Another update~ Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your comments are inspiring. Sometimes you guys and le etoile are the only ones to keep me going when my muse goes "thppppppppppppppbt". I appreciate it immensely. And so, without further ado, here's chapter 8.
Orihime had always been a happy child. Granted, there had been an incident here and there in primary school when people would make fun of her hair or tease her, but aside from those she had always been happy. That was why it was such a shock to Rangiku to see Orihime burst through the front door in such a state of horror and panic. "Orihime?"
Her little sister was sobbing and clutching her shirt to her chest. It quickly drew the attention of Yoruichi and Unohana, who came in from the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.
Rangiku saw Orihime glance towards the stairs, and she immediately strode over to bar her path. "Orihime, what's wrong?" she said, her voice gentle but stern.
The frightened girl collapsed into a heap on the floor, and it was then, as Orihime was hunched over that she saw what had taken her sister by surprise. Her wings were still tightly folded against her back, a stark contrast to her pale skin.
Rangiku's eyes met Yoruichi and Unohana's, and they all nodded to each other. As Unohana strode to the kitchen to make some tea, Rangiku kneeled in front of her sister. "Shhh. It's all right. Just take some deep breaths and calm down."
"But I – I-"
"I know." Rangiku and Yoruichi managed to get Orihime standing and ushered her to the dining room table. "It's nothing to be alarmed about," Rangiku added as they helped Orihime sit down.
"They're wings!" Orihime was coherent for the first time since the wings had sprouted from her back. She turned to inspect them, hoping that maybe the whole thing was a figment of her imagination. Unfortunately, they were as real as the hand that gently touched them.
"That's normal for us," Yoruichi said.
Orihime stared at her aunt in disbelief. "Us?"
"Looks like it's time," Rangiku said as she took a seat next to her sister.
Yoruichi sat opposite from Rangiku, and Orihime was having a hard time deciding which one to look at. With her hands still clutching her shirt tightly, she said, "Time for what?"
Unohana came back, letting the water boil in the kettle as she sat down. "We had started to explain to you a few weeks ago, but we refrained from telling you everything. We were afraid of frightening you."
"Though it seems that was inevitable," Rangiku said with an apologetic smile. "Orihime, do you remember when we talked to you about those changes you were going to have?"
"Yeah. What-" It hit her like a wrecking ball to the chest. Her jaw dropped as she pointed to her wings. "This is what you meant?"
"That's part of it," Rangiku admitted.
"There's more?"
"Quite a bit more." Yoruichi sighed as she propped her feet up on the table. "We're not like other people."
"Not like… other people…" Orihime repeated the words, feeling the weight of them drop in the pit of her stomach.
"When Mom and Dad died," Rangiku said quietly, "we were given a choice. You could have stayed in our original home and would have found out about this a lot sooner. But…" Her smile was soft, even though her eyes seemed a little sad. Orihime had never seen her sister like this. "We wanted you to have something of a normal life for as long as possible. So we moved here, to live amongst the humans. I'll always be glad we did, and I hope someday you'll be grateful for it too, even if it's going to make life a bit rough for you for awhile."
Live amongst the humans… Even in her state of shock, Orihime didn't miss the implication in Rangiku's words. "We're not human?"
Unohana shook her head. "No. We're a special kind of demon."
Upon seeing Orihime's face pale to an unhealthy shade, Yoruichi added, "Special kind. We're not the fire and brimstone kind that eats humans or something. We're what humanity has come to call succubae."
The succubus: to Orihime, they were just mythological creatures cooked up by the imagination of people in medieval times. Her knowledge of them was limited. All she knew was that they were demons who sucked the energy of humans through sexual intercourse and that in their true, demonic forms they were hideous looking creatures.
Now she was faced with the grim reality that she was one of these creatures. She didn't know whether to be embarrassed (since her main source of energy would now have to come through sex of all things) or to be horrified (she was a demon. A demon). She choked out a gasp before covering her mouth with her hand.
"It's gonna be fine," Rangiku said, giving her hand a squeeze. "You'll still be able to have something of a normal life. Once you calmed down a bit, we'll work on teaching you how to hide your wings. You might have to miss a day or two of school until then, but it's a small price to pay."
"I'm sure Ichigo-kun will give you his notes for what you've missed," Unohana said.
Orihime's eyes widened at the mention of Ichigo, whom she had run out on. She glanced at her wings, and her heart sank as she realized that as far as she knew, things were over between her and Ichigo. Even if he did forgive her for just running out like that without a word, what would he say about her wings? Obviously she wasn't normal, not anymore. Would he even want to associate with her after this?
"I'm not sure how much longer Ichigo-kun and I will be…" She grimaced. "Dating. Or even friends. I ran out on him and if he learns the truth…" She suddenly stood up from her seat, her head hung. "I don't even know what to tell him. Right now, I'd just like to rest."
Her sister and aunts nodded, and Orihime excused herself before hurrying up the stairs and into her room. With a sob, she closed the door behind her and sunk to the floor. How did things get like this? she asked herself as she tossed her shirt to the side. I was so happy. I finally… I finally got to be with Ichigo-kun. Now it's ruined.
She tried folding her wings as tightly as she could against her back. A part of her that was steadily becoming angrier wanted to rip off the wings and destroy them. If she could get rid of what made her look like the demon she was, perhaps she'd feel better. But then, she couldn't change what she was inside. Abstaining from sex and everything else that made her a succubus would only result in her death, or something as equally unpleasant, she imagined.
There was a lot she didn't know about herself and what succubae really were, but she knew there would be no going back to how things were. Her relationship with Ichigo was most likely destroyed, and she would never be able to see herself the same again.
That's the worst part about. I could handle being a succubus, I think. I can live with that. But it's everything else that makes it so bad. She folded her arms on her knees and buried her face between them. I'm so sorry, Ichigo-kun.
Orihime remained in her room, even as dinner time came and passed. Her sister and aunts didn't push her to come down to eat, knowing that food was probably the last thing on her mind. As the skies began to darken, the three women were sprawled out in the living room, working on a hobby or doing some reading. Their activities were suddenly interrupted by loud, hurried pounding on the front door.
"I was wondering when he would show up," Yoruichi murmured as Rangiku got up and answered the door.
Ichigo was panting, most likely having run there all the way from his house. It took him a moment to catch his breath. When he did, he said, "Is Orihime home?"
"She is, but she's a little out of sorts right now. It might be best if you don't see her right now."
"But…" Ichigo nervously shoved his hands into his pockets. "I think something happened at my house earlier. I don't know what, but she left suddenly and…" He hunched his shoulders. "I just, I want to make sure she's all right."
"Ichigo-kun-"
"Let him see her."
Rangiku turned to Yoruichi in surprise. Her aunt's expression was neutral, with only a little frown tugging at her lips that betrayed any sort of emotion. "Do you think he should?"
"He won't believe anything she tells him if he doesn't see her like this." Ignoring Ichigo's look of confusion, she jerked her head towards the stairs. "She's in her room. Just be careful, she's in a bit of a state right now."
"Th – Thank you," Ichigo said as Rangiku let him walk inside. Without further delay, he immediately made for the stairs, barely sparing a glance at Orihime's aunts before he pounded up the stairs.
"Why are you doing this?" Rangiku said in a low voice when Ichigo was out of earshot. "Humans aren't supposed to know."
Yoruichi gave Rangiku a sly smile. "Oh I know. I think we can make an exception with Ichigo-kun, though. Besides…" Her eyes roamed to the ceiling. "I want to see what kind of man he really is on the inside."
Upstairs, Ichigo quietly knocked on Orihime's door. "Orihime? May I come in?"
Inside her room, Orihime's head snapped up in shock. Why did they let him in? Her wings were still visible. Even though she had found an old shirt and had torn some holes in it for her wings to fit through, they were still plain as day. "I – Ichigo-kun?"
"Are you okay?"
"Um…" She fidgeted, unsure of how to proceed. She really didn't want him seeing her like this, but then, maybe it was inevitable. Maybe it was best to just get this done and over with, instead of hiding from him. "Come in."
The door slowly opened. There was nothing but darkness from the hallway, and then, stepping out from behind the door, Ichigo peered in cautiously. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," Orihime answered, for she didn't know how else to answer that question. She curled up into a tighter ball as Ichigo fully entered the room and shut the door behind him.
"If I scared you, I-" Ichigo froze when his eyes fell on her. He seemed paralyzed, unable to move as he tried processing just what he was looking at. "On your back, are those…"
Hiding her face from him, Orihime lifted up a wing. "Yeah."
"How the hell did…"
"When we were… you know, on your bed." Orihime blushed as she remembered his fingers on her skin, inflaming wherever he touched. Every minute detail was coming back to her, from their passionate kisses to the way her body felt like it was on fire and was going to burst at any moment. She almost smiled at the memory when a startled gasp from Ichigo and a peculiar sensation on her head drove her from her thoughts.
Daring to lift up her head, she saw Ichigo staring at her in increased shock. Is something… on my head? Something was on it, but Orihime couldn't tell what. Cautiously she patted her head, trying to identify what it was. Her stomach dropped when she felt two little knobs on top of her head. H – Horns?
Suddenly, she felt something peculiar and uncomfortable growing from her rearend. Her pants were suddenly way too tight for whatever was going on, and without regard to Ichigo's presence in the room, she unbuttoned and threw off her pants before they could rip. Her mouth dropped as a long, black tail snaked out from behind her.
She shrieked as she climbed back on her bed, her sobs coming out in uncontrollable heaves as she covered her face with her hands. As if the wings weren't bad enough, now she had a tail and little horns.
"Orihime…"
"This is what I am." There was no hiding anything from him now, not when her non-humanity was so obvious and out in the open. "I'm not a human. I'm – I'm – I'm some kind of demon or s – something." Her long hair draped over her arms as she tried to hide as much as she could from Ichigo. "A succubus."
Ichigo stared at her in shock. He was struggling to say something, anything. "A succubus…" It sounded crazy, but then again, Orihime was sprouting wings and a tail and horns. There really was no arguing with her explanation.
He must think I'm a freak. Orihime tried fighting the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Ichigo-kun. I'm sorry for ruining everything."
She was met with silence, and she expected him to leave shortly once the gravity of the situation sunk in. However, when she heard his footsteps, they were not gradually becoming farther away but closer to her.
"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly as he sat on her bed. She could feel his weight pressing next to hers.
Only her confusion was able to override her dread and allow her to lift up her head. Her panicked, red-rimmed eyes met his calm gaze. "I'm not a human. I – I'll always be like this. They said I'll be able to hide these with a bit of practice but there's no changing what I am."
"I know." Ichigo sighed softly as he looked at the far wall. "A succubus, huh. Well, it explains a few things, doesn't it?"
Orihime blinked in surprise. In her shock, she hadn't realized that they finally had the answer in regards to her strange behavior in the nurse's office and outside the mini-mart. "Oh. That's right."
Ichigo turned back to her. "So, once you hide your wings and stuff, the only thing that's gonna really be different is… well, yeah." He blushed slightly at the thought. "You just need to have sex, right?"
"I think so, yeah. There's a lot I don't know yet, but I think that's what I have to do." She was blushing furiously, dipping her face in between her folded arms to hide it from Ichigo. "I just, I don't want to drag you into this."
"You're not dragging me into anything." To Orihime's surprise, she felt his arms enclose her. He carefully maneuvered his arms around her wings, making sure not to yank on them by mistake. "I'm jumping into this willingly. I'm here for you."
For the first time all evening, Orihime felt hope seep in through the dread. She gently hugged him back and said, "You're not… scared?"
"If you mean of you, then no." He gave her a pinch on her rear end, making her squeak. "I don't frighten that easily. And if you mean of the whole situation, well…" Ichigo leaned his head against hers. "I'm apprehensive, only because I have no idea what's going to happen. But that's not going to stop me."
Somehow, to Orihime's sheer astonishment and joy, Ichigo wasn't deterred by her appearance. She sniffled and hugged him tighter. "Thank you, Ichigo-kun."
They stayed there like that for awhile, just sitting quietly in each other's embrace, and for time in hours, Orihime allowed herself to smile and to think that maybe this change, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
