Rukia stood at the counter at the residential part of the Kurosaki clinic with a yellow apron tied around her slim waist and a confused looed on her face. She and Ichigo had been married for over two months now, but their home in the human world was currently still being renovated so she and her husband were finishing their approved leave from the Soul Society at Ichigo's childhood home with his family. But the state of the home wasn't what was concerning the blacked-haired female at the moment.

"Ichigo." She muttered, but of course, the tall male was too engrossed in his own activities of watching sports on the television to hear his petite wife. Her irritation spiked.

"Ichigo! Rukia growled, the volume of her voice slightly louder, only to still receive no response. Clenching her jaw, she grabbed a wooden spoon and threw it, striking the back of Ichigo's head with unexplainable power. The male let out a yelp before turning to her, ready to brawl. However, Rukia signaled him to be quiet and come to her, which he reluctantly obeyed.

"Is Karin alright?" Ichigo quirked an eyebrow – why would she ask him that? Or cause a concussion with a wooden kitchen utensil for a question that she could have just asked Karin herself? "I would assume so, why?" He was still rubbing the back of his head and had she not been so distracted, Rukia would have been calling him dramatic. Instead, she continued to look at her sister-in-law who was currently drifting to sleep on the sectional with a blanket cocooned around her.

"Hm…" She paused before looking at her husband, "You haven't noticed the spike in her spiritual pressure?" Of course, her ever-so-observant husband shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing huge, but remember – she has that big exam the week." His wife nodded, though she wasn't convinced that had an effect because something like an exam wasn't something that could cause such a shift in pressure. However, she pretended to be to keep Ichigo in his own little world of ignorance.

At exactly 2:13 am, Karin snuck out of her room and into Yuzu's room. She wasn't going to wake her or tell her, because she knew how controlling her twin would be but…Karin also knew without her twin, she wouldn't be able to go through it. To top it off, it would break Yuzu's heart when she discovered Karin had kept it a secret.

Opening the door soundlessly, Karin slipped into her sister's room and gently shook her awake. The pair didn't verbally communicate but Yuzu figured something wasn't right if Karin was waking her up in the middle of the night. Plus, Yuzu wasn't as ignorant as their brother. She had noticed the change in both Karin's behavior and spiritual pressure. It had concerned her, but she had respected her sister's privacy.

The Kurosaki clinic was eerie at night – in the dark, every piece of machinery looked like a monster. Both Kurosaki females remained unbothered. They had seen scarier things.

"Karin, what's going on?" Yuzu looked around her, speaking softly. "…And why are we in the clinic?" Her sister sniffed, not wanting to tell her. No, she couldn't say it. "…You have to promise me that you won't say a thing; not to me, not to Rukia, Ichigo, Dad, Urahara…anyone." The honey-blonde female nodded, swallowing hard due to concern but promising her sister anyway. With a sigh, Karin opened a storage cabinet and pulled out a sealed package.

Yuzu's eyes swelled open in shocked. "Karin, that's a- a-"

"I know!" It hurt Karin to say it so harshly to her sister who just meant well, but she couldn't help it. Karin was angry – not at anyone really…except for herself… and him. Though she knew she was more at fault than he was. She just couldn't help it, it was involuntary. She had been stupid – she had trusted herself to be alone with him at the wedding and not allow herself to succumb to her feelings. All hope was abandoned when she had sipped the last of her wine, though she was doomed from the minute she had entered the same room as him.

"Your drink is gone." He nodded towards the glass that was now empty, aside from the light purple residue on the curved sides.

"I hadn't noticed." Karin stated, half-heartedly yet still sarcastically.

The male shook his head, silver locks falling from their designated places as he did. "I believe that's your cue to go."

Dark eyes shot in his direction to glare, nose wrinkling ever so slightly. "Don't be so quick to dismiss me, Toushiro." Her look softened, "People may assume you dislike me."

The young captain let out the closest thing he could to a laugh, though it sounded more like a scoff. "Thanks to Rangiku, I don't think there is a single soul in the Soul Society that believes I have any form of disdain towards you."

"I wish the same would be said about the Souls in the human world." Karin grumbled and Hitsugaya's heart dropped. "…What?"

"Nothing." Karin tried to keep herself quiet but failed, as usual. "You're just always so quick to leave when you're here-"

"I'm a busy man!"

"-and you're always so rude when you see me, and I know you're busy but…" She trailed off, looking towards the city skyline, her liquid confidence suddenly draining from her.

"Karin," Toushiro's voice was soft and unsure. He wanted to apologize but he couldn't. Being a captain was his job and Karin knew that. Yet, he felt so guilty; she was obviously hurt by him and he wanted to fix it.

He pushed himself up from his spot and came closer to the female. He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face up towards his. "I'm sorry." It was quiet and weak, but it was genuine.

The young female stared up at him with wide eyes. "You mean very much to me…and…" He stopped midsentence and hesitated, "I'm unsure of how to express it. I mask it with a short demeanor. You mesmerize me, Karin Kurosaki." And with that, the captain wet his lips and brought them to hers.

Their first kiss was gentle, but not locking in passion. Hitsugaya ran his tongue along her lower lip, enjoying how sweet she tasted. The pink Moscato on her breath had both of their minds swimming. Once he pulled away, Karin felt both embarrassed and comfortable. So, she buried her head in his chest.

"When do you leave?"

Karin hated herself for asking and he hated himself for answering.

"In the morning."

Karin sighed, though said nothing. She did not want to fight with him. Instead, she was raging an inner war with herself. It was no definite answer of when she would see him again but before he left, Karin wanted to show him just how much she truly loved him.

In her alcohol-fogged, sixteen-year-old mind, there was only one way to do that. With one more deep inhale, Karin rose to place her lips on his. Though this kiss was different. She grabbed his hands gently, yet firmly, and placed them on her hips.

Eternities later, she lay under him in the dark hotel room. Her bridesmaid dress had been unzipped and lay loosely around her. Her hair had begun to fall from it's updo, and yet, the captain thought she had never looked more beautiful.

His suit coat had been pushed off from his shoulders, and his tie hung undone around his throat. Karin had been fiddling with the buttons on his dress shirt, ignoring the heat in her cheeks that flared the more she felt his excitement pushing against her stomach, when he suddenly pulled away in a newly discovered hesitation. "Karin…" He whispered and the way he said her name only made her want him closer to her. "You've been drinking."

In annoyance, the female dropped her hands from his body, much to his displeasure, and folded them over each other. "I'm not drunk." Her voice was firm and Hitsugaya suppressed the smile that threatened to display on his face upon the reappearance of classic Karin.

"I didn't say you were."

"Alcohol has no effect on my feelings for you."

They were silent and unmoving for a moment, before he finally spoke. "Are you sure about this?"

And in the dark room, he could see the brightness in her eyes as she nodded her head.

"Please."

Karin stared at the timer, willing it to tick faster. White teeth were clenched and long nails dug in palms, as if physical harm to her body would cause a different result.

Yuzu attempted to distract her sister, though it understandably failed. So, the two sisters sat alone in the silent Kurosaki clinic counting down the remaining seconds until the result was readable. Finally, Karin's phone buzzed and she jumped and moved like lightning to look at the test strip in the sample cup. As soon as her fingers seized the material, she froze.

While the girl knew wat result was going to be waiting for her on the plastic stick, she didn't want to see it. Seeing it would make it real and Karin wasn't ready to accept it. Her whole life was going to change and…she was terrified.

"Karin," She felt Yuzu's hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to look for you?" The opposite twin shook her head, taking a deep breath and stepping away from the other female. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she removed the test strip and turned it over in her hands. She said nothing, but thrust her hand towards her sister. Yuzu took the test from Karin and turned it over, inhaling sharply. "Oh Karin…"

Karin's eyes snapped open. "I'm…pregnant?" She said it with confusion. And just as she finished speaking, the overhead light turned on to reveal Rukia standing in the doorway.

"So, I was right."

The twins were panicking – so many different things were happening and neither of them could process it all.

Karin was in shock, yet she still heard herself ask: "How did you know?"

Rukia was approaching now, very carefully as if Karin were some skittish deer she did not want to startle. "Your spiritual pressure – I noticed something…extra." All three females are quite for a moment – no one knew what to say or think. Karin could feel Rukia's eyes on her and felt so ashamed. Karin felt like she had let Rukia down; the petite Shinigami had been a motherly figure for her and Yuzu for the last five years. Now, here Karin was…pregnant at sixteen.

"Karin," Rukia's hand clasped on the younger girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

It was a simple question, yet it snapped something inside of Karin – reality it her like a bullet train. Whether it was Rukia's tone, the question itself, or just the new sinking in…Karin's entire body began to tremble. Her eyes felt swollen and her throat tight.

"What am I going to do?"

Weeeeeell, I posted this before but I found the notebook that I had the original chapters in so I decided to repost haha. I obviously don't own Bleach, because the ending would be completely different if I did but…I hope this chapter was enjoyable.

Please read and review!

xoxo