a man had given a very rousing speech about the evils of the arrancar and the shinigami both. Ggio had been as nervous as a mouse at a cat convention and felt that he'd barely escaped alive. Soi-fon was rather inclined to agree. Numbers did matter and apparently the man on the stage had possessed considerable power.

"It was weird though. I mean, at first I thought it was shinigami but the longer I tasted it the more it felt… off. I'm sorry Barragan-sama, I wish I could do better but I'm not sure what I was sensing." Ggio apologized humbly and Barragan waved it away.

"We can work on that later. Describe this man." He commanded and Ggio complied as Soi-fon noted everything. She would have this information in the hands of her best men tonight and they would start their work. This might be the thread that would unravel the entire fabric of the plot against them. Or it might only be a dead end.

Time would tell.

"Ugh." Unohana muttered, her head positioned over a large porcelain bowl. She was in bed, trying desperately to keep her food down. She had no faith in that struggle, hence the bowl.

"Is this normal?" Lilynette asked worriedly as Starrk held her, rubbing circles on her back with a gentle crooning sound. Unohana lifted her head with a weak smile as the young arrancar passed her a cup of mint tea. She sipped it, hoping the liquid would settle her stomach.

"Not really." She admitted. She wasn't having just morning sickness. She was having 'anytime of the day' sickness and it could be triggered by absolutely anything. "It may be because the child is developing so fast." That was sending her hormones sky high, according to Szayel. He'd already given her IV fluids and nutrients in an effort to calm the reactions and feed both her and the baby.

"I had no idea this would be so difficult for you." Starrk sounded distressed and she gently patted his arm with a smile. He was such a sweet man.

She would never say it to any of the clans who were suffering under their new arrancar masters, but she was relatively happy about how things were going for her and her clan. Starrk and Lilynette were easy to please and their powerful reiatsu kept any of the lower arrancar from approaching. They had also given permission for the servants and nobles to use their names if any of the numeros approached them. That had saved a few of her kinsmen from attacks. If only her pregnancy weren't so strenuous everything would be nearly perfect.

"I rather expected it." She admitted before swallowing hard, taking slow, even breaths. Her stomach finally settled and she sighed before setting the bowl aside. Hopefully she wouldn't need it this time. Her breakfast had been egg toast, bland but highly nutritious if she could only keep it down. "A pregnancy of three months just isn't normal for a shinigami." She said wearily, running a hand over her forehead. Grimmjow had had no difficulties but he was an arrancar. His pregnancy had actually run a bit longer than his body would have expected. "At least it will be over quickly."

"Well, we will not be doing this again for a long time." Starrk said firmly and she blinked at him in surprise. Not that she'd expected him to keep her pregnant constantly but he sounded so… decisive. "I'm very fond of you." He said softly and she smiled, gently resting a hand on his.

"I'm fond of you too." She replied, knowing it was nothing but the truth. She was very fond of this man. Was it love? Not yet, but Unohana wasn't sure she was capable of that emotion anymore. She'd had her moment when she was young and carefree. But she might find something quieter, something warm and comforting with Starrk. He gently pressed a kiss against her cheek and she smiled, feeling safe in his arms.

"Maybe we should go to the garden?" Lilynette offered and Unohana thought about it a moment before nodding. The garden was beautiful and the fresh air might do her some good. "I'll bring the bowl." She said with a grin as Starrk stood and carefully helped her up. Unohana smiled, amused.

"Thank you." She didn't think she would need the bowl – the mint tea seemed to be working – but it was still better to have it. Right now it was so hard to predict what would cause the nausea.

Hopefully, she would get past this stage of the pregnancy soon.

Ichigo smiled as he watched his children at play. They were growing so fast it was frightening and right now Tigre was toddling along on unsteady feet as Hisana bounced around on all fours. Byakuya's daughter was undeniably more graceful than his son, but he really didn't care. Tigre was perfect. Grimmjow was sitting nearby, wearing a yukata and reading a book. He'd moved up to a teen novel although he had to struggle with it a bit, puzzling over some of the words.

Suddenly the children's play changed and Ichigo blinked as Hisana pounced on something and Tigre tried to run before landing on the ground. He didn't cry, just pulling himself up and trying again with a wide grin on his face. Tigre was a very smiley boy and Ichigo smiled as he remembered. He'd been told that he'd smiled a lot, as a child. But what were they doing?

"…Oh no." He groaned as he spotted the red dot, bobbing around and driving both the kids wild. "Renji!" He said severely as he followed the little laser back to its source.

"What? They're loving it!" Renji said with a grin and Ichigo sighed, pulling himself to his feet and walking over. "See?" Ichigo glanced back to see Hisana and Tigre tearing off in another direction, following that alluring little light.

"Ugh. What are you going to do when they figure it out?" He asked. He wasn't sure what would happen then, but he guessed the twins would have a fit at being fooled by their 'uncle'. Renji just laughed.

"Are you kidding? They've already figured it out! Watch this." He put a hand over the light and Ichigo looked at the children. They came to a stop and looked directly at Renji, eyes big and accusing. Where's our fun gone? He grinned at them before letting the red dot wander again. Hisana squealed and Tigre laughed before they both chased it.

"Oi!" Ichigo said but relaxed a little. He was glad the twins had figured out the laser pointer. Grimmjow seemed completely indifferent, just glancing up occasionally to make sure the kids were okay before going back to his book. "Are you ever going to want children?" He suddenly asked. Renji had confided in him that despite being gay, Grimmjow was masculine enough to be attractive to him. Ichigo wasn't too surprised. The only female thing about Grimm was his genitals and no one spent a lot of time staring at those. Renji still seemed to prefer the backdoor though.

"Honestly? Not for a long time." Renji said frankly and Ichigo blinked in surprise as his hollow made a pleased sound. "I'm still too young for kids." Ichigo stared at him in disbelief.

"Aren't you a bit older than Rukia?" He asked. He knew Rukia's age because she'd mentioned she was in her fifties as if it was nothing. Renji nodded, attention on the kids. "…So you're saying you're more immature than a sixteen year old?" Ichigo asked, highly entertained. Although his birthday was coming up soon. He'd have to mention that to Grimmjow, maybe they could go visit Karin and Yuzu and have an almost normal celebration. Renji scowled, looking at him.

"Oh screw you! I'm – " They both flinched as there was a loud splash and a pair of wails. Ichigo yelped and ran for the ornamental pond as Grimmjow dropped his book and vanished in a burst of sonido. He went straight for Hisana as Ichigo grabbed Tigre out of the water. His little son clung to him, waterlogged and coughing as Hisana cried loudly.

"Renji! You fuckwit, they can't swim yet!" Grimmjow snarled and Ichigo realized what had happened. In his moment of distraction Renji had put the laser pointer in the water and the twins and jumped right in after it. "Hm. Maybe we should start teaching them." Grimmjow muttered and Ichigo blinked before looking at Tigre. His boy was sniffling and looking completely miserable.

"Maybe some other time. Right now, let's get them cleaned up and in some warm clothes." He said, comforting the boy and ignoring the mess he was making of his own clothing. Grimmjow nodded and they carried the kids back to their rooms. Renji went with them, a little shamefaced.

"Sorry. I really didn't mean to do that." He apologized but Grimmjow waved it away.

"Nevermind, shit happens. Get some clothes and diapers out while we undress them, will ya?" He asked and Renji hastened to obey. Miyaki came into the room with towels and handed one to Ichigo who thanked her with a smile. Grimmjow look a towel and briskly dried off Hisana, who giggled as her fur was ruffled. Then he got her dressed in a bright red yukata. Ichigo knew that Grimmjow liked very bright colors on Hisana, feeling that they did her more justice than pastels. He was inclined to agree. Tigre got a black shirt and simple black pants. Ichigo smiled as he pulled everything on, making sure the diaper was securely in place. It would be a while before they were ready for potty training.

Then he heard a quiet sound of munching and glanced over to see that Renji was carefully feeding Hisana a piece of taiyaki. Grimmjow was regarding it with amused tolerance and Ichigo sighed as he felt Tigre squirm.

"You better give me some of that or Tigre's going to scream." He said firmly. His son would only tolerate being left out of a sweet for so long. The children weren't ready to stop the breast milk but they had a few teeth and could nibble on real foods. Renji grinned and passed over a piece of sweet bean filled pastry. Tigre went right for the softest part, disregarding the hard edges that would hurt his gums. Ichigo smiled as he watched his little boy chew. He looked so happy, enjoying his little treat.

Could there be anything better than this?

Grimmjow yawned as he came back to bed, pulling off his robe and dropping it onto a chair.

Hisana and Tigre still woke up in the night demanding food. Unohana said it was normal and fairly graphic memories of his time as a living man supported that. He'd felt bad for his wife at the time but there hadn't been a single thing he could do to ease the burden on her.

Now, though, it was a bit different. He could get Ichigo to help if he wanted and he often did, but tonight the teen had been deeply asleep and Grimmjow had decided to just let him rest. The twins had taken it well, Tigre patiently waiting his turn as Hisana fed. Then she'd fallen asleep as he fed the little redhead. Now they were both happy and content with full bellies and wouldn't be waking again until morning.

Grimmjow settled into the bed with a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. Then they shot open in surprise as a hand gripped his arm and fingers tangled in his hair. Blue eyes met black and gold and Grimmjow felt a shiver of fear and titillation at the hollow awareness behind those eyes.

"Ichigo?" He asked although he was pretty sure that was wrong. Ichigo's body laughed, his voice echoing and strange. A small mask was forming on one side of his face and Grimmjow nuzzled the bone, feeling it forming under his skin. A very odd sensation.

"King's not home." The hollow said mockingly and Grimmjow grunted as he was pinned down on the bed, his wrists held above his head. Blue eyes narrowed and he seriously thought about refusing this. He was tired, he wasn't really in the mood… Then the hollow bit his throat and practically smothered him in his spiritual pressure. Grimmjow groaned, unable to hold the sound back. That felt like he was being stroked by hands of power, running lightly over his body and leaving a tingling sensation behind. "I want to try putting another baby into you." The hollow purred and Grimmjow chuckled.

"Good luck on that." There was almost zero chance that he would conceive again so soon after having Hisana and Tigre. Hollow rates of reproduction were about the same as shinigami, which was poor at best. Arrancar were the same, from what Szayel could determine. Nanao had been taking aids like Unohana – not that she wanted to, Yammy had ordered it – so the only natural success so far was Grimmjow. "But sure, let's roll the dice." Grimmjow purred, arching up and stroking his body along his mate's. He could feel the hard arousal rubbing against his thigh and swallowed in anticipation, meeting those black and gold eyes again.

"It's always such a pleasant game." The hollow said before nipping his skin, exploring him with his hands. But to Grimmjow's surprise, he kept talking. "I was alive once, you know."

"You… not alive now?" He managed to ask as a warm hand, wet with oil, encircled his dick. "Nnnah!" Grimmjow arched as he was stimulated, his jaw clenching and his eyes closing as his insides tingled at the sensation.

"Well, after a fashion. But once I was my own person, a hollow like you. I was natural born… but then Aizen found me and made me into his experiment." The hollow didn't sound particularly upset, Grimmjow noticed. That was odd. "It's a long story but I ended up being trapped in here. Heh… stupid King. If I'd ever gotten my freedom I would have run as fast and as far as I could." Fingers dipped into his folds then and Grimmjow completely lost interest in what the hollow was saying. He wrapped his arms around muscled shoulders and mutely begged for more, wanton moans leaving his throat. "Damn you're wet. Such a sex kitten."

"Don't call me – augh!" Grimmjow choked on a cry as the hollow rammed into him, taking him without any gentleness or mercy. "Shit." He groaned as hot lips fastened on his, a tongue forced into his mouth. He reciprocated, fighting for dominance even as the hollow pounded him into the bed. It was a lost fight and he yielded after a few moments, too caught up in the pleasure to care. "Yes." He gasped out the word as that thick cock worked over his walls, filling him almost to bursting.

"So good in there. So perfect. I never had a real mate… just a few quick bangs…" The hollow said, his voice thick with desire and pleasure. "Say my name." He demanded and Grimmjow blinked then whimpered as the thrusts slowed.

"Don't know your name." He gasped out, hoping the hollow would go back to his earlier rhythm. That had just been so good. There was a dark chuckle and sharp teeth sank into his throat, penetrating his hierro and bring up fine lines of blood.

"My name is Shiro." The hollow purred before speeding up again, taking him hard and fast. "Now say it! Scream my name." With his insides receiving the most pleasant of torments, Grimmjow was more than willing to give Kurosaki's hollow anything he wanted.

"Shiro! Fuck me… harder… Shiro… saki…!" That just came to him and it seemed right. Kurosaki, Shirosaki. The white mirror image, the opposite, the hollow… the hollow seemed puzzled for a moment but then opted to ignore it, slamming into him so hard the bed moved, shifting back and forth along the floor. Like most Japanese beds, it was a sleeping mat set on the floor. Grimmjow gasped as his insides tightened then arched with a howl as his climax came over him. The awesome moment of release made all his muscles go tight and Shiro thrust a few more times before reaching his peak, filling his mate with hot fluids. Grimmjow slumped back, utterly exhausted and smiled as he felt a tongue on his neck. Shiro was lapping up the blood, enjoying the tiny wounds he'd inflicted on his mate.

"Shirosaki?" He asked and Grimmjow chuckled, turning his head to gaze into those black and gold eyes.

"It just came to me. Kurosaki, Shirosaki… it just seemed appropriate." He said sleepily and the hollow chuckled before drawing away, making him wince at the empty feeling.

"Interesting. Well, get some sleep. The children will keep you on your toes tomorrow." The hollow advised, running a hand through his hair. Grimmjow was more than willing to obey, closing his eyes and falling instantly into a doze.

He was sure the hollow was right. The children had a supply of energy that was inexhaustible.