Title: The Nightmare Portal
Rating: T for drama/romance
Summary: The Love Debt sequel. Kish and Ichigo are now married. But disaster attempts to hijack happiness. Why is Kish concealing his traumatic nightmares?
A foreigner from a presumably extinct race arrives. One portal –two people -war.
Prologue
Three months had passed since the royal wedding of Kish and Ichigo. The pair had returned home from the honeymoon some months ago and by now had mostly settled into their new "arrangements."
Everything was perfect.
Only one downfall coincided: Ichigo was unable to see her friends and family daily. All the same, constant contact and regular visits were kept.
Kish's situation, however, was diverse. At least Ichigo HAD living family, unlike himself. While naturally he managed, Ichigo recognized his sadness. He missed Fagan. All in a matter of weeks, Kish had regained a father and then lost him. True, there had been no other alternative – Fagan had to remain undercover in order to properly protect Kish. Still, it was still painful to watch. They weren't even permitted to keep contact.
Nevertheless, Kish kept his spirits. Both he and Ichigo were thoroughly and blessedly happy.
…...
The work-office was warm and dimly lit. In solitude, Kish leaned back in the sofa chair, looking exhausted. He hadn't slept a good night's sleep in weeks – but it wasn't work matters that kept him up. In fact, his 'royal position' had been the least of his troubles.
They were nightmares.
At first, they had been small - only nightmares, after all. Even if a cold sweat and distressing visions disturbed him, it was nothing he couldn't get over.
Or so he thought.
It didn't take long for him to discover the significance of these nightmares. They were not ordinary. These overly troublesome things often occupied his mind day and night. Peculiar things began to happen. A resistless fleet of lonely emotions would crowd his mind. His head would ache. His body would tremble. Depending on the intensity of the nightmares, some nights he'd wake up seeing partially in grey rather than color. Once – just once – he'd even choked up blood...
From these occurrences, he knew the nightmares meant something critical – both physically and mentally. On his planet, nightmares were not taken lightly. If the case were serious enough, it commonly meant the person had been possessed by a Demon.
Kish shivered. Recalling the Demon that had saved his life during the events of his "Love Debt" made him uneasy. He never wanted to experience that again...
So was he sick? Or was he just overreacting?
Again, the Lord sighed and stroked his sweating forehead. He had awoken from one of these nightmares not long ago, hoping to recover from the symptoms.
"Damn," Kish muttered under his breath as he curled up tighter in the chair. "...If only..." He stopped the words. Kish sincerely wanted to tell Ichigo about what was happening – but he couldn't.
Naturally, he didn't want to worry her...but still, he had other reasons for concealing his troubles. Primarily, it was the nightmares themselves. Aside from the unnatural symptoms, the dreams' content was also something to consider.
He couldn't describe them. They were vague yet distinct at the same time. Nevertheless, only one thing made itself exceptionally clear in the night visions – a voice.
It was not just any voice – it was the voice of his deceased father - Nobas. The very sound made him cringe in both hatred and terror. As the voice would ring through his ears, his childhood memories would resurface. Past sores on his back, arms and face would ache from no longer existent wounds and bruises. He recalled his father's abuse in perfect clarity.
But it was the words of his father that made him further apprehensive.
"Tell me everything about her – every single detail," the voice whispered seductively in its abusive grimness. "Share her with me," it would call tauntingly. Kish shut his eyes in horror and held his throbbing head. It felt as if something were invading his mind. The force of it was brutal and almost impossible to resist. He tried to fight it...but he would often catch himself thinking about Ichigo only to realize the strange force and voice was feeding off of him. What did it mean? It kept calling for him to share his thoughts and memories relating to Ichigo – to give them away, even.
Kish didn't know what it meant – but somehow he knew he mustn't give in.
If he were to inform Ichigo of the nightmares, Kish feared the worst. The nightmares were trying to push him overboard - to a breaking point – where sooner or later he'd have to tell Ichigo. But he couldn't allow that. If he were to give in, the openness with Ichigo would invade every last corner of his mind – and even Ichigo's, maybe.
Kish was decided. It wasn't ordinary - in fact, this was dangerous. Yet again, Kish touched his aching head. It had to be under some kind of curse. But how? And why? What was he to do? Night after night it was agonizing. The pains in his chest, the distressing lionesses, the nightmares increasing intensity – all of it. He felt so lonely...
All he wanted to do was curl up beside Ichigo and rest in peace. If only he could...
"Kisshu?" A drowsy yet sweet voice asked.
Quickly, the teenager looked up to see his mate in the doorway. Her alluring, smooth body was clothed in some erotic night-gown, drowned over by an elegant see-through robe. He tried to look at ease. "I didn't hear you get up..." He replied, gently.
Ichigo looked disturbed. Slowly, she approached, moved around the desk and stood by the chair. When she reached him, Kish willingly welcomed her to sit. Taking her in his arms, he permitted his mate to sit in his lap. "I didn't hear you get up either," she replied, sleepily, though awake enough to still trigger excited panic in Kish's nerves. When she brushed the green bangs from his face, it only increased the sensation in Kish's gut.
With a grin, he moved in her face slowly. "...I didn't mean to wake you, kitten."
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she admitted. "...But you okay? Can't sleep or something?"
Kish bit his tongue. If only she knew. "Yeah, I had some stuff on my mind," he confessed, though avoiding specifics. "But never mind it, kit-kat. I'll come to bed." Already, with the return of her presence, he felt his loneliness come to an ease. Perhaps he would get some sleep tonight after all. He might as well try. Again, Kish grinned. "Let's go to bed." Signaling her to move, Kish stood and slipped his hand around her hip. Affectionately, he pulled her against his side to seal a kiss on her head. "I'm exhausted," he admitted through a sigh.
Ichigo giggled a bit. "So am I. You're right – let's get some sleep..." The two then made their way back to the bedroom.
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!
