Previously:
Ichigo stood up and pushed his chair back under the table, "Are you all ready for school?"
"As much we can be," she sighed, collecting her bag from the front of the house and looking back at him. They both held their jackets over their arms and set out the door.
"Hopefully you won't get all emotional," Ichigo chuckled, "But I won't blame you. After all, at the end of the today you'll have to start calling yourself an adult."
"Or it could just be some pregnant teenager. That could be much more simple."
No Regrets
Chapter 6: Farewell
It was undeniable that Orihime's walking speed had slowed a lot with each step closer she got. In her mind, there was no way she could face her last day of school this way.
She awkwardly waddled along, pulled on only a little by the force of Ichigo's hand.
"Can I just give up and go back home?" she pouted.
Her legs didn't want to move, they seemed to have a connection to her desires, regardless of energy levels and courage.
Ichigo looked back at her, laughing. "Come on, it's not much further!".
"But when I get there, you definitely won't let me go back!".
"That's a good thing, today I'm here to keep you in order."
"It's your last day of school too," she muttered, looking at the ground. In reality, she was blushing at the fact that he'd easily forget his life for her. It didn't exactly make her happy, though.
–
They arrived only five minutes later, still with plenty of time before the first 'lesson' began. It wasn't really a lesson on a day like this. It would just be something random and partly fun, for most.
Orihime fell into her seat and gazed out of the window, in the direction of the house. Ichigo stood looking over her shoulder.
She turned around, looking into the corner. Chad and Uryu sat talking quietly, among the lively conversation by the rest of the class.
"You can go over there, you know."
He laughed, "I'm not going to leave you alone, you could escape."
Or...if I move them over to the door, she couldn't ever sneak past...
"I know what you're thinking," she changed her position to resting her hands at the top of her bump, like a ledge, "I promise to behave while you're gone. Now get over there and talk to your friends!". She laughed, pushing him away.
Ichigo was hesitant to follow her commands, until the familiar friend of his walked into the room. "I'll handle this."
Tatsuki wandered over, bag held over the shoulder. She looked Orihime in the eye and smiled, "You're not going anywhere," suddenly she glared, "right?"
She slid down into her chair, "...Right," she whimpered.
–
Time went so quickly. It was already fourth lesson, Gym.
The hall was split, girls did gymnastics and boys did volleyball. There wasn't an actual wall in between, but nobody crossed the line if unnecessary.
Orihime sat on a bench in her uniform. Since she had explained her situation to the teacher, she was excused from all physical activities. It was a shame, she usually quite enjoyed P.E.
Every so often, Ichigo would find himself glancing over at her. This usually resulted in some kind of brief injury, such as a volleyball in the face.
He tried to pay more attention, but it didn't seem to work. He was just as captivated by her as always. That was something that would never change.
Sighing, she focused her vision away from the floor and watched some of the girls in her group attempt a three-person pyramid. They made the falling down part look like so much fun, Orihime was a little upset.
Then she moved her hand to the bump, It's worth it for you.
"Hey..." she whispered.
She carefully concentrated. Something moved.
Her hands griped her stomach a little tighter, waiting for the same feeling she just experienced.
There it was again. A flutter of movements inside of her, she wasn't sure what to feel about it. But then there wasn't much to think about, one of the babies was definitely kicking. For the first time.
Quickly she looked around, Ichigo was so far away. As soon as the lesson ended, she had to find him.
Every minute second was like ten years, as if it would never end. He was finally concentrating, so she didn't look at him any more. It was easier to sit and stare at the girls laughing and having fun in envy.
She noticed that the same flicker of a feeling occurred whenever she thought of it, hoping it would still work that way to show Ichigo.
That was one of the most exciting yet painful thirty minutes of her life, and it didn't matter how normal the event was. It was the first time for her.
All of the students were sent out to get changed, the lesson had ended. Orihime collected her bag and stood outside.
That part of the hall was empty. Everyone in P.E was still getting changed, and any other students whose lessons had finished were probably eating lunch.
She carefully studied the walls, sighing. It could take a while for Ichigo to come out, the boys got less time to change.
"Orihime?".
Her eyes darted around, with her head following. Their friend from another world had arrived again for a visit.
She blinked, "Is that you, Rukia?".
The tiny Soul Reaper appeared at her side and hugged her, "It's been a while!".
"It has!" Orihime laughed. "What are you doing here?".
"I finished my work early, so I was allowed to come here for a visit," she smiled, "so how are you?".
"Oh! I'm...well..." she couldn't find the strength to tell her right then.
Rukia's smile changed, it was now a curious expression, "Is something wrong?".
"Well...no and yes, but I'd probably go for no."
"Orihime, what is going on?".
The auburn-haired girl kept silent, eyes closed with a concerned look. Her friend looked closely, examining her from several similar angles. Then her eyes flicked to her stomach.
She didn't dare to ask, it was obviously rude. So she looked again and again, trying to find another way to confirm her suspicion.
"What's with...this spiritual pressure?" she tried, there was definitely something different, both of them knew that.
"...We should go."
"Huh?"
Orihime turned to the corridor leading outside, "People will be out here soon, and to most of them it'll look like I'm talking to myself!" she smiled quickly, before they moved on.
They found a spot near some trees, where nobody would hear them talk. The journey had been silent, and rather awkward. Other students already thought quite little of her because of her situation, nobody understood. So it was best that she didn't try to talk, not even quietly.
"You are planning to tell me, right?".
"Sure...once I get the words," she pondered, sitting down on the grass.
Orihime found it quite strange that Rukia hadn't mentioned her bump. Though of course, it wouldn't be polite. She didn't really expect her to, after that thought.
So what if she could make it obvious, rather than this struggle with her mind to find the sentence she wanted. It might work...
After a moment, she leaned back on the tree. The bump stuck out, very clear under her uniform.
However the possible reasons and explanations behind that particular new feature had already passed through her mind, and she found all of them too unlikely.
When it didn't show results, Orihime sighed. "Maybe I should let Ichigo tell you..."
"So Ichigo is involved, hmm?".
She shoved her face into her hands. That wasn't supposed to happen.
But...Rukia doesn't seem mad or anything...not yet. Maybe I should let her guess...even though I doubt I'll be able to confirm it if she makes the right assumptions. I'll have to try. I'm sure she'd prefer to hear this from me...I started it.
Her hand moved, hovering before landing on the raised patch of her stomach.
The Soul Reaper's eyes followed it curiously, scanning her evidence, figuring it all out...
"...Orihime..." she gasped, "Are you...really...?".
The spiritually aware human sighed, moving her other hand down, revealing the other half of her face. "Yes I am...".
"W-why?" she nervously inquired, "I though that wasn't really normal for your age...".
"It's a mistake, "she muttered, "But we're trying to make the best of it...trying...".
"Do...do you want me to congratulate you? Or should I be concerned..." Rukia frowned, lost in her mind, "No. I know what I have to do."
"Really?" Orihime blinked, realizing her question sounded a little stupid.
"Yes," the smaller girl nodded, closing her eyes. Then they flashed open, "I am going to go, and kill Ichigo Kurosaki!".
"W-wha-?" the seated girl climbed up to her feet. "What are you talking about?".
"It's his fault, correct?".
"Well, no. It's more b-".
"Are you sure? I thought it was the male that-".
"Never mind! Just, don't kill him! I do sort of need him...".
Rukia grunted, "Aren't you mad at him?".
"Of course not...why would I be?" she whispered.
"He took away your future!".
"No..." she stopped, then smiled. "He gave us a new one,".
Again, her hands moved to press against her bump. She looked down, "The only things that matters to me any more, besides him, are these babies..."
She froze, glancing from Orihime, then back to the bump. "Are you getting plural worlds mixed up with singulars?".
"I don't think so," she chuckled, "we're definitely having twins."
"Oo-kay?" Rukia murmured, "and do you know...the genders?".
"Not yet," her eyes moved back to her friend, "but I am positive...one will be a boy. At least one, I think. I hope...he'll have orange hair...and brown eyes, like his dad."
"I'm sure that it's very possible," she smiled.
"Then of course...a girl. She might have black hair, I usually imagine. Or maybe brown. And her eyes...would be blue. That's just a mix from my imagination. But I think it really could happen, both me and Ichigo have family with black hair, or maybe others. I can't say I know much about my family...".
When her eyes started to glisten, she knew tears were forming somewhere behind the surface. But it wasn't the time to cry for those reasons, she could only be happy.
She held it back and inhaled, closing her eyes until...
"Orihime!".
They jolted open, searching the area quickly.
Ichigo stood over her, breathing deeply. "Where have you been? I thought you were gonna wait outside, I...".
He looked over at Rukia. "That you, Kuchiki?".
The other Shinigami held her elegant face, just for a second. Just a second before she kicked him onto the ground.
"My name is Rukia, you fool!".
There was silence, before Ichigo coughed out, "...Sure."
"Anyway, I have something...to do..." her hands gripped her sword, pulling it out and pointing it at his neck.
"O-okay, whatcha doing there?" the 'Substitute' asked frantically.
"I am going to kill you."
The other girl watched carefully, her hands by the hairpins clipped onto her shirt, also by the position of her heart.
"And...why is that?" Ichigo gulped.
"Because of what you did to Orihime!".
"Rukia," she tried to smile, "didn't we already talk about that? I'm happy about it, now, at least...".
"Well I'm still kinda angry...".
"Then...would it be okay just to scold him like always? Like I said, I do need him," her free hand waved a little in a 'stop' motion.
She thought about it, carefully. It was as if her options would change the world.
That was actually almost true. Ichigo Kurosaki had been an important part of the Soul Society. They had only recently cleared their debt to him, by restoring his Shinigami powers. Yet one of their Squad Lieutenants was now trying to kill him.
"Please?" Orihime placed her hand on Rukia's shoulder.
"...Fine. But when the time comes...the harder part of this, I will not give you another chance!" she looked at Ichigo.
The figure dressed in black disappeared over the fence, flash-stepping away.
"Wow...you must have magical powers..." Ichigo was pulled up by Orihime's hand.
"A-are you okay?" she touched his face, looking at his dusty uniform.
"Sure...my clothes are a little dirty, that's all though."
In a short minute, her yellow dome of light was surrounding him, rejecting the dirt that had collected on the back of his uniform.
"Always convenient..." he smirked, leaning down and locking his lips to hers, just for a moment.
As she slipped into his gesturing arms, she winced quickly. The flicker of movement within had started again. It was almost stronger than before.
This time, Ichigo was here.
"Here, feel this!" she grinned excitedly.
Her hand took his and she pressed it at the bump.
"What is it?".
Nothing happened. Not right away.
The tiny, weak kick occurred again. Ichigo concentrated.
"How long has this been happening?" he laughed suddenly.
"It started in the Gym! I was desperate to tell you...but then Rukia came...I'm really sorry."
"Don't apologise! It's not your fault," he smiled.
"Honestly, though. I feel guilt about it no-".
He kissed her.
When he pulled away, he exhaled before whispering the words, "I'm starting to wonder if either of them will be as unbelievably apologetic as you are."
–
"Okay, class. That's it for the day, or rather, the rest of your lives I can assume!" Miss Ochi laughed.
It was true, the last lesson had ended. The class would find themselves walking away from this stage of their life in just a few minutes.
However one student, didn't seem happy about it at all.
They left, the eager ones running to the door. It started to get crowded, so Ichigo and Orihime waited at the back.
The former students were drained from the room in about a minute, so they followed.
"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked as he noticed, she was looking down.
Orihime exhaled, "No...I bet I'll get emotional now. I thought I wouldn't have too...but well, you know. Pregnancy stuff," she pouted.
He laughed, bringing his arm up around her shoulders. "You don't have to be upset about that," he promised, quickly kissing her cheek, "you can cry as much as you want."
She had an almost-smile. "I'll keep that it mind."
–
Next chapter! :) It's been a while again, I hope that wasn't too long to wait, if anybody actually has an interest in this story. XD I feel awful if I can't update at least every week.
But anyway, I hope you liked! Please, please, please leave a review! *I did stay up a long time, even though I was very tired, to write this. I did finish it last night, but I couldn't log on, so I couldn't upload it...site updates or something? :/ Anyway, I write these updates with much love! ;D It really would just be great it you could leave a review for me to read! ^^
Important! I'm gonna do another time-skip in the next chapter! Hime is currently 5, not far from 6 months pregnant, according to my calculations. What do you think, should I skip to the end of 6 months or some time during the 7th month?
Please help!
~HellYus