#oh and if you’re wondering when I fell for Kaien this was it

[kaienissues]

I think this deep dark forest is supposed to describe how vampires feel without their loved ones. They wander aimlessly till they find their sunshine / light. And if that person isn’t their light they feel like thir in a deep forest.

[neellok]

Title: The Price of Revenge

Pairing: Ichimaru Gin/Kurosaki Ichigo

Ichimaru Gin wondered how annoyed the Captain-Commander would be if he murdered the Gatekeeper of the West, Ikkanzaka Jidanbo. Surely, Gin would only receive a slap on the wrist or a lecture. His ever present smile widened at the thought of dispatching the useless Shinigami. Ikkanzaka had served as a gatekeeper for over three hundred years. In that time his skills had declined and so had his mind.

“Who’s that?” the leader of the Ryoka demanded.

“Captain of the Third Division, Ichimaru Gin.”

Gin’s gaze shot to the black cat near the woman’s feet. Hm. Shihoin Yoruichi had returned to Soul Society. That meant Urahara Kisuke was involved. Did Kurosaki Isshin know that Urahara was making a move?

“Oh, this isn’t good,” Gin said dismissing them. They weren’t important right now. Shinigami that could not follow orders were useless to his cause. His expert gaze noticed the wounds that were not present on the gatekeeper. He had received reports from the underground that the Ryoka attacked Ikkanzaka and yet he wasn’t injured. Not a drop had been spilled on either side.

Unacceptable. A gatekeeper that failed in his duty deserved death. Gin immediately retaliated. Gin’s smile remained present as copious amount of blood burst from the gaping wound on Ikkanzaka’s arm. The Shinigami fell to his knees in a parody of surrender and allegiance as the heavy gate dropped onto his shoulders.

“Jidanbo!”

Gin cocked his head at the response. The Ryoka still hadn’t done anything. interesting. He’d expected her to attack him. She hadn’t moved. He mentally sneered. She couldn’t even break into Soul Society properly. What had Urahara taught her?

“A guardian of gates isn’t supposed to open those gates,” Gin lectured. The Ryoka had been able to cause some distraction from his encroaching plans, but not enough. They were still too weak to catch the attention of Aizen and the rest of the Gotei 13. Gin would not let them pass.

“I lost,” Ikkanzaka muttered. “I have to open the gate when I lose.”

Gin almost frowned. The Captain-Commander had made a very poor decision in placing Ikkanzaka in charge of guarding the gate. Only a coward would live with that mentality. Every day in Rukongai was a fight to the death. Those strong enough to seize power and wield it survived. Those too weak to guard their precious possessions deserved to die.

“What’re ya sayin’?” Gin walked until he was three feet from his target. He wanted the Shinigami to feel the pressure of his failure and the result of his cowardice. “When a gatekeeper loses… it means death,” Gin said with a wicked smirk.

He loved the terror that followed.

The woman Ryoka finally attacked. Their swords clashed in harmony. Gin stared into her enraged brown eyes. She didn’t protect herself. She attacked to defend someone else. Her action was predictable though the strength of her Reiatsu surprised him. It felt like drowning in a waterfall. Gin easily shoved her away after the first few seconds of surprise vanished.

“I-Ichigo!” Shihoin yelled.

Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo. Hoh. So this was Isshin’s daughter. He cocked his head at the spitfire in front of him. She’d finally become interesting.

-

Gin dispatched two hollows with ease as he waited for Kurosaki Isshin, formerly Shiba Isshin, to show. He should have known the annoying former captain would be late. He flung off the dark blood and sheathed Shinso.

“Ichimaru,” Kurosaki acknowledged when he slipped through the shadows of the trees. He leaned against a tree trunk in his old uniform. He must have left his gigai at home.

He looked exhausted, Gin noted. Shiba Isshin used to smile as much as he did. It was strange to see the man without it.

“Ya said ya wanted ta talk,” Gin prompted when he remained silent. He was here on an unofficial mission. He wasn’t worried that Aizen or anyone else would find out he took an unsanctioned trip to the human world. No one paid attention to something like that anymore. Not since Shiba Isshin died.

“Masaki’s dead,” Kurosaki muttered. Sharp brown eyes cut into him as Kurosaki watched his reaction. “Aizen killed her.”

Gin froze. No one in Soul Society suspected Aizen. Aizen was considered the golden child. “Tha’s an interestin’ theory.” He wouldn’t give up his shields. There was a reason why he was still playing this dangerous game.

“It’s not a theory!” Kurosaki bellowed. “I know. I-I knew there was something wrong with him in Soul Society. Why do you think I got out of there?”

“Thought ya found yer soulmate,” Gin replied with a nonchalant shrug.

Kurosaki stared at him with disbelief. “Kaien. Kaien knew. He’d been working for centuries to find proof.”

Gin felt his Zanpakuto sing for Aizen’s blood. “Did he find it?”

“I-I don’t know. I think so. Maybe.” Kurosaki rubbed the back of his neck as his grief seemed to multiply. “Either way, I know that Aizen sent Grand Fischer after Ichigo,” Kurosaki visibly panicked at the slip. “My wife.”

His wife’s name was Masaki. Who was Ichigo? “What do ya want me ta do ‘bout it?”

“You were his lieutenant. You know him.”

He wanted revenge. Gin forced the thought away when he realized that Kurosaki was trying to form a rapport with him. Anger flared as he looked at the former Shinigami. Kurosaki was nothing like him. Gin sought to destroy Aizen, Kurosaki ran. Coward.

Gin wasn’t in love with Rangiku; Rangiku belonged to him. He protected everything that was his.

“So…”

“Destroy him,” Kurosaki ordered. His returning Reiatsu flared to life as his anger grew. “Destroy everything that he ever touched.”

“Ya offerin’ ta help, cuz I don’t take orders.”

He sighed in relief and leaned more heavily against the tree as if it was the only thing keeping him standing. “Yes.”

Gin smile turned lethal. Kurosaki thought they were equals. It was time to rid him of that notion. “I’m not gonna do it fer free, ya understand. Ya see, this plan puts me in danger, while ya get ta live the easy life.”

Kurosaki’s expression never changed. As if he expected the response. Che. Kurosaki had always been more observant that he gave him credit for. “Anything.”

"Accepted."

-

“What the hell are you doing?” Ichigo demanded, pointing her Zanpakuto at him.

Gin gritted his teeth at the familiar words. Aizen tried to murder his soulmate. The annoyance he’d felt a few moments earlier vanished as cold, calculating rage took over. Gin’s plan crumbled to ashes. Aizen would not survive the day.

“Hah! You’re a funny kid,” Gin flippantly said, effectively keeping his murderous intentions out of his voice.

“You?” Ichigo asked after a few seconds of dumbfounded silence.

Gin placed a finger over his smiling lips. Their meeting had already exposed too much. Gin would not allow Aizen to discover that he found his soulmate. Not after everything Aizen had taken from him.

“Forget it Ichigo! We’ll retreat for now,” Shihoin ordered.

Gin didn’t trust her to protect his soulmate. However, he refused to allow Ichigo entrance into Seireitei. The Captain-Commander would order the other captains and lieutenants to stop her. Gin would be too busy killing Aizen to protect her.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

Gin walked away. He ignored the desperate pleas of his soulmate even though he wanted to claim her and never leave her side. Kurosaki Ichigo eldest daughter of Kurosaki Isshin. Gin knew exactly what he would order Kurosaki to give him once Aizen was dead. His daughter.

Gin whirled around and drew his Zanpakuto. Her confused and hurt expression pierced him. He ignored the pain and concentrated on protecting her the only way he could—keeping her away from him. He thrust his Zanpakuto toward Ikkanzaka. “Shoot to kill, Shinso.”

The blast of wind threw Ichigo and Ikkanzaka through the open gate and into the street of Rukongai. The gate slammed shut. Gin’s smile slipped as he discarded his old plans and constructed new ones. His blue gaze locked onto the gate that separated him from Ichigo.

Never again. Ichigo would never leave his side again. He would make sure of it.

[akaluan]

for the ask meme, howsabout 6, 17, rukihime?

(6: Bookshop AU, 17: War AU, Rukia/Orihime)

The first time Rukia stumbles into the place, she’s exhausted and cold, bloodied and bruised, wanting only a place to hide, a place to curl up to lick her wounds—

“Welcome to Priceless Tales, how can I… oh!” a startled voice greets her — and isn’t that odd? She’d thought the city abandoned to the Hollows, so… so why is a civilian still here? — followed by the sound of bare feet on wood, and—

Rukia drags her gaze up, gathering her strength to chide the woman for remaining behind, and freezes.

There’s something… odd about the woman approaching her, something… something on the edge of her senses, like a storm just over the horizon. She smells like rain, smells like green growing things, and Rukia takes a deep, ragged breath just to smell her, to smell something other than ash-char-decay for the first time in months.

“Come on, come on, you’re safe here. Let’s get you seated and see to your wounds, okay?” the woman asks with a bright smile, her sunset orange hair nearly glowing in the dim half-light of the store. She takes Rukia’s arm and tugs her deeper into the… into the bookstore of all places, towards an old, squat chair with wooden feet and a heavily stuffed seat.

It looks decadent, it looks ancient, and Rukia… Rukia is covered in mud-blood-ash, she can’t— she can’t—

The woman laughs, bright-cheerful-kind, and presses her into the chair anyway. “Don’t worry! You wouldn’t be the first to bleed all over my store, and you probably won’t be the last,” she says cheerfully, kneeling in front of Rukia and looking up at her through her lashes. “Everything will be okay, you’ll see.”

Rukia huffs at the empty reassurance but doesn’t bother fighting. She doesn’t have the strength to do so, not now, maybe never again.

Or… maybe that’s the blood-loss speaking.

Rukia sways. Struggles to stay awake.

Feels her body slump as darkness swims across her vision.

Knows nothing more.

***

When Rukia wakes, she’s in a burnt out building, sitting in a strangely untouched chair. There’s blood — her blood — staining the old fabric, but… she’s not wounded.

She’s not wounded.

No matter that she remembers being wounded, remembers pain-agony-weakness, her clothing is whole and her skin unmarred. It’s as if she fell asleep and dreamt it all— the attack, her wounds, finding an intact store, the shopkeeper…

But she doesn’t remember walking into this building. Doesn’t remember sitting down anywhere but the chair in the strange store…

And the blood. Still warm. Still tacky. Probably hers but…

She’s not wounded.

Rukia releases a long, shuddering breath and carefully rises, testing her body’s reactions to movement and…

She feels fine.

(What in the world…?)

Rukia swallows. Glances around the burnt out building.

Hurries out before she can question it any further.

(She has a war to fight.)

***

She tries not to think about the bookshop, about the shopkeeper, as she goes about her business; war is dangerous enough without being distracted by mysteries, and she’s constantly being directed around the front lines as her power is needed.

(Sometimes she wishes Sode no Shirayuki wasn’t ice based but…)

(She’s one of the few who can stop the raging fires started by the Hollows.)

(It’s tiring but… it’s needed.)

(She can’t refuse.)

She doesn’t get much downtime because of it, but even she gets it sometimes; like right now, as she wanders aimlessly through a mostly-intact city, uncertain where she wants to go, uncertain if she really wants to go anywhere, talk to anyone—

A familiar-unfamiliar door catches her attention, garishly bright and cheerfully inviting, despite being tucked away in a little nook formed by two other buildings. She wavers, hesitating over whether to investigate or continue on, before deciding what the hell and marching towards the door.

There’s a dark, narrow staircase behind the door, disappearing upwards with no signs of ending, and the first step creaks under Rukia’s foot as she steps on it. Still, she forges upwards, one hand on Sode’s hilt and the other on the wall, until a door suddenly looms out of the darkness in front of her.

She opens it.

Steps through.

“Welcome to Priceless Tales, how can I help you?” a familiar voice happily greets her. “Oh, you’re back! Hello there!”

Rukia starts and looks over at the counter to her side, eyes widening at the sight of the woman from her… dream? Memory? A quick glance around confirms the rest of it; she’s standing in an oddly vast bookshop, shelves vanishing into shadows just like the stairs did, with a small seating area not far from the entrance. Even the chairs are familiar, the same squat, over-stuffed style that she remembers from before, but…

The city where she remembers running across this woman and her store is over a thousand kilometers away.

This can’t be the same place.

(Can it?)

Not to mention the fact that she woke up in a burnt out ruin instead of a store.

(So how in the world…?!)

The woman laughs brightly and comes out from around the counter, everything about her achingly familiar: her brilliant sunset orange hair, the scent of plants-rain-wind lingering around her, the sensation of a storm just over the horizon…

“I’m glad to see you well, this time!” the woman says with a warm-kind-sharp smile, even as she ushers Rukia towards the small seating area. “You had me worried when you passed out like that.”

“I… yes. Thank you for taking care of me,” Rukia manages as she gingerly settles into one of the chairs. It’s just as overstuffed and decadent as it looks, and she feels herself melting back into it without hesitation. Just the chance to sit and relax is a welcome relief, and the dim light of the store is soothing the longer she sits in it; it feels safe, feels protective, and after so long at war, Rukia will take whatever safety and rest that she can find, no matter how artificial it is.

“Don’t mention it,” the woman tells her, and this time her smile has teeth.

Rukia laughs awkwardly and clasps her hands over her knee, telling herself that she shouldn’t find a civilian shopkeeper so fascinating, but…

Something about the woman calls out to her, calls out to Sode no Shirayuki, and she can’t help but wonder…

“Alright then,” Rukia agrees after a moment, then glances at the shelves around them. “So… can you tell me about this store?”

It’s the right question to ask; the woman practically lights up as she leans forward, excitement-pleasure-joy radiating from her as she says, “Of course, I’d love to tell you about it!”

Rukia settles in to listen to whatever the woman wants to tell her.

(Such clear joy is a rare commodity.)

(For that alone, she’ll listen to anything the woman had to say.)

(This is why she fights, to protect people like this.)

(Sometimes… sometimes she just needs a reminder.)

***

The sun is setting by the time Rukia leaves, and she stares blankly at the sky for a long, long moment, unnerved by having lost so much time without being aware of it. The bookshop hadn’t had any windows that she could see, but… but surely… surely she hadn’t spent that much time in there?

(Had she?)

She pulls out her pocket watch and flips the battered cover open, tipping the face towards the fading light, and—

Swallows.

Stares.

Slides her gaze from the watch telling her it’s only four in the afternoon to the brilliant orange sky, the same shade as the woman’s hair, telling her it’s nearly eight in the evening.

Slowly, warily, already certain of what she’s going to find, Rukia turns around to the door she just walked out of—

There’s no door.

There’s no sign that a door ever existed there, either. The two buildings abut cleanly, with no little nook for a door and a stairwell leading up. It’s like waking in a burnt-out building all over again, except this time…

This time Rukia went in there freely and willingly.

(That she walked out at all is… is…)

(No, no don’t think about it.)

(The woman was kind-pleasant-nice.)

(A few missing hours is a small price to pay for getting to relax.)

(She’ll just… have to be more careful from now on.)

Rukia glances one last time at the spot where the door was, then turns back around and stalks off.

She has work to do, and an encounter with the fair folk is no excuse to avoid it.

(She’ll just… not mention this to anyone.)

(It’s no one’s business but hers, anyway.)

(She’ll be fine.)

(She will.)

***

Months go by, months in which the war worsens and Rukia finds herself thrown from mission to mission, front to front, until she’s running on pride-spite-fury and nothing else. Her friends are being worn down, are losing hope, losing strength, and… and she can’t… she can’t blame them.

Not when half the enemies they’ve been fighting are their own comrades resurrected and turned against them. Not when the other half are broken-twisted-empty civilians, their souls bound in barbed chains and driven mad by the agony.

(She’ll never forgive Aizen for this, for any of this.)

(If she had any hope of beating him—)

(But she doesn’t, she can’t, not when her own superiors can’t do a thing against him.)

Rukia takes a shaky breath and braces herself, hefting Sode no Shirayuki with trembling arms and staring down the monstrous Espada just down the street.

(She wasn’t supposed to be fighting an Espada; there wasn’t supposed to be one here…!)

(Had their intelligence failed, or… or is there… is there a traitor amongst them even now?)

The Espada grins at her, all sharp teeth and vicious greed, and spins an achingly familiar trident, it’s form flickering into… into—

Rukia seethes at the desecration, at the deceit, and launches herself at the monster wearing Shiba Kaien’s form, attacking once, twice, again-again-again until her trembling hands go numb and the monster’s mocking words start to dig deep-deep-deep into her mind.

It’s too powerful for her.

(She’s too worn down, her strength a sliver of what it should be.)

(She never had a chance.)

It laughs and bats her aside, a rush of water leaping from the trident and driving her back, driving her against — through! — a wall.

She tumbles down a flight of dimly lit stairs. Crashes through another door. Sprawls damp-wounded-worn across the wooden floor and stares blankly up at the darkness that devours the ceiling.

There are bookshelves looming over her.

(How… expected…)

“Welcome to— oh, hmm. You’re Hime’s Favored,” a man’s voice says, followed by the sound of bare feet on wood as he moves towards her.

Rukia wearily glances over, blinking at the sight of a tall, slender man with the same brilliant, sunset orange hair as the woman from before. And maybe it’s because she was just facing a creature pretending to be Shiba Kaien, but… he looks familiar, looks so much like her beloved mentor that she… she can’t bear it.

She closes her eyes and tips her head away.

The man kneels at her side. Carefully tugs her into a more comfortable position. Smooths her dripping hair out of her face. “I’ve let Hime know,” he tells her soothingly. “You just rest right here. Don’t worry about a thing, I’ll deal with it.”

Rukia swallows. Bites back the tears that want to fall. Steadfastly ignores that one of the fair folk is going out to deal with her problem.

He’s gone a moment later, not even the sound of footsteps giving him away, and Rukia sighs and reaches up to scrub at her eyes with one trembling hand.

(What has she gotten herself into?)

Before she can start to despair, there’s a sharp intake of breath from nearby, followed by the patter of bare feet on wood yet again. Another person kneels at her side, delicate hand smoothing across her face, as they say, “It’ll be alright. Just relax.”

Rukia’s breath hitches at the familiar voice and she cracks her eyes open, staring up at the woman from her previous visits — Hime, the man had called her? — and drinking in the sight of the woman’s care-concern-determination. It might be — probably is — faked, but… she doesn’t have the strength to care anymore.

Even the pretense is better than nothing, at this point.

Light shimmers around her, the same brilliant orange as the woman’s hair, and Rukia sighs in relief as her pain begins to fade.

“You’re worse than last time,” Hime murmurs, mouth curving down into a frown as she does.

Rukia huffs. “The war is getting worse,” she tells Hime without hesitation, then lets her eyes slide closed in exhaustion. “We’re… not going to win,” she admits softly, giving voice to the fear that’s been growing in her soul the past few months. “We’re stretched thin as it is, and I’m… I’m so tired…” She shouldn’t be admitting this to one of the fair folk, shouldn’t be giving Hime such an opening, but…

She can’t help it.

Not anymore.

Hime hums and leans forward, leans over Rukia until there’s only inches between them. “What would you give to see the war ended?” she asks, quiet-intense-tempting.

“Anything,” Rukia breathes, knowing exactly the trap she’s walking into and unable to find the strength to care.

“Give me your name.”

“Kuchiki Rukia.”

Hime makes a happy noise and leans closer, her lips soft-warm-gentle as she presses a kiss to Rukia’s own. “Kuchiki Rukia,” she whispers against Rukia’s lips, the sound rippling down Rukia’s spine like a promise, like an oath. “Consider your request fulfilled.” Hime straightens up, one hand brushing across Rukia’s forehead once again, and then she orders, “Rest now. Rest and recover. You’re safe.”

Rukia struggles against the command for a moment, two, before the creeping relief-exhaustion-hope overtakes her at last.

She falls asleep.

She doesn’t dream.

(And when she wakes, Aizen is dead and the Hollows are back where they belong.)

(And when she wakes, she steps from the bookshop with a new wife on one side and a new brother on the other.)

(The Kuchiki Clan is in for the shock of their lives but…)

(She regrets nothing.)

(And she never will.)

[recurring-polynya]

i don’t know why i’m suddenly curious but how did you feel when you found out that renruki’s endgame?

I have probably told this story before, but I don’t caaa-aaare.

So, I watched Bleach for the first time starting sometime around 2005. We used to torrent Dattebayo fansubs, which are still my favorite subs and have deeply instilled in my brain which words I say in Japanese and which ones I translate. (Ganju screaming “Greetings from my butt!” is another thing that I will never forget) I know this, because I have very vivid memories of talking about it at this weekly D&D game I was running all the time that I spent hours a week preparing for and cooking elaborate dinners for all my friends, in case you’re wondering if I have always been intense.

We must have watched it up through at least 2009, because I am pretty sure I have memories of watching it at my current house, and I just check the air dates, and that tracks. I am pretty sure we stopped watching in the Fake Karakura Town Arc after the Zanpakutou Rebellion Arc, because we were trying to watch it once a week and it was sooooo sloooow and repetitive and I think we just fell out of it and into other things.

I have no memories of shipping anyone at this time. I may have? I was not really a shippy type person in my youth, that’s been a more recent development.

Anyway, fast forward a few years and a few children, it’s roughly 2015 and we were Going Through A Lot, mostly job-wise, but also TODDLERS, and I realized that the series had finished and I was like, “hey, Mr. P, you wanna re-watch Bleach?” and he was like “yeah, sure” and we did a pretty intense rewatch, like 3 episodes a night and it was a huge comfort thing for me. We got roughly up to the point in the Soul Society Arc where Ichigo tries to rescue Rukia from the Repentance Cell, and I had this moment of panic because I kinda shipped IchiRuki and I kinda shipped RenRuki so I... googled it? And this wave of relief washed over me, I cannot explain it, but I was officially RenRuki trash from that moment onward.

Okay, question is answered, and oh no I spewed out a bunch more stuff about shipping so I’ll hide under a cut if you don’t want to see it

I don’t know if this is true, but I feel like IchiRukis tend to skew younger than RenRukis? I feel like the first time I watched Bleach and I was 25, I could buy into the idea that Rukia is immortal, but roughly at the maturity of a teen, This Is Fine. Re-watching it at age 35, though, Rukia has been through a lot of Afterlife Life Stuff. I tend to HC Shin’ou as more like college than high school. She’s had a job. She killed a man. Y’know, normal stuff. Her attitude toward being executed of “I lived my life, I had a good run” is a very 35-year-old feeling, and Ichigo regarding this as totally bonkers is a very 15-year old feeling, and I... love that actually? That Bleach is fundamentally a story about the conflict between mortality/youth and immortality/maturity?

I have intergenerational friendships and they are wonderful and valuable, and I love writing about Ichigo and Rukia as having a very close and intense friendship, and that they inspire each other and make each other stronger, but I think it’s a better story arc for Rukia to take more control of the adult life she wants-- facing and working through the grief she feels at Kaien’s death, actually forming a relationship with her brother, taking a leadership role in her squad. In her youth, she had a very intense relationship with a fellow hothead with 0 self-awareness, and revisiting that, only to find that they have both grown and changed and become more mature, is very romantic to me. Also, for realsies, knowing Ichigo has reminded her that teens are Awful but also Sometimes  Good, Actually, which allows her to extend forgiveness to both Renji and her younger self.

Also, on a dumb and very emotional level, Renji and Orihime are both precious and pure souls and I love them, and having Ichihime and Renruki be endgame is happy for everyone, whereas the idea of Renji and Orihime trying to put on extremely stoic faces and sobbing their eyes out at the IchiRuki wedding is very, very sad to me and I don’t like it.

[darisu-chan]

I Call Your Name

Prompt: Fade to Black

Summary: Rukia cannot stop thinking about Homura and Shizuku. Ichigo is there to cheer her up. But there might be a reason as to why she's thinking about them.

You can also read it here.

Rukia was in her office doing paperwork. The task at hand was tedious, but it needed to be done. Soon, Hisagi would come and ask her for the paperwork, before handing it in to Nanao. The young lieutenant sighed. She had been reading the same sentence for about five minutes already, but she couldn't concentrate. "Focus, Rukia." She scolded herself, and, taking her brush, proceeded to sign the papers in her hands. This activity took her another hour, and once it was done, she smiled in satisfaction. "There. All done." Next, she organized every paper in an orderly manner, and then put them on her desk, where they would wait until Hisagi came by later that day. Rukia straightened her back, and yawned. She had had an almost sleepless night, and she was tired. She put her head on the desk, and closed her eyes.

Rukia opened her eyes and noticed she was no longer in her office. She was somewhere on the Rukongai. This surprised her, especially because she wasn't wearing her uniform anymore, but a purple yukata. She wandered aimlessly, trying to get back to Seireitei, but she realized she was lost. She didn't recognize any of the buildings she saw.

"Rukia." A voice called her.

She turned around immediately. "Who's there?" She asked.

"Rukia!" The voice called her again, and this time childish laughter followed it. "Come with us, Rukia!" Now, she could see two figures far away, beckoning her to follow them. Then, they sprinted.

"Wait!" Rukia shouted, pursuing them. As she ran after them, she tripped a few times. Whenever she thought she was close to them, they started running faster. "Hey! Wait!" She pleaded again.

"Come with us, Rukia! We're waiting for you!"

However, no matter how fast she ran, they seemed to get farther and farther away from her. "Please, wait for me!" Rukia shouted again, tripping on her feet. She fell to the ground and saw helplessly how they got away.

"Come, Rukia!"

They kept calling her name, but there was nothing she could do.

"Rukia!"

"Rukia!"

Soon, the voices faded away, and everything went dark, leaving Rukia alone on the floor.

"…taichou… Fukutaichou!" Someone said, as they moved her arm. Rukia opened her eyes and saw that Kiyone was the one moving her. She realized she had fallen asleep.

"Oh, Kiyone." Rukia acknowledged her third seat. "What is it?"

"You fell asleep." The girl replied. "I thought something might have happened."

Rukia shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"Yeah, our fukutaichou is a newlywed. She might not be getting enough sleep." Sentarou, whom the lieutenant had noticed until then, said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows for good measure.

Rukia frowned annoyed, and was about to say something, when Kiyone slapped him with such force he spun a bit.

"You're such a pervert, Sentarou!" She exclaimed, her cheeks red. "Stop thinking about that!" Then, she turned to look at Rukia. "I'm so sorry about him. We'll leave you alone now."

She snorted as she saw both third seats leaving her office, while they kept arguing. She was glad that, throughout the years, those two had never changed. They were still as lively as ever. Rukia also felt warm knowing they had been worried about her in their own way. Shaking her head, she chuckled and organized her paperwork, but her task was interrupted by the feeling of a familiar reiatsu approaching her office.

"Why is Sentarou complaining about Kiyone being hormonal, and why is he saying it's my fault?" Her husband asked the moment he entered the room.

"Don't worry about it. Come here." Rukia said, motioning him to come closer.

Ichigo complied and leaned down to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." She said smiling.

"Do you need help with the paperwork?" The man asked his wife, pointing at the papers that were on her desk.

"No, I already did it. But don't worry, in a while it's going to be your job." She said, winking. During their wedding, Kyouraku had spoken to both of them about the possibility of getting a promotion. There was really no one better than Rukia to become captain of the thirteenth squad, which had been Ukitake's wish as well. While Ichigo, during the last six years, had proved he was capable of being a lieutenant. They had both accepted, although Kyouraku told them it would still be a while until the promotion was made official.

"Well, maybe to get used to it, we could do half and half, right?" Ichigo said, scratching his neck.

Rukia smiled warmly at him. He was such a dork, trying to disguise the fact he wanted to help her. She was lucky to have him as her husband. "I think that's a brilliant idea. But be prepared, now you won't be able to escape it."

Ichigo smirked. "Doubt some documents will be too much for me."

His wife rolled her eyes. "Getting cocky, aren't we?"

"Always."

They spent a few minutes in comfortable silence, while Rukia put away the ink and brush she had used to sign her paperwork. Once it was all tidy, she looked at Ichigo. "So why are you here?"

"What? Can't a man visit his own wife at work?" He replied, crossing his arms and pretending to be annoyed.

Wife. Hearing him say that word still brought a smile to her face as a giddy feeling covered her completely. It had been two months already since their wedding day, and that feeling didn't seem like it was going to disappear any time soon.

"It's not that. I just thought maybe there was another reason for you being here, besides visiting me." Rukia answered.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd like to eat lunch with me." He said, showing her the basket he had brought with him.

Rukia smiled. "Of course."

They walked together, the tips of their fingers barely brushing. Both were kind of embarrassed to show their affection in public, despite the fact they had been together for six years, and that everyone in their squad knew they were married. However, that simple gesture was enough for them. They didn't need to say I love you all the time, for they knew what they felt for each other, and most importantly, they showed it in other ways.

After walking for a while, they reached a spot near the river which Rukia was particularly fond of. She had shown it to Ichigo long ago, when they first started dating, and she had shown him around her squad for the first time. There, Rukia told him about Kaien-dono, her mentor and former lieutenant, and all the lessons he had given her. Ichigo had listened intently to her back then, and hadn't said a word until she had finished telling her story. Then, he had told her he was happy that there had been someone in her life that helped her before they met, and that he was sorry she had had to go through such a traumatic experience. Ichigo hadn't acted insecure about her admiration for Kaien, nor had he enquired anything else. In that moment, Rukia decided two things, 1) their romantic relationship, like their friendship, could take anything, so she didn't have to fear telling Ichigo things about her past, and 2) that spot would be their new place to eat lunch or just spend time together.

They sat down together, and Ichigo took out their food, gently passing her the obentou boxes he had brought. Although he still wasn't as good of a cook as Yuzu or Rukia, he did a decent enough job. Rukia was very happy that they had managed to divide their responsibilities in their household as well as they had. They both cooked, cleaned, and took care of the management of their house. She was truly lucky. If she had married another man, maybe she would have been expected to take care of everything by herself, which was impossible given the fact her position in the squad took a lot of her time.

As they ate, Rukia felt tired once again. It had been happening all week actually, as well as her recurrent dreams. She yawned, and leaned on Ichigo's shoulder, closing her eyes. Her husband looked down at her, smiling. He kissed her forehead, and then held her, pulling her closer to him. Rukia smiled, and snuggled into him.

"I'm tired." She mumbled.

"I've noticed. Did you sleep well?" Ichigo asked, clearly concerned.

Rukia shook her head. "I haven't all week."

The man frowned at that. It was rare when Rukia couldn't sleep. In fact, she rarely had problems falling asleep, not in the past two months, and not in the past years. He was sure that even when they had first met and Rukia lived in his closet, she slept peacefully. There must be a reason for her insomnia, which he wondered if it was linked to their night time activities.

"Is it because of me?" He asked, his cheeks turning slightly red.

Rukia hit him on the chest. "Fool!" She exclaimed as she looked at him, embarrassed as shown by her red cheeks. "That's not it!"

"Then?" He asked her, worrying even more.

Rukia looked down for a moment, then returned to her original position in his arms. "Bad dream." She whispered.

"Oh? What is it about? Maybe if you tell me, you'll stop thinking about it."

That made sense, so Rukia proceeded to tell him all about her dreams. "It's about Homura and Shizuku."

Ichigo nodded, remembering the pair of siblings that had wreaked havoc years ago in their quest of returning to Rukia's side.

"I've been dreaming about them… well, I think it's about them… I'm somewhere in the Rukongai, and two voices keep calling me. They belong to children. I look around, and I can only see their silhouettes. They tell me to come with them, and I try to follow, but as much as I run after them, I can never reach them. After that, all goes black and I wake up. I can't fall asleep then."

Ichigo kissed her lips softly. "Hey, maybe you just miss them, and that's why you're dreaming about them."

Rukia simply nodded. "I'm still saddened about it, you know, how we were reunited only to be parted again."

He looked at her sadly, remembering the part he had played in that. "I'm sorry."

Rukia gazed at him lovingly and shook her head. "It's not your fault." She hadn't blamed him once. Nothing that had happened had been because he did something wrong. The siblings weren't meant to live anymore.

"I meant what I said back then. I'm sure, someday, you and they will see each other again." Ichigo said.

Rukai smiled. "Thank you, Ichigo."

"It's no problem."

After her talk with Ichigo, Rukia honestly thought she would get a good night of rest. However, she woke up at 3:00 am shaking after having the same dream. Well, it wasn't quite the same dream. There had been just one voice this time, which kept calling her. Much like on the rest of the dreams, she had fallen down before reaching the child. Yet, the voice told her something before everything went dark. "We'll see each other soon enough!"

She had been restless after the dream, and she had been unable to fall back asleep. It didn't help that she felt slightly nauseous. Perhaps it was because of lack of sleep, she reasoned. She stayed in bed until Ichigo opened his eyes. One look at his wife told him Rukia wasn't feeling any better than the day before.

"You had the dream again, didn't you?"

She nodded. "It was bit different this time." Then, Rukia told him about the new dream.

Ichigo looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's something else."

"Maybe."

"Don't worry, Rukia. I'm sure the dreams will stop eventually." She really hoped so.

They got ready for work. Rukia barely ate breakfast, for her stomach still felt queasy. Ichigo got worried about it, but Rukia calmed him down, believing it was due to lack of sleep more than her being sick or anything of the sort. She drank tea to try and settle her stomach down. Then, they went to their squad, and separated to do their different activities. Today, Rukia was in charge of kidou training, which was one of her favorite chores. The new members of her squad all settled on the training grounds, and followed her instructions. Rukia was enjoying herself. She was very proud of her newest members, and how far they had come since they first joined the squad. She had no doubts they would all become seated officers in no time. As she observed them, she started getting dizzy. Her vision blurred, and she lost her footing.

"Lieutenant!" They all shouted, and one of them managed to grab them before she hit the ground.

All of them surrounded her, asking if she was alright, while others went to look for Ichigo. As she was feeling better, and had finally sat, her husband arrived, looking frantic.

"What happened?!" He asked, as he kneeled down next to her.

"Kuchiki-fukutaichou fainted. I managed to catch her before she fell." The Shinigami said.

"Are you feeling better now?" Ichigo asked his wife.

"Yeah, a bit."

He frowned. She still looked too pale. "Let's go to the fourth squad." He announced, getting up and then carting her in his arms.

Rukia yelped. "Eh? What for?"

"You need to get checked." Ichigo simply said, as they walked out of the squad.

"I can walk, you know?" She grumbled, her cheeks turning red as several Shinigami turned to look at them.

"It's safer this way." He shrugged.

"You're just taking advantage of the situation to hold me." Rukia said playfully, feeling much better.

"Tch. Now I can't worry about my own wife." Ichigo complained.

"Of course you can, fool." She said affectionately.

They soon arrived at the fourth squad barracks, and ran into Hanatarou, who got worried when he saw Ichigo carrying Rukia. The boy immediately guided them to the captain's office, where Isane, having been newly appointed as captain, received them. Isane asked Rukia a few questions, writing everything down. She seemed serious, which worried the couple.

"Kuchiki-san, I'm going to need to make a blood test." The captain said.

Rukia merely nodded, and let Isane draw blood from her arm.

"I'll be right back." Isane announced, and went to the lab, taking with her the blood sample.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Rukia asked Ichigo, feeling scared.

Ichigo looked worried as well. "Let's hope it's nothing." He said, and took his wife's hand, squeezing it to give her strength.

Isane came back, no longer looking worried but with a smile on her face. "It seems congratulations are in order." She said gently.

This puzzled the spouses. "I'm sorry?" Rukia said, not really comprehending anything.

The captain giggled. "I know why you have been feeling dizzy, Kuchiki-san. I was a bit surprised and wanted to make sure, but there's nothing to worry about." She explained calmly. "Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-san, congratulations, you're going to be parents!" Isane exclaimed.

Rukia blinked once, then twice. Next, she turned to look at Ichigo, who was clearly surprised. They looked at each other and then smiles blossomed on both of their faces. A baby! They were going to have a baby! That was the best news they had gotten in some time. Happiness radiated from them. The prospect of having a child with the person you love most was overwhelming in a good sense. Although it was a big surprise, and certainly not something they had planned, they both felt elated. Rukia put a hand on her abdomen, while Ichigo covered it with his much bigger hand. They looked at each other and smiled.

Isane made more tests, and gave Rukia some recommendations, scheduling a visit for next month. They discovered Rukia was around seven weeks along, meaning they had conceived their child during their first week as a married couple. It seemed too good to be true. Still in a daze, they went home. Rukia lay down on the futon with Ichigo beside her, kissing her forehead and lips, while Rukia giggled.

"I can't believe it." Rukia whispered.

"Me neither." Ichigo said.

"I'm so happy!" She said.

Ichigo entwined their fingers together. "I'm happy too, Rukia! I love you so much." He said warmly, and then kissed her lips.

His wife smiled. "I love you too."

"Hey, do you think this was why you were dreaming about them? Like, your mind was trying to tell you about the baby?" Ichigo asked her.

Rukia pondered about it for a while. The dreams had been recurring for a week now, as well as the symptoms she had ignored. There was probably a bit of truth in what Ichigo had told her, specially taking into account the last dream she had, which featured a child calling her and his or her cryptic words. They would certainly be seeing each other soon. However, there was something else. Homura and Shizuku were special to Rukia in ways she couldn't describe. She had taken care of them, and given them names as if she were their mother. She felt as if she had been so, and their loss was something that she was still grieving. This baby would never take their place, yet, she felt like now she could truthfully come to terms with what happened. Maybe now she was ready to move on.

"I think they were trying to tell me they're still with me, in my heart." Rukia said at length. "And maybe the baby was also trying to make his presence known with that last dream."

Ichigo smiled. "They will never leave you. Not me either."

She grinned and then kissed him. "That's true for me too."

They kissed again, hands covering Rukia's belly, where their child would continue growing for the next seven months.