Previously: She held up the 'Opening' task, mainly to Orihime. It was about opening up to your classmates, telling them things about you that they don't know. Lucky for the girls.

"So who should we start with?" Takara asked, raising her hand and pointing around in a circle. The three boys shook their heads, leaving only Orihime.

"Hime?" Rei grinned, "Would you care to start us off? Yes? Okay, then we'll ask you some questions. You're too...shy to think of anything by yourself."

"Good idea, Rei-san, I'll give some. So, do you have any parents? Do you have any siblings?". Both were questions that they knew the answers to, they knew they were sensitive questions to her. That was the whole point.

"What else...hmm, does your boyfriend really love you?" - Rei's questions were actually shouted, - "Will you just admit it to everyone that you're pregnant?".

No Regrets

Chapter 4: New

The whole class stared in shock. Rei's questions had shocked them all, it was an unlikely thing to do, even for her.

Ichigo's hand curled into a fist on the other side of the room, the anger building up in his eyes again. This was way beyond the line, even if he didn't know the whole story.

"I...w-what?" Orihime whispered.

"Don't act so innocent, we heard you. Hah, I never exactly took you for a slut like that," Takara laughed.

"...What did you hear?".

"You and your loving boyfriend are having a kid..." Rei spat.

"So what if we are?" Ichigo stood up quickly, both fists balled by his side. His face showed his mood, he was not at all happy.

"She's jealous!" Takara giggled in the corner.

"Am not!" Rei blushed angrily, "I just think that he deserves better than Inoue, who left him for two months. Now she comes asking for help with something that's all her fault! It makes me sick. He should have someone like me! I'm so much better than that bitch."

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo's face dropped to a simple, unsympathetic expression. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard for months. You can think what you want, but it's nobody's fault. There's nobody I love more on this earth than Orihime, nothing can change that! The fact that we're having a baby together, a good thing by the way, doesn't concern you!".

Painful silence struck the room, nobody dared to say a single word. Even Miss Ochi was speechless. Class Communication wasn't supposed to be this kind of conversation.

"Well..." Takara shrugged, turning away.

If a few parts of her had been different, Rei would have growled right there. "I cannot believe this! You're really saying that you'd rather have her? That's stupid, what's so special about her?".

"Did I not just explain that to you? I love her! Surely that's simple enough to get into your head? Or are you really that blind...?" Ichigo's voice belted across the room with the majority of his words, it was impossible not to hear him.

"I-I..." Rei found herself suddenly threatened by his stare, "You see...".

"To tell the truth, we don't need any more now. Thank you, class!" Miss Ochi straightened her hair quickly, standing up to speak over them.

The four all sat down, three with attitude and one with clearly expressed fear. Orihime wobbled on her knees as she bent them to land on her chair, unsure if they still worked or not.

"Sorry..." Ichigo muttered, quietly but mainly meaningfully.

"Now...what should I do with you? I hate to treat you like children, we're a few years beyond that point, but it seems I have no other choice. Koya, Tsuki, I want you over in the corner, I'll bring some work to you in one moment. Kurosaki and Inoue, you can return to your groups or go to the library to study, it might calm you down. Try to look at something...useful."

The two girls stomped into the corner, cursing quietly. Ichigo sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder and making his way outside the room.

However, somebody found that their legs wouldn't move, glued in their spot. Orihime tried to pull herself along, only getting out of her desk and down to the floor.

Ichigo ran back to help her up, gently pulling her along with her feet scurrying underneath. It was a slightly awkward journey to the library.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo...I had no idea that they knew. In fact, I'm not even slightly sure how they found out. Unless...you...?" she pondered, not wanting to accuse him of anything.

"Honestly, I told only two people, and they...well one of them probably wouldn't go telling other people. I'm not so sure about my dad now I think about it...".

"Well...who is it that you told, the one that would keep the secret?".

"It was...uh, Uryu...he forced it out of me. Then he wasn't happy about it at all," he muttered.

"Then I can't see how they know...I only told Tatsuki, and she'd never spread it out to girls like them. ...Could they have just heard us then, like they said?" she whispered her question.

"That seems like the most likely thing, so I guess it was just bad luck. Now the whole school probably knows...but I don't really care any more. The only thing that matters is that nobody is bothering you about it."

"Ichigo...?" Orihime smiled.

"Don't worry...I'll keep them away from us," his arm came up around her, now that she walked easily along the corridors. She slightly snuggled into him, the tears starting to flow again.

They arrived at the school library after only a few minutes. It was built only seven months before, refurbished at least. It was very useful to their class, in their last year they needed to study more than ever. Exams were only a few months away.

"What should we do...?" she inquired, looking around at the many shelves of information. The whole place was a bookworm's paradise. Even she was drawn in a little.

Ichigo came up behind her, whispering "I want to talk to you, but let's grab some books first."

They took a few books each on History, appropriate due to their test the following week. A table was spare in the corner of the room, so they sat down and opened the books.

"So...what did you want to talk about?".

"You, me and the baby. You've known a lot longer than me...so I'm sure you want to get it sorted out soon. I can understand that, so I want to talk a little now," his warm, friendly smile erased any previous worries about this conversation.

"Okay...how should we begin, though? There's so much to think about...".

"First I should ask, are we gonna live together? It will make everything so much easier, and my dad already suggesting you living at our house for a while. If you don't want to, that's fine, but it would mean extra help. Clearly this won't be easy anyway. Since our house is joined to our clinic, you'll be in good hands," Ichigo started on, after each sentence pausing for an answer. "So..?" he held her hand underneath the table.

"I...I'd really hate to be any trouble, though it would be a good idea. I completely agree, it would make everything a lot easier on us. But there's still the other problems...like money for baby furniture. I don't want our baby to miss out on anything, so it'll be even harder than I ever thought possible...".

"You don't have to worry about that, I'll...get a job or something. My dad will be willing to let us borrow money too, I can pay him back even after the baby is born," the smile reappeared on his face, comforting Orihime into showing her own.

"...Alright, we'll do what we can...but there's still lots to talk about, I guess. It can wait a while though. Ichigo...I want you to come to an appointment with me, next month. Is that okay?".

"Of course. I'd be happy to come. Oh, while I just remembered, when do you want to move in?".

"Well, when would you suggest?".

"Soon, as far as I can say. That might be best, because you can leave your apartment which would also save up money for the baby things...of course if that's what you want to do."

A glimmer of red blushed on her cheeks, still smiling. "Okay, I'll do that. Maybe I could come in...a week or two? Or a month? Two months? I really don't know..." she giggled.

"How about...literally as soon as possible? I don't want you to be alone, I never liked that, really."

"S-sure...okay.

"You've stayed over before, so it won't be too weird, right?".

"That's true, luckily I am used to your family now," she laughed.

Ichigo chuckled lightly with her, "So we'll start this, at the weekend? That would be a good time, right?".

She nodded, making that same adorable smile. "I'll try not to forget!".

"Great. Oh...and would you like to come out with me on Friday, maybe? It's been more than two months, right?". Two long, painful months.

Her blush grew a little brighter, more intense. It was like this every time, no matter how many times they went out. Orihime took a deep breath and attempted her normal, happy face. "Okay!".

It was already the end of the school week. Every day had been hard for the young couple, facing the stares of the other students in the halls as they walked by.

However, they didn't complain. They hardly noticed it, in fact. Because they simply didn't care. If they wanted to stare, they could stare as much as they wanted.

Words were the only things that took it too far. If anybody mentioned 'it' to Orihime, unless in a friendly, harmless way, they would get a piece of Ichigo's mind. Severe punishment.

That was just how it was, nobody thought to change it, not when it worked so well for them. 'Joys' of pregnancy weren't the same when you experienced them as a teenager. Not by far.

"So, I'll see you later..." Ichigo quickly kissed her cheek and set out on his way back home.

Their date was to take place an hour from then, so Orihime rushed home to get herself ready.

All the way from school, it was quite a journey. Though for once, as a new record, only ten minutes later she arrived back home.

With little time to spare, she slumped down against the door as she closed it from the inside.

Her tiny apartment somehow looked bigger than she knew it was. Most of her things were packed up in boxes, or she had to get rid of them. The very next day she'd be moving in with Ichigo, and the panic had begun.

The Kurosaki's really loved her, so there was no reason to worry too much. It was just that...Karin and Yuzu knew nothing about the baby. They'd decided to tell them once things were sorted out, so as far as they knew, Orihime was moving in because she'd lost her relative's monthly financial support.

Honestly, they were happy about it. Especially Yuzu, who really admired her brother's girlfriend. Hopefully the real reason wouldn't become any kind of influence.

Other than that, there was no time to waste! Orihime had to get ready, that was the only thing on her mind.

Now the questions were about what to wear. There wasn't a lot of choice, really. Most clothes wouldn't fit too well, and some she wore far too much. So many risks she was unwilling to take, but she was starting to get a little desperate.

What...should I wear? I have no idea...maybe the skirt? No, it's probably not going to fit any more. Or...maybe the jumper? Ichi always liked that one...the open-neck jumper! Yes! And it won't show anything...even if the bump is really small right now.

Determined, she dug through the box of clothes, searching for her desired outfit. By the time the whole collection was surrounding her in a huge pile, she noticed it was right there, at the very bottom.

At the end of her struggle with the rest of the pile, she flushed out a black silk vest and some dark jeans. It would look okay together, probably the best she could get with her jumper.

She changed into them, and as she thought, they went quite well together. But there was still some time left, about fifteen minutes remained. Just enough time.

Orihime ran through her hair with a brush quickly, just tidying up before clipping in her hairpins, one on each side as usual.

Now she was in a slight hurry to get out of the house, the feeling of excitement starting to tug at her heart. Even with her 'condition' she ran out and set on her way to the park, where she was meeting Ichigo.

Oh my gosh...I'm going to be late! What if he has to wait? He might just leave if I don't get there...

The same paranoid thoughts had always been the same for her when it came to him. Still, there were never any real reasons to worry.

Lucky for her, he was still waiting as she arrived. Rain was just starting to drizzle down from the clouds as he waved and put up his hand.

"So you made it, huh?" he chuckled.

Ichigo wore a plain white shirt and a grey jacket, probably a little cold in the cool April air. "Sorry I'm a little late! I..." explanations bursted out immediately.

"Don't worry about it, I've only been here for five minutes," he laughed.

"Oh...okay..." she blushed.

The Substitute Shinigami took her hand, leaving an even more intense blush on her face. He chuckled as they started to walk.

"So, where are we going?" she whispered.

"I'm not really sure...I couldn't think of much. Lots of things we used to do, we can't any more. This new situation has laid down some limits, but we can still have fun, right?" he smiled.

"Well sure," her own smile showed as their pace slowed a little, "anything is fun!" she giggled.

"In that case, let's just see where we end up...".

They walked for what seemed like such a long time, passing through the streets, parks, past the buildings and by the river. For all of that time they barely had to say a word to each other, the communication was all through the eyes.

After half and hour and slow strolling through Karakura, Orihime pulled to a halt.

"Oh no..." she muttered, looking back past her shoulder.

Ichigo looked over to her, "Is something wrong?" his grip on her hand grew a little firmer.

"No, it's...well, yes. I completely forgot, I was supposed to go to an appointment. I made it just before I returned, it slipped right past my mind when you asked me out tonight! I'll never make it now anyway, I'm sorry..." she explained, one hand slammed against her forehead.

"Was it an important appointment?".

"I...I guess so. I think I was supposed to have one of those...ultrasound-things," she pouted in thought, trying to remember.

"What? Really? Then you should probably still go! Wouldn't it be worth it? There's probably a chance we could get there, what time was it?" he took her other hand from her head and held it down on the opposite side to her other.

"Well there's still ten minutes...but it's at the Clinic on the other side of town, if it's busy they probably wouldn't see me if I'm any more than five minutes late."

Ichigo leaned in close to her face, "Wouldn't you like to see that baby?" he smiled. "If we hurry, I bet we can get there in time. Besides, we're not doing anything else right now. It would be interesting, I'd like to see. After the appointment, we can get something to eat. Then we can go to the Park. How does that sound?".

"...Okay, let's go!" she smiled back at him.

For five minutes they walked quickly, hand in hand, never letting go. It was a race against time, and they were nearly halfway.

But they needed to move faster, and one of them had a plan.

"I have an idea, let's stop for a second," Ichigo took down the speed and stood still.

"W-what is it?" she huffed, all of the walking just starting to tire her a little.

He didn't say anything, Ichigo just pulled her up with ease over his shoulders, carrying her piggy-back style.

Orihime grabbed onto him tightly, eyes closed, starting to wonder at what altitude she'd be at when she opened her eyes. He was a Soul Reaper, after all.

"This'll be quicker."

They set off again at a quicker pace, it seemed much more like they'd make it now.

Just seven minutes later they were in the waiting room of the clinic. Luckily, the last patient had been a little late and the schedule was a few minutes behind time.

"Orihime Inoue?" asked a voice.

She sprang up from her seat automatically, looking over to the Nurse. "Yes?".

"Dr. Itsuki will see you now," she smiled.

"O-okay!" she walked along. Ichigo stood up and followed, scowling at the clinic and it's system that seemed so wildly foreign to his own family's.

The hall lead them to an enclosed room that seemed to be specifically for pregnancy-related appointments. Doctor Itsuki was standing by the window, just turning to see them nervously enter.

"Hi there, how are you?" he smiled.

"Fine, everything's great!".

"That's good. So you're having an ultrasound today, correct?" he was browsing through her file.

"Yep, I think that was the plan."

"Okay, let's get that set up then."

He pulled out a large machine with a screen. Orihime hopped up onto the bed and lay back.

Ichigo stood right by her, a little unsure about the, in his mind, strange doctor. Even though he'd seen one before, the weird little device connected the machine by a cord was extremely confusing. It looked a lot like some kind of shaving tool.

"Alright," he finished hooking everything up, "now if you'd lift up your shirt, I can start."

She pulled up her jumper and vest, revealing her slightly swollen stomach. The Doctor applied that famous cold jelly-liquid and pressed the shaving-thing against the bump.

"Here we go...right here, there. There's your...baby..." he paused. Doctor Itsuki scanned the screen carefully, picking up the chart of her information with his spare hand. He looked over and over, checking several times.

"I think the Doctor from your last appointment missed something," he looked at the teenage couple.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo was the one to ask, cautiously eyeing the Doctor.

"It seems that you, Miss Inoue, are carrying twins."

Comeback! It's been such a long time, hmm? Really, I've missed this. I can't believe how long this update took, I bet my story has been deleted off everyone's alert now! Hehe, really, I'm sorry.

After Christmas and returning to school, I got quite buried in work. Every night I opened up this document I could barely think of another sentence to write.

But anyway, huge plot revelation here! I hope it wasn't too soon! But anyway, the rest of the 'date type scenario' will be written in the next chapter! (Of which I will begin and maybe, hopefully finish before Monday). Good night! (It's nearly Sunday already, 11:58 pm! Needsleep!)

Please! Make an exhausted girl happy and leave a review!

~HellYus