I don't own bleach
Hollow child
Chapter 7
"That doesn't explain why the baby's half-hollow," Unohana said, as Byakuya's eyes widen.
Ichigo groaned as he opened his eyes. A smile graced his face but immediately fell when he saw the serious look that graced Byakuya's face.
"Ichigo, is that really my child?" Byakuya asked seriously.
Ichigo's amber eyes filled with confusion. Sitting up, he faced the noble. "What's wrong?"
"KUROSAKI! Just tell me!" Byakuya snapped, as Ichigo trembled at the coldness.
"Of course, she's yours," he defended, gripping the sheets.
"Then why is she half-hollow?" a feminine voice asked. Ichigo's eyes moved to Unohana as she pulled up a chair next to Byakuya. Sitting down, the two captains waited on the strawberry to explain.
"I….I can't answer that," he said as Byakuya's went murderess.
"Then you are lying about her being mine!" the blacknette snapped again, causing Ichigo to flinched and wrap his arms around his stomach.
"Cause you'll kill her!" Ichigo yelled, tears falling from his face as he curled up.
"What?" Unohana asked, as Byakuya just stared at Ichigo. 'Was he always this small?' Byakuya asked himself, looking at the broken male in front of them.
"I don't want her to be killed," he sobbed, as Unohana frowned. She moved over to the bed and started to rub Ichigo's back in a soothing motion.
"Now, why do you think she'd be killed?" Unohana asked, finally getting Ichigo to look up at her.
"Because she was originally an arrancar," he muttered as both older taichou's eyes went wide after Ichigo answered, nibbling his bottom lip.
"I think you're going to have to explain," Byakuya said, as Unohana nodded in agreement.
(FLASHBACK)
It had already been two months since Ichigo arrived in Hueco Mundo. "Just another four months to go," Ichigo said, falling backwards onto the ground.
A tall woman with green hair and broken hollow mask dressed in clothes that were nothing but rags walked up. "Morning, Ichigo," she chimed in as she sat down next to him.
"Morning to you too, Nel," he answered.
"So, who are you going to destroy now?" Nel asked, looking around the desert-like landscape. Ichigo just shrugged his shoulders as he started to stand up. "Well, you want to look around then?" Nel asked as Ichigo smirked, nodding a yes.
They walked all the way to the old arrancar HQ before deciding to explore the inside. When Ichigo and his friends had raided it trying to get Orihime back, they never really had the time to really explore it. The building was completely void of life; Nel frowned as they went deeper inside till they reached a door that she didn't remember being there from her time of living in the plain and unfeeling building.
Ichigo sighed as he sat down in front of the door. They had already checked the rest of the building and this was the only hall left.
"Why don't we call it a day?" Nel asked before Ichigo looked at the door behind him, reaching for it.
"No, I want to see what's in there first, and plus this is the last hall too," Ichigo said opening the door. The room was full of computers, wires, chemicals, and four tall containers stood in the middle of the room.
"There's a lot of dust," he said, walking up to the only two non-broken human sized containers. "I wonder what's in there…."
Nel frowned as Ichigo wiped away some of the dust from the front of the container. What he saw in there shocked him. "No way! Nel, help me get her out of here!" Ichigo yelled, as Nel ran over confused. Looking inside, she saw a young girl. Getting the signal from Ichigo, she got on one side as he got on the other. Grabbing it, they pulled and yank it forward so the container fell to the ground, completely shattering.
Ichigo smiled as he grabbed the girl into his arms, but that quickly changed to a look of shock once he got a look at the girl's face. She looked so much like Ichigo, to the point that if you didn't know Ichigo didn't have a kid; you would think she was his. She had the most beautiful orange hair with raven black streaming though it and it reached all the way down to her knees.
"Oi, open your eyes," he whispered to the young girl, patting her on the cheek. Nel soon joined him after she had found some clothing to dress the girl. Gold on black eyes fluttered open, confusing Ichigo even more. The eyes were exactly like his when he was hollowfied. The girl immediately started to struggle in Ichigo's arms. "Hey, hey, it's okay," Ichigo said softly, as he patted her head, effectively calming her down.
"Hey, what's your name, sweetie?" Nel asked gently.
The girl turned her gaze to the older woman. "Ah..aha..ah," she mewled, which made Nel frown.
"Ahhh…she can't speak yet," Ichigo said, looking around as he picked up the young girl and started to carry her outside.
"Ichigo, do you seriously think it's a good idea to bring her with us?" Nel asked. Just as her question ended, her eyes went wide as a whole hollow mask formed on the side of the girl's head.
Ichigo smiled before resting the girl down so she could stand but failed. "Well, I guess until there's an attack, I'll be playing mother," Ichigo smiled, helping the girl stand again. This time, he didn't let go of her hands and started to teach her how to walk.
ONE MONTH LATER—
Nel was now officially confused as the girl that they found a month ago finally said her first word, but it still confused her.
'Mommy,' the girl squealed as Ichigo walked in to the arrancar's former base.
"How's my girl doing?" he asked, patting the girl on her head lovingly.
'Good,' she smiled up at Ichigo.
Nel walked over to the two. "Well, at least she's starting to get it, even if there not in whole sentences."
The girl smiled before grabbing Ichigo's arm. 'R-r-r-i-in-go,' she stuttered. This caused Ichigo's eyebrow to rise as he looked up at Nel.
"I'm guessing her name's Ringo," Nel said, as the girl nodded in agreement.
"Well, okay, Ringo, let's eat," Ichigo cheered.
After eating, Ichigo, Nel and Ringo went out for an evening walk. "Nel, let's look around that lab some more and see what else we can find," he said as he headed in the general direction of the lab.
"Since you're heading that way…why not! Ringo!" Catching the young girl's attention, the multi-colored haired girl turned to look at the older woman before following.
The three walked into the lab as Ringo looked around the lab curiously. Ichigo walked over to a computer and turned it on before he started reading. Nel frowned as she watched Ringo run up to a box sitting on one of the desks.
Ringo giggled as she opened it, but the grin immediately fell and sorrow filled her golden eyes. Picking up the broken zanpaukto that resided in the box, she turned her gaze towards Ichigo. 'Mommy?'
Ichigo turned around to see Ringo walking over to him with the sword, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. A tear fell from each eyes landing on the zanpaukto. When the tear landed, the sword started to glow before changing into two black bracelets and locking themselves to the young girl's wrist. The whole time, Ichigo and Nel stood in a shocked silence.
Ringo's face turned into one of pure panic as she tried to remove the bracelets. "Calm down," Ichigo ordered when he saw Ringo digging into her skin trying to get the bracelets off. Nel grabbed her hands to keep her from trying to remove the black items. Before either of them could say another word, the bracelets started to glow red before transforming into two black wolves, both the size of a Great Dane.
"Master…" they hummed together, nuzzling up to a frightened Ringo. Nel was already standing next to Ichigo when the wolves glared at her, daring her to move.
"Ringo, it's okay," Ichigo told her soothingly. "Why don't you ask them their names?" he asked, smiling gently as the young girl.
'Name?' she asked as the two wolves moved so they could sit in front of her, giving her a wolfy grin.
"Yami and Sora," they answered. Getting up, they went over to Ringo and licked her hands lovingly, just before returning to their bracelet form.
"Well, I guess once you learn to talk, we'll have to teach you how to fight," Nel chimed in, grinning at Ichigo as he was frowning.
FOUR MONTHS AND THREE WEEKS LATER -
'Mommy, we're finished over here,' Ringo sang, as the two wolves alongside her finished killing the hollows. When the wolves finished, she ran over to Ichigo with a smile on her face, as he finished off another.
"Good girl," he praised her. "Nice job, Yami and Sora."
Nel chopped off the head of another hollow and then joined the two.
"Hey, Ichigo…I'm going to head back and make some food. Okay?" she said,
before taking off for her home.
Ringo stared off after the older girl, as her wolves turned back into their weapon form and then returned to their bracelet state. 'Mommy, have I gotten better?' Ringo asked, as the bracelets reattached themselves to her wrists.
Ichigo smiled back at her with a sense of pride in his eyes.
"Yes, you have. You're going to make a great shinigiami," he said, patting her on her head.
Ringo beamed when he praised her, but that quickly disappeared.
'PAINT THE WORLD IN BLOOD, YAMISORA!' Ringo cried out, as Ichigo fell forward, blood running down his back and his eyes in disbelief. Ringo immediately jumped in front of him.
'I didn't even sense their spiritual pressure,' he thought to himself, looking at the three men behind him.
"Oh, what do we have here?" the first man asked, brushing his hair back to covering one side of his face.
"Aww..That's not fair, Tenten. Izu and I want a turn," a man with red hair chimed in.
Izu just sighed. "Stuff it, Yoma!" he snapped.
Ichigo was now officially shocked. The three men in front of him were not hollows, but shinigiami.
'WHY DID YOU ATTACK MY MOMMY?' Ringo snapped, as her wolves got into position.
"We were ordered to kill the traitor," they said.
Ichigo finally stood up and raised his sword. "BULLSHIT! Who ordered that?" Ichigo yelled, as his shikausho changed into its bankai form.
"Tis..tis…no you don't," Yoma said, throwing a unknown talisman towards Ichigo. It landed next to him and the next thing anyone knew, it zapped him. It made his bankai stop and changed him back into his normal shikausho.
"Now, it's time for you to die," Tenten said, licking his blade.
Ringo finally had enough and pulled down her mask so it was over her face. 'Stay away from him!' she growled, before lunging forward.
The three soul reapers smirked before attacking her back successfully, gashing Ringo's side. Yami and Sora struggled to move so they could help their master.
"HA! Those wolves are a form of bankai, so of course, they can't attack!" one of the men laughed.
They walked over to where Ichigo laid on the ground and started to stab him repeatedly, along with breaking his bones. Ichigo bit into his lip, stopping himself from screaming as his rib cage was snapped.
Ringo started sobbing uncontrollably, calling out to Ichigo before he finally heard her scream out. The men stopped hurting him and looked up from him.
Ichigo struggled to look up. As he did, he saw the head of the first man that had talked to them go flying before being torn apart. 'We said leave Mommy alone!' Ringo howled, before finally killing the other two men.
Staring at her, Ichigo watched as Ringo kneeled down next to him. 'Mommy, you can't die!' she sobbed, placing her hands on Ichigo's back, as she felt his heart start to slow.
'You have to find Daddy and bring me back. Okay?' That was the last thing she said, as she started to disappear. The bracelets that were on her wrist released themselves from her and attached themselves to Ichigo's wrists, before disappearing themselves.
As the world started to go black, Ichigo started to sob. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital wing of Squad 4.
BETA NOTE: Sorry it took so long everyone! I hate it when sickness gets in the way! Hope you all enjoy!
That hurt to write but it had to happen.
Please review.