Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. Insert funny comment

Warnings: This is an AU story – so bear with me:)

Pairings: Mainly Ichiruki

A/N: Many thanks to my beta, ForeverSam, for helping me and giving me enough confidence to actually post this story:) This is my first fanfic, so please be gentle.

Accidental Bliss

By: akirk85029

Rukia woke up early this Saturday morning and for some reason could not go back to sleep even though her husband was still out cold. Going downstairs after taking a shower and getting dressed sounded like a good idea, until she actually got down there and realized she didn't have anything to do that wouldn't wake up anyone else. She ended up just browsing through some of the books, but none of the titles held any interest for her at the moment.

Rukia looked around for some pictures, figuring it was time for her to see some photos of Ichigo when he was little as he had seen all her family photos and she came to realize there were only a few well placed photos in the living and dining rooms. While browsing, she remembered Yuzu once mentioning a basement, which was used for storage.

It took a bit of searching, but Rukia finally located the unobtrusive metal door that led down to the basement which was near the hallway that led to the clinic. She grasped the cool brass handle, gave the door a tentative push, and found herself staring into darkness. Her small hand grasped for a light switch and when she finally turned on the light she gasped at how steep the stairs were.

Rukia descended the white carpeted stairs one step at a time while holding tightly to the rail. She knew that if she fell or had any other kind of mishap she would never hear the end of it. Rukia blew a sigh of relief once she reached the bottom and hoped she would be done down here before anyone else woke up.

Rukia sneezed briefly as she opened the door to one of the rooms in the overcrowded basement. She edged her way further into the small room and rummaged through a few things before she came across an old photo album. She gently brushed her hand against the tan leather and wrinkled her nose at the dust that was on her hand.

Rukia opened the book and smiled at the pictures of a young Isshin and Masaki; she figured this must have been after they had just gotten married. She turned the pages noting how happy Isshin and Masaki had been. Rukia nearly cried when she found a picture of Masaki holding a newly born Ichigo. The look on Masaki's face was of pure love for the little one in her arms. Rukia pulled the picture out as she wanted to draw a likeness of it and give it to Ichigo. She pocketed the picture and continued to sift through the items, coming across a newer picture book, in which she found a picture of the twins as toddlers. She pulled that picture out as well, along with a picture that looked like Isshin and Masaki's wedding picture that had been stuffed in between the pages.

Rukia was about to put the albums back when she noticed a few ultrasound pictures. She looked at them with a smile on her face as she figured out which one belonged to the twins and Ichigo; however, something was bothering her. There seemed to be double the ones for Ichigo until she looked at the dates and then she gasped. The date on one picture was two weeks before Masaki had died.

"You figured it out?"

Rukia nearly jolted out of her skin at the sudden voice and sharply turned her head to see Isshin standing in the doorway, still in his pajamas. "She was, she was…"

"Yes." Isshin responded simply, trying to keep the tremor from his voice.

Rukia studied Isshin's face and saw the sadness, the pain, and finally the fear of what she would do with this newfound knowledge. "Why?"

Isshin sighed trying to figure out how to explain this all to his daughter-in-law. "You know how Ichigo is about his mother's death. I knew that if he found out he would only blame himself about this too. The kids never went into the basement, but they were constantly going in and out of my room, so the sonograms have been safe here until now."

Rukia felt guilty now, feeling like she had betrayed him somehow. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry Rukia, I don't mean to be so rude. I've just defended this area for quite some time." Isshin responded, knowing that he wasn't being himself right now. Isshin always knew there was a possibility of someone finding out since he could not bring himself to destroy anything that gave him a link to what would have been his fourth child.

"Was she ill long?" Rukia asked as she didn't know that much about how Masaki had died.

Isshin rubbed his jaw for a few moments, giving him some time to contemplate before he answered her. "Rukia, very few people know the real circumstances of my wife's death. Ichigo, unfortunately, is one of them. The twins only know the long suffering illness story the hospital put out to cover themselves. The real story is that my wife went to the store to get something for a nine year old boy and ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was still alive when she was taken to the hospital and would have survived if not for the incompetent doctor she was given."

Rukia said nothing for a while, just taking in the sudden onslaught of information. She watched as Isshin tried to compose himself. She knew that his wife's death still affected him so much and she wished there was some way to help him.

"Why did you let them cover up her death?" Rukia asked while trying to figure out if her aunt might know anything. She wasn't sure of the exact year her aunt had started at Karakura Hospital.

Isshin just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders; his fingers twirled the belt of his robe. "I was given enough money to see all my kids through college even if they all wanted to be doctors with plenty of money left over. I didn't care at that point what they said; it wasn't going to bring my Masaki back to me."

Rukia walked over to her father-in-law, skirting around the boxes, and just hugged him. She didn't know what else to do to offer sympathy.

"You are a good person, Rukia, and I couldn't have asked for my son to find anyone better." Isshin stated as he swung an arm around Rukia's shoulders and steered her out of the room and carefully back up the stairs.

Retsu smiled as she sat down across from her daughter. They were meeting for lunch near the hospital and Retsu was pleased to see how happy Nemu looked. She was so delighted to see that Nemu had finally found some happiness. Her daughter had taken Kenpachi and Yachiru's death as hard as she had.

Kenpachi and Nemu might not have had as close of a relationship as that of what Kenpachi and Yachiru shared, but Retsu believed that was because Nemu took after her own scientific nature and Yachiru was just like Kenpachi. Retsu had no idea two children from the same parents could be so different; however, Nemu and Yachiru had gotten along splendidly well.

Retsu remembered when Nemu was twelve and one of her teachers had taken too much of an interest in her. She would never forget his name; Mayuri Kurotsuchi had nearly died when Kenpachi had found out. If her late husband's men hadn't been with him he might have nearly taken Mayuri's head off with his bare hands.

"Well, I have a pet now." Nemu said, her voice penetrating through Retsu's reminiscing.

Retsu raised a slender, black brow and smiled. Her daughter appeared to be amused with the situation. "What kind of pet does Chad have?"

"A bird of some kind. I'm not sure what species it is." Nemu replied as she read the menu.

Retsu chuckled slightly as she picked up her own menu. "I take it Chad is all moved in?"

Nemu blushed and placed her menu on the white tablecloth. She picked at the edge of her sleeve as she looked at her mother. "He is."

Retsu reached across the table to take hold of Nemu's hand. "I'm happy for you."

Nemu squeezed her mother's hand in thanks and smiled brightly as the waiter appeared to take their orders.

Tatsuki took a deep breath as she reached for the doorbell. She spared a quick glance at her fiancé and tried to steady her nerves. She hadn't been home for as long as she could remember. Her only escape growing up had been her karate, which, incidentally, had been how she had met Renji.

"You remember how she was." Tatsuki commented while trying to not show how nervous she was. She didn't want to inform her mother of anything, but she was here at Renji's urging.

Renji grimaced slightly remembering how mean spirited her mother was, but he knew it would be worse if she found out about their engagement through someone else. "We only have to stay a few minutes."

Tatsuki nodded her head and forcibly lowered her tensed up shoulders when the heavy front door opened to reveal an older woman, the bane of Tatsuki's existence, her mother.

"If you lost your job, you cannot move in here." Honoka Arisawa stated sharply, holding the door as a barrier against her guests.

Tatsuki tried to not let her mother prick her anger. She stared at the woman who had given her life and knew the reason her mother had hated her so much was because her father had forced her mother to give him a child.

Honoka had given her husband a child and then refused to accept him into their bed again for the fear of being forced to have any more children. She was forty when she had Tatsuki and knew that even one child had been more than she had wanted.

Tatsuki had been a daddy's girl from the beginning and being a tom-boy had only brought her closer to her father as he had attended all her sporting and karate events. Tatsuki's life had been torn apart when her father died when she was eleven.

"Don't worry Mother, if I had lost my job, this would be the last place I would come to for help." Tatsuki replied with a frown. She stared into her mother's harsh green eyes and dyed ash blonde hair and was thankful she had gotten her looks from her father.

"What do you want then?" Honoka asked, trying to move them along as quickly as possible. She didn't want the neighbors nosing in on her personal business.

"I just wanted to give you the news that Renji and I are getting married." Tatsuki replied while pulling Renji's hand into her own.

Honoka rolled her eyes. "Is that all? Well, don't be surprised when he strays. All men do, your father was the biggest perpetrator."

Tatsuki let her anger take control. "Whose fault do you suppose that was? You damn well…."

Tatsuki was stopped from her rant as Renji pulled her away and started them towards his car. They heard the front door slam shut as they walked away. Renji pulled Tatsuki against him and kissed the top of her head softly.

"I'm sorry for making you come here, but you know how she would be otherwise." Renji whispered against her ear as he held her securely in his arms.

"Thank you." Tatsuki said, knowing that she would have said some harsh things if Renji hadn't pulled her away. "Tomorrow we get to go to your parents."

Renji just grinned and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You know they love you. Even Jinta does, and that's saying something."

Tatsuki smiled as they continued to walk to the car. Renji's real parents had both died in a car accident when he was seven. He had lived in a nearby orphanage until he was eleven when he finally had been adopted. Renji's new parents were great people and had been patient and understanding during Renji's rebellious years and Tatsuki was thankful that they had never given up on him. They had adopted Jinta when Renji had gone to college and it had been an odd beginning for Renji and Jinta, but they now had a strong brotherly bond they could both rely on.

They both stopped at the car and Tatsuki stopped him from going around to the driver's side. "Let's call everyone and meet somewhere."

Renji gave her a small smile. "Want to celebrate something?"

"Go get in the car!" Tatsuki demanded as she nudged Renji away. She couldn't stop the smile from forming on her lips as she heard Renji's arrogant snicker.

Rukia sighed as she walked slowly next to her husband. She was still debating on whether it was a good idea to tell Ichigo about what she had learned. They had spent the previous evening with Renji, Tatsuki, Uryu, and Orihime, celebrating Renji and Tatsuki's engagement. Rukia decided that if she was going to tell her husband she needed to do it today instead of waiting for a prolonged period of time.

Ichigo studied Rukia's profile from the side as they walked down the street. He knew she was distraught over something; she had been distracted since yesterday morning. Ichigo just couldn't figure out what was bothering her. He wondered briefly if it had to do with his mother and the reason behind her death. He knew she needed to know. He just didn't want to lose what he had found with her.

Ichigo looked around and noted that the sun was shining brightly for the last week-end of February. He was looking forward to March and the official start of spring. Ichigo decided that now was as good of a time as any. He started to lead them towards the cemetery.

Rukia was startled when they turned the last corner and the cemetery was laid out before them. She turned to see her husband's stoic face and wondered what he was thinking. "Ichigo, why are we here?"

Ichigo led them into the cemetery a ways before he answered her. "I need to tell something about what happened to my mother."

Rukia raised her brow and wondered why this week-end seemed to be the week-end the Kurosaki men were confessing things to her. "Okay."

Ichigo took Rukia to his mother's tombstone. He raised his free hand to the surface of the white marble that had his mother's name etched on it and felt how cool the stone was despite the sun shining on it. "It was my fault. The whole reason she was taken from the family was to get me something from the store because I didn't want what was going to be served for dinner."

Rukia understood his reason to blame himself; she would have done the same if their positions had been reversed, but she needed him to understand that this was not his fault.

"If I hadn't been so stubborn she would still be here. I admit now that it was stupid, but I only wanted her attention and at times I was jealous of the attention she would give to Karin and Yuzu. Karin and Yuzu, of all people, they were only five years old, just babies." Ichigo stated, shutting his eyes to try and control himself, to not let the guilt take over.

Rukia felt a tear slide down her own cheek as she watched her husband hold onto his self-composure. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and stepped closer to Ichigo. She raised her hand to cup his cheek. "It was not your fault."

Ichigo shook his head in denial. "It most certainly was."

"Ichigo, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, as your father said." Rukia said trying to comfort her husband.

Ichigo just snorted in disbelief. "You talked to my father. He tried telling me the same thing. I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now."

Rukia sighed in frustration. She knew she wasn't getting anywhere with her husband. She lowered her hand to her ever expanding stomach as she felt the baby kick and an idea struck her. "Ichigo, if I went out for something, for our son or daughter, and was killed, would you blame him or her?"

"No." Ichigo responded immediately.

"Would you want our son or daughter to blame his or her-self for something that was out of their control?" Rukia continued pulling Ichigo's hand over and placing it on her rounded belly.

Ichigo was quiet for a long time pondering Rukia's question. He would rather take all the blame than to let his kid believe that something like that was his or her fault. He slowly raised his gaze to meet his wife's calm eyes and tried to hold onto his guilt. It had been his constant companion for so long; he couldn't just let it go so easily, could he?

"No." Ichigo answered knowing he still needed time to think on his own situation. He still felt it was at least partially his fault. He pulled Rukia close to him and just held her, taking his own comfort in just holding his wife.

Rukia wasn't sure if he was through with blaming himself, but she knew he was taking a step in the right direction. She didn't know if now was the right time to bring up what she had learned from her husband's father. Rukia didn't want to destroy what little ground they had gained. She needed to think some more on what to do.

"You know what?" Rukia asked smiling when she felt Ichigo's smile on her forehead.

"No, what?" Ichigo asked in response.

"I love you, don't ever forget that." Rukia said wrapping her arms tighter around Ichigo.

"Never, and I love you too, my beautiful pregnant midget." Ichigo stated and nearly laughed when he was punched in his side.

Yuzu was spending most of the week after her classes at Kira's working on her final project for her final semester; her and her classmates were given the entire semester to make a real life business proposal that reflects their chosen field of study. Yuzu smiled, knowing that with Rukia's help she was making her interior design proposal to Byakuya and Hisana Kuchiki. She knew that would raise a few eyebrows.

Kira walked into his living room and saw Yuzu laying across the ground with papers strewn about her. He wondered what she was smiling about as she worked. "What are you grinning at?"

Yuzu rolled over onto her back and smiled up at her boyfriend. "My teacher's faces when they see Byakuya Kuchiki's name on my proposal response."

Kira chuckled as he moved to lie next to Yuzu on the floor. "You're going to enjoy watching their eyes pop out of their heads, aren't you?"

Yuzu only smiled as she pulled Kira's head down to hers and kissed him.

Kira moved his body more firmly over Yuzu's as he continued to ravish her sweet mouth. He couldn't get enough of the taste of her. His hand moved from the curve of Yuzu's hip to cup her breast. He caught her gasp in his mouth and continued his ministrations.

Yuzu was enjoying the sudden turn of events when Kira suddenly pushed himself off of her. "What's wrong?"

Kira stared at Yuzu's confused face and tried to slow his racing heart down and control his rapid breathing. "Yuzu, I have to stop now because I desperately want to continue and I wouldn't be able to stop myself much longer."

Yuzu gave Kira a bashful smile. "Oh."

Nothing was said for a few minutes until Kira moved to sit in front of her again. He pulled Yuzu into his lap and wrapped his arms securely around her. "I just can't seem to stop touching you."

Yuzu snuggled further against him. "I like it when you touch me. I like the way you look at me when you do, like I'm the most beautiful person in the world."

Kira kissed Yuzu's temple as he held her. "You are the most beautiful person in the world."

Yuzu just shook her head. "I know I'm not, but I'm glad that you think so."

Kira kept silent, knowing it was pointless to argue with her. She was stubborn when she wanted to be. Kira glanced over at the clock on his mantel and groaned. It was nearly seven. "It's about time for me to take you back to your house."

Yuzu rolled her eyes. "Are you always so punctual?"

Kira chuckled softly against Yuzu's ear. "No, but you know your brother calls every five minutes when you're not home by dinner."

Yuzu scowled slightly at the mention of her brother. He was not making it easy to date, but at least he was not being as bad as he could have been. "I don't want to go yet."

Kira tightened his hold slightly. "Believe me when I say, I don't like to let you out of my arms. It's not easy for me, but I want to be respectful to your brother and father for the day I might ask for your hand so they don't refuse me outright."

Yuzu turned around suddenly. "What?"

Kira was confused for a moment. He had always thought that this relationship might lead to marriage. He had never been this happy with anyone else. Nor had he just been able to be himself with anyone else either. Was marriage something Yuzu didn't want with him? "I just thought that…."

Yuzu moved forward when Kira stopped mid-sentence. "Kira, you would really offer for me one day? That's so sweetly old fashioned."

Kira cheeks tinged pink as he looked into Yuzu's soft eyes. "Then you wouldn't be opposed to it one day?"

Yuzu smiled as she leaned in to kiss him gently, loving the way his soft lips felt against her own. She wondered if her lips looked as well kissed as his did. "I would never be opposed to it, if you ever decided to ask."

Kira smiled before kissing Yuzu again. He was already in love with her. He knew it and surprisingly he wasn't afraid of loving her. He always felt he would never be good at it as he had never felt anything like it before. Kira pulled Yuzu up and started to gather her things. "I think it's time to take you home before I carry you away somewhere."

Yuzu laughed before moving to put her things together. She wondered briefly if she should tell him about her research in trying to find out who his real parents were, but she figured he would probably think it was pointless. So Yuzu decided she would continue to wait until she found something concrete.

Momo smiled as she walked into the living room and found Toushirou sitting on the couch channel surfing. She knew he couldn't find anything worth watching with his occasional grunts and incoherent muttering. She moved behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Toushirou leaned his head back and stared into his wife's eyes. "I wonder why we pay for two hundred channels that don't have anything good on them."

Momo tried to contain her amusement as she leaned over to kiss her husband's lips. "Did you not have a good day?"

Toushirou lifted his head up and shrugged his shoulders trying to ignore how bad of a day he had been through. The purchase of another building for the company was not going as planned and he was not happy about it. He needed to get up early and do some more research. Toushirou groaned as he felt his wife's hands start to give him a much needed massage. "Did I ever tell you that I love you?"

Momo laughed softly. "I think you only love my hands right now."

Toushirou grunted in reply. He smiled as he heard his wife's exclamation when he reached behind him and pulled her over the back of the couch and into his lap. "I can think of a better use for that mouth of yours."

Momo completely forgot about her earlier conversation with her mother about Ronin's upcoming birthday as she was quickly divested of her clothes.

On Friday night, Rukia was walking around the living room trying to get in her exercise for the night as it was raining heavily outside. She could hear the television in the background talking about an upcoming trial of a big time criminal. She briefly wondered if the charges would stick this time, but doubted it.

Rukia breezed past one corner of the living room and nearly yelped when powerful arms came around her. She saw a head of orange when she turned her head to the right and felt her husband's mouth against the juncture of her neck and shoulders. "Ichigo, what are you doing?"

"I would think it was obvious." Ichigo murmured against her neck.

Rukia smiled as she turned around in his arms. "Before you make me forget, Nanao asked if we could babysit her kids next week."

Ichigo straightened up and tried to remember if he had met this Nanao before.

Rukia ran her hand down her husband's chest. She knew her husband was trying to figure out who Nanao was. "You know her daughter, Amarante, who is Ronin's best friend. She has a little boy, Kaito who is five and a newborn baby girl, Hanaye."

"So why are we watching the brood?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity.

"I used to babysit for Amarante when she was little and besides my mom suggested it when she found out Nanao was looking for one just for that night only. I think my mother believes we need the experience of taking care of a baby." Rukia responded moving her hand down to her stomach. She was nineteen weeks as of today.

Ichigo chuckled as he started running his hands up and down Rukia's arms. "She might be right. I don't think either of us has spent any great deal of time around babies."

"It's a good thing I accepted then, since you are so amenable to the idea." Rukia responded with a grin.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and pulled his wife towards the kitchen with a smile on his face. He could hear his father and sister arguing over something on the grocery list and wondered if he could still squeeze in some alone time with his wife before dinner.

Hyota Saito sat in his small cell staring at the blank wall opposite of him. He was incensed with the indignity of having to wear a pink jumpsuit for his prison uniform; however, the fact that he had been denied bail was overwhelming. He couldn't believe they had denied him the ability to leave this hellhole.

Hyota continued to let the anger build in his black soul and wondered how long he was going to have to wait before he could get his revenge. He would have his own twisted version of justice as he believed he was the one wronged in the whole situation.

How he hated Ichigo Kurosaki. His hatred only increased the longer he was held in prison. It was only a matter of time before Hyota would be able to get his due. He knew that tomorrow he was going to have to write a letter to someone that owed him a favor. Hyota Saito always had the last word.

A/N : I'm sorry it took so long to update!! It probably sucks - I'm so out of practice! At least I feel like writing again:) I realized when reading over my previous chapters I had never really had a mother/daughter moment between Retsu and Nemu, so I added that. I haven't left any hints as to who Kira's real father is, so when I do reveal that hopefully it will be a good suprise:) I have something I've been thinking about doing with Masaki, but I don't know if it's a good idea. You might be able to guess!:) I do hope everyone has been doing good!!:) Even though it's early, have a great week-end!!:)