Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Alright guys, I just got back from California and it was soo much fun!! I went to San Francisco and saw the Golden Gate bridge (for you X-Men 3 fans, I totally thought of the scene where that guy with the funny helmet lifts the bridge off the ground using his cool mutant powers. I know, I'm cool).

Anyways, Chapter 8! Woot! Only two more chapters after this one!! I tried writing this chapter in a different format than the rest, so uh…maybe I succeeded, maybe I didn't. I don't really know.

You tell me ok?

Just to let you know, I didn't edit this at all.

Unprepared Battles

VIII Misjudged

Kurosaki Ichigo was a list of many things: hotheaded, fowl-mouthed, somewhat arrogant, thick-skinned, and short-tempered.

But he was not a downright idiot.

And there he was, sitting on his couch next to his darling wife Rukia, feeling like just that.

A complete idiot.

His day had not gone well at all, minus spending a little bit of time with Rukia, which ended up not ending so great since she threw up…on him. Even though he knew it wasn't Rukia's fault, he lashed out at her, right before they were leaving on a rather important outing.

Kuchiki Byakuya had invited them to attend a dinner several weeks before, saying that Rukia and a "date" were required to come because other Kuchiki nobles and other nobles would be there. It was Rukia's "duty" as a Kuchiki, even if she was now a Kurosaki, to attend.

And that was why their day, better yet, evening had gone so horribly wrong.

Five hours earlier…

Ichigo was taking a shower.

His second shower to be exact.

"I should apologize to her." Ichigo thought. He had been a little rude to Rukia, and what happened had in no way been her fault. Rukia hadn't gotten sick once the entire month, but of course the one moment he's trying to kiss or her or just touch her, she has to throw up.

Ichigo sighed as he washed his body and for the second time, not that any throw up probably got in his hair. He didn't want to risk it though.

They were going to the Kuchiki mansion to see not just one noble, Kuchiki Byakuya, but about twenty, some Kuchiki and others he really didn't know or care to know. It was bad enough when Ichigo had to visit Byakuya, but now he had to see even more on one occasion? It didn't help that Ichigo was already frustrated from Rukia's little accident, and Ichigo knew that Rukia would want him to be as calm as possible.

She after all, knew Ichigo and his temper well.

He hurried and dressed quickly after getting out of the shower, hoping that he hadn't upset Rukia too badly. Ichigo knew she was awfully sensitive about her not so casual morning sickness, so he knew he better make his apology a good one and do his best to behave for the rest of the night.

Ichigo made sure to walk down the stairs slowly, in the case that Rukia might decide to scream at him then since she hadn't earlier when the whole thing happened. Sneaking his head around the corner, he found Rukia sitting on the couch, looking at some Chappy book.

That could never be good.

When Ichigo was close enough, Rukia lifted her book to look at him, but only for a brief second. Just as her eyes were on his, they were back down at the Chappy book, a.k.a. her distraction of looking away and not talking to him.

She would usually just punch him, call him insensitive and the situation would be done, but she must have been really upset.

He only felt more guilt.

"Rukia," Ichigo said softly, hoping his light voice would ease her sad expression.

"Did you get it all off?" She asked back. Ichigo closed his eyes for a second.

Yep, she was still upset.

He took slow steps towards the couch and sat next to her.

"There wasn't a whole lot to begin with." Ichigo replied.

"You were in the shower for a pretty long time." Rukia mumbled back, her irritation flaring. Ichigo kept his eyes glued to her, watching her every move. He really didn't want to go to the stupid dinner thing, especially if Rukia was going to be mad at him, because if Rukia was already mad at him, then Ichigo would have no back up for when he would more than likely explode later on that night by something a snide noble would probably say to him.

If they scolded him on anything, he would try his best to stop himself from saying anything back, but Ichigo wasn't good at holding his own self down.

"Look, just forget it; we're going to be late." Rukia suddenly stated on the couch. Ichigo really didn't want to go with the problem unsettled, but Rukia was right. Seeing as the matter wouldn't get resolved quickly anyways, Ichigo decided that he didn't want to be late.

But still, he didn't want Rukia mad at him.

Standing up from the couch, Ichigo planted his feet in front of Rukia. She held her hand out for him to help her up, but he kept his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm not gonna help you up until you listen to what I have to say."

"Ichigo, we're going to be—"

"Late, no we won't be. We have half an hour Rukia. We'll be fine."

"Well if you've forgotten Ichigo, it kind of takes much longer for me to walk." Rukia snapped back. She was right though. Her baby was due in a month, and it was pretty difficult for her to move about without putting a little waddle in her step. Ichigo did his best not to make fun of her.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"We'll make it! Don't freaking worry so much! Now listen," Ichigo paused, and when Rukia didn't look at him, and didn't move (because she basically couldn't) he continued on. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I know it's not your fault and I shouldn't have gotten so mad."

Rukia still didn't budge, but he thought he saw her hard expression soften a little. "I had the worst day ever at the division, because someone messed up just about all the files and paperwork, and Izuru and I had to restack all of it, and then file it again. The new Shinigami, who aren't that new anymore, are not getting their work done. So look, you know it's not like me to apologize to you so openly, or even admit that it's not like me to apologize to you so openly, so will you please try your best to forgive me?" Ichigo asked.

He didn't know what was coming over him for being so sensitive. Perhaps Rukia's hormones were rubbing off on him…

Rukia make any motion for what felt like forever, but finally caved in and gave an overdramatic sigh.

"You know you shouldn't yell at an extremely pregnant woman the way you did, I don't care if you had a bad day at work." Rukia replied. Ichigo could tell that most of the heat was gone, but still, she was aggravated. Instead of adding something costly to Rukia saying she was extremely pregnant woman, which she indeed was, he gave her a light smile.

"So is that you saying you forgive me?" Ichigo asked. Rukia looked up into his eyes finally.

"For now, and only because I don't want to be mad at you while seeing Nii-sama, so I guess you're off the hook." Rukia replied back with a mischievous grin. He had the feeling it was only during the dinner, and that he would pay greatly when they returned home. Ichigo had really turned into a softie, which was nothing too comforting.

And so, Ichigo held out his hand to help Rukia. She took it easily, and used her other arm to push herself off the couch, while Ichigo put his free arm on her shoulder, so she was balanced when she stood. Rukia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Just standing up took out almost all of her energy, so the fact that they were walking all the way to Byakuya's mansion made him pretty nervous.

Rukia squealed when Ichigo brought his arms around her waist and knees. "What are you doing? Put me down! You can't possibly carry me!" Rukia complained. Ichigo rolled his eyes, making sure he had good balance on her.

"Shut up and let me carry you. I don't think your brother would be very impressed if you stepped into his house and fainted from exhaustion." Ichigo replied, which was partly true. Byakuya would not be upset with Rukia, but at Ichigo for not taking "better care" of Rukia. Of course Ichigo took good care of Rukia, but proving that to her big brother was much harder than it looked.

"This really isn't helping with your situation." Rukia mumbled. Ichigo grinned.

He had won.

Ichigo swung his head down and gave Rukia a surprise kiss, hoping she wouldn't be too disappointed with carrying her. It seemed to help…a lot.

Rukia wasn't much heavier as a pregnant woman to his luck. He knew that she had gained weight, but it still extremely easy to lift her up.

She weighed about five pounds after all.

Rukia was feeling a little…irritated at the moment.

She was supposed to be angry at Ichigo, who had made a costly mistake earlier. Rukia actually forgave him the first time he said sorry, even before that, but that didn't mean she wasn't still flustered about it, and besides, aggravating Ichigo was apart of her love for him.

So it kind of didn't help when he swooped her up bridal style, and planted a soft sweet kiss on her lips. It drove her insane really. She couldn't stay angry at him for more than five minutes, and with the throw up situation, she had every right to be mad at him.

It didn't matter anymore, since they were on their way to the much anticipated dinner at her brother's mansion. Although Ichigo was in no way thrilled for the night, Rukia was feeling a little more comfortable about it. She was after all a Kuchiki, at heart at least.

But because of her pregnancy, standing up for a long time literally exhausted her, and at this particular event at her brother's house, there would be some dancing involved, and because Rukia didn't want to make a fool of herself, she would have to dance more than likely.

It was silly, but true. Rukia knew her brother would never push her to do so or even ask her, but she knew that out of respect to her brother, that dancing and mingling around would be a necessity for the evening.

Rukia had no idea how Ichigo felt about everything.

She knew he absolutely didn't want to go, hell, he never wanted to go if the word noble and Byakuya were involved together, which was of the rarest of the sentences, but Rukia couldn't tell for once in her life.

Going by his outburst earlier, she took it as a definite no for hanging out with a bunch of nobles on a night they could be doing other things like sleeping and being lazy.

Realizing she was already dozing off, Rukia snapped her eyes open, looking around her. Sure enough, she was still in Ichigo's strong arms, feeling as warm as ever although the weather was a little chilly. She was glad he decided to carry her, though she hoped she wasn't too heavy for him, even though he was a pretty strong guy.

His zanpaktou probably weighed more than she did, and he swung that thing around like tomorrow.

Without really acknowledging the time, Rukia turned her head to the right to see the Kuchiki mansion staring back at her. It was the same as always, huge and beautiful, but had a hint of pride that was a little unseen. Rukia could feel Ichigo's grip on her tighten, like he was ready to turn around and leave.

In order to stop him from such thoughts, she began wiggling around in his arms.

"Ichigo, put me down." She demanded, trying her best to keep slight irritation on her overall calmed face. Ichigo sighed as he held her, and gently set her down onto the ground, keeping his hands on her shoulders in what she assumed was his typical over protection. After taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around, being careful not to get too dizzy.

How the hell was she going to dance if she could barely turn with out feeling like blacking out?

She turned her frown to a smile when she walked into one of the most gorgeous ballrooms of the entire home, hooking her arm around Ichigo's. Although Rukia felt huge, she did feel pretty. Her brother had bought her a kimono for the evening, since Rukia didn't really have any. It was violet, like her eyes, with white flowers crawling over the sleeves and bottom. Ichigo just wore his captain attire, though she didn't expect Byakuya to buy something for her husband.

Her smile began to fall with the sore glances thrown by nobles at her and her bulging tummy. Ichigo's tensing arm around hers did not help either.

Unfortunately, Rukia was not placed next to her brother, which she had hoped for. He was the only noble that Rukia really appreciated, because he was her brother. Ichigo might have felt different about it, but sitting with any of the other nobles would not turn out well, and Rukia knew it.

Byakuya came and greeted her and Ichigo, but only briefly. Rukia understood though. There were a lot of other nobles, Kuchiki and Non-Kuchiki alike, so Rukia didn't want to bug him, or even worse, embarrass him.

Finding their seat took some time, but Rukia was relieved that she wasn't feeling tired or lightheaded at all. That was definitely a good sign.

Ichigo did the polite thing and pulled her seat back, and she sat slowly, trying not to bump into anything. When Kuchiki Hashina, one of the eldest members of the Kuchiki clan sat at their table, Rukia felt extra queasy in her stomach, and the glare that the older woman gave her did not make Rukia feel welcome. She had several ideas why the extremely rude look was thrown, and it began to make Rukia angry.

The evening soon began. The looks that made Rukia, and surely Ichigo, did not drop, but nobody said anything. Byakuya spoke a few greeting words, easily being formal in front of many nobles. It still surprised Rukia that she was his sister, even if she had been adopted. Rukia knew that Byakuya cared a lot about her, and maybe even loved her as a sibling. He had protected her on many occasions, and had been soft to her and no one else.

Once the comments were said, the moment Rukia dreaded soon approached.

Dancing.

Rukia wasn't in love with dancing, but she did like to do it once in a while. Combining being pregnant with dancing would probably not turn out for the best though, not to mention that Ichigo wasn't the biggest fan of moving to music at all, especially fancy violin music.

And of course the fact that a bunch of snooty nobles would be watching them.

She really shouldn't care. She knew Ichigo didn't. Rukia knew that Byakuya was doing a lot for them at the moment, even if he didn't show that any of his help was offered to Ichigo. Byakuya always acted a little colder to Ichigo than usual. Rukia understood to a point. Ichigo was the husband to Byakuya's younger sister, but still, Rukia figured that Byakuya would eventually ease up on him. She was carrying Ichigo's baby.

And that was why she wanted to be on her best behavior, and Rukia knew Ichigo was trying hard himself since he had apologized so quickly to her earlier, but with sincerity as well. It meant that Ichigo didn't want to screw up, and that maybe he wanted Byakuya to somehow see it.

"Honestly, Byakuya can just kiss my—" Ichigo's thoughts were interrupted by his short wife.

"Ichigo, can you help me up?" Rukia whispered from next to him. Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his wife's question.

"Do you need to use the restroom or something?" Ichigo asked, completely confused from the question. Rukia sighed next to him and pointed around him.

All the couples were standing up to walk onto the dance floor.

Ichigo stared at the couples for as long as he could, hoping that Rukia would say she was too tired. She of course didn't.

"Come on, we have to go too!" Rukia said next to him. Ichigo rolled his eyes and stood from his seat to help Rukia up. He made the small mistake of not pushing back Rukia's chair enough, and when she stood, her stomach bumped into the table, causing the silverware and glass to rattle.

All the nobles still sitting at the table glared at her, and Ichigo fought to keep his composure calm. The older one sitting across from them had the worst look, and it seemed that after so many strikes of dirty looks that her mouth had to open too, adding onto the ugly expression.

"My, how rude." The woman said, her voice as stern as her comment. Ichigo quickly looked away, knowing good and well that he would say something back. Looking at Rukia didn't help though, since she had the look of anger/embarrassment/sadness plastered on. It pissed Ichigo off.

Why had Byakuya even invited them?

Why was he being so cruel to them?

It was bad enough that Byakuya had bought most of the stuff for their baby coming, and then not saying a word to Ichigo or glancing at him. Byakuya was always pretty cold to Ichigo, and he started to wonder if it would ever wear down.

Moving to the dance floor helped a lot, even as music that could have possibly made Ichigo's ears bleed played in the background. He placed one hand on Rukia's round hip, and held onto Rukia's hand with his other. The music was pretty slow to his luck, and Rukia didn't look tired from the sudden movement.

"You feelin ok?" Ichigo whispered to Rukia. She didn't give him a good expression when she gave her answer.

"I'm fine." Rukia replied.

Ichigo stared at Rukia for a moment longer before speaking. "It's rude you know." Ichigo began.

"What?" Rukia replied, her voice not sounding surprised, as if she knew Ichigo would begin a rant of all the rude things surrounding him.

"How they look at you and me." Ichigo replied. He knew it would not be very smart to start a conversation about the nobles around him, but he was whispering quietly enough, even if he had to strain his head down to be softer.

"It's not you Ichigo, it's me." Rukia replied.

Whatever answer Rukia was thinking of giving Ichigo, that was probably the worst to give him.

"Don't be stupid Rukia. It's not because of you. It's because I'm married to you, and not some charming noble." Ichigo replied. He shouldn't go much further on, because then the real fight would begin.

"Can we not talk about this now?" Rukia replied. Her hard eyes told him to shut up and fast, and though he was really tempted to go on with it, he took Rukia's warning into toll.

The irritation of all the nobles around him, and Kuchiki Byakuya, probably the snobbiest of them all, began ticking away in Ichigo's hotheaded brain The dancing continued on for who knows how long, but because Ichigo was zoned out due to boredom, and since he couldn't dance closer to Rukia like he wanted to, he didn't feel Rukia swaying strangely against him. By the time he realized what was happening, she was almost on the ground.

He caught of course. No one was better at it than him.

Rukia pressed a hand to her head, and closed her eyes. Ichigo had his arms around her waist securely, making sure she wouldn't fall again somehow.

How could he be so stupid, and in front of them.

The nobles were encircling him now, but Ichigo had the feeling they didn't really care about him or her. They were probably more concerned about the floor being scratched up then Rukia actually being hurt.

His anger only deepened.

Standing Rukia up slowly, he wrapped his arms around her back, allowing her head to rest against his chest until she felt capable of moving. Ichigo had his grip on her back, making sure she wouldn't fall back. The crowd parted as Ichigo took Rukia back to her seat, walking as slowly as Rukia wanted to.

They needed to go home.

Fancy parties with stuck up nobles weren't really their thing anyways.

Once they reached the table, Ichigo helped Rukia sit down, kneeling in front of her to give her a glass of water. Her head was sinking some, and Ichigo took her hand in his. She was exhausted. How long had they been dancing anyways?

"I'm not surprised." A voice suddenly rang.

Ichigo froze in his spot, wondering if the voice from behind him was real or not. There was something vaguely familiar about it.

He stood slowly and turned around to see who was in front of him. It was the elderly lady, just like Ichigo had suspected. She had bravely outwitted herself earlier, and apparently hadn't finished her fun yet.

Nobles had a sick way of enjoying themselves.

Ichigo couldn't think of something to say, but the old woman beat him to it anyways.

"You can't even take care of your own wife, how sad." The woman said, her wrinkly mouth holding in a fine line, and her dark blue eyes holding a fire Ichigo could never understand. The words cut into him, and deeply.

"Why are you even here if that girl can't even stand on her two feet? She's far too young to be having children anyways." The woman snorted.

That was it.

Ichigo could hear Rukia saying his name, but he didn't stop himself from what he said.

"You don't know anything about me, or Rukia to put it quite frankly, so I suggest you shut the hell up."

Yep, Rukia would skewer him when they got home for what he just blurted out.

The old woman raised her eyebrows, but not in surprise really. It was more along the lines of a dare.

"I'm not surprised a ruffian like you would say something so sheepish. That girl can never be a Kuchiki married to someone like you, who has absolutely no manners, and has no idea of how to take care of another. It might be a good idea to give up the child for adoption once the child is born. I don't know if a Kuchiki would take it, but perhaps someone in a higher Rukongai district." The woman snarled.

And the words continued to cut into him.

Ichigo knew how to take a hard blow, but what the woman said was so cruel, and yet, he was listening to her. He knew they were young, but they were strong, right?

His fists were turning white from being in such a tight hold, and he knew he was about to scream at the old woman who decided to boldly say whatever was on her mind. The sad thing was that all the other nobles stared at Ichigo in agreement, like the old woman was right.

"I'm afraid you are entirely wrong." Came a voice from behind.

Everyone turned their heads all together, wondering who would dare to speak up. Ichigo didn't have to look far. He recognized the voice when the first syllable was spoken.

Kuchiki Byakuya.

Confused as to what Byakuya meant, he watched as Byakuya took steps towards the older woman and him.

"I beg your pardon?" The old woman stated, staring at Byakuya in surprise.

"Becoming a parent is an extremely difficult job, one I have yet to experience, but what you say is wrong Hashina-san." Byakuya began. "Kurosaki-san and Rukia are not too young to have children, because they have both been Shinigami for a long time."

The blows that Ichigo had felt earlier suddenly lifted.

"How rude!" Hashina-san or whoever barked. Old lady still sounded the best.

"As far as I can see right now, Kurosaki-san is showing more manners than you are. If you feel you cannot abide by the rules of a Kuchiki, you are free to leave the estates." Byakuya said in his cool way, though there was a thick tension to the words.

The old woman, or Hashina-san, stared at Byakuya in disbelief for about ten seconds, and then stormed off following.

"If anyone else agrees, they are free to leave as well." Byakuya said a little louder. No one dared to move. Byakuya turned to Ichigo.

"Please take Rukia home. I didn't know she would be so tired. I apologize for any inconvenience to you both." Byakuya said before turning away, back to his table.

Ichigo just couldn't move.

Had…no…it couldn't be…

Did Kuchiki Byakuya, a leader to many nobles, just stick up for him?

It was impossible.

"Can you help me up Ichigo?" He heard Rukia muffle from next to him. Ichigo felt guilt like no other when he saw some tears on Rukia's eyes. No doubt the words the woman said upset her. Ichigo helped Rukia off the chair and led her outside, where he picked her up and silently carried her home.

Present…

And that was why Ichigo was sitting on his couch, feeling like a complete idiot.

Ichigo had assumed off the bat that Byakuya had invited Ichigo and Rukia so that they would be humiliated, only to find that Byakuya possibly invited them out of kindness, because Rukia would always to him, be a Kuchiki.

"Kurosaki-san and Rukia are not too young to have children, because they have both been Shinigami for a long time."

The words were, for Kuchiki Byakuya, ridiculously kind. They struck home for Ichigo, and for the first time in a long time, Ichigo began to feel much more respect than usual for the not so snobby man.

Rukia was resting her head against the other side of the couch, her eyes barely staying open.

"You ready to go to sleep?" Ichigo asked, turning to his wife.

"Yah, but I want to talk to you about something." Rukia replied.

Great, now was when Rukia would skewer him.

"What?" Ichigo replied.

She smiled at him. "That was pretty brave of you to say that in front of Kuchiki Hashina. She's even higher up than Nii-sama." Rukia said. Ichigo sighed.

"I had that feeling." He mumbled back.

"Thank you." Rukia replied.

The words sounded unnatural, and Ichigo looked at her with confusion.

"For what?" Ichigo asked in response.

She grabbed his hand, which was sitting on her leg, and pulling it closer to her.

"For sticking up for us even though all those nobles were there."

Ichigo smirked. "You're surprised by that?" He asked.

Rukia chuckled. "I'm actually more surprised that I'm siding with you, since I should in fact be kicking you in the balls for your rude comment."

"Well what that woman said was far worse." Ichigo shot back. His voice sounded angrier than he wanted, but he supposed it didn't matter. To his luck, Rukia's expression didn't change.

"Don't listen to what Hashina-san says. She's the snobbiest of snobby, and a lot of people don't care to have her around." Rukia replied.

Ichigo still felt confused. "Then how come you were upset after what the woman said?"

Better yet, why had Byakuya invited the old bat?

Rukia paused, blinking a few times, but smiled again. "I wasn't upset because of what she said, but because of what Nii-sama said, though it wasn't really sadness, but more a happy kind of thing."

Ichigo listened on, trying to see Rukia's point. "It's not like Byakuya to talk back to anyone, but especially a noble. The mere fact that he said that to Hashina-san, in front of a bunch of nobles, is huge. Nii-sama showed that he knows we'll be responsible parents, and knowing that he sees me being a good and ready mother, makes me feel really happy." Rukia finally finished. Ichigo smiled at her.

It was nice to see Rukia finally happy from their horrible day, and Ichigo was feeling kind of upbeat himself.

"I guess you're right." Ichigo replied. "Well, anyways, let's get to bed then."

He stood from his spot and lifted Rukia off the couch.

"Don't think I've forgotten," Rukia warned as he carried her up the stairs. "You still owe me for earlier today, when I said I would forgive you."

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he took the last step. "So what are you going to do?"

Rukia's smile was extremely wide.

"Remember that time you "accidentally" put my Chappy shorts on? Well, this time, you'll "accidentally" put them on, and I'll "accidentally" take a picture, got it?" Rukia added.

Ichigo almost dropped her then and there.

No way in hell.

A/N: WOO. That was a LONG one, but I loved it. I think this might have been my best styled chapter so far in this story (completely my opinion, it's cool if you think otherwise). I guess what I'm saying is I love how this chapter turned out. It was pretty hard to write, and I think I succeeded in doing it. Hopefully you feel the same. All I can say is that that Hashina lady is HA-ARSH.

PLEASE REVIEW AND LEAVE ME LOTS OF THOUGHTS! SERIOUSLY! FEEDBACK IS LOVE!

PS: Sorry I've been updating so late, I just don't have time to write any earlier.