A/N: I appreciate all the reviews, follows and favorites again! I really hope you all continue to enjoy my story!
For some reason this chapter was a tough one. I am already working on the next chapter and it is proving to be far less difficult than this one.
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"Hime." Byakuya whispered under heavy breath. The burning chemistry between the two was undeniable. Orihime stared at him with great excitement and anticipation. The young woman was enjoying the Captain's spontaneity. Few had ever and would ever experience this side of him. She felt lucky, like she had just won an eternity's supply of red bean paste. She still and always would love that stuff.
"Why did you stop sending me hell butterflies?" This was a question he knew would come and could not avoid. The simple explanation was that he was jealous. He was jealous of all the men, the studies, and her job that took her away from him. He felt as if he didn't matter. That if he disappeared she would not notice and he would be able to stop yearning for her company whether it was physical or in the form of a butterfly.
"I thought it would be for the best." That was partly true.
"Maybe it was." Orihime sighed and nuzzled her nose into the crook of Byakuya's neck. She took in his scent, trying to imprint it on her brain. He rested his chin against her forehead.
"I missed hearing from you." She pressed herself even closer to the royal, wrapping her slender arms around his torso and gazed into his eyes. "I guess we'll just have to make up for lost time." She continued with a smug look on her face.
There was a sudden spike in Captain Kuchiki's spiritual pressure. For just a moment Orihime had a glimpse of what Byakuya was feeling. He was distraught with desire, highly sexual and full of longing desire.
"Pardon me." He apologized. He was losing control and it was this woman's doing. It made him nervous and if anyone ever witnessed another slip up of his, his reputation as the serious, stone faced captain would be over. He cleared his throat. "And what of Kurosaki?"
"I don't feel the same way. It only took seven years of separation to do it. That and Matsumoto, Tatsuki, the city and most importantly, your messages. Seeing you again..."
They felt the spiritual pressure of another person approaching and quickly let go of one another. Both couldn't risk getting caught. People would talk and considering the situation, gossip of their intimate embrace would spread like wildfire throughout the Seireitei.
"Sir, your assistance is needed in the main hall. A fight has broken out amongst the soldiers." It was a servant bearing unhappy, but not entirely unexpected news.
"Please make sure Miss Inoue makes it to her room unscathed." The servant nodded and Byakuya proceeded reluctantly towards the ballroom to break up drunken fight amongst the idiot shinigami stupid enough to elicit this type of behavior. Not only were they just throwing manners to the wind, they were pulling him away from a confessing Orihime. He would make the guilty party pay tenfold as soon as the weeklong festivities were over and he was back to work.
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As soon as Orihime was returned safely to her room and was hidden from the view of others she burst into a fit of excitement. She threw herself onto her bed, buried her face in a pillow and let out a squeal.
After the height of her giddiness wore off she decided a bath was in order. It would do her some good to relax after the eventful night she just had.
()()()()()
Sitting at the vanity provided for her in the room, Orihime combed out her long wet hair. She had a hard time wiping a smitten grin off her face. Although she was incredibly happy she couldn't help but acknowledge a nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that she was moving too fast. Byakuya was very dear to her and an extremely important person in all aspects of her and her friends lives. She couldn't just dive into it like she had the men before him. He was more than just an attractive face with a warm, hard body to keep her company at night with idle conversation and sex.
Sex. If only her friends knew how much she wanted it and obtained it back in the city. They'd all be disappointed in her, apart from Matsumoto who knew of just about every escapade. They'd realize she wasn't the same Orihime they'd known all those years ago. Maybe the Captain would be disappointed too. If he knew how loose she'd been, how many men she had entertained. He would probably turn away from her, never look at her again with loving eyes...
"Stop." She scolded herself out loud. She had left the blue men behind in Karakura, but her imagination still was as powerful as ever. She was an independent, sexually free-no, just free woman. She enjoyed her body and her right to choose, which was denied her in that horribly old fashioned town.
Suddenly the air grew thick with immense spiritual pressure. It was moody and in pain. Orihime found it almost hard to breath with the intensity of emotions surrounding her body. The door to her room creaked open. She jumped up.
"Inoue..." It was Ichigo who was far more sober than hours prior. "I'm sorry, I... May I come in?" She nodded and he walked in and shut the door behind him. "I wanted to apologize. Not only for earlier, but for back then too. I was really insensitive and I'm truly sorry. It's all my fault you left and that all of us are finally meeting after all this time."
She sighed heavily. "You may have been the initial reason, but I realized more and more how much I needed to get away from everything. I couldn't grow with all of you watching me, judging me, protecting me..."
"But you were alone and around all those men, vulnerable and probably taken advantage of. I see the way they look at you." The young man interrupted her. He was jealous and frustrated. He hadn't realized exactly what Orihime had meant to him until the day she left. When she was gone there was no one to protect or take care of. Her disappearance left a void and an unexpected hole in Ichigo's heart.
" I can take care of myself, Kurosaki! If anything, I'd be the one taking advantage of them!" He still didn't get it. The young woman felt flustered, angry, underestimated. She turned and dropped her tightening fists to her side. She turned her back to him, annoyed at the sight if him and his thick headedness.
"Inoue..." The young Kurosaki quickly closed the distance between the two. He placed his large hands on her shoulders. She didn't dare move. He took that as a sign he could advance forward. He pressed his body to her backside and wrapped his arms around her. She began to cry out of frustration.
()()()()()
After successfully breaking up the ruckus in the main hall Byakuya decided he wasn't ready retire to his room. Normally having such goings on perturbed him to no end, but he was in an exceptionally good mood. As improper as it might be the noble decided that he might risk life and limb and visit the cause if his oddly carefree attitude.
As he approached her chamber he could sense her lovely riatsu and... Another? Ichigo Kurosaki. He could feel that Kurosaki was content, happy, loving. Orihime, on the other hand was upset. What in god's name was that bumbling idiot doing to his woman? The Captain charged forward and through the door to see the beautiful woman wrapped up in his nemesis' arms.
"That is enough, Kurosaki." Byakuya growled. He walked forward to remove the young man's hands from her.
"You are pissing me off, Kuchiki! You're just like the rest of them." Ichigo hissed. He took a swing at the Captain and missed.
"Stop it! Oh please, stop!" Orihime called out. Ichigo lunged himself at the royal, pinning him to the ground. In turn, Byakuya reached his hands up to encircle his neck. The auburn haired woman proceeded to beat them with pillows, blankets, anything she could find in order to steer their attention away from each other. After several moments of cursing, throwing punches and attempts to murder one another, the young woman had had enough. Now they were standing, throwing each other around and breaking objects she was sure were very old and valuable.
"I reject!" A large golden shield appeared between the two men as soon as they were far enough apart. They both looked to the woman and source of interruption. She placed both hands on her hips in frustration. "You both are acting like children! I think it's best you both go to your rooms and sleep this off."
"But Inoue! He..." Ichigo pleaded with her.
"She is right, we should take our leave. Goodnight, Miss Inoue." Byakuya interrupted. He bowed and grabbed Kurosaki by his collar to insure he wouldn't linger. Orihime locked the door behind them. There would be no more unexpected disturbances tonight. Not even if the noble showed up in nothing but his hakama pants, with a bottle of white wine, two glasses and a can of red bean paste. She flushed at the thought.