...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper...

Merely minutes had passed by, and Tatsuki was up from the floor; aware that her daughter may ask some questions. At least then, she wanted to look somewhat presentable when Emiko confronted her about the man, the sudden outburst of emotion…she quickly rushed to the bathroom.

"Ohhh…" she groaned at the poor looking woman staring back at her. Eyes puffy, face red, hair mussed up, but most of all, the now scabby area where she bit down in the corner of her bottom lip. "That's just great…" she sighed as she touched the area. "I have a job interview today…and you just had to pick today of all days to show up….jackass …"
"Hey mom…" a younger voice called from the hallway, "Mr. and Mrs. Ishida are back!"

--

Emiko was relieved to know her mother was ok…relatively speaking, of course. Personally, she would want to know who that man was, and what kind of person he was to have such a tough woman break down and cry—this was a black belt in several styles, and one who won a first place trophy with a fractured hand!

But no…she wouldn't want to that to her. Emiko decided instead, she'd rather wait for her mother to tell her. The doorknob behind her began to jiggle slightly, catching her attention. The lock of the front door clicked, and after some hesitation, swung open as an orange haired woman stumbled in. In her arms was a bundled up baby; sleeping soundly.

"Whoopsie, heheh…" she giggled from embarrassment. Orihime nearly ran towards the surprised teenager and wrapped a free arm around her in a half hug.

"Hey mom…" Emiko laughed out, "Mr. and Mrs. Ishida are back!" Almost taken off balance by the older woman's childish embrace, Emiko hugged her back as they girlishly giggled.

"Come on Emiko, don't call me that!" she waved her hand back and forth, "call me, 'Orihime', or 'Auntie Orihime'…better yet, just 'Auntie'!"

A strained groan sounded out from the front door, as a raven haired man tugged in several large luggage suitcases, while draped in several other bags as well. "So, where's my sweet lil' Setsuko?" She looked about expectantly, wondering why her young daughter wouldn't come to greet her.

"Knowing her, she's probably over at Aiko's…" Emiko explained. Trying to get Kon again… she sighed but smiled slightly at the thought. Finally, after several trips in and out through the door, the raven haired man returned with a bottle in his hand, his eyes hidden behind his glasses.

From the corner of her eye, Emiko noticed a third adult approach from the hallway. She managed to clean up very well within the short time span, though the wound on her bottom lip was very prominent. "Hey there Orihime," she greeted the orange haired woman, "Ury—OWZA!!"

--

The four of them stood in the foyer for the next few seconds in complete silence after her abrupt yelp. It was only when a muffled snort from Tatsuki broke the awkwardness. Her face twitched; a tear ran down her cheek….and then she burst out into full laughter.

Uryuu's head dropped in shame has Tatsuki's cackling continued, only to sink lower when the young teen gasped upon looking at him.

It had taken a few more minutes since the single parent had burst into laughter, (so much that she crumpled onto the ground, grasping at her sore sides). But after recovering, the four were seated at the dining table, the sleeping infant resting in Orihime's gentle arms. "I know, isn't it cute?" the auburn woman chirped.

"Yeah uh….sure…" Tatsuki barely said from lack of breath. She took the time to adjust her moping hand carefully to cover her bottom lip. "Just….how the heck did it happen, Uryuu?" Orihime was busily poking her husband's orange cheek as he adjusted his glasses, and sighed from the recollection of memories flooding back.

"…-"

"-He tried to surprise me by getting a fake tan…" Orihime energetically interrupted.

"But…didn't you guys go to Puerto Rico for your vacation?" Tatsuki watched incredulously at the raven haired doctor; never knowing any kind of wild side coming from him since knowing him in high school…especially since she tries to ignore the stories Orihime tries to tell her, anyways.

"Like I said, 'cute'!" Orihime's smile shone wide on her face; just not as bright as Uryuu's fake skin tone was.

--

"Ururu-chan…it's your turn." The hat wearing blonde said softly.

"Oh, sorry…" walking in from another room, a dark blue haired young woman brought in a tray, on top were three cups full of hot tea around a single metal teapot. "Where did Mr. Tessai stop?"

"On Boardwalk…" the large glasses wearing man stated in his deep voice. The sliding noise of the front shop door did nothing to distract the three from their game, although Kisuke decided to take a sip of his ginseng. After debating whether to buy or not, the large bespectacled man decided to purchase the lot, and handed the pair of dice to the violet eyed woman.

"Hmmm…if only Jinta was here…we could've played some charades…" Uruhara mused with a sigh.

"But he has a family to raise, and a job as well…" Tessai said while reading the newest information card to his real estate empire.

"Yeah…and Yoruichi loves kids…" Uruhara sighed again.

"Keiichi's just like his dad..." she giggled despite haven to rub her head from memories of a painful babysitting job. Before rolling the dice, Ururu's eyes glanced up to the shadowy silhouette behind the sliding paper door disappear to the other room. "Why don't we have Mr. Abarai…?" Before she could finish, the blonde man raised a hand to stop her question.

"I don't think he's in the mood; let's just give him some rest." Kisuke said cryptically as always. "Sometimes a man just has to figure out what to do on his own…anything we try to do to help may be taken as pity…" A soft sniffle caused him to pause, and turn his glance on the large mustachioed man dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

"Mr. Uruhara…sniff…"

"Th-that's ok Tessai…" the blonde man smirked nervously, "I don't need a hug….seriously…" he chuckled while backing away from the large man, now immediately wishing that Jinta was around to provide as decoy.

Review Response Corner

(Oi, this is Hiyori…I'm not Typewriterman's mascot or anything, I'm just here to respond to some reviews…looks like he finally added a new chapter, instead of making up some new story. I think he's just trying to seem cooler by writing a whole bunch of them, without updating at all! Anyways, if you've been bored enough to notice, some of his stories have been deleted, while a lot more—well, three—have been put on hiatus. He better have, those stories had no plot whatsoever!!)

Ireally like it, 'cuz it's really interesting and I really want to know what happens next, and who that man is. -dragonlayer

(That woman's such a drama queen…I've done all my own stunts you know!!)

Oh dear. It looks like Tatsuki is in quite the drama, ne? I wonder who Emiko's father was... if that was her father, and I get the distinct feeling that it was.
Update soon! -RadiantBeam

(Some guy appears, and that's drama? Typical human…)

Hey cool! I kinda had the feeling it was going to be him! It's so cool! I hope you get to continue!
Update soon!! -MitsukaiMizuno

(Bah…he made fun of my Supa Walker when I showed it to him…he doesn't know the definition…)