Right, so Bleach doesn't belong to me. Thank you.

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By the time Matsumoto woke up, the sun was high in the sky. It was chilly but under this blanket which she did not recognize, it was nice, snuggly, warm, and all those other happy things that make people smile. ' This can't be my house. It's too neat. This can't be a guy's house either… Is this Hinamori's house?' Matsumoto asked. She remembered the last time she had to stay at Hinamori's house. It was a fun sleepover until they got arrested for 'disturbing the peace'.

She got up and looked around clutching onto the blanket. " Where the hell am I?" She asked and held her head. Her eyes widened though as she dashed out of the bedroom. She then ran into the bathroom and vomited straight into the toilet. She groaned and continued for at least five minutes.

" How're you holdin' up?" Gin asked and looked inside of the bathroom just in time to see her hurl up some more vomit. " I see. Well, if 'ya can make it to the dinin' table… I cooked up some lunch," Gin said to her and walked over to her. Matsumoto felt queasy at the thought of lunch and threw up.

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It was a good thirty minutes after Matsumoto managed to wobble her way over to a seat. She felt horrible and wondered if sex was really worth it anymore. The orange-haired woman also got around to washing her mouth out but also wondered if the cleansing process was going to be in vain.

' Why on earth am I going to keep this baby? I doubt Shuuhei wants it and I don't think anyone is going to support me… What do I do?' She asked herself.

" Glad 'ya made it out. 'Ya feelin' alright now?" Gin asked. He was sitting on a black leather recliner chair. Matsumoto flinched and looked to him. She did not realize he was even sitting there. Then again, he was just mysterious like that. " 'Ya got enough stomach to eat your lunch?" Gin asked. Matsumoto groaned and laid down. She gently put her hand on her stomach and sighed.

" No Gin… I don't think I can even swallow a bite without puking it back up… I'm sorry," she said softly. Gin shook his head and sighed. She did not figure that he could cook so she just thought that he just bought something. Gin stood up and took the plate.

" I'll just wrap it up then. Put it in the fridge and you can eat it if ya' get hungry," Gin said. He did just that as Matsumoto watched him quietly. She then stared at the ceiling and frowned.

" You have work tonight don't you?" Matsumoto asked through the silence. Gin looked to her after putting the food into the refrigerator.

" Yep. That's right," he said. " Though that's not until six." Gin said to her. Matsumoto nodded and groaned. " What's on 'yer mind?" He inquired tilting his head to the side. He had that mysterious trademark smile playing on his lips which scared Matsumoto a little. The longer she stared at it, the more she feared him.

And yet she felt so comfortable with him. It was a strange feeling to be so terrified and mistrusting and yet comforted and soothed. It made her trust him even less. What made her come here to this bartender's place and bear a child?

" I'm just really ill," she lied. " I've never been pregnant before so…" She said slumping over. Gin apparently took her lie and looked at the clock. " So what else do you do? Do you just sit around and wait until you have to go to work?" Matsumoto asked.

" Pretty much. Not much 'ta do and I can't go out. Not with the state yer in anyway." Gin had that playful frown on his face. Matsumoto gave a warm smile and felt that familiar urge again.

Thankfully, she reached the toilet before she threw up.

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Shuuhei looked over at his cell phone. ' Three missed calls?' Shuuhei thought as he exited out of the message and closed his phone. He looked over to the sleeping figure of Renji and sighed. Byakuya had work again (as usual) and Renji was able to come over.

Shuuhei closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. He had sex with a lot of people and Renji was just his toy. To Byakuya, Renji was his pet… So maybe Shuuhei and Byakuya's thoughts were alike, if not the same.

' I wonder who would bother calling me…' Shuuhei asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. The scarred man reopened his phone and accessed his voice mail.

" Message received on Saturday, January 5th at 6:42 P.M."

' Shuuhei…' The voice was really scared. ' It's me. Rangiku… If you can, call me back… I need to…' A soft sniffle. ' Tell you something.' She said.

" To repe- Message deleted. Message received on-" Shuuhei closed his phone and shook his head.

" Who was that?" Renji asked his voice very husky and tired. Shuuhei looked at Renji and Renji returned the gaze sleepily. " Was that Byakuya?" Renji asked sitting up.

" No. Go back to sleep." Shuuhei said pushing Renji down. Renji grunted and glared up at Shuuhei. Renji then heard the following lyrics:

' I believe the world is burning to the ground. Oh well, I guess-' Renji grabbed his phone and flipped it open. " Hello?" Renji asked.

" Where are you? I'm coming home already," Byakuya said. Renji got up quickly.

" I'm… no where. I'm going home too." Renji said trying to get his pants on. " Oh shit." He quickly uttered as he fell to the ground. Shuuhei watched the fiasco with an amused look in his eyes. " Thirty minutes? Uh-huh. Yeah. Kay. Yeah bye," the red-head hung up.

" That was an interesting conversation." Shuuhei said in an amused tone. " So you're going already? What a pity," Shuuhei said. " Well, see you later, love," he said. Renji looked a little dejected that the man was not going to accompany him to the door but then again, what more could he expected from the scarred man?

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Matsumoto woke up from her nap and looked around. She felt disoriented and had no sense of time with no clock to look at. She wobbled a little bit before collapsing back down onto the couch. The place was dark and Gin was no where to be found. She felt worried but was even more worried that if she left, she would throw up again.

" Ughh…" she groaned. Matsumoto thought about the life inside of her and frowned. Shuuhei would not care if she was pregnant or not but she just knew that she had to tell him. From her pocket, she felt her cell phone vibrating and she flipped it open. " Hello?" She answered.

" Rangiku? You called me three times didn't you?" It was Shuuhei. " What do you need that is so urgent? You're not pregnant or anything are you?" He joked to her. Shuuhei was laughing on the other side while Matsumoto did not even crack a smile.

" Actually Shuuhei, I am," she said to him simply. She looked out at the night lights and saw that it was an average view. It was not snowing outside and not even the soft tones of Shuuhei's voice could bring her back to reality. " It's so pretty outside…" She said randomly and dropped her phone gently onto the couch. She was hypnotized by the white and the lights. Matsumoto slid the door open and stepped onto the balcony with her bare feet.

" Rangiku…? Gah, it's no use to talk to you." Shuuhei had hung up.

Matsumoto placed her hand onto the snow-covered railing and felt the coolness of the snow. There was a quick gush of wind and it refreshed her somehow. The pregnant woman quietly looked down to the still cars below and saw that Gin's car was already in the parking lot. She noticed how extravagant his car was to everyone else's.

" So 'yer finally up," a harsh accent cut through the peace. Matsumoto whipped around and saw Gin in the darkness. He had her phone in his hand and then he shut it. " I was gettin' worried 'bout 'ya." Gin said to her and gently tossed it back onto the couch. She sighed in relief and gave him a smile.

" Welcome back from… uh… Where ever you went." She said. Judging from his clothes, he had probably gone to work. He stepped onto the balcony with her and leaned his forearms onto the cold railing. She turned back around and she too leaned on the balcony. " What was that roof thing that you wanted to show me?" Matsumoto asked and looked at him. The silver-haired man gave a cryptic smile but did not look at her.

" In due time. I'll make sure 'ya see it." Gin said to her and got off the railing. " You ate or what?" Gin asked her and looked back to her. Matsumoto shook her head. " Daang…" Gin pouted and then heaved a heavy sigh. " I'm assuming you didn't shower neither?" Gin asked. Once again, Matsumoto repeated her action.

" I'm feeling better now. I'll shower now then." Matsumoto said. But then stopped. She had no clothes. Sensing her distress, Gin frowned. " except… Well I suppose I could go out and buy myself some underwear or something. I can just borrow your clothes," Matsumoto said. Gin opened his mouth to say something but Matsumoto shook her head. " No. You know that you won't make it back here if you buy the underwear for me. You might get strange looks." Matsumoto said and headed over to the door.

" Yeah uh…" Gin grabbed his wallet and tossed it over to her. " Just take what you need," he said. He would not regret his choice until later when she had returned.

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By the time Matsumoto returned, it was eleven thirty. Gin had gotten worried and plotted out worst-case scenarios.

A few of Gin's worries:

1) Matsumoto had gotten herself abducted and was now on her way to South America where she would have to ride a llama and then throw up on herself.

2) She had gotten herself frozen solid and then she would be put up on display at a ice sculpture museum.

3) She licked a frozen pole.

The latter seemed a little unlikely to Gin but hey, one might never know. When he heard the door open though, he sighed in relief. Matsumoto grinned happily as she had bags upon bags of clothes. Gin wondered how much money was left in his wallet.

" Sorry I'm late!" The orange-haired woman said in a bubbly tone. " There was this sale and well… I just couldn't help myself!" She said in a sheepish tone. Gin frowned as he opened his wallet and saw nothing but a few receipts in it. " Oh. I couldn't help myself with your wallet either. It was so full." Matsumoto said as she put her bags down.

Gin had already showered again so he was just waiting for Matsumoto to return. She quickly got what she needed (which was bikini underwear and a top. That was the most she ever wore for pajamas) and slipped into the bathroom.

Settling himself down, the bartender tossed his wallet to the side and pouted. " Well that's the last I'm lettin' her go shoppin' by herself…" Gin said. She also took a long time to shower and by that time, Gin had fallen asleep. Or that is what she thought.

Smiling, Matsumoto leaned down and kissed Gin on the cheek. " Night, Gin…" Matsumoto said. She walked over to his bedroom and shut the door as Gin opened one of his eyes and smiled before closing it and actually going to sleep.

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Righto. Finally done with that chapter. Sorry this one took so long. Uninspiration and school do that to you sometimes… Thanks for reading it anyway. And thanks for favoriting this story. I love you all. :D

- Tensho Shokai