A/N: I just finished chapter 4, so I figured why delay posting it? Here you go, my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think. (Also, it's going to be more and more explicit from now on, so don't read if you are uncomfortable with sexual content. You have been warned. )
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Chapter 4 – Reaching
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Strong calloused hands were trailing over her body. Half-lidded brown eyes were watching her intently, gauging her reaction, taking in her very moan, every breath, every gasp. Like a feather, his fingers ran down her spine making her shudder in delight. Then, his hands separated. One went on down, over the curve of her lower back and she moaned silently. His other hand made its way to her stomach, starting to draw small circles there. Suddenly he changed pace and grabbed her ass, squeezing, and at the same time he dove down to her neck and bit down on it. She gasped in pleasure. He wanted more.
The hand that had been caressing her stomach traveled up to her breast and pinched her nipple, pulling and twisting it. She cried out and clawed her hands into his back, making him groan in turn. The sound reverberated through her body, making her blood course hot through her veins. She ground her hips against his, wanting to hear it again. She was promptly rewarded. Eagerly, she moved her hands towards his crotch, but he caught them with his and moved her arms above her head, trapping them there. She heard a throaty chuckle by her ear. His hot breath made her breath hitch in her throat. "Not quite yet," he whispered and brought one hand back down, trailing over her belly towards the place where she most wanted him.
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Orihime was fighting with herself. Yesterday she had felt strong and fierce and courageous. But today, she felt like hiding in a hole. What if she had made a fool of herself? What if she had pushed herself on him? What if he resented her? And how could she even look him in the eye after the latest dream she'd had? She flushed at the memory.
It's ok. Yesterday was a good start. Start low, go slow. You can take a break from this for one day. Just get back in the saddle on Wednesday, Orihime.
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It was a chilly day. School had been boring. Ichigo dug his hands into his pockets, watching as Inoue skipped towards him. He frowned at her childlike behavior. She had been confusing him. There seemed to be a sudden change in her. On Monday she had touched him not once, not twice, but three times. Sure, the first two times could be written off as accidents, but then she had deliberately touched his arm to thank him. And before that… If he didn't know any better, he would have said that they had flirted. Admittedly, he was terrible at realizing when people flirted with him, but the way she had batted her eyes at him…
He shook his head at his thought. This was Inoue he was thinking about. She was innocence incarnate. She probably didn't even know what flirting was. But still, it had messed with his head. After walking her home, he had headed to the visored's hideout to blow off some steam for the first time in weeks. Of course, Shinji -that incorrigible asshat- had noticed something was up and teased him relentlessly. And then yesterday. She almost hadn't looked at him at all. He didn't know what to make of that. It wasn't like her.
"Thank you for waiting, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime gushed happily. He was walking her home again.
"Mh." He motioned with his head to leave. Somehow, he was irritated.
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She was babbling on about an imaginary life of high-risk bank robberies and how the gang would make the perfect team for a heist. She had no idea how she had gotten to that topic. But it seemed safe enough and she was trying to muster up the courage for the next step in her plan.
A brisk breeze caused her to shudder. This mid-autumn day had temperatures dropping even though it was still a beautifully sunny day.
"…so then after Rukia-chan takes down the gunmen I would be hacking the security system while Ishida-kun is crawling through the vents and you would charm the security guard-"
"Wait what?" he interrupted her incredulously. "That is not at all how it would be. That's a terrible strategy. Obviously, Ishida would be the one hacking the security cause none of us would know how to do that apart from him. And Rukia would to the stealth part with crawling through the vents, she's tiny. And I don't know how in the world you could see me charming anyone, that is obviously your job. Seriously, you dummy, you have it all mixed up."
She furrowed her brows. "But Kurosaki-kun, the security guard is a woman, so obviously you would have to charm her with your deep voice and your funny frown. So that leaves me taking down the gunmen." She pondered a little bit over this, not realizing that he had blushed. "Yeah, I think I could do it. You know I actually have really good moves," She exclaimed happily.
They were close to her apartment and she shivered at another breeze. She needed to make her move before they parted.
"It's really gotten cold these past few days. I guess winter is really coming," she sighed, looking at the sky. Ichigo just nodded in agreement.
"Say Kurosaki-kun," she started and quickly touched his arm to get his attention. He turned towards her. "You know what's perfect for this weather? Hot chocolate! My aunt sent me this wonderful cocoa from Switzerland as a souvenir and its crazy delicious! Would you like to come in and have some? You love chocolate, don't you?"
Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.
"Uhm." He frowned and her heart fell. "Sure, why not? Thanks Inoue."
She jubilated inwardly. Phase 1.2 is a go.
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Ichigo had taken off his jacket, standing in the middle of her living room. "So, can I help you with something?" He rubbed his neck awkwardly. She followed the movement. Like the rest of his body, his neck was steeled from fighting. His trapezius was broad, making him look way too strong for a high school student. Her eyes trailed to his bicep where his uniform was stretched by the movement. Goodness, how could any one person be so freaking hot? She felt heat rush to her nether regions.
"Inoue? You okay?" The unbelievably sexy man in front of her asked into the silence.
Orihime snapped out her trance – and blushed profusely. Oh no! She had been ogling Kurosaki-kun completely unabashedly and he had realized. She just wanted to find a hole to crawl in and die. But since there were no holes to be found she opted for furiously waving her hand in front of her face and laughing.
"Oh, uh sorry Kurosaki-kun I must have been daydreaming again. Hahaha, you know- the brain parasites must have gotten to me. Uhm anyways, hot chocolate, right? Coming right up!" she blurted and rushed into the kitchen. She rested her arms on the counter and hid her face in them. Then she squealed with embarrassment as quietly as she could.
Ok breathe. It's not that bad. You space out all the time. He doesn't know what you were thinking. He doesn't know that you want to lick his bicep. Or that you want to leave bite marks on his neck. Or that you want him to touch you in all kinds of places. Or that- Inoue! Focus, darn it! This is not the time. Think of the plan! It's now or never. You have a mission!
She opened the overhead cabinet. She cleared her throat. "Uhm, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked timidly. "Could you help me with something?"
"Sure, what can I do?" She stretched up, reaching for the top shelf as he strolled casually into the kitchen.
"Uhm, the cocoa should be on the top shelf and I can't reach it. Would you…?" She trailed off. And exactly as planned, Kurosaki-kun stepped behind her to reach for the top shelf.
"I think it's all the way in the back," she took a step back as if trying to get a better view of the top shelf.
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Ichigo froze. He had spotted the cocoa and was reaching for it. Suddenly there was contact. Inoue had stepped backwards to show him where it was, and now her back was touching his front. No, specifically, her butt was touching his crotch. He flushed. What is happening, this is not right, why isn't she pulling away?
He reached a little more and grabbed the cocoa and then quickly moved away from her.
"Uhm, here you go," he muttered and handed her the box. He hadn't wanted to look at her but the look she was giving him caught his eyes. Her cheeks had a rosy blush to them, her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were glossy, making her look almost feverish. She looked… beautiful. A voice inside him completed the sentence.
"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," she said with her voice a little lower than usual. "You are so tall…" She didn't break eye contact and Ichigo swore that the air around them was prickling with electricity. He felt frozen as he stood there, unmoving and unsure what to say, still staring at her.
Then, her face broke into a smile. "You are so tall. It's quite useful, but it is a little freakish. Maybe one of your ancestors was a giant. Uh, or European!"
Ichigo was flabbergasted. Just like that, the atmosphere in the room had changed back. "Uhm, I wouldn't know," he answered lamely.
She started rummaging around, getting milk from the fridge and babbled:
"Perhaps you are descended from a European giant. Maybe on your mother's side. He was probably Irish, that would explain your hair color, too." She giggled and the musical sound filled her tiny kitchen.
Ichigo felt relieved. Everything was normal after all. He watched his friend do her thing when suddenly his heart almost stopped. She had turned and bent over to retrieve something from the lower cabinet. She bent at the hips and just stood there, straight legged, her behind sticking up in the air like Chad's thumb on a good day. Her skirt had ridden up, revealing the perfect creamy skin over her thighs and Ichigo couldn't help but stare.
He knew that Inoue had a very pretty figure. Of course he knew. He was always scaring off her suiters left and right. But somehow it seemed to him that he was only realizing now that she had a very pretty figure. Perfect even. And her skin looked soft and flawless.
It felt like a lifetime, but it couldn't have been more than half a minute until she emerged from the cupboard, victoriously holding up a pot. "There it is, I swear these things hide from me so I don't put them on the stove. It is kind of understandable, though, I wouldn't want to be put on a hot stove either."
Ichigo remembered to close his mouth and swallowed. "Uh, bathroom, be right back." He mumbled, turned on the spot and flew the scene.
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Orihime let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Everything had gone according to plan. However, she still didn't know if she could count it as a success. She had gotten a reaction alright. Pushing her butt against him had made her feel all kinds of hot and bothered. And his reiatsu had spiked like crazy so she knew he had noticed it, but she didn't know what to make of the reaction. Had he enjoyed it? Was he angry at her? He had just left now. Did she make him uncomfortable?
She realized that what she had done could probably be counted as sexual harassment. She really hoped he didn't see it that way. She sighed while she stirred the hot cocoa on the stove. There was no going back, only forward. She had decided that. She hoped that she wasn't making a mistake.
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"Bye Kurosaki-kun, be safe!"
Orihime closed the door and leaned against it. Somehow, she had managed to sit through his visit without making a fool of herself. She was surprised that it hadn't been awkward after that scene in the kitchen. She had just picked up their conversation from before and he had seemed amused at her plans of the perfect heist. He had even participated, objecting when he thought her plan wouldn't work out the way she imagined. They had laughed. He'd seemed to have a good time.
Orihime buried her face in her hands and squealed. She'd had hot chocolate with Kurosaki-kun. They'd had a good time. Although he most likely didn't see it that way, it was almost like- like a date. The thought made her ridiculously happy. She commended herself on going through with the plan.
Even if she didn't feel much closer to getting him in her bed (Orihime! How can you think such a lewd thought?! – Oh hush, you know that's exactly where this plan is supposed to go and you want it, so don't act so bashful!), she was still over the moon to be spending that much time with him. And as she was becoming a little more comfortable with the physical closeness she was trying to establish, she started to really enjoy touching him. How had she refrained from doing that for so long?
She just hoped that what she'd found out in her research was going to turn out as accurate.
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"When you desire someone who likes you in turn, but only as a friend, you need to break his image of you as a non-sexual being. The first step will be to establish physical closeness. In a culture such as ours where touching is a very private notion, people are secretly yearning to be touched. If there is already a closer acquaintance such as friendship between you and the object of your desire, they most likely won't object to your touch- and, at some point, they will feel comfortable to return it. Don't overdo it at first, ease into it. If they touch you back on their own accord, you are on the right path."
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So far, Ichigo hadn't touched her. She sighed. But then again, it was only her second day of trying anyways, so she figured she needed to be more patient. She sighed again. Somehow, after years of yearning for him quietly, all her patience had left her with a bang. She only wanted to lick his abs, was that too much to ask? Realizing her train of thought, Orihime turned crimson. What was happening to her? Was this what it was like to be an adult? Constantly thinking dirty thoughts? Or was she just abnormally perverted?
She pushed herself off the door and went to wash the dishes. At least, she'd had a really nice afternoon with her friend. She smiled. She still needed to work out the kinks in her plan, but she felt like she was walking in the right direction.
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A/N: So, this is it, I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review to make me super happy!
The next chapter will probably take some time since I am getting married next week.
On a side note: How fun is the idea of a bleach heist story? If anyone knows of a story like that, please do notify me. :D Or if you want to have a go at the idea, tell me, I'd love to read it!
And an explanation for my reviewer Ikrani: In the original Japanese Manga and Anime Ichigo only ever refers to Orihime by Inoue, so I am just taking it from there. Calling someone by their given name is a big deal in Japan, a sign of real intimacy. Usually, people would add an honorific suffix to the surname to signify the type of relationship they have with the person (like -san which means Mr./Mrs. or -taichou which means Captain). That is why Orihime calls Ichigo "Kurosaki-kun". She is very polite. Ichigo on the other hand, rarely uses suffixes at all, which would be considered quite rude in Japanese culture. It's kind of a part of his character. 😊