Edit 01/09/22: Don't mind me, just editing. No new content here.

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A/N: Hey folks, so that's it, I'm married. 😊 Thank you for all your good wishes, I appreciate it.

This chapter turned out a little shorter than I intended as I am pushing some things to the next chapter. I decided I didn't want to make you wait any longer. I also proofread this only once, so please excuse any typos and mistakes.

Enjoy chapter 6 and please leave me a review if you enjoyed (or if you have constructive criticism.)

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Chapter 6 – compliments

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Orihime was in a wonderful mood. She hummed lightly to herself as she packed up her desk and moved towards the classroom door. Stepping aside, she waited for her friends to exit. She flashed a smile at an unassuming underclassman who promptly walked into his peer, causing a mass commotion. Orihime was worried for a second, but when she realized that no one was really hurt, she broke out giggling.

Suddenly, she felt a big hand against her upper back.

"Yo, Inoue, ready for lunch?" Ichigo asked. She turned and beamed at him. "Nh, let's go!" He chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm while his hand applied a little more pressure to her back to make her lead the way. Orihime was in heaven. No- in fact, she was sure she was going to die from arrythmia because her heart was palpitating so vigorously.

He was touching her! Kurosaki-kun was touching her! Voluntarily! And not because she was in danger! And it was only day 5 since she had started this. She couldn't believe she had gotten this far in just one week. She wondered how far she would get him in two weeks. Maybe next time he would touch the small of her back. And then maybe his hand would glide lower and lower...

Ichigo removed his hand as they reached the stairs to the roof. Orihime mourned the loss of his touch but only for a moment. She was still over the moon; nothing could put a damper on her success.

Now that he had touched her on his own accord, she would move on to phase two. Of course, she wouldn't stop everything she had established in phase one, but she would add a few things. She was terrified and thrilled at the same time.

Her mind flashed back to the day before.

"Yeah, I can't really explain it, but the frustration has been killing me."

He had said that he was frustrated but didn't know why. He had said he had no cause to be angry with her. She had no reason to doubt his words. And yet his terrible mood had started when he left her place on Wednesday. She was sure of it. It all pointed towards him being -as Rangiku had put it- "sexually frustrated" and what's more, sexually frustrated because of her! It made Orihime giddy with excitement. Even if he truly didn't realize the underlying cause for his behavior, it seemed like his body was reacting to her. And what a body it is... Lately she had felt like a famished person looking at a feast when she looked at him. But if his body was on board with her plan, surely she could make its owner follow suit. And then…

"Inoue-san, don't you want to sit down?" Ishida-kun interrupted her train of thought. "It seems you're spacing out."

"…and blushing," Tatsuki added with a smirk. "Whatever were you thinking of?"

Orihime flushed with embarrassment, rambling "nothing, nothing at all," and flopped down next to Kurosaki-kun. She made sure that her legs were touching his again, this was the new normal after all. Although it still didn't feel very normal to her. She tried hard to control her pulse that had gone into hyperdrive again. Touching him was great. The warmth he emanated, the strong muscles she could feel under his skin… She wondered what it would feel like to sit in his lap. Maybe even in a sundress...? And then he could put his hands on your bare thighs. His hands would probably span more than half of their circumference. His hands are so big and strong- NO, Orihime, be good! You're in public! What are your friends talking about anyways?

"…Come on, you guys, it would be fun!" Keigo whined. "You never want to be spontaneous! We are high school seniors, let's live a little. Karaoke is so cool! I could make the reservations for tonight."

"Absolutely not," Ishida retorted, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger.

"Yeah, I don't sing," Ichigo added.

"That's for the better. No one wants to hear your voice anyways," Tatsuki threw in with a smirk.

Oh no. She had only just decided to move onto phase two and now an opportunity presented itself so soon. She wanted more time to prepare. But who knew when the next natural opportunity would occur? Just, do it, Inoue! It's go time!

"I think Kurosaki-kun has a nice voice. It's so manly and assertive," Orihime exclaimed sweetly.

Ok, relax. It's not embarrassing unless you feel like you're embarrassing yourself. You knew this would happen; you knew that this would be their reaction. But phase two includes compliments. You started slow. Act nonchalant about it. And for goodness' sake, for once in your life, don't blush. It's just a compliment. Breathe, Orihime.

Everyone, including Ichigo, had stopped talking at her exclamation and turned to her with their mouths agape. Orihime tried her best to casually keep eating. She didn't dare look at the man next to her.

"I think Karaoke would be fun, but I can't go, I have a job interview later," she said into the silence just to get the conversation going again.

Tatsuki cleared her throat, obviously deciding to let it go (for the moment) and to come to her aid.

"Oh, you didn't tell me about that, what kind of job?" Orihime was relieved that the ball was rolling again. She shot Tatsuki a smile. "It's just a waitressing job in a café. They pay a lot better than my current job even though I really like working in the bakery as well. Maybe I'll just have two part-time jobs."

This started a discussion about part time jobs in general and the others slowly joined in the conversation again. Only the substitute Shinigami next to her kept quiet, sneaking glances at her every now and then. She caught them all.

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Ichigo was aghast. What just happened? Did Inoue just compliment his voice?

She sure did, said that sly voice inside of him that was so annoyingly talkative off late. And she said that it's manly. Maybe you can do other manly things to her… If a voice could wiggle its eyebrows, he was sure it would. Ichigo groaned inwardly. Why did he keep having these thoughts about his friend? She didn't deserve it.

And to make things worse, her thigh was pressed against his again. It made something stir in his stomach that he desperately tried to subdue.

How was it possible that she didn't notice the contact? He felt like his leg was on fire. He snuck a glance at the beautiful redhead next to him. She seemed unaffected.

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"Ok, spill," Tatsuki asserted. They were walking home from school. "What are you talking about?" Orihime asked innocently, although she was sure she knew what her best friend was asking. She had known that this day would come. And she wasn't planning to purposefully keep it a secret. But she would have preferred to not talk about it for a little longer.

"Ichigo and you. There's something going on. Something is up and I want to know what it is, so I know whose head to smack when it all goes south." Orihime made an indignant noise at that.

"Maybe it won't go south," she objected and looked away from her friend.

Tatsuki was baffled for a second. "So, you admit there's something going on? Just like that. And here I thought I'd have to bring out the big guns to get you to talk." She smirked. "Alright, tell me everything!"

"Well…" Orihime began awkwardly. "Actually, there is not that much to tell. It's just that I have decided to seduce Kurosaki-kun."

"YOU WHAT?" Orihime cringed at her best friend's reaction. She had kind of expected it, but still.

"I decided to seduce Kurosaki-kun." Orihime repeated firmly. She looked over at Tatsuki who had grabbed the bridge of her nose with two fingers and was looking down.

"You decided to seduce Ichigo?" She repeated. "Do you mean confess your feeling to him?"

Orihime giggled. "No silly, I mean seduce him."

Tatsuki shook her head. "Ok Hime, I love you, but you will have to walk me through this. There have been way too many times in the past when you thought that expressions mean something completely different than what they actually mean, so I am still not sure if we are on the same page. What is it that you are trying to do?"

"Tatsuki-chan, I'm 18! I know what seducing means," Orihime started, but she was interrupted. "Just, break it down for me please."

The redhead sighed. She really wasn't as innocent as everybody thought. Even her best friend in the whole wide world didn't believe that she could actually intend to do something that was not PG-13.

"Tatsuki-chan, I plan to get Kurosaki-kun to sleep with me."

Her friend's eyes widened at that but then she shook her head, disbelief still in her eyes. "Nope. Still need more than that. For all I know, you could actually just mean sleeping in the same bed."

"Oh, for goodness' sake Tastuki, you can't be serious! Do I really have to break it down for you? FINE! I want him to put his penis in my vagina and move around rhythmically, I want to get down and dirty with him, I want him to touch my butt and my boobs and my p-private place, are you happy now?"

She felt herself blushing furiously, but she still made a point of turning to her best friend and staring at her in determination. Tatsuki had turned crimson at Orihime's explanation. It was obvious that she had not expected that. It was also obvious that she was very embarrassed. She inhaled as if to say something but then closed her mouth again. Slowly the blush left her making way for a sickly-white complexion. Orihime observed her closely, waiting for her judgement. After a minute she started to worry. Had she broken her best friend? Tatsuki was quick-tempered and always had something to say. This silence was creepy.

The pretty ginger decided to give her friend some time. They walked in silence. When they reached her apartment, Orihime turned to Tatsuki again.

Tatsuki looked at her as if she was searching for something inside of her. Then she finally opened her mouth again. "I need to let this sink in first," she croaked. Orihime wasn't sure if she'd ever seen the karate champ so shaken. She felt bad that she had caused this state but at the same time, she was not sorry. She was going after what she wanted. That was what Tatsuki had always told her to do. She was sure if they got the chance to talk about it more, her friend would get on board.

And besides, Kurosaki-kun had touched her today. It was still a good day.
Now she only needed to give her best at her job interview.

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The doorbell rang for the second time and Orihime rushed to get it. It was Saturday morning, and she was not expecting any visitors. When she opened the door, a raven-haired whirlwind just brushed past her and flopped down on the couch.

"Oh, good morning Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said hesitatingly. She liked having her friend over, she just rarely came by unannounced at 8 a.m. on a Saturday.

"So. You want to seduce Ichigo?" Tatsuki wasted no time for niceties.

"Yes."

"But you love him."

"Yes."

"Why not just confess?"

Orihime snorted. Tatsuki frowned at the uncharacteristically unladylike noise.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan. You have every reason to ask that question. But you know Kurosaki-kun. He's willing to do anything for his friends. He quite literally went to the end of the world for me. He hates seeing me in pain. I love him for that. But if I confessed to him, he might actually go so far as to start dating me just so I won't be hurt." Tatsuki opened her mouth to object, but Orihime cut her off.

"He might do that, or he might not, I'm not entirely sure myself, but imagine if he did start dating me after I confess to him. I could never be sure that he really likes me for me. And I need to be sure of that. I need to know that he wants this just as much as me. So, I need him to take the initiative." She paused for a second giving her friend a chance to say something. The karate champion stayed silent, so she continued.

"Until recently, I was quite sure that Kurosaki did not return my feelings. Yes, he has strong feelings for me, but he sees me as a friend and as someone he needs to protect. In that state he would never ask me out because he doesn't even see me that way. So, I realized I must first make him see me as a woman. I'm not just the damsel in distress whom he needs to protect. And you know, tons of guys all around town only see me as a pretty face screwed on a curvy body." Tatsuki opened her mouth only to be cut off again. "Actually, it almost seems to me as if he is the only guy that does not see that in me. And at the same time, he is the only guy that I want to see me like that. It is kind of ironic, really." She giggled. Her best friend frowned.

"So yes. That's why I decided to seduce him."

Tatsuki was quiet for a while, pondering over what she said. Orihime gave her some space. Finally, Tatsuki spoke.

"What if you succeed, and you two have sex and that's all that happens? What if it doesn't go any further than that? He is a guy after all. Even if he is a fairly decent one. What if you get exactly what you bargain for? But nothing more?" She looked at Orihime intently.

The pretty ginger smiled.

"I've thought about that, too."

"And?"

"If we never get together at least I would have had that one part of him. And I know you are surprised by that, but I really really want that part." She giggled at her friend's incredulous face.

Tatsuki seemed torn. She stayed silent for a little while. Orihime didn't push her.

"I feel like I've missed a couple of steps of development here. I don't know this Orihime who just wants to have sex even if it's outside of a relationship," she stated. It was no accusation, so her best friend just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"It seems like you've thought this through," Tatsuki finally admitted. Orihime's face split into a smile.

"Nh, I have," she replied happily.

"I am not completely on board yet. But I am willing to observe without fighting you about this."

"That's enough for me for now. Thank you, Tatsuki-chan."

Tatsuki hesitated. She seemed to fight with herself. Finally, she cracked.

"So, Orihime…" she smirked. "How has the seducing been going so far?"

Orihime broke out into a wide grin. "Tatsuki-chan, I am so glad you asked…"

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A/N: So, there you go. 😊 I thought it was time to explain Orihime's motives a bit more. Yes, there's actually more reason to her plan than just plain horniness lol. Also, who else loves the Tatsuki goodness? :D

I'm not sure when I will get around to the next chapter, but I'm guessing it should be done by the end of this week. Until then, have a beautiful week! 😊