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Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
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Chapter List
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Give and Take

The first thing Starrk and Lilinette did upon hearing the news after their patrol was to rush towards the 4^th Division at full speed, not caring in the least what anyone who might see them would think as the Primera raced through the city with Lilinette on his back. They barged through the 4^th Division doors in a flurry, startling the lobby staff. Even if he been completely blind, Starrk would be able to track Hana by her reiatsu alone. The two proceeded to make a beeline for the room near the emergency ward that housed her unique energy signature. Wisely, the Division members they encountered ducked out of their way, but otherwise left them alone. Starrk had a good reputation with them, for an Arrancar; he had been to the medical Division enough times over the years to see to Jushiro. Because of that familiarity, they let him pass, knowing he was unlikely to cause trouble.

He managed to keep a tight grip on his reiatsu, even though it wanted to fly wildly about in his agitation. Starrk knew he couldn�t afford to let anxiety dictate his actions. An inadvertent power flare-up would not only harm everyone in the general vicinity, it would also likely bring Unohana�s wrath down upon the two. That, in turn, would get them forcibly removed. Nothing, other than possibly Kami-sama himself and even he was very reluctant to do so, got between Unohana and her patients. Nor did they dare disturb those patients if they knew what was good for them.

Lilinette�s teeth worried her lips, the top one bleeding already as she chewed on them in her distress. They hadn�t completely mended things with Hana yet, even though the situation was better now than it had been a week ago. The thought of losing her while there was still unresolved tension weighed on both their hearts. Starrk would never forgive himself if she perished while she held a grudge against him. Hell, he wouldn�t forgive himself if she perished, period.

They finally reached Hana�s room, having navigated the maze-like Division and its look-alike corridors. After a moment of cowardice for which he immediately berated himself, Starrk knocked lightly on the door before entering the room that held Hana�s prone form.

Hana was not alone, but he hadn�t expected her to be. Nanao sat next to her child, holding the young woman�s too-pale hand in her own. He was not even that surprised to see Harribel leaning against the wall opposite the door, taking up the strategic stance of a sentinel over Hana and her mother. Harribel was the only surviving Espada, other than himself, that truly cared for her fraccion and Starrk wasn�t particularly surprised to see she�d waited for Nanao to arrive, rather than leave an unconscious Hana by herself, unprotected. To Starrk�s point of view, Nanao hadn�t been there long� maybe five minutes at most, as the shock on the woman�s face hadn�t yet dissolved into tears. Another ten minutes and things might start getting a bit damp for his liking.

�Hana!�

Lilinette wasted no time and raced to the other girl�s side. Hana�s lack of a response made his stomach sink. She didn�t even stir when Lilinette took the girl�s hand in her own. Starrk listened to Harribel�s report with a heavy heart, but nothing could have prepared him for the utter horror that seized him when Harribel brought up the girl�s closest companions. While Hana had been badly hurt, it was Ajuga and Diaemus� fate that shocked Starrk and Lilinette. The Swarm had never shown an interest in taking prisoners, Shinigami or Hollow, before, and now they had absconded with two of them for no reason he could discern.

Approaching more slowly, Starrk stopped beside the sleeping child. She seemed so fragile with the forming bruises and dressed in a white hospital gown tucked under white sheets. The bedding�s lack of color just washed out her features further, making her look that much more ill. Lilinette turned from the sight, overwhelmed and reeling from the news of Ajuga and Diaemus�s capture. His other half buried her head in his chest, sobbing, murmuring something too quiet to make out. Harribel excused herself at that point, giving them some privacy, for which he was thankful. It was one thing to express his feelings before his close-lipped fraccion; it was a completely different thing to do so in front of a fellow Espada.

�She�ll be alright,� Nanao told Lilinette in a voice that sounded surprisingly calm, resting a hand on Lilinette�s back in a gesture of comfort. Starrk got the feeling that the woman was reassuring herself as much as Lilinette. If Nanao could not hold her daughter, the next nearest �child� would have to do.

After much snuffling and the wiping away of many tears, Lilinette finally composed herself and stepped away from both of them. Almost in a trance, he knelt down beside the bed himself and hesitantly took the hand that Nanao had been holding. The flesh was warm, and that offered him some relief, but she didn�t stir in the least.

�Hana, only you could bring me to my knees with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises,� he sighed softly. �I know things have been� difficult between us lately, but you must know I care deeply for you, and that I could not stand the thought of losing you. I could not save your father and if I lost you too��

He couldn�t finish, finding his throat too tight to choke the words out.

In the last fifteen years, he�d grown accustomed to the sounds of others� dinnertime conversations and arguments, the occasional squabbles between Grimmjow and Karin, Nanao�s motherly orders shouted out in the hope that the Estate wouldn�t succumb to the chaos that threatened any home where children resided. He�d come to count on the collective song made by their pack as well as the individual melodies created by each person under his and Ukitake�s roof. Those were his proof that he and Lilinette were no longer so abysmally alone. The loss of any one of them was almost too much to bear.

Never had the sound of silence bothered him so greatly.

�I don�t think I have ever seen you cry before, Starrk-ji.�

Blinking, Starrk realized there were a few tears rolling down his face as he wiped them away with his spare hand. The tears didn�t shock him as much as what Hana called him. That one little suffix, the tiny addition to his name meant the world to him and he�d felt its absence keenly. Even Hana�s weak smile meant nothing compared to that single syllable implying kinship.

�HANA!�

Starrk had just enough warning to scramble to the side, avoiding his smaller half�s elbows as Lilinette all but threw herself on the young woman.

�Ow,� Hana faintly complained, but returned Lilinette�s embrace. Her good-natured tone surprised him. It was strong for someone who had had the stuffing beaten out of her. She gave his hand a squeeze in place of a hug, as Lilinette was busy monopolizing her other arm and starting in on a fresh round of sniffling.

�Who was on patrol with you?� the little Arrancar demanded unexpectedly, finally pulling away and sitting on the edge of the bed.

�I don�t know his name and we don�t really have much reason to talk to each other. Ajuga-chan and Diaemus sent him off though, saying they were taking over the patrol,� Hana answered in a wavering voice. �You aren�t going to��

Starrk let out a long breath and with his free hand, gestured at his small, seething, feminine counterpart before she could go into any gory details about what she planned on doing to the Numeros. Lilinette scowled at him, but backed down, letting Starrk take over.

It made a depressing kind of sense now. None of the lower Numeros would dare risk angering or telling off an Espada�s offspring, lest it bring about the ire of the Espada as well. There was nothing they could do about it, Starrk thought, but what Hana revealed would explain the absence of not only an adult, but an experienced warrior during the encounter with the Swarm patrol. Ajuga and Diaemus were strong, but experience was also vitally important when engaging with an enemy of unknown strength.

He supposed that there would be time enough to assign blame for this mess later. Chiding Hana for their little trio�s recklessness was pointless as well. At present, he was simply grateful that Hana was still with them. Ajuga�s loss felt like a stab to the gut, but the possibility of never seeing Hana again was too much for him to contemplate.

�Nothing to do for it now, Hana, but wait and see if the Seventh and Karin can find them,� he finished.

Starrk shoved all of the terrifying possibilities to the farthest reaches of his mind and the warm hand holding his helped keep them at bay.

�Are you truly alright?� Lilinette asked, finally worming out of Hana�s one-armed embrace.

�Hurting, but I will recover,� Hana assured her with a wan smile.

She�d directed her words at Lilinette, but Hana�s eyes were on him. Unfortunately, now that Hana was awake and Lilinette had surrendered her place, Nanao wasted no time pulling her daughter into a tight hug, tears finally threatening at the corners of the woman�s eyes.

�Come on Lilinette, we should report in,� he said quietly.

�Did you two come here without reporting first Starrk-ji?� Hana demanded, looking at Starrk over her mother�s shoulder.

�Uhm,� Lilinette looked down and shuffled her feet nervously. �Maybe...�

Hana shook her head at them. The only people possibly more rule-oriented than Hana were her mother and Ulquiorra. Starrk got the feeling he�d committed some kind of breach of etiquette with the admission.

�Go, report in,� Hana said faintly as she shooed them away, removing her hand from his as she did so. �Before you get into trouble,� she added, mollifying him somewhat.

�It�s fine. It�s not like we have anything to report anyway,� Lilinette huffed, still looking a bit guilty.

�By not reporting in, you are technically �missing�. Go check in before they launch a search party already,� Hana sighed in exasperation. �Besides,� she said with a smile, as if pointing out the obvious, �I�m not going anywhere. I will be right here when you get back.�

�Alright already, sheesh,� Lilinette grumbled. �I think you�re more of a stickler than Ulquiorra.�

Starrk had to agree with Hana, but for different reasons. Now that the young girl was awake, he could see that Nanao was having trouble keeping the waterworks under wraps. With everything that had happened over the last two weeks or so, Nanao was spread thin and he could tell she�d reached a breaking point. Sensing an impending maternal meltdown, Starrk decided now would be a good time to make a tactical retreat. Besides, it would be good to give the proud woman a moment with her daughter where she could act like the mother she was without an audience.

Yes, Starrk decided, a tactical retreat sounded better and better by the second.

The door barely closed behind them before he heard Nanao burst into tears. The panic he had felt over hearing about the attack on Hana had ebbed. They did need to report in, and by the time they had done that, Nanao would have gotten most of the messy emotions out of her system. The sooner they checked in, the sooner they could return to Hana�s side. She had made it clear she wanted him there and that fact soothed him. Come hell or high water, the First Espada would be there. Clemency was a mostly foreign concept to Hollows and he wasn�t going to risk screwing up receiving Hana�s forgiveness. What he didn�t expect was for someone to be waiting for them in the lobby.

Harribel could have left for her own den, to spend a few hours sleeping or taking care of the matters her fraccion hadn�t completed before she left for her evening patrol. Instead, she waited in the main lobby, one arm wrapped around her waist. Her intent was to keep track of the massive reiatsu that comprised the combined First Espada, its binary force concentrated and banked in one room, hovering over one young Shinigami and her mother.

When the Espada had first acquired their respective �pets,� she�d wondered why Starrk had taken Ise Nanao in when she obviously lacked the strength to withstand a Claim by someone of Starrk�s power. After a few months� time revealed the woman�s pregnancy, Harribel had marvelled that Starrk and Lilinette would consider raising another�s child as their own. Starrk could have very easily snuffed it out and worked, like Aizen, to place his own seed in Nanao�s belly, provided she survived the process. He and Lilinette had shown an unexpected sort of self-discipline with regard to Hana and her mother that placed the two Shinigamis� well-being before Starrk�s own reproductive interests. This was the thought that kept Harribel in her chair and gave her the courage to speak to the two when they emerged from the depths of the emergency ward later that afternoon.

�...go on back to the Estate, Lilinette, and give Nanao a bit of time with her daughter. I will report in for us,� Starrk said as he�d shuffled past the reception desk.

Lilinette trotted behind him and wiped at her eye with the back of her hand, the traces of tears visible to all who cared to look.

�Don�t bother cooking. Karin and Grimmjow aren�t up for supervising you and Jushiro and the new girl will need someone there tonight, so bring something home for everyone� and make sure it isn�t all sweets, like last time.�

�Okay, Starrk�� Lilinette sniffled, poised to return to the rest of their pack when Harribel stood and made her presence known to the two.

�Primera. Might I have a moment of your time?�

The two came to a halt, and then faced the dusky-skinned woman as she bowed to them in deference to their relative power.

�Harribel.�

�I would like to speak to the both of you about an important matter.�

She couldn�t help the urgency that seeped into her voice. There was a little less than an hour before she would have to check in for her patrol, and she still hadn�t had a chance to track down the Arrancar that was supposed to have accompanied Hana on her route. That was something she�d have to put on the back burner, at least until she solved her current dilemma.

�What is it?� Lilinette asked bluntly, staring up with her one eye at Harribel, who in turn looked at the tips of her boots.

�First, I would like to tender my apologies. Hana is my fraccion and she was wounded while under my supervision��

Starrk stopped her, his gray eyes taking in her submissive posture before he spoke.

�That is not your fault, Tia. I am just relieved your girl found Hana-chan when she did.�

Harribel nodded at the acknowledgement, as well as the use of her given name. There were only three entities in the world that she allowed to do so. Starrk, due to their long association, Aizen, because of his greater status and, in the last few years, Toshiro, because of the small thrill she could feel up and down her spine when he uttered it in a lust-laden voice. It was good to know that they didn�t blame her for what had happened to Ajuga and Diaemus, or for Hana being in her present condition.

Starrk reached up and scratched the back of his neck while letting out a huge yawn. He had been patrolling for a long time as was and he was undoubtedly tired. Of course, she was hard-pressed to think of a time when Starrk wasn�t tired, but at least it appeared as if she had his full attention.

�I should probably thank you and your pet for talking to Hana about what happened with her father. She�s back to calling me �Starrk-ji.�� he said softly, the faintest hint of a pleased smile on his face. Lilinette, in contrast, beamed at her.

�Yeah, we really appreciate it!�

Now Harribel felt her cheeks heat up. Her initial impulse to help steer Hana�s opinion of the First back to favourable waters had indeed been the right decision, if this was the result. Looking at the both of them from beneath her lowered eyelashes, she determined that there might not be a better time to ask for some much-needed help.

�What do you want to talk about?� Lilinette asked. She seemed both curious and impatient� or maybe �demanding� would be a better description, Harribel decided.

�Would it be permissible to speak while we walk to the Palace so that you might let Kami know you�ve returned, while I receive my patrol route?� Her eyes flicked towards the receptionist, who seemed to be overly fascinated with the papers he was shuffling on his desk. Starrk didn�t react, but Lilinette followed her gaze and nodded, strands of her pale green hair fluttering around her face.

�Yeah, sure, no problem.�

She followed them out of the door, down the gravel walkway and past the 4th Division�s gate. There, Starrk dismissed Lilinette, who Harribel had supposed was on her way to see to the rest of their wounded pack�s welfare, if what she�d overheard was correct. Still, Lilinette left only after Starrk had promised to fill her in later. Once the slender girl was out of sight, Starrk shoved his hands into his pockets and began the trek towards the Palace with a sigh of resignation. The brief note of happiness when he�d mentioned that Hana had resumed calling him �Starrk-ji� disappeared under a wave of depression as well as disgruntled resignation. She assumed the former was in response to Ajuga�s abduction, but had no explanation for the latter.

�I am getting too damned familiar with this walk.�

The irked way he muttered this made Harribel wonder if he�d been there for any reasons other than obtaining their patrol schedules from Kami. His entire posture reeked of a kind of sullenness that would have looked more appropriate on Grimmjow than on Starrk. Was living in such close proximity to the Sixth rubbing off on him? She certainly didn�t think his irritation was directed at her, per say, but she decided to word what she was about to ask in the most polite manner possible.

�What�s the issue, Tia? This about Hana, or something else?�

Well, she thought, it wasn�t as if Starrk wasn�t notorious for cutting through any gloss to get to the heart of the matter. Harribel kept her normally low voice just above a whisper, trusting that the First�s enhanced, Arrancar hearing would pick up on what she wanted to say over the sound of their footsteps on the paving stones. While there was little reason for prying ears to listen in on their conversation, experience had taught her it was best to keep the potential for others snooping to a minimum.

�A little of the first, but more the second, really. Grimmjow once came to me on behalf of Hana and his daughter. Today, I wanted to ask something similar of you.�

Starrk pulled a face at that.

�I don�t think I�ve got the energy to deal with one of your girls right now, Tia. I already have more women telling me what to do with myself than I can handle. A man can only take so much.�

Despite the annoyance in his voice, Harribel knew that he wouldn�t have traded his current life for anything. She was definitely more enamoured with the life she�d managed to carve out for herself here than the existence she�d endured in Hueco Mundo, even if their current ruler�s occasional actions left much to be desired. The blonde attempted to clear up the budding misunderstanding.

�I�m not asking you to take on any of them. I had hoped that you would accept my unborn child as your fraccion, as I have accepted Hana,� she finally said, in a voice that wasn�t quite as steady as she�d hoped it would be.

Starrk, eyes closed and frame swaying a little, came to a dead stop and, for a moment, Harribel thought he�d actually fallen asleep on his feet. Then she saw his gray eyes focus on her face and his mouth pop open. Astonishment fought briefly with lethargy for dominance as far as his expression went and eventually, astonishment won.

�You�re not kidding, are you?�

She shook her head again, the afternoon breeze playing with the tails of the long, golden hair she wore. The movement set the ornaments in them rattling against the fabric of her uniform.

�No, Unohana-san confirmed it while tending to Hana-chan. Like you, I�ve a patrol I cannot skip this evening, or I would be at Szayel�s Division right now, receiving his dubious attentions. I am concerned that Aizen will not take kindly to the prospect of losing a warrior of my calibre during this time of conflict and that he might order me to rid myself of��

Her words trailed off as she tried to spit out her greatest fear, that Aizen would renege on the promise he�d once made to her, that he would scuttle the carefully nurtured plans she�d made over the long years. Neither of them said anything until Harribel�s shoulders slumped a little and she looked away, lest he read the worry in her eyes. Asking for assistance went against every instinct she had. It was as good as an admission of weakness before a superior and Starrk could take the request in any way he chose. Despite this, she had forged ahead, trying to get as much of her explanation as she could out while they resumed walking.

�I want my child to take his or her first breath. I don�t want Aizen to snuff that out in the name of defending the Seireitei. By his own laws, no one can Claim or raise a hand against another�s fraccion. Please, Primera� you�re the only one I feel can trust in this��

The use of his formal title and her subservient stance conveyed the extent of her vulnerability and she hated it. It had been years since she�d stooped to begging for anything. The last man who had offered her help was now the one who potentially threatened the budding life within her. Dropping her normally implacable front had been incredibly hard to do. Swallowing her pride was difficult as well.

�There�s also Barragan Louisenbairn to consider. He�s already made one attempt on Ajuga��

�Okay.�

Now it was her turn to pause, wondering if she�d heard him correctly. He came to a stop a few yards in front of her and regarded her wearily.

�Okay?�

Starrk looked as if someone had just loaded a pack of mud bricks onto his back and told him to carry them up the side a very steep mountain. His reply almost sounded like a complaint, if it didn�t also contain a large amount of disgust, as if her reasons for making the request ought not to exist.

�A lot of people have been asking for my help of late. Now you want me to take on a cub that isn�t even born yet. It�s a strange entreaty, Tia Harribel. You have to admit that much.�

�But� but you will do it?� she pressed, and her hand involuntarily went to her belly.

Starrk�s half-lidded eyes followed her fingers, as if weighing whether or not the additional responsibility would be worth the loss of sleep. He finally heaved a deep sigh and folded his arms across his chest, mirroring her posture with a speculative gaze.

�You took on Hana, and she is family to me. I suppose I can do the same for you, with one condition,� Starrk warned, holding up one finger.

�What would that be?�

The scruffy Arrancar then launched into the longest explanation she�d ever heard out of him and it floored her that he managed to stay awake long enough to deliver it.

�Soi Fon. Ggio Vega�s mate. Barragan Claimed him a couple of weeks ago and he can�t refresh the woman�s Claim now. She�s not strong enough for me to Claim either, not without killing her. She�s Taichou-Class too, so Aizen won�t let her live as a fraccion either. None of my pack wants Yammy getting his hands on her and, let�s be honest here, she�s too flat-chested to interest Nnoitra. Ulquiorra is already mated and you know him� he doesn�t like getting involved in this kind of thing. Both of Grimmjow�s Claim slots are full. No point in even considering Szayel, since he has two pets too. Nnoitra�s fraccion and his mate are already adopting the cub after he or she is born. Ggio apparently asked them to do it before Barragan Claimed him and dumped his mate on the roadside.�

�I will take your cub as a fraccion, but in return I want you to Claim Soi Fon once the baby is born. You do right by your girls and your current pet, so I figure you�ll do right by her too.�

Harribel stared at him with growing horror and no small amount of disbelief as what had to be the abbreviated story worked its way out of his mouth. She hadn�t heard any of this gossip and wondered why Hana hadn�t mentioned the situation when she�d visited in the week between returning home and yesterday�s abduction. The whole thing made no sense to her. Barragan�s actions were particularly bewildering. He�d spent all of those years chasing after her and her girls, to either keep them for his own uses or to hand out as breed-able trinkets to his most fervent supporters. The image of a particularly nasty, hammer-headed Adjuchas came to mind and she pushed it away before it sickened her. Yet he chose to toss away a female laden with one of his own fraccion�s cub in the hopes that their overlord would kill her once the Claim around her faded. Such an action went against everything a pack leader stood for and Harribel decided that the Second had finally lost what little mind he had left along with his worthless crown.

�Why would he do such a thing?�

Starrk tore his eyes away from her confused ones and stared up at the blue sky overhead, as if the situation puzzled him as well. He then �hmphed� and scratched his side, turning on his heel and kept walking reluctantly towards Aizen�s lair. Harribel had to hurry and catch up with him.

�I don�t know, unless he was scared of losing the only follower he has left. I don�t think he could compete with a cub and a mate as far as Ggio�s loyalty was concerned, so he took them out of the running. Stupid move on his part.�

�But, Aizen-Kami wouldn�t kill her before...�

She had to stop when he gave her a pitying look and his lips thinned in displeasure.

�You ask that question right after begging me for protection for your own cub?�

Bitterness leavened his words and Harribel understood that Barragan�s former pet might not live to give birth, unless one of the other Espada took her in, courtesy of Aizen�s edicts. Starrk was also right in that the small Shinigami�s options were limited. Unless, of course, Harribel chose to meet the condition that Starrk set for her and filled her second Claim allotment with the ex-Taichou.

A decade prior, she wouldn�t have hesitated to give Starrk her assent. She would have done it, mostly to spite the Second and spit in his wrinkled, repugnant face. Toshiro�s opinion would have mattered little; he�d been young and his control over the vast reserves of power within him incomplete. Harribel had had a firm grip on him and had been clearly the one in control of both his person. As the undisputed leader of her household, it would have been her decision and hers alone.

Now she wondered how Toshiro would take it if she came home with one small, angry-looking woman in tow and told him that she was taking the woman to bed with her, with the intent to Claim her. Would he accept it, as he accepted the fact that she partook of her girls, or would he become jealous and angry, fearing that this Soi Fon would replace him? She would be saving the life of a new mother, protecting a vulnerable female in much the same way Hana had joined her household. Bringing in another pet to her pack might damage something she�d come to rely upon, and Harribel wanted nothing eating at its foundations, especially now that she was pregnant. Her answer stuck to her tongue, wanting to leave her lips and unable to do so.

�Karin-chan was going to ask you, but she�s got other things on her mind right now,� Starrk added, reaching up and scratching the thin goatee on his chin.

That was true enough. The human woman had been utterly shattered at hearing the Swarm had carried her daughter away. Harribel also suspected the gloom that clung to the First�s male half hadn�t just been for Hana. Ajuga had been dear to him as well, if the two girls� stories around her dinner table were even half-true.

�I see.�

The Third knew it was a poor excuse for a response before she said it. Starrk took in the uncertainty emanating from her with regard to his bargain and shrugged in a �take it or leave it� way.

�Give the woman a home, and I will do my best to see that Aizen, or Barragan since you brought him up too, thinks twice about messing with a fraccion of mine. My guess is that, aside from the Second himself, she was the strongest of his pack, even if she hated his guts. Trouble is, Tia, she can�t stay with me indefinitely.�

When she didn�t speak, torn between the desperate urge to say �yes� and help a fellow woman in need and her worry about the repercussions with Toshiro if she did so, his usual indolent expression returned.

�Of course, you might want to let your pet know about it. Or should I call him your mate now? You�re carrying his cub after all. You can give me your answer later, after you�ve talked it over with him. There is still time after all.�

She�d nodded in agreement, feeling some of the weight she�d felt lift from her shoulders. At least Starrk didn�t expect a reply right here and now. She was a little surprised he had known the source of her hesitation, but she should have expected it. Starrk was lazy, but he was also intelligent, as well as dangerously perceptive.

They said nothing during the rest of the walk to the Palace. Aizen had given her the route she was to patrol after listening to Starrk�s thoroughly bland report. Harribel hadn�t missed the subtle change in Starrk�s posture as he did so. His shoulders stiffened and while he appeared cloaked in boredom, she could detect a faint whiff of dislike as those gray eyes took in Aizen�s figure. The reason for the downturn in his attitude remained an enigma, as Starrk left immediately afterward, saying nothing to her on the way out. The male half of the First wasn�t the confrontational sort, nor was he the kind of Arrancar to protest something aloud that didn�t affect him directly. Ergo, whatever had caused it had probably come about both recently and somehow involved the First�s extensive pack. Maybe Kami�s unwillingness to spend an adequate amount of time searching for Ajuga and Diaemus had something to do with it. If that was it, Harribel was inclined to agree with the First.

Aizen, for his part, seemed preoccupied and spared little attention for them. Instead, he had his eyes glued to the contents of a thick report. Frowning down at the pages, he absently reached over and handed her a folded sheet of paper, which contained her route and the name of the Shinigami partnered with her that night. She�d bowed low before she left his presence, grateful that he�d paid her little heed.

He�d know about her condition soon enough, however. That thought added some speed to her heels as she all but fled the Palace grounds.

Starrk had been right. Harribel hadn�t been thinking of Barragan when she�d asked him for his help in protecting her unborn cub.

Merry Christmas All!! Thank you all so much for the reviews and I hope you get good presents this year.

Kain: Not all Arrancar have a Claim. Harribel�s fraccion are an example of three that don�t. I would estimate there are about 70-80 Arrancar kicking around. She asked for their Masters to be present so she could observe their reactions and intervene if required. The Claimers would feel the rush of emotion from the Claimed and she didn�t want another �Nnoitra incident.� Hence why she spoke to each couple personally. It�s not as if the Claimed woman could hide the news either, their Masters could just force them to tell them what had them in such an emotional crux earlier in the day. Unohana, both as Aizen�s wife and due to her own strengths, has a fair amount of power and weight behind her words.

Karmira: Aww, thanks. I wish more people would review. Black Fox and I put a large amount of work into this story, and yet it receives far less attention than the large slew of poorly written Grimm/Ichi ficts. A good number of those are really, really bad and I have no idea how in the hell they garner so much attention. There have been a good number of time I have almost just thrown up my hands and said: forget it. Why should I waste so much time into this if so few people are going to bother with it?
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
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Prize of Victory 2