Hey everyone! Here is chapter seven. I hope you will enjoy! Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or it's characters. Kubo is the talented man.
The sun tilted west when Orihime and Ichigo were walking around the royal garden. Orihime didn't understand why they are walking around the garden. But she didn't forget to appreciate the beauty of nature. The garden certainly was something to look at. Exotic flowers and plants decorated the large piece of land. A pond was in the middle. Orihime's cheeks were still red from what Ichigo told her earlier. They were quietly walking. It was a comforting silence. Ichigo decided to break it.
"Hey, you never answered me. Did you like that paly?" he asked.
"Y-Yes, I did. But I couldn't understand some of the lines. Some of the words were confusing. But I liked it," Orihime replied with a smile.
"I understand. Since you don't read it often, it can be a little confusing a first. But if you read more, you will get the hang of it. Did you know there are other plays like that one? They are by William Shakespeare." asked Ichigo, secretly smiling when he remembered how hard Orihime was concentrating on the play.
"I know. I heard about Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar," Orihime said enthusiastically.
"Actually, I have them all. I am a rather big fan of Shakespeare. You can read them if you want," Ichigo told her.
Orihime's smile brightened and her eyes sparkled.
"Really? I can?"
"Of course. On the second thought, how about you read to me? Yup, it's settled. From now on, you will read to me. I can help you if you have any confusion," said Ichigo.
"Thank you!" Orihime said joyously. She was very excited. She twirled around in the garden, completely forgetting Ichigo's presence. She only found him looking at her when she stopped her little happy dance.
"E-Eh…Um…Sorry," Orihime apologized, lowering her head down.
She missed the smile that decorated Ichigo's face. She only looked up when she felt a finger under her chin. She found herself looking at Ichigo's eyes. He was so close! Orihime's heart started to race. She couldn't look away from the intense brown eyes. She watched as Ichigo removed his finger from under her chin then brushed a strand of auburn hair away from her face. On his other hand was a beautiful white flower. He gently tucked the flower behind her ear. His hands only moved from her hair when they heard a loud,
"OI!"
Ichigo moved away from Orihime and Orihime blushed into an impossible shade of red. They looked to see who called and found none other than Toushiro.
"Ichigo-san! What do you think you are doing?" Toushiro said in a low voice.
Orihime's face became even redder (if that was possible). Ichigo just smirked.
"Oh, nothing. I just thought the flower would look better in your sister's hair. Don't you agree?" he asked slyly.
"Well…it does look good. But that's not the point. Keep your hands to yourself. And sis! I have something to tell you?" Toushiro looked at his sister after scolding Ichigo.
"What is it, Shiro-kun?" Orihime asked shyly. She still couldn't breathe normally.
"They promoted me to higher class. It will only take me one year to graduate now," said Toushiro with a hint of a smile.
The next thing he knew was being hugged by his sister. Orihime tackled her brother in a tight hug. Tears pouring freely.
"I am so proud of you, Shiro-kun. If our parents were here, they would've been very proud of you as well. Thank you so much, Toushiro-kun. You are the best brother ever," Orihime said as she cried and laughed at the same time.
Toushiro returned the hug and smiled at his sister's joy.
Ichigo looked at the two siblings and smiled. Once Orihime released the brother from the hug, Ichigo said, "Good job, brat. Looks like you made your sister happy."
They were all walking toward the castle. Orihime was walking in front of the prince and her brother. She looked like she was in her dreamland. When Ichigo saw that they were out of Orihime's earshot, he asked Toushiro,
"So prodigy brat, what do you want for your achievement?
"Nothing," Toushiro said suspiciously.
"Nothing?" Ichigo questioned.
"Actually, I do want something. You keep your hands off my sister," Toushiro said.
"How is it that you asked me about the one thing you wouldn't get? Sorry, brat. But that I can't do," Ichigo smirked then walked away to catch up to Orihime.
Toushiro scowled.
The next day, Ichigo decided to go visit the Ishidas. He didn't really have anything to ask Chad. He actually wanted to visit Orihime again. But if he didn't go now, his father would just annoy him to death. He didn't have anything to counter his father since the king was absolutely right. He looked at Orihime who was standing next to him.
"Um...Ichigo-kun, what am I supposed to do after you leave?" asked Orihime.
"Do what you like. You can go to my room and read the books if you want. And don't go to the garden alone. Take someone with you. Just tell them that you want to go and they will take you there. I already gave them orders," Ichigo told her.
"A-Alright! I will be careful. And just ask someone from the village and they will show you Tatsuki-chan's house. But ask where the Arisawa house is. Please tell her I am fine and I will see her someday…..I think. Here, I wrote this letter for her so she will believe you," Orihime said sadly.
"I will. Maybe I will take you to see her one day. But that can't be now. You shouldn't leave the castle now. And be very very careful," Ichigo told her again, taking the letter and putting it in his pocket.
"I will, I promise! Let's go. You'll be late if you wait any longer," said Orihime and started walking.
Ichigo caught her wrist and said,
"Where are you going?"
Orihime gasped and Ichigo turned her around.
"T-T-To see you off?" Orihime said hesitantly.
"No. The main gate is too far way. You will have to walk back by yourself. I don't want you to walk around by yourself," said Ichigo, leaving no space for any argument.
"H-H-Hai," Orihime shakily replied.
Ichigo smiled and let go of her hand. He ruffled Orihime's hair fondly and left.
Orihime stood there for at least five minutes. Only after then, did she find any strength to move.
None of them noticed the dark figure that was listening to their conversation and watching them.
Orihime walked to the infirmary. She pushed the large door open and hesitantly stepped in. She looked around and saw no one.
"Unohana-san? A-Are you here?" she called out. Unohana stepped out of her office and rushed to the young girl.
"Orihime-chan? Are you hurt? Please sit down," Unohana took the auburn beauty to a chair.
"No, no. I am not hurt. I am perfectly fine. You see, Ichigo-kun isn't in the castle today. So I don't have anything to do. I was wondering if….i-if you c-could teach me…..um.." Orihime was hesitating. She didn't know how Unohana would react.
"Don't hesitate, Orihime-chan. Tell me," Unohana encouraged with a kind smile.
"The other day when Ichigo-kun came here after his spar, he made me promise not to ever ask him to come here. I agreed. But I just know that he will be injured in future again. So I just wanted to ask you if you could teach me how to treat those small cuts and wounds, please?" Orihime asked.
"Of course, Orihime-chan. Ichigo-san is very lucky to have a friend like you. Please follow me," Orihime thanked her and followed.
Ichigo was looking for someone to ask about the Arisawa house. He couldn't wait to go home. He stayed in the Ishida house for about an hour or two. He told Chad and Uryu about Orihime. Well…not everything like how she wouldn't leave his mind, but he told them about her and Toushiro. But the smartass Uryu of course made a comment about how he liked Orihime.
Ichigo finally found someone to show him the Arisawa house. He knocked on the door. A middle-aged lady opened the door. She had black hair and a kind face.
"May I help you?" she said.
"Hello. I am Ichigo. May I please see Ms. Arisawa Tatsuki?" Ichigo said politely.
"Of course. I am Tatsuki's mother. Please come in," said the lady.
Ichigo walked in. He noted that this house wasn't in much better condition than Orihime's. He sat down on the chair Mrs. Arisawa gestured him.
He sat there for about a minute then a girl walked in. She had spiky black hair and looked very angry.
"Who are you?" she asked. Ichigo could tell that she was upset about something.
"My name is Ichigo," Ichigo said. Tatsuki thought for a moment then looked at Ichigo.
"You are the guy that saved Orihime," she said as she sat down on another chair.
"Yes, that's me. I think you are upset about Orihime's kidnappi-" Ichigo started.
"How do you know about that?" Tatsuki asked suspiciously.
"Well, my name is Kurosaki Ichigo and-" Ichigo was interrupted again.
"YOU! YOU ARE THE PRINCE! DID YOU SEND YOUR DOGS TO KIDNAP ORIHIME?" Tatsuki shouted as she got up from her chair.
"Listen to me. I am the prince but I didn't send Nnoitra to kidnap Orihime. She is my friend. Orihime is safe. Nothing bad happened to her. I got her before Nnoitra could do anything. Toushiro is fine too. Here is Orihime's letter," Ichigo handed her the letter.
Tatsuki quickly took the letter and began to read it. It really was Orihime's handwriting. Tears poured down from Tatsuki's eyes. Ichigo was glad that Orihime had such a good friend.
"She is safe! Thank Kami. Orihime explained everything in the letter. I am happy for her and Toushiro. Are you really that kind? Orihime wrote how great you are about fifty times," Tatsuki smiled, relieved.
"I don't know if I am kind, but I promise, she will be safe with me. No one will ever try to harm her ever again," Ichigo promised her.
"And why would you do so much for her?" Tatsuki asked skeptically.
"She is my friend. And I don't want her to be in danger," Ichigo said, leaving the 'I like her' part in the back of his head.
"You like her, don't you?" Tatsuki unexpectedly said.
Ichigo was stunned. He slowly looked up to meet the violent woman's gaze. She smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo quickly said.
"I know you like her. You may not say it out loud because Orihime is an orphan and is from the poorest village. Prince or no prince, if Orihime ever gets hurt because of you, I will murder you," Tatsuki said raising her fist.
Ichigo was offended. Did this girl really think that he would care if she was orphan or poor?
"Listen, you are right. I do like Orihime, maybe 'like' isn't even the right word. Maybe it's more than 'like'. But I will never force her to like me or anything like that. She has and will have the freedom to choose. I want her to be safe and happy. She will never get hurt. So you don't have to murder me," Ichigo said without thinking.
Tatsuki smiled. She was glad that Orihime had someone to protect her.
"Thanks, Ichigo," said the spiky haired girl.
Before Ichigo could say anything else, Tatsuki's mother came in with some foods. Tatsuki jumped up and hugged her mother and started telling her about Orihime. Mrs. Arisawa was relieved as well. It was time for Ichigo to go.
"Listen, Ichigo. Orihime isn't just my best friend. She is my sister. Take care of her. If you are not going to be serious about your feelings, don't give her false hope. Don't take advantage of her innocence, please. Orihime is the nicest person in the whole world. Yet she is the one who had to struggle the most. She deserves peace, happiness," Tatsuki pleaded.
"Hey, I already told you. I will do everything to make her happy. Maybe, I will bring her with me next time," Ichigo said before taking off.
Orihime stayed in the infirmary the whole day. She learned a lot. Unohana was happy at her amazing progress in the very first day. Orihime thanked Unohana for the last time then left. She walked into Ichigo's room and organized everything that was out of place. Then she took a book from the bookshelf and started reading. After a while, she was walking back to her own room. She was anxious. She wanted to know how Tatsuki and everyone else is. She couldn't wait for Ichigo to return.
She turned in a corner and bumped into someone. Orihime fell back on the floor from the impact. She opened her eyes to see a tall man standing in front of her. He had shaggy brown hair. A smile appeared in his face.
"Orihime? Huh? My name is Ayato Kizuri," said the man.
Orihime got up from the floor. She never saw this person before. Orihime didn't know this person. Ichigo told her to not to talk anyone she hadn't already met.
"Hello, Ayato-san. It's nice to meet you. Excuse me, but I have to get going now," Orihime quickly said then started to walk past Ayato.
But she couldn't get too far because Ayato caught her wrist. Orihime looked at Ayato, horrified.
"Why are you in such a rush? Ichigo-sama isn't in the castle right now. Oh, I get it. You are going to get ready. So you can please him when he comes. Smart…," said Ayato, looking down at her.
"W-What are you talking about? Please let me go," Orihime said as she tried to free her hand.
"I can understand why he would keep you though. I mean with a body like that…I know I wouldn't mind-" he was interrupted when someone pulled him by the collar from the back and yanked him away from Orihime. Orihime found herself in the arms of the prince.
Ichigo was holding Orihime with one hand and the other hand was raise to emphasize his words.
"Ayato, if you ever look at her again, I will kill you. If I ever see you anywhere near her again, I will kill you so painfully that you would regret being born. If you ever touch her again, I will make your body a thousand pieces and feed it to the dogs. Now for everything you said, beg her to forgive you or I will kill you right now. Don't forget your place," Ichigo said in a dangerously low voice.
Ayato was shaking. Ichigo seemed to give off a dark aura that made Orihime's inside burn. She looked at those intense amber eyes. They seemed to scream murder.
"I-It's alright. A-Ayato-san, I-I forgive you," Orihime quickly said, trying to prevent Ayato's death.
"No! You, beg for your life. Don't look at her. Just beg," Ichigo said, cutting Orihime off.
"P-Please, forgive me. I beg you," Ayato said without looking at Orihime.
"I forgive you," Orihime quickly replied.
"Now, leave!" Ichigo growled and Ayato quickly ran for his life. Ichigo didn't let go of Orihime even after Ayato left. Orihime hesitantly looked at Ichigo.
"Ichigo-ku-" Orihime was harshly pulled after Ichigo. She gasped at the sudden harshness. Ichigo dragged her through the hallway. Orihime knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Ichigo isn't that kind of person. She quietly tried to keep up with the prince.
Ichigo's brain was working furiously. Ayato worked for Aizen's squad. What was he doing in the castle? As far as Ichigo knew, he had nothing to do in the castle. But seeing him holding Orihime and saying dirty things like that made him want to kill him right there. He would've done so as well if Orihime wasn't in there. But he didn't want to scare Orihime. He probably scared her already by telling Ayato about how he will kill him. She was probably terrified now because he was dragging her to somewhere. Even he didn't know where he was taking her. But his inside burned with the need to get her away from any other male.
He suddenly stopped.
Orihime bumped into Ichigo when he suddenly stopped. Orihime was flung backward after meeting the hard wall of the angry prince's back. Ichigo didn't turn around to face her. But his hand still held her wrist. Even more tightly than before. But before she could question, Ichigo started walking and dragging her again.
Ichigo couldn't help but suddenly stop when realization drowned into him. He knew he was attracted to Orihime. He knew he felt something for her. Only now he figured out what it was. He didn't 'like' her as he initially believed. He loved her.
Him, Kurosaki Ichigo was in love with this innocent, shy girl.
He started walking when he felt that Orihime was going to ask him what's wrong. If Orihime really did ask him that, he would probably blurt out that he was in love with her. That could scare her even more than she already was.
He dragged her all the way to his room and opened it. Just like the day before, his room was clean and had a refreshing aura in it. He told Orihime to sit on one of the chair. He took the other one. He took some deep breaths to calm himself first.
"Ichigo-kun?" Orihime asked.
The orange haired prince looked at the auburn beauty that called him. That was a mistake. His eyes fell on her pink lips. This wasn't the first time he looked at her lips. But now that he knew he was in love with her, his eyes didn't seem to want to move from her lips like before. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do something, anything to show everyone that she belonged to him. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Orihime talk.
"Ichigo-kun, thank you for standing up for me. But I am really not worth all of this. You already did enough for me. You don't have to –" she was stopped by Ichigo's hand. Just like the time in the infirmary, Ichigo pressed his palm in Orihime's mouth, effectively stopping her.
"Orihime, never say that again. You are worth it. From now on, I will make sure your safety. You are staying with me all the time and that's final," commanded Ichigo as he let og of Orihime.
"B-But I can't stay with you all the time. I have to sleep and talk to Toushiro and go to the infirmary-" Orihime immediately brought her hand to her mouth but the damage was done.
"Infirmary? Why do you have to go to the infirmary? Are you sick? How long have you been sick? Why didn't you tell me?" Orihime was bombarded with questions.
"I-Ichigo-kun, I am not sick, I promise!"
"Then tell me why you have to go to the infirmary?" Ichigo demanded to know.
"U-Um…w-well, since y-you don't want to go to the infirmary if you get hurt when sparring, I decided to learn how to treat small wounds and stuff like that," Orihime answered shyly.
"Y-You'd do that for me?" asked Ichigo surprised.
"Of course, Ichigo-kun. Since you were being stubborn about not going to the infirmary so I had to do something," Orihime pouted.
Ichigo was amazed. Orihime didn't have to do this. But she did. She cared about him. She cared for him. Then Ichigo remembered that they were forgetting the original topic.
"Oi! Fine! I will let you go to the infirmary but you will stay with me other times. You can sleep in your room. And before I forget, if you ever see someone you don't know already, just get out of there as quickly as you can. You don't need to say anything," said Ichigo.
"Yay! Thanks, Ichigo-kun. Now tell me all about Tatsuki-chan," Orihime asked.
"Ayato-san, you've messed up very badly, don't you think?" spoke Sousuke Aizen with a handsome smile.
"I-I-I a-a-apologize, Aizen-sama. Please forgive me," stuttered Ayato.
"Hmm… Itori-san, please escort Ayato-san to the punishment room where he will be taught how to not get carried away in mission." Aizen said calmly, the smile never leaving his face.
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Please please please review!
Aizen is finally showing up!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing!
Special thanks to...
Zoe Whiteraven: Here is your update! And I am glad you like Hitsukarin! Thanks for reviewing!:)
Magdalena88: Hahaha...anyone will melt in Orihime's puppy eyes! Ichigo will melt faster than anyone else! Haha..Thanks for reviewing! :)
Ermilius: Thanks!I am glad you are liking this story! :)
Xtremefairy: Thank you! And yup! How can Ichigo refuse Orihime's puppy-eyes! I hope you liked this one! :)
AiiWoKoete: Hahaha...Isshin really is hilarious! And thanks! Tensa Zangetsu with bunny ears! *faints* Hahaha..Thanks for waiting patiently! :)
HellYus: Aww..Thank you! I am glad you liked it. I hope you liked this chapter as well. :)
Mariz: Thank you! I am happy that I am improving! :)
Guest: First of all, I have to tell you that I just love long reviews! I actually meant the 'touching my stuff' literally. But after you elaborated, I was blushing so hard! And 'Courting Darkness' by Child of Ashes is one of my ultimate favorite story. And I agree about Toushiro in an uniform. I would probably pass out because of the cuteness! Your version of the morning scene was awesome. But I wanted to take things slowly. And I suck at writing intimate moments. Orihime and Toushiro's heritage will come up in one point of the story. I am not going to give it away right now! I do have plans for that. Here is your update. I hope you liked it! And yup, DeathBerryLover1995 really is awesome! :)
cutsodeep: You're most welcome! And Thanks! Orihime's heritage will come up in later chapters. It's actually very important. Thanks for reviewing! :)
See you next time everyone!
RainingLight1~
