Renji, Rukia and Grimmjow were walking down the street which Ichigo lived on. Grimmjow was in far too deep now; there was no way he could get out of this. He was starting to feel nervous. This was his cubs' grandfather, he had to make sure he got Mr. Kurosaki's blessing. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. This would be the cubs' only grandparents – since Grimmjow didn't have parents around. In fact, he never knew them. It wasn't uncommon for parents to leave their young not long after their birthing. It was more uncommon for them to stay by their children actually. Staying with children meant more possibilities for their own demise. Once cubs were born and could essentially gather their own food they would leave their cubs behind. Sometimes the cubs lived, more often than not they didn't. That's how life was in Hueco Mundo.
"So, Red," Grimmjow started to say. "Ichigo's dad… what is he like?"
Renji turned to Grimmjow and smirked. "Crazy." He laughed and was punched in the arm by Rukia who continued, "He's a little nuts, but he's a good guy. He's a doctor in this world. He loves his family." She smiled at Grimmjow; she knew he must be getting cold feet. It was never an easy situation when you're going to be telling the in-laws that they're expecting grandchildren on the very first meeting with them. "I don't think he'll murder you, Grimmjow. He'll be too excited to know he's going to be a grandfather." She added.
Grimmjow glared at the short shinigami girl. "I ain't worried 'bout him killin' me."
"You're a bad liar," Rukia grinned at the blue-haired arrancar. "In any case, we're here." She stopped in front of the Kurosaki Clinic, which was also the Kurosaki house. Ichigo's father ran his on small clinic that the family lived above. His father was a good doctor, and he could perform many different tasks, but he chose to run his own clinic which was more like an urgent care than anything more serious. Though occasionally they would get a scary case come through the door and then they'd have to stabilize the patient and call an ambulance to take them to a hospital for more in-depth care. Ichigo and his sisters would sometimes help out in the clinic; they knew a lot more about healthcare than any of their friends and could be a makeshift nurse if needed.
Grimmjow looked at the clinic and took a deep breath, puffing out his chest before he reached out and pushed the doorbell. He held his breath as he waited for the door to open, and when it did he slowly let it out before greeting the small black-haired girl who wore the same scowl that his mate frequently gave him. "Hello."
The small girl raised an eyebrow while she managed to keep the glare still piercing Grimmjow. "Hi. Can I help you?" Her eyes flashed to see Renji and Rukia and her expression softened a little. "Rukia, Renji, you're back. Where's Ichigo? Did you find him yet? And who the hell is this?" She nodded her head in Grimmjow's direction as she questioned the shinigami.
"Karin, it's good to see you again," Rukia smiled warmly. "Can we come in and talk? Maybe to your father first?"
Karin nodded and stepped aside, letting the three into the home. She led them into the kitchen and offered them drinks. She then left the room to go get her father. The three of them sat awkwardly at the kitchen table, thinking of what was about to happen.
Ishiin bust into the room and threw himself on his knees beside Rukia's chair, grabbing her hands in a pleading motion. "Rukia do not tell me my beloved Ichigo has been killed in battle!" He wailed. "Is that why you have come? To tell me my boy is gone?!" Tears were falling from his eyes like rivers as he flailed about like a distraught child or monkey. He ran to a large poster of a smiling orange-haired woman and threw his arms on it, continuing to sob against her large face.
Rukia's eyes were wide and she gulped. "N-no sir, Ichigo is not dead! He is alive and well!"
"Oh thank you sweet Kami!" Ishiin bellowed. He wiped his eyes and sucked the snot running down from his nose back in with a loud, wet snort. Then looked at the three visitors sitting at his table. "Then where is my son? And why are you all here? Why is my Ichigo not here?" He looked at the newest, unknown visitor and he lunged at him, his index finger pointing at him, only an inch from his face. "You, Blue, who are you?! What brings you to the Kurosaki household?!" He only waited a second before yelling again. "TALK, DAMN YOU!"
Grimmjow decided now was as good a time as it would be to spill the beans. That was why he was here after all. He stood up from his chair and offered his hand to Ichigo's father. He tried his best to smile without letting it turn to his usual evil smirk. Geeze, this whole being nice to strangers thing was hard. This guy was nuts, and he was technically his in-law now. "I am Grimmjow Jagerjacques. I was once th' 6th Espada, but since your son beat ta crap outta Aizen and had 'im imprisoned eternally, I am just an Arrancar. Ichigo is my mate."
Ishiin had shook Grimmjow's hand during the introduction but once the word "mate" touched his ears he gripped Grimmjow's hand so tight it made the blue-haired man wince. "You're WHAT?" He squinted his eyes shut and his other hand balled tightly into a fist at his side.
Grimmjow repeated himself slowly. "I'm Ichigo's mate. We are a bonded couple. It's th' equivalent of marriage in your world." He gulped quickly and didn't wait before adding on the rest of the story. "An' we're gonna be fathers soon. You're gonna have grandkids."
"I'm going to be WHAT?" Ishiin turned bright red in anger. He looked like he was going to explode into thousands of angry pieces. He let go of Grimmjow's hand and both fists were right in front of his stomach, clenched and ready for action.
"Ichigo is pregnant, with three cubs," Grimmjow explained. "They're mine. He'll deliver soon. He wanted ya ta be there for him when he does. He wanted me ta introduce myself ta ya, and he wants me ta bring ya back with me to our home."
Suddenly, the anger dropped off of Ishiin's face. He ran back to the large poster of a beautiful, smiling, red-haired woman that was hanging on the kitchen wall. He threw his arms up against it and started to weep again. "Masaki! Our baby boy is expecting his own babies! Why can't you be here to hold them?! Masakiiiiiii! What ever will I do?! That boy is pregnant! And the father is another man! TWO MEN, MASAKI!" He sobbed against the glass that protected the large poster. He started to pet where her hair was, making like he was comforting her.
"Shut up, goat-face!" Karin, Ichigo's black-haired sister, was back in the room and now yelling at her father. She slapped his face and glared at him. "All your wailing is annoying! Be an adult will you!"
"Karin! Don't hit papa!" Ishiin cried with his classic pouty face. He tried to hug his daughter but she smacked him again, yelling at him to knock it off.
Now Ichigo's other sister, Karin's twin, Yuzu was in the room. She was pulling her twin away from her father who was overreacting, as usual. "Did I hear Ichigo is having children?" Yuzu asked in her sweet voice as she hugged her father.
"Yes, Yuzu-chan, your brother is carrying cubs!" Rukia chirped. She smiled at the brown-haired girl warmly. She knew Yuzu would also share her excitement and want to be able to spoil the little ones.
Yuzu beamed at Rukia. "That's so exciting! Oh my goodness, when!? I want to make them outfits!"
"Do you not think this is weird as hell, Yuzu? Wait, what do you mean cubs?" Karin asked.
Grimmjow ran his hand through his blue locks. "Umm, my release form is a panther, and since I'm th' alpha they'll be called cubs after my hollow's form. So ya, cubs it is. There are three o' them. So far we know it's one boy, one girl. The other didn't wanna show us what it is on th' ultrasound."
Yuzu grinned and hugged her black-haired twin tightly. "We're going to be aunts, Karin!" She giggled as Karin groaned and tried to swallow this news. "Oh this will be amazing! I love babies!" Yuzu was clearly the happiest one with the news.
Ishiin brushed himself off. He now had a serious expression on his face. "Now, Grimm-kitty, how is my son? Has he been taken care of during the prenatal period? That is very important you see, in all pregnancies. And how far along is he? What is the birth plan?" Ishiin Kurosaki had slipped into doctor mode now.
Grimmjow growled low in his throat at the new and horrible nickname he'd received. He wanted to punch the fucker out but he knew better than to punch his father-in-law on their first meeting. He'd let it slide, this time. "Ichigo is almost full term. We can't be sure of th' length of the pregnancy since it's a mixed breed set o' cubs. But he's been taken care of, fo' sure. He's been restin' a lot and eatin' a lot. He's been gettin' checkups from our scientist we have at home livin' with us."
Rukia looked up at Ishiin and added, "I think Ichigo wanted you to be there for the birth, Mr. Kurosaki." She smiled at the man who'd always been kind to her. "He wants you to come visit and see his cubs when they're born. And his sisters too." She winked at the twins.
Yuzu looked excited and Karin looked shocked and slightly scared. They both turned to their father who just nodded slowly. "Can we all go, papa? Please?!" Yuzu begged.
"Yes, my sweet, darling Yuzu. We shall go see your brother and be there when he delivers my grandchildren," Ishiin smiled.
➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰
Ichigo was curled up in bed on his side, waiting for his mate to return. He was curious as to how the meeting with his father had gone. He really hoped his dad hadn't tried to kill Grimmjow.
There had been a dull ache in Ichigo's lower back for the past few hours, right after Grimmjow left. He hadn't wanted to even move, let alone get out of bed. He had to go to the bathroom, but he waited for his mate to come home so he could be carried out of the bed. The thought of trying to stand on his own was painful and he didn't feel like his feet could carry him at this point. The pain wasn't unbearable, but it was nagging and it got worse the more he tried to move about or roll over in bed.
He groaned as he felt his bladder get kicked by one of the cubs. It almost made him release it and wet the bed. Boy, wouldn't that be humiliating? He whined softly, counting the minutes that went by.
"Ichiiiiiiigoooooooooooooo!" A loud and very familiar voice boomed from the hall. He knew his father had arrived. Great, just what he needed – to be worked up right now. "My son where are you?!" He then heard Grimmjow tell him to follow him, and then he waited only another moment before his mate came into the bedroom.
"Grimm," Ichigo smiled warmly at his blue-haired lover. "You're home."
Grimmjow smiled back. "Yeah, I'm home, Ichi." He went over to the bed and kissed Ichigo's forehead softly. "And I brought your family."
Ishiin burst into the room and over to the bed, shoving Grimmjow out of the way so that he could tightly hug his son. "I have come for you my son! And for the birthing of my grandchildren!" He let go of Ichigo for a moment to look at him. "Well, you sure a pregnant. You're as big as your mother was with the twins!" He smiled proudly at the thought of his beloved Masaki.
Ichigo grinned at his silly father and nodded. "I'm glad you're here, dad." He winced and grabbed his side. "Ahh," he groaned.
Grimmjow jumped back in front of Ishiin, this time not caring about manners, he needed to see his mate. "Is somethin' wrong, Ichi? Ya okay?" He saw Ichigo clutching his side. "Is it your side?"
Ichigo nodded. "My back has been aching… and the cubs are really kicking the crap out of me. I have to pee like a race horse!" He groaned and looked up to Grimmjow. "Help me up Grimm? I wanna go to the bathroom before I wet myself."
Grimmjow put an arm around Ichigo's back and the other underneath his bottom. He didn't even hesitate with Ichigo's weight before he pulled him up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom carrying the orange-haired man bridal style. Ichigo yelped in his arms as he was kicked again.
He let Ichigo down in front of the toilet, and waited for him to get his footing after he placed a hand on the counter for support before he backed away. He kissed Ichigo's cheek. "I'll be right outside, holler when ya need me." He left Ichigo to do his thing and closed the door softly, standing right on the other side, as promised.
He smiled at his father-in-law who was still in shock at the size of his son's belly. The two sisters had come into the room and waited to see their brother and they talked excitedly to Ishiin about what the cubs would look like and all the outfits they would dress them in. Karin said she was going to teach all of them to play soccer no matter if they liked it or not. Yuzu wanted to teach the little girl how to bake and cook. Ishiin said he wanted to do all their checkups, he wouldn't trust anyone else touching his precious grandchildren.
A blood-curdling scream came from behind the bathroom door followed by a crash. Grimmjow growled and threw the door open as fast as he could, rushing inside. Ishiin was quick to follow behind Grimmjow, needing to know what was happening to his son. They found Ichigo on the floor, curled up around his belly, clutching it in pure agony. His forehead had a cut on it that was bleeding; he had hit it on the counter during his fall. Tears were budding in his chocolate brown eyes.
"Ichigo!" Grimmjow cried. "Are you okay? Is it the cubs?!" He put his hand under Ichigo's neck and supported him to lift him off the cold tile floor.
Ichigo groaned. "They're… squirming… and god, dammit! It feels like they're trying to rip me apart!" He clenched his teeth and writhed on the floor in pain.
Grimmjow turned around and noticed that Nel and Harribel had entered the room. He yelled to them, "Get Szayel! NOW!" They nodded and took off running down the hall. He turned back to Ichigo and kissed his cheek. "We're gettin' ya help, Ichi, hang on."
Ishiin pushed into the room. "We need to make sure the cubs are fine after that fall. Ichigo did you fall on your belly?" He put his hands gently on Ichigo's stomach and felt around for any signs of damage. He looked at Ichigo as he nodded.
"I think I mostly fell on my side, but I could have bumped it," Ichigo replied. He groaned in pain again, grabbing Grimmjow's wrist and digging his nails into the skin.
Szayel appeared in the room and Ishiin stepped aside after asking if he was the healer in this world. Szayel nodded and approached Ichigo. He felt the belly of Ichigo and felt the cubs moving frantically inside him. He looked up at Grimmjow. "We need to get him to the lab. We need to check the babies' heart rates. I think it's time to get them out of there."
Grimmjow carried Ichigo in his arms from the room as the four of the headed to the lab. Ishiin told the girls to stay put for now, they would deliver news as soon as they found anything out. He hugged them both and they yelled good luck to Ichigo who moaned a thank you.
Once Ichigo was on the exam table and hooked up to the monitors Szayel began to look at the readings. Before he could say anything Ishiin chimed in, "the third one down, its heart rate is too slow."
Szayel looked over to the large man and raised an eyebrow. "You're a doctor, aren't you?" When Ishiin nodded Szayel smiled. "Good, I need another set of hands on this one." He looked at Ichigo. "Ichi, it's time to get this show on the road, we're going to open your stomach region and perform a cesarean and get those cubs out. One of their heart rates is falling, we have to intervene."
Ichigo gripped Grimmjow's hand tightly and nodded, agreeing with them. "Help them!" He said through clenched teeth. He looked up at his father. "You're gonna help deliver, dad?" Ishiin nodded to his son and smiled. "Good," Ichigo sighed.
Szayel began grabbing all the tools he needed. Prepping the other room that was attached to this exam room with scalpels and sterilization solution. He grabbed pain medications and started wheeling in small incubators into the room. He looked at Ichigo once he was done with all the equipment transferring.
"Are you ready, Ichigo?" Szayel asked quietly. Ichigo nodded once. The pink-haired Arrancar then looked at Grimmjow. "You can choose to be in the room or outside." Ichigo looked up at him with his chestnut brown eyes pleading at him to stay.
Grimmjow nodded and clenched Ichigo's hand tightly. "I'm stayin' with ya Ichi. I'll be by ya side the whole time."
"All right then, let's do this," Ishiin said quickly, suiting up in a surgical gown. He scrubbed his hands and wrists, making sure to pay attention to all the details of his hands, fingernails and knuckles. He washed off and held his hands up. He was going to deliver his grandbabies, and he couldn't be prouder.