Disclaimer: Thinking of taking Kubo Tite to court and suing for the rights to Bleach. But until that actually happens, I don't own it


Chapter 2 – Run That By Me Again

Rukia sighed and snuggled a little closer to Ichigo. The two had gone home and dropped onto the couch, taking the time to turn on the TV before they got comfortable. Ichigo, of course, fell asleep. Rukia tried, but found that, even though her body felt exhausted, sleep just would not come. So instead she contented herself to just sitting there, leaning comfortably against Ichigo, trying to enjoy the life she and her boyfriend had made for each other.

It seemed so weird that only five years prior, the two of them hadn't even thought about getting together. And they probably never would have if a party and some spiked punch hadn't led to the two of them waking up in Ichigo's bed together, with no clue how either had gotten there. True, a dream they both had later that day revealed the more...intimate parts of what had happened the night before. But somehow they both always felt as if it were just a dream. A dream they'd both had. That'd had the exact same details.

Okay, so they'd slept together. Even five years later, they were no closer to admitting it, considering how young they had been (well, how young Ichigo had been, anyway).

Rukia sighed again and leaned her head against Ichigo's chest. He was snoring lightly, and Rukia had to admit, it sounded kind of funny. She suppressed a giggle, trying to let him sleep. She knew he was tired, though maybe not as tired as she was...

The young woman frowned as her mind once again traveled back to her mysterious illness. She had a very good idea of what might be wrong with her. But she didn't want to think about that. She couldn't think about that. Not with the risks that were associated with it. True, she and Ichigo had decided five years ago that it'd be worth the risk to be together. But even risks had their limit.

Just as Rukia was drifting off to sleep, the phone rang. Annoyed, Rukia jerked awake and grabbed it before it woke up Ichigo. "Hello?" she said quietly, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Rukia? It's Isshin," Rukia blinked. Oh. Right. The test results. She stood up and quickly walked over to the hallway.

"Okay," she said, keeping quiet and hoping she didn't sound too nervous. "Is it...is it bad?"

"Well, it depends on what your idea of bad is," Isshin sounded slightly amused, "Rukia...you're pregnant"

The phone nearly slipped out of Rukia's hand. "Oh...Oh God..."

"Hey, it's Ichigo's right?"

What kind of ridiculous question was that? "Uh, yeah, it's Ichigo's..."

"All right!" Isshin hollered, "Karin, Yuzu, you're going to be aunts!"

Rukia heard Yuzu squealing in the background, and Karin saying, "He's going to be a father? That poor kid isn't even born yet, what'd he do to deserve such a horrible punishment?"

Rukia tried not to laugh. Even she had to admit, the idea of Ichigo being a father was kind of funny. "Well then," she said after a second, "T-Thank you for telling me. I mean, for letting me know"

"Are you okay?" Isshin switched back to his 'serious' mode, "I thought you'd be happy"

"I am, I mean-"

"Didn't really think about a baby?"

Rukia felt her shoulders fall. "No," she said in a quiet voice.

"Well don't worry," Isshin said confidently, "We're all behind you over here, right girls?"

"Right!" Yuzu chirped.

"You can come to us if you need help"

Rukia smiled, despite herself. Ichigo really did have such a loving family. "Thank you," she said, feeling a little better. Not much, though. "I'd better...tell Ichigo. Thank you again Mr. Kuro-"

"Oh come on now!" Isshin protested at once, "I think you can call me Isshin, considering you're having my grandchild!"

This time Rukia did laugh. "Okay. Thank you Isshin. Bye"

She hung up, feeling upset again. A baby? Her and Ichigo? For one thing, they certainly weren't ready to be parents. They were both still in college for heaven's sake! They lived in a small apartment which, granted, had two rooms, but they were both extremely small. Ichigo was the only one with a job, because Rukia had never been able to pick up the concept of any kind of work other than her Soul Reaper duties, which unfortunately didn't pay much (or anything at all).

And that led to another problem. The Soul Society. They would never allow this child to be born. A pregnancy between a Soul Reaper and human was banned, but a human like Ichigo? Who knew what the kid's power would be like? The Soul Society would never allow it.

Rukia leaned against the wall and buried her head in her hands. This wasn't happening. She had to be dreaming. Isshin had to be wrong. Because if he wasn't, Rukia wouldn't be allowed to stay in the world of the living anymore. The Soul Society would pull her out, kill the baby, and maybe even her. She wasn't sure about that part. She knew she'd be punished in someway though.

Feeling kind of light-headed now, she pushed herself off the wall and walked back out to the living room, putting the phone back and walking around to the back of the couch. Ichigo, somehow, had fallen over, and was now laying down on his back, one hand flung over the back of the couch, the other across his chest. His mouth was open, and he was still snoring. Rukia smiled as she looked down at him. She loved him more than anything else, and she never wanted to leave his side. But if the Soul Society had their way, she might not have a choice.

Determined to just cross that bridge when she got there, Rukia reached down and let her hand play over Ichigo's cheek. She couldn't believe how five years had changed him. True, he still scowled like it was a natural feature on his face (and to everyone who knew him, it was), but he had started to surprise Rukia with strange bouts of tender acts and kindness. Rukia had to admit, it was surprising to learn he really did have a delicate side.

Not that everything had changed. For instance, Ichigo and Rukia still argued like they breathed, and more than once Ichigo had found his butt forcibly on the floor (but only when Rukia was really annoyed, she enjoyed his company in bed). And of course, Ichigo insisted that Rukia had been purposefully kicking him the last two weeks when she had darted out of bed to the bathroom (which Rukia denied, though it was quite true). The arguing and the pain were natural parts of their relationship. There wasn't anything either of them could do about it.

Rukia pulled her hand away from Ichigo's face, still smiling. Just as she decided to let him sleep awhile more, a wave of dizziness slammed into her. She stumbled slightly and grabbed the back of the couch for support. At the same time, Ichigo's eyes fluttered open.

The first thing he saw when he woke up was how pale she looked. "Rukia?" he sat up at once. Her eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut, opened a fraction of an inch to look at him. "What's wrong? Do you feel sick again?"

She shook her head. "No, just...dizzy"

"Here," he stood up and – much to her detest – scooped her into his arms.

"Put me down!" she hissed, her heart not really into it. It felt good to be off her feet.

"No way," he walked down the hall to their room, and elbowed the door open. He laid her down in bed. "Just rest, all right?"

He grabbed the blankets off the floor and started untangling them. "Ichigo, I..." Rukia hesitated. How could she say it?

"Never-mind," he laid the blankets over her. "Sleep for now. You can tell me later"

Rukia took a deep breath as he ran a hand through her raven hair. She was tired...


Ichigo carefully shut the door to the room he and Rukia shared. She was out like a light. Wondering vaguely when his dad would get back to them about the test results, Ichigo walked back out to the living room, and flopped down on the couch, grabbing the remote. Before he changed the channel though, the screen went blank, and then a "breaking news bulletin" screen came on. Ichigo rolled his eyes as the anchor, a female, came on. "We've just received confirmation from Tokyo State Prison that a convict has in fact escaped," Ichigo rolled his eyes. Couldn't the cops do their jobs for once? "The escapee was twenty-year-old Yukio Ryuichi, who was convicted five years prior for the rape of several girls, and attempted murder of one, and was sent to Tokyo State when he turned eighteen..."

Ichigo's blood had run cold. No. Oh fuck no. That sick bastard. He was the one that had raped Rukia five years before. She was the one he had attempted to kill.


Author's Note: And this, boys and girls, is why it's good to read the prequel before the sequel. Because if you don't, then you have no idea who Yukio Ryuichi is. If you do know who he is...please don't kill me for bringing him back! Really, honestly, I don't have much planned for him, he gets one big part and that's about it. So please, put the freakin' knives away! Anyways, as you can tell I decided to continue, mostly because of the overwhelming amount of reviews I got. I was surprised XD Anyways, let's say...between 40-55 reviews for this chapter, but you know I'd never say no to more ;-) - Sam