AN: Hello, and welcome to the next part of my story. I think I forgot to put this before but here it is now: I don't own Bleach or the characters except Lyla. Now that that's done...I'm still having trouble trying to come up with a title so if anyone has any ideas, please tell me. Every story needs a title x3 But anyway, enjoy this chapter! And please tell me what you thought.

Chapter Four

The thought of having dinner with Byakuya made Ichigo nervous for some reason. Besides Byakuya finding out he's pregnant, there's really nothing to worry about. But the stoic man finding out would be kind of a big deal.

What would he think of Ichigo? Would he find it weird? Unnatural? What if he thinks male pregnancy is wrong? Would he be happy Ichigo's not going to be with his little sister? Probably.

Ichigo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Worrying would do no good for him or the baby. Then panic set in. 'What am I going to wear?' He mentally slapped himself. 'Get it together, dammit! Stop beinFouroch a girl!'

"Are you having any trouble, Ichigo-san?"

Ichigo jumped as Lyla appeared. "Geez, Lyla! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

The maid laughed, softly and beautifully; Ichigo liked it. "My apologies. But you seem to be very conflicted. What is the matter?"

Ichigo groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I...don't know what to wear."

Lyla laughed again in a way that made Ichigo blush in embarrassment. She had an attractive flush on her cheeks as she tried to stop her laughter. "I-I'm sorry. I just...thought that was funny."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned away. "Fine, don't help."

Lyla shook her head and smiled. "Again, I'm sorry. I did not mean to distress you. Dinner for just you and Byakuya-sama will always be informal. You can wear this kimono." She seemed to have pulled the outfit out of nowhere, but by now Ichigo had stopped questioning it.

The kimono was very casual. It had no decorations, no lining of gold or silver, but it was made out of an expensive material.

Ichigo grabbed the kimono and smiled. "Thank you."

Lyla bowed and walked out of the room to let him dress.

The orange haired teen pulled off his old clothes, putting them in a basket by the door, and slipped the kimono on, tying it closed. He turned and looked in a mirror on the wall.

The kimono was black with white stitching and outlines. It wasn't much but he loved it. It really made his hair stand out, and while he would usually hate that, he knew he wouldn't get any judgment here, especially since he wasn't the only one with crazy hair. Lyla's pink hair stood out more strongly than his orange hair. Plus, he knew Byakuya was too proud and high up to stoop as low as judging him.

Shaking his head he gathered his courage and stepped out of the room, seeing Lyla standing in wait. "Okay, I'm ready."

The maid nodded and led Ichigo to the small dining room used for informal meals like this one.

Byakuya was already sitting down at a rectangular table made to seat up to six people. Lyla bowed. "I will be back later." She left and Ichigo sat down across from Byakuya.

"You look nice." Byakuya's deep, smooth voice floated across the table.

Ichigo's eyes widened a bit and he looked down at the plain kimono. "Oh, thank you. Lyla helped pick it for me." He glanced back up and noticed Byakuya wasn't in his normal captain uniform. Instead he was also wearing a kimono, but his was a little more decorative and fancy-like. It was white with dark purple flowers on the sleeves and a black butterfly over the breast. "You look nice as well." He blushed a little at the look he got.

Byakuya nodded and motioned to one of the servants that he wanted to start dinner. A few minutes later, some servants came out of the kitchen, setting down glasses and plates. They filled the glasses with wine and pulled the covers off the trays.

"Oh! I'm sorry but I can't drink." The glass of wine in front of him was making him nervous. He didn't want anything to happen to his baby, and he unconsciously put a hand on his stomach.

Byakuya watched him for a moment before nodding, telling the servant to get Ichigo some water instead.

"Thank you." Ichigo said as the servant took the wine away. The maids and servants bowed before leaving the two men alone to eat.

It was about ten minutes later when Byakuya spoke up. "Is everything to your liking so far?"

Ichigo jumped, blushing in embarrassment. "Huh? O-oh, um, yeah. Your home is very lovely. I love the garden. I think I'll be spending most of my time there."

Byakuya hummed. "You may spend as much time out there as you like. As long as nothing interferes with my work." He said it in a way that was meant to be taken lightly. But he didn't know if Ichigo took it that way.

"Oh and I'll also need someone to stay here with me to help with my...situation. Will that be a problem?" Ichigo gave him a challenging look but Byakuya just shrugged.

"As long as they stay out of my way and aren't disruptive." He shot a warning look back.

They stared at each other for about a minute, until Ichigo smiled, looking down at the table with a slight flush on his cheeks. "Okay. I have no intention of disrupting you or your work anyway, so don't worry about that."

Byakuya's mouth twitched in an almost smile. He was confused. Watching Ichigo across from him, he sees the teen in a different light. This was the same young man who disrespected their rules and customs, yet he was one of the most respectful people he had ever met. Not to mention how kind and smart he was. And Byakuya really liked seeing that color on his cheeks. And that smile...

He sighed. 'You cant be thinking like that. He's your house guest. He's going to be staying with you for the next couple years, and you cant be having thoughts like that.' He watched Ichigo for a moment longer, then went back to his food.

They ate in relative silence, the air awkward and the tension thick. Ichigo tried to hide a yawn but Byakuya saw it. "Are you tired? Would you like to go back to your room?"

Ichigo blushes and nods shyly. "Yeah, sorry. My...situation makes me really tired."

Byakuya nodded. "That's fine. I will walk you back to your room." He stood and the servants cleared the dishes away.

Ichigo began to protest but looking into Byakuya's eyes had him shutting his mouth. He lowered his head and stood as well.

Byakuya led the way, aware of Ichigo staring into his back. 'Why does he keep staring at me like that?'

Once at the room Byakuya opened the door, letting Ichigo walk in. He bows slightly at his guest. "Goodnight, Kurosaki-san. I will see you tomorrow after work."

Ichigo waved and the black haired man walked away. Lyla appeared next to him and bowed. "Watch over him and keep him safe at all times. If he needs anything at all, give it to him, within reason."

Lyla bowed again and made her way back to Ichigo's room.

Lyla was his most trusted servant. She came from a mysterious back ground. Byakuya of course knew it, but nobody else in the world did. She had many secrets. The woman was strong, and Byakuya trusted her with his life. She was completely loyal to him, and told him she would never leave.

The captain walked into his large room; it had a bathroom connected to it, and a sitting room to the side. He untied his kimono and slipped it off, setting it on the bathroom vanity. He turned the shower on and stripped completely, stepping in under the spray of hot water. He rinsed his hair and body, thinking about his indefinite house guest.

He didn't really know how to approach the situation. The only two people he'd had over for longer than a day were his late wife Hisana and his lieutenant Abarai. But having an almost stranger live at his house for the next five years was totally new territory. Maybe they'd get to know each other over their dinners. Today's was kind of awkward, but that was to be expected.

He found himself thinking about the teen himself. His orange hair, his tall toned body, his warm brown eyes, that face he made when Byakuya told him he looked nice. He wanted to be the cause of more smiles like that.

He mentally kicked himself. 'What's wrong with you? He's just a teenager. And your guest.' It didn't matter to him that Ichigo was male. People here in Soul Society were a lot more accepting of homosexual relationships than people in the human world.

But still, it was wrong. Maybe he had a girlfriend back in his home town. Then there was the problem of his condition. The only ones who knew were Ichigo and Unohana-taichou. And that person Ichigo's going to tell. 'Maybe I can make him tell me.' Then he shook his head, discarding that thought. 'No, he'll tell me when he's ready. I want him to feel comfortable around me.'

Realizing he'd been in the shower for a while, he got out and ready for bed, laying down and falling asleep, Ichigo not far from his mind.

End Chapter Four