As they followed Captain Hitsugaya through Sereitei Ichigo seemed to grow uneasy; Orihime noted this and held his hand reassuringly. Ichigo quickly pulled it away and promptly walked farther ahead; she looked away sadly and slowed her pace so that she was now walking next to Chad. She then turned to look at Ishida, but he also seemed too preoccupied to notice her.
"Toshiro, will Rukia be there?" Asked Ichigo.
"It's Captain Hitsugaya,and no, we will be meeting with Captain Yamamoto; Kuchiki-san is resting in her…residence." Before Hitsugaya could finish his sentence Ichigo was out of there with flash step.
"Shouldn't we go after him?" Asked Ishida.
"It doesn't matter, he will surely receive the news where he is going anyway…" sighed Hitsugaya displeased.
Ichigo darted towards the Kuchiki estate like a madman; he ignored the stares he received from the other Shinigami wandering the streets. Once he arrived he found himself in front of the gate; there were two guards by it, though they were asleep, but as he approached, both of the men awoke and pointed their katanas at him.
"Don't take another step punk!"
"I need to see Rukia…" said Ichigo growing impatient.
"Lady Kuchiki is resting; she does not see anybody past six, especially without Kuchiki-sama's consent."
"I don't give a fuck what Byakuya thinks! I need to see her now!"
"We already said no!" Ichigo grew furious and beat both of the men with the handle of his zanpakuto until they were unconscious. He then opened the gate and rushed inside; he was met by many Shinigami; he reasoned it must have been the entire squad six; they glared at him and surrounded him pointing their katanas at him.
"Enough," came a voice from behind; he quickly recognized it as Byakuya's. Not long after the noble walked in front of him looking down his nose at him like he always did, "follow me Kurosaki."
Meanwhile the others were already in Yamamoto's office they all held a worried look on their faces as the squad one Captain took a seat in front of his desk and signaled for them to sit as well. Orihime and Rangiku sat on a couch while Ishida and Chad sat in chairs; Hitsugaya leaned against one of the bookshelves.
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Because something has happened to Kuchiki-san?" Answered Ishida.
"Yes, partly, Rukia Kuchiki will need your protection from now on for the next six months."
"Protection from what?" Asked Ishida starting to grow impatient; Orihime had never seen him this worried and impatient before.
"Hollows," answered Yamamoto.
"Hollows, what do Hollows want with Kuchiki-san?" Asked Orihime worried.
"You see Miss Inoue, something has happened to Kuchiki-san, something equally wonderful and dangerous."
"What is it stop leaving us in suspense, what's wrong with Rukia?!" Exclaimed Ishida.
Byakuya and Ichigo walked silently through the halls of the Kuchiki estate. Ichigo found such silence uncomfortable; there was something wrong with Byakuya, through all of his noble Kuchiki act he could tell there was something bothering him. However minimal, there was a small spark of fear in his eyes. Ichigo wanted to grab him and shake him until he told him what was going on, but knew better than to do such a thing. They walked through a large complex of what seemed servant rooms before getting to a stairwell that led up to the Kuchiki family rooms. Once there, they took a detour and walked towards a garden, a beautiful garden lush with plants and flowers of all kinds. The garden was lit by oil lanterns; there was a single small building there; it looked like a temple for prayer, though of course not the official family temple, this one was more personal and not as extravagant.
There was a small woman there praying on her knees; as soon as she felt their presence she stood and took a small bow.
"Nii-sama," she said respectfully.
"I will expect you to retire to your quarters soon."
"Of course nii-sama," said Rukia; Byakuya glanced at her briefly and walked away.
Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes, after five months he was finally seeing her again…Rukia. She looked at him sadly; for a moment she attempted to speak only to close her mouth again. Ichigo did not know what to say, how to act; he couldn't express how much he'd missed her. He gave her a ghost of a smile and then ran towards her falling on his knees in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her stomach; she ran one of her hands through his hair as she watched the bravest man she had met weep for the first time in a long time. The only time she had seen him weep was when he fought the Hollow that killed his mother at the cemetery, and even then, it was raining…and she couldn't tell between the raindrops and his tears. He looked up at her and she could clearly see the drops running down his face.
"Rukia, why didn't you come back? you promised you would…"
"I'm sorry Ichigo," was all she could manage to say.
"But why? I was so worried about you midget!" Screamed Ichigo, though she could see a smile tug on the corner of his mouth. He was happy to see her, and he didn't care why she left, he was just glad to be seeing her again.
He buried his face in her stomach again and smiled relieved. He was close to Rukia again, he could feel her, smell her…she was real. But suddenly something distracted him, and his eyes opened wide…'that reiatsu…such a strong rieatsu, and it's…it's inside of…inside of Rukia!'
"She's pregnant?!" Said Ishida shocked.
"Kuchiki-san…" said Orihime in shock, but then she reacted in a way that no one would have expected her to, "how cool! I can be the auntie! Oh I love babies! Kuchiki-san is so lucky to have her own baby to play with! I'm gonna help her feed it, and dress it, and Ishida-kun could make the little one cute little outfits!" Screamed Orihime merrily bursting into giggles; everyone looked at her surprised.
"You're excited about this?" Asked Ishida confused.
"Of course! A baby is a blessing! A little life in the making…it's so cute!"
"And the father?" Ishida asked Yamamoto a bit nervously.
"That does not matter. What matters at the moment is that Rukia Kuchiki is in danger."
"In danger? Why?" Asked Orihime.
"Giving birth is not common in the Soul Society, when it happens it is normally planned amongst noble families; many precautions are taken every time. A child that is conceived in the Soul Society is always very powerfully when in the womb; it feeds off of spiritual particles leaving little left for others. She cannot remain in the Soul Society; if she did everyone living here would be left with little spiritual energy, weakening our forces and even killing those that do not have a strong reiatsu."
"So you are saying that Kuchiki-san needs to come with us to the world of the living?' Asked Ishida.
"Yes, she will be leaving with you in three days."
"Why three days why can't we take her now? I could take her shopping for baby clothes tomorrow," beamed Orihime.
"Well, there is another thing. As I have already established, the child has a great amount of spiritual energy and an outstanding reiatsu. We need you to train for three days with captains from the Gotei 13 just for precaution. The child is bound to attract hollows that will want to consume him and his mother. Captains Hitsugaya and Soifon will be leaving with you to the world of the living along with Lieutenants Rangiku and Abarai, but we still want to be very cautious."
Ichigo was silent as he and Rukia walked towards the Kuchiki family room. He suddenly turned and stood in front of her.
"Who is the father?"
"I…I'd rather not say…"
"Why? Does this have anything to do with why they took you on the first place?!" Rukia looked away and remained silent, but Ichigo tilted her face upwards by the chin and forced her to look at him. "Answer me!"
"No okay!" She screamed pulling away, "it was my decision, this had nothing to do with the meeting! I slept with someone out of my own accord so get over it!" He looked at her shocked.
"Why? Why Rukia?"
"Because I wanted to, I'm not as young as I look Ichigo. I'm ten times older than you; it is perfectly normal for me to choose to have a sexual relationship with whomsoever I wish…" said Rukia as-matter-of-factly.
"I know that, but I also know it's not like you; you want me to think nothing's wrong but yet you won't even tell me the father's name. Tell me, do I know him?"
"Ishida! What's wrong?" Asked Orihime as she ran over to Ishida. They were staying the night at the Squad 10 barracks. Ishida was sitting outside while the others were inside Rangiku's place having tea.
"Nothing in particular, I'm just worried."
"Why?"
"Fine, yes, you know him, there…are you happy now?"
"Who is it?! Who's the bastard?!"
"I don't owe you an explanation Ichigo now drop it!"
"There's something odd going on, think about it, if this truly happens every time a noble reproduces then why are all the captains so worried?" Said Ishida.
"Yes I see what you mean, Hitsugaya-kun looked very worried," said Orihime. "It's Captain Hitsugaya!" Yelled Hitsugaya from inside.
"Unless…the child is not normal…unless the child…is a hybrid of some kind," said Ishida suddenly shocked and completely ignoring Hitsugaya.
"Hybrid? You're silly Ishida, I don't think Kuchiki-san would…become involved… with someone other than a Shinigami."
"Well, you never know," laughed Ishida nervously.
"Fine, don't tell me, but I'm sure it will be obvious in a couple of months," said Ichigo.
"Is that so?" Questioned Rukia as they entered the building.
"Yes, the father's reiatsu will be all over you. Right now it isn't because the child is drawing so many spiritual particles that it isn't clear, but eventually it will stop, an we'll know who the father is," said Ichigo; Rukia suddenly grew nervous.
"Why do you care anyway?" Complained Rukia.
"I think you know," said Ichigo suddenly stopping to look into her eyes. Violet met amber and she turned away sadly. He cupped her chin with his hand and tilted her face upwards; his amber eyes melting into her soul. She wanted to look away but couldn't; Ichigo always had a way of making her feel at ease even when she was in the middle of a roaring tempest. They were interrupted by Byakuya's grunting as he entered the room; Ichigo immediately let go of her.
They sat around the table as one of the servants served them tea. Ichigo looked over at Byakuya but the noble did not spare him so much as a glance. He set his cup of tea down and then finally his cold dark gray orbs fixed themselves on Ichigo.
"You will be staying here for the next three days to train with the Gotei 13 Captains."
"I will? Why?"
"Because Rukia will be leaving with you and your friends to the living world and remain there for the rest of her pregnancy. I would not allow a Kuchiki to be placed under the protection of inexperienced individuals. Once I have approved of your abilities then I will allow for her to leave with you."
"Approve of my abilities? You've seen me in action Byakuya!"
"Yes, but that was half a year ago; for all I know you have become a weakling." Ichigo struggled not to argue but knew that there was no winning in a battle of wits with Kuchiki Byakuya.
"Fine. But as her protector I believe there is one thing I should know…who is the father?"
"That is not information you need to be provided with to protect her," said Byakuya simply; he took a sip of his tea.
"No, but I deserve to know!"
"On what grounds?"
"What grounds? I care for Rukia, very much, we've been partners for over a year, I deserve to know who is the bastard that did this to her! Because obviously she's not happy about it!"
"Why? Has Rukia expressed to you her dissatisfaction about this?" Asked Byakuya looking at Rukia; she looked down at her cup sadly.
"No, but I know her, and I know something's wrong!"
"That is ridiculous Kurosaki, if Rukia has not told you with her own words that she is unhappy then there is no reason for you to arrive to that conclusion. However, if Rukia wishes to reveal to you the identity of the father then she may do so if she wishes," said Byakuya looking at Rukia; Rukia looked surprised.
"Nii-sama?"
"Yes Rukia, it is your choice, if you trust him, then you may tell him…I believe in your judgment." Said Byakuya taking a sip of his tea. Ichigo looked at Rukia expectantly; for the second time that night she found herself at a loss for words. She looked at Byakuya confused, he however did not meet her gaze.
"Ichigo, I can't tell you."
"Why? Don't you trust me?!"
"Of course I trust you Ichigo, I trust you with my life. But I can't tell you in honor of my child's father."
"In honor of him?! The coward doesn't even have the guts to step up to the plate and admit he's the father!"
"It's not that simple…"
"Whatever…I'm leaving," said Ichigo annoyed as he stood up.
"Kurosaki-sama would you like for me to show you to your room?" Asked one of the servants; Ichigo nodded and she led him out of there.
"If you truly feel you need to tell him Rukia, then you should do so."
"I…I can't…he wouldn't understand; he would want to fight…and I wouldn't have that. There is already tension as it is."
Back in Rangiku's apartment people were getting drunk. Rangiku brought some sake and they were all celebrating to the maximum. Poor Renji who had just arrived and learned of Rukia's pregnancy was drinking sake like if it was water.
"Here's to the little munchkin! Rukia…who is like my fucking little sister…pregnant!" Said Renji taking another shot; Rangiku joined him and both started laughing hysterically. Chad just sat staring at them while Orihime tried to taste it but every time she tried to drink it she would wrinkle her nose. Hitsugaya looked at them exasperated while Ishida sat looking out the window; suddenly he stood up.
"Well, I'm going for a walk," said Ishida.
"Just don't be out too late Ishida-kun, you'll need your rest for tomorrow," beamed Orihime; Ishida nodded and smiled.
He ran as quickly as he could, his mind was in panic and he didn't know what to think or how to act. This was all so unexpected…could it be possible that…?
After having tea, Rukia took a hot bath and then sat outside of her room. There was a cherry blossom tree in the courtyard in front of her room that smelled very nice in the night. This was a very special tree, it was covered in blossoms all year round; Byakuya had a couple of these planted all around the Kuchiki estate because he loved the smell of cherry blossoms so much.
She closed her eyes as she felt the cool night breeze hitting her face. Then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind; her hair was flipped to the side and soft lips pressed on the side of her neck. A hand came down to her womb and caressed it sweetly. She did not have to turn to see whom it was, it was him, she recognized his scent, his touch, so gentle, yet so strong and possessive. Some of his hair fell on her shoulder as he drew a path of kisses on her neck, and his hair tickled her skin; it was soft…like silk, these were traits that separated him from all other men, he was surprisingly soft, and smooth.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell Ichigo you were the father. It's not out of sorrow or regret…I do not regret my decision…it's just, Ichigo's heart is so fragile; and my heart…in a strange way it's connected to his…I don't know why…I hope you understand…"