I can't believe that I spelled Hanatarou's name wrong the whole last chapter! I can be such a moron sometimes. Anyways, I hope y'all had an amazing Christmas, 'cause I know I did. I got TONS of Bleach stuff, and I got Yellowcard's debut album, One For The Kids, and Green Day's International Superhits. On cartoon network at 11:00 PM (EST) on New Year's eve, there will be and all night Bleach marathon.

Have an amazing New Year's eve! Best wishes to all for '07!

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Ichigo walked towards the door to his house, responding to the ringing doorbell. He opened the door, only to be greeted by a grinning Renji and a calm-as-ever Byakuya. He sighed and stepped out of the doorway so that they could enter. Ichigo had been preparing all week for the brutal beating that he would surely receive when Byakuya walked through the door.

The fact that Renji was there didn't help things either. He had been convinced from day one that even though Byakuya had had three months to cool down, he was still going to slice Ichigo into little pieces of daddy-to-be salami. When Byakuya just calmly sat down on the couch in the living room without a word, Renji's grin widened, and Ichigo knew why. Two weeks before, the lieutenant shinigami had so dumbly told him that "There is always calm before the storm."

Ichigo sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the room before speaking. "Um, Byakuya, about getting you sister pregnant,"

"Kurosaki, don't-"

"I know we never used protection, which was probably a dumb thing to do…"

"Kurosaki,"

"And I know how you must feel…"

"Kurosaki, I-"

"with your sister getting pregnant and all…"

"KUROSAKI!" Byakuya yelled, silencing Ichigo. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I harbor no hard feelings about this situation between you and my sister. Know that before you continue."

"I know, I know, but- wait, you don't?" Ichigo was clearly confused. It was supposed to be right about now that Byakuya pulled out his sword and pinned the poor boy's head to the wall.

"No, I do not. You are Rukia are both grown adults, and have been for some time now. You both made a decision, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. I trust that you can take care of my sister and the child, and as long as you do, there will be no conflict between us. And I also apologize for my outburst on the phone three months ago. It was very unprofessional of me, not as one of my caliber should behave."

Ichigo was dumbstruck. Completely bewildered. If he woke up with his face sewn to the carpet, he probably would not have been any more surprised. Renji broke the silence, a goofish grin plastered on his face. "So, if Rukia is pregnant, then that makes Kuchiki-taichou a,"

"Don't even go there, Abarai." The captain shot a death glare at Renji.

"an uncle!" Renji burst out laughing, gripping his sides as a steady stream of laughter poured out of him. "Kuchiki-taichou's gonna be an uncle!" It took all that Ichigo had not to go into a laughing fit much similar to Renji's.

"Abarai, if you value your life, then you will stop acting like such a child and start acting as an officer would."

"Aww, c'mon, Kuchiki-taichou! I don' mean no harm, just poking' a little fun at ya, that's all." Renji nudged his superior with his elbow.

"Don't touch me." Byakuya turned to Ichigo. "So, Kurosaki, where is my sister?"

"She went over to Ishida and Orihime's place. She was supposed to have gotten back an hour ago, but you know how girls are. With them, it's a-"

"A constant gab-fest." Renji interrupted. Ichigo sighed. That wasn't exactly how he would put it, even though that was a pretty good way of explaining it.

"Uncle Byakuya Kuchiki. Oh, that's cute." Renji snickered.

"You just can't let it go, can you, Abarai?" Byakuya sighed.

"No, sir. I'm callin' this pay back for all th' times you hassled me 'bout doin' my paperwork."

"The only reason I bother you, Abarai, is because you never do your paperwork. The only real paperwork that you've ever done was your application to the academy. I'm supprised they even let you in, considering how your handwriting looks like two-year-old scribble." Byakuya smirked.

"Does not!"

"Consider this my version of 'poking fun', lieutenant."

"So, Renji, what's going on is Soul Society? Any news of Aizen?" Ichigo quickly changed the subject, trying to prevent a confrontation between the two officers.

"Yeah, unfortunately. The 2nd, 3rd , and 4th companies went out on patrol in Heuco Mundo about three weeks ago. They were ambushed three days later, by about four thousand arrancar. By the time they came back to Soul Society, the 2nd had lost about half of it's men, the 4th 75 percent, and the 3rd lost almost all of it's troops."

"Perhaps it's time to tell him, Lieutenant Abarai." Byakuya interrupted.

Renji nodded. "After they got back, Room 46 sent out an order two days ago. It said that all companies 5 through 13 need to report to the South Gate at 0600 hours on Saturday for dispatch into Heuco Mundo. And all officers of these companies are to report to the South Gate at 2100 hours on Friday for a briefing, that means us."

"Does that mean-"

"Yes, Lieutenant Kurosaki. We're heading back to Heuco Mundo." Byakuya stared at Ichigo. "This will not be like our normal endevors into Heuco Mundo. Everything that's happened in the past with Aizen and Heuco Mundo, have all been mere skirmishes. The real war has started, and we need every possible soldier available, especially officers. As lieutenant of the 13th company, you have the responsibility of leading you troops, no exceptions."

"They wouldn't send Rukia out there, would they?" Ichigo asked.

"No. To do that would be to go against all of the Soul Society's morals and ethics. We would never send a pregnant shinigami into the battle zone."

"So how is all of this going to work?"

"Well, this is what we have learned so far." Renji laid a map of Heuco Mundo on the table between them. "This area right here is where the arrancar have failed to fortify. Companies 5, 6, 7, and 13 are going to attack this area first, which makes us the first wave. Companies 9, 10, 11, and 12 are going to be the second wave. They'll attack once we hit some opposition, so we'll just need to hold tight for a few minutes before they get up to the front."

"The 8th company will be our reinforcement dispatch. All of our company's surgeons and doctors will be back at our base five miles from the attack zone. We're going to be sending all of our company's field medics to the front with us, because chances are," Renji's expression grew grim. "We're going to need all of them."

"Kurosaki, please understand the gravity of this situation. If we fail this mission, the entire world as we know it will be in grave danger." Byakuya's expression turned deathly serious. "If we loose, and are defeated by Aizen and his army, most of us will never see our loved ones again."

"It's do or die time, Ichigo. We can't loose this one, not like we did back in Soul Society." Renji concluded.

"Kurosaki," Byakuya turned again to Ichigo. "Please tell Rukia that we wouldn't drag the father of her child into a life or death situation unless it was completely necessary." He stood and motioned for Renji to stand as well. "We will take our leave now, Kurosaki. Renji and I must prepare our company for the coming fight." Byakuya paused on his way out the door and faced Ichigo. "Please, Kurosaki, do your best to stay alive. My sister cares for you very much. Please don't leave her."

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So, whad ya'll think? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? It really doesn't matter with me, just as long as you review. Hope you all enjoyed the little twist I put in there. Should make this story a bit more interestin'. I started jotting down notes for this at two in the morning, and this is what I came up with. This story absolutely dominates my life, but I love every minute of it! XD