"Ichigo, may I have a word?" Urahara asked, from just outside Ichigo's office.
Ichigo looked up and set aside the list of updated regulations he'd been mindlessly scanning over. "Sure. What's up?"
"Regarding the child. I recommend you raise him in the human world," Urahara said, taking a seat in front of Ichigo's desk.
"Why?" Ichigo asked, surprised. "He's more hollow than human." Ichigo had taken the time to map out his own bloodline and use it to sort out exactly what Kyu was - slightly less than a quarter Quincy, some fraction pure hollow, a quarter shinigami, and half arrancar.
"He'll be safer there," Urahara replied, voice lowering.
"What? But Kurotsuchi - "
Urahara shook his head. "He's not the problem." He looked at Ichigo with an uncharacteristically serious expression, before sighing. "You remember how Soul Society saw you at first, Ichigo. As a threat. Now, you've been their ally for quite some time, and they've come to accept you as one of their own," Urahara said. "That does not apply to this infant."
"But he's mine," Ichigo said, feeling strange making that claim. After all, he had only just turned eighteen. Sure, he'd technically died twice already and was currently in charge of a squad of soul reapers, but taking care of a kid was a lot of responsibility.
"Yes, but he's also the offspring of a former Espada," Urahara pointed out. "Although Grimmjow is allowed to reside within Soul Society, he is still kept under close watch, just as Aizen is." He spoke the last few words with a faint distaste.
Ichigo had a feeling that Urahara still suspected the former traitor of something, though Aizen had been on exceptional behavior since rejoining Soul Society. It wasn't an unreasonable belief. The possibility of Aizen's shikai taking effect was a perpetual threat, despite the fact that he had agreed to have Kyouka Suigetsu kept in Kyoraku's office as a precaution. As one of the few officers immune, Ichigo was in charge of keeping tabs on him to make sure he wasn't secretly turning people into hollows.
"More importantly, your celebrity status could negatively affect his upbringing," Urahara continued. "It would be best to let him mature a little before telling him about your colorful past."
Ichigo nodded. "Of course." He definitely wasn't going to make the same mistake Isshin did. As soon as Kyu was old enough to understand, Ichigo was going to sit him down and explain that it was perfectly normal to see dead people and maybe the occasional freakish monster, and there was no need to worry, because his father would do everything to protect him until he could fight for himself.
Still, it surprised him that Urahara was being so considerate of Kyu's psychological well-being. He had never seemed to give much thought to Ichigo's, what with the whole throwing him into a pit to either die or develop hollow powers, and sending him off to fight Aizen without any warning of what to expect. Ichigo didn't think about these things often, but they occasionally surfaced in his mind and left a sort of confused disappointment in their wake.
"I would advise Grimmjow to do the same." Urahara scratched his head. "To be honest, I'm not sure Grimmjow would make a very good parent."
"I think he could be," Ichigo said, somewhat defensively. It was hard to imagine, but Ichigo believed the espada had a softer side hidden beneath his brash and bloodthirsty demeanor. Maybe this situation would be enough to draw it out. At that, his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, how am I supposed to tell him? Would he even want to live in the human world with me?" Ichigo wasn't even sure if Grimmjow could handle something like that. He cringed as he imagined Grimmjow shouting at innocent passersby on the street, punching through walls, and generally living up to his destructive title.
Urahara shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm sure you'll think of something."
"What would we even do there?" Ichigo frowned, his train of thought spawning new concerns. "I'm not sure I could get a job. I barely graduated high school." He'd only been back in his physical body once in the past few months, and that had been to say goodbye to his friends and his sisters. He didn't even want to think about what Kon was doing with it while he was away, but he could bet he wasn't attending college.
"Ah, there's no need to worry about that," Urahara said, snapping his fan open with a flourish. "I've been looking for someone to help run my candy store, and you're perfect for the job!"
"It's still open?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow. He had assumed Urahara had sold it off before leaving. There wasn't really a need for stocking questionable shinigami merchandise when he had full access to the Twelfth Division labs.
"Temporarily closed," Urahara corrected. "But it won't be for long!" He flashed Ichigo a gleeful grin, something that automatically made Ichigo a bit nervous, as it usually signalled some impending, life-threatening circumstance.
"Let me talk to Grimmjow about it first," Ichigo said warily. "And I'll probably need Kyoraku's approval too." Oh god, there was probably going to be a fuckton of paperwork to fill out. Did Soul Society even offer paternity leave? Though, he supposed it didn't matter, considering they didn't pay him. He just had to make sure they didn't order him to be executed through some misunderstanding. That would be awkward.
"Do I get to fight you?" Grimmjow asked, arms crossed, after listening to Ichigo's five-minute speech about how their child deserved to be raised in a loving family environment with both DNA contributors present. It hadn't quite been on the same level as Aizen's monologues, but it came pretty close.
"Uh, sure, I guess," Ichigo said.
"Then yeah, I'll go."
Ichigo blinked. "Really?" He hadn't expected it to be that easy.
"What, is there a catch or something?" Grimmjow eyed Ichigo with suspicion. He'd learned to be more careful ever since he found out what his contract with Urahara had actually stated. It had been long voided, but not before he was made aware that he had technically agreed to "provide personal services for interested customers", whatever the fuck that meant. Based on the way that Matsumoto chick had giggled, he guessed it wasn't good.
"Well, you're going to have to help me out with Urahara's shop," Ichigo said. "And it'd be nice if you kept an eye on Kyu every once in a while."
Grimmjow shrugged. "Sounds good to me." He wondered why Ichigo had made this out to be such a big deal. Raising a kid was just like having a fraccion, right? Except related to him. And probably more resistant to getting eaten.
"You'll, um, have to wear a gigai too," Ichigo added, hoping that Grimmjow wouldn't be put off.
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. "A gigai?" He remembered Urahara mentioning something like that before. Some sort of artificial body? It sounded kinda sketchy, but not dangerous in an interesting way, so he hadn't paid much attention.
"It's like... a person-shaped container for your soul," Ichigo improvised. Good enough. "It would be weird if normal humans couldn't see you." His brightly colored hair already drew enough negative attention from others. He didn't need to be known as that one delinquent single dad who talked to himself.
"Sure, whatever," Grimmjow said. As long as he could use his powers and fight Ichigo, everything was perfectly fine. He'd been getting sick of hanging around all these shinigami anyway. "When are we leaving?"
"I'm not sure." Based on Rukia's previous ordeal, Ichigo guessed his request for leave could take anywhere from hours to months to get approval. "Depends on what Central 46 says."
"Those old fuckwits?" Grimmjow asked, with a look of extreme disdain.
His hatred was understandable. Once upon a time, Central 46 had really, really, pretty-please-with-a-hogyoku-on-top wanted to get rid of Grimmjow, both because of his hollow origins and his previous affiliation with the guy who wanted to take over the universe. The whole espada of destruction thing also raised a lot of red flags.
As with Aizen's case, it had taken Ichigo's mediation to change their minds, which was really more of an Ulquiorra-type ultimatum, along the lines of "If you try to kill him, I quit." Emphasis on try, because no one had ever succeeded in eliminating any of Ichigo's friends. So, at the risk of losing their strongest ally, Central 46 had reluctantly given in. He often debated whether they were threatened by his power, grateful for his help, or plotting to secretly assassinate him someday. Or some combination of all three.
"It'll probably take a few days," Ichigo assured. "So maybe next week or sometime later."
Grimmjow stared at him with distrust. "Last time, when you said I could fight you "sometime later," I had to wait years."
"It was a year and a half," Ichigo corrected.
"Well, it felt like years!"
Grimmjow's expression veered dangerously close to a pout, and Ichigo had to hide a smile at the sight. "Missed me that much?" he teased.
"The only thing I missed was kicking your ass!" At that, Grimmjow reached for his zanpakuto, baring his teeth in his trademark grin. "Bring it, Kurosaki."
Ichigo's eyes widened. "But I have a meeting in fifteen minutes."
"Fuck that. You and me. Right now." Grimmjow drew his sword in a smooth motion, the flash of excitement in his eyes matching the glint of his blade against the mid-afternoon sunlight.
"Grimmjow, I can't - "
"Come on, Captain. Unless you're afraid you can't hold on to your position," Grimmjow jeered. It was an empty jab, as much as it stung his pride to admit. Though they might've been evenly matched a year ago, these days, Ichigo won more than half their fights. But that didn't make their matches any less enjoyable. If anything, it made his occasional victories even sweeter.
Ichigo looked torn between his love for a good fight and his responsibilities, seconds from giving in to some quick sparring, when a smooth voice drew his attention.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Both Ichigo and Grimmjow turned to see Aizen watching them with mild interest.
"Yes," Grimmjow spat, overlapping with Ichigo's equally hurried denial. Damn it. Even now, he was getting cockblocked. "Mind your own fucking business, Aizen," he growled, purposely leaving off any sort of title, smug in the knowledge that his insolence would go unpunished. Aizen was definitely still capable of using his spiritual pressure to slam him to the ground, but he wouldn't dare in front of Ichigo.
"Still haven't fixed that filthy mouth of yours, I see," Aizen remarked, with more amusement than disapproval.
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed, some animalistic part of him considering just charging the other man, even as his logical side told him that it would be a terrible idea and likely end in humiliating defeat. Though Aizen was technically unarmed, that did not make him any less formidable of an opponent.
Ichigo shot Grimmjow a warning look, as if sensing his thoughts. "Aizen. Did you need me for something?" he asked.
"No, nothing important," Aizen said dismissively, eyes flickering to Grimmjow. "I'll see you at the meeting, Captain Kurosaki." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving just as suddenly as he had arrived.
"Creepy bastard," Grimmjow muttered, as soon as Aizen was out of earshot. "Always sneaking around like that." He looked back towards Ichigo, only to find the other man running away in the opposite direction. "Oi! Come back here!" he yelled, giving chase.