A/N: Another big chapter. This one kind of grew bigger on me .
Chapter Five: Snow, Rain and Ash
Rukia opened her eyes with a jolt to find her sister-in-law poking her in the head repeatedly with her finger.
"I'm awake already dam it!" Rukia shouted in annoyance …..And accidentally managed to throw Karin half way across the room with an unintentional burst of Reiatsu.
"Well I think you can see why we take a wait till she wakes policy now Kurosaki Karin." Said Yumichika in a slightly arrogant tone. "She has a tendency to be rather sensitive if awoken prematurely as you can see."
"Sensitive one way of putting it." Karin said as she stood back up and dusted herself off in front of the two other guests in Rukia's room, Tōshirō and Rangiku. "It's a good job I'm not the same little kid I was when we first met Rukia, otherwise I be visiting the Forth Division about now".
"Sorry Karin". Rukia said apologetically as she sat up and considered Karin. She was far taller now, easily as tall as Ichigo, and had dramatically changed her hair style to long dreadlocks that were mostly kept out of her face due to a black headband with a strangely cute skull symbol on it which she most commonly used to switch between human and soul form. She also had a chest that Rukia envied and often caused male members of her division with wandering eyes to suddenly find themselves having Ichigo or Tōshirō asking them to come and have 'a gentle one on one training session' with them.
Heck and that was just her appearance, if it wasn't for her relative sub par fighting ability she be way higher than a Tenth Seat. Personality wise she become far more confident in herself and a little more hyper to boot.
"I see your rashness in swordplay isn't an isolated problem". Tōshirō said in a scolding tone to Karin. "You have to learn a little caution to complement your Zanpakutō powers if you want to make it past Ninth Seat Kurosaki Karin."
Wait thought Rukia, did he just say Ninth Seat...
"Your recent promotion is the only reason why you're allowed to visit your sister-in-law after all." Tōshirō continued in the same scolding tone. "And it be a shame if I decided to have second thoughts of your suitability."
"Oh that's why she allowed in here now?" Hanatarō asked ever so politely and after Rukia quickly looked to him. Tōshirō nodded.
"She got a lot of new responsibilities and because of certain high ranking members..." Tōshirō said with a meaningful glance at a all too innocent looking Rangiku "...a surprising large amount of paperwork to see too, but I know her well enough to know that her desire to spend a hour or two with you Kurosaki Rukia is because honest worry for your wellbeing and a desire to make a positive difference."
"Plus she been hounded by Ichigo-kun to tell Rukia-san a few things" Rangiku added. Karin nodded.
"I think he's gone slightly insane to be honest Rukia." Karin added. "He's been hounding Yuzu, Lisa and me at every opportunity for insights into what you're likely thoughts are."
"On what?" Rukia asked curiously.
"Everything." Karin replied.
"Everything?" Rukia probed.
"Absolutely any question you could imagine Ichigo asking about you or the baby has probably been asked at some point in the last few months." Explained Karin before adding with a frustrated air. "Including ones including Bugs Bunny... boy does he ask a lot of questions about Bugs Bunny, mostly starting with "do you think that x Bug Bunny thing is suitable for x baby related thing.""
Rukia gave the subject some thought, a lot of thought in fact and realized the fundamental and important fact. Bugs Bunny was a -bunny-.
"Yes." Rukia replied simply. Karin sighed in what was clearly relief.
"Good because Ichigo bought a ridiculous amount of Bugs Bunny related baby items and there being sent to the Kuchiki nursery after I leave here."
Rukia blinked.
"Ichigo want his son or daughter to have some ideas about the world of the living you see." Karin rapidly explained when she caught the blink. "He's worried the kid will forget there roots and turn into a mini Byakuya."
Rukia thought a while before replying, then sighed. It was pretty obvious what was starting up even before her child left her womb.
"I suppose this is the start of the male tug of war isn't it?" Rukia said while face palming "There going to try and forge her in there image and constantly try to get one up on each other by persuading her to do thing there way."
"Pretty much." Karin said with a shrug before inquiring. "I guess with all the hers you know the gender of the kid then?"
"Well we know the child gender when Vice-captain Kotetsu does the scans latter this week." Hanatarō said softly from his seat beside Rukia. "But I don't believe we know the child gender as of now."
"I do." Rukia before adding an explanation. "She in my spirit world you see and we been communicating to a degree."
That got a very curious glance off Tōshirō.
"Do explain Kurosaki-dona." Tōshirō asked firmly in tone that suggested he had total authority to order anything. It was slightly unnerving.
"She a bit confused" Rukia explained "But she's felt very female to me, bull headed too, but she felt female."
"Is she cute too?" Rangiku asked quickly and excitedly "Has she got lovely orange hair and a petite adorable nose?"
"Erm.." Rukia replied nervously as she tried to think of a way to put across the form of her daughter.
"Well?" Rangiku asked impatiently as she tapped her foot.
"She's got a nice smile." Rukia replied. "Even if it's not formed the normal way."
"Not formed the normal way?" Tōshirō asked with a stare that made it very hard not to be utterly truthful, he seemed to be getting better at the whole authority figure thing as time went by....
"She was kind of a bunch of dots in a cloud...." Rukia said nervously. "Like a sentient weather effect."
"Ahh." Tōshirō said with a more gentle tone before adding. "So I suspect thats probably your child's Zanpakutō internal avatar taking form within your spirit world and defining itself before your child is born and starts defining it in a more serous way thought there own personality."
Rukia blinked, Rangiku stared at Tōshirō with clear confusion. Karin spoke.
"Maybe."
"And what other possibilities strike you as plausible Kurosaki-san?" Tōshirō asked in a inquiring tone. Karin looked at him a few moments before pulling out her Zanpakutō and putting her ear to the blade.
"En'uyabu Umi thinks the following is highly plausible." Karin said while holding her finger up in the air. "That Tōshirō would do better if he stopped talking like he's a text book and instead listened to the mother with sensitive instincts. He also believes he has a good chance of ending the argument with the aid of a bucket of water and permission from the Doc."
That got quiet a frown from Tōshirō.
"You love undermining my authority don't you?" Tōshirō said with a sigh.
"Oh I love more than undermining your authority To-chan" Karin replied with a very cheeky grin. "But you really do tempt me to do so when you talk about me in such formal terms! I told you before that for a simple Karin will suffice."
She then turned to Hanatarō and spoke to him before Tōshirō could think up a reply.
"So Doc can I release my Zanpakutō in here safely?" Karin asked in a polite tone. Hanatarō looked surprised to be referred to as 'Doc' but he quickly got over it.
"It should be ok Kurosaki-san." Hanatarō said politely. "Your spiritual pressure not high enough to make any real difference to things in here."
"Hum I don't know if I should be happy or annoyed with that statement." Karin said with a little shrug before adding. "But... bucket!"
"Matsumoto." Tōshirō asked casually. "Could you go find a bucket for Kurosaki-san?"
"Couldn't you asked one of the others to do it Captain?" Rangiku replied.
"They have duties to see too, you do not, you merely have laziness." Tōshirō replied to Rangiku with an annoyed air. After Rangiku left the room Karin spoke again.
"I don't suppose you be interested in listening to the little story of Ichigo last day in the world of the living before he joined the Gotei Thirteen at all Rukia?"
"Go for it." Rukia said with a happy smile.
Karin softly kicked the ball at the wall once more.
Bounce, bounce bounce.
Karin didn't enjoy waiting that much, especially for important things.
"He's must still be talking with Tatsuki-chan Karin-chan." Yuzu spoke as she came outside and stood by the door. "You know he might end up never seeing her again."
Karin sighed as she stopped kicking her ball.
"Your right sis..." Karin said with a resigned air "But you remember what that woman said. When he goes to the Soul Society and joins her squad, he's going to be spending at least a good few years purely in the Seireitei till he's learned how to be a proper officer of the Gotei Thirteen. Then after that he get one day off a month... assuming his leave isn't cancelled due to pressing issues which require his attention, which is fairly likely when your a Third Seat apparently."
"But we will see him,even if not as much. " Yuzu pointed out. "But poor Tatsuki-chan won't, since police officers never get assigned to there home town and have really awkward work hours."
Yuzu had always been the sensible one.
"I bet she's kicking his but right now." Karin said with a grin. "Telling him he best not screw up if he willing to go so far for a girl."
Yuzu replied with a grin of her own.
"He says he joining purely because he think its his duty to use his Shinigami powers in a official and proper manner." Yuzu said in that tone of hers that suggested a 'but' to Karin's ears.
"But we both know all this 'official' stuff he taken to doing is because Rukia from a big powerful noble clan and there fussy about who they let it." Karin finished.
Yuzu nodded and then Karin heard the front door being opened. More importantly she felt that 'force' that she associated strongly with Ichigo. It was getting easier to know when people she was close too were about these days. Much easier in fact...
He came round back pretty quickly. Karin wasn't surprised.
"Karin... Yuzu." Ichigo said he bent down and hugged each of them in turn. He looked and sounded pretty glum.
"How things go with Tatsuki-chan?" Karin asked in a softer tone than she would normally. "I'm guessing it was pretty emotional?"
"She cried." Ichigo stated. "She cried a lot. I never seen her like it, it was like I was with Orihime not Tatsuki. I mean at first things went like they normally do when we talk as we do a bit of training and she asks me lots of questions as we do so, to which I reply. Then sooner or latter she ask me how I think the other people feel who are involved in what I'm doing... you know normal stuff."
"But then she started crying?" Yuzu asked.
"Not at first." Ichigo explained. "At first she just started acting weird."
"Define weird." Karin inquired. "Because my definition of weird been revamped so many times lately that I've just ceased using the word unless I'm really utterly certain about the weirdness of the weird thing."
"She hugged me and called me her little Ichi-chan before kissing me on the forehead." Ichigo explained as he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She then she went on about how proud she was of me and how far I gone from that silly ever smiling kid she knew me as when we first met."
"Ok that is weird." Karin replied. "I mean even by our family's standards of normal and weird, that's weird, why she suddenly decided that Ichigo was her baby?"
"She's protective." Yuzu replied surprisingly quickly.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Karin asked curiously. "Because I'm pretty protective, Ichi-nin pretty protective and neither of us go around treating close friends like there our babies."
"You don't have strong maternal instincts." Yuzu replied with a slightly annoyed air. "Those of us who do sometimes treat people we really care about like there our babies at times. It's especially common to feel strong maternal feeling towards people who you're close too and who gone through a lot of pain."
Karin looked over her brother and considered all the emotional pain he had suffered over the years, it was easy to put the list together since Karin had been through a fair few of the same events.
"You have a tendency to tell her about a lot of your problems don't you?" Karin asked. Ichigo softly nodded.
"Well I've known her for years and sometimes I need someone to talk about girl stuff with who won't laugh at me and call me a sissy." Ichigo explained with a slightly red face. Karin gave Yuzu a meaningful look.
"This explains a lot." Yuzu said with a slight grin as she closed her eyes. "You been asking her the sort of things you ask your mother and then your surprised when she treats you like your her baby."
Yuzu suddenly frowned and opened her eyes.
"Why didn't you came and talk to me about these things?" Yuzu replied in one of her rare angry tones as she opened her eyes. Ichigo looked somewhat nervous.
"There not the sort of questions I can ask my kid sister!" Ichigo quickly replied in a defensive manner.
Karin rolled her eyes.
"So our brother asks Tatsuki perverted questions about woman..." Karin said with a smirk. "And here me thinking Rukia was your one true love, while all this time you been having perverted conversations with Tatsuki."
She ended with a tut and Ichigo went red, very red.
"It not anything like that!" Ichigo shouted out in a panicky tone. "I ask her serous questions about awkward womanly things so I don't look a fool in front of Rukia if something happens!"
"So you admit there is something going off between you and Rukia then?" Karin said with a satisfied grin. Nothing more effective at getting someone to admit to a secret love affair than taking them off balance with embarrassment and claim there going behind there partners back.
Ichigo took a deep breath and his normal frown softened slightly.
"I guess I couldn't keep it from you two forever could I?" Ichigo said softly.
"You don't treat her like other girls Ichi-nii." Yuzu explained. "You give her so much trust and openness and she gives you the same, and it happened so quickly!"
Karin nodded.
"Even before we knew about all the stuff to do with her stabbing you and you saving her from having her soul annihilated we could tell you two had some special kind of bond going off." Karin explained.
"Then when we found out about all those kind of things." Yuzu went on. "We knew the chance of Rukia-chan being our future sister-in-law was pretty high, complications or no complications."
"I also hate to sound cheesy..." Karin said with a slight grin. "But you two really do act like your two parts of the same whole."
Yuzu giggled.
"But don't worry about us telling anyone." Karin said in a reassuring tone. "We know your going too all these lengths to keep it quiet because theres a lot of issues Rukia's end. Instead focus on hiding all those little signs of intimacy you two show each other, like touching her shoulder when you feel she's down."
"Or that look you give her when your wonder if your doing something right." Yuzu continued.
"Because those kinds of things are dead give aways if someone suspects something might be going off."
Ichigo gave Karin and Yuzu one of his rare smiles.
"If I knew you two would be this helpful I've told you the truth sooner." Ichigo softly. "I have to ask Capitan Kyōraku if you two can visit now and again once I'm settled in properly so we can talk more."
Karin smiled softly in contrast with Yuzu beaming smile, but the truth was both of them were just as pleased with Ichigo.
"So I've got about half an hour before Lisa gets here." Ichigo said happily. "You two up for a game or something?"
"And I didn't see him again till way after New Year." Karin as she finished of the story to Rukia. "And that was only because I started visiting the Soul Society a bit. Capitan Kyōraku may be pretty lax with things, but he also pretty lax with giving orders too, which means Lisa ends up running the show and she isn't lax by a wide margin."
"So the Eighth Division is like the Second Division in that the Vice-captain holds a lot of the power day to day?" Hanatarō asked politely. Rukia nodded.
"Lisa and I are pretty close because of Ichigo." Rukia explained. " I lost count of the number of time she complained to me about her workload being far heavier than mine because her captain lazy."
"Gosh I bet you feel lucky that you got me Captain Hitsugaya ." Rangiku said as she came around the corner with a 'bucket'. "Because you know that I never grow power hungry and try to steal your authority like those other Vice-captains."
"Matsumoto." Tōshirō said softly but firmly. "I feels safe in the knowledge that I have little to fear from you term of trying to steal my authority."
Tōshirō then added a faint whisper. "Or doing your paperwork."
Rangiku placed the 'bucket' on a little table near Rukia's bed.
"Ok place your right hand in there Rukia." Karin said as pointed at the only 'bucket' they could find, a rare piece one of kind of pottery that was close to nine hundred years old. For obvious reasons they had to be careful with it. Hence why Rukia very carefully placed her hand in it and tried very hard to keep very calm and very in control of her hormones.
"Right let see if my little buddy can shed some light on things... "Karin said as she breathed in deeply, a look of strong concentration on her face. " Sky and sea, many and one, flow through all and let all be as one En'uyabu Umi."
It was still strange to listen and watch Karin release her Zanpakutō. She always spoke its released command very softly and in combination with her holding her sword vertical in front of her with her eyes closed, made Karin look like she was saying a prayer, rather than readying her blade for battle. Then there was its form. It went from a simple katana with a smooth and rounded dark blue hilt to a jet black polearm longer than Karin was tall. That polearm had double axe head blade with a very pronounced spike on the top, made from a material that was a dull dark bluish grey.
The overall effect was quiet sinister and for Rukia herself found it a little unnerving due to its similarity to the late Kaien Shiba's Zanpakutō. Adding to its sinister appearance was it's powers. The first thing that most people fighting Karin would notice is that it normally started to rain (baring Tōshirō Zanpakutō powers overwhelming it or as today, Rukia's) and they would think little of it, especially after Karin starting playing around with water to cloud her attacks. They would simply in the heat of combat mistake her Zanpakutō's power for mere water control.
That was normally there first mistake. Karin would fight them a while, playing for time and letting her Zanpakutō true power kick in.
"Right now I put my hand in and we wait a bit." Karin said casually as she did so before closing her eye and making a expression of clear concentration.. Course the reason why Karin was doing so was because as long as Karin and her target were both touching water that was directly connected Karin could slowly but surely start to read her target spiritual power, feelings, sometimes even there thoughts. Once Karin got inside her opponents head she would start shaping the water into the stuff of her targets nightmares, at which point her opponent would normally start panicking and become easy prey for Karin to finish of with surprise attacks.
"Wished you had enough sense to do that in combat." Tōshirō said with a sigh at he pointed out the weakness with Karin current fighting style. While in theory she could turn most opponents into mental wrecks, she normally lacked the patience to let her Zanpakutō power kick in proper, instead attacking as soon as she sensed the slightest weakness.
"To-chan... I need quiet!" Karin snapped back before going back to a determined look of pure focus.
"Then have it." Tōshirō said with a dismissive air before giving her some space. Rukia looked at pair with a slight smirk. They had a funny relationship, the amount of moaning that Tōshirō did went well pass the normal captain and mid ranking seated officer levels. He moaned a lot, he pointed out Karin's every failing and told her how to do better. He went out of his way to teach Karin every single thing he knew about being a Shinigami whenever he could.
He may never have said the words 'I love you' to Karin but his actions spoke of a deep concern for her wellbeing and feelings that expressed themselves in a very Tōshirō way by him trying to help her improve that he tried to hide behind his responsibilities as a captain.
"I know exactly what you mean Rukia." Karin said with a grin. "I just got to wait for that day when he actually drop a few defences and takes me on a date that called that and doesn't involve sharp weapons."
Tōshirō blushed every so slightly and tried to make himself busy by examining one of Rukia's many books on Kidō that he undoubtedly knew back to front.
"Anyway let's see if En'uyabu Umi can get a better grasp on that little person in your tummy..." Karin said as her expression took on a more focused and serous look once more.
Quiet a few minutes passed in silence.
"Kid seems playful. " Karin said as she broke the silence. "I'm also getting a lot of forcefulness from them too but there mind does feel female to me if somewhat further from human than I was expecting. I mean Ichigo let me in his head before now and he seemed... ahh I've figured it."
"What you figured out?" Rukia asked curiously.
"A normal Shinigami has two main voices in the head, there normal balanced human mind and there Zanpakutō warrior self. Vizard of course have the third Hollow voice who normally pretty beastly." Karin explained. "She and I use she with a level of certainty has a very quiet human voice and extremely vocal Zanpakutō/Hollow hybrid voice that seems to running the show for now."
Rukia smiled brightly as she thought over those words
"Her blade keeping watch till she wakes." Rukia said softly. "It half warrior, half monster but importantly she all human underneath...and that's where it's important."
Tōshirō nodded.
"She's going to be like her aunt and father then". Tōshirō said with a slight smirk. "Uncivilized on the surface, most likely very rude in how she speak to people, but actually a decent human being underneath."
"You know you have a funny way of insulting me." Karin said as she took her hand out of the 'bucket', resealed her Zanpakutō and turned to face him.
"And you have a funny way of treating your superior officers Kurosaki-san." Tōshirō said with a slight smirk on his lips. "Perhaps if you acted more professionally you find more of your dreams coming true."
"That a challenge Captain?" Karin said with a growing smirk of her own.
"It might well be." Tōshirō replied. Rukia could see the spark flying between them and she also felt a wet patch growing on her bed... had the silly 'bucket' spilled onto her bed?
Said silly 'bucket' that was quiet firmly on the floor beside her bed Rukia realized and therefore incapable of spilling onto Rukia's bed....
"Hanatarō!" Rukia pretty much screamed out, grabbing everyone attention very quickly.
"What is it Kurosaki-dona?" Hanatarō rapidly replied.
"I think my waters have broke!" Rukia replied as the panic started to well and truly set in.