Chapter 2
Orihime sat outside by herself for quite a while after the conversation she'd been a part of when she'd gotten to the soul society, watching the others as they one by one changed back into forms that she was familiar with, and when Renji changed back to normal she was surprised to see him grab Byakuya's shihakusho and haul him close for a few heated words and she was even more surprised when Byakuya flushed a light pink and nodded only to be kissed as a reward for his submissive behavior. Yoruichi had been right, Orihime felt her cheeks heat as she watched them leave to no doubt go to bed with each other and she quickly shoved all thoughts of them in bed together out of her head. She didn't really mind that they were together, after all that was their business and none of hers, but thoughts of them together were making her feel really restless again which brought her thoughts back to Zaraki's words
'You're going into heat,' he'd said, but Orihime couldn't quite understand it; if she hadn't changed yet then what was it that was drawing men in the world of the living to her?
"Your scent," Orihime looked up to see that Yoruichi, back in her human form, was perched in a tree a short distance away
"My… scent?" Orihime asked in confusion and Yoruichi nodded
"Well, for humans it's probably something more like your energy, but us felines can smell it. Even in human form it makes me want to snuggle up to you and ask to be petted," Yoruichi chuckled at Orihime's look "Oh, nothing sexual, I'm not attracted to you, but cats tend to want to please the head female when she's going into heat because it means an easier time for the rest of us if she's happy,"
"Well, wouldn't you or Yachiru be the head female? You guys have already changed and everything…" Yoruichi shook her head and gave Orihime a 'duh' look
"Ichigo's our king, in a sense, because he's the strongest of us; if he chooses you, then you'll be our queen," Yoruichi yawned and stretched before settling back against her tree and Orihime looked around and, noticing everyone was gone, ventured
"Why aren't you with Urahara?" Yoruichi smirked without opening her eyes
"Spring is mating season, but each couple gives off different shall we say waves; depending on the couple we need each other more or less during the day, I tend to be more needy at night," Orihime blushed, almost sorry she'd asked but at the same time grateful that Yoruichi was free to answer questions
"And Ichigo?" she wondered and Yoruichi shrugged a shoulder
"Single males are different, they might feel the need but until they've claimed a mate they don't settle into a rhythm," Yoruichi opened an eye and smirked as she teased "trying to decide when you'll have time to work and when you'll be too busy playing?" Orihime shook her head, the insinuation going right over her head as she thought back to her dream
"Why did he leave without telling anyone? His sisters have been frantic looking for any sign of him,"
"Well he couldn't have stayed at his home the way he was, he lost control for almost eight full months before he began to control himself, and he's only recently been able to take and hold his human form again," Orihime watched as Yoruichi slowly opened her eyes as if looking into the past "I guess it's because he was the only vizard that Aizen infected, his body reacted differently than us soul reapers and even you as a human," Yoruichi glanced over at Orihime and said in a serious voice "and as much as I hate that he did this to so many people, it's nice to not only not be alone anymore but to have another woman who knows what it's like," Yoruichi settled back against her tree with a soft sigh as she closed her eyes "anyway, Ichigo's calling you," Orihime looked around in confusion, after all she hadn't heard anything, and Yoruichi tapped the side of her own head as she yawned "we got a freaky mind thing going on with him, he can talk to us even if he is here and we are in the world of the living; perks of being king I guess. He's waiting for you in front of the squad 13 barracks since Ukitake moved in with Kyoraku and gave up his bedroom," Orihime blushed at the implications, wondering how much or how little would be expected of her tonight, and Yoruichi cracked an eye open "ah, don't freak out, he just wants to feed you some supper and get you comfortable before he drags you off to Hueco mundo in the morning," Orihime rubbed uneasily at her arms as goose bumps formed and admitted
"I don't want to go back to that place,"
"Yeah, I know the feeling, but if you don't then you won't change and if you don't change then you can't get rid of the heat cycle, and needless to say if you don't then you won't be safe going back to the world of the living," Yoruichi gave her a serious look "it won't be comfortable for a while, you're gonna have a lot of stuff to work out before you know how you want to live your life, but if you don't then you'll be stuck here in a world where you really don't belong, and Ichigo will have to find another for a mate," the last part made Orihime want to wince but instead she met Yoruichi's eyes squarely
"He doesn't want me, and if he really is your king then he needs a strong mate," she looked away and shook her head a little "that's not me, I am not a queen," she gave a little half smile that felt brittle and fake "my whole life, I've never been more than a princess,"
Ichigo watched as Orihime left Yoruichi where they had been talking about 15 minutes away and sighed as he rubbed at his temple, he hadn't liked Yoruichi's idea of basically spying on them while they talked using the mind link that all the felines had found but Yoruichi had insisted and Ichigo had learned more than he'd thought from the 'girl talk'
'He doesn't want me,' Orihime had said 'I've never been more than a princess,' he looked down the road in the direction that Orihime would be walking from, part of him could feel her approaching and he knew he had to do something to change her mind. In high school he hadn't had much thoughts towards girls but as soon as all of the spring time hormones had spread through him and the others he'd found his mind focusing on only one woman; Orihime. He had never questioned who he would eventually choose as his, she was stronger than she thought and he'd always felt close to her, but he realized that he'd done a half assed job of showing her that in the past.
He walked towards the gate to the barracks, wanting to feel closer to her, and when she turned the corner a few minutes later he couldn't help the happy rumble/purr that escaped him though he did find it a bit surprising still. He'd heard the same noise from Zaraki and the other males when their mate had come into sight or even when they'd been thinking of their mates, a noise that only seemed to come out when they were in human form though as big cats they were all known to purr when happy. The first time he'd made that noise everyone had froze and Yoruichi had demanded to know who he was thinking of which Ichigo supposed was what had started all of this. Yoruichi had left a short time later to go to the world of the living, unknown to Ichigo at the time, and when she'd returned she'd told Ichigo what was happening in the human world around Orihime which led to Urahara and Yoruichi going back through the records that Aizen had kept. Upon discovering that Aizen had used Orihime as a test to see if he could infect others in a more indirect approach, they had finally figured out just how Ichigo himself had been changed. It seemed that Aizen had ordered Ulquiorra to kill him, knowing that Grimmjow would have Orihime heal him, and Ulquiorra had left behind something inside Ichigo's body that Aizen had planted on his number 4. Ichigo supposed that he should just be grateful that Aizen had been testing other methods of infection, because the thought of how Yoruichi, Ukitake, and Renji had been changed still made his skin crawl. Orihime approached slowly as if unsure, clearly she was still nervous about everything that was happening, and Ichigo felt the lion inside him stir and growl with approval as he walked over to her
"Yoruichi said that we are going to Hueco mundo tomorrow?" she ventured and he nodded once "She said that it could be dangerous, will we be okay going by ourselves?" Ichigo reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, feeling them heat beneath his fingers as a light blush colored her cheeks
"She did some recon a few days before we brought you here to the soul society, apparently without a leader to draw them there the hollows prefer to remain outside where they are used to being; buildings like las noches are a purely human creation," he tilted her chin up, his eyes searching her face "but regardless, they won't be a problem. Trust me, everything will be fine," she smiled and slowly relaxed
"Yes sir," she barely breathed and Ichigo felt his body harden in response as he bit back a groan
'Damn, she's a natural submissive,' he thought and bent his head to nuzzle her cheek, branding her with his scent before pulling back and taking her hand "Come," he murmured in a husky voice "let's get you settled,"
After a dinner of beef and potatoes, a pleasant surprise for Orihime who'd been missing home cooking, Ichigo led her to a room which had a western style bed in it that looked big enough to fit five people. Orihime had trouble looking at it, feeling like a bride on her wedding night except she knew that she couldn't be more than a passing fancy for Ichigo
'Surely he's met another woman who would be more suitable,' she thought but, judging by the way she could feel Ichigo's eyes on her as she walked into the room to look around, he had no other interest except her right then
"There's an indoor hot spring through the door on your right," he said as he leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, watching her like a hunter eyeing prey which instead of making Orihime nervous just made her feel hot "you can take a bath and rest for the night, I'll come back to get you in the morning," Orihime nodded, still embarrassed about her slip up earlier, and when she felt the heat of his body behind her she shivered as he murmured in her ear "What was that? I didn't catch it," and she sucked in a startled breath as her eyes widened in surprise, still glued to the ground
'He… wants me to say it again?' she swallowed with difficulty as she began to tremble, her body reacting to his nearness, and said in a low voice "Yes sir," he leaned forward enough to press a kiss to her neck without his body touching hers, a reward for her words
"Good girl," he praised in a husky voice then pulled back and walked to the door "I'll see you in the morning," he called back and he was gone, leaving Orihime shaking and aching in strange new ways that she hoped he knew how to stop because she feared that if she had to spend too much more time feeling this way that she might just lose her mind.