P.S. - IMPORTANT NOTE! - In the Soul Society, where the souls live, there are eighty districts. The best place to live would be the first, while the worst place would be the eightieth. Crime rates go way up the further up you live.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to CrystalRaindrop007 for Beta'ing!

Shadows In The Night — VII

"This is as far as we can bring you."

Ichigo looked up as Byakuya spoke. He looked around the village; there were small children poking their heads out from behind telephone poles and houses. They either looked scared, or excited. The children's parents were all trying to take their kids back inside their houses, away from the Shinigami Captains.

"Thanks, guys."

"Ichigo, this is the forty-ninth district. It's not a very good area. Please, protect Rukia," Yoruichi said in a small voice, smiling sadly as she looked around the small village.

"I will," Ichigo promised, nodding as his grip around Rukia's waist tightened.

Yoruichi nodded and began walking off. Byakuya followed after her, stopping only to whisper into Ichigo's ear.

"If anything happens to my sister, I'll hold you responsible."

Two Months Later

"Ichigo, I want a cookie."

Said Shinigami rolled over in his bed and groaned, opening one eye and staring tiredly at Rukia, who was currently smiling as she stared back at him, her fingers stopping their constant poking for a second.

"Hu?" he whispered, blinking his eyes to clear them.

"I want a cookie," she repeated, poking him again.

He groaned again and flipped around in the bed, pulling his pillow over his head. She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip as she climbed out of their bed.

"Fine. I'll go get one myself."

Ichigo jumped up at this, climbing across the bed and placing his hands on Rukia's shoulders as he sat her back down on the bed in front of him. She turned around and glared at him. He sighed and stood to his feet, pulling a T-shirt on over his bare chest.

"I'll do it," he grumbled, slipping his sandals on as he walked to the door. "Stay inside until I'm back, alright?"

Rukia nodded and laid back down, smiling.

As Ichigo walked out, he groaned as the cold air hit his skin. It was the middle of November in Soul Society, and it was freezing. They had been there for nearly two months now; no invasions by Shinigami Captains and no threats of losing their heads, either. They were currently living in the forty-third district. Not the best place, but it was better than two months ago, when they had been in the forty-ninth.

He couldn't imagine Rukia having to have grown up in the seventy-eighth district; that was nearly the worst part.

But he had promised to protect her.

So that was what he was doing outside in the middle of November in his bed pants and a T-shirt. Going in search of a cookie.

He wished that they had a kitchen in their house; but they were currently in a small shack with only a bathroom and a bedroom. So, when Rukia woke up in the middle of the night, wanting something strange, like a cookie or strawberries, he had to go in search of them.

Thankfully, he had it easy tonight because he knew of a man who sold all sorts of sweets. And he was open in the middle of the night, too, which Ichigo nearly felt like kissing him for. Rukia got mean when she didn't get her cookies, and Ichigo didn't want to go through that again.

Darn food cravings.

Sighing, Ichigo concentrated on finding that blasted cookie so he could go back to bed.

Thirty minutes later, tired, cold and frustrated, Ichigo walked back inside the house, holding he prized cookies in his hands.

Only to find Rukia asleep, curled into a little ball on his side of the bed.

He shrugged and began munching on one of the cookies himself as he lay down beside her and pulled the blankets over the both of them. He then relaxed, sighing happily as he wrapped his arms around Rukia's small frame and let his hand rest on her slightly bulging stomach.

Only six months left.

The next morning, Ichigo woke to an empty bed. Well, except him of course.

He immediately went in search of Rukia, only to find her in the bathroom inspecting her stomach. There was no mirror, so she was having to make do with just staring at it from her position. He smiled and leaned up against the doorway. She took a few seconds to notice him, then asked,

"Ichigo, do I look fat?"

What to do? If he was truthful, and said yes, she would clobber him. If he said no, she would call him a liar and he would be forced to endure the pain of mood swings for the next hour. So, of course, he said,

"Yup. But I wouldn't have it any other way." Ichigo's smile grew as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on top of her stomach. Rukia smiled back, placing her small hands on top of his larger ones, gripping his fingers tightly.

"Ichigo, if I'm this fat at only three months along, what will I look like in six months?"

Now that was a question he didn't have an answer to.

"It could be twins, you know," he observed, resting his chin on her head. Rukia looked up in surprise.

"Huh?"

"Well, twins runs in my family. It's a genetic thing in the living would. You're more likely to have twins as children if you have twins in your direct family. Yuzu and Karin are twins, sooo . . ."

Rukia still looked surprised. She hadn't even thought of that! And Ichigo's having twins as sisters brought the chances up even more.

"You think so?" she asked, her eyes falling back to their entwined fingers

"Might be. Next time we see Unohana, we can ask her if there's any way to tell," Ichigo whispered, smiling into Rukia's hair. She turned around in his embrace and looked up at him.

"Ichigo?"

"Hm?"

"Where's my cookie?"

Ichigo laughed and pulled away from Rukia, walking back into their bedroom. He handed her the cookie and she sat down happily on the bed as she began chewing on it.

"Oh, Ichigo. Speaking of Unohana-San, she and Nii-Sama want us to meet them at the meeting point. I said we'd be there today around noon."

Ichigo looked at his watch, which didn't keep perfect time, and his eyes went wide.

"Rukia! It's already nine! It'll take us three and a half hours to get there!" Ichigo whined. Rukia just shrugged as she finished off her cookie. Standing to her feet, she grabbed Ichigo's hand and hauled him out of the house.

"Then we'll just have to go a little faster."

Ichigo groaned. Translated, that meant, "Carry me!"

And so he did.

Two hours, fifty-five minutes and three seconds later, Ichigo stopped at the meeting point. Rukia had fallen asleep on his back. She slept a lot lately; the baby was effecting her body worse because of the high spirit pressure. And hiding said spirit pressure was also draining her.

Ichigo poked her leg until she woke up.

"Off."

Rukia nodded and slid off of his back, landing on her bare feet on the soft grass. Ichigo dropped down onto the ground and leaned up against a tree. Rukia sat beside him, laying her head in his lap and resuming her nap.

"They're not here yet," Ichigo gasped, still trying to catch his breath.

He sat under the tree for nearly twenty minutes, shivering in the cold air, while he waited. He silently thanked Rukia for hauling him back to grab a blanket in case something like this happened as he wrapped the soft quilt around the sleeping girl.

He sighed and continued waiting. It was no more than five minutes later when he felt a familiar presence approaching from behind.

"You're late," Ichigo said, standing to his feet and turning to Captain Byakuya and Captain Unohana as they exited the woods.

"It took us a while to get out unseen," Unohana explained. Then, nodding toward Rukia, she asked, "How's Rukia doing?"

Ichigo scratched his head and looked up at the sky.

"She's sleeping a lot lately. And eating weird things. Last night she made me go fetch cookies," Ichigo explained. "Is that normal?"

Unohana smiled, nodding. She continued questioning Ichigo about Rukia's condition for nearly ten minutes before Rukia woke up.

"Hello, Nii-Sama," she said politely, standing quickly to her feet and giving a quick bow to her brother. She then turned to Unohana, giving her a quick smile before hugging her. The two woman had grown close over the last three months during Rukia's secret check-ups.

"How are you feeling?" Unohana asked, pulling away from the embrace and looking Rukia over.

"Pretty good, Unohana-San. I sleep a lot, though. It seems as though I'm always tired."

"That's pretty normal. And considering that the child you're carrying had special spirit pressure, it's not surprising."

"Ah, we have a question to ask," Ichigo broke in, scratching his head again. Rukia nodded and they both turned to Unohana.

"Yes?"

Ichigo suddenly took great interest in the surroundings of the meeting place. It was actually a very nice place; a clearing deep in the woods. The trees, now bare of leaves, were still thick. In the middle of the clearing sat a large rock. That was always how they found the right place. In the summer, the thick trees usually clouded out the sun, unless it was a very bright day. But now that they had no leaves, the sun was shining through clearly, reflecting off of the nearly frozen pond near the edges of the clearing.

Silence was usually heavy inside the clearing; there were no villages within twenty miles. That was why it took so long to travel to, even running. Ichigo could have used Shunpo to travel, but while he was carrying Rukia, he didn't like to. It usually gave her an upset stomach.

Finally, Rukia's voice broke Ichigo out of his thoughts.

"We were wondering if there was anyway to tell if I'm having twins," Rukia asked. Unohana looked slightly surprised.

"Why would you wonder that?"

"Well, she's quite fat for only three months," Ichigo said. The second the words were out of his mouth, he wished he hadn't said it. He barely ducked Rukia's elbow, and it caught him on the arm instead of the intended stomach.

"Hm . . ." Unohana looked thoughtful as Ichigo rubbed at his arm, pouting slightly. "Now that you mention it, it is a possibility. You do seem a lot further than three months; most mothers don't even start showing until this point. But your last check-up was a week ago, and you were showing pretty well then, too. But then again . . . mothers with small frames usually start showing about this soon . . ."

It was soon clear that Unohana was rambling.

"Sorry. Anyway, why would you think it's twins?"

"Well, my sisters are twins, and I have twin cousins . . . " Ichigo trailed off, shrugging. "Anyway, why are we meeting? You usually only check up on Rukia once every two weeks, not every week."

"We're moving you to a better location."

It was the first time Ichigo had heard Byakuya speak since he and Unohana had walked out of the woods.

"There was a report of criminal activity in the area lately," Byakuya continued.

"Nii-Sama, I think we'll be fine. I grew up in the seventy-eighth district," Rukia said, her eyes cast downward.

"No one is taking any measures to prevent this criminal, and he is a killer. He has murdered several people throughout the last few weeks. Captain Unohana and I would sleep better knowing you are in a more controlled environment," Byakuya insisted.

Rukia turned to Ichigo, and he could tell that she wanted to fight back. They had been moving around for the last two months that they had been in Soul Society, and he knew that she wanted to settle down.

"Rukia, I think he's right," Ichigo said, his face showing worry as he glanced at Rukia. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold, unforgiving November wind. Then, turning to Byakuya, Ichigo asked, "Where are we moving this time?"

"Wherever's safe."

Two hours later, after accompanying them through the worst part of the traveling, Byakuya reported that he would have to leave, and it would be up to Unohana to help Ichigo and Rukia the rest of the way. They were traveling to the thirty-second district; a fairly safe and calm village. They had been able to arrange with a small family there to take them in.

The family wasn't really a family, as most people in the Soul Society weren't. It was a group consisting of an actual husband and wife, whom had been lucky enough to meet each other after death, and three children whom the couple had taken in soon after the kids entered the Soul Society.

Unohana said that she knew the details of the family because she had been the one to go and arrange Rukia and Ichigo's stay with them.

"The two little girls are Kaori and Aiko. They are five and seven. The little boy is four; his name is Diasuke," Unohana said, reaching out and knocking on the small door. Ichigo looked around the village. It consisted of several small houses in the area that they were in, and beyond that was a shopping square. Good thing it was close, just in case Rukia sent him out again to fetch cookies.

"Hello?"

Ichigo looked back to the door as the voice of a little girl broke into his thoughts.

Standing in the doorway was whom he guessed to be the younger girl, Kaori. She was barely taller than his knee with dark brown hair and shining emerald green eyes. She was smiling, showing off her missing teeth. Unohana smiled back at her.

"May I talk to your mother and father?"

The little girl nodded and, leaving the door wide open, skipped inside and soon came back with a young woman and man.

Unohana spoke again.

"Hello," she said, bowing to the couple. "I'm Unohana Retsu, and this is Ichigo and Rukia, the young couple I was telling you about."

Ichigo smiled as he watched the little girl hiding behind her mother. She had to be the younger one; he couldn't imagine her being seven, she must have been five.

"Yes, of course. Ichigo, Rukia?"

Ichigo looked up as his name was called. The young woman was smiling at them.

"I'm Nichelle. This is my husband, Naoaki. Come on in."

Ichigo smiled and placed a hand on Rukia's back, gently leading her inside. Unohana followed; she still had a few things to go over with Rukia.

Once everyone was inside, Ichigo and Rukia were shown around the house in a hurry, because the market was closing soon, and Nichelle and Naoaki needed to go and grab a few things for dinner that night.

Ichigo looked around the room; it was small, with only a bed and a bedside dresser, but it was bigger than where they had been staying. Rukia immediately sat down on the bed, and Unohana and Ichigo could both tell that she was tired.

"I only have a few more things to go over, then I have to leave," Unohana said. Rukia nodded and listened as she went over different things which Rukia should and should not be doing. Ichigo listened, too, because he could tell that Rukia wasn't taking it all in; she was nearly sleeping.

Soon, Unohana was saying goodbye, and by the time Ichigo returned from seeing her off, Rukia was sleeping.

He sat and watched her until the small family came back. The little boy walked through the front door and broke out in a huge grin when he saw Ichigo. Ichigo smiled back, walking from his bedroom and out into the living room where the boy was standing. His dirt blond hair was a mess, and his bright blue eyes were shining happily.

"Mister? Will you pway with me?"

Ichigo smiled and nodded; he remembered what it was like only having two sisters and no brothers.

As the little boy took his hand and led him into an even smaller room, Ichigo spied the little stuffed animals and toys around the room.

He smiled.

This was going to be a long six months.

Now, all he needed to ask was if they had cookies or not.

Well, that was longer than I expected it to be. So, what do you think?

Please Review!