A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been following and reviewing! It really means a lot and encourages me. This chapter gets a bit steamy and I hope you enjoy it!
Ichigo turned from the now-shut door and punched the opposite wall.
Tatsuki and Ishida didn't even acknowledge the violent act, both of them frowning and contemplating what had just happened.
After a moment, Tatsuki was the first to break the silence. "What do we do now?" She kept her eyes trained on the floor and balled up her fists. For the first time in a long time, she felt utterly helpless.
Ishida sighed and pushed his glasses up his face. "For now, nothing."
Tatsuki and Ichigo both snapped their gazes up at him, arguments on the tips of their tongues, when Ishida continued "-we know she's safe right now. Which considering how frantically we were searching for her a little while ago, I'd say we can consider that a win. She's literally with our floor RA right now, and Himawari Hall is as safe a place as we could find, considering the key card access required and the strict visitors policy."
Tatsuki, remembering how campus security had almost gotten called when she tried to get in after hours, nodded her head.
Ichigo remained silent, but removed his fist from the wall and at least appeared to be listening to Ishida.
Ishida continued, "Inoue-san is obviously mad at us right now. All of us." He flinched internally, recalling Orihime's anger. "She has a right to be mad. I think we need to let her be angry for awhile and hope that in a few days, she will forgive us. That being said, we still need to figure out what to do about Grimmjow. Or at the very least how to keep her out of harm's way."
-x-
In Byakuya's room, Orihime curled her feet under her as she sat on the floor at a table in the small living room. As an RA, Byakuya had a larger room than the other residents. In addition to a small bedroom, there was a living room and a small kitchenette. Orihime's heart rate was starting to slow after the outburst in the hallway. She was surprised at herself, that she had been so harsh to Tatsuki and her friends. She shook her head at herself. No, she reminded herself, they're not my friends. Recalling how earnestly Ichigo had called out to her and grabbed her hand, her heart wavered. He looked so hurt, is that really the look of someone acting kind simply out of pity?
Orihime was brought back into the present by Byakuya placing a steaming mug of tea in front of her. Remembering where she was, she bowed apologetically before picking up the mug and tentatively putting it to her lips and blowing on it.
"Thank you, Kuchiki-senpai." She whispered.
Byakuya, unsure of if she was thanking him for the tea, or for earlier, simply nodded.
"Inoue-san," Byakuya began, "I don't want to pry into your life anymore than you want to share with me, but it's obvious that something is going on and many people, including my sister and those people in the hallway earlier, are worried about you."
Rukia and Byakuya had had lunch earlier, and though Rukia hadn't disclosed anything specific, she had eagerly asked her brother to help her new friend.
Orihime nodded thoughtfully. "I know that there are people worried about me, but I want to be strong and handle this on my own. I-I can't just rely on others and have them pity me."
Byakuya quirked an eyebrow, uncertain that anyone had been pitying her, but remained silent nonetheless.
Orihime continued. "That being said, there's still many things I don't know. Including, how to issue a restraining order." She looked up and locked eyes with Byakuya with fierce determination. "Can you help me?"
-x-
After catching up Sado on the situation, Tatsuki and Ichigo regrouped in Ishida's room. Tatsuki settled near his door, listening intently for any sign of Orihime returning to her room.
After some time and numerous false alarms, Tatsuki let out a frustrated sigh. "Who even is this RA? Why is Orihime even in his room at all? Aren't there rules about this?"
Ichigo gritted his teeth and Ishida sighed and responded. "No, there aren't any rules about it Arisawa-san. Inoue-san and anyone for that matter can have anyone else in their rooms for as long as they'd like. I understand your frustration, but it's not like us worrying about it is going to change the situation."
Ichigo stood up. "Then I'm going to stop waiting around and figure out what the hell is going on."
As Ishida and Tatsuki scrambled to stop Ichigo, he managed to open the door and almost ended up colliding with Orihime.
Both startled, Orihime recovered more quickly and without even acknowledging him, turned to her own door. Before Ichigo could say anything, Tatsuki called out from behind him. "Orihime, wait!"
Orihime paused briefly, before turning to face her along with Ichigo and Ishida who were visible in the doorframe. Her grey eyes were slightly puffy, but incredibly determined and somehow cold.
"I already told you I have nothing to say to you. I don't need your protection," she spat, "and I certainly don't need your pity. Please stop calling me and texting me, or I will block your number. That goes for all of you."
Without another word, Orihime silently unlocked her door, went in, and closed it behind her.
Tatsuki, too stunned to speak, let the door close as tears silently began to fall.
Behind Orihime's door, she too, began to cry, hiccupping as she tried to stop the tears that were falling incessantly down her face.
-x-
The next few days passed, surprisingly without incident. Orihime started carrying pepper spray in her bag, just in case, and spent as little time wandering campus as possible. She sprinted from class to class and ate and studied in her room. The only other place she would be was in Byakuya's room in the evenings, discussing the logistics and process associated with issuing a restraining order. To her surprise, Tatsuki and the others were respecting her demand that they not contact her.
Late Thursday evening, as Orihime was preparing to leave Byakuya's room, he stood and walked to the door.
"Will I see you tomorrow evening?"
"I think so!" Orihime began nodding, but then realizing it was Friday tomorrow, she winced. "A-actually, Kuchiki-senpai, I can't." She blushed as she recollected her plans and in a small voice she added "I have a date."
A chill seemingly rushed through the room and Byakuya's voice went cold. "A date." He intoned as his eyes narrowed slightly at Orihime. "I see."
Orihime fidgeted under his gaze, unsure of how to interpret his reaction.
Byakuya had enjoyed the past few evenings the two had spent together. His initial reaction at understanding at least part of her situation was that of a protective brother - knowing Orihime and Rukia had developed a friendship made him want to protect her as much as he would his own sister.
Their earliest interactions had convinced him that Orihime was a silly party girl who stayed out late and drank too much, but the past few evenings he had began to understand that she was intelligent and incredibly determined. He recognized her drive and determination to fix her own situation. And she learned ravenously. Like a sponge, any new concept or legal term she came across, she would look through Byakuya's textbooks or research it online. Only once she thought she understood would she boldly face him head on to test her understanding. It was weird, Byakuya realized, but she looked quite alluring while she studied. Her grey eyes would spark as they focused on something in a book, she would tilt her head to re-read a paragraph, causing her long locks to slip over her shoulder and perfectly frame her breasts. When she tired, she would slump into the living room table, her chest pushing up against the edge, further enhancing, and revealing, her cleavage. Byakuya nearly choked on his tea the first time he witnessed it happen. And while he respected her and was earnestly helping her in this process, he couldn't say that spending time with her and looking at her was not an added benefit.
So when she admitted that she was going on a date, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. And like a knee-jerk reaction, his annoyance quickly transformed into cold disinterest. In his upbringing as an eldest son of something like a noble family, he was taught that to display his feelings openly was a vulnerability or even a liability. To openly display one's feelings means giving people power over oneself. And the Kuchiki family did not give power over to anyone.
"… -eriment." He heard her mumble. He looked at her slightly confused and in his head kicked himself for not listening. He mentally urged her to repeat herself.
She looked up at him apologetically, as if reading his mind. "Sorry if I mumbled. It's sort of a date, but if anything, it's an experiment and not a date at all! It's for psych 101."
Byakuya wasn't sure if he believed her, but the way the tips of her ears turned pink as she tried to convince him it was not really a date, made him want to believe her.
"I see." Byakuya repeated, his voice noticeably warmer.
Orihime chanced looking him in the eyes and saw a gentleness in his eyes and a ghost of a smile on his face that she didn't think she'd ever seen before. Her heart skipped a beat. Kuchiki-senpai is handsome when he smiles, she thought, a blush deepening on her face.
Byakuya opened the door for her, as he had been doing for the past few nights. "Let me know when you next want to come by." He nearly smiled at her. "My door is always open to you."
Orihime blushed and bowed. "Thank you Kuchiki-senpai." Then tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, she left his room and walked down the hall.
As she neared her door, she heard a door open and a dressed down Ishida appeared in front of her. His button up shirt was completely open and his hair was wet, dripping slightly onto his shoulders.
Orihime blanched at seeing him and nearly turned on her heels. While she shouldn't have been that surprised at seeing her dorm neighbour at his own door, she hadn't seen him at all since her outburst and was not expecting to see him in such a state of undress.
Realizing they were both frozen in place, Ishida was the first to react. "Ah, Inoue-san, good evening." As if realizing how unkempt he was, he quickly added, "I left my toothbrush in the bathroom."
Orihime thawed and nodded silently. She moved as if to open her door, but Ishida continued.
"I wanted to tell you that I understand you're angry and I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore. But I'm here as a friendly neighbour or a study buddy if you ever need one." Ishida gave her a small smile. "Good luck with your upcoming midterms, Inoue-san."
Orihime nodded. "Thanks and good luck to you too, Ishida-run, though I'm sure you'll do great." She gave him a small smile and went in to her room.
-x-
The next day, that Friday of her experiment-date-or-whatever-the-heck-it-was, Orihime was amazed at how quickly the hours passed by. And how uncertain she was feeling about going out with Tsukishima.
She hadn't really given him a chance before; not at the bar, and not on their lunch date. With everything going on, she hardly felt in the right mood for a date. And when she thought about the other men she had been spending time with since starting school, she realized Tsukishima didn't put her in a mood in quite the same way. Maybe it was something about his hair or his mannerisms that somehow reminded her of her brother. That association made her feel comfortable around Tsukishima, but made it difficult to think of him romantically.
Orihime sighed at herself and these thoughts as she got ready for her non-date or something-like-a-date. When she would run herself into cycles of overthinking like this, Grimmjow had an acquaintance who would tell Orihime that she needed to get laid. Nnoitra would then either make a suggestive motion at Grimmjow or volunteer for the job, but it more often than not devolved into a fight between the two. Orihime held no warm feelings for Nnoitra, but wondered if what he said held any truth in it. It had been some time since she had sex or any sexual tryst for that matter. The closest thing was probably grinding up on Sado-kun in the club that night, she sighed longingly.
She looked at her alarm clock and noticed there was still half an hour until Tsukishima was going to pick her up. Biting her lip, she went to sit on her bed and positioned herself so that she could see herself in the mirror.
She quickly shimmied her skirt off and pulled her top up just high enough to reveal her black lace bra and matching panty. Sucking in a breath, she grabbed one breast with one hand and snaked the other hand into her panties. She began massaging her breast, teasing the nipple slightly with her index finger, while her index finger of the other hand began massaging her clit. Feeling herself already warm and wet, she dipped two fingers tentatively into herself, coating her fingers in her juices. Using her natural lubricant, she began teasing and rubbing her clit more vigorously, excitement and pleasure building up with every motion.
She watched herself in the mirror, nefariously getting off on her own erotic image. The first time she had done anything like this had been at Grimmjow's instruction. He wanted her to know how to pleasure herself. And he liked to watch her do it. He would sit behind her or beside her in this position and whisper into her ear about how hot she was and how dirty she was for turning herself on. Sometimes he would jerk off beside her as she touched herself or if he was feeling particularly possessive, he would interrupt her to finish her off himself.
Instead of thinking about Grimmjow, as she had first done with him at her side, she instead focused on herself and the woman that she was and what she wanted. She thought about grinding up on Sado and wondered if she looked this erotic that night. She thought of Kuchiki-senpai's strong body and long luscious hair. She thought about how delicious Ishida had looked with wet hair dripping down his unbuttoned shirt. She thought about Ichigo shirtless in his room. She thought about the night of her outburst and how he had grabbed her hand forcefully. She hadn't minded the feeling of his strong hand on hers and wondered how she would feel if it was his hands instead of hers all over her body.
Orihime came. Abruptly as she watched herself, biting hard on her lower lip and trembling just slightly as she rode out her orgasm. After a few more moments of bliss, she sighed contentedly and pulled her fingers from her underwear and wiped them with a tissue.
Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it noting it was Tsukishima saying he was downstairs. She cursed her own horniness under her breath and scrambled to get all her clothes back on. She stopped briefly at the bathroom to wash her hands (there's no way I'm going on a date with my hands covered in myself!) and rushed to meet him downstairs.
A/N pt.2: I initially wanted to get the non-date in this chapter but this felt like a better place to end the chapter.