ccc Earlier; Day of the Proposal ccc
Two other girls stepped up first; the obnoxiously beautiful Hollow girl – Arrancar, if she understood or cared about the difference – and then the obnoxiously busty and airheaded Inoue Orihime. The Arrancar leapt up at the opportunity, fawning so brazenly over the idea set forth by Hyosube Ichibe. "Peace among all worlds" was his theme, and – in an abstract way – that included love. Love meant hearts, and hearts were cute. Riruka pouted near the back of the crowd, her only company her annoying fellow Fullbringer Yukio, whose interest was saving a virtual kingdom instead of piecing together reality. "That's all Ichigo's problem now," he had said to dismiss himself from the event entirely. Riruka might've tried to play it cool, but if she really had no part in this decision, Urahara had said a while back that they were free to return to the Living World.
She was glad to have stayed, though the hairs on the back of her neck bristled and a jealous heat ran down her spine as both Nelliel and Orihime cast themselves forward as Ichigo's declared wives. Her hands shivered in unsightly fists beneath her heavy sleeves. If Ichigo were awake, he wouldn't accept their proposals! They were hardly cute enough to be a part of royalty, though Riruka practically primped herself for the regal lifestyle. Princess was a cute word, and she loved it.
"Wait!" she shouted indignantly, and the gathered participants split to acknowledge her. Normally yearning to be the center of attention, Riruka puffed out her cheeks, her lips almost puckering like the end of a balloon trapping air. She sweated under the pressure, flushed and angry. Her eyes turned to Orihime selectively; a look of betrayal. Finally, the balloon popped, and her voice exploded so that Yukio had to shove a finger in his ear. "Why do they get to be the ones?! One is stupid, and the other is a Hollow!"
Nelliel, taking offense to the tone of voice and to the disapproval to be Ichigo's wife, made a move forward while grabbing at the pommel of her Gamuza. What stopped her from unsheathing and threatening the lowly human was Orihime's hand just barely catching her sleeve. Orihime looked worried that trouble was indeed brewing, but she insisted that no fighting occurred.
Ichibe fondled his beard, humming thoughtfully as he considered Riruka's words. "Well, we certainly need all races to agree and cooperate with these terms. However, hmm, I don't believe that there is any rule against multiple wives beyond what is necessary."
Tenjiro, who stood at the side of the larger man, grumbled that this was less a ceremony of peace. "More like we're organizing a harem to keep the kid happy."
"Oh yeah! Nothing would make him happier!" Oh-Etsu said, incorrectly reminiscing how excited Ichigo had been to go inside the fake Phoenix Palace.
It was a chance that Riruka saw, and she immediately went for it. She stepped forward, acting as casual and aloof as ever while the small congregation of Shinigami, humans, Arrancar, and Quincy watched her. "Then I'll take it upon myself! I'll be one of his… women… wives…" Her tongue fumbled, unsure how to address herself as part of a collective. Sharing was not her strong suit. It was probably her weakest! Now at the front, she whipped around and faced everyone else – her soon-to-be subjects. She assumed a powerful stance like an actual empress, feet apart and sturdy, fists on hips, body turned and her chin up high with a determined glower on her face. "I'll take that ugly idiot as my husband!" She very pointedly made that possessive remark, glancing at Orihime and the agitated Nel at her side.
Urahara fanned himself with that big, taunting smile of his. "My, Kurosaki-san certainly has become popular with women!" His comment earned a sarcastic remark from the sharp-grinning woman next to him. She was plotting for the interesting times to come.
Riruka ignored them both and turned her chin up as Ichibe made the formal proclamation.
Dokugamine Riruka would be Ichigo's fifth wife.
ccc Now ccc
Riruka sneered down at Ichigo as Nel fondled him, cuddling up to him like he was a cuddly teddy bear. It made her skin crawl. That was her husband the Hollow was touching. By odd circumstance, they may be fellow wives, but for her, whenever she was in the room, he was hers!
"Hmph! You can let go of him now," she jawed at the Arrancar. "You're acting so disgraceful. It's embarrassing to watch!"
Nel tucked her face into Ichigo's neck – he quaked from the tickle of her breath on his collarbone – and glared at the pompous girl. "I have given myself to Ichigo, and by rite, he is mine just as much as yours."
"Eh~?!" Riruka drew out the sound in obnoxious fashion, putting a hand up to her ear. "You can't claim him. He fights your kind, and your kind eats humans, don't they?"
It was enough for Nel to drop Ichigo then and there. She might not have had her sword – no need in a palace and her new home – but it wouldn't take more than a single punch to redirect Riruka's tone. A yapping poodle wasn't much of a beast, though. She'd have to settle for a halfhearted backhand to the face.
"Hey. Nel, Riruka, calm down." Ichigo did not sound angry. Grunting, he struggled to get to his feet, only managing to kneel before Orihime swooped in to offer him balance. The look he gave her renewed Riruka's frustration. That softer smile of his was something Riruka had privately claimed for herself when he had thanked her for her assistance. That glance, that smile; Riruka felt like putty at that moment.
Standing with the support of Orihime underneath his arm, he smiled at both arguing women. To Nel, Riruka might as well have evaporated to nothingness, for she wheeled to him and smiled giddily. "Ichigo!" She leaned toward him, so very close that he nervously drew back and averted his eyes.
That kiss was obviously on his mind still.
"Do you think you can go for a walk around this palace?" She giggled and touched his chest and side as if to accept him from Orihime; Orihime held firmly, ready to discuss why she should be the one to handle him. "It's so big, and so many rooms!"
Ichigo laughed weakly at her enthusiasm. At the moment, though, his legs felt little more than twigs. The hibernation had worn him out, and with the fabric of reality literally resting on his shoulders…!
"Now, now! We can't tire the King out so readily after just waking up!" Kirio clapped her crafty hands, making way for her and the royal seamstress who drifted like a puppet on invisible strings. "I'm very sure that you're all excitable now, but that excitement won't do well on empty stomachs! I've already started a meal fit for a Soul King and his wives, so please come with me!"
ccc Soul Palace dining area ccc
"Chomp! Mm! Ah! Chompchompchomp!"
Ichigo hadn't even given a chance to ceremony. Instinctively, walking into the dining area and presented with Kirio's unconventional plates, told to eat his fill and more, he answered the echoing call of his stomach. He hadn't realized how famished he was until he saw the food. Memories of the best food he'd ever tasted threw him down to the table to start grabbing everything in reach, consuming it quickly while his three wives – having never seen such a presentation – gave pause.
Orihime, very quickly, clapped her hands in front of her and awed at the meal. Even the insect-looking trays had her eyes shimmering! "Wow! Amazing, Kirio-san! I've never seen a buffet look so good!" A glutton by nature, she had no problem joining Ichigo, though when it came to sitting next to him, she was bashful. Resolved by the idea of being his wife, she slid just a bit closer, though he gave no mind.
Nel was a bit more conservative. Eating a lot was not abnormal for her, as it was needed to keep up her strength, but she was used to a bit more grandeur to her food. Halibel and especially Aizen fed the Arrancar and Espada with dishes that looked as good as they tasted; Aizen had even raised some of his Hollow brood for the specific art of gourmet eating. But leaving Ichigo alone, she would not do. The spot on his left was vacant, and she sat down and brazenly pressed against him. "You're eating a lot, Ichigo," she sang, and then giggled when he took pause and realized his manner.
Embarrassed for his impulsive behavior, he quickly swallowed – more than a mouthful – and wiped the crumbs from around his mouth with the back of his arm. "Sorry," he said, genuinely embarrassed for his lack of grace.
On his other side, Orihime looked up from the meaty rib she had just taken a bite out of and watched with filled cheeks as Nelliel shamelessly flirted with their husband.
Nelliel snickered some more, and then drew a grain of rice from Ichigo's cheek with her fingertip and softly inserted it into her own mouth. Ichigo, with the cords of his neck straining, gulped. He'd never been strong with flamboyant women, much less ones who deliberately flirted with him; Orihime, sadly, did not have Nel's skill and came off more awkward than flirty.
"A good appetite means you're healthy." Nel ducked her head between her shoulders, smiling cutely. "And that makes me happy."
Orihime sulked. She almost shouted out "Me too!" in hopes of not being forgotten, but little she could get out with a mouth full of meat. The advantage went to the disciplined Nel-san.
"Ha!" Riruka called attention to herself, turned with her arms folded and her head tilted back slightly. "How healthy can someone be if they can eat something that looks like it crawled out from under a rock?"
There was a chair against the wall, and knowing the three she was sharing company with were watching her – particularly the un-amused glance of the Arrancar – she sauntered over and thudded into the seat. Her leg flourished – was it deliberate to show off how high her skirt rode? – to cross it over the other as her arms folded tightly. She appeared like a monarch; rightly so, given her recent status, but she acted like she was born to it. "I will take nothing but glazed donuts from the Usagi Crème shop, with some milk tea from the pink café in Naruki City, and…" Her eyes peered open just slightly, ghosting over Ichigo, knowingly making eye contact with him. With her same, snobbish attitude, she named her choice of dessert: "Strawberries with cream."
Nel had her method. Riruka had her own.
Ichigo tightened his mouth, and then faced forward. A hot chill enveloped him. He wasn't sure what to do in these situations. If everyone had a sword and was coming at him, he'd have a simple solution. Riruka's demeanor – which he couldn't get a good bead on – threw him off course. Just when he thought he could handle the boisterous Nel, she swept in like a hawk to veer his focus.
Strawberries with cream. He had seen her enjoy them before as she lazily watched him train. Every dish had featured strawberries, and at the time, he didn't think anything of it. Now, though… Now that she was a wife, he contemplated a very suspicious look she'd once given him. It had lingered, and it took his focus off of Ginjo, which led Xcution's leader to pummel his stomach with a kick and a jibe.
"Only a fool would not eat when hungry. A warrior maintains strength in peace to keep the peace maintained." Nelliel's stoic lecture swapped with her giddy side when she turned back to Ichigo and offered him a tasty clump of fried rice. "Right, Ichigo~?!" The chopsticks shoved into his mouth before he could answer.
Riruka huffed, bristling all over again as Nel fawned over Ichigo, pressing against him with that fat chest of hers. And Ichigo – despite his obvious discomfort to being pampered – probably liked it. Riruka hated that thought most of all. If he had even half a brain, he'd leave those two buxom bimbos on the floor and start pawing like a puppy at her heels. She turned crimson at the thought, but made sure not to let it slip what she was fantasizing.
She noticed Orihime looking back at her with that halfway vacant expression; workings going on behind those big gray eyes, and Riruka had no way of knowing what. "What are you looking at?" she snapped sharply.
Orihime paused, and then gave a smile to the pig-tailed girl. "I'm glad you're here, Riruka-chan!"
This made Riruka seethe. "I-Idiot!"
"Nelliel-chan is right!" The merry voice came from the back just before the woman did. With another stack of entrées and holding her enormous spoon like a victorious blade, the diminished and curvaceous Hikifune Kirio made her appearance, much to the shock or elation of the wives.
Orihime's face lit up. "Kirio-san! Even more food?! Hurray!"
Riruka slouched, looking warily to the airhead. "That's what she notices?" She turned back to face the Grain King, and all at once… she hated her. Her bottom lip tucked up and her eyebrows furrowed, her gaze zeroing in immediately on the last bits of fat on Kirio's body: her bust and butt. Like Orihime and Nel, she had breasts of glorious size, shape and weight, shaming Riruka's, further excluding her from the circle of big-breasted women Ichigo seemed to surround himself with. Riruka held herself taut in anger, grinding her teeth softly, frustration welling up in her eyes as her face smoldered. She looked dead-on at Ichigo, who was heedlessly smiling and thanking Kirio for the extra food.
"Stupid…!"
"When a warrior is hungry, the only solution is to eat! He cannot simply will his body to give him strength. Ichigo-chan and Renji-chan both agreed on this fact before the final fight with the Quincies." Kirio eased the plates of bountiful foods in front of Ichigo. "And of course, more than anyone, a King must maintain his strength; not merely for fighting, but for ruling."
"I don't think I'll be ruling," Ichigo said doubtfully, his teeth already sunken into a slab of meat.
"Oh, Ichigo-chan!" Kirio doubled over to pat his head affectionately, her loosely-handled bosoms dangling dangerously towards his face. "Ruling is more than giving laws. It is about knowing peace, seeking it out, and finding happiness and protection for all he cares about. Surely you know this much."
"Of course," Nel answered in his place, grabbing him and nuzzling cheek to cheek. "Ichigo cares about so many people, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect them! And I will protect him!" She laughed excitedly, like the trade-off was in her favor. Considering how she felt for Ichigo, of course it made sense that she'd do anything to be by his side.
"That means you mustn't remain famished either, Nelliel-chan." Kirio set a stack of food in front of Nel. "You should eat and get your strength up as well. I assure you, this food does an Arrancar as well as any Shinigami."
Nelliel accepted the advice and began to eat – with more dignity and poise than the others; no less of an appetite, though.
That left only one stomach clenching in the room, but Riruka refused to put anything that looked like a deep-fried centipede anywhere near her mouth. Donuts, cakes, chocolates and fruit; all sweets and cute foods were acceptable. This was not. "How can you call this a Royal Palace when your food looks like that?" She nearly gagged at the dead-eyed stare of a bucktoothed, spiny fish looking at her.
"The greatest cooks know that preparing good food is all about foraging." Kirio's voice was kinder than Nel's when imparting wisdom. "We cannot simply grab an ingredient by the handful and expect it all to taste the same. It is a meticulous method."
Riruka's eyebrow twitched, and she glowered with annoyance. She remembered Giriko saying something along those lines to pat himself on the back for his culinary prowess.
"You should really try some, Riruka," Ichigo mumbled around a muffling mouthful of pork fried rice. He held out his bowl in offering to her. "I know some of it looks strange, but it's really good!"
Orihime eagerly concurred, sucking up one of those centipede stalks that made Riruka gag.
But it was Ichigo's concern alone that had her tucking her arms together and curling up tighter than before. Stubbornly, focusing on the doorway Kirio had once again left through, she said to him, "No!" She'd let her stomach shrivel before reducing herself to eating anything from the Grain King's kitchen.
ccc Soul King bedchamber ccc
"What is royalty without a glorious bedroom?"
Senjumaru's skeletal limbs stretched out in that eerie way to turn the latch and open the door to a room that bloomed magnificently, seemingly to fit the round bed; the only piece of furniture in the room. Light manifested in ephemeral spheres, chasing the dark to a comfortable, almost-sensual shadow. Ichigo and Orihime, as mere humans who had settled for a more humble lifestyle, had never conceived the idea of such a monumental room. All of Ichigo's belongings could fit in one corner of the room; Orihime could move her entire apartment in here and still have room left over! Nelliel once had her own tower as an Espada, and Riruka had… unique options. Neither was as impressed with the expanse of the room.
Senjumaru drifted ahead, toes hovering above the floor. Her hands were frisky spiders, touching posts or hidden buttons that revealed closets and the like, all on her beeline to the archway across from the balcony that had a terrific view of Squad Zero's independent barracks. Arms rotating like a Ferris wheel, she presented: "The bathroom."
Curiosity got the better of the humans. They followed close to the black-haired seamstress and were once again caught off guard by the grandeur they were expected to live in. The bathroom was more of a bathhouse! A washing area – big enough for more than five people! – a shower stall, and an actual in-ground tub. Ichigo assumed right away that it was spring water given from Tenjiro's White Bone Hell.
"Wow~" Orihime drew out, looking at the supreme state of it all. "It looks amazing."
"It does," Senjumaru agreed flatly, already drifting towards the exit. "You may stay here if you wish, Ichigo. The dining area and the bedroom are the only places of importance for you right now, though you are invited to get lost in the palace."
Ichigo gulped. He could believe, with the strict and repetitive design, he could lose his way – and secretly worried for Orihime, who frequently got lost in her own thoughts!
"So this one room is supposed to fit us all?" Riruka complained, though she herself had been gawking at the size of the bathroom along with the others. She frowned after the seamstress, pumping a hand onto her waist and leaning with a scolding finger. "I have a lot of stuff I need to bring in! How is a wife of the Soul King supposed to live without her own luxuries?"
While Ichigo flushed – still unaccustomed to thinking of her (and the others) as his wife – Orihime moved in to soothe her. "Now, Riruka-chan," she uttered in undulating concern. Not that Riruka gave her any mind.
Senjumaru, ignoring the tone spoken so rudely at her, turned to the girl and met hot contempt with cold contempt. "Of course we don't expect you to live without your necessary wants," she answered, and then turned away. "The room's size is only to accommodate the orgies he will have in here."
She might as well been the center point of an explosion from the way Riruka, Orihime and Ichigo were suddenly blown away. "O-orgies?!" Ichigo cried out, not expecting the topic of sex to be anywhere on this tour. Red ran him over from head to toe. Compulsively, his contracted pupils darted to Orihime… particularly the fleshiness of her outfit, which were blushing along with her face! And in his mind as he stared – gaped – at them, he heard Yoruichi scolding him, that no matter how modest or embarrassed he was about her clothes, he should tell Orihime how sexy she looked, how her appeal made her irresistible for his loins.
Orihime, also sporting an expression of boundless shock and insecurity, noticed his open-mouthed observing of her, and at once, she bent in half, trying to hide as much skin as possible again, though that was tricky. They could pop out if she wasn't careful. Oh no! she thought woefully. He'll think I planned this again! "I'm-I'm not a pervert, Kurosaki-kun! Honest!" she wept dreadfully, even if her outfit denied it.
Of course, he didn't think that. It was just the subject that made him all sorts of uncomfortable. When he finally pried away from Orihime, he looked ahead, which made the furiously-blushing Riruka whip around as if she hadn't been ogling him as he had Orihime.
Last on his analyzing pivot of wives was Nelliel, and she was not like Orihime or Riruka. Being older and more mature – in whatever Arrancar years she existed – she seemed prepared for this prospect. In fact, when he looked at her and she looked back, her eyes – normally so cheery and fun – seemed predatory. Her hands were up to her nose, only touching her fingertips together, shielding a wry grin that gave Ichigo warning chills that only intensified when her tongue ran across the side of her mouth.
"You entered this arrangement without thinking sex would be involved?" Senjumaru asked, reclaiming the attention of the Soul King. Her head tilted slightly, the long tress of her hair hanging. Her crimson lips smirked at him. "How naïve the children are in the Living World."
Ichigo started off with a stutter, lifting his arms and waving them. "Well, it's not like I expected this! What did you even mean when you said 'orgies'?! You can't expect me to… to…!" He couldn't bring himself to finish. Just thinking about any of these three naked was enough to have him retreat to a corner in a fetal position and scold the impurity from his mind. All three at once? He risked visualizing them, fully clothed, but waiting expectantly on the bed for him. Even with all manner of modesty and resistance, a squirt of blood erupted from his nose, which he immediately hid underneath his hand. Worst of all, he was not thinking it such a bad fantasy; just an overwhelming one!
"Merely a suggestion," Senjumaru clarified with an absent wave of a hand. "I just expect that there are not enough days in the week for you to bed one wife per night."
"Stop it!" he commanded desperately, lest his bugging eyes burst with tears of embarrassment. "Just how many wives am I expected to have?!"
She turned her back to him, though her grin still showed over her shoulder. "A subject for another day. Now if the wives will follow me, I will lead you to your own bedrooms where you can place your meaningless things."
Riruka, with a haughty harrumph at the Squad Zero's audacity, was the first to follow, though not without a parting glance back at Ichigo. He caught her eye at the last instant, and she turned away with a quiet "Idiot." Nel followed, though she held both of Ichigo's hands in advance while saying that she would be back as quick as she could.
Orihime lingered, and Ichigo gestated. What could either of them say to each other? She tucked her hands together at her waist, staring at the floor and trying to configure some sentence that would put both of them at ease. But it was him who spoke first. "Um… Don't look so worried," he grumbled in that forced way to seem less concerned than he actually was. He should take his own advice; he was certainly anxious, unable to focus his gaze on anything in particular while also trying not to look directly in her eyes. Without a word, just an unwavering gaze, she allowed him the chance to continue.
He rubbed the back of his neck and finally mustered the nerve to meet her watchful, doe eyes. "I'm not," he started and then stumbled. On some sort of instinct, his features relaxed, his mouth lifting in a small but very real grin. He began again, reaching his hand out and nervously ghosting his fingertip against the back of her clasping hand at her waist, meaning to hold it, but not having the courage. She held her breath expectantly, her chest inflating.
"What Senjumaru-san said"—He and Orihime both needed just a moment to brace for that—"I'm not… Uh…" He chose to retract that choice of conversation. Neither of them were prepared to have it, least of all on a tour. So he stuck to simplicity, caught her hand with a reassuring grip, and said, "Don't worry, Inoue."
Orihime's big gray eyes wavered slightly. He looked so sweet, so sincere. She turned her hand slightly in his, reciprocating the tender squeeze.
"Okay… Kurosaki-kun."
It was honestly a heart-pounding instance for the both of them. In that moment, she wished she was as bold as Nel-san. In that moment, she wanted to…
It didn't really dawn on them that they were holding hands and were locked in on a particularly intimate opportunity. Ichigo, being a bit more awkward about sentimentality like this, was the first to realize his audacity. A bit too suddenly – glass windows breaking have ended moments with more grace – he retracted his hand like Orihime's had turned to hot iron. "Ah, sorry," he blurted out, his face turning redder and redder.
She was blushing too, of course, and was greatly disappointed and missing his hand holding hers. But, as his wife, she eased his bashful agitation with "It's alright, Kurosaki-kun. I"—Distractedly, she bunched up her shoulders and with the same hand he had held, tucked some hair behind her ear—"I don't mind if you… h-hold…" It was starting to dawn on her too the closeness of situation. And when her mind started to reel in and process thoughts, that took her to weirder places. But in this room, with this bed, her fantasies could wind up somewhere that could make her explode from heat.
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
Ichigo and Orihime snapped upright and spun to the doorway. Riruka, frowning in disapproval, looked between the two of them, suspecting foul play. She squinted her eyes, murmuring in suspicion of their closeness. She was missing her glasses in that moment…
"If you want to linger and find your own way around the Palace," Senjumaru began, wafting by the speculating Riruka with Nelliel patiently behind, "that's fine. But there have been unwise fools who have died of starvation, lost in these halls."
Ichigo grimaced and hoped that wasn't true. Hard to tell with this woman…
"Ah, sorry, Senjumaru-san! Riruka-chan!" For her self-imposed impudence and contrition, she habitually bowed at Ichigo and gave him an apology as well for taking up his time.
"There's nothing to be sorry for," he muttered, feeling a bit put off by her forced formality. However, when she lifted her eyes back to him, he switched to a smile, and she smiled back.
"You're still not following," remarked the seamstress, only to get another profuse apology, this time Orihime running to join.
Ichigo tightened when he noticed running did all sorts of 'favors' for him, but not Orihime's chest in Urahara-san's outfit. He needed to lash himself for such an indecent observation while standing next to the bed proposed for orgies.
While Senjumaru-san had lectured her and even Riruka-chan jibed her upon returning to the tour, Orihime felt elated, like she was walking on air and could not stop smiling. "What are you so happy about?" griped Riruka, totally suspecting her of making an unwarranted move on her husband.
"Mm! Nothing," Orihime said, beaming at Riruka-chan. "It's just exciting."
Riruka narrowed her eyes on her. "What is?" Had Ichigo made a secret vow to Orihime when they were alone in that room? She bristled at the idea.
Orihime giggled some more. "It's exciting to be your new sister."
The comment and fact wasn't really something that Riruka had pondered, and it made her closeness to Orihime suddenly unbearable. "D-don't say such dumb things, idiot!"
ccc Some time later; proceeding the bedroom tour ccc
They really didn't need to share. There were enough rooms for each wife to have one to herself and several others to store their possessions – if any of them had such a grand amount of things to move in. However, Riruka found it hard – if not impossible – to dissuade or refuse Orihime. When Senjumaru showed them into the first room – closest to Ichigo's – Riruka immediately but with an eagerly-nonchalant attitude said that she would begrudgingly accept it as her own.
"We can be roommates!" suggested Orihime brightly, at which time, Senjumaru pointed out that they could each have their own private rooms. Orihime, though, insisted pleadingly.
"Are you dumb?" accused the flustered Fullbringer, blushing at the idea of someone wanting to be so close and intimate with her. "Just pick your own room! I already called this one!"
"But, Riruka-chan," blubbered Orihime, whose eyes had turned doleful.
Riruka flinched. No…
Orihime sniffled a little, pressing that big-eyed, helpless look, accentuated with hands clasped in pleading prayer.
Riruka tried to look away as a cold sweat covered her face and body. D-damn her. So cu… cu… She couldn't admit it! But she would if Orihime kept looking like that! "Fine!" she barked disdainfully, swishing her hand in the air. "Have it your way!"
"Horray!" cheered the busty Orihime, pitching her hands high above her… causing Riruka to reprimand her choice of clothing when they almost swung out from the sides.
After that, Nelliel broke away from the group to move with Senjumaru to the next room. It didn't bother the Arrancar how far away she was stationed from her Ichigo. No matter the distance, she would cross it faster than all others to get to him. She didn't want to argue with the exasperating human, nor did she see Orihime as really much of a bother; they'd get along nicely when they settled comfortably in married life.
In the meantime, now that they had a chance to settle in… Riruka laid claim to the vanity mirror in the room. It was a dull piece of furniture, but she promised that she'd 'cuten' up the room. Her dollhouse would take care of how bland the Soul King's Palace was. And there was some stuffy pride in her when she removed the roof of her dollhouse and Orihime peeked in wonder at the contents inside. It was stuffed with miniature dolls, furniture, and clothes. "You brought all of this from the Living World?"
"Of course!" Riruka puffed out her chest proudly, and then gave a sidelong sneer of arrogant reproach to her roommate… and self-proclaimed sister. "Didn't you think to start moving in when you chose to be Ichigo's…" She came up short. She was very possessive of the title so far. So she just erased the statement altogether with a "Hmph! Not my fault you didn't plan…"
"What a cute dress!"
"Hey, don't reach in without asking!" Riruka made a swipe to reclaim that miniaturized outfit that Orihime had plucked from the dollhouse. After snagging it back, she smoothed it out and returned it with reverence to the dollhouse. "I'll unpack everything later"—She swung at Orihime then with an accusatory point—"and no going through my things! Just because we're roommates doesn't mean I'm sharing with you! You have your things, and I have mine!"
Despite Riruka's best attempts to intimidate and drive a wedge between herself and Orihime, the optimistic Orihime was unfazed. Instead of admitting that Riruka could lay down the law, she started to ponder on her things. "Now that I think about it," she reminisced, "what do I need to bring?" She started to count on her fingers. "There's my clothes… Onii-san… Enraku and Uomaro. Oh! And I haven't taken out the trash all this time!" Not that there had been any trash accumulating since last pickup day.
Those worries seemed trifle now. "Why do you need to worry?" Riruka asked, fitting the roof back onto the dollhouse. "You're living here! Your royalty now! You can get all new and better stuff!"
Orihime's cheeks bloated in a stuffy pout. "That's not fair, Riruka-chan. You brought all of your things."
"It's not the same for cute things," Riruka announced as if it made perfect sense. "A collection of all things cute isn't trash! And if you throw any of it away, then it's not a collection! The point of it is to keep it and find more and more stuff to keep!" She laughed slyly. "And with my Dollhouse, I don't need extra space. That spider lady was talking about how many rooms she had for us, but I don't need any! She's so stu~pid. So stupid it hurts."
"That's not nice, Riruka-chan," Orihime scolded. "But I need to get clothes. I…" She looked down at herself, blushing at how much skin she was showing. Breasts out to here! Barely covered and supported! She'd hoped it would do what Urahara-san had promised and woo Ichigo, not present her as some exhibitionist. But she wasn't one for common sense when the crafty candyman said that this outfit would look divine as a wedding dress. Warily, she pulled at the edges to try to cover up, but she felt her breasts start slumping outward when the cloth moved inward. "I can't wear this all the time," she confessed.
Riruka looked her up at down, and like Ichigo, she thought that much too much was being put on display. And while it looked… cute – modify the bust, and Riruka might wear it herself – she concurred, "I can't believe you're wearing that drab thing now. Why not get the spider lady to fix it up for you? She can just make you a whole new wardrobe." She walked over to the bed – they hadn't yet addressed that there was one bed for two roommates – to sit down and take a load off. "She can't say no, after all. She's our servant first, and ayeow!!" She sprung right back up after plopping down, clutching her butt with pained tears in her eyes. Sniffling and biting back blustering bawling, she spotted the offense in a wicked gleam: a needle pointing up deliberately from the silk sheets.
"Forgive my negligence." Senjumaru. Appearing suddenly and without a noise, even when opening the door. How long had she been there?! Riruka could guess she'd been intruding on this otherwise private conversation longer than she would have wanted.
One of the Great Weaver's hand slithered through the air to fetch the wayward needle and return it to her possession. "It's a habit that I can't seem to break even now."
Riruka continued to give a teary-eyed glare, not believing for a second that the pain in her rump was an accident.
"Now that you've settled in," Senjumaru ghosted past the issue of the needle and the butt, looking directly at Orihime now, "Inoue Orihime, preparations are underway on your behalf. For you and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck to return to your respective home of origin, to settle your affairs. To do this, you will be given one week." One finger came up for clarity.
Orihime was told this before when addressing the arrangements. She couldn't leave an empty apartment, nor could she leave Tatsuki-chan and all her friends wondering what she was up to. "Thank you, Senjumaru-san." She smiled, but did not get one in return as Senjumaru departed.
But in that lingering moment that followed, a thought occurred. She turned to Riruka, who was picking up the back of her frilly skirt to address the throbbing red point at her left cheek.
"Where's Nel-san?"
ccc Soul King's Bath ccc
He still couldn't get over it. Married… Not to one or two, but three women?! No, not even three! Senjumaru-san had hinted that the amount of women he was now bound to was a discussion for another day. But how could that not take immediate precedence?! It wasn't just his life affected, but all theirs as well!
But it had been said that none of this was forced upon anyone – with the exception of him. And, according to them, as he could not remember himself, he had cast himself as the new lynchpin of existence to protect everyone, and that surely meant abdicating certain decisions and vowing himself to certain rules without question. Could there have been another way? To stop universal collapse? Doubtful. But… the marriage. Marriages?
Ichigo surrendered to the stress. Senjumaru-san had briefly stopped by, apparently after taking care of Nel, Orihime, and Riruka, and suggested that he relax. "There's a bed," she pointed out like it wasn't obvious. "And the bath won't be nearly as strict as the Kirinden. Enjoy." While she may not have had the tone of sounding concerned, Ichigo decided to take her advice. Obviously, he couldn't sleep – he'd done enough of that anyway since becoming the apparent Soul King – so he decided to take off his pants and sandals and go in for a soak, leaving the issue of fresh clothing for afterward.
He went in the water and was immediately thrilled by the effects. There were no cuts, bruises, broken bones to heal, but the water tingled the skin, giving a euphoric sense to him; electric chills up the spine, stimulating the brain to relax; the ASMR effect without the closeness of the microphone! He didn't ease in; he fell in, sighing out loud without being able to help it. Old men did that, not youthful ones like him, yet all the same, he went in deep and found the deepest part of the bath actually came up to his collarbone. "Wow," he expressed to no one in particular, cupping the water and letting it run through his fingers, "it's more like a pool than a bath." He dunked his head, breathed bubbles out through his nostrils, and took the solidarity of the water to contemplate his current situation.
Orihime, Nel, Riruka… He repeated the names in varying order, not wanting one to seem more important than another. Well, Orihime, he thought of mostly, her easily being the closest he'd been to. Her brother passed away in his family's clinic, she was one of the first to learn of his Shinigami powers, and she'd been there for him ever since, doing everything she could for him and their cause. She kept peace – as best as she could – between him and the irksome ones like Uryu and Ganju. And there were instances when he really felt something stronger than friendship for her. Yoruichi-san would call him dumb for not acting on those feelings, but he was actually rather dumb on girls; Tatsuki had told him so on more than one occasion. He always had a fear, though. He could talk with girls and hang out with them, but there was something so intimidating about addressing them romantically. It might have been the vulnerability of it, and the trauma of childhood loss. But in many ways, Orihime made him feel like that loss didn't take everything from him.
Riruka. If he were honest, he was surprised that Riruka would put up with him. She liked cute things, and he had accepted and gone with the fact that his peers – and even some adults – saw him more as a thug because of the unique color of his hair. Would the color be considered cute enough for someone like Riruka? He didn't know that, but he could speak to Riruka's personality. She was abrasive with just about everyone, but it seemed in particular with him. In ways, he reminded her of Rukia… just maybe a bit more stubborn. But, just as he was able to read the hearts of those whose blades ran against his own, he was able to get glimpses of the truth beneath her guise. There was real compassion in her heart, and fear of loneliness. And when he had seen her head poke out of Yukio's loading dock, somewhere beneath the overwhelming confusion of the situation, he was relieved that she – after vanishing so suddenly – was doing alright.
Somehow, when Nel was proclaimed to be his wife, even if she hadn't taken/claimed his very first kiss – and what a kiss it was! It took the breath out of his lungs! – it didn't actually surprise him. The two of them had connected when they first met; her chasing after him, both flinging themselves in the face of danger for each other. And while he wouldn't have even entertained the idea if she were a child, when it was revealed that she was a matured – and bountiful! – woman, just as he could read Riruka's hidden feelings, he felt resounding emotion from Nel whenever they were together; like he could feel her heart against his chest without actually touching. And aside from the bone-crushing power, those hugs of hers really did…
"Ichigo!"
Even muted underwater, he heard the voice.
Huh?
SPALOOSH!! Followed by glomp!
Ichigo hadn't even pulled up from the water when he was pulled into a tight embrace, one that shoved his head between two fleshy pillows. No need to spot the turquoise hair. No one dive-bombed a hug like Nel. His voiced shock was muffled into her bosom, and that just made her hug him tighter and tighter, bringing him nice and deep into her cleavage.
"I missed you so much! I can't believe they gave me my own room when I just want to be with you!"
Ichigo wrenched his head out of her crushing hold, though it was not without some moral mortification when his face smacked into her left one, making it wobble and bounce on the water. The moment he got free, he pitched himself back a ways, though he realized that distance only meant he could see more of her at once. He could see what was buoyant on her body, even if he tried not to notice. He stammered out her name before exploding, "What are you doing here…?! Like…! Like…!" He couldn't help it. His eyes zeroed in.
She wasn't embarrassed. If anything, she seemed proud and even ushered the pair outward for his visual approval. "I wanted to be with you," she innocently explained. "I didn't come here to be put in another room. I want to stay here with you." She prowled forward, her form sleek like a crawling panther, her dangling breasts swishing through the water.
Ichigo didn't want to acknowledge it, but she'd gotten a reaction from him. He dreaded getting out of the water now. Not to mention her getting much closer; he might poke her while his hands were stuck to his sides. She was beautiful! Gorgeous and stunning! And naked! What other way was he supposed to react?! He didn't have the blood in reserves for a nosebleed!
"I want to stay in your room, Ichigo," she said lowly, her eyes focused on his, though he felt like she was examining his whole body. "Then we won't have to keep going back and forth."
It took Ichigo a moment to process that. Back and forth? Between rooms?! The implication was obvious, but he still had to scramble for more innocent meaning. "What do you mean by back and forth?! What would we be doing that for?!"
His naivete was delectable. "We're husband and wife," she reminded him, and he shrieked when he felt something – her fingernails – intruding against his upper thigh. Close! Way too close!
"Wait a minute! Nel! Please wait!" He was twitching, overstimulated. Her scratching nails tickled him dangerously. He had no defense, no will to resist. Red bridged the pink mark over her nose. She puckered her lips, easing in for another kiss; a new kiss. Was she going to
There was a faint crackle, like a small burst of firecrackers. Green light, and then Riruka, carried on the energy, speeding to Ichigo's rescue, suspended in the air by her own velocity. And seeing Ichigo and Nel break apart, she breathed out, "I made it in time." From the flush and sweat, she must have been going at top speed… for whatever reason. The butterfly wings at the back of her hoodie flapped… but they weren't going to carry her. She plunged from the lack of concentration and the density of the Royal Palace atmosphere.
Ichigo reached for her when she came up sputtering, her hair a mess and in her face. "Riruka!"
Nel seemed more concerned that her privacy with Ichigo had been interrupted by an impetuous brat.
"What—hack!koff!—what do you think you were doing in here?" Riruka panted, pushing her hair out of one eye to glare at the Arrancar.
"It's pointless to answer to you," Nel dismissed her question. She went after Ichigo, smoothing her hands over his shoulders, trying to draw him back to her embrace while he still offered Riruka a hand. He flinched at Nel's smooth touch, his mouth running dry and his blood running out. Her touch was sensual and stimulating, no matter how he resisted. "You can go now and leave me and Ichigo alone."
"Not a chance!" Riruka barked back, bringing up her fists – in soaked droopy sleeves – ready to engage in a fight she had no chance of winning.
"Riruka-cha~n!" Orihime arrived, panting and struggling to keep her bosoms from flopping out of Urahara's dress. Now caught up, following the path of Fullbring light, she addressed Riruka, "I can't use Fullbring like you yet! You went too…!" All of that ceased when she realized what she walked into: Kurosaki-kun naked, a bath, Nel-san naked, Kurosaki-kun naked, Nel-san's hands on Kurosaki-kun's shoulders, Riruka-chan soaked, Kurosaki-kun naked, and Kurosaki-kun naked. That last bit was paramount.
Of the three wives, she was the first to give Ichigo some semblance of decorum by covering her eyes, though piqued interest held a very-obvious gap that her very-obviously open eye stared through. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I was following Riruka-chan, looking for Nel-san, and I didn't know you'd be…! Ahhh~… I didn't come to peep on you or anything!" Kurosaki-kun's torso was shimmering… and she couldn't see lower because of the water.
"Well, it seems you got to the orgy sooner than expected. I commend your efficiency, Kurosaki Ichigo."
"We're not doing that!!" Ichigo and Riruka turned and yelled together.
Orihime reacted to the new presence with a yelp, leaping aside to let Senjumaru – who seemed to pop up wherever on a whim – drift in. She showed some cold humor on her pallid face in response to Ichigo reaching underwater to bar his crotch from possible scrutiny, yelling to everyone that he wanted some privacy.
"You'll have enough of that soon enough." She looked at Orihime and at Nel. "Inoue Orihime and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, the Senkaimon is ready
ccc Throne Room ccc
Nel dried and dressed quickly – though it caused an uproar for both Riruka and Orihime that she was so blatant with her nudity in front of Ichigo – but Riruka hadn't the time nor the luxury, so she stood dripping and sulking in ceremony of the Senkaimon. Ichigo – who was provided a masterfully-woven Shinigami ensemble – asked if she was okay like that. She turned her head stubbornly and said it was none of his concern. "Tsk, whatever," he grumbled, and paid all of his attention to the four women of the Senkaimon and the Garganta; side-by-side.
Kirio and Senjumaru stood on either side of the gateways. Orihime and Nel both stood in front of their respective portals while Ichigo backed them, not entirely sure what was happening. For a Soul King, container of reality itself, he felt stupendously uninformed. Orihime and Nel had moved so quickly – and Nel's sorrow was painfully vague – that only now, when Senjumaru explained the conditions, was he brought up to speed.
While he had slept during the aftermath of Yhwach, Orihime had stayed diligently in the Royal Palace; down below, things had stirred in the Soul Society because of a vile member of the noble Tsunayashiro clan, and Nel was called to help. It was such a sudden emergency that Squad Zero had no time to lend a hand. And that meant the brides had no time to make arrangements of their own. Orihime, though devoted to Ichigo, did not want to simply vanish from her life in the living world. She still had her apartment, still had school and work.
Nelliel had Dondochakka and Pesche and many responsibilities at Hueco Mundo that she could not see to right away. She'd been granted leave for a while until the Soul King woke, at which point, she'd return and deliver the news. Ichigo coming to had been a moment of great joy, but it was followed immediately with the sorrow that she had obligation and duty. Now, both she and Orihime were given leave to their respective worlds to set matters straight.
Nelliel did not hesitate to pull Ichigo into another deep kiss that had him stiffen like the life had been sucked from him. She embraced him to her as though Orihime wasn't there to look away uncomfortably and Riruka wasn't bristling with hatred and envy; the latter hadn't seen them kiss yet, and it was just as infuriating as she thought it'd be. Her bottom lip drew up in a sharp upside-down vee. She looked to Orihime for her own opinion, but the downcast off-set glance to the floor said that Orihime would not speak out to her own discomfort of the situation.
Riruka scoffed quietly and turned away from her, folding her arms. Is she going to look like that when I kiss him? Riruka pursed her lips at the idea of kissing Ichigo.
Nel, saying her goodbyes, was the first to move through the unique Garganta, vanishing through time and space to the world of Hollows where Halibel ruled. But before the portal swallowed her up, she looked back at Ichigo and promised, "I'll be back, Ichigo."
Orihime was a bit more reserved as she faced Ichigo, and his attention to her was genuine. "I… I'll try not to take too long," Orihime promised him. "And-and I'll let Tatsuki-chan and Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan and Sado-Kun and Ishida-kun…!" Realizing that she might be belaboring the point, she clammed up, blushed, and said simply, "I'll let everyone know you're alright."
"The Soul King's Senkaimon is not something we can open and reopen at our leisure," Senjurmaru said from her post. "When you pass through, when this gateway closes, it cannot be opened for at least a week." Ignoring the reaction of shock from Orihime, she continued, "There is a reason we did not use it for the Quincy invasion."
A moot point, but Ichigo chose not to make a bigger deal out of it; not when Orihime faced him with such compassion and longing. It was different with her than Nel. Nel, he felt her affection, and – setting aside obvious physical attraction to her – he felt strongly for her too; he wasn't going to be liberal with the word 'love'. If he said it… when he said it… it was going to mean something. Orihime made his heart thump, but not with a thrill. He experienced it in his core, the depths of his being. She made him sway in a very nice way. And when she brought out her smile, he could not fail to return the favor.
He was the one to reach out and touch her hand, taking it very gently in his own. Neither of them would be embarrassed this time.
She felt her cheeks burn, the gentleness of his softened gaze too heavy for her to bear. She started on his name, a fitful series of Ks until he said in that soft tone that perhaps only she had ever been privileged to hear, "I'll see you soon… Orihime." This familiarity was new to him too. But they were married. Familiarity was expected.
Orihime might've been slapped straight on by some invisible force by the way she gawked dumbfounded afterward. Thu-thump! Thu-thump! It drummed in her ears, though the sound of her name in his voice echoed in a spiral. Could she be bold enough to respond in kind? "I won't… take longer than… I need…" Her hands clasped, her bosoms mashed attractively between her arms. She sounded like she was under a tickle attack, flustered with the idea of speaking his given name for the first time. Ichigo… Ichigo! She almost clapped her hands on her face and twirled. Ichigo! Ichigo! And all around in her mind, she saw all the faces and the many moods of her Ichigo! Ichigo! Ichigo!!
"Bah! What's taking you so long, stupid?!" Riruka outright shoved Orihime between the shoulders, bulldozing her out of Ichigo's space to stand mere inches from the Senkaimon. It must've taken some willpower from her not to boot Orihime out entirely, but she mustered that willpower and pivoted, intentionally swatting the baffled girl with her drenched pigtails when she looked at her. "You didn't have the foresight to bring all your stuff here already, and you think that boring world is more important! So get going, and don't come back until you're done!"
Come back soon. Please…
That was what Orihime heard in the snob's tone, and she smiled softly. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon, Riruka-chan."
"Huh?! I said don't…!" Riruka swung again, but Orihime had already left, and Senjumaru and Kirio released their tension. Senjumaru still stood poised, though a close inspection of her face would tell how opening such a grand portal took its toll. If she was not obvious enough, Kirio's weight had melted away.
"Hmm!" The purple-haired Kirio observed her trim – and buxom, Riruka would not forget – figure. She did not seem put off by this change at all. "It seems I'll be setting an extra seat at your table after all, Ichigo-chan!" She hummed with laughter, hoisting her spoon to her shoulder and heading off to the kitchen.
Riruka, though Kirio had been nothing but pleasant to her, was glad to see her and her cleavage-bearing garb go.
The disembodied hands moved about Senjumaru deftly, smoothing out creasing and aligning her cloak and outfit. If there was a strand of hair that had moved out of place, Ichigo couldn't tell until her finger moved delicately along her brow, straightening the line of her bangs. Ominously, she drifted forward, dismissing Riruka's continued attendance – "Hey!" she barked when Senjumaru carelessly moved by – and addressing the Soul King. "With such a dry goodbye," she muttered, staring forward though her voice carried well to Ichigo, "I do not expect a human heir to soon arrive."
Ichigo flushed. He was not good with romance – as Yoruichi had condemned him before – but he thought his goodbye to Orihime was… touching. He now felt a fool.
Senjumaru gave him just one, quick sidelong glance; an observation that gave her second thoughts. She saw Riruka through her peripheral vision, stiff and bristly, disliking Senjumaru being so close to her king.
Or maybe not, Senjumaru reflected with the merest, wicked smirk.
ccc