Husband to None and Father to One.

Well now it's been a while since this story saw any love, let's get going shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal Speech"

'Inner Speech/Thoughts'

"Kido/Zanpakuto/Quincy Techniques"

"Zanpakuto Speech"

"Hollow Speech"

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Chapter 4:

As the four of them finally arrived back at Las Noches, Ichigo was surprised to see his father leading what looked like a blonde woman into the fortress. As they drew nearer though, he could see that she was in fact a heavily injured hollow.

"Lord Aizen," he said in greeting, as he maintained the façade that seemed to grow day by day. "I have returned with the arrancar Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck." At the mention of the word arrancar, he could see the blonde woman flinch ever so slightly, but the others didn't seem to notice.

"Impressive work Kurosaki. If I were to guess, I would say that you were at least a Vasto Lorde before you evolved. But where are my manners," he said with a smile and a shake of his head. "I am Sosuke Aizen, Ruler of Las Noches and the arrancar army within and the woman with me is the Vasto Lorde Tia Harribel."

"She doesn't look like much," Lilynette whispered to Starrk, unaware that the others had heard her too. "I thought he said that they had strong friends."

"Weakened as I am, I am still stronger than you child," Tia murmured, causing Lilynette to bristle at the comment.

"Child?! I'm over several hundred years old you hag!" she shouted, stomping forward and trying to intimidate the taller woman.

Feeling the tension in the air rising and seeing that neither Starrk, nor Aizen were going to do anything, Ichigo sighed and inserted himself between the two squabbling hollows.

"That's enough!" he shouted, forcing the two back with a push. "If you want to settle your differences later, by all means go for it, but while in Lord Aizen's presence you will maintain some level of decorum." As if to aid in his son's statement, the three suddenly felt an icy chill run down their spines as Aizen allowed a hint of his agitation to show in his reiatsu, stunning the others at its potency. Once they were sufficiently cowed, he turned his attention back to Ichigo.

"Kurosaki if you will please show our guests to a room where they can rest. After they have undergone their transformationwe can arrange for something more permanent for them."

"Of course Lord Aizen," Ichigo replied, inclining his head slightly as Aizen departed, before with a nod of his head, he gestured to the hollows to follow him. As they walked in silence, Ichigo had to sigh at the agitation that was reflected in Lillynette's reiatsu, while both Harribel and Starrk seemed completely at ease. Ushering them into a room set aside for just such a purpose, he held out a hand to prevent Harribel from entering. "You will wait in a separate room," he muttered, answering the unasked question.

As they continued to walk along, Harribel felt a sense of foreboding build in the pit of her gut as Ichigo escorted her further and further away. After travelling in Aizen's presence here, she was reasonably confident that she would not be killed within an instant by him, but here and now, by this unknown subordinate of his, she wasn't willing to drop her guard. When they stopped outside a nondescript door, she felt her spine stiffen as he turned to her with a blank expression on his face.

"You will wait here until we are ready for you," he muttered with a jerk of his head, drawing a suspicious look from her.

"Why here? Why not with the other two?" she asked warily, her foot sliding back an inch or so.

Frowning at her reluctance, Ichigo stepped into the room himself, allowing her to peek in from the doorway. What she found, was a line of beds lined up along one side of the room, while a few arrancar servants bustled back and forth.

"This is the infirmary," he explained, calling over an attendant with a click of his fingers. "With how severe your injuries are, the procedure may very well kill you. You will allow them to treat you here so that you have the best chance of survival."

Whispering his instructions to the female attendant, he frowned as Harribel had yet to enter the room. "If you do not allow them to treat you willingly, I will put you into one of those beds myself. I will not allow you to hinder Lord Aizen's plans because of your paranoia."

Glancing between the female attendant and Ichigo's frown, Harribel eventually complied and shuffled into the room. Satisfied that she would allow the servants to treat her, Ichigo strode out of the room. "She's so frustrating," he muttered as he walked down the hallway, his mind still on how difficult the blonde arrancar had been to deal with.

"Aren't they all?" a snide voice commented, causing Ichigo to pause in his step. Looking up, he found himself staring at the tall form of the Quinto Espada, Nnoitra Jiruga. "I see Lord Aizen has you ferrying around another bitch. Tell me, is she going to become one of the Espada?" he asked with a sneer, looking at the door to the infirmary with an expression of disdain.

"Considering that she is a Vasto Lorde level hollow, I fully expect her to become one of the Espada," Ichigo muttered nonchalantly. "Who knows, she might even take a position in the top four." Walking past the now visibly frustrated Espada, he stopped once their shoulders were level. "Make no mistake Nnoitra, if she doesn't live to her transformation, I will kill you without a second thought. Rabid beasts deserve nothing less after all."

"You calling me a nothing more than a beast boy?!" the Quinto Espada snarled, looming over the former substitute with a demented glare on his face.

"I call it like I see it Nnoitra. Your bravado, your arrogance…to me, I see nothing but a worm that needs to be put in its place," he replied emotionlessly, his eyes taking on an azure shade.

As Nnoitra stared into his eyes, he felt his breath hitch in his throat, as well as the unmistakeable sound of a demented child chuckling in his ears. Scoffing to hide his apparent fear, he shouldered his way past Ichigo, missing the slight narrowing of his eyes.

"He's a rude one Ichi-nii…I hope you let me play with him one day," Zangetsu murmured from within his inner world.

'Believe me, I'm tempted to let you have him right now,' Ichigo answered with a sigh, running a hand through his hair and grimacing at the grains of sand they brushed over. 'But for now we need him and what I want most right now is a shower.'

XXX

His assessment proved to be true as both Starrk and Harribel ended up ranked first and third respectively, much to the chagrin of some of the others as their ranks were lowered appropriately. Whilst Barragan and Syzael seemed to brood in silence, Nnoitra actively expressed his displeasure, but never to the point of actual violence. It irked Ichigo to think that he had to tolerate such beasts, but as his father told him, they were needed for now.

What was a surprise though was when Ulquiorra had shown up a few days later with an enormous hollow in tow. It was clearly not a Vasto Lorde, but the power it gave off was certainly impressive for an Adjuchas. When it finally went through its transformation though, Ichigo suppressed a sigh at its sheer idiocy and arrogance, whilst Aizen announced his rank as the new Tenth Espada.

Now though, he found himself feeling lonelier than he had in years. While he was certainly glad to have his father's company once again, they could barely see one another outside of a meeting or war council. He didn't particularly care to interact with the hollows around him, nor were the traitor Captains as entertaining as he hoped.

A week passed by, yet the task Ichigo found himself faced with, was certainly not one he was enjoying.

"And where are you going?" he spoke out loud as he leaned against the outer wall of Las Noches, surprising the blonde haired arrancar as she exited from one of the many entrances of the giant fortress. "Lord Aizen's has ordered that all Espada are to remain within Las Noches for the moment."

"Kurosaki..." she hissed under her breath, as her eyes narrowed in agitation. Of all the people for her to run in to, he was one of the few that would actively try and stop her leaving on her own.

"As cold as ever to me Harribel. One would almost think that you held some deep rooted hatred for me with the way you say my name," he said as he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. "You still haven't answered my question though. Why are you trying to leave?"

Seeing her frown, he sighed and scratched his head, before growling softly. His other self had certainly developed a few annoying habits. Clearing his throat, he drew her attention back to the matter at hand. "Please don't lie to me. I don't know what' so important to you that you'd risk Lord Aizen's anger, but let me assure you, it's not worth it…whatever it is."

"To me it is," she whispered, surprising Ichigo as a hint of desperation entered her tone. "Please move Kurosaki…I won't allow you to delay me any longer."

"I told you already I won't, at least not without a reason."

"Then you leave me no choice," she murmured, reaching behind her back and slowly pulling her zanpakuto free with a single finger, causing Ichigo to slide his hand down to his own.

"Is there a problem here?" a calm voice spoke, causing the two of them to freeze, their eyes widening as they recognised the speaker.

"Lord Aizen…" Harribel whispered, hurriedly sheathing her weapon as she bowed to the man as he exited from the shadowed entrance, a deceptively friendly smile on his face. Staring at the posture of the two, he smirked and walked towards Ichigo, coming to a stop at his side.

"My orders are absolute that is true Kurosaki, but for one of our Espada to risk death, the reward must be incredibly worthwhile. As such, it would be the sign of a poor leader if such initiative was crushed simply because it went against one's initial orders."

"Of course Lord Aizen, I'll remember to keep that in mind," Ichigo replied, bowing his head.

"That is all I ask. And Harribel, if you had attacked Ichigo, I would be most…displeased. Remember to keep that in mind should you decide to draw your blade against him," he stated, causing Harribel to flinch as she felt his benevolent façade fade away, replaced with ice cold anger.

"My apologies Lord Aizen, it will never happen again," she answered, dropping to her knees.

"See that it doesn't. Now, why are you trying to leave Las Noches?"

"I began to have a strange feeling several days ago Lord Aizen. After careful consideration, I can only assume that what I have been feeling is Apache, Mila Rose and Sung-Sun's reiatsu calling out to me."

"They were the three adjuchas that were with you when I rescued you, correct? I was under the impression that they were dead."

"I…I thought the same thing at the time Lord Aizen, but I can feel the faintest flickers of life within them even now and it continues to grow stronger day by day. I need to assure myself that they either passed on or survived."

"This is Hueco Mundo Harribel, you know the universal law that governs it. The strong feast on the weak. If they were dead or injured, it is most likely that another hollow has consumed them by now. What you are feeling might simply be a delusion your mind has created to offer you comfort."

"I…I understand Lord Aizen…forgive me for my insolence," she replied, standing to her feet and heading back into Las Noches with her head bowed. She paused mid-step as Ichigo spoke.

"Lord Aizen…if they did survive, it would be a testament to their strength," the teenager commented, drawing a curious look from Aizen.

"You believe that they would make worthy arrancars?"

"I believe so yes. They may not be worthy of being Espada, but if we succeed, then we gain more strength for our army. And if we fail…then we at least have closure for one of our soldiers," he answered and Aizen could read his unsaid thoughts in his expression. 'If it focuses Harribel then it will be worth it.'

"I see…very well then. The two of you have 24 hours. If you do not find a trace of them within that time, you are to return to Las Noches immediately," he ordered, surprising Harribel and Ichigo both.

"Understood Lord Aizen," Ichigo quickly replied, before hurriedly gesturing for Harribel to follow him. "Come on, we don't have any time to waste."

As the two disappeared with a swish and buzz respectively, Aizen chuckled softly to himself as he headed back into Las Noches. "Such an emotional boy…so much like his mother at times."

XXX

Hope you enjoyed it everyone, till next time.