Are you here yet?
She quickly punched back a quick text. Yes. Hurry up.
In a few seconds a reply came back. Alright. Just one more minute.
Closing her phone, Rukia looked up at the school building that she hadn't visited in weeks ever since the incident with that senior schoolmate that tried hitting on her. Apparently, whenever he appeared even a few yards from Ichigo or her other friends, they would immediately start cracking their knuckles, sending the man running the other way. It was nice to know so many people took care of her, but that didn't mean they had to scare the man to death every time.
But that didn't stop the smile forming on her face.
Placing a hand on her growing stomach, she rubbed it up and down in deep thought. Today was finally the day.
Ding ding ding! She heard the bell ringing from afar.
In less than a second she saw an orange blur running out of the school building. He skidded to a halt and tried to keep his composure through his labored breaths. "L-let's…ugh…go."
Rukia laughed out loud when she saw his distraught appearance. "You didn't have to rush out of there that fast."
"Don't be stupid," he huffed as he grabbed her hand and led her away. "I'm only excused for lunch and two classes. We need to finish the appointment today."
She smiled as she fell into step with him. "You didn't have to come with me."
"Psch," he snorted, "Why wouldn't I be there for you and the baby? Besides, today is a special day."
Instead of retorting, she nodded in agreement as they stopped at a bus stop, waiting for the bus to take them to downtown where Karakura Hospital was located at.
Today was the day they were going to find out the sex of their child. And because of this special day, Ichigo got permission to leave school during the middle of the day to accompany her as long as he returned within a few hours.
Everyone, especially the young parents, was excited to find out. Even as they got on the bus, Ichigo was having a hard time containing his excitement. But instead of running and screaming around like his father, he just expressed it by squeezing Rukia's hand as they sat down.
"So," he whispered so nobody else could hear them, "Which do you prefer: a boy or a girl?"
Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really mind. As long as the baby is delivered safely and is healthy."
He nodded as he placed a hand to rub her five-months, swollen stomach. "I agree. But I still would like to hear which one you'd prefer."
"Geez, why are you so persistent?" she jokingly slapped his arm. "Since you want to know so badly, why don't you tell me your preference first?"
"Okay." He sat up straight and placed an arm behind her on the seat. "I've been thinking and I like the idea of a boy."
"Sexist?"
He glared at her. "No. What I meant is that a boy is easier for me to raise. If we get a girl then I'd definitely be so overprotective of her that I know I'll never let her leave my side…or marry for that matter." He slightly cringed at the thought.
"But I wouldn't mind a little girl," she pouted.
He smirked at her cute expression. "I wouldn't mind either, as long as she doesn't grow up to be a bitch like you." His comment was immediately repaid with a stomp on his feet.
"I hope our son doesn't inherit that ugly mug of yours."
"Bitch," he snarled as he tried to keep his scream at bay.
She lightly chuckled as she placed a tired head on his shoulder. "It's not a bad thing to be overprotective."
He sighed as he placed his head on top of hers. "I know, but at least with a boy I can teach him how to protect himself."
"From what? Crazy fan girls?" she snickered.
"No," he nudged her head, "From crazy people like you." Again he was rewarded with her grinding her heel on his toe. "Alright," he growled in pain.
She snorted though she snuggled deeper in his warmth. They both remained quiet as they watched the buildings and people pass them through the large windows. Random thoughts came into their mind as the bus drove on by.
Rukia was busy thinking about all the things that came with having a baby. Kurosaki Isshin had fixed up the large storage room on the second floor so it could be used as the nursery for now. They had to paint the room, add designs on the wall, set up the crib, a changing table, a dresser… The list just went on and on. Not to mention the bath tub, the bottles, and the ever-so-required diapers.
However, Ichigo was thinking about a lot of other things. For starters, his arm behind Rukia came forward to wrap around her shoulder, holding her tighter against him. He didn't like the way the people on the bus were staring at them.
In fact, some of the elderly folks were glaring at them.
Without having to ask, he knew exactly what they were glaring at. Here they were, two high school students (obviously Ichigo was a student since he was wearing his school uniform), on their way to the hospital while discussing about the sex of their baby. Not to mention the actual baby bump that was very visible through her dress now. He placed a protective hand back on her stomach, kissing the top of her head.
Rukia was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts when she felt his lips. "Huh? What was that for?"
Ichigo looked down into her eyes with a smile. "Nothing. Why, is something wrong?"
She frowned at him. "You're just suddenly acting sweet, that's all."
"I'm always sweet," he kissed the crown of her head again, but this time got a scoff from her. He grinned into her hair, ignoring all the looks they were getting.
Sure they weren't sure what kind of relationship they were in now, but that didn't mean they didn't care about each other. And they weren't going to be bad parents just because they were having an unplanned baby.
No, in fact, they were going to shower this baby with so much love that no one can look down on them.
The moment the familiar area came into view, Ichigo quickly pressed the button on the side of the bus, triggering the buzzer to signal the driver to pull up in the next stop. Once the bus pulled to a halt Ichigo got up and held out a hand to help her up. Without feeling bothered by the criticizing looks, the two held hands as they got off the bus together.
As the bus drove away, Ichigo and Rukia looked up to see the giant hospital building standing in front of them. Slowly starting to feel nervous at what was to come, Ichigo tightened his grip on her hand as they entered the building.
"This is it," he whispered.
Rukia nodded as they came up to the front counter. "Hello," she greeted the nurse in front, "I have an appointment today?"
The young nurse looked up and smiled sweetly. "Name?"
"Kuchiki Rukia."
"Alright." She immediately started fumbling through her computer before smiling back up at her. "Suzuki-sensei will be with you in a moment. Just take a seat over there."
"Thank you," Rukia smiled back sweetly as Ichigo led her to the lobby where the chairs were laid out. He helped her sit down on a small couch and sat down next to her. She smiled as his hands immediately came to her stomach. "I'm nervous."
"Me too," he nodded.
"We can finally start picking out stuff for the baby once we know the sex," she continued, "Yuzu and obaachan has been going on and on about all these baby stuff they saw in my magazines."
Ichigo cringed at the thought of how that could dent his wallet. Since he was the father, Ichigo wanted to pay for most of the stuffs, but being just a student he didn't have much money except for all the allowances he's been saving. Luckily, Isshin excitingly stepped up to help raising his grandchild—with absolutely no fuss or consequence.
"Kuchiki Rukia?"
"Yes." Rukia, with Ichigo's help, got up to shake hands with her doctor. "Good to see you again."
Suzuki-sensei smiled as she released Rukia's hand. "Likewise. And it's good to see you again, Kurosaki-kun," she said as she shook Ichigo's hand next.
The orange head nodded. "Yes, good to see you again too."
"Well, follow me." She immediately led them down the halls and passed several rooms until they reached her office. "Let's check your weight first." Rukia followed her lead to the corner of the office where a scale was located. Ichigo sat down on a spare chair by the door as the doctor went over to grab her stuff while Rukia took off her shoes and stepped up to the stand. Standing up straight, the doctor came over and read the weight. Looking at her charts, she smiled brightly. "Looks like you gained 4.6 kg. That's good."
"How much am I suppose to gain by the end of the pregnancy?"
The doctor wrote some stuff as she answered, "Around 11 to 16 kg."
Rukia gasped. "Just how big is this baby going to be?"
The older woman lightly chuckled. "No dear. The baby should be a little over 3 kg, but there are a lot of other stuffs that forms the protective layer of the womb. Okay now, sit on the table and we'll check your blood pressure."
"Okay." After getting her shoes back on, Rukia went over to the examination table and sat on the edge. She remained still as the doctor wrapped the fabric cuff around Rukia's arm.
"So how are you?" she asked, starting a simple conversation as she started to pump air into the cuff.
The petite woman shrugged her other shoulder. "Not bad. I'm starting to feel the baby move."
"That's a good sign," she replied as she checked the number on the blood pressure reader. She wrote the number in her charts before ripping apart the Velcro ends. She placed it back in the rack on the wall as she helped Rukia sit higher up on the table. "Okay, lift up your shirt so we can start the ultrasound."
Lowering the zipper on the side, Rukia lifted the bottom of her body to pull down her skirt a little bit before lifting her shirt up until it rested under her breast. Lying straight on her back, she looked to the side to watch Suzuki-sensei gather up her equipment. As everything got ready, she took in a deep breath and looked up at the white ceiling.
The doctor stood next to Rukia and was just about to spread the gel on her lower abdomen when she looked behind her. "You can come up closer, if you want."
A startled Ichigo looked up. "Oh…C-can I?" He didn't know why he suddenly stuttered.
The kind doctor smiled. "Of course. After all, this is your baby."
"Okay," he gulped as he stood up from his seat. As he reached the other side of the table that Rukia was lying on, he gratefully accepted the doctor's chair, before settling down next to her. He took one of her hands and held it tightly.
"You two ready?"
They both nodded. "Yes."
"Alright, let's do this." The cold gel was squirted onto Rukia's round stomach. She gasped slightly from it, but remained still as the doctor placed the scanner over the gel and started to rub it around.
Both looked up at the monitor when they heard the sound of the baby's heartbeat.
No matter how many times they heard it, it still amazed them that they were actually listening to the living heartbeat of their baby. Ichigo squeezed her hand tighter in excitement.
Suzkui-sensei pressed several buttons before moving the screen so it was more visible to the parents. "There is your baby," she pointed.
Rukia gasped as she saw the definite shape of their baby. "Oh my gosh," she breathlessly stared at the screen.
"Look at that," Ichigo grinned as he leaned closer. "There's our baby."
Suzuki-sensei smiled brightly as she watched the happiness that appeared on both face. Never, in all her years working at the hospital, had she seen two teenage—un-expecting—parents with so much excitement sparkling in their eyes as they looked at their unborn baby. "Shall I tell you the gender?"
They both nodded. "Yes."
"Okay…" Pulling the monitor closer to her again, she examined the baby closely before pointing at something at the screen. "There it is."
Ichigo frowned as he tried to lean in even closer. "''There is' what?"
"His genital."
They both gasped.
She nodded. "It's a boy."
Ichigo couldn't wipe off the wide grin on his face as he 'watched' his teacher writing stuff on the board. He only had one more class to go after this, and it wasn't going fast enough. He wanted to quickly get home and play with Rukia's stomach again.
After all, he wanted to spend as much time with his son as possible.
A sigh of relief came from him as the bell finally rung and the teacher quickly left. Thus started the ten minutes break.
"Ichigo!"
"Kurosaki-kun!"
The said man looked up to see the girls all rushing over to him with anticipating smiles. "What?" He tried to act annoyed but his excitement couldn't be contained, nor his grin.
"So?" Hinamori asked, "Did you two find out the gender today?"
He looked around the crowd and nodded. "Yup."
"What is it?" Orihime was literally shaking with curiosity.
"Check it out." He pulled out the latest picture in his wallet and proudly displayed it out to his friends. "We're having a boy."
"Kya!" The girls—minus Tatsuki of course—squealed as they grabbed the picture for a closer look.
"Congrats, dude," Renji slapped him on the back. "You're more of a man than I thought."
Tatsuki frowned at his words. "Why do guys think its more 'manly' to have a son as a firstborn? It's sexist, if you ask me."
"I'm not sexist," the red head tried to explain, "It's just…well, back in the days it was thought like that."
"Back when?" she glared.
"Um…" he scratched his bright red hair, obviously getting confused.
"Just shut up," Ichigo elbowed Renji in the guts, "You're just making yourself an enemy by continuing." Somehow his words seemed to have hit home because Renji closed his mouth and looked away.
"How's Kuchiki-san doing?" Hinamori asked.
Ichigo smiled. "She's fine. Before getting to the hospital she talked about wanting a girl, but the moment we were told it was a boy, she was literally jumping up and down in her seat with excitement. I'm guessing Yuzu and dad are already helping her plan the color-scheme for the nursery."
"Just how big is that storage room?" Tatsuki frowned remembering how she was told they were using that room for the nursery.
"It's actually pretty big," he replied, "When we moved everything out of there, it was pretty big but still not big enough. So my old man started renovating that place less than a week after Rukia moved in and it's bigger now. I think there's enough room for at least five Chad's." They all looked up to see the giant silently staring at the sonogram.
"So have you guys decided on a name?" Uryuu asked as he suddenly appeared next to Orihime. "Please don't tell me it's something fruit related."
Ichigo glared at him. "Fuck off, Ishida. And no, we haven't thought of one."
"Why?" Orihime tilted her head to the side with a slight pout. "Shouldn't you guys already have some sort of list or something?"
He shook his head as he took back the sonogram of his baby. "A lot of people have been recommending some names but nothing really stuck out to us yet. I think Rukia wants to wait until after the baby is born."
Renji smirked as he slung an arm around the orange head. "Time is ticking, man. You should quickly decide something for that son of yours. How about something in the lines of 'orange' or 'mango.'"
"Shut up," Ichigo shoved him away.
However, Uryuu nodded at Renji's comment. "Although I don't like his choice of names—" he pointed at Renji, "—I do agree that you guys should pick a name soon. What happens if neither of you guys can come up with one by then?"
"Then the kid will just be called 'unnamed,'" Renji snickered.
This time everyone rolled their eyes at him. "Dumbass," Tatsuki mumbled to the side.
"We'll think of something," Ichigo said, "I'm sure pops is already preparing a huge list so I'll see what I can do."
"Can we come over later?" Hinamori asked, grinning brightly, "I want to feel her tummy again."
"Why are girls so obsessed with that?" Renji asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just amazing to know that a baby is really living in there."
Ichigo couldn't help but nod in agreement. "I know what you mean, but I don't think today's a good day to come over. My dad is probably planning something so you guys should wait until this weekend."
"Aw, but why that long?" Orihime pouted.
Uryuu patted her shoulder. "I'm sure they have their reasons. It's not like the baby is going anywhere in a few days so calm down."
In the midst of their conversation about the baby, Hitsugaya entered the room with a piece of paper in his hand. "Kurosaki," he called out, "Can you hand this to Kuchiki? She forgot to fill out this form last time."
"Sure," he grabbed the paper. "What's it for?"
Hitsugaya shrugged his shoulders. "A teacher gave it to me while I was coming back from my student council meeting. It's nothing too big but it ensures her resignation from school."
"Wouldn't that technically be considered important?" Tatsuki smirked.
He rolled his eyes. "You're taking things too seriously. I doubt it's that important since she is technically out of school already. They just want to do this properly since she is still in this neighborhood." The sonogram in Ichigo's hand suddenly came into his eyes and he smirked. "So did you two find out the gender?"
The grin came back as Ichigo held up the picture. "Yeah, we're having a boy."
"Congratulations," he said as he tilted his head to get a better look. "So what's it like to know you're having a boy?"
"I dunno," he answered, "I still can't believe I'm actually going to be a father in a little more than four months."
"It's surreal. Who would have thought this would happen to you," Tatsuki said.
"With the new girl no less," Renji added.
Ichigo kicked him under the table. "Shut up. At least I got her, while all you did was mop around how your crush got away."
The red head gasped at the unexpected comeback. "Man…you don't say shit like that to your buddies!" he whined, face going crimson, "Besides, I told you I don't feel that way for her anymore!"
"Aww, is Abarai blusing," Tatsuki laughed out loud.
"Shut up, Arisawa!" he glared at her.
"Wow, I've never seen his face turn so red," Uryuu pointed out blankly.
"It's almost the color of his hair!" Orihime gasped as she looked at her boyfriend, "That can't be good!"
"Hell right it's not 'good!'" he suddenly growled, "I'm not blushing nor am I still into Rukia so lay off it!"
"Who's not into Kuchiki?"
Everyone looked up at the door to see Matsumoto grinning at them.
"So," she continued as she walked up to where they were all standing, "Who's not into Kuchiki?"
"Him," Orihime pointed at a fuming Renji.
Matsumoto stared at his expression before laughing out loud. "Ahahaha! Is Renji-koo still having a crush on Kuchiki?"
"I do not!" he screamed.
"Whatever," she waved her hand to dismiss his argument and was getting ready to fight back when she noticed the obvious black-and-white picture in Ichigo's hand. "AHHHH!" she squealed, "I wanna see." Before Ichigo could hand it to her, Matsumoto snatched the picture out of his hand—by now completely forgetting about Renji—and cooed at the picture. "Aw, it's so cute! Look how big it is. Did you guys find out the gender?"
"A boy," everyone answered.
"Awww," she grinned childishly, "We're going to see a little Ichigo soon. Hopefully he won't adopt your permanent scowl."
Ichigo merely grunted, already having heard all the jokes from Rukia when he walked her home after the hospital.
Ding ding ding
"Matsumoto, break is over," Ichigo said as he tried to get back his picture, but she held on tightly. "Matsumoto," he snarled as he tried to yank it back without damaging it.
But she wouldn't budge.
"MATSUMOTO!" they all shouted.
"What?" she pouted, finally letting go of the picture, and slightly throwing Ichigo off. "I wanna stay and coo at the picture more."
"You can do that when we go see Kuchiki, so get out!" Hitsugaya grabbed the back of her collar and proceeded to drag her out.
"Nooooooooo!" she cried but nobody moved to help her as he pushed her out and slammed the door at her face. Her cries continued outside until they heard a teacher come by to whisk her back to her own class.
"And then we're going to paint the walls all yellow because that's what Masaki did for our kids. It's going to give my little grandson a sunnier disposition…unlike his father. But I'll make sure he spends more time with me so he takes after me and not become all grumpy like Ichigo. Oh! And let's not forget Yume-san's grace and intelligence that will surely make him a good person. With my genes, Masaki, and Rukia-chan's, this baby can't go wrong! Urahara and I already made a bet on it!"
Ichigo groaned as his father gave him the thumbs up.
Karin, who was sitting on the couch, also groaned. "Shut up. You've been saying the same thing since I got home."
"Because I have to make sure everything comes true for my grandson," Isshin huffed, "We need to prepare everything before he arrives. Aren't I right, Yume-san?"
The elderly woman laughed. "Yes, there is a lot to prepare. Now that we know the gender it's time to organize the nursery." She then looked up at Isshin and added, "I hope we can add some blue to the yellow walls."
"Why of course!" Isshin nodded enthusiastically, "We can put up some wallpapers around the edge of the walls in blue or other manly colors."
"What can I help out otousan?" Yuzu asked, her eyes glittering with excitement.
Isshin patted his daughter's head. "Why, thank you for asking my dear daughter. You can help Rukia-chan with picking out the clothes. We must pick out some manly outfits."
"Yes sir!" she saluted.
As the chaos continued, Karin looked at her older brother, who was sitting next to her, in pity. "I feel sorry for you with the old goat planning everything for your baby."
The orange head sighed. "I don't know why I even bother trying to argue against him. It just goes on deaf ears."
"And we mustn't forget to put up a poster of Masaki in the nursery."
Ichigo dropped his head in defeat.
"MASAKI! WE'RE HAVING A GRANDSON!" Isshin cried as he ran over to the poster on the wall.
"I can't take anymore of this." Ichigo was about to make his escape but Rukia, who was sitting on his other side, grabbed him.
"Don't think about it Kurosaki Ichigo," she threatened. "I had to listen to your father ever since I got back. Now it's your turn to suffer."
"Bitch," Ichigo grumbled, "Get out of my way before I throw you—"
His words got abruptly cut off when his father suddenly jumped on him.
"AHHH!"
"ICHIGO! Don't you dare threaten my beautiful third-daughter when she's carrying precious cargo!"
"GET OFF ME!" Ichigo tried shoving his father off of him but Isshin grabbed him in a headlock.
"You're still a hundred years too early to fight against me, boy! How do you expect to protect my grandson with such pathetic skills?"
"By killing idiots like you from ever getting near him!" Mustering all the strength that he had, Ichigo got out of his father's grasp and kicked him to the other side of the living room.
"Oh my!" Yume gasped at the violence, still not used to it after living in this chaotic house for months.
"Oniichan! Don't aim him at any of the furniture!" Yuzu pouted.
"Ah, my bad," Ichigo sat back down and slumped in his seat.
Rukia smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Just hang on for a few more months and I'm sure he'll calm down."
"Not likely," Karin said as she leaned over her brother to explain to her more clearly. "The moment you pop out that kid, that old goat is going to get worse. I bet even you won't get as much time with your baby."
"And not to mention he seems set to spoil him," Yume added with a little concern. "I wanted to do that job."
"Why, that's not a problem!" With blood dripping down his forehead, Isshin suddenly appeared next to Yume with his usual goofy grin. "We can both spoil my little grandson until he becomes the object of jealousy by everyone around him!"
Ichigo groaned as he dropped his head back against the couch. "Please kill me."
"No way," Karin grinned at him, "I want to watch you suffer as you try to raise your kid with this guy still kicking around."
Rukia chuckled as she rubbed her belly. "And I want you alive so you can get me more food."
Ichigo glared at the woman resting against him. "You're eating up my entire wallet, you know that!"
"And very well she should!" Isshin crossed his arms and he nodded as if he was discussing something serious. "Rukia-chan should be treated like a queen for carrying your seed. Do not do anything to anger her!"
"Yeah," she sneered at him.
Ichigo lightly nudged her head with his shoulder before addressing his father back to the main reason they were all sitting in the living room. "Old man, hurry up and finish what you were originally talking about."
"Ah!" he gasped in realization, "I can't believe I almost forgot." Isshin jumped over Yume and Yuze and landed directly in front of Rukia, who pulled away from Ichigo by surprise. "Rukia-chan," he cooed as he went on his knees and held her hands in his grip.
"Um, yes…Kurosaki-san?" Rukia gulped, already not liking where this was going. Even Ichigo sat up straight, ready to kick his father the moment he did anything funny.
"Have you decided on a name yet?"
They immediately calmed down at the uncharacteristic, serious question.
"No, not yet," Rukia smiled, "Do you have anything special in mind?"
"Why, excellent question!" Isshin suddenly jumped up and pulled out a scroll from his back pocket. Keeping hold of one end, he allowed the paper to roll down onto the ground and past the living room and into the kitchen as he scanned over the list. "This is a list of boy names passed down for generations in my family. It contains over ten thousands names, much shorter than the girls list which is twice as much. Masaki and I had to go through this entire list before she decided on using 'Ichigo' for our son. Why, I even lent it to Urahara when they had their kid."
While Rukia was gapping at the unrealistic length of the scroll, Ichigo scoffed beside her.. "You guys sure did pick a good name for me."
"Stop whining and listen." Isshin cleared his throat before taking a big breath to start. "First of, we have Aki. It means 'bright' and 'sparkle,' which would be good if he gets Ichigo's hair." The said man groaned again, obviously not liking that idea. "Then we have Akio, which means 'glorious.' I don't personally like it too much, but it was my grandfather's name. Then we have 'Aoi'—"
"My personal favorite!" Yuzu suddenly chimed in.
Isshin nodded. "She like the idea of using colors. Next is 'Botan,' not my favorite but it was my uncle's name. Now, there's 'Chikao,' which means clever. I like this but…"
"I don't like it," Karin added after her father.
"Why?" Ichigo asked.
She snorted as she crossed her arms in front of her and slumped into her seat. "Because a guy named Chikao once stole my soccer ball when I was seven."
The protective older brother suddenly sat up straight. "Who is this kid?"
But she rolled her eyes as she pushed him back down on the couch. "It was a long time ago so leave it." She then looked at her father, glaring at him to continue.
"Right," Isshin continued. "Now, there's—"
"This it taking too long!" Ichigo groaned. "Just read the damn list without adding in commentaries!"
"Yes, I believe that will help speed things along," Yume said in agreement.
Isshin immediately nodded. "Very well. Listen carefully because I'm going to go really fast." Taking in a huge breath, he started. "Chitose, Dai, Daichi, Daiki, Daisuke, Daitaro, Eiji, Fuyu, Fumio, Genji, Genkichi, Ginjiro, Goro, Hajime, Hama, Haru—" He went on and one, his voice getting louder and louder as he went. "HARUKU, HARUO, HIDEAKI, HIDEO, HIKARU, HIRO, HIROAKI, HIROSHI, HIROYUKI, HISAO, HISOKA, ICHIRO, ICHIROU, ISAMU—"
The girls all plugged their ears as the list continued. By now nobody was really listening to the names but cringing at the man's squealing voice.
No longer able to take it after the tenth vein appeared on his head, Ichigo screamed out loud over his father's booming, yet shrilling voice. "HOLD IIIIT!
Complete silence.
Isshin and everyone else froze and looked over at the father-to-be whose head looked about ready to explode. He huffed as he glared at his father. "Even though the names so far were great, I don't want to hear any more of it. BUT—" he emphasized the last word to stop Isshin from cutting him in the middle of his speech, "—I think I already decided on a name."
"Really?" Rukia asked.
He smiled at her as he placed an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, it just came to me when I heard the name 'Hideo.' Though it's a bit different in meaning but it triggered something in my mind."
"What is it?" she asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Takeshi."
This time her eyes widened even more with realization, along with her grandmother. "You mean…'Takeshi,' as in…after my grandfather?"
Ichigo nodded.
Her surprise quickly turned into one of great joy as she jumped—as much as she could—to wrap her arms around Ichigo's neck. "That's perfect! Thank you!"
Ichigo hugged her back. "I'm glad you liked it." He looked up to Yume still gapping at him which reminded him… "Yume-san," he called out, detaching himself from Rukia to address the elderly woman who was now out of her daze. "I hope this is fine with you. I want your blessing for this name before we use it."
"Yes," she answered breathlessly before a huge smile came across her lips. "Yes, that will be perfect! I'm sure my husband will be greatly honored!" She stood up from her seat and walked over to give Ichigo and Rukia a tight hug. "Thank you," she laughed.
"KYAAA!" Isshin cheered as he hugged the three in his embrace. "We finally have a name. TAKESHIIII!"
Karin just tried to ignore the hug-feast happening next to her, but the moment she saw her father's ass in her face, she kicked him away. "Keep that thing away from me!" Ichigo wanted to hug his sister in thanks when he heard the satisfying sound of his father hitting the wall and sliding down in an unconscious state. "Well, now that that's settled, let's go to bed."
"Yes!" Yuzu enthusiastically jumped up and grabbed her twin. "We have to get up early tomorrow so we're going up!"
"Goodnight," Karin waved as they went upstairs.
"I should go too," Yume said before bending to kiss Rukia's stomach. "Goodnight Takeshi." She gave them a sweet smile as she followed after the twins for a much needed sleep.
Ichigo smiled at the pleasant smile on the old woman as she left. He was glad he had picked out the name 'Takeshi,' and it gave him pride to know his son was getting such a great name. He looked down at the woman smiling at him before presenting his hand. "Wanna go?"
Rukia nodded as she gently placed her hand on top of his and allowed him to help her on her feet. The two turned off the lights and headed upstairs.
Nobody even bothered to check up on Isshin.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Ichigo just pulled her into his room and Rukia followed without questioning. She knew he wanted to privately talk so she walked across the room to sit on his bed, leaning against the headboard and using the pillows to help keep her propped up, as he closed and locked the door after them. "So, do you really like that name?" he asked as he came to sit down next to her.
She responded with a firm press of her lips against his. "It's perfect," she whispered.
"Good." He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder and placed the other hand on her stomach. "Hey there Takeshi." It felt amazing as the name just rolled off his tongue like it was meant to be.
Rukia lightly flinched before chuckling softly. "Looks like he really likes that name. He's moving around like crazy."
At her words, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her waist as he leaned his head against her stomach, listening for any movement. "How much longer until I can feel the baby's kick?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I think Suzuki-sensei said you will have to wait three more weeks."
"Why that long?"
"I don't know. But I'd rather not feel it since that means his kicks are getting stronger and they'll start hurting."
Ichigo looked up at her with a worried look. "Can you do anything about it?"
She shook her head as her fingers ran through his bright hair. "It might hurt but I'm glad when he kicks around. I know he's alive and active in me."
He smiled as he sat up straight. "Thanks," he whispered as he leaned to kiss her lips.
"About what?" she smiled against him.
"For being the mother of my kid," he said as he started to place butterfly kisses across her lips and to her ear. "And for putting up with me."
"I should be given a gold medal for all you put me through," she sighed as his lips ventured lower.
"I can give you more than a gold medal." Ichigo didn't know where all this confidence was coming from but one thing was for sure: he wanted to show her just how much he liked the idea of having her swell with his child.
And Rukia didn't push him back.
A spark of desire shot throughout his body—especially down south—as his arms tightened around her waist to pull her up against him. Rukia moved her head to the side with a whimper as she gave him more access. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and she knew he was the only one would could extinguish it.
So she gave up her entire body to him.
Ichigo growled when he felt her hand coming up to pull on his hair. "Rukia," he muttered as he came back up for a deep kiss to which she quickly responded to.
Before they knew it, Rukia's back softly landed on his bed and—in the midst of their raging hormones—were frantically ripping their clothes off each other in hopes of finding some sort of release. Nothing else mattered at that point except each other.
"So," he tried to start but ended up clearing his throat instead. This wasn't something that occurred often—in fact, never, except that one time—so he was completely confused with how to address their current situation.
Rukia nodded, knowing what was running in his mind. "Yeah." This was something they did not expect to happen.
Another round of silence surrounded them as they continued to stare at the dark ceiling above. Here they were, covered in nothing but their sweats—including each other's—and the bed sheets. The very passion that they've been trying to avoid since the day they moved in together was just addressed in the most intimate act between a man and a woman. The only thing that was lingering in the air was their breathing and heart beats that were just now starting to calm down.
"So…what does this make us?" Ichigo finally asked.
Rukia sighed as she closed her eyes. "No different from before we had sex: friends."
Ichigo suddenly turned to stare at her like she had grown another head. "Are you crazy? This is the second time we've slept together, and this time neither one of us was drunk!"
"But my hormones are getting out of whack so I have an excuse," she glared at him.
Her words took awhile before Ichigo started to comprehend it. He pushed himself up on his elbows and turned his head to face her. "What are you saying," he glared back, "That I'm the one who took advantage of you?"
"No," she smacked his arm, "You were just helping me get rid of some sexual tension that keeps building up in me."
Ichigo stared at her like she was crazy before settling back down on his back. "I feel used."
Rukia chuckled as she sat up, making sure to lift the covers with her to hide her nudity, even though their bodies were still touching each other under the covers. "Since my hormones are acting up, don't be surprised if this happens again soon. I'm not just looking for some sex for the pleasure part of it; I'm not a whore."
"Yeah I know," he groaned, scratching his head.
"Will you be fine with this."
"Yeah," he said again, "As long as it's only with me."
She grinned at him. "Not a problem. Besides, just sleeping together isn't going to change our relationship—what's wrong?" she asked when she noticed his frown.
Ichigo popped his upper body up on his elbow again, staring at her. "I don't like the idea of just having sex and acting like it's nothing when it isn't."
"Ichigo—"
"I also know—," he continued, ignoring the look she was giving to not go into the topic that they have been skidding around all this time. But today, he just couldn't stop. "—that you feel the same way too. I never said anything because I never had anything to base this off on, but now…well, now we have this," his eyes motioned to their current form on the bed.
Rukia stared at him for a while, noticing the sincerity in his eyes. Letting out a sigh, she leaned over against his shoulder as he sat up against his headboard. His arms automatically came around her shoulders to press her further into his embrace. "Ichigo. I don't want to lose what we have between us just because we slept together twice."
"I know," he quickly answered, "But I don't want our relationship to remain this stationary thing just because we're too afraid to move forward."
"Then what do you suggest?" she asked as she buried her head against him, her warm breath rolling over his chiseled chest.
Ignoring the sensation she was stirring in him, Ichigo asked, "Do you love me?"
Rukia visibly stiffened for a second before pulling back only her head to look up at him. "I…don't know."
He nodded. "I don't know either."
She raised a brow at him. "Then what are you trying to say?"
He shrugged his shoulders as he brought her head back down against him so he could place his chin on top of her head. "What I'm saying is that, at the moment our relationship isn't based on 'love.' But—"
"But it's still more than friendship," Rukia smiled, slowing figuring out what he was trying to say. "And since we're still unsure of what this 'more-than-friends-but-not-in-love' relationship is right now, we stick close to each other until we can find our ground." She looked up to see him smiling at her in agreement. "I like that plan."
"I do too," he said as he leaned down to capture her lips. She slightly giggled when his fingers lightly brushed over a ticklish part on her neck as he grabbed the back of her head to deepen the kiss. When he pulled away, he smirked at her breathless composure. "I hope you know, I don't think I'll ever want to go back to being merely 'friends.' I'm planning on moving our relationship forward until we become a real family," his placed a hand on her stomach, "Legal and everything."
A genuine smile came across her lips as she nodded. "I like that plan," she repeated, "Just as long as you keep your promise."
"I always do," he smirked.
She nodded before slipping out of his grasp to start searching for her clothes on the ground.
An orange brow arched upwards as he watched her put on her undergarments. "Where are you going?" he asked, obviously annoyed by the coldness that came over him when she left his side.
"Back to my room—hey!" she gasped when his arm came around her waist and pulled her down on his mattress. "Ichigo! What are you doing?"
"Just stay here," he said, burying his head into the crook of her shoulder, "It's already late and you might wake up the others if you leave now."
"And you don't care about how they might react if they see us sleeping in the same bed tomorrow morning?" she raised an eyebrow at him, although she was already starting to relax in his embrace. Stupid hormones.
Ichigo smirked against her skin. "It's not like it's our first time."
Rukia slapped his arm again. "Pig."
"Whatever." He slightly pulled away and looked into her eyes. "So?"
She stared back before sighing. Instead of struggling against his grip, she just turned her body so her back was against his chest. "Fine," she answered, "But if anyone asks, you have to answer them."
"Che, whatever," he scoffed as he started to get comfortable. After several seconds of silence, comfortable this time, Ichigo placed his hand on her swelling stomach under the covers and started to rub it up and down.
Rukia stared down at where she could see the outline his hand moving under the covers before reaching in to place her own on top of his. "What are you thinking?" she asked.
Ichigo smiled as he leaned over to kiss her temple. "About our little boy."
A/N: Like I said, I'm not writing any lemon in this fanfiction so you guys are going to have to use your imagination for what might have happened.
It shouldn't be too hard.
The pregnancy is well on its way. The first half of this chapter was hard to write since I've never been pregnant so I don't know what goes on in the examination room. I just did a little research online but there was so much stuff that I just decided to write about one a few of them. This scene was too hard to write so I don't think there's going to be any more hospital scene until Rukia gives birth.
And to anyone who might be bothered by how I displayed teen pregnancy, I just wanted to write this in a Japanese culture, where it is looked down upon by the older population. In fact, Japan has relatively low teen pregnancy rate. I have nothing against teenage parents (a few of my friends actually had kids while we were still in high school) and it was great to see them showing so much love for their baby…BUT I have personally witnessed some teens totally neglecting their unwanted babies. I'm just using this example, but just letting your guys know that I'm not arguing against teen pregnancy.
Also a few reviewers asked me why Rukia dropped out of school or why she's not trying online schooling. Well, for starters, I don't know if those are even available in Japan. I don't know their education system too much nor their tolerance for pregnant teen so I wanted to stay away from that just in case I was wrong. And in the sequel, I had written that Rukia stopped her studies after getting pregnant. So I really couldn't change too much after that.
Sidenote: *4.6 kg is around 10 lbs and 3 kg is around 6.61 lbs
Well, thanks for reading and don't forget to review!
Preview for next chapter:
Decorating the nursery
(I can't promise I will have this up by next week because I have finals, but I will try my best)
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