Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
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4^th Division Bustle

It came as a bit of a surprise when the seventy-hour �mark� passed with no sign of the Swarm and no battle. Relief, both physical and mental, remained elusive however. The more time that ticked by, the more anxious the citizenry of Soul Society became, while others dared to hope that the interlude marked the beginning of the annual �Swarm Spring Withdrawal,� as many in the 4^th Division had unofficially dubbed the weeks leading up to the cessation of attacks.

Unohana privately counted herself as one of the latter. With the respite and the wounded from the last battle dealt with, she finally had time to see some of her other patients. The young woman hovering in her doorway was in because, according to the preliminary write up, she wasn�t �feeling well,� rather than having sustained an injury. Unohana insisted on personally seeing every Claimed patient. Those souls bearing an Arrancar�s Claim were more willing to tell her the truth about any mistreatment by their Masters and the �Masters� in turn, were more likely to obey her if she, rather than one of her staff, told them their �pets� needed a few days� rest. As much as she abhorred the invisible tether Aizen had wrapped around her neck, Unohana had to admit that being Kami�s �wife� had a few small advantages.

Her patient list even included several civilians, for not everyone Claimed was a Shinigami. Karin was a prime example of that. Unohana took extra pains with these poor souls and not just because they were non-combatants.

�Good afternoon, Omaeda-san.�

Unohana greeted the young woman pleasantly, making a �come in� gesture and affixing a welcoming smile to her face.

�Unohana-sama,� the slim young woman with honey-blonde hair replied and bowed politely, finally stepping into the room. Thankfully, she wore a simple, pink kimono and not a more elaborate furisode. If she determined the young lady�s problem warranted a more thorough exam, Unohana wouldn�t have to waste time getting her patient in and out of a more complex ensemble.

Mareyo, the late Omaeda-Fukutaichou�s youngest sister, took a seat on the examination table and carefully folded her hands in her lap. It was very hard to believe that the almost uniformly heavy-set Omaeda family had produced such a slender, beautiful girl. If Unohana hadn�t personally seen to her mother�s health while she�d been pregnant with Mareyo, the healer might not have believed it either. She was also one of the few civilians Claimed after the Winter War. With most of her immediate clan dead or, Unohana hoped, in hiding, her Master had taken over the impressive Omaeda mansion. He�d also seized the substantial Omaeda family fortune, as Mareyo was the only known surviving family member.

It was hard for Unohana to keep her neutral, agreeable mask in place when looking at Mareyo, but she had had a great deal of practice doing such over the last fifteen years. Omaeda Marenoshin and his wife Mareka had been colleagues of hers during their time with the Gotei 13, over a century prior, which was what made this particularly painful for her. Mareka, Marechiyo, the former Fukutaichou of the 2^nd Division, and the oldest daughter, Maremi, had been on the casualty list compiled shortly after the Arrancar invasion. The whereabouts of the family�s other son, Marejirōsaburō and Mareyo�s father, the retired Fukutaichou of the 2^nd Division, remained a mystery. Unohana wasn�t sure about the son, but knowing how deceptively competent Marenoshin had been at his job, she could only hope that he was still out there, watching and waiting for a way to help his surviving daughter.

The Arrancar who held Mareyo�s Claim hadn�t accompanied her. He was originally what Unohana deemed a �mid-level� Claimer, or �Middle.� It meant that the level of abuse Mareyo had experienced early on fell somewhere in the �middle� of the �pet treatment spectrum.� Mareyo, the gentle, sheltered youngest child of a family awash in riches, with no Shinigami training to her name, had been ill-prepared for what happened after the Arrancar invasion. The poor girl had barely reached her sixteenth year when circumstance ripped it all away. Her subsequent rape, enslavement, and the loss of the Estate weighed heavily on her for the first several years. This was before Szayel�s report regarding Orihime and Karin�s pregnancies made its way through the Arrancar ranks, prompting changes in behaviour.

Her Master now ranked on the �low� end of the aforementioned scale. From Unohana�s past talks with Mareyo, he�d been shifting that way before the report circulated, as Mareyo learned what her Master wanted out of her. Pleasing him meant staying out of trouble, and out of the 4^th Division�s emergency wards, a discovery Unohana wished the girl had never had to make in the first place. Surprisingly, he had let Mareyo continue to handle the mansion�s upkeep, as well as the remaining family businesses. As far as Unohana knew, those enterprises still turned a profit. While the Omaeda wealth wasn�t what it used to be, Unohana guessed that the surplus was still enough to keep the family home and staff at pre-Winter War levels. She also, thankfully, looked reasonably well fed. After finding out how Barragan had starved Soi Fon, Unohana had been far more vigilant about that sort of �punishment� with regards to the Claimed.

�I am honoured you have the time to see me, given how busy everyone has been of late,� Mareyo continued, looking a bit unsure of herself. �I wasn�t sure, and I didn�t want to come here for something frivolous, but��

�Best start the examination, before she can talk herself out of it,� the Taichou decided.

�I always have time for my patients,� Unohana assured the young woman, responding with a warm smile that she hoped would put the girl at ease. �How have you been feeling lately?�

�Unwell,� Mareyo confessed. Her normally bright green eyes were downcast. �I�ve been having dizzy spells and a hard time keeping any food down lately and�� the young woman paused, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

�And?� Unohana prompted gently after her patient remained silent for some time, a mixture of worry and fear clouding her pretty features.

�I�m� late,� Mareyo finally owned up, wringing her hands. �It�s been three weeks.�

Unohana blinked at that, before ducking behind her professional demeanour once more.

�Could it be?� she wondered, her concern for the young woman she�d known since she was an infant growing as she considered whether or not a pregnancy might be a possibility. Mareyo had little reiatsu, compared to the rest of the Omaeda clan. Her Claimer had chosen her for her pretty looks and family wealth, not her spiritual pressure.

In theory, stress ought to be less common among the Claimed civilians than among their Shinigami counterparts. Most of them didn�t participate in the battles with the Swarm, so that set of stressors wasn�t an issue. It wasn�t as if the civilian population wasn�t anxious as a whole; the Seireitei was a city besieged and any population that found itself attacked on a chronic basis, whether a combatant or not, would exhibit stress-related strain of one sort or another. She also had to factor in any tension caused by the Arrancar that had Claimed Mareyo. Just because he�d become kinder and far less abusive of her didn�t mean that he might not suffer the occasional relapse into violence.

Of course, most of the women in the Shinigami ranks had access to birth control pills, something unfamiliar to the Arrancar and Unohana doubted that many of those women who found themselves Claimed mentioned the pills to their Claimers. She wasn�t certain about the civilian population, however. Some Masters, such as Nnoitra and Barragan, had denied birth control to their pets. Unohana didn�t understand the logic behind their decisions, given the two Espadas� respective reactions to Rangiku and Soi Fon�s pregnancies. Thankfully, most of the lower-ranking Hollows had either proved more lenient in that regard or remained ignorant of the pills altogether. The healer felt, from the way that Mareyo spoke about being �late,� that if Mareyo was this concerned about it, that contraception might not have come into play for a while, if ever.

�Well, we can do a full blood panel and check on that,� she found herself saying to her patient.

Opening the door, she gestured to her 10^th Seat, who had been walking by with a large stack of clean bed linens, and requested the necessary equipment. A few minutes later, the man materialized with a tray and three syringes and a private message from her 3^rd Seat asking if she needed some tea. Unohana shook her head and took the tray, intent on seeing if her suspicions were correct about what ailed Mareyo.

The young woman remained silent, with both hope and apprehension in her eyes as Unohana ran the tests and followed those up with a standard check-up and what an observer might think was a thorough interrogation, including questions about her Claimer. Mareyo at least denied any current wrongdoing on his part, which relieved her.

Near the end of the exam, Mareyo�s Master came to retrieve his pet. The Arrancar walked into the room without knocking, much as Nnoitra had done, but unlike the Espada, did not interfere with the proceedings. Then again, Mareyo wasn�t hyperventilating and in a state of near panic. Instead, he leaned against the wall and waited with a hint of impatience, although Unohana did not feel that his edginess was due to waiting so much as he was bored, tired and ready to go home after a long day of work. If Unohana was any judge of character, he also appeared to be undressing his �pet� with his eyes.

It was with great effort that the healer kept from grinding her teeth to powder.

Her 10^th Seat soon returned with the results of Mareyo�s blood panel, handing the clipboard to his Taichou without any hesitation and left just as quickly, casting a wary look at the Arrancar in the room. Word had gotten out after what Nnoitra had done to her 4^th Seat and there seemed to be some contest going on with the staff to see how quickly one could get in and out of a room with an Arrancar in it without sustaining an injury.

�Well?� Mareyo asked nervously, playing with her fingers as Unohana reviewed the results with a sinking heart. �Is there anything seriously wrong?�

�That would depend on your perspective, my dear,� the healer answered in the privacy of her own head and kept her expression from revealing her dismay.

The cause was exactly what Unohana had suspected and the blood test had only served to shore up the now-familiar list of symptoms. She also made a mental note to issue an order for all of those who were Claimed and not on birth control take a pregnancy test, whether Shinigami or civilian. Unohana had the feeling that if there were more pregnancies, the women did not yet know about their conditions. She should have realized it when Tatsuki and Rangiku arrived with their duel cases of morning sickness. Unohana had initially attributed it to their cycles synching. It happened often among women who spent a great deal of time with one another, such as those dwelling in the women�s dormitory at the Academy, and Tatsuki and Rangiku had been practically living together when they�d come in.

Now, Unohana had to confront an alternative possibility: that both women�s bodies and systems had finally adjusted to the large amounts of reiatsu their Arrancar partners gave off, allowing for the survival of any resulting embryos. While Tatsuki hadn�t been Claimed as long as most, she had lived with Ulquiorra before she�d taken on Tesra as a mate. Tesra�s lower level of reiatsu, compare to the Fourth Espada, would have allowed her to conceive far more easily once off of the pills. It made sense, in a way and if it was true for the Shinigami, it was probably true for the general population as well. After living with their Arrancar Masters for so long, no doubt many of the pets� bodies had acclimated themselves to their �owners� powers. That, in turn, would make a conception more likely

Unohana answered Mareyo�s question as carefully and as calmly as she could, keeping one eye on the young woman�s Master as she did so. Nnoitra�s willingness to storm her Division and his violence towards her people had caught her unawares and she didn�t want a repeat of that incident. To her great relief, the Arrancar in question peeled himself off of the wall when she made the announcement, before a wide, satisfied grin spread across his face. Mareyo relaxed slightly, as her Master appeared pleased with the diagnosis and she gently placed one hand on her lower abdomen, looking down at her midsection with a thoughtful expression.

Most of the male Arrancar to whom she�d given similar news had reacted positively, even gleefully. Tesra had been downright giddy. The only exception had been Nnoitra Gilga and for a few days, she�d been concerned for Matsumoto�s well-being. Since then, she�d seen Rangiku briefly when the strawberry-blonde had come in to help with the wounded and learned that, once the shock wore off, he�d done an about-face and had started bragging to any and all who would listen about the impending twins. She had the feeling that he might even surpass Szayel at some point for sheer boastfulness.

Unohana recited her usual spiel about what Mareyo could expect as far as her pregnancy was concerned from a medical standpoint and made sure to tell the young woman to make an appointment to see the Seventh Espada at the Science and Research Division. Mareyo�s Master looked uncertain about that, which wasn�t much of a surprise given Szayel�s reputation amongst the lower ranks. However, Unohana�s �suggestion� had the weight of Aizen�s orders behind it. Therefore, whatever objections the Arrancar might have had he kept to himself. The couple left shortly afterwards, with her Master escorting Mareyo proudly out, practically strutting in a way that would have given even a peacock like Yumichika a run for his feathers. She also didn�t miss the way he kept Mareyo close to him as they walked out the door, one hand firmly planted on her hip and his body language both possessive and protective.

�What would Marenoshin think about the situation?� she wondered, fingering the clipboard with the pregnancy report on it.

She�d seen her old colleague�s children grow up over the years and she doubted he would take the news about becoming a grandfather with good grace, not under these circumstances. At least Mareyo�s reaction hadn�t involved abject terror, like Rangiku. Unohana hoped that meant that she wouldn�t resent the child.

She let out a breath, eyes going back to the reports in her hands. As much as she hated to do it, she would have to tell her husband about Mareyo tonight. Still, the thought of three confirmed pregnancies, coming so close together after almost fifteen years of barren Shinigami women continued to nag at her.

�Iemura-san,� Unohana called out.

�Hai, Taichou?� her former third seat, now Fukutaichou, responded as he entered the room, balancing three clipboards and a rack of test tubes. For once, the glasses he disliked so much were perched on his forehead, as if he�d forgotten they were there. Unohana held up one hand, stopping him in the doorway, and then reached up to pluck them from his head and place them back on his nose. He blinked a few times and a blush crept across his cheeks.

�Ah, thank you Taichou. I�d wondered where I left those.�

She waved away his thanks and handed him her clipboard, which he took with a surprising amount of dexterity.

�Iemura-san, I would like pregnancy tests administered to every Claimed Shinigami woman, save for those who are already pregnant. Please send out a message to all the affected Shinigami. I would also like you to send out some of our newer recruits to visit the few civilians,� she ordered. �I want the results as soon as possible, preferably within the hour. Please clear your schedule of anything else to see to this. I�m afraid that I�m going to have to issue this as a direct order. If you must, use Tenteikūra to transmit the directive. I�m afraid that discretion will have to take a backseat to timeliness, in this case.�

Stunned by the frankness of the order, he stared at her, before bowing and scurrying away. Somehow he'd managed to avoid being Claimed, something for which she was deeply thankful, as it meant that the actions of the 4^th Division�s two top officers were their own. She could at least trust that he�d do what she asked without having to worry about any outside influences affecting his work or his healing abilities. Had he been a female, like her late and much-lamented Isane-chan, she doubted he would have retained his freedom.

Before melancholy thoughts of the woman that Iemura replaced could drag her mood further downwards, she set about preparing the room for the next patient. Unohana had just finished wiping down the examination table with disinfectant when a commotion at the far end of the hallway outside caught her attention. Putting down the bottle, the Taichou hurried out of the room and towards the main entrance, where the staff at the front desk was busy shouting orders and gaping out of the window.

�Please, do not let it be Abarai-san on his knees and bleeding on the front walk again, or worse, Kuchiki Byakuya�� she prayed, hoping that what came through the door wasn�t something too terrible.

She reached the entrance just as Tia Harribel strode into the large waiting room, taking Unohana by surprise. The Espada had her arm around an injured Hana�s waist, supporting the girl. Hana looked to have tangled with something very nasty and lost, badly. Unohana took a step to the right as she heard the sounds of a gurney rattling up behind her, pushed by one of the recent graduates. Harribel helped the young woman up onto the gurney. Then she took a step back, turning her sea-green eyes Unohana�s way. The blonde�s expression told her, without words, that she had best see to the teenager immediately.

As affronted as she was at someone presuming to give her orders within the walls of her Division, Unohana was pleased that at least some Arrancar took good care of their charges and didn�t treat the enslaved population like scum. Toshiro was probably the only Claimed Taichou who had yet to visit her wards. Well, she corrected herself, in Starrk�s defence, Jushiro�s various admittances had nothing to do with anything the Espada, or his fraccion, had done to him. As far as she knew, Harribel�s place on the abuse spectrum was on the far end of �low,� sitting in the almost �non-existent� category.

�What happened?�

Unohana questioned the Third as she made her way to the gurney and began her examination then and there to make sure the girl�s wounds weren't critical.

Surprisingly, it wasn�t Hana who answered. The poor child barely clung to consciousness. �Swarm patrol,� Harribel replied in her fraccion�s place, not elaborating.

The most preliminary examination told Unohana that, despite appearances, Hana's injuries weren't life-threatening. Still, she personally wheeled the stretcher down the halls into a patient room in the emergency ward before helping the girl onto the bed and pushing the gurney to the side. Harribel was kind enough to move the device out into the hall, getting it out of the way, before taking a seat in the room�s lone chair.

While in no danger of losing her life, Hana�s condition was far from optimum, covered as she was in lacerations and abrasions. Her ankle had swollen to three times its normal size, straining the ties to her sandal. The concussion came to light when the healer pried open one of the girl�s eyelids, taking into account the disparity in pupil sizes, which explained why she was desperately trying to keep from sleeping. The rest of her body had what Unohana suspected would be some gloriously vivid bruises, some to the bone, in the next few hours. Lastly, she added minor dehydration as well as sleep deprivation to the list of ailments. All in all, Unohana thought ruefully, the child was a mess. A fixable mess, thankfully, but a mess just the same.

Her hands filled with green light and Unohana first addressed the concussion, bringing the swelling in Hana�s gray matter down and under control before gently sending the young woman off to sleep and carefully stripping the girl of her uniform so that she could see to all of her other wounds. Through it all, Harribel remained as still as a statue, leaving the healer to work in peace and staying respectfully out of her way.

Once she�d seen the worst of Hana�s injuries and inserted an IV line into her arm with some saline laced with a dose of antibiotics and a general anti-viral vaccine, Unohana turned her full attention to the silent Espada in the room.

�Has her mother been informed you brought her here?� she asked, trying to phrase the question as politely as she could.

�Toshiro will have told her by now,� Harribel responded, her eyes never leaving Hana�s pale face. �He desired to stay, but has duties of his own, including going over the ambush site. The attack took place within his Division�s jurisdiction.�

Unohana nodded in understanding. It was a dilemma she often faced every battle, where she had to remain behind to care for the wounded and dutifully run her Division when the lure to fight and help hold the lines beckoned.

Hana was relatively fine for someone who had been mauled, beaten and bloodied. She would probably recover enough to go home the following day, now that Unohana had seen to the head injury. As much as she would have liked to have used more of her energy to completely mend Hana�s ankle, the joint wasn�t broken and therefore, she couldn�t justify expending the Kido to do so, not when the Swarm could attack at any moment. Hana would have to resign herself to doing paperwork for a week or so while it healed on its own.

�She is lucky to be alive if she ran into a Swarm patrol while on duty. I thought that she had an Arrancar partner,� Unohana commented with a frown. �How did he report the incident? I�m assuming that he was in the vicinity?�

Harribel�s eyes grew hard and cold and Unohana wondered if she�d brought up a touchy subject.

�She wasn�t alone. Diaemus and Ajuga were with her. The Swarm took them both and left Hana for dead,� Harribel told her in a chilly tone. �When I�ve finished my business here, I�m going to have a few private words with the Arrancar about why he abandoned his patrol in mid-shift, if Kami has not already seen fit to question him.�

Unohana stiffened in shock. Taken? The Swarm had never taken anyone in all the years that the insects had besieged the Seireitei. Why in all of the Realms would they take the children now? Aside from the fact that both were human-Arrancar hybrids, there was little to distinguish Ajuga and Diaemus from the vast majority of the other Hollows residing in the Soul Society. In addition, the Swarm hated Hollows. Why capture when they could have killed the two?

Perhaps the unspoken questions running through her head had leaked out into her stunned expression, because the blonde ran a tired hand through her hair and gave her a sidelong glance.

�They did not run into a �normal� patrol. Instead, the three chose to attack a patrol that for some reason included one of the Swarm�s Generals. According to Hana, Ajuga wanted to bring a live specimen to Szayel. Aizen-Kami has given Ajuga�s mother and her pet twenty-four hours to try to locate the children. However, he does not feel that re-allocating more resources to search for a mere two warriors is prudent.�

Harribel did not sound happy with that decision. Unohana disliked it as well, finding it typical of her �husband�s� callous attitude towards his underlings, but she understood the reasoning from a purely tactical point of view. She doubted the late Soutaichou, if confronted with similar circumstances, would have done anything differently. Two soldiers, no matter their rank or relations, did not warrant weakening their defences. Her practical side understood and accepted that. Her other half wanted to strangle her husband with his sash, run him through with Minazuki and start looking for them herself.

�Orihime and Karin must be devastated,� she thought sadly. She also made a note to warn the front desk to not only direct Ise Nanao to her daughter�s room when she arrived, but to be on the lookout for an injured Numeros later on in the day, if what she feared Harribel would do to the one who should have been with Hana played out.

Then Harribel tore her eyes away from Hana, letting Unohana see a brief glimmer of the deep concern in them before the �guarded� expression she normally wore returned. It was amazing, given the Espada�s preference for high collars, just how much emotion the woman�s eyes could convey when she allowed it.

�There� is one more thing I would like to ask you,� Harribel said hesitantly.

�Oh yes,� Unohana thought, ��guarded� did not begin to describe it.�

�Toshiro speaks well of you and your reputation for confidentiality. A concern of a medical nature has come to light in the last several days and I would like your opinion on it.�

Unohana�s eyebrow went up, but she quickly smoothed out her features and nodded at the oddly worded request.

�Of course. Do you wish to move to another room or remain here?� she asked, indicating Hana�s unmoving form. Harribel considered the option before shaking her head.

�We may remain here. I believe she is fast asleep and will hear nothing of our conversation. If she does overhear anything, I trust Hana to remain discreet about what we say, unlike my other fraccion,� she added wryly. �I also have an excuse for being in this room. If we left for another examination room, others would wonder at the cause. I would nip any rumour mongering in the bud.�

Harribel�s reticence might have stemmed, Unohana considered, from the typical Arrancar�s dislike for revealing any weaknesses to potential enemies. On the other hand, she might very well have other reasons for wanting their discussion to remain private. Looking closer at the only female Espada, the healer thought she could detect more than a little nervousness in the tight carriage of her shoulders and in the stiff posture she presented. Either way, Harribel had something she wanted to discuss with the 4^th Division�s Taichou and she had a duty to those who asked for help.

�Very well. Let me seal the room. Once I�ve finished, you can tell me anything you wish.�

Unohana closed and locked the door before activating the privacy Kido ingrained within the walls. The trigger involved a small infusion of her reiatsu. Her predecessor and instructor, Kirinji Tenjirō, had built and installed the system and she couldn�t help the stab of grief that lanced her heart when she felt it �start.� If Omaeda Marenoshin had been a respected colleague, Kirinji-Taichou had been a close, personal friend, one she�d mourned greatly when she�d learned that the Royal Guardsman had died defending the Spirit King. While the Kido would not block sounds, lest it render her staff unable to locate her in the event of an emergency, it would make the voices within the room unrecognizable, no matter how sharp the potential eavesdropper�s hearing. The system was as ingenious as Kirinji himself had been and a few other rooms used variations of it throughout the Seireitei, including each Taichou�s office. He�d probably also installed it in half of the structures in the old 2^nd Division, to prevent the leakage of sensitive documents and reports.

When she�d finished, she turned to the taller woman and inclined her head, inviting her to share what was on her mind. An Espada conceding that he or she had a �concern� was as good as an admission of fear and that intrigued the healer.

�This room is secure. Now, how may I assist you, Harribel-san?�

The Espada�s reply wasn�t what she expected it would be.

Harribel reached up and grabbed the metal tab at the bottom of her jacket front. She pulled upward, and the zipper�s teeth parted with a �purr�, revealing the upper portion of her normally hidden torso and face. Surprisingly, she kept her eyes downcast, the long, golden lashes standing out against her caramel-colored skin and she left the sides of the jacket open once the slider reached the top of the high collar.

Unohana had never witnessed an Arrancar�s mask in mid-transformation before and the sight startled her. It wasn�t hard to discern where the missing portions of her mask had once been. There was a large, horizontal stripe of paler skin across her face, starting from the midpoints of her cheek, crossing the bridge of her nose at the top and included the lower half of her nose, her cheeks and her upper lip. The remaining bone covered her chin, her bottom lip and her jawline, the segment meshing like a finely crafted armour joint with the portion of her mask that protected her throat.

The part of her mask that had once concealed the juncture of her collarbone and her nipples had shrunk as well, leaving the latter bare. The bronze-colored aureoles stood out against her recently exposed, milky flesh.

�My mask is changing. I noticed that it had begun to recede in the last several days, as you can tell from the skin. While it is not unheard of for a Hollow�s mask to transform over time, such a transmutation typically occurs in conjunction with a significant event, such as a substantial increase or decrease in power. It doesn�t happen in the matter of a mere week.�

The blonde-haired woman reached up, ran her fingers gingerly down the front of her nose to the tip, and then brushed her fingertips across her pale upper lip. It seemed as if she was self-conscious about the newly unprotected body parts. She also, perhaps unwittingly, moved to support her bosom by wrapping one arm around her ribs. Harribel�s newly truncated mask structure had apparently created a few unforeseen problems concerning modesty, as well as hindering her ability to fight.

�What bothers me is that I cannot say that I�ve experienced such an increase in strength, despite the constant exercise and use of my Resurrección with Toshiro in battle. I�m afraid that I�m at a loss,� she concluded, sounding just as confounded as Unohana was by the development.

Unohana approached the woman and gently prodded the pale section of flesh on her left breast. It was warm to the touch, but the texture was finer. The healer likened it to the skin one would find beneath a cast once one removed the plaster and gauze coverings.

�Have you noticed any extra sensitivity, compared to other areas?� the healer asked.

�No�� came the answer, ��although there are� parts that now react to cold temperatures and rough texture.�

This time she managed to suppress the knowing smile that threatened to break out on her face. The Espada seemed downright embarrassed by this and compounding Harribel�s discomfort wouldn�t do Unohana any favours. It didn�t help, Unohana thought, that she�d never truly seen Harribel�s face outside of her Resurrección�s release. From what she could discern, the mask had previously covered all but the Espada�s eyes. Now, like an icicle beneath the summer sun, it had begun to diminish. Unohana thought back to what she remembered of the woman�s unsealed state, in which one could see the entirety of her nose and mouth. If memory served, that form included two cerulean marks curving down from her high cheekbones to a point a few inches to either side of her mouth. A closer examination of the new skin revealed just that - pale skin with no marks at all. Unohana frowned, a number of questions forming in her head and one large hunch looming like a shadow behind them.

�Have you noticed any similar changes to your mask�s appearance when you activate your Resurrección?�

That made Harribel pause. Then she shook her head in denial.

�Toshiro would have told me if he�d noticed anything. He has�� and here she seemed to search for a diplomatic way of putting what she was about to say ��a sense of decorum that would demand informing me of such.�

�What you mean to say is that he would have turned beet-red upon viewing the entirety of your breasts,� Unohana thought wryly and immediately chided herself. It wasn�t her place to judge such things, though she�d often wondered how Harribel�s anatomy had managed to defy the forces of gravity for so long without breast-bindings or some kind of supportive garment. Perhaps she�d used the same secret technique Matsumoto Rangiku had perfected over the years. The healer sighed inwardly at the unfairness of the universe and refocused on the problem. Whatever was happening only affected her normal, sealed state then and her Resurrección remained the same.

�Have you spoken to Szayel-san about this yet? He is far more knowledgeable about Hollow physiology than I.�

�No. He is busy and very distracted, especially after what happened yesterday. I do not wish to detract from his efforts to find Ajuga-chan.�

That was certainly understandable. In addition, there was the usual jockeying for power among the Espada to consider. Confessing a weakness to a lower-ranking Arrancar was a risky business. While Unohana doubted that Szayel would ever act upon such a revelation, the Third Espada probably had reservations about pointing out a potential chink in her proverbial armour. In this case, the nature of the �cracks� had proved literal, if in fact the changes indicated something had gone wrong at all.

She could see she would have to assuage Harribel�s misgivings about visiting the Seventh Espada and allowing him, or perhaps Nemu, to view the changes. Fortunately, Karin had mitigated Szayel�s less-than-principled tendencies over the last decade. His human Mistress had forced Unohana�s very own code of ethics on him, requiring him to follow it to the letter. The 4^th Division Taichou had been surprised, flattered and amused when Karin asked her for a copy of the text and recalled that Szayel had pouted for some time after Karin had, in his words �inflicted such handcuffs on a brilliant scientific mind�. The result rendered what remained of the old 12^th Division relatively safe, allowing almost anyone to walk into the building without having to fear unwilling modifications, infections, or the possibility of ending up in a storage jar. Unohana included the years that Urahara Kisuke directed the Division in that assessment. As much as she�d liked Urahara, he�d shared Kurotsuchi�s penchant for telling half-truths, leaving out critical information about experiments and failing to issue warnings about hazardous goings-on, even if he wasn�t guilty of experimenting on visitors.

�Do you mind if I take samples, for analysis? I�d like some scrapings of your skin and your mask to rule out any possible allergic reactions or infections.�

Harribel nodded, granting permission. Unohana gathered the needed supplies from the cabinets along the side of the room and took a few, thin slivers of exterior bone and a small strip of skin from both her left cheek and her right breast, with a Kido-infused scalpel to bypass the Espada�s Hierro. She also drew several vials of blood, to screen for pathogens or hormonal imbalances. The usual round of questions followed, such as whether she�d noticed any changes in her weight, her sleeping patterns, any physical pain or illnesses. Harribel met each inquiry with a �no�, until Unohana neared the end of the questionnaire and asked the blonde about absentmindedness or troubles with concentration, which might be attributable to stress.

�There was an incident, a few weeks ago.�

�An incident? Can you describe it?�

If she�d been embarrassed about her breasts, now Harribel exhibited what Unohana could only describe as utter mortification.

�Several weeks ago, I became distracted during a skirmish with one of the locust clusters. I did not see the beetle below us. If Toshiro had not pulled me out of the way in time, the creature�s acid stream would have hit me. Of late, I�ve found myself feeling out of sorts, restless even. It�s as if I�ve lost the ability to focus at times. I�d assumed that the fatigue� the �blanking out� was from fighting the Swarm every other day, but now I�m uncertain what�s truly behind it.�

The shadow, which had been skulking around Unohana�s thoughts ever since she�d given Mareyo the news about her pregnancy, reared up in Unohana�s mind�s eye, forcing her to consider the changes in Harribel�s mask from a different point of view. Admittedly, she�d rarely seen any of the female Arrancar for anything other than a serious, battle-related injury, but when the Third had brought up �significant events� it had struck a chord. Unohana knew Ajuga�s mask fragment had changed over the years, adjusting to accommodate the young girl�s growing height and the formation of her breasts when puberty had come calling.

A pregnancy would certainly constitute a �significant event� in the life of an Arrancar female, Unohana imagined. Of course, what held true for Ajuga, as both a hybrid and as one naturally born might not pertain to the ones that had evolved from lesser Hollows. Was the perpetual stress everyone laboured under since the fall of the Defence Net to blame? None of the males had come to her with changes in their masks and to the best of her knowledge, both the male and female Arrancar took the same risks and fought equally hard during the encounters with the Swarm. Unohana gently inquired if any of Harribel�s fraccion had experienced similar changes or if it was just Harribel herself and received another headshake.

She was just finishing up when someone knocked on the door. Hana still slept peacefully, or at least pretended to do so. Harribel quickly closed her jacket, but kept her arm where it could act as a shelf for her breasts. Excusing herself, Unohana moved to open the door to find Iemura standing there, nervously adjusting his glasses and looking as if he�d swallowed a frog. The source of her Fukutaichou�s anxiety stemmed from the unusually large stack of papers in his arms.

�Taichou, I have the reports you wanted. Forgive me, but we decided to test the women who were on pills as well, since we all know there�s a one percent failure rate even when taken as directed. We sent out all the new recruits we could spare to make sure we could get to everyone on the list and they obtained the blood samples while out in the field. That saved us the time of having all of the women come in for sample collection. Those same recruits also ran the tests, and to be sure, we had each sample tested twice.�

�What did they find?� Unohana asked quietly, dreading the answer.

Iemura had the queasy bearing of a messenger sent to deliver unhappy news. From his demeanour, she guessed that the number of pregnancies had to be far greater than even she anticipated.

�Of the sixty-four Claimed females from whom we collected samples, twelve of those tested came back positive for the pregnancy hormone,� he reported.

�Twelve!� she breathed in shock before recovering her wits and quickly issuing another order. �Have the twelve and their Masters report in at��

She found her mouth refused to work, the words dying in her throat before she could say them. They�d just counted twelve hybrid pregnancies among the Shinigami population in the space of less than a month, which worked out to a nearly nineteen percent conception rate. That percentage rate rose to twenty-two percent if they factored in Rangiku, Tatsuki and Mareyo. The blood drained from her face as all of the implications hit her at once.

�This isn�t a coincidence� this is an epidemic!� Unohana realized. Then another thought struck her and she whirled around to stare at a somewhat confused Harribel.

If it were an epidemic of sort, a mass adjustment on the part of the female Shinigami population to the reiatsu imposed on it by Aizen�s Arrancar army, wouldn�t it also stand to reason that the adaptation might go both ways? She�s been so concerned about the subjugated Shinigami women that she�d nearly overlooked the possibility of an adjustment on the part of those Shinigami men Claimed by Arrancar females. There were far fewer female Arrancar than males in the occupying forces and Unohana couldn�t remember ever offering any kind of birth control to any of them, nor any of them asking for it. Those Claimed men rarely, if ever, showed up in her wards for injuries caused by their Claimers, so it wasn�t surprising to her that she hadn�t immediately thought about them as a whole. Hitsugaya Toshiro was a prime example of such a man.

�Out of sight, out of mind�, she told herself. Nevertheless, it was something she had to consider. Unohana turned and with trembling fingers, plucked the vials of Harribel�s blood and the skin and bone samples from the rack where she�d placed them, originally intending to have the lot of it sent for a full work-up. Carefully walking back to the door, she handed it to Iemura, who traded his stack of papers for it. She pitched her voice just above a whisper when she spoke and she watched him swallow nervously.

�Run the same tests you just ran on the others on this sample, and then do the standard cultures on the bone and skin samples. Keep the remainder on standby if necessary. I want you to do it yourself and not leave it to anyone of lesser rank in this Division. Report back to me immediately once you have the results and above all, tell no one else.�

Iemura promptly vanished, taking the samples with him. Unohana closed the door and reactivated the privacy Kido. If the citizenry at large had begun to acclimate to the higher reiatsu levels of the Arrancar, if a low-reiatsu soul such as Omaeda Mareyo had already conceived and if what she suspected was the reason for Harribel�s mutating mask turned out to be true, it boded ill for Unohana herself. A small, cold knot formed in the pit of her stomach, which she ignored in favour of handling her current case.

�I need to ask this: when did you finish with your last cycle?�

Harribel seemed startled by the question and struggled to find a way to answer it.

�I� I don�t really have them.�

That was a surprise and for a few moments, Unohana considered that her hunch was wrong.

�Did you sustain an injury of some kind that would result in a cessation of menstruation?�

�You might say that.�

The Espada looked away, her posture going from �reluctant� to downright �cagey.�

Unohana, her brow knitting with consternation, moved to stand before the seated woman, clearly baffled by the answer and by Harribel�s wariness.

�Would you mind if I examined you with Kido?�

Harribel looked as if she wanted to refuse and seemed to be engaged in some internal argument with her instincts, before she grudgingly nodded a few moments later. Unohana took a deep breath and descended into Jinzen, letting the energy in her hands gradually seep into the region below the Espada�s navel.

What she discovered both stunned and fascinated her. The spot where the woman�s womb should have been was empty and Unohana grasped that what she was seeing was Harribel�s Hollow hole. Why it was located there, instead of where her heart would have been, escaped the healer and she sternly told herself it was a secondary issue. What really bewildered her was the fact that, despite the lack of a proper uterus between two splendid, textbook examples of perfectly healthy fallopian tubes and ovaries, she could detect the compact, seething reiatsu of a vigorous embryo and its placenta, surrounded on all sides by a thick, pulsing barrier of intensely powerful energy. It was so strong in fact, that it sent a shiver through the healer when her awareness brushed against it. Somewhere above her, she could hear Harribel gasp and Unohana immediately pulled the exploratory Kido back, lest it cause any problems.

For the first time in her medical career, she found herself at a complete loss.

How in the world was this kind of contradiction possible? The Shinigami sank deeper into the trance in order to analyze the barrier that served to separate the budding life from the nothingness that encircled it. Moments ticked into minutes and she nearly forgot why she was looking in the first place, confronted by the riddle beneath her fingertips. She didn�t want to assume anything until Iemura returned with Harribel�s results, and while such an extraordinary paradox ought not to have existed in the first place, she couldn�t dispute what lay beneath her hands.

An Arrancar who lacked a vital reproductive organ was now in the first stages of a pregnancy. Instead, an energy barrier took on the role of a missing uterus. It not only served to protect the developing child from that inner void, but also served as a source of nourishment, if the thin strands of reiatsu leading to and from it acted in a manner similar to an umbilical cord and a placenta. Part of the barrier, woven together from two different flavours of reiryoku, clearly originated with Harribel, laced as it was with blood vessels that fed into the surrounding tissue.

The majority of it, however, had a different source and Unohana didn�t need to test it to determine an identity. She would know the pattern of Hitsugaya Toshiro�s icy-blue reiryoku anywhere. For a moment, the healer wasn�t sure how the two disparate signatures had meshed so seamlessly, to create the small sanctuary within Harribel�s body. If the proportions of each were a clue to its construction, Unohana would have to say that the pale-haired Taichou�s energy had overpowered that of his Mistress to not only create the child itself, but also ensure its survival.

Unohana abruptly felt light-headed. Her legs grew rubbery and the cold knot in her gut grew much larger. Only her professional demeanour kept her from going to her knees and after making sure that there were no other abnormalities, she withdrew her awareness from her patient and took a few steps back.

�A �significant event� indeed,� she thought and took a few deep breaths to ground herself before speaking. When she opened her eyes, she found the Third Espada, brows drawn, staring back at her, apparently waiting for an explanation. The problem was that Unohana wasn�t certain that she�d be able to say anything that didn�t sound like an astounded squeak.

�Did I say, �epidemic�? How foolish! This is going to be a damned tsunami!�

She supposed that a Shinigami male�s adaptation might involve, over time and repeated exposure, developed sperm strong enough to withstand a female Arrancar�s reiatsu and ensure conception. As this was the first time she�d ever encountered anything like the phenomenon going on between Harribel�s hipbones, she could only assume that the power gap between Toshiro and his Mistress had narrowed to the point where neither parent�s contribution would undo the other�s input. In fact, it looked to Unohana as if Toshiro�s influence and reiryoku might not be more vital to the baby�s survival than Harribel�s, as the majority of the barrier appeared to be his in origin.

�Did you find anything, Unohana-Taichou?� Harribel asked, sounding as if she was trying to be polite.

�How do I respond to that without becoming a gibbering mess?� Unohana asked herself.

Fortunately, another knock on the door came to her rescue, giving her something to focus on other than what she�d just encountered. It was Iemura with a single sheet of paper. The frog he�d swallowed had become a crocodile, if she read his deeply disturbed expression correctly. He must have seen the equally disquieted look on hers because he handed her the report and pressed his lips together. She didn�t need to look at it to know what it would say, but made a show of it anyway.

�Please wait here for further instructions, Iemura-san.�

�Hai, Taichou!� he replied to her request and took up a vigilant position to the left of the door, hands clasped behind his back. Unohana securely locked the door a third time before turning to face her patient, armed with the sheet of paper that would act as both a confirmation and a cover for her own rattled nerves.

It wasn�t as if Harribel couldn�t guess what Unohana would tell her, if the sudden widening of her eyes were any indication. Toshiro had once mentioned that his Mistress was an extremely observant woman� maybe not as sharp as Starrk or the late Shunsui, but intelligent enough to put facts and clues together and get a correct answer. Still, the Espada had come to her for help and confidentiality. At the very least, she owed her patient an official diagnosis. Thus, she squared her shoulders and calmed her emotions by sheer force of will, turning a serene smile on the blonde before speaking.

�Congratulations, Harribel-san. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are pregnant. At present, you are also the first confirmed Arrancar pregnancy.�

Silence followed, as Harribel�s eyes grew even larger and then darted down to her midsection. Unohana waited, poised but not sure as to why she was on edge. The only sounds in the room for a few minutes were the ticking on the clock on the wall and the whisper of Hana�s deep, even breathing coming from the room�s bed.

�So it took less time than we believed�� Unohana thought she heard Harribel murmur to herself, her eyes filling with wonder as she placed her hand on her abdomen. Then she leaned back in the chair, tilting her head back until it rested against the wall and closed her eyes. This time she definitely heard the woman raggedly whisper the word �Finally�� as well.

Did that mean that the Third Espada and Toshiro, like Tesra and Tatsuki, planned this? At least she wasn�t alarmed or terrified, as Unohana suspected some of the Claimed Shinigami might be when she spoke with them later. If the last bit implied what she thought it did, then the only thing about it that Harribel might not have expected, ironically, would have been the changes to her mask.

�It has been a very long time since I was last with child. Regrettably, I never got to see it.� Harribel let out a depressed sigh along with the bare-bones explanation, but the shadowed look in her eyes didn�t last long and Unohana didn�t pry. �I wasn�t even sure if� if this was possible� given the obstacles.�

To Unohana, it was an admission that Harribel was well aware of her anatomical abnormality. She would have to make sure that Szayel forwarded a copy of Harribel�s report to the 4^th Division, once she sent the Third off to see him as she�d done with Mareyo. The healer had the feeling the Seventh might actually go so far as to have a minor stroke once he saw what she had sensed with his ultrasound. On a more personal level, Unohana could use it as an excuse to speak with the scientist. If there was, indeed, a large wave of pregnancies about to hit the Seireitei in the coming year, both of their Divisions would have to be prepared and she wanted to discuss her suspicions about the reasons behind it with him.

�I will need to tell Toshiro and my girls,� she heard Harribel say and Unohana immediately directed her attention back to the woman sitting in the chair.

The blonde had gone from staring at her stomach in awe to regarding Unohana with an amount of gratitude that, in light of what she�d said about her previous pregnancy, didn�t entirely seem out of place.

�I was wise to come to you, as you have not only solved the issue of my changing mask, but given me joyous news. I can�t believe I did not think of this! Of course I would need my mouth and breasts free to care for an infant.�

Unohana couldn�t argue with that statement, especially coming from a Hollow�s point of view. If she�d conceived in Hueco Mundo, of course Harribel would require such an alteration in her mask. Things were thankfully different here in the Soul Society. While little changed over the years here, other than in the Divisions dedicated to science and medicine, the majority of the general population had long since abandoned the practice of mothers chewing their food for their babies. Then again, she considered, those in the poorer Rukongai Districts probably still did so thanks to the lack of electricity and modern conveniences such as blenders. As most souls living in those outlying areas of the city had little need of food anyway, she also supposed that the issue was a moot one. A naturally born Arrancar, in contrast, would require immediate sustenance upon birth, the same as any normal Plus born with inordinately high amounts of reiryoku and reiatsu.

Harribel and Toshiro�s child, even at this early stage, might surpass his or her parents for sheer strength, from what she�d detected. Having a mouth free to consume enough food to keep a fetus and such a strange substitute for a proper uterus going, without having to expend the energy to slip into her Resurrección also seemed reasonable.

With the mystery solved, Unohana moved to check on Hana one more time, and was unsurprised to discover she was still fast asleep. As exciting as the news was, Harribel assured her she would remain by Hana�s side until her mother or the First arrived, as Toshiro was on duty and in the middle of an important investigation. Unohana had to agree with her that there was no point distracting him from trying to find any leads on where the Swarm patrol might have taken Ajuga and Diaemus.

�I hope he can find something,� Harribel said softly as she moved her chair closer to Hana�s bedside, her eyes roving over the visible bruises and bandages, down to her splinted ankle. �She fought so hard to get back to tell us what happened to them. She even refused medical attention until she�d had a chance to report. I can only imagine what Starrk and Lilinette will think when they hear of this.�

Unohana wasn�t so worried about what the collective First might think as what they might do about the problem. If there was one person she would not want to be right now, it was the Numeros who had been Hana�s partner. Harribel struck Unohana as the kind that might at least listen to an explanation before indulging in a �beat-down�, as someone in her long-ago past had once put it. Lilinette, on the other hand, was the sort that tended to smack first and ask questions after the fact.

�I will have to report your pregnancy to Kami-sama. I must also ask that you make an appointment with Szayel for an examination with his equipment. There are some� anomalies about it that I will admit are entirely out of my range of experience, though the fetus appears to be quite strong. He will be able to give you far more information about your particular case, as well as what you might be able to expect than I can. He is under direct orders from his Mistress, to be both frank with expectant mothers as well as entirely transparent about any tests he orders.�

If the faint glimmer of concern in Harribel�s eyes was any indication of exactly how fearsome Szayel�s reputation for both twisted experimentation and underhanded methods had once been, Unohana could sympathize. She might have felt the same way about visiting Szayel�s predecessor, had she been less skilled or less powerful. There had been times with Kurotsuchi that she�d questioned Urahara�s sanity in springing him from the Maggot�s Nest in the first place, let alone making the former inmate his 3rd Seat.

�May I wait until tomorrow? With Toshiro busy and with Hana here�� she inquired, and then her voice faltered. �I would like a little time to discuss things with Toshiro then, and perhaps with the First if they�re amenable.�

The dark-haired healer almost said that she had little leeway in this, and then paused and considered the request. When she finally pieced together why Harribel seemed both elated and anxious as well as why she might want to involve Starrk and Lilinette of all people, Unohana found herself dismayed.

It was one thing for an Arrancar�s pet to conceive. Mareyo�s Master would most likely keep the young woman under careful guard and away from all danger. Nnoitra had done something similar with Rangiku, limiting her involvement in the battles by placing her with the Kido units. However, it was another thing entirely for one of Aizen�s strongest Espada to come back with a positive pregnancy test. Working together, The Third and Toshiro were one of her �husband�s� strongest weapons against the Swarm. To have one of them taken out of the equation because she was pregnant would hurt the Seireitei�s already overtaxed defenders. The novelty of being the first pregnant Arrancar female might not be enough to keep Aizen from ordering Harribel to terminate it if it proved an inconvenience to his tenuous hold on the Seireitei and his �empire�. She might not even have that protection if what Unohana guessed was in progress had also affected the other female Arrancar.

�I see no reason why not. I can delay things for a short time, if it will help. Take tonight for yourselves,� she began, but stopped when Harribel shook her head, though the appreciation she could see in Harribel�s eyes doubled when she said this.

�I�ve patrol duty this evening, unfortunately. I�ll speak with Szayel tomorrow morning and inform Toshiro and my fraccion afterwards, once I hear what the Seventh has to say,� the blonde replied with some regret and Unohana wasn�t sure if she was talking about her condition or the results of Szayel�s search for the two hybrid children.

�Then I�ll take my leave. If anything should change with Hana, please have a staff member fetch me immediately.�

Harribel nodded and went back to watching her young fraccion sleep. Unohana undid the privacy Kido, reached for the stack of pregnancy reports, placed Harribel�s on the top of the stack and quietly left the room. Her Fukutaichou turned and looked at her from his spot against the hallway wall. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she tried to decide what to do next. Conducting pregnancy tests on Claimed female Shinigami had probably been the easy part. The next task would no doubt prove more difficult for all involved. Still, if it bought the woman in the room she�d just left a little more time�

�Iemura-san.�

�Hai, Unohana-Taichou,� he replied and moved to stand next to her, his hands reaching for the stack of papers. When she pursed her lips and gave him a frown he snatched them back and waited.

�Send our most senior staff out to conduct the same experiment. This time, I would like them to test every Arrancar female, with the exception of the Third Espada.�

Her second-in-command�s jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered as she went on. �If they refuse, that is fine. I will speak to my husband tonight and I�m sure he will issue a command of his own. It will allow us to deal with what we have on our plates today. As for the Claimed Shinigami, send the new recruits out to inform those with one of today�s positive pregnancy tests, with the exception of Omaeda-san, that I wish to see every one of them face-to-face before the end of the day as well as their Masters. Have the rest of the preliminary tests completed within the next hour, but do not tell them the reason for the summons. I will be the one to break the news to them.�

�What about� this?� he asked, and she could tell, even behind his sunglasses, that he was eyeing the top report on the stack. Unohana sighed and handed him the pile of paper, reaching out and taking the report affirming Harribel�s pregnancy. She folded it carefully and tucked it into her uniform, well within her inner kosode.

�I doubt that we�ll be able to get full compliance with all of the female Arrancar today, and as far as you and I are concerned, the Third Espada is here to watch over Hana until the girl�s family arrives. Secure the blood and tissue samples you took until tomorrow and we�ll cobble together a report that includes it in the next two days or so, depending on just how reluctant some of those Arrancar turn out to be as far as the tests. I�d like her to see Szayel and get his opinion on what I saw. Once you�ve given the new recruits, the senior staff and the lab technicians their orders, come to my office. I have a message I want you to take to Szayel� and only Szayel.�

Iemura, with his usual efficiency, committed all of her instructions to memory, despite the uneasiness she could see in the set of his mouth. It was all very �cloak and dagger� of her, not her usual style of handling things and her Fukutaichou knew it.

�Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures,� Unohana supposed with a sigh.

�You are dismissed,� she told him, a little more gently this time.

It was, admittedly, a great deal to take in all at once. Iemura gave her a bow before hurrying off to carry out her commands, which left her to her own darkening thoughts in the middle of the hallway. Turning, she made her way back to the questionable sanctuary of her office, where she found a pot of tea, warmed by Kido, waiting for her on her desk. Evidently, her 3^rd Seat had decided to overrule her as far as providing her superior with the much-needed mild stimulant.

�Bless you�� she sighed and poured herself a cup, sitting down and savouring it before anything else could interrupt the short break. Unohana told herself she�d probably have to tell her 3^rd Seat to clear her schedule of anything not deemed an emergency, just to be safe, before she allowed herself the brief luxury of examining her own, precarious situation.

Aizen had taken her almost every night for fifteen long years and she was no weakling. Gin�s hypothesis, about Aizen�s raw power dooming any pregnancy that might have taken hold within her, had proved true. There had been only one, short-lived success and Unohana had privately cried tears of happiness the moment she discovered the miscarriage in progress, even if it had led to more suffering on Gin�s part as the tyrant had taken out his rage on the former Taichou�s helpless body.

If it had reached the point where an Arrancar female without the proper organ for a successful pregnancy could find herself with child, how much longer would it be before Aizen finally succeeded in forcing her to conceive? He�d been supposedly letting his power drain away, to allow such to happen without inadvertently killing the embryo. She couldn�t assume, because they were both Shinigami that what held true for both Omaeda Mareyo and Tia Harribel wouldn�t also hold true for her. Unohana�s hands clenched around the teacup and she had to fight to keep the unrealized fear from paralyzing her for the rest of the day.

She took another sip, then another and closed her eyes, concentrating on mastering her emotions in the same way she�d once learned to control her shaking hands while holding a scalpel, until she�d consumed the entire cup. Invoking it as a mantra, she silently recited a short catalogue of reasons not to panic. First, Aizen�s power was still an enormous impediment, with the addition of what he�d gained by taking the Throne of the Spirit King. Second, she wasn�t pregnant yet. She�d just finished with her monthly flow and she�d not yet ovulated.

Time wasn�t on her side in this case. Nevertheless, wallowing in fright about the potential for a very-much unwanted pregnancy wouldn�t help her deal with the here-and now, nor with the patients that needed her. Her Division was about to be swamped with unexpected pregnancies and she�d best have her �game face� on, as her predecessor had once told her. Being the Taichou, she didn�t have the luxury of falling apart at a time like this.

Unohana managed to suppress a tired snort. �Swamped� was a bit of an understatement. In addition to her current caseload and duties, she had twelve pregnant Shinigami and Pluses to see as well as the reactions of twelve male Arrancar to gauge. Furthermore, there was always the chance that Harribel might not be the only pregnant female Hollow. Shoving aside her dread and self-pity, she pulled a brush and inkwell from her desk and took a sheaf of blank paper from the desk�s bottom drawer.

Her husband would have a very large report on his desk to read this evening, before he again forced himself on her. It was a good thing the Swarm seemed to have decided to forestall attacking today, providing the Seireitei with a much-needed break. Unohana and her staff would need the time to process this latest, Arrancar-related tangle and for her part, she had a very important note to write and send out to her pink-haired counterpart, on behalf of the woman sitting diligently next to Hana in the emergency ward.

She finished just as Iemura returned with the stack of papers, now neatly organized. He took the note and informed her that he�d contacted the first of the twelve, a member of the Kido Corps, through a mutual acquaintance and both she and her Master would be there within the next half hour. Conveniently, the woman�s report was on the top of the stack. Unohana watched him go and hoped that the Swarm would hold off on throwing themselves at the Seireitei for a few more days, if only so that she could get a grip on the paperwork this latest development would create.

Okay, remember way back when I commented that Kubo had introduced a character that messed things up a little for POV. Well that was Mareyo. This Chapter was written BEFORE her reintroduction into the manga as a suddenly much younger girl. The first time we see her it was in an Omake and she was easily in her late teens, early twenties not looking like she was 8 or something.

Kain: yep, most of that is true. Every plan, however, starts with the base bones, and that is where they are right now, the base bones of a plan. Finessing it will come as the chapters are released, as they gain the information they need to carry this all out. Black Fox and I have corresponded considerably on what needs to be done and how it is going to be done. I am pleased to say we have pretty much pre-written all the way up to the day of reckoning, clocking in at 1184 pages atm.

Next Chapter: Starrk learns Hana has been admitted to the 4^th.

This Weeks Question: What are your Christmas morning plans? Mine is taking the munchkin up to the grandparents for waffles covered in fruit and whipping cream and opening presents.

A note on the next Update: As we all know, 7 days from now is Christmas /CHEER. I work Tuesday night, possibly late because our Wednesday freight truck is going to show up either Tuesday or Thursday, we are not sure which day yet. I am obviously busy on Wednesday. So, depending on how things go, I will update either Tuesday night or Wednesday night before going to bed. We�ll see.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2