Well, sorry about the late update...it's not only writer's block, but there's just a conflict going on with another author over one of my other stories, and it's just a big mess that's stressing me out quite a bit. But, anyways, hope you enjoy.

The master plan: chapter 7

Giggles arose from the happy Orihime as she spoke with Ichigo on his couch. They were having quite a nice time, kissing and talking about all kinds of silly things.

"So, Orihime, what do you think I would do if I were a grumpy troll living under a bridge?" Ichigo asked his girlfriend, smiling after his admission.

"I...*giggle*...think that you wouldn't be a grumpy troll at all, I think that you would be a nice troll that would let everyone through without a fee," she said, glowing brightly at their hilarious banter.

"Nah, I would totally charge everyone," he disagreed, making his best troll face so he could impersonate one, causing Orihime's giggles to escalate. "RRR...I'M THE TROLL, GIVE ME A GOLD COIN IF YOU WISH TO PASS OVER MY BRIDGE!" he said in a gristly voice, and Orihime broke out into full out laughter, slapping her hand on the couch to show her level of amusement. Ichigo grinned. He always did enjoy making Orihime laugh out loud like this. But as she brought her eyes up to look at him again, he decided to ask her something that had been plaguing his mind for some time.

"Hey Orihime," he said sweetly, and the auburn haired girl immediately laid her laughter to rest as she observed the sudden serious yet happy look her boyfriend had on his face.

"Ya wanna move in?" he asked her. The question totally caught her by surprise. He wanted her to move in...? It was so sudden that her brain was thrown into jumbles.

"Moving in...?" she asked him, staring at the carrot top with wide eyes. She almost couldn't believe that he was asking her this, it was so soon, so unexpected.

"Well...I mean, it's only been a month and a half..." before she continued, Ichigo laid a quick kiss on her lips, pulling back to stare at her now blushing face. Surprisingly, he wasn't angry or anything...he was just as happy as he had been before.

"It's okay, Hime," he said, smiling wider. "Just a suggestion. If you don't wanna move in, that's perfectly fine too. I was just asking, it's not like I'm trying to pressure you or anything."

"It's not that I don't want to!" she quickly corrected, flailing her arms as if in an attempt to disperse the air of what he thought was her disapproval on the matter. "It's just...it was so sudden that I can't think straight right now..." her eyes moved away from his, down to stare at the couch cushion she was sitting on. Ichigo could sense her distress, and he reached out one of his hands to gently cup her cheek.

"Think about it as long as you need," he said. "And don't try to decide for anyone else either; just decide based on what you want. Whatever your decision, you know I'll still love ya." His tone was tender and heart-melting as he said this, causing Orihime's own heart to flutter. Her smile returned, as her own hand reached up to cover his and she looked back up at him, eyes twinkling in joy.

"Love you too."

Rukia sat on the easy chair in her and Renji's living room, one leg crossed over the other as she flipped through a catalog of baby items. Strollers, cribs, car seats...so many things they would have to have for their little one. Goodness... she thought. You never know how much of a commitment it is until it actually happens to you... Renji was at the store, getting groceries, and when he got back they were supposed to go for the baby's first checkup. Suddenly...

"Good lord..." she said aloud, as she felt that familiar feeling of discomfort in her stomach. Throwing down the catalog, the small girl ran for the bathroom, proceeding to vomit like hell as soon as she was above the toilet. This, unfortunately, was one of the downsides to having a kid. About the time she was done, she heard the sound of the door unlocking, and the footsteps of her red haired husband coming in through the front door.

"Renji..." she called, sounding slightly miserable as she flushed the toilet, exiting out the bathroom as she walked down the hallway to meet him. Her eyes widened considerably as she saw him. Though plastic bags filled with groceries hung from his arms, the large man was also literally carrying an innumerable amount of books.

"R-Renji..." was all she was able to choke out, as he piled about half the stack in her arms, seemingly unaware that she had just gotten finished with vomiting. When he did, the smaller pile of books that was now in his arms also allowed her to see his face, grinning like crazy.

"Rukia, check it out, I've got all kinds of books," he said excitedly, emptying his armful on their kitchen table along with the groceries. Rukia sweatdropped.

"I can see that," the small girl replied, stunned that he had already gotten all of this. Renji took the books he had given her earlier and dumped them beside the others as he proceeded to pick each one up and show it to her.

"I've got books about what to expect during pregnancy, how to properly take care of the baby, all the things we're going to need to buy, what..." Rukia didn't hear her husband's rambling anymore, for she was in complete disbelief that Renji had this much of a paternal instinct. Damn, he's got more parental instinct than me, she thought, and all she could do was stare, that was until he walked away, ushering for her to follow. She did so, and began listening again.

"Not just that, but we've gotta baby proof the house," he continued. Rukia couldn't even speak, she was just so stunned, more than she was sure she ever had been in her life. "See these sharp wall corners?" he asked her. She nodded. "We've gotta get some padding on these so the baby doesn't hurt himself." Rukia's face contorted in anger.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT'LL BE A BOY!" she roared, punching him smack dab in the face, causing the large man to fall to the ground.

"Rukia what the-!"

"ARE YOU SOME SEXIST BASTARD THAT WILL ONLY LOVE YOUR CHILD IF IT'S A BABY BOY!"

"How the hell did you-!"

"ARE YOU GOING TO LEAVE ME IF I GO THROUGH 12 HOURS OF INCREDIBLY PAINFUL LABOR AND END UP BEARING YOU A LITTLE GIRL YOU BASTARD!"

"What are you talking about, I would never-!"

"Just...just leave me alone you son of a bitch! I hate you!" she cried, and tears began uncontrollably streaming down her face. Renji was dumbfounded. Just a minute ago she had been a roaring wildcat and he a frightened field mouse hiding in a crevice, but now...she seemed overwhelmed with grief. Wherever Ikkaku was right now, Renji was sure that the bald man was laughing his ass off.

"Rukia, hold on a minute, okay, I'm not-"

"Shut up!" she interrupted him. "Shut up, I hate you!" She continued crying, and covering her face with her hands, the small girl ran into the couple's bedroom. Renji shot up from his place on the ground to follow her, but was met with a door slammed in his face.

"Come on, Rukia, open up," he pleaded, attempting to open the door himself only to discover that it was locked up tight. "Come on, you know that I would never do anything like that, I'm going to love you and our child no matter how it comes out okay?" The sounds of sobbing on the other side stopped, and there was a pregnant silence that seemed to go forever until Renji broke it.

"Rukia?" he called. "Rukia, are you-" he was cut off as the door suddenly opened to reveal a downcast Rukia, head drooping as her eyes stared at the ground so that he couldn't see her face. She walked forward into him, wrapping her arms around his middle as her head buried itself in his abdomen. Again, confusion surged through him. But before he could get in a word Rukia spoke.

"Renji...I'm so sorry!" she cried, and the waterworks started again. Renji completely forgot about her mood swings as his protective instinct kicked in, and he sunk to the ground, wrapping his arms around her tightly as she fell with him. Her tears continued, wetting the fabric that covered his chest, but he didn't care.

"It's okay, alright?" he tried to reassure her, petting her head with one hand as the other stayed around her. Rukia, however, seemed unaware of this as she kept blubbering on.

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I don't hate you!" she cried. "I don't hate you...I don't hate you...I love you!" Renji continued his comforting as he continued to try and calm her down with his words.

"I know you don't hate me, okay? Now stop crying and calm down, it's alright...deep breaths..." Rukia did as he said, taking in ragged, broken breaths until her crying died down completely. Renji smiled.

"See, it's alright," he said softly. "I love ya, kay?" Rukia nodded, and then there was silence. But out of the blue, Rukia broke that silence as she spoke,

"Renji?"

"Yeah?" The small girl raised her head to look at him, and their eyes locked. A wide, amused grin slowly spread out across Rukia's face, as she said, in giggles,

"You're a real sucker for my acting, ya know that?"

"Byakuya-sama!" called a cheerful Hisana, and her eyes began to sparkle in joy as she watched her beloved husband enter the room. Her cheerful smile was returned by said man, as he closed the door behind himself and took a seat in the chair which rested next to her bedside.

"How have you been, Hisana?" he asked her softly, taking her small hand in hers and stroking the back of it tenderly with his thumb as he shot her the most loving gaze she had ever seen in the world. She swore that her heart literally melted whenever she saw him.

"I am doing well, Byakuya-sama," she answered, attempting to hide the excitement in her voice. Before her husband could ask about it, though, she continued, "But there is some big news that I am sure you will be very happy about." Byakuya's eyebrow arched in anticipation.

"News?" Hisana grinned, glad that she could be the one to see his first reaction.

"Ah, so Rukia has not told you yet?" she asked, slightly teasing him to see if he would be curious enough to be bothered from the withheld information.

"Told me what?" he asked, and she could tell, that, yes, he was bothered by it, as his featured showed slight irritation. The raven haired woman chuckled.

"Well...Renji and Rukia's family will be growing soon," she answered tenderly, looking him straight in the eye. Byakuya immediately got it.

"So...Rukia is pregnant then?" he asked. His gaze hardened, and he became more serious at the moment. Yes, he was very happy as well, Hisana could tell, but she also immediately identified the source of his seriousness.

"The clan elders have no say in their lives," said Hisana seriously, as she looked her husband straight in the eye. "The Kuchiki elders cannot dictate their actions. She is already pregnant, and there is nothing they can do about it." Byakuya returned her serious gaze, but much more ominously than his wife.

"You and I both know that that's not true," he replied. Hisana was on the brink of tears at his point, for she knew he spoke the truth.

"Byakuya-sama...you mustn't let them...you must control the family, you hear me!" she yelled, and for the first time in his life Kuchiki Byakuya had heard his wife raise her voice. He knew that she was serious about this, more serious than she had ever been about anything before. His grip on her hand tightened.

"Hisana..." he said. "You and I were not able to have children of our own, but...I swear to you, now that there is a child being born, a child whose birth we can control...on my life, I promise that they will be protected." Tears began streaming down Hisana's face against her will, and she pulled her husband into a tight embrace, which he returned.

"Byakuya-sama...I am going to hold you to that, and I myself make the same swear. If I have to get up out of this bed and sail the world and back for that baby, then I swear on my life that I will." Byakuya stood up then, and they looked each other in the eye, the locking of gray and violet confirming their previous oaths.

"I will speak to them as soon as I return," promised Byakuya, as he departed the room. Hisana watched her husband's back as he disappeared out the door, the seriousness within her not yet dissipated.

"Arigato, Byakuya-sama..."

THE NEXT DAY

"Yo, Orihime," said Renji, as he and Rukia approached said girl outside the room of Hisana's hospital room.

"Oh, hello, Rukia-san, Renji-san," she greeted. "Byakuya-san is with Hisana-san right now, but I'm sure that they won't mind if you join them." She quickly added nervously, "But, um, Rukia-san...could I talk to you about something please?" Rukia was caught off guard by the question, but complied anyhow.

"Sure, what's the matter?" She said quickly to Renji, "You go in for now without me, I'll be in in a sec." The redhead nodded, entering the room as his wife was pulled to the side by their auburn haired friend.

"So what's-"

"-Rukia-san...how long was it before you and Renji-san moved in together when you started dating?" she asked, cutting her friend off completely. Rukia grinned.

"So Ichigo asked you to move in, did he?" she asked. Orihime blushed, causing Rukia's grin to widen.

"Well, first of all..." the small girl began. "Me and Renji's situation really different, since we got together in high school, and up until the point when we confessed our feelings for the other, we had had those feelings for quite a while, and knew that because of the strong bond we had from growing up so close to the other that we would never break each others hearts. So when so when we turned 18 and graduated, we moved in together immediately, and then went to college. And after college, we pretty much got hitched right away." Orihime's smile dissipated.

"Oh..." she said sadly. "So then you don't know what I should do..."

"Hold on!" exclaimed Rukia, waving her hands around for emphasis. "I never said I couldn't help you, I just said that basing what you should do off of what me and Renji did would be a bad idea!" Orihime's grin returned.

"Really!" Rukia let out a breath she didn't realized she was holding in, and then got serious, looking her friend square in the eye as she spoke.

"Orihime, if you feel it's time, then by all means, you should do it," said Rukia. "On the other hand...if that's moving too fast for you, then just tell Ichigo that you're not ready. I'm sure he'll understand." She smiled. "It's as simple as that."

"Actually...Ichigo-kun did tell me what you just did..." as she said this, she was twiddling her fingers nervously.

"Well then just do what you want," repeated Rukia, grinning up at the woman. Orihime's eyes sparkled, and Rukia half thought that she could've started crying right then and there.

"Arigato, Rukia-san!" said Orihime suddenly, giving her a quick bow before running off to her other duties. Rukia smirked after her, before returning her mind to the task at hand.

Entering the room, her smile disappeared as she observed everyone else's dead serious expressions, even Renji's, and he himself looked half between seriousness and half between being ready to beat some motherfucker to a bloody pulp.

"Rukia..." came a voice. "Rukia's eyes focused on her brother immediately. She had no idea what was going on, nor why everyone was like this.

"Nii-sama..."

"There is something important we must discuss..."

END OF CHAPTER 7

Well, there's chapter 7! I really am starting to like cliffhangers. And for those of you that are wondering what Orihime's joke was in chappy 6, sorry about that, for some reason it got cut out when I uploaded the file onto document manager, but basically her joke was saying that the sex was pretty good as a way to joke about their relationship being based off sex, even though it isn't. Well, as always, hope you enjoyed, and you'll be happy to know that after writing this chapter I have a bunch more ideas so the next chapters shouldn't take too long. I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does, and I love all opinions!