Prompt: Day 24 (August 24, 2018): Family

Satoru was still deep in slumber when he felt an all too familiar presence approach.

There was a pause; a moment's hesitation before he felt a soft hand gently push his shoulder.

He groaned and hugged his favorite childhood plushy closer to his chest; unashamed to show his affection to the small stuffed animal despite his size and age.

"Five more minutes, mom."

A surprised gasp reached his ears and he sat up, eyes wide, after he realized what he had just done.

Staring at him, eyes wide, much like his own and slacked-jawed, was Rukia Kuchiki.

He panicked. His usual steel-trap mind went blank and he could not come up with anything to undo his slip up.

"You're my son?"

The question sounded more like a statement. And before he muster a fake laugh and blurt out the flimsy excuse of thinking he was home, where and when he was supposed to be, Rukia then nonchalantly pointed to his toy.

"It would explain why you seem attached to Chappy."

His mother's toy, actually. Which he borrowed (stole) from her in the dead of the night because he couldn't sleep.

He sighed. He could lie and outwit everyone else except the Shinigami, half his size, that knelt beside him on the tatami mat.

She was, IS, his mother after all.

And for the first time since he found himself there, he let his guard down. "I wondered when you'd figure it out."

Rukia took one good look at him. When he mysteriously appeared and revealed himself to them, it was undeniable that he looked so much like Ichigo.

Satoru had his father's eyes. But his hair was as dark as night.

He remained tight-lipped about who his mother was. It was best that he kept some information to himself as anything – any knowledge, any detail - could alter their futures.

She respected that… except she didn't know why she felt that she knew him; that he was a part of her, somehow.

Her son.

A hand flew to her mouth when the thought sunk in.

That would mean…

"Yes, mom, you and dad had sex. Lots and lots and lots of times. Good gods, you two are on a perpetual honeymoon. Honestly, we're all surprised that you only have three kids."

Rukia's face was bright red and had difficulty hiding her embarrassment.

"There's three of you?" she managed to sputter out.

"You have a daughter. She's the youngest. Then there's me and our brother, the eldest. We are twins." He gave her a smile and winked mischievously. "I'm your favorite."

With his mother's glare, he laughed. "You know, if it were Yasuhiro who was here, you would have all figured out who our parents were with just one look at him."

"Why's that?"

"Because he has dad's hair and your eyes."

Author's Note: Don't be confused. You're not missing anything. This was really posted as a portion of the plot that I've had in mind for a while. I don't know if this can be counted as a contribution to 2018's ICHIRUKI month prompt, Day 24, Family, though. Let me know so I can tag or un-tag accordingly. But I really wanted to highlight this for that prompt. The family bit would be how much their children are like Ichigo and Rukia. Here, Satoru is obsessed with Chappy just like his mom. He's over a hundred years old, mind you and already almost as tall as Ichigo. Anyway, I'm a lot stuck on the story as I haven't created a believable antihero yet. But let's just say that I've already had some angst and some fluff and some action lined up but there are still large plot holes I'd like to cover up or at the very least minimize before I share it with everyone. Thanks for taking the time to read. So many wonderful ICHIRUKI fan work! Thank you for sharing your talents!