Stand in the Rain
Shadow of an Echo
Chapter Eighteen
I Need To Know
It had been a month, and there had been no Arrancar spotted that ranked Espada level; or even fraccion. Ichigo was still confident there was an Espada out there somewhere governing the lower class trouble makers. Whoever it was must just be extremely good at cloaking their Spirit Pressure, which is probably why their presence had yet to be recorded by the Soul Society in any report.
At least they had the distraction of training. Kisuke had been running his students into the ground, but he liked the potential he saw and after hearing their story he took them under his wing and taught them like he had Ichigo. It was a very nice feeling to work with a mainly blank slate and watch over how quickly they progressed, as he had proven with Ichigo if a person does not know what the normal limits were they can't be constrained by their own thoughts.
Now though Ichigo was stuck with another night of wandering, the few flashes of Spirit Pressure he felt were barely enough to stir his interest, but he couldn't just leave them to hunt down innocent souls. He brought them down quickly, their strength no match for him. He wasn't quite sure who his shadow was tonight, he was starting to get tired of being shadowed every step of the way, so the vast majority had started putting more distance between them. It was silently acknowledged that of all of them, Ichigo was likely the strongest, and the more he trained the safer he was even by himself.
He suspected this night would end like all the others, him stumbling back at dawn to rest in Shunsui's arms before he would have to be back home to continue his efforts to catch up in school; it was a daunting and near impossible task.
Only that wasn't the case, he was about to get his wish for a little excitement just not in a way he would have ever expected. A few hours after midnight, something changed in the atmosphere, a burst of Spiritual Pressure far stronger than the others he had faced.
One of Barragan's fraccion if he was reading the thread right, he hadn't had much contact with that group, but it was just enough to sense the connection. He sped after it, taking several long minutes to get there from as far away as he was.
The feel of the power was fluctuating like he was battling something, and soon after a second strong thread of power joined with his. They must not have been able to keep their presence suppressed during battle. It was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it in the mix of power swirling around the battleground.
When he arrived he was witness to a scene that caused him to attack the fraccion, Findor by the looks of it, with all the strength he could muster.
"Courtesy of King Barragan," The crab like Arrancar had taken one look at the enraged Ichigo and spit out the words before escaping into a Garganta.
Ichigo growled in frustration, but there was something that deserved his attention far more than the cruel fraccion. He quickly knelt beside the injured body of the childlike Arrancar laying on the ground making a small quick flare of his power to tell his shadow for the night that he didn't need help, two pulses meant trouble he couldn't handle alone.
He was already starting to heal the injured girl before he spoke, "Lilynette what are you doing here without Starrk?" No matter that she was an Arrancar, and the fraccion of the Primera; all that mattered in Ichigo's eyes was she was a child in need of healing.
"He had to go back, make a report; I stayed to finish the work." Lilynette admitted, her pink eyes pained; she had a pretty bad gash in her side, plus rapidly blooming blue-black bruises.
"Why on Earth would he let you stay by yourself?" If he knew one thing about Starrk it was how fanatic he was towards Lilynette's safety.
She turned her head away with a sigh as his healing progressed, the pain easing, "He didn't have a choice; Aizen's orders. He thought I would be safe if I hid myself as best as I could and stayed low while he was gone. It was safer for him to go back to Las Noches by himself than me."
"Or at least you thought so," Ichigo finished her thought for her, getting a nod. "That was Barragan's fraccion wasn't it?"
She nodded, "He knows if he eliminates me, Starrk would be weakened; Barragan could take our place." She winced at realizing what she had just admitted to Ichigo. He had relaxed her too much and she had answered without thinking.
Ichigo's eyes softened in response to her fear, "Relax, I don't hurt children, even ones like you that only look the part." He was under no illusions that Lilynette was actually as young as she looked.
Oh well, cat's out of the bag now; might as well keep plowing through it. "Even knowing you could weaken or eliminate an Espada?"
"Still can't do it," Ichigo admitted, "It is not your fault you are Starrk's weak point, if I am going to fight him then it will be a direct battle. I hate fighting dirty."
"Good thing," She stated, "Had you said anything else, you would be dead right about now."
"You are hardly in any shape to fight," Ichigo pointed out.
She managed a wan smile, "I might not be, but he is." Her gaze was fixed on a point behind and above his shoulder.
Heart dropping like a stone, Ichigo slowly turned to meet the steel gray eyes of the Primera Espada, who had his sword drawn and positioned a few inches away from the back of his neck. "You are lucky Lilynette asked you the right question when she did. Otherwise your head would be on the ground; cub or no cub."
"I never hurt children!" he responded indignantly, that was until his brain caught up with the tail end of the Espada's speech. "Wait, what? Cub? What are you talking about?"
The tip of Starrk's Zanpakuto lowered as Ichigo's words calmed him down, though the last part caused him some amusement as he informed Ichigo. "The one curled up inside you, a girl by the feel of it. You didn't know?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ichigo's blanch told him he had hit the nail on the head, "No, I didn't." He responded weakly. He was pregnant, as in having a baby, which would result in him being a parent. He felt a bit light headed, close to fainting at the realization.
Then the fear hit him, he was in front of an Espada; one so capable of killing him it wasn't even funny. Now he had a weak point, something he would do anything to protect despite not knowing about the baby a few minutes earlier. He would not let anything hurt it.
Starrk did something unexpected, he walked away from Ichigo to sit on the other side of Lilynette. "Another thing you are lucky for, I don't hurt cubs either." He stuck with the same term he used before. "I would do it to protect her though." He admitted with a glance at Lilynette. She was his world, he could not bear losing her.
Ichigo knew about his association with wolves, just as he knew Grimmjow was a panther, and Ulquiorra a bat; that explained the cub thing. He also wasn't particularly surprised at his confession. "I might do the same thing if I had to." He informed quietly. He might not know the whole story about the two of them, but he hadn't missed the plural Lilynette had used earlier. These two were connected in a way other Arrancar weren't. He pulled one hand away from the mostly healed fraccion and put it on his lower belly, "…You're really sure about the baby?"
"Absolutely, I know your power, and there is something else now. Like I said, probably a girl with how she feels." Starrk admitted, lazy yes, but very perceptive. Nnoitra was commonly considered the best with Pesquisa but if you looked closer he was only the second, Starrk was better.
Ichigo's fear for his newly discovered baby only grew as he remembered the large stumbling block named Yamamoto, "Exactly how easy is it tell? This will not go over well and I need to keep her safe." He wanted her, he didn't even have to think about it.
"For us, simple, for Shinigami not so much," Starrk was willing to answer Ichigo's questions as a way of showing gratitude for the rescue and healing of his other half. "We sense power differently. Ours is more primal, theirs is more complex, but for something like this our way is better. We sense physical strengths and weaknesses better. I know you have a cub because her presence clashes with yours, while a Shinigami who senses power far more than physical strength will not know unless they are looking for her. You are very strong, not hard to see that, so for now power wise yours covers her. That might not be true as she gets bigger though." He warned, he did indeed have a soft spot for children. He was curious to see what this one would turn out like if she lived.
He wavered for a minute between wanting answers and not wanting to annoy him into reacting badly, though with him Ichigo was fully aware he was probably the hardest to piss off; you just really didn't want to be around him when he did get that way. "You said when she gets bigger, so um, do you think you could tell how big she is now?"
"Let me guess you want to know if she is Grimmjow's right?" At the deer in the headlights look he got from the Visored Starrk knew he was correct, "Don't look at me like that. If I am good enough at sensing to pick up such a young cub do you really think I wouldn't notice just whose power was combining with yours that night?"
"I didn't think anyone knew, or Grimmjow would already be dead… wait he isn't is he?" Ichigo actually felt his heart clench at that. He owed that over-confidant Arrancar for his freedom, of course he would be interested in knowing if their actions had gotten him killed.
"He's alive," Starrk informed, "I said I knew, not others, much like with the cub yours covered his; he didn't give you his power until you were already breaking through your restraints and he knew his would blend in with yours. I should warn you Nnoitra could probably sense what happened too and possibly Harribel. Neither one are going to say anything though."
"You are all working together aren't you?" Ichigo figured out, he knew there were more Espada in on it than Grimmjow and Szayel but he didn't expect it be nearly half of them.
"Yes," He admitted pulling the now passed out Lilynette into his lap, she was exhausted from Findor's attack. "At first it wasn't too bad under Aizen, he was keeping the promises he made at least, but that was before he left Soul Society to live with us permanently. He treated as all like misbehaving children that needed a firm hand, when at least half the Espada are actually older than him. You were physically chained yes, but no less free than we are now. Also you had several of us deciding to follow the rebellion because of your strength. We saw what you survived from him, and also all of his measures to keep you tied up and humiliated just proved how much of a threat you actually were otherwise he would have treated you more like he does us."
Ichigo was stunned, "I helped?"
"Yes you did, but I guess the cub complicates things a bit," Starrk admitted thinking it over in his head only to raise an eyebrow in surprise as Ichigo practically growled.
"If you think I'm going to give her up, you have another thing coming," He was curling around his stomach and holding Zangetsu tighter in preparation to at least attempt to defend himself.
"No, I actually think keeping her is a better idea," Starrk refuted. "Your strength was enough to get our attention, and it helps you are half Hollow which is something Aizen isn't. To have a child born of both worlds and raised by one who is also in and out of both would make for a very strong addition to our cause. She would be our chance to prove Hollows are not all mindless killing machines, some are I'll admit, but not when you've risen to our level."
"Wait, so you're saying you could use her?" Ichigo really didn't know if that was good or bad, but it kind of sounded like his daughter would have more protection that way so he was at least willing to listen to the explanation behind it.
Starrk nodded, "Yes, but it will be awhile before that happens, in the meantime it is you who has the influence we need. If we want to rebel against Aizen I know we need to combine strength with the Shinigami in some way. You bridge the gap. If you speak for us, we may have a chance."
Hearing what was basically his own plan coming from the Espada without prompting just confirmed for Ichigo that he was on the right track, "I was actually going to ask you about that myself," And he quickly explained his plan to contact Grimmjow.
"That would have worked," Starrk assured. "That's one of the better ideas I've heard recently anyway."
"If I do this, what are you expecting?" He asked seriously. "I need to be able to make a firm argument, and it has to be soon, if the head captain finds out about the baby he could throw me in the Maggot's Nest or take her from me, possibly both knowing how stubborn he is on that particular issue."
"I would be willing to submit to whatever power restraints they use on the Captain class, I know they have them. I will not come if they attempt to separate us from our Fraccion in any way, I'd rather they didn't separate any of us, but if they allowed us to stay together I would allow someone to chaperone us in off hours, preferably someone like you who has a basic idea of what we are really like." Starrk had been thinking it over for a while now trying to figure out just how much compromising both sides would be able to handle.
"I think I can argue that." Ichigo responded slowly weighing the pros and cons. "Will the others agree to those terms too?"
"They will if I tell them to," Starrk confessed, "Our ranks are not just numbers, I don't use it much, but if I give an order they are supposed to obey me just as much as if it were Aizen asking."
"How many do you think will want to come with you?" That was important, too many and there was no way Yamamoto would agree.
"Me, Lilynette, Nnoitra, Tesla, Grimmjow, and Szayel. There are two more Espada and four fraccion helping but they will stay in Las Noches to pass information. We have already discussed what would happen if we ever chose to abandon Aizen on our own, I don't see this being any different." Starrk explained, before tensing a moment eyes glazing over a bit in his effort to concentrate on something just on the edge of his range, "I have to go, we have a job to do. Oh, and I never answered your question from earlier; no I can't tell how old she is. Without knowing how powerful she is going to be I have no benchmark to place her age. She is strong though, I'm sorry, I can't rule out her being old enough to have been sired by Grimmjow."
Ichigo winced but nodded, "I expected as much, now go, make sure whoever is causing trouble doesn't get to anyone living." It was bad enough he was essentially serving up the plus souls on a platter, he didn't want deaths on his hands.
"I don't let humans die if I can help it, that is why Aizen sent me here," Starrk explained before disappearing in a rush of Sonido, Lilynette tucked carefully into his arms.
When he was out of sight and Ichigo realized he was alone he practically collapsed back on the grass of the park he'd found Lilynette and Findor fighting in. His hand strayed to his stomach as the enormity of the situation has a chance to slowly sink in.
"Well King, this is a mess." Junichi spoke up a bit ruefully, and Ichigo let himself fade into his inner world so he could actually see the Hollow he was conversing with.
There was no denying it so, "Definitely, but now what do we do?"
"You know exactly what we need to do, tell Shunsui." Junichi knew hiding it would probably only make things more dangerous for the baby.
"I..I'm not sure I can," Ichigo had gone deathly white at the thought
"Well, we have to." Junichi pressed, his hand slowly moving to mirror Ichigo's on his own white clothed abdomen, "We got ourselves into this mess now we have to deal with it."
"What does that mean? You almost sound like you're pregnant too," Ichigo stared at the hand and listened to the oddly phrased statement and put the pieces together.
This time he could watch Junichi face-palm instead of just guessing that's what he was doing, "That's because I am. We've been over this, we share a soul so what happens to one of us happens to the other and right now we have a baby in our belly,"
"…And you're okay with that?" He asked incredulously.
A reluctant sigh, "Can't say I'm thrilled, but I don't hate it either. Now King when are you going to stop stalling? He's going to find out sooner or later, like when he sees you with a cantaloupe for a stomach."
"I know, I know. But I can't get myself settled down enough to do it. I'm terrified okay. I never thought I would have to do anything like this." Ichigo protested.
"I know King, but we still have to do it." Junichi had his own misgivings about all this, most of it having to do with the fact Hollows weren't exactly the nurturing type, but that was precisely what he would need to do to get both his King and now the child through this.
"…Junichi, what if the baby isn't Shunsui or Jyuushiro's?" There were many things Ichigo could panic about in this situation, but that was at the top of the list. Starrk knew in an instant that he was pregnant, but couldn't tell him anything more, and that terrified him.
The Hollow couldn't help but sigh at his King's understandable but unhelpful worries. "I don't know King, but we can't hide her forever, the only way we can find out for sure is to tell him and find out the truth from there."
"I just, I don't think I can do this." Ichigo murmured. "I want the baby, no matter who her father is, but I can't tell Shunsui. Not until I know one way or another, but there isn't a way to know for sure. This is all one big mess."
"Yes it is, but you already said it. You want her, we both know that, so we have to take care of her." Junichi was beginning to suspect he would have to intervene in some way, but he was still holding out some hope his King would come around.
Ichigo took a deep breath, but it didn't help calm him down at all, "I know we need to, but I just can't. If we get rejected now I don't know how we are going to make it through this."
"We will make it through no matter what. I didn't kick your ass into gear before you broke under Aizen just to let you crumble over having a baby you obviously want." Junichi made his choice after hearing the sheer terror in his King's voice. "Let me do it. I can talk to him but only if you let me. I can't force it anymore like I did when we fought Byakuya."
"I can't but I know we should, so yes I give you permission to take control and talk to Shunsui," Ichigo didn't even need to think about it when such a good solution fell into his lap.
"Then all you need to do is let Zangetsu take care of you, and I will deal with Shunsui," The sword was definitely better at comforting others than Junichi was, he would keep Ichigo from panicking too much while Junichi faced their fears head on.
It didn't take long to find his love, and it looked like Shunsui was already worried, and he proved it too when he pulled Ichigo in for a near bone-crushing hug, "You scared me. All we knew was you found an Espada then you didn't come back, I thought you'd been taken again."
"We weren't taken, but you aren't talking to King right now," Junichi was already in control, and to say it was odd to receive a full body hug for the first time he could remember was an understatement.
"Junichi? What's going on?" Shunsui loosened his hold enough to get a good look at him, prompted both by Junichi's words and the odd echoing tone to his voice, and realized his eyes had turned completely gold set into a black background. Yes, definitely not talking to Ichigo right now.
"King is currently having a panic attack while Zangetsu is trying to calm him down, that means you are stuck with me for a while," Junichi explained bluntly.
"You are a part of Ichigo, I don't mind having you here, but why is Ichigo so frantic you had to take over for him?" Shunsui and Jyuushiro had both known what shared Ichigo's soul and had come to terms with it long ago. Junichi played a large part in who Ichigo was today. They respected that connection and in turn respected and accepted Junichi as part of their lives.
Now even Junichi was a touch reluctant, but he has always been more reckless than his King, so he jumped in head first, "Because someone managed to get us pregnant."
Shunsui was stunned silent. Shock radiating out from him, before he managed to force out, "Pregnant!?" The shocked question prompted by the thought he might have misheard the Hollow.
"Do I really need to explain it to you?" Junichi replied, rolling his eyes, "We're pregnant, as in there is a baby right about here." He gestured sharply to his lower abdomen as he spoke.
He was admittedly shocked almost as much as Shunsui had just been when he was once again dragged into a tight hug, this time with Shunsui fully knowing just who he was grabbing onto. "This is wonderful!" He burst out before catching himself, "Wait, is Ichigo so frightened of this because he's afraid we wouldn't want it?"
"That's only a part of it," Junichi responded while managing to wiggle free of the hold on him, he was more reckless but not as tactile as Ichigo. "The thing that's freaking him out the most is we don't know who she belongs to. For all we know she is Grimmjow's."
Shunsui couldn't stop the wide grin across his face despite the real concern they had, "She? We're getting a daughter? I know you are not Ichigo, but I want you to hear everything I would tell him if I could. I want this little girl. If her father is me, Jyuushiro, or Grimmjow it doesn't matter. She is mine because she will be born from the person I love."
Junichi was too shocked to say anything back, he had hoped for his King's sake that would be true, but hadn't truly believed it until now.
Shunsui read his silence as something else, his joy diminishing a bit, there was a question that still needed to be asked, "What about you two? I know you will have the hardest part in having her. I have to ask, do you want her? In the end it has to be your choice." As much as he wanted the child, he knew it was Ichigo's right to say he wasn't ready. He was still very young, no matter that his experiences had aged him mentally. It was understandable he would have a few second thoughts about something this big even if Shunsui felt his heart racing, afraid of the answer.
"King definitely does," Junichi willingly put that fear to rest. "His fear is more that he would be rejected if the baby was Grimmjow's, and with all the spiritual pressure he provided us it is very possible she is his."
"We would never turn the two of you away, never, we love you with everything we have. Children are a treasure and we will adore her even if she ends up with blue hair." Shunsui responded forcibly. He knew that neither Jyuushiro nor himself would hold it against Ichigo should the baby not be theirs. If it weren't for Grimmjow they might not have Ichigo to love as it was, his child would be welcomed into their hearts without regrets. He did notice one thing though in what Junichi told him that was concerning, "What about you? Ichigo wants the baby, but does that mean you do too or do you not want her?" Hollows were volatile he knew that, he liked Junichi and didn't want to think of him as a threat, but in this case he couldn't help his worry.
Junichi grumbled under his breath a moment before replying loud enough for Shunsui to hear him. "Yes I want her. I'm not overjoyed that we won't be able to fight for a while and I'm not really the 'motherly' type, but she is mine and I will make sure she grows strong." He knew what Shunsui was thinking when asking that question it wasn't hard to guess. "Look, Hollows are not like you Shinigami, and I mean besides the obvious, we don't really understand love the way you see it. What we are is possessive, violently territorial, and only truly loyal to our own. I won't hurt her, or King, because they are mine." He put as much emphasis on the word mine as he could, that particular word meant more to Hollows than anyone outside of the race could understand.
"That's all I need to know. Jyuushiro and I will protect the three of you as much as we can, but we can't shield him from a part of himself." Shunsui admitted.
"I figured you'd be worried," That wasn't a hard logic leap, "Just remember I take care of what's mine, not always the way people would like because it usually involves blood and pointy objects, but I won't let anything happen to them if I can prevent it."
"I trust you, I just needed to hear it," Shunsui confessed, "Now, how did you find this out?"
"The Espada we talked to tonight was Starrk but we actually found his Fraccion first, she had been attacked by one of Barragan's so we chased off Findor and started patching up Lilynette. She revealed a little too much to us, and if King and been any less noble we would be down one head. Starrk is the one who told us about the baby when he put his sword away once he knew Lilynette was safe, he thought we already knew. Apparently Pesquisa is different from the Shinigami way of sensing and he could feel her and know she was a girl, but couldn't tell how far along we are." Junichi explained, absentmindedly setting a hand on his abdomen until he realized what he was doing and quickly pulled it away, he would let King indulge in public displays of affection, not him.
"How do you know he isn't going to run straight to Aizen?" Shunsui couldn't help but pull the very disgruntled Hollow into another hug, he was just too worked up to stop himself.
"Because he was the one to bring up approaching the Shinigami first. He is working with Grimmjow and several others to rebel but is fully aware they have a better shot if they work with the Shinigami. According to him there are six Espada and six Fraccion willing to desert Aizen, half of them would like to be in Seireitei the others will stay and pass information to us." Junichi explained once again trying to wriggle free of the hug, but this time it wasn't working. "King is ready to come back, you can turn him into your teddy bear instead of me." He warned before thrusting control back over to Ichigo.
This time when Shunsui hugged him, he was hugged back, "Ichigo I never want you to be afraid of me or Jyuushiro, we love you, and will love our little girl forever." He reassured.
"But this is still so new, and she might not be yours, then there is Yamamoto," His worries would have continued had Shunsui not leaned down and kissed him to gently quiet him.
"Ichigo we do not say I love you lightly, we mean it wholeheartedly. I don't care if it's only been two months, it could be two decades, or two centuries and we couldn't love you more. Now you are giving us a daughter to love, why would we ever turn you away?" He spoke between feather-light kisses along his cheek jaw and neck.
Ichigo melted at his touch and his words, especially when a large strong hand came to rest on his stomach, and he put his own over Shunsui's, "I love you too." He replied simply, but it was enough, because he meant every word as deeply as Shunsui and Jyuushiro did towards him.
"Jyuu is going to be so happy," Shunsui spoke a few minutes later, "Telling him is going to be fun." He leaned further down to kiss Ichigo's stomach, "Hello baby girl, I just want you to know you are loved and we will take care of you like the treasure you are." He rose back up only to be pulled into a kiss by Ichigo.
There were dark days ahead, he couldn't fool himself into thinking their wouldn't be, but for now he basked in the happy glow of the moment and was excited about doing it all over again when they finally were reunited with the missing part of their hearts.