Part 10- Ichigo In Distress

Ichigo has never been so scared in his life as when the pain started tearing through his body. He had fallen asleep beside the koi pond in Byakuya's garden, as he normally does, when he was startled awake by a throbbing in his abdomen. If that wasn't bad enough, that throbbing quickly became a sharp stab that morphed into something so excruciating there just aren't any words to describe it. Now he's stumbling into the forest outside the Kuchiki manor, one that no one bothers to go into because of a chain of caves people frequently get lost or fatally injured in. Rukia and Ichigo never told Byakuya, but they've traversed the channels so frequently that they know them as well as they know the cities sewers they've explored in or the city's streets they were told not to play in after dark… yeah right, like they're the type to listen.

"Th-thank god… we… made a camp… down here," he gasps out. "R-Rukia… probably forgot… b-by now."

He gathers the blankets and pillows they had smuggled down years prior, though Ichigo kept them clean and mended even before he had met Grimmjow… this was one of their secret places, so it's still perfectly kept. After setting them up in a nice little make-shift nest, he doubles over in pain and his legs give out. Ichigo cries harder than he's ever cried, wishing someone were there to help him through this unknown attack… wishing Grimmjow were there. Why did he leave him? He was safe with his mate, this never would've happened! Heat washes over him, soaking his clothes through with sweat as he unconsciously kicks off his clothes. Ichigo has always been sensitive to the heat, always feeling it far easier than most, and he's learned to never be shy about stripping down lest he pass out. There's something inside him, something trying to get out, but he isn't sure what that is.

"Ichigo! Hey, are you here?"

"R-Rukia," he gasps out.

"Ichi! Are you hurt?"

When he doesn't answer the raven haired girl he knows as his sister comes rushing in, falling to her knees beside the boy in pain. Her violet eyes are wide, her hands trembling as they set themselves on Ichigo's shoulder carefully.

"R-Rukia, it h-hurts so much," he whimpers.

"Ichigo, what happened? Where does it hurt? I… I'll go get nii-sama."

"N-No! You p-promised to… keep this… o-our s-secret."

"But…"

"I n-need it a s-secret," he sobs. "I-I'm scared."

"Nii-sama isn't someone to be scared of."

"I w-want… G-Grimmjow."

"Well I'm not about to sneak out of Seireitei to track down your stupid mate," she growls. "You'll just have to be happy with me! Now… Where does it hurt."

Ichigo can't help a small smile, though it's laced in pain. Rukia has never liked the idea of needing a mate, as she and Ichigo were raised to be self-reliant and dependant. When it comes to a problem, if they can't handle it themselves they'll go to each other… or Byakuya. Her attitude is refreshing for the vibrant haired teen, reminding him exactly who he was before Grimmjow… who he's always been, though he's suppressed it in favor of pampering. And Grimmjow is one that loves to pamper, he learned that quickly.

"My abdomen," he answers. "S-something… is trying to g-get out."

"… Ichigo, are you carrying an egg?" the short girl gasps. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"D-Does it sound l-like I knew!" he screams in anger past his agony.

"Okay, okay, no need to get hostile," Rukia bristles. "Okay… Let's see here. When I took lessons on laying eggs, Unohana told me that breathing is important…"

"How the fuck can I b-breath… past all this p-pain!"

"Shouting certainly isn't going to help," she shouts back. "Now relax!"

"You relax! Th-this is… really h-hard!"

"Stop your whining! Do you think us females whine like this when we're pushing out eggs!"

"How the h-hell would you know!"

"Sorry… just trying to help," the raven haired girl blushes.

"How the hell is that helping!"

"You know… reverse psychology? Nii-sama says you answer better when people say you can't do something."

"Y-You suck at it," he says with a forced chuckle.

She rolls her eyes, trying her best to coach Ichigo into relaxing and breathing. It isn't easy, her best friend has always been the uptight type, but soon she's running her fingers through his orange locks and he purring loudly as beads of sweat trickled down his face. Ichigo has always had a fetish for people playing with his hair, something Rukia noticed early on when Byakuya would do so as he read them stories before bed. Of course, he would never make something like easy. Of course not! No, she has to put him in a headlock first! Him and his stupid male pride! That's the only downside to a male being born a 'female', they have all the good points but their male pride kills them.

"Come on, Ichi, you're doing great!"

"Stop c-complimenting me and g-get the damn thing out!"

"Don't get hostile with me, I didn't put it in there!" she snaps back.

"… You're right," Ichigo gasps before letting loose a growl. "I'll k-kill him!"

"That's a wonderful idea, Ichi," the smaller female huffs. "But I suggest you push out this egg before we collaborate on the perfect and most painful path to do so, okay?"

"W-Why do these things… have to b-be so damn big!" Ichigo whines.

"Oh stop whining before I hit you!"

"I'm h-having an egg! Your p-punches… aren't h-half as painful as this!"

"You are such a baby!"

"I'd like to s-see how you act… if our places are… switched!"

"Not like a big baby."

"Rukia! You're d-doing the opposite of h-helping!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just hold on, you're almost done."

Ichigo pushes a few more times, swearing his very life is leaving him along with the egg, and finally falls to the cave floor with a relieved rush of air. Rukia lifts the egg, his and Grimmjow's egg, up for the orangette to see. The smile on her face is huge as she cradles it so carefully, just like she would the baby gargoyle inside. The surface is so smooth and pure white with the lightest dusking of black within the shell, the surface blanketed in a soft glow that pulses along with the orangette's heartbeat. All the anger and pain and complete confusion that once resided within the young gargoyle, is washed away upon the sight of the thing he created… the thing that shouldn't exist.

"Rukia… No one can know about this," he murmurs. "You have to promise me."