Hybrid Theory

July 8, 2002

Akane's early birth had come as a surprise, but in the weeks since it became clear that she was a very healthy child. Her reiatsu was very strong for a newborn, and would only grow stronger as she grew older. Grimmjow realized that there was a very real possibility that by the time his daughter was full grown, she would be more powerful than he was, which made him feel both proud and afraid. Afraid of what Aizen would do with her...

Grimmjow had also been quick to pick up a sense of stubbornness from the red-haired infant. Just as she hadn't cried at her birth, she never cried when she needed something either. She would just look at the nearest parent with blue eyes narrowed in an expression that said "I'm hungry, now do something about it." Grimmjow personally found it amusing, while Renji wasn't so sure. The redhead was thankful that she didn't wail at everything like most newborns, but at the same time was worried it may be indicative of a bad attitude when she was older. But he supposed he would just have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Maybe when the other children were born, she would begin to exhibit more social behaviors.

Orihime had continued to heal Rangiku regularly, but ever since learning that touching her directly had allowed some help from the reishi of her unborn child, it hadn't been needed as often. Some testing had shown that the child's reiatsu was definitely weaker after each healing, but it recovered at a steady pace, so there wasn't any alarm at using the child's power to heal Rangiku.

"Thanks a lot, Orihime."Rangiku said with a smile, feeling the familiar pulse of her reishi being restored by the younger woman's touch. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"It's not me you should be thanking."Orihime chuckled softly, her free hand on her stomach. "Although... I am a little concerned. I know Szayel said that her reishi goes back to normal after a little while, but I'm still worried what sort of effect this could have on her once she's born..."

"'She'?"Rangiku questioned. "You know it's going to be a girl?"

"It's just a feeling I have."Orihime said, trying to decide how to explain to her friend. "I don't really know how to describe it. It just... FEELS like a girl, you know?"

"Hm, I don't really get it."Rangiku said. "I don't have any feeling like that at all."

"Maybe it's just me."Orihime murmured. She stood with the intention of getting a little exercise, as much as she could in her condition, but gave a gasp when a sharp pain suddenly lanced through her abdomen.

"Orihime-chan?!"Rangiku exclaimed in concern, moving to the girl's side. She quickly noticed that the skirt of Orihime's white gown was wet. "Wait, is it...?"

"Yeah. I think the baby's coming..."Orihime said through pained breaths. Rangiku resisted the instinct to panic, carefully leading Orihime from her room to her own. She instructed the younger woman to just lay still and breathe while she went to retrieve Retsu. It was only a few minutes later that she returned with Retsu and Hanatarou in tow. Retsu informed the young woman that Starrk had gone to find Ulquiorra. Orihime didn't think that mattered all that much. True the Cuatra Espada was the child's father, but she doubted the emotionless man would care too much.

Unlike when Renji had given birth to Akane, Retsu wanted to avoid performing a Cesarean unless absolutely necessary, not just with Orihime, but with all the female parents. Orihime understood her reasoning, a natural birth was ultimately less risky, but that didn't mean she liked it. She'd heard from several sources how painful childbirth was meant to be, but nothing could have prepared her for the pain she was in now.

It was an excruciating four hours before Orihime heard the relieving sound of an infant's cries. She let out a relieved breath, leaning tiredly into the pillows she was propped against.

"Congratulations. It's a girl."Retsu stated, handing the calming child to her mother. Orihime gently cradled the child to her, gazing down at the tiny being that she had been carrying inside her all these months. She clearly took after her both parents, thin strands of black hair atop her head and big, winter green eyes looking out from a pale face with a structure nearly identical to Orihime's. She wasn't the same pure white pale as her father, but was definitely as pale as a person could be without it looking completely unnatural. She would be indistinguishable from a human when fully clothed, but naked as she was now her inhuman traits were obvious. What could be considered her mask fragments were not on her head, but rather on her back and neck, running down in a way that resembled an exposed spine reaching from the base of her skull to where her rib cage ended. Unlike Akane, she did have a Hollow hole, right in the center of her chest, but it was oddly not perfectly round. It was distinctly heart-shaped.

"It's definitely strange."Retsu commented, noticing where Orihime was staring on the child's body. "I've never seen a Hollow hole like that before. I'm not sure what it means."

Ulquiorra, who had arrived about twenty minutes into Orihime's labor and had been silently observing from the corner since, chose then to approach the bed. Stoic eyes gazed down at the tiny little girl held in her mother's arms, observing her. As if sensing her father's presence, the baby returned his gaze, holding it for a few moments before giving him a smile. Orihime looked up at the Espada in time to see... something spark in his eyes. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was the first time she'd seen a trace of any sort of emotion from him. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached out his arms, clearly asking silently to hold his daughter. Orihime hesitated, but only for a moment before handing her daughter over to her father. She watched as he held the baby with suprising tenderness, looking at her with... amazement? Adoration? Confusion? It was hard to tell when his eyes were the only sign of what he was feeling, the rest of his face still as stoic as always.

"Orihime-chan, have you picked a name?"Rangiku asked. Orihime nodded, closing silver eyes tiredly.

"Yeah. She's so pale... just like the snow. So I'd like to name her Miyuki."

"I like it."Rangiku smiled, approaching Ulquiorra and smiling down at the little girl. "Hello, Miyuki-chan. You're so adorable. Auntie Ran-chan could just eat you up!"

xXxXxXx

The next two months were anything but uneventful. After Akane's early birth, Miyuki had been the first to arrive according to schedule, and the rest were prompt to follow. Just shy of a week after Orihime, Rukia went into labor. Hers was more difficult than Orihime's had been, both due to her slighter frame and the fact that she was carrying twins. The entire birthing took nearly a full day, but when she was finished she held two perfectly identical little boys. They had clearly inherited Gin's silver hair and sky blue eyes, but their facial features had definitely come from Rukia. Gin had been the one to choose their names, but Rukia later confided to the others that she didn't think the names were half bad at all, not that she would ever say so to Gin himself. The first born of the boys had been named Kouichi, while his little brother had been named Kouji.

Four days later it was Soi Fon's turn. Her delivery had been surprisingly quick, only just barely over an hour. For all her early objections in referring to the children as parasites and monsters, the woman had melted almost instantly when her son had been placed in her arms. He had inherited both of his parents' dark hair, and his mother's silvery-grey eyes. His face was long like Nnoitra's, but his features were oterwise from Soi Fon. While there were no signs of mask fragments on him, he did have a Hollow hole, which ran right through the center of his left palm. Soi Fon expressed her concern that the placement of the hole may hinder him later in life, but was relieved that he didn't possess any other obvious Hollow traits. She had decided long before the birth exactly what she was going to name her child: Yoruichi if female, Yoru if male.

Only two days after Yoru had been born, Retsu went into labor. Obviously she could not see over her own labor, so Hanatarou had to attend to it himself. He'd been assisting his Taichou will all of the births so far, so he wasn't going in completely blind, but he was still nervous that he would do something wrong and harm either her or her child. Orihime had recovered from Miyuki's birth by that time, and so had volunteered to help. She couldn't use her Soten Kisshun during the birth, or rather chose not to risk it due to the possible complications with the exact mechanics of her power, but she had gathered enough from watching the other two births after hers that she was able to assist him well enough, keeping him calm and reminding him of what needed to be done at a given point in the process. He seemed almost more relieved than the new mother when the whole ordeal was over. Like Akane, the little boy didn't cry upon enterring the world, but rather than annoyed like the elder child, he looked more calm about the whole ordeal, as if he'd been prepared for and accepted that it was time to leave the safety of his mother's womb and come out into the bigger world beyond. Lilynette had commented that it was a sure sign that he had inherited either his father's laziness, or his mother's quiet calm regardless of the situation. She hoped it was the latter. Whichever the case was, he'd gotten his looks from both his parents, sporting his mother's black hair and his father's pale blue eyes. His features were largely Starrk's, but his face had an overall rounder shape to it like Retsu's. He was the first hybrid to show no physical signs whatsoever of his Hollow parentage, having no mask fragment and no Hollow hole anywhere on his body. Starrk and Retsu had actually talked together about what to name him, rather than leaving it up to one parent as had been the case with the others so far, and had eventually settled on Kenshin.

The next birth was the day after Retsu's, and she hadn't yet recovered enough to leave her room and attend to it, leaving the task again to Hantarou and Orihime. Of course, Orihime would have attended this one regardless, as it was Rangiku who was giving birth this time. With the trouble her friend had been having all through her pregnancy, she didn't want to take any risks. Thankfully, the actual birthing went without any complications. Within three hours, Rangiku was holding a little boy who had clearly gotten his looks from his mother. Not a single feature could be picked out from Yammy. His features, eyes, and hair, were all clearly inherited from the woman who had carried him all these months. Like Yoru, he had no mask fragments, but he did have a Hollow hole, lying in the center of his abdomen much like Grimmjow. Lilynette had again had a comment here, joking that maybe Grimmjow was the father rather than Yammy, but Starrk had told her not to be an idiot and reminded her that a hole's placement varied by individual, having nothing to do with where a parents' hole was. The fact that Miyuki's hole was in a position close to her father's had been pure coincidence. Rangiku had shrugged off the entire conversation, proclaiming to the others that she would name her son Mitsuru.

Another four days passed, and when Byakuya went into labor Retsu had recovered enough to return to seeing to the births. Orihime had decided to continue aiding in the remaining births, and Retsu was grateful to her for doing so. Like Renji, Byakuya was clearly not equipped for a natural birth, so when it was clear that the child was ready to be born, it was mere minutes before the process was complete. Byakuya had confessed to his sister that he had hoped for a son, but his disappointment was minute when the Fourth Division Taichou informed him that he had a daughter. In the noble's eyes, the little girl was absolutely perfect. Her hair and eyes were both pitch black, forming a contrast both with her pale skin and her mask fragment, a band of bone around her neck just below her jawbone that at first glance would resemble a choker necklace had such a thing not been just as abnormal on an infant as the reality. Her facial features had all clearly come from Byakuya, even if the coloring of her eyes had come from Barragan. Her Hollow hole was situated low on her body, directly between her pelvic bones. Byakuya was glad that the hole was in a place that would likely never see the light of day. He'd cast a deathly glare at Renji when the redhead had commented that depending on how she turned out as an adult, she may very well wear clothing that could reveal it. The look had shut his fukutaichou up quickly. The girl's father had not attended her birth, and Byakuya had been quick to pick out a name for her before the old man could appear and choose for him, christening her Reika.

Five days passed before the next birth occurred. Toushirou had been equal parts eager and apprehensive, both wanting to see his children, and dreading to see how they may resemble Aizen. He was not at all surprised when the first child, a boy, was identical to the psychopath that had sired him. But true to his word, he was not going to shun his child for Aizen's involvement in his birth. Unlike Rukia's twins, Toushirou's were not identical. The younger twin was a little girl, who took after her 'mother' just as much as her brother did their father, clearing sporting snowy white hair and turquoise eyes. Unsurprisingly, Aizen had been alerted right away when the young Taichou had gone into labor, and had arrived in time to witness both children's arrival. Not giving Toushirou any time to object, the Lord of Los Noches had promptly chosen the names of the two children himself, naming the elder brother Suigetsu and the younger sister Kyoka. No one was sure whether his clearly naming the children after his zanpakuto was merely a sign of his vanity, or of something more.

A few days after the twins' birth, Tier was the first Arrancar to go into labor. During her entire pregnancy, she had seemed to consider it nothing but a hassle. As reluctant as the prisoners had all been in this entire ordeal, it hadn't taken long for them to connect to the children they'd been carrying, the fact that these were their children far more important than the details of how they had been concieved. The Tres Espada, however, had not had the same sentiments. When Retsu tried to hand her the child after the birthing was complete, she had simply turned away, wanting to get her sleep and recover her strength as quickly as possible. Retsu gave a small sigh, but it wasn't as if she could force the woman to take the child. So instead she gently handed her off to her father, who was much more willing to take her into his arms. The little girl's skin was a light caramel color, dead center in color between Jyushirou's and Tier's. She had her father's face shape and most of his features, but her eyes were identical to her mother's, both in shape and color. Her hair, surprisingly, was two-toned in coloring. From the tops of her ears upward to the top of her head, it was the same black Jyushirou's had been before it had gone stark white due to his illness. Below that, it was the same golden blond as her mother's. On inspection, no Hollow hole could be found in her body, but she did have some mask fragments. On both sides of her neck were three small, thin lines of bone arranged in a way that resembled gills. That was all the clue Jyushirou needed that, like her mother, her fully Hollowfied form would resemble some sort of aquatic creature. He decided it would then only be fitting to give her a name associated with the element. He'd hesitantly questioned Tier for her opinion on it, but the blond woman had simply stated that she didn't care. Jyushirou had given a soft sigh before looking sadly at his daughter, deciding on his own to call her Ren.

Almost another week had passed before it was Franceska's turn. Tier's fraccion were not of the same mind about the children they carried as their mistress was. None of them had been too keen on the idea of motherhood when this all had begun (Franceska least of all), but the three women had warmed up to the idea in the months as their children grew inside them, coming to actually look forward to it by the time the children were to be born. To say Franceska had enjoyed giving birth would have been an outright lie, but she certainly seemed to be pleased with the little boy she held in her arms after the fact. She could easily pick out the features she had passed on to him: green eyes, dark skin (darker than his father's), thin lips, and a narrow chin. With the excpetion of these, he was essentially identical to Chad. He had no mask fragments or Hollow hole, and in fact Retsu stated that she sensed a relatively small amount of Hollow reishi in his aura. He would definitely be stronger than an average human, but she doubted he would grow as strong spiritually as the other hybrids born so far. When asked what she had wanted to name him, Franceska had been quick to answer with Angel, giving the Spanish pronunciation rather than English. This had somewhat surprised the others, and they found themselves wondering if perhaps Chad had been the one to pick the name and Franceska had just been the one to voice it. After all, he had Hispanic as well as Japanese blood, and had even lived with his grandfather in Mexico until his death, so he was just as likely to choose a Spanish name as the Arrancar were, and more likely to pick a name so... pure and innocent.

Two days after Franceska gave birth, Emilou and Cyan both went into labor the same day. Both girls had rather narrow hips, and so had some difficulty that the others had not experiened. Hanatarou was nervous during the entire process of Emilou's labor, worried that something horrible would befall his child. But after eight hours, he stood beside the exhausted Fraccion holding a little girl who was practically a female clone of him. She had, however, inherited her mother's condition of heterochromia. Her right eye was the same pale blue as Emilou's, while the left was the much darker blue as both of Hanatarou's. Without waiting for any input from Hanatarou, Emilou declared that she wanted to name the girl Marisol. Being too meek to object to the strong-willed Arrancar, in addition to having no major objections to the name, Hanatarou didn't say anything against the decision.

Cyan's labor was not as short lived as Emilou's, not by a long shot. It was sixteen hours, fully into the early hours of the following day, when Retsu conceded that a natural birth was not going to happen in this case. Cyan had started to object to allowing the Shinigami to cut her open, but the passing of another painful contraction changed her mind quickly. The snake-woman breathed a sigh of relief to see that, despite the difficulties of labor, her daughter was completely healthy. She had Uryuu's black hair, as well as his face shape and nose. The shape of her eyes were the same as her mother's, but the color was a purplish shade of blue, as if her parents' eye colors had mixed to make her own. She bore no signs of her Hollow heritage on her body, and when Cyan focused on her reiryoku, she couldn't feel any traces of Hollow energy in her aura. Uryuu, however, could clearly sense the latent powers of a Quincy in her young, still fairly weak aura. Having expected the child to have more Arrancar power, Uryuu hadn't thought much about her name in the time leading up to her birth, figuring Cyan would come up with something good enough. But the moment he sensed the power of a Quincy in her, that had changed. She needed a name that clearly displayed the power she held: Mayumi.

A little over a week passed between Mayumi's birth and the next. If Nemu had thought concieving the child had been painful, she was not prepared for actually birthing it. Still, her pain threshhold kept her from visibly outwardly expressing the agony, even though she doubted anyone would think any less of her if she screamed. All of the other mothers had screamed after all, some even threatening things such as the murder of the fathers, but she wasn't going to do that. Once the child was finally born, Szayel was quick to scoop her up, and Nemu desperately wanted to take her away. The man wasn't cruel enough to not let her get a look at the newborn girl, though. The child's facial features came largely from her, but the shape of her eyes was more remiscent of Szayel. Szayel's pink hair had passed to the little girl, and at first glance it seemed that Nemu's green eyes had gone to her. But in just the right light, a sheen of gold could be seen over the green, almost like the shine of an insect's eyes. A Hollow hole was very prominently displayed at the base of her throat, and when Szayel turned her to expose her back, four vertical strips of bone could easily be seen on her upper back, two on either side of her spine. Szayel seemed to have an idea what form those fragments of mask would take in a fully released form, and was quick to choose the name Aleta.

Three days later, the final child was born, which revealed something that none of the Shinigami had expected. Momo's son very prominently resembled his father. Dark skin, purplish-black hair, even most of his features. The one exception were Momo's eyes, both in shape and color. When Retsu first looked at the child, her eyes widened in surprise. On his back was what could only be a form of Hollow mask fragments, a sort of bone plating that vaguely resembled a beetle's shell. Retsu questioned how that could be possible, but Gin explained the situation to her and the others gathered for the birth. Tosen had become Hollowfied during the time in which they had been in Hueco Mundo, effectively making him... well, whether he should technically be considered a Vaizard or Arrancar was debatable. His origin was closer to a Vaizard, but the form he took was closer to an Arrancar. Either way, a trace of the power had clearly passed to his son. Before leaving the room, Gin passed on to Momo a message from the man in question: since the child was a boy, he had chosen the name Norio.

xXxXxXx
September 1, 2002

Orihime let out a small sigh, holding her daughter in her arms as the dark-haired girl slept. In the past week, Aizen had been closely monitoring the children, as if looking for something. That wasn't to say he hadn't been doing so since each one's birth, but it had become all the worse since the last of them, Norio, had finally been born. She'd taken notice that he had shown little interest in Kenshin and Mayumi, the two who from birth had shown little sign of any Hollow reiryoku, and she wondered why that was. She knew that the whole purpose for this had been for him to form a hybrid army, but did it really make much of a difference how heavily their aura tipped toward Arrancar as opposed to Shinigami or human? She would have thought that as long as they were strong, it shouldn't really matter that Kenshin's power was more Shinigami and Mayumi's was more Quincy. Unless there was some detail he had neglected to give to the prisoner parents...

"She's asleep?"came the familiar voice as the bedroom door opened and closed. Orihime glanced up to look at Ulquiorra, giving a small nod at his question. That was something else she had thought somewhat strange. The normally cold man had seemed to be growing surprisingly attached to Miyuki. She normally wouldn't be surprised, the pale little girl was his daughter after all. But this was Ulquiorra they were talking about. The man who questioned the existance of a heart simply because it was not something that could tangibly be seen.

"I'm honestly surprised you're so... attached to her."Orihime said as the Cuatra Espada gently took the child from her mother's arms into his. "It just... doesn't seem like you."

"I don't understand it myself."Ulquiorra confessed, green eyes settled on his daughter as he spoke. "But as soon as I laid eyes on her... I don't know how to describe it. Everything just... shifted. I want her to always be happy, to never be hurt..."

"You care about her."Orihime translated, eyes widening just the tiniest bit.

"Is that what it is?"Ulquiorra asked uncertainly, pale fingers gently caressing Miyuki's dark hair. "I've never felt it before, so I wouldn't know..."

Orihime looked sadly at the pale Arrancar, standing to lay a hand gently on his arm.

"I can't begin to understand what it's like to live your life without emotions."she murmured softly. "But it seems that, somehow, Miyuki is healing your heart."

"My heart...?"Ulquiorra questioned, green eyes turning to his child's mother. "Can I truly possess such a thing."

"Maybe so. Only time will tell."Orihime said, her attention drawn once more to Miyuki as the child began to wake from her sleep.

"Heart..."Ulquiorra said again as he looked down to the child, who looked back up at him with wide green eyes. "Is it true that humans sometimes have... special names for their children that only they use?"

Orihime nodded. "They're called pet names. Pumpkin, Princess, Little One... things like that."

"Heart."Ulquiorra said firmly, holding his daughter close. "Miyuki is my heart."

xXxXxXx
Author Notes:

Akane ("Brilliant Red")-6/16/2002
Miyuki ("Deep Snow")-7/8/2002
Kouichi ("Shining First") and Kouji ("Shining Second")-7/14/2002
Yoru ("Night")-7/18/2002
Kenshin (Ken="Healthy", Shin= "Humble")-7/20/2002
Mitsuru ("Full" or "Growing")-7/21/2002
Reika ("Spirit Flower")-7/25/2002
Suigetsu ("Water Moon") and Kyoka ("Mirror Flower")-7/30/2002
Ren ("Water Lily")-8/3/2002
Angel (the 'g' pronounced as in guitar. This is the Spanish variant/pronunciation.)-8/9/2002
Marisol ("Rebellious Sun")-8/11/2002
Mayumi ("True Bow")-8/12/2002
Aleta ("Winged")-8/20/2002
Norio ("Man of Law")-8/23/2002

There are a few reasons why this has taken a while to be updated. A big one is that I didn't want to just randomly pop out the children and have to work out how they would fit into a cohesive story later. I have plans for a three-part series involving these kids, and wanted to get at least a main group of them together to work with in parts 2 and 3. Not ALL of the kids will ultimately be important, but I wanted to have an idea of where I was going with them before finishing fully introducing the first wave of kids.

In case some readers haven't noticed, chapters 3 and 4 have had some MINOR re-writing done to adjust for some information revealed about Isshin and Masaki that was not yet available to me at the time I originally wrote them. Certain things I couldn't change because I have plot points that don't make sense otherwise (such as making Isshin Taichou of the Third when he's reinstated rather than the Tenth as he originally was), but others have been changed that weren't too deeply tied with my plot and thererfore would just be better to use the correct information (such as my prior use of the popular-now-disproven fan theory that Isshin is Yamamoto's son).

So, it should be made clear by conversations so far that Aizen intends to make a second set of Espada of the hybrids being born. The intenton for the new set is thirteen (signifigant in two respects: 13 itself being viewed as unlucky in Western cultures, and the digital root of 13 being 4, associated with death in Asian cultures). At the end of each chapter I'll start including a list of the 13 aspects of the new Espada (in alphabetical order by aspect, rather than order of intended strength), as well as which child is associated with that aspect. However, only children who have been CONFIRMED to be of an aspect in the story will be included in the list. If a child is born, but has not yet been stated to be associated with an aspect, they will not be added until their aspect is confirmed.

Chance-
Envy-
Fate-
Fear-
Gluttony- Matsumoto Mitsuru Llargo
Greed-
Lust-
Pride-
Rapture-
Sacrifice- Inoue Miyuki Cifer
Silence-
Sloth-
Vengeance