A/N: I decided to hold off on the bigger time skip for this next chapter for spring break. I hoped everyone will or did enjoy their time off!

Disclaimer: I always wanted to write the disclaimer in another language, but I don't want to offend anyone if I write it wrong… Anyway, I don't own Bleach

"Tammy, if there are six fishies in the water and…" Hitomi stared down at her fingers and lifted three up. "And three die. How many fishies are in the water?"

"Six."

The siblings walked down the hallways together as always when school was over. Tamotsu was always sure to meet his little sister at her classroom door before they walked out the building together.

"Hey!" Hitomi crossed her arms and huffed. "You were possed to say three and I was possed to six."

Tamotsu smiled. "What you're saying is I was supposed to get it wrong?"

Hitomi nodded. "Mmhmm!"

It was Hitomi's first year being a first grader. It was a little scary for Tamotsu at first, being in a larger building, in a larger environment, but Hitomi held her own just fine.

The first grader swung her Tinkerbell bookbag in front of her. She dug around at the bottom and pulled out a beaded loop. "Tammy, look at the necklace I made for mommy."

Tamotsu glanced down at his sister but looked behind when his name was called by familiar voices.

Isamu and Hiro shouted his name down the hall.

Hitomi tugged on Tamotsu's sleeve for his attention. "Tammy…"

"Huh- oof!"

Tamotsu crashed into a sturdy, yet soft wall of some sort. The fifth grader staggered back a little and looked up to a wide, tall boy he's never seen before.

The boy spun around, his face immediately twisting from nonchalant to complete chagrin. "Watch where you're going!" The boy shouted. He shoved Tamotsu back even more, making the fifth grader fall. "Mop-top!"

Hitomi stomped her Velcro strapped shoe. "Hey!" She yelled, gathering the bully's attention. "His name isn't Mop-top!" The bully blinked at the tiny girl then his mouth turned into a wicked smile at her next words. "It's Tammy!"

Meanwhile, Isamu and Hiro finally caught up and helped Tamotsu to his feet. "You okay?" Isamu asked, worried about everything always.

Tamotsu nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The bully persisted, picking for an altercation. "Sure, have your little sister some to the rescue!" A few students behind him snickered. "Carrot-top and Mop-top!"

Tamotsu took a step forward, towards the bully. "Don't talk about my sister," he growled. He strained to get closer but failed too due to the various hands tugging him back.

The bully stepped closer too, looming over the fifth grader. Hitomi jumped between them. "Tammy, stop it!" She pushed at her brother's chest, separating the rivals. "Mommy says no fighting!"

"Yeah?" The bully answered, ignoring the first grader wedged between the two. The larger boy sneered, looking down at the smaller one and scoffed. "Who's going to stop me?"

Tamotsu's lips parted but before he spoke, he glanced down at his little sister and became aware of hands tugging gently at his shoulders, the various other students stopping and glancing curiously at the disturbance in the hall.

Tamotsu took a deep breath. "Let's go."

Isamu seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Tamotsu took his sister's hand and walked past the bully, his friends in tow.

"Yeah, run home to mommy!" The bully said as Tamotsu walked by. "You know what my mom said about your mom? She said your mom is a whore."

Tamotsu stopped.

Hitomi yanked on her brother's arm. "Tammy…"

But her brother wasn't listening. All he could hear, all her could comprehend was the nagging voice behind him. His fists clenched.

"She said she's done some bad things are thinks she can get off scot-free."

…

Orihime rushed into the main office, her normal cheery smile vanished from her face. The woman walked to the first desk she saw and gathered the secretary's attention. "Hello, I'm here to speak with Principal Tokushima."

And why should she have a cheery smile on her face. Walking into the school building to find her children in those seats of shame, lined against the main office wall. Those chairs only meant they were in trouble, and to top it all off, Tamotsu had a bruise on his arm and Hitomi apparently nicked her knee from tripping over herself during the scuffle.

The other boy was a transfer student who was pulled from school before Orihime showed up. The mother could only go over and over in her mind what she was say to that young man's parents.

Now, a day later, Orihime was being sent into the principal's office, like she was one of the bad children sitting in a seat of shame. What a shame.

The secretary nodded. "Oh, oh yes! She'll be right with you Kurosaki-san."

This was probably the last place Orihime wanted to be. She had three different birthday cake orders to finish, Ryō was out sick, and Michiru was left in charge… Which was fine…. but not ideal.

Orihime stood when the principal's door opened. She shook hands with the woman though her face lacked a smile. "Hi."

Principal Tokushima grinned. "Hello. I just want to formally apologize for the events yesterday."

She allowed the mother to step into her office and returned behind her desk. "Bullying is certainly not permitted on school grounds." She began. "And the school yards and halls are chaperoned. Our teachers will keep an eye on the two to be sure no more altercations will occur."

Orihime's eyes moved across the room quickly. It was a trait she randomly picked up as being a mother, looking this over quickly and assessing them just as fast. Everything was organized and neat, nothing hung crooked or slouching. It was cold and the air seemed thin, suffocating. Oh it was like elementary all over again.

Even Tokushima seemed part of the interior, anal and dull. Her dark bun was pulled back into a tight knot over the back of her neck. Her skin seemed to pull back as with her hair making it seemingly impossible to blink of smile or… any outwardly emotional expression.

"We've dealt with the child and he'll be out of school for a few days." Tokushima continued, snapping Orihime back up. "Your son will also be suspended for-"

"Wait, wait." Orihime lifted a hand. "My son's being suspended?"

The principal did the impossible and blinked a few times. "Why, yes. Any child caught fighting on our school grounds will be suspended."

Orihime pushed loose burnt-orange strands behind both her ears. "….But it was self-defense… Tamotsu wasn't trying to hurt anyone."

Tokushima nodded. "That may be-"

"My son's done nothing wrong. He was pushed first. Bullied. Taunted."

Besides Tokushima's tightly drawn face and pale skin, she wore bright red lipstick over thin lips. "Mrs. Kurosaki. We have a system here. We don't want children fighting and getting away with it."

"That's the type of system you're running?" Orihime asked, her question coming out sharper then she intended.

"This system does not condone violence." Principal Tokushima responded just as quick.

The mother shook her head. "This system is... inadequate."

Tokushima stacked a few papers on her desk as she spoke. "Well, if you have any issues, you might want to take it up with the school board."

If a bystander was watching, it would have looked as if Tamotsu was the bully beating on another student. But that wasn't the case. Orihime was trying to make her understand, even if Tamotsu was fighting, he would have never put his hands on another person if they didn't give him a reason.

"Mrs. Kurosaki," the principal sighed. "It is my job to protect the student body."

"And it's my job to protect my son."

The woman pressed her thin, red lips together. Her face seemed to become even more rigid then before. Her eyes became slits and she opened her mouth again. "He'll receive a week suspension for being involved in the… skirmish, nothing more, nothing less. He'll have to make up the missed work himself."

The principal stood and so did Orihime. "Thank you." They shook hands.

Principal Tokushima opened the door and allowed Orihime to step out. "I hope to see again, hopefully not under the same circumstances."

Later that night.

Orihime turned the shrimp over in the pan and watched the crustacean fizzle. "Ichigo…" The woman took her tongs and turned the rest over. "He broke that boy's nose."

"I guess those lessons with Tatsuki really paid off."

Orihime glared at him over her shoulder. How could he make funnies at a time like this? Orihime never imagined one of her babies getting into a fight. "Ichigo, I am serious." She went back to dipped raw shrimp in the batter and plopping them in the spitting oil. "What if that child broke our son's nose? How would you feel? I can't imagine how that boy's mother feels."

Ichigo folded his paper down and took a sip of his tea before speaking. "One, that wouldn't happen, Tamotsu knows how to defend himself. And two, I would suspect you'd feel upset. Either way, Tamotsu doesn't have a scratch on him. He's fine and you should be too."

Orihime dropped the fried crustaceans into a bowl and turned the burner off. "He's not fine. I always have told him violence is no way to settle anything." The mother sighed. "He's lucky he didn't get kicked off the team."

Ichigo stood and helped his wife prepare the plates. "He told me he would have never hit him if it wasn't for what the boy said."

Her eyes widened. "What did he say?"

Ichigo popped a shrimp in his mouth before Orihime could whack his hand away. "He wouldn't tell me," the man said after swallowing.

"See, he's not fine." Orihime set the plates on the dining room table. "Hitomi, Tamotsu! Dinner time!"

The normal scurrying of four feet dwindled to two as Hitomi bounced into the dining room and sat down at her normal chair. Everyone sat down for a moment before realizing there was an empty chair.

Orihime looked at Hitomi. "Where's your brother?"

The child shrugged. "In his room?"

The boy sat on his bed, his back up against the headboard and head between his hands. He jumped slightly when he heard a tiny "hey". His mother stood at the door. "Dinner's ready." She said. "I made your favorite! Tempura."

The boy wrapped his arms around his legs and let his head fall.

Orihime sighed. "Me and your father aren't mad at you, you can come downstairs when you want." Tamotsu had seemed to take it upon himself to send himself upstairs as a form of punishment. This was his way of coping with what he's done. But being in a fight and receiving a suspension seemed punishment enough.

This wasn't Orihime's way of giving him a free pass to fight anytime he wanted. She knew he knew better, that's why it was hurting her. She knew Tamotsu didn't want to harm that boy, but something provoked him. And that scared her the most.

The mother folded her arms and waited a beat. "I know that wasn't you out there. I know that you wouldn't hurt someone like that."

Orihime wasn't there but she could only imagine, imagine what it was like to see him in that state, to see him want to hurt someone else, to hear that sound of skin crushing against skin. It was evil. There wasn't enough hate in the world for someone to want to physically harm someone else.

But that evil didn't come from her, it came from something else, someone else, someone far, far away.

"You're not like him." She said before she could stop herself.

His head came up, slowly at first, then it turned to her. And he just stared.

Orihime didn't know what to say, how could she had let something so imperative slip from her lips so easily.

For a second, she thought, she could have sworn he was going to ask who "he" was. Her heart thumped in her chest as about a minute passed. Instead, his brown eyes slit and he looked away.

The sun was going down through the window and the bedroom seemed to get darker as the conversation, or lack there of, wore on.

Orihime closed her eyes momentarily. "…You're not grounded." She finally said. "You can come down when you want to."

He didn't move, so she left.

A day later.

Hitomi glanced down the hall. Tamotsu's door was closed again…

She needed help with her homework and she always asked Tammy to help but he was sad right now…

Hitomi pouted. Who was going to help her with her homework now?

"And what are you up to?"

Hitomi looked up. Her mommy was looking down at her, on hand on her hip the other around a full laundry basket. Hitomi wasn't sure if she was getting into to trouble or if she was just testing her.

The child lifted her paper high into the air. "Mommy, will you help me?"

Orihime adjusted the basket in her arms. She had much laundry to do… it could wait. They entered Hitomi's room which had changed little since she was a newborn. It still sported the ocean scenery on her painted walls, and the white, pale furniture was the same. But all of the seashore knickknacks were replaced with toys and Barbies. Which was alright with Orihime, as long as she got to keep conch shell which rest on the windowsill.

The two plopped down on the tiny bed and began. Orihime took the paper and giggled. If Hitomi this was hard now, wait until she gets into big leagues. "Lets see…" Orihime took her butterfly print pencil and point to the first equation. "Count the blue stars for me."

Hitomi touched each figure as she went. "One, two, three, four, five!"

Orihime pushed a few hairs behind her ear. "And this side?"

"One, two, three!"

"So what is five plus three?"

Hitomi's face scrunched up as it always does when she concentrated really hard. It was the face she would make when her stomach hurt as a baby. "Eight!"

Orihime handed the pencil to her daughter who drew a lopsided eight in the answer box. "See, easy right?" Orihime asked and the girl nodded.

The mother made to get up and leave, but Hitomi grasped her shirt tightly making her exit impossible. "Wait!" Hitomi stared for a moment to make sure her mother wasn't going anywhere before looking at the paper again. Orihime waited until her orange head popped back up again with an apprehensive look on her round face. "Umm… thirteen?"

Orihime smiled. "Mhmm."

Hitomi squealed and hug attacked her mom. "Guess what mommy?" Orihime tried to respond but the child's arms were wrapped snug around her neck. "I can count!"

"Yes, I know!" The phone rang from downstairs and Hitomi raced downstairs. She prided herself in being the first to the telephone, always.

Hitomi watched her mother walk down the steps as she picked up the phone from its base. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Hey Hitomi!" A cheery voice said. "It's Yuzu-obasan. Is your mother home?"

Orihime tinkle Hitomi on her side and snatched the phone from her tiny hands. Hitomi whined for a moment and watch her mom talk on the phone. Her smile soon faded as she continued talking to her Aunt Yuzu.

Hitomi liked it when Yuzu-obasan came over. Every time she came over Masao and Masaru weren't far from her. Hitomi liked playing with the twins.

Orihime finished the conversation and dialed another number. It wasn't long until he picked up. "Ichigo…"

Hitomi liked it when daddy was around too. He was always at working. Working and working and working. But she liked it when he eats her macaroni and cheese! Her daddy told her it was the best stuff to eat after a long day of work.

Orihime glanced at child on the sofa, watching her. So she decided to use her words lightly. "Ichigo, I just spoke to Yuzu… It's Isshin; he's in the hospital again."

…

God Orihime hated hospitals. They were cold and stiff and everything Orihime hated. The lights were always too bright and every room smelled of anesthetics.

"Orihime?"

Orihime turned and gave Yuzu a big hug, careful as to not spill the cup of water in her hand. Yuzu was one of Orihime's favorite people. She was so nice and kind and accommodating and always understanding, like a sister she never had.

"He's resting right now." Yuzu answered before she could ask. They walked together down the hall slowly from the lobby. "Where's Ichigo?"

Orihime shook her head. "He couldn't get out of work but he'll be done later, the kids are in the car. How are the twins?"

Yuzu smiled. "They're fine, back at the house with Shin and Karin." Yuzu stopped and a wide grin spread on her face. "…Don't say anything to Karin, but I think Yuto is going to propose really soon!"

Orihime grinned too. Yuto and Karin have been going out together for about five years. It was only a matter of time. "That's great!" The way Yuto looked at that girl… it was inevitably.

The girls found another bench to sit on and spoke some more about Tamotsu's fight and the twins' development, but Orihime could only delay the obvious for so long. "So, I have to ask, how is he?"

Yuzu took a sip from her cup. When she spoke, her voice was its normal cheery tone, yet there was a tiny frown on her lips. "Well, it was another heart attack and he'll have to go through bypass surgery."

Orihime watched Yuzu's eyes slowly lose their twinkle. "Is that severe?" Orihime asked.

Yuzu shrugged. "Any surgery has its risks, but it think he'll be alright." The nurse smiled. "He's been a trooper."

Orihime nodded. Isshin was still eccentric and wild, but he's been slowly down. Grays have crept in and once limber limbs have been replaced with tried ones. Through it all, the old man still managed to work everyday.

Orihime could only smile. She hoped that if she ever made to her late fifties, she'd still be doing what she loved.

A few days later.

Orihime watched Hitomi jumped up and raise her arms into the air. The twins tried to do the same though their bumbling bodies made it difficult to do so.

Right now, Orihime was slicing celery for ants-on-a-log; Shin and Yuzu were out buying groceries, and Karin and Yuto left early… he didn't propose. Yet.

"Come on! Up! Up!" Hitomi shouted. The twins reached and swatted the air but lost interest soon after.

"Where's Tamotsu?" Ichigo set his cup in the sink and rinsed it out.

Ichigo had finally made it down to see his father. Everything was going smoothly so far. Isshin was surprisingly very serene. Well who wouldn't be before a coronary bypass surgery.

The mother sighed and sliced another stick. "Still talking to Isshin."

Ichigo lifted a brow. "Really?"

Tamotsu was still being guarded. He wasn't eating and he wasn't speaking. He didn't want to talk to anyone, anyone but Isshin. The duo sat in the upstairs all day, talking to each other. Orihime hasn't disturbed them but she wanted to know why Tamotsu was acting this way.

In the living room, Hitomi did a twirl and the twins tried it too, though it ended with the duo in a heap in the ground.

"They haven't stopped all day…"

Masaru began to cry which triggered Masao's tears which made Hitomi stomp her foot at their incompetence.

Ichigo leaned against the kitchen counter. "Wonder what they're talking about?"

Orihime turned back to the celery and began cutting again. "No…"

Ichigo kissed the top of her head as he always does when she needed reassurance. "He'll be fine." He squeezed her arm. "He will."

The front door opened and closed. "We're back!" Yuzu exclaimed. Immediately her children stopped their crying and waited until their mother came to them. Shin clambered into the kitchen, his arms full of grocery bags. Orihime had to keep the poor man, his face was so red, even more then it always was.

Orihime giggled, grabbed the bags and began unpacking them. "We got this, Shin." Yuzu sang and kissed him on the cheek as she came into the kitchen too, a twin in each arm. Hitomi followed in too, settling at the table. Yuzu placed Masao and Masaru in their high chairs and turned to the men. "Out of the kitchen now you two."

"Hey, I want to help this time." Ichigo smirked. "Any spoons that need licking, you can call on me!"

Orihime placed a plate of ants-on-a-log in front of Hitomi and she devoured them. "We'll call you when we need you."

"Fine." Ichigo gave Shin a strong clap on the back which would surely bruise his lanky form. "Let's go get a drink." Shin grinned sheepishly. "Okay…"

Orihime didn't notice, but as she and stirring the sauce and Yuzu was chopping the mushrooms, Tamotsu had come downstairs. "Tammy!" Hitomi called and took another bite of the celery stick.

Yuzu wiped a few drops of mash bananas from off twins' face. She smiled at her nephew. "How do you feel?"

Tamotsu nodded and sat down. "Better."

Orihime lifted up one of the peanut butter and raisin snacks. "Are you hungry?"

Tamotsu grinned. "Starving."

So I thought maybe a simple, family chapter will cool things down for a bit. I need to take breaks from angst from time to time too. If I have to guess, there'll probably be two or three chapters left in the story. Maybe more!

What I know for sure is, the next chapter is all about Tamotsu, like you all wanted!

Thank you all! See you next week!

Rocka.