Chapter 16
The next morning was peaceful. They ate, sat and talked as if the day was lazy. It was about noon that Ichigo showed up, his eyes heavy. "Urahara, do you have any energy drinks? My psycho dad kept me up half the night. God, that old man's getting senile." He froze as he turned, the door behind him snapping shut. "Aoi, Byakuya, what are you doing here?"
"That's none of your concern, Kurosaki. You shouldn't get into Shinigami affairs." Aoi turned to him, surprised, but chose not to say anything. She reached down, sipping from the cup of coffee before her.
Coffee seemed a good change of pace.
Ichigo walked over with a look like he was about to snap. "Ichigo-kun, what's wrong with your father?" She attempted to change the subject, getting an eye from Byakuya.
"I think there's something wrong with him. He's completely insane. He jumped off the house to tackle me first thing this morning. He started a rant about my sisters in their underwear last night. I was up half the night, listening to make sure he stayed asleep."
"Did he?" She asked, now intrigued with the situation. "Yes, but that's not the point. I shouldn't have to protect my sisters from our father."
"You know why older brothers are born first?" She asked, her eyes shining, the tranced look on her face caught everyone's eye, save Ichigo. "To protect the children that come after. I know." Ichigo sighed, sitting and taking a mug of coffee from Ururu, who just happened to have heard him come in. Aoi smiled, nodding.
"Aoi, is everything alright?" She nodded. "I was just remembering my older brother. I wonder what happened to him..." Byakuya frowned. "I thought you were abandoned as a baby in the woods."
"I was young, but not a baby. I was about six hundred." She sighed. "I remember having a brother, I don't remember his face, but I know the feeling he gave me. Like I was always safe." She smiled. "I remember when my parents abandoned me, they didn't bring him to say goodbye. They knew he'd not allow what was about to happen." She smiled sadly. "I don't even remember his name. I wonder if he's still alive."
"Wow, it's gotten depressing in here!" Urahara broke the tension. "Let's talk about something else?" He looked around, but no one spoke. "Alright, I'll do it then. Oh, Ichigo, I got a new product in!" Ichigo looked over with a violent head shake. "I'm not testing it! Half of your products worry me that I'll not survive!"
"Give me one product that really backfired!" Urahara said, obviously taking the remark personally.
"Kon." With this Ichigo pulled a stuffed lion from his pocket. "Oh!" Aoi reached out the instant Ichigo put it on the table. "It's so cute!" She hugged the small animal, to find it was hugging her back. She froze, looking down at the thing, it's face buried in her chest.
"Oh, I haven't met you yet!" It looked up at her with shining eyes, sending chills down her spine. "I'm Kon, I'll be happy to spend the rest of my life protecting youuu!" It sighed, as Aoi pulled it back, staring. "Urahara-san, you sold him a perverted stuffed lion?!"
"No, the lion came after. It's a mod soul." Aoi nodded, looking him over.
"I'll have to remember to avoid the stuffed animals in this world..." she stated, getting a chuckle from Urahara and Ichigo. Kon on the other hand crossed his arms, unhappy with the way they spoke about him.
Ichigo looked at his watch with a sigh. "Waiting for something?" Urahara asked, honestly interested. "I'm going on a date with Inoue. She's supposed to be here soon." He sighed. Aoi smiled at him. "That's so sweet! I wish a guy would ask me out on a date!" She sighed, leaning forwards, her hand on her chin, her elbow on the table. She looked over at Byakuya who sipped from his tea, narrowing his eyes at her. She raised her eyebrow, trying to show her intention, but he looked away.
She looked over at Urahara, who noticed the look and smiled. "Aoi, would you like to go out with me tonight?"
"I'd love to!" She smiled, happy that at least one of them was able to show some interest in her.
Byakuya looked down at her, his eyes angered. She shook her head, smiling and waving her finger. "Byakuya-Taicho, I gave you a chance." Ichigo stared at the goings on around him and stood, shaking his head. "I'm gonna go and wait for Inoue outside. You all have issues..." He stood, gulping down the rest of his coffee and walked out, waving over his shoulder.
Urahara and Aoi chatted the rest of the day, as no hollow appeared. At seven Urahara stood, holding out his hand to the young shinigami. "Let's go out! There's a few things going on today that you may have some fun with!"
"But what if hollow appear?" She asked, honestly she hadn't expected him to really want to go on a date with her. "My phone will go off, Byakuya will have a warning as well. The alarm is right here. He'll be able to read the reiatsu to know where it is." He smiled and looked over at Byakuya. "He'll be fine. Come on!" Urahara's smile was brilliant. Aoi stood, a grin creeping across her face.
She reached up, taking his hand.
They walked through the park that was nearby. There were many people around, and she realized it was a festival. "What's this about?" She looked over, seeing the things around her with interest. There were stalls with games, foods of all types, plays going on and people playing music everywhere. She laughed when Urahara played one of the games, climbing a ladder that only being held on by one rope at either end, making it totally unbalanced. To make it even more fun, the ladder was sideways. She watched as Urahara used his skills of being a shinigami to walk up the ladder, his hands in his pockets the whole time. He reached the top and reached down, hitting the button. Urahara turned, walking back down and smiled at the keeper, who just stared for a while. "Pick a prize. Urahara looked over at Aoi, sliding his arm over her shoulder. "What do you want?" She looked at him with surprise before looking around. She noticed a stuffed toy, a little man with a sword. She looked at Urahara, pointing, her shyness creeping back a little. He smiled at her and nodded. "I'll take him."
Aoi walked with a smile, the little man under her arm, a larger stuffed panda on her shoulder, with giant shimmering blue spots instead of black. "Do you want me to hold that for you?" He asked, and she nodded, relieved as the weight of the panda left her shoulder. They went and sat down, watching one of the bands perform, Aoi was surprised with the way she felt. Urahara was so interesting. He had so many secrets from these people, protecting their lives, though he was discarded from those who originally gave him that obligation. None of them questioned the amazing things he did to win the games, they just accepted it and he went on with a smile. Urahara reached down, again putting his arm over her shoulder and she sighed, content with the contact.
She wondered what he was like when he was alone. Was he quiet, like Byakuya? Was he smiling, like he is now? What was his personality like when you really got to know him?
She looked up at him, these thoughts running through her head, expecting his eyes to be on the band. She was surprised to find him looking down at her, a soft smile gracing his lips. She knew her cheeks burned, her eyes widened before she averted them back to the stage.
He reached down softly turning her head back up to his and reached down, slowly brushing his lips against hers.
Her stomach tickled. All she could do was sit there and stare as he smiled at her, finally facing the stage again. She suddenly felt so nervous! She grabbed the small stuffed man, holding him to her chest, trying to kill the blush in her cheeks.
It was late when they finally headed back. They entered the store with smiles, talking about random things, still enjoying the day. Urahara walked up to her and cupped her cheek, again kissing her, the shock from it causing her to drop the stuffed man. His arms wrapped around her and he deepened the kiss, pressing harder into her.
The intoxication from it took her over. Her head spun as he ran his hand down her throat, the feeling completely insanely indescribable to her. She wanted more of it. Of him.
His hands ran over her shoulder, and she would have moaned if his mouth hadn't been blocking hers. This was enough, though, to grant him access to her, and his tongue swept over hers. Her hands instinctively reached up, around his neck as his hands fell lower, to her sides then her hips.
She whimpered at the touch, surprised by how good it felt. She could feel her body tighten, a small pit in her stomach that screamed out to keep going.
His hands moved slowly up her stomach, to her chest, causing her to toss her head back, biting her lip. He slid his lips down her throat, causing her knees to weaken, her head to spin faster. She couldn't have spoken if she'd tried. His hands moved down again, sliding under her shirt, running across her lower abdomen. The touch was so foreign to her, but she knew she wanted them. The touches that were driving her insane.
His hands reached up to her chest again, his fingers sliding softly across the most sensitive part and she whimpered feverishly, running her hands down his chest, across his hips, and he stilled for a second.
She found herself against the wall, his mouth on her neck as he lifted the shirt. She whimpered, disappointed as his mouth was removed long enough to get the cloth out of the way. His mouth found a new place to play.
Aoi nearly screamed as he took one perky point between his lips. She reached up, running her fingers through his hair, knocking off his hat. One of his hands reached down slowly, trailing from her side to her hip. His fingers slipped under the cloth around her waist and he reached down, stopping for a moment to look at her as his fingers reached their mark.
She gasped, her eyes shot open as his fingers found the most delicate part of her, she bit her lip, trying to quiet herself against her want. As his hand moved she felt herself spiral. He stood again, pressing his mouth to hers and she followed his movements, her nails raking across his waist before sliding her hand down the front of his pants.
She wrapped her fingers around him. It was awkward for her, she had no idea what she was doing, but she knew he was enjoying it. His hand stilled for a moment before he lifted her, pressing his knee to the wall behind her under her. Her hips curled to him, allowing him better reach.
His fingers slid into her and she pressed her mouth to his shoulder, nearly screaming.
Each breath for them was a pant, each second it was harder and harder to not just tear off the remainder of the clothing and follow their instincts.
It was a moment into this that Urahara stopped, lowering his leg suddenly and she fell to her knees. He stepped back, his hands to his sides as if he were trying to regain balance from a near fall. "Aoi, this isn't right. I'm sorry." He stepped straight back, breathing heavily, and shook his head. "I'm so sorry." He turned and walked away.
She just watched as he walked off.
She looked over, finding her shirt and slid it on. It was a struggle to go back to the room with Byakuya, seeing as he never seemed interested in anything with her. She stopped in the hall and fell against the wall. She could feel the tears in her eyes. Was she so unwanted? If she completely gave herself over to Byakuya, would he do the same?
She knew she was crying. She didn't want to, but the tears wouldn't stop. She heard a door open, and tried to hide her face, afraid Urahara would think less of her for this. After all, what kind of slut cries after not getting sex?
She was surprised to feel a hand on her back and looked up, seeing Byakuya there. She shook her head, trying again to stop the tears, but they wouldn't.
He lifted her up, bridal style and carried her into the room. He slid her shoes from her and pulled off her pants, leaving her surprised. He crawled up onto the futon and laid down, pulling her to him. She laid down with her head on his chest, his arm over her shoulder. He looked at her, his eyes soft, a gentle smile on his face. "Please, don't cry." She watched him, the tears finally subsiding as he looked back to the ceiling, closing his eyes.
She was completely confused. She decided not to complain, though, and closed her eyes. He was so warm. It surprised her. She fell asleep quickly after.
She woke the next morning in Byakuya's arms. She opened her eyes, hearing him lightly snore. Not annoyingly, but soft. She just looked at him for a moment.
It dawned on her that the whole reason she'd really gone out with Urahara was to make him jealous. To get him to want to say yes. She frowned, disappointed with her actions. It was just a ploy, but it had gone entirely too far. She suddenly wanted to wake him to apologize.
She didn't get the chance. His eyes clenched and his breath drew in, a sigh coming shortly after. His eyes opened slowly and he looked over at her. "Good morning, Byakuya-Taicho."
"Good morning." He sat up and stretched, Aoi following as he sat up.
Byakuya had himself ready to leave the room before she did, and she sighed at being left behind.
She was more surprised when she came into the main room. Byakuya handed Urahara a hand full of something and Urahara nodded, a blush on his face. "I apologize, but I can't trust you with her again." Urahara nodded, looking over at her quickly before his eyes fell to Byakuya's feet. "I can't blame you. I'll make the preparations." Urahara walked away, his head hung low. Aoi walked out, surprised, eyes wide. "What's happening?"
"We're getting one of the cell phones with the alert and we're going to be staying elsewhere." Aoi nodded. She really didn't want to be here anymore anyway. It was tearing her up just to see him. She frowned and walked out the front door.
She sat on the ground before the store and sighed, looking up at the sky.
It was only a few minutes later that Byakuya and Urahara came out. She stood, turning to Byakuya before noticing the other. She just stared as he bowed low to her. "Aoi, I'm so sorry about last night."
"Don't be. Apparently there's something wrong with me, I can't blame you for that." She turned and walked away, knowing if she was going the wrong way Byakuya would let her know.
He caught up with her shortly and held his hand out, stopping her. "Aoi." She stilled, biting her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. "There's nothing wrong with you."
"Izuru left me, you won't show any interest in me, no matter how much I try and bait you, and Urahara-san..." She held her head low.
"I don't fall for things like that. I don't enjoy feeling pressured. When you tried to pressure me yesterday by asking Urahara I was quiet upset with you."
"I'm sorry, Byakuya-Taicho. I shouldn't have done that to you." He sighed, stepping forwards, his chest against her back. "You shouldn't have, but seeing you last night, I really can't be upset with you right now." She smiled.
"I was thinking about asking you to the festival tonight. I'd found out about it right after getting here." She nodded. She knew she should be happier, but seeing her pathetic show yesterday, she wasn't able to lighten up at all. "Aoi, please don't be so depressed. I don't like seeing you like this." She turned to him, surprised suddenly by the look on his face. He looked tired. His eyes were soft though his mouth showed no emotion.
"I want you to enjoy yourself for the rest of the time we're here. We'll go tonight and try and lighten this visit. Does that sound alright?"
"Yes." She smiled, causing him to look soured. "Don't fake your emotion like that. It doesn't suit you."
"You don't want me to be depressed, but you don't want me faking that I'm happy. I'm still a little upset, there's very little I can do about it." Byakuya sighed, his hands going back to her shoulders.
"Please, just try and forget about last night. I know you were upset after everything, but it's done, he's not here to distract you."
The thought that she'd gone out with Urahara specifically to get to him entered her head again. She smiled at the thought that it looked like it worked, at least a little.
But she'd never tell him that she was more distracted by him.