Chapter: Breathing

Shalan's Say: Author's note was getting boring and monotonous… XDDD so I thought I'd change it… how are ya'll today? Anyways… I (as in me) have (as in still) an idea (as in the thing that comes to you in the dead of night) but I haven't decided whether or not to give it to you (this is where you come in and tell me what you think)… so here are the answers Yes, No or Maybe… all up to you… here's the question: Do I post the lemon or do I leave you all in suspense with a killer phrase? That's your choice for I have to decide before I even consider writing one… though I love writing it. XDDD… leave me a message and I'll see what I can do…

Note: Alright I have to explain this to ya'll her shoes? The ones that Renji left her? They were hers before… they weren't brand new… She had bought them to dance in when they were going to do Swan Lake before hand… and now she has them again… they ARE broken in… I am a dancer and I know… most definitely… that you would kill your damn feet if you tried to dance in a new pair of pointe shoes… thank you!

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The months passed quickly from that moment forward, they never did talk about that kiss ever again but they were so drawn up in school and work that neither of them hardly had time to talk, much less see each other. Combined with practice and his school work Ichigo found himself relishing the times that he and Rukia ended up sharing. They would spend nights sometimes watching movies or just talking out on the balcony. As it was spring she had brought all of her flowers outside and they had planted them in the garden behind the house, that day had been amazing. St. Patrick's Day the two went out and partied until 6 AM, coming home and collapsing in the foyer, they both woke up the next morning with a hangover and the inescapable fact that they had slept in the foyer… April Fools Day he had fooled her into thinking that he was dying, when he had said April Fools she had hit him so hard upside the head that he fell over. He was now allowed to throw his parties but only until a certain time… however there was still a topic that they had left untouched and her "new" dance clothes still lay in the same place where he had left them on the table. Her white dance shoes were placed carefully in their shoe box nearby… he had to get to the bottom of all this… he would see her dance again.

"Gooooood morning mon petite ami!" He called as he strutted into her house. She was no where to be found. "It's 10 AM Kuchiki! You should be living by now!" He placed the bouquet of daisies in the now empty vase.

"I'm living Kurosaki!" She called from within the studio. He poked his head in and found her to be standing before an easel, on the easel was a blank canvas. He raised an eyebrow.

"What are you gonna paint Kuchiki?" He slipped inside the studio and shut the door behind himself.

"I haven't decided yet… you wanna sit up there and model for me with Abarai?" She laughed and he looked over, the red head was sitting on a bench and he was waving. Ichigo sighed and walked over. "Thank you." She grinned cheerily.

"I think this is ridiculous…" Ichigo said to Renji who nodded, he had one foot up on the bench and Ichigo could see his jazz shoes, the muscular danseur's hand was resting on the top of his foot as the other rested on his thigh, his chin resting on his knee. His other leg was loose, the bottom of his foot resting against the other. Ichigo placed a hand next to himself, on Renji's side of the bench and leaned on it his other hand on his own thigh, near his crotch.

"Hold that pose," the two of them groaned, "thank you Ichigo."

"Why do you have to pick the worst positions to hold?" Ichigo sighed.

"Yeha… my arms get tired."

"You're one to talk Mr. I'm Used To Holding Still For Long Periods of Time." Rukia laughed from behind the canvas. "And besides… I'm just going to sketch you first and then you can go. I'll paint you next week… how's that?" She laughed.

Rukia waved as Renji left, happy that she had gotten a drawing done for a while. Ichigo stood behind her, watching her wave, he saw how her muscles gently tugged as she moved her arm. "So… what shall we do now?" Suddenly they heard a noise that made them exchange a glance in dismay. The telltale puckered hum of the air conditioner spluttered then stopped completely and she sighed.

"We get a new air conditioner," she slapped her forehead. He chuckled lightly and reached over to call the maintenance man.

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"Yep… it's gonna take a good month to order in another replacement to match those old vents," the man nodded as he looked at his tab.

"What if we took the vents out and got new everything? How much is that?" Rukia questioned hopefully.

"That would take two months… I honestly don't think you're gonna want to hear the price," she shook her head at his answer.

"Why is it gonna take a month?" Ichigo lifted an eyebrow, his arms folded across his chest.

"Because… we don't have one on stock right now… and you guys are behind ten others… I'll see what I can do to help you out alright?" The man said then handed them his card. "Just keep the fans on and the windows opened and you should be alright." He tipped his hat to them and they groaned in unison. Ichigo looked over at the petite woman, rubbing the back of his head.

"Should be? What about my artwork?" She fussed as she walked back into the house. Ichigo chuckled as he followed, she was so angry about absolutely nothing. "What are you giggling about back there Kurosaki?" She shot him a death glare and he stopped laughing, only to snort a laugh through his nose.

"I was just thinking that you were overreacting again," Ichigo chuckled as he followed the dancer into her house. "I'm also thinking about taking a shower."

"Stop thinking about it and take one already Kurosaki… you smell like feet," she waved a hand at him as she walked away.

He watched her walk and suddenly his mind whipped out the image of her dancing again and he saw the same sashay. Her tight rump made his eye twitch slightly, there was no way this girl was getting to him. He turned on his heel and walked into his house, shutting the door behind him, letting out the air that he had been holding in. What was it about her that was tempting him so badly? He shuddered. "Maybe you should make that a cold shower Kurosaki…" He chuckled and walked up the stairs.

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Ichigo stepped into his amazingly hot bath, letting the water rush down his body. The footballer sighed heavily as he ran his hands through his hair. What was it about this girl?

He thought back to when they had first met. The first thing he had thought about her was how good her hair smelt… she had smelled like vanilla and citrus… that tantalizing combination courtesy of her Calvin Klein IN2U… he liked how her jeans fit neatly over her hips and rear-end… and when her hair fell in those little strands across her face, the rest of it pulled back in a ponytail she was adorable.

But they hadn't started really talking until late into December… other than that… they had mostly just stayed away from each other… he grinned as he scrubbed himself down. But paused as he got to his navel… he thought about the day after Christmas when her fingers had brushed his skin… he gently ran his fingers across the skin of his stomach. What was it about her that made his skin tingle? Their first kiss in the bar was made him shudder and that was just a brushing of the lips, not even intended… but very strange…

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Rukia walked into her studio and stared at her dance clothes Renji had bought her. I hope these help… she turned away and folded her arms. One time wouldn't hurt anything would it? She thought about this hard then she turned around and pulled off her clothes, neatly folding the jean shorts that she had bought and setting on top of that the black halter she had been wearing. Her bra was haphazardly thrown on top of that as she wrapped up her toes and slipped into her pink tights. The petite girl pulled on the white leotard, it was open backed, all the way down to just above her tailbone if she bent over, the front was slightly cinched in a heart shape, and the halter strap that hung around her neck wasn't too tight. Leave it to Renji to find the perfect fit. She pulled on the long sleeved pink shrug then looked over to the box where her new shoes were.

"Chappy… should I wear them?" She ran her hand over the box. They had been bought for her by her brother when she had told him she would be taking the lead role in Swan Lake. The cat jumped up and knocked the box over, causing it to fall onto the ground. "Okay…" she leaned down and slipped the gel covers into the toes and slipped her feet into the shoes. Her hands skillfully and quickly wrapped her ankles and calves. She tied the ribbons into neat bows then pulled on the pink leg warmers. The dancer walked into her dance studio and pushed the door shut behind her.

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Ichigo lay on his couch, one arm being used as a pillow for his head as he flipped through the channels. That was when he heard it, the tell tale sound of her going into an eleve. He knew then that she was dancing again. He stood up and silently stole into her house through the dividing door. He tiptoed across her house to the studio and made his way carefully towards the door to her dance studio. He peeped in through the crack in through the door and saw her there, her back was to him but he didn't mind he got to see the whole of her creamy back. Her black hair was pulled up into a sweaty ponytail. Her shrug lay forgotten on the floor near the left hand wall. He watched her as she flexed her body like a cat laying out on a hot day. Then she began to dance, her body twisting through intricate moves, her long legs seeming like they were a few inches above the ground with each movement.

She flexed and swung her leg back to start herself into the fouette... he watched as she started what he had watched her do before. He listened as she counted out loud the numbers. "One." She spun around again.

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Renji walked into the New York City airport, he had never really paid much attention to its name… all he knew was that he was going back to England finally. He watched carefully as the people bustled around him.

"You going to England?" A voice spoke to him softly. It was a Japanese voice, something that surprised him.

"Yeah… are you?" He turned to the speaker. A red haired girl nodded. He looked down and his eyes landed on her ample bosom. "Abarai Renj…"

"Inoue Orihime." She shook his hand with a smile. "I'm glad I know someone on this flight." She chuckled.

"Well we don't know each other…"

"You know what I mean!" She laughed. He smiled a little… she reminded him of Rukia when they were younger… just a little. "You're the Renji Abarai right?" He looked over at her curiously. "I watched you dance… I was there when the lighting came down… pity that… how is your partner doing? I heard she broke her femur."

"Yeah… she's alright now but for a while she was doing pretty badly… I was worried she was gonna kill herself," so she knew who they were.

"She's a beautiful dancer, it would be a shame to see her dead."

"Yeah… I've been trying to convince her that she needs to come and dance with me in Swan Lake but she won't dance anymore."

"Well… that's a pity… it's a talent wasted," she sighed. "Oh well… if that's her choice I suppose." She shrugged.

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"Thirty." Ichigo heard her get to thirty. "Thirty-One." His heart was pounding in his ears. "…the female dancer has to make 32 fouetté en tournant…" This must be the move he was talking about. "Thirty-Two," he heard her nearly shout. "…the lighting fixtures from above them fell, dropping right down on top of them…" Ichigo then heard a thunk and he pushed open the door to see if she was alright. She was sitting on the floor, her face in her hands, sobbing.

"Rukia?" Again, she heard his voice… why was he always there? Then she felt a pair of muscular arms wrap around her. She blinked but instinctively buried her face into his shoulder. She took in a breath of his scent, like Axe… everything in his shower was axe. Her sweat slicked body was slippery in his arms but he held onto her. "Rukia are you alright?"

"You were watching me Kurosaki." She growled, pushing him off her. The carrot-top looked degraded.

"Maybe I was making sure that you didn't kill your ankle like you did last time!" He almost shouted at her and the teary eyed girl fumed.

"I don't need your fucking help Kurosaki!" She shouted back.

"Stop pushing me away like I don't mean anything!" His voice rumbled in his chest. He had no idea why he had just said that. She looked taken aback.

"You don't mean anything Kurosaki… get that through your head," she made to stand up but his hand grabbed hers.

"You keep telling yourself babe," he pulled her down and their lips met. She struggled against him but his arms were too strong for her, as she gave in she felt him nibble her bottom lip, begging entrance. She refused but he forced his tongue into her mouth anyways and suddenly she felt herself go limp. 'NO! NO BODY! DON'T DO IT! STOP! WORK! SCREAM! KICK! HIT! PUNCH! BITE! SOMETHING!' Her mind was screaming but her body wouldn't listen, his kiss was like being on morphine, her body suddenly didn't feel anything but him, his lips against hers, his heartbeat thumping in her ears… or was that hers? One of his hands loosened and pulled her hair from its sweaty ponytail. His hand tangled through her hair, holding her to him. Finally her arms moved and she pushed against him, trying to push him off but the only thing he did was push harder against her lips. She felt her eyes nearly roll back into her head as her hand slid down his chest and rock hard abdomen. His hand climbed up her back, sliding against the sweaty skin.

"Get away!" She pushed him off finally. Her chest heaving she stood up. "And stay away!" She turned on her toe and ran off into the other room. Ichigo panted, dropping back on the floor. Her mind wanted her to slap herself but her body thrummed with pleasure… she put her hand to her forehead… what the hell was wrong with her?

'She is so hard headed,' he thought, looking out the door after her. 'What can I do to get into her head?'

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WOO! That was an amazingly fun chapter to write… I hope ya'll like it! Grins yah! Anyways… now I gotta start working on chapter ten… I'm thinking that it may be the lemon if ya'll want it… you know the drill… review and vote please! XDDD