Summary: Sequel to The Quincy Reborn? Nemu can no longer hide her condition from her father.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri did not know what to do. It was a most unfamiliar and irritating sensation. There was no method he could use to solve his problem, no theory he could pursue that would lead to a solution. He was losing Nemu.

Once again, he pulled the camera footage up on his monitor watching the recorded scene showing Ishida Uryuu's encounter with the person he erroneously believed to also be a quincy, Ijima Reiko. How wonderful it had been when it turned out she was not what she had seemed. He remembered how he had laughed in delight when it looked like the arrancar had been about to devour the foolish boy. Then the creature had dealt with Nemu's arrival by fooling her into thinking the quincy had betrayed her. It had been beautiful. It was everything he had wanted. He remembered the uplifting joy he had felt knowing that pest would soon be a hollow's dinner and Nemu would no longer be distracted by her ridiculous feelings. He had won!

Then is all came crashing down. The picture on his monitor flickered as Nemu's attack knocked the arrancar off her feet. Back and forth the little figures moved, first one side getting the upper hand, then the other. He watched for what must have been the thousandth time as Nemu eventually triumphed and helped the boy to his feet. He rewound the footage and watched it again. Why had this happened? His triumph had been so close. Now Nemu was more attached to that lowly maggot than ever. And he had no idea what to do about it.

He felt lost and confused and angry, but most of all, he felt hate. He hated him for taking Nemu away. He hated her for daring to give her loyalty to that stupid boy. Most of all, he hated this impotent, powerless feeling the situation gave him. He didn't know what to do.

"You sent for me, Mayuri-sama?"

Nemu arrived promptly as usual to his summons. Looking at her, standing calmly in her uniform, face placid, eyes slightly downcast, you would never know anything had changed.

"Obviously." He said peevishly. "Now that your little vacation is over, perhaps we can get some work done around here. Lay down on the table. I'm going to adjust your inventory."

"My inventory?" She replied. "Why do you need to adjust my inventory?

Mayuri was taken aback. She was questioning his actions? Before she would simply lie on the table and allow him to do his work. It was that damned Quincy's fault, he was sure of it. He was a bad influence on her.

"It's been months since we've adjusted your internal storage." He explained astonished that he should even have to do so. "Besides the usual rotation, I want to add something new."

He held up a syringe filled with a light red fluid, grinning as he stared through the glass barrel.

"This is something I came up with while you were gone. It has fantastic mutagenic properties and guarantees days, possibly weeks of misery for its victims as their bodies betray them and warp into grotesque new shapes until they take a form that cannot survive the environment."

He laughed in delight at how clever he was.

"Doesn't it sound like fun? Now get on the table so I can add this to your internal storage."

Nemu began to slowly back away.

"I do not want to have that placed in me."

Mayuri frowned. She was making him angry with her disobedience. Thinking for herself was bad enough, he was not going to tolerate defiance.

"Stop being foolish! I wouldn't put this in you if it would do you harm. You contain far more toxic substances that this. This is hardly worth fussing over. Now get on that table!"

Nemu had actually backed into the wall and was shaking her head vigorously in denial.

"Mayuri-sama, please. I don't want to do this. Please do not make me."

He was really angry now. With a growl, he grabbed her arm and twisted it upwards.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it! I will not have you shirking your duties over some irrational fear!"

He brought the syringe to her arm and prepared to plunge it into her flesh.

"Get that away from me!" She screamed.

She tore her arm free from his grasp and slapped the syringe from his hands. It flew across the room and shattered against the opposite wall. Immediately, clouds of oily black smoke began to form.

"You fool!" Mayuri shouted.

He ran to an emergency kit bolted to the wall and broke the glass with the small hammer chained to the side. Seizing a large can, he yanked off the lid and threw white powder over the smoldering formula eating its way through the wall and floor. For a few tense seconds, it seemed like nothing was happening. Soon, the smoke stopped as the powder neutralized the liquid.

Mayrui turned to Nemu, his face a mask of rage as he forcefully threw the now empty can on the floor.

"You idiot!" He snarled. "Do you have any idea what you have just cost me? Do you realize how difficult it was to synthesize that much formula?"

"I'm sorry Mayuri-sama." She said as she bowed low in apology.

"Sorry." He hissed. "You'll know the meaning of sorry when I'm done with you."

He stalked across the room, reason and self control forgotten. He knew on some level that Nemu would report him for abusing her. He knew that he was throwing away weeks of progress in building up trust he had been carefully cultivating. In his rage, he didn't care. At that moment, he was furious and felt nothing more than the need to punish.

Renji glanced over at his captain as they walked down the street leading to Division 12. As usual, Byakuya seemed to float above the situation, calm and serene.

"I can't say I like this Captain." He said "It seems weird getting called into another division's disciplinary affairs."

While divisions handled their own problems as a rule, Gotei 13 regulations did allow members to appeal to outside authority when necessary. The last time Division 6 had been called into action for this purpose was to retrieve Captain Kuchiki's fugitive sister. When the call came to respond to Division Twelve for a domestic assault, it was not unheard of, but the rarity of the occasion still struck Renji as odd.

"We will determine the appropriateness of the complaint when we arrive on scene." Byakuya coolly replied. "The victim is supposed to meet us at the gate."

As they approached the Twelfth Division's compound gates, Renji had no problem spotting the victim. The torn, bloody clothes and bruised face furrowed with deep, bleeding scratches made it obvious.

"It's about time you got here!" Mayuri griped. "Arrest her! Drag her out of here in chains! I want her punished to the maximum amount the regulations allow!"

"Please calm yourself Captain Kurotsuchi." Byakuya said. "We need to know what happened here before we can take appropriate action."

"What happened?" Mayuri sputtered. "I'll tell you what happened. I called Nemu in for a perfectly routine procedure and she attacked me! It's as simple as that."

"Where is Lieutenant Kurotsuchi now, Captain?" Byakuya asked.

"She locked herself into the specimen vault." Mayuri replied. "It's this way."

He led them into the compound and down into the basements and sub basements of the facility. There were many delays as he used various cards and punch codes to get to levels with higher security ratings. Or safety hazards. The whole way he moaned and complained about Nemu's recent dereliction of duty and gross insubordination. Byakuya repeatedly asked what was the "routine procedure" she had refused to perform. Mayuri evaded his questions, citing the need for secrecy. Finally, he brought them to the lowest level.

"Here it is." Mayuri announced waving at a massive steel door. "The specimen vault."

They stood there staring at it for several seconds. Renji started to fidget in the uncomfortable silence.

"Um, aren't you going to open it up for us?" He said.

"I can't." Mayrui replied. "She's locked herself inside and disabled the outside controls on all the entrances."

"Then how were you expecting us to arrest her?" Renji asked.

"I don't know!" Mayuri barked. "You're the arresting authority, figure something out!"

Renji drew his zampakuto.

"Well, I'll try breaking it down. Stand back. I'll probably have to go bankai."

Mayuri sneered at his ignorance.

"It's a specimen vault you cretin. It would take have a dozen captains using bankai for days just to crack it open and the entire compound would most likely be destroyed first. You'll have to do better than that."

Byakuya ignored their little exchange, stepping up to the vault door and running his hand lightly across it as he looked it over.

"Captain Kurotsuchi." He said. "Is this an intercom? Will it allow us to communicate with the lieutenant?"

"Yes, it should." Mayuri said stepping closer. "All outside audio and video communication is cut off when you go inside. This is the only way to talk to someone in there. It's designed to be heard throughout the vault."

He switched it on.

"You press this button to talk." He said indicating the large square on the bottom.

Byakuya stepped up to the device and pressed the talk button.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi Nemu. This is Captain Kuchiki Byakuya of the Sixth Division. I have been tasked to arrest you on the charges of dereliction of duty and assault on a superior officer. Will you surrender yourself peacefully?"

Releasing the talk button, they listened for several seconds as the box produced nothing but the occasional crackle of static.

"Maybe I should try, Captain." Renji said.

Byakuya gracefully backed away, allowing Renji to use the intercom.

"Hey, Nemu." He said. "It's me, Renji. Uh, look, I'm guessing some things got out of hand, but you know, I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding. I'll bet that if you come outside, we can straighten this whole thing out. What do you say?"

Again, the box on the wall gave nothing but static.

"Are you sure this thing is working?" Renji asked Mayuri.

"Of course it's working, you clod." Mayuri snarled. "Can't you see the green indicator light? Get out of my way, I'll handle this."

He stalked over to the intercom and angrily mashed the talk button down.

"Nemu! I know you can hear me you rotten child! You wanted me to use proper channels for discipline? Well you're getting your wish! These men are here to drag you out in irons like you deserve for your vicious, unprovoked attack. Stop shaming me by hiding like a coward. Come out! Come out this instant!"

Just as before, there was nothing but hisses and crackles.

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" Mayuri implored his witnesses.

"This is indeed a difficult situation." Byakuya said. "Unless we can come up with a different solution than force, we would appear to be at an impasse."

Renji scratched his head, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I'm not too sure, but I think I have an idea."

Momo was alone as she approached the door. Its massive solidity was a little intimidating, looming over her with it metallic bulk. She paused for a moment to touch the corridor wall, leaning on her hand as if she had lost her balance momentarily. She then went to the intercom as instructed and pressed the talk button.

"Un, Nemu-chan, are you there? It's me, Momo."

She released the talk button and waited for a reply. None came. After a few minutes, she tried again.

"Nemu-chan, I heard some bad things happened today. I just want to help."

There was still no reply.

"Nemu-chan." Momo pleaded into the box. "Even if I can't do anything for you, don't you at least want to talk?"

After a few more minutes of waiting, she was about to turn away to report her defeat when the door began to move. It was eerie seeing the meters-thick slab of metal swaying silently outward on its well oiled tracks and hinges, almost graceful in its hydraulic powered movement.

"Please step inside." Nemu's voice said over the intercom.

Forcing herself not to look behind her at the spycam she had placed on the wall, Momo entered the dimly lit vault. The door closed behind her, making noise only as it sealed itself into its frame.

"You had plenty of time when the door was open." Mayuri complained as he stared at his computer monitor they had set up in a nearby room. "Why didn't you rush in?"

They had hoped to see something useful from the spycam if Momo was successful in getting Nemu to open the door. Nemu had apparently anticipated that. They saw nothing but darkness while the door was open and now saw only the once again closed door.

"Captain Kurotsuchi." Byakuya replied. "As that is the storage area for your most valuable specimens and the lieutenant may potentially resist arrest, how much damage do you think she could do before we were able to subdue her? It would be best to allow Lieutenant Hinamori time to calm Lieutenant Kurotsuchi down."

Mayuri folded his arms and 'hmphed' in disgust. Byakuya was right. If Nemu chose to resist, she could do incalculable damage and destroy irreplaceable samples. That didn't make him feel any better. He hated for anyone to be right except him. Nonetheless, it was as Captain Kuchiki said. The best and only thing they could do now was wait and see if Lieutenant Abarai's plan worked, see if Lieutenant Hinamori could bring her out. They waited impatiently as they watched the door through the spycam.

The lights came up as the door closed behind Momo.

"Nemu-chan, are you there?" she called out.

"In the back." Nemu replied.

There were racks and cases and cabinets reaching up to the ceiling. It was impossible to see very far in any direction. Momo tried to walk towards where she thought Nemu's voice had come from. Stepping too close to a cage, something lunged and snarled at her. She flinched away from it, not at all sure what she was looking at.

"Stay between the yellow lines, please." Nemu called out.

Looking down, Momo saw the path through vault was painted in red bordered by yellow lines with warnings of danger for anyone who left the path. She was soon grateful for its guidance. The vault was filled with many different items, from multi colored liquids that flowed through winding tubes to dull and unimpressive bins to strange objects that seemed to pull you in their direction the more that you stared at them. More than once, Momo had to drop her eyes to the floor to make sure she didn't get lost. Following the pathway, she soon came to the back of the vault safely. There she saw Nemu sitting on a bench, hands folded, eyes downcast. As Momo approached, she looked up and waved for her friend to sit down beside her.

"This is some place you have here." Momo exclaimed as she sat down. "What was that animal I saw?"

"It was not an animal." Nemu said. "It was a mineral. It's hard to explain."

"Oh, I see." Momo said, not seeing at all. "So, I was told you're having some trouble."

Nemu merely nodded silently, sadly.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Momo asked.

Nemu sighed. "Mayuri-sama called me into his lab to work with a toxic substance. This is not an unusual duty for me. Ordinarily, there would be no problem with the task he wished for me to perform. Unfortunately, things have changed. I can no longer perform tasks of that nature."

"Why?" Momo asked. "What happened?"

"I can no longer work with toxic substances." Nemu replied. "I can no longer endure severe shocks. I cannot allow myself to be subjected to stress and danger."

She lifted her head to look Momo in the eye.

"I can no longer think only of myself." She said. "I must do everything I can to protect my child."

Mom couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Your child? You mean to say…?"

Nemu nodded. "Yes. My child. I'm pregnant."

Momo's jaw nearly hit the floor. This was astonishing! There were many children in Soul Society, true, but very few had been born there. Conceiving children required the parents to have an enormous amount of spiritual power and was routine only among the nobility. Even in the upper ranks of the Gotei 13, having a child was almost unheard of. Without thinking, her hand stretched out to Nemu's waist, lightly touching her abdomen in amazement.

"You're pregnant." She whispered. "That's wonderful."

Suddenly, the realities and difficulties this situation presented hit her train of thought.

"Wait a minute." She said removing her hand from Nemu's stomach and straightening up. "You're pregnant? How could this happen?"

Nemu looked at her with a confused look on her face.

"Well, for fertilization to occur, first the male must be aroused." She explained. "Under proper stimulation, blood engorges the p…"

"No, no, I know that," Momo interrupted, "I mean, who's the father?"

Nemu again fixed her gaze on the floor.

"It's Ishida Uryuu." She confessed. "The Quincy archer. I haven't told him yet. It's not something we tried to do. I was unaware I was able to conceive. Had I known, I would have taken precautions. It's not fair to him to burden him with responsibility like this."

"So what are you going to do?" Momo asked in a quiet voice. "Are you going to…get rid of it?"

Nemu wrapped her arms around her body and doubled over as if protecting her unborn child.

"No! Never!" She exclaimed. "I love it too much already."

"If you keep it, you will probably have to resign." Momo pointed out. "Does anyone else know?"

"Captain Unohana and Isane." Nemu said.

She had gone to the fourth division right away after her fight with the arrancar. It was a relief to learn her baby was unharmed. Captain Unohana had agreed to keep things secret, but warned her she would have to report it eventually.

"I'm not worried about resigning." Nemu said. "I am ready to make that sacrifice. I am more worried about Mayuri-sama. I'm afraid to tell him."

How could she explain it to her friend? She was worried about Mayuri's reaction on several levels. He could seek to harm her. He could seek revenge on Uryuu. Worst of all, he could try to take their child. Knowing the many, many ways Mayuri could torture and warp their beautiful child, callously and cruelly twisting it to his own ends, it made her blood run cold.

Momo placed her hand on Nemu's shoulder.

"It's not like you have to go through this alone." She said. "We're here now, me and Captain Kuchiki and Renji. We can help you. If nothing else, I'll be right next to you the whole time. That's what friends are for you know. You can lean on us to help get through this."

Nemu gave her a grateful look. She knew that she had been letting her fears get the better of her. She had been thinking about her problem as if she was alone. Momo's words reminded her that she wasn't friendless in this world and that she did have people she could turn to.

"You're right." She said. "Besides, putting this off won't make anything easier."

She stood up from the bench. Despite her fear, she held onto the newfound determination her friend had given her.

"It's time to let Mayuri-sama know."

As soon as they saw the door opening on the monitor, they raced down the hall to the vault. Momo and Nemu were exiting as they arrived

"So glad you could finally join us," Mayuri sneered sarcastically as he walked towards them. "I hope you're ready to take your punishment."

"Captain Kurotsuchi."Momo said. "Nemu-chan has something she would like to tell you."

Puzzled, Mayuri stood frowning at his daughter as she stepped close. Standing tall, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Mayuri-sama." She said. "I can no longer work in this environment. I am with child."

Even through his makeup, it was easy to see the expression change on Mayuri's face. It progressed from surprise, to disbelief, to rage.

"It's the Quincy's. Isn't it?" He shouted.

Nemu calmly nodded. "Yes. Ishida Uryuu is the father."

Nemu did not flinch from her father's anger. She did not back down. She did not even move as his hand lashed out towards her face.

Byakuya caught Mayuri's fist a few centimeters from its target.

"Captain Kurotsuchi." He said "As your lieutenant is now in my custody, I cannot allow you to harm her."

"I withdraw the charges." Mayuri snarled, barely coherent. "I will discipline her myself!"

"That cannot be allowed." Byakuya calmly explained. "Her actions are against the law of Soul Society and can only be dealt with by the Council of 46."

He released Mayuri's hand and turned to Renji.

"Lieutenant Abarai, restrain the prisoner and prepare her for transport to the holding cells."

"Huh?" Renji said confusedly. "Uh, sure."

Taking out his handcuffs, he pulled Nemu's hands behind her back and fastened them in place.

"Sorry Nemu." He said. He tried to make sure the cuffs weren't too tight.

"You can't do this." Momo said. "She's in a delicate condition!"

"We have to follow protocol, lieutenant." Byakuya said. "Conceiving a child with one of the living is a serious offense. In a situation this grave, we must ensure we follow all required procedures."

He turned to Mayuri,

"We will be taking the prisoner back to our holding cells. You will be contacted later on visitation rights and your privileges both as her superior officer and relative."

The whole time, Mayuri had been standing like a statue, disgust and fury carved on his face. Byakuya's words seemed to wake him up.

"Fine." He hissed. "Take this filth out of here."

Turning on his heel, he stalked his way down the corridor.

"Mayuri-sama." Nemu called out to his retreating back. He didn't turn around even to glance at her as he left. "Mayuri-sama!"

She watched him until he couldn't be seen anymore. When he was well gone, her shoulders slumped, hurt by her father's rejection.

Renji sighed with relief and rummaged around in his pocket for the handcuff keys.

"I have to admit captain, that was quick thinking refusing to release Nemu from custody." He said. "I'll take these off now."

"You will do no such thing, lieutenant." Byakuya said. "She is to remain that way until she is placed into confinement."

"You mean you were serious?" Momo asked.

"Of course." Byakuya said. "From this point forward, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi's fate resides with the Council of 46."