Disclaimer: I double checked, but I still don't own Bleach!

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Chapter 7: Reunion

About one month later…

A full moon hung silently in the sky, but thick clouds blocked most of its light and cast the Soul Society in shadows. Very few lights were on at this late hour and the only noise was the rustling of the leaves in the wind. Rukia walked quickly, but stealthily, through the dark halls of Kuchiki manor. She glanced around as she tried to avoid any people she sensed. She was trying her best to suppress her reiatsu as well as that of her twins. She had to get to the back of the Kuchiki estate where the family's private senkaimon stood. Although everything was dark she moved with relative ease because she had practiced this route many times since her brother had brought her back home.

Since the day Byakuya Nii-sama had given Rukia his ultimatum, she had managed to stall him until the very last moment regarding her decision about her pregnancy. She had only told him a couple of days earlier that she would comply with his wishes. Before she had given him her decision, he had kept a very close eye on her. In fact, he had spent so much time at the Kuchiki manor that Rukia had started to wonder if he had given up his position as a Captain to watch over her.

He had relaxed a bit and had gone, more or less, back to normal after she had informed him of her decision. Rukia thought he would be more suspicious of her change of heart, but he seemed so relieved with her choice that he had even agreed to let her wait till the end of the week to have the procedure done.

I have to hurry, she thought urgently as she felt her way through the dark. Nii-sama will be back from his mission soon and then I will have missed my chance.

"I've put the guards at the Kuchiki senkaimon asleep," said a voice that sounded a bit like an old man's. Although the voice had come from right in front of her the darkness was thick enough that Rukia couldn't see the speaker at all. "Once you go through, Kisuke will be waiting for you. He has everything ready."

"Thank you," Rukia whispered breathlessly, unable to say more because of the effort it took for her to simply keep moving.

Ever since Rukia had found out about her pregnancy her body had deteriorated just as Captain Unohana said it would. There was no pain, but she felt exhausted all the time and doing the simplest of tasks, such as sitting up or eating, had become an onerous chore. It always felt like her body weighed ten times more than it was supposed to and she constantly felt like she was moving through thick syrup. It was only her strong will and determination that kept her moving forward in the darkness.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the disembodied voice from earlier asked. "Once you go through that gate you can never come back."

Rukia placed her hand over her stomach where a small bump was forming. A protective love welled up in her heart as she felt the proof of her children's existence.

"Yes, I'm sure."

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One month after that…

A cool breeze blew gently across Ichigo's back and ruffled his already wild orange hair. He should have felt chilled, but Rukia's warmth radiated through his entire body. He looked lovingly down at her as she lay beneath him. His large, rough hand reached out to tenderly caress her soft, smooth cheek. She closed her radiant, violet eyes at his touch and rubbed her delicate skin against his palm.

Ichigo slid his hand forward until he was cradling the back of her neck and then slowly he drew his face toward her lips. He felt her breath quicken as he brought their lips together.

She always smells so good, he thought as he pulled back from her lips to gaze at her. I just can't describe it. It always makes me think of something fresh and clean, like new fallen snow.

Rukia opened her dark eyes and tilted her face up towards his, a small smile playing upon her lips. Ichigo leaned forward to cover the last bit separating them and…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Aw, hell!" Ichigo shouted as he slammed his hand on the top of his alarm to turn it off. He yanked the plug out of the wall and threw the clock across the room. It banged noisily into the wall and fell to pieces on the floor.

Ichigo rolled over and pulled the covers over his head in an effort to get back to sleep – back to his dream. Soon he felt himself drifting off, but his door burst open and his father, Isshin Kurosaki, came charging in.

"Ichigoooooo!" Isshin yelled as he aimed a flying kick at Ichigo's head. "Rise and shiiiine! Don't waste your youth away on sleep!"

Ichigo sat up quickly, evading his father's foot just before it made contact with the side of his head. His father flew past him and slammed full force into the wall. He hit it with enough impact to shake the whole house.

"You stupid old man!" Ichigo yelled as he sprang the rest of the way out of bed. "What the hell, do you think you're doing!?!"

"A point for you Ichigo!" his father shouted, but because his face was still smashed against the wall it came out more like, "Marf pyoinf fo mu ijido!"

Freakin' crazy old man, Ichigo thought as he glared at his father's crumpled form on his bed. I'm going to college now and he still insists on doing this kind of crap to me every morning!

Ichigo was about to yell at his father to get the hell out of his bed, but all of a sudden Isshin Kurosaki sprang up like some kind of psychotic jack-in-the-box and dived toward Ichigo again. Having had to deal with this his whole teenage life, Ichigo was prepared for this move and easily dodged by stepping to one side. His father sailed past him again and made another unceremonious face plant into the far wall.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Ichigo screamed in frustration as he stomped over to his old man and planted a foot - hard - into the middle of his back. "Why the hell did you have to stay here, old man! You should have taken that damned Captain's position in Soul Society. I wouldn't have cared if you stayed in Soul Society for the rest of my life!"

Isshin Kurosaki stood up, throwing his son off of him in one easy motion. Ichigo flew in a graceful arc then crashed solidly into the floor and banged his head into the wall with a resounding thud.

"How can you say that to your father, Ichigo!" Isshin cried as he went to stomp a triumphant foot onto Ichigo's stomach. "I could never leave my darling daughters in your questionable care for that long! Oh, Karin! Yuzu! Oh, the apples of my eye! Don't worry! Daddy will never leave you!"

"Aw, shut the hell up already you old fool!" Ichigo shouted as he grabbed his father's foot and threw him out the door. He quickly slammed it shut and locked it before Isshin could recover.

Damn it! He cursed as he ran a hand through his unruly orange hair. I guess I might as well get ready for class. I sure as hell, won't be able to go back to sleep after all that.

Ichigo walked to his closet and grabbed a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He got dressed and grabbed his back pack from beside his desk and a small, round object which he placed in his pocket.

Another day to live through…

"I'm leaving now, Rukia," he said quietly as he gazed at a picture of Rukia and him, sitting on his desk.

I'll see you in my dreams tonight.

Then Ichigo swung his backpack onto his back and headed downstairs, where he could hear his younger sister, Yuzu, calling him for breakfast.

"Nii-Chan! Breakfast is ready! You better hurry or else it's going to get cold!"

Ichigo walked into the brightly lit kitchen where Yuzu was finishing up the last touches on their meal. Karin, Yuzu's twin, was already seated at the table calmly eating her breakfast.

"Morning, Ichii-Nii." Karin greeted him without even looking up from her food. "Did you do us all a favor and off the old man?"

"I wish," he mumbled as he snagged a piece of toast from his plate. He didn't sit down and instead made his way to the front door.

"Nii-chan!" Yuzu said in disapproval. "You have to eat more than that before you leave."

"Sorry Yuzu!" he called over his shoulder. "I've gotta get to class! I'll be home for dinner!"

"What class, Ichi-Nii?" he could hear Karin shouting after him as he walked out. She probably had more to say but she was interrupted by the pounding steps of his father as he charged down the stairs towards him.

"Ichiiiigooo!" he was shouting manically. "How dare you leave without eating all of Yuzu's delicious cooking! Don't you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the…"

SLAM!

CRASH!

Ichigo had timed the closing of the door so that his Dad would run full force into it. He could hear his father's sobs as he tried to milk Ichigo's sisters for some sympathy. Ichigo shook his head in disgust at his father's behavior and walked out into the quiet morning street.

You would never guess that he's actually a really powerful Shinigami from the way he behaves. Ichigo grumbled to himself. I wish he would act like a normal man his age.

Thoughts like these ran through Ichigo's mind daily, but despite his annoyance with his father's behavior a very small part of him was grateful for Isshin's daily "training sessions". It kept him on his toes and gave him something else to think about besides Rukia. He figured his idiot of a father probably knew that if it wasn't for the daily family routines Ichigo would probably be moping a lot more than he was now.

It's been five months since I've last seen you Rukia, he mused sadly as he stopped for a moment to look up into the sky. I wonder what you're doing right now.

Ichigo looked ahead again and his mind wandered further as his legs automatically began carrying him in the right direction.

I'm doing what we promised each other that last day. I'm going to school and I'm going to take over the clinic from my stupid old man. I'll follow through on our promise, he thought with a small smile. Besides, I sure as hell, don't want to get my ass kicked when I see you again.

Ichigo was so absorbed in his thoughts that it took him several minutes before he realized his Substitute Shinigami Badge was flashing.

Well, at least this hollow came out early… and it seems like it's nearby too, he thought as he fished around in his pocket. Great, I have a lot of time to take care of it before I have to get to class.

After a few seconds, Ichigo finally found what he was looking for and brought out a little green pill. He dusted it off on his shirt and swallowed it. His Shinigami form was instantly forced out of his body so that he was ready to battle the hollow.

"Kon," he told his body which was now standing up and glaring at Shinigami Ichigo. "You know the drill, keep heading toward my school and I'll catch up to you later."

"Why the hell should I?" pouted Kon as he sat Ichigo's body down on the ground in protest. "You've been carrying me around in your dirty, stinking pocket for three days now and I'm sick of it!"

"Well, you deserve it for trying to make out with all those girls in my biology class the last time, you perverted ball of fluff!" Ichigo growled at him. "If I had someone to take care of my body while I'm busy I sure as hell wouldn't bother with you!"

Ichigo was about to say more but he felt the hollow's presence suddenly appear to his right, about twenty yards away. He turned toward it just as the hollow let out howling scream. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw a small dark haired form running as fast as it could away from the hollow that looked like a huge flying cockroach. It had multiple legs on either side of its body and two long antennae sprouted from the top of its head above its white mask. It flew after its victim with a buzzing sound as its wings vibrated rapidly in the air.

The girl, who was wearing a light blue one piece dress, stumbled a bit, but recovered instantly and kept on running. Ichigo couldn't see her face from this distance but she looked like she was exhausted and was ready to fall at any moment.

"Is that a soul it's chasing?" he wondered aloud to himself as he drew his zanpakutou, Zangetsu, from his back and started to run toward them. "No, I don't see a soul chain…it's a living girl!"

Ichigo rushed urgently forward and made a flying leap just as one of the hollow's antennae shot out and wrapped itself around the girl's arms and chest. The girl cried out as it lifted her up into the air to bring her to its wide mouth. Once the hollow had her off the ground Ichigo realized there was a telltale bulge under her dress.

Damn it! He thought as he brought Zangetsu down and severed the antennae holding the girl aloft. Crummy ass hollow is trying to eat a pregnant girl!

As soon as the antennae loosened, Ichigo changed direction quickly and gently caught the girl as she began to fall. He could feel her body trembling as he grasped her close to him. He was just about to look down and say something comforting to her but the hollow charged and forced his attention back to it.

Ichigo blocked its huge teeth with Zangetsu and flung it back with one swing of his arm, he squeezed the girl tighter to his chest to keep her from falling. Then he leapt away from the hollow and used shunpo to carry the girl to where Kon was watching the battle.

"Take her, Kon," Ichigo ordered as he deposited the girl into his arms.

He turned back to the hollow and met its head on rush towards them with Zangetsu. Ichigo grunted slightly at the impact of the hollow's body against his zanpakutou, but he shoved it back easily. Grasping the hilt with both hands he reversed his motion and swung upwards to neatly slice the hollow in half. It disintegrated before Ichigo even returned Zangetsu to his usual place on his back.

Ichigo turned and started to walk back towards Kon and the girl. Kon had put her on the ground so that she had her back turned towards Ichigo. He still couldn't see her face, but something about her nagged at his mind. Her shoulder length, dark black hair blew gently around her as she looked at Kon. Kon was staring at her with wide eyes and a stunned expression on his face.

It seems weird to see such a dopey expression like that on my face, thought Ichigo as he hurried forward to prevent Kon from doing anything stupid. She must be really pretty for Kon to be staring like that. I would have expected him to be pawing at her by now.

"Nee-chan," Kon whispered as he stared with wide eyes into the girl's face.

Ichigo stopped in shock just behind her, unable to believe what he had just heard. Kon only called one person that he knew by that name and she was supposed to be stuck in Soul Society - out of his reach for the rest of his life.

The girl seemed to sense him behind her because she slowly turned around to face him. Beautiful violet eyes set in a delicate face looked up at him in recognition. Her raven colored hair blew across the soft creamy skin of her face as he stared, dumbfounded, at her. Ichigo felt as if he had suddenly fallen back into his morning dream.

"Rukia…"

Ichigo continued to stare at her as if she were a mirage that was about to disappear. He was sure that his face was now a mirror image of Kon's goofy expression, but at that moment he didn't care. His eyes kept telling him the impossible was standing in front of him.

"Rukia…," Ichigo whispered again, he barely breathed as he stared at her. "Is it really you?"

Ichigo saw tears begin to form in her eyes as she stared up at him. Her beautiful smile began to spread across her features. He reached his arms out to embrace her but they were rudely interrupted by Kon's usual enthusiastic greeting.

"Neeeee-chan!" Kon shouted as he gleefully tried to grab her. "How I've missed you! How could you leave me alone with Ichigo all this time…"

Ichigo watched Rukia duck under Kon's approaching arms and elbow him sharply in the ribs. Kon fell flat on his face, and began to cry.

"Nee-chan," Kon wailed as he lifted his face to stare tearfully at her. "Why are you always so mean to me! I just wanted to show you how much I missed you!"

"Hey! Take it easy Rukia!" Ichigo shouted at her in alarm as he saw her leg getting ready to stomp on Kon. "That's my body you're messing with!"

"Well, honestly Ichigo, I would have thought that you would have taught him better manners by now," she said as she lowered her foot onto the middle of Ichigo/Kon's back. She stomped on him a couple more times, dusted herself off and then rested her hands protectively over her stomach.

"What the hell are you doing!" Ichigo shouted at her, feeling upset and annoyed with her callous treatment of his body. "That's my body you're kicking the crap out of and it's not my fault that Kon is a pervert!"

"Whatever," she snapped as Kon , who recovered quickly, wrapped his arms around her legs. Rukia shoved at his head in an effort to get him off of her. He immediately clung tighter in response to her efforts and started sobbing nonsense into her thigh. "Just get back in your body, Ichigo! Hurry up, before I have to break your arms!"

Ichigo threw one last murderous glare in her direction and then complied. He bent down and pulled himself into his body. As soon as he was back in, he coughed until he was able to spit Kon back out into his hand. He shoved Kon's pill roughly into his pocket and took his place by Rukia's side. Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia's waist, buried his face into her chest and inhaled her clean, wonderful scent. He felt Rukia pause for a moment, seeming a bit startled by his sudden shift in mood, but she wrapped her arms around his head and hugged him tightly to her.

"Rukia…," Ichigo said quietly, his forehead pressed against her so that he was looking at her stomach. "Is this what I think it is?"

Ichigo waited a few moments for her answer as he continued to stare at the bump under her dress. When she didn't say anything he looked up into her face. He saw her smile softly as she nodded her agreement.

"When? How?" he asked, still feeling a little stunned.

Rukia frowned in response to his rather dumb question.

"I think the answer to both is quite obvious, stupid," she replied as she flicked him lightly in the forehead.

He rubbed his forehead where her finger made contact. His annoyance with her reaction to him started to rise but he got it under control and concentrated on the more important issues.

"Why didn't you come and tell me sooner?" he demanded as he released his hold on her so he could have a better look into her face.

Rukia looked away from his intense scrutiny and sighed. She stepped back from him and said, "Let's go to your place first, Ichigo. I don't think we should talk about this in the middle of the street."

He looked at her and contemplated demanding an answer right now, but a group of people appeared out of nowhere and walked by. When he heard their whispered comments about their position together on the ground, Ichigo realized that Rukia was right. He stood up, grasped her hand firmly in his and began to lead her back to his house.

Rukia didn't say anything the whole way back to his home and seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Ichigo's thoughts were also in turmoil, but he couldn't help feeling contented at the warmth of her hand in his.

When they reached Ichigo's house he expected his father to rush in and make a big fuss, but nothing happened. Even Karin and Yuzu seemed to have disappeared for the day.

Was I gone that long, he wondered as he led Rukia up the steps to his room. She was still unusually quiet and docile as he opened his door and pulled her in. Out of habit, she immediately sat down at her usual spot on his bed and tucked her feet under her. Ichigo closed and locked the door behind him. Then he sat on the chair at his desk and faced her.

"Okay Rukia - talk," he said with a deep scowl on his face. "Why are you here? And why were you running away from such a weak ass hollow?"

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Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

Ichigo was missing for so long that I just wanted to get him back into the story. I'll let you know how Rukia got back to Ichigo in the next chapter.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed!