Rukia Baby
by
Mojo-licious
Chapter Three
- Interrogation -
Ichigo fell onto his back in shock as four people tumbled out of his closet. Karin immediately smacked her father's head.
"Stop doing that old man," she growled. Yuzu sat off to the side catching her breath, while Renji glared at Ichigo's father wondering just how strong the man was. At the sound of Ichigo's voice, the man had grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into the small cramped space along with the others.
Ichigo raised himself off the ground and sat leaning back on his arms; his brown eyes widened as he looked at his family and a familiar red head. He was about to ask what the hell Renji was doing in his home, much less his closet, when he felt something touch his hair. Thinking it a fly or some bug brushing up against him, he shook his head to get rid of it. The 'bug' brushed up against his hair again and Ichigo ran his hand through his locks to get rid of it. Feeling relieved that he had gotten rid of the 'pest,' he focused on the matter at hand. He was about to voice his question when this time something tugged his bright orange locks.
"What the hell?" he muttered. Scratching bugs off his list, his thoughts turned to the annoying plushie, Kon. Irritated, he sat up straight and turned ready to grab the animal and hurl it at the wall. His scowl disappeared as he looked down at a curious set of small violet eyes and a small pudgy hand stretched out. Ichigo gaped at the small form drowning in one of Yuzu's yellow pajamas shirts. The toddler looked at him curiously, her eyes settling on his bright orange hair as she raised her hands up to touch it.
"Rukia."
"ICHIGO!" Isshin howled as he grabbed his son by the collar and drew him up. Immediately the teenager began to sweat under his father's scrutiny wondering what sort of conclusions he had come to.
"BOY!! How could you treat my grandchild so horribly?" he shouted, shaking his son for emphasis.
Ichigo glared back, "QUIT IT Old Man!"
A bout of giggles caught their attention and they both turned to see Rukia trying to stand up on her small chubby legs and touch Ichigo's hair. Teary eyed, Isshin dropped his son and took Rukia in his arms.
"You poor thing despite being treated so horribly by my buffon of a son, you still love him.." Tears streamed down Isshin's face as he hugged the giggling toddler.
"Grandfather loves you!" he shouted, and was punched in the face by Ichigo and Karin, while Yuzu took Rukia away. Renji sensing his chance to escape, had used the distraction to hightail it out of the teens room; the last thing he needed was to be grilled alongside Ichigo about the baby.
The sixth division vice-captain folded his arms across his chest and waited outside the gate of Ichigo's home. A small smile stretched across his face as he thought of Rukia. She was so adorable, so wonderfully tiny and innocent. The sight of her made him want to protect her; absently he wondered how her family could have abandoned her. She had told him that Hisana, her older sister, had abandoned her on the streets; he was surprised when she said that she had understood her sister's reasoning and had forgiven her for it. Renji shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, Rukia had always been different. There were times when he wondered if he could ever bridge the gap between them. Since she had become a Kuchiki, the distance between them kept growing, even now with Kurosaki, the gap continued widening even further. Renji's eyes darkened at the thought of never reaching her again. The sound of something crashing followed by several shouts caught the vice-captain's attention and he glanced up at the window.
"Abarai-san?" a voice called out; Renji turned to face the rest of Ichigo's crew. Inoue stood dressed in a pink top and a flowery skirt with a set of sandals on her feet. A smile graced her face. Behind her stood the ever tall Chad and the spectacled Ishida. Both were wearing black jeans and boots, Chad was in a red Hawaiian shirt, while Ishida opted for a light blue short-sleeved shirt. The three looked at Renji expectantly. Several shouts were heard from the Kurosaki household causing the group to look up at the window.
"Oh.. it sounds lively in there," Inoue smiled, while Renji looked off to the side.
'That's one way of putting it,' he thought grimly.
"Ano, did you find Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asked worriedly and Renji nodded.
"Thank goodness, I was worried since she missed school today," the sandy blonde added causing Renji to raise an eyebrow. It was clear to him now that the others didn't know of Rukia's current situation. One of the reasons he had been searching for her so diligently was because Urahara had told him that he may have 'accidentally' sold her a few faulty products, ones that could alter her gigai and change her appearance. Judging from her appearance he had been too late getting to her, luckily Urahara had his antidotes and a quick stop at his shop would have her back to normal.
Silence befell the group and Renji was starting to feel awkward. He wasn't really close to the others in the group and didn't know much about them to start up a conversation; normally he would ask where Rukia or Ichigo were or explain potential hollow threats to them. Their conversations never went beyond work. More shouts were heard and Renji groaned inwardly. He had planned to save his questions for Ichigo, but considering the blasting the teen was getting, he wasn't sure if Ichigo would be in any mood to talk.
"Were there any hollow attacks last night?" Renji asked. He noticed Inoue frown and nod her head, while Ishida pushed up his spectacles.
"Why do you ask Abarai-san?" the Quincy asked.
Renji stuffed his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the wall.
"Lately the hollows have changed; I was assigned another district before coming here. I didn't find anything unusual there, but with Rukia, Ichigo and you guys here,"
"You wanted to know if we met up with any of them?" Ishida finished and Renji nodded.
"Last night Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun met up with two of them. The three of us had arrived in time to see Kurosaki-kun finish it off. We didn't get a good look at the hollow, but it seemed different. Just the energy seemed a little off."
Ishida pushed back his spectacles, deciding to keep silent about the injuries both shinigami had sustained. The red haired vice-captain would go off the deep end, if he found out that Rukia had almost gotten herself killed trying to protect Ichigo from the hollows lethal blow and he in turn had almost died protecting her. In truth, the three had witnessed the last few minutes of the fight unable to aid their friends from their possible doom. The hollow had torn into Rukia's torso as she pushed Ichigo out of the way. Her body fell to the cement ground, a red puddle forming beneath her. The hollow had reared its large octopus arms downwards for the final blow when Ichigo had intercepted it, another arm had come careening into his side piercing him. Ishida had remembered watching as the orange haired teen had still managed to wield his sword and cut the hollow in two. When they had arrived, a bloodied Ichigo was on his knees beside Rukia who was struggling to stay awake calling him an idiot every now and then. It had taken Inoue two hours to heal the both of them.
Renji watched as the group became solemn, apparently something had happened last night that none of them were willing to talk about. He dug his hands into his pockets wondering if it had anything to do with Rukia. Perhaps she had gone and protected that damned brat when it should have been the other way around. His shoulders slumped in disappointment, he was sure she had done something stupid. Glancing a peak at Inoue's worried face, he was sure that it had been bad.
Lost in their own thoughts the group stood outside waiting patiently for the orange haired teen and the petite shinigami noble.
After fifteen minutes Ishida checked his watch.
"Why is he taking so long?" he asked feeling annoyed at having to wait for so long.
"Maybe we should ring his doorbell?" Chad offered causing the Quincy to sigh and wonder why they didn't do that in the first place. Not wanting to be part of the commotion going on inside Renji stayed outside the gate, while the others went in and stood at the entrance of the house. Inoue rang the bell and waited. The sound of something crashing was heard, followed by gruff shouts from two males, Ichigo and his father, the group surmised. The door opened and Yuzu, Ichigo's younger sister greeted the group. The others could see Ichigo and his father fighting behind her.
"Who is it Yuzu?" a voice asked from inside. Soon Karin, the middle child of the family, stood at the door and looked at her brother's older friends. She nodded to them.
"Gomen, but now is not really a good time," Karin stated. She noted that the group seemed more focused on the sleepy three year old nestled in her arms.
Ichigo while battling his father had caught a glimpse of his friends at the front door. Ishida and Inoue were standing next to each other. The two had started dating recently and Ichigo's mind began to churn with a possible escape route. The few moments of distraction had cost him as his father had him in headlock.
"BEING A FATHER TAKES A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY!" Isshin howled. Ichigo wasn't sure if it was the lack of oxygen in his brain or his need to distract his father from choking him to death, the desperate orange haired teen pointed to Ishida and Inoue and shouted
"THEY'RE HER PARENTS!"
Suddenly three heads turned as all eyes focused on the Quincy and the healer.
To be continued..
WAAAAAHHH !! So verrryyy ssssorry for not posting sooner.. My thanks to all who reviewed. I appreciated hearing your thoughts.
A few notes to some questions/comments:
Benyakuya: Yes Yuzu is a bit odd and Rukia's nii-sama will be in this fic as well..
KittiKat626: Only Yuzu through her observations came to the weird conclusion that her brother is gay, not Karin or Isshin. They just never had time to correct her as Isshin shoved them all into the closet.
Rinael11: This was a longer chappie for you..
Hope this chappie explained some stuff and hope you all enjoyed it... THANKS TO ALL who reviewed and read this story; you keep me motivated to write Arigato..