ByakuyaXIchigo-Masquerade

May I have this Dance?
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"This is so stupid..." Ichigo Kurosaki grumbled to himself as he tugged at the sleeves of his overcoat in irritation; he should have never allowed her to watch that damn movie!
It had been a normal Saturday afternoon for him, he was catching up on some homework while Rukia surfed through the channels on his TV; she had then found a kids movie called 'The Haunted Mansion' which luckily enough had only just started.
Ichigo remembered it being in English so he had only caught bits of the movie here and there, Rukia hadn't even understood any of it but when he looked over to see why she was still watching it he saw she was simply repeating the same scene over and over; more specifically the first scene with the masquerade.
Rukia had turned on him immediately when he demanded to know what she was doing and questioned what the people were doing and why there were dressed so differently; having always had a fascination with the European coulter Ichigo easily explained it to her.
They were dancing a special dance call the 'Waltz', they were all wearing masks because it was required too when you attend a masquerade and the clothing they wore were what was required in England when you are invited to such things.
Rukia had become completely obsessed with the idea of a masquerade and declared that she was going to arrange one in the Soul Society; Ichigo remembered shaking his head in doubt but none the less wising her luck before returning to his homework.
'I should have never tempted fate like that, should have known Rukia would have been able to pull it off.' Ichigo thought to himself as he looked out in front of him at the mass of Shinigami wearing English clothes and dancing together easily; it was hard to tell who was who thanks to the fact Rukia had managed to get Kisuke Urahara to create a special wrist band for everyone to wear that not only hid everyone's Spiritual Energy, if the person wearing it had a distinctive feature it was changed to blend in.
Ichigo himself had been forced to wear it and now his once orange hair was a platinum blond, it was also no longer spiked all over the place; in fact it fell down easily to rest on his shoulders and he was forced to put it back with a tie.
Rukia had forced him into full suit as well much to his annoyance; he wore a black pair of trousers white a white shirt that had gold covering the neck and buttons. He also wore a gold waist coat underneath his black overcoat but luckily enough Rukia had decided he would have looked strange with a neck tie and left him be.
It was the mask he wore that was the most annoying; it was only big enough to go over his eyes and the bridge of his nose but Ichigo knew it was expensive when he first saw it. The mask itself was black but around the edges it was decorated with gold glitter, at the ends it also had 2 black ribbons on either side which he had tucked behind his ears to hide away; luckily the mask was created especially for him so there was no need for irritating elastic to keep it in place, it easily rested on his face without moving unless he removed it.
Ichigo sighed through his nose as he allowed his eyes to roam over the dancing couples and he immediately catches sight of Rukia who was dancing with someone he assumed was Renji Abarai; he could only assume because like himself, Renji's appearance had been drastically changed by the damned bands meaning his red-hair and tattoos were gone. Ichigo remembered Rukia whispering to him that Renji had almost cried when he saw himself in the mirror with short black hair, clear skin and eyebrows.
Ichigo would have normally laughed when Rukia told him this but he didn't find his friend's situation funny when he himself suffered the same fate; he liked his orange hair no matter how much trouble it gave him!
Ichigo was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Rangiku walking by him (He hair may be a different colour but no one else would dress in something so revealing) he stepped further back into the shadows so the girl wouldn't see him; he breathed a sigh of relief when she walked by him easily.
That was another reason why he wasn't enjoying himself, the moment he had stepped into the hall everyone had looked at him in shock; it made him feel embarrassed and awkward so as soon as the dancing started he hid away to make sure no one would ask him to dance.
He doesn't dance, it doesn't matter if he doesn't look like Ichigo Kurosaki anymore he would not make a fool of himself by trying to dance with a girl; he found it hard only talking to girls so he didn't even want to think what would happen if he got that close to them, he couldn't stop the blush spreading on his cheeks at just the thought of it.
"May I have this dance?" A familiar voice that normally sound so cold to him questioned causing Ichigo's eyes to widen in shock before he looked to his right; sure enough standing there in a pure black tuxedo with a white shirt, shoes and also a mask which not only covered his eyes but also went over his forehead and stopped halfway down his cheeks was Byakuya Kuchiki.
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Byakuya Kuchiki knew why he had asked the boy to dance, after all Ichigo Kurosaki had been invading his thoughts and dreams ever since he had fought him on Sōkyoku Hill; ever since then he had secretly followed the boy, it wasn't stalking, just to see what the boy did when he wasn't fighting to save someone else.
He knew though that everyone had grown attached to the young human, he was like the little brother to everyone that was completely spoiled by his older siblings; it would have been annoying if the boy had any idea that was the affect he had but he never noticed, in fact Byakuya was sure the boy believed himself to be more of a burden to everyone than a comrade.
It was a shock to learn that the Substitute had series self-esteem issues, he didn't care about himself and only cared about everyone else; he would probably give up everything he had just to save a stranger if it made them smile.  
He was also too innocent and shy for a 17 year old teenager but Byakuya was sure it had something to do with the fact he wasn't used to physical contact unless it caused him pain; he remembered catching sight of his Vice-Captain giving the boy a friendly hug and the boy had looked so startled he had actually flinched slightly before relaxing into it. He had then pushed Renji away before calling him a 'weirdo' for hugging him out of the blue but Renji simply laughed.
He had asked his sister later why the boy shunned away from physical contact and Rukia had looked so sad when she explained that Ichigo had cut himself off from everyone when his mother was killed because of guilt; when he had eventually opened up again he had grown used to the fact then when someone was touching him it was going to cause him pain. Byakuya hadn't known what to say to that so he had stayed silent.
When he had caught sight of the boy hiding in the shadows wearing black and gold that went lovely with his now white blonde hair but still looking so lonely, Byakuya decided to do something about it; someone who was as attractive as the boy was didn't deserve to look so alone and even now Byakuya could see how beautiful Ichigo truly was.
"W-What?" Ichigo whispered quietly in confusion causing Byakuya to sigh as he closed his eyes before he held out his hand in front of him.
"I said 'May I have this dance?'; Take in mind, Ichigo Kurosaki, that was not a request." Byakuya forced himself to hold back a satisfied smirk when the boy spluttered in shock; but then the boy released a sigh and placed his hand into Byakuya's with hesitation.
'His hands are soft...' Byakuya thought to himself as he slowly led him to the dance floor and he couldn't help but be pleased that both he and Ichigo had not bothered with gloves like many others; he was also happy that the fact the strange human girl with healing powers had managed to get rid of the calluses on Ichigo's hand every time she healed him.
He would never say those things out loud though, he still had his pride.
The people around them slowly parted, the different shapes and colours of the masks making it impossible to tell who's who but making a beautiful sight, and allowed him through to the centre of the dance floor.
The boy blushed when Byakuya easily forced him to stand in front of him before placing his hand on the boy's waist, giving Ichigo no choice but to let the noble man lead as he placed his hand carefully on the taller man's shoulder. Byakuya nodded to show Ichigo he agreed with the position before taking the boy's other hand in his own and then waited.
The music started once again and Byakuya allowed his feet to move; once again he had to force away a smirk when the boy stumbled and struggled to follow his moves, it would have been funny if the boy wasn't shaking in his arms.
"Relax." Byakuya whispered softly before he spun the boy around causing him to gasp in shock; his cheeks were an alluring red when he returned into his arms but Byakuya could feel the boy slowly relax.
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Ichigo had never felt so amazing in his life; the feeling of Byakuya's hand on his waist as he led him through the dance made him feel warm and tingly.
He had been so embarrassed and horrified when Byakuya had forced him to dance, his moves were clumsy and completely awkward against the noble man's elegant moves; but then Byakuya had requested he relaxed before spinning him and Ichigo found himself doing just that.
Slowly he felt himself enjoying it, the way Byakuya danced him across the floor, the feeling of dizziness when he spun him around and the exhilarating thrill at the feel of Byakuya's hands on him.
The dance was over too quickly for his liking but Ichigo forced himself to bow to Byakuya politely as it was requested; he prepared to return to his corner but then Byakuya had grabbed his arm.
"Come with me." He had whispered and before Ichigo could object he found himself outside, staring at the darkened sky which was littered with stars.  
It was silent between them as Ichigo continued to stare at the sky with determination, forcing himself not to look over at the Captain who was probably looking absolutely breathe taking as normal.
"I would have to thank my sister." Byakuya suddenly spoke making Ichigo look over at him in confusion; the noble looked over at the teenager with a slight upwards tilt on his lips.
"Why? Don't tell me you actually enjoyed that back there?" Ichigo demanded completely agust causing Byakuya to close his eyes with a slightly bigger smirk.
"Perhaps."
"Why? I mean why would you-?!" Ichigo found himself releasing a gasp of slight shock when Byakuya suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly against his own; it felt like they stayed like that for hours before they pulled apart. Byakuya looking as calm always while Ichigo was blushing as he panted for breath.
"It allowed me to do that. Have a good evening Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya said before he took off the band around his wrist and left with an easy Shunpo, leaving Ichigo alone.
'Well that's never going to happen again.' Ichigo thought to himself with a shake of his head but then he blinked when he felt the wind touch his face, all of his face.
With a startled gasp he reached up and touched around his eyes just to prove he was imagining things; but sure enough his mask was gone.
"That sneaky bastard." Ichigo chuckled as he realized that Byakuya had taken his mask making it so not only could he not return to the masquerade but he would have to follow the Captain to get his mask back.
Meaning that the noble wasn't fully prepared to let the night end just yet; filled with excitement and also nervous energy Ichigo had only just managed to get his band of safely before he quickly followed after Byakuya's Spiritual Energy.
'Maybe this masquerade of Rukia's wasn't such a bad idea after all.'