Unexpected

"Ichi? Ichi, can you hear me?"



The voice was grating to Ichigo\'s pounding head, like nails on a chalkboard. His entire body ached all over and he felt completely drained. But at least the pain proved that he was still alive. Ichigo slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the light. His vision was blurry at first, but it soon cleared to show Shiro and Hanataro leaning over him. He could see worry in their eyes.



"Where am I?" he asked. It came out as a groan.



"In the dorm room," Shiro answered. "I called old man Urahara and he got in touch with the Soul Society. They sent over Hanataro to fix you up."



"I\'m glad I got here in time to help," Hanataro said. "You were really banged up. Any longer and you might not have made it. You lost quite a lot of blood."



"Let\'s not talk about that," Shiro said. "Ichigo\'s alive, that\'s all that matters."



Ichigo smiled at the loving concern in Shiro\'s voice. He began to push himself to a sitting position and Shiro automatically moved to support him. The albino wrapped his arms around Ichigo\'s broad shoulders and buried his face into soft orange locks. Ichigo squirmed uncomfortably when Shiro dropped a kiss on the top of his head. He wasn\'t used to displaying affection in front of an audience, but Hanataro simply smiled and discreetly left the room to give the couple some privacy.



"I thought I lost you," Shiro whispered, sniffling. "You were unconscious for so long."



"You can\'t get rid of me that easily, "Ichigo said soothingly. "You\'re gonna be stuck with me forever."



"I wouldn\'t have it any other way."





********





Las Noches, Hueco Mundo,



"Welcome back Grimmjow. You\'re looking rather worse for wear."



Grimmjow shifted nervously under the gaze Aizen was giving him. The former Soul Reaper captain looked amused at the Espada\'s battered state. He probably was amused, though it was impossible to be certain. Aizen was a master at keeping his emotions hidden. It was entirely possible that he didn\'t have any emotions to show, other than his lust for power.



"I… let down my guard and got taken by surprise," Grimmjow admitted reluctantly. "It won\'t happen again."



"I should certainly hope not," a voice said far too calmly. "This isn\'t the first time you\'ve gone off on your own and gotten into trouble."



Grimmjow\'s blood went cold. He stood ramrod straight and didn\'t so much a twitch as the voice\'s owner fully entered the room. It was the blind Tousen, another former Soul Reaper captain, who was fanatically loyal to Aizen and his own warped sense of justice. The last time Grimmjow had run wild in the human world and got his ass handed to him, almost as soon as he got back Tousen sliced off his right arm and burned it.



"I didn\'t come back completely empty-handed," Grimmjow said quickly, hoping to avoid losing another limb. It had taken him 3 months to rebuild his arm from pure spiritual energy the last time. "I have some information that Lord Aizen should find very interesting."



"Interesting? How so?"



"That substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki. He\'s materialized his inner hollow into the real world. They\'ve become a couple."



"Get to the point Grimmjow," Tousen snapped. "I hardly think that Lord Aizen is interested in a Soul Reaper\'s love life." He gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any second.



"It\'s not that Kurosaki and his hollow are a couple that\'s interesting. It\'s that they\'re an expectant couple. The hollow\'s pregnant."



That got some attention. Tousen straightened, removing his hand from his sword and staring at the sixth Espada from behind his visor. Or at least he would have been staring if he could see. There was no visible reaction from Aizen, but if one looked closely enough one could just detect a glint in his eyes.



"Pregnant hmm? That is interesting," he murmured. "A perfect hybrid of Soul Reaper and Hollow."



Tousen and Grimmjow stayed quiet, waiting for the orders they knew were coming. Aizen could be called a lot of things, but stupid wasn\'t one of them. He would quickly figure out a way to take advantage of this information. And take advantage of it he would.



"Tousen," Aizen said, the blind fanatic snapping to attention. "Tell Syazel to prepare his examination room. Grimmjow, you and Ulquoirra are going to the human world and bringing back that hollow. Alive."