When The Madhouse Gets To Be Too Much
Title: When The Madhouse Gets To Be Too Much
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ichigo-centric, Kyoraku/Nanao, mentions of future Renji/Rukia and mentions of possible Ichigo/Tatsuki, Ichigo/Orihime or Ichigo/Riruka (you’ll have to read to the end to see who he chooses…I ain’t telling)
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Went AU during this current arc, sort of; discount most of the Riruka vs. Rukia fight once Rukia got put in the doll, but everything else (like Ginjou’s claim in chapter 473 about Tsukishima’s powers) still stands.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary:
Authors Notes: Written for valentineninja, who gave me the prompt “Ichigo+ Riruka, his sisters, Orihime, and Rukia: The women in his life were bound to drive him crazy.” Since there wasn’t a clear pairing preference I decided love dilemma would be in order, and I tossed in a whole bunch of other characters, too, and a whole Soul Society subplot. Hope you enjoy it.
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It wasn’t often that he went to Soul Society. Sure, Urahara could get him there any time he wanted, but with all the obligations in his life now that he had his powers back, there just wasn’t time. And besides, his friends from there dropped in to see him frequently enough. Rukia and Renji practically lived in Karakura Town these days, and Matsumoto was there shopping once a week. Hitsugaya was there shortly thereafter with either Kira or Hisagi in tow to help haul all her stuff back about twenty-four hours after she got there, and he always made time to chat with Karin before he left. Ikkaku and Yumichika dropped by just to check up on things, having apparently gotten used to Keigo and his sister during their brief stay with them, and sometimes Kenpachi and the pink haired demon came with, just to see if Ichigo wanted that rematch yet.
And of course Yuzu had to make sure when any of them came with their gigai that they were fed and so there was always someone there at least one night a week. Most nights there were two or more. And Orihime and Tatsuki came over frequently at Rukia’s request, and Riruka…well, she was there because Rukia insisted on that, too. Whatever had happened during their fight had been the basis of a strong friendship that was growing stronger, strange as it seemed. And most nights Ishida and Chad were there, too. But it was a madhouse almost every night and after about a month of the constant barrage of people he’d simply had enough of them all. Especially the women, and of all of them especially Rukia. It was like she was the queen and everyone followed her lead. And what she wanted was complete control over Ichigo’s love life.
She wasn’t interested in him, thankfully. But she said she knew three women who were, and she was going to be bound and determined to get him to date one of them. He had a good idea that was why Orihime and Riruka were over so much, and that was probably why Tatsuki was there too. Forcing him to spend time with them would supposedly lead him to fall madly in love with one of them. His sisters were all for it, and any time Matsumoto was there she’d offer friendly advice to anyone who was a teenager about seduction techniques. Orihime listened in rapture, Riruka kind of paid attention, and Tatsuki rolled her eyes and tried to escape.
Apparently now his dad thought it was time for him to start “sowing his wild oats,” which had just caused Ichigo to clock him and knock him out on front of a house full of people this afternoon. It had been the last straw. He had thrown some stuff into a bag, grabbed Kon, who had been enjoying all the feminine attention heaped on him, and headed to Urahara Shoten. After explaining the situation to Urahara and Yoruichi, both of whom looked far too amused than they should, Urahara allowed him to access the gate to Soul Society and told him to head to Seireitei. He would send a message to Captain Yamamoto ahead of him.
It was a peaceful walk. They hadn’t replaced the Kōtotsu yet that Aizen had destroyed, so he took his time and thought about things. All three women were okay. If push came to shove and Rukia somehow got her way, it probably wouldn’t be horrible to date one of them. He appreciated woman, and he’d admit his mind had thought about it late at night when no one would be around to see him blush. He usually never got those kind of thoughts, though, so it wasn’t like he was a perv. Besides, if he had those kinds of thoughts about Tatsuki she’d beat the crap out of him. It just wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t blind. He knew both Orihime and Riruka liked him. He just wasn’t sure he liked either of them like that, especially in the case of Riruka. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about her after all the Tsukishima mess. Just because she hadn’t tried to kill Rukia or hadn’t wanted his powers didn’t mean she was 100% okay in his book, either, because she did fight Rukia. But he liked her more than Yukio, who was the only other one to survive. His thoughts towards Orihime sometimes ventured into more than friendly territory, but he wasn’t sure if she would really be happy with him or the idealized version of him in her head. It was complicated.
He made it to the gate where Jidanbou was and talked to him for a few minutes before going in. Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku were there waiting. Apparently Urahara’s message had arrived before him, not that he’d had much doubt. They also looked far too amused for their own good, and all of a sudden the peaceful calm that had settled on him was replaced with irritation. “So he told you,” Ichigo said.
“Not the entire story, but enough to know that my Lieutenant is making you miserable,” Ukitake said with a smile. “If it makes you feel at all better, I have sent someone to have a word with her.”
“Who?” Ichigo replied, curious.
“Her beloved nii-sama,” Kyoraku said with a chuckle. “You may not be his best friend, but he’s going to keep you from killing her out of sheer frustration because he cares for her. Besides, he’s finally decided to remove his objections to his own Lieutenant pursuing his rather transparent feelings towards her. If Lieutenant Abarai is chasing after her she’ll have no time to meddle in your love life.”
“Good,” Ichigo said, suddenly relieved. He knew from pretending not to listen to her conversations with the women that she would not be averse to having a relationship with her other best friend. It might do both of them a world of good, and they would be a good match.
“Come. You must be hungry,” Ukitake replied. “You will be staying in my division for the night. Kyoraku-san here has even offered to lay off the sake tonight. He and his very pregnant wife will be joining us for dinner in an hour.”
“Very pregnant wife?” Ichigo asked as they began to walk.
“My Nanao-chan decided to make an honest man out of me,” he said sorrowfully, but the wide smile on his face belied the tone of voice. “She should be having the babies any week now.”
“Twins?”
“Triplets, actually. Unohana-san is only letting her out of bed tonight because this is a special occasion. It is not often you came to visit before, and you have not been here at all since the incident in Karakura Town. She has had to rely on Rangiku-san for gossip, and she very much wants to hear about what is going on from someone else.”
Ichigo’s eyes were wide, but then he grinned. “The girls talk around me like I’m not there, so I have some gossip. But no one tells me what’s going on here, not really, and I want to know.”
“Then she can tell you all about the goings on here,” Kyoraku said with a laugh. “When you’re confined to a bed except for a daily visit with a doctor, and that is only because you insist, you learn quite a few things.”
They continued to walk, chatting about little things. Ichigo was shown to a spare room, then his things were stowed and he relaxed for about a half hour before Ukitake’s third seats came to get him. Sentarō didn’t look very different, but Kiyone had grown taller and lost some weight, and her hair was now shoulder length. They also seemed to be looking at each other rather adoringly, a sharp contrast from the last time he saw them. Rukia hadn’t mentioned anything about that when they talked. Of course, she had been trying to find out more about what he had been up to, so he supposed that was why.
It was not just the thirteenth division that was there. Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu also joined them, and he found himself relaxing as everyone stayed perfectly calm throughout the meal, the conversation flowing easily. He had started to relax so much that when Lieutenant Ise’s eyes widened and she stopped in the middle of her sentence that he wasn’t concerned. It was only when she screamed that he realized something wasn’t quite right.
“I am going into labor,” she said through gritted teeth. Ichigo had been sitting next to her and she had put a hand on his arm. Now she held it with a death grip, and he was almost worried she would break it if she twisted it the wrong way.
“It is good I took precautions and came tonight,” Captain Unohana said with a smile. She came around to the woman and gently pried her hand off of Ichigo’s arm, much to his relief. “Did you not tell me you had been feeling ready to pop earlier today?”
“I did,” she replied. “But they are coming too quickly, Captain Unohana.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Has your water just broken?” The young woman nodded. “And when did you feel the first contraction?”
“As my water broke,” she replied. Kyoraku had one of her hands in his and Ichigo could see from the expression on his face that she was squeezing it almost as hard as she had squeezed his arm. “But I am feeling another one right no-“ And it broke off into a scream.
“These babies really want to come out,” Ukitake said with a frown. “Ichigo, the room we put you in is closest.”
“I’ll help get her there,” Ichigo said. Unohana smiled at him, and he and Kyoraku helped Nanao up. They only made it a few feet before she gripped his hand hard. “Do you have anything to help her with the pain?” he asked Unohana.
“In my bag,” Isane said from right behind him.
“I don’t think there will be enough time,” Nano said with gritted teeth as they got out of the common room and headed towards the room Ichigo had been given. “But I will be damned if I have these babies on the sidewalk.”
They quickly got her to the bed and Ichigo found himself being pushed back behind Isane. The tall woman looked at him and smiled. “Have you seen babies born before?” she asked.
“I’ve helped my dad deliver a few,” he replied.
“Excellent,” Unohana said from the end of the bed they had gotten Nanao on. “You can assist.” Ukitake came in with a blanket, and Unohana draped it over Nanao’s bent knees. She then got under the blanket and made a small noise. “I see the top of one of the baby’s head. They indeed want to get here quickly.”
“Is this irregular?” Kyoraku asked, slightly worried. He was at his wife’s side, smoothing her hair back.
“It is, but I believe your wife has been having mini contractions all day, from what she told me this afternoon. I would not have let her attend tonight if I had thought we wouldn’t have time to make it to the medical center. We will just have to do this the…quick and dirty way,” she replied. “Nanao, when I tell you to push, push, all right?”
“Okay,” Nanao said quietly.
“All right. Push!” Nanao screamed, and Ichigo watched her face wrinkled in pain. “One more push and the first child will be out,” Unohana said. Nanao pushed and screamed again, and soon her scream was joined by a baby’s wail. Unohana came out from under the blanket, holding a bloody baby in her arms. “Congratulations. Your firstborn is a healthy baby boy. Isane, please get me the scissors so I can cut the umbilical cord.”
Isane dug through the bag she had with her and pulled out a pair of scissor. Unohana cut the umbilical cord, then looked at Kyoraku. “Do you mind if I give the baby to Kurosaki-san to hold? These other two are coming out quickly.”
Kyoraku nodded, but Nanao shook her head. “Let me see him first,” she said, gritting her teeth before swallowing a scream.
Unohana came over and showed her her son, and a look of tranquility passed on her face. “Little Jushiro,” she said, smiling.
“I am honored,” Ukitake said from behind Ichigo, and when they boy turned to look the other man had tears in his eyes.
“We knew you would never have children,” Nanao said, the smile faltering for a moment. “We felt it was right.”
“May I instead?” he asked. She nodded, and Ukitake took a smaller blanket he had brought with him and wrapped the infant up and Nanao screamed again and Unohana went back under the blanket. “These blankets were gifts I had not gotten to give you yet.”
“Good thing,” Kyoraku said with a slight chuckle before he winced as Nanao screamed again. “Ichigo can hold the next child.”
“That’s fine,” Nanao said, her voice strained.
“The child is crowning,” Unohana replied. “This is highly unusual, but everything looks okay. Now…push!”
With three more pushes another wail was heard. Unohana came out from under the blanket. “A healthy baby girl,” she said with a smile. Ichigo took the blanket Ukitake had handed him and carefully wrapped the infant in it. He looked down at her in wonder and took her over to her parents.
“Do you mind if we call her Retsu?” Kyoraku asked Unohana quietly.
“Oh,” Unohana said, a wide smile on her face. “Like Ukitake-san, I am honored.”
“She’s so beautiful,” Nanao breathed before another contraction hit.
“We only knew we were having at least one boy and one girl,” Kyoraku said. “The next will be a surprise. If it’s a girl, her name will be Risa. If it’s a boy…” he said, looking at his wife.
“His name will be Ichigo,” Nanao said, looking at Ichigo. Kyoraku looked surprised, and she looked at him, a smile on her face. “I decided it a while ago. Names have meaning, and though I knew my first son would be named after a gentle man, I wanted my second son to be named after an important person who saved everyone.” She grimaced, but turned back to Ichigo. “These are the first children born in Seireitei after the Winter War. It is my way of honoring the sacrifice he gave to save us.”
“I’m…wow,” Ichigo said quietly. “Honored. I’m honored.”
“Well, we shall find out shortly,” Unohana said after she got back under the blanket. “All right…push.”
The atmosphere was tense, but one push was all that was needed for the baby to come out. “Hello, Ichigo,” Unohana said quietly to the baby before coming out from under the blanket. Isane handed her the last blanket, and motioned to Ichigo to come look at his namesake before she handed him to his parents. Ichigo handed the baby in his arms to Kyoraku after he got done kissing his wife’s forehead then went over to the other child. “He’s tiny.”
“But not too tiny, and he has healthy lungs,” Unohana said with a warm smile as the baby continued to cry. “As soon as you rest a bit I will take all four of you to the medical center. But for now, rest.” Ukitake had moved over to the happy parents and handed their first son to Nanao, and Unohana handed Ichigo to the man he was named after. Ichigo held him and after a moment he stopped crying.
“You’re named after me,” he said quietly. “I’ll make you proud to share my name.”
“You’ll have quite a legacy to live up to,” Isane said with a smile as she went to one side and Ukitake went to the other. “They all will.”
“And we’ll make sure they do,” Kyoraku said with a slight chuckle. “Well, it seems you won the baby pool, Isane-san. Are you sure you didn’t cheat?”
Isane laughed. “No, I didn’t even see her today. But I didn’t win the name pool. I don’t think anyone did. I only got two names right.”
“No, one person got them all right,” Ukitake said. “May I?” he asked Ichigo. Ichigo handed him the boy and he went over to his parents. “My Lieutenant had all three names down. I do believe she cheated by suggesting Ichigo if you had a boy, did she not?” he asked Nanao.
“No, I told no one of that decision, not even my husband,” she said with a smile, looking at her daughter. “She suggested it, but she was sure I was going to have two girls. She had suggested I name my second girl Michiru.”
“Yes, that was the name she put down in case the second child was a girl,” Ukitake said. “Well, Lieutenant Kotetsu, it looks as though you’re splitting the pool with Rukia-san.”
“How much was it?” Ichigo asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but it was a large sum of money. Why?” Ukitake asked.
“Just curious.” He looked at all of him and grinned. It was nice to see peace and happiness and tranquility. That was why he had trained so hard to defeat Aizen, so that there were more days like this for everyone, both in Soul Society and in the living world.
“We never did get around to your problem, Kurosaki-san,” Kyoraku said.
“I think I have a pretty good idea what to do,” he said with a nod. “I may just head back with the good news tonight. I think everyone who visits was there this weekend, so I may still catch them before they come back here. It’ll give Rangiku-san a chance to buy more gifts.”
Nanao laughed, and used her free hand to beckon him closer. He moved towards her side. “Promise me you’ll come back here more?”
“I promise. I have someone who’s going to look up to me now,” she said. He leaned over and quickly kissed her cheek, blushing a little as he did, then grabbed his things from by the bed and then turned around.
“I’ll go to the communications center and send a message to Kisuke-san,” Ukitake said, giving Ichigo to Unohana. “That way he’ll be expecting you.”
“Okay,” he replied. Ukitake joined him at the door and they walked away. “I wasn’t expecting that tonight.”
“None of us were expecting it, except maybe Retsu,” he said with a warm smile. “You said you came to a decision?”
“I honestly don’t think Tatsuki is interested in me like Rukia thinks she is, and we honestly wouldn’t be a good fit. Riruka…I don’t trust her completely, not after everything that happened last month. And I won’t date anyone I don’t trust. I think I’m going to spend more time with her, though. Get to know her. Everyone else seems to like her. But…when I figure out if Inoue would be happy with me exactly as I am and not this superhero she seemed to think I was, then maybe I’ll see about asking her out.”
“A wise choice,” Ukitake said with a nod. “It is a very good idea to see exactly what type of feelings she has towards you beforehand.”
“Yeah. I mean…I would do stuff to save all three of them, but I basically did a suicide mission to rescue Inoue. That has to say something.”
Ukitake chuckled. “Indeed it does. From what my lieutenant has told me of all three women in our brief conversations about you, I would say your friend Inoue-san was the best choice for you. I don’t think you would ever need to doubt her feelings about you. Now perhaps Kuchiki-san will leave you to your own devices.”
“I hope so.”
When he got back home an hour later with Urahara and Yoruichi everyone was still there: Rukia, Renji, Matsumoto, Orihime, Tatsuki, Riruka, Ishida, Chad, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hitsugaya, Hisagi, his sisters and his father. Byakuya had also joined the group, and looked almost as uncomfortable in the situation as he was sure he had felt earlier that afternoon. The house got dead silent when he shut the door behind him, and with a light heart he was glad he had their attention, and also glad they were all there. He looked at Orihime and gave her a wide grin, and then turned to the group at large. “I have some news for everyone from Soul Society…”
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ichigo-centric, Kyoraku/Nanao, mentions of future Renji/Rukia and mentions of possible Ichigo/Tatsuki, Ichigo/Orihime or Ichigo/Riruka (you’ll have to read to the end to see who he chooses…I ain’t telling)
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Went AU during this current arc, sort of; discount most of the Riruka vs. Rukia fight once Rukia got put in the doll, but everything else (like Ginjou’s claim in chapter 473 about Tsukishima’s powers) still stands.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary:
Authors Notes: Written for valentineninja, who gave me the prompt “Ichigo+ Riruka, his sisters, Orihime, and Rukia: The women in his life were bound to drive him crazy.” Since there wasn’t a clear pairing preference I decided love dilemma would be in order, and I tossed in a whole bunch of other characters, too, and a whole Soul Society subplot. Hope you enjoy it.
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It wasn’t often that he went to Soul Society. Sure, Urahara could get him there any time he wanted, but with all the obligations in his life now that he had his powers back, there just wasn’t time. And besides, his friends from there dropped in to see him frequently enough. Rukia and Renji practically lived in Karakura Town these days, and Matsumoto was there shopping once a week. Hitsugaya was there shortly thereafter with either Kira or Hisagi in tow to help haul all her stuff back about twenty-four hours after she got there, and he always made time to chat with Karin before he left. Ikkaku and Yumichika dropped by just to check up on things, having apparently gotten used to Keigo and his sister during their brief stay with them, and sometimes Kenpachi and the pink haired demon came with, just to see if Ichigo wanted that rematch yet.
And of course Yuzu had to make sure when any of them came with their gigai that they were fed and so there was always someone there at least one night a week. Most nights there were two or more. And Orihime and Tatsuki came over frequently at Rukia’s request, and Riruka…well, she was there because Rukia insisted on that, too. Whatever had happened during their fight had been the basis of a strong friendship that was growing stronger, strange as it seemed. And most nights Ishida and Chad were there, too. But it was a madhouse almost every night and after about a month of the constant barrage of people he’d simply had enough of them all. Especially the women, and of all of them especially Rukia. It was like she was the queen and everyone followed her lead. And what she wanted was complete control over Ichigo’s love life.
She wasn’t interested in him, thankfully. But she said she knew three women who were, and she was going to be bound and determined to get him to date one of them. He had a good idea that was why Orihime and Riruka were over so much, and that was probably why Tatsuki was there too. Forcing him to spend time with them would supposedly lead him to fall madly in love with one of them. His sisters were all for it, and any time Matsumoto was there she’d offer friendly advice to anyone who was a teenager about seduction techniques. Orihime listened in rapture, Riruka kind of paid attention, and Tatsuki rolled her eyes and tried to escape.
Apparently now his dad thought it was time for him to start “sowing his wild oats,” which had just caused Ichigo to clock him and knock him out on front of a house full of people this afternoon. It had been the last straw. He had thrown some stuff into a bag, grabbed Kon, who had been enjoying all the feminine attention heaped on him, and headed to Urahara Shoten. After explaining the situation to Urahara and Yoruichi, both of whom looked far too amused than they should, Urahara allowed him to access the gate to Soul Society and told him to head to Seireitei. He would send a message to Captain Yamamoto ahead of him.
It was a peaceful walk. They hadn’t replaced the Kōtotsu yet that Aizen had destroyed, so he took his time and thought about things. All three women were okay. If push came to shove and Rukia somehow got her way, it probably wouldn’t be horrible to date one of them. He appreciated woman, and he’d admit his mind had thought about it late at night when no one would be around to see him blush. He usually never got those kind of thoughts, though, so it wasn’t like he was a perv. Besides, if he had those kinds of thoughts about Tatsuki she’d beat the crap out of him. It just wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t blind. He knew both Orihime and Riruka liked him. He just wasn’t sure he liked either of them like that, especially in the case of Riruka. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about her after all the Tsukishima mess. Just because she hadn’t tried to kill Rukia or hadn’t wanted his powers didn’t mean she was 100% okay in his book, either, because she did fight Rukia. But he liked her more than Yukio, who was the only other one to survive. His thoughts towards Orihime sometimes ventured into more than friendly territory, but he wasn’t sure if she would really be happy with him or the idealized version of him in her head. It was complicated.
He made it to the gate where Jidanbou was and talked to him for a few minutes before going in. Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku were there waiting. Apparently Urahara’s message had arrived before him, not that he’d had much doubt. They also looked far too amused for their own good, and all of a sudden the peaceful calm that had settled on him was replaced with irritation. “So he told you,” Ichigo said.
“Not the entire story, but enough to know that my Lieutenant is making you miserable,” Ukitake said with a smile. “If it makes you feel at all better, I have sent someone to have a word with her.”
“Who?” Ichigo replied, curious.
“Her beloved nii-sama,” Kyoraku said with a chuckle. “You may not be his best friend, but he’s going to keep you from killing her out of sheer frustration because he cares for her. Besides, he’s finally decided to remove his objections to his own Lieutenant pursuing his rather transparent feelings towards her. If Lieutenant Abarai is chasing after her she’ll have no time to meddle in your love life.”
“Good,” Ichigo said, suddenly relieved. He knew from pretending not to listen to her conversations with the women that she would not be averse to having a relationship with her other best friend. It might do both of them a world of good, and they would be a good match.
“Come. You must be hungry,” Ukitake replied. “You will be staying in my division for the night. Kyoraku-san here has even offered to lay off the sake tonight. He and his very pregnant wife will be joining us for dinner in an hour.”
“Very pregnant wife?” Ichigo asked as they began to walk.
“My Nanao-chan decided to make an honest man out of me,” he said sorrowfully, but the wide smile on his face belied the tone of voice. “She should be having the babies any week now.”
“Twins?”
“Triplets, actually. Unohana-san is only letting her out of bed tonight because this is a special occasion. It is not often you came to visit before, and you have not been here at all since the incident in Karakura Town. She has had to rely on Rangiku-san for gossip, and she very much wants to hear about what is going on from someone else.”
Ichigo’s eyes were wide, but then he grinned. “The girls talk around me like I’m not there, so I have some gossip. But no one tells me what’s going on here, not really, and I want to know.”
“Then she can tell you all about the goings on here,” Kyoraku said with a laugh. “When you’re confined to a bed except for a daily visit with a doctor, and that is only because you insist, you learn quite a few things.”
They continued to walk, chatting about little things. Ichigo was shown to a spare room, then his things were stowed and he relaxed for about a half hour before Ukitake’s third seats came to get him. Sentarō didn’t look very different, but Kiyone had grown taller and lost some weight, and her hair was now shoulder length. They also seemed to be looking at each other rather adoringly, a sharp contrast from the last time he saw them. Rukia hadn’t mentioned anything about that when they talked. Of course, she had been trying to find out more about what he had been up to, so he supposed that was why.
It was not just the thirteenth division that was there. Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu also joined them, and he found himself relaxing as everyone stayed perfectly calm throughout the meal, the conversation flowing easily. He had started to relax so much that when Lieutenant Ise’s eyes widened and she stopped in the middle of her sentence that he wasn’t concerned. It was only when she screamed that he realized something wasn’t quite right.
“I am going into labor,” she said through gritted teeth. Ichigo had been sitting next to her and she had put a hand on his arm. Now she held it with a death grip, and he was almost worried she would break it if she twisted it the wrong way.
“It is good I took precautions and came tonight,” Captain Unohana said with a smile. She came around to the woman and gently pried her hand off of Ichigo’s arm, much to his relief. “Did you not tell me you had been feeling ready to pop earlier today?”
“I did,” she replied. “But they are coming too quickly, Captain Unohana.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Has your water just broken?” The young woman nodded. “And when did you feel the first contraction?”
“As my water broke,” she replied. Kyoraku had one of her hands in his and Ichigo could see from the expression on his face that she was squeezing it almost as hard as she had squeezed his arm. “But I am feeling another one right no-“ And it broke off into a scream.
“These babies really want to come out,” Ukitake said with a frown. “Ichigo, the room we put you in is closest.”
“I’ll help get her there,” Ichigo said. Unohana smiled at him, and he and Kyoraku helped Nanao up. They only made it a few feet before she gripped his hand hard. “Do you have anything to help her with the pain?” he asked Unohana.
“In my bag,” Isane said from right behind him.
“I don’t think there will be enough time,” Nano said with gritted teeth as they got out of the common room and headed towards the room Ichigo had been given. “But I will be damned if I have these babies on the sidewalk.”
They quickly got her to the bed and Ichigo found himself being pushed back behind Isane. The tall woman looked at him and smiled. “Have you seen babies born before?” she asked.
“I’ve helped my dad deliver a few,” he replied.
“Excellent,” Unohana said from the end of the bed they had gotten Nanao on. “You can assist.” Ukitake came in with a blanket, and Unohana draped it over Nanao’s bent knees. She then got under the blanket and made a small noise. “I see the top of one of the baby’s head. They indeed want to get here quickly.”
“Is this irregular?” Kyoraku asked, slightly worried. He was at his wife’s side, smoothing her hair back.
“It is, but I believe your wife has been having mini contractions all day, from what she told me this afternoon. I would not have let her attend tonight if I had thought we wouldn’t have time to make it to the medical center. We will just have to do this the…quick and dirty way,” she replied. “Nanao, when I tell you to push, push, all right?”
“Okay,” Nanao said quietly.
“All right. Push!” Nanao screamed, and Ichigo watched her face wrinkled in pain. “One more push and the first child will be out,” Unohana said. Nanao pushed and screamed again, and soon her scream was joined by a baby’s wail. Unohana came out from under the blanket, holding a bloody baby in her arms. “Congratulations. Your firstborn is a healthy baby boy. Isane, please get me the scissors so I can cut the umbilical cord.”
Isane dug through the bag she had with her and pulled out a pair of scissor. Unohana cut the umbilical cord, then looked at Kyoraku. “Do you mind if I give the baby to Kurosaki-san to hold? These other two are coming out quickly.”
Kyoraku nodded, but Nanao shook her head. “Let me see him first,” she said, gritting her teeth before swallowing a scream.
Unohana came over and showed her her son, and a look of tranquility passed on her face. “Little Jushiro,” she said, smiling.
“I am honored,” Ukitake said from behind Ichigo, and when they boy turned to look the other man had tears in his eyes.
“We knew you would never have children,” Nanao said, the smile faltering for a moment. “We felt it was right.”
“May I instead?” he asked. She nodded, and Ukitake took a smaller blanket he had brought with him and wrapped the infant up and Nanao screamed again and Unohana went back under the blanket. “These blankets were gifts I had not gotten to give you yet.”
“Good thing,” Kyoraku said with a slight chuckle before he winced as Nanao screamed again. “Ichigo can hold the next child.”
“That’s fine,” Nanao said, her voice strained.
“The child is crowning,” Unohana replied. “This is highly unusual, but everything looks okay. Now…push!”
With three more pushes another wail was heard. Unohana came out from under the blanket. “A healthy baby girl,” she said with a smile. Ichigo took the blanket Ukitake had handed him and carefully wrapped the infant in it. He looked down at her in wonder and took her over to her parents.
“Do you mind if we call her Retsu?” Kyoraku asked Unohana quietly.
“Oh,” Unohana said, a wide smile on her face. “Like Ukitake-san, I am honored.”
“She’s so beautiful,” Nanao breathed before another contraction hit.
“We only knew we were having at least one boy and one girl,” Kyoraku said. “The next will be a surprise. If it’s a girl, her name will be Risa. If it’s a boy…” he said, looking at his wife.
“His name will be Ichigo,” Nanao said, looking at Ichigo. Kyoraku looked surprised, and she looked at him, a smile on her face. “I decided it a while ago. Names have meaning, and though I knew my first son would be named after a gentle man, I wanted my second son to be named after an important person who saved everyone.” She grimaced, but turned back to Ichigo. “These are the first children born in Seireitei after the Winter War. It is my way of honoring the sacrifice he gave to save us.”
“I’m…wow,” Ichigo said quietly. “Honored. I’m honored.”
“Well, we shall find out shortly,” Unohana said after she got back under the blanket. “All right…push.”
The atmosphere was tense, but one push was all that was needed for the baby to come out. “Hello, Ichigo,” Unohana said quietly to the baby before coming out from under the blanket. Isane handed her the last blanket, and motioned to Ichigo to come look at his namesake before she handed him to his parents. Ichigo handed the baby in his arms to Kyoraku after he got done kissing his wife’s forehead then went over to the other child. “He’s tiny.”
“But not too tiny, and he has healthy lungs,” Unohana said with a warm smile as the baby continued to cry. “As soon as you rest a bit I will take all four of you to the medical center. But for now, rest.” Ukitake had moved over to the happy parents and handed their first son to Nanao, and Unohana handed Ichigo to the man he was named after. Ichigo held him and after a moment he stopped crying.
“You’re named after me,” he said quietly. “I’ll make you proud to share my name.”
“You’ll have quite a legacy to live up to,” Isane said with a smile as she went to one side and Ukitake went to the other. “They all will.”
“And we’ll make sure they do,” Kyoraku said with a slight chuckle. “Well, it seems you won the baby pool, Isane-san. Are you sure you didn’t cheat?”
Isane laughed. “No, I didn’t even see her today. But I didn’t win the name pool. I don’t think anyone did. I only got two names right.”
“No, one person got them all right,” Ukitake said. “May I?” he asked Ichigo. Ichigo handed him the boy and he went over to his parents. “My Lieutenant had all three names down. I do believe she cheated by suggesting Ichigo if you had a boy, did she not?” he asked Nanao.
“No, I told no one of that decision, not even my husband,” she said with a smile, looking at her daughter. “She suggested it, but she was sure I was going to have two girls. She had suggested I name my second girl Michiru.”
“Yes, that was the name she put down in case the second child was a girl,” Ukitake said. “Well, Lieutenant Kotetsu, it looks as though you’re splitting the pool with Rukia-san.”
“How much was it?” Ichigo asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but it was a large sum of money. Why?” Ukitake asked.
“Just curious.” He looked at all of him and grinned. It was nice to see peace and happiness and tranquility. That was why he had trained so hard to defeat Aizen, so that there were more days like this for everyone, both in Soul Society and in the living world.
“We never did get around to your problem, Kurosaki-san,” Kyoraku said.
“I think I have a pretty good idea what to do,” he said with a nod. “I may just head back with the good news tonight. I think everyone who visits was there this weekend, so I may still catch them before they come back here. It’ll give Rangiku-san a chance to buy more gifts.”
Nanao laughed, and used her free hand to beckon him closer. He moved towards her side. “Promise me you’ll come back here more?”
“I promise. I have someone who’s going to look up to me now,” she said. He leaned over and quickly kissed her cheek, blushing a little as he did, then grabbed his things from by the bed and then turned around.
“I’ll go to the communications center and send a message to Kisuke-san,” Ukitake said, giving Ichigo to Unohana. “That way he’ll be expecting you.”
“Okay,” he replied. Ukitake joined him at the door and they walked away. “I wasn’t expecting that tonight.”
“None of us were expecting it, except maybe Retsu,” he said with a warm smile. “You said you came to a decision?”
“I honestly don’t think Tatsuki is interested in me like Rukia thinks she is, and we honestly wouldn’t be a good fit. Riruka…I don’t trust her completely, not after everything that happened last month. And I won’t date anyone I don’t trust. I think I’m going to spend more time with her, though. Get to know her. Everyone else seems to like her. But…when I figure out if Inoue would be happy with me exactly as I am and not this superhero she seemed to think I was, then maybe I’ll see about asking her out.”
“A wise choice,” Ukitake said with a nod. “It is a very good idea to see exactly what type of feelings she has towards you beforehand.”
“Yeah. I mean…I would do stuff to save all three of them, but I basically did a suicide mission to rescue Inoue. That has to say something.”
Ukitake chuckled. “Indeed it does. From what my lieutenant has told me of all three women in our brief conversations about you, I would say your friend Inoue-san was the best choice for you. I don’t think you would ever need to doubt her feelings about you. Now perhaps Kuchiki-san will leave you to your own devices.”
“I hope so.”
When he got back home an hour later with Urahara and Yoruichi everyone was still there: Rukia, Renji, Matsumoto, Orihime, Tatsuki, Riruka, Ishida, Chad, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hitsugaya, Hisagi, his sisters and his father. Byakuya had also joined the group, and looked almost as uncomfortable in the situation as he was sure he had felt earlier that afternoon. The house got dead silent when he shut the door behind him, and with a light heart he was glad he had their attention, and also glad they were all there. He looked at Orihime and gave her a wide grin, and then turned to the group at large. “I have some news for everyone from Soul Society…”