"I'm going with you." Blue eyes met black and gold and there was no give in either.

"You are not." Vandular was unbending. Grimmjow had to resist the urge to grab one of his ears and give a yank. It was tempting but also dumb as hell. "You have duties here. Will you make your child an orphan?" He asked and Grimmjow scowled before glancing at Masahiko. He was safe in Rin's arms and she was nursing him. As well fed as she was, her body could spare the substance for his pequino rey. Which was good, it would take some time for Nel's stores of power to be replenished. They were feeding her as much as they could, but there was a limit to how much she could eat. If Rin hadn't been able to feed him they would have had to try putting him on solids early. That usually worked just fine for adjuchas but Van said it almost always failed for vasto lorde. The thought made Grimmjow shiver a little. Watching his little one starve to death would have killed him.

"Rin and Rocca can care for him." Grimmjow said stubbornly. It might not be ideal but Rin and Rocca were both very fond of Masahiko. "And Nel will help them." When she got her adult form back, she would be fine help. Vandular just looked at him, those black and gold eyes glittering in a way that made him feel a bit nervous. But he met that gaze stubbornly. He might not be the alpha but he wasn't backing down. Vandular wasn't either, though, and he finally decided to assert his authority.

"Grimmjow, I am ordering you. Stay here and guard your child and my coming pup." The dragon said, his voice firm and a touch cold. Grimmjow swallowed any hot words, reminded that this was the power that had easily crushed him. "If something happens to me it will be your duty to raise my cub. I expect you to care for the pup as if it was your own. You understand?"

"…Yes." Grimmjow finally choked out, wishing he could do something more. He had a dark suspicion that Vandular thought he would slow him down, get in his way. That really grated on the Espada because he knew it was probably true. "What are you going to do, anyway? You almost managed to defeat three of them but you know there are thirteen Divisions, right?" He asked, just to goad the other hollow. That made Vandular laugh. The sound was dark and frightening, reminding Grimmjow ever so slightly of Ichigo's hollow voice. The impression vanished a moment later as the dragon spoke. His voice was warm and pleasant again, amused and anticipatory.

"I know precisely what I will face. Do you understand how the balance of the worlds works?" He asked and Grimmjow blinked. He'd never cared a bit about things like that. Vandular seemed to read that in his expression and chuckled softly. "Of course not… for every powerful shinigami, there is a powerful vasto lorde. For every potential bankai wielder, there is a power here. I am the equivalent of the most powerful shinigami, so I know there is someone in Soul Society who is fully my equal." He said calmly and Grimmjow swallowed at the thought. What would happen if such powers clashed? Nothing good… but it would happen in Soul Society, not Hueco Mundo. They could deal with the fallout. "I will be stealthy, searching from the shadows and questioning the shinigami I come across. Sooner or later, one of them will know where Ichigo is. Then I will steal him away and bring him back. I am very capable at concealing my reiatsu." He said confidently but Grimmjow greeted it with skepticism.

"Completely?" He had his doubts. Then Vandular closed his eyes for a moment and lowered his reiatsu until it was barely a whisper on the winds. Grimmjow was honestly impressed. "That is really good." He could do it about as well, but he had less to conceal than the older hollow. "Well, I can't stop you anyway. Good luck." He said gruffly as he looked at his feet, feeling like a bit of a failure. Vandular hesitated a moment before touching his shoulder and he twitched, looking up at the other hollow.

"Grimmjow, you are the only other fit to be alpha here. Rocca's personality is not suited to it and Rin will be denning. Please, I need you here." He said softly and Grimmjow hesitated as he thought about it. The other vasto lorde did have a point. Rocca just wasn't a dominant type and while Rin could probably be a good alpha, she was bearing a cub. That would make the pack dynamics all messed up and while they would probably adapt to it, it would be much better to have a strong alpha in charge. He met Van's eyes again and saw the plea for him to understand. Taking a deep breath, he gave the other hollow a nod.

"I get it. I'll take care of them." He said and really meant it, this time. Van let go of his arm with a nod and went to say his goodbye's to Rin. There were a few love nips and encouraging words, including a gentle hand on her belly. It was still too soon to really feel the cub but Van was trying and Grimmjow smiled to himself. He knew the feeling. He watched as Vandular made a garganta and disappeared, going to Soul Society. Hopefully, he would find Ichigo and manage to bring him back. If not, it would be because the old terror had died. Grimmjow was certain of that.

Van was not going to allow the shinigami to keep his pup.

Ichigo yanked on his chains and indulged in some vicious swear words. He'd mostly picked them up from Grimmjow, although he didn't know what all of them meant.

The thought of his mate brought a deep pain to his heart. He longed to see his grin again, know he was alright, and to hold Masahiko in his arms. But Grimmjow might be dead. He knew that with a sick certainty and the thought enraged him. Rocca might be dead too and that thought hurt him only a bit less. Even little Nel… he had to get back to his pack. He had to!

But he couldn't. The chains were very sturdy and the thick collar around his neck was made of some kind of stone that seemed to suck all his power away. They'd taken his sword away and he couldn't speak to Zangetsu at all. Ichigo squirmed for a moment before stopping. He wasn't doing anything other than chafing his wrists.

Two people entered the prison cell and he looked up sharply, frowning at them. One was a very short girl with black hair and the other was a strong looking man with bright red hair and intricate tattoos. Ichigo blinked at that, remembering…

"…you used to hang out with this midget with black hair, I don't know what her name was… there was this guy with red hair and lots of tats, I call him the spiky pineapple. You'll know what I mean when you see him…"

"Ichigo, are you there?" The girl asked hopefully and he blinked again, turning his attention on them. What did that mean?

"Of course I am. Where else would I be?" He asked, confused, and the two of them exchanged a glance. "You're the midget." He said and she stared at him for a moment before punching him in the belly. "OW!" He hadn't anticipated that reaction. She was scowling at him.

"How dare you!" She said and Ichigo noticed that the redhead was grinning. "That's beyond rude! Don't you remember my name, Ichigo?" Well, since she'd asked…

"No. Who are you?" He said directly and they both stared at him, shocked. Then the redhead spoke.

"It must be his hollow. He might not know us." He said which caused Ichigo to lose his patience. He couldn't feel his hollow at all, why was everyone so intent on blaming everything on him?

"You aren't speaking to my hollow! I'm not sure he's even here. I got hurt, okay?" He snapped as they both looked at him. "My head was almost cracked open – ow! Hey, what?" The redhead had gripped his head and was searching through his hair with his fingers. Ichigo was tempted to try biting him but he held off. He knew what the other man was doing, he was trying to verify his story.

"Holy shit. There is one hell of a scar back here, Rukia." He said quietly before letting go and Ichigo shook his head, glaring at them both. "Did Grimmjow do that to you?"

"What? No!" Ichigo said, repulsed by the thought. "I can't remember it, but Grimmjow told me I was almost killed by an insane arrancar. It was a vasto lorde before Aizen broke its mask." He told them and Rukia frowned as the redhead scratched his head. "Grimmjow found me when I was dying and brought me back to health."

"Why would the Espada do that?" The redhead asked and Ichigo hesitated a moment. What had been Grimm's reasons at the time?

"Oh… right. He ate the vasto lorde and made vasto lorde himself. It was kind of a thank you for making him more powerful. And he wanted to fight me again." He said, smiling a bit as he remembered. Somehow, the desire to fight him had completely vanished, turning into something else completely. "Is Grimmjow alright?" He asked anxiously, fear knotting up his guts. Had they killed him? Rukia smiled at him but it was marred with tension.

"I'm sure he's fine. All the hollows were alive when we brought you back here." She said, conveniently leaving out the fact that they hadn't actually intended to leave Grimmjow alive. And Rocca's fate could have been even worse, as one of Mayuri's experimental subjects. Ichigo couldn't know that, though, and he looked relieved. "Ichigo, we'll help you remember. You need to go home to your family." She said and that made him scowl.

"No, I need to go back to my pack!" He snapped as his mind went back to Masahiko. Could his pequino rey live without him? Probably, with Rin and Nel to feed him but the thought still filled him with anxiety. "I have a family in Hueco Mundo, I need to go back to them." Some caution told him not to mention his son to them. They would want to know how he'd been born and shinigami weren't supposed to give birth like that. It might cause more problems, not just for himself but for his pack and he would NOT place them in more danger.

"Ichigo, you know you have a real family, right? A father and two sisters?" The redhead said worriedly and Ichigo frowned, looking away.

"I know… Grimmjow told me I had a sire and two littermates." He said in a low tone and missed the look the shinigami exchanged at the hollow terms. "But I don't remember them. What if I never do? And I can't leave Grimmjow. I'm his… fraccion." He said, quickly deciding to leave out the fact that they were lovers. That was another thing the shinigami didn't need to know. "He's my… my mentor." He said, trying to translate it into shinigami. "I'm sorry, what's your name?" He hadn't caught it yet.

"I'm Renji. But Ichigo, everyone leaves their… mentor sooner or later." The redhead said and Ichigo winced. A better word was 'lover' and he knew it, but he didn't want to go there with them.

"He means more to me than that… it's complicated." He said hopelessly. They just wouldn't understand. "Please, I have to go back to them!" Thinking about Masahiko was driving him almost insane with worry. He tried to put every bit of pleading he could into his face and voice. "Please, if you're my friends, help me!"

"Ichigo… you're not in your right mind. If you could remember, you wouldn't be acting like this." Rukia said gently and Ichigo shook his head with a scowl. He didn't believe that. Sure, his decision might be harder but he would never abandon his own child! "We'll talk about it after you have your memory back." She promised and he bit his lip at the thought. He was afraid they would try to remove his memories of his pack, his little son. Was that even possible?

"Yeah, don't worry. You'll be back to normal in no time!" Renji said cheerfully and Ichigo glared at him.

"I am normal – HEY! Where are you going?" He demanded but they didn't listen, just leaving the cell, leaving him chained to the wall. "…Fuckers." He muttered before indulging in a few more swear words. Then he frowned up at the shackles, trying to think of some way to get out.

He had to get home to his pequino rey.

"What have you learned?" Yamamoto asked Mayuri. The scientist almost beamed. He was having a wonderful time, finally getting a chance to really examine Ichigo. Not to mention the Visored. Kensei and Shinji had reluctantly submitted to examinations when he'd told them he needed to compare the young Visored to a 'pure' specimine.

"A great deal! To begin with, Kurosaki's story of his amnesia seems to be almost completely true. There are marks of severe head trauma, including a healed skull fracture. It could have been fatal but apparently the Espada possesses healing saliva." Someone made a gagging sound but Kurotsuchi ignored it. Really, that was a sadly weak stomach for a warrior. "According to Kurosaki, he was feeding on hollows after that. I believe that is why his reiatsu has changed."

"The nature of the changes?" Byakuya asked as Mayuri paused, looking almost dreamy as he contemplated his findings. Byakuya was healed enough to be ambulatory but had not returned to his duties just yet. He'd insisted in joining this meeting, however. Renji was by his side, attentive to his taichou.

"His reiatsu is far more like an arrancar than a Visored." Kurotsuchi reported, which made Yamamoto frown. "His connection to his zanpakuto appears to have weakened significantly while his connection to his hollow has deepened. That's why I said his story about his amnesia is almost true. I'm certain he did lose his memory at first, but now it appears that his hollow is actively suppressing it." He said, which caused a small stir.

"So if we suppress his hollow, we can return his memories?" Ukitake asked and Mayuri nodded.

"I believe so. However, he may lose some time in the process." He said then had to amplify as several people looked confused. "Kurosaki is still in control at the moment, but the definition between himself and his hollow has become blurred. If we cause them to separate again, it's quite likely he will forget many of the things he has experienced in the meantime."

"That would be good, wouldn't it?" Kenpachi said and Kurotsuchi shrugged as Unohana frowned. "He doesn't need to remember those hollows. Just a hassle." They all knew about Ichigo's pleadings to be allowed to return to his 'pack.' Unohana nodded reluctantly.

"It is slightly unethical, but leaving him with no memory of his family would be even worse. And I cannot imagine we would be able to convince his hollow to allow those memories to return." She said softly and everyone agreed. Mayuri grinned as he received his new orders… to suppress Ichigo's hollow and return his memories.

"I know exactly how. It should be done within an hour." He said happily. He'd already planned out his approach. "Nemu, come!" He swept out of the meeting room, heading back towards his Division.

He didn't much care about Kurosaki, but he'd already examined him thoroughly. It was time to finish with this specimen and send him on his way.

Several days later, in the woods outside the Rukongai

"Hm." Vandular made a small sound of displeasure as he licked the blood off his claws. The dead shinigami in front of him was unworthy of his attentions, not even making the cut for a light snack. But he would take the man's soul anyway. He had fought well for the little power he had and his valor was beyond question. He'd also stood up to questioning well, which Van respected, as little as he might like it.

Vandular was not a cruel creature by nature. He fought as needed and killed swiftly, without inflicting undue pain. Yet, he was also practical. If he wanted to question shinigami, he had to silence them when he was done. He had no mind altering powers, no way to erase the knowledge of him from their minds. And sadly, he had few tools of persuasion at his disposal. He tried to talk to them, convince them it was in their best interest to speak to him without pain, but few shinigami would listen.

Sensing a trace of power where there should be none, Van leapt away from his kill before a blade could bisect him. Turning with easy grace, he saw the shinigami glaring at him. He was a young man with black hair and an odd tattoo on his cheek. The weapons he was using were two great blades, connected with a chain. Vandular could sense a much greater strength in this man than the one he'd just killed and that pleased him.

"Perhaps you will have the knowledge I seek." He said before attacking. Blades clashed with claws as Van drove the shinigami back. Leaves fluttered as a wind began to rise. Vandular had to dodge as the blades tried to encircle him. It was a very unusual weapon the shinigami was using, like nothing he had seen before. But he would adapt to it.

And so he did. The shinigami attempted to entangle him in the chain, clearly meaning to drag him close for a finishing blow. Vandular let the chains circle his throat but set his feet on the ground, pulsing his reiatsu into the soil and finding bedrock. The shinigami might as well have been trying to move the world and brown eyes went wide as he grasped the chain and gave a hard yank, dragging the shinigami into his waiting fist. There was an outflow of air, a ragged woof and the man hit the ground, dazed and in considerable pain. For a moment he couldn't move, and that was enough. Vandular was there, claws pressed firmly against a pale throat.

"Now, I have a question for you." He said softly as the shinigami looked up at him in confusion. "Where is Kurosaki Ichigo?" Grey eyes widened and Van felt like the shinigami was really seeing him for the first time.

"You're that dragon hollow Kyoraku and the others met in Hueco Mundo!" He said and Vandular nodded slightly. "Why do you want Ichigo so much?" He asked and the ancient hollow hesitated, thinking of how to word his reply.

"He is, in a sense, my son." He said and sighed to himself as he saw nothing but confusion on the man's face. "It is not meaningful. Please, answer my question. I do not enjoy causing pain but I will if necessary." He said in a gentle, reasonable tone. The shinigami under his claws scowled.

Just as he was about to respond, Vandular sensed something. Acting out of a combination of instinct and cunning, he leapt to the side, taking the young shinigami's weapon with him. Metal broke as he dragged his claws over the zanpakuto, and he dropped the pieces just as a new shinigami attacked. This one was stronger, much stronger than the one he'd defeated. A male with silvery hair, he was wearing a garment similar to the ones the ancient hollow had fought in Hueco Mundo. He was entirely ignorant of how shinigami ranked themselves, but he knew he was fighting a greater power. And yet…

There is something strange about him. Familiar? The feeling that he knew this shinigami puzzled the dragon greatly. Blades of wind ripped around him but, as always, wind was his friend. He seized control of them and sent them back, shocking the shinigami. He leapt away before reaching up and… what?

As he saw the white mask of bone, Vandular suffered a great shock. His mind abruptly made the connection to Ichigo and recognized the scent that touched the shinigami. It was light, much lighter than what he'd sensed from the teen but still there. Still achingly familiar, singing to old parental instincts. The emotion it roused in him was mostly rage, although not directed at his opponent. No, it was directed at whoever had done this to him… and to his little one.

"Enough!" Vandular summoned the full power of his reiatsu, heedless of who might feel. The shinigami lurched as the power within him responded, bathing him in a black and red light that was very similar to Van's black and gold. A strange, viscous liquid suddenly flowed from his body, forming strange rods of bone on his back. It was nothing like his son, but Ichigo's hollow mask did not closely resemble him either. The shinigami fell to his knees, his eyes glowing black and gold as the hollow within him took full control. "My little one." Van gently gripped the man's chin, tilting his head back so he could meet those eyes. Eyes that were just like his own… and not like many other hollows in Hueco Mundo. "What has happened to you? Who did this?" He asked, distracted from his mission. But he had to know. Whoever was responsible for this would suffer greatly. The voice that spoke was strange and grating.

"Aizen Sosuke." Van tilted his head to one side, a silent question and the remnant of his son continued. "He was a traitor to the shinigami. He is imprisoned now… he is immortal or they would have killed him. He will not be released for twenty thousand years."

"That is not enough." Vandular said in a cold, implacable voice. "Anything that lives can die. I will meditate on the matter." If his child had died in the normal course of things, falling to another hollow, he would have nothing to say. Or even if he had died on a shinigami's blade, Vandular would simply have accepted the loss. That was the way of things. This… defilement did not sit well with him. "Now tell me. Where is Kurosaki Ichigo? Where is the largest piece of you?" Because this shinigami contained only the smallest part of his offspring. Kurosaki had something much stronger, so large that Vandular had mistaken it for the whole.

"Kensei, no!" Van ignored the other shinigami, intent on the one in front of him. His son would answer his question whether the shinigami wanted him to or not.

"He has gone back to the Living World, to be with his friends and family. He cannot remember you." The shinigami said and Van nodded thoughtfully. "He is in Karakura town."

"I see. I know that place." He had been there once, to steal a new body covering. It was a high reishi environment and modestly acceptable to a hollow of his stature. Most of the Living world made him feel rather ill. "Now…" He regarded the shinigami in front of him with a frown, hidden behind his mask of bone. He could not kill this man, which posed a problem. "I am sorry. This will hurt." Carefully calculating the amount of energy necessary, he zapped the man with his lightning. The bone mask shattered, revealing stunned brown eyes. Those eyes rolled back as the man fell forward and Vandular caught him, easing him to the ground. "Now, for you." He turned to the other man who readied himself, reaching for… the thing he was wearing on his neck? Van wondered if it was a weapon, but it didn't matter. He had no intention of killing this man either. Instead, he called the lightning to his claws again. It was a bit more difficult without a willing subject, but soon the younger shinigami was unconscious as well. Concentrating, he made the garganta to the Living World. Soul Society would sense it, but it didn't matter. They would find these two soon enough.

It was a race.