Kittens by ImoutoCommissions

Chapter 1

It had been about a month and a half since Ichigo had discovered that 
she was pregnant, and her children had begun to develop so quickly that 
her stomach was already swollen to a massive size. She was laying, 
curled up on her side because that was the most comfortable position, 
especially in her current state, in a nest of blankets and pillows that 
she had created in her bed.

Masaya, her soon to be husband, was curled up behind her, holding her 
close as he often did, and the two talked about all sorts of things. 
Their conversation did not start out so serious, but as she continued 
thinking, she found the topic shifting to her own worries regarding 
their future.

It started as she lamented about their wedding, which had had to be 
postponed. "I can't believe I swelled up so fast!" she whined. "It was 
impossible to fit me for a dress! Now we have to wait until after 
they're all born..."

"That's alright," he replied, and this was not the first time he had had 
to reassure her about this. "We'll get married soon enough, and it'll be 
great no matter when it is."

"Still..." she said with a sigh. "I'm worried about them being born, you 
know. It isn't going to be much longer until the babies are here and 
I'm...I'm just not sure."

"What aren't you sure about?"

"What if we aren't ready to be parents? What if I turn out to be a 
terrible mother? It was so unexpected, and we're young, and...and I'm 
just worried!"

"Ichigo, there's no need to worry about that," he replied. "We have each 
other, and we love each other so much. I know that we'll be able to show 
them just as much love, and we'll be great parents. Not to mention, 
they'll have so many surrogate aunts to help out."

"I'm also worried about...you know..." Her ears twitched and he could 
feel her tail doing the same. She hadn't been able to get her feline 
features to go away for a week or so, and they had been ever present, 
causing her concern as well, as she wondered what that meant for her and 
her babies.

In an attempt to soothe her, Masaya reached to rub her swollen stomach, 
knowing how much she loved belly rubs, and even more so now that she was 
pregnant. She sighed in contentment and said, "They always get so active 
whenever you touch me. I think they can tell it's their father."

He was happy to touch her and feel the way their children squirmed just 
under the surface, but then he noticed something strange that gave him 
pause. What Masaya felt were several little bumps along her stomach that 
had not been there before, all of which leaking some sort of fluid, and 
as he moved up, he discovered that her breasts were also leaking 
something. When he pointed this out, he tried to remain calm, but she 
was incredibly concerned, and the two of them decided that they needed 
to have Ryou and Pai investigate this as soon as possible.

He helped her out of bed and into a maternity gown, and then assisted 
her in using the litter box that they started keeping in their bedroom 
for convenience. Since she was not able to move around as much as she 
used to, and since she needed to pee more frequently, it seemed like the 
best option. Once that was all taken care of, they left, calling on the 
way.

~X~

A makeshift clinic had been set up since Ichigo had begun having 
frequent appointments regarding her pregnancy. Today, Lettuce would be 
serving as a nurse to Pai and Ryou, as she had been doing more 
frequently lately, both because she provided much better bedside manner 
than either of the men, and because Ichigo's feline instincts made her 
view the touch of any male besides the father's as a potential threat to 
the lives of the children. After samples were taken of the liquid, the 
men ran tests on it, and they waited for the results.

"It appears to be milk," said Pai, once they had it ready to examine.

"It's some sort of hybrid between human milk and cat milk," added Ryou. 
"And I guess what that means is, you've started lactating in preparation 
of feeding the children. I'm assuming the bumps are extra nipples you've 
developed in order to be able to nurse all of your children."

While she was in, they did an ultrasound to check on them, which 
revealed that, while the babies were small, they were incredibly 
developed for this stage in pregnancy. It was hard to tell, with Ichigo 
being the first hybrid mother, but they suspected that this meant she 
was nearly due.

"I'd wager to say that you'll be giving birth within the next two weeks, 
following a cat's gestation period, rather than a humans." Ryou said 
this matter-of-factly, but the expecting mother didn't understand how he 
could say something so serious without batting an eye.

In fact, she was so overcome with sudden panic that she felt as though 
she could hardly breathe, gasping for air as Lettuce and Masaya tried to 
calm her down. Even while this was going on, the men kept talking and 
Pai said, "Your children will probably be very small at birth, so even 
though you're giving birth to an incredibly high amount of young for a 
human, you will likely only need to dilate five centimeters, as opposed 
to the usual ten."

"That means that the birth should be really easy on you," Lettuce said, 
and this helped to calm Ichigo down, at least a little bit.

"How many children are we going to have, then?" she asked. She had known 
that it would be a few, but she didn't know the exact number.

"No more than eight," Pai replied. "At least, judging by the extra 
nipples. It's hard to get an exact count, but you have at least four 
growing inside of you, that we've been able to see, and you have no more 
than eight."

As Ichigo and Masaya made their way back home, she was mostly silent, 
giving her future serious thought, but as he talked to her, he reminded 
her that she wouldn't be doing any of this alone, and that, no matter 
what, they had each other. He did all he could to reassure her, and the 
two of them once again grew excited for the coming of their children.

Chapter 2

Two weeks after her appointment regarding her lactation, Ichigo had a 
baby shower thrown for her, by her mother and the other Mews. Heicha 
tagged along with Pudding, and Masaya was the only male there, allowed 
to attend because it was being hosted in their apartment. Everyone 
gathered around to shower her with gifts, and lots of them, because 
there was no way of knowing how much supplies she would need when she 
didn't even know how many children she was having. Naturally, there 
would be time for her to send others shopping for her, but it was best 
to be as prepared as possible beforehand.

She gushed over everything that was presented to her, delighted at the 
sort of things her friends came up with for her. Of course, Mint bragged 
extensively about how her gifts were only the best products for babies, 
while Zakuro was not so vocal about her gifts, which were just as 
expensive. Pudding had a lot of things that weren't on the list, knowing 
from personal experience that certain things were more useful than 
expected, and Lettuce gave only the most practical things, as well as 
several brightly colored picture books.

Ichigo actually teared up over the things her mother gave her, things 
passed down from when she had been a baby. It was all so touching, 
having everyone surround her with so much love, and she was having such 
a lovely time at the party, but all the while, she was trying to ignore 
the fact that she was feeling rather strange. After all, she was used to 
strange symptoms through her pregnancy, and since she hoped that this 
was nothing serious, she didn't want to interrupt the party for it.

However, only a few moments later, she realized that she didn't have 
much of an option, and she clutched her stomach suddenly. Just as 
suddenly, she felt a fluid gushing out of her, and as everyone turned 
their attention to her, they could see that she was sitting on a soaked 
couch cushion. Her mother, Lettuce (due to seeing her own mother and her 
personal studies), and Pudding (due to seeing her mother go through it 
twice) all immediately could tell what was going on, and realized that 
Ichigo was going into labor.

Out of protective instinct, Masaya immediately transformed into the Blue 
Knight and picked his future wife and the mother of his children up 
delicately.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Mint, picking up on what was happening 
based on everyone's reactions.

"Do you need us to do anything for you?" asked Zakuro. "If you need me 
to go out and get something..."

"Just tell us what to do!" Pudding added.

"I think...we'll be okay," said Ichigo, wincing as she spoke.

"Do you need me to help you?" asked Lettuce.

"I can come with you, if you'd like," her mother added. Heicha simply 
watched in a wide-eyed silence, unsure of what was going on, but knowing 
that it must be serious.

"For now, I just want to be alone with the father," she replied, her 
breathing growing more and more uneven by the moment. "But please, stay 
here and wait, just in case."

Her friends and mother agreed to wait for her, and Masaya carried her 
into their bedroom, laying her down in the nest of blankets and pillows. 
Undoing his transformation, he knelt beside her to do all that he could 
to comfort her through her labor. She bit her lip and held his hand, 
waiting until she couldn't afford to lay like that anymore, and he 
helped her into a new position with her legs spread.

The first kitten to be born, and it was hard to call it anything but 
that, was male. He was small, and had a strange appearance, with a body 
more like a cat but a human head. He had dark fur and the little bit of 
hair on his head was black as well. Masaya got little numbered 
wristbands they'd made for this, and put it on the kitten while setting 
him gently near one of Ichigo's nipples, so that they could keep track 
of the birth order.

The next kitten to be born was female, with soft red fur and hair, and 
then, following her, was a male with that color fur. The fourth to be 
born was a female with dark fur, and then a female with pink fur, and 
then a male with pink fur. The last kitten to be born was another female 
with red fur, and a similar appearance to the first female to be born.

There was a moment where the couple waited, while the newborn infants 
fed, but soon Ichigo was able to say, "I think that's it. Seven, right?"

"Yes," he replied softly. "Seven kittens."

She nodded happily, and watched them as they all fed. Whenever one would 
finish and unlatch, she would bathe them with her tongue. At first, the 
impulse felt strange to her, as a human, but her feline side insisted on 
it and she was unable to fight off that instinct, cleaning up the fur of 
her newborn kittens. Their fur had been matted after birth, but as she 
cleans them up, it becomes fluffy and downy, as it's supposed to be. One 
by one, she got them all cleaned up, until the final one joined its 
siblings, cuddling up to sleep.

Ichigo curled around them protectively, purring as she felt herself 
growing very, very sleepy.

It had been a long day, and even if the birth had been easy on her, it 
was still physically exhausting, and she was ready to just sleep with 
her newborn children. In the morning, she would wake and they would all 
be there with her, and then she and Masaya could decide on names, but 
for now, she could only sleep, and while she did, Masaya watched over 
them.

He only left for a moment, exiting the room to talk to the women 
patiently waiting outside. The presents they had left scattered had been 
picked up and organized, and Heicha had fallen asleep, resting her head 
in Pudding's lap. They all looked up at him in anticipation, save for 
the sleeping girl, and he delivered the good news to them.

"Ichigo gave birth to seven kittens," he said. "They all seem to be 
healthy and doing great, but they're all sleeping right now." With that 
everyone decided it was time to head out and give the family more 
privacy, though when Pudding shook Heicha awake, she protested that she 
wanted to see the babies before she left.

When he returned to his family, he laid down beside Ichigo and the 
kittens, watching carefully over them.

Chapter 3

When Ichigo woke up the next morning, she was overcome with the greatest 
sensation of contentment she had ever felt, to be surrounded by such a 
large family. The kittens were awake but still rather sleepy, and Masaya 
was keeping a close eye on her. When he noticed that she was awake, he 
kissed her and held her for a bit, until she had woken up enough to 
start talking about names.

"I think we should name them after things relating to strawberries," he 
said. "At least, as close as we can get. I have a few ideas for some."

"I have some ideas too," she replied. "I like that."

For the oldest one, the boy with coloring more resembling his father, 
they ultimately decided on Kuroichigo for him. Meaning blackberry, the 
name suited his appearance perfectly, and was a very easy decision for 
the two of them to make. Their oldest daughter, with coloring more 
similar to her mother, was named Kiichigo. Her name meant Raspberry, 
which was in a similar vein to her brother's name, and once again suited 
her perfectly.

Masaya wrote these names down alongside their numbers, though it was 
unlikely that they would forget, even with there being so many kittens. 
Their second son, and the third of their children to be born, was 
another who bore a resemblance to Ichigo. They named him Ringo, which 
meant apple, because it matched the colors well and seemed to fit him 
perfectly, as well as fit in with the names of his other siblings.

After him came the next oldest daughter, the one who resembled Masaya 
more closely. She would be named Ume, which meant plum, for, once again, 
it suited her appearance and fit the theme of the other names. Following 
Ume was their next daughter, the one with the striking pink features, 
resembling Mew Ichigo more than Ichigo's true appearance, which was 
quite the curiosity. They decided to name her Cheri, before moving on to 
another one of their children with a pink color scheme.

This one, despite his coloring, was a boy, and they decided to name him 
Rubus for the genus of the raspberries. It might be an unusual name, but 
for hybrid baby with such an odd appearance, it seemed very fitting. 
Finally, there was the youngest, a little girl who looked a lot like 
their oldest daughter. They decided to name her Kinomi, which meant 
berry, and was simple but, given her small size, seemed perfectly 
fitting.

And so, once the seven of them were named, they rested for the rest of 
the day, and called to set up an appointment with Ryou and Pai for the 
following day so that their babies could have their very first checkup.

~X~

By the next day, they were a bit more lively, but she had to get them 
gathered up to take to the clinic that had been set up for her. The nine 
of them headed out, and when she set them down in front of the men, Ryou 
nodded and said, "Looks like we were right about the number."

Pai also nodded, and made a note of that. "This data will be very useful 
in the event of future hybrid children. Though, there's no way of 
knowing if the other girls will follow similar patterns to their own 
animals, should they get pregnant."

After that, they began to examine the children more closely, checking 
their vitals in ways that both vets and doctors would do, never quite 
sure which would be more fitting to the situation. Ichigo watched 
nervously, hoping that the kittens weren't too afraid, having two 
strangers examine them like this, but they seemed mostly unaffected, 
which was a relief.

Finally, Ryou took the time to speak directly to her again, rather than 
reciting data to Pai, who recorded it all with diligence. "Well, the 
kittens seem to be healthy, given their age and how much we know about 
them, but there are some abnormalities with them. Namely, we aren't 
sure...well, their vitals don't exactly line up with what a human's 
should be, but they also don't exactly line up with what an iriomote 
cat's should be."

"Basically, they're in a class all their own, as we suspected they would 
be," Pai added. "So, we'll have to monitor them closely, but we don't 
think they'll be faced with any particularly nasty health problems."

"What about Kinomi?" asked Ichigo, then gestured to the smallest, just 
to be sure they knew who she was referring to. "She's much smaller than 
the rest, like the runt of the litter. Will she be okay?"

"Not to worry. I doubt her size will cause her any problems," replied 
the alien with an uncharacteristic smile, one that was gone almost as 
quickly as it had appeared.

"That's good to hear," said Masaya, resting a hand on his soon to be 
wife's shoulder. "Not just that, but everything about them."

"It's going to be a long journey for the two of you," Ryou said, "but I 
have every confidence that you'll be able to figure it out. Well, at 
least, Masaya seems to have a good enough head on his shoulders."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo snapped, but he just laughed it 
off. With all of their information figured out, they got ready to leave, 
only for Ichigo to finally get up the nerve to ask the real question 
that was weighing on her mind.

"Are they always going to look like...that?" she asked. "You know...are 
they ever going to have a more human form?" She hated to even ask it, 
because it made it sound as if she didn't accept her children as they 
were, but even though she did, she couldn't deny that their current 
appearances might cause problems in the real world.

Ryou hesitated to answer, saying, "Only time will tell on that one. I'm 
sorry. I wish we had a better answer, but we don't."

~X~

When the couple made it back home, the kittens were tired out from there 
day getting checkups. Ichigo curled up protectively around them as she 
had the day before and said, "I know I'm worried about it, but...however 
they end up, I don't mind."

"We don't know what's going to happen, but I'd bet they'll grow more 
like you," he said. "The DNA test showed that they had about as much cat 
DNA as human DNA. They didn't seem to have anything related to the alien 
race in there, so that won't complicate things. But, either way, I agree 
with you."

"No matter what," she said, "the kittens are our children."