A/N: I am sooooooo sorry that it has taken me so long to get this out. I've been working a lot of long hours, and what free time I've had I've devoted to my family. But finally, here it is, the long awaited Chapter Nine. I only hope it was worth the wait! Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

The Ultimate Sacrifice

"It's finally completed; the tool that will let me get revenge on that substitute soul reaper." He surveyed the glass case that held the soul absorbing sword with pride. I have made Lord Aizen proud this day.

A sudden noise to his left caused the Aizen copy to turn around sharply. What he saw behind him, made him shake with fear. "L—Lord Aizen! Is that really you?"

The former captain walked toward his subject and replied as if he had commented on the weather. "Yes, it is. I trust you have made the item according to the specifications I have been sending you?"

"Sending me, my Lord? I have been working according to what filtered into my mind. I assumed it was because I touched the pebble you always warned me to stay away from."

"Yes, I know you touched it. How else could you look like me, even think like me. Of course I was able to help you along. That 'pebble' as you called it, linked my mind to yours due to the fact that I had sealed away a part of my soul in it some years ago."

"I don't understand, my lord. I assumed it was I that came up with the idea for this sword."

An amused smile spread across the real Aizen's face. "And why would you be building a sword that can capture reishi, my faithful subject?"

"I honestly don't know, my lord. I assumed it could be used to take down Ichigo Kurosa—"

Aizen pulled his zanpakuto from his loyal subject's belly and flung off the blood that coated it. "You assume too much." He let the fallen arrancar bleed out onto the sands as he walked over to the glass enclosure that held the sword of his creation. "Excellent. It is ready." He closed his eyes and a smile crossed his face as he sensed the approach of a group of soul reapers. "And not a moment too soon…"

They stopped as they reached the ruins of Los Noches, a frown of concentration covering Yoruichi's face.

"Something doesn't feel right," she commented, as she continued to survey the area, her sense's as sharp as the cat that she turned into.

"You're right. The reiatsu feels too similar to Aizen's. There's almost no variation at all. It's different than before," Kisuke added.

"What does that mean, Kisuke?" Ichigo questioned, trying to stay calm. "Is it possible that whatever you felt before evolved?"

"Who cares, let's just go kick his ass and get out of here!" Kenpachi roared, already walking as if to pass by Ichigo.

"I think not."

They all snapped around to see that the owner of that voice was Aizen standing before them with no signs of injury whatsoever. It was as if the battle between himself and Ichigo never happened.

"How are you still alive, you bastard," Ichigo snarled, his hand on Zangetsu, ready to draw.

"Surprised?" Aizen smirked. "I'm sure you are." He took several steps forward towards them. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"Kisuke! Open a garganta! Now!" Uryuu shouted, snapping everyone out of their shock and back to attention. Kisuke did so, and everyone filed through until only Kenpachi, Ichigo and Rukia were left.

"Come on! We weren't prepared for this! Let's get out of here and regroup!" Renji shouted. Kenpachi instead stalked closer to Aizen. Kisuke quickly performed a kido bind on Kenpachi and another one to transport his hulking form back through the garganta. Rukia was right behind Ichigo.

"Not so fast, you," Aizen snarled as he roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. And before Rukia could react to being within his grasp, Aizen shoved the sword he had created straight into her stomach. He leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear in a voice so cold, so calculating that it made the ice sword wielder shiver with fear. "I could care less about the others. I'm after the soul you carry inside you." Rukia shivered again, this time in disgust because he was so close to her, as his breath touched her ear. "And don't be mistaken; it's not your soul I'm after. It's that of your unborn child!"

Rukia's blood ran cold at that statement. What is he talking about? "No…" she muttered aloud. I'm pregnant…? As if he had flicked a switch, all other thoughts left her, and from somewhere deep inside her, a strength that she could only guess was that of a maternal kind welled up inside her and she reached down, grabbing the blade that pierced her with her own bare hands, determined to pull it out of her before he could do his damage. She feared she may be too late, as she could already feel a powerful reiatsu flowing into the sword.

Ichigo turned around when he sensed her reiatsu spike, and was horrified when he saw what was happening. "RUKIA!" He shunpoed back to her as fast as he could, already preparing to call on his hollow.

Just say the word, King! I'll slice him till there's nothing left! No one touches Queen!

Aizen looked down at the blade when he felt a change in the wavelength of the reiatsu flowing into it...it was becoming unstable. Rukia had grabbed it so tightly that she had splintered it. "What are you doing, you stupid woman?" he murmured, shocked that she was capable of that.

"Saving my child," she gritted out. Tears filled her eyes with the thought that she was too late, but she would not let them fall. She would not give him that satisfaction. Aizen jerked the sword out of her, and Rukia flinched as she felt a piece of it enter her hand in the process, not to mention the pain of a sword being wrenched from her body. Aizen shunpoed out of sight just as Ichigo approached, and Rukia collapsed into Ichigo's arms, falling unconscious.

Ichigo didn't waste any time on Aizen, but focused on getting Rukia through the garganta and away from that monster. Once they were back in the basement of Urahara Shoten and the garganta was closed behind them, he frantically shouted for Tessai. "Rukia's hurt! She needs help!" They got her upstairs, and Ichigo told them what he had seen, though he didn't know the full truth.

After several hours, Tessai had been able to stabilize Rukia, but was unable to fully heal her. She lay on the futon, unconscious. Her reiatsu continued to spike, and Ichigo couldn't figure out why. He noticed that Rukia had her fist balled up so tight that her knuckles were turning white. He tried to loosen it, but he was not successful. The rest of her body was feverish, but her fist was icy cold; almost too cold to touch.

"I wouldn't bother trying," Kisuke said as he entered the room they had placed her in. "She won't let go of what she's holding."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the shopkeeper. "You seem so sure. What is she holding anyway? And how was it possible that Aizen was actually there?"

"First, I need to ask you a question, Ichigo. Has Rukia been acting strange lately? Morning sickness or sickness for no reason at any time of day, really tired, mood swings?"

Ichigo blinked rapidly in confusion. "Now that you mention it, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well, let me ask one more question. When was the last time you two were intimate?"

Ichigo's face went blood red. "I FAIL TO SEE HOW THAT IS ANY OF YOUR CONCERN, URAHARA! AND IT CERTAINLY ISN'T IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW!"

"Rukia is pregnant, Ichigo."

The simple statement knocked the wind out of Ichigo's lungs. He couldn't catch his breath. Did he say what I think he did? "What?"

"She's pregnant. That is why her body's reiatsu is spiking and is fluctuating wildly like it is." Kisuke walked further into the room and sat down next to Ichigo. "With you and her, it was the creation of a new soul, which is what brought Aizen back to full health. Since you are both shinigami, you literally created a new life together; a brand new soul." He sighed. "From what I can figure, Aizen somehow made it back to Hueco Mundo after your battle with him years ago, and was barely surviving, but that spark in the universe when a new soul is created—not just a new life, but a new soul entirely—was apparently enough to bring his soul back from the brink of oblivion. After all. It isn't every day that an entirely new soul is created like that. Mostly, it is existing souls being reborn. Not many souls have children of their own. It takes an insane amount of reiatsu to do so. The two of you have that much reiatsu."

Kisuke gestured towards Rukia's hand. "I analyzed her hand. She's not waking up, because all of her reiatsu is focusing on what's in her hand. From what I can tell, Aizen tried to steal the soul of your child with that sword he stabbed her with, and Rukia stopped him. What resulted is that sword he stabbed her with splintered and part of it entered her hand in the process. She's focusing her reiatsu on saving the soul of your unborn child, Ichigo."

Ichigo could only stare at his wife as she lay there, motionless. She was pregnant?! How the hell could I not notice that?! She's been sick a lot lately, and tired for no reason. "Oh my god…Rukia…" he buried his hands in his hair as he looked at the floor. This is exactly the reason we were going to wait…damn you, Aizen…

Isshin rushed in to the Urahara Shoten with Karin and Yuzu in tow. Tatsuki was sitting there with Renji, Uryuu, and Orihime, as she had been called in case Tessai could not fully heal Rukia. However, she had not been able to fully heal her either. Something about the sword he had stabbed her with had prevented her reversal abilities.

"Where is she? We just heard from Kisuke what happened," Isshin grilled them frantically.

"Kisuke and Ichigo are in the back with her. She hasn't woken up yet," Tatsuki began sadly. "I guess Urahara told you everything."

"Yeah," Isshin sighed. He sat down next to them and Yuzu and Karin did the same.

Kisuke walked out right then. "Isshin; see if you can help Ichigo. As is expected, he's not taking this well at all."

Isshin only nodded and followed Kisuke back to the room and walked in. What he found, was a man broken, with his eyes filled with tears he would not let fall. Isshin knew exactly how his son was doing without him speaking, because he had been there, too once. Damn you to hell, Aizen for putting my boy through this. "Son."

Ichigo's head snapped up as he heard his father's voice. "Dad."

"She'll pull through this, Ichigo. She's strong. You know that."

Ichigo sighed heavily. "It's hard to think that she'll pull through when she's trying too hard to save our child's life and neglecting her own."

"That's what a parent does, son. But Rukia has enough fight in her that she'll be able to save both the child and herself. You'll see."

Aizen watched as the reiatsu in the sword continued to fluctuate violently within the glass container. Suddenly, it stabilized slightly…then the container exploded, raining glass everywhere. When the destruction cleared, before him stood a hollow. And not just any hollow…it looked strikingly like Kurosaki.

"Look's like dear old Mom couldn't keep me inside her completely. 'S just as well. I'd rather be out anyway."

Aizen grinned evilly. This could be very interesting.

"What the hell are you starin' at?"

"Just my plan in action…or rather this is better than I had planned." Aizen smirked as an idea struck him. "Tell me, can you still connect with your mother?"

The hollow was still for a moment with eyes closed, concentrating. "Yeah, what of it? She seems like she's trying to hold on to the shard that got left in her hand. She's not doing so well herself, though."

"Perfect," Aizen drawled. "See if you can convince her to give up the ghost. Or should I say the soul that she's protecting. Tell her that the only way to save you is to jab that shard into the wound in her stomach."

"And just why the fuck should I listen to you?"

"Because if she does that, you should be at full power."

The hollow's face split into a malicious grin. "I'm on it."

Ichigo brushed a strand of hair from Rukia's forehead before laying another cool wet cloth on her forehead to try to keep her body at a steady temperature.

"Son, you have to sleep sometime," Isshin said as he walked in. "Not to mention you haven't eaten anything in two days. I'll take over so you can take care of yourself."

"I won't leave her side, Dad," he replied without even looking up. "I wanna move her to the clinic. That way if something happens, we'll be in a medical facility already."

Isshin nodded. "That was my thought exactly, son. Your mother is already there, waiting to help. She's getting Rukia's bed ready as we speak."

Ichigo nodded, and without another word, picked Rukia up and carried her out of the room. Isshin only watched as his son carried his still unconscious wife out of the room. As he walked out of the room himself, he approached Kisuke. "We'll let you know if there is any change."

Urahara nodded and watched as they walked out to Isshin's car and placed Rukia in the back. He shuddered to think how he would be handling things if it had been Yoruichi in Rukia's place. It had been bad enough to see her injured from battling Aizen before. Thank God that didn't happen to you, Yoru-ko…

Once at the clinic, Ichigo carried Rukia in through the house entrance, so as not to alert patients in the clinic, who were apparently being taken care of by his father's clone. He walked to the room his mother was preparing and lay Rukia gently down on the bed. Without even saying a word to his mother, merely nodding at her to acknowledge her presence, he covered Rukia up and got another wet cool cloth to place on her sweat-covered forehead. Even after moving her, she still refused to open her fist.

"Son, I'll bring you something to eat. You need to keep up your strength for Rukia. You're no good to her if you don't take care of yourself."

His mother's voice was all it took to break down the barrier that held his tears at bay. He began sobbing. "D-did you hear, Mom? She's pregnant…We didn't know…we didn't know…Or I wouldn't have taken her with us…"

Masaki went to her son and held him close, an embrace he readily accepted. It broke her heart to see him like this. Is this how he was when I died…? "Ichigo…I can see that you blame yourself. Rukia didn't know, or I'm sure she would have voluntarily stayed here. You can't blame yourself."

"But I'm her husband, Mom…and studying to be a doctor. How the hell could I not be to blame? I should have noticed. I—I should have realized…"

Masaki pulled back. She grabbed her son's face, gently but firmly enough to let him know that he was going to listen to her or there would be hell to pay. "You blame yourself, and you might as well be giving up on her. If she were here what would she tell you. Most likely she would be telling you to stop this."

Ichigo looked in his mother's eyes and knew she was right. Rukia would kick my ass right now if she could see me… He nodded to his mother, and then pulled up a chair and sat next to Rukia. "If you could bring me some soup or something, I would appreciate it. I don't think I can eat anything else right now. Thanks, Mom."

She smiled sadly at her son. "It's a parent's job to protect their children. Remember that that is all Rukia is trying to do."

Ichigo looked back at his wife. He took the cloth and wiped away some of the sweat from her face. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You better pull through this, midget."

…Mother…

Rukia could hear the voice in her mind. Over and over. Amidst being able to hear everything that Ichigo, and everyone else said to her when they visited over the past-How long have I been out?-, there was another voice that she didn't recognize.

…Mother…

Who are you?

…I'm your unborn child, Mother…

You're still alive? Thank God…

…I won't be if you don't help me, Mother…

Her mind became frantic. Tell me what I have to do! Anything! I'll do it!

…the shard in your hand…it holds the rest of my soul…you must return it to the rest of my soul…

How do I do it? Tell me!

…Once you return that part of my soul to the wound in your stomach, I'll be whole again…

Rukia was shocked. All I have to do is shove this into the wound in my stomach and you'll be okay again? What about the reiatsu that Aizen stole in the sword?

…it will return to me…

Rukia weighed the pros and cons of this. It seemed too easy…but she wasn't going to risk not doing it and killing their child because she didn't do all she could.

…please, Mommy…

That did it. Rukia fought with all she was in order to regain some consciousness. Slowly, she became aware that she was in the clinic. The lights had been dimmed in the room, but she could faintly make out the white tiled walls of the small infirmary in the Kurosaki clinic. She didn't see Ichigo. She vaguely remembered him saying he was going to take a quick shower, and that Masaki was in the next room should anything happen.

She managed to pull herself to a sitting position, just as the doorknob turned. Her still somewhat bleary eyes caught the look of shock and happiness on Ichigo's face before he caught the look of determination in hers, causing his to turn to confusion.

"Rukia?"

"If this goes wrong, please forgive me, Ichigo. I love you," she said tearfully. Before he could respond, she opened her fist, revealing the shard. Reacting quickly before he could try to stop her, she plunged the shard into the wound in her stomach, causing her reiatsu to spike sharply before she fell back on the bed, unconscious again.

"RUKIA! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"

Isshin and Masaki came running into the room at the sound of their son's scream.

Rukia's body glowed with a bright flash of light, and when the light faded, there was a figure standing by her bed. Ichigo didn't give a damn about that; he was at Rukia's side, trying to wake her.

"RUKIA! RUKIA! Answer me!" He shook her gently but firmly, trying to get her back to consciousness; but it was no use. Her body felt as cold as her hand had. "No…DAMNIT Rukia! You'd better not die on me!" He hastily felt for a pulse, and found one, but it was weak. Through the link between their zanpakuto spirits he could feel Sode no Shirayuki keeping her alive. He figured that was why she was so cold. Just like when she was trying to protect what was in her hand before. Out of instinct, he covered her with a heavy blanket to try and keep her body temperature normal.

"Son, you should look and see who's standing by her bed," Masaki said softly, afraid to speak too loudly, or the figure would disappear.

Only then did Ichigo turn and look…and was speechless. There stood an almost identical copy of Rukia. The only difference was the hair. It was a bright orange just like his. The eyes were hers; a brilliant violet. "Who…?

"Mother is only in a coma now, Father. She will be fine in time."

"Why are you calling me 'Father'?"

"Because I am your child."