Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Ok guys, chapter 3!! Thanks for the reviews (I got lots!) Sorry for the somewhat longer update, but I suspect updates will be weekly now. Getting back into the swing of things because of the break has been worse than I thought, so I don't get to write as much. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Unprepared Battles
III Letting It Sink In
Ichigo shot up quickly, looking around his bedroom.
After hearing it again, the disgusting coughing sound that is, and seeing that Rukia was not next to him, Ichigo stood from his spot on his bed.
"Rukia?" Ichigo whispered. Rukia was squatted on the ground, leaning against the bathtub for support.
"You can…go back to sleep if you want Ichigo." Rukia mumbled, her eyes hazy, like they were completely out of focus. Ichigo moved towards her slowly, and sunk down next to her.
"How do you feel?" Ichigo asked. The only response Rukia gave was leaning her head against Ichigo's shoulder.
"I'm sorry." She whispered weakly. Ichigo rolled his eyes sleepily, taking one of Rukia's hands.
"You say that every time." Ichigo mumbled back. Rukia chuckled against him, and sat up sharply a second following. Pulling a hand to her mouth, she leaned over to the toilet, coughing badly. Ichigo moved close to her, holding onto some of her hair as she threw up. His free hand rubbed her back lightly.
Rukia was in her third month of the pregnancy, but honestly, it felt like so much longer. It had been a basic repetition of the second month, only worse, because Rukia was sick every morning now instead of just a few, and was really struggling at work. Her stomach was already starting to show, but it hid pretty well underneath her clothes during the day. Instead of leaning back against the bathtub, she let her head rest on the toilet seat.
"Rukia…that's not sanitary." Ichigo mumbled. Rukia made no response to his comment, and he seriously wondered how wretched Rukia was feeling. That was why he stayed up with her, because he didn't like seeing her in pain, or rather, he tried to get through it with her.
So, Ichigo continued to rub her back, figuring that if Rukia wanted to rest on the toilet, then he would let her rest on the toilet, just as long as she took a good shower once her stomach settled.
Several minutes later, Ichigo could hear Rukia's deep breathing, and knew that she was out cold. Lifting her off the toilet, and making a mental note to remind her to take a shower, Ichigo slowly brought his arms around Rukia's waist and legs, and lifted her up, careful not to wake her up. She had the tendency to get easily dizzy, and carrying Rukia might set that dizziness off if she were to awake from her sleep.
Ukitake was finally informed of Rukia's pregnancy, since she missed two days one week due to fatigue. The man was very understanding of course, and told Rukia to take the time she needed off. He even looked happy, which made Ichigo feel happy. Ichigo knew that Rukia looked up to him as a captain, and Ichigo kind of liked the guy himself.
Slowly and cautiously, Ichigo set Rukia down onto the bed, bringing the blanket over her. Rukia didn't make any movement at all, and Ichigo glanced at the alarm clock next to them.
"3 o'clock in the morning, geez." Ichigo grumbled before turning away, and snuggling next to Rukia. Sleep consumed him rather quickly.
It felt like only minutes later that his alarm went off at six o'clock in the morning. Ichigo moved around to search for it, groaning in annoyance. He hit the snooze button. He always hit it the huge button about six or seven times, and lately, Rukia had not been fighting against him.
The only reason Ichigo finally got up was because the sun was coming in their room.
"Ah crap, Rukia, get up." Ichigo said, pushing on Rukia's shoulder lightly. She groaned and turned to the other side, ignoring Ichigo. He knew what would get her to wake up.
"Hey Rukia, I think there's a new Chappy doll on sale." Ichigo mumbled.
Rukia…didn't budge.
"Ok then, I guess we'll be LATE to work." Ichigo muttered. Rukia's eyes shot open.
"What time is it?" Rukia asked, her voice was rough, and kind of scary. It sounded similar to Byakuya's…
"6:30 in the morning, so either way, you're going to be late." Ichigo grumbled, rubbing his head. Rukia stood up from the bed and began changing into her clothes.
"Rukia, you fell asleep on the toilet last night… so I don't know if you should go to work without taking a shower…" Ichigo said as he sat in his bed. Realizing he should probably get up and get ready, he stood up.
"I don't have time to— wait, I fell asleep on the toilet?" Rukia asked in a surprised voice, stopping whatever motion of putting her clothes on she was doing.
"Yah, you did, but not for long. You er, got sick, and leaned your head on the toilet seat, and dozed off. When I knew you were out I brought you back to bed." Ichigo explained. He didn't want Rukia thinking he just left her there, on the toilet. That would have been disgusting after all. Rukia stopped putting her clothes on, probably debating.
"I don't have time Ichigo, I'll just have to take one when I get home, besides, it was only my head leaning on it. I missed two days the other week, and being late is almost just as bad. Ukitake-taichou needs me, since he himself gets sick often." Rukia said. Ichigo rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't forget though that he knows you are pregnant. Ukitake-san is a pretty understanding guy, especially to you, so don't push yourself. You get sick just about every night, or morning I mean, so just, be careful." Ichigo finished, staring at Rukia hard.
She smiled lightly at him. "I know, I will be." Rukia replied, and continued to get dressed. Ichigo changed into his clothes too, and Rukia helped him put on his white haori.
"Well, we better be off then. Are you sure you're alright?" Ichigo asked. Rukia leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"I'll be fine Ichigo, now stop worrying so much." Rukia mumbled back. They both headed out the door together. Rukia brought her hand to her nose once they were outside.
"What is it?" Ichigo asked. Rukia shook her head.
"Something…reeks." She replied. Ichigo sniffed but didn't smell a thing. Then again, a pregnant woman's sense of smell can sometimes get stronger than usual for some odd reason. Ichigo remembered that from his health class too. Why did he remember things from his health class that happened over just about seven years ago? It made no sense.
They stopped when they reached a fork in the road. "Don't forget that there's a captain's and vice captain's meeting today, in about an hour actually. I think Yamamoto-taichou is going to talk about the recent hollow attacks." Rukia said, staring at the road ahead. Ichigo nodded.
"I won't forget. I guess I'll see you then." Ichigo replied.
"Ichigo?" Rukia asked. Ichigo turned to look at her.
"Yah?" He replied. Rukia had a warm smile on her face.
"Thanks for carrying me back to bed and not letting me sleep too long on the toilet." Rukia said. Ichigo smiled back.
"No problem." He replied. They stared at each other for one last time before dashing off. Ichigo really hoped she would be ok. Each day brought on more exhaustion, and Rukia was beginning to…crave things, lots of things, different things. One time she wanted chocolate, simple chocolate, and another night, she wanted ice cream, with gummy bears on top. Ichigo really thought it was strange, but took Unohana's advice.
"Ichigo, if Rukia has a craving, I suggest you rather help her get it if she cannot, or get it for her, otherwise you'll be dealing with one angry pregnant woman."
Ichigo had never seen Unohana's face looking so serious, and did as he was told. An angry Rukia was one thing, but a pregnant angry Rukia? No, he couldn't imagine it. With her hormones starting to go off balance, he really hoped that she wouldn't get angry about something. Getting a little aggravated was ok, but not angry, or worse, furious.
Rukia saw Unohana every few weeks to check on the baby, and Unohana told them that Rukia was healthy, and the baby was growing at a good rate, despite Rukia throwing up every night. She even gave Rukia some sort of pills that helped hide the bouncing reiatsu caused from the development of the baby, mainly because of the possibility of a hollow coming. It didn't happen too often, but hollows did come to Soul Society, looking for lots of reiatsu to feed off of. Unohana only laughed light-heartedly when Rukia explained the constant sickness to the woman with Unohana standing right there. It was normal for her to throw up, and be tired, but Ichigo couldn't see how it was possible.
Ichigo finally reached his division, and stopped his thoughts. Sometimes Ichigo wondered if he was the one carrying the baby, simply because he thought about it so much. He made a mental note to never say those words to Rukia, for she was probably going through pains much more than he was, especially since she got sick so much.
"Good morning Kurosaki-taichou." Izuru said from his seat. Ichigo groaned when he saw a mass of paperwork on his desk.
"Good morning, sorry I'm late." Ichigo replied. Izuru shook his head, stacking a bunch of papers.
"Don't worry about it, we all have our days. There isn't a lot of paperwork today for once." Izuru mumbled. Ichigo scratched his head, deciding he might as well sit at his desk.
"How's everyone else doing? I haven't checked on them yet." Ichigo asked. He sounded like a parent checking on all his kids. Ichigo supposed he was like a father to his division in a way, since he watched over what they did.
"Everyone is doing what they should." Izuru replied. For the new fifty five minutes, Ichigo signed paperwork, and put the files in their proper spots. When the time came, Ichigo stood, along with Izuru.
"It's time for the meeting." Ichigo said. Izuru nodded. Ichigo really hated going to the meetings, because Yamamoto really talked too much for a guy that was so old. Then again, at least he would get to see Rukia, even if he would only get to see her in the distance.
"Oh great, Byakuya will be there too." Ichigo whispered.
"What was that Kurosaki-taichou?" Izuru asked, turning his head around as they began walking out of the division.
"Ah, nothing." Ichigo replied. Walking to the meeting was silent, but Ichigo didn't mind it all too much. He always had something on his mind, so the silence gave him time to think, even if it was repetitive thinking.
Ichigo and Izuru were the last ones to walk into the room, earning stares from other captains and vice captains. Why were people looking at them like they were late?
"Thank you all for attending this brief meeting." Yamamoto began. Brief meeting Ichigo's butt. When he spotted Rukia, he looked at her for a moment, trying to catch her attention. She didn't look over at him once, or anything else really. Rukia looked completely zoned out.
"She's needs to go sleep." Ichigo thought to himself. She looked a little paler than usual, and there were giant circles under her eyes.
"It has come to my understanding that the hollows attacks in the human world have died down over the past few weeks. We are still unclear of why so many hollows appeared in the human world, but for the time being, the alert is off. Now, I have a few more things to say."
Ichigo was really tempted to sigh when Yamamoto began to give them some sort of leadership lecture, and more than likely, a lecture that had been said numerous times before. Ten minutes passed, and Yamamoto wasn't close to being finished.
"Please remember, as captains and vice captains, that you are what the younger Shinigami in your division will look up to. Now —"
"Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" Hinamori Momo cried suddenly, cutting off Yamamoto's words. Ichigo, hearing Rukia's name, snapped his head in the direction.
Rukia was on the ground, and she looked to be unconscious.
Ichigo dashed quickly next to her, along with a few other people. "Rukia?" Ichigo asked, putting a hand on her face.
"What happened?" Renji asked, appearing behind Hinamori and Ukitake.
"Rukia just fainted." Hinamori replied. The meeting had completely stopped, since almost half of everyone there was by where Rukia fainted.
"Kurosaki, take her to the fourth." Byakuya said coldly, stepping behind Ichigo, who was holding onto Rukia. She still wasn't budging. Byakuya looked angry, and Ichigo hoped he wouldn't get screamed at in the future from Rukia's big bad brother. Unohana stepped into the scene.
"Come on, I'll take a look at her." Unohana murmured. Ichigo tried to read Unohana's expression, but found it impossible. Deciding to hurry and go, Ichigo turned his attention back to his wife.
He lifted Rukia into his arms, and people stepped back. "Kurosaki, make sure you come see me as soon as your wife gets taken care of." Yamamoto demanded from behind.
Ichigo nodded at the man. "Yes sir." He called back. Ichigo didn't take a second glance as he made his way out of the room. Was he a bad husband for letting her go to work, when he clearly knew that she was exhausted?
"Did she sleep much last night?" Unohana asked as they made turns through some large hallways. Ichigo kept his eyes on Rukia as he spoke.
"No, she didn't. She was up early this morning throwing up." Ichigo replied. He couldn't see Unohana's response because he was behind her. The rest of the walk was silent.
The fourth division seemed relaxed, with just a few patients being tended to. Several of the fourth division subordinates stood up tall when Unohana walked in.
"Follow me Kurosaki-san." Unohana demanded. Ichigo did as he was told, glad that they were going away from everyone. He hoped that it really was something small like fatigue, but he had a fearful feeling that it was something more. Ichigo set Rukia onto a bed in one of the small rooms. Unohana checked her pulse, and her breathing. Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest tightly, watching Unohana's every move.
"Yes, just as I suspected, exhaustion." Unohana said. Ichigo sighed in relief.
"So she'll be ok then?" Ichigo asked. Unohana nodded with a smile.
"Rukia-san is pregnant, simple as that. Her body is going through so much change that even standing in a mere meeting can take up all the little energy she has." Unohana paused.
"Kurosaki-san, I advice you to start telling people of Rukia-san's pregnancy soon." Unohana added. Ichigo glanced at the woman.
"Why now?" Ichigo asked.
"Because, you know good and well that Rukia has been tired for a while now, and after seeing what happened today in front of the Gotei 13 captains and vice captains, they are going to want to know what is wrong. Now is a good time, because it is going to soon become obvious to people that Rukia-san is pregnant."
Ichigo, not knowing of what to say, let her continue speaking.
"Pregnancies in Soul Society are different from the human world as I've told you. Fainting is a more common thing, because pregnancies are much more tiring than they are in the human world, for reasons I have already explained to you. It's not as if you two are trying to hide the fact that Rukia is pregnant, your just waiting until you are more comfortable right?" Unohana asked. Ichigo nodded slowly.
"It's not my decision of course, and I am not allowed to discuss any private matters my patients have with anyone else, so don't think I would say anything." Unohana said, a kind grin on her face. Ichigo nodded.
"I'll have to talk to Rukia about it." Ichigo replied. Unohana nodded.
"Well I better get back to the meeting. I'm surprised Yamamoto-taichou let you leave so easily. Rukia-san should be fine once she wakes up, so just take her back home and let her sleep. If she is tired like this tomorrow morning, let her sleep tomorrow too." Unohana said.
Come to think of it, Yamamoto was pretty kind about the ordeal. Someone else from the fourth division could have come and retrieved Rukia, but Yamamoto let both him and Unohana leave. Ichigo smirked, and made a note to himself to thank Yamamoto, even if Ichigo didn't like speaking to the man all that much.
"Thanks Unohana-san." Ichigo stated. Unohana smiled and shut the door behind them.
Only seconds following did Ichigo hear some groaning next to him, and looked down to see Rukia's eyes open slowly.
Her head hurt pretty badly, and she suddenly wondered why she was acting so surprised about it. Rukia's head always had a throbbing pain.
Looking around the room, and wondering how she had gotten there, Rukia turned her eyes to the blob on her right.
Ichigo.
On instinct, Rukia smiled at him. There was something about the light in the room that made Ichigo look bright, or maybe it was her eyes hurting from being closed for a while —wait, what exactly happened anyways?
"Ichigo?" Rukia finally breathed out. She wrapped her fingers around Ichigo's when his hand entwined with hers.
"You ok?" Ichigo asked, his voice full of softness and concern. Rukia rolled her eyes.
"That's the problem, I don't remember what happened." Rukia grumbled back. She could probably try and think of what happened if she wanted, but she was still too tired.
"You fainted during the meeting, and I carried you to Unohana's division." Ichigo replied. Rukia closed her eyes for a second, sighing in utter annoyance.
"Well that's just great." Rukia muttered as she tried to sit up. Ichigo helped her, and made sure she did it slowly.
"Unohana-san said you should be fine, but you have to go home and sleep for the rest of the day." Ichigo replied. Rukia shook her head. She couldn't miss more work.
"I'll be fine Ichigo. I have a lot to do today since there was a meeting." Rukia said, brining her legs slowly to the side. Ichigo placed his hands on her shoulders forcefully.
"No Rukia. I don't care if you have a ton of work to do, Ukitake-san knows, so stop worrying so much. You need to sleep Rukia, otherwise you'll faint again like you did just a few minutes ago." Ichigo replied sharply. Rukia had expected him to give her that sort of answer, because Ichigo was a headstrong kind of guy.
Rukia sighed. "Ichigo —"
"Besides," Ichigo cut in. "If Byakuya found out that you didn't go home and sleep, then he would have my head, and possibly yours too. All the captains saw you faint Rukia." Ichigo mumbled.
"Nii-sama knows that work needs to get done, so he will understand."
"He also knows you are pregnant, and currently exhausted from it." Ichigo shot back. Rukia went to say something back, but had to refrain her words when she felt a sudden wave of nausea. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, trying to breathe clearly. It took her a moment to hear Ichigo's voice.
"Rukia? What's wrong?" He asked. Rukia heard the anxiety clearly.
"P-Perhaps I should go home and sleep." Rukia whispered out. To her luck, Ichigo wordlessly lifted Rukia into his arms. She knew she wouldn't be able to walk, but was simply too stubborn to just ask him to carry her. Then again, some things didn't need to be said for communication to take place. They knew each other well enough.
At some point as they traveled home, Rukia fell asleep again. She had some strange dreams, most of them consisting of Rukia fighting a hollow, but going into labor at the exact same time. So really, they were more like extremely weird nightmares.
When Rukia finally woke up, she was quite surprised to see the skies were dark outside. Ichigo was no where in sight, and so, carefully, Rukia stood from her spot on the futon. How long had she slept exactly? Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Rukia made it down the stairs slowly, trying not to cause some wave of dizziness to consume her. She was getting those often, and she really hated them.
After safely making it down the stairs, Rukia found Ichigo sitting on the couch asleep. She smiled when she saw his mouth hanging wide open, with his arms sprawled out on both sides of him.
"I'm not the only one who's tired." Rukia reminded herself. Ichigo was going through a lot of stress too she had to remember. Her stomach suddenly rumbled, and she touched it lightly. She ran her hand down her stomach, feeling unnatural to the curve it showed. Honestly, Rukia already felt like a cow. Maybe it just came with the constant cramps and bloated feeling, but Rukia's stomach already growing did not help. Even though Rukia really wanted to wake up Ichigo and talk to him, letting him sleep was probably for the best. Rukia bent down carefully and kissed Ichigo's cheek (she would have kissed his lips but his mouth was hanging open).
Going into the kitchen followed, and Rukia had the toughest time deciding what she should eat. A tuna sandwich sounded amazing, but so did spaghetti. Rukia decided that making a tuna sandwich would be much quicker than cooking a pot of spaghetti, since she wanted to get some sleep to go back to work tomorrow. She was glad she had stayed home and rested, even thought she was still shocked to see it was already dark out.
"What time is it anyways?" Rukia mumbled to herself. She gasped when she read the clock.
"It's nine? But…how?" Rukia blurted out loud.
"Idiot, you really slept a long time." Ichigo replied from behind groggily. Rukia nearly jumped at seeing Ichigo leaning against the wall.
"Then why didn't you wake me up?" Rukia snapped back, glaring at Ichigo. He leaned off the wall and moved closer to the fridge.
"Maybe because I knew you were tired, and didn't want to have to deal with your crankiness." Ichigo replied. If Rukia were closer she would have smacked his arm.
"Then don't complain about me sleeping a long time. You were the one that made me come home." Rukia said, slapping her tuna onto some bread. Ichigo closed the fridge door and took another step closer to Rukia.
"I did not make you come home. Do I need to repeat the words you said to me, or maybe you don't remember since you were so out of it that you knew you needed to come home and sleep." Ichigo muttered. Rukia slammed the pieces of bread together.
"You aren't the one carrying a child, so I suggest you watch yourself." Rukia warned as she held her sandwich of dangerously. Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"No, but I am the one who has to deal with a short, pregnant, midget wife!" Ichigo exclaimed. Rukia glared daggers at him. She was going to snap soon if he didn't stop.
"I'm going back to bed after I finish this sandwich. I would advise the same for you." Rukia replied. She turned away from him and began walking out of the kitchen. For some reason or the other, Ichigo's last statement washed over her with gloom.
Ichigo still couldn't figure out what he wanted to eat, but stopped when he heard a small muffling sound coming from Rukia. He ignored it at first, figuring if Rukia had a problem, she would come tell him. After the third time of hearing it, and realizing it sounded something more along the lines of a sob, Ichigo became a little concerned.
It sounded almost as if Rukia were…crying.
He had only seen Kuchiki Rukia cry twice in his entire life. One: the time she had to leave for Soul Society to be executed. Two: the death anniversary of Shiba Kaien.
Ichigo almost went into shock when he found Rukia on the couch, head dropped onto the arm of the chair, sobbing. Nervously, because he hated seeing Rukia upset about anything, he moved towards her gently. He knew he was a sucker for the short girl, but he couldn't help it. Rukia was always the one person he protected no matter what.
"Rukia?" He asked softly, placing a hand on her back. Rukia shook her head.
"Just go away Ichigo." She replied. Her voice cracked several times in her brief reply, and Ichigo knew it was a confirmation of what he suspected. Without hesitation, Ichigo snaked his hand underneath Rukia's chin, and pulled her head up slowly. She didn't fight much with him to his luck. There were a few tears in puffy eyes. Ichigo couldn't stand it.
"Why are you crying?" Ichigo asked. Rukia shook her head again.
"Don't worry about it, it's really stupid." She shot back in a soft voice.
"Just tell me." Ichigo pleaded. He knew he probably sounded like the biggest sissy on the planet, but it really jabbed him to see Rukia in such a state. Rukia looked up at him finally.
"I just," Rukia began. Ichigo waited patiently for her.
"Why do you always call me a midget Ichigo?" Rukia suddenly asked.
Ichigo stared blankly at Rukia. Did she really just ask him what he thought she asked?
No…it was impossible…
Getting into an argument about why Ichigo called Rukia a midget was like questioning why hollows like eating humans so much. The answer: it wasn't questioned.
"Rukia, you know I'm only joking." Ichigo replied. Rukia wiped a tear away.
"I know Ichigo, you're right but, you just always call me a midget, and I wish you wouldn't do it so much." Rukia mumbled back.
But Ichigo liked calling Rukia a midget, it was in his blood.
Ichigo wanted to question why Rukia was getting so upset over something so…not upsetting, but remembered that Rukia was pregnant, and with being pregnant, came unbalanced hormones, and with unbalanced hormones, came extreme sensitivity, which fit along with the food cravings, and everything else.
He wasn't sure of how to make her feel better, so he just acted super sweet to her. Ichigo wiped a tear off her cheek, said a little comment about Rukia being beautiful (which he rarely did) and finally kissed her.
When he pulled away from the kiss, Rukia was smiling at him. "I'm sorry Ichigo." She whispered to him. He grinned at her, tightening his arm around her waist.
"Don't be stupid." He replied. Rukia rolled her eyes at him and brought her lips to his again.
It was finally dawning on Ichigo that pregnancies really did suck, and they weren't even halfway through it all yet. Ichigo didn't even know how to bring up to Rukia about going ahead and telling others about her pregnancy.
"Ichigo?" Rukia asked, pulling her head away again.
"Yah?" Ichigo asked.
"Did we already run out of chocolate?" Rukia asked. Ichigo sighed.
"I think so, why?"
"Well…chocolate sounds really good right now."
For the love of food cravings...
A/N: I know it probably seems like the chapters are all over the place with the events, but remember that each little chapter is talking about a month (so this was the third month since it was chapter three). I hope it doesn't seem random, as I'm trying to put the plot in here, but make it seem like a daily basis type of thing (minus Rukia fainting obviously). I hope you guys are liking this story. If you don't, it's ok, because I love writing it. I tried adding a little more humor to this chapter, so hopefully it was kind of funny!
REVIEW! LOVE YOU!