Surprisingly enough, it doesn't take much effort for Soul Society to be informed on whatever drama was taking place in Karakura town. It all started when Renji decided to visit a certain human female when he stumbled upon the shock faces of Urahara and Yoruichi as they were chatting about some hybrid child. He couldn't help but overhear the words 'Ulquiorra', 'Orihime', and 'pregnancy' in the same sentence, causing his jaw to hit the ground. When asking the older Shinigami for clarification, Yoruichi had tried to keep Urahara quiet but he couldn't help but grin behind his fan as he told Renji everything.

"Keep this to yourself," Yoruichi had warned, suspicious over the test results.

And Renji did, while quickly visiting his human lover for that afternoon. But the moment he went back to Soul Society and Yumichika and Ikkaku got him drunk, his mouth went off about it.

From there, the rumor flew fast…

"I expected better from her," Nanao said, taking a sip of her tea, "It's one thing getting pregnant before being in an established relationship, but it's another thing getting pregnant by someone who's our enemy,"

"It's strange indeed," Isane said, "Do you think he forced her?"

"Seemed consensual from what Renji said," added Kiyone.

"Rangiku should know more," Nanao said, "She's always in the human world,"

The rumors didn't stop there. It spread throughout Soul Society like wildfire. Even those who didn't even know her spoke about it.

"Whoa, she's human and he's a Hollow!?"

"She must be really sadistic!"

"I've seen her once, actually. Back when Rukia was on trial. She was pretty cute. Shame that she's wasting her life with a Hollow!"

"Do you think this was also part of Aizen's plan?"

"I think the child will be incredibly strong! Maybe we should act quickly and bring the child over once it's born. Last thing we want is some human-hollow hybrid going to war with us!"

Nemu sat still as her captain walked back and forth his lab. He shifted objects around the room: the bed in this corner, some potions right next to it. Just in case. Towels...many towels...as females tended to bleed a lot during childbirth.

The excitement of knowing that in nine months (or maybe ten, who knew when it came to these situations) there would be a human-hollow hybrid child had Captain Kurotsuchi rearranging his entire lab. Nemu watched, wanting to ask her captain several questions:

How would he get the human girl to come over to Soul Society to give birth?

What if the Espada doesn't allow it?

Would she have to kill the Espada so her captain could get his hands on the girl?

Nemu readied for that battle. Afterall, her captain was the type of man in doing whatever possible in order to get his hands on what he wanted; even if it meant forcing her to fight one of Aizen's former top Espadas.

After arriving from Urahara's, telling Rukia that she wanted to be alone, Orihime sat on the floor of her bedroom and cried. Everything felt unreal. One moment she was having fun with a man she loved. The next she was staring at a pregnancy stick, realizing that her naiveness into sex and protection led her to this mess. And although she wasn't some teenager, she still wasn't ready in such a life-changing event. She needed more time…

More time so she could finish college and get a good job…

More time in taking vacations with Ulquiorra; experiencing new things.

But now, she had no choice but to focus her attention on preparing for a pregnancy. She didn't even know where to start…

There was a soft knock behind her door, and she slowly got off the floor and walked over. Sad hazel eyes met Tatsuki's worried face. The girls didn't say anything; instead, Tatsuki walked inside and hugged her tightly. The action had Orihime suddenly crying even more, and she buried her face in her friend's shoulder.

"Shh, it's OK," Tatsuki said, rubbing her back soothingly.

"H-How d-did y-you kn-"

"Rukia told me. Don't worry, only her and I know. We just want to make sure that you're OK,"

"...T-Tasuki...I-I d-don't know...wh-wh-what to do…"

"It's OK. We're here for you. We'll help you, no matter what."

The blue particles shifted within the capsule, and Ulquiorra watched carefully. His daily job consisted of nothing but dealing with dangerous chemicals to be used for warfare. As reliance on the western world wavered, Japan needed something in case of a World War III. With enemies around them constantly making threats, they needed something - an ultimate weapon.

Personally, Ulquiorra could care less about human casualty due to his invention. Regardless of what the weapon was, humans would always find a way to annihilate each other.

"What do you want, Grimmjow?"

The sixth Espada stood on the other side of the table, shaking his head.

"You forgot to wrap your damn cock, didn't you?"

At such a bold question, Ulquiorra raised his head. "What are you talking about?"

"You got the bunny pregnant, dammit! What happened to the box of condoms I gave you?"

There was a strange silence between the two men, Grimmjow glaring as Ulquiorra glanced at an empty spot on the table.

"Where did you get this information?"

"Nel told me, and Rangiku told her. Apparently, Orihime took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. So congratulations, you're going to be a dad,"

The Fourth Espada didn't respond to that. Instead, he turned around and began to exit the lab.

"Where are you going?" Grimmjow asked, groaning as the man didn't even bother to reply.

Ulquiorra reached Orihime's apartment complex in less than two minutes, mostly because he left the vehicle parked inside the building for Grimmjow to eventually take home and used Sonido.

He immediately felt several Reaitsu's from inside the woman's home; Nel, Rangiku, Rukia, and a human by the name of Tatsuki. Orihime had spoken about her frequently. With a flick of his wrist, he opened the door and quickly glanced at the sun-haired beauty. She sat between Nel and Tatsuki with her head bowed down. He didn't need to see her face to know that she had been crying.

"Didn't take long for Grimmjow to tell him," Rukia muttered, getting up from the floor, "I think we should give these two some privacy,"

The ladies left, Tatsuki giving him a small glare before closing the door behind her.

Orihime didn't lift her head, keeping her eyes down. She heard him walk across the room and sit next to her.

"Orihime,"

She didn't move or respond, afraid that her tears would betray her and she would burst out crying.

Ulquiorra shifted closer to her, their legs now touching, as he wrapped an around her and brought her head to his shoulder.

The walls around her broke, and she suddenly started crying. He held her closely, rubbing her arm as she cried on his chest. For now, it was the only thing he could do. He knew the type of girl she was. He waited for her to calm down.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, wiping the tears away.

"There is nothing for you to be sorry about," he said, "If anything, I should be the one asking for forgiveness,"

"I-I pushed you...into it..."

"I failed to properly protect you,"

She suddenly smiled, looking up at him through teary red eyes. "If we're both sorry, then I guess we don't need each other's apologies?"

He kissed the top of her head before resting his forehead against her. "I should have taken better precaution with you, but I didn't. And for that, I am sorry."

For some reason, she didn't want to accept his apology. Not because it didn't feel sincere, but because somewhere in the back of her mind, a small yet growing thought had started emerging. And that thought was around the fact that they were able to create life despite their differences.

"I hope it's a girl,"

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at her, and she continued.

"I like to imagine you walking around with a little girl," Orihime said, her imagination suddenly going wild, "She'll have your eyes a-and...you'll train her, right!? You'll teach her how to be strong,"

"Of course," he replied, brushing her hair with his fingers.

She blinked rapidly, and he gave her a questioning look.

"I just imagined her getting a boyfriend and you scaring him away! She'll bring him home one day and you'll just stare at him! You'll give him that intense stare,"

He didn't say anything at that, although deep down, he knew that would be true. The woman knew him well indeed.

For the rest of the day, the two discussed their future. Ulquiorra told her that if she wished to terminate the pregnancy, he wouldn't hold any hard feelings. Nonetheless, seeing her disappointed face, he also clarified how he wouldn't be opposed in starting a family. Afterwall, it was bound to happen.

It was soon nighttime and Orihime prepared dinner for them. While she did, the Espada analyzed the pregnancy stick, turning it around several times. After some time, he instructed her to take another test at least three weeks from now.

As the weeks passed by and Orihime resumed her classes, she received a bizarre visit from Captain Kurotsuchi and his vice captain, Nemu. She became uncomfortable the moment she opened the door and saw them, knowing that whatever they had in mind was more for their own benefit and not good intentions.

The man, whose eyes continuously roamed up and down her body as he spoke, began to make her offers and support. In return, all she had to do was stay in Soul Society throughout and after the birth of the half-hollow child she carried.

Shocked by this request, the human girl stood still as she tried to form her words into a no. But the look Nemu was giving her made her afraid. Nemu was a strange woman, and had incredible strength.

Luckily for her, Ulquiorra showed up right by her side, immediately inquiring what the Shinigamis wanted. Captain Kurotsuchi answered, being careful with his words in order to convince the Espada. But Ulquiorra could see through the Soul Reaper's sinister smirk, and with a final warning, gave him a firm no.

Days after that incident, Orihime was surprised by another visitor: Uryu. Ever since coming back from Las Vegas, the two of them had not spoken. She was well aware of how her relationship with Ulquiorra hurt him, but didn't know what to do to make him feel better. The gossip of her pregnancy wasn't helping either, as he seemed lost and confused. Nonetheless, he congratulated her and told her that she would make a good mother. Before she was able to thank him and invite him over for tea, he left.

The three weeks passed, and the couple were at Urahara's. Orihime had a pharmacy bag with five different pregnancy tests. As Urahara asked the Espada endless questions about how he felt regarding fatherhood, Orihime took the tests. To her astonishment, they all came back negative. She grabbed a sixth test, one created by Urahara himself, and gasped when it came negative as well. How was this possible? Did she take it wrong? Did she suffer a miscarriage?

She exited the bathroom and Ulquiorra and Urahara looked at her immediately.

"Well?" the nosy Shinigami asked, grinning behind his fan.

"It's...negative…"

"All of them?"

"Yes,"

"That's what I figured," Ulquiorra said, turning his attention to the Shinigami, "It was impossible for the first test to come back positive,"

"Then...how come it did?" Orihime asked, unsure of how to feel at the moment.

"The test you took was created years ago. I suspected that it was expired, and faulty," Ulquiorra said, those green eyes narrowing at the Shinigami.

Urahara giggled, hiding his face behind his fan. "Well, as I said before, it's been a while since anyone asked for a pregnancy test from me. And I must admit, the product itself hadn't been tested either… You can say that it was in, uh, beta phase..."

"You had the woman crying for no reason,"

"Haha...w-well...at least you both know what to do next time to avoid any accidents. How about a free box of condoms for all your troubles?"

Ulquiorra ignored the man while grabbing Orihime's hand and leaving the shop. The two walked hand in hand back home.

"Are you disappointed?" he asked, eyeing her.

"Not necessarily. I was actually accepting it all...and thinking about motherhood. Now that we know the truth, I do feel relieved."

They walked in silence for a bit longer, enjoying the nice breeze passing between them.

"But, I do hope that when we do have a child, it's a girl and she has your eyes,"

He took notice of the blush on her face, and he stopped walking. With her hand still in his, he pulled her towards him.

"As well as your hair and smile," he said gently, giving her a deep kiss afterwards.

The rest of the day was spent eating a large bowl of ice cream and watching a horror movie at home. For a moment, Orihime contemplated on texting her friends and telling them the news, but decided that she would tell them later on. That could wait, considering that telling her friends right now wouldn't do anything in regards to the gossip that was going around between her and Ulquiorra.

Lying her head on his lap, she cherished this moment with him instead, excited for the many more to come.

Many Days Later…

"Did you hear!? The human girl isn't pregnant?!"

"What!? So, she's single?"

"No, she's still with that Espada."

"Aw, damn it,"

Thank you all for reading and leaving reviews! Overall, I hope you all enjoyed this fic! Have a great day!