I´m here again, now it´s the turn of another of my favorite couples!
Ulquiorra was crawling out of the tower where he supposedly turned into ashes. That was a good trick to get the Shinigami out of his toes and focus on what was he really after. He tried to get to his feet, but the damage done to his organs was too much, just standing hurt like hell and he needed time and a save place to heal himself. He looked down at the damage, but coughed up blood. He would do so later.
"Ulquiorra!" yelled a voice. It was Grimmjow running towards him, hurt but not so much and with a little someone in his arms. He crawled a little bit more and faced the Sexta, who got down and picked him up. They have to leave immediately.
"Kieran…" whispered the tired bat to the baby. He has blue hair and eyes, like his father, but tear tracks down his face like his mother.
"He is okay, Ulqui. As soon as I could move I picked him up…"
"No, he isn´t. He is blind, remember? And it´s all my fault" said Ulquiorra, blaming himself. He was useless, now and in the past. Because he couldn´t do right his duty as a mother his son wasn´t able to see the light of day and now he could barely move and was a hindrance for his family.
"That wasn´t an impediment for Tousen, it´s not going to be one for our son…" then he heard someone coming from the hallway. "Let´s finish talking in some other place, okay. You hold him tight and I will carry you two out of here"
"The Daiko?"
"Away fighting Aizen. I don´t know if our paths will cross again, but I don´t think he is going to be a problem anymore, Ulqui"
"Where are we going? We can´t raise a child like Kieran in Hueco Mundo, the other hollows would take him for an easy meal…"
"It´s going to be okay, we are leaving as soon as you are okay to move"
"Do you have some place in mind?"
"Yes, have you ever heard about Wakanda? It´s a place in Africa, in the World of the Living, that is surrounded by jungle. The country revered panthers, mainly because of a myth. It told the history of a white soul eating panther, inhabitant of that jungle, who would attack the enemies of the country"
"So basically you know that because the panther was you?" asked Ulquiorra, distracting himself from the pain he was in. Damn it, not even having his arms ripped hurt this much. He was pretty sure he had internal bleeding and most of his organs were the culprits. He looked down at his arms, finding the baby still awake even if he was just some months old, and quiet. How much of this did he truly understand?
"Yes" answered Grimmjow with a smile. "You caught me. Me and my boys were in there a few years before we came back to Hueco Mundo and become arrancar"
"What were you doing in the World of the Living if your desire was to become Vasto Lordes like myself?" the bat felt his eyelids trembling, but couldn´t get to sleep now. No until they were all save.
"Just a little bit of sightseen… and easy food. The humans are all easy preys" commented the Sexta, now in the front doors of Las Noches. They were about to leave when a troop of low level shinigamis appeared in front of them. "Damn"
"They are only trash… but in the situation we are in… even trash could be dangerous" said Ulquiorra, hiding the baby in his arms. "Could you…?"
"No, we have to wait" said the teal haired arrancar, hiding in the shadows. He hated hiding, not facing an enemy was openly against his beliefs, but with his family in a great danger… he just couldn´t lose one of them. He looked at the baby in his mate´s arms, so tiny and fragile… and blind. He remembered the joys when they had him.
-Some months ago-
"It´s a boy, Grimmjow-sama. Congratulations" said the healer arrancar that lead the birth handing the newborn to his father. The baby was wide awake, unlike others he saw, with an expression of coldness and intelligence that reminded him of his mother. He brought the newborn to his mate, putting the little thing in his arms.
"Is he okay?" asked a tired Ulquiorra. During the pregnancy he had some complications and pains, but the baby managed to survive.
"Yes, he is" answered Grimmjow. "What would you like to call him? Maybe Shisui or another name in Japanese…"
"Kieran, it means constellation" cut him the bat. It was a perfect name for his child, he was meant to be like a constellation, admired by everyone because of his strength and abilities… just like his parents. The little thing just blinked. "I think he likes that"
"Yeah, he does… and me too"
"Gugu" was the tiny baby´s only answer. He was lifting his hands to touch his mother´s face, but stopped when he made that sound, then went to sleep. It was a tired day for the new family, but not the last one.
-Two months later-
"And this is a banana and is yellow" said the teal haired Arrancar, trying to teach his son the colors. But the baby didn´t seem very amused by the colorful fruit… in fact, he didn´t seem amused by anything colorful.
"What are you doing, Grimmjow?" asked Ulquiorra, returning from an errand from Aizen. He extended his hands to take his baby, but his mate didn´t gave it to him. The bat lifted his eyes and saw the panther very serious.
"I´m taking him to the doctor, I think there might be something wrong with his eyes" the mother raised an eyebrow. The prospect that there was something wrong with his baby was terrifying, mainly because it could be his fault.
"What gave you that idea?" asked the green eyes Arrancar.
"Have you ever seen him amused by the colors? Because I haven´t. It´s like he didn´t see them at all and that worries me" the Sexta began walking towards the infirmary and the Cuarta followed him. In fact, what his mate said was true, he have never seen Kieran amused by the colors but he thought that the child was more like him, too cold to be amused by silly things. And maybe he was right… but just in case, they will make a healer see him.
"Grimmjow, Ulquiorra" stopped them Aizen in the hallways. "What are you doing here in this time of the day? And with Kieran? You have other duties to attend to, leave the child in a lower arrancar´s care"
"Aizen-sama…" the teal haired Espada tried to form an excuse if needed, but the other was faster than him.
"Aizen-sama, with all due respect, we need to do something with him now. Grimmjow think there is something wrong with his eyes and frankly I fear he is right"
"Oh… then I shall go with you. I care about all my arrancar´s health, especially ones as important as my dear Espada´s children" answered the God of Hueco Mundo. The panther gritted his teeth when the baby cuddled closer to him, scared of the brunette. Like if he knew there was something odd with their lord.
"If you want" answer the bat and the four went to the doctor. The female arrancar that was on duty bowed to them before taking the baby and perform some exams on him… in private. When she came out the examination room her face was pretty cold.
"Grimmjow-sama, Ulquiorra-sama, your concerns about his eyes were well founded. There is definitely something wrong with them"
"How bad? And when did it begin?" asked Aizen. The father looked at him again, he didn't trust the man for nothing, even if his mate did… but now it was not time to confirm his suspicions about his boss, it was time to worry about his child.
"It´s a birth disease… well, not exactly a disease, more like a condition" explain the young looking healer, rubbing his hands nervous. "And it´s pretty bad"
"He can´t see colors, can´t he?" asked Ulquiorra. It was not too bad, his kid might be able to live with it, he didn´t need colors.
"No, he can´t see colors… or anything. Ulquiorra-sama, Grimmjow-sama, I´m very sad to give you this bad news, but… your son is blind" was her verdict. The bat felt like fainting that moment. Kieran, his Kieran, was blind. He might not be able to survive by himself out there with such a disadvantage.
"But… but how? He seemed able to see…" tried to counter argue the mother.
"Well, blind people usually developed more acute senses to compensate their inability to see" explain the girl. "My theory is that he can sense spiritual energy and use it to… well, see. It´s part of his instincts"
"Is there a way to make his eyes work?" asked Aizen, who seemed worried about the kid, but Grimmjow didn´t believe him. The man´s power was illusion and he couldn´t hypnotize blind people, so Kieran was a threat to him. Damn psychopath.
"No… his eyes might seem normal, but the insides didn´t work at all. I´m afraid that he is going to be like that forever" with those words the baby´s destiny was settled. The parents immediately seek for Tousen´s help, who was more than willing to give them some points about blind children and their needs. Ulquiorra, filled with regret, decided to be by his baby´s side at every moment. He was going to make sure Kieran lived.
-End of the flashback-
"They are gone, let´s move before they came back" said the panther, but stopped when his injuries in his arm opened again.
"You are hurt…" said Ulquiorra, touching the blood in his lover´s arms. The teal haired arrancar ignored the pain and lifted him to sonido out of Las Noches. There went their commodities, now it was going to be just like when they were plain Hollows.
"It´s nothing" he assured the other when they were in the forest of Menos. Their blood was soaking the white uniforms, attracting the adjucas that lived in that place. Both of them were exhausted and out of strength, so they have to search for a place to hide immediately.
"What is that?" hissed a voice in the dark. Both arrancar lifted their heads and sniffed, it was too late, they were surrounded by Gillians. Grimmjow ignored his pain and lifted Pantera again, ready to slash whoever that came too close.
"Arrancar…" said another voice.
"Injured Arrancar…" added a third one. The Gillian came closer and Kieran woke up, yawning quietly. He moved his mouth to make his parents know he was hungry, but the two adults weren´t paying attention to him, too occupied with the Hollows. "They must have escaped from Las Noches"
"Weak… they are weak" hissed the first voice.
"Back off, trash" ordered Ulquiorra, keeping his pride even in the desperate situation he was. His mate smiled, trying to appear strong to scare the others away, but the reality was that both Espada were unable to fight with their injuries.
"Just talking and talking" said who seemed to be the leader. "You have no more power… Arrancar are not the most powerful anymore! We can eat you… and become Vasto Lorde! Soon all of the Arrancar will be eaten by us!"
"No… even a nearly dead Arrancar is more than enough" said the feline, keeping his poise. Then the adjucas saw the baby in the green eyed Espada´s arms.
"What is that?"
"Yeah, boss… what is that?"
"A… cub? In Las Noches… that shinigami… was breeding Arrancar? How interesting, that thing must be very powerful" the hollows came out of their hiding spot along with their Gillian, ready to attack the escapees. "I will eat it"
"Ah…" said Kieran and moved his tiny finger and the adjucas´ hands flied to their faces, covering their eyes. They started screaming, surprising the Espadas.
"My eyes!" screamed the boss. "I can´t see!"
"Grimmjow… look" signaled Ulquiorra. The parents saw their child and noticed the small Arrancar was using his spiritual energy to attack those idiots. "He can blind them… he must be hungry, we forgot to feed him when the shinigami busted in Las Noches"
"Oh, yeah. Give me five minutes and we all can eat, yes?" a few second later the three adjucas were lying half dead in the ground and the panther dragged them towards his family. Ulquiorra set the child down, near one of them. The baby opened his mouth and bite the unfortunate Hollow´s neck, drinking his blood until the thing turned into ashes. "He have a particular way to eat, no?"
"Yes… maybe" answered the bat, a little bit better after feeding. He tried to get to his feet, still weak and shaky. "Can we go now? That Wakanda place seemed to be safer than this forest in our current condition, more if they give you human souls as an offer"
"Well, talking about that…" the panther scratched the back of his head and smiled in a way that didn´t predicted anything good. His mate frowned.
"What´s the matter, Grimmjow?"
"The… people of Wakanda started to fell scared of us and… kind of wanted to expel us from the jungle. They thought were soul eater demons that will someday eat them too and chased us… not that it was too far from true, but it was…"
"Don´t tell me that, I refuse to believe that a bunch of adjucas were thrown out of a freaking jungle by some humans"
"We weren´t thrown out, okay? Just that we got tired of having those humans behind our backs and returned to Hueco Mundo, after all we wanted to evolve…"
"Great, now, why do you want to return to that place? Why not another one?" asked the bat, bouncing the baby to make it sleep.
"Because… I knew it and I believe you have never been in the Human World since you became a Hollow, no? It´s better a known place, especially if we got there with a child as little and especial as Kieran"
"Point taken" agreed the green eyed Espada. "Then let´s move, what continent do I have to open the Garganta to?"
"Africa, dear" answered the teal haired Arrancar and soon the portal was ready to transport them. "Lucky that you know how to do this things"
"Yeah, lucky…"
Soon enough they were in a dense jungle, surrounded by three and sounds from animals. The feline and his mate looked around, looking for a cave to make their home. Once installed they went to sleep, it have been a very tiring day.
"Lucky… maybe that you are blind is really a great thing. That way, you can be my baby forever" said Ulquiorra, hugging his son and thinking about his injuries and the possibility of not having another child. Kieran was a bit annoyed, but he didn´t cry and went to sleep. He wasn´t as hopeless as his parents think he was. He can see everything… or better, hear everything with his echolocation.
hope you like this, I expect your reviews...