Hello! :D I'm sorry it's been awhile, but I'm back to write chapter four! :P
Anyway, I don't have much to say, so here we go.
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Renji's POV:
The first day I spent back in the World of the Living went by pretty fast. Mina fell asleep at eight, even though she had only woken up a little after noon. Even though I hadn't slept at all the night before, I still didn't find myself tired. Not tired enough to sleep, at least.
Sitting on Mina's bed next to her still form, I couldn't help but think about what was happening. I had thought about it all night the night before, my reason for my lack of sleep, and I still couldn't believe it was happening.
Looking down at Mina, of course the first thing I notice was her stomach. The sight caused my stomach to churn nervously. I couldn't imagine what I was going to do after Mina had it. I could handle taking care of Mina during the next six months, that wasn't a big deal. But after that...I had no idea. I didn't know what she expected of me, but whatever it was I probably couldn't do it. If she expected me to stay on Earth with her and the kid, there was nothing I could do about that really, except resign from being a shinigami. That wasn't happening. If she wanted a proposal, she'd be pretty disappointed. I had to adjust to being a father, I wasn't going to deal with getting married too.
Sighing, I laid back, covering my eyes with my arm, trying to push the thoughts away. Everything about our situation was making me panic, it was frustrating. I couldn't imagine myself being a father, not at good one at least. And everyone was just going to expect me to know what I was doing, but I had no idea.
Groaning, I forced these thought away also, trying to make myself sleep. Mina shifted next to me, her hand reaching out and grabbing mine. Enclosing my hand around hers, I pulled my hair tie out of my hair, took my bandanna off my forehead, and threw them both on the floor. Then I closed my eyes and eventually fell asleep.
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I woke suddenly to the feel of something on my face. I brushed it away, annoyed, before it landed back on my forehead again. I sat up while swatting it away again, soon realizing it was a Hell Butterfly. Rubbing my eyes I noted that it was almost midnight, causing me to sigh. Once it noticed that I was awake it started giving me my message. "To the captain of the Sixth Division, Renji Abarai. You are to return to the Soul Society and report to the Head Captain immediately. That is all."
Sighing, I sat up carefully, pulling away from Mina, causing her to shift in her sleep. I grabbed a notebook and a pen from her desk and wrote her a note telling her where I was. After ripping the paper out of the spiral notebook and sitting it all on her desk, I laid back down next to her and got out of my gigai and headed out the window, curious as to why Yamamoto had called me back so soon.
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Mina's POV:
I woke slowly, hearing my mother's voice float into my room. Sitting up, I looked down and saw Renji's still form. He was laying on his back, his arms lazily resting at his sides, one hand tightly holding onto mind. He looked too still, worrying me.
I tugged on his arm, pulling my hand away, and noticed he didn't even stir. I brushed some of his loose hair off his brow and said, "Renji, wake up." Still, he didn't respond. I stood from the bed carefully, walking around the bed and getting ready to attempt to shake him awake, when I saw a note on my desk. Picking it up, I saw that it said, "Mina, I got called back. I should return in the next few days. Sorry I couldn't make your appointment. Love, Renji."
Sighing, I sat the paper back on the desk and headed toward the door. As I approached the kichen, my mother saw the frustration on my face and cocked an eyebrow. "You okay, Mimi?" she questioned, using the nicname my father had given me years ago. It was the first time she had called me that since my father's death and it surprsingly barely effected me.
"Yeah, I'm just annoyed," I began, entering the small area my mother was making breakfast in and leaning against an unoccupied wall lazily. "Renji had to leave last night, he'll be gone for a few days."
"Oh. Well, Sweety, it's not his fault. Besides, maybe a few days away will be good for him. Maybe he'll figure out what he's going to do," she answered. Again, she wasn't suspicious of where he was, she knew a lot more than she led us to believe, I was sure of that. But she never questioned me and never demanded any sort of explanation. I was grateful for that, that's for sure.
"Yeah, I guess," I said, only agreeing to end the conversation. I was still annoyed, even though I knew she was right.
"You want some breakfast? I'm making some grilled cheese sandwiches," she said, not waiting for me to answer before scooping two onto an plate and handing it to me. She placed the ketchup on the counter for me.
"Thanks, Mom," I said, taking the food and ketchup and heading toward the couch. After I dumped some ketchup onto my plate, I sat the bottle on the coffee table and began eating, tucking my legs under me. Mom soon joined me on the couch, plate in hand. I absently noticed that she was only eating a half a sandwich and cocked an eyebrow. "That's all you're gonna eat?"
"Yep," she stated, smiling over at me. "Don't worry about me, I'm just not hungry. Monitor your own food, you're the one eating for two," she continued, her smile widening.
I smiled also and my hand automatically went to my stomach at the mention of the baby. "Yeah, I know," I said, smoothing out some wrinkles on the T-shirt Renji had loaned me. The shorts I usually wore in the summer were too small and none of my T-shirts were long enough to wear alone.
My mother quickly finished eating and stood, heading toward the kitchen. Placing her plate in the sink, she moved to the hallway entrance and turned to look at me. "I'm gonna go see the clothes Rukia got you," she said, smiling, and heading to my room. At first I thought nothing of it, but soon remembered that Renji had left his gigai on my bed. My mother had never seen his gigai when he wasn't in it, and she didn't know all the little details, so I assumed it might freak her out. Standing, I followed her into my room quickly.
She had stopped in the doorway, staring at it with a neutral face. I walked around her carefully and watched her, waiting for her to respond. "He's not...there," she said quietly.
I nodded. "Uh, do you want me to...explain it?" I asked, not really wanting to in fear of getting myself or Renji into further trouble with Yamamoto.
"No, no," she answered immediately. "The less I know, the better." She walked toward the bed and looked down at Renji's still gigai. She carefully pushed some hair out of it's face as she inspected it, the gesture motherly. After pulling her hand away, the hair fell back into the gigai's face. She placed her hand on the body's chest, causing me to cock an eyebrow slightly. She looked ovre her shoulder at me and asked, "It doesn't breath when he's...gone?"
I shrugged. "I really haven't noticed. I suppose not," I answered, pushing my bangs off my brow for a moment before they fell back in my face.
Mom pulled her hand away and nodded slowly. Finally, she turned to me and smiled again, her hands finding her way to her hips. "Okay, I wanna see the clothes," she stated happily. I figured she was content with seeing Renji's lone body and it was good enough for her.
Nodding, I smiled also and grabbed the bag Rukia had brought me the day before from my closet. Mom took the bag from me carefully and stepped to the foot of the bed, placing the pieces of clothing on it while examining them while avoiding Renji's long legs. "Aw, Mina, look at these cute jeans!" she said. "Do they fit okay?"
"Yeah, they have an elastic band in the waistline, they're super comfortable," I stated, smiling at my mother's excitment.
"You should wear them today, and this cute shirt," she said, holding up a yellow dressy looking blouse. It had an elastic band right above where my belly started sticking out and had short sleeves that were loose.
"Okay," I said, shrugging and grabbing the clothes from my mother's hands when she handed them to me.
After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, Rukia and Ichigo came over like they usually did. Both took their place on the couch and I joined them, sitting next to Ichigo after grabbing us all bottles of water. Both thanked me and I leaned back against the couch tiredly.
"Where's Renji, Mina?" Rukia asked, peering around her boyfriend to see me.
"Oh, he got called back to Soul Society in the middle of the night," I said, disappointment clear in my tone.
"Hm. Well, don't worry. Now he can talk to Yamamoto and figure out how he's going to stay here for the next six months," she answered, smiling at me reassuringly.
I nodded, returning the gesture. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."
"No problem," she stated, changing the subject. "Me and Ichigo are going to go see a movie, wanna come with us?"
Shaking my head, I said, "No, thanks, but I can't. I have to go the doctor today."
"What time?" she questioned.
"Noon."
"Oh, well, we can wait. They're playing the same movie at twelve-thirty, two, and four-thirty. We don't mind," she continued, smiling again.
I shrugged before saying, "If you really don't mind waiting."
"Of course not," she said, standing and tugging on Ichigo's hand. "We better get back home before Yuzu serves lunch without us. Call us when you get done with your appointment and we'll be back to pick you up." At her words, Ichigo stood and shoved his unoccupied hand into his pocket.
"Alright, thanks. See you guys later," I said, waving slightly.
"See ya," Rukia stated.
"Bye, Mina," Ichigo said before they retreated down the steps and left.
-:-
My appointment didn't take very long. Mom and I got there a few minutes after twelve and they saw us right away. All my OB GYN wanted to do was a sonogram, so it took a little over a half an hour.
As I entered the room, I saw her sitting in the chair placed next to the bed in the center of the room. "Hello, Dr. Hayashi. How are you?" I asked, smiling down at her.
"Hey, Mina," she answered. "Remember, call me Amaya, okay?" she said in a friendly tone. "I'm pretty good, thanks. How about you? How have you been?"
"Pretty good, thanks," I answered, absently leaning my weight against the bed.
"So, have you told the father yet?" she questioned, giving me a stern look. The gesture was extremely motherly, causing my smile to widen.
"Yep. Yesterday," I stated.
"Good. And I suppose he took it well if you're still smiling," she answered, her smile widening.
"Kind of," I said, shrugging slightly.
"Is he staying with you?"
Nodding I answered, "Yeah."
"Great, I'm glad," she answered. "Where is he, he didn't come?"
"No, he had to leave suddenly last night," I began. "He said he'll be back in the next few days."
"Oh. Alright, well, I hope to meet him one of these days," Amaya answered, absently pulling out the supplies she would need. "Go ahead and lie down. Just a sonogram today, so there's no need for you to get into a gown today. Just lift your shirt."
I nodded and carefully laid down on the bed with my mother's help. Soon Dr. Hayashi was spreading the cold gel over my swollen stomach and had turned the screen on so I could see the baby. Mom sat next to me and grabbed my hand as she watched the screen, amazed at how big the baby had gotten.
"So," Amaya began, her voice interrupting our trance. "It seems your baby is developing at a quick pace. It's nothing to worry about, nothing's wrong with the baby. It can actually be a good thing. Teenage mothers usually give birth to premature babies, so even if that happens, yours should be pretty well developed. Of course, that all depends on how early you deliver, but I don't think you'll have a problem."
"So the baby's alright?" my mom asked, clearly releived.
"Yep. Why? Were you worrying, Hiromi?" Dr. Hayashi questioned, smiling at her.
"A little. I had a really hard time with Mina when I was pregnant, I thought she might have trouble too," she answered, returning the gesture.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be any reason to worry. The baby is growing fast, faster than most, but again, nothing to worry about. Mina seems perfectly healthy and she says she's taking all the vitamins I've suggested. She seems to be in tip top shape, everything should go smoothly," the doctor reassured my mother before turning to me again. "Because your child is developing so quickly, I can tell you the sex of the baby now, if you want. Of course, there's always a chance that I'll make a mistake, but that's why we're going to have a few doctors loook at the ultrasound pictures and confirm if I'm right or wrong." She stood, sitting the tool she had used aside, handing me some paper towels.
"Clean yourself off, Sweety. I'm going to go confirm my guess and when I get back let me know if you want to know," she said, heading out the room, the door clicking shut quietly.
I turned to my mom and asked, "Do you think I should find out?"
"I would," she said, smiling widely. "That way you get the right clothes and stuff; you'll be prepared when the baby gets here. But," she added, "it's your decision. If you want to wait, go ahead."
"Hm...," I began, thinking about what to do.
Dr. Hayashi quickly returned, a folder in her hands. She smiled down at me. "So, Mina. You wanna know?"
I looked up at her and bit my lip absently. Finally, I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do."
"Alright, Sweety," she started, opening the file and pulling a picture out from the sonagram that had just occured. She handed the picture to me. "You're going to have a girl, Mina," she said, her smile widening at my shocked face.
I held the picture carefully in my hands, my fingers absently tracing the edges. As I stared down at the photo of my daughter, tears pricked at my eyes. I can't believe I'm having a girl...
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Okay, so, there's chapter four! :D Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm having a bit of trouble with this story. Also, I was starting to write this chapter two days ago, but I was interrupted by a very rude, nasty spider. So I just got arround to finishing. :)
Thanks for reading and being patient. Please review! :D I'll try to update a lot quicker next time, promise!
