Previously: They travelled to the ground floor in the elevator, which was quite quiet. Two other people were in there, giving them awkward looks, as if it somehow wasn't normal to see two teenagers with a stroller containing twins. The thought made them want to laugh.

Just a couple of minutes later, they were signing out of the hospital, hopefully for a while. Both of them were more than ready to see the outside world. Especially Orihime.

She stepped outside the doors with no hesitation, partly because the doors were automatic, and she was pushing the stroller. But in her eyes, there was nothing scary about venturing back out into Karakura Town.

Even if she'd only been able to see it through a window for the past month.

No Regrets

Chapter 12: Return

Orihime was able to walk for a few metres, before she turned around.

"I know I promised I hadn't forgotten how to get back, but...could I have just the direction, please?" she asked guiltily. Ichigo laughed, and pointed. She nodded and carried on.

It wasn't a very long distance, she remembered that much. That was why she walked out so confident that she could get back without help.

Unlike the elevator situation, no amount of stares could change anything. She would walk home with the man she loved and their newborn twins. Who cared that they were eighteen years old?

The area around her started to get more and more familiar, as it should be. Sometimes she wanted to stop and just check quickly that she was still going in the right direction, but still, there was no worry. No matter what she had promised, Ichigo wouldn't let her lead them the wrong way without saying something. It was too cold to hang about outside.

"Are you sure you still know where you're going?"

"Yep," she grinned, turning around to him. For a while now he'd been behind her, but he had taken a turn at pushing the stroller for a little while. But he still felt like her happiness and welfare were the only things that mattered right then.

Ichigo knew that they were almost there, but he didn't mention it. Instead, her let her cry out happily when they turned the corner and saw the 'Kurosaki Clinic' sign.

"We're here, at last!"

They carried on to the front door, where she stopped. "So..."

"Don't tell me you're afraid."

Orihime shook her head, "Not afraid, just curious. Do you think, that when I step inside, I might finally start to feel like..."

"A mom?"

"Yes," her head now nodded, "a...mom."

He put his hand on her head, "I think you already know it, but you haven't fully admitted it to yourself. Even though you've pushed our twins in this stroller all the way here, it won't be real until you see the surprise."

"Surprise?"

Before she could ask any more, he stepped in front and pushed the door open. "We're home!"

She could see inside. Isshin was sat at the table, flicking through some papers. His head turned and he smiled up at them. Yuzu and Karin were on the sofa, just looking away from the TV to wave at them.

"Hi!" Yuzu greeted, jumping up and running over. Her sister followed in a slower pace.

Orihime looked around. She could see the front room through the slightly narrow and short hall. It was strange to be back, but she finally felt at home.

That was because she was.

"How are you, Orihime?" Isshin smiled, standing up and making his way over to them. The girls were leaning over the babies, waving and holding out their fingers for the infants to grab.

While Orihime had been in the hospital, the week following the birth, she'd had many visits from the twins. They adored their tiny nephews and would spend as much time as possible just playing and watching them, even if they were sleeping.

"I'm doing just fine," she answered, waving a hand, "and I'm definitely glad to be back here!"

"Well you'll be even happier when you see what's waiting for you!" Yuzu giggled. Karin nudged her and drew her attention back to Kiyoshi.

He was sleeping peacefully, while his brother was kicking his legs beside him. Katsuo was quite lively, compared to Kiyoshi. But everybody was glad to see some differences.

Now that they were a week old, their eyes were starting to change. Orihime had read that it took a little while for the eyes to change from blue to their true colour.

They were turning green.

It seemed a little weird that they ended up green. But they were told it was possible, in fact very likely with their mix of colours.

"So, are you ready for the surprise?" Ichigo asked.

Orihime pondered a little more over what this 'surprise' would be. They'd done a good job to keep it, because she'd first heard of it two weeks ago. And Yuzu was desperate to reveal it.

"That depends, will it make me cry?" she laughed.

Even though it had started to wear away, little things were still emotional enough to make her cry. "Maybe," Karin said.

"Oh no," she smiled, "I'd better get ready. Where is the surprise, then?"

"Upstairs!" Yuzu jumped up, looking at the staircase.

Ichigo pulled the door closed behind them, noticing that he'd forgotten. "Ichigo?" his father called him, "could you just come over here quickly before you go? I have something for you."

He cautiously looked over at him, wondering if it was safe. Though Isshin had actually been acting quite normal, it was probably only because the girls had forced him to be civil.

"Sure," he muttered, following him over to the kitchen. He handed him a letter, "You can thank me later."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked. He folded it open and tried to read the rows and rows of tiny text.

It was a custom acceptance letter to Jentouhanzu Medical School.

"I got in?" he read it again.

Isshin nodded, with a ridiculous grin. "Yes, and you wouldn't have done if it wasn't for me! You should be very thankful, because I had them make a few changes to the course to fit you in."

"What?"

"You don't have to start until January. Everybody else is starting in the next few days, but I explained your situation. It's all okay as long as you can catch up with what you missed in just a month."

Ichigo scowled, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"It's not too hard, I assure you."

Then he walked away before the next question came. Ichigo put the letter down and walked on back to the girls.

"Right then, are we going?"

Orihime pushed the stroller into some open space. "Sure, but I might not be prepared."

"Will you two watch them while we're up there?"

The twin girls nodded simultaneously. Ichigo took her hand and led her up.

"So could you tell me which room we're going to?"

"A previously spare room."

"Wh-?"

"We're here, take a look for yourself."

She stared at the door for a moment before she pushed it open. Then as soon as she saw the contents, it was hard to hold back the tears.

The room was painted white and warm yellow. She could see two white cribs with yellow bedding and a cabinet. It was full of diapers and other baby toiletries.

Orihime took one more step inside, viewing the room from every angle in one spot. "W-what is all of this?" she whispered.

"Yuzu's plan," Ichigo laughed.

In all of the time she'd been at the hospital, the thought about a room for the twins had completely slipped past her mind. She was half-expecting to go out and buy some cribs that day.

Despite her efforts, the tears made their appearance.

"Who should I hug?" she sobbed.

He pulled her into his arms and smiled as she cried into his shoulder. It took a while for her to will herself out to take another look at the beautiful room.

"So, you like it?"

"More than like!" she exclaimed, twirling in a circle before running around the room to observe the smaller features. It beat the hospital rooms by a lot.

She held her hands by the bottom of her face, with water still trickling down her cheeks. Her face felt very warm, and she wanted to run back into his embrace again.

Suddenly, Orihime noticed a chest of drawers. She went to take a look, "What's in here?"

"Something to start them off," he smiled.

Carefully, she pulled open the top drawer. It was the only one that was filled with content, tiny baby clothes. There were mainly babygrows, white or blue.

"Wow, that's so cute..." she whispered, holding up an outfit to stare in awe. Right away, she felt the urge to get dress up her newborns.

When she had that thought, it reminded her. She always felt uncomfortable when she was away from them, even if she knew where they were. They kept her calm and controlled.

"Yeah...you can thank Yuzu for those too..." he chuckled again.

Ichigo watched her stare back at the cribs. "...You're desperate to see them sleeping in there, aren't you?"

They'd never been in real cribs, only hospital cots. They now had a home.

"I can wait a few hours yet, but I do want to see!" she giggled, her fingers tracing the wooden frame.

"...Could I just say something before we go back down to everyone?"

Orihime was a little baffled, he hadn't needed to ask. "What do you mean? Of course, you know that," her mouth curled into a smile.

"My dad gave me the news downstairs..." he said, leaving Orihime even more confused for a second with his pause, "I...got into Jentouhanzu Medical School."

Her face didn't change expression for about seven seconds. The adorable grin broke out eventually and she stepped forward and hugged him. "That's great!"

"Thanks," Ichigo held his hand at the back of her head, letting her cuddle into him. He kissed her forehead before she pulled back to release him.

"Why...did you hesitate?" she asked, a little concerned, but happy all the same.

He shrugged, "I guess I didn't know what you might think, I'm not sure about it myself. Apparently my dad got them to change the course, so I can be here with you until January."

"Oh, that's good! I was just wondering how that would work, when everything else is starting in just a few days."

She turned away, quietly sighing in relief. It stopped as his arms wrapped around her from behind, "I hope you didn't think I'd leave you alone to care for the twins by yourself, Hime," he laughed.

Her cheeks blushed. He always seemed to know what she was thinking, ...or maybe it was just obvious. "W-well..." she turned her head, "I...I can't help just thinking..."

"Sure," he kissed her cheek, now that he could reach it, "I know."

Ichigo pulled himself back again, ending their third embrace since entering the room.

Somebody started crying downstairs. "Oh!" Orihime gasped, "We'd better get back down there." Ichigo nodded and followed her lead, back to the stairs and down to the stroller.

Katsuo was wriggling around and wailing, his pacifier no longer in his mouth. Yuzu looked as if she was about to cry, Karin stood calm and relaxed. Isshin seemed to have left the room.

The parents rushed over to check what was going on, and reached a spot just a metre away from the stroller to see the end. Karin silently picked up the pacifier and put it back in his mouth.

"Don't worry," she smiled up at them. They blinked in confusion, was that really what all of the crying was about?

"Thank you!" Orihime said quickly, grinning at the younger girl. She watched as Karin shrugged it off and then look down at the baby.

"Hey, Karin?" Ichigo spoke, observing her as Hime did. She looked back up at him, "Yeah?"

"How would you like to hold your nephew?"

She blinked, nodded and laughed, all across ten seconds. "Sure!"

"Yuzu?" Orihime put her hand on the other girl's shoulder, using her other hand to gesture at Kiyoshi. She nodded excitedly.

They had held them before at the hospital, but only once. And they hadn't gotten much time with them.

Both of them ran and sat on the sofa, to hold them in a more comfortable position. Holding them while standing was a little awkward, they were heavier than they'd first thought.

Ichigo and Orihime collected a baby each from the stroller, pressing them up at their shoulders, holding the back of their heads with one hand. Neither of them took notice to the fact that they were both holding them in the exact same position.

There was a knock at the door. Ichigo passed Katsuo to Karin and went to the door, as Orihime passed Kiyoshi and sat next to Yuzu.

He swung the door open and observed the unexpected visitor. "Hi there!"

"Rangiku?"

"How's it going?" she winked, waving a hand.

Orihime peered around the corner, "Rangiku?"

"Hey, Hime!"

She got up and ran to the door, catching her friend's embrace. "What are you doing here?" she smiled.

The Shinigami pointed at her stomach, "I heard from Rukia that you had the twins last week!"

"Yes, yes," she laughed, sub-consciously leaning forward in hope that her upper-torso would shade the remainders of the bump, "they're here."

"Hey, I've seen you..."

Karin was stood a little way back from the door, still holding Katsuo. She was staring at Rangiku carefully, searching her memory.

"Hmm?" Rangiku looked over at her.

"Are...are you that 'subordinate' of Toshiro's?"

"Indeed I am!" she smiled, "And you're Ichigo's little sister, right? I remember you now! My captain really liked you!"

"W-what?" Karin blushed.

"Yep! He only said you were interesting, but I could see that he was always thinking about you," Rangiku stopped as she noticed Ichigo's scowl.

Then she saw the baby in Karin's arms, "Aww, this must be one of the twins, then!" she smiled, leaning forward to the baby.

Yuzu watched from her seat, a little curious about the blonde-haired woman. She wondered if she'd notice Kiyoshi sleeping on her lap.

"Oh, Orihime?"

"Mm?"

"I was wondering, what was that stuff you used to use? I don't remember exactly, was it red or green bean paste?"

She grinned, "Red, of course. Actually...how would you like me to make you something now? I got Ichi to buy me some for when I came back, I haven't been able to eat it for eight months!" she laughed.

Rangiku seemed to look excited.

"That would be great, Hime!"

–

Something seemed to be making her regret making that decision, now many hours ago. Orihime slumped back against the bedroom wall with a sigh.

She was exhausted. Completely exhausted.

Rangiku had stayed quite a while, trying to make the most of her day off. She had mentioned it being her last for quite a while, and it seemed necessary to take a trip to their world to see the new additions.

It was already eight. The day had flown by so quickly, she'd only just fully regained her consciousness.

Just a little earlier, she'd taken a shower and changed into some pyjamas. It was time for the twins to sleep.

Sometime after lunch, they'd tried putting them in their cribs, to let them get used to the room. Katsuo cried and Kiyoshi lay there quietly. It was always like that, the two seemed to be complete opposites, even though they were identical.

Ichigo had them downstairs, still in the stroller. They were probably drifting off already. Orihime grabbed her robe and went downstairs to bring them up.

"It's time for bed," she whispered, grinning as she crept into the dark room. The TV was the only source of light. Ichigo turned his head to look at her.

He got up and pushed the stroller halfway over to her, where she collected the sleepy-looking Katsuo.

Orihime started to make her way up as he pushed the stroller to some empty space, then picking up Kiyoshi, he followed her.

They walked slowly and quietly. Though it wasn't very late, everyone was tired from the busy day.

Isshin was out, and the only noises in the house excluding their footsteps were the quiet voices of Yuzu and Karin in their bedroom.

Her foot gently pushed open the door as she came to the Nursery room. Leaning over, she flicked on the light with a spare finger and walked further inside, to the cribs.

Katsuo looked like he was falling asleep. At last. He'd been lively all day, just kicking his legs around until he felt like stopping.

She lay his tiny body down on the soft cushioning and covered him with the blanket. A smile curved at the corners of her mouth as she confirmed her theory, that he wouldn't cry if he was tired. Carefully, she leaned down and kissed his head.

"Good night," she murmured.

Ichigo was right next to her, just laying Kiyoshi down as she turned to look at him. His eyes were still open, glistening in the moonlight from the window, and his chubby fingers wrapped around Ichigo's.

He smiled and pulled it out as his grip started to loosen. "'Night," he said quietly. His thumb traced the strands of soft hair on his head as he rubbed it gently.

Then he stepped back and looked over and back at Orihime, he grinned peacefully.

"I think I ought to be going to bed myself," she giggled in a low voice as they turned off the light, walked out and closed the door.

"Then we'd better get you there quickly, before you collapse!"

She smirked and turned around to him, gasping in surprise as he swept her up and carried her to their bedroom.

–

It was somewhere in between eleven and midnight, and the whole house was sleeping. Almost.

There was barely any noise, only faint sounds from the street outside and clocks ticking, maybe some water dripping.

Nobody with the right hearing capability was awake to look into that, though. Mostly everyone was quiet. For a few seconds after a sudden awakening, at least.

A cry echoed through half of the house, just about reaching the sleeping parents. The twins were stirring, probably hungry.

Their shrieking lasted about a minute before Orihime managed to pull herself up to sort them out. She sat up in the bed and threw her legs over the side.

Ichigo rolled onto his side next her, "...Need help?" he mumbled.

"Don't worry..." she yawned, "I've got it."

Orihime climbed to her feet and waddled away, not sure if she was heading the the right direction or not. The light was blinding her.

Right back in their bed, Ichigo rolled back onto his stomach, with half of his face buried in the pillow.

So this is where it begins.

–

Oh hey! It's been a while, right?

In case anybody was wondering, I did put an update on my profile about a break. I doubt anybody looks there, but it was the best I could do. The break was a little longer than I had planned anyway. I got a small case of writer's block. ^^'

Well I hope this chapter was satisfying enough. I'm sorry that it did take quite a while. I had to install OpenOffice anyways...cos' LibreOffice was being mean. .

In 8 hours, I'll be checking my emails. It will be Monday morning and I will be dreading another week of school. One thing that could make that a whole lot better would be a review~ Even if I get just one or two, it will make me happier than you can imagine. :)

~HellYus