One week later the Urahara household was turned completely upside down. The few times Ichigo had come over to see Renji she had refused to see him, but he could see the effect she'd had on the people there.
Ururu and Jinta were quietly sweeping on the porch, looking down at their work and not at each other. Ichigo had stared at them for a moment before he finally asked why they weren't fighting like they usually did.
"Well..." Ururu said, blinking her wide eyes at Ichigo. "Renji-san got very upset with us yesterday..."
Jinta shuddered at the memory and turned to Ichigo to explain.
-//-
"B-but, Jinta-kun, I swept last time..."
"No way! It's your turn!" The red headed boy tugged viciously on the brunettes pigtails, making her squeal in pain.
"OI!" A loud voice yelled from inside, an angry looking Renji stomping outside to glare at the two of them. "For fuck's sake, Jinta, Ururu does all the fucking work. Just pick up the fucking broom and do it before I drag your head down the stairs! Both of you just SHUT UP!"
The two children had stared at her for a few moments before nodding mutely. Renji had turned and gone back inside.
-//-
Urahara was also avoiding the moody redhead, as he explained to Ichigo as they walked through the halls. Both him and Tessai had opted to stay out of her way unless Urahara wanted to do another test, or they had good news.
"She's been... we'll say temperamental, though that is a considerable understatement..." The blonde man murmured. "I asked her to do something the other day and I was promptly yelled at. There were swears in there that I'd never heard in that context before..."
Ichigo forced himself not to laugh. "How has she been, though? Aside from cranky."
Urahara cleared his throat, sliding open the door to the kitchen a crack so that Ichigo could see inside. "See for yourself."
Ichigo peered in, and there was Renji, in her little white and pink yukata, digging through the freezer, scowling darkly. She had definitely put on weight, her breasts and hips looking larger than the last time Ichigo had seen her. And when she pulled out an enormous tub of ice cream he could guess why. She stuck a spoon into the ice cream bucket, promptly sticking a large bite of ice cream into her mouth, which cause her frown to deepen. She closed the freezer, digging through the fridge instead and pulling out a bottle of hot sauce. Ichigo's eyes widened when she poured the sauce all over her ice cream and started eating voraciously.
"Hot sauce? On ice cream? Renji hates spicy stuff...."Ichigo said, looking confused and disgusted at the same time.
"The food cravings have apparently overridden that fact..." Urahara said, looking a little tired. "Lately she puts hot sauce on everything. Even chocolate."
Ichigo pulled a face. "Ew."
"Indeed."
-//-
"Oi, Renji!" Ichigo called, hoping that this time she would talk to him.
She glared over at him, but didn't answer or run away, which he took to be a good sign.
"How have you been? Urahara said you've been having a lot of issues... Can... Can I do anything for you?"
Renji stared at him silently for a few long minutes. Then she just bit her lip. "Well... T' be honest..." She went up to Ichigo and hugged Ichigo tightly, sniffing with what Ichigo panickingly thought sounded like tears. "I could really use a friend..." she murmured brokenly into Ichigo's chest.
Ichigo looked down at her, hugging her back awkwardly. "Renji?"
"W-why do these things always happen to me?" she suddenly burst out. "Everyone's always doing this stuff to me! And you're always yelling at me, and Urahara makes me do stupid chores and-and..." she stopped, pulling away from Ichigo's chest with tears in her eyes, looking frustrated. "And Kuchiki-taichou is so MEAN to me!" she wailed, grabbing Ichigo again and sobbing. "It's not fair!"
Ichigo just let her cling, looking somewhat stunned. This had to be the hormones, right? Fuck, he hoped this ended soon...
-//-
I was bored so I thought you'd like a little glimpse at pregnant Renji. XD This is really just random, so it's not really a chapter.
Enjoy! XD