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Safe in my Arms	By : ShadowedEcho Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3066 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, no money is being made by me, this was written purely for entertainment purposes

Chapter List
- 4
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- 6
A few days later Ichigo was in his room, alone with his children, the three little ones had rested up from the birth now. They were making their opinions known to their carrier, loudly, and all at once. They weren't hungry, he just fed them. They weren't cold, each baby was dressed in the clothes made for them, and swaddled in the quilts Tatsuki had worked hard on. They quieted if he held them, but he couldn't hold all three at once.
In short, Ichigo was panicking, and didn't know what to do. A knock came to his door, and Ichigo looked up to see who his savior was, only to see Ulquiorra peering inside his bright emerald eyes taking in the scene. "Please help me?" Ichigo pleaded, knowing who he was asking, but at his wits end with trying on his own. He had no idea where Grimmjow was.
Ulquiorra entered the room slowly, Ichigo was usually nervous around him, "What can I do?" It was better to let the Beta set the boundaries.
"They want held, I can't hold all three, can you hold one of them please?" Ichigo asked, glad Ulquiorra wasn't moving too quickly. He knew he needed help, but the instinctual drive to avoid Alphas other than his own was pulling at him, thankfully not as strongly as it had been the first few days.
Ulquiorra walked over to the bed, and carefully picked up Amon, holding the little boy securely. He swayed from side to side, and the tears slowly stopped flowing, Amon opened his eyes wide and Ulquiorra found himself shocked. "The sclera of his eyes are black," He commented while Ichigo worked to calm Tsume and Hikari, one child tucked under each arm.
Ichigo nodded, "They all have that. They get it from my Hollow. I have a feeling their eyes are going to be gold once the baby blue fades."
"Has Grimmjow seen this?" Ulquiorra wondered how much time the other alpha was spending with Ichigo.
"Yes, he has seen their eyes, he comes and goes pretty often I guess. He can't be here all the time though. Thank you for helping, it's difficult to handle all three at once." Ichigo was incredibly grateful to Ulquiorra, he hoped his children didn't all get the urge to be held at once very often.
"There hasn't been children around Las Noches before, and matings are few and far between in Heuco Mundo as a whole. You don't have to keep hiding them away. If Szayel succeeds we are going to have to learn to handle children." Ulquiorra responded, still observing the baby in his arms, taking in his tiny features, black hair, and oddly colored eyes.
Ichigo shook his head slowly, "It's not that simple. They are too young, my instincts scream at me whenever they are more than a few steps away from me. I don't really like others touching them, even if I know they won't hurt them. I know Amon is safe with you, but I am still fighting the urge to take him back and hide him away."
"That's normal, your mind is focused on nothing but these children for the time being. We lose so many, it is crucial the Beta is always alert to where they are and who is around. I don't blame you for wanting to take him back, and it was a great show of trust that you invited me in the room at all." A young Beta could use all the information they could get. Hidden away in Las Noches Ichigo was about as safe as it was possible to get, but there could always be a surprise.
"I have been fighting the urge to hide them away since they were born, even Kensei and Shinji made me nervous, and they have never done anything but help me. I agree you will probably need the practice caring for children, I heard some interesting sounds last night." Ichigo slid the conversation away from his own reactions. He was starved for contact with others, five months of no one but Shiro and Zangetsu made him lonely.
Ulquiorra managed not to blush, a feat of strength in of itself due to his overly pale skin, "Szayel tries often, as soon as he knows the last mating didn't take he tries again. It's hard on him, but it's what he wants so we go along with it."
Ichigo curled his arms tighter around his children, "Is it hurting him that we are here? He suffered a lot, I don't want to make it worse."
"Not hurt really, just makes him more determined. He wants his own litter, being around yours makes the drive stronger, but it doesn't make him jealous or hurt." Ulquiorra had been the one with Szayel the night before, he knew what was happening in the Betas mind. "He would probably like it if you allowed him to come around these three, he hasn't had a batch in a long time, he would want to refresh his memory." The scientist in Szayel would want to know everything he could about raising such humanoid children.
"Do you have any children? Do Hollows keep in contact after they are grown?" Ichigo asked curiously, hoping he wasn't overstepping his place.
"I have two children," Ulquiorra answered, those questions were to be expected with everything that had been happening. "I have kept an eye on them yes, but not all Alphas do. Betas usually keep more contact with children, though not always. It is harsh out in the desert; many of us prefer not to know if one of our children is killed after leaving us. I know Grimmjow tries to watch out for his, but he has lost track of a few over the years. Heuco Mundo is large, one child can be hard to find."
"I figured Grimmjow had other children, he knew a little too much about how to help me," Ichigo responded softly, still not loosening his grip on the two children in his arms.
Ulquiorra tilted his head a bit to the side thinking, "It doesn't bother you does it?" He realized.
"No it doesn't, maybe if I didn't have all these damn instincts running through me, but I can't help thinking his having other children is good." Ichigo explained with a careful shrug.
"Yes, another normal reaction for a Beta, the more surviving children your alpha has had, the better chance your own young have of surviving. That's probably a good part of the reason Szayel chose Nnoitra over Grimmjow or myself when he was alive, more of his children lived."
"Thank you for explaining all this to me, I bet its pretty boring for you, its not like you don't already know it." Ichigo thanked again, realizing this was the most he had ever spoken to Ulquiorra. It was oddly comforting.
"It's fine. One duty of an alpha is to make sure young Betas understand what is happening to them, your instincts keep you and the children alive. If you understand why you are acting a certain why you won't hesitate to obey your intuition." Ulquiorra explained.
"Than you must be a very good Alpha, because you are taking care of me, even though I'm not one of your Betas." Ichigo complemented.
Ulquiorra shook his head, "Grimmjow is more successful than I am."
"In number of children maybe," Ichigo started, "But that isn't everything is it?
"No, but there is more you do not understand, Grimmjow broke the rules for you, I don't know if I would have done the same. I follow my duty, that is all I know how to do, he follows his own path." Ulquiorra admitted without fussing, it was only the truth.
"So what? You two do things differently, doesn't make him better, or you worse. He terrified me coming into that cave, I didn't know what to do, I thought the four of us were going to die before I could even attempt to give birth." Ichigo admitted.
"He told me the same thing," Ulquiorra admitted, "Did Grimmjow truly scare you that much?"
"It wasn't all Grimmjow, it was the whole situation. Tsume was so close to coming I was scared as it was, I'm only sixteen and I was about to give birth to three children and try to keep them alive in a place where I assumed every creature here would be trying to kill them." Ichigo confessed, feeling Hikari nuzzle closer to him, with Tsume now sleeping like a log, they tired themselves out crying.
"I thought so, you don't seem to be the type to frighten easily," Ulquiorra agreed.
Ichigo got a rueful smile on his face, "You have someone you thought was your enemy appear while a child was trying to force their way out of you, and see how easily you spook." He challenged.
"You have a point," Ulquiorra admitted.
Another knock came to Ichigo's door, and Grimmjow stepped inside, only to stop in his tracks at seeing Ulquiorra inside, holding onto his youngest son, "What happened, are they all right?" He asked quickly.
"They are fine, why are you so worried?" Ichigo asked softly, not wanting to call too loudly and wake up his sleeping children.
"A few days ago you were afraid to let Ulquiorra near the babies, I thought something had to be wrong for you to let him so close," Grimmjow admitted, heading over to his family, his shock dispersing.
"They all wanted held at once, I couldn't handle all three, he showed up when I was ready to scream. He's been a lot of help." Ichigo filled Grimmjow in, handing Tsume to his father, the little boy staying asleep through the transfer, but snuggling closer to Grimmjow's warm chest.
"Thank you," Grimmjow mumbled lowly to the black haired Espada, he may not show it a lot, but he knew when gratitude was needed.
"It's fine, I like holding him," Ulquiorra decided to admit, it felt good to hold a child again.
"You look good with him," Ichigo told him with a smile, noticing the black hair Amon had inherited from Isshin did make him look like he belonged in the slim alpha's arms.
"When they get bigger, I think we are going to need help chasing them down, care to join in?" Grimmjow offered with one of his wide grins, he was still enjoying the sight of the normally reserved Espada cuddling an infant.
"When they get bigger I don't imagine you could keep them in one place for very long. We could all be roped into helping." Ulquiorra was too used to Grimmjow by now to rise to his baiting.
Grimmjow only grinned wider, "Wouldn't Aizen just be thrilled to know his precious palace will soon be filled with children running amok, especially if Szayel gets his wish."
Ichigo had to hold back a smile, they were so focused on Szayel they were missing the truth sliding beneath their notice daily, Starrk could only hide for so much longer. Now that Ichigo knew what to look for, it was only the stiff fabric of his uniform and the concealing black sash that kept prying eyes away from Starrk's steadily growing secret. The fact the Primera was almost always sequestered away in his tower, sleeping, helped him hide too.
"Aizen never did care for children," Ulquiorra agreed, bringing Ichigo's attention back to the conversation. "Especially knowing the oldest children here were carried by his enemy, and sired even through his interference."
"Since when did I follow his rules?" Grimmjow asked rhetorically, a mischievous tone in his voice along with his usual grin.
Ulquiorra looked at him blankly, "Whenever it suited you," He responded. "You had no trouble when he sent you into battle."
"Like you were any better?" Grimmjow challenged, "At least I admit fighting gets my blood flowing, you make it seem like a chore then kick everyone's asses. You can't tell me you don't enjoy it or you would just be lazy like Starrk."
"What would you do if he heard you say that?" Ichigo broke in conversationally.
"Nothing, why?" Grimmjow asked curiously.
"Because he is standing in the doorway," Ichigo pointed out helpfully, thoroughly enjoying how pale the alpha went, as he turned slowly and met the icy blue gaze of the Primera Espada.
"Sexta?" Starrk inquired lowly, a dangerous vibe in his sleepy voice.
"Yes?" Grimmjow replied carefully.
Starrk's impassive face got a bit of a smirk on it, "Run." He commanded.
Ichigo had never seen anyone move so fast before. He swore he heard a sonic boom as Grimmjow vacated the room after carefully setting down his son.
Starrk had a satisfied look on his face as he calmly walked to the bed and sprawled across it next to Ichigo, grabbing up Tsume and holding the baby close to him, the small child didn't seem to mind.
"Aren't you going to go after him?" Ichigo questioned, a teasing light in his warm brown eyes.
"No, he can run himself into the ground just fine without me," Starrk mumbled already half asleep.
Ulquiorra couldn't keep quiet, "You two spend time together?"
Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, Grimmjow's often away in the afternoons, and Starrk has Nel and Lilynette in his room most days. He comes here to rest, and he helps if the babies get too fussy."
Ulquiorra smiled a bit, a very small one, but it was a smile, "That is good, Betas tend to be more social than Alphas, it's common for Betas living near each other to team up when young are around. Even with a strong alpha, the more eyes and ears looking for danger the better chance the young have of making it."
"What if the Betas have different Alphas?" Ichigo asked curiously, hoping Ulquiorra wouldn't stumble onto Starrk's secret until the older Arrancar was ready to tell him.
"The Alphas, if not related, will avoid each other. They may even take shifts watching over the Betas, we do not have traditional herds or packs like living world animals, but loose bands of Hollows do form on occasion. They mostly had Betas in them, with no more than three Alphas. Aizen didn't know how much danger he had been in, there was four Alphas in the Espada alone, if Szayel's litter had survived Aizen would have more to worry about than whether or not his Eighth strongest Arrancar could fight." Ulquiorra filled him in.
Ichigo tilted his head to the side in thought, "Okay I know about Grimmjow, you, and Nnoitra, but who was the fourth Alpha?"
"Yammy, not powerful enough to tempt the higher Betas for the most part, but he could have proven to be a distraction among the Fraccion and Numeros." Ulquiorra replied.
"What about that old one Barra-something, and the seventh Espada sorry never caught his name?" Ichigo was more curious than a heap of cats on occasions.
"Zommari was the Seventh Espada, he was a Beta, but never showed any interest in mating. Baraggan, the second Espada, was past his mating years, so it never came up in regards to him." It was a good thing one trait Ulquiorra possessed was patience. "And before you ask, the ninth Espada was only Gillian level, you have to at least be Adjuchas before you become a Beta or Alpha."
Before Ichigo could ask his next question, his door was thrown forcefully open and a bouncing pink haired Espada was soon descending on the group inside. Their was a wide grin on Szayel's face, and an almost manic happiness made his golden eyes gleam. "I figured it out!" He wasn't screaming, but his voice was much faster and more excited than it usually was.
"What happened?" Ulquiorra asked, as Starrk woke from his doze, and Ichigo set about calming Hikari who had also woken up when Szayel came bursting into the room.
"I figured out why the mating wasn't working!" He preened, and that was the only word for it.
"Why?" Ulquiorra asked, knowing Szayel was waiting for someone to ask, drawing out the dramatic moment.
"It was so simple, it should never have taken me so long to figure out," He shook his head in what would have been a self-deprecating way had it not been for the impossible to suppress grin on his face.
"Oh just spill it already," Ichigo ordered, knowing Szayel just enough to realize he would drag it out all afternoon if they let him.
"When Hollows first conceive the children are nothing but pure Spirit Pressure and immature soul fragments, if young are lost before the age the rest of them can be safely delivered, the lost ones are reabsorbed into the Betas body so their sacrifice may strengthen the carrier enough the others in the litter may survive when they did not. Can you follow that far?" Szayel had been speaking quickly, and dumbing down the process, but he gave them a chance to ask questions.
Three agreeing nods had him continuing, "When my litter was stolen from me, they should have been reabsorbed, but Aizen used his sword too soon, and since he removed most mating related instincts from us the process never did completely finish. My matings since then haven't worked because my body thought it was still carrying a litter. A Beta won't have more children if they are already pregnant."
"So you can have children now?" Ichigo asked, hoping it was true.
"Yes, in fact I only need a little help, and I will be carrying again. The material is still there, it just needs to be condensed again. I had been carrying four young, there is enough left over spirit pressure if I have a little assistance one baby may be salvaged. It wouldn't be the same child I had been carrying but it would be Nnoitra's and mine."
"Do you want mine or Grimmjow's help?" Ulquiorra asked quietly.
"It can't be an Alpha, I would need a Beta. If an Alpha were to try what I have in mind it could back fire and I really would loose all chances with carrying Nnoitra's young. A Beta could help me without overpowering the Alpha spirit already there." Szayel explained slowly, he may be on cloud nine with his discovery, but he knew Ulquiorra had been quietly hoping for the chance at young.
Ichigo and Starrk shared a glance, speaking without words, finally Ichigo broke the gaze after a slightly reluctant nod from Starrk, "Szayel would you like Tia's or my help? It may not be a good idea for Starrk to attempt something that hasn't been done before." Ichigo informed.
"The more powerful, the better," Szayel replied, "Are you stronger than her?"
"I don't know, I've never fought her," Ichigo admitted.
Starrk spoke quietly, "Ichigo is stronger, but less trained." He had observed that much at least over the past few days.
"Like Ichigo said, this hasn't been done before, no matter who it was I would have to show them how." Szayel was too exuberant to care exactly where his help came from.
Ulquiorra had no such distraction, "Starrk," He started slowly, gaining the brunette's attention, "Why can't you do it?"
Starrk was twitching a bit, probably thinking of running, but even if he was faster than the Alpha he couldn't run forever, he may as well tell now as he wouldn't be able hide much longer anyway. "I don't want to risk my own litter when there is someone else powerful enough to help." He responded quietly, rolling so his back was facing Ulquiorra, leaving Tsume to be scooped back up into Ichigo's arm held opposite his sister.
Ulquiorra's face was blank as ever, but he carefully handed the black haired child he had still been holding over to Szayel, before stalking around the bed. A hand on Starrk's shoulder, and a gentle nudge, had the strongest Espada turning to lay on his back not resisting Ulquiorra's non-verbal order.
When pale hands reached for the black sash around his waist, Starrk let out a low rumbling growl, placing both of his own hands over his abdomen, forcing Ulquiorra's questing fingers away. Green eyes narrowed, "Let me see?" It wasn't an order, instead it was a request.
Starrk stared him down for a few minutes, neither gaze wavering, until he slowly withdrew his hands and allowed Ulquiorra to continue. Ulquiorra moved slowly and gently as he untied the strip of black fabric holding Starrk's white jacket closed. Once it was released he paused a moment, before taking a breath and pushing the stiff fabric aside to reveal smooth skin, and what used to be toned muscle.
It wasn't flat. Instead his abdomen had a small, almost elegant curve to it. Ulquiorra set his hand flat over the mound of flesh housing Starrk's young. "Why didn't you tell us?" It wasn't quite an accusation, but there was some pain in his voice, that was unusual enough for Ulquiorra.
"I don't want to be coddled." Starrk replied quietly, "Only Harribel, and recently Ichigo knew."
"I understand," Ulquiorra responded after taking a few moments to absorb the answer. "How many?" He asked curiously, allowing himself a flare of excitement, but not letting it burn too brightly yet.
"Two," Starrk's reply was short, but not irritable.
Ulquiorra felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him at the same time as he was punched in the gut by a stronger opponent than himself, "They probably aren't mine then."
A light smile twitched on Starrk's lips, "Well that might be a bit hasty."
Ulquiorra stared at him again, before demanding, "What do you mean?"
"My soul apparently enjoys splitting things. They aren't two littermates, but true twins. I wasn't positive there were two until I starting showing too early for one, their Spirit Pressure is almost exactly the same." Starrk informed him.
Szayel grinned widely at the shell-shocked expression on Ulquiorra's face, finally it wasn't blank anymore, "Ulquiorra, bats do occasionally have a pair of twins, it's rare, but does happen."
"We won't know positively until they are born, hopefully with some kind of identifying mark, but they may be yours just as easily as Grimmjow's." Starrk himself was resisting the urge to grin at the normally composed Alpha.
"Starrk, trust me you want those babies to be Ulquiorra's, Grimmjow's are huge!" Ichigo grumbled, causing another round of grins and a bit of laughter.
A startled gasp sounded from the doorway, "Did I just hear what I think I just heard?" Grimmjow was back, after figuring out he wasn't be chased by exploding wolves.
"If you heard that Las Noches is about to enjoy a baby boom, than yes, you heard correctly," Ichigo answered his Alpha, seeing the broad grin cross his face.
Grimmjow climbed onto the bed between Starrk and Ichigo, careful of his children. Looking towards the brunette Beta, he saw that Ulquiorra's hand was back on the smooth curve of Starrk's stomach. He put his larger hand next to Ulquiorra's his cocky grin softening into a true smile. A green eyed gaze glanced up to see a look of contentment and peace on Starrk's face, and on Ichigo, well, he had never seen the orange haired youth smile like that, it wasn't a grin, and it wasn't overstated, or forced, it was a small, happy, I finally found my place kind of expression.
This was what made being an Alpha worth all the trouble.
Ichigo tore his eyes away from the budding family beside him, and turned back to Szayel, who was happily entertaining himself by tickling Amon, even though the child was still a bit too young to get into the game.
"Szayel how can I help you?" He asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the three next to him.
"This is probably going to sound odd to you, but hear me out," Szayel warned, still exuberant, but he had himself mostly back under control.
"Go ahead, I think after all of this, I can handle weird." Ichigo said ruefully, giving a loving look to the three biggest surprises he'd ever had.
"I need you to mate me, like I said earlier, the material is already there from Nnoitra, but my body doesn't recognize it as useable. When I mate another Alpha my soul won't split again when there is still traces of an older mating present. If I mated a Beta, in theory, it would trick my soul into using the Alpha material already there. It may not work, but it is worth a try before I completely remove the presence of his spirit still in me." Szayel explained rapidly, not able to slow himself down once he was on a roll.
Ichigo's eyes widened, and he was speechless for a few moments, odd wasn't the word for this. It was surprising but not odd once he thought about it, "How would it trick your soul? Wouldn't your instincts realize I am a Beta and can't truly mate you?" He calmed himself down enough to ask, he wasn't totally against the idea, but he wouldn't do it unless there was a logical reason it would work.
Szayel's expression turned amused, "I think you are overestimating our instincts, you have an actual being in your head giving you advice, ours are not sentient on their own. We simply get impulses we have to decode. Once the mating battle begins every sense inside of me will be looking for Alpha seed, since you are a Beta you probably won't even register after a certain point, but because there is Alpha material inside me already it may locate and use it. Since there would be no second set of seed confusing my instincts into thinking the first set was from a pregnancy it might just work."
"What are the chances of this working?" Ichigo asked quietly, not wanting to burst his happiness, but trying to be realistic so if it didn't work out the fall might not be as bad.
"About fifty-fifty that I might end up with at least one viable young, but the chances of carrying the child to term drop to about thirty percent. It would be composed of residual energy, there may not be enough to sustain a pregnancy." Szayel admitted.
Ichigo took a deep breath, slowly drawing it in and letting it out, well there was only once more question he could ask, "Are you willing to take those odds?"
"Ichigo, I believed I would never carry another child again for the past few months. Even a thirty percent chance is more than I thought I would get. Also, if this doesn't work at all, I know how to finish the reabsorption process so I may try again with a new Alpha, but I want to try this, to see if Nnoitra might have one last offspring." Szayel spoke bluntly, but he saw the caving of Ichigo's shoulder's halfway through his explanation.
"Then I guess I can try. I still owe you for checking over the babies and me when we got here. If something had been wrong, I don't know what I would have done." Ichigo finally agreed.
"Thank you," The reply was simple, but sincere.
"Just how many babies are we going to have running around here?" Grimmjow broke in, the grin on his face destroying any credibility in his exasperated tone. Aizen's precious fortress was going to be filled with growing children, that would be a sight for sore eyes.
"Hey Grimmjow, I think you may be missing a few," Ichigo spoke slyly.
"You, Starrk, and Szayel, who am I missing?" He questioned.
Ichigo smirked, "Visored males can have children too. This would be the safest place for them if it did happen."
"If they haven't had children yet why would they start now?" Grimmjow's blue eyes were slightly wild at the thought.
"Aizen is dead, their main cause of fear, and with a permanent place of safety away from Soul Society, why wouldn't they? Even if the treaty with them goes smoothly, this would still be a place the Soul Reapers couldn't harm." Ichigo explained.
"The next couple of months are going to be interesting aren't they?" Szayel inquired.
"Yes, I think they will be," Ulquiorra responded, hand still firmly in place over his possible children.
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Safe in my Arms