(A/N: Here's chapter six of 'The Orange Sunset and the Red Dawn'! There's a few more chapters after this one before the main story will start. So sorry. Just be a little more patient. Anyway, enjoy!)

Understanding Crushes

Yona inwardly sighed to herself in a dejected manner. Another failed attempt at getting Soo-Won to notice her. Urgh. Why does he treat her like a child? She's thirteen! She's practically a young woman now!

"I'm even wearing these gorgeous earrings I asked Father to give me, but he still doesn't notice," she angrily pouted.

Orihime was busy blissfully humming to herself as she was writing a reply letter to the Ichigo sent her. It was nothing much. She was merely just asking how he was doing, what he has been up to since his last letter, if anything new or interested happened lately, and she has been doing since then.

The auburn haired princess wrote about how she was still training in the art of healing and medicine. She's been at it for almost a year now. Of course King Il was left in stunned surprise by his eldest daughter's sudden passion, interest, and eagerness to medicine. He tried to persuade her not to pursue because they already have doctors and healers and a princess has no need for such things, but Orihime was steadfast in her conviction.

She completely understood her father's mindset when he tried to dissuade her from the art of healing. Being a healer comes with its own series of risks. Helping out in the battlefield. Or the chance of catching a patient's disease or illness. Or she might have to go to dangerous places in search of rare medicinal herbs.

However, what her father doesn't know is that she's very athletic. She does routine exercises every morning after breakfast. It's a great way to stay fit, healthy, and in shape. Plus, she has a strong immune system. She's only been sick once in her life, and that was when she was very, very little. She also secretly practices self defense techniques before bed or whenever she sneaks off the palace grounds for a few hours while no one's looking. She was not naive or ignorant. No matter how much her father wants to keep her and her sister sheltered and protected from the outside world, she was already acutely aware of the dangers of being one of the princesses of the Kouka Kingdom. Why else would Father hire Hak to act as hers and Yona's bodyguard? Her life is in constant danger. Just being related to the current king makes her a target for assassination or abduction. In addition to that, she also desires to get stronger, so that she could protect her little sister, Yona, all her precious friends like Hak and Soo-Won, her beloved Ichigo, and her beloved kingdom.

Right now, she was in the middle of discussing what songs they should play at her sister's party. Her fourteenth birthday was coming up soon. In just a couple of months in fact. Orihime has been practicing the violin for years. She just adored classical music. So imagine her surprise when she first discovered that Ichigo could play the piano.

The way he played captivated her. He was so meticulous and passionate. There was a hidden spark of barely controlled wildfire in his playing. It reminded her of a calm before the story. So forceful and fierce, smooth and gentle. A beautifully rich and brilliantly vibrant melody. She had fallen deeper in love with him.

His fiery, passionate, and graceful piano playing matched harmoniously with her tranquil, elegant, free spirited violin playing. I remembered us playing at her sister's last birthday celebration. The surprised looks on everyone's faces caused her to giggle silently. They were all expecting some refined, old fashion music. Imagine their stunned and flabbergasted faces when they were met boisterous, energetic, yet tasteful and pristine song. She remembered her father lecturing her afterwards that a princess should not be playing such an...outlandish tone. She should be delicate and proper like her instructors taught her.

"Why are you laughing, Princess Orihime?"

The auburn haired princess did her best to stifle her maddening fits of happy giggles. Hak must've noticed her chirpy mood that's why he was curious. He always did have a sharp eye, even when they were little kids. He was currently casually leaning against the wall of the room. His Hsu Quandao was by his side.

"Oh, nothing really," she laughed. "I was just thinking about the song Ichigo and I played during Yona's last birthday."

A mocking smirk grew on the raven haired bodyguard's face. "You mean that racket that sounded between a mix of animals roaring and a raging storm?"

Her happy mood instantly soured. "It wasn't a racket!" she argued heatedly. "It was a song full of freedom and wonder!"

Hak snorted smugly. "All I heard was a bunch of disconnected noise. Not elegant at all. That's not very ladylike, Princess Orihime."

Orihime pouted. "You are such a rude man, Hak!" she yelled, angrily throwing a ball of paper at him, which he effortlessly caught.

The smirk never left his face. In fact it seemed to have only grown bigger. He greatly enjoyed getting the eldest princess riled up.

"This is so unfair!" Both Orihime and Hal stopped their bickering, well, more like the bodyguard relentlessly teasing and insulting the older princess retaliating, to turn their gazes on Yona in surprise at her outburst. Her face was contorted into an angry and sad frown, and there were tears of frustration brimming at the corner of her eyes.

Her purple eyes gazed at her older sister with an intense mixture of dejected hopelessness and sheer desperation. "Sister! How can I get Soo-Won to notice me?" she whined/complained. Initially, Orihime was shocked at first, but then her gray eyes softened in understanding and a bit of when she saw that Yona desperately wanted advice to help improve her love life.

The auburn haired princess smiled sweetly at her distraught younger sister. "Yona," she started softly. "Love isn't the kind of thing you should rush. Don't worry, Soo-Won would come around."

The younger princess pouted, unsatisfied with the answer. "I've been trying for years, and he still treats me like a child. I put on beautiful makeup and wear expensive clothes. I even wear nice jewelry and pretty hair ornaments too."

"All those years of hard work… One failure after another," Hak remarked in his usual sarcastic vibe.

"Shut up, Hak!" Yona screamed at him angrily. "Nobody asked you to speak, servant!"

"Now, now, you two." Orihime clapped her hands together, trying to placate the situation. "Hak, stop being mean to my poor, little sister. This is a sensitive topic for her. You should know better," she scolded him like a mother would chastise their misbehaving child.

Hak just shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly taking a bite of the apple he took off the basket on the table. Although, despite seemingly indifferent, she knew he was apologetic, even if just a little.

Her gray orbs settled on Yona. "Yona, don't let Hak get to you. You know how it is. So rude and annoying." She could feel Hak's eyes on the back of her head, but knowing the insulted look on his face. "Listen, Yona, you are trying too hard."

That caused the younger princess to quirk a red brow in confusion. "I'm trying too hard? Sister, I don't get it. What do you mean?"

The auburn haired princess nodded her head, a soft smile on her lips. "Yona… Beautiful makeup, expressive clothes and dresses, and extravagant jewelry is nice and all, but I think you are forgetting the most important thing?"

"The most important thing?" Yona blinked in confusion.

Her older sister merely smiled at her. "It's quite simple really."

"Simple?"

Orihime guided her forefinger, and lightly tapped the spot on her younger sister's chest where her heart laid. "Here," she said, her sweet voice drifting through the air.

The red haired princess made a noise that was a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Speak with your heart, Yona," Orihime answered her silent question. Her voice was filled with so much sincerity and genuine warmth as if she was speaking from experience. The younger princess stared at her with awe, listening intently to her every word. "You don't need dresses or make up. You just need to convey your true feelings into words."

She laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I know my advice sounds kinda cheesy, but I don't know how else to put it. I mean, it's how Ichigo and I connect. He's very special to me!"

There was a pause.

"Sister," Yona started. "Why did you fall for Ichigo?"

Orihime blinked, caught completely off guard. She took a few moments to process her sister's words, but when she did, a huge blush painted her cheeks.

"Wow, Princess. Your face is turning all red," Hak amusingly teased the auburn haired princess. Although, he ignored the stinging pain of jealousy and hurt that stabbed his heart, he was just happy that the eldest princess was so incredibly happy, despite her blushing face. Plus, she was cute...downright adorable when she was shy and flustered.

Oh… The agonizing throes of unrequited love.

She shyly twirled a piece of her light blue pearled earring between her fingers. "W-well, what do you want to know?"

Yona pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, contemplating her next words. Everyone's attention was drawn to a loud barking.

They stared at Ponko, who was whining and pacing around the room. He was circling around an empty food bowl, his brown eyes gazing at them expectantly.

"Oh! Looks like I have to get Ponko his food. He looks hungry." Orihime started making a hasty retreat for the door to retrieve Ponko's dog food. Though, that was just a cover to avoid talking about how she and Ichigo met. It's such an embarrassing story.

However, she was stopped in her tracks by a persistent and determined Yona grabbing the sleeves of her yellow kimono dress. "Let one of the servants feed him, Sister," she stated, adamant on not letting her older sister cut the conversation short. There was also a mischievous glint in her violent eyes.

The red haired princess rang the bell, and not a second later, a maid came up. Per Yona's instructions, the maid was quick to take Ponko and his bowl away, so he could have his lunch.

Orihime inwardly cursed her luck. There goes her means of escape. She internally sighed. Her cheeks turned into a light dusty shade of pink. She quietly coughed into her hand, trying to regain her dignity and composure.

"Um, what do you want to know, Yona?" she asked, grateful that she didn't stutter as she sat back down on her chair.

"When did you meet your special person?" Hak decided to ask in his usual teasing tone, taking in a seat in the spare chair.

She gasped in surprise. "H-Hak!" the auburn haired princess gawked at his nonchalant attitude.

"What?" the raven haired man responded with an innocent whistle. "You're the one that said that Ichigo was your special person, Princess," he said cheekily, an amusing smirk plastered on his face as he watched the older princess becoming increasingly flustered.

"You!" She pointed at him. "Out!" She dramatically waved her finger at the door.

Hak feigned hurt. "But I wanna know!" he whined. He leans in closer, elbow on the table and his propped under his palm. "So tell me, Princess, how did you two meet?" he smirked. "When Ichigo first appeared at the castle a few years ago as General Yin-Dao's escort, you were very happy and excited to meet him. Why is that? Was the princess having secret meetings behind everyone's back?"

At this point, Orihime was covering her extremely reddening face with both her hands. Hak's smirk grew wider. She was cute. He could stare at her blushing face all day.

"Stop teasing my sister, Hak!" Yona piped in, frowning in disapproval. "Although, Sister, I am curious. You and Ichigo are engaged, right? Why did you choose such a boorish man to be your betrothed?" the younger princess questioned innocently, eyebrows furrowed in wonder and interest.

Orihime looks up at the ceiling and smiles fondly at the memory, a shy blush gracing her features. "Okay, I'll tell you, Yona. I'll tell you the story of how I met and fell in love with my Ichigo."

The red haired princess leaned in closer with a sense of excitement, fully intent on listening to her sister's story. Maybe listening to Orihime's love life tale would help hers. She fully planned to take in every word and advice, so that she could use it to help improve her chances with her sweet Soo-Won.

None of the girls took notice of the slightly dejected look on Hak's face. A sense of jealousy ebbed within him, but he quickly squashed it. He was just happy that the princess was so undeniably happy.

Besides, he could stare and admire her cute, blushing face all day. Who knew being in love could make a girl look so beautiful?

(A/N: That's it! Did you enjoy it? This was getting too long, so I decided to just write the tale of how Orihime and Ichigo met and fell in love in the next chapter. I know this seems weird since Ichigo was introduced and died in the last chapter, but I figured I'd go more in depth with their relationship. Ichigo is still dead, mind you. Think of this as a flashback/reminiscence chapter of sorts. Or that this chapter happens between Orihime and Ichigo getting engaged, and Ichigo's death.

Orihime - 18

Hak - 16

Soo-Won - 16

Yona - 14

Leave any comments or questions in a review, and thanks for reading!)