Title: Dream of Me
Chapter 4: A Penny For Your Thoughts
HUECO MUNDO
Amidst the sand dunes on a cloudless night, the crescent moon overhanging above cast an ominous light and shadow over the rocks and leafless trees. Towering above everything stood a palace of gargantuan proportions. Austerely white and forbidding in its multiple spires and turrets jutting towards the sky; its absolute silence mocked the local night denizens scuttling around the sand outside its gates.
Below the palace in a hidden room stood five occupants, faces and forms concealed in hooded long sleeved robes. Soft baritone unintelligible chanting echoed through the room. In the center of the room lay an intricate design carved with fire upon the floor. Within the encircled pentagram lay an undistinguished figure, writhing in pain. Periodically, the figure would try to lunge out of the pentagram in a bid for freedom, but to no avail the figure would bounce back in further pain as if hitting an invisible wall of electricity.
When the chanting began to change in tempo, a blue fire burst around the figure. Despite the placement of the room, the tortured screams echoed out into the night air carried along the winds over the sand dunes miles away.
ICHIGO'S DREAMSCAPE
His first look into those liquid glowing violet eyes up close from a mere foot and a half away had sent a sharp bolt of heat straight to his cock. At this distance, he drank in a long look at the rest of her and experienced the sensation of his life flashing before his eyes. Heat surged up from his crotch like a swarm of angry bees. It enveloped him with stinging awareness.
Her every feature seemed painted with perfection; huge violet eyes, full inviting lips, a shining head of soft raven hair cascading down her back. She was barely five feet tall, but no one could mistake her for a child. The gentle slope of breast and hip drew the male eye like a magnet. His absolute awareness of her femininity overwhelmed him for a moment. He was pulled from his self contemplation when she spoke for the first time.
"Ichigo Kurosaki," she said hesitantly, as if savoring a strange flavor of food.
At hearing her voice for the first time, Ichigo was surprised by how sensually husky it sounded. The sound immediately trickled over his skin like stepping into a hot shower after day in the snow.
Rukia, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to her affect on Ichigo. She was more focused on the mystery of Ichigo's unexplained existence.
"How is it that you are here? I've never met a mortal able to manifest their true consciousness during the middle of their own dream." She asked after a reflective pause.
"I'm not sure. I felt your presence since you started visiting my dreams and wanted to find you, so here I am." Ichigo responded off handedly, but inwardly he was ecstatic that he was finally conversing with this exotic creature and she wasn't trying to kill him or anything—at least not yet. Why he was not afraid of her, he couldn't quite work out in his head.
"So, who and what are you exactly?" Ichigo asked, trying to keep her talking.
Rukia wasn't sure how to reply; however, there was no actual rule that forbid her from revealing her demonology. After careful consideration, she explained, "I am a Succubus, a dream demon, one of the Oneroi."
"I don't believe in dream demons." Ichigo replied automatically, scoffing at the concept of dream demons.
"You can see water demons, yet you don't believe in dream demons?" Rukia asked in puzzlement.
"I don't believe anything until I see it with my own eyes." A recalcitrant Ichigo sneered in stubborn disbelief.
"But don't you believe in the water demon that you dream of nightly?"
"That's different; I think my 9-year old mind just conjured up the monster in my head. What I probably saw was just some homicidal serial killer who unluckily chose my mother as his next random victim. And now I just associate monsters with my mother's murderer; at least, that's how the department therapist interpreted my nightmares."
"And yet, you are able to see me; but still deny the existence of the Oneroi?" If Rukia and been one to emote, exasperation would have heavily laced her words.
"Well, this is after all a dream; therefore, you are just a figment of my subconscious fantasy. So logically speaking, I still haven't really seen any Oneroi."
A human's grasp of reality is so convoluted. Rukia had always held the opinion that most of them were simplistic creatures in their ideals, desires, and needs. However, they tended to need some sort of justification for everything, even if the answer lay right in front of their eye—as was the case right now.
"Wait, don't Succubus theoretically seduce men, and suck out their soul while doing it?" Ichigo asked both intrigued and appalled at the idea. Maybe that's why he'd been dreaming of her. As a matter of fact, he was going through a dry spell. He needed to get laid soon and end the drought. That would explain all these weird dreams in the last several weeks..
"Succubi seduce men with the men's own fantasies, desires, and wishes. And while we can kill in doing so, we don't normally kill mortals before their time because that is against the rules. A human must die as they were ordained; however, we are not at fault if the human wishes to end their own life due to unforeseen consequences of their bargains. "
"In the matter of feeding, all Oneroi feed off the emotions of humans. We have found that bringing human emotional dreams to their utmost highs or lows of their lives creates energy for us to feed off."
"So, theoretically, have you been feeding off of me, while you've been watching my nightmares for the last several weeks?" Ichigo curtly asked her? Despite the perverted thought in the back of his head that taunted him that he wouldn't mind if she did try to eat a specific part of him. Banana split a la carte.
"No, I have not needed to feed from you, since I am usually full by the time I come to your dreams." Rukia replied in the negative.
"Why do you keep coming to my dreams then?"
"Oneroi do not feel emotions, we can only sometimes feel a mortal's emotions."
"But that doesn't explain why you visit mine?"
"I don't quite understand it myself either. Since finding you, I have felt that there is some unfinished business I must do, but the key is hidden here somewhere in your dreams. I just have not figured out what it is yet. But you finding me here may be part of it, I surmise."
"Um, Succubus, can I ask you something?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head again nervously, and looked briefly down trying to disguise his slightly blushing cheeks.
"Not Succubus, Rukia. I am called, Rukia."
"Well, Rukia, can I touch your wings?" asked Ichigo uncharacteristically timid. The entire time they were conversing, he had to fight the irresistible urge to touch her. It was like he was compelled to touch her. He had been staring openly at her the entire time, not even disguising his fascination with her appearance. He figured asking to touch her wings was the least perverted placed he could ask.
Rukia's heart sped at the strange request; nevertheless, she slowly nodded her head in consent.
When Ichigo reached out a hand to touch the edge of one wing, he could feel it quiver slightly before it tightened and then stilled. Her wings were like the gossamer silk of a butterfly, he couldn't help think of how it would feel wrapped around him. He never thought his dreams would get this kinky.
Eyeing the mortal in minute detail, Rukia studied Ichigo's overpowering aura. The longer she stayed in his presence, the more her senses dulled, leaving her half blinded to her most important senses. In fact, she was beginning to feel slightly dizzy as if she was trapped in a vertigo of some sort. However, as she ran her gaze lower to a prominent bulge, there was one discernable detail that she didn't need her extra demon senses to interpret.
Surfing through his memories was like swimming in a sludge of quicksand especially with her waning powers, but she was able to pull one face out before the effort became too taxing. Concentrating hard through Ichigo's odd aura, she was able to visualize her findings.
Immediately, a curvaceous nude woman materialized. As soon as the long orange haired woman caught sight of the orange haired male nearby, she tackled a surprised Ichigo to the ground.
"Orihime!" A stupefied Ichigo squeaked out from underneath the over-enthusiastic woman.
Several seconds later, the only sounds that could be heard were vehement muffled protests.
Rukia, used to the odd noises humans made during their lustful moments, automatically tuned out the sounds and turned away intent on leaving. She paused when she heard the heavy sounds of footsteps stomping towards her. She was surprised when she caught sight of Ichigo running desperately towards her with the nude woman quickly closing in behind him.
"Hmm…. I didn't realize you'd be so quick. Well, that's the fastest time I've seen for a human." Commented Rukia, as she tapped one index finger against her lips in serious contemplation.
"What?!" Ichigo screamed in disbelief. When it finally dawned on him to what she was referring too, he turned crimson in abject horror.
"No, I didn't' do that!" Ichigo vigorously denied, his arms criscrossing wildly in the negative.
By this time, Orihime had stealthily drawn close behind him. While Ichigo's attention was focused on heatedly denying his um…quick fire tendencies, Orihime leaped on his back. Plastered to his back, she straddled his narrow hips and began dry humping his ass.
"Kurosaki-kun, take me please! I love you! I'd do anything for you! Kurosaki-kun…." Orihime wailed unceasingly in his ear, while reaching around him to try to tug off his shirt with one hand, and reach down his pants with the other.
Ichigo staggered at the unexpected weight, cringing more and more in revulsion at Orihime's sugary high voice.
"Rukia! Get rid of her." He demanded from the succubus. "I think I'm going to have nightmares…" he muttered under his breath while trying to untangle Orihime's limbs from him. Fed up with her, he just squatted down, reached with one hand behind her neck and flipped her over his shoulder to the ground.
When she landed flat on her back briefly winded, he thought he had knocked some sense into her. But apparently she was just getting her second wind before she screamed "Kawaii! You like the missionary way?" Then she leaned back, cradled her breasts in both hands, arched her hips up, and then spread her bent legs open, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Trying not to gag at the sight, he pointed to the naked woman on the ground, and roared at Rukia to get rid of Orihime.
Ignoring the prostrate body in between them, Rukia was trying to analyze what went wrong. Never before had she ever given an incorrect assessment of a human's ultimate desire.
The constant ear splitting octaves of both Ichigo and Orihime were getting to her however, so she relented and dispersed the image of the naked girl.
"She is truly not what you desire in a woman?" Rukia asked puzzled.
"Never in a million years!" Ichigo fervently denied, shaking his head so hard that it was in danger of flying off of his neck.
"Then what is it you truly desire?" She asked while, pulling an odd papyrus scroll from somewhere within her robe. When he only blushed in response, Rukia looked around the dream world, she paused when she eyed the water. After several seconds, a light bulb appeared in her head. She knew what it was that his soul craved now. "Is it revenge you wish for? In exchange for your soul, I could grant you information on that demon that killed your mother."
Ichigo gaped at her in speechless shock. To finally avenge his mother's death? He was about to grip her shoulders and shake the answers out of her; but paused when he noticed her face blanch in surprised pain. She would have fallen to her knees if he hadn't caught her. She was gasping for breath, while gripping the center of her chest with one hand.
"He's calling for me…" she whispered with eyes glazed in pain.
A/N: I seem to be a off a chapter when giving next chapter predictions. They are correct…that is until I start adding more text. And the next thing I know, the chapter gets too long and I need to split it again. It's easier for me to edit 2k words or less chapters. As most writers can attest, editing is a bitch. Especially, if you have to deal with FF's WSYWIG editor. Files get uploaded improperly, text don't get saved correctly, and sometimes it rearranges content around the page w/o rhyme or reason. Give me code to work with any day. I've tried editing only in the HTML option, but it strips all my code out. Sorry, I'm ranting. In the words of Lambo of Reborn. Must. Stay. Calm.
Originally, this story was really going to be maybe a 4 chapter story of which I already have the last chapter drafted; and I was really regretting actually publishing the first chapter because I didn't think readers would respond too well with something this AU. Feedback has been surprisingly phenomenal thus far, and it does greatly effect how I write. As a result, the original outline for the story has lengthened. The length of the overall story is still subject to change, but I'm still classifying this as a short story.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, or added this story to their favorites and alerts. I apologize for not being able to respond to everyone.
Not one of my favorite chapters, but it needed to be written. If you have a better suggestion for a chapter title, I'm willing to change it. Next chapter will be the last of the Ichigo Dreamscapes for a while, and yes it will be the real turning point.
As always, any feedback is appreciated.