Snowing Blood

The Captain’s meeting ended early, and Toushiro hurried back to Ayame’s quarters. There he found a note pinned to the door.

“Ayame and I have gone out to the
Rukongai to visit some old friends of mine.
Come if you wish – there is something here that may interest you.

Rukia

Toushiro sighed and pocketed the note. Going to find Rangiku and tell her he was going to the Rukongai for a little while. Rangiku got all exited and demanded to come with him. After some arguing he let her tag along, she would complain if he refused her.

***

He followed the trace of both Rukia and Ayame’s spiritual pressure to the noble districts of the Rukongai. After a small time spent wandering around in circles, Rangiku called out to someone Toushiro couldn’t see over the crowd. Even after seven years, he was still a bit shorter than the average person. Grumbling, he moved forward through the crowd, which parted for him upon seeing he was the Captain of Tenth Division. They smiled and waved, greeting him kindly. Eventually he made it through the crowd with Rangiku holding on to the back of his haori.
There was Ayame, with Rukia and another young woman. Ayame’s sightless eyes were fixed on Rukia’s shoulder. Toushiro paused, stopping Rangiku as well. The third woman was clutching a small, blanket-wrapped bundle. She said something to Ayame, and carefully handed her the bundle. Blood rushed to Toushiro’s face when he realized the bundle was actually a baby. Ayame carefully sat down on a bench outside the woman’s house, holding the baby close to her body. Rukia sat down beside her, and they both gently touched the baby’s face, Toushiro could hear its soft laugh. Rukia looked up then, and saw Toushiro’s flushed face, and Rangiku’s wide eyed stare. She smiled, and waved them over. Toushiro sensed another spiritual pressure approaching them, and was nearly bowled over as Renji came through the crowd, his expression one of alarm, and confusion when he spotted the baby.
Rolling his eyes, Toushiro carefully approached Ayame, as Rangiku moved forward to speak to the baby’s mother. Ayame paused in her caressing of the baby, and look up in the general direction of Toushiro’s face.
“Shiro?” she said uncertainly. He laughed, and swapped places with Rukia. He kissed her cheek gently, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“Hey. I finally found you.” He whispered. Ayame raised her eyebrows.
“I was lost?” she said with a smirk. Toushiro laughed again, and then turned his attention to the baby. It was a little girl, her large brown eyes looking up at Toushiro in wonder. She had a fine mop of strawberry blonde hair, Toushiro was instantly reminded of Ichigo Kurosaki. He laughed at the likeness, and gently extended a forefinger, which the baby grabbed in her tiny hand, and clung onto with all her might.
“I think Saki likes you.” Rukia giggled, snuggling into Renji’s chest. Renji was watching the baby with apprehension, not sure what to make of it. Rukia noticed his concern, and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her chin against his chest and looking up innocently into his eyes.
“Can I have one, Renji?” she asked in a serious voice. Renji’s face went as scarlet as his hair, and he seemed lost for words.
“Absolutely not.” He mumbled, holding onto her tightly. Rukia pouted, and started pleading. Renji opened his mouth to say exactly how did she think she could have one when fertility rates were so low, but she put a hand over his mouth. Confused, Renji leaned down to whisper in his ear.
Toushiro didn’t hear what they were saying, but he knew. The chances of Rukia – or Ayame - getting naturally pregnant were extremely low. Next to impossible. It just didn’t happen for Soul Reapers. Ayame probably knew it, but she didn’t need to be reminded right now.

Ayame was still holding Saki, immersed in wonder, and being ever so careful not to move when she sensed the baby falling asleep. Ayame then handed her back to her mother, standing up with only the slightest hint of a wobble. Toushiro snaked an arm around her waist, and thanked Saki’s mother for letting them see her. Slowly the five Soul Reapers made their way back to the Seireitei, Rukia and Rangiku chattering about Saki, and how wonderful it would be to have a baby girl like her.
Ayame was very silent, Toushiro wondered if she was tired. They went to the sixth division to speak with Byakuya, Rukia and Renji remaining there whilst Toushiro, Ayame and Rangiku returned to tenth division.
Ayame curled up on Rangiku’s favorite couch while Toushiro quickly finished some paperwork, Rangiku making tea for the three of them.
Once the paperwork was done, the three of them went for a late lunch with Ukitake. Jyuushiro had been rather ill last night, and was glad to be visited by Toushiro especially.
They shared a prepared lunch Ayame had procured from seemingly nowhere, consisting of rice balls, deep fried shrimp and rice noodles. Ayame didn’t eat much, saying she didn’t feel very well. She instead fell asleep in Toushiro’s lap, oblivious to the talk between Toushiro and Jyuushiro.

***

When Ayame woke, she was curled up in a bed, one raised off the ground it felt like. She didn’t know anyone who had a bed like that, and panicked for a moment. She sat up, feeling around for something familiar. Her hand found a body, warm and soft. A moment’s touch told her it was a man’s chest, her hand traced up to his face, and found his hair. Toushiro, of course. She smiled and gently ran her hand through his soft hair. He groaned in his sleep, and rolled towards her with one arm snaking over her waist.
Ayame sighed softly, and lay back down again, staring into the complete blackness. She closed her eyes, and pictured her brother. Within seconds she connected to him, and saw through his eyes. He was reading a book about dragons, a fantasy novel from the human world. He must have sensed her presence, because he pulled a notepad out of his desk, and scribbled on it;

“You should be sleeping Ayame. You need to get better.”

Ayame let him feel her wonder and confusion, she wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Byakuya wrote on the pad again.

“You were checked out by Hanataro, and he said you seem to have a slight illness that will get better with rest. Sleep, and I will speak to you in the morning.”

Ayame watched as his gaze shifted to a clock on his desk, it was well past midnight. She snorted, and Byakuya wrote one last thing on his pad.

“I know, I’m going to bed now too. Goodnight Ayame.”

“Goodnight, brother.” Ayame whispered as her vision returned to black. She settled down in the bed as Toushiro groaned again, and snuggled closer to Ayame. He was dreaming about… something interesting… Ayame concluded as she rolled onto her side, and lightly pressed her forehead to Toushiro’s. His breathing eased, and he went quite still. Ayame sighed, feeling drowsy again. She drifted off into blissful sleep, dreaming of Saki, and Toushiro…

***

Three months passed before Ayame actually felt any better. She also seemed to gain some weight, Rangiku and Rukia agreed it was because she was forced to spend so much time in bed, rarely being allowed out to exercise. Toushiro’s argument was that every time she did, she would either get tired really quickly, or she would go green in the face, and sometimes throw up. She was getting quite tired of being cooped up, and was overjoyed when Toushiro came in to tell her she could return to her usual routine now, Unohana had given her the all clear.
Although, he remembered, Unohana looked worried, and was often going to speak with Mayuri about various aspects of Ayame’s condition. Shrugging it off, Toushiro took Ayame around to the third division office, where Izuru Kira was slumped at Gin’s old desk with a mountain of paperwork. Toushiro knocked, and entered with a wobbly Ayame in tow. Toushiro and some others were going to the Human World to investigate some reported sightings of the Arrancar, and Ichimaru Gin. Ayame was being left in Izuru’s care for the day.

“Good morning Captain Hitsugaya, and Miss Ayame.” Izuru said with a half-smile. Ayame greeted him cheerfully, Toushiro looked gloomy. Ayame felt her way around the desk to where Izuru sat, and measured the stack of paperwork before him. Her smile faltered.
“You’ll be here all day at this rate.” She said, prodding the stack of paper gently. Izuru murmured his apologies, Ayame saying she would love to help if she could see the papers. Toushiro saw the hidden joke and laughed, Izuru getting it after a delayed reaction.
Ayame moved back around the table, and kissed Toushiro goodbye. He held her close, and wished her to be careful. She wished him good luck.
“I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He said, but Ayame’s eyes weren’t fixed on him. They were looking in the direction of the window.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, feeling for a spiritual pressure, but finding nothing. Ayame smiled and shook her head, hugging Toushiro again.
“It’s nothing, really. I love you, come back soon, I’ll be waiting.” She said, kissing him again. Toushiro felt Izuru watching him, and tried to push the thought from his mind.
“Love you too.” He whispered, before letting her go. She sat down on the couch, pulling a blanket around her shoulders. Toushiro headed for first division, a feeling of dread sinking into his consciousness. Somehow, he had the feeling something was going to go wrong, but what worried him most was not knowing if it was he or Ayame that had the knife at their throat.
It was not a pleasant feeling, let alone mental image.

****************************************************************************************************************

Ayame slept for what she guessed to be around four hours, and Izuru was still doing paperwork when she woke. She had an uneasy feeling, and by the sudden silence in the room, Izuru must have noticed her wake, and her face take a pale green color.
“You okay, Miss Ayame?” he asked in a low tone. She grimaced and nodded slowly, easing herself upright. She gently ran her hands over her belly. Still reasonably flat, despite the weight she had definitely gained during the three months she had spent practically locked away in Toushiro’s private compound. She slowly got to her feet, and stretched. Her stomach growled with a vengeance, she guessed it was a bit past lunchtime.
“I second the lunch idea.” Izuru murmured, Ayame hearing the shuffling of papers as Izuru got to his feet and moved around the table to offer Ayame his arm. She clung onto it quickly, feeling a sudden dizzy spell course through her body. Izuru either didn’t notice or didn’t say anything. He led her outside, the air was uncomfortably warm, shame it was a whole six months until winter.

Izuru treated Ayame to a nice lunch in the third division’s common room, where they were alone save for a eighth seat sleeping on one of the couches. Izuru and Ayame discussed possible candidates for the empty captain spaces, still yet to be filled. The remaining captains couldn’t decide on who to place, and repeated sightings of the traitors and the Arrancar weren’t doing them any favors.
After finishing lunch, Izuru led Ayame to a bathroom, then said he needed to pay a visit to the thirteenth division to get some papers signed by Ukitake. Ayame obliged, it would be nice to see Jyuushiro again.
Well, not see… but you get the picture… thought…

***

Izuru sent a hell butterfly ahead to warn Ukitake he had Ayame with him, she had eaten three times as much as he had, and she was still hungry. They walked slowly towards thirteenth division, Ayame was still feeling unwell from the morning. They rounded the corner just past eleventh division, and found the area deserted. Izuru tensed.
“What is it, Izuru?” Ayame asked, feeling vulnerable and uneasy.
“Usually eleventh division is bustling with soul reapers. There are always people around this area, but it’s like a ghost town.” Izuru answered his voice little more than a whisper. Ayame shivered.
“I wondered why it was so quiet, what do you suppose…”

Ayame froze mid-sentence; a spiritual pressure was nearby, a powerful, venomous presence that Ayame would know from anywhere. This presence had nearly consumed her, as well as nearly killing her.
“Run Izuru!” she screamed, shoving him away. She heard him draw his sword and step back towards her. As soon as he touched her again, she shoved him away again.
“Run Izuru! He’ll kill you!” Ayame screamed again, turning to run away from Kira, but collided with another body, a tall, cold one. She froze instantly as she felt an arm snake around her shoulders, one draw a rather short zanpakuto from its sheath at his hip.
She heard Izuru’s sharp intake of breath, his mixed emotions, disbelief, relief, anger, concern, fear.
“Ichimaru… Gin…” Izuru breathed, his former captain smirking. Gin held Ayame close, his embrace warming now rather than being icy like death.
“So nice to see you again, Izuru. Thank you ever so much for delivering Ayame to me. We’ll be going now, give my regards to little Hitsugaya-taichou… and Rangiku.” Gin said in a soft voice, lifting Ayame into his arms and turning to leave. Izuru lunged forward in an attempt to save her, but Gin lashed out with Shinsou, and Izuru fell to the ground in a pool of blood. Ayame felt his heartbeat slow and become irregular, she pushed free of Gin, landing on the ground like a cat. She crawled over to where she heard Izuru dying, and used her power to heal him. She also slit open her wrist with Wabisuke, and pressed the wound to Izuru’s lips. Her healing blood leaked down his throat, and he coughed.
Ayame felt Gin take her injured wrist and wrap it firmly in a scrap of material. He then pulled her away.
“Yeh saved him, so now we’ll be going.” He hissed, throwing her over his shoulder, and vanishing in a flash step.

***

Toushiro and his team returned to Soul Society earlier than expected, the reports were all false, they had gone for nothing. He found a note on his desk, saying Izuru had gone with Ayame to thirteenth division.
Sighing, he caught up with Rangiku and the pair of them went past the academy and knocked on Ukitake’s door. Letting themselves in, Toushiro and Rangiku raised their eyebrows at the scene before them.
Ukitake was sleeping at his desk, the coffee table near the door laden with tea, cakes, rice balls and noodles. Ukitake jolted awake when Toushiro shook him, asking if Ayame and Izuru were here yet. Seeing that they weren’t, he looked at the time and said their hell butterfly had arrived nearly an hour ago.
Toushiro and Rangiku disappeared in a flash, heading towards third division. They rounded a corner near eleventh division, and saw Izuru, lying on the ground. His skin was paler than normal, and there was blood splattered on the ground and walls of the corridor. Rangiku ran towards him, Toushiro trying to define whose spiritual pressure it was almost smothering Ayame’s. At that moment he heard Izuru come to, he turned and saw him shaking, his face now white.
“It was him… he came back like he said he would. He took her, she’s gone…” he murmured, Rangiku rubbed his back with a confused glance at Toushiro.
“Who was it Izuru? Who took Ayame?” she asked in a soothing tone. Izuru swallowed hard, glancing at Rangiku. Her smile faded instantly, her eyes filling with tears. Izuru nodded, and buried his face in his arms. Rangiku turned back to Toushiro.
“It was Gin… Ichimaru Gin…” she whispered. Toushiro went very still, and quiet. Rangiku helped Izuru to his feet, and started to back away. Veins of ice were snaking out from where Toushiro stood, the ground was freezing over, and sharp icicles were forming around him. Rangiku backed away faster, narrowly avoiding being impaled by an icicle. Izuru came to again, he saw the ice, and pulled Rangiku away. He sent a hell butterfly to Rukia and Byakuya, hoping they could calm Toushiro before eleventh division became an ice palace.

***

Ayame was gently put down on some sort of couch, in Hueco Mundo no doubt. She moved away from where she was sure Gin was still standing, and folded her arms. She sensed others in the room, one of them…
Aizen.
She felt his spiritual pressure coming closer to her, he was shielding his true power, if he unleashed it her she would probably faint from the pressure. She heard him stop before her, and felt his hand as he cupped her chin to lift her eyes to meet his. Unfortunately for him, she couldn’t see where his eyes were exactly. She instead fixed on a point to her left, about where Gin was standing. She heard Aizen’s soft laugh, and he let her go.
“You seem to have brought used and damaged goods here Gin. I thought you said she was pure, and perfect.” Aizen said, moving away from Ayame. She sighed, and curled up on her side. Gin sounded confused. He knelt beside Ayame’s face, and gasped.
“You’re… blind?” he whispered. Ayame frowned, and rolled over so that her back was to him.
“No duh. It’s your fault, you should have realized.” She hissed, feeling someone drape a blanket over her body. She didn’t recognize their pressure, but she was sure it was an Arrancar.
She felt Gin’s hand pull through her long black hair, he still seemed confused. Then he went still, sensing Toushiro’s spiritual pressure, not just all over her, but inside of her as well.
“You and the midget captain… you’re closer to each other than I thought.” Gin whispered, standing up and lifting Ayame into his arms once more. She hissed in protest, trying to break free. She then felt his lips on hers, and the dreaded drowsiness that followed.
“No matter, you belong to me now.” She heard him whisper, before she passed out.

***

Toushiro had encased himself in a cocoon of ice; he had stopped it spreading around the Seireitei to create a small space in which he could think in peace. His rage had subsided, and he was now thinking of the best possible way to rescue Ayame from Gin’s clutches. He dreaded the thought that Gin might rape Ayame, he wouldn’t put it past him…
His thoughts then drifted to Rangiku, she had looked so hurt, so scared. He wondered if she was okay, what if she…
His ice cocoon shattered into a fine powder, and no sooner had he called out to her, Rangiku was in his arms, crying and begging him not to do that ever again. He tried to soothe her, but she just shook harder every time he spoke. In the end he just stroked her strawberry blonde hair, until the crying stopped. She was still here, she was okay. She had not gone to try and take on Gin herself.
“We’ll get her back, Toushiro. I promise…” she sobbed, wiping the tears from her eyes. Toushiro sighed, forcing a smile. It was more painful than it sounds.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Ukitake talking to him, but couldn’t hear what he was saying. He must be in shock, he felt dizzy. In seconds he felt the ground coming up to meet him, panicked voices, and blackness…

****************************************************************************************************************

When Ayame woke, she was on some sort of bed. Her clothes had been removed, and a thick blanket was draped over her body. She couldn’t feel any spiritual pressures in the room, but what she did feel was pain, everywhere. Her body was sore and stiff, she wondered what could have happened to her, but after a moment’s thought, she didn’t want to know.
She could feel traces of Gin’s reiatsu on her body, all over her body. Tears welled in her eyes as she imagined what Gin had done to her. How could he? Especially if he still loves Rangiku so much…
Hearing footsteps, Ayame rolled onto her side, away from the approaching sounds. She heard someone enter the room, and drop something on the bed beside her. She felt a cold hand on her shoulder, but it was not Gin’s. The spiritual pressure… it was an Arrancar. And his presence felt like… despair. Ayame rolled onto her back, fixing a scowl onto her face to show her displeasure.
“What do you want?” she snarled, folding her arms over her chest. The Arrancar paused, and gently pressed what felt like clothes into Ayame’s arms.
“I am Ulquiorra. Ichimaru-sama asked me to bring you some clothes, when you are dressed he wishes you to join him for dinner.” The Arrancar said in a deadened voice. Ayame scowled even darker.
“You can tell Ichimaru-sama that I do not dine with cheating rapists.” She hissed, snatching the clothes and sitting up so that she could put them on. Ulquiorra was silent as he left her to dress.
The clothes were warm, it felt like some sort of dress, and after a bit of guesswork she stood up carefully and made sure it fitted properly. Then he came. Gin stopped at the doorway and waited for Ayame to notice him. She had actually sensed him coming for several minutes, Ulquiorra must have relayed her message in the exact same words she had used, because she could feel his sadness and anger mixing up his spiritual pressure.

She ignored him, and promptly sat back down on the bed, pulling a pillow into her arms and hugging it tightly. She heard Gin sigh, and he came over to sit beside her. She scowled and tried to move away from him, but his arms were faster than she was, and he had her in his embrace before she even had a chance to protest.
“Why won’t you come and have dinner with me?” he murmured, his lips against her neck. She suppressed a shudder, but remained silent and motionless. Gin had now pulled Ayame into his lap, and curled her into a ball against his chest. It was rather uncomfortable for her, her slightly rounded belly getting in the way. She was seriously getting worried about that bump… it couldn’t be… the odds were a zillion to one…

“You’ll starve yourself, just to make a point?” Gin asked, his cold hands roaming over Ayame’s body. She hissed, and her spiritual pressure spiked. Gin flinched, and let Ayame go. She stood, and headed to where she imagined the door was. Her hand found the wall before she collided with it, and she moved slightly to the left, finding an opening.
She was just about to leave when Gin snatched her up, and hissed in her ear.
“You mustn’t leave here without me or Ulquiorra. The others are not pleased I brought you here. They want you to leave or die.”
Ayame snorted, telling him that she had something in common with the others he was speaking about. He growled, and held her tightly.
“I’m not ever letting you go. You belong to me know, and no one else.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Ayame whispered, her hands clamped protectively over her belly.

***

About a month passed before Mayuri was able to create a gate to enter Hueco Mundo. However it was very dangerous and unstable. Something on the Hueco Mundo side was causing the portal to act strangely, and stepping through it could very well cause the poor soul to disintegrate entirely.
Toushiro was growing impatient. Rangiku was acting odd, making frequent trips to visit Uruhara at his shop in the human world. Byakuya and Rukia were suffering greatly, but their despair was nothing compared to Toushiro’s.
Some days he grew so depressed ice would form over the walls and floor of wherever he was, his worst episode during a visit with Rukia to Kukaku and Ganju Shiba, Ganju had asked about Ayame, and Toushiro, who had been having a bad day already, caused their entire compound to turn to ice, and the cannon Ichigo and his friends had used to enter the Seireitei all those years ago had set off accidently. No one blamed him, but Rangiku suggested he try and control his emotions so as not to kill people without meaning to.

Toushiro was sitting at his desk in tenth division, looking at some photographs sent to him by Orihime. There was one of him and Ayame in the uniforms from Ichigo’s school. Ayame looked so small, and happy. Her eyes were bright and full of life, so different to how they looked now.
Another showed them having dinner at Uruhara’s everyone was laughing and having such a good time. Toushiro smiled, and stowed the photos carefully in a desk drawer. He was waiting for Rangiku to return from one of her little visits with Uruhara, Toushiro wondered if maybe they were secretly dating… but she had taken Izuru Kira with her this time, so perhaps not…
He got to his feet to make some tea, when there was a loud crashing and much swearing outside his office door. Sliding it open, Toushiro found Renji and Izuru sprawled on the floor, looking very much like they had just had a head-on collision. Izuru was begging for forgiveness, Renji was practically yelling at him not to worry about it. Toushiro nearly snapped.
“What is the meaning of this, Abarai and Kira?” he snarled, the temperature in the hallway dropping significantly. Izuru jumped to his feet, and held out an envelope addressed to Toushiro. He could tell from the handwriting it was from Rangiku. He opened it, and read;

“Dearest Toushiro Hitsugaya,
By the time you receive this letter, I would have been gone for many hours. I hope it gets to you safely. I have been meeting with Uruhara this past month to see if he can get a stable gate to Hueco Mundo working faster than Mayuri.
He was successful, but it could only be opened once for a brief moment. I’m sorry, but I have gone ahead to Hueco Mundo to try and find Ayame. I know that Gin will not harm me; I have no intention to fight. I want to protect her from the others until Mayuri gets a proper gate working.
I know that you’re angry right now, and I will take my punishment when we return safely with Ayame. She’s waiting for you, I know it.
With love,
Rangiku Matsumoto.”

Toushiro stood rooted to the spot. He re-read the letter thrice more, and still it shocked him. His icy glare fell on Izuru. He looked normal, if not anxious. He didn’t know where Rangiku had gone, only he, Toushiro, and Uruhara did.
“Stay safe, I’m coming for both of you.” He whispered, folding Rangiku’s letter and tucking it inside his haori. He thanked Izuru, and made for first division immediately.

***

Rangiku stood before the main entrance to the interior of Aizen’s stronghold. She had met no resistance, or anyone since Uruhara’s stupid portal spat her out and straight into a solid wall. Rubbing her sore nose, Rangiku sheathed Haineko and pounded on the door.
No response.
She shoved it open, and with surprising speed she took off down the hallways, searching to a trace of a reiatsu that was even half familiar. She heard an alarm sound somewhere; they know knew she was here. Flicking her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes, Rangiku rounded a corner and came face to face with a familiar Arrancar.
Ulquiorra.
She put a hand on Haineko, but didn’t draw it. She studied Ulquiorra, he didn’t seem like he was going to attack. He just stared at her, with an expression that she supposed was mild surprise.
“Where is Ayame?” she hissed, pulling at Haineko a bit, showing some of the blade. Ulquiorra’s eyes flicked to the sword for a second, then back to Rangiku’s face.
“With Ichimaru-sama. She is not well.” He said as-a-matter-of-factly. Rangiku scowled, and took a fighting stance.

“So then where is Gin?” she said in an undertone. Ulquiorra sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets. He looked down a hallway to his left, and Rangiku could sense Gin’s spiritual pressure in that direction. It was faint and a long way off, but it was there. So was Ayame… and something else…

Physically pushing Ulquiorra out of the way, she darted down the corridor. Ulquiorra melted into the wall, and appeared outside a doorway just as Rangiku rounded the corner. She skidded to a halt, scowling.
“I must ask you to leave your weapon outside; I wouldn’t want Ichimaru-sama to think you're here to kill him.” Ulquiorra said softly. Rangiku shoved him aside, and kicked the door in.
Ayame was lying on a raised single bed, on her side with Gin standing, halfway between her and the door. He went rigid when his eyes fell on Rangiku, but she ignored him and, shoving Haineko into his hands as she passed him, grabbed Ayame’s hands.
They were warm, Ayame opened her eyes slowly, waking from sleep it seemed. Rangiku sighed with relief, she was okay.
“Who is… Rangiku?” Ayame whispered, recognizing the reiatsu. She could also sense Gin and Ulquiorra, they were being silent, she could sense their shock and apprehension.
“I’m here Ayame, everything is going to be okay now.” Rangiku said, helping Ayame to sit up so that she could hug her.
“Did Gin steal you away too?” Ayame said in a small voice. Rangiku assured her she came here of her own free will, what happened to her now was beyond her control, but she wasn’t going to leave Ayame’s side. Rangiku looked pointedly at Gin when she said this, to make sure he got the message. He looked, sad. He had tried to sneak out of the room, but so far no luck.

“What have you done to her?” Rangiku snarled, ready to attack Gin with tooth and nail if he said the wrong thing, true or false. Gin looked even more depressed, he kept fidgeting, and sneaking hopeful glances at her.
Hoping she still loved him. She could tell, and what was worse, she did. She loved him, she always would, but she could tell from the look in his eyes, and the traces of his reiatsu all over Ayame’s body, that he had used her in ways unthinkable. Rangiku’s eyes filled with tears.
“How could you?” she whispered, turning back to Ayame. Ayame had slid off the bed, her loose-fitting white dress showing a well-rounded belly. Realization dawned in Rangiku’s mind. She reached out slowly, and touched the mound.
“You're… pregnant… with Toushiro’s child?” Rangiku asked, nearly fainting from joy when Ayame said yes. Now she understood why Gin was so depressed.
“Ulquiorra won’t let Gin touch me like that anymore; he knows how important this child is to Soul Society.” Ayame said, rubbing her hands over her belly. Her sightless eyes were downcast, and Rangiku knew what she was thinking. She couldn’t bring a baby into her life, not in Hueco Mundo. They needed to get out of here. They needed to escape.
Before Aizen decided he needed the child for some evil purpose.