Pairing: GrimmjowxIchigo

Summary: Washed up on a riverbed was never a situation Ichigo thought he would ever be in. Cold and so very far from home, how will a house-hybrid survive?

Warnings: Yaoi, Hybrid-AU, M-preg, abduction, twisted Disney plot lines.

Aristocats

Chapter 1

What an awful draft. I hope the window in the drawing room hasn't been left open again. The whole house was icy for hours. May be he does it on purpose, just because he knows that it's my favourite spot for an afternoon nap. It is the best place to be, and when the sun hits it just right … I could lie there for hours.

However, a gentleman such as myself would never dawdle for too long. There are things around the house that must be kept in check, especially now that the mistress's health is failing. It is my duty to make sure she is well cared for.

What's that?

A shadow at the window? How very familiar … is it? I do believe it is!

I head towards it. But I can't reach it, the window is getting further away! How? How is that possible. I run. I get nowhere. No! No! No! I must get there, I must see him!

I shiver. It's getting colder now, though the window is sealed shut. Never to be opened again.

My view is shifting, I'm floating! I'm moving further away. No! Take me back, I want to see him! Please!

Bodies flowing into the room. Strangers. I don't know them, they're not welcome! I'm being restrained, the hold is unyielding. The door is closed, though there is still so much noise getting through.

A soft touch to my ear. Mistress! She's here, she looks so sad, so angry. Her big blue eyes can't calm me like they usually do. I struggle and scratch at my fleshy prison. Mistress is afraid, I can see it in her eyes. I can't hear her lulling voice through my heartbeat. They don't understand! I need to see him! Why won't they let me see my – ?

Bang!

.

.

.

Gunfire? But … Why?

I'm let go. But I fall. I keep on falling. Mistress is trying to talk to me. I can't hear her. I can't see her. The only thing I see is the shadow and that man's evil smile …

–

The first thing Ichigo felt was the lick of water on his bare feet. It wasn't uncommon for him to be barefoot, but he had never woken to cold feet before. Something was certainly amiss. Surely, the staff had gotten all the fires up and running by now. It had to be late morning at least. Ichigo couldn't have this, especially with Mistress's ill-health.

Ichigo knew that she tried to put on a brave face, but she was slowly faltering. Subsequently causing more worry amongst the household. Which was also very quiet for this time. There wasn't the usual buzzing of the maids moving about the rooms getting to their work. Not a chime from the bells, signalling the Mistress's desire to be assisted.

He briefly wondered which maid had seen to his bedding the day before. It was not up to scratch. The mattress was lumpy and so very cold. Wait … was the mattress shifting beneath his fingers? It felt … filthy! He reached further around him, feeling more of the grime, but not the forms of his little ones. Although he was afraid to open his eyes to the possible horror that surrounded him, he knew he must.

Very slowly, his eyes flickered open, blinking slightly at the lack of light. Squinting, he took in the view above him. It appeared to be cut stones, slick with moisture and some from of plant life. Blinking some more, he flinched as a drop of moisture fell upon his forehead. He wiped at it furiously, only to stop in horror as he took in the sight that was his hands.

Dirt. Brown, wet, unsanitary dirt!And he had just rubbed it all over his face! He wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible, but he knew that the whereabouts of his little ones was a far more pressing issue. Anything could have happened to them!

"Darlings! Where are you? Please answer me!" He called out to the surrounding area. A soft call to his left had him sprinting in an instant. "Please, my darlings where are you?"

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Ichigo searched desperately for any hint of his little ones, the slight mist on the water only making it even more difficult and worrying. A stray flash of white in the corner of his eye had him scrambling through the murky waters towards what he thought was his oldest. "Mama! I'm over here Mama!"

Underneath a small pile of pebbles was the, now, off-white fluff of his son. Ichigo quickly brushed the pebbles aside and scooped his son, Shiro, into his arms.

"Shiro! I'm so glad I found you!" He began searching his son for any cuts or bruises, but Shiro squirmed his disapproval.

"I'm fine Mama! Where are we anyway?" Shiro's curious little nose was shifting every way for clues.

Ichigo sighed in relief. His eldest seemed perfectly fine then. "I'm not sure, my darling. Head to the bridge over there and wait for my return. I'm going to find your brother and sister." With one last hug, he watched Shiro make his way to the bridge before searching amongst the reeds for a glimpse of orange. His darling girl would be easier to spot amongst the tall grass.

"Hime! Hime, please answer Mama! Where are you Hime?" Ichigo jumped over the smaller clumps of grass in search of his little girl.

"Mama! I can't see you, it's so dark and cold!" Ichigo spotted an overturned tree stump not far from where he stood, a tiny trail of orange was poking out.

"Stay where you are, darling! I'm coming for you, don't panic!" In his haste, Ichigo didn't notice the ditch before him and he fell slightly, catching himself before injury. The pain in his ankle not registering with him. He promptly picked up the pace towards the shivering ball of orange fluff that was his daughter. He gently brought the quivering girl close to his chest, as to not alarm her. "It's okay, Hime darling. Mama is here now."

Hime sobbed softly into Ichigo's chest, clinging to his night shirt tightly. Ichigo stood slowly, cradling his daughter close. He carried her back over to the bridge, where a heckling Shiro was pushing at something wrapped in a blanket.

"Wake up! Wake up! Mama's looking for you!" As Ichigo drew closer, he could see the small form of his youngest amongst the filthy lavender blanket. "Mama! Tensa's right here! He's just sleeping!"

Ichigo couldn't fully relax until he knew that his little one was completely out of harm's way. Keeping Hime in one arm, he crouched down besides Shiro, carefully unravelling the blanket. There in the folds was his youngest, little Tensa, so tiny and shivering violently. Tensa had never been very well, often falling ill when the weather took a turn for the worse.

His little darlings cried out when a harsh wind blew at them, sending a shiver through all of their tiny bodies. Dressed only in their night clothes, his children huddled close to their mother for warmth. Frightened to death, their confused eyes broke Ichigo's heart.

"Quickly, under the bridge, my darlings. It looks like a storm is coming." They ran beneath the shelter of the bridge, though the open sides did nothing to protect them from the harsh winds. With his back to the wind, Ichigo gathered his poor kittens to his chest. Their tiny ears pinned back in fear, their little tails wrapped around their bodies for comfort.

Ichigo looked down at his darlings with a brave smile. "We'll be fine, my darlings. As long as we're together." He took in each of his kittens scared faces. Shiro, trying to put on a brave face for his mother, though his quivering ears and tail showing his fear. Mistress had often said that Shiro looked exactly the same as Ichigo had as a kitten, albeit with the softest white hair and fur imaginable. He liked being centre of attention, and was quite the little piano player.

His daughter, Hime, was curled closest to his chest, trying to find comfort from her mother's steady heartbeat. She possessed the same shade of hair and fur as Ichigo and she was swiftly becoming the proper little lady that Ichigo knew she would be. Though a bit ditzy at times, her giant heart made up for it tenfold. And while she was usually quite shy she would never back down from singing for Mistress and her honoured guests.

As Tensa was usually sickly, he was shyer than the other two. Mainly staying close to Ichigo's side when he wasn't resting. Ichigo tried not to think of it, but Tensa's course, brown hair and fur always struck something deep within him. Reminding him of a past with both pleasant and horrifying memories. Tensa's talents lay within the visual arts. A magnificent painter in the making, Ichigo boasted.

They all made him so proud and loved, that he couldn't stand to see them suffer the way they were. Their very being was a miracle in itself, one that Ichigo still couldn't fully comprehend. He was the most shocked when he found that he was carrying a litter, having thought he was a normal tom cat-hybrid. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he knew that he didn't like the thought of a life without his little darlings.

Looking to the sky Ichigo judged by the light that it was fast approaching morning. The winds slowly dying down to a faint breeze against their cheeks, the rain becoming a persistent drizzle. Ichigo held their little forms closer to him as they slowly dropped off to sleep in his arms. Nuzzling them gently with his nose, he settled against the damp stone of the bridge, minding to not let his kittens touch it.

He had no idea where they were, or why they were there for that matter. But for that moment, the nervousness and pure fear of losing his darlings turned to exhaustion. The last thing he thought of was the shadow in the drawing room window.