Rukia gripped the pink and green wrapped package against her chest, closing her eyes. Sighing softly, she sent a silent prayer to god and then looked back down at the package.

Where, oh where, had she gone wrong?

She glanced up when she heard the shuffling of someone's feet against the wooden floors in the hallway, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of her beloved husband passing in the hallway, most certainly looking for their daughter but at the same time making himself look like he wasn't.

"Ichigo."

He turned, hands buried in his pockets, the a rather simple, blank look on his face, but Rukia knew better. His brown eyes were full of that look, that crap-she-found-me look that he wore whenever he was doing something sneaky. Something sneaky that usually pertained to their 2 year old daughter, Hidama.

Their daughter's birthday was in 2 days- the 23rd of April, full name Hidama Kurosaki. She was a pretty little thing, with dark brown- almost black- pattsun cut hair, and pretty indigo eyes. She looked like a chubby, lighter haired version of Rukia.

Knowing that, Ichigo was completely, utterly unable to say no the his little girl. Which often left him to spoil her like crazy, causing Rukia to scold him.

Ichigo replied in an innocent tone, "Yeah?"

Rukia held out the parcel in her hands before looking back up at him, closing her eyes solemnly, she pleaded, "Please don't tell me this is another book! Please?"

Ichigo continued to play the innocent card, "What about it?"

Rukia groaned, all bit smacking her forehead, "For goodness sake Ichigo, you always do this! Why can't you- for once- get her, oh I don't know, toys? Or a book with actual pictures suitable for a 3 year old? She can't relate to..." Rukia, knowing the orange-haired idiot too well, carefully tore open the paper and slid the book out of it's neat flowery wrapping, eyes widening at the title stretched across the cover, "-Hamlet?"

Ichigo raises an eyebrow, his face contorted in slight confusion, "What's wrong? It's for her bedtime stories."

"Ichigo, she's barely three! She has a hard time understanding why Cinderella would leave her shoe behind instead of going back to pick it up! Let alone something as complicated as Hamlet! There are adults who don't understand Shakespeare!"

Ichigo's face was a little bit pouty, very fierce and defensive as he retorted indignantly, yelling dramatically, "Don't underestimate the intelligence of my daughter!"

Rukia rolled her eyes, glancing over at little Hidama herself, who had crawled into the room, dressed in her little pink shirt with the kitty ears sewed on the hood, and sighed exasperatedly, not wanting to argue with Ichigo in front of the child, "She doesn't get it, Ichigo. She just likes to hear your voice."

"That's not true!" Ichigo seemed to be in denial, glaring defiantly at his wife, not noticing Hidama, who had crawled up to the side of his leg.

"Daddy!" Hidama had reached her destination, and rubbed herself affectionately against Ichigo's leg like a cat, "M'jou!"

Ichigo looked down, puzzled for a moment, then grinned when he realized it his daughter, beaming full of fatherly pride, "Oh, hello, kitty-cat!"

"M'jou!"

Ichigo crouched down now, stroking her head cutely, "Who's my little kitty? Who's a smarty kitty?"

"M'jou!"

"Where's the fishie? Where's the mousie? What a cute kitty!" Ichigo exclaimed happily as he turned the tiny girl on her back gently and tickled her tummy, the girl squealing in excitement.

Rukia smiled wryly. "Ichigo… just WHO is underestimating WHAT?"

"Tch..." Ichigo scooped up his daughter with one arm, who in return sort of purred and snuggled against his chest, "Whatever!"

"Don't hold her like that! She's not an animal."

Ichigo replies defensively, "I'm not holding her like an animal!"

"Yes, you are."

"Am not!"

"Ichigo-"

"M'jou!"

Both parents looked at their daughter, who looked pleased, indigo eyes sparkling brightly, to have created a silence and have both her parents' attention.

Rukia stared at her for a moment, and then back at Ichigo who looked at her at the same time, and-

"See! What did I tell you-"

"What?"

"You!" Rukia's eyes are wide, sparkling, her mouth in a joyous smile as she stepped closer to Ichigo and pokes him playfully all over, "She's acting like a cat and you approve! You like it, don't you?"

"Ah! I-I do not!" Ichigo squirmed back from her tickling pokes, hugging the little girl close to his chest as if taking comfort in her, "She's my daughter! She can act like a cat if she wants to!"

Rukia rolled her eyes, smiling as Ichigo held up the child to his face, hugs her close and kisses her cheek, while mumbling in a baby tone, "She can have whatever she wants, my princess.."

"Ichigo..." Rukia gives Ichigo a smug look, "You're more like your father then you think."

"What!"

"Daddy." Hidama squirmed out of Ichigo's grasp until he set her on the floor, her tiny hand grabbed his pant leg, "You have to play with me,"

"Alright! Let's go!" Ichigo reached down and grabbed her little hand, letting her drag him to her own room. Rukia sighed quietly, looking down at the thick book in her hand in curiousity, "..Maybe I'll ask Orihime what Ishida buys for Yuri."