Ruka and Riko - September 4
2:13 am - Kuchiki-Kurosaki Residence
He wasn't comfortable on his back. He wasn't comfortable on his stomach. He wasn't comfortable on either side.
He wasn't comfortable curled up with Rukia. He wasn't comfortable in his own space.
He wasn't comfortable with Kyou curled up between them when he climbed out of his crib. He wasn't comfortable after crawling back into his own bed after putting his now sleeping son back in said crib.
Ichigo just could not get comfortable and he had no idea why.
He glanced at the angry red numbers on the clock before sighing deeply. He flipped onto his side and found himself staring at the back on his wife's head.
He let his mind drift to thoughts of her and their past and all the little things she did that made him smile or grit his teeth, hoping the thoughts would lull him to sleep.
After forty minutes he gave up.
Ichigo sighed/groaned irritably before he swung his legs off the edge of the bed. The hardwood floor was cool under his feet but not unpleasantly so. He padded into the hallway, carefully avoiding the dressers and Rukia's vanity.
He tiptoed across the hallway to Kyou's room and peeked in at him. He was mildly surprised to see the baby still in his crib and not curled up on a pile of toys or in the rocking chair his parents used on the more stressful nights.
Easing the door back so it was cracked open just a little, Ichigo continued down the hall to the stairs.
He had to go through the living room and past the play room to reach his office - he and Rukia both made jokes that it was too far a walk for him to actually want to use it so he just didn't bring any work home with him. It wasn't too far of a stretch. Ichigo hated having to skip playing with his son to finish something so he always made sure to have everything signed, filed, and sent where it needed to be so he could spend all the time he wanted with Kyou and Rukia.
But unfortunately, yesterday he ended up bringing home some last minute files. They weren't urgent so he set them aside but what else was there to do when he couldn't sleep?
It didn't take him long; maybe twenty minutes. He put the papers in the top drawer so he could grab it in the morning before shuffling back up to bed.
He peeked in on Kyou one more time - finding him out of his crib sleeping on top of every stuffed toy he had in a pile beside it, smiling when he burrowed his face into his father's chest as he was lifted back into his crib- then went back to his room.
Ichigo laid back down, throwing an arm over Rukia and gently pulling her closer to him. He settled in behind her and ran his fingers in random patterns over her enlarged belly, smiling when his hand bounced with a kick.
4:35 am
A sharp pain going across her abdomen from hip to hip and she was awake.
She hissed sharply as she stiffened. She shoved Ichigo's arm away to grip at her stomach.
Rukia tried to glance behind her at her husband's grunt, obviously annoyed with her for moving, but more pain stopped her.
"Ichigo!"
He groaned.
"Ichigo!" she tried again. "Call Karin!"
Amber eyes opened instantly. Ichigo sat up and pushed the blankets back enough to expose Rukia.
When she clutched her stomach and cried out, he leaped off the bed and grabbed his cell off the dresser where he had forgotten it the night before.
Three rings is what it took before he received a sleepy "Yeah?"
"Rukia might be in labor."
"Ten minutes. I'll call Dad and Yuzu on the way."
They simultaneously hung up. Ichigo set his phone on Rukia's nightstand then knelt down beside her and let her crush his hand while she tried to keep her pain silent.
"Karin's on her way. She's calling Dad and Yuzu too."
"Good," Rukia breathed heavily, "They can watch Kyou."
Ichigo smiled at her. Of course even in pain, she's still level headed.
Ten minutes passed rather quickly while Ichigo sat next to his wife holding her and continuously brushing her hair out of her face.
Karin was the first to enter their bedroom. She was followed closely by Isshin, then Yuzu.
"Kyou's still in bed," Ichigo told his father throwing a quick glance over his shoulder.
"Call if you need me."
Karin shrugged the jacket she had put on over her sleep-shirt off, set it on top of Ichigo's dresser, and approached her sister-in-law.
"Alright, Ruki-nee. Let's see how far you are. Yuzu, I need you to get me some things."
4:56 am
Isshin sighed for the upteenth time. He sat in the rocking chair in a corner of his grandson's room, doing his best to just sit still.
He wanted so badly to go help and do something but he knew he would just be in the way. And after missing Kyou's birth, it was even more important for Ichigo to be involved.
Isshin let his head fall back to rest on the chair. He sighed again, letting his eyelids fall.
A small whine make him jerk upright in surprise.
"Hey, baby.." Isshin got up quickly and went to Kyou's crib. "You're alright, Kyou. Come here to grampa."
Kyou stood up and held his arms up for Isshin. He sniffled a bit but that was all the noise he made until Isshin sat back down with him in the rocking chair. He squirmed on Isshin's lap for a minute then nearly headbutted his grandpa's chin when he went to bury his face in the crook of Isshin's neck.
"Easy there kid." Isshin chuckled. When at last Kyou settled, Isshin wrapped his arms around the boy and held him tight. He rocked him until he could hear soft snoring.
Isshin breathed evenly and let his eyes drift close again, listening for the sound of the new baby.
5:19 am
"Almost there, Rukia.."
Ichigo did his best to stay calm for his wife, letting her crush his hand and continuously wiping a cool cloth across her face and neck. Yuzu had gone downstairs to get Karin more supplies and to make a snack for everyone. Well.. those who will be able to stomach eating anything.
"This one is going so much faster than Kyou's.." Karin mused as she resumed her post by Rukia's legs. "You doing okay?"
The laugh Rukia gave was breathless and painful. "Yeah I'm good. Just.. how much longer?"
"I'd guess an hour or two by how fast you're dilating now but we'll see."
Rukia threw her head back to the pillows and groaned in despair.
Ichigo smiled at her actions but quickly hid his face in the pillow next to her head so she wouldn't see it.
"Ichigo I swear if we go through this again, I'm using you for target practice until the birth."
He actually laughed at that.
7:56 am
"Come on, Rukia, you're doing great!"
"AH! Shut UP Ichigo!"
The look Karin threw her brother said if he did shut up, she would hurt him so much worse than what Rukia was currently doing.
So he kept talking to her while she told him to shut up. He kept gripping her hand when she pushed. He kept a cool cloth on her skin wherever he could reach. He kept his breathing and voice as even as possible so Rukia wouldn't pick up on his panic and start panicking herself.
He listened to Karin navigate Rukia on when to push, when to relax, when to breathe. Yuzu stood close waiting for her sister's instructions.
Through all this, Ichigo kept a close ear on both a new cry and the ones his son was now making in his bedroom.
Kyou was not happy to hear his mama in pain, no matter what his grampa said about something called a 'sibling'.
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"It's alright, Kyou, your mama's fine. You're gonna get a baby brother or sister any minute." Isshin tried shushing sounds, he tried rocking him, he tried lullaby's, but this kid was having none of it. Once he heard Rukia's first cry the war was lost.
Isshin bounced the baby around the room, hoping he would just cry himself to sleep.
He had no idea how long he'd been with Kyou or what time it was. He just hoped it would be over soon and everyone would be alright.
2:13 pm
Ichigo kneeled next to the bed, his arms crossed just on the edge and his chin resting on his arms. He stared at his three sleeping girls with a tired awe-struck look.
He had spent the last six months trying to convince Rukia they were having twins but until about six hours ago, she hadn't believed him.
The first little girl had shocking orange hair and these such-a-deep-blue-they-looked-purple eyes that quickly turned into beautiful hazel about an hour ago. She was actually pretty small at six pounds and eighteen inches when compared to her twin who came in at six and a half pounds and nineteen inches.
The second twin, also a girl (go figure), had dark brown hair and sparkling blue eyes already. Ichigo suspected they were getting slightly more purple by the hour.
They were both curled up next to Rukia who was napping on the opposite side of the bed as Ichigo. She had turned to her side and had thrown one arm over their heads and was using it as a pillow and braced her other arm over them to cage the babies in so they didn't roll away and get hurt if Ichigo had to move.
Considering he had been sitting here for almost four hours already, moving was probably a good idea. He still had to bring Kyou in to meet his sisters and really needed to stretch his legs.
Ichigo stood up slowly, letting the blood rejoin his legs easily so he didn't fall over, then went to the closet and grabbed one of Rukia's body pillows. He brought it back to the bed and put it on his side of the bed as an extra barrier for the babies.
He stayed an extra minute to make sure his girls were settled then retreated from the room as quietly as he could.
Karin and Yuzu had been a great team with the births. Karin coached Rukia just as she did with Kyou's birth and Yuzu stood at the ready for any request/demand Karin had for her. Yuzu had been completely absorbed in taking care of the twins while Karin fixed Rukia up afterwards. Ichigo was simply the muscle or the extra hand when one of them called.
He made his way downstairs to the main living room where he found Karin flopped down on her back on the couch with an arm flung over her eyes and the other hanging off the edge her legs laying over Yuzu who was curled up in the opposite corner of the couch using her arm as a pillow. Ichigo smiled fondly at them while he tugged the small throw blanket off the back of their couch and carefully laid it over them.
"All the girls asleep now?"
"Yeah. Every one of them."
Ichigo turned to the kitchen. Isshin had Kyou sitting in his booster seat so he could sit level at the dining table. Isshin himself had a bowl of something in front of him that he was kneading and a flat cookie sheet set aside with a can of nonstick spray laying on it. Ichigo leaned against his son's chair and looked over the boy's shoulder to see him playing with a piece of..
"Is that biscuit dough?"
Isshin grinned widely at his son. "Yes it is. It's one of your mom's favorite recipes. Homemade and everything. Figured today called for something a bit more nostalgic."
Ichigo smiled. "What else you got going? I can feel the heat but can't smell anything yet. And I feel the need to point out that you are covered in flour.."
Isshin glanced down at himself, pausing in his kneading. He looked up at Ichigo sheepishly. "This is a bit messy isn't it? Oh well.. We just threw a pan of sausage burger things in the oven. I'm gonna throw these in and we're gonna make some hashbrowns next."
With a raised eyebrow, the carrottop asked, "Going for a hardy American breakfast, huh?"
"I'll admit it: I have fallen in love with that cookbook Tatsuki found." Isshin grabbed some leftover flour from his bowl and spread it on the table in front of him. Ichigo watched with a disapproving "...Dad.. Really?..." Once he got the flour where he wanted it, Isshin then dumped the bowl over and let the dough spill onto the table.
Ichigo shook his head. He took the seat next to Kyou and watched his son roll, squish, pull, tug, flip, and tuck the dough in an effort to copy his grampa's biscuits. Finally, Ichigo grabbed a portion of the dough. He watched to see how big his dad was making his biscuits then followed suit.
About four biscuits in, he saw Kyou watching him. He slowed his movements down so the boy could really see how much he was grabbing and how he was shaping the dough. It took a few takes, but eventually Kyou was making decent sized bicuits and giving them to his dad to place on the pan.
Three generations of Kurosaki boys sat in silence while they pulled, shaped, and placed the biscuits until there was nothing left. Isshin put the biscuits in the oven with the sausage and put everything in it's proper place. Ichigo got a washcloth from a drawer and proceeded to wet it and use it to wipe his son down as best he could before wiping the table.
They continued their 'morning' in relative silence, cutting potatoes by hand, letting Kyou playing with his own batch of precut slices, and frying them.
Though it was against his will to admit it, Ichigo really liked cooking with his father and son. Even if Isshin still had his moments of insanity, it was a damned good morning.
One week later
4:37 pm
Ichigo walked briskly through the rain. It wasn't pouring or even fat rain, it was just a constant drizzle with near freezing surprise wind-gusts.
It was really annoying to be in. But he had to be. He had to pick Kyou up from the dojo since it was his day off from work.
It'd been a busy week with the twins and Kyou. The day after they were born, Ichigo and Rukia took them to the hospital to make sure they were healthy and check for any allergies. They had been surprised with Kyou and didn't want to relive his first reaction to chocolate. The twins didn't have any allergies yet but they scheduled another appointment to follow-up when the twins were six months old.
Ichigo rounded the street corner, nearly running through a ghost.
"Whoa!" Ichigo skidded to a halt, pivoting on his heel at the last second to swing his body around the ghost.
"Sorry! Sorry! I'm still new to being dead!"
Ichigo righted himself. He turned to the ghost and gave him a wave. "Nah I'm fine. Are you alright?"
The boy couldn't have been any older than fifteen. He had a large gash on his head that reached from his left temple to the middle of the back of his head. Ichigo could see what was resonating dried blood around the wound.
"How'd you die?" Ichigo asked before he could stop himself.
Immediately, the kid hung his head. He fidgited with his glasses before answering. "I made some kids at my school angry when I offered to tutor a really popular girl in maths and English. I'm really good at them and she was having trouble. I guess this will teach me to offer my assistance huh?"
Ichigo's heart ached for the kid. "Sorry about that. You were just trying to help her, right?"
The kid nodded. "Well turns out after they killed me, someone found a security camera who saw them. The girl was furious and testified against them in court just yesterday."
"At least you'll get justice. There are millions of others who don't. I have to go pick up my son but don't leave the city, okay? Either me or one of my friends will come find you later to help you cross over."
The kid grinned widely. "Yeah, alright. I'll see you later then."
"See ya, kid!" Ichigo waved a hand in farewell and took off at a job. He knew he would be late for sure now but Rukia would understand.
Ichigo made it to the small dojo in just under three minutes. Thankfully the rain had finally let up some and the sun even decided to make an appearance. At first glance, his son was no where around. A slower, longer glance made him see Kyou was standing in the corner of the yard talking to a child ghost.
He made his way over slowly as to not spook the child. The closer he got, the more details Ichigo could see. He saw a light blue skirt, an off-white dress shirt, and blue ribbons in her fairly long kind of dark hair. Her Chain of Fate only had a few links on it.
When Kyou saw him, he smiled widely and waved at his father frantically.
"Hey, Kyou." Ichigo crouched next to his son, slightly away from the child. "Who is this?"
"Remna!" Kyou exclaimed.
"Remna, huh?" Ichigo looked at the child, softening his eyes. From the way this child watched him, it was obvious she didn't trust adults. "Hi, Remna. I'm Kyou's dad. My name's Ichigo."
Kyou turned back to the ghost girl and Ichigo made himself more comfortable by sitting on the grass next to his son. Remna didn't seem to have any visible scars or injuries that Ichigo could see. Her neck seemed slightly darker in color but not dark enough for Ichigo to assume she had been choked to death. He let the children talk - or rather Kyou talked and the girl listened and glanced at Ichigo nervously every so often - for a good ten minutes before he softly reminded Kyou they had to get home to his new sisters. Kyou beamed at the mention of the twins and proceeded to explain to Remna for another fifteen minutes how he just became a brother.
Ichigo reminded Kyou as gently as he could that they had to go, standing up slowly so as not to scare Remna. When it didn't look like Kyou was taking any notice, an idea slammed itself into Ichigo's head.
"Hey, Kyou, why don't you invite Remna home? You two can play for awhile while Daddy talks to Uncle Hat-n-Clogs, okay?"
Kyou gasped in delight. He whirled around to face Remna, bouncing to his feet. "Wanna come over an' play, Remna?"
Remna looked like it was the last thing she wanted to do but she didn't want to leave Kyou. Ichigo turned away from the two so Kyou could try to convince the girl and she could make up her mind without his adult influence. He could hear Kyou listing off every toy he had in an attempt to persuade her more and had to supress a smile.
"Okay. I'll come with you."
Ichigo was surprised. He hadn't thought Remna would verbally agree but he was glad she did. He waited for the kids to right themselves then when he felt a tiny hand grab the fabric of his pants by his knee, he began walking a slow pace away from the dojo. He made sure to wave at the attendant of the dojo so she didn't think he was kidnapping his own son or something.
With Kyou and Remna tagging along it took almost an hour to get back home and the boy never stopped talking.
I swear this kid will have a secondary school vocabulary by the time we walk through the door, Ichigo mused. He breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the gate to their front yard. He unlatched it, held it open for Kyou and Remna, and re-latched it before following them to the front door.
"MAMA!"
"Finally you bring my baby home! What took you so long, Ichigo?!"
Rukia appeared from around the corner and immediately grabbed up her son.
"Mama!" Kyou squealed in delight. He smiled and hugged his mother back just as tightly.
"Oh my baby!"
Ichigo shut the main door. He turned so he could lean against it and watch the two. It always entertained him to see the two together. Kyou was very stuborn and usually held a serious face like Ichigo but as soon as he was with Rukia his entire demeanor changed and he became a very bouncy and smiley child.
It reminded him of himself with his own mother.
Rukia squeezed the life out of the boy for another minute or so before giving him a kiss on the cheek and setting him down. She held his much smaller hands in hers and told him, "The babies have been waiting for you all day. They're in the living room."
Kyou took off running through the room to go see his new sisters, leaving his parents alone with his new ghost friend.
Rukia smiled at the boy's rapidly disappearing back as she walked over to her husband. "Okay so really. What took so long?"
"On the way there, I ran into a ghost - who's expecting someone soon - and then Kyou made a new friend. Rukia, meet Remna."
Ichigo gently grabbed Rukia's arm to turn her a bit and to keep her from moving towards the ghost girl who had strategically placed herself on the other side of Kyou while he had been in the room but now looked slightly lost since his retreat. Rukia's eyes widened in surprise at seeing the little girl for the first time wondering how she missed her.
Rukia smiled kindly. "Hello. It's wonderful to meet a friend of Kyou-berry's." She knelt down just a enough to rest her hands on her knees and be a little more at eye level with Remna. "I'm Rukia, Kyou's mama."
"Remna, if you'd like you can go see the babies too," Ichigo spoke in his soft big brother voice, hoping to put Remna at ease just a bit.
She nodded quickly and ran out of the room. Her boots made a soft clicking noise on her way.
Rukia gave ichigo a questioning look.
He simply said, "I think she's afraid of adults and I think she was killed by one she trusted."
Rukia nodded. She then grabbed the front of Ichigo's shirt and yanked his torso down. As soon as he bent over, Rukia had her mouth on his. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up gently.
The kiss was soft and easy. Honestly, it was one of Ichigo's favorites because he had a chance to just hold the little ball of fury and stubbornness that was Rukia without anything being rushed. He liked just holding her just because he could.
When Rukia tried to retreat, Ichigo surged forward to grab for one last kiss before letting her go. When he placed her back on the ground, she grabbed his hand in hers and simply held it.
"Come on. I started on dinner."
That's when Ichigo's stomach decided to make it's appearance. Rukia laughed at his sheepish face before tugging him into the kitchen.
"I also made a small lunch for when you got home."
They found Kyou standing on a chair next to the twins' bassinet. He wasn't touching it, just leaning over enough to make faces at his sisters. They cooed and squealed and shook their tiny fists at him. Though she was taller than Kyou so she didn't need a chair to see in, Remna kept her distance from the twins only watching Kyou with mild amusement.
"Kyou, I made you some rice. You want it now?"
"Yes, please!"
Ichigo helped Kyou get settled at the table and Rukia made a small bowl of rice for her son. She grabbed a small bottle that held her homemade sauce that Kyou and Ichigo loved and carried both the bottle and the small bowl of rice to the table, setting them both in front of her squirming son. She returned to the kitchen for a second and came back to the table with her own bowl of rice and two spoons. She set Kyou's spoon down next to his bowl, picked up the sauce bottle and carefully poured just a small bit over her son's rice.
Kyou immediately went still and reached for his favorite small multi colored spoon. His legs folded under him on the chair and he began eating happily.
Ichigo frowned at his wife's smirk, rolling his eyes as he made his way passed the table to retrieve his own bowl. Rukia smirked more as she reached over to run her fingers through Kyou's raven hair.
The small family sat down, each parents fussing over the boy just to watch him squirm under their ministrations. Occasionally, they glance over at the ghost girl who still stood silently a few feet away from the babies who were blabbing away to each other in their own baby twin language.
Ichigo and Rukia finished their bowls fairly quickly but Kyou was having fun stirring it around before packing it back into the bottom of his bowl. Ichigo took their bowls into the kitchen while Rukia tried to get Kyou to actually eat.
Remna stepped up to the bassinet. She peered over the edge and the crying stopped.
Ichigo and Rukia immediately looked over. Rukia started moving like she was going to go over but Ichigo held out a hand to stop her. He gave a sharp shake of his head at her questioning expression. He reached for her, grabbing her hand, and they inched slowly and silently towards the girls. When they could see inside the bed, they stopped.
They watched in silence as Remna regarded the small girls who stared at her with similar curiosity.
Ichigo and Rukia watched the little girl and the babies stare at each other for a long while. It almost seemed like Remna couldn't make up her mind about something and whatever the twins were thinking was not helping her at all.
Finally, Rukia had had enough. She made to move over to Remna and say something - what she had no idea - but just as she took a step and a breath, Remna finally made up her mind.
She smiled widely. First, she looked at the orange haired baby whose eyes had turned a chocloately hazel and said, "Ruka."
Then she turned to the dark brown haired baby who had bright purple-blue eyes and said, "Riko."
Ichigo and Rukia stood in stunned silence for just a moment before slowly making their way over to the basket. Remna moved to the side when she saw the parents but stayed close to the babies.
Rukia gave Remna a smile. "Did you just name our babies?"
Remna's own smile faltered slightly. She kept her gaze firmly on the twins. "They told me. They said that you just hadn't heard them yet."
"Well, that's interesting. What else did they say?"
"Just their names. They didn't want you accidentally picking the wrong ones."
Ichigo's eyebrows went up. "Well at least that didn't happen."
Rukia gently smacked Ichigo's chest with the back of her hand. "We thank you, Remna, for listening to them when we didn't. So.." She stepped closer so she could lean over the bassinet. ".. we have Ruka and Riko, then. Funny that their names are almost Rukia." She laughed a bit at the thought.
Remna actually looked at her. "Your name."
"Yes," Rukia told her.
Ichigo's cell phone suddenly ringing from his coat pocket cut off anything that could have been said. He grazed his hand over Rukia's arm as he parted from her and made to answer the cell.
Rukia regarded the girl next to her. She seemed so very small to Rukia, which as short as she is was really saying something, but it was more than just her size. Remna gave off this small air that said she was small. It seemed odd to Rukia that this girl who had obviously had a very and hard short life gave off the sense that she was indeed small.
Maybe it was because Rukia herself had always tried to be bigger than she was so no one could doubt her abilities that she just couldn't quite understand how Remna could be happy being portrayed as so small.
Ichigo came back with a small smile. "Tatsuki and Orihime got home a few minutes ago. They invited us over this weekend. I told them I'd have to see if someone could babysit first."
"Mama!"
"Yes, Kyou-berry? A night out would be great," Rukia added in a low voice.
"Mama, are you gonna send Remna to Soul Society?" Kyou suddenly appeared at her elbow, tugging at her sleeve to get her attention.
Neither Ichigo nor Rukia missed the way Remna's head whipped around to look at them.
"We have to talk to her first, Kyou. She may not be ready and I have to talk to Hat n' Clogs about getting her a door." Ichigo kneeled so he could be eye level with his son. "We don't want to scare her and make her afraid, right?"
"Right!"
"So why don't you tell Remna about Soul Society so she isn't scared?"
"Yeah, ok." Kyou stepped between his parents. "Come to my room to play Remna."
Remna looked long and hard at Ichigo and Rukia, as if deciding or looking for something. She may have found it because she easily agreed and followed Kyou out of the room.
The adults were silent until Kyou and Remna could be heard on the stairs. Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair. He gave a huffing laugh. "Well... this has been an interesting day."
Rukia nodded her agreement. "At least we finally have names for them."
"Wait until I tell Dad that a ghost girl named them."
Rukia laughed, wrapping an arm around Ichigo's waist. He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. Together, they listened to Kyou exclaiming loudly about something and watched their newest additions doze contently.
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I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I lost my internet connection for a while then I didn't have a computer.. it was a mess. But here you are! I hope it's good.
Ruka - spiritual
Riko - child of truth
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