Author's Notes: Point Commission for LadySesshy who owns Alison. Alison is the reincarnation of Hisana who is an adopted older sister to Ichigo. Set during the Bounts, after the Bounts arrive in the Seireitei. Time isn't exactly correct to the series, but eh… it's fiction to a fiction.
Birthing Complications
Alison, adopted sister to Ichigo, now lived in the Seireitei with her newly wedded husband, Byakuya Kuchiki. During the time when Ichigo first became a Soul Reaper, Alison met Byakuya and went to the Soul Society for protection. At the time, Alison had no idea what Byakuya's motives were nor did Byakuya know she was Ichigo's sister. All he knew was she was beautiful and looked much like his dead wife from 50 years ago. In time the two secretly fell in love and she became pregnant at the same time Ichigo broke into the Seireitei to rescue Rukia.
After everything was done and over with, it was learnt Sosuke Aizen was a betrayer to the Soul Society. Alison and Byakuya's relationship was found out soon after. It didn't take long for matters to get out of hand, but then Alison proved her worth. Byakuya and Alison were then given permission to be together. In that time as well, it was revealed Alison and Ichigo were siblings.
Before Ichigo and his friends returned back to the World of the Living, Alison learnt she was pregnant and her and Byakuya decided to have a shot gun wedding with all the trimmings that went with it, with having Ichigo giving her away. Alison felt bad her father couldn't give her away, but it couldn't be helped. The wedding was beautiful and soon everyone left, leaving Alison in the Soul Society to basically live out the rest of her life as a Kuchiki clan member.
Time seemed to move on slowly for Alison as she began to get bigger and bigger but soon a new threat arrived, the Bounts. Alison was a bit worried for her brother, but Byakuya assured her things would be ok, at least so everyone thought until the day came when the Bounts broke into the Soul Society with a secret weapon, another betrayer to the Seireitei, this time the person was a former member of Squad 11.
Byakuya tried his best to keep Alison safe, telling her to remain at the Kuchiki manor at all times unless with an escort. He didn't want her to leave the property alone since the Bounts had managed to make their way into the Seireitei. But his worse fears soon became a reality when he came home to find Jin Kariya, leader of the Bounts, had broken into his house.
Byakuya's eyes narrowed as he unsheathed his sword. There before him was Kariya and he had a prisoner, Alison. One arm was wrapped around her neck and Alison was trying to break free of his grasp with both hands gripping his arm, trying to pull it away from her neck. Tears were streaming down her face as her heart pumped rapidly.
"My, my," Kariya mocked. "What do we have here? Captain Kuchiki, I do say you have broken some rules as a Soul Reaper."
"Let her go," Byakuya replied coldly. His own heart beat rapidly for not only Alison but his unborn son as well. A few weeks ago when Alison had an ultrasound, the two were able to learn the sex of the baby.
"And why would I want to do that?" Kariya taunted. "Is it because she's your wife? Or is it because she's carrying your unborn child? Perhaps I should just suck the life out of both the mother and the baby."
Byakuya took a step forward, eyes hard on the man before him. This human had to die somehow.
"Ah, ah," Kariya replied, taking a step back. "One step closer and she will be dead. It would appear you wish to save them both. Well, you can only save one. I have big plans for this young one."
"Please…" Alison begged. "Let me go…"
Kariya glanced at her, his red eyes staring at her with intent. "I'm sorry my dear. But I have a use for you. You will be the final piece in my plan. I will destroy the Soul Society and the Soul King in one day."
Byakuya's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. "What…" he breathed.
Kariya continued to gaze at her. "It's unfortunate I find you here, with child. Something the Bounts can never do. So I'm afraid your child must go."
"No…." she whimpered.
Byakuya tightened his hold on the handle of his sword. He watched as the Bount leader produced a knife and aimed it at Alison's large belly. "You release your Shikai and I will kill the baby right here and now."
"Alison!" cried out a familiar voice from behind a wall before soon busting into the room, large oddly shaped sword in hand.
"Ah, Ichigo," Kariya taunted once again as the flaming orange haired teen stopped right beside his own brother-in-law.
"Alison!" Ichigo hissed. "No!"
"So you know this woman do you?" Kariya mocked.
"Cut the crap! You know she's my sister!" Ichigo sneered.
"Yes, a very lovely one indeed. Surprises me to see her married to Byakuya Kuchiki. I'm told you two don't get along very well."
"That's none of your business," Ichigo growled about to take a step forward but an arm got in his way. "Byakuya…"
"One move Ichigo Kurosaki and my son will die." Byakuya's voice was very cold.
"What!?" Right after Alison learnt she was having a boy, she was quick to contact her family and demanded a short visit with them to tell them the news. The visit was only for an hour or so, but it was enough for Isshin to meet his son-in-law, which looked very familiar to him. Byakuya didn't bother trying to put two and two together too much as he was worried for Alison's safety since the Bounts were targeting humans.
"I'll kill you!" Ichigo sneered. "I will never allow you to lay a hand on my nephew!"
"He's not even your blood," Kariya smirked.
"She's my sister in all the ways that counts," Ichigo continued, blood boiling. Once again his family was being threatened. It was that very reason in the first place he embraced being a Soul Reaper.
"Ichigo, you're in the way," Byakuya stated. "This man will die by my hands."
"You may be her husband, but she's my sister and I will not allow anyone to threaten my family!"
Kariya laughed. "Oh this is so rich, but you two can't even lay a finger on me as we all dealt with already when we fought before in the forest when Yoshi injured Rukia. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have preparations I need to make. Thank you Byakuya, your son will be a great addition to my conquest. I will sacrifice him to opening the gates to the Soul King."
Before either man could speak or make a move, a large wind blew up around them, throwing them both back against the nearby wall. When they looked up, Kariya and Alison were gone.
"Damn it!" Ichigo yelled.
Byakuya gracefully stood, brushing off any debris from when he crashed into the wall. He had a cut on the back of his neck but for the moment, he didn't care. "If you had talked less, I could have stopped him."
Ichigo snorted. "She's my sister! I will protect her any way I can. You said this house was most safest."
"Do not tell me what I can and can not do in my house…" Byakuya paused. "However, we do have a common problem. Alison is my wife and she's your sister. Differences aside, she needs to be rescued and fast. He will kill my son."
Ichigo gripped his sword, snarling. "That bastard will pay." He knew Byakuya was speaking the truth. They both loved Alison and he knew the two now had no choice but to work together, which was something Ichigo wanted to do from the start.
"I know where he'll be holding her."
Byakuya turned to the teen. "Where?"
"He's set up a base in the town of Kusajishi. He had many of the residents there following him including a former member of one of your own."
"Maki Ichinose was a member of Squad 11 and left after Kenpachi took over."
"Well I think he's dead now," Ichigo replied. "But that's not going to help us in finding Alison."
"No. Hope you can keep up."
Ichigo blinked, wondering what Byakuya meant when suddenly the man disappeared.
"Damn it!" Ichigo cursed again before he soon disappeared too, chasing off after Byakuya.
It didn't take Kariya long to get to his 'hideout' though it wasn't much of one. He could see the remnants of a fight and could see the remains of Maki on the ground. He just chuckled as he pulled Alison into the little building where he was gathering his forces. He was leaving the rest of his first part of the plan to his Bounts while he dealt with the final part of his plan, which was something no one knew of.
Alison was unceremoniously pushed into a corner of the room. She stumbled a couple times but prevented herself from falling over. Feeling slightly relieved, for the moment, but knew she was still in danger as she could clearly hear in her mind the threat against her son. Cautiously, she lowered herself to the floor and silently cried.
Her hands were wrapped protectively around her swollen stomach as if her hands alone would protect the child within her. She was completely scared for her life and that of her son's. She could feel the evil Bount leering at her, but she chose to try and ignore him for now.
"Protecting your child?" he criticized. "I heard mothers will do that even to their own unborn children in a desperate attempt to protect the innocent. You can protect him all you want, but the fact of the matter is, that child hinders my plans and he must go."
"How can you be so cruel!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "You're a human aren't you!?"
"Yes and no. I was born from a human mother and father, but I'm not human. I've been alive far longer than your precious Byakuya. Bounts have eternal life."
Alison gasped. "That's not possible…"
Kariya stepped closer to her, grinning. "Is it now? Why do you think we're called the Bounts? In old human terms, we're known as Vampires and we've existed for about 1000 years, born by an accident here in the Soul Society. In just a few short hours, this will all be over and you'll just be a memory."
"Wh…what to you mean…" she stuttered.
"Exactly what I say. You and your son will both be dead and you both will have made a big impact on the Bounts when we destroy this god forsaken land and the ruler that goes with it." He then laughed manically as she then cowered more in fear.
She couldn't believe this was really happening. Just a short while ago, she was completely happy, excited for the arrival of her first born who would be half soul and half human. She wasn't sure how possible the merging of the two species was going to be, but it excited her. Now, her dreams were being dashed right before her very eyes.
"Byakuya, find me soon…" she whispered to herself.
She had no idea she was heard. "Well I certainly hope he finds you, which is why I chose this place."
She gasped again, turning back to look at him. "A trap…"
"More than a trap," he replied, grinning. "I want him to watch you open the gates to the Soul King as your son dies right before his very eyes. He thinks he's so high and mighty because he's a clan leader of a great noble house he's sadly mistaken. I've seen his kind many times in my life and they never amounted to anything but just show offs with big words."
"No!" she jerked. Her eyes hardened then. "You're wrong! Byakuya will come for me and you'll be sorry. His Bankai is not something to be taken lightly. Nor is Ichigo. He will tear you to shreds."
"You think a pitiful substitute Soul Reaper who is really a human can stop me?" he laughed once again. "You have quite the fantasy."
"Just you wait. My brother will tear you from limb from limb. He's very protective of his family and when something happens to his sisters, he becomes a whole different person. Just you wait, he'll defeat you and while you die at his feet, he'll spit on you just in spite."
"I like to see him try." Kariya turned away, leaving the woman alone, in the dark, while he waited for his guests to arrive. He knew both Byakuya and Ichigo would come, but he figured the two would continue on boosting their own egos more on who was the better man. Little did he know, that would be his first mistake.
Both knowing how pregnant the woman they cared about was, they could easily sense her spiritual pressure, as they got closer to the location where Ichigo came across with Maki Ichinose the first time, which was disrupted by Kenpachi. In the distance, they could feel the presence of other spiritual pressures but where they weren't as strong as Alison's, but Ichigo and Byakuya ignored the signatures.
Soon the two arrived only to see Kariya waiting for them just at the entrance to one of the buildings.
"Kariya!" Ichigo snapped. "Where is my sister!?"
Kariya laughed. "You're so dense Ichigo that you can't sense her. Either you're stupid or just so distraught of the matter you don't wish to sense her out."
"Ichigo Kurosaki, don't be a fool," Byakuya replied calmly. "She's in that building behind Kariya. And she can be seen."
"You're as smart as they say," Kariya teased. He turned his head to look back at the frightened woman. "She's quite beautiful. I can see why you chose her. She resembles Rukia very much. Is that why you married her or was it because she must be your dead wife's reincarnation." He turned back to the men. "But do you really think I'd be here alone?"
"What?" Ichigo hissed, now able to see his sister, scared. "Always using others to do your dirty work for you huh? You're nothing but a coward!" he yelled.
Byakuya's eyes stared straight past Kariya to his wife. She was scared and was huddled in a corner, protectively protecting their child. He had to get to her somehow but he also had to deal with the Bount.
"What makes you think I'm a coward?" Kariya asked. "I just have my insurance of the matter. I can't have anything interfering in the next part of the plan."
"I will never allow you to touch her!" Ichigo sneered. "Ban…kai!"
In a matter of seconds black and red energy beams surrounded Ichigo and soon disappeared leaving Ichigo in a different set of clothes and his sword turned to a black blade with a chain at the end.
"You really think you can stop me? You both couldn't stop me in the previous fight in the forest."
Ichigo lost his patience and he went charging at Kariya but then was suddenly stopped as a Bount came out of nowhere, crashing into Ichigo, sending him flying into a tree.
"AAAAAAAH! ICHIGO!" Alison cried out as she watched in horror as her brother went flying into a tree.
"As I've said, do you think I would be here alone?" Kariya repeated.
Just then another Bount appeared behind Byakuya, showing the two they had fallen into an ambush. Byakuya knew it was too easy to see Kariya standing there by himself, looking so cocky. Problem was Byakuya couldn't sense the other spiritual pressure. Who was this Bount? He never saw this one before.
"Master Kariya is a great leader," a young looking female Bount replied from behind Byakuya who held a sword to Byakuya's hip. The sword then lengthened and began to slowly wrap around Byakuya.
"BYAKUYA!" Alison screamed out again, this time as she watched her husband become entangle by a lengthening sword, which was bending to wrap around him. Tears were freely leaking down her cheeks.
"Your doll I presume," Byakuya replied, obviously not impressed. He heard Alison cry out to him, but he learnt how to control his anger over the years. He was confident to get out of the trap and save his wife, but he first had to strategize how to get out of the trap.
At the same time in working out his plan, he was able to focus enough to know there were three other hidden Bounts and judging by their power, they weren't that strong. Obviously these four new Bounts were new to the group. Probably joined in the last year or so.
"Oooooo, you are smart. You're handsome too. Too bad you're a Soul Reaper though," the girl replied. "I probably would want to date you."
"I highly doubt that," he replied. "I would never want to be with a woman with the likes of you."
"Don't test my anger," she growled. "I'm the one with the weapon around you."
"Obviously." Byakuya kept his voice cool and calm. Not once showing that his heart was racing or that he was seething mad in what was going on. He could hear his wife crying and he knew she wished to help but where she was, was best for her. Protecting their son was helping enough.
The girl gave a muffled shriek, indicating she was getting really angry. As she did so, the blade around him began to loosen. She was losing focus on her doll. So that was this girl's weakness? Each Bount had a weakness to their doll and now Byakuya was quick to learn of this one's.
With the girl distracted, Byakuya carefully reached for his Zanpakuto. With that, he then flash stepped out of the way, making the girl realize he had escaped. In the meantime, Kariya's attention was drawn to Ichigo who was slowly getting up but then was hit with a wind force. Two other young Bounts then grabbed his arms and they pulled him over to Kariya, causing another scream to come out of Alison. The third and final Bount Byakuya had sensed tried to come at him and he quickly moved out of the way.
"Stop moving!" the Bount yelled.
"A brother and sister combination," Byakuya replied, as he looked at the female Bount and then the new one who was completely covered in dark clothing.
"How did you know!?" the girl gasped.
"It's easy to know when your power levels are about the same and you're both irritated. I couldn't sense you," he pointed to the female. "Which means your brother is taking up most of the power."
"Why do the sexy ones have to be out of my reach!" the female one yelled.
"Sister, stop acting like a child. He's just irritating you on purpose," the masked one replied. "Just kill him and get it over with."
"But I can't!?"
The masked one groaned. "Typical… Every guy she meets she thinks is cute, she can't seem to fight."
Byakuya quirked a brow at the same time he felt a familiar strength of spiritual pressures approach. This was a relief to him, though he would never admit to it openly. Ichigo's friends were approaching and they could handle these weaker Bounts. Now, he only had to keep these two sibling Bounts distracted long enough for the humans to arrive and do their work. He could take the young Bounts out but he had to save Alison and that took top priority.
Over near the tree line, Orihime, Chad and Uryu arrived. They had heard battle cries and crouched down, not wanting to be seen. It didn't take them long to figure out Captain Kuchiki and Ichigo were pinned down by Bounts, which they never seen before. They also were able to sense these new Bounts weren't that powerful.
"What's he waiting for?" whispered Uryu.
"Isn't that Alison in that building?" pointed out Orihime.
"Yes, it is and from the looks of things, she's there against her will, which would explain why Captain Kuchiki isn't attacking those weaker Bounts. Chad, I have an idea. Let's distract the Bounts, they don't seem to be too powerful and Ichigo is pinned down too."
Chad gave a silent nod as he moved away from his two friends, getting ready to focus his power into his arm. He could see the Captain knew he was approaching.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked the young male Bount. "You think your distraction will stop us?"
The female Bount looked up and narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you. You're too sexy for that, but my brother is right. Why are you…"
She never got to finish her sentence when a powerful burst of power, slammed into her back, sending her flying into her brother and the two were then knocked to the ground. Byakuya gave a curt nod to Chad before turning his attention towards Kariya, who was finding amusement in seeing Ichigo appear defenceless.
Uryu and Orihime were quick to fire their attacks at the Bounts cornering Ichigo, which then brought Kariya out of his distraction. "What's this?" he asked. "Your friends want to be heroes."
Ichigo snarled. "Kariya!" he shouted as he suddenly jumped to his feet and charged at the lead Bount. Kariya was taken off guard but only for a moment before he swung his arm and a whirlwind of wind flew about, slamming into Ichigo, sending him flying. The Teen was able to remain on his feet.
Byakuya took this moment and flash stepped past Kariya who then made his second mistake. Never lose sight of all your opponents, thus creating an opening. He appeared behind Kariya, facing his wife. He was quick to clamp a hand to her mouth before she could shout out his name. His eyes blazed into hers as he silently told her to keep quiet. He pulled her into his arms as carefully as he could and then swung out with his leg, kicking out the side of the wall, creating a new doorway.
The smashing of lumber breaking apart drew Kariya's attention as his eyes blazed in surprise and then anger.
"You're not playing by the rules!"
Byakuya held his wife cautiously to his side as he gave the man a glance. "In combat, there are no rules. But you better watch your back. You can't stop us both."
Just then Ichigo swung out with his sword, slicing a large gash down Kariya's back, once again drawing the Bount leader's attention back to him. Byakuya never paid attention to what the teen said as he jumped through the hole he made and then vanished from sight with Alison in his arms.
He never stopped for anything as he continued to use his top speed to get away from the area. Unfortunately for him though, there were two things he suddenly noticed as he got further and further away from the Bounts. One, he noticed a shift in Alison's spiritual pressure and the unborn child's was getting stronger. Secondly, he also felt the pull of spiritual pressure on a familiar scale to him. Hollows. He soon stopped as the pressure continued to build up around him of Hollows.
"Byakuya…" Alison trembled, feeling some pains in her abdomen. "Why'd you stop?"
"Hollows," he answered.
More fear gripped her heart as she huddled against his side. He would have carried her in a bridal like fashion but he didn't want to put any more stress on the baby.
Byakuya looked around, finding out they had travelled a distance and were in front of a cave. "Come."
He swiftly made his way over to the cave, slightly pushing her inside. "I want you to stay in here and lower your spiritual pressure as best as possible. Don't want to alert the Hollows to your presence."
"What are you going to do?" she asked as she let go of him, taking a seat on a large boulder, feeling a bit more pain but not enough to alert her husband.
He pulled out his Zanpakuto. "Fend them off."
"But…" she started.
He pulled her tight against him, though she was sitting down and his lips were quickly pressed to hers in a loving kiss. "Do not worry about me," he replied. "I'm more worried about you and our son. He not only will be my successor but he is also our child and I'm going to protect him with my life."
He stepped away from her and began to make his way out of the cave as the Hollows began to approach. He had a feeling they sensed his power before he could hide it and they were now following his scent to the last location his power was detected.
Byakuya wasn't out of the cave for a minute when Alison suddenly shrieked in pain, doubling over, holding her swollen belly. He was quick to snap his attention back over to her. The second he saw her on the ground, hunched over, his concern increased and he was quick to zip back to her side.
"Alison!" he called out.
"The baby!" she cried and then all of a sudden her eyes widened and she jerked her head up, giving a look of terror.
"What?!" he blurted, no longer acting like the cool, calm, collective Captain he usually was. Now, he was simply reacting as a man and a concerned father to be.
"My water…" she gasped. "It…it… it just broke!"
His eyes widened. She was too soon but yet, the stress of what has happened probably became too much for the child. His hands clenched into fists. This was Kariya's fault for this. If he hadn't taken Alison she would be safe at home and her baby would not be forcing his way out now.
He looked around, sensing the Hollows even closer than a moment ago. He had to act quickly and there was no time to get her away from there. The baby was coming, which meant he would have to deliver his own son. He had heard of it happening before from stories Alison had told him about the World of the Living and he did witness it once when he was on a mission in the World of the Living before becoming Captain of Squad 6.
Turning away from her for a moment, he pointed his hand towards the mouth of the cave, however, his hand was pointed upwards.
"Hado number 31. Shakkaho."
A red ball of energy came out of his hand, smashing up into the wall above the cave opening. The power of the Hado spell caused the wall to crumble, creating a cave in. Tons of boulders came crumbling down from the wall, sending the cave into total darkness.
"Alison, remove your outer kimono," he suddenly commanded.
She whimpered in pain. "What…why?"
"We need light and I just prevented us from being seen by the Hollows. You're about to give birth and we need light."
He quietly heard painful shuffles before he heard material fall to the ground. He then called out a Kido spell, producing a small light in his hand. He saw the garment on the ground. He felt sorry the garment was going to be destroyed but he couldn't worry about that right now. He had money to be able to replace it. He then tossed his hand forward and the light flew out of his hand, touching the fabric, creating dim lighting.
Nearby, he could see some sticks and he picked them up, tossing them onto the garment as well. "There, that should work for now." He turned his attention to his wife who was giving laboured breaths. "Remember what Captain Unohana taught you in your birthing class."
"It's so painful…" she cringed, trying to do what she was taught. She could remember stories about women going into labour and she always thought it would be amazing to bring a new life into the world. Now she was doing it and she didn't like it one bit.
Byakuya removed his haori, draping it over her shoulders. "Here, this will keep you warm." He then removed his outer layer of his uniform top, leaving the under layer on. "You need to get into position."
Tears came to her eyes as he helped her to her feet only to carefully set her back down on the ground with her butt on the hard surface. Her legs were drawn up a bit and he took this time to drape his clothing over her legs.
"You have to keep breathing like you were taught," he commanded as his hands touched her knees.
"But it hurts!" she cried out.
"I know." He didn't have to hear her cries of pain to know she was in pain. Her face said all the emotion it needed to. He did do a lot of reading up on about women giving birth. He even purchased himself some books from the World of the Living so he could understand human birthing, which actually wasn't much different from children being born in the Soul Society.
Soon the pain subsided and she was able to breath normally again. Sweat formed on her face and her hair was beginning to stick to the sides of her cheeks.
"Byakuya, I'm scared," she replied weakly. "This wasn't supposed to be like this."
"I know," he replied gently. "But at least we're together," he replied. "We're about to bring our son into the world and he's going to be loved by both his parents and the rest of his family."
She gave him a smile, knowing he was trying to lighten the mood but at the same time, he spoke the truth. They were together and that was what mattered.
"I love you Byakuya," she suddenly replied.
"I love you as well," he answered. "With all my heart and soul."
She giggled and the two continued to talk for a few more minutes before another contraction of pain hit her. For nearly a minute the pain was there and she had to do what she was taught in her birthing classes.
As time crept by, the contractions grew closer and closer together and soon Byakuya realized it was time. He could remember when he read the books of when a woman would go through labour, the pains were due to her cervix pushing apart to be able to allow the baby to push out. Once the cervix was a certain distance apart that meant it was time for the baby to come and the woman would need to push. Of course that meant her pains had to be about nearly two minutes apart.
At the appointed time, Byakuya forced Alison's legs to bend differently than before and he spread her legs apart and then told her to push with all her might. She did as he commanded, but doing so created great pain as the baby's head now was pushing past the cervix, stretching the part further than before.
"Push!" he insisted, doing his best to ignore her screams as he saw her body tense and push to his commands.
Outside the collapsed cave, he could hear voices, indicating they were soon going to be rescued. That meant the Hollows were either destroyed or they left the area. However, it was something he couldn't deal with at the moment as his wife was about to give birth and he was delivering his own son.
For several minutes she kept pushing and screaming until regular light filtered into the cave. In that moment a light shone on Alison's face at the same time there was a baby cry. The remnants of the pain were still there but no longer was the need to push required. Alison gave a cry of relief as Byakuya held his tiny son in his hands, ignoring the fluids around the baby from the birth. He used his Zanpakuto to cut the Umbilical cord. Once the cord was cut, a Soul Reaper was finally able to push through the opening of cave just as Byakuya wrapped the baby up in his heirloom scarf.
"Here, let me take him."
Byakuya looked up to see it was none other than Lieutenant Kotetsu of Squad 4. He gave her a nod and carefully handed her his son. Once the child was out of his hands, he rushed over to Alison to cuddle her into his arms.
"We did it," he whispered to her.
She cried happy tears. "Our son…"
"Yes," he replied. "And help has arrived too."
More of the crumbled rocks gave away, making a bigger hole where Ichigo and his friends were poking their heads through the opening of the cave. Isane had enough room to exit the cave with the infant so she could get him cleaned up. Byakuya then took his tired wife into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder as he carried her out of the cave.
Both overheard Ichigo curse saying Kariya escaped and mentioned something about him finding a way to destroy the Seireitei in one swoop. Even though Byakuya knew he had to be concerned about the new development, for the moment, he didn't care. He wanted his wife back home so they could hold their son.
It would be two more days before Byakuya and Alison would be free to raise their son with no more threats from the Bounts. Ichigo eventually defeated Kariya and all the Bounts were dead. After Retsu gave baby Kuchiki a full bill of health, which she wanted to keep him in Squad 4 for observation since he was born in poor conditions, the new parents weren't able to actually hold their newborn son until the day Kariya was defeated.
The Kuchiki clan was now forever changed since now there was an interspecies child who would be raised to take over the Kuchiki clan one day when Byakuya no longer could be the head of the clan.
Alison was happy as she now had an extension on her family, a baby to care for. She knew she wasn't the only one. 'Auntie' Rukia was completely excited at the idea of seeing the little tyke and she wasn't the only one. Ichigo too was excited at seeing his nephew.
As the day winded down on the first official day as parents, Byakuya and Alison cuddled their son, while resting in their room.
"I'm so glad to have our son home with us," Alison replied as she kissed her son's head. The little infant was asleep in her arms while she was resting in Byakuya's arms, her head leaning against his chest.
"Yes, and the Bounts are no more. The Soul Society is once again at peace."
"All thanks to my brother, yet again."
Byakuya grunted, displeased that yet again a human saved his world again. It wasn't even his world to protect.
Alison giggled as she looked at her husband. "Oh come on, can't you at least be grateful for once."
He looked down at her. "I am," he replied. "Grateful into having a wife like you who is now the mother of my first born son."
She gave a chuckle; again he was avoiding the topic. She lightly shook her head. "I love you."
He gave her a rare smile. "As I love you." He leaned down, giving her a loving kiss. One hand lifted against her cheek while the other lightly brushed against his son's head in a gentle caress.