ARRANGED LOVE OR COERCION?
DIsclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its Characters. If I did Orihime and Ichi will be siblings. LOL
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"Shiro/Zangetsu and other Zanpakutos"
Chapter Eight : Love scare, confrontations, dreams and resolutions
After diner Byakuya guided Ichigo to his study found in a secluded part of the mansion in order for them to talk in private. He let her enter first then he entered after her shutting the door behind him.
"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked.
"I am sorry" he answered in a subdued voice.
"What… do you mean" she asked surprised.
"I said sorry…" he began to say but he was interrupted by Ichigo again.
"I heard you the first time but what are you actually apologizing for?" she asked.
Byakuya sighed resignatedly and said" I am sorry for hurting your feelings through my actions and words these past months, I know I have been a real jerk to you and a horrible spouse, making you feel miserable in soul society by broking my first promise to you."
"Eehm!! I don't know what to say you keep saying sorry each time you hurt me, but you still end up hurting me one way or the other. I sometimes feel you are not completely honest with me Byakuya." Ichigo said.
Sighing in defeat Byakuya decided to completely clear up their misunderstanding so he said " The truth is I miss you and your overwhelming presence around me, I feel very lonely when you are not around me, I am scared because I feel a strong affection for you but I don't know what it is because I have never felt that for anyone." He said slowly advancing towards the orangette invading her personal space, causing Ichigo to move backwards until her back hit the wall. However that did not stop Byakuya he kept advancing towards her. Stopping in front of her, he placed his hands on both sides of her head making it impossible for Ichigo to escape."I think I... am crazy about you because you disarm me and take away my walls"
"Byakuya... What are you doing?" ichigo asked in a panicked voice.
"Shh... I am equally sorry for what I am about to do to you right now" he whispered in her left ear, before finally, after weeks of indecision, he leaned down and kissed her.
Technically, this isn't their first kiss filled with lots of emotions, since he had kissed her passionately on the night of promotion. But Byakuya had been terrified, and judging from Ichigo's reaction, so had she. In Byakuya's book, a 'forced kiss' was not truly defined as a "kiss", if that made any sense whatsoever.
But now, this kiss was gentle and slow, Ichigo's lips soft against his own.
She made a sound, half between a whimper and a moan, and slightly arched into his body, pressing herself even more against him.
He noticed that she tasted sweet, as if she had just been eating candy.
At last, he pulled back, trying to read her face.His voice was soft and almost caressing as he spoke. "Ichigo...what do you want me to prove to you?"
She fixed his eyes with hers, her tone defiant. "Prove to me that you're capable of love."
Then, she sagged, tearing her eyes away and staring at the floor. Her next words were so inaudible that Byakuya only hoped he heard them right.
"Prove to me that you love me." she repeated. That statement made Byakuya to freeze then go silent his hands falling to his side.
"I..." he tried to say but found it difficult to make a coherent sentence.
Sighing in defeat with her head bowed to hide her threatening tears from him she continued "You said you feel a deep affection for me it might be the beginning of something. However I need prove of that affection as well as re-assurrance that I am not useless as a wife."
"You are not the problem Ichigo the problem is me" Byakuya answered guiltily. "I will love to make this marriage work but I am so confused with my feelings. Please tell me what I can do to eas the pain I continiously cause you?"
Using the sleeve of her kimono to wipe her impending tears she spoke " I appreciate the efforts, really I do.It gives me hope that one day I will be someone special in your life..."
"But you are..." he tried to say interrupting his wife.
"I wasn't finish Byakuya"she said looking at him in the eyes." I know it will be an inconvinience to you but would you mind us sharing a room from now on? I feel so lonely waking up and going to bed alone. My parents use to share the same room though I admit their narriage had something ours don't but please can you do this for me?" she asked in a pleading tone.
"Anything for you Ichigo" Byakuya answered in a voice full of regrets.
"Thank you please excuse me, I am going to get ready for bed. I will see you later then" she said preparing to leave the study.
"Go ahead" was the only reply she recieved before she exited the room.
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How could she have been such a baka? Prove to me that you love me? An icy, cold emperor, domineering and flawless, could learn to love?
A small voice spoke up in the haze of ichigo's mind, pointing out that was why she wanted prove that Byakuya could love, and in turn love her. Because she had the almost stereotypical image of Byakuya that he projected into the minds of all those who met him, and that first image had been burned into ichigo's mind ever since the first day he had left her for death on the streets of karakura town: the fearsome, prominent shinigami with the aristocratic features speaking to some lowly street trash like her.
And now…she was his wife. After a whirlwind of events, she was his wife, yet he didn't love her, even though she felt something for him, and it was all so confusing because she didn't even know why she had those feelings.
Maybe this was why Ichigo was still gazing at the wall, her mind tangled in the snarls of insomnia, until at last, she forced herself to close her eyes and do nothing but wait for sleep to come.
"Wow you standing up for yourself made living in here bearable, you might be an idiot but you have guts that's why you are still the queen." spoke a mocking voice.
"Thanks for the complement shiro-teme" she repried sarcastically.
"Good job Ichigo keep up, that is a prominent first step to change." said a wiser voice
"Thank you Zangetsu see you guys later I am feeling sleepy" she said ending their conversation.
Byakuya's POV
The insomnia had started five days after they had their talk in his study.
Five days, since Ichigo had uttered the words that made Byakuya wonder what he was doing wrong.
Five days of sleepless nights, of restless thinking, of confusion, and faintly, of worry as he noticed that ichigo barely spoke to him, and he thought that she might even be intentionally ignoring him.
At night though, she made no move against him when he curled up next to her and pulled her against his body, as they always did. Yet Byakuya could tell, in the small dark recesses of his mind that she was suffering from lack of sleep too, by the unnatural rigidity of her body against his and the dark bags under her eyes the next morning.
Byakuya usually floated off into a fitful sleep after about an hour and a half of silence, marked only by the breathing of him and his wife. But these days he found sleep had become a rare occurrence to both of them thus he made a decision.
"I will make you happy Ichigo no matter what" he thought.
"That is the spirit Master she deserves it, for she is rare jewel worthy of you" said another voice.
"Senbonzakura I am surprised you of all people said that about Ichigo but thank you" Byakuya said.
"Yeah I know, No offense but she is still an annoying brat who thinks she can save everybody on her own" said zanpakouto added.
"None taken my friend" Byakuya said with a small smile then, cutting the link with his sword.
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Ichigo blinked open fuzzy, drowsy-sleepy eyes to see that the room was still dark, so she assumed it was sometime in the middle of the night. Mumbling, she tossed over, flinging an arm to the side, expecting to encounter the warm body that was Byakuya but instead finding
Nothing….
"Maybe he is in the bathroom," she mumbled absently, choosing instead to snuggle deeper into the pillow and wait for his return so she could have an additional pillow.This would be the part where Ichigo conveniently forgot that she was supposed to be ignoring him, because using Byakuya as a pillow had somehow become habit for her, and in her sleep-hazy mind, returning to the comfortable lull of sleep after not having achieved it for so long rendered her ignorant of anything else, including the fact that she was supposed to be mad at her spouse, as stated above.
Ichigo smiled gently with her eyes still closed, wondering what effect the words "I like using Captain Kuchiki as a big warm pillow" would have on her husband.
The words "her husband" jolted something inside of her and she cracked open an eye again, seeing a dark shadow creep across the room as footsteps steadily grew more audible. A weight resettled on the side of the bed, and familiar arms wrapped her up again in an embrace.
Ichigo smiled, breathing in the lulling scent of Byakuya, something faintly between musky and earthy yet still sweet like Cherryblossoms at the same time.
Lips whispered against the edge of her ear, and warm breath filled the cavern. She shuddered, instinctively, as a hot tongue flicked out and traced the shell of her ear.
Tingles of pleasure shot through her body as Ichigo's eyes widened and she stared up at Byakuya.
"What…what are you doing?" her voice came out breathier than she had expected it to, and almost by default, she blushed.
His actions were slow and almost deliberate as he drew them out to make the suspense in Ichigo build to a breaking point.
He gently retracted his arms from around her body, and sitting up again, pinned Ichigo down to the bed with his arms, his hips straddling hers, his face barely centimeters away from hers.
Ichigo suddenly grew hypersensitive to every movement, and she could feel the silk that Byakuya was wearing brush against her thigh and the gentle sweep of his hair across her cheek.
His voice was suddenly sultry and deep, rumbling in his throat and almost a purr. "What am I doing?"
The only thing she could somewhat rationally conclude at that moment was that Byakuya was playing with her - why?It seemed like she was asking a lot of "why"s lately, yet she never got any answers.
Byakuya nipped at her neck, her nose, her ears, and Ichigo felt little stars and sparks explode before her eyes and she reveled in this feeling of being ravished, and of...being loved.
Of being loved...
Ichigo trembled as Byakuya lowered his head once more, murmuring "Is this enough proof that I love you?"
He covered her mouth with his, his teeth sensuously nipping at her lip, running the tip of his tongue against her mouth, seeking entrance. She gasped, slightly, but that was all he needed to ruthlessly plunge into her mouth, his tongue entwining with hers. She moaned in the back of her throat, arching her body into his, trying to fight the restraints his strong arms had on hers.
"Don't fight me please, just let me show you the depth of my feelings for you" Byakuya whispered after he had drawn back, running long, elegant fingers down her cheek, tracing her chin, then down her neck and against the side of her thin yukata.
Ichigo flushed as she suddenly longed for those very long fingers to be running down bare skin, glistening with sweat, his mouth, hot against hers, wanting and needing...
But for now, she settled for languorous kisses that were deep, almost sweet and romantic, since she is half-paralyzed on the bed.
Her mind racing and unsure of what to do. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and on impulse, she flipped Byakuya over so now she was staring into his eyes as she straddled his hips, a crooked grin on her face. She felt her blood racing and boiling, the extremely close proximity to his chiseled chest that she could ravish over and over all night long, and the glimmer in her brown eyes as she evenly met the slightly surprised gaze in his eyes.
Ichigo felt headstrong, brash independent and strong, like the Ichigo Kurosaki she had once been. The one that would not be weighed down nor defeated by someone like Kuchiki Byakuya, that's for sure.
"It's not enough," she said, trying to mimic the husky, deep purr of Byakuya's voice (and failing, if that much wasn't obvious already). "Show me more."
A somewhat predatory smile spread on his face as he cocked his head to the side, still not taking his eyes off of hers, nor making any move to reclaim his position as the dominator.
"Bring it on."
And then he yanked Ichigo's head down, ignoring her little noise of indignation and surprise, and thoroughly plundered her mouth as she ungracefully fell down on top of him. His warm hands, large and calloused from training with Senbonzakura cradled her face as carefully as if she were a porcelain doll.
She had nothing to do but fisting her hands in his hair and pressing him closer, feeling the urgent need to simply be close to him and want him, need him - It was a flurry of thoughts all barraging her at once, and she ignored all of them, just concentrating on one thing: him.
"Byakuya..." she whimpered, as he broke away to lick his way down her neck, past her pulse point, and almost down to her chest. He looked up with heavily-lidded eyes, meeting her glassy stare.
"I love you, Ichigo".
His damningly soft lips fluttered and pressed against her forehead as he still murmured sweet nothings and Ichigo basked in the glow. She never wanted this to end, never ever, this beautiful thrill ride that she only had one ticket to and she just wanted to ride it fifty million times over.
She writhed under his ministrations, attempting to form coherent words, trying to convey her thoughts to him, but failing as her mind blanked out and refused to function.But she knew the exact words she was going to say. She had known them for the longest time, practiced them in her mind, silently whispered them as she sat across from Byakuya at the dinner table so many times.
"I love you, Byakuya. I don't understand why I love you, but I love you far beyond what anyone can comprehend, and far beyond anything in this world."
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Ichigo was jolted awake (again) by the sudden pouring of light into the bedroom and as she squinted in the brightness, she made out the form of Byakuya pulling open the curtains.
Damn him. Ichigo didn't understand how Byakuya was such a cheerful morning person (as cheerful as a Kuchiki could get) and get up at the fuckingcrack of dawn to read overpaperworkand God knows what else he did.
Ichigo preferred to laze in bed and sleep until noon, thank you very much added that today she felt very sore.
She groaned, and promptly burrowed under the covers again, pulling a pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the light.
Byakuya nudged her. "Hurry up if you don't want Kotetsu-san to come here again and make you go to work."
Ichigo groaned, again, and reluctantly got up, shuffling to the bathroom, muttering about "stupid Kiyone" and "wanna go back to sleep."
She securely locked the door behind her and slumped against it, meeting her reflection in the mirror.
She blinked, and the image in the mirror blinked, her beautiful face marked by hollow eyes that had dulled over the days and hair that hung limply around her face.
She sighed, pressing her face against the cold glass, her breath condensing and fogging the mirror.
She realized with the absence of hickeys, that all of last night, all of what she had thought was last night, was simply a dream.
Nothing more than a dream, nothing but fake hopes and unreality.
What does it all mean?
"Fuck this," Ichigo growled, and swinging open the door, wearin only a towel, she marched up to Byakuya and roughly grabbing his head, and smashed her lips onto his.
She felt a sense of satisfaction as it was Byakuya who made a noise of surprise and whether unknowingly or willingly, opened his mouth and Ichigo took it to explore his mouth thoroughly, finding that he tasted sweet and like peppermint from his toothpaste.
At last, she withdrew, her lips swollen and her heart racing erratically. Byakuya raised a slim eyebrow at her, managing to look as serene and as imperceptive as he always was while at the same time looking equally as flushed and disarrayed as his wife (now that was a first). "Feeling rather dominant today?"
Ichigo huffed indignantly. "We're married."she retorted "Wonderful excuse, Ichigo." she thought
Byakuya smiled mysteriously, but did nothing but run a hand through his hair, smooth his captain's haori, and gently kiss Ichigo on the forehead.
A sense of déjà vu hit Ichigo, slamming into her like she was hit by a truck, as she smiled bitterly and softly biding Byakuya good-bye.
The door closed behind the twirl of white haori and she collapsed spread-eagled onto the bed, feeling alone and empty in the large room without Byakuya.
She stared resolutely at the ceiling, her mouth set in a straight line. "If he won't do anything, then I will."
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Byakuya meditating in the kuchiki dogo
"Byakuya-sama why did you. use kido spells on her? " asked a male voice in the 6th division captain's mind.
"Well I have a plan and if it works Ichigo will be happy once more" he answered.
"I hope your plan works without any of you getting hurt in the process. Why didn't you share your thoughts with her? Since the outcome of your plan will affect both of you." Senbonzakura asked skeptically.
"I thought of that but then I decided to tell her everything if the first phase of my plane is succesful." Byakuya said
"And what is the first step master?" the zanpakuto spirit asked curiously.
"In due time my friend in due time." Byakuya answered with a arrogant smirk.
"Oh well but remember that if she finds out that crazy mate of yours will beat you up, me included. I really don't like that her hollow form one bit." he replied in an annoyed tone.
"Wow don't tell me you are scared of my wife and her zanpakuto this is hilarious" Byakuya asked in a mocking tone.
"Me scared of that brat no way...If you must know I am one of the strongest Zanpakutos in soul society. I just don't want to..." Senbonzakura's rambling was interrupted by a third person calling out his master from the outside world.
"Well I guess my meditation is over see you later" replied byakuya cutting the link.
"Byakuya-sama your aunt is here and she wants to have a meeting with you" spoke a servant bowing to the clan head.
"Is my wife gone already?" he asked her.
"Yes my Lord she had a little arguement with Momoko-sama and left angrily and in a hurry for work." the servant replied.
"What did they argue about Hina, I remember telling you to watch my aunt closely whenever she comes to see Ichigo." he asked seriously.
"Momoko-sama brought fertility medicines for Ichigo and threatened to make her drink them. Lady kuchiki got angry and gave your aunt a piece of her mind. She left when Momoko-sama said she was a worthless wife who can't do the simpliest thing that is giving a heir to the clan. It seems Ichigo-sama spiritual energy became uncontollable and she flash-stepped out of the mansion to avoid doing somerhing brash." Hina recounted.
"Thank you Hina take her to my study I will see her in a minute." he said.
"Hai Lord Kuchiki." the servant replied.
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Later
"You wanted to see me aunty? Byakuya said entering his study.
" Yes Byakuya, I came here to see your wife but the insolent minx was disrespectful to me and she even walked out on me." Momoko said angrily.
"Have some respect aunty you are talking to me about my wife. And don't forget that even if you are older than we are, We are the two leaders of this clan, know your place." Byakuya spoke calmly masking his anger with a calm face.
"Gomen Lord Kuchiki, I had the interest of the clan when I came here. I brought Lady Kuchiki fertility medicines but she refused to take them and left." she answered.
"I know what happenef and Ichigo did not walk out on you she left because she was angry and her spiritual energy was unstable. You are lucky she could have killed you." he said.
"What do you mean that all those lessons she still hasn't change it seems they didn't help her behave like the noble she is?" she asked mockingly.
"To be honest I think Shoshi-san did a good job teaching her, because the the old Ichigo would have hurt you with the way you spoke to her." he said.
"Is that so? Anyways we are going out of topic. I wanted ask you to convince your wife to take these medicines" Momoko said.
"Aunty I will make a deal with you give us a month. If there is no heir on the way after the dateline, I will convince Ichigo to take them." he spoke proffessionally.
"One month, then we have a deal Lord Kuchiki" Momoko replied. " Please excuse me."
"Go ahead aunty" he replied.
"One month to get your wife pregnant I wish you the best of lucks Master you will need it. So that is your phase one?" Senbonzakura spoke up.
"Shut up idiot, I thought you were sleeping, meditating or something leave me alone." Byakuya said irritated.
"Oh well don't say I did not warn you when Ichigo-sama finds out. Ja ne." replied the zanpakuto.
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"The nerve of that old hag calling me worthless and barren I almost committed murder." grumbled Ichigo entering her office.
"You should have let me out Queenie!!" a sinister voice said.
"I am not in the mood for your tantrums Shiro-teme, leave me alone" she answered.
"Ichigo how are you feeling today?" asked a more responsible voice.
"I am ok a little tired and sore but ok." that answer made her hollow to laugh hysterically. What's funny idiot?" she asked.
"I won't tell you Lady Kuchiki." the hollow replied in a laughing voice.
"Ichigo take care of yourself try to reduce your recklessness." Zangetsu spoke up.
"What do you mean old man, I am not sick right?" she asked.
"No I just want you to take care of yourself you are a noble now and you have alot of responsibility on your shoulders." the man in black replied.
"Ok see you guys later then I have paperwork to take care of." she said cutting the mental link.
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AND CUT!!!
AN : I know you guys were expecting a lemon but No Lol. As for what really happened you will see it in a few chapters. Hmm Byaku has a plan Let's see what happens.
NAMIKAZE ICHIME