A/N: I know it's been a minute since I posted the last chapter- I was moving, and then had to wait a bit for the internet to get installed. Thank you to everyone for your patience! Now that I've moved and have the internet again, I should be able to keep posting on a regular basis. I have the rest of the story plotted out, and half of what's left is written already.
Thanks once again for your reviews! It helps me know if what I think is funny is actually funny (sometimes I can't tell, haha). I know sometimes it might feel like I'm going a little slow, but... this is Byakuya we're talking about. Glaciers shift faster than that man. I just hope that I'm keeping it entertaining as I drag him into falling in love again. And keeping Orihime in character is a priority too, of course. Please let me know how I'm doing!
Oh, erm, yes, I'm taking a bit of liberty re: Orihime's interactions with Nnoitra in Hueco Mundo. You'll let it slide, yes?
Become a Ghost
by HardlyFatal
Chapter 9
"I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed in my entire life," complained Tatsuki as they walked toward her (formerly Orihime's) apartment. ("I've spent so much time in this dump, it already feels like home," was her explanation, along with a few strategic punches when accused of being overly sentimental).
"Me, either," agreed Orihime, trying to juggle the bags in her arms so they didn't ache so much at the weight of what she was carrying. Not for the first time, she was jealous of Tatsuki's superior strength. "Is my face still purple?"
Tatsuki glanced over at her friend's countenance. "It's only red now. In an hour, it'll be down to pink."
"I thought Kurosaki-kun was going to have an aneurism," Orihime said with a giggle. She would treasure his expression of horrified shock for the rest of her life.
"Uryuu took it all surprisingly in stride," Tatsuki commented. "Still waters run deep with that one."
"Oh, don't say things to make him sound all ominous and weird." Orihime nudged her shoulder into her friend's arm. "He just has better control over his exterior than most people. Like Byakuya-sama; he has reactions just like everyone else, he just hides them better."
"Whatever, whatever. I still think Uryuu's a closet perv," Tatsuki said with a yawn. "At least he keeps it hidden; Chizuru is so out-there I don't know whether to be grossed out or just exhausted by it."
"I'm a little of both." But there was a feeling prickling the edges of Orihime's psyche, and it was not nausea; it was that uneasy awareness of an approaching Hollow. "Oh, poop."
"Poop? Where?" The other girl looked around, wanting to make sure she didn't step in any, until she heard the telltale roar in the distance. "Oh."
Orihime was already looking around for somewhere to stash her bags and gigai; she fished the keychain out of her pocket and pressed it to her forehead. The gigai dropped to the ground like a rock, leaving Orihime standing there in her own body, wearing the shorts and t-shirt she'd had on when she'd left Soul Society. Thrust through her waistband was her zanpakuto, and she fingered the hilt for reassurance before turning to Tatsuki with a smile.
"Take care of our things while I kill it, okay, Tatsuki-chan? I think it's a weak one, it won't take long."
"Orihime-" began Tatsuki, who wanted to wait until the inevitable arrival of Ichigo or Uryuu, but Orihime was already gone, using her newfound shunpou ability to rocket skyward until she was level with the Hollow's head as it rounded the corner of a building, aimed right for them.
"Grawrrrrgh!" it bellowed, reaching out an immense, clawed hand to seize her petite body. Orihime flung out a hand, and her triangular shield exploded into existence right into the Hollow's path while Orihime flash-stepped clear of its grasp. A second later, it crashed into the shield, too slow to avoid it.
"Graughuuuh?" It shook its head, trying to clear away the fog from the collision, and turned-
-only to get split in half right down the middle, from head to crotch, as Orihime flung out her other hand and Tsubaki shot forward to do his thing.
"Graoooouuugh," it said, sounding mournful, as it dissolved into the clear night air.
The golden points of light that were Orihime's fairies zipped back to her zanpakutou, merging with it as she flash-stepped to her friend's side. "All done!" she said cheerfully.
"So weird to watch you do that," Tatsuki said, shaking her head in amazement. "You're like a superhero, now... zipping around in mid-air, killing Hollows like a boss... you don't even need a sword like Ichigo and the rest."
"It's no big deal!" protested Orihime. "Really! It's just that you're not used to it yet. I promise, one day you'll find it completely normal and hum-drum and think nothing of it."
"I doubt I'll ever get used to watching people walk on air and sword-fight monsters," snarked Tatsuki.
Orihime just grinned. "You should call Kurosaki-kun and Uryuu-kun so they don't waste their time coming."
Tatsuki huffed and handed over her phone. "You do it," she said, and set about gathering up their shopping bags.
"...had no trouble at all!" Orihime was saying into the phone as the other girl waddled over to her under the load of bags. "I just flash-stepped up into the sky- yes, Byakuya-sama taught me how! I'm getting pretty good! I haven't hit anything in days!- and swhoosh, I killed it! So we're fine here."
She grabbed the gigai with her free arm and started climbing into it again. "You'll text Uryuu-kun? Thanks, Kurosaki-kun! Sleep well!" After hanging up, she popped the phone into Tatsuki's jacket pocket and tugged the gigai up over her arms, then poked her head in, and suddenly the gigai was Orihime.
"Speaking of things it's hard to get used to," she said with a little shiver, then took some of the bags from her friend.
"You and me both," muttered Tatsuki. "It's just creepy."
Once they had arrived at the apartment, they dumped the bags in a corner (and covered them with a blanket, because Tatsuki didn't want to even accidentally clap eyes on any of the sex toys). Orihime shed her gigai once more, tucking it under the blanket with the sex toys, and collapsed on the ratty old couch next to her friend.
"So, seriously, what's been going on since you went to Soul Society?" Tatsuki asked. "You seem... different."
"Different?" squeaked Orihime. Her eyes darted from side to side as she tried to think of any ways she wasn't the same as before. "How different?"
"I don't know. You just seem... more relaxed. More confident. More adult, even. That's it; it feels like you've grown up a little more."
"Are you saying I was immature before, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked sadly.
"No, no, not immature, just... you seem calmer, less girlish and more... womanly, I guess." Tatsuki shrugged and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the couch. "I don't know how to explain it. You know this sort of thing isn't my strong point."
"I suppose dying could do it," she continued. "Dying would make anyone feel less girlish, huh? But today you were way less spastic around Ichigo than before, and that's a good thing." She cracked open an eye and rolled her head toward Orihime. "It feels like you really have moved on from him."
Orihime tucked her knees up and rested her chin on them. "I think I have, too," she agreed thoughtfully. "I keep so busy, nowadays, that there's almost no time to moon over something that will never happen. But I feel more relaxed, too, because though I'm busy, it's not a stressful busy- does that make sense? I spend my days either meditating or holding sessions with a few people who've started coming to me for therapy. At night, I have dinner with Rukia-chan and Byakuya-sama and Renji-kun, then we walk around the estate grounds, then just spend a quiet hour or two talking or doing whatever, then go to sleep.
"Before, I was always rushing everywhere, there were deadlines, deadlines, deadlines, and so many exams, I was always feeling insecure about what I knew about being a doctor. And with Kurosaki-kun being so out of it about me, and how I feel- felt- about him, I felt insecure about myself as a girl. Woman. Whatever I am. But the way some of the men in Soul Society act..." She began blushing as her words trailed away.
Tatsuki sat upright like a shot. "How are they acting?" she demanded, a delighted glint in her eyes. "Are they fawning over you like slavering beasts? Cuz they damned well should be, Orihime. It's about time you're noticing and enjoying it. It's one of the things that's actually fun about being a woman."
"Not so much with the slavering, but there has been a little fawning," Orihime admitted, her blush still going strong. "And it's not all a flirty type of thing... I'm feeling more confident about myself as a person in general. Byakuya-sama says that not only does he believe I can achieve bankai- that only happens to one person in a thousand, no, in ten thousand, Tatsuki-chan!- but that I could even be made captain of Fourth Division some day!"
"That is nice," Tatsuki agreed slowly, as if she were coming to a realization about something.
"And Renji-kun said such a nice thing to me the other night, that if anyone could fix people up and help them be happier, it would be me..." Orihime was up on her knees now, excitement shining in her eyes as she bounced on the limp old sofa cushion. "And when we tested my newest technique, Byakuya-sama praised me for being able to withstand his shikai and a few seconds of his bankai! And he's very strong, Tatsuki-chan, so that's a huge compliment!"
She thought Tatsuki would be excited, too, but her friend was just sitting there, eyeing her with what appeared to be growing suspicion.
"...so, uh, yeah, I'm feeling better about myself lately, too," she finished in a small voice, not sounding like she felt better about herself in the slightest. "Tatsuki-chan?"
"You're mentioning this Byakuya a lot, Orihime," Tatsuki stated flatly. "Like, a lot. So spill it- what's going on with him?"
"What are you talking about, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked in amazement. She could feel her face heating as her blush renewed. "I don't... for Byakuya-sama... why would you even say such a thing?"
Tatsuki sliced her a mischievous, knowing grin. "I think you're protesting too much."
"No, I'm protesting exactly as much as I should be!" She put her hands to her hot cheeks. "Byakuya-sama is funny and smart and talented and good-looking, Tatsuki-chan, but we're just... hm. Are we friends?" She pursed her mouth in thought. "He's so remote and touchy, I don't even know what we are. We might be friends, but with him, it's almost impossible to know. You know?"
"I know that you're talking a lot about how he can't possibly like you, but I'm not hearing anything about how you feel about him. Which tells me everything I need to know." She sat back into her corner of the sofa, an unbearably smug smirk on her face. "You like him."
"Of course I like him, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime said, exasperated. "He's Rukia-chan's brother, and I've known him for a decade, and he's been very kind in letting me stay at his home for this past month, and as I get to know him, I realize he's good company. But-"
"No," interrupted Tatsuki, "you like him, like him. I can tell. It's just like how you were at the beginning, when you started liking Ichigo." She sat forward, her eyes intent on Orihime's. "And from what I've heard from you and him, it sounds like Kuchiki Byakuya is not the type of guy to reciprocate the feelings of a soft-hearted young thing like you."
"He's not," Orihime agreed instantly. "Which is fine, because I do not 'like him, like him'. We're 25 years old, Tatsuki-chan, why are we still talking this way?" She crossed her arms over her bosom and gave a little huff. "And am I so stupid that I have to be warned off from an unsuitable man?"
Tatsuki grimaced. "I didn't mean it like that, Orihime, so I'm sorry if it hurt your feelings. I'm just... I worry about you. I don't think you realize how hard it was for us to watch you languish after that blockhead for so damned many years."
"Us? Who's 'us'?" demanded Orihime.
"Me, Uryuu, Sado, even Mizuiro and Chizuru. Maybe especially Chizuro... she's always been praying you'll come to your senses and embrace the love of Sappho. But anyway... it was sad before you were abducted, and after you came back, it was downright agonizing. And however much it hurt us, I know it hurt you even more. So can you blame me for wanting to spare you that again?"
How was she supposed to stay angry after such a heartfelt explanation? Orihime abruptly felt all the indignation just seep out of her, like she was deflating.
"I know," she said miserably, and slumped against the old tweed sofa cushion. "You're not wrong, Tatsuki-chan."
She averted her gaze to stare blindly out the window. Tatsuki was one of the few who was aware of just how much Orihime had suffered during her abduction; it had been on her shoulders that Orihime had sobbed out the details of how Menoly and Loly had tortured her, how Nnoitra had raped her body, how Aizen had raped her mind.
"I'm not falling for Byakuya-sama," she said at last. "You know me, I can't resist becoming friends with everyone. And if there were ever anyone on the planet who needed a friend, it's him. He's got to be the loneliest person I ever met."
Tatsuki huffed. "Just don't let your pity lead you into something weird with him."
Orihime had to laugh. "Weird? Tatsuki-chan, I kill monsters by shooting fairies out of my hands. Half my friends are dead. Heck, I'm dead. Being friends with Byakuya-sama is probably the most normal thing about me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," grumbled Tatsuki. "I still think you're protesting too much. But I'll let it go for now."
"Generous of you," said Orihime, grumbling as well. "Why did I come visit you, again?"
"Because you love me more than anyone else," replied Tatsuki promptly, without doubt or arrogance. It was true, after all.
"Not anymore, according to you," Orihime shot back.
"Kuchiki Byakuya could never take my place!" Tatsuki protested. "We have history together! Many long years of close bonding!"
"You've never actually met him, have you?" Orihime asked, an amused smile curving her lips.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, nothing... I'll just wait until you've seen him in person, and then we'll see if you still think there's no way you could never be replaced."
And with that, Orihime went to make tea in the kitchen, laughing at the expression of outrage on Tatsuki's face.
It was evening the next day in Soul Society when Orihime returned, and her arms were getting seriously tired by the time she made it to the far end of the Senkaimon and stepped out onto the Kuchiki estate's manicured garden lawn. She set the heaping bags down at her feet and swung her aching arms in circles, trying to get the blood flowing properly again.
Renji poked his scarlet head out of a nearby room. "Ah, I thought I felt your reiatsu!" he exclaimed. Spying all the bags she had set down, he loped over to help with them as Byakuya made an appearance at the door, watching impassively.
"Ah, Renji-kun, no, that's not necessary-" Orihime said, beginning to panic when Renji grabbed one of the bags of sex toys. She reached for the bag but he kept moving it so she couldn't get a handhold, mouth curved in a feral grin.
"Hehehe, what's in here you wouldn't want me to see?" He flash-stepped a few feet away to keep Orihime from the bag and glanced down, his grin fading when he realized its contents and why, exactly, her face might be flaming. "Orihime-chan," he said, his tone well and truly shocked, "this is full of dildoes!"
He reached in and pulled out an enormous rubber dong in an eye-searing shade of purple latex, waving it at her in emphasis.
"Most of them are vibrators, actually," Orihime said miserably, attempting without success to grab the purple dildo from Renji. "One of the other bags is half-full of batteries for them."
Renji had recovered from his surprise at that point, and was waggling the purple dildo at Orihime as if he were threatening her with a sword, his other hand on his hip. "Gotta say, Orihime-chan, I never had you pegged for a girl who was into this sort of stuff."
"Renji-kun!" she shrieked, and snatched at the dildo, only to have him hold it over his head so she couldn't reach. "Give it back!"
"If you were so desperate for a little loving, I know tons of guys who'd be more than happy to- oof! Dammit, Rukia!"
Rukia had appeared from within the house and, in a single smooth motion, removed the dildo from Renji's hand, stuffed it back into the bag, and elbowed Renji smartly in the belly. "They're not for her, idiot. I asked her to buy them," she growled at him. "Sorry, Orihime-chan. I only found out what was on the list after you'd gone."
"It's fine, Rukia-chan," Orihime replied, very glad to be able to relinquish ownership of the bags and their upsetting contents. "It was so weird, going to that store and getting so many things. Everyone thought I was the sickest pervert alive! And I don't even know what half those things do!"
A choked sound came from the verandah, and she, Rukia, and Renji all looked over to find Byakuya gazing with great interest off into the distance. Though his face was blank as always, his eyes were gleaming and Orihime realized he was was very, very amused.
"I am not sure which is more disturbing," he murmured at last. "That Rukia would request you buy a large number of such... items, or that you would actually agree to do so."
Now it was Rukia's turn for her eyes to pop out in dismay.
"Nii-sama!" Rukia exclaimed, her face as red as a tomato. "These aren't- they're not for me! They're for the members of the Women's Association! They had asked me to make purchases for them the next time I was in the living world, since I go far more often than any of them do!"
"And even if they were all for Rukia-chan, if she asked me to, I'd still buy them for her!" Orihime added loyally. "That's what friends are for!"
"Friends are for buying huge sackfuls of unnaturally-sized sex toys?" Renji demanded, incredulous and horrified. "That is not at all what friends are for! Friends are for getting drunk with, and teaming up when you get in bar fights, and playing soccer! They're not for buying dildoes and vibrators!"
"And nipple clamps and butt-plugs," Rukia added absently as she started to rummage through the bags, starting to recover from her embarrassment now that she realized her brother was- miracle of miracles- teasing her.
Orihime was scandalized but starting to have fun with the insanity of it all. "And cock-rings and fur-lined handcuffs," she whispered, trying and failing to stifle a nervous giggle. "There was something called a spreader-bar on the list, but they were all out. So please apologize to Unohana-taichou that I couldn't get that for her."
Renji and Byakuya exchanged a glance at that point; it seemed that still waters ran deep in the case of Unohana-taichou.
Rukia began to haul the bags toward the house, intent on putting them in her room so she could distribute them to their respective new owners on the morrow, but Orihime stopped her.
"Some of the batteries are mine," she said. "For- for my toothbrush! And my stereo!" she hastened to add when Renji and Byakuya exchanged another look. "And I bought a few presents for people!" She dug a slim CD case from one of the sacks, holding it out toward Byakuya. "I thought you'd like this. It seems like the sort of music you'd enjoy."
Byakuya stared down at the CD in his hand, then up at Orihime with a frown. "I have no way of using this."
"I do!" she replied cheerfully. "That's why I got the batteries for myself, so we could play it!" She tilted her head to the side and considered his lack of technological acuity. "Would you like me to hang on to it until we get a chance to listen to it?"
"If you wish." Truth be told, Byakuya had no idea what to do, either with the CD or the girl. He was not accustomed to being the recipient of impromptu gifts. "...thank you," he said at last, deciding that gratitude would not go amiss.
The girls grabbed the shopping bags Orihime had returned with, and the group entered the house and began walking down the hall, Byakuya and Orihime in front and Rukia behind with Renji, the two still arguing in whisper.
"You're welcome!" Orihime beamed up at him. "I wanted to thank you for being so generous in letting me stay here! It's been a lot of fun so far!"
It... had? Byakuya tried to think what, exactly, in the past week had been 'fun' and came up blank.
"And you've been so nice," she continued blithely. "It's been great to get to know you better, after all these years. You're a lot funnier than I thought you would be."
He stopped walking and turned to just stare at her in disbelief; from the corner of his eye, he could see Renji and Rukia staring likewise at their friend.
"I'm sorry," Orihime said the moment she noticed she was the center of their attention. "Are you not used to compliments? That's sad. Everyone should get to hear good things about themselves." She reached out and patted his forearm, clearly intending to comfort him. "I'll make sure to let you know how much I appreciate you, so you can get used to it!"
Her face lit up, then. "Same for you two!" she informed Rukia and Renji. "Rukia-chan, I know I've thanked you already for going to so much trouble to seal my memories to me, and wanting me to stay here, you're so loving and generous!" Rukia blinked. "And Renji-kun, you're so loyal and handsome and protective! The best friend a person could ask for."
She smiled radiantly at them all before jostling the bag in her arms with a faint blush. "Who knew a bag of these things would be so heavy! I guess fisting gloves and strap-on harnesses weigh more than you'd think. Rukia-chan, let's go put everything down."
Byakuya watched them go, and felt somewhat disgruntled. His tattooed half-wit of a lieutenant was handsome but he, Byakuya, scion of the noble house of Kuchiki, was funny? The girl had to live in a separate plane of existence.
"I never knew you were such a comedian, taichou," Renji commented as they progressed down the hallway toward the lounge. He shot his captain a sly sideways glance and crossed his arms nonchalantly behind his head. "Wish I were funny. Guess I'll just have to settle for being protective. And loyal. And handsome."
"Like a Rottweiler," Byakuya murmured with a sideways glance of his own. "You do drool enough to qualify." Renji's smirk faltered.
From behind them, a giggle sounded, and they turned to see Orihime standing there with Rukia, having deposited their burdens in their bedrooms.
"See?" said Orihime. "That was funny."
"I'll take your word for it," Renji said, clearly unconvinced.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, making them all jump a little. "We went to a photo booth and got pictures of everyone for all our friends here in Soul Society!" She dashed back to her room and returned seconds later, waving a big paper envelope as she plunked herself down at the low stable between Rukia and Byakuya.
Orihime pulled out a stack of large, glossy photos and began handing them around. "This is the best one," she said of the photo on top. In it, six of them had managed to jam themselves into the purikuri booth. Ichigo, Uryuu, and Mizuiro were seated with Chizuru seated on Ichigo's lap, Tatsuki on Mizuiro's, and an oddly familiar-seeming blonde girl on Uryuu's in the middle. The girls, Uryuu, and Mizuiro were smiling; Ichigo looked cranky but wasn't frowning outright. Sado, having no hope in hell of fitting in the booth with them, contented himself with poking in his head sideways, fingers in a peace sign beside his impassive face.
"Who's the strange girl?" Rukia asked, puzzled.
"That's me!" said Orihime with a laugh. "I got the gigai from Urahara-san, and he made it look like how he would look if he were a woman. It was weird to be so different! But kind of fun, at the same time."
The next photo was all of them in the same pose, but the blonde Urahara-like Orihime held up a little sign that said, "Wish you were here!" with hearts and stars drawn around the words. "I have copies of this one for you, Rukia-chan, and you, Renji-kun, because we missed you a lot! And also for Rangiku-chan and Toushirou-kun and Ikkaku-san and Yumichika-san! It would have been so fun if all of you had been with us!"
"Where, at the pervert shop?" Renji drawled. "Rangiku and Yumi would have had a ball, but Hitsu-taichou and Ikkaku would have freaked out. And we-" his hand gestured to indicate himself and Rukia "-would not have stepped foot inside."
"Speak for yourself, idiot," Rukia muttered, flicking to the next photo and grinning. It showed the group, again, except this time Mizuiro had gotten his hands on a sparkly pink vibrator and was holding it aloft like Excaliber just pulled from the stone- it appeared to have been switched on because it was a little blurry. The group's reaction was comical; Tatsuki, in Mizuiro's lap, had jerked so far away from him that she bonked her head on Sado's- the photo had been snapped at the exact moment that their skulls made contact, if Sado's expression of pain was anything to go by.
Chizuru was leaning forward, trying to grab the vibrator from Mizuiro. Ichigo's face was a mottled fuschia. Orihime was falling off Uryuu's lap, her face a bug-eyed mask of alarm and her hair flying back from the force of her tumbling to the floor. Uryuu's eyes were wide, too, behind his glasses, and his hands were stretched out as if to catch her.
The next photo was the aftermath. Tatsuki and Sado were rubbing their abused pates, and Orihime was standing, leaning over to brush off her knees while Chizuru, behind her, leered at Orihime's bottom. Ichigo had his eyes closed while pinching the bridge of his nose in disgust, and Uryuu and Mizuiro appeared to be arguing. The vibrator was not in evidence.
"Those two were the first pictures," Orihime said. "It took a while for us to settle down and behave so we could get the shot we wanted to give everyone."
"I think I prefer the candid ones," Rukia said with a mischievous grin. "But I wish I'd been there, too. It does look fun."
"Next time, you have to come along! You too, Renji-kun! I promise we won't go to the pervert store," she added quickly, stilling the protest on his lips. "We'll just go stuff ourselves on yummy food and take silly pictures."
"Maybe I wanted to go to the pervert store," Rukia grumbled.
"We'll sneak away, and I'll show it to you," Orihime whispered, thinking the men couldn't hear her. Byakuya flicked a glance to Renji that said, You will not allow my sister to visit that place alone and Renji's answering glare said, Duh, of course not.
They had already eaten; it was now time for the post-prandial perambulation (also known as the after-dinner walk) through the Kuchiki estate's grounds.
"The tea garden tonight?" Rukia suggested, and they headed that way, she and Renji in the lead, bickering as they walked, with Orihime and Byakuya following behind.
"Thank you again for letting me use the senkaimon, Byakuya-sama," said Orihime. "It was so wonderful to see everyone again. I'm... I'm not good at handling loss. I think that's why my zanpakutou abilities have manifested as they have... why I'm able to reject reality. I've been able to harness the power of my own denial mechanism. If that's not a head case, I don't know what is." She gave a little laugh. "But then they always say the craziest people of all are psychiatrists.
"I'm probably too clingy in general. Physically as well as emotionally. I think I'm more of a touchy-feely person than I realized," she continued. "I'm used to hugging my friends or touching them more than I have done with everyone here in Soul Society. I didn't get a lot of affection when I was little, so I'm trying to make up it now."
Who did get lots of affection as a child? Byakuya wondered irritably. Certainly not he. Were they to have another soul-baring conversation? Was this to become the norm with her residing on the Kuchiki estate?
"I miss my brother," she whispered. Soul-baring conversation it is, then, he thought grimly, resigning himself to it even as he felt a startling sense of cameraderie at her obvious grief.
"I miss my wife," he replied before he could catch himself, and was horrified at the lapse of his self-control, then again when he felt her little hand slip into his and give a gentle squeeze.
"But we have to accept that they're gone," she continued, withdrawing her hand. Its absence made him feel a little lonelier. "We won't be able to move on unless we do. I don't intend on spending the rest of my life torn up." She glanced sideways at him. "And I consider you a friend now, Byakuya-sama, so I won't let you do that, either."
He had to admire her determination, misguided as it was. "I am perfectly capable of handling my own grief," he informed her.
"But you're not," she replied, seeming startled as she stopped walking and turned to face him. Rukia and Renji, caught up in their own conversation, didn't notice and walked on. "It's been sixty years and you're still mourning her. That's not healthy. How many opportunities for happiness have you passed up because of it?"
"Do not try to work your healing on me," he said coldly, his eyes glacial in the spill of cool moonlight. "You presume much."
"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I don't mean to offend. I just want you to be happy."
"Why?" he asked, and began to walk again; behind him, he heard the sound of her feet on the path's stones as she hurried to catch up to him. "Why does it matter to you if I am happy or not? What would be the result if I were not?"
"If I didn't at least try to help you be happy..." Orihime paused, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. "I would feel guilty. Like there were more I could do, and just didn't, and it would be my fault..."
"You are responsible for the contentment of the world, then?" His tone was dry, and he knew she'd gotten his point when her face lit up in a smile.
"It's pretty ridiculous, when put that way, huh?" She sighed. "I guess I have to stop feeling like I'm supposed to take care of everyone. But it's part of my nature, to love everyone! So I don't know if I can stop."
"Is that what love is?" Byukuya wondered aloud. "To be concerned with another's happiness?"
Orihime glanced up at him, clearly startled. "Isn't it? What else is there to love?"
"Is there not some more selfish component? A sense of possession, or the craving for whatever pleasure is to be found?" They were edging on more risky territory here, and Byakuya knew he should back away, should steer them toward a safer zone, but he was feeling reckless tonight. "Or a feeling of security, or of pride to be in the company of an enviable person?"
She looked thoughtful. "I've felt possessive before," she said, "but I don't know much about the pleasure stuff." She looked embarrassed at that. "And the security and pride... I haven't, uh, actually been in a romantic relationship before. So I don't know."
Ah. That explained much. "Kurosaki and his inexplicable blindness where your affection is concerned, I presume?"
"Even you know about that?" Orihime said with a rather charming pout, then sighed. "Yes, though I've sworn him off for a few years now. And now that I'm dead, so are any chances for a relationship with him." She sighed. "But Rangiku-chan says I have to be open to exploring new options, so I'm looking to fresh horizons!" She pumped a fist in the air for emphasis. "So bring on the men, world! I'm ready for them!"
Byakuya made a show of glancing around, as if waiting for the hordes of suitors sure to be approaching at any moment. When none were forthcoming, he turned back to Orihime to find her trying to be stern and failing miserably, because she started laughing.
"Being funny again, taichou?" Renji asked as he and Rukia came up the path toward them.
"So it would seem," answered Byakuya pleasantly. "Pity your handsomeness was not up to par tonight." He turned and entered the house, leaving them to follow, Orihime giggling behind her hand.
That seemed to indicated that it was time for Renji to leave; Rukia showed him out, leaving Byakuya and Orihime alone.
"I will give you another shunpou lesson soon," Byakuya said after a while, more to have a reason to change the subject than for anything else.
"Oh, yay!" she replied, her face lighting up with pleasure.
"I expect you will have practiced since your first lesson," he continued.
"I did! I promise! I'll be so good at it, you won't believe it!"
He was sure that was true.