Title: Midnight Rendezvous

Pairing(s): Hichi/Ruki, Implied IchiRuki

Rating: PG-13, mild sexual situations, cussing by H!Ichigo

Summary: She's dreaded sleeping and going to her inner world, especially if it meant seeing 'him' again, but on one such occasion, things turn out a bit more different. Oddly different to say the least.

A/N: My feeble attempt on writing a somewhat decent HichiRuki story, if only to see if I can actually do it. I'm not much into the smutty, lust-filled side of this pairing, more so for the fact that I don't have experience writing those sort of stories. I suppose once I get used to more mild content, I'll attempt a lemon with these two or IchiRuki. Whichever one inspires me first. I hope you all enjoy nonetheless. Remember reviews are lovely, constructive criticism is helpful and appreciated, and flames are thrown out kindly.

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to it's respective owner, who is most certainly not me.

It happens so often now, she's afraid to close her eyes and let sleep take her away. She grimaces inwardly at her own thought, but knows it's true. She can't let herself be prideful and deny the fact that…that…that 'thing', or whatever it wanted to call itself, was and is scaring her.

She stares down at her pale hands and notices the trembling, and the sweat seeming to make her fingers stick together. She clucks disapprovingly and wipes the sweat away on her pajama bottoms. She pulls her knees closer to her chest and stares out the window of the Kurosaki living room.

She's been sitting on the edge for nearly three hours and plans to stay down here and conscious for the rest of the night. Reality was safe and secure; her dream world or her inner world whichever one was no place for her to be at this present time.

Her violet eyes seem to disagree with her words though as she feels them droop slowly down towards its goal, to completely shut close and let her mind enter deep sleep. Then she pinches her arm and her eyes are once again open and alert.

"Snap out of it Rukia!" she berates herself in the silence of the dark room. "You know what will happen if you fall asleep…it'll happen all over again." A shiver runs down her spine as she recalls the last time she had fallen asleep.

The rushing wind, her feet pounding hard against a surface she didn't bother to see, a crazed laughter, the sounds of her breathing turning raspy from lack of oxygen, the feel of familiar yet unfamiliar white arms encircling around her like a rope not planning to let go, and the wet feel of a tongue running down her neck.

Rukia pinches herself again for letting the memories frighten her even more, and she rearranges her bottom to a more comfortable position on the floor.

"It won't happen again, I won't let it. I refuse to let him have his way with me in my own mind. There's no way." She repeats to herself like a mantra as the sounds of the night seem to quiet down around her.

She repeats her words in her head, and doesn't realize the loosening hold her arms have around her knees and her eyes slowly closing shut. Soon, she's fast asleep, and right into his arms.

--

She reopens her eyes to see the cloudy skies of an upcoming snowstorm. She groans and sits up from the ground to find snow everywhere around her. She rubs her head and yawns, her body still half-asleep.

"Surely, Sode no Shirayuki knew how tired I was to try and call me down…" She freezes and her mouth remains gaped open as thoughts race right through her like a lightning bolt.

"I-I'm asleep." She croaks out in something close to fearful denial. She lifts herself up and immediately dashes around her inner world, desperately looking for the tall white figure of her zanpakuto.

Then she hears it. The same annoying and mocking laughter that had haunted her for the past few days, now echoes across the forest of her world. She can feel her body already reacting to him the same way it's reacted before. Shivers of fear, her appendages trembling, sweat already rolling down her back and forming on her palms.

She curses at her body's weakness to this…hollow. This thing that seems to enjoy seeing her scream silently as she runs from him every time they meet in her world.

"Then again…" she smiles bitterly at the possibility. 'Maybe you react this way because that thing is still 'him'." Images of brown eyes and flaring orange hair cross her view. "And that scares me the most."

She pats her body as she prepares to run, but stops her movements as she feels a strong grip hold her arm tight. She scowls at how her arm trembles in his hold and she turns to meet a wide sadistic grin and yellow irises staring straight at her with amusement.

"Rukia…" he starts as he pulls her closer to his body. "You let your guard down too easily this time." He chides as if she's a child which earns him a bigger glare from the petite woman. "Thinking too much in the middle of a hunt is a dangerous thing my dear." He whispers as he twirls her around violently and presses her back against his abdomen.

"Especially if said hunter is going borderline insane over not being able to touch his little toy in such a long time." He pulls back her arms, and she grunts in pain as her head rolls back involuntarily.

He takes the opportunity to lick her cheek. His grin widens as she yanks her face away from him and tries to pry herself free from his hold.

"Don't you think you've had enough fun for tonight you sick bastard?" She spits out as she continues to struggle against his iron grip.

The tall albino seems to contemplate this as if it were a life-changing decision before grinning again and lifting her into his arms.

"Nope! In fact my dear little Rukia, our fun hasn't even started yet." He replies with a cheery tone, that's so sugar-coated and fake, the petite woman nearly gags.

"Let go of me!" She yells at him as he continues to walk towards a small batch of evergreens well hidden from the rest of the snow-covered terrain.

"Tsk, tsk, now Rukia. We can't have you trying to act like a little bitch when I have the right to be angry for leaving me alone in this place for so long." And as if it is the most natural thing to do, the hollow slaps her across the face and continues walking.

Rukia wipes away the tear of pain that rolls down her injured cheek and again tries to escape his grip. She lets out a gargled yelp of pain as his huge hands grab her arm and thigh and squeeze so tightly she could almost hear her bones creaking from the strain.

"S-Stop!" she manages to let out as the hollow squeezes her arm and thigh again. Her head leans on his strangely warm chest, and she grasps his white haori. "Enough!"

He releases his hold and proceeds to dump her onto the snowy ground. She clenches her teeth as the pain of her injured arm and thigh run up and down her body like a pulse. The hollow watches this with an impassive look, and as soon as he sees her calming down, kneels down to trap her between his legs.

Rukia looks up at the same yellow irises and winces at how his stare looks so much like…'Ichigo…' she thinks before shaking her head to get rid of the absurd thought. She glares up at the hollow and thinks.

'There's no way this hollow is anything near what Ichigo is…I'm going insane.'

As if reading her thoughts, the hollow smirks and pulls roughly at the strands of her black hair. "You were comparing me to the King just now…weren't you Rukia?" His tone is bitter as she refuses to reply. He frowns and yanks hard enough to pull Rukia off the ground and to face him.

"You were weren't you?!" He spits at her face as he yells out his question.

Rukia looks away again, feeling somewhat smug at how easily Ichigo could deflate the hollow's ego. She regrets her thoughts as another slap meets her other cheek and she's thrown back onto the ground.

She looks up and plans to throw back her own insults when she's silenced by his actions. The hollow glares at her with angered eyes and yanks off his white haori. Rukia winces as the white material makes a 'plup' sound on the soft snow, and her eyes stare back up at the hollow as he unties his black obi.

"W-What are you doing?" She asks, ignoring the trembling of her voice as he smirks at her question.

"I'm tired today my dear Rukia. I don't feel like chasing you around all over this annoying place. And since it's clear you intend to keep struggling." As if to prove his point, the hollow kneels back down to his knees before she could react and move away, trapping her in between him again. "I'll just take you now and let myself have a good time…at your expense of course."

He laughs then, his laughter cutting through her like a million zanpakuto. This thing, which dares have Ichigo's face, is planning to rape her! Her eyes light with a fiery anger as she pushes the hollow's face away from her neck. Her legs pull back and kick as hard as they can against the hollow's abdomen. He grunts in pain, but shocks her as he simply puts his whole weight on her as retaliation. She feels her ribs being constricted and pounds her fists against his back.

This only seems to entice the hollow more as she hears strained grunts coming from his lips. He bends his head down and manages to catch her lips. Rukia resorts to scratching his back as he bites her lips and roughly enters her mouth. As she feels his tongue exploring every crevice, warmth begins to envelop her body as it reacts to his tongue's actions.

She hears the hollow chuckle when she moans, and she automatically pushes him. He gives a sickening smirk as he wipes the drool hanging from his lips. She looks on in disgust, wondering if it's whether she enjoyed that kiss, or if that drool he wiped away came from her.

"I didn't know you were so kinky Rukia." He mocks her as feels the bloody scratches she gave him.

Rukia pulls herself away as he lets out another laugh. She feels so used and dirty as the kiss replays itself in her mind, and her moan of pleasure echoes in her ears.

"Ichigo would never do such a thing, that's why I find it hard to believe you and him are the same." She mumbles angrily as she looks away and tries to calm her boiling anger.

All she hears is a huge smack as his hand makes contact with her cheek again. The impact so hard she's flown a couple of feet back, and her body makes a painful impact against a tree. His feet appear in her vision as he stomps through the snow to reach her, and before she can even attempt to move away, his white fingers have already entangled themselves in her hair.

Her lips are swollen, and blood seeps from her mouth as the hollow scowls down at her. He yanks her hair again for good measure as she's thrown back on the ground. The hollow again positions himself above and her, and grabs the thin garment of her tank top.

"You just ruined your chances of enjoying this you little bitch!" he spits out angrily as the tank top is torn halfway through. "Now I'll make sure you're screaming in pain before I'm through with you." She struggles as his hand keeps stretching the material apart.

He bends his head down to whisper in her ear. "I'll enjoy this greatly Rukia." Her hair is pulled again as he lifts her up to remove the torn top. "Will the King ever make you scream in ecstasy like I will Rukia?"

She stiffens when his lips make contact with her neck, and he begins to suck at the soft skin with hungry desire. She feels her cheeks heat with embarrassment and maybe even suppressed desire. She can feel his hand slowly inch closer to her breast, and his fingers playing with the bra that keeps him from viewing the rest of her.

She pushes away with less force as before, and just as she's planning to succumb to his tantalizing touches, he pulls her hair back again, and licks his lips as he stares at the forming bruises on her neck.

Rukia glares at his angry yet waiting yellow irises. He seems to be waiting for a response from her. He still wanted a damn answer to his question after doing all of that to her? Something snaps inside her as she stares at him though, and as she feels her hair being pulled again for her face to be closer to his, she gains enlightenment.

Her violet eyes stare at him with an emotion that angers the hollow further. 'This is the same damn look she always gives to that insufferable brat!'

She's pushed roughly back to the ground, and the hollow begins to slap her over and over again, the brutality causing her blood to spray specks on the white snow below her. Her eyes remain open as she takes the violent strikes with stride. She stares at the hollow's blurred face as he slaps her back and forth. His eyes stick out though, and the same feeling as before overwhelms her body.

"Stop staring at me like that you stupid bitch!" He yells out in frustrations as the slaps become more violent. "Stop it right now or I'll make sure you never leave this damned place alive! You'll die in the confines of your inner world your worthless piece of trash!!" He continues to growl out his harsh words as Rukia simply lets the slaps continue.

Then, a shaky arm stretches out and stops his hand from continuing. He gasps out haggard breaths as the exertion finally reaches his body. His scowl remains as he stares at the bruised and bloodied face of the toy he's played with in the last couple of days. He frowns further to see the same look in her eyes.

"What?!" he yells as he yanks his hand free. "What the hell's making you look at me with such a pathetic face?!"

"You're lonely aren't you?" She whispers quietly, as her hand makes contact with his cheek.

His eyes widen at how sincere and open her eyes look as she stares at him. Though beaten nearly to a pulp, and her left eye now shut from her cheek swelling up, she shows understanding…and compassion.

He sits back and his eyes stay glued to her form as she slowly and painfully sits up. His eyes flicker between anger and something else as he studies her.

"W-What makes you think that huh? Me? Lonely? Pfft, never." He replies just as quietly, his futile attempt to sound unaffected by her words not going unnoticed by her.

She seems to consider this as she stares at how close her bra came to falling off her body. She stiffens for a second upon realizing how close she was to getting violated by the hollow. She looks up, and her eyes soften at the hollow's covered face.

"He's lonely too. He tries to deny it of course; it's in his blood to be thick-headed and prideful. I see it though; he feels lonely even when he's surrounded by people. He's also too stubborn to try and tell me how to help him. He tries to find a way to make it go away on his own. I suppose in that sense you two are the same after all." Her voice echoes throughout her empty inner world and the two of them remain sitting near each other as the first flake of snow falls down towards the ground.

"I don't expect you to understand my logic though; he doesn't either most of the time." She smiles with slight amusement, but winces when she realizes her injuries don't allow her to smile as broadly.

She randomly thinks that her injuries better not appear when she awakens or she'd never hear the end of it from the carrot top. Her eyes drift back to the hollow when she feels his legs scoot over towards her until his face is right by hers and his arms are within reach of her body.

She opens her mouth to command him to back off a bit, when his arms engulf her and pull her into him. She lets out a squeak as he embraces her with such a tender touch she blushes. The hollow's white hair is all she can see as his arms tighten their hold around her.

"I can see why the King chose you…" he starts. "You know us well."

"You might be surprised though Rukia dear, that the answer to fix his emotional slump has been in your hands all along."

Rukia looks at the back of his head questioningly as the hollow relaxes against her. As if reading her thoughts again, the hollow chuckles and buries his face deeper into her shoulder.

"You'll get it soon enough dear little Rukia." His voice grows more distant as the world around them begins to blur out. "I'll stop our little games now, though I hope you don't mind me making some visits from time to time."

She can feel her eyes growing drowsy again, and his arms seem to be growing lighter in weight. He smiles and keeps talking.

"I'll see you soon then Rukia. After all…I don't like to be lonely…right?" he pulls away from her and smirks widely as she slowly returns to reality.

This hollow is so confusing. He's violent and nearly animalistic in nature one moment, and talks like an intellectual close to my brother's level the next, what exactly is this thing? Besides sharing one whole entity with Ichigo…what is he?

She thinks this as her mind grows more and more awake of her surroundings.

--

As she opens her eyes to the early morning skies appearing over the living room window, she can hear his chuckle echoing in her head.

The sounds of feet making their way downstairs catch her attention, soon followed by the yells of two male voices, one clearly pissed off and another cheery and booming as always.

She imagines his smirk again and clearly frowns as the household is filled with the sounds of another morning.

"Why do I feel like he just tricked me…?"

End.