I DON'T OWN BLEACH
The Favor
"Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another's heart, or its flame burns low." Henry Ward Beecher
Chapter 4; "If you were mine."
The orchard of dead sakura line both sides of his path, like tall impenetrable walls. Ichigo walks over to the rotting twisted trees with sadness. "If you were mine, I wouldn't let you whither away." He reaches out his hand to touch a drooping branch. Zangetsu appears next to him in human form.
"Old man, what are you doing here?"
"Do not touch the trees."
"What's wrong with them?"
"They are dying... because no one wants them. They are dying of neglect."
Without warning a black blur streaks past his view. Turning toward it Ichigo frowns at the dark reiatsu swirling with malice inside it. Instinctively, he lifts his hand to where his sword should be.
"I will handle this." Zangetsu lifts his blade high in the air as flood of reiatsu builds up.
"Zangetsu!" Ichigo furrows his brows as the black blur charges at him only to be intercepted by Zangetsu.
"Kurosaki..."
"If you were mine...I wouldn't let you whither away." Ichigo mumbles his brown eyes fly open meeting Byakuya's deep blues.
"What?" Byakuya's mouth falls open at his peculiar words.
"Hmm?"
"Think you could let me go?"
Ichigo glances down, his left arm is wrapped tightly around her, his sword is clenched in his right. "Oh, sorry." Letting her go he watches her get out of the bed rubbing at where his hand was closed around her small arm. "Damn, did I hurt you?"
"Were you having a bad dream?" Lifting the long silk sleeve of her navy blue sleeping dress her eyebrow arches at the dark mark still developing. "Normally I wouldn't have been injured by such a grip. You activated bankai in your sleep."
"I'm so sorry" He scrambles off the bed, dismissing his bankai. "Let me see it." Ichigo reaches out to touch her arm, she pulls away heading to the bathroom.
"It's nothing to be concerned over." Byakuya's calm voice muffles when she shuts the door in his face.
"Oi!" He opens the door ignoring her shocked face and pulls up her sleeve. "Shit! It's not bruise, it's a burn from my reiatsu." He lifts her up and starts for the door.
"What are you doing!" Byakuya writhes in his arms her small features flushing red in the face. No one has lifted her in... No one has anyone ever dared to cart her around like a bag of fruit. "P-put me down!"
"Just hold still damn it and let me help you!" He slides open the door with his foot trying not to drop her.
"I don't need help! It's nothing." She kicks her legs at him accidental hitting his crotch.
"Huu~Errp!" Ichigo drops to his knees grimacing in pain, his arms to stubborn to let her go. "Nice aim, I may never have children."
"Byakuya-sama, Ichigo-san, are you having a disagreement?" The tall wrinkly elder standing near the next building eyes them suspiciously. "Something about not having children?" Three more elders materialize from the building glaring at them.
Ichigo feels Byakuya stiffen in his arms from the old man's words. "Haha!" He laughs nervously, with Byakuya's small hand reaching around his neck.
"What do I tell them?" Ichigo whispers holding up Byakuya's body closer to his chest.
"Ichigo-san can not produce an heir?" The group of men begin having a hushed conversation with serious looks on their ancient faces.
"Haha! No problems with that at all!" Ichigo gives Byakuya a silent plead for help, his amber eyes panicking. Byakuya's right eye twitches with every word Ichigo speaks.
"Then you are-"
"Hard at work making you a Kuchiki!" Ichigo replies stepping backwards into the sanctuary of their room.
Byakuya sighs shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the scene. "He couldn't possibly say anything else that would further humiliate me."
"Leave it all to me! I will have her knocked-up by the fall!" Ichigo slams the door shut then promptly slides down it with Byakuya squirming out of his arms.
"I am so incredibly wrong! Ichigo must you always prove me wrong?"
~Part2~
"You met Byakuya earlier, what do you think of her?"Ichigo sits down at the dinner table across from Karin, waiting for Yuzu to glide in with a smile. He expected Karin to have questions about his surprise marriage. He also knows lying to Karin will be much harder than anyone else. She is way to smart to just accept things at surface value.
"She is... very beautiful."
"I know." Ichigo blushes thinking about Byakuya's small body laying next to him the night before.
"Why would she marry you?"
"That's so cold Karin." Ichigo leans his head on the table in despair. "I have attractive qualities don't I?"
"Karin! Don't tease Ichi-nii." Yuzu appears with a large pot in her hands followed by two terrified looking servants. "You are very handsome." She sets the dish on the table then sits down.
"Ever wonder why I like Yuzu more than you?" He flicks his finger at Karin's nose, making her stick her tongue out in retaliation.
"I'm damaged from your vile words!" Karin puts her hand over her forehead and falls over on Ichigo's lap knocking him to the floor. "I'll be awake all night in tears!"
"Oh, really? I thought you might be sneaking out to see a certain white haired ice cube maker."
"Oh, you have done it now!" Karin starts kicking him in the stomach with her heel. "Toshiro, isn't an ice cube maker!"
"K-karin! Don't fight with Nii-chan!" Yuzu franticly waves her arms in the air. Byakuya and Rukia walk in the room with their mouths gaping.
"Take it back!" Karin wraps her elbow around his neck pinning him to the ground.
"Someone should warn Toshiro about your violent streak! HAHA!"
Rukia clears her throat drawing attention that they were ready to have dinner. Karin and Ichigo pop into their chairs glaring at each and Rukia sit down as dinner is served.
Yuzu rises to dish out the dinner she spent all afternoon preparing but, the servants grab the ladle before she can. She sits back down with a sad look on her face feeling like her place in the family has been taken away.
"Oooh, Yuzu-chan this looks delicious!" Rukia says noticing her discomfort, trying to ease the girls grief. "I have really missed your hotpot!"
"T-thank you Rukia-san."
Byakuya watches the meal progress as the four of them chat and laugh with one another happily. She starts to feel out of place around the four of them. The longer she sits in her finely crafted velvet covered chair, no more she feels like an outsider. They are familiar with each other, with a pleasant warmth. Their laughter echoes in her ears stirring wrenching pain in her head. Her migraine is coming back with a vengeance. She will not be able to eat for much longer and hope to keep it down. Her eyes flick to the small blonde sister Yuzu, who angered her head chief by cooking the evening meal. Forcing her herself to eat the rest of her portion, she sits quietly with her eyes shut.
After dinner Byakuya retreats to her office with Renji's report on the newest arson fire in her district. It's the third unexplained fire, and this time someone died. So many problems to filter through squeeze at her stomach.
"I wanna know why you married my brother." Karin stands in her doorway with her arms crossed.
"Perhaps you should ask him." Byakuya is not in the mood for this conversation.
"I want to know why YOU married him." Karin places her hand on Byakuya's desk leering at her fearless. "Look at me damn it!" She smacks the antique desk getting Byakuya to look at her. "Ichi-nii... he isn't like you people." Her dark eyes grow soft and her shoulders slump. "He is kind, and gentle."
"He is also stubborn, rash, and strong." She points her hand at the chair inviting Karin to sit. "Why do I even care what this girl thinks?"
"Well, he gets that from dad." Karin sits down satisfied by gaining Byakuya's interest. "Nii-chan is trying to fill dad's place in the family."
"You are making it easier for him to do so."
"It's selfish, I hate it." Karin's eyes water, she suddenly gets up and turns her back to Byakuya. "I just want to know if he is safe with you."
"I-I" Byakuya blinks at Karin's back trying to formulate the proper response. Ichigo's words jumble in her mind.
"No one ever gave a damn enough about her to expect more from her. If you were mine, I wouldn't let you whither away."
This is bad, this isn't what Byakuya had planned. She shouldn't have asked Ichigo to marry her. Every cell in her body is screaming at her to act like she normally does. To dismiss all emotions as insignificant, and get the hell away from this girl.
"Byakuya is Ichi-nii safe with you?"
"He is."
After saying goodbye to Karin, Byakuya pulls out two books from the locked drawer in her desk. Flipping through the pages of the first book, she looks down at the symbol. How did that symbol get engraved by a master craftsman who died over a two thousand years ago? It's his personal symbol, it shouldn't be there... unless? With her head reeling from pain she writes down in her diary a few sentences.
"He confuses me, he has always confused me. What did he mean? If you were mine... ?" Shutting the books she locks them in her desk then walks to her private rooms. Making it to the bathroom barely in time to throw up, it comes fast. The pain is manageable and comforting until her eyes water.
Byakuya strips off her clothes in a panic, steps into the shower turning it on full blast as hot as she can stand. Her skin turning bright pink from the heat as steam rises to humidify the air. Pressing the stopper down in the tub she sits letting the water slowly surround her.
"I can deal with this. Anything to delay seeing him in that bed."
The overwhelming silence comforts her. She curls her knees to her chest, and leans her head back on the side on the bath. Her stinging eyes close, anxious to escape the harshness of the bright lights.
"It feels good to breathe here."
"Breathe Byakuya! Breathe!" Ichigo yanks Byakuya's body out of the hot water dragging her into the bedroom.
Chapter 5; "A duet in Solitude "
Hey all here is chapter 4. Ugh I rewrote this twice! I hope you like it! This is gonna start moving along now. I have the next chapter already in my head so I just need to food for my bunny to type it out. So FEED THE BUNNY! I was surprised by the reaction to chapter 3, THANKS everyone! Sorry I didn't type all of the reviewers out this chapter it's late and I'm so tired. I will make it up to everyone in the next chapter ;D