Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

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
Chapter List
- 44
- 45
- 46
Note: as with most material covering Hallibel and Toshiro, Black Fox wrote most of the next few chapters.

Prisoner�s DilemmaThe Last to Know

She returned to her den following her initial examination at Szayel�s Division, an appointment that had gone on much longer than she had foreseen. Her arms were laden with food packages from one of her fraccions� favourite eateries and one of the sweet shops she knew Toshiro frequented. Harribel arrived home much later than she anticipated.

Unfortunately, the Third Espada also walked in on a murder-about-to-happen.

The first thing she saw once she made it past the front gate was a Shinigami with the insignia of the 4^th Division on his arm dangling in Mila Rose�s left-hand grip. Her tallest, strongest follower had her right fist drawn back, poised to send Unohana�s underling into next week, while Apache and Sung Sun sported identically vicious expressions on their faces.

�How DARE you order us to undergo such a thing! Our WORD should be enough, you slimy little�� she�d heard Mila Rose roar before Harribel decided that the death of a 4^th Division healer wouldn�t do her any favours in Unohana�s eyes.

�Girls, I�m home. Please put him down and help me with these packages.�

She added a flare of her reiatsu to her calmly uttered order and the effect was instantaneous. The Shinigami�s eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp. Apache and Sung Sun were at her elbows in a heartbeat, grabbing the bags and containers and hustling them into the house with exclamations of pleasure and surprise. Mila Rose dropped the temporarily stunned Shinigami, but remained where she was, growling at him. Harribel noticed the medical kit lying discarded on the front walkway and casually made her way to the seething lioness�s side.

�What seems to be the problem?�

The healer came to, curled on his side where he�d landed and feebly tried to crawl over to his kit. Harribel placed a hand on her fraccion�s shoulder to keep her from trying to prevent its retrieval. Mila Rose�s answer all but dripped with outrage.

�He said we have to undergo a PREGNANCY test of all things! Why? The only male in this house is Toshiro and we haven�t touched him since you said he was off-limits! We�d never let some disgusting Numeros put his� his� thing in us and there aren�t any untaken Shinigami worth having!�

Harribel sighed and her fingertips found her forehead. She�d apparently gotten here just in time. Reaching down, she offered a hand up to the terrified 4^th Division member. He eyed it as if her hand might bite him, and then gingerly took it. Once he was on his feet, she could see him trying to gauge the distance between her and the front gate, calculating just how far he had to run to make a break for it.

She couldn�t help the second, weary-sounding sigh that escaped her. It had been a long, emotionally and physically draining day and it apparently wasn�t over yet.

�Mila Rose, go fetch your �sisters.� I know what this is about and the order comes directly from Kami�s wife. I do not want to run afoul of her. Consider it an order from me if you must.�

The dusky woman gawked at her for moment before she disappeared with a �huff�. She returned a few moments later with her two, equally irritated compatriots. The three stood grumpily to one side, while Harribel gave them a stern look. She rarely had to discipline them, but they�d almost done something that would have had dire repercussions, all due to an inadvertent stab to her girls� collective self-esteem. The ruffled Shinigami went about each blood draw with surprisingly steady hands and a Kido-infused needle, but didn�t linger once he�d finished and the vials labeled with her fraccion�s names. Mila Rose rubbed at her inner elbow afterwards, unable to contain her anger at what she considered a personal attack on the part of someone much lower in rank.

�Why would they do something like that?� she snapped, frustrated at having to go along with the tests.

Harribel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, happy to have averted a potential catastrophe. She would have to send Mila Rose over to the 4^th Division tomorrow, to apologize to Unohana-Taichou for her short-tempered behaviour towards a minion just trying to carry out an instruction.

�Girls, come inside. We have important things to discuss,� she said quietly and turned on her heel, making for the kitchen and the stack of take-out bags.

She only had to reach for one of the bags before Apache whisked it out of her hands and Sung Sun opened a cupboard to fetch the dishes, disappearing into the dining room with a stack of plates and bowls. Mila Rose, still furious and muttering about �stupid Shinigami healers shoving their noses where they weren�t wanted,� turned on the stove and heated water for their evening tea. A glance at the clock told Harribel it was nearly time for Toshiro to leave the office.

Unfortunately, what she could feel through her Claim on him told her otherwise. To the best of her knowledge, Hana was at home recuperating, leaving Toshiro to deal with a backlog of paperwork. The frustration and occasional bursts of anger that flared as someone else brought him yet another problem to fix hadn�t helped her today. Therefore, it wasn�t much of a surprise when one of the black butterflies the Shinigami normally used to send messages between Divisions fluttered through the still-open doorway.

The short missive, letting Harribel know he was going to be late again, left her with mixed feelings. She�d known about Aizen�s demands for each Division�s bookkeeping at the beginning of the month, but she hadn�t realized just how much Hana�s labour on those accounting books had helped Toshiro. Her diligence had freed him up to deal with the many other important aspects of his work. Her news would have to wait a few hours longer, which deeply disappointed her. She let the creature go and slid the door closed behind it.

To her chagrin, the scene she�d run across upon her return meant that she�d have to inform her girls of her situation now, or at least, what her agreement with Szayel allowed her to tell them. It was the deciding factor in her choice to give them the heavily edited version of her visit with the Seventh and with Unohana. At least telling them a few hours before she could finally let Toshiro know they�d succeeded couldn�t hurt, especially if she made it clear to them they needed to keep their mouths shut about it until she had a chance to speak with him. As for the agreement with Starrk and the possibility of Claiming Barragan�s former pet� no, that was too much for her to reveal now, and too sensitive.

In many ways, revealing her pregnancy to her girls over dinner was the easiest part of her day. She told them after they parceled out the food, reserving Toshiro�s portion and the bag of sweets for later and the result was lukewarm food all around as pandemonium engulfed the dining room. Three pairs of arms intent on bestowing three simultaneously astonished and joyful embraces accosted her along with a thousand questions.

It was a balm of sorts on her raw nerves, after dealing with Szayel and his horrid-but-effective recruitment methods. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that they were back in Hueco Mundo and it was just the four of them once more. Their enthusiasm was genuine and none of them had the kind of hidden agendas, or the talent for subterfuge of those she�d spent time with earlier. Their happiness for her, for the impending addition to their pack knew no bounds and Harribel did her best to answer every query they tossed at her, interrupted only by frequent squeals of unbridled delight. Of course, all of them wanted to care for the cub once he or she was born and that led them off on a tangential argument as to which one of them was more suited for the honour of nanny duty, which grew more heated as the meal went on. Of course, leave it to Sung Sun to say something that made her choke on the last of her fish, though she was able to hide the grimace that followed.

�Oh, maybe we could just ask Szayel for his pet! You�ve seen how good he is with Vindula and Abisara! They�re almost old enough not to need him anymore. We could keep him between the three of us!� she�d suggested slyly, with a flutter of her lashes and her other fraccion gave each other a covetous look that told Harribel this wasn�t the first time they�d heard the idea and that they weren�t actually against it.

�No,� she�d said gently but resolutely, crushing the notion before it could find a real home in their heads. �You may ask him for advice, but he�s not an option.�

�His mate would object to that. I�ve no desire to quarrel with the former Third. There are less painful ways of committing suicide,� she thought with an inward cringe.

No, bringing Abarai into her household and letting her girls take turns Claiming him was the last thing she wanted to contemplate. Furthermore, neither he nor Szayel would be interested in such an arrangement. Szayel wasn�t open to giving up his children�s best chance at survival if the scheme she�d listened to in the bowels of Szayel�s Division went awry. For now, Abarai remained devoted to both Szayel�s twins and to her predecessor. Contemplating that particular discussion soured her mood and she had to work to keep a smile firmly planted on her face. Harribel quickly seized on Mila Rose�s near gutting of the visiting healer as a means of changing the topic. She patiently informed them of what she suspected, thanks to Szayel�s penchant for reasoning aloud, was going on with the rest of the Numeros. Her tall fraccion blushed a little at her overreaction, but admitted she�d only grown angry when the 4^th Division Shinigami had let slip the tests� purpose.

Harribel set her bowl down and made certain that she had her girls� attention before she continued.

�So you see, I believe that they�re testing every female Arrancar, whether she has a Claimed male or not. Unohana-Taichou merely wants to help the women among the Arrancar forces. This pregnancy has a number of complicating factors and I may require her help. Mila Rose, you will go to the 4^th Division tomorrow and apologize to Unohana-Taichou for your treatment of her officer. The healers are overtaxed as it is and I�m sure Kami�s wife would be upset if one of her needed subordinates was too beaten up to perform his duties.�

Her dusky-skinned follower, cheeks flaming, bowed her head and said �Yes Harribel-sama. I�m sorry.�

Her eyes slid to the other two, who seemed to be having a hard time suppressing titters at Mila Rose�s punishment. Their amusement proved short-lived, thanks to Harribel�s next words.

�You two will accompany her and unless the three of you are needed on the battlefield tomorrow, the three of you will assist Unohana-Taichou with whatever chores she deems necessary.�

That didn�t appear to sit well with them, dampening the mood and she turned her teacup around in her hands before drinking the last of it.

�I understand why you were angry, but you three must consider the long view in this situation. Think of this as a way of ingratiating ourselves with one who will help bring our pack�s cub safely into the world. Much like taking care of Hana endears us to the First, so this will help soothe any ruffled feathers with the 4^th Division,� she said, hoping they understood that maintaining good relations with Unohana and her healers was important, especially if Szayel�s plot succeeded. She and her girls would need every ally they could find if it did.

�Yes, Mistress�� they�d chorused and that led to another round of giggling and the airing of competing plans for a nursery, before Mila Rose and Sung Sun excused themselves and cleared the table, while Apache made for the sink to run hot water.

The usual bickering regarding dish duties ensued. Thankfully, tonight�s conversation had been free of any outright fights. Her girls were still reeling from what had happened to Ajuga and what had nearly happened to Hana. Harribel decided that their relatively snark-free behaviour this evening was as much due to her newest fraccion�s absence from the table as her announcement.

That gave her an idea and she quickly moved to the doorway to the kitchen, interrupting Apache and Mila Rose in mid-snarl over who was going to dry. Sung Sun, stuck with disposing of the takeout containers, saw her first and bowed, casting a disapproving glare at the other two.

�I have an important job for all of you this evening. I need you to go to the Ukitake Estate.�

�Of course, Mistress. May we ask what it is?�

Sung Sun turned her lavender eyes on her mistress and Harribel gave the three of them a look that all but ordered them to commit what she was about to say to memory.

�I need you to do three things for me. The first, if Starrk and Ise-Taichou permit it, is to see if Hana is well enough for visitors. I�m sure she�d be glad to see you if she is. Unohana-san will have allowed her to return home today. I�d like you to give her the news regarding my cub yourselves, and let her know that I will be by tomorrow to see her at the hour of her choosing.�

�I�m sure she�ll be thrilled to hear everything about it!� Apache replied, and then bit her lip, as if considering something. �But she�s probably torn up about Ajuga� how happy can she really get?�

It was as if someone had snuffed out the candle providing the only light in the room. Her girls� faces grew glum and for a minute, the temptation to let them know that Ajuga was most likely still alive and being held hostage to ensure her mother made good on a promise to the enemy was almost too great. Then she clamped down on the urge to share her newfound knowledge, strangling it before the words could form on her tongue.

�All the better to give her what happy news we can,� she answered firmly and frowned at them. They immediately stood at attention, waiting for her to add to their task list. �I also need you to deliver a message to Starrk himself, and no other, not even Lilinette.�

They shared a confused look between them, but agreed when she folded her arms beneath her breasts and favoured them with her best, no-nonsense expression.

�You must tell him that I accept his terms. I will be by tomorrow to discuss the particulars with him at his and Lilinette�s convenience. Come back with a time that works for them and I will make the time to meet him when and where he wishes.�

�Mistress� what�s wrong? Is there something we should know?� Mila Rose inquired, the sudden worry in her voice making Harribel want to clench her fists.

�I wish I could answer that truthfully,� she inwardly sighed and settled for a shake of her head. �I need to speak to Toshiro this evening about a number of things. I�ll let you know everything later, once Starrk and I finalize the details.�

She hoped that Toshiro�s reaction to finding out she�d offered their unborn cub as a fraccion to the First Espada wouldn�t involve him casting a great deal of ice and snow at her in a rage. That led her to the last thing she needed them to do. Reaching into the pocket of her hakama, she�d pulled out a thin, white paper card with the name of Abarai�s preferred tailor in the garment markets, the one who routinely altered Vindula�s clothes to accommodate the little girl�s wings.

�The hour is not yet too late and I would like you to see to this first. Take one of my spare jackets and have this seamstress use it to design some new pieces for my wardrobe that will provide better� coverage and support. My mask�s new configuration requires a few adjustments in that department,� she sighed regretfully, then chuckled. �It would appear that I must now rely on cloth and bindings.�

Sung Sun took it and carefully tucked it away. She bowed, her smile hidden by her sleeve, with the other two following suit.

�Consider it done, Mistress. Let�s go, ladies! I can�t wait to tell Hana!� she exclaimed and Apache dashed to raid Harribel�s wardrobe. The three blustered out of the door soon after, intent on their mission and leaving their Espada alone with her turbulent thoughts.

On her own for the first time that day, she proceeded to fill the kettle, intent on heating more water. Retrieving the report Szayel had given her from the dining room, Harribel placed it in the middle of the kitchen table, where it sat as a reminder of why she�d signed on to Szayel and Karin�s insane blueprint for a revolution. Going about the task of making something as simple and as domestic as a pot of tea gave her hands something to do and kept them from shaking. Szayel had forbidden her any alcohol for the foreseeable future and warned her about ingesting stimulants stronger than green tea. He hadn�t been very clear on what the upper limits on the latter were though, so she had no idea how many cups that might mean.

Tea had never really struck her as being a �calming� drink, and yet it was all she had to try to quell her nervousness about what the next hour might bring.

The first cup at least served its purpose in helping her clear her head and sort out the various bits of madness she�d been privy to while at the Science and Research Division. She wasn�t sure she had any right to be angry with Grimmjow for withholding the knowledge of Hana and Ajuga�s Royal Blood from her when he�d asked her to take them as fraccion. She�d done something similar with her own cub and Starrk, minus the secrets. Toshiro�s ancestry was free of any noble influences, for which she was grateful. No, she acknowledged, Grimmjow had done what any worried father would and tried to put as many layers of protection between �his� cubs and the unseen dangers their bloodlines posed.

�What a mess,� she thought and took a sip, trying to determine what she ought to do with her newfound understanding of just how much danger surrounded her pack.

If the assassination attempt failed, as she feared it might, Toshiro and her girls could rightly claim ignorance of the conspiracy. All of Aizen�s wrath would fall on her shoulders and her shoulders alone� in theory. In reality, she couldn�t see Aizen sparing any of them in an effort to root out all of the bits of so-called chaos in his thrice-cursed �empire.� Hana�s position as her fraccion, if Aizen discovered Royal Blood actually flowed through the girl�s veins, would damn all of them.

If she�d had that knowledge before Grimmjow came to her, would she still have made the offer to either girl? As much as she wanted to say �no,� Harribel knew herself too well. Hana�s addition to her pack had added a much-needed element of calm to her household and she would need that calm in the months to come.

If Grimmjow, Starrk, Szayel and whoever else they�d convinced to join them succeeded, if they rid themselves of Aizen and allowed Karin to take her rightful place in the Royal Realm, they would need Hana to intercede on their behalf with the Shinigami population. To the best of her knowledge, none of her girls had been involved in the rampaging that many of the other Arrancar had done. Their current domicile had been abandoned by its owners when Mila Rose found it and Harribel�s hands were clean in that respect. Unfortunately, none of that would make a difference in the face of a mob bent on revenge.

She would need both Hana and Toshiro to speak for them, to allow her pack to remain in this world once they�d disposed of the controlling power that was Aizen. Depending on one�s perspective of the current situation, they had relatively little time to plan the tyrannicide in a way that would guarantee the conspirators� own safety and that of their respective packs.

At least there had been one, semi-satisfying portion of the meeting, involving the mystery surrounding Szayel�s pet. The disparity between the strength of the Claim she�d seen on him versus the actual amount of power she estimated Szayel could spare for a Claim had bothered her from the time she�d seen the tattooed Shinigami restored and she wanted an answer from the scientist that didn�t involve a lot of nonsense or dissembling. Harribel bit her lip, recalling the episode�

When she saw the redhead waiting for them in the large, subterranean room, she stalked up to him and immediately pushed the collar of his black uniform and his under-kosode aside, to expose his shoulders. Before either Abarai or Szayel could open their mouths to protest, she walked around Szayel�s errand boy, even brushing aside the wild fall of hair that concealed the back of his neck. When she was done with her examination and failed to find what she was looking for, Harribel demanded that Szayel make good on the deal they�d come to upstairs.

The blond then looked up at Abarai, giving him an appraising look in the same manner one might size up a prize stallion and asked, �Which one of our women holds his Claim?�

If the mix of shock, chagrin and worry on their faces did not confirm her suspicions, the lack of a recent Claiming scar on Abarai�s person would have been the clincher. She eyed Szayel coolly as she proceeded to point out that the only way someone of Abarai�s strength could remain Claimed by someone of his rank and with his cracked mask would be if Szayel partook of him on a very regular basis. Abarai hadn�t been able to keep the disgust at that idea off of his face and Szayel, after staring at her with newfound respect, pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something about having overlooked that part of the ruse. A female Arrancar left no scars while Claiming a male for herself, as they poured their energies into the male via their kiss during the act, unless that female was careless and damaged the male with her claws. Szayel seemed to have forgotten that little tidbit of information. The mistake was uncharacteristic and they both knew it.

She decided to do the Seventh a favour, in exchange for what he�d put her through in the examination room.

Harribel smiled slightly and used Sonido to get behind Abarai�s left shoulder, before he could turn to stop her. She then sank her teeth into the old, long-healed scar there. Szayel�s jaw dropped, Abarai yelped in pain and surprise, clutching at his shoulder and Harribel delicately wiped away the trace of blood at the corner of her lips with her pinkie finger.

Her girls� sudden interest in �sharing� Abarai between them made sense once she tasted a tiny sample of the power within him. It was a plan doomed to fail, but she could see the allure from their point of view. The only real mystery remaining was the woman�s identity and Harribel was at a loss as to who else might have the strength to keep Abarai as tightly Claimed as the vibrant energy surrounding him suggested.

�That will throw off anyone who sees him minus the top of his uniform. You mentioned that Aizen whipped him once, instead of your daughter, did you not? I�m surprised he didn�t notice the lack of a Claiming mark,� she pointed out.

Szayel�s expression had shifted from sheepish to a sort of sickly recognition of a major screw-up. In Szayel�s defence, the number of females among the Arrancar population was much smaller than the number of males. While she knew Szayel understood the mechanics, Harribel realized that the scientist, usually confined to his lab, had failed to make the connection between Abarai�s lack of scars and the message that sent to the rest of the Arrancar. The Shinigami glared at her for a few minutes, pressing down on the bite to staunch the bleeding, but smartly backed down. She was grateful for that; the reiatsu she�d felt pulsing beneath her mouth warned her that Abarai was far stronger than he appeared. Szayel began muttering something about needing more sleep and how this sort of thing would never have happened in Hueco Mundo and Harribel decided that if she wanted an answer, she had only one other option. She turned to Abarai.

�Now why don�t you give me the name of the woman who has Claimed a Taichou-class Shinigami for herself and isn�t bragging about such an accomplishment to the rest of us?� she demanded crisply, staring down the redhead...

Part of her now regretted asking this, but as Szayel had put it earlier, it wasn�t Abarai�s fault that she didn�t like his response. At least he�d kept his voice steady as he revealed his Mistress�s identity and when she stepped back and considered it, the answer should have been obvious. Harribel was, by far, the strongest female Arrancar in the Seireitei. The others, including her girls, were incapable of subduing someone of Abarai Renji�s strength for long. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck must have jumped at the chance to secure such a trophy for herself. From the way Abarai spoke of her, the feeling was more than mutual.

Perhaps Szayel�s current lair wasn�t all that different from his old one in Las Noches. Layers upon layers of secrets simmered within it and most of those, if dragged out into the light, might explode in one�s face if one got too close. The Seventh Espada, having gone from the Aspect of Death by Madness to Death by Intoxication, had a lively batch of combustible, poisonous little endeavours brewing, not the least of which was the shell game involving who held whose Claim in Starrk�s household.

This led to more revelations about the lynchpin at the center of the entire muddle.

Harribel would have scoffed at the idea of a human woman casting a Claim if anyone had proposed the idea to her a mere three days ago. Now, it explained so very much about Grimmjow�s gradual change of behaviour over the years, as well as Szayel�s devotion to his Mistress and Karin�s heavy involvement with the Science and Research Division�s workings. That had been less about Ajuga than it had been about covering her tracks and keeping the secret about her Royal lineage from Aizen. It also explained the changes in Szayel, things that couldn�t be pinned on Aizen�s relentless abuse, Unohana�s strictures, the fact he�d managed to find a weirdly compatible and devoted mate in Kurotsuchi Nemu or fatherhood.

Karin and Grimmjow had a true Mating Claim upon one another and she held an additional Claim upon one of the trickiest, sneakiest and most underhanded Arrancar ever to stride the Hueco Mundo�s sands. The respect she had for Karin had increased exponentially. The woman had a right to the Royal Throne, as did Ajuga. Hana did as well through her father, the late Kyoraku Shunsui and Szayel�s warning about how Hana�s lineage endangered Harribel�s pack hadn�t been an exaggeration.

It also didn�t escape Harribel that the den Barragan had picked out for himself, one complete with servants and lush grounds, rightfully belonged to the young Shinigami. If Hana wished to reclaim her family�s domicile from Harribel�s long-time nemesis, the Third would happily help her newest fraccion with that little task. Barragan�s foolish actions with regard to Ggio Vega�s pregnant mate had sealed his fate as far as she was concerned and, rebellion or not, the moment Aizen�s head rolled, Harribel would make sure that Barragan�s skull bounced right behind it.

Szayel could make all of the plans he liked and she would support him. However, the Second Espada�s time was limited, whether the old bastard knew it or not. Harribel had no doubt that Barragan�s cast-off pet would have a great deal in common with her when it came to that rancid walking corpse. She�d wanted to give her girls another task, to speak with the Shinigami while they were at Starrk�s den, but she�d already given them enough to do this evening and as much as she loved each of them, they were easily distracted. It would be best if she assessed this Soi Fon on her own, or spoke with Toshiro.

That was going to be an awkward talk, if her instincts were correct. Because she�d given her word to Szayel, letting Toshiro in on everything that she�d had to sort out today wasn�t going to be possible, or advisable. It troubled her that Szayel had insisted her pet remain in the dark about their planned assassination, mostly because he�d also been right about her shift in the way she�d come to think of him in the last few years.

Harribel brought her teacup to her lips once more. Szayel�s treachery might be extensive, but he�d promised to deliver a final report on her behalf to Aizen, one that would make him hesitant to interfere with her unborn cub. She could bring in Starrk if the report wasn�t enough. She�d done everything she�d done today, including throwing in her lot with Szayel�s rebels, in order to secure her pack�s safety and the safety of her and Toshiro�s cub.

So why, she wondered, did she feel as if she was treading on the thinnest of ice for making these decisions without consulting him? His opinion in this ought not to matter, but the dread in her gut at his possible reaction said otherwise.

The blond, on impulse, stood up to reach for the covered plates and bowls holding Toshiro�s dinner before she realized that the sudden hunger that bloomed within her wasn�t hers. Tiredness and frustration followed closely on its heels. The front door opened and she heard the sound of one extremely tired Taichou divesting himself of his haori and his scarf in the foyer. Rather than have him wandering the house looking for her, she pulled gently on their Claim, willing his footsteps towards the kitchen.

He entered cautiously, looking this way and that, probably for her girls. She supposed his nervousness was her fault, for those early years when she�d been too lenient with them as far as their treatment of him. He�d been through one ambush too many.

Pulling some clean chopsticks and a spoon from one of the drawers, she turned to face him and placed his cold meal on the table and the utensils next to it. She didn�t need the Claim to tell her that, without Hana to remind him to eat, her young Taichou had probably spent his entire day handling problems around the 3^rd Division without breaking for a meal. There were still greyish-purple shadows underneath his eyes and if she stayed quiet, she could almost hear his empty stomach complaining. When turquoise orbs went immediately to the spread on the table, as well as the candy bag, rather than lingering on her, she also had to remind herself of the old adage that the shortest route to a man�s heart was through his stomach.

�Eat first. I�ve sent my girls on an errand for this evening. We�ll talk afterwards.�

She didn�t need to tell him twice. Instead, she poured hot water over the tea leaves in the bottom of a cup that matched hers while he deftly heated the reserved meal with Kido. When steam began rising from the food beneath his fingers, Toshiro sighed and did his best to make every morsel in front of him disappear. For someone with such strong reiatsu, putting off rest and meals for too many days in a row was dangerous. It had been over ninety-six hours since the last attack and they couldn�t expect this lull to last much longer.

Thankfully, the hunger afflicting both of them receded as he devoured it all, washing it down with at least three cups of tea. She also saw him eyeing the bag of candy on the kitchen counter, but he didn�t immediately get up and retrieve it. Rather, he pushed the dishes he�d all but licked clean aside and gave her an intent look.

�How is Hana?� he asked, a question she found understandable. She had more free time than he did and had assumed that she would have dropped in on the girl at some point.

�I have not seen her today,� she admitted and when he frowned, quickly added, �I sent my girls to visit her this evening, among other things.�

That appeared to mollify Toshiro a little and he stared down at a spot on the table once occupied by his plate.

�Hmm. Ise-Taichou stopped by at noon, saying she and Lilinette were going to bring her back home today. I�m going to hold off sending the accounting paperwork to her until I�m sure there�s no trace of her head injury.�

�I think that�s wise,� Harribel replied, knowing she was stalling.

His exhaustion, held at bay by hunger, was catching up with him and she was sorely tempted just to let him get the sleep he needed, as she�d done the night before. However, she�d put it off one night and this was news that wouldn�t keep.

�On top of everything else, my 11th Seat is pregnant.�

He said this while reaching up and massaging his temples and not quite managing to keep his irritation in check, which made Harribel pause. He took her silence as permission to provide an explanation.

�I guess she�s going by her Master�s last name now, Lloydght, but Michiko informed me that she�s due in about six months or so and asked to be transferred to the Kido Corps. Then she got a bout of �afternoon� sickness in the middle of gushing about how happy she was, how much she loved her �mate� and tossed her cookies in my wastepaper basket. I�m beginning to pity my Fukutaichou, since I had to leave him with clean-up duty while I oversaw my Sixth and Eighth Seat and the accounting reports.�

Toshiro fixed her with a look that spoke of a man simply fed up with his current lot.

�Thank Kami Hana had the majority of it done, because if I left it up to those two, I�d be swimming in unpaid bills and receipts. Maybe I can justify taking money from the Division budget to pay Orihime to completely heal my 7^th Seat,� he grumbled. �Two days without her and the paperwork is in shambles.�

Harribel wasn�t sure if he was upset over the vomiting, Hana�s absence, the accounting reports or the fact he would have to take one of his best Kido practitioners off of the front lines at a time when he was already an officer short. From the percolating mixture of irritability, fatigue and exasperation, it might have been a bit of each. Whatever the cause, he didn�t seem to be in the best of moods.

�Thank you for dinner, Tia. I appreciate it, believe me.�

�You failed to eat lunch again, didn�t you?� she guessed and from the guilty look that crossed his face, she knew she was right.

�There wasn�t much time today. We finally had a few hours to start restocking the Division�s supplies and two teams came back in from the Living World. Both required debriefing, as they ran into some� ugly difficulties while they were there.�

His voice held an ominous note and with his forehead resting on his intertwined fingers, she could tell that �ugly� probably didn�t really do whatever the unseated Shinigami encountered justice.

�Like what?�

He let out a strained sign.

�There�s been another earthquake. This one was big and the number of Pluses they had to process when the resulting tsunamis hit��

�More than one?�

His head moved in what she presumed was another nod.

�Many, many more. The earthquake levelled buildings up and down the north-eastern coast of Japan�s largest island. About twenty minutes later, the tsunami hit and destroyed whatever was still standing for a ten-mile span inland. It didn�t help that the roads were nearly impassable. Hard to get emergency vehicles into an area under two-and-a-half feet of snow. It�s an early spring here, but it�s been nothing but blizzards for months in the Living World, or at least, in that part of the globe.�

She forgot, for a moment, that the person telling her this was someone who adored cold weather, as he didn�t sound particularly happy about that much snow.

�That�s��

�Unnatural. Incredibly unnatural. I won�t bore you with what happened to the second team, save to say that the tsunami also hit a group of islands halfway across the Pacific Ocean and did the same thing along their shores. The damage wouldn�t have been as bad if the volcanic eruption occurring on the main island didn�t triple in its severity within hours of the wave coming ashore. The report mentioned that citizens were evacuating as quickly as they could, mostly because of the poisonous gasses and the excessive lava flows.�

He folded his arms on the table, slumping forward. Harribel tried to picture the disasters he described with such gloom and had to sit back as she realized what such a bizarre set of occurrences meant.

�The Realms are slipping out of balance again.�

It was a statement on her part, rather than a question. He heaved another long sigh and then propped his chin on his forearms. The slouched posture, his scowl and the way his eyes drooped made him seem younger than she knew he was, the maturation he�d undergone in the last five years notwithstanding.

�Yes, thanks to the resumption of the Swarm attacks, we simply can�t keep up with the actual work of purification and performing konso. There aren�t enough of us and we lose more Shinigami to every damned insect attack. Either we can keep the Realms balanced or we can fight the Swarm. We can�t do both with the forces we have. Not if we have to waste time turning in meaningless paperwork or suffer physical consequences, courtesy of the First Division,� he snapped angrily and buried his face in his arms.

Then he groaned and ran his fingers through his messy, too-long hair.

�Sorry, Tia. Forget I said that. I just didn�t want Hana getting into trouble with Aizen because her accounting report wasn�t finished before the General injured her.�

She didn�t know what to say to the bitterness in his words and the fact that she�d been subject to similar, barely-contained anger from both Szayel and Abarai directed at Aizen didn�t make it any better. His day had been a disaster, from what she could feel and on any other evening, she would have told him to take a long hot bath and try to get some sleep. However, tonight wasn�t an ordinary evening and she had to find a way to tell him what he needed to know.

�Toshiro� I went to see Szayel today.�

�Has he found any sign of the children?� he asked hopefully, and then looked crestfallen when she shook her head.

�No, he said that wherever they are, they�re out of range of his sensors. They used up the time Kami allotted for a search, to no avail.�

�Shit�� he uttered, �� poor Orihime and Karin have to be nearly mad by now.�

Well, she thought, that was probably an understatement and only the knowledge that Szayel had shared with her about Ajuga�s probable survival, as a hostage to ensure Karin did what she said she would, kept her mouth shut.

�As much as I wish he�d found some trace of them, that wasn�t why I was there,� she explained and pushed the folder across the table. He gave her an odd look and eyed it suspiciously. When she didn�t react, he picked it up and opened it, taking in the sheaf of papers that greeted him.

Harribel knew she should have said something, anything to prepare him for what he was about to learn. Instead, she let Szayel�s pregnancy report, with its color photos, tables and graphs and official looking charts do the talking for her. It didn�t take terribly long for Toshiro to realize what he was reading. She knew the exact moment that understanding hit him, probably while he was on the page that contained the images of their cub, enmeshed in the protective reiryoku barrier.

While she was ready for the shock that thundered its way down the Claim to her, the actual amount of the emotion made her stifle a gasp. He kept reading, going over each bit of information within the file with eyes as large as the dinner plate he�d set to the side. The minutes dragged on, until she lost track of the amount of time he�d spent reading and rereading the papers. His silence disturbed her. Harribel had expected some kind of exclamation or perhaps some verbal indication of his thoughts regarding his future son or daughter. Was he happy about it, or displeased? She didn�t know because Toshiro was flabbergasted and there didn�t seem to be room in their Claim for anything else.

Eventually, he set down the file, his hands clenching into fists and he reached for his teacup. Its contents had gone cold, but he tossed back whatever it had left in it.

�There was a soup stain on one of the sheets. Who, exactly, has seen this report?�

A surprising amount of anger accompanied those words.

�The girls. I had to tell them.�

�I see. I presume that the Seventh Espada, Unohana-Taichou and Aizen know as well.�

�Is he angry about the pregnancy? He told me he would help me with this! Did he change his mind about a child?� She could almost feel the chill in his voice as frost on her skin.

�Yes, as well as Szayel�s pack and the First Espada��

Toshiro closed his eyes and looked as if he was barely hanging on to his temper. The Claim between them erupted with not only more anger, but with a great deal of hurt that smacked of deep disappointment.

�So I suppose you finally got around to telling me. So glad you could be bothered to inform your pet he�s going to be a father! How long have you known?� he demanded harshly.

She stood up and took a step back in astonishment at his reaction. How dare he talk that way, she seethed inwardly. He had no idea what she�d had to go through today, the things she�d had to agree to do! He had no right to act like this!

�Since yesterday. You know I had patrol duty in the evening, which meant I had to postpone my visit to Szayel�s Division until today. Both you and Apache were tired last night, so I decided to wait, until I had something substantive to show you.�

�Dammit, Tia, I should have been included in that little trip!�

�You have your duties�� she shot back and he bared his teeth at her, to her shock.

�I would have goddamned well made the time!� he swore, pushing up from the table. �And why the hell is the First Espada involved? What does he have to do with it?�

Harribel watched as he quickly rounded the table and advanced on her, the hurt at her decision to exclude him from things up until this point throbbing like an open wound. There was also the feeling that she�d betrayed him in some manner, though she didn�t understand why he would feel that way. She had a few seconds to consider using the Claim to force him to stop before a pair of hands clasped her wrists and she found herself pinned against the far kitchen wall by his body.

His eyes mirrored the indignant ache she felt through the Claim as he looked down at her and she wondered when he�d gained the extra few inches in height that allowed him to do so. She could feel his thumbs against the skin of her wrists, her accelerated pulse hammering under his fingers. The rest of him pressed against her, the fabric of his uniform scratching roughly against her bare belly and midriff. She had to work very hard for a few seconds to stay focused on his actions and angry words, rather than the way his frame moulded to hers, one of his feet stepping between her boots and forcing their hips into proximity.

�They, Toshiro. Lilinette is as much a part of the First as Starrk. They came to see Hana. I remained to speak with Starrk before we went to the Palace, as he had to check in and I needed to receive my assignment. I�ve asked him to take our cub as their fraccion.�

If she expected the answer to make sense, to get him to back down, she was mistaken. His grip on her wrists tightened and she found it difficult to think clearly, when she could feel his racing pulse through both sets of garments. Some instinct-driven portion of her brain was all for baring her throat and letting his latch his teeth just under her jaw, that the strength of the male against her was worthy of such an action. Most of the rest of her was all for taking him by the hair and reminding him of just who he was dealing with and of his place in her pack.

She was his Mistress and he was her pet�

� A pet that, from the horrific amount of pain that barrelled down to her from the link they shared, she�d just hurt very, very deeply.

�WHAT!?!? Why would you do something like that?�

An explanation� she needed an explanation, to appeal to his sense of reason.

�Because Aizen won�t be able to force me to rid myself of the cub if it�s already promised to and protected by an Espada!� she growled back before she tried to free her hands. �I may not be the only one of our women to conceive. Why would our ruler want to grant me leave to bear a child when he could study another, lesser Arrancar?�

�He�s never made such an order before�� he started, and Harribel�s razor-thin patience finally came to an end and snapped.

�None of the others who became pregnant were Espada! None of the others could hold their own against the Swarm as we do! I want this child Toshiro and I�ll do whatever I have to, to see that our cub has a chance!� she shouted and that was enough to get him to drop her wrists and move away, as if she�d somehow burned him. She immediately began rubbing her pulse points, the flesh a little numb. Her Hierro had prevented any bruises, but his invasion of her personal space left her rattled.

�And my opinion in all of this didn�t matter to you, did it?� came his resentful retort.

Before she could do or say anything else, her pet moved to the back door and opened it, allowing the chilly night air to invade the warm kitchen. Giving her one last, pained glance, he stepped over the threshold and slammed the door behind him.

The unhappiness he left in his wake, however, remained.
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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