"Are you sure Rukia? You won't run away?" he asked worriedly to the woman beside him. She smiled up at him, something he had seen her do a lot lately. And what worried him, was the amount of parenting, pregnant, baby books she had been reading. They were scattered everywhere in his room now. Hell, it even took over his Shakespeare collection!

Shakespeare!

Ichigo knocked on the door to Unohana's office and waited for the soft reply of 'come in'. Rukia held Ichigo's hand tighter as she realized what she was doing. Ichigo gripped her hand back and smiled at doctor Retsu.

"Ah, Rukia, am I correct?" the woman asked kindly. Rukia nodded, not trusting her words at the moment. She motioned for the two to come in. "Come, come! Now, I understand you are pregnant… miss…?"

"Rukia will do," Rukia said quietly, not wanting to give away a last name.

"Well then Rukia-san, come over to this white table here and I'll prepare everything." Rukia stood still like she was planted to the ground when Ichigo moved forward. He looked back at her pale face and tugged her forward. He mouthed the words, 'I'm with you', and she nodded. She shook and began to lie down on the table. Unohana grabbed a pair of gloves, expertly snapped them on and grabbed an ointment cream of some sort. When Rukia began to sit up and try to crawl away, Ichigo held her shoulders and whispered into her ear.

Rukia nodded again and looked at the woman doctor.

"Now Rukia, I will need you to raise your dress up to your stomach so I can apply this gel," Retsu explained slowly. Rukia looked at her with cautious, wide eyes.

"Why? What are you going to do?" she asked in a whisper.

"Don't worry, I just need this gel to be able to see your baby. Wouldn't you want to see it too?" Retsu coaxed.

"I do…" Rukia whispered. She winced as Retsu raised her dress and applied the cold medicine to her stomach. All the time, Ichigo held Rukia's hand. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to listen to the sweet words that Ichigo was whispering to her, but her mind drew blank, and she thought.

What would my baby look like?

The only times when she could ever take a glimpse of a baby, was the aftermath of an 'Ichimaru abortion,' so she was afraid. Small trails of tears leaked through her tightly closed eyes while Ichigo held on tighter.

But that's when it happened.

That's when she heard it.

The soft, thumping beat that echoed throughout the small room.

She opened her eyes to the white ceiling above her, and tilted her head to look at the small screen that got Ichigo entranced, and Unohana-sensei smiling.

"The doctor asked me one last time, after doing an ultrasound and showing me the baby… 'do you still want to go through with this?' And I listened very closely. And when I listened… I could hear it. My baby. My baby had a heartbeat."

Tears sprung into Rukia's eyes as she remembered the kind lady's words and watched the small being in the screen. It barely had any shape, the small thing, but she could see it. It was tiny, but it was still there. And it had it. A heartbeat. She began to sit up despite the older woman and Ichigo's protests, reaching out to the screen, fingers spread, hands shaking, tears falling-

She reached for her baby.

Tears of joy fell down from her eyes as she reached out for the small thing.

So this was what a baby looked like in one piece.

"My baby," she whispered hoarsely, crying as she clutched the screen. Unohana smiled at the young woman that seemed so entranced by seeing her baby for the first time. Her tears continued to fall as she began to dream of something she had never dared to dream of before-

A real family.

The moment the words left Rukia's lips, Ichigo didn't hear anymore. He heard nothing else; he saw nothing else, but Rukia and her words. Her words that left her tear stricken face and smile.

Our baby.

"Oi, Ichi-nii! What's gotten you into such a daze?" Karin muttered, waving her hand in front of her brother's face. He snapped out of his trance half-heartedly and took acknowledgment of his sister.

"Huh? Oh, it's only you Karin. What did you say?" he said in a daze, still sitting on the couch. Not one to be taken lightly, Karin kicked her brother in the stomach and walked off to the kitchen. Ichigo kneeled over and began to think again.

Was it really his child?

Sure, when his father told him Rukia was pregnant, he pondered who the father of the baby was, but-

Was it really him?

The thought of having a child with Rukia brought the ghost of a smile to his lips. If he thought about it, he was giving Rukia an opportunity a chance to live a normal life. He could bring home the money, while she stayed home and looked after the baby.

Yea… that had a nice ring to it.

Wait, did this whole thing include marriage!?

Ichigo stood up abruptly, staring at the TV that was right in front of him, startling Karin and Yuzu that were watching him from the kitchen.

Marriage? The stuff with the bells, church, dresses, maids, tuxes and stuff?

A Wedding?

Hmm… Mrs. Kurosaki Rukia…I like the sound of that. Ichigo sat down peacefully with a goofy grin on his face, something that may have possibly scarred Karin for life and brought tears of joy to Yuzu. He looked at the silver Rolex watch on his wrist and practically glided over to the front door.

"I better pick up Rukia now…" he murmured to himself. As soon as the front door shut, Karin and Yuzu dashed to tell their father of the horrifying/wonderful news.

Though it had surprised him greatly, Rukia claimed after her ultrasound appointment with Unohana-sensei, that she was meeting a friend at a café. She told Ichigo to pick her up at 2:30 sharp, and so here she was, waiting for her orange head to come in the small cozy café she sat in with Miyu-san. The kind, older woman laughed along with Rukia as Rukia strangely felt normal in this café with this woman.

"So I take it the appointment was wonderful?" Miyu asked Rukia. Rukia nodded enthusiastically, while munching on the 5th slice of cake Miyu had bought for her. She never had the chance to explore such delicacies and their tastes back in her old days. That's what she referred to them as now.

The old days.

The past.

What she looked at now, was a future.

A happy ending, Rukia thought happily.

Only months later, would she find out how wrong she was, but for now, let her live in her pretense fairytale only a while longer.

"You were right, Miyu-san. When I heard the baby's heartbeat, no longer did I want to get rid of it. I-"

"RUKIA!" Rukia stopped in the middle of her sentence to look at the glass doors in fear.

What was he doing here?!

Ichigo drove through the streets in a leisurely pace, knowing that he was slightly early in coming, and he knew he would get a thrashing if he came earlier or later than the appointed 'pick-up-Rukia' time. But just this once, he realized he had to thank God for making him leave the house when he did. Screeching to a halt, he saw nothing of the friend Rukia spoke about, but a tall man in a brown trench coat lifting her form her seat by the arm. He parked the car hazardously and stormed inside.

Her older woman friend was surprisingly nowhere in sight as she scanned the small homey café, all eyes on her and the man that dragged her up. She looked at the clock and noticed it was 2:23. 7 minutes left to distract the man so that Ichigo could come and save her, like every prince should.

Right?

She lived a fairytale now, she shouldn't be seeing this man after so long, right?

After all, he was the past, the old days, why was he here?!

Where was her prince on a white horse!?

Behind a car, across the street, her female companion only minutes prior cried tears as she watched the poor girl in the café.

"I'm sorry Rukia. I truly am," she sobbed in a whisper as she returned to her home.

"Rukia! Where the fuck have you been?! It's been practically a month since I last saw you, and you didn't even bother to contact!?" the tall man shouted at her, grabbing her arm.

"Let go! I said let go A-"

CRACK.

"FUCKING SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Now all eyes in the café were on the three that sat near the window. Passersby outside the window decided to take a peek too. Ichigo rolled his shoulders and stood by Rukia's side protectively, after the deft right hook he sent at Renji's jaw.

"So, this is your so called, Miyu friend?" Ichigo spat dangerously, glaring at Rukia in the corner of his eye. Rukia stuttered in response.

"N-no, she left just before he came!"

"Rukia, who the fuck is this guy?!" the man from her past spat.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, now tell me who the fuck you are!"

"Abarai Renji, her longtime childhood friend!"

Ichigo raised a brow and stared at him. Childhood friend? Was he a male stripper? Ichigo's eyes squinted in recognition.

"You! You're that guy from the bar! That bartender!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the red head. The one who called himself Renji raised a brow before throwing his head back and laughing.

"You're that newbie!" All traces of laughter left his face when he looked at the whimpering Rukia that was hiding behind the orange head.

"Rukia, you have to go back now, make up an excuse to say but you-"

"NO!" she screamed, clutching Ichigo's jacket. Ichigo glared at the red head but he looked as if he had no clue of what was happening.

"Rukia, this isn't the time to play games, you have to go back, Ichima-"

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" she screeched, blocking her ears and clinging tight to Ichigo's body. Ichigo held one arm out to shield the fragile Rukia from view, as he glared venomously at Renji.

"Look, Renji pal-"

"Don't address me so well and don't call me pal!"

"Yea, whatever mate, but I think it's time for you to leave," Ichigo said dangerously.

"You wouldn't understand!" Renji growled. He diverted his attention to the part of Rukia he could see and continued to plead with her.

"Rukia come on, let's have a small chat so I can update you on what's happening, you need to-"

"Go away Renji!" Rukia said harshly in between sobs. Ichigo held onto her arm and glared at the said man. Renji sighed in frustration and looked straight into Ichigo's eyes.

"Look here, get that woman to sit down and talk peacefully with me, otherwise all hell will be set loose."

"And why should I listen to you?" Ichigo asked warily with a glare. Renji looked straight into Ichigo's eyes with a desperation and sadness Ichigo had seen before. Ichigo reluctantly turned towards Rukia and whispered quiet words in her ear that got Renji curious.

"Rukia, I'll sit right beside you. Apparently, this Renji guy really needs to talk to you," he said quietly. Rukia shook her head, her glassed over eyes looking up at his desperately.

"No, don't let him, he'll take me back there-"

"I won't let him." Rukia's eyes widened at the fierce determination she could see in Ichigo's eyes, and finally gave in, sitting back down in her small booth. Renji sighed in relief and sat across her slowly, so not to startle her. Ichigo sat beside Rukia and wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close to him.

"Speak," Ichigo commanded before the redhead opened his mouth to explain the situation back down town.

"Any sign of her?" he spat venomously into the phone.

"No, Aizen-sama. Please excuse us for our failure," a dull voice on the other line said.

"Where the fuck has she gone?!" Aizen growled, hanging up on his private detective.

"Relax, I'm sure she'll come back sooner or later. After all, we have our best little minions looking for her now!" Ichimaru gin said slyly, the grin on his face still intact. Aizen ran a hand through his unruly, brown locks and sighed in frustration, sitting back down on his black, leather chair.

"You don't know how many clients have been asking for her, it's frustrating!"

"Uh, actually, I do know, because half of them come to me," Ichimaru said in a monotone.

"Shut up!" he snarled. Ichimaru shrugged his shoulders, already used to his partner's mood swings ever since Rukia had disappeared. He looked down at the street window below and glared out with his small, red eyes.

Rest assured you're never free from us Rukia. You'll always belong to us.

Don't forget you can't ever escape.

The café was still cautious of the three customers that sat by the window, consisting of two older punks and one fragile woman that seemed too bony and thin to be healthy. Half the people in the small shop flinched in surprise once the man with the orange hair slammed a fist onto the table.

"She's being chased?!"

"Keep it down will ya?!" Renji said in a hushed voice. Rukia looked down at the small mug that held her coffee. It suddenly didn't seem so appetizing anymore.

"Look, just leave Rukia here, and then all will be-"

"No! If I leave Rukia here, he's bound to find her and punish her! She has to go back so that she could say something like a customer held her hostage for service every night, or something like that!" Renji said in exasperation. Ichigo stood up and slammed his hands onto the table.

"How could you say something like that?!" he roared. Renji too, stood up, while Rukia only sat with her head hung down, fists clenched on her lap.

"It's the only way she'll get away from punishment!"

"No..."

Ichigo and Renji turned towards the soft voice that whispered and watched in shock. Tears fell into her laps as large drops fell and stained her dress. She wrung her dress in her hands and tried to stop the tears with eyes wide.

"If he catches me, or if I return to him, then he'll torture me. I know he will. Regardless of what happens, he'll take away my baby..." she whispered. Ichigo immediately sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her. Renji watched in horror, his mouth agape.

"No, no, fuck no! Rukia, please tell me you're not pregnant!" Renji swore loudly and dumped himself back onto the seat when Rukia choked back a sob and closed her eyes tightly. "Rukia, do you realize what you've done?!"

"Hey! Watch it! Leave her the fuck alone, I'll take care of her!" Ichigo snapped at Renji.

"And what? I assumed you're the father!?" Renji sneered.

"So what if I am!?" Renji's jaw dropped for the second time.

"Oh you're fucking kidding me! You're absolutely joking!"

"This is 100 percent fucking real mate, and I'm going to look after her and our baby together!" Ichigo shouted. The whole café was silent. They watched it intensely like a drama. Only live.

Renji groaned and held his head in his hand. He had a huge migraine coming at him at 100 miles per second. He looked over to Rukia and allowed his beady, black eyes to soften. The girl he grew up with, the prostitute she became, was crying into the arms of another man that wasn't him. Growing up together, they both became harsh when it came to reality, so comfort was rare. Renji glanced at the man that held her, and felt…

Secure.

Like he could actually leave Rukia in his arms.

As if he could actually trust this man.

Ichigo's eyes were downcast, staring adoringly at the crying woman in his eyes, stroking her hair softly, and whispering things of comfort. Something that Renji stopped doing long ago. Renji sighed and looked back at Rukia, and then her stomach. She was still bone thin, possibly thinner than he last saw her, but there was a life growing inside of her. Renji stood up and gruffly told the couple to follow him. Ichigo glared at him while Rukia watched him warily.

"I promise. I won't hand you in Rukia."

And at that, Rukia stood up immediately and dragged Ichigo behind her to follow Renji.

It was later that Ichigo learned whenever Renji kept a promise, he would never break it. She learned at the young age of 7, when they were still childish, she had dared him to jump off a bridge into a river. He refused, and she cried, so he promised he would do it in the daytime.

Next morning, he jumped off.

It took her until nightfall to find his unconscious body barely lying on top of a small boulder. The other time he kept a promise was when she became pregnant, and even if Ichimaru and Aizen asked him, he would keep his mouth shut.

He barely came back alive to their apartment.

Ichigo held Rukia's hand tightly and watched the man in front of him warily. Rukia walked calmly as if she had never shed a tear just 5 minutes ago. When Ichigo looked ahead of the man that led them, and his eyes widened. He was taking them to a small fancy restaurant. Ichigo remained silent the whole time. Rukia's hand tightened as she stared at the place in wonder. She had never been to something so fancy just to eat food.

They were seated at the back of the cozy food home, with water and menus served straight away. Rukia looked at many of the words blankly. The katakana and hiragana mixed with kanji clouded her eyes and jumbled around in her mind, making her dizzy. She had never learned how to read yet. She always had Renji to read for her.

"Chi…Ch…Chi…k-ken… Chikken... to…ton…"

"Is that what you'd like, Rukia?" Ichigo asked warmly. She looked up at him behind her menu with wide puppy-like eyes, and pouted with a blush.

"Wait a second," she shushed him, before returning to reading. "Chi…kken… to…tono? No… Ton…"

"Chikken tonkatsu Rukia," Renji said calmly, looking at his own menu. She threw her menu at Renji, which he so calmly dodged and huffed. She glared at Ichigo when he stared at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"What?!" she snapped.

"Rukia… you can't… read can you?" he said cautiously, in case she would throw her water at him.

"So?!" she snapped again, blushing. Ichigo laughed a rich melody to her ears as she blushed, and held her position stiffly, arms crossed, shoulders hunched and eyes shifting off to the side. He laughed and nuzzled his head into her hair as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She still looked angry, but nonetheless had the small twitch of a smile threatening to break her frown. Renji observed the couple with sharp eyes as he peered past his menu. He watched as Ichigo pinched her cheeks and rubbed them, and he watched as Rukia feigned anger, but laughed nonetheless. He looked at her stomach where her future child was.

There's a life in there…he thought to himself. He looked back at the two that were in some sort of an amusing staring contest and looked back at the stomach. And as long as she has that life in there… I'll hide her from Ichimaru and Aizen… For as long as I can. He looked back at his menu with determination as he thought of ways to avoid the two boss men. He came back to reality when he heard Ichigo trying to get his attention.

"Oi, hey! You 'right there?" Ichigo joked, snapping his fingers. "Have you decided what to eat?" Renji looked back down and searched.

"I'll have… The Tempura udon bowl. What about you two?" he asked.

"I'm having tonkatsu while Rukia wants me to eat half of her udon and she wants half of my tonkatsu," Ichigo said lightly, as if he wouldn't let her eat his.

"Hey! You made a deal on it!"

Renji found himself chuckling along with the pair reluctantly, as he found it hard to let go of being Rukia's protector. He practically raised her and himself, and shielded them both from being killed, and yet-

Here he was, giving her away to another man. He stared down Ichigo and waited until the laughing man saw the attention he was receiving. As soon as Ichigo met eyes with Renji, his laughter died down, and so did Rukia's. Renji stared deep into Ichigo's eyes, which kind of irked him, but they both kept their stares constant. Rukia slowly tangled her fingers in Ichigo's long ones, and she held onto him tightly, staring at Renji cautiously as if he would separate the two.

"How do you plan on doing it?" Renji asked quietly. Ichigo raised a brow at this, and Renji scoffed. "Looking after her and your baby I mean. How will you take care of them?" Ichigo cleared his throat.

"I will raise the child together with Rukia. I will support them both financially. I will protect them, from anything that comes our way."

Only the chatter of the other rich people in the restaurant were heard as Renji and Ichigo glared each other down, and Rukia could feel herself doubting Ichigo's words. Renji chuckled and gulped his glass of water down. He looked back at Ichigo with a smirk.

"I think I can actually trust this one Rukia." Rukia tightened her grip on Ichigo's arm and surprised the two men as she had a half lidded, content face that had the ghost of a smile lingering on her lips.

"I think I can too…"

Renji watched with blunt amusement as Ichigo and Rukia fought for their food with chopsticks as if they were pen-twirling professionals. They snapped at each other's fingers and chopsticks alike, and fought for noodles, tonkatsu, rice, and side salads too. With a snap and a click here, occasional grunts of pain were heard from time to time as a victor ended up with a noodle strand or a small piece of fried pork.

Renji quietly ate his own meal and smiled at the two from time to time as Ichigo would occasionally wipe a crumb from her mouth with a napkin, or lose a piece of tonkatsu from her powerful shin kick. When the time to pay the bill came, Renji stood up, and as soon as he did, so did Ichigo, half raised from his seat, hand on the small black clipboard that held the expensive prices. Ichigo looked up when Renji held a strong grip on his wrist that told him to let go. Ichigo understood his need and dropped his hand from the bill, letting Renji walk away.

"Ok, Ichigo, let's go. Where's-" her eyes widened in fear as she watched Renji stride towards the counter to pay. She quickly grabbed the sleeve of Ichigo and began to beg. "Ichigo! Ichigo! Don't let him! Stop him Ichigo!!" she pleaded. Ichigo stared down at her pleading eyes. "No, don't let him pay! He doesn't even have enough money to support himself, don't let him pay!" Ichigo held Rukia's trembling shoulders and breathed in.

"Rukia-"

"Don't let him, please, he has no money to survive on, don't let him Ichigo!" she cried. "Don't let him pay!" As she tugged and pleaded with him, pulling at his shirt, Ichigo looked at Renji who was paying right now with a dejected face, but stood still.

"There's something you have to know… About a man Rukia," he said quietly. She raised her doe like eyes to look at his straight face. "Men are selfish bastards that have a point in their life where they completely devote themselves to one thing. And in this case, Renji has been unselfish all his life, and it's Pride that's keeping him going all the way." Ichigo let out a sharp breath as he felt the wind get knocked out of his windpipe by a rather small hand.

"You're useless!" she muttered angrily before storming off in Renji's direction. By the time she had roughly turned him around to face her, mouth open wide about to yell-

He slapped her.

In no time, Ichigo held Renji up by his collar.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" he growled loudly. The people in the small restaurant stared at him with caution. Again, the attention was on them.

"You wouldn't understand, stand down Ichigo," Renji said angrily. Ichigo raised his collar higher.

"You shit-headed ass hole-"

"Ichigo!" Rukia's voice shouted. Ichigo looked down at the petite woman, shocked at her volume. His chest tightened when he saw that she was crying, cheeks tinted red. "He's right."

"Rukia, no matter what the situation, he didn't deserve to hit-"

"No! I did. I deserved it! Ichigo, let him go," she said dully. She looked back at Renji hopelessly as she received his message. Renji reluctantly gave the counter woman the money, and received barely any change in return, returning it to his very empty wallet. He looked at Rukia and smiled weakly. Ichigo watched the sad exchange between the two with a confused expression, but said nothing, nonetheless.

They walked outside together and bid each other farewell.

"See you… Renji," Rukia murmured, clinging onto Ichigo's arm, avoiding eye contact with the red head.

"Yea… See you… Rukia," he said wistfully. He looked at Ichigo and offered his hand in a handshake. Ichigo shook it firmly, nodding his head.

"See ya later man," Ichigo said in a forced act of kindness. Renji flinched at the words but nodded.

"Yea… Hey, take care of her real well for me, kay?" Renji asked desperately. Ichigo nodded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Renji nodded and cast one last forlorn look at Rukia, who stared at him with equal sadness. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, Rukia and Renji knew, this would indeed most likely be the last exchange of words they would share. Rukia watched Renji stalk off into the night, and engraved his body features into her head before she would never see him again.

The two of them knew, that he would not survive one meeting with Aizen and Ichimaru. As a last farewell, Renji had paid the debt, knowing he would never see her again. Ichigo tugged on Rukia's hand to keep her moving, but didn't ask about the tears that leaked from her lashes.

"This person is unavailable right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP."

"A…ano… Miyu-san? Yea…I just… I'm sorry about today. Where did you go? I just called to see if you made it home safely. I'll check in on you tomorrow, to see if you're well. You left so suddenly when my… other friend… came in. I hope to see you again soon, Miyu-san. Oh, and it's Rukia by the way. Well… Anyways… see ya."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She sat on the couch quietly, watching the bubbles in her drink dance to the surface, her eyes long dry from crying. She looked over to the time and noticed it was around 11 at night. Rather late for Rukia who she abandoned at 2:30-ish. Miyu watched the bubbles once again, before closing her eyes to the stinging sensation that rose again. She looked at the phone where the message had come from and let a few tears escape again.

I'm sorry Rukia… I can't reveal myself now…

Forgive me.

"Rukia?" his voice called from across the room. Rukia turned her head to see Ichigo wearing nothing but track pants and a towel around his neck that he currently used to dry his hair. Rukia looked back down at the phone she still held in her hand before setting it back in its cradle. She turned to him with a weak smile.

"Hey, Ichigo," she said softly. He padded across the room to her.

"Hey yourself. What're you doing out here with the phone? Calling your family?" he asked quietly. Rukia felt a pang of pain shoot through her as she once again fingered the locket at her neck.

"Uh… yeah… no I actually phoned my friend Miyu, to see if she was there. There was no reply, so I thought I'd check on her tomorrow. Is that ok?" Rukia asked Ichigo in the dark. He nodded slowly, contemplating.

"Yeah… yeah that's fine, it's just that I have work tomorrow, so I don't really think I can look after you-"

"No! It's ok, I'll be with Miyu-san," Rukia said hurriedly. Ichigo raised a brow.

"Well then, where was she today?" Ichigo challenged. Rukia dropped her head a few centimetres, looking at his bare feet and her Chappy the Rabbit slippers.

"That's why I'm worried…" Rukia whispered. Ichigo stared at her for a while before letting out a sigh.

"Come on, we got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, we better get to bed," he said with a tired edge, leading her up the stairs. Rukia nodded and blankly followed. Strangely enough, the food she ate today wasn't trying to come back out at all. She arrived at the door to their bedroom without knowing it, and pushed it open gently to slip inside her blanket of security.

She listened to the silence of the night and the sound of Ichigo rustling his blankets to slip into his own sleeping haven. Without ever realizing it, she felt lonely in the comfortable blankets she was wrapped in. She quietly turned over to look at Ichigo's peaceful figure that was illuminated by the moonlight, and shook. She was afraid. Back in her old town, she slept alone, but she was independent. Now with Ichigo by her side nearly everywhere, she was scared without someone by her side at all times.

She let her cold feet touch the floor beneath her and tiptoed to the bed across the room. She looked down at Ichigo's peaceful figure and watched him quietly. Sinking to her knees, she began to stroke his hair as his face was turned towards her, his quiet snores leaving his mouth slightly ajar. Smiling, she continued to stroke his hair. He began to frown and close his mouth as his eyes fluttered open. He found a goddess looking at him with heavenly purple eyes that shone brightly, and pale white skin that glowed in the moonlight.

Holy crap it was Rukia.

"AHHHH!" He rolled until he was far away from her and bumped his head on the wall hard. He cussed and held his head, looking at Rukia cautiously. What was she doing? She shrugged before climbing into bed with him.

Wait.

What?

CLIMBING INTO BED?!

"Rukia!" he said in a panic, now sitting up. "I-I know what your former occupation is, and sure, we did that once, but it was just once! I'm not ready for another go, come on, you're pregnant! Rukia-" he was silenced when she lightly smacked his head and laid her head down on the pillow.

"Idiot, I'm too tired for that. Just let me sleep with you." After those words, Ichigo never heard another word come from her mouth, apart from her light breathing. He stared down at her figure and sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. He stiffly returned to the comforting surface of his fluffy bed and faced the wall, away from Rukia.

Who gives, it was just one night right?

She found with each passing second it was getting harder to breathe. Her legs felt like deadweight that was trapped under a whole building as her chest was tight with constriction. Her arms still had half the ability to move. Her eyes felt like they were being flooded with light, though closed. She opened her eyes in a panic, trying to see what was happening to her.

She looked at Ichigo and cussed loudly. He was snoring quite loudly with his arm draped across her chest and his leg on top of both of hers. She pushed him off with brute force and tipped him over until his body crashed into the wall. He screamed and sat up with his defense up, expecting that it was his father that tipped him. He looked at the angry face of Rukia and yawned before flopping down on his side to sleep again, his back facing her.

Not appreciating the lack of attention he gave her, she made his morning hell.

"Woahh… Kurosaki you look like shit, what happened?" Uryuu snickered before turning the snicker into a laugh.

"Rukia happened to me."

Uryuu immediately stopped laughing and sympathized for the poor man. He was once under the angry wrath of Rukia, and knew how bad it was. Remembering why he had arrived at Ichigo's office, he had the mental image of a light bulb.

"Say, Kurosaki, I called your home phone but you don't ever answer it. Why don't you pick up the home phone anymore?" Ichigo looked up at Uryuu over his coffee mug while he sat in his black leather chair, Uryuu next to him while leaning on the table.

"Ah, that's cause I don't live there anymore…" Ichigo trailed off, sipping at his coffee.

"What? When did you move?"

"Not that I moved, it's just that I mostly sleep over at the clinic with dad and the twins so that easy access is easy to the clinic."

"Why would you do that? You're a top doctor at my hospital and-"

"You idiot, we're taking care of Rukia."

"… Is that where she lives?" Ichigo sent a scathing glare at Uryuu.

"Idiot, where else?"

"Ichigo, we don't have a single bloody file on this woman, and we don't know any information about her except for her given name, and her birthday!"

Wow… even I didn't know her birthday… Ichigo contemplated, setting his mug down and staring at the skeleton model next to the examination table across his office.

"Are you listening to me Kurosaki!?"

"Yea yea, what do you want!?"

"I-" Uryuu was extremely pissed when Ichigo's phone rang. Ichigo chuckled and brought out his phone, frowning when he saw the called ID number was unknown.

"Hello, Ichigo speaking."

"…"

"…Hello?" Ichigo's frown pulled down further when no one replied. His eyes snapped open wider when he heard a sob. "Hello?! Who's there?! Yuzu?!"

"I-Ichigo…" Shit, it was Rukia.

"Rukia?! What's wrong, are you ok!? Are you menstruating?!" he said in a panic, wondering if the baby was dead. Ichigo's heart clenched at the thought and his stomach twisted. "Rukia?! Rukia, baby, tell me what's wrong!?" Ichigo said hurriedly, beginning to pick up his keys. Uryuu stared at Ichigo's face and realized, never, had he seen Kurosaki Ichigo look as frightened as he did now.

"I-Ichigo…I-Ichi-"

"Rukia, what is it?!"

"Y-Yu-"

"Me? What's wrong, do you need me there?!" The change of pitch in her sobs that constantly shook indicated that she was shaking her head roughly.

"Y-Yuzu, she, Ichigo!" she cried. "I-I don't know what to do, what do I do, Ichigo, she's, she's-!"

"Rukia, what's wrong with her?!"

"She's not breathing!" she wailed.

Author's Note -

Heheh.. was that a good cliffy? ^^

Sorry, I just tend to get stuck at lots of places in this story, so I tried hard to update, this I really did! Besides the fact I have 8 tests next week :(

I'll try to update this too when I can, which might happen soon cause I'm getting a laptop. Laptops equal portable. Portable equals everywhere anywhere :D

But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! xD

Ruki-Chan