"You can't possibly be serious!"
"What do you mean, darling?"
"I told you, I tried!"
"Oh really, well then you should've tried harder! I was sitting there, feeling like a total idiot, for two hours! I ran out of excuses!"
"What else do you want me to say?! I told you I was sorry! The meeting ran late and I lost the track of time! Dammit Rukia!"
"How can you just stand there and tell me that! All I asked you to do was to be on time and you couldn't even do that! For me!"
Orihime looked up worriedly at Ichigo as he helped her into her jacket, receiving a similar look from him while she buttoned up. "Go try and talk to them?" she asked.
Ichigo picked up their umbrella from the holder and handed it to her before walking back into the living room of their house where his best friends were still having a heated discussion.
"You guys, do you really have to get into this now?!" he groaned, annoyed, coming to stand between them. "Can't you burry the battle ax for just a few hours? Orihime needs to get to the hospital."
Rukia sighed, clearly still irritated, but closed her eyes and nodded a moment later. "You're so not off the hook yet," she whispered to Renji through gritted teeth.
Renji crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. "That's fine, because we're not done!"
"Enough!" Ichigo sighed, going back to the hall.
Orihime was trying to find the button on the right side of her jacket so she could close it over her bulging belly. "You can tell it's going to have a big head like its mother."
Ichigo grabbed her bags from the floor and kissed her on her forehead before moving to open the door. "I would pray it doesn't have my shoulders…"
She stood still at that for a moment and then looked down at her belly again. "You better not ruin me down there!" she whispered with a chuckle.
It had been snowing all day so it wasn't surprising that the path in front of their house was covered with glazed frost.
"Renji! Rukia! Come on!" Ichigo yelled back into the house, getting aggravated.
"It's okay," she whispered to her husband, placing a gloved hand against his face. "Go put those bags in the trunk, I'll go get them and they'll help me get to the car."
He kissed her and hurried to the awaiting car.
Rukia then appeared in the hall, putting on her long coat hastily. "Sorry, you had to see this. Again."
Orihime smiled encouragingly and took her hand so they could get down the one step separating them from the small path leading to the street. "Hang in there; it gets better."
Rukia nodded and sighed. The sad expression on her face immediately turned to an annoyed one when Renji appeared in the doorway, turning off the light in the hall before shutting the door behind him.
"I think this would be easier if I carried you, don't you think?" Renji offered, taking Orihime by her left hand and pushing his shoulder into her armpit to lift her up into his arms.
"Thank you, Renji," she whispered.
"Don't drop her!" Rukia called after them, the venom in her words clear.
Renji stood still and closed his eyes, took a breath and continued on. "Sorry for this," he said with a sad lopsided smile. "We're trying."
She padded him comfortingly on his chest. "I know you are."
Ichigo opened the door to the backseats and Renji installed her inside the car and helped her with her seat belts. "Is it too tight? Are you comfortable?"
"We're fine," she whispered back.
Rukia opened the door on the side of the street and sat next to her. "How are you feeling?"
Both doors shut on either side of them and Orihime nodded, "A bit excited and uh… very nervous?"
Rukia took her by her hand, "We're all going to be by your side, every step of the way and before you know it, you'll be holding your precious little baby in your arms."
Orihime squeezed back and placed her other hand on her belly, breathing out calmly to ease her nerves.
The men both got into the front and closed their respective doors. Ichigo started the car, looking at his wife on the back seat, who smiled back reassuringly.
She then turned her head to their house and smiled when she thought about the fact that next time she'd see it again, there would be one more little Kurosaki who was going to call it home.
Uryuu was already waiting for them when they arrived. "Orihime," he greeted her, taking both hands she held up to him from her wheel chair.
"Uryuu, how are you?"
He smiled affectionately at her. "I'm fine, but you're the one having the baby here, so let me take care of you until it arrives, alright?"
"Thank you," She whispered, sitting back.
Uryuu walked behind her and pushed Ichigo away from the handles on purpose. "Oh, Kurosaki, you were here as well?"
Ichigo lifted his right fist, but was held back by Renji. "You asshole, of course I am! She's my wife!"
"And I'm her obstetrician, so move out of my way," he calmly replied, walking off.
"Why you little piece of—"
Orihime reached out for him then, "Ichigo, where is your father? I thought he was going to be here?"
Ichigo took her hand and looked around. "I don't know, he was supposed to be here…"
"He's already upstairs, putting the equipment in your room. He's ready to assist us," Uryuu said, pushing Orihime in the direction of the elevators. "And since you're having quite a few unusual visitors waiting in your waiting room, we had to seal off your end of the hall to make it private."
"Unusual visitors?" she echoed.
"Yeah, uh, Captain Ukitake and Urahara said something about swinging by for the event," Rukia interjected, shrugging apologetically.
"And Hachigen told Shinji he might pass by too," Ichigo said, suddenly remembering.
"They've all come…?" Orihime whispered, smiling.
Uryuu nodded. "Ushoda already put up a barrier to keep excess Reiatsu from slipping out."
"We don't really know what's going to happen when the baby is born, so that was some good thinking from his part," Renji added, stepping last into the arrived elevator.
"Oh!" Orihime suddenly exclaimed, hands on her stomach. "Oh no…"
"Orihime?" Both Rukia and Ichigo exclaimed.
"Her water just broke," Uryuu affirmed with a nod. "There's no need to panic," he then told her, getting down on one knee in front of her. "We'll have you in your room in no time."
She nodded and took a steadying breath before looking up at Ichigo who was caressing the hand he was still holding. "I'm sorry about your elevator floor," she told Uryuu.
He laughed and waved it away, "You're not the first one to lose her amniotic fluids in here and you won't be the last."
The elevator finally got to the right floor and they walked out and into the darkened hallway. The only light source was at the end of the hall, where they could see the glow of a barrier shining.
When they stepped through the yellow barrier and into the well lit waiting room, they found familiar faces waiting for them, just like they'd been told. Everybody greeted everyone.
"Captain Abarai," Ukitake greeted, standing from his seat and buttoning up his jacket.
"Captain Ukitake," Renji politely greeted back.
"It still sounds weird, no matter how much I hear it," Ichigo commented as they walked on.
"To you and me both," Rukia muttered, looking away from Renji when he turned his head her way again.
"Let's get you into your room and prepped," Uryuu whispered, wheeling her past her guests and into the room when Orihime nodded.
"Thank you for coming, everyone," she called after them, waving with the pink plush bear Isshin gave her a few moments ago.
"Good luck, Orihime!" Rukia called as they all watched the four of them disappear behind the door. She sat down on a nearby chair to wait with the rest. "How long have you all been here for?"
"Not long," Urahara said, tipping his hat. "Did her water already break?"
"Yeah," Renji answered, sitting himself next to Rukia. "In the elevator."
"Then it shouldn't be much longer now," Urahara nodded to himself. "Hers and the baby's Spiritual power have been gaining in levels; we've all felt her coming for the past minutes."
"Do they know if it's a boy or a girl?" Hacchi questioned, sitting in the furthest corner of the small room so he could keep his focus on the barrier he was upholding.
Rukia crossed her arms over her chest and crossed her legs away from Renji. "No, they wanted the sex to be a surprise."
"I see—"
A sudden increase in spirit power had them all alerted.
"That was bound to happen with so many of us here," Renji remarked, standing.
"Hachigen, do you think your barrier will hold?" Rukia asked.
"It will," he replied. "But it only protects this part of the hospital, if the rest of it was to be attacked, this part would be the only thing standing."
"Can't you widen the barrier then?" Ukitake wondered.
"It would risk making the rest of the hospital invisible for those who could need it," Urahara said.
Hacchi nodded in agreement.
"Then there's no other choice but to get out there," Renji concluded, taking out his soul candy.
The door to the room opened again and Ichigo came out. "Hollows?"
A massive tremor made the entire building tremble on its foundations.
"Let's go," Ukitake said, separating himself from his body.
"Rukia, I want for you to stay here with Orihime," Renji told her.
"What?!" she exploded, "Are you kidding me?"
"I'll stay, you go," Urahara offered.
Rukia gave Renji a smug face, "There, see?"
Renji was not in the least amused. "You're staying; that's an order."
She gasped, but remained silent, watching in shock how the three of them left her behind. "Renji," she whispered, sitting back down. She gritted her teeth and held back the tears that welled up in her eyes.
"Hey, how are you holding on?"
Her hair was sticking to her forehead when she lay back against the pillows and took a sip of the water Isshin held up for her. "This really hurts," she breathed, closing her eyes when he dabbed her forehead with a cool towel.
"We're at 6 centimeters here, Orihime," Uryuu said from between her legs, smiling encouragingly. "4 more and then you'll be able to push."
"How long will that take?" she asked, fatigue coming through in her voice.
"No one can tell you that," Isshin answered, taking her left hand in his and helping her to sit at the edge of the bed. "But you're doing great so far."
"Where's Ichigo?" she whispered, balancing her enhanced weight on her painful feet.
"He should be back soon," Uryuu comfortingly replied, looking at a clipboard and flipping through some pages before smiling at her.
"Can you walk me to the waiting room?" Orihime asked Isshin, holding on to his arm.
"Sure," he said and they slowly made their way to the door.
"Orihime! Is it okay for you to be up and about?" Rukia exclaimed when they saw her come out of her room.
"I'm fine, it's good for me to be up like this; it distracts me from the pain and it will hopefully make this go quicker!" she said with a chuckle and Rukia smirked.
"It wouldn't be wise to stroll around this place with what's going on out there. Would you mind staying here?" Isshin asked.
"I'll just sit right here, thank you," she replied and Isshin helped her sit down next to Rukia. Once he'd made sure she was alright, he went to join Urahara and Hacchi in their discussion, giving the two women some privacy.
"I thought you would've gone with them," Orihime whispered, sitting back and massaging her belly, breathing in deeply and slowly through the contraction that coursed through her lower body.
Rukia waited a few moments until she was sure it was over, "I wanted to but 'Captain Abarai' ordered me to stay here."
"Rukia…" Orihime whispered compassionately.
"No, you know? It's fine, he is my Captain now and I'm his Vice-Captain so I shouldn't question his decisions," Rukia said, smiling sadly.
"You two are more than just Captain and Vice-Captain. You're each other's half as well…" Orihime paused here to choose her words carefully, "He's only been promoted to Captain, Rukia. He's not going anywhere."
Rukia gasped, looking up at her best friend, an insecure expression in her eyes.
"When my brother died and left me all alone, I found it hard to attach myself to anyone out of fear that they'd leave me. It took me a while to get over my loss," Orihime told her, looking at her belly lovingly. "I chose to trust in Tatsuki and later learned to believe in Ichigo and from there on I knew for myself that all the people I befriended wouldn't leave me. I was worthy of their love and friendship. No matter what happened, they would never leave."
Rukia closed her eyes, fighting her tears. Orihime dead-on nailed how she felt. "He's left me before," she whispered, sniffling.
"And he fought tooth and nail to get you back."
"Then why am I so mad at him?" she whimpered, burying her face in her hands. "I love that idiot so much and yet I can't keep from pushing him away! I don't want for him to leave me!"
Orihime took her in her arms and caressed her hair in a consoling manner. "I think you should open up to him more, Rukia. Tell him how you really feel. How is he supposed to help you two fix your relationship when he doesn't know what's wrong? He loves you as much as you love him, that I'm 100% sure of." She let go of her friend and wiped away a tear that rolled down Rukia's face.
Rukia sniffled, "You're right. Oh God, I'm so sorry for putting this on you, now of all times!"
Orihime began to laugh, but soon grabbed for her stomach again, trying hard to breathe calmly through the next contraction. "It's okay, but I swear if this baby doesn't come out soon, I'm going to pull it out myself!"
"You okay?" Rukia asked, "Maybe it's better to get you back into your room?"
"No, it's okay," she repeated, pushing Rukia's hand away, a sudden feeling of urgency coming over her. "I just need to walk around for a bit." She pushed herself back on her feet with a grunt. "Where is Ichigo? How long does it take for 3 captain-class Shinigamis to take care of a few Hollows?!" She breathed, her lower belly beginning to send out the waves of pain announcing the upcoming contraction. "Ow!" she gasped, bending over in agony. "Oh God… ow!"
"Orihime!"
"We need to get you back off your feet, come on." Isshin was by her side again in an instant, as well as Urahara.
Orihime was trembling in her father-in-law's arms, but shook her head stubbornly. "Ichigo, where is he? He should've been back by now, it's been an hour!"
"You should really get back to your room, Orihime-chan," Urahara worriedly said, "Your baby doesn't need the additional stress."
"Orihime, think of your unborn baby," Hacchi said from his spot in a corner of the room.
Her feet then suddenly gave out on her and Isshin caught her just in time, lifting her up in his arms. "Why isn't he here?" she whimpered against his chest.
His body connected with the roof of the building after that last punch.
"Fuck!"
"Ichigo!" Ukitake called, appearing next to him. "Are you alright?"
"This doesn't make any sense," Ichigo grunted, dusting himself off as he stood up from the pile of rubble he'd been buried in. "They just keep coming. That can't be just because of us."
"Perhaps Ushoda-san's barrier isn't strong enough to keep that much Reiatsu in."
Renji landed next to him, sheathing his Zanpakuto. "I think you should go back to Orihime, Ichigo. This is taking up too much time."
"I think so too," Ukitake said, "I can't think of anything else they could be after other than—"
Ichigo gritted his teeth. "Orihime…"
"It's the baby inside of her," Ukitake stated, staring at the mass of Hollows gathering around them. "You must've felt it too; her Spiritual power levels have been going through the roof for the past hour."
"They're just attracted by the massive amounts of Spiritual power she's been unconsciously exuding ever since she went into labor," Renji noted.
"Shit."
Without another word, Ichigo sped back towards the hospital, heart beating with trepidation.
"How are you feeling?"
"It's been two hours since my water broke…"
"These things take time…"
Rukia reached for the small pot with ice chips and gave them to her, but she pushed them away with a trembling sigh. "Ichigo's still not here?"
"He'll be here soon, Orihime…"
"Where is he?" she whispered before gasping when a shot of white hot pain coursed through her. She bit back a moan and curled onto her side on the bed, trying to breathe in through her nose and exhale through her mouth like she'd been taught. "Please, the contractions are coming closer together," she whispered, caressing her belly with her right hand for comfort. "Ichigo, I need you…"
Rukia looked up at Uryuu questioningly and he shook his head.
"She's almost fully dilated and effaced; the baby can come any minute," he whispered, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.
"Go see what's taking him," Isshin said, helping Orihime to sit up against the pillows.
Rukia stepped out quickly and found both Hacchi and Urahara standing, looking out of the window with frowns on their faces.
"What's going on?" She asked, coming to stand next to them. "Are they still fighting?"
"Open up the barrier here, Hachigen," Urahara said when they all saw Ichigo fly towards the window."
"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed.
"Is she alright?" he asked, taking his body and entering it again.
"She needs you in there, the baby is coming!"
Without wasting more time, he went into the room and was immediately met with his father who helped him into sterile clothing. He sat himself next to her and took her left hand in both hands. "I'm here."
Tears flowed down the side of her face at the sight of him. "Where were you?" She whimpered in relief, her voice trembling.
He kissed her hand and smoothed her hair back with his right one. "I'm sorry."
"What if I got the baby and you weren't here?!" Orihime sobbed, anticipating the contraction that was about to come down on her.
"I'm here now, Hime, I'm not going anywhere," he said, wincing when she cried out in pain.
"Breathe…" Uryuu said, pushing her legs up on the holders and pushing back her hospital robe. "Orihime; breathe. Small puffs…"
She nodded and followed his breathing, desperately trying to keep the panic that began to well up inside her at bay. "I'm so scared…" she whined tearfully in a small voice.
"It's going to be alright, Hime, I promise you," he told her, trying to keep his own tears at bay. "You're going to do great."
A loud explosion then made the entire building shake again.
"No, no," Ichigo whispered to her calmly when she gasped and began to panic. "Look at me. Look at me; focus on me. Breathe, keep breathing, keep breathing…"
"Ok, Orihime, with the next contraction I'm going to need for you to push, alright?" Uryuu said, voice slightly trembling.
Another tremor went through the building and all the lights suddenly went off.
"Ichigo!"
"I'm here" Ichigo whispered, rubbing her shoulder in comfort as she whimpered and sobbed. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm here…"
"Way of binding No. 62: 100 binding rails."
Isshin was holding a staff of bright white light in his hands with a smile.
Ichigo smiled up at him, "At least now we can see what's happening."
"Alright," Uryuu said, completely focused on his job at hand, "here it comes… take a deep breath and push!"
She pressed her chin against her chest and cried out as she pushed hard, sobbing in pain before falling back against the pillows a few moments later. "I feel like I'm dying…" she whimpered in between quivering breaths.
"You're doing great, baby…" Ichigo whispered against her temple.
"I see a patch of orange hair…!" Uryuu announced, smiling.
"No surprises there!" Isshin said from Orihime's right side, holding her other hand.
They all chuckled and she gave him a thankful smile for lighting things up only the way he could.
The lights suddenly went on again.
"We're almost done, almost done… push, Orihime! A big one!"
"Oh god…!" she cried, pushing with everything she had, sobbing in the process. "Uh!"
"That's a shoulder," Uryuu said apologizingingly. "And another one…"
Ichigo smirked guiltily and kissed the side of her head. "I'm sorry…"
She grinned darkly at him, a slight stroke of insanity in her eyes. "Not as sorry as you're going to be when I get the feeling in my legs back!"
"Keep pushing, Orihime!" Isshin whispered.
Orihime closed her eyes and took a last deep breath. "Oh!"
"And… here it is! Here it is…!"
The sound of a crying baby filled the room and Orihime fell back against the pillows again, breathing heavily. "W-what is it?"
Uryuu clamped the umbilical cord and cut it, then finished wrapping up the baby in a blanket before showing it to them with a proud smile.
"It's a boy!" Ichigo excitedly whispered.
Orihime laughed tiredly and searched for his lips, finding them in a soft, content kiss.
"Thank you," Ichigo murmured, rubbing the tip of their noses together.
Twin tears ran the long her cheek and she smiled happily. "I love you."
"Love you too," he replied, caressing her hair.
Uryuu quickly washed the crying baby in the awaiting tub and then approached them with it, placing him in Orihime's awaiting arms. "Here we go, mommy…"
"Oh…" she whispered in awe, staring at the wriggling and crying bundle in her arms. "He looks just like you…"
Ichigo pulled the fabric of the blanket away from his son's face with a finger. "He has your eyes."
"He's beautiful, Orihime. I'm a grandpa!" Isshin gasped with tears in his eyes as he prepared the oxytocin injection for the afterbirth.
They grinned amusedly up at him and Uryuu came to stand next to them with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Good job you guys. He's a healthy little boy."
"Look at what we did!" she whispered to Ichigo, giggling when the infant quieted down and made a soft gurgling noise. "We made this little fella…"
"What are you going to call him?" Isshin asked, lifting the short sleeve of her robe and cleaning the area on the top of her upper arm. He inserted the needle in her muscle, emptied the syringe and pulled it back out, cleaning the miniscule wound as he put it on a nearby plate behind him.
Orihime looked up at Ichigo and nodded with a smile; they'd already decided on a name if their baby were to be a boy. "Mamoru," Ichigo said, caressing his son's dark orange hair.
"Another protector?" Isshin grinned.
"Most definitely," Orihime said, lovingly running her index over Mamoru's little round cheek. "It runs in the family."
"True…" Isshin agreed, moving away from the happy couple to help Uryuu clean up.
Renji and Ukitake returned not much later, having finished their battle moments after Orihime gave birth.
"They just disappeared," Renji said, flexing and un-flexing his right hand once he was back into his Gigai.
"It was as we'd thought; they'd been attracted by the massive Reiatsu Orihime was sending out because of her going into labor," Ukitake said, sitting back down on his chair.
"It's not unheard of," Urahara nodded in agreement. "Pregnant women who go into labor experience an increase in their Reiatsu levels because giving birth puts a lot of stress on the body and it's the soul's way of protecting itself, much like the increase of Reiatsu levels in plusses is caused when the soul faces imminent destruction."
Renji nodded in understanding. "Add to that that she's having Ichigo's baby…"
"Exactly."
The door to Orihime's room then opened and all turned to see a smiling Ichigo coming out. "It's a baby boy!"
All exclaimed their congratulations and wishes of joy, Rukia moving in to take him in her arms.
"Oh my God… Congratulations!" she whispered, holding him tightly.
Ichigo grinned and hugged her back. "Thank you! All of you!"
"How's Orihime-chan doing?" Hacchi asked, moving to stand.
"Tired, but endlessly happy," Ichigo answered, breaking the embrace, still smiling.
"How's the father doing?" Ukitake asked, grinning.
Ichigo chuckled and sighed, "Tired, but endlessly happy!"
"What's his name?" Renji asked.
"Mamoru."
"A strong, meaningful name," Urahara commented. They all nodded in agreement.
"When will we be able to see her?" Rukia wondered, sitting back down on her seat.
"Soon, once they've finished cleaning her and the baby up." He walked passed them then, "I have some phone calls to make, be right back," he said, the smile still stuck on his face.
They all watched him go and then resumed to waiting patiently, wanting to see the baby. Renji sat himself back down next to Rukia, who crossed her arms and legs and faced away from him. He wondered if he and her would ever experience such joy and found himself hurting when he realized that nothing of that sort seemed probable with the way things were between them now.
He heard Rukia sigh then and she turned to him, a guilty expression on her face. "I think we need to talk."
Not saying anything, Renji nodded and stood; effectively hiding the fact that something inside him threatened to break.
They sat themselves down on an unused bed in an empty, darkened room.
"Rukia—"
"Renji—"
They sighed and smiled.
"Look," Renji said, taking her hands in his and caressing their back with his thumbs, "I just want to apologize in advance for whatever it is you think I did wrong, I—"
She chuckled and looked at the nightly sky outside, the glow of the moon illuminating her sad features. "That'd be so easy for me, wouldn't it?"
He reached for her face and cupped her cheek in his right hand. "Talk to me," he whispered pleadingly.
She took a breath and closed her eyes, twin teardrops rolling down her cheeks. "I don't know why I'm such an idiot about this… I've got you, I know I do and yet I'm acting so moronic out of fear that you'll…" she sighed and fell silent.
Renji waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts.
"You're a captain now, Renji… you've left me so far behind when it comes down to skill," she opened her eyes and took a shaky breath, gaze fixed on the outside world again. "I'm just so— scared that you'll get so far ahead that you'll get to a point where you won't need or want me anymore."
Renji took a quivering breath, the connection that had become murky and difficult between them now clearing up with startling abruptness.
"Are you insane?" he whispered breathlessly, almost anxiously, moving closer.
She sniffled and stared at their hands, her tears now falling on the sheets between them. "Renji—"
"Look at me."
Rukia sighed and closed her eyes, lifting her head. She opened her eyes hesitantly, more tears slipping down her face.
"If I had known that me being a captain would fill you with a sense of shame because of your own abilities, then I wouldn't have accepted the title."
She gasped and shook her head, "No, Renji—"
"If I had known that you felt inferior to me in this relationship, then I would've gladly stripped myself of any title tied to my name."
"Renji…"
He slid down on the floor and got on his knees in front of her. "If I had known that it would've made you happier, I would've returned to Inuzuri and become a beggar just to keep from hurting you."
She sobbed at that, shaking her head pleadingly.
"This to prove that I would do anything to make you happy," he continued, burying his face against her thigh. "I thought that if I rose in ranks, I could give you anything you wanted and not be seen as the street dog that couldn't even keep you from suffering back then," his voice broke here, "I never wanted for you to feel inferior to me, Rukia! I'm the one who will forever be inferior to you, because everything I do is for you!"
Rukia slid onto the floor next to him and threw herself in his arms. "Renji!" she sobbed, holding him close. "Renji… Renji!"
He pressed his lips against the crown of her head, his fingers meshed in her hair as he kept her close to his chest. "You'll always be that star I'd do anything to reach."
"No," she whimpered, "you reached her long ago; she just didn't realize what it was she really had."
Renji squeezed his eyes shut and bit back his sobs, smiling happily as they kept holding each other in the moonlit room.
A black jeep stopped in front of the third house down 22nd street in Sakurabashi in Karakura.
Balloons and ribbons decorated the front door of the house and a group of people were standing in front of it, waiting for the passengers of the black Jeep to step out.
A woman with straight caramel brown hair stepped out of the backseat and her orange haired husband hurried over to her from the front seat, taking over the dark red portable car seat with the sleeping baby in it from her with his right hand. She handed him the matching ruby diaper bag that he put over his head and over one shoulder like a messenger bag.
"You got him?" she asked, taking out the rest of her luggage from the backseat before locking up the car with the key he gave her.
"Yeah," he answered, looking down at his son and waiting for her to join him so they could walk up the path leading to their house and their cheering friends.
The family just got a little bit bigger and it was time for the new Kurosaki to call this place home.