Standard Disclaimers Apply

The Ties that Binds

Prologue

Spoilers: Up until HM Arc, then it goes AU after that…

Rating: R

Three years after the war with Aizen, Kurosaki Ichigo makes a decision that will affect everyone around him, especially the girl he left behind.

"Manager to Counter 2, please…"

The sound system inside the store startled Inoue Orihime as she sighed. She was daydreaming again. She bit her lip as she looked at the products in front of her, not quite sure what to pick. There were so many… she picked up two boxes, one for each hand and read both boxes. "They're both the same…" she whispered as she placed them both back in the shelf. Was one product better than the other? She looked at all the other items on shelf when the box with a bright orange letters that proclaimed: "Voted number 1 by consumers all over Japan!" got her attention. She picked the box up and compared it to the rest of others, none proclaiming being the best. Decision made, she was about to walk towards the counter when she stopped on her tracks.

"Inoue-san!" Kurosaki Yuzu greeted in surprise, while her sister Karin was staring at the box in Orihime's hands. "What are you doing here?"

Orihime laughed as she scratched her forehead. "Oh! I needed to get more band aids and alcohol… but they changed the isles around…"

As Orihime kept on babbling, Karin didn't take her eyes of the box that was now in the older woman's shopping basket.

"It… it's good to see you both… but I need to get home! Train-Man is on tonight!" With a quick bow, Orihime practically ran from the Kurosaki girls.

"Ne, Karin… you think she's okay? You should have said something, you know…"

Karin ignored her sister as she went to where Orihime was standing and pointed at the shelves. "Yuzu… look at them." She told her sister who followed and after a few seconds, Yuzu gasped.

"She was...?"

Karin took the same product Orihime just did a while ago and showed it to Yuzu. "Voted number 1 by consumers all over Japan. Bundle of Joy Pregnancy Test Kit. Results in two minutes…"

Yuzu stared at the box in shock. "Why would…" Yuzu stopped realizing she already knew the answer. "It's been almost four months, Karin."

Karin nodded. "Since Ichi-nii left."

The two girls stood there in silence when Isshin Kurosaki practically screamed.

"My babies! How could you…"

"SHUT UP!" Karin shouted as she returned the box, completely embarrassed by her father's outburst. "Don't even say it!"

Isshin sobbed. "Oh, what would your mother say?"

Karin seethed as she walked towards her father and hissed. "Shut up… that was Inoue-san's!"

Karin looked in shock at the transformation of her father. From the silly, pathetic, and foolish expression he had, to something more serious, alarmed. An expression that she has never seen before. Yuzu walked up to them and nodded.

"We saw her a while ago." She said softly. "I didn't notice what she was buying, but Karin did. She brought one of those."

Isshin simply nodded. "Looks like we're done here. Let's go home."

Yuzu and Karin looked at each other. Both were surprised at the serious tone their father used. Without saying another word, they followed their father to pay for their items.

Back in her empty apartment, Orihime closed the bathroom door as she waited for the result. She just hoped that Yuzu and Karin didn't know what she was doing there.

Orihime but her lip as she stared at the stick.

The day Ichigo left, he took her heart with him. He left with no explanation. Even his family didn't know where he was. When she tried Urahara-san, the store was closed. There was no one left who she could talk to about finding Ichigo. Chad didn't know; and the Ishida-kun has severed all ties with them after Aizen's defeat.

She was only one month late. And yet… she could feel something inside of her. She couldn't explain it. It didn't frighten her, it was calming in fact. She closed her eyes and rested her hands on her stomach. The timer on her cell phone made her jump, and as soon as her eyes opened, Orihime gave a small smile, and tried to stop the tears from falling.

It was positive. Orihime is pregnant with Ichigo's child.

-

He didn't tell his daughters where he was going. At the moment, he didn't know what to do. There was no one from Soul Society that was here, and even then… he wasn't sure if they should know what he suspects.

Standing in front of his wife's grave, Isshin smiled. "Masaki, looks like you might be a grandmother soon."

He closed his eyes and felt the cold breeze around him. Ichigo Kurosaki was a force to be reckoned with. His smile widened. Son of a Shinigami captain, the power he yielded has continued to surprise him, and those in Soul Society. Ichigo was strong. Capable of being the best Shinigami there is… the smile disappeared as he realized the situation.

Inoue Orihime was not a Shinigami. Yet, her powers that Aizen desired surpasses them all. Her powers hasn't been completely nurtured, and she hasn't reached the potential that Aizen saw. A blessing in disguise, perhaps. To combine Ichigo's Shinigami blood to Orihime…

He shook his head. His son was a fool. Leaving the girl will not protect her. Especially now. Isshin closed his eyes before a smile touched his lips again, "Of course, Masaki. She won't be alone."

Decision made, Isshin walked towards Orihime's apartment.