Straitjacket Feeling

A/N: Just one more update before this class really kicks off. Now, I could probably get some updates done during this crazy-ass class but that might mean that I'll have to upload shorter chapters in order to do so; or wait longer periods of time for longer ones. For now, I get a chapter going when I have an onset idea for it so it's always a gamble for when I'm going to update. 

"What were his reactions? Did he say anything? Did he do anything?"

Akon looked up at the questions and watched as the Fourth Lieutenant pulled closed the door to the temporary holding room behind her. "From what I could tell, he seemed to be very open and relaxed around the both of them. I wasn't able to listen in all too well with either of them but there was conversation and a sense of adaptation. While it was a little surprising in the least, we'll continue to keep up with these small interval visits; we'll eventually elongate them and see where they go until we're completely ready to carry on with the moving aspect of this experiment."

"And... when exactly are you planning on moving all the subjects?" Isane questioned.

"When we get receive the tests back from all the subjects and... possibly introduce more for the sake of the experimentation." he answered as he eventually turned to leave; he would need to inform some of the other Division members to take the two subjects to more proper staying room- perhaps combining their two presences together just to give them some company. "There is still a lot to do with this matter and a lot of possibilities we haven't opened up to."

"Yeah but... didn't something bad happen the last time you attempted to do that?"

"I'm sure he's gotten over it by now." he assured. "And if not, well we're just going to have to test the waters with this one."

"I don't know, Nemu got really worked up the last time about it-"

"Lady Kurotsuchi allowed for her feelings to get involved; that's all."

She narrowed her eyes at his sharp response and watched him as he walked off as though to seemingly push the matter aside. Something about him... seemed off. He wasn't acting how he had been before, it just... it didn't seem all too right to her; it felt like he was hiding something. While she couldn't really criticize him for anything, after all he was a lot more lenient that Captain Mayuri had been... but still, his outer expressions had become hardened. Right now, he seemed like he and Nemu were on opposite ends from each other when they used to be on the same side. It was just... it was odd. What had gone on between them? What provoked this- well, now she knew what had started this argument but... did it need to last this long?

She allowed for a light sigh to escape her before she carried on to try and find out where Captain Unohana had gone; seeing as the woman was no longer where she had previously been standing, she must've run off somewhere. But where? There wasn't all too many places to be around here, or at least places they were allowed to be in. Or places she would've wanted to go to.

Maybe somewhere...

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His fingers lightly traced back and forth across the bare skin of her back as he watched the way she lightly nestled herself in closer to his side; curling her fingers into his side as she lightly draped her arm over his stomach. She had said before that she wasn't feeling as tired today but it seemed like even something as simple as a bath was enough to put her back to sleep; which figures, he imagined she hadn't really been feeling all too well from the start but wanted to set those feelings aside. If she woke up later on though, he could see if she wanted to muster the strength for a small walk, just for the exercise. If not, then this was just fine too.

He glanced up at the sound of a soft knock on the door and watched as it was softly pushed up; revealing the female Captain on the other end. While he supposed it wasn't a surprise to see her, he figured he already knew what she was here for. Or maybe he was wrong. Doubting though. He watched as she stopped slightly at their combined sight before she slowly continued inside.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"I know you said you would only speak with me when you had the time but I was getting the feeling that time was slowly beginning to turn against me now." Unohana started; watching as he continued to only look at the Lieutenant who was nestled in next to him. She was well rested underneath the covers while he preferred to lie on top of them just at her side. "We can make this a short discussion if you wish, I'd just like to get the answers I want."

"So be it then, this time is probably more appropriate than ever." he nodded as he eventually turned to look to her. "I think I already know what you're going to ask of me but go for it."

She pulled up the small chair that had been placed in one corner and gently sat it beside the bed; taking her seat when she was ready. "I'm sure this matter seems irrelevant to yourself but I just wish to be prepared for anything."

"I can understand your need to know something outside of your range of knowledge." he remarked.

"Not to mention, I will be absent for a few hours, possibly a day sometime soon... there is another matter here that is calling for my attention; I've been ignoring it for some time now but I cannot risk to ignore it any longer." she added. "I assure you, it's of no threat... for now."

"Oh you see, that 'for now' addition there is what brings up questions." he started. "I'll give you what you want, only if you promise to return the other.

She gave the request a few moments to think over before she gave in and nodded lightly. "It sounds like a reasonable deal. Now then, this will be quite a broad topic to cover over but if there's anything you know for certain of it, I will be glad to hear of your answer. Let's start at the beginning. We've already discussed a small portion of the overall Hollow pregnancy but is there anything else to know of it?"

"Asides from the elongated periods of sleep, it does typically follow the same format as a human pregnancy; minor changes here and again, the fetus is normally more sensitive to the energy around it and will react as such." he started. "As well, similar to its ability to react to energy, it's also able to identify with its paternal figure. There were a few cases where the female Arrancars made it far enough to where the fetus was able to identify with the people around them, but there was a greater reaction when the paternal figure was present. It varied from female to female, sometimes it was just a short burst of energy from the mother herself that was triggered by the fetus; other times it was through varies movements inside of the womb; it seemed to depend on the mother's personal connection with the father and her own reaction to seeing him."

"How do you think your own offspring will react?" she questioned.

"It's a gamble at this point, like I said it's sometimes based solely on the mother and her own reaction." he replied. "I'm just hoping it's not a reaction that will induce pain; our cells may be mixed but I'm not sure if that will entirely entitle the offspring to fully accept her just yet. If not then hopefully my presence should be enough to calm it."

She nodded lightly at his remark and briefly glanced to the woman who remained asleep at his side. "What about the actual labor and birthing process? Is there anything about that that I should know of?"

He gave a moment to think over the woman's question; allowing for it to set in for awhile as he busied himself by stroking the warm flesh of his partner's shoulder. She shifted lightly and buried her head into his side while her fingertips buried in just a bit deeper as though to remind him of her presence. "Before I had mentioned that a lot of our Arrancar females had a difficult time carrying but... there was one case that managed to produce a successful offspring. Despite the fact that we had a multitude of trained healers who were on duty for such a thing, somehow I managed to get stuck playing doctor. Not to say that it was a lost experience... it wasn't entirely something I was expecting to do. But, from what I had witnessed, there's not too many differences between the labor and actual birth. There's a lot of radiation of energy from the mother but I imagine that would be apparent in both species. It's the same process regardless, the female body expelling the extra being from its possession. Unless there's a more common ritual for your species... ours was fairly simple. Wait over twenty hours for the labor portion to be over with, possibly a few more hours for the actual birth to pass on and then there's the offspring. There's nothing else to add about it."

"Who was this woman?"

"That's not really important; she's long dead now, it doesn't matter."

She decided not to press the issue. "Well, from my own experiences, it doesn't sound all too different. Which is a good thing, then we won't have to be all too worried about harming the infant when it's born."

"You see, I was putting that into consideration as well and... I do have the feeling that your presence may have some affect on the offspring." he commented. "I mean, this is essentially a vulnerable form that's going to be handled by an energy that doesn't match its own; it's going to panic and stress. Hopefully nothing too major but the offspring should be easy to calm once its reunited with its mother."

"I see..."

"It's just something to keep in mind when the time does come."

"I'll be sure to pass the news on to Isane so that we both will remember such." Unohana replied. "Is there anything else to share?"

"None that come to mind right now; however, if I think of something, I'll be sure to pass it on." he answered. "Now then, I think there was a topic that you had that I wished to discuss. You spoke earlier of a secondary matter that was drawing your attention, you said it wasn't a threat but you also added the words 'for now' to the end of it. That sounds like a topic that I would wish to speak of."

A light sigh escaped her as she straightened herself up slightly; lightly folding her hands together in her lap. "I've been able to keep most of the opposition to this whole experiment to a minimum but... as of lately, some of our members have been speaking a bit louder than usual. It's difficult to try and excuse them from a distance and with their constant hectic behavior, I didn't want them to get too close to this facility at the moment; especially with some of the members in the conditions that they are... As well, there was another list of subjects that somehow got leaked and needless to say, that did not settle over well with anyone either. It's a difficult matter to control because I can understand both sides opposition; I understand that they're upset and they have good reasons to... however, I do not support their need to 'attack' the whole thing. What happened just happened, and yet some of them feel as though getting to the source of it will fix it."

"I have a feeling that I know what they mean by the 'source' of the whole matter." he remarked.

"Yes... which is why I plan on speaking with some of them soon enough. I don't expect to change their minds but I do hope that I'll be able to quill their intentions. And if not, then I suppose we'll have to think of something to do."

"You hold a high position in this Society, from what I've heard and noted- I don't think they have any other choice but to listen to you." he replied. "If not out of reasoning, it'll be out of fear."

A soft chuckle moved from her lips. "I would hope it would be for reasoning; if not, then we are really getting nowhere in this matter. I do wish to bring in another fellow Captain of ours; he has expressed his support for this experiment and... he wouldn't dare to wish harm on anyone here. He is merely curious of the whole matter, I presume. Would that be too infringing on you?"

There was another moment to ponder over the question. As much as he'd rather reduce how much interaction he would have with yet even more Shinigami, he supposed there was really no other choice. And this woman... this Captain, well she seemed promising enough. He wouldn't entirely entitle her to every bit of his mind but she was still pretty high on his list of people that were deemed trustworthy. If anything, she was mainly here to tend to Lady Kurotsuchi, and that was good enough for him. "Personally, yes but then again I'm not really in any position to deny otherwise. Even if he's deemed to be on the 'same side' as the rest of us, well... like I mentioned, it's not like I could stop you from bringing him in. Everyone here is looking towards the bigger, wider picture to this whole matter- everyone wants a little more than the last person. As for me, I suppose you could say my vision is terribly narrow; as long as Lady Kurotsuchi is taken care of, then things are settled with me."

"... And what of the other subjects?"

"Don't worry, they're added into my equation just as well."

"Which does remind me... you met with two of the subjects earlier this day, how did that go?" Unohana questioned.

"It was interesting." he responded. "I remember both of them well and they both seem incredibly nervous about this whole process. I do not blame them but I believe this facility and its Division members have a lot to do with it; it would be the best option if they were put together and given some time to themselves... away from the testing and the pestering. Did someone look into assisting Hinamori with her stomach ailment? She blamed it on a bad food choice but it could've been an early onset of the pregnancy."

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't just a bit caught off-guard by his answer; he gave his reply smoothly and dictated where his level of detail was with the other women. "I do believe Isane was looking after her and making sure all was well. And I'll be sure to put your concerns into a request with Officer Akon."

"Another thing as well." he started. "This may seem disconnected but I must ask, who is Chojiro? Hinamori mentioned him before and I must admit, I did get curious."

"He is the Lieutenant of the first Division; Vice-Captain to Captain Yamamoto." she replied. "He's a nice man, very gentlemen-like and chivalrous; he is not a common type of man to find around here. He and Hinamori have been acquaintances for a long time now- then again, most of the Lieutenants are connected to one another."

He nodded faintly to her answer. "Very well, I was just curious as to the matter of the other man; I suppose I could bring it up in conversation with her the next time we speak... that is if she wishes to speak with me again."

"Did the conversation not go as you wished?"

"It felt like it didn't really 'go' anywhere to be honest; the ten minute time limit was really quite hindering and even then, I don't believe I got my allotted time anyways. Which is annoying to a point but I suppose there are things that have to be overlooked."

"Ah yes... well I'm sure there was good reason for a time limit." she commented.

"Like what? Expecting me to turn violent in a second's time?"

"... Well there was talk of that being a possibility but you assured me once before that you weren't capable of doing such a thing, so I believed you; in this case, you turned out to honor your word on that."

"Expecting me to suddenly change my mind later on down the road?" he questioned.

She shook her head and slowly pushed herself to her feet; hands gently moving to smooth out her uniform. "Of course not. Believe it or not, I do have some trust in you... and I suppose that's a bit more than anyone here could say. Now then, if you'll excuse me, there are a few errands here or there that I must get to before it gets too late. I appreciate your time in answering a few of my questions; if I think of anything else, I'll try to catch you at a better time."

He watched her as eventually moved the chair back to its original placement before she continued on her way out of the room; pulling the door tightly closed behind her.

"Have I ever mentioned how odd the way your Society functions is?"

A soft groan seemed to answer him as she pushed herself up briefly before she moved to rest more against his abdomen. "At least our Society has a way of functioning."

"We operated just fine, thank you." he replied with a soft chuckle; running his fingers through her hair as he watched her situate herself into a more comfortable spot. "The organized fights are probably what really set us up too."

"You're not the least worried about this whole thing then, are you?"

"What's there to worry about? Oh, you mean that whole... 'opposition' thing that's going on? No, no I suppose I'm not really worried all too much for it. I mean, what are they going to do? Kill me? Go for it. Hold me down and beat me up? Go for it." he answered at start before he stopped himself for a moment; going through his recollected thoughts for a moment. "On second thought, there might be a brief moment of mental overshadow."

"Meaning?" she questioned; moving her fingertips to slowly trace small circles against his abdomen.

"I was more stuck on the sole 'origin' of this matter being me... but I didn't consider if they meant you... in which case, I would be worried." he started slowly. "I just... now I can't get that thought out of my head."

A soft, brief chuckle escaped her as she slowly moved to push herself up once more; bracing herself on her arms as she leaned in just enough to bring her lips to brush against his own. For a man who was usually relaxed about most situations, he remained fairly tense as he seemed to struggle with the thought. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll be just fine."

"Who's the 'we' part of this?"

"All three of us."