Hello everyone! Here's chapter two now I am kind of worried that I really did make them OoC this time!! Darn it, but I had to because I want to write the later chapters of this story! I got them down pat in my noggin! Sorry it took so long for this update, class just started... like three weeks ago. And if you were wondering how to say Nell's name... it's (Nel-ee-ahs-viel Too-ders-vah-nk) I dunno if it helped, but there ya go!
-Random thoughts-
I just found out that my sister's pregnant, so I'll be dealing with a REAL one! Damn!!
And, this story had more hits than my Myspace. Well isn't that sad!?
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Disclaimer: You know who own's Bleach. Do I really have to tell you?
One Week and One Day Later- Friday- February 22nd: Week 2
The door to class 1-3 slid open.
Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime entered the classroom filled with babies cries and tired teenagers. With haggard eyes, the two walked to their seats with Nell in tow. There had been an accident this morning, so the clinic was too busy and bloody to have a baby there. Orihime set the baby carrier on top of her desk while Ichigo plopped the three bags he was holding onto his chair: one bag was his, one bag was Orihime's, and the big bag was Nell's.
Orihime picked up Nell and handed her over to Ichigo. Ichigo traded her off with Orihime's and Nell's bags. Orihime frantically searched Nell's bag as their baby's incessant crying started to give her a headache. She found the binky, handed over to Ichigo who put it Nell's mouth, and lazily sat into her chair as Nell finally became quiet. Orihime turned her head to look at the two.
Nell was a strange baby. Sometimes she would be calm during the day, awake and crying at night…every two hours. Other times she would be awake and crying during the day, and very calm at night. Otherwise, Nell would sleep, cry, sleep, cry, sleep, cry, eat, burp, bathe, sleep, cry… all day and all night long. Although Nell slept soundly last night, both Ichigo and Orihime were up into the wee hours of the morning, studying for the test today.
Ichigo had bags under his eyes, worse than before. He was already sleep deprived from his Shinigami duties, but now with the baby… he refuses to let Orihime take care of Nell at night, insisting that he should be the one doing so because he leaves the two alone whenever he fights hollows. This leads to minor altercations between the two orange-haired teens, usually with Ichigo winning.
Ichigo, holding Nell and bouncing her in an attempt to make her sleep, recalled last week's events.
He quietly ate a strawberry or two while sitting next to Orihime's window. The moonlight flowed into her room, creating a thin line between their two futons. Ichigo got up, blocking the path of the moonlight, when he finished eating all the chocolate-covered strawberries. He noticed that one strawberry didn't have a frown, but a smile that looked just like Orihime. Ichigo crawled into his futon next to the sleeping "mother-of-his-child" and quickly fell asleep. Two hours later, they were finally initiated into the joy of parenthood. Nell woke up, crying and screaming.
That was the true beginning of the project.
Now rocking Nell, Ichigo shifted his gaze towards the woman of his thoughts. Her head lay facing him, on top of her desk. Orihime had been staring blankly at him for quite some time. She appeared to be consumed within her own thoughts.
"Oi, Inoue." Ichigo finally called out to her when she didn't notice him looking back at her.
Orihime shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "Yes, Kurosaki-kun?" She replied, putting her head back on top of her desk.
"You alright?" Ichigo asked. She looked so… exhausted. The bags under her eyes were dead give-a-ways, but something about her seemed off.
"I'm fine, just a little tired." Orihime smiled.
"Okay," Ichigo replied, feeling slightly relieved to see her smile again. Ichigo continued to rock Nell. Once he deemed it impossible to make her fall asleep with all the other crying babies around, Ichigo placed Nell back into her carrier and gave her a toy. He sat at his desk and glanced at Orihime while he rocked the carrier with his foot.
Ochi-sensei walked into the classroom. "Alright everyone, today's the first day you'll be taking a test during our project." She began speaking as she plopped her briefcase onto her desk. "The other teachers and I have already discussed this, so for those of you who brought your babies today, we will bring your babies to the teacher's lounge while you are taking your test. When you are finished, come pick them up, and go to lunch. Understood? Let's begin."
After several hours passed, the class finally took the test. Once finished, Orihime and Ichigo walked over to the teacher's lounge together. Inside, the teachers turned the entire lounge into a daycare facility. Nell was smack dab in the middle of the ruckus with her partner-in-crime. Ishida Sasuke was a strange mix of his parent's genes. He had Ishida's hair, but only in the front though; the back of his hair was spiky like his mother's. He appeared to have mainly his father's facial features, but when smiling, Sasuke looked like Tatsuki.
And Sasuke definitely had Tatsuki's persona as well.
Sasuke tried to keep Nell by his side at all times, crawling away occasionally to gather some toys for Nell. He apparently stole most of the building blocks and other toys for her, and built a large "fortress" around the two.
Ichigo and Orihime walked over to Nell and Sasuke. "I wonder why Nell hasn't been able to crawl yet…" Orihime said bending over to stare at her baby, placing her finger on her lip. Ichigo stood behind Orihime with his hands in his pockets, blocking the view up Orihime's skirt from his classmates. He averted his gaze to Nell. "I dunno," he replied.
"Hmm…" Orihime stood straight up, fists on her hips. "Oh well, she'll eventually start crawling right? She's already starting to sit up by herself, and sometimes she pulls herself up to stand. But then she falls back down." Orihime squished her cheeks together with her fingers and laughed as she turned to look at Ichigo. He looked surprised. "Kurosaki-kun?"
"Nell can sit up by herself now? When did that happen?"
"Hmm, I think it was on Tuesday, when you were… at work?" Orihime chose her words carefully, making sure she wouldn't spill his secret in front of their classmates.
"You have a job, Kurosaki?" The class president asked as he came up from behind the two and picked up his son. "Where do you work?"
"Uhh…" Both Ichigo and Orihime stared at him blankly. "Umm…" they both said in unison.
"That is…" Keigo came up from behind the class president and wrapped his arm around his shoulder "… none of your BEEZ-WAX!!" Keigo led him and his son away from the two orange-haired teens. "If Ichigo wanted you to know where he works, he'd let you know." He patted the poor class president roughly on the back. "Hey, woman!! Pick up our kid!!" Keigo yelled while whisking the president away.
Chizuru suddenly stormed in and picked up their baby. "I hate men, I hate men, I hate men. Why did I have to be partnered up with a male?!" Chizuru began mocking Ochi-sensei, but noticed Orihime and Ichigo staring at her with curiosity and wonder. "Hime-chan!!"
Orihime quickly shielded herself, but surprisingly, Chizuru stormed right back out. "I hate men, I hate men, I hate…Keigo! " A distant argument arose in the hallway soon after, but ended just as quickly with a loud smack and Keigo crying.
Ichigo smirked. "Thanks Keigo, but you deserved that last part."
Orihime looked at Ichigo and smiled at his content. "I'll take her for lunch today, Kurosaki-kun. " Orihime said as she bent over again to pick Nell up.
"Huh? I can take her to lunch. I was working last night again, so…"
Orihime shook her head. "I have a handicrafts club meeting today, so you can take Nell after school. " Orihime looked up towards Ichigo while bouncing Nell in her arms. "Alright." Ichigo said as they exited the teacher's lounge, and the two went their separate ways.
Ichigo sat on the roof top alone.
The cold winter air snipped at his face, but the sun's rays showered him with some form of warmth. He lay on top of the roof, arms supporting his head, face towards the sky. He laid there, juice box dangling by the chewed up straw in his mouth. Ichigo had already finished eating his school bought lunch, he dare not ask Orihime to make his lunch for him.
He wanted to be alone.
Ichigo turned over to his stomach and crawled his way over to the edge of the roof. Through the bars, he watched Orihime. She was eating lunch with just Tatsuki today. Both the ladies had their babies. Nell and Sasuke were happily playing together whilst the two mothers played as well. "She looks fine…" he thought as he continued to watch her. Ichigo watched Orihime as she talked with her best friend, being her usual bubbly self.
But at home, it was a different case.
Sure she was bubbly and happy when they were together, alone at home with Nell; but it seemed forced. She never gave him that feeling when there were other people, even when she was uncomfortable eating dinner with his family. Orihime was only like that when she was with just him. Ichigo began to realize that it became worse whenever he came back from fighting a hollow.
Last time he came home, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.
Orihime simply smiled when asked and blamed her sleep deprivation, but Ichigo knew otherwise. She was lying. Ichigo sucked air through the straw and continued chewing on it. He sighed. Normally, he would ask her what was wrong. Normally, he would ask what was making her seem so down. Normally, she would answer, as down as she was, with a smile on her face. Normally, she wouldn't lie. So why would she lie now?
Her hesitation to answer truthfully causes him to ask apprehensively.
"With school, Nell, and my Shinigami duties, I haven't been able to ask Inoue about the Valentine's Day gift." Heck, Nell alone was enough of a reason for the two orange-haired teens to completely disregard the fact that they were indeed living together. Ichigo rolled over onto his back, looked at the sky, and huffed a little. "She gave some stuff to Tatsuki, Ishida, and Chad, but theirs were store bought chocolates. Mine was the only homemade gift. So what's that mean?" Ichigo plopped a hand onto his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun. He ran his hand through his hair and then scratched his head furiously.
"Damn it. I can't ask her now, now that she's… lying to me." Ichigo dropped his gaze and furrowed his brow. "Why would she lie to me…? Does she… not trust me? Why is she forcing herself to be happy only when she's with me?" He looked over towards the spot under the tree where Orihime was smiling and laughing with her best friend. Ichigo grunted. What would bother him the most would be if she didn't trust him.
The lunch bell rang, signaling students to get their asses back to class. Ichigo got up and walked to classroom 1-3, leaving his thoughts of Inoue Orihime, the woman he risked his life to save even though he didn't "owe her a favor," lingering in the back of his mind.
"Okay everyone! Class is dismissed! Have a good weekend, and for goodness sake, try to stay out of trouble!" Class 1-3's last teacher of the day hollered out to his students.
Ichigo turned his head. "Oi, Inoue. Want me to walk you to your club meeting?" Ichigo asked while he packed up his stuff. He took Nell who was standing and bouncing in her mother's lap, and held her on his side with one arm. With his free arm, Ichigo swiftly gathered all their belongings and strapped Nell into her carrier. Orihime smiled at him, her head propped up in the palms of her hands.
"You're gonna be a good dad one day, Kurosaki-kun." Ichigo's head snapped up. "And no, you don't need to walk me, but if you'd like to that's fine." Orihime said still smiling.
"Eh? Where'd that come from, Inoue? You don't want me to walk you?" Ichigo furrowed his brow.
Orihime waved her arms in the air. "Oh no no no, it's just that…"
"I normally walk with her." Ishida said as he walked towards the two, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger and carrying Sasuke with his other hand. "And I despise you, Kurosaki. Inoue-san's just being considerate."
"Cut the tough act asshole." Ichigo said as he glared at Ishida and quickly flipped him the finger as well. Nell began to throw a fit. She kept reaching for Sasuke. "Okay okay." Ichigo said as he took Nell out of the carrier. "Here, play with that devil child." Ichigo grinned as he glanced at Ishida, who was glaring right at him.
"What was that Kurosaki?" Ishida took a step forward.
"Hold your horses, Ishida," Tatsuki grasped onto his shoulder. Ishida winced at her death grip. "Geez, you're not even over here for a minute and you two are already arguing. I knew I shouldn't have sent you over here," she said with her arms tightly crossed. "Oi, Ichigo, we need a favor: can you watch Sasuke for an hour or two for us."
"Huh? What for? "
"Orihime and Ishida have their handicrafts meeting today, and I've got my karate club today too. My mom's at work, so she can't take care of him." Ichigo scrunched his face and grunted. "Alright alright. I'll watch him for you." He sighed and stared, with a semi-glare on his face, at the two babies.
"Are you going to go home Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked quietly. They kept the fact they were living together a secret from everyone; except from Tatsuki of course, Orihime could never lie to her.
"Nah, I'll be at my house. The old man was sad that he didn't get to see Nell today." Ichigo said softly to Orihime while packing his things once again. She merely nodded.
" 'Kay, I'll come pick Sasuke up from your house." Tatsuki said almost in question form. Ichigo nodded his head, reassuring Tatsuki that her assumption was correct.
"Thanks Ichigo." And everyone was off on their merry way.
Ichigo pushed Sasuke's stroller down the street, the two babies happily playing together in it. Ichigo had somehow managed to stuff his bag, Orihime's bag, Sasuke's bag, and even Nell's gigantic bag under the stroller. With Nell's baby carrier in tow, Ichigo easily pushed the heavy load alongside the road. "Man, it's easier carrying all this crap with this thing. Inoue and I have to get one of these…"
On one of the rare occasions, Ichigo let his mind wander. But, he quickly stopped himself. "It's only a month long project… we don't need one…" And suddenly, he felt like something dropped into the pit of his stomach.
He continued to push the stroller down the road, passing numerous shops. He came to a halt in front of a sweets shop. "Maybe I should get her something to make her feel better?" He scratched his head and pondered for a moment. Ichigo, still pushing the huge stroller around, finally entered the shop. The intoxicating sickly sweet smell of the shop quickly filled his lungs. He walked around aimlessly, the smell starting to make him nauseous.
But a certain sweet caught his eye. Daifuku Mochi.
This gooey little piece of heaven was perfect, it contained the secret ingredient: red bean paste.
Ichigo quickly paid for the mochi and walked home with the present, babies, homework and all in tow. When he finally arrived home, Ichigo was greeted by an ecstatic Yuzu. "Hey Dad! Onii-chan's home!" Isshin came flying downstairs and attempted to kick his son in the face. Ichigo evaded it and swung at his dad. Isshin dodged his punch, swiftly picking Nell out of the stroller at the same time.
"Hahaha! You let your guard down, you punk! You still have so much to learn!!" Isshin said as he ran into the clinic before Ichigo could process what happened.
"H-hey! You bastard!!" Before Ichigo could chase after Isshin, Sasuke began to throw a fit. "Oh shit."
Ichigo quickly picked Sasuke up from the stroller and began searching the clinic for his father. "Dad! Seriously, get out here!" Isshin poked his head from behind a bookcase. He slowly got out from behind it, Nell in his arms, and walked towards Ichigo. "Wazzat?" Isshin asked while holding onto Nell and pointing towards Sasuke.
"He's Tatsuki's"
"W-w-w-hat?!" Isshin clutched onto Nell and punched Ichigo square in the jaw. "You punk! How dare you cheat on Orihime-chan with Tatsuki!! And I believed you when you said it was a school project!"
"What the hell?!" Ichigo wiped the sore area on his cheek and kicked his dad in the face when Isshin lunged at him. "It is for a project dumbass! It's Tatsuki's son! I'm just watching him for a while since everyone has a club meeting today! So hand Nell over, Sasuke freaks whenever they're not together!"
Isshin stood straight up and gave Nell to Ichigo. "Oh ho ho," Isshin said while scratching his beard, "that makes sense. And to think I really began to believe that I raised a player. I HAVE MUCH TO TEACH YOU MY SON!" But before Ichigo could attack his father, Isshin ran away laughing. Ichigo cursed at his father, but decided not to add fuel to the flame (so to speak).
Ichigo made his way back to the front door, accumulated his family's belongings, and promptly went to his room. Once inside, he placed Nell and Sasuke on his bed and surrounded the edges with a pillow barrier to prevent them Sasuke from crawling off. Immediately, the two began to play with one another. Feeling secure about leaving the babies alone for a moment, Ichigo began setting up his "study area." He removed some of the pillows on the unoccupied area of his bed and sprawled out his texts books.
Ichigo groaned a bit when he knelt in front of his bed and began studying; he was starting to get really behind at school.
Soon after he began doing his homework, he was rudely interrupted by a loin plushie bursting out of his closet. "Ichigo!! I got a problem with you!" Kon said while jumping out of the closet, lunging at Ichigo. "How dare you stay Inoue-san's house…" He managed to climb onto Ichigo's back. Surprisingly, he let Kon sit on his shoulder and yell in his ear. "-especially without me! But anyway, how is that heavenly valley? Are they more perfect bare?!"
Ichigo's hand grasped around Kon's face.
"Eh?" was all that was heard from the poor lion plushie.
"First of all," Ichigo clutched harder, "I wouldn't let you near Inoue because of what happened last time." Ichigo squeezed so hard, a gumball shaped objected popped out of the plushie's mouth. Ichigo hastily inserted the gikongan into Kon's body. Once Kon began to move again, Ichigo clutched his hand around him. "Second of all, don't ask me that." Then Ichigo simply tossed Kon over to the babies' side of the bed.
Kon began to get up and curse at Ichigo, but became frozen stiff with fear. Nell and Sasuke approached the talking plushie like flesh-eating zombies. "S-stay away!" Sasuke, being the one who could crawl, closed in on Kon. "I-I-Ichigo!!" Sasuke grabbed onto Kon's head. He crawled his way back over to Nell, dragging Kon's head across the bed, and the two…
"Gyaaaaah!!"
… chomped onto Kon's head, their saliva soaking into Kon's stuffing.
Ichigo merely smirked. After an hour of studying through Kon's screams, Karin knocked on Ichigo's bedroom door. "Oi, Ichi-nii. Tatsuki's here."
He turned from his studies. "Tatsuki?"
She walked into Ichigo's room. "Yo! Where's my baby boy?" she said smirking when she saw Sasuke happily playing with a mangled lion plush. Ichigo stood up as Tatsuki picked up Sasuke and tore Kon from his clutches. "That was pretty quick. I figured Inoue would've come sooner than you." Tatsuki shook her head, holding Sasuke firmly in her grasp.
"I was there for an hour and a half, Ichigo. It's just that the president of the handicrafts club has been on Orihime and Ishida's case since they missed a lot when you guys were out saving the world."
Ichigo's ears perked up. "What do you mean, been on their case?"
"Ishida said they missed some type of sewing competition while you guys were away, and because of that, the club didn't rank very well. So naturally, he's been giving them a lot of crap and shit. Orihime was actually kind of nervous going today, but she seemed fine at the end of the day."
Then, it dawned upon him: ask her best friend. "Hey Tatsuki, has Inoue been acting… differently or something?"
Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "What? No. Why? What's up?"
Ichigo waved it off and scratched the back of his neck. "Nah, it's nothing."
"Alright, but we gotta go. See you, Ichigo. Bye Nell!" Tatsuki grabbed Sasuke's arm and waved by to Nell.
"So not even Tatsuki noticed it…" he thought as he resumed studying. Ichigo glanced towards Nell occasionally, but she seemed preoccupied with Kon.
After a diaper change and some more studying (no hollows for now, thank God), Ichigo became distracted by an unusual movement on his mattress: there was none. He glanced up. Nell had stopped bouncing and thrashing Kon around, and managed to sit up on her own. "I guess Inoue was right, she can sit up by herself." Ichigo stared at his daughter, who was staring at his window, with wonder.
"Maaa…ma."
Nell flopped backwards and giggled. "Mama!" She called out again, swinging her fists in the air, still giggling. Ichigo suddenly stood up, picked Nell up, and glanced out his window. And sure enough, Inoue was seen walking down the road.
Ichigo turned to look at his daughter. "Wha?" He dashed downstairs.
"Oi, Inoue! Inoue!!" He hollered out while opening his front door. Orihime had been only a few steps away. Startled, she stumbled backwards. "Yes, Kurosaki-kun?" she said hesitantly.
"She said 'mama.' Nell said 'mama!'" Ichigo shoved their baby into Orihime's face.
"R-really?!" Orihime jumped for joy and grasped onto Nell. She held her up by the armpits and swung her around. "You said 'mama?!' Oh, I'm so proud of you!!" Orihime brought Nell closer to her, left arm wrapping behind Nell's back, right hand cupping Nell's head. She then smiled and rubbed her nose against Nell's nose, making her baby burst out giggling again. Ichigo watched the two with his hands in his pockets. For the first time this week, Ichigo saw Orihime's real smile. A complete feeling of warmth showered over him, and he couldn't help but smile as well.
But his smile quickly faded and his signature frown was plastered on his face. Isshin had come out of hiding.
"Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" He saw Orihime and knocked Ichigo out of the way. "Oh! Orihime-chan!"
Orihime lifted her head from Nell's and joyously said, "Nell said her first word!"
"Really?!" Isshin ran inside and headed for the kitchen. "Yuzu! Can you make something special for tonight?! We need to celebrate!!"
Ichigo covered his face with his hand and sighed. As he lowered his hand, he glanced at Orihime. She was beaming. "I guess nothing really was wrong…" Ichigo smirked back at her radiant smile and quickly cocked his head to the side, signaling Orihime to come in for dinner.
As soon as they finished dinner, the young 'family' began walking home. Orihime, hands in front holding her bag, happily walked eyes closed, swaying side to side. She began humming an unfamiliar tune. Ichigo grinned a bit; she was carefree as usual.
Then he suddenly remembered. "Oi, Inoue. Hold up a sec." He placed Nell's carrier onto the pavement and reached into his school bag. Ichigo pulled out the daifuku mochi and handed it to Orihime.
"Eh? What's this for, Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo shrugged. "It's for you-" He paused. "And me." She smiled again and opened up the case. She happily ate one and extended the box towards Ichigo, gesturing for him to take a piece. She scrunched her face a bit when she realized his hands were full. Orihime took out a piece and blushed.
"Say ahhh!"
"Wha-"
Orihime popped the mochi into Ichigo's mouth, her face completely red. Slightly baffled, all Ichigo did was chew on the dessert Orihime had placed into his mouth. She ate another piece then turned to him. "Want another?" she asked, still blushing.
Ichigo stopped walking. Orihime took that as a 'yes' and extended her hand towards Ichigo's face. Ichigo slowly bent down a bit. Careful to not accidentally wrap his lips around Orihime's slender fingers, Ichigo quickly grabbed the mochi with his teeth and began to masticate it with his characteristic frown on his face. Orihime merely smiled at his actions and commenced eating her little gift from Ichigo.
By the time they reached their apartment, they had eaten all the mochi. Once inside, they routinely began getting ready for bed. It was only eight in the evening.
As they began setting up their futon's, Ichigo's shinigami representative badge went off. "Shit," was all he said as he quickly got up and thrust the badge onto his chest. "I'll be right back," he said to Orihime as he went off to fight the hollow, feeling very relieved now that she was acting more like her normal self.
When he returned, Ichigo entered through the balcony window into Orihime's room as usual. Her lights were still on and the futons were made. Ichigo's body was tucked snuggly in his futon. Orihime and Nell were missing. Ichigo fused into his body and made his way to Orihime's bedroom door. It was slightly cracked open. Ichigo peeked through, inching the door open bit by bit.
Her back towards Ichigo, Orihime prayed at her brother's altar which they had moved into the living room in order to make more livable space in the bedroom. Ichigo began to slide the door open further, but abruptly stopped.
Orihime sniffled. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan."
He felt a sudden heaviness on his chest. Unwilling to precede further, Ichigo remained in the confines of Orihime's bedroom. He leaned against the wall, staying close to the door, and watched Orihime through the corners of his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm probably going to make you worry some more, huh?" Supporting the sleeping Nell with her left arm, Orihime wiped her face with her right hand. She chuckled a bit. "I wasn't even like this before I had to go to Hueco Mundo, but don't worry! It should pass…" Her head dropped, tears falling onto her hands. Ichigo saw her wipe her face again, and then she suddenly-
"GLOOM!!"
-screamed out, "No more gloom!!" Orihime stood up and lightly slapped her cheek with her free hand. "I can't let Kurosaki-kun see my gloom!"
The heaviness on Ichigo's chest dissipated. It felt like he was stabbed in the chest instead. Ichigo leaned against the wall and slowly slid down.
Suddenly, Nell's cries filled the entire apartment.
"Oh no!" Orihime began rock Nell side to side, realizing her sudden outburst caused her baby to be rudely awakened. "I'm sorry, Nell!" Unable to soothe Nell with the rocking motion, Orihime began to hum the unfamiliar tune again. Ichigo tilted his head back against the wall and listened intently, the pain in his chest still present.
Orihime began singing.
"Nelyasviel Tuderschvank is an Espada!
She's rank number 3, and its okay with me,
'Cause she's strong like her papa!"
"Uhh… I really need to come up with more words!" Orihime said cheerfully, still rocking Nell. Ichigo grinned a little at her lyrics. He slowly got up and walked through her bedroom door. "Oi, Inoue. I'm back," he said as he approached her. She turned to face him. He came to a halt. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy again, but this time, her tears had streaked her face.
"Oh, Kurosaki-kun! You're back already? See Nell, look at how strong you dad is!" She smiled at Ichigo.
He frowned. She was forcing herself again. Orihime looked back at Nell when Ichigo didn't return the smile. "I accidentally woke her up. She was sleeping so peacefully too! You want to try, Kurosaki-kun? She tends to sleep faster when you hold her."
Orihime handed Nell over to Ichigo. "I'm going to wash my face," she said as she dashed into the bathroom. Ichigo walked into their bedroom and rocked Nell while rubbing her back. "There there. Your momma will be alright again soon," he cooed. She quickly fell back asleep.
Trouble in a parent's heart gets carried straight down to the child.
Orihime came into the room, and noticed Nell was sleeping. She began fixing up Nell's crib as Ichigo slowly swayed her side to side. Once Orihime was finished, Ichigo carefully placed Nell into her crib. Orihime lifted her comforter and slipped her legs into her futon. She turned to Ichigo.
"Hey Kurosaki-kun," she whispered.
"Hmm?" He mumbled as he turned off the lights, the moon immediately casting its rays between their futons.
"Do I really look like your mom?"
"Huh?" Ichigo stared at Orihime with an indescribable look on his face as he got into his futon.
Orihime, who slipped fully into the futon, removed the futon that covered her mouth. "I mean, your dad keeps telling me that I remind him of your mom. Do I remind you of her?" she asked curiously. Ichigo thought about it as he got into his futon. He turned his head to face Orihime.
"Kind of, I guess. I did get my orange hair from her. You only need curly hair, and you'd probably look more like her." Orihime smiled a little. "I never saw my mom cry or get mad. She was always… happy. I've seen you cry a couple times. "
"I got mad once. It was in Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra got me so mad, I slapped him." Orihime said quite cheerfully while whispering. Ichigo smirked, but it soon faded as he thought about her initial question. He stared at the ceiling.
"Overall, you're both pretty positive about things, so yeah. You are kind of like her; although, you do seem down lately." He looked at Orihime from the corner of his eye. He heard her rustle in her futon a bit before she answered. "I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."
She lied. "Alright then. Good night, Inoue." Ichigo turned to his right side, facing away from Orihime.
"Good night, Kurosaki-kun."
Orihime waited for an hour to pass. Once she noticed it was already ten o' clock, she began to relax. Nell was soundly asleep, tonight wasn't going to one of those nights. Orihime quietly sighed. "Oi, I guess I'm not hiding it too well from Kurosaki-kun. He keeps asking if I'm okay. Bah, I've been so gloomy lately, and I don't know why." Orihime tossed her sheets over her head and sighed even deeper. She uncovered her head again and bit onto her thumb.
"I'm so weird."
"I'm too cowardly."
"I'm… weak."
"I'm… sorry." Orihime said softly. She sighed for the last time and turned onto her left side after glancing at Ichigo. She turned her back towards him.
Ichigo waited for an hour to pass. Once he noticed it was already ten o' clock, he began to relax. Nell was soundly asleep, tonight wasn't going to be one of those nights. He heard Orihime quietly sigh.
"Come on, King! You know she's depressed, go and console her! Then when she's all buttered up…"
"Shut up, I'm not that kind of guy!!"
"Yeah right! I know what you're thinking ALL the time."
"I'm… sorry."
Ichigo immediately ceased his argument with his inner hollow at the sound of those words. He heard her sigh and heard her comforter rustle about. Unknowing what to do, Ichigo slowly turned onto his belly to look at the lady laying next to him.
"Sorry- sorry for what?" he quietly asked.
Orihime's eyes widened. She threw he sheets over her head. "H-hey!" Ichigo tried to whisper. Still on his stomach, he extended his arms, hands crossing the path of the moonlight, and pulled himself towards Orihime's futon. Ichigo perched himself up with his left elbow. "Inoue." He grabbed what he made out to be her shoulder through the thick covers. "Inoue!" he said again.
"What's wrong, Inoue? I know something's been bothering you. What are you sorry for?" he whispered to her forcefully. She moved onto her back, her sheets still covering her face.
He heard a tiny sniffle.
Ichigo grabbed the sheets and lightly pulled them off her face.
Her face was scrunched, she bit her lip. Hot liquid rolled from the corners of her eyes, staining her cheeks as they rolled down towards her pillow. Ichigo's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Orihime was crying. This was the third time he had seen her cry.
"I-Ino-"
"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I'm sorry." Tears continued to stream down her face, as she brought her hands up to her cheeks. She used the palms of her hands to wipe her face.
"I'm sorry I ever went to Hueco Mundo."
Ichigo's expression of concern softened. "What?"
"I'm sorry I ever went. I thought I was finally going to protect you, but you ended up protecting me. Again. Because of me, you all got hurt, and when it got down to it, I couldn't help at all." Tears flowed from her eyes. Orihime stopped wiping them away, they came too quickly. "I never got the chance to think about it before, but then Nell reminds me of it, and you're always gone fighting…"She clutched at her face, her tears soaking them through her delicate hands.
"H-hey, that's not true." Ichigo said crawling even closer towards Orihime.
"Inoue, if you hadn't gone, we actually could have lost the war."
She stopped crying for a moment. "What?"
"Think about it. In Hueco Mundo, we all faced tough battles, and apparently we all got stronger because of it. If you hadn't gone, I wouldn't have been able to wear my mask for very long during the Winter War." Ichigo removed Orihime's hands from her face. "So don't even think about it like that. We were all okay in the end, so that's all that matters, right?" He whispered as he wiped away the remaining tears on her face.
"Yeah, but-" Orihime turned towards Ichigo.
He slid his elbow out from under him and extended it to serve as his pillow. Ichigo rested his head onto his left arm and looked into Orihime's brown eyes. "But what?"
"Nothing." Orihime said with a smile on her face.
"Right, so let's get some sleep."
Orihime nodded and brought her hands toward her face. She rested her cheek on them, and quickly fell asleep.
Throughout the night, the two inched closer in their sleep. Ichigo had fully crossed the moonlight's path and lay completely in Orihime's futon. Left arm still serving as his pillow, he wrapped his right arm loosely around the swell of Orihime's back. Ichigo's left arm serving as her pillow, she lightly placed a hand on his side and kept her other arm between them.
Her head tucked under his chin, their legs slightly intertwined, the two got the best night of sleep they had all week-
-except for the morning heart attack and bashful blushing the following day, of course.
I like pulling quotes from the manga. It makes it seem more real... to me at the very least. :D I hope you guys liked Sasuke! It was kind of a spur of the moment thing (I was going to name him Sosuke) but then I thought, since the voice actor (for the japanese version at least) did the voice for Ishida and Sasuke from Naruto, why not make Sasuke his kid?!
But man, I thought this was going to be an UBERLY short chapter, but it ended up being longer than the previous one. GO FIGURE! Geez, time really moves on quickly. I've got way too much on my palte, but thankfully I finished my drama. :D Huan Huan Ai is no longer on the brain, so now I can continue to write!
Oh yeah! I posted this up without proofreading it, so if you see any mistakes... I'm working on it!
Next Chapter: Monthly Meetings
What happens when their Nakama find out they have a baby? And guess what? Urahara finally gives an explanation.