It was as if the world had fallen away and all that was left was the silvery torrents of rain falling from the sky and the ground. Every now and then a quicksilver shot of lightning would illuminate the scene so he could at least see his own two feet. There wasn't much else to see, really.

Really. It was a pretty stupid dream. Now, if he could somehow convince his subconscious to maybe include the cute waitress from the noodle shop they had eaten dinner at…At least then the water would be practical. And why was it so damn real? He seemed to remember Hakkai saying something about this kind of thing…sleep paralysis or something like that: When a person was awake but not really awake. Weird. It was probably that last meat bun he pinched from Goku's plate.

Gojyo started walking. Not that he knew where to go from here. Not that there was really any need to go anywhere. Nothing but the glint of water streaking down and black skies. It was like being on the set of some damn old time horror flick.

…

Ooh. That was probably a bad thought path to go down. Peeking around he half-fearfully expected to see some axe-wielding maniac sneaking up on him. But no, just…scenery. Or lack there of, anyway.

Jeez. Rain was always so dreary, lately. He didn't have anything against it, personally. In fact there were a lot of fun things to do in a summer shower. No, the main reason was because rain was anything but fun for a certain two people.

He knew Hakkai's deal. He never pushed for answers than Hakkai volunteered, but the smiling human-turned-youkai never had to say anything to let you know how he was feeling. And the vibes he always gave off whenever the horizon darkened with clouds just screamed "Leave me alone for a while." Gojyo could always tell it was gonna rain when the edges of Hakkai's lips started to strain into a stiffer smile than usual.

But Hakkai's occasional trip down the dark side of Memory Lane was nothing compared to another certain someone. At least Hakkai was still the nice guy he usually was, even if he was a bit more strained or distracted. Sanzo was a mean blonde on his good days. He was the type of bastard that could only get more…bastardly on a day like this. Jerk didn't want people around him and people really should want to either. It was like his personal space bubble shrank during humid weather. What really annoyed him was that he couldn't understand either man's need to be alone. If it were him, he'd be out bar hopping trying to find a remedy for sleeping alone. Or two. Maybe three if he was on a roll. Heh. That was probably Sanzo's problem. The man probably never let someone warm his sheets before. Heh, it's not like he didn't get enough offers as it was, either. It was enough to tick a guy off, really.

A flash of lightning streaked above him and something moved somewhere off to his right. Or thought he did. A glimmer or some sort of movement to his right. It was gone as soon as he turned to look though. The dark wasn't helping. Peering in the direction he'd seen it He couldn't really judge distances properly but…the lightning flashed again.

There it was again! Something…bright. Not shiny but…definitely easy to spot in this storm, once he knew where to look. And it was getting smaller. It was moving away!

Oh, hell no. He'd finally found a change in the horror flick scene and he was not going to lose it. He started to sprint toward it and slowly he started to make out the form of…a person! Well, this dream was finally getting interesting. Even if it was an axe-wielding maniac there would at least be some action.

Oooooh! Judging from the figure's shape he might be getting a different kind of action altogether. This was his mind after all. From what he could see, it was a pale slender being before him. Damn, he wished he could see her face. He couldn't even tell the color of her hair which seemed to be cut short. He bet it was one of those cute styles too.

"Hey, sweetie! What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

What? The figure seemed to flicker for a moment. And she didn't even act like she had heard him either. Gojyo sped up. Maybe she couldn't hear him over the frickin' waterfall. Mmm he could make out clothes now. Nicely filled jeans and a tight top that seemed like a second skin. He bet it really accentuated her breasts too. He could just picture it

"Pretty big storm, huh? Know anyplace that can get between some warm sheets?"

Again with the damn flickering. It seemed like, if he took his eyes off her for one second, she'd disappear entirely. Just a few more feet! He could practically wrap his long arms around her…Oh, she had pretty broad shoulders. Ah well, just meant she could probably handle herself. He kind of liked that in a girl. There were a lot of uses for a pair of strong thighs…he could just hear her soft, feminine moans now...

Gah! It was happening again! Desperately, Gojyo flung himself after the figure, all but tackling the smaller form to the ground.

"Geh. Sorry about that…" Gojyo apologized. He moved to get off…then realized he couldn't because the girl below him had decided to grab his ass firmly with her surprisingly muscular hands.

Not that he was complaining, mind. Hell, this just let him move a few steps down the "How to pick up a chick" list. Maybe he should try a more intimate pickup line. The girls in his dreams tended to respond well to this one.

"So," he purred, "It's a pretty nice night to get wet, huh?"

It must have impressed her because the hands shifted to his face to drag it down to a pair of very warm lips. Cupping her face with his hands, Gojyo tried to get a mental image of her face just using his sense of touch. High cheekbones…soft skin…long eyelashes…full, full lips and……huh, she had a mole or something on her forehead. No, it didn't feel like that…Oh! It was probably one of those bindi things…they were getting pretty popular lately. He trailed his hands to explore the rest of her.

Gojyo paused. This girl must be the tom boy type because she really had no cleavage to speak of and was covered in muscles. His hands rested appreciatively on her waist. Nice and slender, though. He leaned in to nip at where he thought the junction of her neck was, earning him a quick exhalation of breath from the person beneath him. Now, that wouldn't do. Gojyo wasn't settling for less then a full-out moan. Reaching between them, his fingers danced over where her chest and downward, making sure to go slow enough that she could stop him anytime. This time he got a low, husky moan.

…Wait…that sounded awfully…masculine. He stilled as a few thoughts started to occur about a certain…wrongness to the situation. The figure below him wasn't so placid, squeezing and caressing all over him.

The lightning flashed. And Gojyo found himself looking into droopy, purple eyes.

He screamed.