I knew the shop was open. It was always open during the day to live people. And at night it was open to Shinigami in need of Gigai. Fake bodies that they could walk around in.
I had wrapped a scarf over the hole in my neck and I had put a wool hat over my frills, but I knew my clothing would give me away as Arrancar. Maybe I could convince the owner of the shop that I meant no harm to humans or him.
Grimmjow was waiting outside the door as I walked into the shop. The shop seemed empty, but I could hear voices.
"Hello?" I called.
A man wearing a flowing green coat and a green and white striped hat came out of another room. He smiled.
"Welcome to Urahura's shop!" he said rather cheerfully. "We don't usually get pretty young women here. How may I help you?"
"I need two Gigai. For me and my partner." I said, stepping into the light. He looked a bit startled at my clothing and my large stomach. "I'm not here to harm anyone."
"Well, I need to see your partner to be able to make him a Gigai. Are you by any chance...a Hollow?"
I pulled the scarf down so that he could see the hole in my neck. He flapped a fan open in front of his face.
"Deary me. And you say you won't eat anyone?"
"Not a soul."
"Well that's all fine and dandy, but what about your partner? Is he going to eat anyone?"
I turned towards the door. Grimmjow came walking through, hands in his pockets. Urahura's eyes flicked from the large hole in his abdomen to the jawbone on his face.
"No." Grimmjow said. "I'm not."
"Well then. This is exciting. I'll get right on it."
The man disappeared into the back of the shop. Grimmjow came over to me and stared into the darkness before us. He put an arm around my waist and kissed my forehead.
Urahura came back later, his sandals clacking on the wooden floor. He had a taller man with him, carrying the Gigai. In Urahura's hands were a pair of wooden plaques.
"These," he said, holding the plaques up. "Are in case you ever need to be in your Hollow form."
The tall man looked at us suspiciously before passing us the Gigai. Urahura gave us the plaques and some modern-looking clothing. Grimmjow paid him and turned. He took my arm and we walked away. I could feel Urahura and the tall man watching us go. They were talking in low voices.
~*~
"Now where do we go?" I asked once we had slipped into our Gigai. Grimmjow folded the collar of his button up shirt down and rolled up the sleeves.
"We need to find someplace to stay." he looked at my clothing and then took my hand in his. "And I have someplace in mind."
~*~
Grimmjow shuffled through the snow up to the house. I followed him, uncertain of why he had chosen this place.
He pushed a finger on the doorbell and waited. A woman with short, spiky black hair answered.
"Yes, what do you need?"
"I'm an old friend of the man of the house." Grimmjow grinned to himself. "Tell me, is he here?"
"He is. But I've known him my whole life and I don't remember you."
"Just let him come to the door. He'll recognize me."
She blinked and shut the door. I slipped my hand into Grimmjow's. With the Gigai, I could feel how cold it was.
"Who is it, Grimmjow?"
"You'll see," he said softly.
A man opened the door. He had short, bleached hair and he looked as if he might have been sleeping. He looked up and his eyes went wide.
"G-Grimmjow."
"Hey, Kurosaki."
"But-you were-"
"Dead? I thought so too."
"Then how come you're here?"
Grimmjow pushed me forward. I held out a hand to Kurosaki, trying to be as polite as a pregnant Hollow could be to a stunned Shinigami.
"I'm Kryse." I said as he tentively shook my hand.
"She healed me while Nnoitra was busy kicking your ass." Grimmjow smiled. Then he looked up at the falling snow. "You gonna let us in? It's freezing out here."
Kurosaki stepped aside. I walked into the warm house first and then Grimmjow came in. Kurosaki led us down the hall to a sitting room. The woman was in there, dusting something.
"I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaques." Grimmjow said to her, offering a hand. She took it.
"Tatsuki."
Kurosaki invited us to sit down. He seemed a bit flustered, and I couldn't blame him. He had thought Grimmjow was dead for years.
"How did you heal him?" Kurosaki asked me.
"I have a sword, that if stabbed into you, it will heal you."
"Ichigo," Grimmjow leaned forward. "We need a favor."
"Erm...okay."
"We need someplace to stay. At least until we find somewhere for ourselves, could we stay here?"
"I-I guess you can stay. There's an extra room but-" He looked at Grimmjow. "You didn't come here just to fight me, did you?"
"We'll get to that issue later." Grimmjow glanced out the window. "Kryse needs to stay in one place while she's pregnant."
"Are you...the...father?"
Oh, this was awkward. Grimmjow just stared at Kurosaki for a moment. I looked between the two of them.
"He is." I said, trying to get the tension away from Grimmjow. "He is the father and will there be a problem with that?"
I saw Grimmjow flash me a smile as Kurosaki shook his head.
"Are you Espada?" Kurosaki asked.
"No. I'm just his subordinate." I saw the look he gave me and I just smiled. I leaned back in the chair and put a hand on my stomach. I didn't really care what Kurosaki thought. He was letting us stay and that was all that I cared about currently.
~*~
I crawled into bed and lay down on my back. Grimmjow rolled over and put an arm over me. That was an issue with being pregnant. I couldn't do anything without grunting. I must've woken him up.
"Thirsty again?"
"Mmmhmm."
"I hope the babe comes soon. You keep going too many sleepless nights."
I curled towards him the best I could. He kissed my forehead.
"Grimmjow, do you ever wonder what the child will be like?"
"Sometimes."
"Well, no matter what happens, I hope he's like you."
I could feel him smiling. I smiled back. I loved him. He loved me.
And that was all that mattered.
