Disclaimer: See previous chapter!

Chapter 10: Family

"Nii-chan," Yuzu's voice called from below. "We're home!"

Ichigo startled at Yuzu's voice and his hand fell away from the necklace a fraction of a second before he touched it. He looked at his wristwatch and realized that it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon.

How did it get to be so late? He wondered as he stood up from his chair and stretched. I better wake Rukia and bring her down so that we can let the rest of the family know. I just hope the old man doesn't get too excited over the news.

"Rukia," Ichigo said as he reached over and shook her gently. Rukia stirred a little but didn't get up.

"Oi. Rukia," Ichigo called out a bit louder as he shook her a little harder. "It's time to get up. I think everyone is home."

Rukia mumbled something incoherent in her sleep and rolled over in response. Ichigo sighed and scratched the back of his head in frustration.

I guess I'll have to tell them myself, he thought in resignation. I don't want to be any rougher with her since she's pregnant.

"Ichi-nii," he heard Karin call from downstairs. "Are you home? Yuzu is getting dinner ready and I need your help with something."

"I'm here," he shouted back to her. "I'll be right down."

Ichigo looked down again at Rukia to see if she had stirred at the sound of his voice, but she was still deeply asleep.

I've never known her to sleep so soundly, he worried a little as he gazed at her still form. I guess she must really be tired from everything that's been happening.

He tucked the blankets back around her and started toward the door to go downstairs where his younger sisters were waiting. As he left his room, he closed the door quietly behind him so that they wouldn't disturb Rukia. He headed down the stairs and almost ran over Karin who had probably come up to find out what was taking him so long.

"Ichi-nii," she said in exasperation as he banged into her. She had to adjust her balance as the boxes she was carrying started to wobble. "Why don't you pay attention to where you're going?"

"Sorry, Karin," he said as he took the boxes from her. "Is this what you needed my help for?"

He struggled a little at the initial weight of the boxes. He couldn't believe his little sister had carried these all the way up here.

But I guess she's not really so little anymore, he mused to himself as he paused to take a good look at Karin. She had grown tall in the past couple of years and now the top of her head reached a little past his shoulders. Despite the tomboyish clothes she still wore Ichigo could tell that she was actually developing some mature curves. I guess we're all growing up.

"Ichi-nii – Ichi-nii!" Karin called out loudly to him as she waved a hand in front of his face. "What are you doing, spacing out like that? I asked you to put these in Dad's room."

"Sorry, Karin," Ichigo apologized again as he walked over to his Father's room at the other end of the hall. He went to the dresser and placed the boxes on the floor next to it. "I guess I'm just a little out of it today."

"That's for sure, Ichi-nii," she said as she rolled her eyes at him, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "You ran out on a Sunday morning to go to school. How lost can you be? It's something I would've expected our stupid Dad to do when he was younger."

It's Sunday? Ichigo thought to himself incredulously as his brow furrowed further in disgust with himself. I can't believe I set my alarm on a Sunday! If I turn into a psycho like him I'm going to have to have Rukia kill me before the kids are born.

Just then the psycho in question shouted out a greeting from downstairs.

"I'm home, everyone!" Isshin cried out enthusiastically as he slammed the front door. "Did everyone miss their favorite Father?"

Karin and Ichigo stared at each other with looks of intense concentration. It was almost as if they were trying to communicate with each other telepathically.

Shhh! Karin's eyes seemed to say. Maybe if we stay quiet the perverted psycho downstairs won't find us!

Ichigo nodded his agreement to the message in her eyes, forgetting for a moment that he had something important to tell the psycho along with the rest of his family. He and Karin started to move stealthily toward their rooms in hopes of getting into them and locking their doors before Isshin came upstairs. They had both gotten to the stairs near Ichigo's room when Isshin suddenly made a flying leap in front of them.

"Ichigooooo!" Isshin cried out as he landed in front of them. He lifted up his arm and pointed an accusing finger at Ichigo. "I expected this type of sneaky behavior from you, but now you've gone and corrupted my darling Karin!"

Ichigo and Karin backed away from him as if he were a dangerous snake that was about to strike. They both raised their hands in a defensive posture and waited for Isshin's next move.

"Oh, what is a loving father to do!" Isshin cried out dramatically as he launched himself forward to gather up Karin in his arms for a hug. "Don't worry Karin! Daddy forgives you!"

"Forget it, you stupid old man!" Karin yelled as she moved to the side and kicked her father's head so hard that he went flying into Ichigo's bedroom door. "Go find someone else to molest!"

Karin was breathing hard with anger and took a breath to berate Isshin further but she stopped in mid rant as Ichigo's door opened and revealed Rukia behind it.

"What's with all the noise?" Rukia asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. Ichigo frowned at her in concern when he realized that she still looked exhausted despite her long nap.

"Rukia Onee-san!" Karin cried out happily as she stomped on to her father's back to get to Rukia. Isshin grunted loudly at the impact, and tears began pouring out of his eye at Karin's callous behavior toward him. "When did you get here? I thought you weren't going to be able to return to the human world!"

This was an unusually enthusiastic reaction for Karin, but she and Rukia had gotten close when Karin's Shinigami powers had suddenly manifested themselves a couple of years ago. Rukia had mentored his sister in between battles and had been training her right up until Rukia had been forced to stay in the Soul Society. Karin, unlike Ichigo, had shown a definite talent for kidou and had relied on Rukia to show her the ropes. Their father had, of course, offered to help, but had immediately had the idea beaten out of him by Karin.

Rukia smiled with equal happiness at Karin, but before Rukia could answer, Yuzu's voice called out from below them.

"What are you all doing up there?" she asked from the foot of the stairs. "Everyone come and eat, dinner is ready."

"Move it, old man!" Karin shouted as she kicked their father's crumpled form out of her way and grabbed Rukia's hand.

"Come on, Onee-san!" she said almost as enthusiastically as Isshin would. At that moment she sounded exactly like her twin sister. "Yuzu will be so happy that you're here."

And with that, Karin pulled a rather startled looking Rukia downstairs.

Well, that was a nice change, Ichigo thought to himself as he turned to follow them down. It's kind of weird, but I think I like it when Karin looks so happy.

_______

At that same time at Urahara Shoten…

Tessai Tsukabishi walked in with a steaming cup of tea for Urahara who was still sitting at his table in his living room. It didn't seem as if he had moved from that spot since Isshin Kurosaki had left earlier that day.

"Tenchou," Tessai said as he sat down next to Urahara. "How did the conversation with Mr. Kurosaki go?"

Urahara's face remained serious as he gazed at the steam rising from his cup. He thought about everything that had happened since Rukia Kuchiki had relayed her request to him through Yoruichi.

So many questions, he thought. And unfortunately, I don't know where to start to find the answers.

Uruhara felt a bit unnerved at his total lack of understanding with the situation. There was usually nothing that could stump him for long if he put his mind to it, but even having Rukia Kuchiki in his lab for two weeks had done nothing to answer the questions in his mind. Her twin's reiatsu had been nearing a Captain's level by the time she had gotten here so with her own added in, it must have felt like she was moving through cement.

I have to admit that I was greatly impressed, he thought. I don't even think that some of the current Captain's could have repressed all that reiatsu and still have kept moving.

Urahara was quite sure that the twin's powers stemmed from their father's side, but he wondered if the Hougyoku he had hidden inside of Rukia Kuchiki's soul had anything to do with it also. It may have been sealed, but such close contact with it could have had unpredictable results.

It's probably not the case, he thought, in an effort to reassure himself, but it felt too much like a lie. He wondered what type of children would be born from a human Vizard cross and a Shinigami that might be carrying a part of the Hougyoku's power within her.

I just hope they don't turn out to be the monsters it sounds like they could be, he thought with quiet seriousness. I still have a few more months to figure this out and make sure that everyone survives in one piece.

"Tenchou?" Tessai prompted him when Uruhara remained silent for too long.

"I'm sorry, Tessai," Urahara responded as he turned to look at Tessai with a small smile. "Everything went fine. Isshin is still as sharp as ever, so I think we've prepared them as much as we possibly can for what's to come."

________

Downstairs in the Kurosaki kitchen…

"Oh, Masaki!" Isshin Kurosaki cried joyously as he hugged his late wife's memorial poster. "We're not having one, but two grandchildren at the same time! I'm so happy this day has finally come!"

Ichigo looked at his father in disgust as Isshin continued to babble similar nonsense to his late wife's picture while tears flowed down his face. Ichigo turned his back on his old man and faced the sane members of his family, who were also pointedly ignoring their father's wails of joy.

He and Rukia had already explained the situation to Karin and Yuzu, but despite many of the grim facts that they had presented, Karin and Yuzu seemed to share Ichigo's faith in Rukia's decision and her strength.

"So do you know if they're going to be boys or girls?" Yuzu asked happily as she leaned toward Rukia who was sitting across the table from her.

"It's both actually," Rukia answered as she clasped her hands over her stomach. "Uruhara was able to let me know just before I left his lab."

I'm going to have a son and a daughter, Ichigo thought dazedly as he paused between bites of his dinner, some of his old shock from earlier returning. Rukia didn't tell me before and it never occurred to me to ask.

"Did you think of any names for them yet?" Karin asked as she somehow managed to eat and gesture in the direction of Isshin, who was still caught up in babbling to their mother's smiling picture on the wall. "You better hurry and pick something before Dad gets a chance to plug something ridiculous."

"There are two names that I really like," Rukia said a little shyly. She seemed oddly embarrassed about sharing it with them. "But I didn't get a chance to talk it over with Ichigo yet."

"I'll be fine with anything," he mumbled as he continued to eat his dinner. He had just gotten used to the thought that he was having kids, naming them was the furthest thing from his mind right now.

Wait a minute, he thought as he put his food down. He shot a quick glare at Rukia as a list of potential names Rukia might come up with scrolled through his mind.

"Just as long as you're not planning to name them something like Chappy or Pyon or something equally stupid like that," he growled at her.

In response, Rukia merely shot her left arm out and punched Ichigo hard in the shoulder without saying a word. He grabbed his injured arm and prepared to snap at Rukia, but he stopped when he felt waves of angry energy beating against his back.

"Ichigoooo," he heard his father say in a threatening voice behind him. It sounded like something you might hear in a really bad horror flick. "Are you upsetting my daughter and my grandchildren?"

Ichigo turned slowly around to face his father whose face had the look of a murderer from a really bad slasher movie.

I knew that this news would turn him crazier than he already is! Ichigo thought in alarm as he slid back from his father with a nervous laugh.

"No, not at all Dad," Ichigo replied with a nervous smile. His father was actually scaring him with the crazed look he had in his eyes.

Rukia sighed next to him and came to his rescue. She placed her bowl down and Ichigo could tell by her demeanor that she was readying her acting skills. She turned what Ichigo called "her sparkly face" toward Isshin.

"Oh no, Father," she said in an overly sweet voice. Ichigo could practically see hearts and flowers popping up around her as she turned up the charm for his old man. "Ichigo was not doing anything like that. He was just telling me how happy he'd be with a name like Chappy or Apple or even Banana for our little ones, especially since he's a strawberry." She covered her mouth with her fingertips and gave a little giggle while she shot an impish look at Ichigo. "You know how silly he can be!"

"Why you little…," Ichigo started to whisper murderously at her. He had just enough time to catch a glimpse of her smirk as Isshin suddenly leaped in front of him and shoved him hard enough that he flew into the wall. Isshin moved into the space Ichigo had just occupied and clasped both of Rukia's hands in his and clutched them to his chest.

"Don't worry, Rukia-chan!" Isshin shouted as he pulled her close to him. "I won't let my idiot son name my grandchildren anything like that. Pappy is here for you!"

Karin was finally prompted into action when Isshin grabbed Rukia. She leaned over the table and punched him hard enough in the face to send him flying into the kitchen.

"Stop trying to molest everyone, you old pervert!" she shouted as she stomped over to Isshin and started pounding him into the floor.

Ichigo picked himself up off the floor and saw Yuzu simply shake her head and sigh at all the action going on around the kitchen table. He was about to go after his old man too, but just then, he saw Yuzu turn back toward Rukia and asked her Karin's question again, "So what did you decide to name them, Onee-chan?"

"Isamu for the boy and Masumi for the girl," Rukia said as she placed her hands on her swelling middle. Ichigo paused as he took in the sight of the gently smiling Rukia rubbing her stomach lovingly.

I don't think I've ever seen her look so open and happy, he thought as he walked back to the table.

"Courageous and true purity, huh?" Ichigo said as he came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rukia looked up at him and nodded in response to his question. He was taken aback by the look of pure joy that he saw radiating from her face, but it triggered a feeling of contentment deep in his soul.

Everyone in my family is here, he realized as he looked up from Rukia's glowing face to take in the warm room around him. Karin was chasing their Father around the room as Isshin cried about how cruel she was to him. Yuzu was chattering happily about how perfect those names were and making plans with Rukia to go shopping. The room was filled with warmth, laughter and love. Ichigo looked over to his mother's picture on the wall and a small smile appeared on his face.

I hope you can see us all, Mom. I know that you would be so happy to see us this way.

Thank you to everyone who is following this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!