A/N: I know it's been a really long time since my last update of WTL, so I figured I'd post this here as a sort of apology. It was originally written for a prompt on tumblr, and it takes place in an AU future of WTL (so unlike the other Sidewalks chapters, this does NOT take place in the main storyline). Hope you guys enjoy!
Kurosawa Haru maintains that he didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just that…well, he's worried about Kuchiki-fukutaicho. He knows he's not the only one either; she's been unusually short tempered these past couple of weeks and even the most oblivious members of the Fourth Division have noticed. Sure, part of it may be attributed to the fact that both her husband and her sister are currently on a 2-month long mission in the living world, but the other day she'd actually snapped at Ukitake-taicho before promptly bursting into tears, mumbling an apology, and running off.
So yeah. Haru thinks he has decent reason to be concerned at this point, especially given that fifteen minutes ago, Kuchiki-fukutaicho had entered the Fourth Division headquarters (already an unusual occurrence, given that it's half past noon and she's normally in here by seven in the morning) with an incredibly distracted look on her face, before making a beeline for Unohana-taicho's office without so much as offering a greeting to anyone in her way.
This is around the time that Haru decides it's a good time for a little extra spring cleaning (everyone knows that Kuchiki-fukutaicho is a stickler for good hygiene; since it's pretty obvious that she's fairly stressed right now, what better way to cheer her up than by going above-and-beyond his usual cleaning duties?). If he chooses to sweep the corridor outside Unohana-taicho's office first, well, it only makes sense that he start with that area. Taicho deserves only the best, after all. And if he just so happens to sweep that area a few more times than strictly necessary, hey, that's just him being thorough.
…okay, maybe it's possible that the eavesdropping may not have been strictly accidental. Haru can't bring himself to regret doing so though, not if it means getting to the bottom of what's been bothering Kuchiki-fukutaicho. After all, if he doesn't know what's wrong, how can he help fix it?
"So, you're certain then?" Kuchiki-fukutaicho's voice comes from behind the door, sounding a bit shell-shocked. Haru frowns, straining to hear more (he's also holding his broom about a foot off the ground, and it's a sign of how focused he is on the conversation happening inside the room that he doesn't realize he's now sweeping the air). He can count on one hand the number of times he's heard his lieutenant sound so unsure, and it's never preceded anything good. "I'm really…?"
"Yes," Unohana replies softly. "You were right, Hisana."
There's a long silence and then Kuchiki-fukutaicho lets out a slightly choked noise, full of emotion. Haru swallows, hands clenching tightly around the handle of his broom, because that? That had sounded like a sob.
"I-I'm sorry," she apologizes wetly. "I just…I-I can't believe…"
"Take all the time you need," Unohana says, gentle and kind and reassuring. Haru's never heard her talk to a patient any other way, not even in the face of the most terrible injuries, and while he's always admired that ability of hers, he curses it now because it gives nothing away on how the situation really is.
It must be bad though, for Kuchiki-fukutaicho to cry about it. He squeezes his eyes shut as he tries to figure out how he's going to break this to everyone else. God, and with Kuchiki-fukutaicho and Rukia-chan out of the Seireitei—
It doesn't matter, Haru decides firmly, hands tightening around the handle of his broom. It doesn't matter that they're not here, because she won't be alone. She has me, and taicho, and the rest of the Fourth, and we're all going to help her through this.
Haru tunes back into the conversation just in time to hear Unohana-taicho mention something about weekly health check-ups.
"—so that I can keep a close eye on things," Unohana-taicho says in a tone that leaves no room for argument. "And of course, I don't think I have to tell you to refrain from using kido and to stay away from anything too physically taxing." A pause. "In fact, perhaps it's better if I take you off active duty for the foreseeable future."
"If you think that's for the best," Kuchiki-fukutaicho agrees.
Haru drops his broom. Dear god, it was worse than he'd thought.
"What." Ogidou Harunobu says flatly.
"I'm telling you, it's true!" Haru insists. "Kuchiki-fukutaicho's really sick!"
With a sigh, Harunobu turns away and goes back to folding the bedsheets. "If you're going to spread stupid rumors, couldn't you have at least bothered to make up something believable?"
"I'm not lying!" Suddenly angry, Haru grabs Harunobu by the arm and forces the other healer to face him. "Look, I was outside taicho's office when they were talking, and it sounded really serious, okay? I wouldn't joke about something like this."
"Then you must have misheard," Harunobu says, shaking his head. "There's just…no, it's got to be a mistake. Besides, don't you think Kuchiki-fukutaicho would have said something?"
"When's the last time Kuchiki-fukutaicho said anything in regards to her own health aside from 'I'm fine, don't worry about me'?" Haru snorts.
"Okay, I'll give you that," Harunobu admits. "But I still think you're overreacting. So she took some time off, what's the big deal? As far as I'm concerned, she deserves it. Aside from trips to Inuzuri every two years or so, she hasn't taken a single vacation day in her time here."
"Look, I know it sounds hard to believe, but you weren't there. She—" Haru swallows. "—she was crying, man. And sure, maybe I don't know exactly what she has, but I do know that it's serious. I mean, she took time off. Think about that for a moment, will you? Kuchiki Hisana willingly went on a medical leave of absence."
For the first time, a flash of uncertainty crosses Harunobu's face.
"That doesn't mean anything," he protests weakly. "She's allowed to take some time off if she's not feeling well—just because she refused to when she broke her arm that one time…or when that Clown-faced bastard 'accidentally' poisoned her…or when she ended up with four broken ribs and a concussion after that spar with Ichimaru-fukutaicho…" Harunobu trails off, horrified, as Haru nods grimly. "Oh my god, she must be dying."
"Kuchiki-fukutaicho?" Nakada Fujiko asks hesitantly as she spots the Fourth Division lieutenant in her office, pouring over a stack of paperwork. "Aren't you…aren't you supposed to be resting right now?"
"You too, huh?" Hisana smiles wryly, flipping over another sheet of paper. "You're the third person today to ask me that question, and I've only been here an hour. I'm guessing by the reactions of everyone here that the secret is out?" Hisana's voice is carefully blank and Fujiko takes a brief moment to mentally curse Haru. Of course Kuchiki-fukutaicho would be upset; she'd barely had the chance to come to terms with the news herself and the idiot had gone and blabbed her private life to the entire division.
"It's okay, I'm not mad at you Nakada-san," Hisana says kindly. The other girl has a faint smile on her lips as she studies Fujiko, having apparently guessed the direction of her thoughts. "The news would have come out eventually. Granted, I would have liked to tell Byakuya and Rukia first, but if people know, they know. Honestly, I should have known better, given the strength of the Seireitei's rumor mill."
There's a spark of humor in Hisana's eyes and Fujiko swallows, feeling her admiration for her lieutenant grow. She's pretty sure that if she was in Kuchiki-fukutaicho's place, she'd be in bed and huddled under a dozen blankets right now, not doing paperwork and cracking jokes to make some girl twenty ranks below her feel better.
"I…I promise to do everything I can to help you through this," Fujiko vows, making a mental note to enlist a couple friends to help her contain the rumors. Or, failing that, to help her stop any nosy shinigami from bothering Kuchiki-fukutaicho about her illness. She deserved the chance to tell people herself, when she was ready. "You just focus on taking care of yourself, alright? Anything you need, anything at all, just tell one of us!" To her mortification, Fujiko feels herself tearing up and she angrily forces them back. Kuchiki-fukutaicho was the one who was sick and she wasn't crying, so why was she?
"That's very kind of you to offer," Hisana says, looking slightly surprised at the fervor in Fujiko's words. It only makes her feel worse—for as long as she can remember, Kuchiki-fukutaicho has always been someone she's felt she could turn to for any worries or troubles in her life. And for her to be so taken aback at Fujiko offering to return the favor…had that relationship really been so one-sided? "This is all new territory for me, I'm afraid, so I'll need all the help I can get…" Her voice trails off. "Are you feeling quite alright, Nakada-san?"
"I'm fine!" Fujiko squeaks, choking back the sob that threatens to escape. "I just…I want you to be, that's all." At that, Hisana's expression softens.
"Well, I can't say that it's going to be easy, especially with Byakuya gone right now and all," she admits. "But I'm in the best possible hands right now, I've got people I trust supporting me—" Here Hisana glances at her warmly and Fujiko can't help but blush slightly at the implication. "—and that's all I can ask for, really."
Fujiko leaves not long after, promising to stop by later and drop off some homemade baked goods because "You need to keep your strength up, Kuchiki-fukutaicho!" Hisana watches her go, a slightly puzzled frown on her lips as she mentally reviews the other girl's behavior.
She'd expected that a few people would get emotional at the news and had anticipated some concern, just…not on this level. It leaves her feeling equal parts touched and worried (Unohana-taicho had mentioned that compared to a human, her body would be put under a lot more strain and thus the associated risks would be proportionally higher. Still, the way Nakada—and several other members of the Fourth—had been acting, you'd think she was dying or something).
If they're scared, it's only because they care, Tenshi no Tsubasa points out.
Hmm. I guess you're right, Hisana agrees, choosing to put the matter out of her head. I suppose I'm very lucky then, to have so many people care so much. Absently, she rests one hand against her stomach and smiles.
Yes, very lucky indeed.
"Well?" Haru snaps as Harunobu slips into the room, closing the door behind him. "What'd taicho say?"
"From what I've gathered, there's a pretty good chance of everything turning out fine as long as she gets through the next few weeks. Apparently, the first three months are the riskiest period for things to go wrong," Harunobu sighs, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "What a time for Kuchiki-taicho to be away, huh?"
"Hey now, let's worry about one thing at a time here," Haru says hastily, even as Hayashi Tadahiko pales at the thought of Kuchiki Byakuya's reaction to his wife's illness. Harunobu doesn't blame him—the Sixth Division captain's anger is a scary, scary thing indeed. So scary, in fact, that 'sakuraphobia' has become a legitimized disorder in the Seireitei.
There's even a support group for it. They meet on Thursday evenings. By the way things are going, Harunobu's willing to bet that they'll be getting some new members soon.
"What about you two? Anything new to report?" Haru continues in a quieter voice, turning to the girls sitting in the corner of the room. "You're the ones closest to her. How's she doing?"
Harunobu watches as Kotetsu Isane and Tsukuda Ayame exchange a glance, before Isane turns to offer the rest of the group a weak smile.
"It's been hard," she admits. "But, well, you know Hisana. She's trying her best not to let it show, to pretend that nothing's wrong. She actually got in a shouting match with Iemura-san over it yesterday, kept telling him to 'quit coddling her' and to 'stop wasting division resources by assigning healers to stalk her.' Even threatened to send him on a week-long mission to the Rukongai if he didn't listen. Which honestly, we should have expected. I mean it's Hisana; of course she'd hate the thought of troubling us."
"Stupid," Ayame sniffs angrily, wiping at her eyes. "As if she could ever be a burden. But of course, she doesn't see it that way, and now she's…she's—" Blowing her nose loudly into a tissue, she stands up and promptly runs out of the room. "Excuse me for a moment."
"…Kuchiki-fukutaicho's been getting worse, hasn't she?" Haru asks solemnly as he watches Ayame go.
"She fainted in the hallway today," Isane confirms quietly. "If Hanataro-kun hadn't been there to catch her…" Her voice trails off. "It's getting more and more difficult to keep this from the other squads too. I know Yamanaka-san and Nakada-san are trying their best, but people have started to notice that…well, that something's wrong. Hard not to, when she can hardly keep anything down these days, sleeps twice as much as she used to, and walks around with a constant low-grade fever."
"Does anyone actually know exactly what is wrong with her?" Tadahiko asks curiously. "I mean, judging by the symptoms, the most popular theory is that she has some kind of reiatsu-draining, nutrient sucking parasite that's attached itself onto one of her vital organs, but Unohana-taicho and Kuchiki-fukutaicho are the only ones who know the details. Wouldn't it be easier to help if we had a better idea of what's going on?"
"Yes, let's go and ask Kuchiki-fukutaicho to tell us all about the dangerous parasite currently sucking the life out of her. That'll cheer her up," Haru snaps.
"Haru," Harunobu says warningly, before turning to Tadahiko.
"I did consider talking to taicho in more detail, but she's made it clear that she has the situation in control for now. And besides, if it ever gets to the point where it's out of even Unohana-taicho's hands—realistically, what are the chances of any of us being able to do anything?" Harunobu points out reasonably. At that, Tadahiko deflates.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he says, looking down. "I just hate being so helpless, you know?"
Harunobu nods in agreement, running one hand through his hair.
"Believe me, I feel the same way. Still, just because we can't do anything about her condition doesn't mean that we're useless. There's plenty of things we can do to help."
"Really? Like what?" Tadahiko asks dubiously.
"Well for starters, you can stop running away every time the phrase 'vaginal discharge' comes up," Isane suggests, hiding a smile behind her hand. From where she's sitting next to her, Yamanaka Aiko scoffs in agreement.
"I still can't believe that out of all the body fluids we've had to deal with, that's the one you're most uncomfortable with. It'd almost be funny if it weren't so sad," Aiko says in disgust, flipping her long, blonde hair disdainfully. "For god's sake, you're a healer. Woman up."
"Oi!" Tadahiko says indignantly, flushed red with embarrassment. "So what if I'm a little uncomfortable with stuff that comes out of, um—" His face turns an even brighter red as he stumbles over his words. Harunobu sighs and covers his face with his hands. "—that specific part of Kuchiki-fukutaicho's body? There's nothing wrong with that. And besides, isn't the expression supposed to be 'man up'?"
In response, Aiko lifts a delicately groomed eyebrow.
"Hmm, let's think about this," she says sarcastically. "Our captain's a woman, and not even Zaraki-taicho dares to cross her. Our lieutenant's a woman, and when she speaks, captains listen. In fact, out of our top five commanding officers, four are women. Face it, if the phrase 'man up' has a place in any squad, it's not in this one."
Healthy skin glow, my ass, Hisana thinks viciously to herself as finds herself throwing up in a bucket for the umpteenth time that day. If that so-called glow isn't just sweat caused by episodes of projectile vomiting, I'll eat my blanket.
"I don't think I've seen anyone throw up that much in my life. You must be getting one hell of an ab workout," Yamanaka comments, tone a curious mixture of disgust, awe, and concern. She hands Hisana a wet washcloth. "Here, you look like you need it."
"Aiko-san!" Ayame scolds from where she's holding Hisana's hair out of her face. "Have some tact, will you? Hisana-san, don't listen to her, you look fine—"
"Nah, Yamanaka-san's right. I'm not exactly a glamorous sight right now," Hisana waves her off, wiping her mouth with the offered washcloth. Leaning back against her pillow, she smiles tiredly up at them. "Thank you, by the way. I know I'm not exactly the most pleasant company to be around right now, so I just want you to know how much I appreciate you putting up with me." One side of her mouth quirks up in amusement. "And to think, Byakuya doesn't even know how lucky he is; bastard's already managed to dodge a month of dealing with my mood swings and general grossness completely by accident."
"If Kuchiki-taicho's the type to complain about something like this, then he's not half the man he pretends to be," Ayame says, voice abruptly sharp. "And you don't need to thank us for looking after you. It's the least we could do." Hisana blinks, a little taken aback by the other girl's change in tone.
"Well, I'm grateful nonetheless," she says cautiously.
"Don't worry about it. Like Ayame said, we're here to help," Yamanaka says lightly, causing Hisana to frown at the note of forced cheerfulness in the blonde's voice. The entirety of Squad 4 has been on edge around her all month, and while she knows she's been rather moody lately, she hadn't been that bad, had she?
"Well prepare yourselves, because it's only going to get worse over the next couple of months." Which is definitely something she's not looking forward to. It was one thing to know, objectively, what was going to happen, and another thing entirely to actually experience it.
"Is there a reason why we can't use healing kido to help alleviate the symptoms?" Ayame asks, voice carefully neutral. "It does seem like this whole thing is taking a rather large toll on you."
"Something about my body being in a hyper-defensive state where it'll reject just about any unfamiliar reiatsu, even most types of healing kido," Hisana says absently, before noticing the look of horror on Ayame's face. "It's not as bad as it sounds. I mean as far as side effects go, it's a fairly rare one, but it does happen occasionally. Honestly, I'm more concerned about the drain on my reiatsu." Fainting like that had been humiliating, and she'd rather not have a repeat performance. Iemura's reaction hadn't helped things either. Seriously, that man was like the king of overreactions—it had been one measly dizzy spell, hardly the end of the world.
"You mean this is going to get worse?" Aiko asks, not quite managing to conceal the dismay in her voice.
"Tell me about it. I'm beginning to see why this doesn't happen that often in the afterlife; I'm half-convinced thisis going to kill me, and I haven't even gotten to the grand finale yet," Hisana says grumpily. And to add…well, injury to injury, Unohana had banned her from eating any ramen for the next seven and a half months, even going so far as to replace all the ramen in the Kuchiki clan kitchens with spinach (how?). Tenshi no Tsubasa had laughed at her for hours.
With a sigh, she turns her attention back to where Ayame and Yamanaka appear to be having a nonverbal conversation with eye contact and weird expressions alone. "At least Byakuya's going to be back soon. I've missed him," Hisana says wistfully. "I do hope he takes the news well. I mean, I'm almost positive he will, but it's going to be a pretty big shock for him." Chewing on her bottom lip, she narrows her eyes thoughtfully. "Maybe I should line the floor with cushions first, just in case he faints or something. He's kind of a sissy at times; he might not take a fall as well as I did."
"What do you mean we have to break the news to Kuchiki-taicho?" Haru yelps. "Are you insane?!"
"Look, I don't like this either but the alternative is him freaking out in front of Kuchiki-fukutaicho. And you know he will freak out," Aiko points out. "So it's either him freaking out in front of you beforehand, or him freaking out at her, and I know which one I prefer."
"The second one!" Haru hisses frantically. "I mean, theoretically there are rules preventing captains from killing off ordinary officers left and right, but you and I both know that's total bullshit or else Kurotsuchi-taicho wouldn't still be leading the Twelfth. I'm too young to die, Yamanaka-san."
"He wouldn't kill you. It would make Kuchiki-fukutaicho sad," Aiko points out reasonably. "Maybe maim you a bit, but I hear scars are considered pretty manly nowadays."
Remarkably, this does absolutely nothing to make Haru feel better.
"Well, why can't you do it then?" Haru glares at her. Aiko raises her eyebrows at him.
"And risk this face? I don't think so," she snorts. "Please, it's clear that between the two of us, sacrificing your looks would be the lesser tragedy in the grand scheme of things."
"What about Ogidou then? Can't he do it?" Haru asks, after pushing down a sudden, murderous urge to punch his fellow Fourth Division member. His mother had raised him to never hit a girl (unless she hit him first—then she was fair game) and he wasn't about to disappoint her now. Even if Yamanaka did deserve it, in his objective, unbiased opinion.
"His looks are better than both of ours combined, so that's a no," Aiko says, idly inspecting her nails. "Besides, you were the one to tell the rest of us about this, so it's only fitting that you extend the same courtesy to Kuchiki-taicho, don't you think?"
Unable to refute that, Haru slumps against the wall, defeated.
"I hate you," he mumbles under his breath.
"I know," Aiko says, patting him on the back. "If it makes you feel any better, I promise I'll come up with a better story for your death than 'he got killed by a bunch of angry flower petals.'"
"Um, K-Kuchiki-taicho? Do…do you have a moment?" A voice squeaks from behind Byakuya. A quick glance downwards tells him that the voice belongs to a skinny kid with round glasses and messy brown hair. He's wearing the Fourth Division uniform though, which gives Byakuya pause.
"Yes?" He asks, turning slightly.
"Um." The kid gulps, swallowing heavily. A bead of sweat drips down his face onto his uniform but he doesn't seem to notice as he wrings his hands together nervously. "It's actually, uh, somewhat of a delicate matter so if you could just follow me into—or out here is fine!" He amends hastily as he sees Byakuya's eyes narrow slightly. Patience waning, Byakuya cuts him off, already eager for this conversation to end.
"Is the matter urgent? I'm afraid that I have somewhere t—"
"Hisana's dying!" The kid blurts out. A fraction of a second later, he seems to realize his mistake as he covers his mouth with both hands, but it's too late. Whirling around, Byakuya's gaze sharpens as he refocuses on the boy.
"What did you say?" Byakuya asks dangerously, only for the boy to fall to his knees, struggling to breathe against the sudden onslaught of Byakuya's reiatsu. With a frustrated growl, Byakuya forces himself to reel his spiritual energy in before proceeding to drag the boy up and slam him into a wall. "Speak," he commands, ignoring the sound of bones creaking beneath his hand. "I swear to you, boy, if this turns out to be some sick joke of yours—"
"It's true!" He gasps out, eyes blown wide with terror. His words are undeniably sincere though, even as he instinctively reaches up with both hands to claw at the grip currently holding him captive. "I-I'm telling the truth!"
He doesn't even manage to scratch the skin and distantly, Byakuya feels a twinge of pity towards the boy for trying.
"S-She's b-been sick for over a m-month now and at first it d-didn't seem so b-b-bad but she's only been getting worse and K-Kuchiki-fukutaicho says she's gonna be okay only…only her reiatsu's c-constantly depleted these days and yesterday Iemura-san had t-to carry her in 'cause her stomach hurt so bad and she was crying and none of us knew what to do or how to help and—" Byakuya drops him as if burned and flash-steps away, leaving the sobbing boy to collapse against the wall. He can't bring himself to feel any guilt though, because there's a nauseating, hollow feeling spreading from the center of his chest that's consuming all rational thought. He'd thought it was odd that Hisana hadn't been at the gates to welcome him back, but this—
Shinigami, as a whole, are not an overly religious group of people. Now, as Byakuya frantically extends his senses, reaching out for the presence that has come to signify home to him, he finds himself praying for the first time in his life.
Byakuya senses her before he sees her and the boy is right, Hisana's spiritual energy is dim, far dimmer than it usually is. At his sudden entrance, she looks up startled, almost dropping the plate she's holding.
"Byakuya! You're back early," Hisana exclaims, looking flustered. "I wasn't expecting you for another hour, I haven't even finished making din—" Her voice trails off as she registers his appearance. "Is something wrong? You're white as a sheet."
When he doesn't answer, she steps forward hesitantly, taking his hands in her own. Byakuya can't help but notice that her hands are freezing, and he feels his grip tighten involuntarily.
"Byakuya, sweetheart, you're scaring me. Talk to me, please," she pleads, stepping closer to him. "Is it Rukia?" Her face pales. "Is she hurt?"
"Rukia's fine," he replies, voice coming out oddly distant, before looking down at her intently. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She asks, bewildered.
"I was just stopped by one of your subordinates, and—" He begins only to be cut off mid-sentence.
"Ah. Someone told you," Hisana interrupts, realization dawning on her face. A scowl forms on her face. "Honestly, can't anyone here keep a secret? You'd think they'd never heard of patient-healer confidentiality before."
"Yes, someone told me—as they should! Hisana, how long were you planning on keeping this from me?" He demands, fear bleeding into anger.
"I was hardly 'keeping this from you.' You were on a mission, what was I supposed to do?" Hisana asks, frowning at him. "And for your information, I was going to tell you tonight. After dinner." Glancing at the dining room table, Byakuya belatedly registers that it's covered with his favorite dishes, and he feels a sharp pang of remorse. He can't even imagine how terrified she must have been these past few months, how nervous she must have been to break the news to him, and here he is yelling at her instead of offering her any support.
"I'm sorry, Hisana," he apologizes genuinely. "I'm not angry at you, I'm just frustrated at myself. I should have been here, been at your side—" Honestly, what had Unohana been thinking, not informing him about this? Mission or no mission, if he'd known that Hisana needed him, he would have dropped everything and opened a Senkaimon home then and there.
"Hey, you're here now and that's all that matters," Hisana says soothingly, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face.
"Of course. I swear to you Hisana, I'm going to do all I can to make sure you get through this," Byakuya promises earnestly. "What kind of treatment options have you discussed thus far?"
"…treatment options?" Hisana asks, confused.
"We don't have to talk about it now," Byakuya says hurriedly. "I understand if you don't want to. Just tell me what I can do to make this easier on you."
"Um," Hisana says distractedly before shaking her head, clearing the confusion from her face. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing, really—"
"What is it?" He asks softly, reaching out to cradle her face.
"Just…" She hesitates, not quite meeting his eyes. "Some optimism would be appreciated, please. I'm not asking for a lot here, just a smile or something—"
"Of course," Byakuya replies immediately. If she needs him to provide a positive presence in her life, he can do that. He will do that. "You're going to be fine, everything's going to be alright—"
"Not about that!" Hisana cries out, frustration warring with sudden, sharp disappointment on her face. "Will you stop focusing on me for a second here? For god's sake, of course there are going to be risks! I knew that and I accepted them, and…and I thought you did too, but apparently not because all you and everyone else can focus on is the bad stuff! I don't care about stupid stuff like the nausea or the occasional fainting spell or not being able to eat ramen! Okay fine, some sympathy is nice, but I thought that you would at least be a little happy about this!"
"Happy?" Byakuya repeats in disbelief. "How could I possibly be happy about you being sick? About possibly losing you?" At that, Hisana falters.
"Wait, what?" She asks, blinking.
"And I…I don't know what you want from me here," he continues agitatedly, ignoring her. "I'm trying to be strong, to be supportive, but you…do you have any idea how it feels, when it seems like every time I turn around, you're getting poisoned or getting caught in a training accident or…or stumbling home half-dead after yet another mission gone dreadfully wrong? And now you're sick enough that you have the entire Fourth scared about your wellbeing, and this is somehow worse than all the other times you've been in danger because I…I don't know what to expect and I can't fight this and I can't lose you, Hisana, I just can't—"
"Byakuya, Byakuya, calm down. Breathe," Hisana instructs, taking his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. "Now, you're going to have to help me out here, because I have no idea what's going on. What in the world are you talking about?"
"One of the healers…one of the healers in the Fourth stopped me just as I got back from my mission and told me that you've been sick, that you've been getting weaker and that…that you might not survive—"
"Oh my god," Hisana interrupts, realization dawning on her face. Releasing him, she steps back and pinches the bridge of her nose with one hand. "Byakuya, you don't have to worry. I'm not going anywhere."
"You're not?" He asks hopefully. "You're going to be okay, then?"
"More than okay," she confirms. Glancing at him, she takes a deep breath before continuing. "Byakuya, I'm not sick. I'm pregnant."
There's a long silence.
"...come again?" Byakuya asks dumbly.
"I'm pregnant," she repeats, offering him a tentative smile. "With child. Knocked up. Carrying your baby—"
Shaking himself out of his stupor, he reaches out to grip her by the shoulders, shock bleeding into something he can only describe as wonder. "You…you are serious?"
"Yes I am," Hisana says, laughing a little now. Her eyes are wet and Byakuya doesn't need a mirror to know that his are as well. "You're going to be a father, Byakuya."
"I—" He chokes on his words, voice heavy with emotion. Kneeling down so that he's eye level with her stomach, he reaches out before hesitating. "May I—?"
"Of course," Hisana says softly, pressing his hands against her stomach. She hasn't started to show, not yet, but Byakuya imagines he can almost feel where the baby's heartbeat is.
"We're going to have a baby," he whispers, feeling awed and more than a little giddy. "We're going to be parents."
"Now there's the reaction I was looking for," she teases warmly. "You had me really worried for a while there…" Her voice trails off, causing Byakuya to look at her worriedly.
"What is it?"
"I'm a little concerned about the fact that the division responsible for all things medically-related mistook the signs of pregnancy for the symptoms of some mysterious, life-threatening illness," she admits. "Although this explains so much. You know, two days ago I asked Isane to bring me some tea and she knocked over three healers, elbowed two others, and nearly scalded herself in her haste to get it to me? It is very sweet of them to be so concerned about my wellbeing, though." With a sigh, she glances towards the door. "I suppose I should head over there to reassure them, make a formal announcement or something. They're probably still freaking out."
"Mm. Do you have to go now, though?" Byakuya murmurs, pressing a light kiss against her stomach. He tilts his head up to look at her meaningfully and smiles at the pretty pink blush spreading rapidly across her cheekbones. "I've missed you so."
"I, uh—" She clears her throat, voice coming out noticeably higher than normal. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to leave an hour or so later—"
"Two," he interrupts smoothly, feeling a rush of satisfaction as her cheeks darken even further in response. "You're going to want to make that two hours, love."
"Someone's feeling ambitious tonight," Hisana laughs breathily as Byakuya slides his hands up to her waist, pulling her close. "Very well, two it is then—"
This, of course, is the exact moment Rukia comes crashing through the window, hair a mess and eyes frantic.
"Nee-chan, you're dying?!"
Extras:
"You dumbass, you were supposed to break the news to him gently so that he wouldn't freak out! Not freak him out even more!"
"Look, I panicked, okay? Besides, if you think about it, we weren't that far off…I mean, technically she does have a reiatsu-draining, nutrient sucking parasite att—ow, okay, okay, I got it, stop hitting me already!"
Also, if Hisana thinks that people are going to stop with the coddling and the annoying overprotectiveness and the constant hovering, she is sadly mistaken. In fact, things actually get worse because the other divisions find out and then she has to deal with people from the rest of the Gotei 13 in addition to the Fourth. Hell, Yumichika actually bans everyone in the 11th from swearing in her general vicinity because "What if the baby hears?" And then someone absently asks the question of who gets to be the baby's godparents, which kicks off a series of the most violent, overly-competitive fights since the Seireitei Olympics that took place twenty years ago (which, coincidentally, had also occurred as a direct result of Kuchiki Hisana's actions).
As far as the fight for the title of godfather goes, the competitors include, but are not limited to, Ukitake (who turns out to be surprisingly ruthless), Gin ("Oh fuck no," Hisana says when she hears about it), Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, and Zaraki (who joined more for the constant fights, than out of any desire to be godfather). "You must be delusional if you think I'm letting any of you lunatics near my child," Byakuya says, eye twitching and looking one step away from throwing Kuchiki dignity to the wind just to punch Zaraki in the face.
The fight for godmother is subtler but no less vicious ("You already get to be aunt! What the hell do you want to be godmother for?" Rangiku snarls at Rukia, who'd froze all of her sake bottles the night before). Hisana and Byakuya wake up one morning to find 'Yoruichi for godmother' written in huge letters along the west side of the Kuchiki manor ("How?" Byakuya asks in disbelief. "She's in self-imposed exile right now!").
In the end, they settle on having Ukitake and Kyouraku as co-godfathers ("Fucking unfair," Renji grumbles. "They teamed up against the rest of us, how was anyone else supposed to have a chance?") and Unohana as godmother ("That is going to be one scarily protected kid," Ikkaku muses. Off in the distance, Aizen quietly makes a mental note not to involve the new Kuchiki heir in any of his plans until he attains immortality. He's confident in his abilities, not stupid).
A/N: As for why no one (except Unohana) figured out that Hisana was pregnant, well there are multiple reasons:
1. Having children is really fucking rare in the afterlife, and is pretty much only limited to nobility and/or those with high spiritual energy (aka highly ranked female shinigami)
2. I headcanon that most noble women, when they get pregnant, are looked after by their own family doctors (who specialize in prenatal care), rather than the Fourth.
3. The few pregnant women that do go to the Fourth usually go during the later months of the pregnancy. So most healers aren't nearly as familiar with the earlier symptoms.
4. Finally, by the time the symptoms became obvious, most of the healers already had it firmly entrenched in their minds that Hisana had some kind of debilitating, incurable disease.
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