Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter Twelve

A week later….

Graveyard

Clouds blocked out the sun, further dampening Isshin's mood. He'd taken his trip by himself. Isshin didn't want the others to accompany him; this was something he wanted to do alone. Despite his goofy exterior, he was torn and he needed to see the person who was the source of his conflict. He strolled past multiple tombstones until he made it to the one that matter.

The name on the tombstone was that of Masaki Kurosaki, Isshin's wife.

"Hey, Masaki…" Isshin greeted as if he was speaking to his actual wife. He reached into his pocket and felt the item he'd been carrying around for some time. "I'm sorry I…I haven't come by more often…." With his other hand he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cigarette before putting it back. He didn't feel like smoking.

Kneeling down in front of the tombstone, Isshin sighed. "I know…I know that I promised after you were gone that I wouldn't love another, to hold someone else in my arms. I broke that promise in the worst of ways." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the granite slab. "I gave into temptation and took a young girl to bed. And even though I knew my promise to you, I continued to see this girl." He couldn't fight back a tear as his emotions bubbled over. "I thought for so long that I couldn't be happy unless I had you. But the more time I spent with this girl the more I became happy."

He slumped back and stared up at the dark sky, tears falling down his face. "I didn't count on this. I'm so sorry for breaking my promise. I know I love you. And I always will. But I love Orihime." He wiped his eyes and sighed again, reaching once more for the item in his pocket. "I wish you were really here. I wonder what you would say…."

"She'd say to stop blubbering like a walrus."

Isshin quickly rose to his feet and whirled around to see Ryuken standing behind him. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Paying my respects. I come here often to see my wife as well." In the Quincy's hand was a bouquet of roses. Pulling one out, he walked over and laid it at Masaki's grave. "She was my friend too. By the way," Ryuken lit up a cigarette and turned to the conflicted man. "Isn't it a bit of an oxymoron for a Soul Reaper to talk to the dead?" he asked sarcastically.

Giving a loud huff, Isshin composed himself and crossed his arms. "I've been living as a Human for years. It's only natural that I picked up Human habits. Isn't that why you're here?"

"Fair enough." Ryuken took a long puff before turning to Masaki's grave. "You were talking about that girl you're dating. Is the crying really necessary? You know what Masaki would say if she were here," he put out his cigarette on another grave, "she'd say that there's nothing wrong with you being happy."

The Kurosaki father was silent for a moment before looking up at his friend. "You think if she were here instead of me she'd find someone else?"

"Life doesn't give us "What Ifs", Isshin. You know better than that. But…" Ryuken looked back at Masaki's grave and shrugged. "If she were to find another man, I couldn't blame her. Quincy or Soul Reaper, everyone has the right to be happy."

"Huh, didn't think I'd hear you talk like that."

"We're having a moment here, don't push it." Ryuken lit another cigarette and took a long puff. "All I'm saying is that she wouldn't blame you for moving on. Although…" he raised an eyebrow as he stared the man down. "I think she wouldn't be okay with you being in love with a teenager…."

"Orihime's a grown woman," Isshin retorted.

"Whatever you say." He turned around and began to walk towards his wife's grave. "Goodbye, Isshin."

Isshin watched man go before turning back to Masaki's headstone. He knew that Ryuken was telling the truth. Masaki would never hold it against him for moving on. His son and daughters had accepted that. "I guess he's right. Never thought the day would come when I'd take advice from Ryuken…."

Pulling the item out of his pocket, he looked at it and looked back at the grave. Knowing that Masaki would understand, he put it back in his pocket and walked away, renewed vigor in his heart.

Meanwhile….

Orihime's Apartment

Orihime took a tray of bread out of her oven and put it on the stove to let it cool. "There. Now that the cooking's done, I need to take out the trash."

As she pulled the bag out of the garbage can, her eyes flicked to the calendar. Two red circles were drawn on it, marking two important dates. Just the sight of the two red circles made a lump form in Orihime's throat. The first marked the last day of school. It would be Orihime, Ichigo, Tatsuki's and her other friends' graduation.

And the second circle….

Orihime turned away from the calendar when she heard the doorbell ring. She knew it wasn't Isshin since he called her and said he'd be away for the day and Tatsuki was at the dojo this time of day. Opening the door she found her friend, Rukia, standing in the doorway. "Oh! Rukia!" She pulled her friend into a warm hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Hi, Orihime." Rukia chuckled as she took her head out of Orihime's cleavage and smiled. "How've you been?"

"I'm okay." Orihime let Rukia into the apartment and led her into the living room. While Rukia sat at the table, Orihime readied some tea. Bringing some cups to her, she sat down opposite her. "So how are you and Ichigo?" she asked, remembering how she and Tatsuki pushed Rukia to confess her feelings to Ichigo.

Scratching the back of her head, Rukia chuckled embarrassingly. "Well…things have been a bit…interesting."

"Really? What do you mean?"

Smiling warmly, Rukia explained. "A few days ago Ichigo went to the Soul Society to talk to my brother. He told Byakuya that we were together."

Orihime went rigid. "Oh dear…" she murmured, going pale. "Is Ichigo okay?"

Rukia stared at her cup and shivered. "I'd never seen my brother so angry in my life. If Captain Ukitake and the others hadn't shown up…" she took a long sip of her tea before continuing. "Let's just say that Byakuya didn't take it well."

"Is it because Ichigo isn't a noble?" she asked. "I thought that Byakuya liked Ichigo."

"His fondness for Ichigo goes about as far as he can throw him. Ichigo's merits and his status as Captain Shiba's son will smooth over any hiccup with the nobles. But…Byakuya is really protective of me and for Ichigo to out of the blue confess that we're together…" Rukia's face went red as she remembered that disastrous conversation. "And that was before Ichigo admitted we slept together."

"He didn't take that well either, did he?"

"If by take it well you mean he tried to strangle Ichigo with his bare hands then yes."

"Is Ichigo okay?" she asked, recalling that she hadn't seen Ichigo in the past few days.

"He's resting up at Squad Four. Captain Unohana has to watch over him constantly to make sure that Byakuya doesn't finish the job…" Rukia finished morbidly. "But…I'm glad. I'm glad that we told him. We both kinda knew his reaction would be."

Orihime saw the determined expression on Rukia's face. "You're going to keep seeing each other? After your brother's reaction?"

"He'll calm down. He's always been protective of me; he even went so far as to keep the other nobles from trying to marry me off. To hear that me and Ichigo were seeing each other and that we've already gone to bed together must've been too much to take in all at once. And the fact that I'm with Ichigo of all people didn't help much either." Gripping her cup, Rukia gave Orihime a brave smile. "But we'll get through this. Ichigo and I have been through enough together. I knew we can make this work."

Orihime was happy and a little jealous of Rukia's conviction. Especailly since she was having her own concerns over her own relationship with Isshin. Then another thought hit her. "But Ichigo is a Substitute. How…"

Rukia knew what Orihime was getting at. "Captain Ukitake has already approved me of taking my old spot as the Soul Reaper watching over Karakura Town. For now, we can date without having to go through the hassle of a long-distance relationship," she answered happily. "By the way, how are you and Isshin?"

Orihime tried to put up a happy smile. "Oh! We're going good! Isshin's out of town for day and I…I…" her façade crumbled and she looked down at her cup. "Well…"

Reaching out, Rukia touched Orihime's hand. "What's wrong? Did something happen between you two?"

"Oh no!" Orihime quickly said. "We're doing just fine!" She didn't want Rukia to get the impression that she and Isshin were going through a rough patch. "It's just...well..."

When Orihime glanced at the calendar and the two red circles Rukia followed her line of sight and saw the date of her graduation. "What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy to graduate high school."

"That's not it." Orihime took a long sip of her tea before setting down the cup. "I love Isshin but I don't know what to do with my life," she finally confessed.

"Don't humans usually go to college after high school?"

"Yeah, I've already been accepted into the town's community college," Orihime admitted, "so I can go to school and still be with Isshin." She looked down at her cup and sighed. "Still..."

Reaching across the table, Rukia touched Orihime's hand again, this time squeezing it. She wanted her best friend to open up to her. "What's wrong?" she asked, the concern written all over her face.

"Well..."

Several weeks later...

Karakura High School

All of the graduating students let out a cheer while throwing their hats into the air. Orihime smiled proudly as her hat became lost in the pile as they all hit the ground.

After everyone was finished congratulating each other Ichigo and Orihime walked over to his family, the three standing at the bottom of the whole. While Yuzu and Karin hugged their big brother Isshin scooped up his girlfriend and gave her a warm kiss. "Congrats, Orihime," he said as he set her down.

Orihime chuckled and hugged Isshin's neck. "Thank you for coming."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Hey! What about me?" Ichigo said as he pulled away from his sister.

The group had a good laugh but Orihime couldn't help but notice that Isshin was nervous. 'Does he know?' she wondered frightfully; Isshin was a doctor after all.

Scratching the back of his head, Isshin decided that now was as good a time as any. "Orihime," he started, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I-"

"Wait," Orihime interrupted, "before you do, I've something to tell you as well..."

Tge joy in Orihime's face was replaced by fear and uncertainty as she held Isshin's hand. The three Kurosaki siblings saw that Orihime was trembling as she drudged up her courage.

Isshin's concern grew when he saw the fear in Orihime's eyes. "What is it?" He noted how several of Orihime's friends, Tatsuki and Chizuru, were watching them. "If you need to talk in private-"

"No." Orihime shook her head; Ichigo and his sisters deserved to hear this. Taking a deep breath, Orihime looked up into her lover's eyes and said two words that would shock the family to its core.

"I'm pregnant."

Isshin's face went through a myriad of emotions in a nanosecond as he processed the words, rooted to the ground. Shock, disbelief. Recovering quickly, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you positive?"

"Uh huh. I stopped having my period so I got a test. It read positive."

Isshin's response was a huge hug and kiss, spinning her around in joy. Setting her down, Isshin gave her a warm smile. "That's wonderful."

Ichigo and his sisters surrounded Orihime. While Ichigo was shocked and a little nervous about his friend carrying a future brother or sister, he was happy that his father didn't freak out. Yuzu was absolutely giddy, congratulating Orihime while Karin gave her a supportive hug.

Reaching back into his pocket, Isshin prepared his little surprise. "Well, that makes this all the more easier." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and, in front of everyone, dropped down on one knee. When he opened the box, tears ran down Orihime's face when she saw it was a wedding ring.

"Orihime, will you marry me?"

To be continued

A.N. This was a bit difficult for me since scenes like this aren't my thing. Either way, merry Christmas! Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to get smashed on eggnog.