Hi everyone! I'm really quite surprised the reaction to this story. I'm glad you guys liked it! :D But this story is the longest one I've written so far. There are more words in these two chapters than there are in one of my five chapter stories! WTF!? Bah. I don't think the future chapters are going to be as long though, so sorry about that!
I thank everyone who read and even reviewed this story.
And for those who didn't catch the Family Guy reference, it was in the very beginning between Tatsuki and Ishida. XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... but I'd like to...
One and a half months later- February 14th- Valentine's Day
The door to class 1-3 slid open.
Kurosaki Ichigo stepped through, scanning the room. Instinctively, he drew his hand into a fist and-
"IIIIIIII-CHHHHHHHIIIIIIIII-GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
-knocked Keigo out cold. "'Sup?"
"Ah, Asano-san, you'd think that you would have learned by now, not to greet Ichigo like that." Mizuiro said as he stepped on Keigo's head. "Mornin' Ichigo!"
Ichigo greeted him back. Although he didn't really enjoy Keigo's antics at times, Ichigo was glad that his "not-as-spiritually-in-tune" friends still acted normal around him. Since his return from Hueco Mundo, Ichigo's closest friends finally learned the truth: that he was a Shinigami, fighting the forces of EVIL! They accepted it, and just said that some things made sense now.
"Oi, Ichigo!"
The orange-haired teenager turned to see who called his name. Tatsuki waved to him. She was by Orihime's seat with Ishida and Chad. "Oi, morning!" Ichigo said as he walked over to his "more-spiritually-in-tune" friends, placing his bag on his desk while passing it by. Tatsuki grinned when he finally joined their group.
"So did you get any chocolates yet?"
"Chocolate? Oh yeah, I forgot. It's Valentine's Day." Ichigo covered his face with the palm of his hand, as if he was dreading this day. He ran his hand through his spiky hair. "I don't get chocolates, girls are afraid of me." He frowned.
"Maybe you'd get some if you smiled every once in a while, Kurosaki." Ishida said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Ichigo grunted. "You're one to talk, Ishida. You're as gloomy as I am."
As they were about to begin their verbal fight, Tatsuki stepped between the two, facing Ichigo. "As much as I'd love to see you two kill each other, I was wondering if you've seen Orihime yet." Tatsuki moved her arms behind her back, her hands holding a bag of chocolates. Ichida slyly took the bag and put it in his pocket, making a mental note to take it out before it melts. "She's normally not late like this." Tatsuki said once the bag was removed.
Just then, Orihime walked through the door. Instead of her usual cheery greeting to everyone, she was bogged down by numerous amounts of goody bags and the maker of the chocolates, Chizuru, herself. "Oh, Hime!" Chizuru said, clinging to the poor girl. Chizuru stepped behind Orihime and gave her enormous breasts as nice squeeze. "Perky as ever aren't you?"
"Perky as ever aren't you?!" Tatsuki yelled as she gave Chizuru a right hook.
Once the obsessive lesbian was off her back, Orihime gave a huge sigh of relief and greeted her best friend. Tatsuki allowed Orihime to settle into her desk before interrogating her. "Where were you? You're normally one of the first people here."
"Oh! Well, I went to the convenience store to pick up some pictures! I've been so busy lately trying to catch up with my school work I haven't been able to get the Christmas party pics developed! I've finally caught up, so here they are!" She excitedly took out the packet of photos and with Tatsuki, Ichigo, Ishida, and Sado surrounding her, she shuffled through them.
Orihime's excited face soon turned into confusion.
"Huh?! How did this happen?!" she said flipping through the photos faster. Chizuru somehow sneaked up on the pack and looked at the pictures. "Wow, 'Hime. You're kind of bad with a camera aren't you? Well, that's going to be a problem for the home videos we'll be maki-" Tatsuki and Ichigo gave a swift kick to Chizuru's head and stomach.
"Oi, Ichigo! I understand her hitting me, but what's your deal?! You can't hit a girl!"
"You aren't a normal girl!!" Ichigo retorted.
Chizuru huffed as she walked away, feeling the complete rejection. The group turned their attention back to the photos. In almost every picture, half the people that were supposed to be in it… weren't. "How'd this happen?" Orihime groaned with her happiness now depleted.
"Look closely." Ishida said, pointing to the pictures.
Next to the people present were tiny discolorations in the photos, looking like orbs. "I get it now…" Ichigo said. "Half the people at the party weren't even in a gigai, so there's no way they'd show up in pictures." Orihime sighed. "Aww, I wanted to put these pictures into that picture frame you gave me, Kurosaki-kun!"
Ichigo made a surprised face. "Really? That was kind of meant for your brother, so then you'd have pictures of the two of you together on his altar."
"My brother and I couldn't afford to have photos taken or even have a camera for that matter. So, we don't have many pictures together. I thought it'd be nice to have a frame filled with pictures of my friends instead." She explained. Orihime gave a brief smile, but she squished her face together with the palms of her hands and pouted. "But now that's ruined too…"
"That's not true, you gotta have some decent pictures in there." Ichigo said, taking the pictures into his hands. He flipped through them, Orihime by his side. Leaving Ichigo to console her best friend, Tatsuki signaled for the others to follow her lead. As they slowly began to walk away from the pair, Ichigo called out to them.
"Hey, when was this?" He held up a photo containing the Orihime, Tatsuki, Ishida, and Sado attempting to fit into the single frame. Orihime looked at it. "Oh, this was on Christmas day. Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun, and Sado-kun came over to help carry the couch back over to Tatsuki-chan's house. But, they ended up staying over, and we had our own celebration!" She smiled merrily.
Suddenly, Ichigo felt left out. Where the fuck was I? He furrowed his brow, but before Orihime could ask what was wrong, their homeroom teacher, Ochi-sensei, walked in. Everyone returned to their seats, Orihime glanced at Ichigo as he walked away.
"Good morning class! I have special news for you guys!" She said, slamming her briefcase onto her desk. "You all have been selected to try out a new product!" Ochi-sensei gave an evil grin. "You will become parents for the next month."
A wave of silence flowed through the room; but that was the calm before the storm. "What do you mean we'll be parents?!" some students shouted. "Calm down, everyone. Sheesh. Let me explain before you open your mouths."
It became silent once again, only with an unfathomable tension in the air.
"It's simple really," their teacher began, "you all have been selected to test out a new product: a baby dummy. You all know that for home-ec you take care of a bag of flour, an egg, or some doll for a week or so to test your abilities as a parent and to help prepare you for your future children. I don't know the details, but there's been a breakthrough where this doll becomes very life-like. It will be your baby."
"You will partner up, boy-girl, and take care of this doll for an entire month." Ochi-sensei knew that the class would act up again. "I know it's long, but like with all parents, it takes time getting used to taking care of a baby. Frankly, a week is too short to accurately judge your capabilities as parents. A month is too short in my opinion, but whatever. The entire faculty has already met and discussed this new project, and we all agreed to lighten the school load."
The class cheered.
"Hold on a second, don't think you can slack off. You will still go to school, have homework, and take tests- it will be slightly easier now. But think of it this way, teen pregnancy is running rampant, so it will be a lesson to you all on how important it is to have safe sex."
The class groaned. Not another one of those 'underlying' lessons…
"Okay! Choose your partners and I'll explain the rest and pass them out to you guys."
The class suddenly hustled, guys trying to get with girls they liked, girls trying to get with guys they liked… it was a madhouse.
"Ah, shit. Who am I gonna be with?" Ichigo glanced over to the empty desk next to him. "Damn, I would have asked Rukia. She is over a hundred years old, she's gotta know how to take care of a baby." Ichigo scanned the room. "Tatsuki!" He ran over to her. "Tatsuki! You have a par-" Tatsuki turned around with Ishida behind her. "She's my partner, Kurosaki."
"Damn it!" Ichigo quickly scanned the room again. "Inoue!" There she was sitting idly by as multiple guys asked her to be their partners. Filled with a sudden feeling of annoyance, Ichigo walked briskly towards Orihime. He pushed and shoved his male classmates out of the way. "Oi, Inoue!" Orihime's head perked up. "Kurosaki-kun?" she said, staring at him with big brown, hopeful eyes. "Will you be my partner?" He shouted over his classmate's protests.
Orihime gave a bright smile. "Sure!"
His male classmates, including Keigo, turned and glared at Ichigo. They huffed and protested, but walked away to find other girls to be partnered up with. Orihime remained seated in her desk while Ichigo stood in front of her, leaning against the window. They waited for the rest of the class to be pair up.
"Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo shifted his serious stare from the front of the class to Orihime. "Hmm?"
Orihime stared at him with curious eyes. "Why- why did you… you looked mad earlier. Did I do anything to upset you?" Ichigo was baffled. Like Orihime could ever make him mad. He became frustrated at times with her freakishly kind nature, but even that amazed him.
"Nah. I'm not mad or anything. I just felt kind of left out. You guys had another Christmas party without me." He said, shifting his gaze from Orihime to wherever- just so he couldn't see her saddened expression. Orihime looked down. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I thought you wanted to be with your family considering how quickly you left." She began to twirl her fingers on her desk. "They came over, and Sado-kun doesn't have much family like me, Ishida-kun isn't on great terms with his father, and Tatsuki-chan… Tatsuki-chan is family."
Ichigo suddenly felt guilty. "Great job, King. You upset her."
"You don't have to apologize, Inoue. Don't worry. It's no big deal." Ichigo felt a little better when she smiled again.
"Alright! Every partnered up?! Good. I have a little more to explain before I give you your 'babies'. First, you can take you baby to school or you can leave them with someone you trust while you are at school or at work." Ochi-sensei knew what the cunning students were already thinking.
"That doesn't mean you can leave them with another person the entire time, and pay them. These dolls are highly advanced- they know when their 'parents' are holding them. If you, your partner, or the two of you aren't taking care of them for the majority of the time, we will take a substantial amount of points from your overall grade. Is that understood?"
The class gave a heavy "Yes ma'am…"
"Alright then. Like normal babies, you will have to feed them, burp them, change them, and even bathe them. These things are so life-like, it's scary; but these babies aren't like newborns though, they will be in the seven months stage. Meaning, they respond to their names, hold their own bottles, and even crawl with time. From now until the end of the project, you will be sitting next to your partners. Okay, that should be all. Line up in pairs so we can pass out the proper equipment, but wait for my instructions before doing anything."
The pairs lined up. Once Ichigo and Orihime got their doll and other equipment, they went back to Orihime's seat.
"Hey, Kurosaki-kun…?"
"Yeah, Inoue?"
"Isn't this…"
"…a gigai?"
"And a modified soul?"
"Yup."
Ichigo picked up the gigai. "Yup, it's definitely from that guy." Orihime gestured to Ichigo to hand the gigai over. "Why would Urahara-san make… this?" Well, that guy was pretty strange.
Once the entire class received their 'babies,' Ochi-sensei began speaking again.
"Everyone got a doll, right? Alright. To activate your baby, take this gumball shaped thing," the teacher picked up the modified soul," and just stick it in the doll's mouth. You could do just that, and your baby will look exactly like the doll. Now here's the neat part: if you put a strand of your hair and your partner's hair in at the same time as this gumball thing, the doll will morph into what your baby will actually look like if you had one in real life. "
Orihime's eyes widened. "Cool!" She said under her breath. She listened intently to the teacher. Ichigo heard her comment and smiled at her fascination with the morphing features of the doll.
"I know that some of you have very special plans for tonight, so you can activate it tomorrow. But, for those of you who wish to do it today, at the end of the day, do as I have instructed. I will return to this class, and make note of your group, what your baby's name is, and when you began. And if you start tomorrow, same thing: I'll be here. Okay? On with class!"
Ichigo took the seat next to Orihime's as their teacher began the lesson. "Oi, Inoue. Do you have any plans tonight?" He asked curiously. "No, do you?" Slightly relieved, he answered her question. "Nope. Want to start the project today then?" He propped his chin into his left hand, slightly covering his mouth.
"Sure!" She smiled, and then resumed listening to the teacher- or more like daydreaming about her future children. Ichigo grinned for a moment, his hand hiding his expression, and shifted his focus to the lesson.
At the end of the day, the pairs that had no spectacular plans for that evening remained in class 1-3. Strangely enough, Tatsuki and Ishida weren't there. Ochi-sensei came into classroom. "Alright! Do as I told you this morning!" She said as she took out a notebook and pen.
Ichigo and Orihime placed their doll onto the desk. "Kurosaki-kun, do you want to…" Orihime looked up at Ichigo who was already plucking a strand of hair out. She beamed. "So you do want to make it our baby!" Orihime joked. "Well, I heard you say 'cool' when the teach explained how to do it, so I thought you'd want to."
"Yay!" Orihime plucked out a hair, and the two inserted the gumball and their hairs into the gigai. The doll immediately morphed into a baby girl with Orihime's eyes, Ichigo's mouth, and blazing orange hair. "Huh, where'd the curly hair come from?" The two examined their baby wide-eyed, their baby giving back the same expression.
"It's from my mom." Ichigo said softly. "But doesn't our baby remind you of…"
"-of Nell Tu? I was thinking the same thing!" Their baby giggled and outstretched her arms to grab Orihime's hair. She yanked at it. "Itami!! It hurts!" Orihime yelled. Their baby girl outstretched her arms again. "I think she wants you to hold her, Inoue." Orihime picked her up nervously, head still throbbing from the hair pulling.
"So what should we name her?" Ichigo asked as Orihime bounced the baby in her arms.
"Well, since she looks like Nell Tu, why not name her that?"
"You want to use her full name? Neliel Tu Oderschvank?" Their baby reached for Ichigo.
"Well, maybe we can change it a little bit, but her nickname will still be Nell!" Orihime passed their baby to Ichigo. "Okay then, I'll leave the name up to you. Let's go 'register' her." They walked to the teacher.
"So Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime, huh?" She said, scribbling into her notebook. "I thought you'd have a date tonight, Inoue, but whatever! What's you baby's name?" Ichigo and Ochi-sensei looked at Orihime.
"It's Nelyasviel Tuderschvank!" Orihime said excitedly.
Ichigo, the teacher, and even the baby raised an eyebrow. Orihime just smiled and giggled. "O-kay then, Nelyasviel Tuderschvank Kurosaki. Or do you want it to be Kurosaki-Inoue?" Ichigo looked at the blushing Orihime. "Which one do you want, Inoue? Either way it has my name, so it doesn't matter to me."
"Kurosaki is fine." She said softly, blushing even harder.
"Okay, Nelyasviel Tuderschvank Kurosaki, it is. Congratulations! You two are now parents of you healthy baby girl!"
It was the beginning of Day One.
"Up, up… and away! Up, up… and away!" Orihime bounced Nell in her arms and then suddenly lifted her over her head as she and Ichigo walked home. "You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?" Ichigo said, walking with his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, but look! She's so cute she smiles!" Orihime bounced Nell and lifted her over her head again. Ichigo grinned at the two.
"Thank you for walking me home, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said, still preoccupied with Nell.
"No problem. Your new apartment is on my way home, so it's not that big of a deal." He replied. "I told you I moved a lot!" Orihime finally stopped bouncing the baby. Nell rested her head on her mom's shoulder, looking towards her dad. "Good, she's calming down now." Ichigo said as he let Nell grab his finger. "You know… Nell smiles a lot for a baby that has your mouth." Orihime joked. "I smiled a lot when I was a kid."
"Hey Kurosaki-kun, do you think you'll be a good dad?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow to her question. "I mean, you helped raise your sisters when you were younger, didn't you?"
"Oh. No, not really. They're only three years younger than I am, so I kind of just watched my parents take care of them. They said I was too young to hold them when they were first born. I don't think just watching helps me be a better parent. "
"Oh, 'cause I've never taken care of a baby before. I thought it might be easier with you since you have younger siblings." They stopped walking. "We're already here! Do you want to come up, Kurosaki-kun? We can talk about who's going to have Nell when and stuff." Orihime said with her ever present smile. "Sure."
They walked up the stairs and stopped in front of Orihime's apartment. Ichigo stood waiting for Orihime to open the door. "Psst, Kurosaki-kun. The key is in my bag." Ichigo forgot that he was holding both their school bags since Orihime held Nell entire time.
He unlocked the door and they walked inside. "It looks just like your other apartment." Ichigo dropped their bags onto the floor. "Yeah, I liked that one, but this one's closer to school and it's a bit cheaper!" Orihime said balancing Nell on her left side and making tea with her right.
"Do you need he-"
Before Ichigo could finish his question, his Shinigami representative badge went off. "Crap." Ichigo took it out and thrust it onto his chest. His body and soul separated. "Oi, Inoue, take care of my body will ya?"
"Roger dodger!" And Ichigo went to fight the hollow.
About half an hour later, Ichigo returned. "Damn, that guy! He has no right to be a Shinigami! He keeps getting in my way!" Ichigo furrowed his brow, thinking about the Shinigami stationed in Karakura Town. "He sees me every time there's a hollow, and he still questions my substitute shinigami status!!" Ichigo grasped his right arm. He was wounded in the fight, protecting the other Shinigami.
As he neared Orihime's apartment, Ichigo noticed her bedroom window was left open for him. He jumped onto the balcony, and climbed through the window. Inside was a sight to be seen.
Orihime, still in her school uniform, was fast asleep on the ground next to her futon. In the futon were Ichigo's body and Nell, who was sleeping soundly. There lay his body supine, his right arm moved out from his body serving as a pillow for his daughter. Orihime slept on her side, left arm as her pillow, right arm near Nell who was clutching onto her mother's hand. They looked like a family.
Ichigo, at first uncertain what to do, slipped back into his body. When completely integrated, body and soul, Ichigo suppressed a groan of pain. He could feel the gash reopening. Ichigo carefully replaced his arm for a real pillow under Nell's head. Once Nell appeared comfortable, Ichigo as silently as he could took his long-sleeved shirt off. It was already permeated with blood.
Ichigo stared at his bicep. The thin line of crimson split into two causing blood to trickle out. He bit his lip. It hurts way more when I'm in my real body… As his wound began to numb again, Nell began to stir.
She cried. Ichigo quickly picked her up and took her into the other room in order to keep Orihime from waking up. Ichigo held Nell with his left arm, his right supporting and rubbing his baby's back in an attempt to soothe her. With his right arm in more pain from the constant flexing, Ichigo rocked Nell side to side while trying to hush her cries.
Nell calmed down, and fell back asleep on Ichigo's shoulder.
He continued to rock her, blood staining his shirt. Suddenly, Orihime's bedroom door slid open. She dashed out with a frightened look on her face. When she saw that Nell was fast asleep on Ichigo's shoulder, she gave a huge sigh of relief, putting her hand to her chest.
Orihime looked up at Ichigo. In order to keep Nell from waking, Orihime signaled to Ichigo asking if his arm was okay. He nodded once, but gestured her to come over and heal it. Once his wound was healed, Orihime tugged at his shirt, particularly at the blood stains. Ichigo just nodded again and shifted Nell around to unbutton his shirt.
When he couldn't do it without waking Nell up, he looked over to Orihime. She understood what he looked at her for and blushed. Heart pounding her chest, Orihime reached for the buttons on Ichigo's shirt. Slowly, but surely, Orihime completely unbuttoned Ichigo's shirt. She looked up at his when she was finished.
He gestured her to finish the job.
Orihime lightly held onto the right side of Ichigo's collar. She began to slide off his shirt, but she was soon met with resistance from his shoulder. Blushing harder, ears turning red, Orihime placed a hand in his shirt. She slowly pushed his button-up shirt off of his right shoulder in a swift action. Ichigo, with half a shirt on, shifted Nell so that he was supporting her on his right side. Orihime slid his shirt off of his left shoulder as quickly as she could. She dashed into her room, picked up his yellow over shirt, and went to her laundry room. She hid her face, which was a bright red, the entire time.
Ichigo stood in Orihime's apartment, shirtless, holding their baby. This was one Valentine's Day he would never forget.
He walked over to the window above the sink. The sun was slowly setting and the entire sky had a hint of pink and orange. Ichigo looked down at the sink. It was noticeably full of baking materials. He would have examined it more, but Orihime returned to the living room quicker than he anticipated. In her hands were his clean shirts. Nell woke up from the sudden spinning action.
Nell noticed her mom and reached for her. Ichigo and Orihime exchanged what they were holding. "That was fast." Ichigo commented as he put his shirts back on. Orihime smiled. "I was going to soak it, but then I thought that I could use my Sōten Kisshun on it and reject the blood from staining it!" She felt so proud of herself. :D
"I see, so what in the world were you cooking?" Ichigo asked, pointing towards the sink. "Oh, I was baking stuff for Valentine's Day." Orihime replied, bouncing the baby, trying to avoid the topic.
"You made chocolates?" Ichigo asked curiously.
"Kind of, I made chocolate covered strawberries when everything else didn't work out." She stopped facing Ichigo in order to hide her face and played with Nell. Slightly annoyed because he felt like he was being ignored, Ichigo continued to question Orihime. "So who were they for?" Orihime made a face. Should she tell him the truth?
"They were for some guy, but I couldn't give it to him."
"Why couldn't you give it to him?"
Orihime bit her lip and sighed. "I don't know. " She lied. Ichigo took the hint; feeling even more annoyed, he stopped interrogating her. He decided to change the subject. "So what are we going to do with Nell?" He sat at the table. Orihime joined him, placing Nell in sitting position on the table facing Ichigo.
"I can take her for tonight."
"I'll take her tomorrow then."
"What about your Shinigami duties? You can't take her with you and you can't just leave her alone. I don't know if you can trust Kon with her either…"
"That's true, and I can't keep explaining to my family why they have to suddenly take care of her."
"So what are we going to do? You're going to have to interact with Nell half of the time or more in order to get credit."
"Well, I could…" Ichigo blushed.
"You could live here for the month." Orihime finished his sentence, blushing as well.
"But where would I stay? Someone needs to be in the same room as Nell at all times, so even if I did stay here it wouldn't work since only my body would be here…"
"You could stay in my room-"
"But it's the same thin-"
"-with me."
Orihime finished her sentence, face completely red, looking downwards. "That way you could still obtain the necessary interaction, and when you do leave to fight hollows in the middle of the night, I'll still be there to take care of Nell. It's the most logical solution."
Ichigo sat there, surprised at Orihime's suggestion. He thought for a moment; she was right. It was the best way to be by Nell at all times and he wouldn't have to explain much to his family… except for the fact that he now had a baby and was going to live at the mother's apartment for a month. Great.
"Alright then, I guess I'll be living here for the next month, Inoue." Ichigo agreed with Orihime's suggestion. "I'm going to go home really quick, I need to pack my stuff and talk to my family." Ichigo crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, thinking of a way to explain everything.
"I'll go with you."
Ichigo looked up from his concentrated state. "What?" Orihime got up and held Nell. "I'll go with you, it'll be easier to explain to your family, and that way we could see if your dad saved any of your old baby stuff. We're going to need clothes, a crib, a stroller, a baby carrying thingy…"
"Alright, alright. You're coming with me." Ichigo sighed. "How do these things keep happening to me?"
"I'm home." He said as he opened the door. "You're late!" Ichigo was greeted with a swift kick to the face. "You punk of a son! You know our dinner time is at seven o clock every night!" Isshin said, hands on his hips, claiming victory. "Damn you! It's only seven-thirty! Besides, is that how you greet your son, especially when he's brought a guest over?!" Isshin looked over his son's shoulder.
Orihime stood at the front door, not knowing if she should enter or not.
"Orihime-chan!" Isshin exclaimed with his demeanor completely changed. "How nice of you to come here with this punk!" Isshin slapped his son's shoulder. Yuzu and Karin watched their brother's reaction while eating. Ichigo's dad came closer to Orihime, but came to a sudden halt. "What's that?" he said quietly. Yuzu and Karin, who couldn't see beyond the door, stood up to see what their dad was making a fuss about.
"Is that a b-b-b-b-b-BABY!?" Isshin nearly fainted. Yuzu and Karin gasped as if they were watching a drama.
"That can't be yours, can it?!" Isshin quickly approached Orihime, with a surprisingly calm look on her face. She appeared a little uncomfortable with Isshin's closeness. Ichigo stood at the door way, hand to his forehead. He figured he'd let his dad get the drama out of his system, he didn't feel like arguing with him today. "Why does this baby look like Ichigo?"
Isshin gestured for Orihime to hand Nell over. She apprehensively did. Isshin held Nell with care, but walked over to his son. "This baby can't be yours, can it?!" Yuzu and Karin gasped after seeing the baby who looked like Ichigo and Orihime, and they watched the drama more intently. Ichigo uncovered his face and gestured for Orihime to come inside. Isshin surprisingly waited patiently for his son to answer, handing Nell over as Orihime passed by. Once she was by his side, Ichigo finally answered.
"Yes, she's mine. "
Isshin keeled over onto his knees, Yuzu fainted, and Karin choked on she was eating. "But, it's not what you think, old man!" Ichigo walked over to his dad and, with his foot, made his dad sit up. Isshin was crying. "Masaki!!" He went over to the poster on the wall. "Our son has a baby girl with the lovely Orihime! Aren't you proud?! This punk turned out to decent!"
Ichigo punched his father on the back of his head. "Oi, Ichi-nii, is that why you've been gone so much lately? You were out taking care of your pregnant girlfriend?" Karin teased, knowing the truth behind his disappearances. "Orihime, come and eat." Karin waved her over. Yuzu, who regained consciousness, served Orihime a bowl of rice as she walked over to the table with Nell. "So you're my Onee-san now? Welcome to the family!"
"I told you, it's not what you think! The baby's for a school project, dumbasses! We have to take care of a baby for a month, so I'll be staying at Inoue's apartment, alright?! I'll be in my room!" Ichigo stormed off. "Geez, Ichi-nii sure has gotten mean since he entered high school. "
When Ichigo was almost finished packing, he heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in." He already knew who it was. "I'm almost finished, Inoue." He said shoving some more clothes into a bag.
"No rush, Kurosaki-kun. You're family's so nice!" Orihime said enthusiastically as she played with Nell. "You think so?! They drive me insane! You can sit down by the way." Orihime plopped onto the ground, playing with Nell even more. "I meant you can sit on my bed." Orihime stopped her game of peek-a-boo, and nervously sat on Ichigo's bed.
"Orrrriiihiiiiiimeeee-chaaaaaaan!!" Catching both Ichigo and Orihime off-guard, Kon successfully buried his face into the Valley of the Gods. Irritated, Ichigo peeled Kon off of Orihime's bosom, unknowingly brushing the tips of his fingers against them. Orihime clutched onto Nell, protecting her chest. "Kon! You wanna play?" Ichigo squeezed Kon with a vein bulging on his forehead. "Yuzu!" He called out. "I found Bostov!!"
Yuzu came in and grasped onto Kon. "He looks dirty, clean him up nice, will you?" Ichigo said smirking. Yuzu squealed with joy to have her beloved Bostov back.
Ichigo turned to Orihime. "You alright, Inoue? You look kind of flushed." Orihime was blushing from their previous contact. "I'm fine," she said, nodding, "I explained everything to your family, and your dad said it was alright if you stayed at my house. He even offered to take care of Nell sometimes!"
"Really?" Ichigo was surprised. "What'd you tell them?"
"Oh, I just said that it'd be easier if you stayed at my place, in a different room. That way, they wouldn't be bothered by the baby, and it was the best way for us to get an 'A' for the project." Orihime smiled. "Your dad said he had some of Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan's old baby clothes and an old crib. The crib even has wheels so we can just push it to my apartment! So everything's settled!"
"Yeah, I guess so." Ichigo said, rolling up a futon and placing it into another bag. "I'm finished, let's go back to your apartment?" Orihime nodded, picked up Nell and the happy family went on their merry way.
When they got back to Orihime's apartment, Orihime warmed up the dinner Yuzu packed up for the two of them. Apparently Tatsuki told Yuzu all about Orihime's cooking. Ichigo's younger sister told Orihime to come over once in a while and eat dinner with them.
After they ate and fed Nell, Ichigo watched over the baby while Orihime did the dishes. "Is it alright if I take a bath, Inoue?" Ichigo asked when she was finished. "Sure! Can you take Nell in too?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but wouldn't it be better if she went in with you? I mean… you're both, you know… female." He said, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah, but I take my baths in the morning. It helps wake me up. We won't have enough time in the morning, so-"
"Okay, I'll do it."
Ichigo took a bath with Nell. "This is so… weird." He thought, splashing his face with the warm water, Nell at his side. When they were finished, Ichigo quickly changed. He walked out of the bathroom, turned off the lights in the living room, and went into Orihime's room.
She was already asleep.
Orihime scooted her futon towards her brother's shrine to make room for Ichigo's. She made his next to hers and placed the crib next to her desk. Orihime even took Ichigo's bags, emptied out some of her drawers, and began placing some of Ichigo's clothes into them. "No wonder she's passed out. How long was I in there?"
Ichigo rocked Nell to sleep and put her into her crib. Ichigo stared at his futon, glancing over to the sleeping beauty next to it. Orihime was sleeping like it was normal having a guy sleep at her house. Ichigo remembered their discussion earlier.
"They were for some guy…"
For some guy? Orihime's words buzzed around in his head. "Lucky bastard." He thought. Ichigo scoffed as he walked toward the light switch. He turned the lights off and crawled into his futon. As he was about to place his head onto his pillow, Ichigo felt a crinkle on his cheek. Startled, he sat straight up in his bed. He glanced over to Orihime to see if he had woken her. He didn't.
Ichigo ran his hand over his pillow, looking for the object that crinkled. He found it and made his way over to the window for some light. In his hand was a goody bag with chocolate covered strawberries. Ichigo examined it closer. A frown that resembled a certain orange-haired Shinigami was carved into each strawberry.
Ichigo grinned. The strings that tied the top of the bag had a note attached.
Happy Valentine's Day Kurosaki-kun.
-Inoue Orihime
That's all it said.
Yay! Day One/ Week One is complete! I pretty much decided to make each chapter one week of the month. And because I have OCD and am VERY detail oriented... I made a calendar to illustrate the timeline! :D Yay for my obsessive nature! Here's a link to it if you'd like to see: i16./albums/b4/ixmadxhatterxi/calendar.jpg . I used this year's calendar, seeing it matched up perfectly. (Sorry if the link doesn't work: I think all you have to do is copy and paste the link, but put the http colon slash slash in front of it and it should work.)
Oh, but in a future chapter, you'll find out why Urahara made these gigais in the first place. Don't worry, it'll be good. XD
Please read and review! And please tell me if I made an errors!
Chapter 2: Title undecided
Orihime becomes increasingly depressed. Can Ichigo cheer her up?