Belly of the Beast

My apologies for the long wait. I'm incredibly skeptical about this chapter. I haven't gotten too much feedback on this story and I have my doubts about continuing it.

And a big thank you to all my readers and viewers! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Byakuya was in his office at the 6th Division working on the back-log of paperwork. It was late at night but that didn't matter. He had been neglecting office duties for the past few weeks in favor of training with the new recruits. Usually he left that to Renji, but he needed the distraction. He figured sparring would keep his mind off of that blasted woman who seemed to plague his every thought. He was starting the last pile when a Jigokuchou flew into the room. Holding out an elegant finger, the insect landed and relayed its message.

Immediately his expression hardened. Standing up, he stormed out of the room and down the empty hallways. Once outside, he flash stepped toward his home. Arriving at the front gates, he's greeted by Hisana who has an odd expression on her face. If he didn't know her, he would have thought the emotion to be anger. But there was no way gentle, meek Hisana would show any sign of fury.

"Byakuya-sama!" she cried, throwing herself at him, yet another strange action from her.

"Hisana" he replied in his usual tone, not returning her embrace.

"Byakuya-sama. Manami-sama is in the East Garden" he heard a servant announce.

Detaching Hisana from his person, the Kuchiki Lord began walking in the direction of the Senkaimon gate. The message he received earlier had informed him that his honorable grandmother had opened the Senkaimon without permission from officials or him for that matter. He was furious, to say the least. It was direct insubordination. The only one who could open that gate without permission was him, because he was the head of the clan. However, she had apparently marched into the manor with her strongest guards and made her way to the garden where she apparently sent Saito and Reiichirou through to the living world.

As he approached the garden gate, he felt several familiar reiatsu and stopped mid-step. His eyes narrowed. It was the Kurosaki brat and his sister along with the infuriating neko-onna. With new fury, he continued walking but stopped dead in his tracks once more when he caught sight of the fourth, and most unexpected, person.

It was the woman who haunted his waking and sleeping hours. Whose face he saw whenever he closed his eyes; the woman whom his body burned and ached for, to the point where he could not bring himself to touch his own wife.

He could not stop himself from taking in her every feature. Her soft black hair was shorter, stopping at ear-length, and her frayed bangs fell lightly on her forehead. Her skin was the sun-kissed tan he remembered. The V-cut sweater showed the seductive swell of her large breasts that somehow seemed even fuller than before. His eyes continued to travel down and stopped, widening minutely at the sight before him. Both her hands rested gently on her large, swollen belly.

Byakuya's breath caught in his throat and he felt his heart speeding up. Pregnant. She was pregnant and very close to giving birth if her size was any indication. His first thought was that she was pregnant with his child. Could there be any other explanation? Yet, he could not help but feel insecure. She had left the Kuchiki house and went into hiding, so why was she there now? She wouldn't come back if the child was his, she would at least know that she would be forced to remain with the child once it was born; if it was his. She wouldn't risk that after going through so much trouble to leave. The only explanation left was that it wasn't his. However, that still left the question of why she was at the Kuchiki house when there were other Senkaimon in the Seireitei. Then he remembered why he had rushed home to begin with; his grandmother had opened the Senkaimon.

He moved his gaze from the woman to his grandmother, gritting his teeth in his fury, Stepping out of the shadows, he addressed the group.

"Explain" was all he said, as he once again rested his heavy gaze on the pregnant girl. Something inside him clenched at the way she flinched and shivered at the sound of his voice. Byakuya watched as his sister and the brat took protective stances beside her.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia gasped

"Rukia, what the hell do you think you are doing?" came the angry voice of Hisana from behind him. He had not even realized she followed him. When had she become so good at hiding her presence?

"This is not the place for such a discussion" said Manami in a no-nonsense voice. "As you can see, Ami-chan is in no condition to be standing out in the night air. Let us go inside and have tea; there is a lot to be said."

"Forgive me, but I think Ami-chan should be resting now, she has been in a lot of pain lately and there is no use in stressing her already tired body with a conversation we can have later," Yoruichi announced suddenly. She could sense Ami didn't want to be near Byakuya at that time, and he was furious with the situation. Surely this would end badly if they were all put into the same room now.

Manami looked at Yoruichi for a moment and then turned her gaze to the young woman. Indeed she was not looking well. She was close to giving birth and passing through the Dangai must not have been easy on her already unstable body. She nodded.

"Yes, yes of course! You must rest dear" she said to the girl as she cupped her cheek, and then turned to give orders to her shadows.

"If you will follow Rei-chan, he will take you to your room. Yoruichi-chan won't you join my grandson and I for tea?" she said and then turned and walked away, while Ichigo and Rukia followed Ami with Reiichiro.

Byakuya turned on his heels and went in after them. Once settled and comfortable in the western style sitting room, he turned his attention onto his grandmother once more. As he was about to speak, she raised a hand to silence him.

"I will speak and you will listen" the old woman said, looking directly at him. "I have asked that Ami-chan be brought back to the Kuchiki House in light of a serious threat against her and her unborn child. A few days ago I received a letter from a very old enemy of the Kuchiki saying her life and the life of the Kuchiki heir will be theirs. I know I should not have kept this from you Byakuya, but I do not regret doing so. Your rash actions would have made the situation worse. So, I sent Saito and Rei-chan to retrieve her, so that we may keep her safe. With that being said she, and her friends, will be staying until we can guarantee her safety."

"Are- are you saying she is carrying Byakuya-sama's child? That is ridiculous. He would never lay with the likes of her!" said Hisana in a hysterical voice.

Manami narrowed her eyes at Hisana. The girl had obviously lost her mind when she returned from the dead. She seemed to have forgotten that she was nothing but a wanderer from Rukongai when Byakuya brought her to them. Besides, even if she was his wife, she had no place in this conversation. But it might be for the best that she hears this now. Sighing, she sipped her tea and was about to respond when another voice cut in.

"Hisana-sama, I assure you that the child she's carrying is indeed his. Whatever issues you have, take them up with your husband" Yoruichi said, not liking the way her friend was being insulted.

Manami smirked and looked at Yoruichi, who winked at her.

Byakuya was beyond shocked, though one could not tell by the look on his face. His heart was threatening to burst from his chest and his breathing was irregular. His initial assumption was right; she was pregnant with his child. Before he could think on it any further, he heard his wife say his name. Turning to her, he spoke "Hisana, it is late and you should rest. Go."

"But Byakuya-sama I-" she began but was cut off by him telling her she needed her sleep that they would speak later.

Yoruichi and Manami watched as she left the room, fuming. They all sat in silence for a few more minutes before he broke the silence with the question they were hoping to avoid.

"You knew about this before she left?" he questioned in a dangerous tone.

"Yes, I knew, and that is why I helped her leave. You treated her like a whore and then cast her aside when she suddenly returned from the grave. That child had no future here, and we both know that. I did what I did out of love for my daughter," Manami answered, daring him to challenge her. She was not disappointed.

"And that gives you the authority to help her leave this house, carrying my child, without my consent?" he asked and his reiatsu began to rise.

Yoruichi watched the exchange closely, always ready to act. Byakuya was calm and composed on the outside, but on the inside he was still like the child she teased in his youth. Impulsive, rash, and domineering- that was the great 28th head of the Kuchiki house.

She remembered the first time she saw the bruises on Ami's body. Never in a million years would she have thought that he was the one who did that to her. Byakuya was, to be blunt, a brat. But he was an honorable brat, who was raised to be a gentleman. She couldn't believe that he was able to hurt a woman in such a brutal way. Her golden eyes traveled from the angered young lord's face to the face of the old woman she deeply respected.

Kuchiki Manami was a force to be reckoned with. In many ways, Ami is just like her; a spitfire, with more spirit than most men. Manami had been deeply hurt when she found out about Ami's relationship with her grandson. It took three people to restrain to old woman from clobbering her grandson into oblivion. She had begged Ami for forgiveness and Ami, with her all-encompassing and loving heart, had told her she had nothing to be forgiven for. How did they come to this? In her long life, nothing that had happened could compare to this. So much has happened in so little time…

In the guest wing of the Kuchiki Manor-

Ichigo paced anxiously inside the lavish bedroom where Ami now lay sleeping on the massive bed. He paused and hazel eyes scanned the room for the umpteenth time. The room was extravagant, as one would expect from a Kuchiki. Intricately painted scrolls hung from the walls and even the shoji was made from high quality washi and decorated with hand-painted blossoms. For such a traditional family, Ichigo was surprised to see that the furnishings were mostly western and of the finest quality. All in all it was beautiful, and this was just a guest room, he couldn't imagine the kind of luxury the family members lived in. His eyes continued their perusal and landed on the large queen sized bed where their dear friend was resting, nestled in soft cotton and down. When the two guards showed them to the room and left, a servant had shuffled in with a sleeping yukata and fresh tea. Rukia helped Ami change and they had tea before they insisted she get some rest. She'd refused, saying she was fine, but as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light, and they waited anxiously for word about what exactly was happening. Reminded of his anxiety he began pacing again.

"For the love of- Will you stop!" Rukia hissed, "you're gonna wear a hole in the floor!"

Ichigo stopped and shot her a glare, "Aren't you worried?"

Sighing tiredly, Rukia stood and walked to the shoji screen which she slid open to reveal a garden. She took a deep breath before making her way to the edge of the platform where she sat, her head inclined to the sky. "Of course I'm worried. But getting worked up isn't helping anyone," she replied in a whisper.

Ichigo studied her form in the dim moonlight before moving to sit next to her. He was caught off guard when he felt her lean against him, her head on his shoulder. "I'm not strong enough," he heard her say in a pained tone, "I can't protect anyone."

Rukia had been having this internal conflict for as long as she could remember. She was always alone ever since she could remember. On the streets of Rukongai she fought alone for survival, until she met Renji and the others. Together they braved the harsh environment that was their reality, and as fast as it came it was gone and her family dwindled till only she and Renji were left. She wasn't able to save them. They both joined the Shinigami academy for their own reasons and the rift between them started growing. Along came the Kuchiki's, her departed sister's husband so graciously offered her a place to call home. But that home was colder than she imagined, and she was once again alone with no one to lean on. Then Kaien entered her like unexpectedly, stirring her emotions and kindling hope. That too was fleeting. With her own two hands she shattered that fragile hope and doused the flames in her soul. Still she rallied on, because she was a Kuchiki and Kuchiki's were strong. She sought her purpose and found it in the most unlikely place; Ichigo.

One human boy had altered her world in the most drastic way and shone light on her dreary life. She changed his life, too. Dragging him into a world of war and death, and yet he never complained. Ichigo rose up to meet every challenge and did so with all his heart. Watching over him and guiding him was the task she had assigned to herself. She wanted to protect him, but somehow it was always him protecting her.

She felt a large, calloused hand under her chin lifting her head, then she met Ichigo's gaze. His eyes were the color of molten amber, smoldering against his tanned skin. He was so beautiful, she thought as her mind began to drift.

"Rukia" he drawled in his husky tone that sent shivers up her spine.

His other hand came up to caress her cheek and she found herself leaning into his touch, her eyes closing and a long sigh coming from her chapped lips.

"You don't have to be strong for anyone else Rukia. All you need to do is be you. I will protect you. I…" he trailed off and her eyes opened to look at him again.

Their faces were centimeters apart. He leaned forward till his forehead met hers and his warm breath fanned her face. Ichigo wanted to stay that way forever. He never felt more at peace than when he was with Rukia. With her there were no pretenses or facades to be kept up. He didn't need to be anything or anyone besides himself when he was with her. And he wanted her to know she only needed to be herself with him. But Rukia was probably, no wait definitely, the most stubborn person he'd ever met. She always wanted to do everything herself; to shoulder the entire burden. In that respect they were so much alike. How many years did he carry the guilt for his mother's death on his shoulders?

But then she came into his world. She gave him the power he needed to protect those he held dear. It was all thanks to her that he found his purpose in life. Without her he wasn't sure he would even be alive today. His greatest desire was to be beside her and lighten the weight she carried, just like she did for him.

He looked into her large, violet orbs, his throat going dry as his body seemed to move of its own accord. Just as their lips were a about to meet, an all too familiar, and all too agitated reiatsu came from the direction of the bedroom. They both flew through the slightly ajar shouji slowly, to see none other than Byakuya Kuchiki towering over Ami's sleeping form.

And without thinking, Ichigo lunged.

Thank you for reading! Please review!

~asm-hime