Rukia Baby

by

Mojo-licious

Chapter Twelve

- The Subject -

Seireitei, thirteenth division..

Ukitake Jushiro entered the thirteenth division quarters with Rukia in his arms. The toddler was clutching onto the plush rabbit and smiling widely.

"TAICHO!"

The thirteenth division captain held his breath as he watched two blurs coming towards him. His third seated officers were in full swing and part of the reason he had gone to retrieve Rukia from the sixth division. Kotetsu Kiyone and Kotsubaki Sentaro, if he hadn't known them personally he would have thought they were either siblings or heated lovers, of which they were neither. The two individuals screeched to a halt and were about to announce something when they shifted their attention to the small form in his arms. Rukia eyed the two curiously as her pudgy fingers tightened around the plush bunny. She turned and looked up at Ukitake who offered her a smile, which she returned. Kiyone was the first to react and squealed in delight causing the toddler to look at her curiously.

"KAWAIIIIIII!!!!!"

"Taicho can I carry her please?" she pleaded, her eyes sparkling in delight.

"Don't taicho, she'll drop Kuchiki. She's got no ommphh" A swift elbow to Sentaro's gut had him coughing.

"Shut up you over bearing gorilla, it's not like Kuchiki-san will come to someone so ugly."

"At least I can hold her properly unlike you, slippery eel fingers."

From there both third seated officers began their usual verbal tirade while Ukitake felt an oncoming headache. He had hoped to catch up on his paperwork today but had been interrupted by his third seated officers. Kiyone had heard from her sister about Rukia's change and had hinted to him on more than one occasion how it would be nice to have the young noble back at the division. If her statements weren't enough, she would bring in stuffed toys which 'accidentally' ended up on his tea tray, medicine tray, in his slippers, on his table, in his drawers, on the window sill or any place he frequented or touched. If that wasn't bad enough it seemed like the two were having a race of sorts on who could decorate the office faster. When he had left for his visit to the eighth division and returned, he found that his office had changed into a playground and found the two seated officers throwing plushies at each other. When a rabbit plushie had hit his face he decided to venture into the sixth division and retrieve Rukia for sanity's sake. Now looking at the two he wondered if it was such a good idea. He had risked his image for the sake of peace and wondered if the tradeoff was worth it. His eyes shifted to the toddler noting that she watched the two with interest. Rukia giggled and waved her arms excitedly as she continued clutching her bunny and watched earnestly as both village idiots continued flaying about their arms widely while shouting and making funny faces. She was especially intrigued by the shorter one whose hair was brightly colored, reminding her of her precious ball.

Ukitake smiled as Rukia looked up at him curiously and then pointed to his third seated officers.

"Ball?" she asked. The thirteenth division captain searched the vicinity for the item and realized that the chibi noble was pointing to his third seated officer, Kiyone. He chuckled softly and shook his head at her question. Leaning down he pointed his finger at the officer, "Kiyone."

Rukia stared at the thirteenth division captain as he stated the name again. By now the intense lesson had caught the attention of the third seated officers. Kiyone moved closer to the group delighted in seeing her taicho teaching the young noble her name.

"Kone," Rukia giggled as she waved her pudgy hand and bounced up in Ukitake's arms. Kiyone smiled at the chibi voice. Her thoughts of cuteness were abruptly interrupted by Sentaro, who was laughing loudly in the background.

"Well done Kuchiki, she certainly looks like cone head- omphhh," a swift punch in the face had Sentaro reeling back.

"Shutup BAKA!" Kiyone screeched as she raised her fist threateningly at his red face.

"Bakaa," a voice mimicked causing the two third seated officers to stop and turn towards the small form jumping up and down in Ukitake's arms excitedly. Sentaro smacked Kiyone on the back of her head.

"AHOU! See what you've done," Sentaro began, only to be interrupted by Rukia's squeal.

"Ahoo!"

Now it was Kiyone's turn to smack Sentaro on the back of the head and chastise him. Soon a full fledged shouting match began between the two with Rukia shouting out 'Ahoo' and 'Baka' every time they used the word. Ukitake sighed inwardly, he had just arrived and already his third seated officers had managed to teach the child something that Kuchiki Byakuya would definitely not approve of. He paled slightly thinking of the colorful vocabulary the toddler would gain after spending a few hours with the two.

'Definitely not a good idea,' he surmised, deciding to keep the toddler away from both officers. He sighed ruefully; he had lost his pride and his peace. Soft giggles caused him to look down at his very young subordinate. There was so much joy in her smile, so much life in those violet orbs compared to the Rukia he knew. He smiled, the tradeoff had been worth it after all.

Sixth Division..

Abarai Renji got up and stretched making sure to work out the kinks in his back. He scowled slightly wondering just what the hell he had done wrong to gain an extra stack of paperwork from his captain. His eyes traveled to the yellow duck on his table, it looked like Rukia would have to wait. His thoughts shifted to the division's most recent visitor, General Yamamoto, who requested a private audience with Byakuya. Absently he wondered what the two were discussing and hoped it had nothing to do with Rukia. Renji snorted at the thought. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck realizing that it probably did have something to do with Rukia. The girl had a knack for attracting trouble. He frowned as an image of Ichigo flashed in his mind, more specifically an image of Ichigo holding Rukia when he saved her from being executed. It should have been him, but it wasn't, instead Ichigo had done what he was unable to do and though he was grateful that Rukia was safe, the thought of Ichigo saving her ate him up at times.

'Rukia,' Renji mused. She was always a breath away yet so difficult to reach.

'Idiot,' he thought irately wondering if he was addressing himself or a certain raven haired shinigami. Shirking aside such depressing thoughts, he focused back on his table and onto the pile of paperwork that needed to get done. Settling back down, he continued working. A deadline was a deadline and not meeting it meant that Byakuya would most likely view him as an irresponsible vice-captain, unable to keep up with his duties; a pathetic outlook especially from the man Renji wished to surpass.

'Better finish this quick,' he thought irately as he reached for the first report; the sight of the yellow duck made him increase his pace. He soon became engrossed in his work and missed seeing his captain and General Yamamoto leave.

Byakuya merely glanced at Renji through one of the office windows while suppressing his reiatsu. He had consented to General Yamamoto's wishes despite his dislike for the twelfth division and its tactics. A compromise had been reached and now the noble was making his way to the Research division. Yamamoto had sent a hell butterfly to the thirteenth division asking that Rukia be brought to the twelfth division immediately. Though Ukitake would adhere to the orders, Byakuya was sure that his senpai would be reluctant in letting his subordinate be experimented on. None the less Ukitake could be reasoned with; it was the other head strong individuals, primarily his vice-captain and the substitute shinigami, that he had to worry about as only brute force would stop them. Not wanting to take unnecessary actions General Yamamoto had stated that they be kept out of the loop and Byakuya had consented.

Twelfth Division..

When Byakuya entered the twelfth division he noticed that Rukia was being carried by the tenth division vice-captain Matsumoto Rangiku. The busty woman was using the familiar plush bunny to play with the toddler, while her captain, Hitsugaya stood off to the side alongside a worried looking but silent Ukitake. Absently Byakuya wondered about the details of the message relayed to the thirteenth division captain.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri was immediately beside General Yamamoto's side, his bright yellow eyes resting on his subject. He was enthralled at gaining a new test subject, but less than enthused at his audience. He preferred working alone, but had been forced to consent to the presence of the sixth, tenth and thirteenth division captains during the experimentation. Half of his plans had been thwarted; it seemed there would be no dissections involved, which was disheartening. Still Mayuri was thrilled as Rukia would be the youngest test subject he had ever had.

"I suppose we should begin, why don't you give her to me now," Mayuri stated as he stood beside Matsumoto.

"Kuchiki Rukia come to me," Mayuri stated. Affection was not Mayuri's forte, normally he wouldn't shout as much or hit as hard to show that he was pleased, but he didn't dare do so in front of his current audience. The twelfth division captain frowned as he was given a glance over before the toddler turned her head away from him and clutched onto Matsumoto even tighter. Mayuri frowned at her reaction and realized why he had never worked with such young test subjects. Hitsugaya and Ukitake smiled slightly and watched as Mayuri muttered a few incoherent words over Rukia's unwillingness to cooperate.

"Very well then, Nemu bring her over to the chamber," Mayuri commanded. Nemu bowed and went towards Matsumoto. She had read several books on children at her 'father's' insistence and raised out her hands to the toddler, again Rukia refused to budge, instead she clutched onto Matsumoto tighter and buried her head against the woman's chest.

"It doesn't look like she wants to do this," Matsumoto stated worriedly as she felt the toddler quiver in her arms. Rukia's pudgy fingers clung fiercely onto Matsumoto's robes refusing to let go. When Nemu looked back at her 'father,' he nodded and at once she pulled out a syringe and plunged it into the toddlers arm injecting the cold fluid. Rukia's face contorted in pain but she couldn't scream, she had been paralyzed, her fingers lost their grip and soon she was in the other woman's arms. Nemu looked down at the child noting the fear in those violet orbs. Swiftly the twelfth division vice-captain placed the tiny tot into one of the cells as she had been instructed to do so.

Violet eyes stared at the ceiling of the cell. Somewhere deep inside Rukia was screaming, crying and pleading to be released. She didn't want this, she wanted to go back to the office with toys; she wanted to go back to her niii-chama, back to Kone, Baaboo, Kaabin and Uzzu. An image of her precious ball flitted through her mind as her eyes teared up.

Blue coils of power circled the cell. Violet eyes widened before the toddler screamed.

Fourth Division..

Inoue, Chad and Ishida stared at their friend who stood scanning the area. It was clear to all of them who Ichigo was searching for as he had woken up screaming Rukia's name. What they weren't prepared for was the fear in his brown eyes.

"Where is she?" Ichigo asked after realizing that she was no longer in the room. The bed was empty and there was no sign of her anywhere. He was panicking as he felt his heart beat furiously against his ribcage. He cursed himself for being so lax. The fourth division captain had given them all something to drink, which he later realized was laced with some sleep sedatives.

"Calm down Kurosaki, she's probably at the Kuchiki mansion," Ishida reasoned. It sounded plausible but Ichigo found himself doubting it for some reason. There was this undeniable ache in his chest and he wanted desperately to see her.

The door to the office creaked open as a short form entered. All eyes shifted to Hanataro and Ichigo quickly grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Where's Rukia? Is she alright?"

The meek healer gulped under the hardened gaze. He had overheard his captain and vice-captain talking.

"Rukia-san's fine, but she's been taken to the twelfth division," Hanataro relayed causing everyone's eyes to widen. They all knew what the twelfth division was famed for. Ishida's eyes narrowed as he recalled the twelfth division captain bragging about the number of Quincy's he had experimented on, one of which was his own mentor.

"Does Byakuya know about this?" Ichigo asked.

"They would need his permission," Hanataro stated.

Ichigo disappeared in a flash.

"Baka," Ishida muttered wondering if the hot headed numskull even knew where the twelfth division was. He sighed and looked down at Inoue who was putting on her shoes.

"Inoue-san," Ishida called out worriedly as she had only just recovered.

"I'm fine Ishida-kun," Inoue countered sedating her boyfriends worry. Ishida nodded realizing that Inoue was determined to go after Rukia and there was nothing he could do to dissuade her. Chad had gotten up and now stood in front of Hanataro.

"Gomen, but can you take us to the twelfth division?"

"You don't have to come inside, just point us in the right direction," Ishida added not wanting to put the healer in an awkward position. Hanataro nodded, he would do anything to help the kind hearted shinigami even if it meant going against orders.

To be Contd…

Thanx to all who reviewed. It always pushes me to keep writing and I really appreciate hearing from you all. Next chappie.. Results.. A little bit of Rukia's past is known..

Ahou/ Baka idiot

Gomen sorry