Pregnancy Class

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. -
Washington Irving

A/N: So I was a little wary about the ending I had planned for this fic, and while I was pondering it, I came up with something infinitely better. It's not really something I've tried before, but I think you'll like where it goes. Sorry for not updating for awhile, work has been getting hectic.


Byakuya didn't have to include Ichigo on his trips to Hueco Mundo looking for his lost lieutenant, but he did anyways. Captain Ukitake understood Ichigo's need to continue to go back and had no problem with him spending a day or two away from his regular duties to search the cold desert for traces of Renji. He would make no comment when Ichigo requested the time off, although he secretly wondered if it was really that good of an idea to have Byakuya and Ichigo spent that much time together alone. Not that he thought something was going to happen, he just worried that it was making things harder on Byakuya than it had to be.

It had been over twelve hours, and although Byakuya refused to show it at all, he was tired. The work was repetitive, but at the same time all of his senses had to be at full alert to prevent an ambush by hollows or remaining arrancar. It wasn't as though he was worried about the strength of any of them, but even returning with a minor scratch would injure his pride.

And of course, there was whatever had gotten Renji, out there someplace. Someone had been able to take a shinigami with a bankai out, two if you counted the fact that Ichigo was half alive when he had gotten back. Ichigo's account of their fight was garbled, although it was clear that there had been many hollows attacking them. Still, they shouldn't have been able to take out two entire groups of shinigami as well as two captain class people. There was still the issue of how they had wound up far from their insertion site to begin with. Did the arrancar have technology that could deliberately change the path of the gargantua? Had a shinigami accidentally just sent them to the wrong place, or even done in on purpose?

There were a lot of unanswered questions as far as what had happened, and Byakuya didn't really like some of the possible answers.

"We should return," Byakuya told his companion as they paused at the top of a sand dune, looking out over the perpetual night sky. "We didn't bring supplies for an overnight stay and that dust cloud on the horizon is likely a large sandstorm."

Ichigo scowled at him. "Yeah, okay," he finally agreed.

"When can we go back again?" Ichigo asked as he and Byakuya walked along the long garden path that lead to the Kuchiki main estate.

"I will have to check my schedule," Byakuya said vaguely. He had no idea whether his lieutenant was alive or not. He suspected he was long dead, but he knew that such finality would likely have a very serious effect on Ichigo. To be honest though, it wasn't like letting the boy hold on to hope indefinitely was healthy either. Byakuya sighed. "You are stressed," he said finally.

"Well...yeah," Ichigo answered.

"Let me do something for you."

Ichigo followed Byakuya into the private bath house he had at the back of his home. Ichigo absently washed off the sand and grime of Hueco Mundo off of himself and then gently climbed into the large hot sunken cistern, slowly allowing his muscles to relax in the relentless heat. He noticed that Byakuya was in the corner, setting something up but blocked it from his mind, trying to not think of anything.

The water was very hot though, and he found himself overheating before too long. With a sigh he pulled himself out and dried off with a towel. He tucked the towel around his waist and began to wander off to find his clothes.

"Not yet," Byakuya said to him.

Ichigo had forgotten he was there. He blushed slightly wondering if he had flashed Byakuya climbing out of the pool.

"Come here," Byakuya called him over.

"What is that?" Ichigo looked at the small table Byakuya had laid out.

"It's a massage table."

Ichigo's eyebrows went up. "You are...going to give me a massage?"

"You are probably wondering why I don't have a staff member do it," Byakuya said. "The truth is I'm going to give you a special massage."

Ichigo wasn't really the type to think dirty thoughts, but on top of his embarrassment of being so open with his nudity earlier, having forgotten Byakuya was in the room, and now hearing something so ambiguous sped his mind down paths it really shouldn't have been going down. "Err..." was all he said out loud, fighting his blush.

"It's not a particularly high level type of kido, but it isn't easy to master," Byakuya continued.

"Oh," Ichigo said dumbly. He had no idea what Byakuya was talking about, but it did propel his mind out of the gutter.

Ichigo allowed himself to be guided onto the table, laying face down with part of his face lying against a cutout of the table so that he was staring at the ground. He closed his eyes a little and bit his lip as Byakuya began to work on his upper back.

'This is okay,' Ichigo was telling himself. 'This is fine. I'm not going to freak out about this.' His eyes went wide as Byakuya pressed his palms into a particularly tender part of Ichigo's back.

Byakuya paused as he felt Ichigo wince under his hands. He concentrated briefly, focusing on the tips of his fingers, allowing tiny tendrils of spiritual pressure to form at the end of them. He once again placed his hands at the sore spot, embedding the tendrils directly into Ichigo's back, touching the muscles directly and forcing them to relax.

"Gah!" Ichigo said. "W-what was that?"

"The kido technique I was telling you about," Byakuya replied. He moved his hands to Ichigo's lower back, gently prying Ichigo's tensed muscles loose with the spirit energy flowing from his hands. He froze as Ichigo moaned before forcing himself to continue.

'I've never had a massage before,' Ichigo was thinking, 'but I doubt that they usually feel this good.' He couldn't help the happy sounds and light moans and groans that were coming from him.

Byakuya was seriously beginning to doubt that this was a good idea. He had no idea what had caused him to make the offer to the boy, it wasn't something he had done for another person before. He had gone through some rather tough training as a boy and remembered that his physical therapist would do this to him when his muscles got bunched together and swollen.

However, Ichigo kept...making noises. And writhing. And every time Byakuya reached deep into him, he felt himself brush up against Ichigo's spiritual pressure, felt the smoothness of his skin and the development of his muscles. It was only Byakuya's sheer willpower that was preventing his hands from shaking.

Byakuya could feel the slight curve of Ichigo's back as it led to his butt. Feeling a very strong impulse to keep going, Byakuya quickly ripped his hands away from Ichigo. He moved instead to Ichigo's legs, starting near his feet and moving up.

'How can something be so relaxing and so...err...not relaxing,' Ichigo thought to himself, his face getting flushed as he refused to admit to himself that he was getting turned on. He tried to distract himself by thinking about something else, but wound up pondering Byakuya's hair.

'I bet it's really silky feeling,' he thought to himself. 'It looks really shiny and...Damn it,' Ichigo yelled at himself inwardly. He gasped loudly as he felt Byakuya hand along his upper thigh, Ichigo's muscles quivering at the touch.

"Ha ha!" Ichigo forced out some laughter. "I'm uh...feeling a lot better now. So...thanks!"

Byakuya paused for a minute to gain his composure. "Try to not get so stressed," he said, removing his hands from the boy with a slight reluctance.

There was an awkward pause for a moment.

"Lord Kuchiki?" a questioning voice came floating into the room.

"Back here," Byakuya said simply.

"Lady Kuchiki's pregnancy counselor is here," the servant stated as he walked into the room.

Byakuya recalled that he was supposed to be present for this visit. He looked over his shoulder at Ichigo, who was still lying on the table. "I will be there momentarily," Byakuya told the servant, dismissing him. "I suppose...you should come," Byakuya said to Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed. 'Even when I temporarily get away from the lies, they come back to me,' he thought. 'Byakuya is trying to be kind by allowing me to be with Rukia while they talk about the pregnancy and birth process, and there's no reason for me to refuse.' "Yeah, I'll come in as soon as I'm dressed," he said out loud. He had no plan on getting up while Byakuya was still in the room, because he had no doubt that the flimsy towel would do nothing to hide the erection he felt pressing into the table.


Rukia, Byakuya, and Ichigo were all sitting pale faced as they listened to the midwife talk. Rukia was trying to not panic and both Byakuya and Ichigo were trying to not bolt from the room. Ichigo particularly had never even seen female genitalia, or at least, he had quickly clicked past it if it happened to flash up on his computer while he was surfing through various sites, so the very detailed diagrams and descriptions were leaving him more than a little queasy. Byakuya was obviously more familiar with the female anatomy, but the descriptions of what happened to it during the birth process were rather harrowing.

"So um...how common is...the ripping?" Rukia said weakly.

Both Byakuya and Ichigo felt brief panic as the midwife answered the question very thoroughly.

Then of course, there was the video. The horrible, horrible video. Ichigo was a bit of a fan of horror films, but he had never felt so terrified as when watching "The Miracle of Life". He quickly gripped Rukia's hand, trying to give her some semblance of comfort. She clasped on to his hand hard. Ichigo had been hoping that childbirth would be easier in the Soul Society, but it turns out that it was almost exactly the same. He wasn't unaware of what happened during the process, but it's not like his dad's clinic delivered babies. Even knowing what happened scientifically, thinking of it happening to Rukia was scary.

'She's so small,' Ichigo thought to himself, 'and her belly is so big. Is she really going to be able to...err...push the baby through...well...?'

After the midwife had left, Byakuya wondered if he should offer everyone a little sake to calm their spirits. Except that Rukia couldn't have any, and she's the one that would most need it. He considered his options.

"Ichigo...didn't you mention something called ice cream to me once?" Byakuya asked.

"Um, yeah?"

"Let's go and get some ice cream from the world of the living," Byakuya suggested. "We'll bring some back for Rukia. What kind do you want?" he asked her.

"Strawberry, pistachio, chocolate, double chocolate, rocky road, strawberry cheesecake, and French vanilla," Rukia listed off.

"That's all one flavor?" Byakuya asked, confused.

"No, that's like ten flavors. Maybe we should just buy one of everything," Ichigo joked. He winced as Rukia hit him.

"YOU'RE NOT THE ONE THAT IS GOING TO HAVE A WATERMELON TEAR THROUGH HER VAGINA!" Rukia yelled.

Byakuya wisely just backed out of the room, waiting for Ichigo to get finished being yelled at before they left.

They came back with one of every flavor that they could find. Rukia was very happy and even laughed when Byakuya managed to give himself an ice cream headache from eating too fast.


Byakuya didn't even have it in him to be ashamed as he dreamt about Ichigo that night.

He easily pulled away Ichigo's towel and climbed onto the massage table.

"You seem to be enjoying this," Byakuya whispered in the back of Ichigo's ear.

"Please, keep touching me," Ichigo begged.

When Byakuya woke up, more sticky then he had been when he went to sleep, he almost laughed out loud at himself. 'I am so very pathetic,' Byakuya thought, wincing at the gross feeling as he pried his sheets off of him and headed into his private shower.


"Byakuya," Ichigo moaned as he tossed in his sleep. His dream was odd as it was arousing, his whole body being infiltrated by sakura blossoms that were raining down from heaven.


Rukia on the other hand had an unpleasant sleep, full of nightmares of needles and blood and perineal tearing and giant watermelons laughing at her as they chased her through fields.

She woke up vaguely upset at Renji for getting her pregnant in the first place, but then instantly starting crying when she woke up enough to realize that Renji wasn't going to be there for the birth of his child, and that even though she'd have Ichigo and Byakuya there with her, she'd be all alone.