Ichigo quickly opened the door and held onto it as Rukia slowly entered the house with their one week old baby in her arms. "Slowly," he told her, watching her every move.
"I know," she groaned as she carefully slipped out of her shoes and stepped out of the genkan. Once she was inside, Ichigo closed the door and placed a hand on her back to help her walk. "Ichigo, I'm fine."
But he dismissed her by carefully leading them to the stairs. They came to a halt at the base and looked up. "Do you want me to carry you upstairs?"
A vein popped out as Rukia took the first step. "I'm fine," she muttered through her gritted teeth.
"Rukia! Be careful!" he quickly followed after her, "You haven't completely recovered from giving birth—"
"If you don't shut up I'm going to kick you," she threatened as she arrived at the top of the stairs. "And for the last time, I'm fine so please stop pestering me about the tiniest things."
He glared at her as he reached the nursery. "Bitch, is this the thanks I get for watching over your safety?" They both arrived at the new baby crib where Rukia lightly placed the sleeping Takeshi inside it. The baby squirmed a little to get more comfortable on his new bed before he started to breath more evenly again.
The new parents let out a breath in relief. "Let's get out before he wakes up," Rukia said she quietly pushed out.
Ichigo silently closed the door before leading them back to his room. "We actually made it without waking him up," he sighed.
Rukia absentmindedly nodded as she made her way to his bed and gently set her body on the mattress. She slipped off her long coat and tossed it onto the chair by his desk, not bothering to change out of the light sun dress she was wearing. "I'm getting some sleep," she said as she rested on her side, facing the window.
"And I'm joining you," he walked over and carefully got on the bed behind her. After stripping down to only his boxers and checking to make sure the baby monitor was working, he pulled up the covers around them and settled down. Just as sleep was about to befall over him, he felt Rukia moving around as she cuddled against him. He groaned. "Stay still."
"Sorry," she muttered, "It still feels weird without having the baby inside me anymore."
"It's natural," he yawned as he moved to accommodate for her body against him, "Just ignore it and go to sleep. The others are going to be here in a few hours and we won't get any rest when that happens."
Rukia mumbled some incoherent words as she closed her eyes to try and sleep. The past week was spent in the hospital as she recovered from giving birth. It was still surreal to finally feel and see her baby that sometimes it felt like he wasn't hers.
But there was no denying that he was her child. Takeshi was born with her dark hair and violet eyes. It seemed he adopted absolutely nothing from his father at first glance…but the moment he started crying whenever he was taken away from his mother was proof enough that he was just like Ichigo.
Though he may not look like him, Takeshi's personality was so similar to Ichigo that even he was surprised. The kid was already a mommy's boy and would give a familiar scowl whenever something didn't go his way. And Isshin had graciously played videos of Ichigo when he was a baby, showing every inch of him as he cried for his mother. Ichigo screamed at his father to turn off the tape but Rukia just laughed, noticing just how much more similar he and their child really were.
After a full rest in the hospital—plus several more days because Isshin didn't want her to stress her body too much—they were finally able to bring their baby home. Right after dropping them off, Isshin took the twins and Yume to the some last minute shopping for that night. Apparently, without Ichigo or Rukia's knowledge, they had invited all their friends to their house to give the baby a homecoming, only informing them just before they were dropped off in front of the house.
So within a few hours the Kurosaki residence will be filled with its usual noise and excitement…but until then, the two just wanted some sleep in their comfortable bed—
"WAHH! WAH! WAAH!"
But time just flies by so quickly when there was a baby.
The two new parents cringed as the cries of their newborn baby screeched out to them through the monitor, slowly bringing them out of their short slumbers and into reality.
"Ichigo," Rukia groaned. "Go get him."
If it was any other day, he would have just kicked her out the bed, but seeing how she was still recovering, Ichigo pulled his heavy body up and dragged his feet to where his son was crying. "I'm coming," he yawned as he slipped into the nursery.
Turning on the lights, Ichigo approached the crib and reached for his infant son. Pulling him up, Ichigo held his son securely in his arms before gently rocking him side to side. Takeshi's cries quickly ended as he stared at his father and his outrageous hair.
Another warm, tingling feeling went through Ichigo's body as he stared straight into Takeshi's eyes. "Hey there, kiddo," he smiled.
The baby merely blinked several times in response.
"What ya' looking at?" he narrowed his eyes at him although his grin was still intact. "You have a problem with me, punk?" Takeshi just continued blinking at him before closing his eyes with a peaceful look on his face.
It amazed Ichigo that he actually created this perfect being in his arms. For several more minutes, he continued to gently rock his son as he sat on the rocking chair. He took the time to memorize every little inch of his son's face, completely ignorant of how much time was ticking away.
"Is he asleep?"
Ichigo looked up to see Rukia leaning against the open door. He smiled at her while still rocking in the chair. "Why did you get up?"
"Your bed is too cold when you're not there," she shrugged as she approached him. She peered down at the now-sleeping baby and almost laughed. "I wonder why he woke up in the first place if he was going to go straight back to sleep."
"Who knows? Maybe he just wanted some attention."
As he slowly stood up, Rukia hugged him from behind to sigh. "Well, he sure does make a good alarm clock. We've been asleep for two hours and it's about time the others get here."
Ichigo immediately cringed at the thought. "Can't we just cancel it? It's not like we actually want to do it."
"I know but your father insists on it," she told him, "Not to mention our friends want to see Takeshi again."
"They saw him yesterday," he groaned.
"But they want to him again today," she smacked him lightly on the back and went back to staring at Takeshi. "Looks like he's asleep. You should put him down."
Ichigo nodded as he set the baby back into his crib, being careful as he removed his arms out from underneath him. After a few seconds of silence, reassuring them the baby was not going to wake up, Ichigo and Rukia quickly—but silently—left the nursery.
"We should set up downstairs."
He groaned again. "Please no."
Rukia rolled her eyes as she grabbed his wrist and led them down the stairs. Turning on all the lights, she looked around as if analyzing the place. "Where should we start?"
Ichigo sighed in defeat as he allowed her to shove a broom and duster into his hands.
The day had turned from bad to worse.
Ichigo was currently sitting by the kitchen table, 'chatting' with his buddies while the others were in the living room, torturing his poor son who had just woken up.
"KYAAAAAAA!" All the girls—minus Tatsuki and plus Isshin—all squealed over the baby crib. "KAWAIIIIIIII!"
Ichigo cringed at their high-pitched voices and felt bad that his son had to be at the receiving end of it. "I should go save him." Just as he was about to get up, a rough hand landed on his shoulder and shoved him back into his seat.
"You can try, but just know you'll never get back out alive," Ikkaku deadpanned, almost like he was talking to a soldier who was about to foolishly walk into a battlefield.
"What are you—"
"Takeshi can handle it since he's still young," Renji said as he placed his hand on the other shoulder, talking in the similar manner as his bald sempai. "But if you go in there, those ladies—plus your father—are just going to rip you apart."
Ichigo looked at his two friends before carefully looking over to where Takeshi was located amongst the sea of crazed women. And sure enough, it looked too dangerous. "So I'm supposed to just stand by and watch while those wolves—and my crazy old man—devour my child?"
"Don't worry. He's immune to their threats," Ikkaku reassured him.
Renji nodded. "Yes, but we are not. Takeshi is taking this one for the team."
"What team?" Tatsuki rolled her eyes in pure annoyance, suddenly appearing next to them. "You guys are talking shit."
"Quiet, woman! And why are you here with us when you should be with your kind over there?" Ikkaku snapped at her.
"What exactly does that mean?" she snarled at him as she started to roll up her sleeves.
Immediately noticing the danger, Renji quickly grabbed her arms from behind, holding her back. "Calm down, Arisawa!"
"Let go of me, pineapple!" she barked at him, her legs flying around as she tried to kick the man in front of her, "I'm going to beat this crystal ball to the future!"
"Bring it!" he challenged back, although he was also being held back by Yumichikia.
Ichigo just groaned as he got back up, but instead of going to his son he made his way into the kitchen to escape the chaos. His mood got slightly better when he saw Rukia, who was moving some food onto a plate. "Hey, what are you doing here all by yourself?"
She looked up at him and sighed. "Getting away from all the screaming. I was going to bring Takeshi with me, but that would be bringing the source of all the chaos with me."
"I know what you mean," he nodded as he reached over to a plate of fruits and popped a grape into his mouth. "At least he's not complaining about all the attention. He hasn't cried once."
"I guess it's because he knows he's safe and no one is going to hurt him when we're only a few feet away."
Ichigo snorted as he leaned against the fridge. "I'm afraid what this might do to Takeshi's state of mind."
"Don't worry. It's not like he's going to turn into your father."
"Let's hope not," he sighed.
As they were chatting, Yoruichi suddenly appeared in the kitchen and joined in on their conversation. "What are the two new parents doing here?"
"Hiding from the warzone," Ichigo deadpanned, "Pretty soon those people are going to start ripping each other's heads off."
The older woman chuckled at the thought. "You should have at least saved your kid from the battle scene. Isshin is already cooing at Takeshi's little 'wee-wee,' saying how it's going to grow big as his."
"Oh shit no," Ichigo cursed as he ran out to intercept his father. The two remaining women merely stood still as they heard the enraged new-father attacking his father. And no sooner were his words said before they saw Isshin being thrown across the room, pass the kitchen, and slam into the wall.
Yoruichi laughed as she eyed her old friend. "I knew Ichigo would become protective over his kid, just like Isshin."
"Don't tell Ichigo that. Hearing how similar he is to his father is an insult," Rukia smirked.
"I won't," she smiled at her before asking. "So how does it feel to be a mom? Is your body feeling better?"
The moment she heard those words, Rukia felt her body aching all over. "Better than before, I guess. At least I can walk around without wincing every few steps."
"I remember when I had Jinta," Yoruichi said, cringing at the memories, "I hated the pain so much that I decided 'no more kids.' It took me months to get back my figure."
Rukia looked down at her own figure and sighed. "How long does it usual take women to get rid of this weight from pregnancy?"
"Differs with each person," she answered, "Just eat healthy and walk around a lot. I heard yoga is good since it doesn't put too much stress on your body." Rukia merely nodded as her hands felt around her wide stomach. Yoruichi just stared at her face as it turned more depressing by the second. Smiling, she patted the young mother's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure Ichigo still thinks you're beautiful."
Rukia looked up with a sudden red hue on her face as she shook her head. "N-no! That's not why—I mean, that's nice…but I'm—"
But Yoruichi interrupted her by laughing out loud. "If you don't believe me, then let's go ask him ourselves."
"Wha—Yoruichi-san!" Rukia gasped when she grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the kitchen.
"Ichigo!" she called out as she dragged the other woman into the living room with her.
The said man looked up and immediately felt something bad was going to happen by the look on both women's faces. "What?"
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, she pulled Rukia in front of her and literally shoved her forward.
"Wah!" Rukia screamed but was luckily caught in time by a pair of muscular arms that wrapped around her body. She slightly winced due to her sore body, but relaxed against the rock-hard chest that she knew so well. "Thanks," she whispered.
"No problem," Ichigo whispered back before throwing the other woman a glare. "What the hell was that for? Rukia could have gotten seriously hurt!"
"So protective," Urahara sighed from the side.
Ichigo just growled his annoyance at him before looking back at the laughing Yoruichi. "Seriously, why did you do that?"
"I just wanted to ask you something," she smirked, "We—as in both Rukia and I—were wondering if—"
"Yoruichi-san!" Rukia tried to stop her, but she was already too late.
"—You still think Rukia's beautiful even if her body's not back to normal. And if she wanted to, are you still willing to sleep with her like this?"
Ichigo immediately grew red at the question while Rukia groaned in despair. "Wha—what kind of q-question is that?" he yelled.
"A totally logical question!" Isshin suddenly popped up out of nowhere and grabbed Rukia—who was still in Ichigo's embrace—and placed her in front of Ichigo as if she was a picture that was being shown around. "Now Ichigo, even though Rukia-chan might not be back to her original self, she's still the same woman. So you better treat her with great care and love."
"But I—"
"What would your dear mother say if she finds out you were only with Rukia-chan because of her great figure!" Isshin cried as he hugged Rukia tightly against his chest, "She'd be turning in her grave if you end up throwing away Rukia-chan just because she has put on some weight! When did our son turn into such an inconsiderate person?"
Ichigo groaned as his father continued with his banter. It was only when he caught Rukia's glare, asking for him to save her that he finally stepped forward. He quickly shoved his father away and pulled Rukia back against him. "Shut up already! You're a grown man but you're crying more than Takeshi!"
"How dare you!" Isshin gasped, "Takeshi should be crying a lot more like me or else he might be turned into an insensitive jerk like you who doesn't appreciate his mother!"
"Shut up!" he punched his father, sending him flying once more.
"Ara, isn't this getting exciting!" Urahara sang out loud as ducked in time to avoid his friend's body.
But instead of staying down, Isshin jumped back up and dived towards his son. "Not fast enough, my first offspring!"
Rukia sidestepped just in time to avoid the attack and walked over to pick up her son, keeping him a safe distance away from the fight by taking him out of the room. "Please don't ever grow up to be like them," she whispered to the yawning Takeshi.
It didn't take a few seconds before Ichigo noticed Rukia was no longer in the room. He tossed aside Isshin one last time with all his strength, successfully knocking him out. "Fucking old man, just stay down for good."
"You know you'll miss him the moment he stops," Yoruichi teased him.
"Shut up," he glared at her, "I'm going upstairs." With only a wave, he left everyone downstairs and made his way to his room. He first looked inside to see if Rukia was there, but when it was completely dark and empty he slowly made his way to the nursery. Slightly opening the door, he peered inside and a genuine smile spread over his face as he watched Rukia rocking their baby to sleep.
It was the perfect picture that he would never forget.
A/N: Aw! I think the last bit about Rukia rocking the baby was sweet. I remember someone telling me how much he fell in love with his wife even more when he watched her taking care of their first born. That was the sweetest thing I ever heard. So I wanted to add a similar part in here.
How did you guys like the Isshin-craziness? He is my favorite character to write. I will never get bored with him because I can experiment all kinds of actions with him. So wait to read more about him.
Thanks a lot for reading. Please review and I hope to find time to make a "THANK YOU" list very soon (hopefully within the next three chapters).
(Sorry but no preview this time; I'm still working on it)
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