Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Thanks so much for all the reviews for last chapter, and I'm glad you guys didn't think it sucked like I did (seriously, I don't know why, but I just did NOT like it). Oh well, I liked this one much more, so hopefully you will too. Some humor, but overall a more dramatic chapter.

Unprepared Battles

V Halfway Point

Rukia squeezed Ichigo's hand tightly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked in almost a whisper.

Ichigo didn't say anything for a while, and Rukia got the feeling he was going to chicken out. To her unluckiness, Ichigo spoke.

"Yah, I think I am." He replied with as much determination as possible. Rukia was five months pregnant, the halfway point, where turning back was no option, though it never was an option to turn away in the first place. It had been a pretty scary ride, but Rukia felt she and Ichigo were surviving for the most part. Her morning sickness had died down some, which helped with getting sleep at night for both.

But at that moment, a new challenge was in front of them.

The Kurosaki Residence.

No, not Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Isshin, who was going to be a grandfather as he always dreamed.

They felt a little guilty waiting five months after Rukia was pregnant to tell Ichigo's father and sisters, but it was hard to go to the human world. Ichigo was often busy being a captain, and Rukia slept a lot. Urahara had to give Rukia a tablet that helped hide her reiatsu so hollows wouldn't come and attack on her visit.

Either way, Isshin would be overly ecstatic, and Rukia and Ichigo were ready for the outcome.

They both took a deep breath, and stepped towards the door.

Yuzu was the one to reach the doorway. "Ichigo! Rukia-san!" Yuzu cried, hugging Ichigo. She stopped and pulled away of course when Rukia's hug came, Yuzu's eyes staring widely at Rukia's obvious stomach.

"Rukia-san…you're…" Yuzu mumbled. Rukia simply smiled, hiding her nervousness. Just because she had told the news to a lot of people about her pregnancy didn't mean she was use to it. She hated getting reactions from people; simply because they stared at her like she was some cute little alien.

"Yah Yuzu, that's what we came to tell you guys." Ichigo finished. Rukia was grateful too. Ichigo knew how to deal with his family much better than she did.

"DAD! COME HERE AND FAST! YOU TOO KARIN!" Yuzu cried. Rukia looked up at Ichigo to see his face flustered with irritation. Rukia, who still had a grasp on his hand, squeezed it once again.

'WHAT? IT BETTER BE IMPORTANT! MISS UNIVERSE IS ON!" Isshin called back.

'ICHIGO AND RUKIA ARE HERE!" Yuzu shouted back. Rukia did not hear a reply from Isshin, because he quickly appeared in front of them.

"Ichigo! My idiot son!" Isshin cried, giving Ichigo a bear crushing hug and kicking in the shin, just for old time sakes. Ichigo for once didn't complain too much, because Rukia knew he probably missed it. That didn't mean that Ichigo didn't kick his dad back, twice as hard.

"Ichigo, Rukia, how are you?" Karin mumbled as she walked down the stairs.

Isshin hugged Rukia just like Yuzu did, except he didn't for some reason notice Rukia's stomach. Then again, Isshin was kind of dumb like that.

"So, what brings you two down here?" Isshin asked.

"Isn't it obvious dad?" Karin suddenly asked. Rukia glanced at the girl, who was in fact a full grown woman, staring at Rukia's stomach with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Isshin asked, grinning like an idiot as always.

"Just look at her stomach dad! Rukia's pregnant!" Yuzu replied for Karin.

Isshin grinned and placed his hands on his hips. "Oh right, Rukia's pregnant, of course—WAIT WHAT?"

Ichigo was pretty relieved by his father's response. After standing in shock for about five minutes, Isshin began crying (the ridiculous river of tears kind of crying), kneeled down in front of Rukia's stomach while he was still crying, and began praising to Ichigo's dead mother that Ichigo hadn't screwed up for once in his life.

Yes, that was a good and normal reaction for Kurosaki Isshin.

After Isshin finally stopped with his awkward poems about romance, sex, and babies, Ichigo, Rukia, and his sisters went into the living room.

"I can't believe it Rukia-san! You're going to be a mother." Yuzu cried.

"Oh dear heavens…Ichigo is going to be a father." Isshin suddenly muttered with fear on his face. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"If I'm anything like you, I honestly don't how we'll survive." Ichigo shot back, glaring at his crazy father.

"Do you know if it's going to be a boy or a girl?" Karin asked as she plopped down onto the couch.

"No, we still can't tell yet. I can tell the baby already has Ichigo's stubborn personality, since the baby won't let our doctor see it's gender." Rukia mumbled.

"Are you sure that I'm the real stubborn one?" Ichigo asked, turning his glare from his father to Rukia. In all truth, they were both very stubborn people, which meant their child would probably be a very stubborn person. How wonderful.

After Rukia stomped on his foot, she finally sat down next to Yuzu, and the chatting began.

"How far along are you anyways?" Yuzu asked.

"Five months." Rukia replied. Isshin popped up from out of no where.

"You mean you've been carrying MY grandchild for that long and you didn't even tell me? I mean, US?" Isshin cried. Ichigo shook his head, shoving his father away.

"Listen old man, we wanted to tell you a lot sooner, but it's a hard life in Soul Society, especially with Rukia pregnant. We have missions and work to do, and Rukia is always tired from the baby. This was the soonest we could come." Ichigo replied. Rukia nodded along with him.

Rukia turned to look at Yuzu. "We feel really bad, but I want to make it up to you by helping me plan my baby shower." Rukia suggested. Yuzu clasped her hands together in an all girly-like way and grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh Rukia! I would love to help!" Yuzu cried. Rukia glanced at Karin.

"You can help too if you want, I just know that Yuzu does this sort of thing for a living." Rukia said. Karin shrugged her shoulders.

"Nah, I'll leave it up to Yuzu. I only make a mess of things, but I'll definitely go to the shower." Karin said with a smile. Rukia smiled.

"Of course, you're all invited. We still need to tell Ishida and Inoue and Chad. They're like family to us after all." Rukia replied.

Unfortunately, well only for Isshin, Ichigo and Rukia had to leave. They didn't have a whole lot of time in the human world, and they still needed to tell the others. Yuzu and Isshin gave Ichigo and Rukia more crushing hugs, while Karin simply waved them goodbye. After all those years, Karin was still a tomboy at heart. Rukia was kind of glad though, because the hugs got her nerves.

"Take care of my grandchild! And Ichigo, don't forget! Just because Rukia is already pregnant doesn't mean you two have to stop having se—"

"BYE POPS!" Ichigo cried, pulling Rukia along.

He didn't turn around as they rounded the corner. When Rukia chuckled next to him, he looked down at his short wife, wondering what could be so funny.

"What?" Ichigo asked. Rukia kept her eyes forward, wrapping an arm around Ichigo's tightly.

"I'm glad we came today. It's strange, but I miss the human world sometimes, a lot actually." She had been thrilled about getting a gigai for the human world, though it was a pain in the butt since she was pregnant. Rukia got to pick out some pregnancy clothes though, and that seemed to cheer her up.

"Well I don't miss it that much. After all, I don't have to deal with my nutcase family. Actually Yuzu and Karin aren't too obnoxious anymore, so just my dad. You think after all his kids grew up that he would attempt to grow up too." Ichigo muttered. Rukia smiled.

"I think he'll always be a kid at heart, just like you." Rukia replied. Ichigo sighed.

"I'd rather act like a kid than look like one shrimp." Ichigo shot back with a grin. He kept his smile on even as Rukia's arm nudged into his side rather painfully.

"I do not like a kid Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia replied warningly. Ichigo decided not to say anything, because his statement would only cause more trouble.

"So who should we go and see first?" Ichigo asked as they stopped to wait for cars to pass.

"Let's see Inoue first. I think she would be most thrilled since she's a girl, and I miss her the most."

"Don't tell Chad that, he'll be offended." Ichigo replied sarcastically. Rukia nudged his side again (but not as hard as before), and the two made their way to Inoue's small and tiny apartment.

When Ichigo and Rukia finally reached Soul Society, they were both pooped, especially Rukia. She forgot how tiring being in a gigai could be, especially with the pregnancy and all. Ichigo had to carry her home when she nearly fainted upon walking into the huge gates, and Rukia didn't fight against him.

It was nice to see the human world, and see old friends. Ichigo's family was overall just the same, except Yuzu and Karin were both twenty, and at college, and dating guys (which had been a touchy subject for Ichigo). Seeing Inoue had been nice, and Rukia had been quite surprised to find she had gone on a date with Ishida of all people. Rukia never saw anything attractive in Ishida, and wondered why someone as gorgeous as Inoue would go for a guy like him. Then again, Inoue did, or better yet, had feelings for Ichigo a while back, which was not something Rukia liked to think about no matter how good of friends she was with Inoue.

Ishida offered to sow Rukia's baby some clothes when the time came, and said he would definitely be at the baby shower. Chad didn't say very much, but that was of course normal. He agreed to come to the shower too. It was overall a good trip, even if it was a tad bit short.

When Ichigo and Rukia reached their home, Ichigo carried Rukia up to their bedroom, and plopped her down onto the bed.

"Ow Ichigo, you could've been a little more gentle." Rukia whined, rubbing her head. Ichigo sat down next to her, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Sorry." He mumbled. Rukia stared at him curiously for a moment, wondering what was on his mind. She sat up next to him slowly, and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"You're gonna have a baby in a few months, and I still can't really believe it." Ichigo said softly. Rukia smiled, leaning her head against his side.

"I can't either, even though there's proof in front of my eyes that I am. I can barely see my feet anymore when I look down at my stomach." Rukia said with humor. Ichigo smirked.

"You almost fainted several times today. Are you sure it's normal?" Ichigo asked, leaning his head off the wall and looking down at Rukia. She nodded.

"I've been going to see Unohana every two weeks, and she says everything is going well. We walked around a lot today, and for some reason walking makes me exhausted."

Ichigo frowned. "You could have asked me to carry you." He mumbled. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"I'm not that weak." She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. Rukia jumped a little when she heard a rumble of thunder, and then she sighed when she realized it was going to rain. Hopefully it wouldn't last too long. Rukia flinched again when Ichigo's arm snaked around Rukia's waist, but relaxed further up against him. Ichigo had a way of being sweet in the smallest of ways, or better yet, had a way of pleasing Rukia in the smallest of ways.

Ichigo was like that though. He didn't need to say romantic things to her, or shower her with gifts and smile at her every second of the day. All he had to do was be there for her, and that was all Rukia really needed. That was how Ichigo showed her he loved her, by doing the small things, and being by her side. To her, love was simply that.

"Rukia, you aren't going to work tomorrow right?" Ichigo suddenly asked. Rukia lifted her head.

"Why would I not?" She replied.

"Because tomorrow is Tuesday, and you usually stay home."

"Yes, but I missed today because we went to the human world, so I'll have to go in tomorrow."

Ichigo frowned. "But you weren't sleeping like you usually do on days you don't work. You were up and about, so I think you should stay home."

"Ichigo, if I do that, then paperwork will only pile up. I went to the human world by free will, not because I was exhausted like all the other days. I can't let my division down."

"If you go tomorrow, you'll faint." Ichigo shot back.

The argument only continued for who knows how long, and in the end, Rukia won. She already hated staying home during the week, even if she did need to rest badly, so missing a day of work that was already shortened didn't sit well with her. Of course Ichigo was angry at her, but she knew it was his overprotective side kicking in. Rukia loved and hated how he wanted to protect her so badly. On one hand she knew he did it out of love, because he loved her, but on the other hand, it drove her insane.

It was still raining cats and dogs the next morning when Rukia and Ichigo got ready to leave for work. Ichigo asked her again to stay at home, but Rukia ignored him. Arguing would be pointless after all.

When Rukia reached her division, there was a note from Ukitake.

Dear Rukia-san,

I left with Sentarou and Kiyone to see Yamamoto for something, and I won't be back until much later today. The only ones at the division are all the new Shinigami in training, so just let them practice. There's paperwork on your desk.

Sincerely,

Ukitake

PS: If you feel tired at all, or if you feel you're going to faint, don't hesitate to go home and rest. Your safety comes first.

Rukia sighed at the note, glad her captain cared about her, but irritated that she would have to listen to the whiny voices of the newbies in her division. She felt like a hypocrite saying the words since she used to be a newbie herself, but then again, everyone used to be a newbie, and everyone complained about them, so she didn't see much of a problem in the end.

The paperwork was pretty easy, but still took a great amount of time to do since there were about five huge stacks. Sometimes Rukia didn't even understand what she was signing stuff for. Most of the paperwork came from Central 49. She knew a lot of regulations on certain activities needed to be passed, and any changes happening needed to be looked over, but still, that was probably about half of what she signed.

Rukia began forming a headache from all the thinking, and stood from her seat to walk to the cabinet where she put her medicine from Unohana. There was medicine for her headaches, her nausea, her dizziness, and even something to help with her crazy food cravings.

And suddenly, like a gust of wind, Rukia's eyes widened, and she dropped the medicine in her hands. A howling sound had just come from a little ways away.

A howling sound identical to a hollow.

"Why would a hollow come?" Rukia whispered, looking around frantically. Hollows didn't come to Soul Society very often, because it was basically suicide for them. Turning her eyes back to the cabinet of medicine in front of her, Rukia quickly realized why.

"I didn't take the tablet this morning that hides my reiatsu." Rukia muttered, cursing under her breath. She cringed when another howl came from the hollow, and then a few screams.

Rukia dashed out of the office, following the reiatsu of the hollow. After hearing the screams, Rukia knew the hollow was near the newbies outside. They wouldn't be able to handle the hollow, so she would have to take it on herself. She reached the hollow just in time as its large claw was about to slice one of the Shinigami. Rukia swung her sword out quickly, slicing into the hideous claw. The hollow screeched loudly.

"Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" A young girl cried.

"Get inside the dojo and quick!" Rukia shouted. The Shinigami did as Rukia said, and made their way inside the division. Rukia began attacking the hollow as quickly as she could, wanting to get rid of it quickly. Unfortunately for her, the hollow was very powerful. Every time Rukia swung a hit, the hollow dodged, sneaking away from her.

Rukia gasped when two more hollows appeared, looking just as fierce as the one in front of her. The rain was still pouring outside, and Rukia took her stance. Rukia gripped her zanpaktou as the three hollows began dancing around her, preparing for an attack.

When one lunged towards her, Rukia barely dodged it, but didn't see the attack from the second hollow. Its claw ripped across Rukia's chest, tearing the clothes she wore. Blood began to trickle down, and Rukia fell to her knees in pain. The world began to spin around her, and Rukia knew she was going to pass out. A hollow dashing towards her snapped her back to reality, and she jumped to the side, barely missing the hollow's charge.

Rukia tried sitting up quickly, but because of her deep wound, couldn't move as fast as she wanted to. She watched as one of the hollows ran towards her again, its eyes targeting its pray with satisfaction and bloodlust. Rukia didn't want to die; she had a baby to raise, hell, a baby to give birth to! If she died, then the baby would die as well.

A blur of orange jumping in front of her caught Rukia's attention and fast. The hollow that had been charging towards her screamed louder than ever, and vanished. Rukia smiled.

"Ich-i-go." Rukia stuttered out.

"Don't talk!" Ichigo shouted furiously.

When one of the other hollows charged towards Rukia, Ichigo attacked it ruthlessly, slicing one of the arms off without mercy. The hollow retreated further back, but Ichigo chased after it, and destroyed it with his second swing. Instead of attacking Rukia like the previous two, the third hollow charged towards Ichigo, which was a dumb move. Holding his blade out tightly, Ichigo ran his zanpaktou through the hollows head forcefully, screaming at the same time. The hollow howled in pain, and disappeared.

Without even taking a break, Ichigo rushed back over to Rukia. Her bare chest was revealed from where one of the hollows had slashed her, and blood was rushing out. Ichigo ripped off a piece of his clothing and pressed it to Rukia's chest. He finally looked into Rukia's face.

Her eyes were extremely hazy, a look Ichigo never liked. "You're the stupidest person in the world Rukia! Why did you do it?" He cried.

"Ichi —"

"Don't talk dammit!" Ichigo shouted as he carefully lifted Rukia up into his arms. He looked down at her when she brought a hand to his face. Ichigo closed his eyes for a second and leaned his head into her hand's touch. Remembering that Rukia was deeply wounded, Ichigo quickly made his way to the fourth division, hoping that Rukia would be alright.

Three hollows had attacked Rukia, but why? Didn't she take tablets so her reiatsu wouldn't get out of line? Ichigo fought against the third thought that came into his mind. Would the unborn child be ok? Even though Rukia had been wounded in the chest, it didn't mean it wouldn't affect the baby, right? Ichigo really didn't have any idea, and hoped that their child, and Rukia, would walk out just fine after a trip to the fourth.

Unohana quickly came forward when Ichigo walked in soaking wet along with Rukia. "Why didn't Rukia-san take her tablet?" Unohana demanded as they quickly moved to a bed. Ichigo set her down gently. Rukia had passed out on the way to the fourth division.

"What do you mean by she didn't take it? Rukia always takes her tablet." Ichigo nearly shouted back. He knew he shouldn't be getting angry at Unohana of all people, but Ichigo was furious at the moment. Why had Rukia been so stupid to think she could take on the hollows?

Unohana removed the cloth that Ichigo had placed on Rukia's chest, and quickly placed her hands over Rukia's body.

"Her wound is pretty deep Kurosaki-san, but you came in time." Unohana said with a much calmer voice.

"What happened exactly?" Unohana asked.

"A hollow, better yet, three hollows were attacking her." Ichigo replied. Unohana nodded her head and didn't ask another question. The woman never answered Ichigo's last question, but Ichigo didn't argue with her as his mind became consumed with Rukia.

He was just walking, better yet hurrying since it was raining, to check on her and make sure she was alright, and what Ichigo walked on was Rukia on the ground, blood coming from around her, and a hollow getting ready to attack her.

Where was Ukitake or any of the other people in her division? Ichigo took in a deep breath at his seat, keeping his eyes on Rukia's scrunched up face. He hoped she wasn't in too much pain. Unohana healed Rukia for a few minutes longer, and finally pulled away.

"She probably won't wake up for another few hours, but make sure she takes a tablet when she wakes up. Rukia-san must have forgotten or something. Either way, it was highly unusual for a hollow to attack her. The baby must have shot out a large amount of reiatsu for something like this to happen." Unohana told Ichigo.

"And what about the baby?" Ichigo asked in a softer tone. Unohana paused before speaking to Ichigo.

"The baby seems fine, but tell Rukia-san to come and see me on Thursday just to make sure. Rukia was slashed in the chest, but no vital organs were injured, so the baby should be alright." Unohana replied. Ichigo nodded and lifted Rukia into his arms.

"Thanks Unohana-san." Ichigo replied.

"Make sure Rukia stays home tomorrow." Unohana demanded. Ichigo stopped and turned around.

"Oh don't worry, she will." He replied, and left the fourth division.

When Rukia woke up, the first image to come to her mind were the hollows attacking her. Instinctively, she reached down and looked at her chest, and felt confusion to see a bandage there.

"You're finally awake?" Ichigo asked from the other side of the room. Rukia looked at him, for some reason surprised to see him there. Realizing they were in their bedroom, Rukia finally began asking questions.

"What happened?" Rukia asked. She felt extremely dizzy, like she'd been smacked in the head really hard. She remembered the hollows attacking her, and the wound she got, but that was all really.

"You were attacked by hollows, and if I hadn't come in time, you probably would have been —" Ichigo paused, looking down at the ground.

"The baby's ok right?" Rukia asked quickly.

"Yah, the baby is fine." Ichigo replied.

Silence formed in the room for a moment, and Rukia clasped her hands together.

"Rukia, why didn't you take the tablet?" Ichigo asked softly. Rukia looked down at the ground.

"I-I forgot." She replied shamefully. It was honestly the only reason she hadn't taken the stupid thing. Because of her anger at Ichigo that morning, and the annoyance of the rain, Rukia left the house in a hurry, forgetting to take it.

Ichigo looked shocked. "You're telling me that you simply forgot to take it? You just risked your life earlier today and you forgot?" He asked in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry." Rukia replied with a straight face.

"And why did you try to fight the hollows off when you know good and well that you can't right now." Ichigo shot back.

"Because there was no one at the division expect all the Shinigami. They don't have enough experience to fight hollows, so I had to do it to protect them."

"It would have been better if they had tried fighting Rukia! If they had killed you, they would have attacked the others in your division as well, which is what would have happened if I hadn't come!"

"Well sorry Ichigo! Sometimes we can't always be the hero! I did what I had to do as a vice captain to the division, and fought to protect!" Rukia cried back.

"By the way, you aren't going to your division tomorrow, or for the rest of the week!" Ichigo shouted as he stood on his feet. Rukia feeling the anger swelling up, stood on her feet as well, but way too quickly.

She was about an inch from hitting the floor when she felt two arms grab her. Ichigo pulled her up slowly, keeping his arms tightly around her waist to balance her. Rukia leaned her head against his chest.

She breathed in his scent, and wrapped her arms tightly around Ichigo's waist. Rukia did not want to cry, but it looked like it wouldn't be helped. She had screwed up, that much was obvious, but what should she have done? There was no one else to protect the others except her. Now that she thought about it, she could have at least tried to run and get them away from the division instead of staying and fighting them there.

When Ichigo's hand fell on her head, she spoke.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, gripping the fabric on his back. Rukia couldn't be so careless, especially with the baby growing inside of her. What if the baby had died? She would never be able to live with herself if something like that were to happen, and suddenly, Rukia felt love like never before for her child. For the first time, she felt like a true mother, even though she had made such a costly mistake.

"Its ok Rukia, just don't scare me like that ever again." Ichigo finished. Rukia lifted her head to look at his face. Ichigo brought up his hand and wiped her tears away.

"Stop cryin alright?" He whispered. It didn't do any good, as a new set of tears cascaded down her cheeks. So Rukia was a little over emotional, it wasn't a first.

"I think you better get some rest." Ichigo said. Rukia nodded and hugged Ichigo again one last time. She knew Ichigo's nightmare was something happening to her, and Ichigo had every right to be upset. He loved her after all, and would protect her forever.

She would do the same for him.

Ichigo kissed her gently before helping Rukia down onto the futon.

"Lay with me." Rukia asked in a tired voice. Ichigo didn't argue as he scooted underneath the blanket, and pulled Rukia close to him. Rukia closed her eyes and smiled as Ichigo brought a hand to Rukia's stomach, and began rubbing it gently.

A/N: Ok, so I know there were lots of cliché scenes in here like the whole 'Ichigo saves Rukia from a hollow attack in the knick of time' but I just love em too much, so I hope you still found it cute! It's kind of hard to keep the cute IchiRuki scenes original anyways with like…a billion IchiRuki stories out there anyways, so don't hate!!

Please REVIEW! I know this was another long one, but they're all gonna be like this, so just be prepared!