The night of the sleepover went surprisingly well. Orihime was a good cook in Ulquiorra's eyes, though he remembered some of the stuff she cooked while he had stalked her as an Espada. It made him cringe when he thought back to that month when he had watched her every move. Well… Almost every move. He wasn't a creep.
Eriko and Kazui got to watch television until they both passed out on the couch, and after that Ulquiorra took Orihime upstairs where they made love in his bed several times. The next morning, the kids didn't seemed fazed that they both came downstairs at the same time.
"Where did-" Eriko started to ask.
"Since you fell asleep on the couch, I had Orihime sleep in your bed." He was quick to interrupt his daughter.
Now it was two weeks later and Ulquiorra was still madly in love with the redhead. He called or texted her every day. He would stop by the cafe when he could, stealing bits of her time and kisses. Eriko didn't mind because she got sweets or played with Kazui.
He knew he was playing with fire, banking everything on this woman without thinking about the situation logically. Love made you stupid. Love made you forget everything else.
Ulquiorra knew this. He experienced this as an Espada in his final moments, using up the last of his strength to save her. Perhaps it was time to go talk to Urahara again and see if he could talk to this Mayuri, or see if he could send a message to the guy named Tsukishima that Orihime mentioned.
Orihime was feeling herself fall deeper and deeper for Ulquiorra. When they were separated, she thought of him constantly. When they were together, she felt cushioned by a warm squishy cloud of affection and lust. It was brilliant.
It was also terrifying.
On this day, a Thursday, Ulquiorra had texted her to tell her he was working late and would be taking Eriko home and then returning to work to watch over kids practicing for a student assembly the following day. She was equally disappointed and relieved. After she got that message, she pulled Riruka aside.
"Hey, um, Riruka, do you want to hang out after work tonight?"
The other Fullbringer looked at her like like she had grown a second head. "What?"
"Come hang out. With me. After close. Upstairs," Orihime replied slowly, over-enunciating each word.
Riruka sighed. "Fine," she tsked and walked away.
After close, Orihime turned out the lights in the cafe and took Riruka up to her place, grabbing a bottle of wine that she and Ulquiorra had barely touched the night before and a couple of glasses before dragging her business partner up to the roof.
"Okay, so, you're probably wondering why I asked you to come up here," Orihime started as she poured a glass for each of them.
"Let me guess… It's about that freak you're mooning over," Riruka said as she picked up her glass.
Orihime looked over the rim of her glass at Riruka sharply, swallowed her sip and countered, "First of all, not a freak. Second, yes. Kind of. I just need someone to talk to. I… I don't know why but I am really head over heels for this guy and it's kind of scary."
The pink-haired woman sniffed in disapproval. "Did you feel this way with Ichigo? Why would you even look at anyone else? Wasn't he like the love of your life?"
Orihime closed her eyes, a pinched expression appearing on her brow as she took another sip. "Yes. Well, yes and no. I had known Ichigo for years. I had time to get to know him from a distance and then as a friend and then as a comrade. I had time to develop a huge crush on him and to agonize about whether or not he liked me back, and when he finally did, it was like everything just snapped into place and I felt relieved and happy. But this… With Ulquiorra, it's totally different. This came on kind of like a storm out of nowhere. There was no questioning it; it was, 'Oh, my son's teacher is hot but he hates me' one week and the next we were making out up here."
"Ewww," Riruka said, looking around. "I hope you disinfected things after you were done. So what you are saying is that you didn't feel like this with Ichigo, it just came about that you two "loved" each other?"
"No, no," she said, scrunching up her nose. "Ichigo and I were each other's first everything. We were kind of innocent and awkward and… I don't know. I mean, being with him was great, eventually. I wouldn't have changed it, it was sweet and…" Orihime trailed off, starting to feel like she was revealing too much and blushing. "But anyway, this thing with Ulquiorra is not innocent or awkward. It's like, we both know what we want and need and he just, uh... gives it to me." Orihime couldn't stand herself right now. How was she even talking about this out loud? Her face felt like it was on fire and she had to turn around as she drained the contents of her glass and refilled it.
A scoff came from the other woman. "It was great eventually? Do you hear yourself? It was like being with him was out of convenience. Like you two were just lopped in with each other."
Orihime put a hand on her hip and turned on the other woman. "Come on. You were a virgin once. You know how it is; people aren't great at it right away. It took some time to work the kinks out. He was self-conscious. He had a lot of hang-ups. I was okay with it and after a couple months it was fine and we got good at it. It wasn't convenience, and I resent the insinuation, Riruka. I loved my husband. It was just that…" Orihime sighed. "It's just that I don't know how to frame this new relationship in contrast with that one. Ulquiorra says he loves me."
She had taken a mouthful of wine and Riruka had to turn her head away from Orihime as she spit it out, coughing. "He what? Of course I was a virgin once, but Ginjo's dead and wasn't the nicest person to be with like that. You know..." she trailed off as she tilted her head and thought about it. "Nah, never mind that's a bad idea."
Orihime's brows rose marginally at Riruka's admission but then her expression became more intense. "No, you tell me. I probably need to hear someone else's thoughts, no matter how…" she trailed off, she didn't want to say that she thought Riruka's ideas were usually stupid out loud.
"Go see Tsukishima and have him erase your memories of Ichigo."
Okay. Yeah. She was stupid. "Uh, no. That's my son's father you're talking about. Besides, Tsukishima can't do anything like that, can he?"
"Duh, do you not remember the whole Ginjo betrayed Ichigo thing? Do you not remember Ichigo taking him on? Or how you had a mental breakdown after you found out-" Riruka watched Orihime's face as she spoke. Maybe saying this stuff was a bad idea. "Maybe you need to go to the Soul Society and find Ichigo and rekindle your marriage or something."
Orihime sat down. There were a lot of thoughts swirling around in her head at the moment. "No, Riruka, do you understand how a konso works? He most likely has no memory of me or Kazui. Besides, I'm alive. He's dead. It's been two years. Both Kazui and I have been grieving for him but we both deserve a chance to heal and move on." Orihime sighed and looked up at the other woman, looking for -hoping for- a bit of understanding.
"You should have given Ichigo a chance. You could have reversed his death. I would have if I were you."
That hurt. Her sinuses started to tingle and she blinked away tears. "Don't you think I would have if I could have? It was Soul Society's decision to do the konso. I wasn't given a chance to say goodbye," Orihime choked and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she remembered the pain and betrayal she felt the night of Ichigo's death. "Rukia did the konso before I was told that he had died. It was too late. His soul had passed. I could have repaired his body but that would have been all that was there."
Orihime sniffled and took another drink. She realized that this is why she wanted to talk to Riruka. She needed to have this argument. She needed to get all this out there, and she needed someone to contradict and challenge her and make her justify her actions, otherwise Orihime would never be able to move past them. Because even though Orihime believed that there had been nothing she could have done differently, there was still always a little voice in the back of her mind casting doubt. Riruka's doubts were the same as the ones she suspected other people had about her. Orihime felt that if she could convince the Fullbringer that moving on to a new man was acceptable, then there was a chance that Ishida, the Kurosaki family, and Kazui might understand.
"But why this guy? Why not Four Eyes who has been mooning over you since you were a teenager?" Riruka asked, her tone annoyed. She wasn't even paying attention to Orihime.
Orihime rolled her eyes. It was almost compulsory when talking to this woman. "Because, he's from my past. I want a fresh start. I mean, I guess Ulquiorra is from my past too, but it's not the same. He's not part of the 'Karakura Gang', so to speak. There is just too much shared history with Ishida-kun and Ichigo. It would feel like Ichigo's ghost would be a third wheel or something. Plus, it isn't as easy or as natural with him. With Ulquiorra, things just fall into place. It feels right. I… I told him I loved him, too." She squinted a bit with this admission, expecting a backlash.
Riruka's head snapped to the side so fast that she thought she broke her neck. "YOU DID WHAT?" the pink-haired woman asked. "Oh my god, Orihime! How desperate are you? You told a complete stranger you loved him? Is his dick made of gold or something?"
Orihime whined, "I know, I know, it seems really fast, but Riruka, I know what's in my heart. Besides, I'm not getting any younger. I'm experienced now; I know what I want and what I like. And I feel like… I feel like I know him, even though I don't…" She sighed. This is the part she was struggling with. When she was with Ulquiorra it felt like the facts and timeline didn't matter, but when they were apart, reality crept in. "I don't know," she whined again, "I know how I feel, I just don't know why I feel it. He told me we had a thing when I was in Hueco Mundo. I don't remember it though. He said he was an Espada."
The other woman's mouth dropped open. She stared at her business partner. "You're fucking a Hollow? I can't even… Orihime! Think about this. Would you do this if Ichigo was still alive? Would you put his son in danger by allowing him to be around a Hollow? What if this freak decides to eat your son?"
Orihime scoffed. "Well, one, I wouldn't if Ichigo were still alive because I would be MARRIED TO ICHIGO. Two, he's not exactly a hollow anymore. His actual spiritual status is a bit of a mystery. But he's been living as a human for about sixteen years. He has a human daughter, for goodness' sake. He's not going to eat Kazui. He's his teacher. Three, Ichigo was a hollow too, lest you forget!"
"You're dumb. This guy is gonna do nothing but break your heart because you're being an idiot. You're jumping into this too soon. How long have you known him?"
"According to him, since I was sixteen. As far as I know, since the end of March," she answered. This wasn't looking good for convincing Riruka.
She wasn't impressed. "You're fucking the guy who hurt Ishida and Tatsuki. You're playing house with the guy who fucking killed-" Riruka almost said it. She had heard the stories about the winter war. How Ichigo had died twice while Orihime was simpering to an Arrancar. Grimmjow had told her all about it. Nel had told her how Orihime was so scared and didn't help Ichigo. She just cried. "Find someone normal."
"You're telling me to stay single for the rest of my life. I'm not normal. Kazui is not normal. We can't rope someone else into this craziness. This is normal for us." Orihime closed her eyes for a minute, taking slow, deep breaths, just to calm down. Then it hit her; what Riruka said about Tsukishima and Ulquiorra. "Wait a minute, Riruka, I need you to explain some things."
"OH! Look at the time… I need to go home and feed my pet rock," Riruka said. She put down the wine glass and practically ran off of the roof and down the stairwell.
Orihime waited a day. She waited another day. By the time Kazui's Kendo class rolled around on Saturday, she was tired of waiting. She took the day off again and drove her son into Naruki City, and as the kids were doing warm ups around the Cifer property, she laid a question down on her… boyfriend.
"So, Ulquiorra. I have a question for you," she kind of chewed on her words, speaking through the side of her mouth as they stood side by side, watching the kids limber up.
He gave the woman a side-eyed glance. "Yes?" he said in a plain voice. "Ask and I will answer."
"Who did you kill during the Winter War?" she asked without any kind of special inflection.
If Ulquiorra was eating something or drinking something, he would have choked. As it were, he stopped breathing for a moment. How did one answer this question? How could he just-Of course… "Two Shinigami in the Dangai and Ichigo Kurosaki… not once but twice."
Orihime raised her eyebrows at the first admission and laughed at the second. "You did not, obviously. Are you trying to pull my leg?"
"Believe me or not. I know what happened during the winter war, while you do not. Your precious husband wanted to erase all existence of me from your mind," Ulquiorra replied. He turned his head and looked at Orihime. "Grimmjow put me in a Caja Negacion so that I wouldn't take you back to your quarters. Don't you remember a big black bat?"
Orihime scoffed. "No. And Grimmjow put Tsukishima in a Caja whatever it is. And thanks a lot for speaking poorly of my dead husband," she rolled her eyes but it was more of a mild scolding than actual offense. "But, still, none of it makes any sense. If you killed him twice, how did he come back to life?"
"You did it," Ulquiorra replied. He folded his arms over his chest. He was becoming tired of this merry go round of Tsukishima did this and Tsukishima did that. How could he make her understand there was no fucking Tsukishima during the winter war? "Maybe today isn't the best day for this. Perhaps you should seek out Urahara and this Tsukishima."
The woman twisted her lips to the side and then bit at her thumbnail as she considered Ulquiorra's recommendations. After a moment she hummed and said, "Maybe you're right. But answer me one thing, why would Ichigo want to erase you from my memories?"
Ulquiorra considered her question carefully before turning back to watch Kazui and Eriko face each other. They both were trying to stay absolutely still for fifteen minutes today. He studied them. "I cannot answer this. I am not Kurosaki."
Orihime sighed. He was right of course. Even if he had suspicions, they would only be speculative. She took a step closer to him, extending her little finger out to wrap around his discreetly. "No, you're not," she murmured, a small smile on her lips.
He stiffened when he felt her touch but relaxed. "Why the questions, Woman?"
"Riruka. I had a drink with her a couple days ago and we got into it about our relationship. She's not very supportive, not that I expected her to be. She's antagonistic by nature and she had a huge crush on Ichigo. Anyway, I told her about us, like, kind of a lot about us," she paused and swallowed. "She said a few things that didn't makes sense. Like something about Tsukishima and you…"
Letting out a small noise of disgust, Ulquiorra shook his head. Of course it was that loud mouth, lazy woman who had put ideas into Orihime's head. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her that I love you?" she said, unsure about how he would feel with her outing their relationship.
"And she disapproves of our relationship although there is nothing but warmth and affection?" Ulquiorra asked. "Where is her happy little relationship? She seems like a bitter woman who will remain alone for the rest of her days."
Orihime grinned at his reaction, and nudged his arm with her shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about Riruka. She has her pet rock to keep her warm at nights," she turned her grin toward his face then with a small giggle, her eyes closing nearly to crescents.
"So I am correct," he said peeking at her. "I think it's time you talked to either Ishida or Urahara."
Orihime nodded. He was right. They had been together for a month already and she was still hesitant to tell Kazui anything, mainly because he might have questions she didn't have answers for. "Who do you think I should start with?" she asked, making an uncertain face. Both possibilities had a downside.
He raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "If you'd like I could accompany you to both or either. Unless you'd like to go alone. I would start with Urahara and then Ishida. Ishida will lie to you because he wants to be in my place."
Orihime wasn't sure she knew what he meant. "Your place?"
"He wants to be the one who makes love to you. He wants to be teaching Kazui things. He has always had a thing for you," Ulquiorra said. He gave her a heavy look; one that implied much more than what he was saying.
Orihime's lips drew into a flat frown. She knew he was right, but it was much more convenient for her to look the other way. And honestly, had Ulquiorra never come into her life, and had a few more years passed, she might have given her Quincy friend a shot. She finally shook her head. "I'm glad it's you," she said after a quiet minute. "I want you to come with me to Urahara's. If he is unhelpful, we'll try Ishida."
Ulquiorra gave her a nod. "Go inside and make yourself comfortable. I have a Kendo lesson to conduct."
"Yes, Cifer-sensei," she said with a shallow bow and a smirk.
Ulquiorra stormed into Urahara's shoten a very pissed off man. He was angry and he wanted answers. "I know you're here you fox bastard!"
"Ah! Cifer, don't you know it's impolite to just barge into someone's home, yell for them and insult them?" Urahara had a smile on his mouth but Ulquiorra could not tell if it reached his eyes since the hat he always wore was pulled down low.
"I want answers. Where is Tsukishima?"
"The Fullbringer?"
"Yes," Ulquiorra spat.
"Um, as far as I know he's dead."
"DEAD?"
Urahara nodded. "He died but was brought back to life by Captain Kurotsuchi. They helped out in the Quincy Blood War."
"How many fucking wars did you all fight in? How many wars did my woman fight in?"
Flick. The fan lazily swayed back and forth as the smile got bigger. "Your woman? I assume you mean Orihime Kurosaki?"
"What is this Book of the End? How do I reverse its effects?"
Snap. The fan closed and the blond man frowned. "No one is completely sure how Fullbringer powers work. I mean, I studied one of their leaders from afar but-I don't know Cifer. I can tell you're frustrated with my answer."
Frustrated wasn't the goddamned word for it. The green-eyed man brought his hand up to where the other could see it and put his fingers on that round little ball in the web of his hand between his index and thumb. "I want to see this Tsukishima, now."
"Now, Cifer, let's not be hasty. You pop those and you'll destroy the gigai, my shop, and half of this town," Urahara cautioned.
"Good, at least I'd be taken to Soul Society. I know I could get to this guy," Ulquiorra stated. He wasn't going to play around with this. He leveled a stare at the other man. "Did you have anything to do with Orihime's memory loss stunt that Kurosaki and Ishida concocted?"
"What? Absolutely not. I'm into schemes that are for the greater good, not to hurt people. I sell sweets and Shinigami accessories. That's it."
This made Ulquiorra snort. That was pure bullshit if he ever heard it. "Really? You could have told me that the gigai I had was equipped to reproduce. That hurt me. You could have done something to instill apathy in my brain so I didn't have to deal with every emotion I had to wade through."
"You're still equipped to reproduce."
"What?" The word boomed through the shoten. "What do you mean? I told you to take those things out!"
Urahara shrugged. "C'mon Cifer, do you think I let you roam Japan unsupervised? I've kept tabs on you. You're about as social as a lost sock."
Ulquiorra wrinkled his face up at that comparison. What did that mean?
"You've had no partner nor had any interest since you've become human-"
"I AM NOT HUMAN. I AM STILL A HOLLOW. I JUST CHOSE TO KEEP MYSELF IN THIS THING!" Ulquiorra shouted. "I am only human because my daughter requires it of me. She is the only reason I've not gone back to Hueco-"
"Is she really? Because there's a redhead, about yay tall… Sound familiar?" Urahara nodded before he shuffled down the hall deeper into the building.
Ulquiorra had to follow him. "So you just decided since I wasn't romantically or sexually active to leave that stuff in there?"
"Oh, that. It's not actually a feature of the gigai. Your spirit-your soul is strong and virile. I've theorized that you gave Eriko a piece of yourself. You gave her a piece of your power," the blond said as he sat down at a low table. "Tea?"
Tea? The guy was telling him he had passed down his hollow powers to his daughter and he was offering tea? Fucking tea? "You're not answering me plainly," Ulquiorra pointed out.
"Cifer, you can still reproduce. I am unable to alter your spirit properties. I am only able to restrain them to the best of my abilities. Making you sterile is beyond my capabilities. Of course, you and Orihime have been careful, right?"
"Go fuck yourself Urahara. I want answers about this Tsukishima and whatever power he has. When I come back I will have Orihime with me and you will tell us about this Book of the End. If not… I'm breaking the dampeners and you're taking me to Soul Society."
-We need to talk.
"You can't be serious." The Quincy had removed his glasses and was pinching the bridge of his nose. The pink-haired Fullbringer was one of his least favorite people to begin with -she was the reason he had avoided Halcyon Cafe and Gifts since its grand opening- and now she was in his office telling him that his dear friend and best friend's widow was fucking the guy who had killed Ichigo seventeen years ago?
"Yeah, what, are you hard of hearing?" Riruka asked with a curled lip, snapping bubble gum in her mouth.
Ishida cleared his throat. "Well, uh, be that as it may, what do you want me to do about it?" he asked, the vein in his forehead visible and his jaw clenching.
"I don't know. Ask her out? Stop them? What if Ichigo comes back-"
"He's not coming back," Uryu said, cutting her off.
"How can you be so sure?"
Ishida sighed, grabbing a cloth and cleaning the lenses on his glasses before putting them back on. "Because I've met him since… Since he passed on. He's not the same. He doesn't remember."
Riruka's brow wrinkled in confusion. "How could he not remember? He's Ichigo fucking Kurosaki. He can do whatever he wants."
Nobody ever considered that Uryu was hurt by his friend's death. No one ever thought about how it might pain him that his only real friend in the world was lost to him forever. He snapped. "Well, he must have chosen to forget us, then, because that's what he did! He's living it up in Soul Society on the fast track to glory and fame! He doesn't remember shit about what we did or who we are. He doesn't remember his wife and son. He doesn't remember me!" He turned away from the obnoxious woman and looked out the window, taking a slow, deep breath. "I think you should leave, Dokugamine-san."
"But, the Espada…"
"I will look into it. Good day."
Orihime had just finished hanging a load of laundry and scolding Kazui for watching television instead of finishing his math homework when she saw her phone light up. There was a message from Ulquiorra. They needed to talk? She hoped it wasn't anything bad.
- I'm available. Do you want to meet?
Ulquiorra was at the drugstore buying something. He had to know. He simply had to know. His phone chimed. Pulling out the device, he sighed as he tapped out a message to her.
- I will be at your house soon. I have something for you… I have something to tell you.
Oh, dear. Those were fertile words for wild speculation. Soon couldn't come soon enough. What could he possibly have for her? Flowers? A break-up note? A… A puppy? She hoped not. That was the last thing she needed.
- Okay, I'll be waiting.
It took him less than fifteen minutes to run from the drugstore to the cafe. He texted Eriko on his way over, telling her to make sure she drank fluids and such. The girl didn't want to go anywhere because she didn't feel well. It was for the best, though, that he did this alone.
- I'm here. I need to talk to you in private.
"Kazui, Cifer-sensei is here. Could you please go send him up? You can finish your homework in the cafe. He and I need to speak privately," she said sternly, giving Kazui the impression that he would be the topic of conversation.
The boy nodded and grabbed his books before trotting downstairs. He saw Ulquiorra outside the shop and opened the door. "Um, Sensei? Mom's upstairs, she's ready to talk to you now," he said, looking scared, and praying to the Soul King that Ulquiorra would only have good things to say about him.
Ulquiorra gripped the plastic bag in his hands tightly as he walked up the stairs. He knew the trick to Orihime's door, which came open smoothly for him. "Woman?"
"Hello?" she said, padding into the open kitchen/living room from her bedroom. "What did you want to talk about?" It was then that she saw the bag in his hand. "Would you like me to take that for you, or do you want to set it down? Can I get you a drink? Water? Tea?" she was clearly somewhat anxious.
"Um, please take it," he said, holding the bag out to her. "I went to Urahara's today, to get some answers for myself."
Orihime took the bag and placed it on the counter and then got some barley tea out of the refrigerator and poured two glasses. She turned around and gave one to Ulquiorra, kissing his cheek briefly and then backing up so she could see him clearly. "Did you find any?"
He felt lost. He felt shaken. Ulquiorra started pacing, rubbing the fingers of one hand together. When that did not calm him down he started twisting a lock of his hair. "Eriko is not human. I passed my powers onto her-well some of them."
Orihime made a concerned face toward him but wasn't exactly shocked by this news. "Well, that doesn't necessarily make her not human. There are a lot of possibilities. She could be a Fullbringer, like me. We get our ability through contact with hollows," she supplied, trying to give him hope.
He stopped in his tracks and looked at Orihime. "She is my child. She has part hollow in her...What kind of power do you think our child would have?"
"Uh, hypothetically, I would guess Fullbringer, maybe a bit more powerful than most, but he or she would still be human. Isshin Kurosaki was -is- a Shinigami, and he had three human children. One has no spiritual awareness at all. Karin has a little. Ichigo inherited his hollow from his mother. She had been infected by one of Aizen's most powerful early hollow experiments. It was passed down from her to Ichigo, which as we all know just made him insanely powerful. So that's a possibility, I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Look in the bag."
Orihime raised her brows in acceptance and took the plastic bag by the handles, opening it up and looking inside. "Oh. Oooooooh." She didn't say anything else, looking up at Ulquiorra in a silent question. Her mind was otherwise blank at the moment, trying unsuccessfully to come to terms with the fact that there was a pregnancy test inside that bag.
"Urahara did not remove what I requested him to remove because he didn't think I'd find anyone." Ulquiorra looked at Orihime, a dead serious expression on his face.
Still unable to wrap her mind around the possibility, she focused on a side issue. "More likely he doesn't have the capability to do it, crazy old wizard," she muttered. Then she started to think. This was starting to sink in. She needed to look at her calendar. "Just a moment," she murmured, walking across the kitchen to look at the Karakurarizers calendar that hung on the wall above the trash bin. She flipped the calendar page back to May. She flipped it back to the present. Shit. She couldn't remember precisely, but it was very well possible.
"Do you think…?" She asked as she turned around to stare at him. She didn't dare imagine it might be possible.
He shrugged. "I have no clue. That is why I bought the test. I would like for you to take it now. I need peace of mind."
Orihime nodded rapidly, slamming her cold tea and grabbing the bag again with shaky hands. "Be right back," she said. She disappeared into the bathroom. She opened the box, read the instructions, and took the test, recapping it after she had provided the required sample. She flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and walked back out to the kitchen where Ulquiorra stood and gave it to him the test stick. "You'll know in about ninety seconds," she said.
"Woman? Are you okay? What do we do if it is positive?" Ulquiorra asked, looking down at her.
She gave him a nervous half-smile. "Then we have a baby," she answered.
He opened and closed his mouth several times but couldn't find his voice. He wasn't around for Yuko's pregnancy. He wasn't around for Eriko's birth. He had no clue what to do. Seconds ticked by and he began pacing again.
Orihime was not going to be the one to look. He had brought the test. He had wanted her to take it. She did not want to be the one to break the news to him. He looked like he might collapse of stress as it was now. When the time was gone, she said softly, "You can check, now."
A/N: OOooooh! Surprised? What do you think will happen? Also, poor Ishida, right? Thanks for reading!