Rukia flash stepped home to the Kuchiki manor as soon as she was given leave by Tosen. She could have fled, but where would she go? And she was still wearing Aizen's collar, just not keyed to any one arrancar. They could undoubtedly track her with it. So instead of doing something foolish she went home to see her brother.

The servants were all quite glad to see her and quickly led her to Byakuya. To her surprise and pleasure, Renji and the children were with him. Byakuya was showing the babies the kanji for their names and Rukia just watched for a moment, smiling as the beautiful scene. Then Renji noticed her.

"RUKIA!" She yelped as she was enfolded in an embrace that threatened to smother her. "Oh my god, you're back! How are you – umf!" She punched him in the chest to make him let go, scowling up at him.

"I'll be better when you stop trying to kill me!" She snapped before looking at her brother with a smile. Byakuya was always reserved but she could tell he was very glad to see her. "Nii-san! I'm going to be staying until… until Tosen reassigns me." She said as bravely as she could. Right now the primary candidate for her next 'mate' was that hollow she had seen in Hueco Mundo. He didn't seem bad for a hollow but she still wasn't looking forward to it. Byakuya simply nodded as Renji's expression darkened. Then her brother surprised her with a gentle hug.

"Rukia." He whispered in her ear and she sniffled for a moment, feeling warm and sheltered in his arms. Then she felt a tug on her leg and glanced down to see an orange haired toddler hugging her and smiling. She met bright blue eyes and he babbled as Byakuya let go, looking down with an amused smile.

"Aren't you so cute? You must be Tigre!" She knelt down with a smile and picked up the boy, cuddling him close. He had that wonderful new baby scent, like baby powder and breast milk. "Oh Nii-san, where's Hisana?" She wanted to say hello to her niece but the child seemed to have vanished. Renji cursed and Byakuya frowned.

"She's gone after her cricket again!" Renji said and Rukia blinked. A cricket? "What is her obsession with that thing? …And what is a black cricket anyway…?" He said as they started to search for the little girl. Rukia carried Tigre as they looked and soon Hisana was found, jumping merrily through the gardens as she tried to catch an elusive black cricket. The cricket flew into the trees as soon as they arrived and Hisana sat on her back legs, a very cat like posture, and began to sniffle.

"Cricky!" She implored the black cricket then yelped as Byakuya picked her up. "No! Cricky!" She squirmed, looking at the tree intently and Rukia couldn't help but laugh.

"So kawaii!" She said as she looked at her niece. Hisana was wearing another yukata, this one bright blue with a bit of red embroidery. Tigre was just wearing grey shorts and a striped white and red t-shirt. The little boy in her arms wiggled and she set him down. He toddled over to Renji as Byakuya brought her Hisana. "Hello there. I'm your aunt." She said encouragingly to the little girl, meeting big grey eyes. Hisana blinked before pouting.

"Wan' cricky!" She complained and Rukia laughed before taking her from Byakuya. Hisana squirmed for a moment before looking at her in confusion. "Aunnie?"

"Rukia. Can you say Rukia?" She asked and Hisana tried. After a bit of effort she managed Ruki. "Good job! Oh nii-san, she's so big." Even seeing the pictures hadn't really prepared her for how quickly the children were growing.

"Izz!" Tigre exclaimed and began to run as fast as he could towards a bush. Rukia caught a glimpse of a terrified lizard scuttling away. By the time the baby got to the bush the little lizard was long gone and he began to cry.

"What's all the fuss about – RUKIA!" Rukia hastily put down just in time to get another very intense hug. A rather sweaty hug, too, which was a bit nauseating. At least Ichigo didn't try to smother her. "Are you alright?" He let go and looked her over carefully. Rukia nodded.

"I'm fine." And she was, really. She was very, very glad to get away from Zommari's swampy hell. What had happened there would be a scar but she would recover. She'd been through just as bad in the Rukongai. Grimmjow walked up lazily behind Ichigo and she noticed that his Espada uniform was slightly askew, as if he'd put it on in a hurry. And he was just as sweaty as Ichigo. "…Were you practicing?" She asked, hoping that was it. Maybe his uniform had gotten yanked around in a spirited match? Ichigo blushed and Grimmjow grinned.

"Yeah, you could call it that." He said and Rukia knew her first guess had been right. So she gave her young friend a glare.

"You hugged me when you were all sweaty from THAT!" She said, indignant, and Ichigo stuttered as Grimmjow laughed. "Do you have no shame?"

"Not until you arrived, but now I think he has plenty." The Espada said, highly entertained as Ichigo put a hand over his face. "Should we go shower… nah! Let's take the kids for a swim! Hey kids, swim!" He called and Tigre ran towards him with a smile as Hisana hissed, hiding behind her legs. Rukia blinked down at her. "Oh come on girl, you like it when you get in the water."

"No!" Hisana said very clearly and Grimmjow laughed but didn't try to force her. Instead he just gathered up Tigre and took him into the koi pond. Rukia stared, slightly appalled, and glanced at her brother. He gave her a minute shrug.

"It's better than the front fountain. He swam in that when he was pregnant." Byakuya said quietly and her eyes went round as she tried to imagine it. The clan elders must have been fit to be tied! Tigre squealed in glee as Grimmjow stripped off his clothing except for his underwear and took him in the water. Ichigo hesitated before joining him, helping the Espada in his attempts to teach their boy how to float. Rukia noticed that Hisana was twitching and looked about to cry.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She asked and Hisana sniffled, looking at her imploringly.

"Wanna play!" She said and Rukia smiled. That was so sweet. "Don' wan' wet!" She shivered at the thought.

"Why don't we play hide and seek then?" She asked encouragingly and Hisana brightened. "You hide and I'll find you!" Rukia put her hands over her eyes as the little girl squealed and ran off. "One… two…!" She counted down the numbers before pretending to search for Hisana. Pretending because the little girl only thought she'd hidden herself well. She was hiding in a hedge and her little cat tail was sticking out, betraying her completely. "Oh no! Wherever could she be?" Rukia exclaimed theatrically and smiled as she heard a little giggle. "Could she be… here? Or here? Or…. Here!" She petted a tail and Hisana laughed before coming out of her hedge.

"Yay!" The little girl cheered before gripping her leg. "Aunnie!" Rukia laughed and scooped her up, swinging her through the air and making her squeal. Then they played tag as Byakuya watched with a small smile.

They had just met but Rukia could tell she would get along well with her little niece.

"Alright everyone!" Grimmjow grinned as he surveyed the young shinigami. It was practice time, but several of the girls had gotten enough courage to ask if they'd be able to see his babies. So he'd decided it was time. Ichigo and Chiyo were there, holding the kids for him. "Several of you asked to see my cubs. So here they are!" He gestured towards them and there was a very satisfactory chorus of ooh's and how cute's! "You can go see them after class. Yes? What is it?" To his mind surprise, one of the boys had his hand up for attention.

"Is it true that our taichou and fukutaichou are being forced into sexual relationships with arrancar?" That question was blunt enough to set him on his heels. Grimmjow grinned as he felt Ichigo's temper through the collar and sent him a gentle wave of calm. The question didn't really bother him too much. It was a sign of how much the young shinigami had come to trust him. Although…

"I can't wait to tell Kuchiki taichou about the interest you're taking in his love life!" From the way the boy in question paled, he was less sure that Byakuya wouldn't use his guts for garters. The other students edged away a bit, too. "Seriously though, this is not your concern. None of your superiors would thank you for it." He said, which was practically an acknowledgement of the truth of the matter. "Think of it this way… this is a temporary situation. Aizen and Tosen simply cannot trust the current taichou and fukutaichou, so it's necessary that they be kept under control of the Espada. As the two forces grow together and the next generation comes up the ranks, this will change." Grimmjow was certain of that. There might be a few more arranged matings, depending on how things worked out, but Tosen didn't want the shinigami taichou answering to the Espada indefinitely. When the current crop died or retired, the next generation would be on more equal footing. Of course, the next generation of shinigami might include some of the cross breeds.

That one boy really had balls, though. Grimmjow was willing to give him credit for that, if not good sense. He brought up the next question.

"What about how the arrancar are behaving? They do not obey the new laws." He said and Grimmjow grimaced, running a hand through his hair. He knew exactly what the kid was talking about and he didn't like it.

"Yeah… I can't tell you when that will change. But I do know that sooner or later, it will change. Tosen is not going to put up with that shit forever." He said, not really worried that he was talking too much. Anyone who knew Tosen could guess that civilizing the arrancar was on his to do list. "And remember, if they fuck with you, you can fuck with them right back. No one gives a shit." Self-defense was completely acceptable. "Okay, that's enough with the Q and A. We have a lesson here." He said firmly. He hadn't expected to get into deep shit. "If you want to talk to me look me up after class."

"Yes Jaegerjaquez-sama." The boy said respectfully enough and they went to work. Grimmjow hadn't caught his name but he remembered the kid. He was the one who'd had a bee up his butt about honor at first. He felt like he had some strength in him, although the arrancar had no idea how deep it went.

After class, the children were politely mobbed. The girls in particular were cooing over them and to Grimmjow's amusement, Hisana was a favorite. Her kitten aspects got plenty of comments of 'adorable' and 'kawaii.' Tigre had plenty of admirers too, though. Ichigo was smiling as he showed off his child to the young shinigami.

"Will they develop shinigami powers? Will they have a zanpakuto?" The boy asked and Grimmjow quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What's your name?" He asked. He was honestly curious now. The kid swallowed before squaring his shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes.

"Hanashima Ryo." The boy said and Grimmjow blinked, remembering. That was the clan that Halibel was staying with.

"Oh yeah? I have a kimono from your family, it's very nice. As for their powers, we're not sure. They're not showing anything yet but they're very young." Grimmjow wasn't at all concerned by that. Normal hollow cubs wouldn't be showing much at this stage of development. "They'll probably start getting a baby cero soon." That would be the next step and he honestly wasn't looking forward to it. He just knew there were going to be scorched babies and a lot of crying. "I'm guessing a zanpakuto will take a lot longer." The boy nodded thoughtfully before going to look at Tigre and Grimmjow just watched with a smile. Maybe Aizen's breeding project really did have a point.

If anything was going to bring the shinigami and arrancar together, it would be the children.

"Bluebell!" Grimmjow yelped as something rather heavy hit him on the back. "Where have you been?"

"Where have I been? Where have you been?" Grimmjow asked the pink haired little shinigami. Yachiru had disappeared three days ago. He'd even had to hold a meeting of the Shinigami Women's Association without her. "You missed tea and cakes!" He'd really been worried about that. Yachiru never passed up on sweets. She smiled at him but it was less upbeat than usual.

"I was looking for Ken-chan. He must be really lost this time! I can't find him anywhere." She said and Grimmjow chewed on his lip for a moment before deciding to let it go. He'd told her several times, as gently as he could, that Kenpachi wasn't coming back. Yachiru just refused to listen. "Has anything interesting happened?"

"Oh yeah!" It had been almost a week since Rukia had gotten back. "Kuchiki Rukia's back. She went to the last meeting." She'd almost fainted when she found out he was the Vice President and running it in Yachiru's absence. "We decided we should help out with that orphanage Rangiku's involved with." Apparently she'd grown up in the slums and that particular orphanage was near and dear to her heart. She and Gin had often gotten meals from them although they hadn't stayed. "They want to build a new wing to house some of the new orphans." Yachiru nodded.

"That sounds great! We can go help them prepare meals and things." She said cheerfully and Grimmjow grinned. Him, cook? Maybe his female souls would have some idea because he knew his primary didn't. The old man could make a pretty mean stew but that was the limit of his abilities.

"I think I'll help with the building." The old man knew how to build things, big time. The army had been big on making roads and field encampments, not to mention the barn he'd put up on his farm.

"Grimmjow?" That was Rukia and he walked towards her voice, Yachiru hanging off his shoulder. That was her preferred spot when they were together. "What are – oh! Yachiru!" Rukia smiled happily as she saw the pink girl. "I'm so glad to see you! After I heard about Kenpachi's death I thought – "

"Ken-chan is NOT DEAD!" Yachiru screamed and Grimmjow flinched, putting a hand over the ear close to her. Rukia stared, her blue-violet eyes wide. "He's NOT! He's just LOST! Stop saying that to me!" Then she burst into tears, hiding her face in his shoulder and sobbing her heart out.

"Oh shit." Grimmjow breathed. Yachiru knew. She wasn't willing to admit it, but she knew her Ken-chan wasn't coming back. He reached back and scooped her off his shoulder by the back of her robes, cradling her in his arms. "Don't cry Yachiru. Ken-chan wouldn't want you to cry over him." Grimmjow said to her softly, rocking her as she sobbed. "Want some fudge?" He'd been saving that as a treat for the kids but they didn't really need it. The crying gradually tapered off and she nodded against his chest. "It's maple." He loved maple. It was something he hadn't had when he was alive but it had quickly turned into his favorite thing.

"Okay." She took a bit of the offered candy and Grimmjow looked up to see Rukia mouthing an 'I'm sorry.' He just gave her an understanding smile. How could she have known? "You're right, Ken-chan told me to be strong. I'll keep waiting for him." She said resolutely and Grimmjow smiled as she jumped down, holding her sword in its scabbard.

"That's the spirit! So did you want to come to the shinigami graduation with me?" He asked and she looked a little puzzled. "Since I'm an instructor I got invited. It's being held next week." He'd been teaching the most advanced class so it would be his kids getting ready to go into the world. Grimmjow wished them the best. The three worlds needed shinigami and right now they were running short.

"Oh, of course! Ken-chan took me to that all the time!" Yachiru said happily and Rukia looked a little pained. Grimmjow suddenly wasn't sure inviting her had been a good idea but he couldn't exactly take it back. "Hey! You know, I've been neglecting my training. Ken-chan will be really mad if I haven't practiced at all! Can you teach me?" She asked and Grimmjow blinked. But she'd been a fukutaichou, even if it was sort of an honorary position. Surely she had some skills?

"Sure, why not. Wouldn't want Ken-chan to get mad at me." He said agreeably and Yachiru laughed as Rukia smiled. "Hey girl, why don't you come too?" He'd seen her powers before but he wouldn't mind seeing them again. Rukia looked a little apprehensive, probably remembering how he'd put a hole in her. But then she gathered her courage.

"Sure, why not?" She said and they all went out to the training ground to indulge in some physical therapy. At least, that was how Grimmjow thought of it and it certainly got Yachiru's thoughts off her missing Ken-chan. Only for a while though. He went to tuck her to bed before his own children. Apparently, Kenpachi had always put Yachiru to bed and she missed it so Grimmjow had taken it over when she was home.

"Grimm-chan?" Yachiru said, looking down at the covers and Grimmjow grimaced a little at that term for him. It beat Bluebell though.

"Yeah?" He prompted her as she stopped talking. Yachiru finally looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.

"He's not coming back, is he?" She said, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. "Ken-chan. He's… dead." Yachiru sounded desolate, hopeless. She knew death and the permanency of it. "It's been too long. Even Ken-chan could find his way home…" She sniffled and Grimmjow put an arm around her, cuddling her gently.

"Yeah, he's dead." He said as gently as he could, stroking a bit of her pink hair. "He spat in the face of kami… honestly, I think it's how he would have wanted to go." He'd been tempted to do the same, a long time ago. Now of course he had cubs. Going down in flames and glory was not an option. Yachiru managed a sad little giggle.

"That was Ken-chan! I – I miss him so much. But I have to be strong. He would want me to be strong." She said before slipping under the covers of the bed. "Goodnight Grimm-chan." She said and he smiled before blowing out the candle.

"Goodnight Yachiru."

Unohana smiled in pure pleasure as she held her offspring for the first time.

She'd touched him before, of course. Human contact was very important for premature infants so she had been able to reach inside the incubator with special kido gloves, giving Takeshi the contact he needed. But she hadn't been able to hold him like this, like a normal child. Only a week and a half after his birth and he was out of the incubator.

"I can't believe how big he is!" Lilynette said happily and Unohana's smile widened. Her boy had gone from being tiny and frail to almost full term. He had soft brown hair, sparse and patchy but slowly coming in. His eyes, when he opened them, were a blue that perfectly matched her own. A little wolf tail twitched against her arm. It was nearly hairless at the moment but she was sure it would eventually be covered in brown fur.

"I can't believe he ate so much." Starrk said plaintively and Unohana and Lilynette both laughed.

Starrk wasn't talking about real food. It had started shortly after Takeshi's birth. Every time they went to see the baby Starrk complained of feeling tired. That just earned him kicks until he happened to mention with Szayel in earshot that he really wanted to be awake, he just felt so drained. The scientist Espada had experienced an epiphany then and had realized that something was happening. Tests had confirmed that Takeshi was absorbing Starrk's energy like a little sponge. It was rather strange. Unohana's reiatsu had to infused into milk and Lilynette experienced no drain at all, but Takeshi could pull Starrks' reiatsu out of the air. After they'd discovered that the Primera had needed to stay with the baby at all times. That had made him sleep even more than usual, but Takeshi had taken what he needed to survive. The drain had slowed and the little boy was thriving now.

"May I hold him?" Starrk asked and Unohana nodded with a gentle smile before giving him the boy. She had to help him adjust his hold, show him how to hold his son. Fortunately, she'd handled many babies in the course of her career. She knew exactly what to do with a brand new father. "Takeshi." Starrk murmured and smiled as the little one opened his eyes, looking at his father curiously.

"Are we going to take him home today?" Lilynette asked hopefully and Unohana nodded.

"Yes, it's time." Takeshi was completely stable and from Szayel's tests, his immune system was fully functional.

"There goes my rest." Starrk complained mildly then winced as Lilynette kicked him. "Babies take a lot of work Lilynette." He said but he was smiling. "Ah, I can't wait. You'll have to teach me everything. I want to be a good father." Starrk sounded a touch wistful and Unohana knew he was a bit worried about that. He'd never been able to mate as a hollow, with his overwhelming reiatsu and he didn't remember his time in the Living World. A child would be entirely new to him.

"Oi, you'll be teaching him all the best places to sleep. But I'll help get him into trouble!" Lilynette promised and Unohana smiled at them both before taking back Takeshi and leading them back to their home. Her family wasn't entirely thrilled by the thought of a hybrid baby, but they would get used to it.

Takeshi was beautiful.

"..." Soi-fon looked at the man kneeling on the floor in front of her with blank horror. He was one of her men. Not one of the best, but acceptable and more than up to the job of following Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Kurosaki Ichigo. Neither of them were much known for subtlety. Fortunately he was quite skilled at surveillance; his weaknesses were more in the combat area. If he'd been at all clumsy he might have died. "…Thank you. You have done very well." She managed to say. "Please return to your duties." He bowed slightly before vanishing in a burst of shunpo, leaving her with a horrible dilemma.

Yoruichi is alive! The knowledge brought tears of sheer gladness to her eyes. But it also posed a huge problem. Sooner or later Barragan would find out. The old hollow had a talent for ferreting out the truth that was simply awe inspiring. He was also a master plotter and had managed to gain some personal loyalty from her men. Sooner or later someone would report this to him. Unless… she was willing to kill the man who had brought her the information. For one moment she actually considered it before pushing aside the thought. Soi-fon still had some honor. She would not kill a man who had done nothing wrong.

Soi-fon took deep, slow breaths as she tried to control her emotions. If she kept this up Barragan would sense something through the collar. In fact, he probably already had. The thought made her cringe and she couldn't decide what to do.

It didn't help that she was supposed to be working with Vandular today. He'd already gone through the fraccion like a buzz saw. In the process, though, they'd established that his fighting style vaguely resembled hers and Ggio's. The fraccion had done all he could but now it was her turn. Soon, Barragan planned to practice with Vandular, but he wanted the new arrancar to have a solid grounding with his weapons first. The short swords he used were reasonably similar to his claws but there were differences.

"Is something wrong?" Vandular asked quietly after a particularly lackluster bout. Soi-fon hesitated.

"Will you promise not to mention this to Barragan?" She finally asked and Van frowned before nodding. "A… friend of mine, another shinigami, has been discovered in the Living World. I don't want her brought back here." Yoruichi was a free spirit, she didn't belong here, chained to an arrancar. Just the thought made her cringe. Vandular's frown deepened.

"Barragan will find out. He always finds out." He said and she nodded reluctantly. "So we should tell him ourselves but put our spin on things!" Van said and she blinked at the idea. She hadn't gotten that far, too upset to think clearly but it did make some sense. "But what spin can we put on it? Hmm…" Vandular tilted his head back, looking at the sky for a moment and Soi-fon suddenly wondered where his hollow hole was located. She'd seen a fair bit of him when he was getting his clothing done but she hadn't spotted it. "I know! What does this woman look like?"

"Um…" That made her blush as she remembered. Soi-fon had always had a tremendous crush on Yoruichi although it had never been returned. "She's… buxom. Very beautiful." She managed and Vandular grinned.

"A womanly sort of woman? Nice curves?" He made a gesture in the air and she glared at him. "Sorry. But that's perfect. We need to appeal to Barragan's self-interest. Forgive me, but he doesn't care for women. If we point out to him that this… womanly woman might be assigned to him, he might be more inclined to let it go. But tell me more about her. How smart is she? What was her position here?"

"Um? She was the former head of the Onmitsukido…" Soi-fon detailed Yoruichi's abilities and her personality. Van nodded several times, his brown eyes thoughtful.

"I like this. The other main person she could be assigned to is me and Barragan might not like that idea." He grinned, a warm and cheerful expression. "It will remind him of the spider woman. Ah, those were good times, she got me into so much trouble!" Soi-fon tilted her head, looking at him enquiringly. "It was back when I was a new vasto lorde and Barragan took me on as a fraccion. She was a shinigami, actually, and made us a rather intriguing offer… ah, but it's a long story. Embarrassing too, in parts. We were lucky to survive. Follies of youth." Vandular looked thoughtful for a moment. "Of course, now I would simply have killed her. Shinigami coming to Hueco Mundo is never a good thing. But I was young and stupid then."

"You were part of Barragan's fraccion once?" She asked, a bit surprised. Van nodded.

"Yes, and we were lovers as well. It lasted until the end of the War of the Red Queen, when my power eclipsed his. We parted ways on good terms." He said cheerfully and Soi-fon blinked, trying to imagine Barragan and Vandular together. Somehow, she could picture the skeleton and the dragon walking together through the sands of Hueco Mundo. Anything more severely taxed her imagination. "Let me bring this up to Barragan, I know him very well." Of course, that cut both ways. Barragan would likely know what Van was up to, but at least he didn't have a collar reporting his emotions. Soi-fon decided to let him handle things.

It worked out perfectly. There was a lot of back and forth but Barragan finally acquiesced with the condition that she keep a strict watch over Yoruichi and Ichigo's sisters to ensure that they were causing no problems in Soul Society. It helped that Szayel held all the gateways and Urahara was dead. Yoruichi was stranded so there was very little chance she was involved in their troubles.

"Thank you." She said gratefully to Van after they left to find some lunch. The arrancar flashed her a quick smile.

"It was nothing. Let's find Hisagi and bring him along, too. I should start getting to know him. So much to do, so little time…" Vandular sighed and she could completely understand how he was feeling. He was trying to cram an immense amount of learning in as fast as he could. His intention was to reach his Segunda Etapa before the week was out. He wanted to have it available when he took his place among the Espada.

For hollows, power was everything.