A/N: Hey guys! I was up in the mountains for break but my internet connection is crappy so that I couldn't get through to ffnet. I missed the Sunday deadline and I waited a full week because I hate updating during the weekdays- those are the worst!
But that doesn't matter much now, we're here to read!
Disclaimer: I, Rocka, in no way shape or form own Bleach. Just this story.
Two and a half months later.
"Well, where the hell is he?"
"So eager, Kurosaki." Ishida adjusted his already straight glasses. "If he called this meeting, then he will eventually show up."
Ichigo would rather he didn't call a meeting at all, but, no matter how horrendous the situation was, Aizen was his client. And though Ichigo didn't want to put his best foot forward, it was the company's reputation on the line, and he wasn't in charge for nothing.
"He could at least be here on time." Ichigo snapped back.
"Good morning!" A tall girl with a notepad, brown pigtails and matching eyes smiled down at the two men. "Hello, I'm Hitomi! What will it be sir?"
Ichigo considered then looked up from his menu. "What does it mean?"
Hitomi's eyes widened, bewildered. "Excuse me?"
Ichigo pointed to her name badge clipped to her uniform. "Your name."
"Oh..." The waitress's brown eyes looked up at the ceiling in thought then back down to Ichigo. "Sorry, I can't remember."
Ishida cleared his throat after looking up from his phone. "I'll take a coffee, black. And keep them coming."
"Black coffee..." She echoed as she wrote on the pad.
"A glass of water will be fine." Ichigo folded down the menu and stared after the young girl as she walked away. He and Orihime have been looking for the right name. There were many options, most the two couldn't agree on. But, Hitomi... It just sounded right.
The redhead could barely hear his colleague's voice as he nudged him with him elbow.
"...cheese pear..."
Ichigo blinked, confused. "Sorry?"
"He's here."
Then Ichigo found Ishida's line of sight and sure enough, outside, walking along the sidewalk, there he is, with two other men walking behind him.
He snarled.
"Civilized," Ishida reminded him. "Mind your language; too, we're in public."
The first man opened the door for him while the second man, familiar to Ichigo but he's yet to see his face, stayed outside, talking on a cell phone.
"I apologize for being out of touch for so long." He smoothly slid into a chair. "If I didn't have other businesses, then we could have met sooner."
"You were the one to ask us to come here."
"Here you go!" A small pale wrist blocked Ichigo's view of his client. "One coffee, black. And one iced water." Hitomi placed a mug in front of Ishida a filled it with steaming dark liquid. She back up and finally noticed Aizen. "Oh! Um... would you want anything?" She grinned brightly. "We have a lunch special!"
Aizen raised his hand slightly, his eyes managing to never leave Ichigo's. "No thank you."
The three men waited until Hitomi left.
Ichigo grinded his teeth together roughly in irritation. "I thought we came to an agreement."
"Yes. Agreements. Speaking of those, I'd wish your staff would follow our courtesy agreements. I've several reports of your people being rude and short with employees." Ishida took it upon him to stir the meeting into a business setting, though he knew the business Aizen and Ichigo were speaking of was far from the business he wanted to discuss.
Aizen ran a large hand through dark hair, completely ignoring Ishida. "We did. I wouldn't tell anyone about your little… deals with Kensei Muguruma." As always, one straggling curl springs back between his eyes and is left behind. "And in exchange, you would promote my company. All's well that ends well."
Ichigo wanted to hit him. To hit that smirk off of his face. He walks around with it on like he owns the whole goddamn world. Not if Ichigo could help it.
And he knew. Aizen knew exactly what he was talking about. "...I thought it was also mutually agreed upon that you'd stay away from my family."
Aizen looked to his right and frowned. "Yes, that agreement is still on, unless you want to take that back."
"You lied."
Aizen's brown eyes crept back up to Ichigo's and hardened. "Ichigo Kurosaki. I am not a liar. And if I did, you still wouldn't catch me on it. I presume you're speaking of the custody case."
"You know damn well what I'm talking about," he growled. Next to him, he Ishida cleared his throat loudly and received another nudged.
His face, inch by inch, was slowly becoming harder and harder. "I did not, in fact, 'touch' your family, but my own. I want Tamotsu, my son. Unfortunately, he has no blood ties to you whatsoever." He smiled but the hardness wasn't completely wiped away. "Just a roof and woman."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes, wanting to use a few choice words but he heard a child's laughter somewhere behind him.
Aizen stood, straightening his suit jacket. "So I'm still within the right of our trivial contract. Are we done here?"
Ichigo's eyes darkened, refusing to be defeated. "You aren't getting away with this."
"Ichigo Kurosaki," Aizen looked over his shoulder and the first man opened the door again. "I already have."
He should have stayed there. He should have calmed down and left what was as it is. But he couldn't. He couldn't let Aizen saunter off with that smirk on his face.
"Kurosaki, don't!"
Ichigo swung the glass door opened and stormed out of the coffee shop. Aizen was entering the back of a car as Ichigo raged down the sidewalk. The second man, closing Aizen's door was still talking on the phone. As Ichigo approached the vehicle, he spoke his last words into the receiver.
"We're leaving..."
Ichigo stood still. He's heard his voice before... somewhere. Those words he's heard before.
The man never dropped eye contact. Even as he entered the car.
Ichigo's mind scanned voice after voice, trying to place that man somewhere, in some slot.
"We leave."
The back of his throat closed tightly. It couldn't be... not the... the man who mugged him.
The man's emerald eyes shifted to the road as the car drove off.
But why would he be... he's with... Ichigo's face crumbled in hatred.
Aizen. He wanted him injured. He got it. He wanted him viewed as an insufficient parent. He managed that too. There was only one goal. One thing that chewing the bastard inside out. One thing he couldn't get.
Each of his hands came together into a tight fist.
One thing...
...
"Tamotsu, stop touching it, or it'll bleed again!"
Orihime took a napkin and dabbed at her son's missing tooth. It came out only a week ago while he was pretending to be a jet plane and accidentally tripped and fell.
"Mommy..." Tamotsu whined and gagged at the taste of the cloth.
"Now." Orihime stood up and looked down at him. "We're here to see grandpa. So be on your best behavior."
Tamotsu nodded and took his mother's hand.
The child noticed that his mommy was getting bigger! Daddy says that the planted seed will turn into a baby and then it will get bigger and bigger until one day it will be in the hospital, waiting for us.
Mommy said that they were in a hospital now, but the baby wasn't coming yet.
The child remembered going through a series of white halls and floors. They finally stopped in front of another white door. He remembered seeing his mommy knock on the door and open the door.
"Grandpa!" Tamotsu shrieked but restrained himself from hopping onto the bed and wrestling his old man to the ground. He remembered his instruction and allowed his mommy to sit him down on one of the nearby chairs. There he finished picking with the vacant spot where his front tooth once resided with his tongue.
"Hi." Orihime said softly and waddled to the side of his bed. "How are you feeling?" It was becoming harder to walk as of late. Her hips managed to become wider though it already seemed impossible and Orihime had even more trouble sleeping.
On the bright side, Tatsuki was always there to eat chocolate with her at two in the morning!
Isshin pushed himself up when they walked through the door. He still looked like himself aside from the sticky patches attached to his chest. "Better than yesterday. That's for sure."
Orihime gave her father in-law a wide grin though she felt far from smiling. Isshin had suffered from a mild heart attack, which easily could have been a big one! When Ichigo and Orihime visited him the first time, she and Yuzu broke down in tears. Orihime promised to come back when she was much more reserved. She's now visited him every day since the attack occurred three days ago.
The old man made a long, drawn out sigh. "I want to get out of here... I'm tired of being strapped down and drugged up!"
Orihime shifted on the bed a little, holding her large belly. "They're just monitoring your heart before you go. You only have a few more days left... and if you're good, maybe they'll let you out early!"
"You make it sound like prison."
It is prison. And Orihime would know. She's been in a hospital more times than she could count on her fingers! "This isn't that bad... You'll be home soon. I guarantee it."
Isshin laid back down and hummed deeply. His eyes were closed as he asked his next question. "How's life outside of this hellhole?"
"Well," Orihime rubbed her stomach again. "BabyCakes is back up for business tomorrow!"
His left lid lifted and Orihime couldn't tell but she thought she saw an mischievous glint. "Is everything running smoothly?"
Tamotsu traced the lines of the wood on the arm of the chair with his finger. It dipped down and came back up to the top. There were dark lines and light lines and squiggly lines! "Smoothly..." Tamotsu repeated.
"I can't begin to tell you how easy it's all been. It's the only thing I can really be sure of. It's like the only thing in this upside down world that... works!"
Isshin reached for the cup beside his bed but Orihime got to it first. She waddled around and poured him a glass of water from the pitcher. "How about the money? Is it tight?"
The woman frowned slightly as she continued pouring. "We have more than enough."
"Ten grand sure is a lot!"
Orihime halted her pouring. "It sure is- it..." Orihime placed the pitcher back down and handed the cup to her father in-law. "Isshin... I've never mentioned the ten thousand to you... ever."
"Damn. I let it slip!" Isshin shook his head. "Just... forget I said anything!"
Tamotsu's ears poked up in alert. Grandpa said a bad word...
"Isshin! If you know... was it you?!" She exclaimed. All of that money? That was probably taken right out of his savings! Why did he do this?!
"Half. Just half." Isshin said in his defense. He slowly lifted the cup up to his lips and took a sip. "I wanted to give more but Ichigo insisted that we split it."
"Ichigo! But... but..." Orihime held her head to keep it from spinning.
"How do you think the money got in the account? Those girls- Michiru and R-ry-re-"
Orihime looked up. "Michiru and Ryō..."
"Ryō!" In his excitement, his cup tilted and drops of water splattered onto the sheets. "They were in on it too!"
Orihime felt woozy all of a sudden and sat back down on the side of the bed... It wasn't because they lied or went behind her back... It was just that... ten thousand dollars is a lot of money. It's just... why would they do all of it... for her?
Orihime felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Don't be upset... we were trying to help..."
Tamotsu stood up in his chair and shouted. "Don't be upset, Mommy!"
"I know but... I..." Orihime shook her head and waited patiently as the pain in her head travelled from the back to the front. "I feel so..." Looking at his face. His jolly old face... Orihime couldn't tell him how she really felt. How she felt like a failure and constantly needed the help of others. How she always needed crutches. The man just had a heart attack for Christ sakes! "... happy. I'm so... overjoyed!"
Isshin grinned back. "Happy to hear it."
Orihime put on the brightest smile she could muster. "Thank you. Thank you, I really mean it... I wouldn't have my bakery without you."
"Bakery?" Tamotsu climbed down from the chair. "Cookies? Bakery?" The child walked over to his mother and grabbed his mother's hand, tugging it a little. "Bakery?" he asked again.
"Me- I and Tamotsu have to go." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Feel better, okay."
"We know how much it meant to you." Isshin called before she walked out the door.
"I know, and that's why you should have never done it!" Orihime felt like shouting at him. But she couldn't. Instead, she just smile, thanked him once more and left the hospital.
...
The front door pinged and Orihime looked up to see Ichigo coming through the front door. "I thought I'd catch you guys here. I asked Tatsuki and she said you were still at the hospital."
Tatsuki had become a huge help around the house. Making dinner every night and making sure Tamotsu was up and dressed in the morning because Orihime needed her rest.
Orihime set her broom behind the counter and kissed her husband.
"Where's the little guy?" Ichigo asked.
Orihime wiped her hands on the sides of her maternity pants. "Sleeping. In my office."
Ichigo began walking up the stairs behind her. "I'll go get him-"
"Isshin told me what you did." Orihime debated with herself. She wasn't sure if she should have let him know that she knew but their new relationship was all about trust. If she didn't get it off her chest then what was the point of making anew in the first place?
Ichigo stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. "What did I do?"
The woman spun around sharply. "...I know you were trying to help but you shouldn't have!" Oops, she thought. She promised herself she'd keep her temper in check. Last time her and Ichigo got into an argument , a few weeks back, she threw a plate at him. But in her defense, he should had never said turduckens were stupid and with all the stuff going on inside her body with the pregnancy, every little dispute can turn into World War III.
"BabyCakes is mine!"
Ichigo walked back down the stairs and held her hand but she pulled away. "BabyCakes is still yours; no one is taking that from you. I- we all wanted to help you."
She wasn't taking that excuse! "Then why didn't you tell me it was you from the start?"
The redhead sighed. "We all unanimously agreed that we wanted to keep it a secret. We didn't want to take any credit for what you built."
Orihime thought for a moment. By keeping it a secret she could keep her dignity... Well it didn't feel that way before...
Orihime felt his hand come back up and rub her shoulder. "...I guess that makes sense..."
He kissed her again and waited until she looked him in the eye. "It's not a lie. I'm sorry for not telling the truth the first time, but we all thought it was for your own good."
Well now she just felt like an ungrateful brat. When he puts it all together like that it just doesn't seem so bad...
"I'll go get Tamotsu and you get ready to go. Sounds good?"
She nodded. "Mhmm."
Orihime took her broom and placed it in the closet in the kitchen.
She was going to have to wake early tomorrow and she'd better get her rest before the baby begins to stir.
Don't worry, Orihime mentally told her. You'll be out soon. I know it's getting crowded in there.
Ichigo came slowly walking down the steps with Tamotsu slouched over his shoulder in one arm and his tiny dinosaur jacket in the other.
"Ready?"
Orihime pulled on her own jacket and grabbed the keys. "Yes."
...
"Just pull the left side up a little more... just a smidgen... perfect!"
Ichigo released a nail from between his lips and hammered it into the wall.
As he carefully maneuvered his way down the ladder, the finished product of a pink Grand Re-Opening banner hung proudly over the BabyCakes.
"Thanks, honey. It looks great!"
Tamotsu munched on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."Thank you, daddy!" He waved a piece of paper in front of his father until he took it from his hands.
It was a drawing of a man with orange hair and a hammer in his hand. In the background, a woman and a child watched in wonder.
"Very creative!" Ichigo nodded impressively.
Tamotsu hopped from foot to foot. "Daddy builds! Look! He builds with the hammer!"
Inside, Tatsuki straightened a iron chair -which were order by Ichigo- and took a step back. "Orihime, when are we opening again?"
Orihime waddled behind the glass display window and examined a finger smudge. "A quarter to! I can't believe we've made it this far!"
Ryō's head popped out of the kitchen's swing doors. "Orihime, when do you think they will start coming? We're losing space in the kitchen with all this food stacked everywhere..."
Orihime rubbed at the smudge and huffed when she made it worse. "Dunno... later, I guess."
Tatsuki inspected the layout of the room from another corner. "Orihime. Do you think we should rearrange the tables again?" She tweaked a table to align perfectly with the one before it.
A paper towel suddenly appeared between her eyes and she took it gratefully.
Ichigo waited until she stood to kiss her. "Should I help in the kitchen or the counter?"
Of course Ichigo wanted to help- as always. He said they could really use the hype. But Orihime wasn't haven't any of it. She was sticking to the flyers the girls made and the printed custom tees. They had the logo and everything! Very official.
Tamotsu looked up from his messy PB and J sandwich. "Mommy! Cussmer! Cussmer!"
Orihime glanced up, and sure enough, a customer was coming to the door!
Frantically, she pushed the loose strand of burnt-orange behind her ear but then decided to redo her ponytail "Do you think we should let them in?"
Ichigo shrugged and went behind the counter. "Sure, why not."
The door pinged open and in walked a smart looking man in his suit and tie.
"Hi!" Orihime said brightly.
The man looked around the shop in what Orihime hoped to be approval. "...Are you guys open?"
Orihime nodded happily, her ponytail bouncing wildly behind her."Yes! Would you like a coffee?"
The customer grinned back and came up to the counter. "Absolutely."
The customer ordered an apple Danish and a coffee. He settled across the room, in one of the new iron chairs. Apparently Michiru thought it would be hip if they got pink chairs, with the fur going down the sides. Thank God Ichigo was there.
"Another customer!"
A woman with a red face bustled in with a yappy dog which made her play tug-o-war in restraining it. "Hey! I saw your flyer and I'm so glad you opened again." She tried to lift the piece of paper but the dog had other plans so she yank him back. "...Anyway. I heard that someone robbed you and thought what a coincidence because my cousin's corner shop was robbed too! On the same week!"
Orihime took the woman in with her yappy dog and beet red visage. "Erm... how... exciting!"
The woman eyed her incredulously. "Exciting? I was horrified! What if those robbers come back again?"
Ichigo placed a hand on his wife's shoulder and smile at the dog lady. "I don't think anyone would rob us twice."
The woman scooped up her dog and held it under her arm. At closer examination, Orihime could see half of the fur on the poor animal was shaved off. No wonder he was so yappy, he was cold!
The dog lady dismissed Ichigo answer with a wave. "You never know... Anyway, my niece is having her eleventh birthday in two weeks. Can I place an order?"
Orihime nodded and pulled out the forms. "Of course!"
The door gave another ping and another customer walked through the door.
"Can I offer you a coffee?" Orihime guided the dog lady over to a table and the front door pinged again. "Free if you buy a morning pastry, cinnamon bun, or bagel!"
Orihime became giddy with joy as people started coming in one by one. All of her regulars told her how hard the past months had been without her smile or pastries. Orihime would blush and simply thanked them and said she missed them all too.
Sometime, after the morning rush was over and the odd someones came in for a lunch cookie or doughnut, Orihime went upstairs to her small office. Tamotsu was downstairs in the kitchen with the girls, probably helping with punching the bread dough.
"Who's at the register?" Orihime asked before Ichigo could knock on her door.
He grinned at her consciousness stepped inside the room. "Ryō asked to take over. Feeling well?"
Being on her feet so long while be so heavily pregnant wasn't her greatest idea. So she sat down tiredly on her chair and placed her head on the desk. "I'm fine," she whispered.
Ichigo inspected a new Tamotsu's original with peanut butter smudges everywhere. If he looked past the stains, the picture of a doughnut was actually very accurate, the shadowing behind the crumbs was very realistic. "Happy?" Ichigo asked his wife and placed the picture back on her desk.
"Of course..." Orihime groaned which turned into a hunger rumble down in her stomach. "Just... tired."
"Do you want to go home and rest?"
Orihime sat up. "Nah... I'm a little hungry though."
Ichigo smiled. "Perfect." He helped her out of her chair and slipping her jacket on. "Let's go out for lunch."
The duo left the bakery and went down to the Pizza Paradise down the street. They wanted to bring Tamotsu but he insisted on finishing his cookies the shape of dinosaurs. Judging from his messy face, it looked as if he was eating more sweets than baking them. He wouldn't be needing lunch anytime soon.
"Save us a table." Ichigo said as he got into the short line.
Orihime scooted into the cushioned chairs and toyed with the little salt and pepper shakers on the table. Her stomach grumbled again and she pulled out a chocolate bar from her bag.
"Sousuke Aizen was seen exiting an office building the other day..."
Orihime's head shot up at the name. Hanging haphazardly in the corner of the ceiling along with an identical on the other side of the room, Aizen and men in suits were walking out of a glass office building. The building was familiar... somewhere downtown, in the city...
"He's... he's back..."
A glass of water slid in front of her and Ichigo sat down across from her with a soda in his hand. "What's that?"
Gathering her composure, Orihime told the glass of water between her hands. "Nothing..."
Ichigo lifted a brow and looked up at the screen behind him. The picture of Aizen and his men were still up while the voiceover continued speaking until she went to the next subject.
He sighed. "The trial isn't until a week from now. There's nothing to worry about."
Orihime watched the ice cubes bob in the clear water. "Ichigo... I got another letter this morning. It's postponed- again."
Orihime glanced up from the water just in time to see his hands slowly curling themselves into fists. "He's stringing us along isn't he. I'm sick of all of this rescheduling bull-"
"We aren't going to win are we?"
"Hello..." A drowsy, male voice droned. "Half cheese, half pepperoni... Enjoy..." The teen sauntered away.
"Win what?" Ichigo started when the teen was out of earshot. "You are Tamotsu's mother. Nothing can ever take that title from you." Ichigo leaned forward, smiling his dazzling smile. "We've already won."
"But-"
"No buts." His voice was stern.
Orihime nodded. "Okay... okay." She conjure up a smile and remembered that she was hungry. "God, I'm starving."
Orihime reached for the pizza but was having trouble pulling the crust apart without damaging the slice next to it. "Here, let me help." Ichigo offered and placed a cheese on her plate.
"What would I do without you?" The woman grinned sincerely as he passed her the plate.
The redhead smirked while he swallowed a bite of pepperoni. "Broken pizza, maybe."
One and a half months later.
Orihime sat up and clenched her teeth. "Ahhh…"
After a long forty seconds which felt like hours, Orihime gasped as the balling went away.
Cautiously, she laid back down and closed her eyes. It was eleven thirty... the baby wakes up around two or two thirty... It didn't feel like a kick... more like... her muscles were... they were...
"Ow! Ooww!" Orihime grabbed below her belly and curled up in a ball under the covers. Her stomach or something was cramping and twisting up. Is the baby doing this...?!
Orihime grabbed Ichigo's shoulder and shook him awake.
It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening. "What's wrong?" He sat up quickly and held her shoulders while she curled tighter. "Do you think you're in labor?" His amber eyes widened. "You're in labor!"
Orihime shook her head and closed her eyes. "…N-no…" It was over again and she began to relax.
Ichigo stood up and grasped his hair in fists. "We have to go to the hospital!"
They going to come back.Popped up in her head.
"We have to wake up Tamotsu! No! Tatsuki's here, so she'll see after him! But they'll both want to come!"
Orihime sat up. "Um... call Yoruichi for me, please."
Not ten minutes later, Orihime was lying in bed, a glass of water in her hands and a pillow tucked against the curve of her back, watching her husband pace back and forth.
Even Tatsuki and Tamotsu awoken from all of the ruckus Ichigo was making. Tatsuki said that if Orihime wasn't worried, she wasn't either, and went back to bed. Tamotsu, on the other hand, was wide awake and now he was sitting at the foot of the bed, playing with two toy cars which he made hover in the air then crash down into each other.
"So… you don't think she's in labor?" He said into the phone.
He stopped in his tracks and nodded. "Uh-huh..."
Orihime sipped on her cold water and swallowed slowly so she could feel the chilly water going down her throat. She had figured them out! The balling- or whatever they were, came around two or three minutes apart and lasted for about forty seconds.
The pain wasn't too bad anyway. It was hardly pain at all! More of a... queasy feeling, like her stomach ate something bad and she's paying for it.
But since she's sat up and drank cold water through the balling, it isn't all as drastic as it seems.
"What did she say?" Orihime asked while Ichigo powered his phone down.
"Yoruichi said they are probably BH contractions and they'll go away in an hour or so." Sat on the edge of the bed on Orihime's side and looked into her eyes. "She said you're way too early. Maybe just a little stressed... but definitely not in labor."
Ichigo touched her stomach and began to rub it at the sight of her relieve expression. "What does it feel like?"
Orihime pushed his hand lower, just under her stomach, until he was at the right painful stop. She sighed. "Like... tight."
Ichigo lifted an orange eyebrow. "Tight?" He repeated in a question while continuingly rubbing her tummy.
"Yes. Tight. Really uncomfortable..." Orihime took another sip of her water and waited for the BH to pass. "I didn't have these with Tamotsu."
Orihime and Ichigo both stopped to look at their son. He was wearing two piece fire truck pajamas. His shaggy, dark hair drooped over his face as he made "rawr" noises with the cars.
"I still think we should go to the hospital." Ichigo said pulling her back onto subject.
"No. The trial's today and it's already been postponed three times."
Ichigo shook his head, unbelievingly. He couldn't believe she was risking her health over some egotistical asshole. "Are you sure."
Orihime nodded. "Positive."
She knew what he was thinking. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't in any danger and that she just wanted to get it all over with. This trial has been hanging over their heads long enough and Orihime was over it all.
"Are you ready?"
The woman nodded again. placing her hand atop his'. "Yes. I'm ready for whatever he can throw at me."
Tamotsu stopped playing with his toys. "Mommy?" The couple looked up. "Is the baby coming?"
"Soon, Monkey. But not yet..."
...
"You're going to do amazing. And whatever the outcome, it'll be in our favor."
"You really think we'll win?" Orihime asked for the hundredth time.
"Yes." Ichigo pulled her closer and kissed her intensely. "I really do."
After the kiss, her strength renewed and she smiled at her family. She hugged Tatsuki then bent down to Tamotsu's level, which, without Orihime knowing it, was higher.
"Remember," She pushed a bushel of dark hair away from his face. "You're going down to Grandpa's today."
His eyes brightened. "With Daddy and Tatsuki-san?"
Orihime nodded and leaned down some more. "Mhmm. Can I have a hug, Monkey?"
"Yes mommy!"
Across the long carpeted hall, a man watched passively at the view before him of a mother embracing her child.
His face was unreadable, but somewhere inside of him, sparked reverence and commiseration, all at once. Feelings he hasn't had for what appeared to be never.
A suited man cleared his throat. "This way, Aizen-sama. If you will." He gestured to wooden double doors.
The man turned his face away from the ineffable scene and continued through the doors.
"Mommy, are you coming?" Tamotsu asked as they broke apart.
Orihime rested her hand under her belly, which was still tightening and releasing but with no force this time. "Um... No, Monkey."
Though it seemed impossible, Tamotsu's eyes became bigger with naivety. "Can I stay with you, Mommy?"
Orihime held his cheek. "Monkey... Tamotsu... Don't cry, baby."
His brown eyes began to sparkle with upcoming tears but with a single glance at Ichigo he immediately composed himself. "I want to stay with mommy..." he said slowly so everyone could understand as if he was the adult explaining his words to children.
"But you'll see your Grandpa!" Tatsuki said cheerfully, hoping to brighten the mood. "You can tell your mommy about it afterwards, okay?"
Tamotsu rubbed under his right eye and sniffled. "Okay..."
A finger tapped Orihime on her shoulder and Osamu's lawyer-y face appeared. "We're starting."
Tatsuki took Tamotsu's hand and Ichigo went with them. The trio left her standing alone with Osamu and his legal assistant.
"Have fun!" Orihime called and wave some more. She kept her face in a fixed smile though the tightening in her belly was becoming more than uncomfortable- it was being to actually hurt.
"Mrs. Kurosaki, we must go." Osamu said urgently. "It reflects badly when you're late. Every second counts..."
Orihime, followed by Osamu and the quiet legal assistant, filed into their seats. The judge wasn't out yet and Osamu told her that there wasn't going to be a jury.
She tried her hardest, with all her might she tried not to look, but she found herself staring at Aizen. He was listening intently to his lawyer, Kaname Tōsen, wearing his shades as usual.
Aizen was listening to him. He had to be. But as the conversation wore on, Aizen's smirk grew wider and wider over his face. Then his eyes quickly flashed to hers'.
Orihime gasped and looked away. He caught her.
Osamu was discussing legal documents with the paralegal on prenups and marriages but Orihime sat there quietly, silently in pain, and waited for the trial to begin.
"He's growing rapidly."
Orihime glared up at the man from her seat. "What's it to you?"
There he was, looking immaculate as always in a blue pinstripe suit. Not a speck of dust on him.
What a narcissistic.
Orihime looked away before he could call her examination out on her.
She tried not to show the pain in her face. The tightening was becoming more... more than, than...
His voice rumbled in a smooth chuckle. "He'll be in my care soon and I intend to monitor his development."
"In my care soon..."
He was that confident. It made her blood boil. Or maybe it was the pain?
"Why do you want Tamotsu so badly?" She snapped. "What does he have to offer?"
"Offer?" Aizen lifted his right eyebrow. "You believe that I want something from him."
Orihime jutted her chin firmly. "I know you're a man of opportunity."
Aizen nodded in acknowledgement to her answer, calculating. Not a hair leaving it's place with exception to that one bobbing curl. "Au contraire. I don't want something from him but himas himself. I'm a man of investment. And that's exactly what Tamotsu is."
How disgusting. He planned to make money off of her son. He was nothing but an asset to him? A meal ticket?
"He's a child." Orihime almost growled, wanting to pounce on him and rip his throat out.
Aizen considered. "Today, yes. But I will rely on my offspring. Not everyone is immortal." His voice was steely. Like he just sliced her to piece when it was her who wanted to tear him apart. "I wish you all the best in today's trial."
Then it began. Aizen gave his testimony and she gave hers.
Aizen's argument was simply that he shouldn't be denied the chance to know his son. That he was capable to care for him with or without a mother. That him as a parent alone was sufficient.
Orihime, breathing deeply, in and out, the whole time, knowing full now that her argument wasn't as strong, pleaded that Tamotsu didn't need him. That he hadn't taken an interest in him in four years. And now, there's no point in knowing his real dad because Ichigo was suffice. He was more than that- he was, is, amazing.
The same judge sat quietly, listening though it looked like he was sleeping. The skin around his eyes looking droopier than the last time she saw him.
Sometime, sometime during it all, Orihime couldn't take it anymore. The pain that is.
It intensified, turning from the tightening of her muscles to the feeling of really bad menstrual cramps.
They felt like... but she was only thirty four weeks, nowhere near her due date... but...
The judge had left the court for some time and returned, taking his time sitting down in his bench. His voice grumbled and he licked his chops before speaking. "I have come to my final verdict-"
"Excuse me-" Orihime raised her hand quickly. "Excuse me, can I just have a second. Please... Your honor..."
The courtroom was quiet and Orihime hoped she didn't make the wrong decision by interrupting.
After the longest the seconds of her life, the Judge spoke:
"Fine. We'll take a five minute recess and regroup." He banged his gavel and got down from his bench.
Orihime stood up quickly, almost knocking her wooden chair down.
"Orihime!" Osamu called out to her as she stumbled out of the room.
When out of the stuffy courtroom her eyes scanned down both sides of the hallway. She nearly cried out in relief when she saw the ladies room sign.
The contractions were getting tighter and tighter- almost like the real thing.
Orihime stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were still a little blotchy from all of the rubbing and the tip of her nose was red.
She could have really used that sleep.
Her face was so flushed and sweaty. The pain was just too much...
Maybe she should have gone to the hospital.
Orihime slowly brought her hand down to the giant bulge causing her pain, as if if she moved too fast, she'd collapse.
It's okay, she mentally whispered to her baby. You can come out now, if you want...
Kaname Tōsen tapped his expensive leather shoes on the floor in frustration. "May we proceed?" He glanced at his watch and huffed. "Where is Mrs. Kurosaki?"
"I'm here." Orihime walked up the front of the room, moving as fast as she under the her circumstances.
"Can we continue, Mrs. Kurosaki?" the judge asked her politely. Orihime nodded gratefully and wiped the top of her sweaty forehead.
"I'm fine."
Again, the judge gave a grumble and was back to his drowsy self. "Orihime Kurosaki will be granted sole legal custody."
The corners of Osamu's mouth turned up a notch and he nodded appreciatively.
"And I'm granting Sousuke Aizen unsupervised visitation rights."
That's when it crashed- not just her world, but a loud splash that made everyone turn their heads.
Orihime leaned forward and rocked against the table for balance. She gritted her teeth through the hurt. "Your… your honor…"
The judge turned a drowsy head towards her and sighed, irritated. "Yes, Mrs. Kurosaki?" After seeing what was before him, Orihime saw the judge opened his eyes wide for the first time during the trial.
"…I think my water just broke…"
Again, I'm really sorry about the delay. But please tell me what you think about this chapter! It was approximately 6,700 words and I worked so hard! I felt like the past chapters were missing something, so I hope this one captured your attentions again!
Thanks, and I'll try to be on time next week! Happy New Year!
Rocka.