A/N: No you're not dreaming. This is an update. I am very sorry it is late. I have been extremely busy. And I am also rewriting another of my stories so I am swamped. But I hope you, readers, will enjoy. I may update again next week. Thank you. This story is best viewed at the ½ setting.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter Three: Breakfast by Kurosaki Orihime

After Ichigo went out of what appeared as the master bedroom, there were four other closed doors in the hallway. He presumed that they were bedrooms too. Or maybe one was a bathroom.

Walking straight ahead, they reached the top of a stairs. At the middle of it however, Yuzu suddenly stopped and regarded him.

"Onii-chan…"

She was looking at him so intently that Ichigo almost took a step back. "Yeah?"

"Did you consider Sakura?"

"Huh?" Ichigo was dumbfounded at the statement. He did not know anybody named Sakura. Maybe she was a new acquaintance. The gears of in his head began turning for a decent answer but he was saved by Karin.

"Oh quit that Yuzu." She reprimanded "Orihime-nee's only three months pregnant. I'm sure they have enough time to think about that."

"What?" Ichigo blurted out, before he could stopped himself.

His sisters looked at him. He swallowed a mouthful of air.

"What's the matter?" Karin asked.

"Well… nothing…"

Perfect. Inoue was pregnant. The situation just kept on escalating. Ichigo just hoped there would not be any more surprises. He did not think he could take it. After a moment his sisters resumed their discussion.

"But Karin-chan it's better to be prepared about these things. The baby's name is important, you know."

Karin rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"So do you have names yet Onii-chan?"

He looked at his sister and decided to go with the other. "Karin's right, Yuzu. It's early for those things."

Yuzu pouted, slightly. "Okay. But remember to tell me, because I'll knit his or her name on the jumpers I'll be making."

He nodded. He would tell her, if he was still here, which hopefully he was not. They continued their way down. Directly at the bottom of the stairs were the entrance area and the front door. He saw a row of neatly arranged shoes and house slippers at the side. From there they took a turn right to a cozy living area. An overstuffed couch and two matching armchairs were surrounding a large flat screen television. There were shelves at either side of it, full of DVDs and books. Karin casually pulled back the partitioning door. It led to the dining table and kitchen.

"Orihime-nee!" Karin called. "That's weird, where's she?"

"She may be at the back." Yuzu said. "I'll call her."

"No need."

And true enough, Inoue appeared with freshly picked ginger in her hands. She smiled widely when she saw him.

"You're up." She said, quickly walking towards him. "How's your head?"

"It's fine." Ichigo answered.

"Good." She turned to look at his sisters. "Thank you for coming Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan."

"It's nothing." Karin said. She glanced at her wristwatch. "But we must be going, or else we'll be late."

"That's right!" Yuzu exclaimed. "I'm in charge of homeroom today."

"Wait before you go." Inoue said. She placed the ginger on the counter and picked up two brown paper bags. "I made you sandwiches. I know you immediately ran here when I called, so you didn't have time to make lunch."

"Aw… you didn't have to, Nee-chan." Yuzu cooed, looking pleased.

Ichigo was stunned at the interactions between the women in front of him. They gave the impression that they knew each other for a long time. He guessed eight years was long enough. Eight years he had no memory of. He watched as Yuzu accepted the food. And for a moment he wanted to warn them that Inoue's food was not always fit for human consumption. But both of his sisters seemed to be genuinely excited.

"Is it your egg sandwich recipe?" Karin asked.

Inoue nodded.

"Great. See ya later then."

"Good day Onii-chan, Nee-chan."

And there were left alone. For the first time, Ichigo felt anxious. His sisters he could handle but Inoue. Well he could handle Inoue but an Inoue, who was married to him and pregnant with his child, was something he could not. He could not even grasp that fact that they were married. It was just impossible. Because why would Inoue tie herself to him? There was just no basis.

"Are you really okay?" Inoue's worried voice snapped him back to reality.

"Yeah." He replied as composed as he could.

"Would you like some breakfast? I still have time before the store opens."

Store? He would have declined but his stomach rumbled loudly.

She smiled, kindly. "Go on sit down, I'll fix you a quick one."

He observed, amazed as Inoue efficiently moved around the kitchen. When she put on the apron, he noticed a slight bump around her abdomen. Something inside him was scolding him for letting a pregnant woman cook for him.

After a few moments there was a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of him. Inoue sat beside him and started digging in her breakfast, spreading red bean paste over the scrambled eggs. He looked at his food. It seemed normal. Picking up his fork, he tasted it and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Soon enough he was gobbling the whole thing down. He did not even notice that Inoue was watching him with a smile. Or that she stood up and poured something on his cup.

Ichigo finished his breakfast in no time and instinctively reached for the cup beside him. The tea was already halfway finished when he realized it was spiced tea, a favorite that only his family knew about. He looked at Inoue.

"Is it good?"

He could not help but smile. "Yeah. Thank you."

She glanced at her wristwatch. "Oh dear, I need to be going. You'll be staying in right?"

Ichigo nodded, unsure. It was better to agree than to incite questions.

"I'll bring back dinner so don't cook anymore." She began clearing up the table.

"I'll clean up. Just leave the plates on the table." He said.

"Okay."

He followed her to the front door. After she put on her shoes, she looked at him intently. Ichigo felt like he was being interrogated. "Are you certain, you're okay?"

"Don't worry about me." He said, more confident that he felt. "Um… don't you want me to go with you?

She chuckled, liquid-honey. "The bakery is a block away. I'm pregnant not disabled. You stay here and rest. It's your day-off after all."

And before Ichigo could answer, she was on to him. Her face so close that he could smell her. Vanilla. He felt his face burn with embarrassment. At first he thought she would kiss him but she completely missed his face and whispered something to his ear.

"Have a nice day."

"Ah… you too."

And she was gone, the same time the strength from Ichigo's legs were. He knew then that this would be more difficult than anything he had ever endured.

To be continued

A/n: Yes spiced tea. Morita Masakazu, Ichigo's VA, loves that. I just have to put it in. Reviewers will be given Orihime-san's egg sandwich.