One more week.
Rukia only had one more week before she had to leave. And now, she could slowly feel the change in her reiatsu. Isshin and Urahara had given her almost daily check up with positive signs that the child was healthy. Yoruichi kept making fun of Isshin on how stupid his son was to not have noticed Rukia's reiatsu changing.
This was true. It seemed everyone knew except Ichigo. At school, Rukia confronted Uryuu, and Chad with Orihime and Tatsuki standing by. And of course everyone in Soul Society found out after Renji and Byakuya returned home. Rukia had to inform them all the detail as to why she couldn't tell Ichigo and why she was going to leave soon. They all sympathized with her and helped to relieve her of as much stress as possible.
Renji and Byakuya were still making things pretty hard though. Several times the two would sneak back to the human world to try and kill Ichigo but Rukia kept holding them back. They finally got back their senses when she started to cry. Of course Ichigo was oblivious to the whole matter.
And now here she was, in the middle of the shopping center, waiting for Ichigo to go on their date. He kept going on and on about how they should go out everyday since they wouldn't be able to for at least six months. But today, Rukia had been standing a full ten minutes in front of a baby store she was passing by.
In the display window was a set of clothes, blankets and toys for newborns and she couldn't help but smile. Rukia remembered how whenever she walked by this store before, she pictured herself walking in with Ichigo to buy clothes for their child. But it never really interested her too much before.
And now she was about to have a child. Never had she thought a child would be coming this soon… and without Ichigo's knowledge. She let out a sigh, which she has been doing a lot for the past several days.
"Oi, Rukia!"
The said woman jumped as Ichigo ran towards her.
"Sorry for being late," he gasped for air, "Dad needed help with something."
"It's okay," Rukia stammered, hoping beyond hope that Ichigo hadn't noticed her standing in front of the baby store for a long time. Her prayers have been answered when Ichigo kept talking.
"Com'on, we gotta go if we want to catch that movie." Ichigo grabbed her hand and walked off to the theaters.
Rukia gave one last look at the baby store and turned her attention back at the street ahead of her.
That day Ichigo took her to watch the movie she's been dieing to watch. Ichigo was only grateful it wasn't another Chappy story. Instead it had a lot of action which got him all pumped up. He was only able to get rid of it when a Hollow came by.
Rukia stayed in the sidelines as she yelled at Ichigo about how stupid he was for missing his target. Ichigo would yell back by saying he was doing it on purpose since there was no reason to quickly finish the fun.
It was then Rukia noticed that it felt like the two were in the same situation during the first two months of her stay in Karakura. And not even once had Ichigo asked her why she didn't fight against the Hollows anymore. She didn't know if it was a good thing or not, to have an idiot for a boyfriend.
"Tadaima," they chorused.
By the time they got back home, it was already dinner time. Isshin was still busy at the clinic while the twins were home doing what they often do: Yuzu making dinner and Karin watching T.V.
"Okaeri," the twins chorused.
Rukia walked into the living room and sat next to Karin. "Anything good on?" she asked.
Karin shook her head and responded, "There was a good game on but it's already over," she pouted.
"You really should look for other hobbies," Ichigo joked as he walked over and ruffled his sister's black hair.
"Bug off," Karin pushed him aside and continued flipping through the channels.
"Did you guys eat anything yet?" Yuzu asked from the kitchen.
"Wanted to but Rukia wanted to eat your food instead of somebody else's," Ichigo replied.
"That's because those other places made me nauseous," Rukia retorted.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't sick anymore."
"That's not the point!" Rukia slapped the back of his head.
"Che, baka mono," Karin mumbled.
But her brother heard her. "What did you call me?"
"Stop harassing your sister, Ichigo!" Rukia placed her hands on her hips.
"Shouldn't you be on my side?"
"ICHIGOO!"
"AUGH!"
In a matter of two seconds, Isshin came flying through the doors and landed his two feet on Ichigo's face.
"That is not how you treat woman!" he lectured with his hands on his hips, "It would seem I still have a lot more to teach you in how to live a life of Love!"
Rukia watched on as Ichigo and Isshin fought against each other like they do everyday. A smile crept up on her face, knowing full well that she was going to miss this.
"You're lucky you don't have to go through with this for a long time, Rukia-neesan," Karin whispered.
Rukia shook her head at the eleven-year old. "I must disagree."
Rukia was sitting on the bed, waiting for Ichigo to return from his shower.
Tomorrow is the day.
The petite woman sighed as she leaned against the bedpost. Tomorrow she is to leave Ichigo for several months to secretly have their child. How time flies when you don't want them to…
At that moment Ichigo came inside and closed their door. Without glancing over at Rukia, he walked over to his drawer to grab something.
"What are you doing?" Rukia asked.
"Here," Ichigo walked over and he tossed her a wrapped up box.
"What is it?" Rukia shook the present against her ear.
Ichigo grunted as he threw his towel on the chair. "Just open the damn thing and you'll know."
Rukia gave him a glare before she ripped off the gift wrap. She then gasped upon seeing what the gift was. It was a baby set that included a blanket, small clothes, and a pair of shoes. They were all white with several black butterfly patterns at the corner of each item.
"Ichigo…"
The man sat on the bed and rested his chin on her shoulder, looking at the gift he bought her. "I saw you gawking at that thing a few days ago so I decided to buy it for you."
Rukia was still speechless as Ichigo grabbed the container that held everything from her hands and opened it, taking out the contents.
"I don't know why you women have a thing for buying this even when you're not even pregnant. But I know you wanted it," Ichigo smiled as he held the shoes on each finger and played with them, "And, I wanted to let you know that I see a future with you that includes a human being wearing this. So you better come back to me."
Rukia could no longer contain the tears in her eyes. She slowly let them out as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered, "Thank you… You have no idea how much this means to me."
Ichigo smiled as he wrapped his strong arms around her tiny waist and leaned back against the bed. "Just promise me you'll return."
Rukia nodded her head, "I promise."
She moved her head towards his and placed a kiss on his lips. It was suppose to be light but it became more passionate as Ichigo rolled on top of her and delved his tongue deeper in her throat.
It was already late in the night. But Rukia was still looking at the gift she had just received from Ichigo. The man turned over in his sleep and felt his arm bump against his girlfriend's leg.
"Sheesh," he muttered, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Rukia pulled the covers slightly higher over her exposed body and shook her head. "I just love your present."
Ichigo chuckled as he sat up and wrapped his arms around Rukia's waist. "Does that mean you also see a future with me?"
Rukia let out a small giggle while leaning back against his chiseled chest. "I don't see myself with anyone else except you."
That earned her a kiss from Ichigo on the top of her head. The two sat there, watching Rukia play with the baby blanket and shoes through the moonlight coming in from the window. The house was dark and quiet as was the entire neighborhood. It seemed almost like they were the only ones left…
Rukia was the first person to break the silence. "Ichigo?"
"Hmm?"
"Have you ever thought about what names you'd give our children?"
Ichigo placed his cheek on her head and thought for a few seconds. "I don't think so. What about you?"
"Well," Rukia said, "I haven't really thought about it either… but now that I am, I think I would like to name a girl 'Aiko.'"
Ichigo nodded his head. "The 'beloved.' I like that."
Rukia smiled. "I knew you would. And since I thought of a girl's name, you should make a boy's name."
"Hmm," Ichigo thought. And then something struck. "I got it."
"What is it?"
"If we have a boy, I want to name him 'Keitaro.'"
Rukia smiled widely. "The 'blessed.'"
Ichigo nodded his head and grinned, "Our children are going to be the 'beloved' and the 'blessed.'"
Rukia felt her chest tightening but tried to keep her calm demeanor. She was glad Ichigo was facing her back because he would have been able to tell something was wrong just by looking into her eyes. He would often tell her how he loved her violet eyes because they held the truth that she always tried to hide.
A/N: Okay, so that present thing will become significant later on... or at least it will be just a little bit. Still, who says it's bad to create a sweet moment between our favorite couple?
Just a reminder, the night Ichigo gives Rukia the gift is set several days after Rukia was staring into the baby shop. Thought you might want to know in case you missed the part about the 'next day' being the day Rukia leaves for Soul Society... which is in the next chapter!
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