Sleeping Beauty and the Slumbering Beast
By Spunky0ne
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Just a note: A prior version of this story was removed from my posts some time back due to the need to edit for content. I also decided after the manga went forward to alter the storyline, so some things have changed to suit that alteration. Rukia and Renji still appear awake even though in the manga, they were unconscious. I just thought Rukia and Yachiru were too cute drawing together, so I kept that. Also, Nozarashi (Kenny's zanpakutou spirit was represented as female before, but in the manga, a male shadow was shown, so that has been fixed as well. Finally, I am turning it into a longer love story (This was originally a little ficlet). So, enjoy this new draft of the story! Love you all, Spunky
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Chapter 1: First Dance
As night had fallen, the lights in the fourth division hallways had been dimmed slightly, and had grown quiet. The only arrivals coming anymore were the dead, who were gathered in a cold room in the basement for eventual identification and removal to their respective families. Only a few scattered family members still waited in the lobby of the building, as most across the Seireitei were forced to focus on the business of seeing to their basic needs after the Sternritter attacks destroyed their homes. Taken into houses that had survived or moved to shelters, the shinigamis who had not been killed in the attacks, huddled together for warmth and watched the dark, clouded skies, praying that they would remain dark.
Within the fourth division, in a darkened room on the second floor, Kuchiki Rukia sat next to Abarai Renji at Kuchiki Byakuya's bedside.
"You should get some sleep," Renji said softly, "You're still recovering, you know."
"So are you, dummy," Rukia said, a slight smile touching her lips for a moment, "You were just as trashed as me, you know."
Renji closed his eyes and swallowed hard, trying not to remember what he had witnessed in the battle. But try as he might, the images assaulted his mind and Byakuya's pained words returned to him.
"Ban..."
"STOP!" Byakuya cried, in a desperate tone that Renji had never heard him use before, "You must not let them steal yours as well!"
Renji felt Rukia's hand on his shoulder and let out a shivering breath.
"It must have been horrible," she whispered, "Seeing him get hurt like that, Renji. I'm...sorry."
"Y-yeah..." Renji managed, blinking a few times, "Well, it's a war. People are gonna get hurt and die in a war, right?"
"Damn straight," said a soft voice from across the room.
Rukia and Renji turned slightly to see where Madarame Ikkaku sat next to the also unresponsive and barely alive body of the eleventh division taichou. On the floor near him, Yachiru knelt under the light of a small lamp, using a set of pastels to make pictures.
"That may be true," Rukia went on, "but after the battles, of course we're going to have to deal with our emotions about what happened."
Ikkaku exchanged glances with the solemn looking Renji, then went on.
"You deal with the emotions when the bad guys are dead and everybody's safe, and not until. And, I think we all know that those guys? Those damned bastard quincies? They're not dead yet. They only lost a few, while we lost thousands. And on top of that, they can come back anytime they want and have at what's left of us. So we'd all best mind what preparations we can make for that and not cry like sissies until the job is finished, one way or another."
"He's right, Rukia," said Renji, shaking his head, "And if Kuchiki taichou was awake, he would tell us to make ourselves prepared for the coming battles."
Rukia sighed.
"But how do we prepare?" she asked in a weary voice, "We have no defenses that can keep them from attacking. They can pass easily through the membrane over the Seireitei. And once they are inside, only taichous and upper seats possess power that can even slow them."
"Then we slow them," said Renji, earning an approving nod from Ikkaku, "until word comes from Kurotsuchi taichou on how to stop them from stealing our bankai. We have to do that before we can hope to do anything besides stall them."
Ikkaku looked down at Kenpachi's slightly frowning sleeping face and then glanced at Yachiru.
"I'm goin' out to go on night patrol," he grunted, "Stay with him, okay?"
Yachiru looked up from the picture she was working on and smiled.
"Sure thing, Baldy!" she said happily.
"Grr, would you stop calling me that?" Ikkaku snapped.
"Shh, you'll mess up Kenny's dreams if you yell like that," the pink-haired girl warned him, "I'll bet he's dreaming about a great battle."
"Yeah, probably," chuckled Renji, scratching the back of his neck and rising.
"Where are you going?" Rukia asked.
"I think I'll go and make the rounds with Ikkaku. Then, I have go back to what's left of the damned division and keep the troops busy so they won't go crazy while we wait, you know?"
A guilty look crossed Rukia's face and she glanced down at Byakuya's lovely, solemn and heavily bandaged sleeping face.
"Hey," said Renji, "You saw the order from Ukitake taichou. He told you that he and the upper seats have the situation at the thirteenth under control for now. He wants you to stay put and heal, got it? You're not in any shape for fighting."
"Yeah?" Rukia replied, still looking somewhat guilty, "Like you look any better."
Renji looked down at Byakuya for a moment, his heart aching. But he stiffened his resolve and forced out the words that he knew his taichou would want him to say.
"He's going to be all right, Rukia. Taichou is strong. He got really messed up out there, but he is going to wake up. And when he does, there's a sternritter out there who's going to learn the true definition of fear when he faces us again."
Rukia smiled briefly, hiding her doubts, and she watched quietly as the two young men left together.
"Rukia-chan, look!" Yachiru said, holding up the picture she had been working on.
Rukia caught her breath and tilted her head slightly, gazing at the scene of destruction in the picture, and the sight of Zaraki taichou, fighting and looking bloodied and battered...but still smiling widely.
"Wow," she said, "that's really good, Yachiru-chan. You are a good artist."
"You should draw with me," Yachiru suggested, indicating several pictures she had made and taped to the wall by Zaraki's bed, "You want Byakushi to have good dreams, ne? You should make some pictures for him."
"Hmmm," Rukia said, looking thoughtful, "Maybe you're right. Nii-sama says that I have good artistic talent. I should put it to use to cheer him when he wakes."
She moved across the room and sat down on the blanket that Yachiru had laid out, accepting a piece of paper from the pink-haired girl. She stared at the blank page for several minutes, thinking carefully.
Then, she began to draw rabbits.
The two worked quietly and diligently at their respective drawings, pausing when they wanted to share their work, or when the healers came to check up on the two injured men in the beds. Byakuya remained still, silent and tragically lovely, his breaths slow and nearly silent. Zaraki was not as pretty, but equally silent and still, until late into the night, when he began to move in his sleep. Rukia and Yachiru looked up as something that sounded like a malevolent snarl sounded from Zaraki's mouth. They looked from him back to each other and giggled.
"He's dreaming about his favorite thing, I'll bet," said Yachiru.
"Oh?" queried Rukia, "And what's that?"
"Chasing Ichi around and beating him senseless," the girl laughed.
"I should have figured," Rukia said, smirking, "He always tries to get Ichigo to fight."
She looked back at Byakuya, who still slept nearly silently.
"I wonder what he dreams about," she mused softly.
She stared blankly at the air in front of her for a few moments, then shook her head in defeat and went back to drawing rabbits.
Unohana taichou entered the room a few minutes later, looked down at the two and the horrific attempts at art they were making, smiled sweetly and moved on to check on the two patients. She bent first over Byakuya, studying his vital signs and checking for any signs of returning consciousness, then shaking her head, sighing softly and ensuring that he seemed comfortable and the machinery around him was functioning.
"You are doing much better," she told the unconscious taichou, "You must rest and gather your strength. We want you to wake up soon, Kuchiki taichou."
Byakuya neither moved nor made a sound.
"Unohana taichou," Rukia said, looking up from her drawing, "is my brother showing any signs of waking?"
"Not yet," admitted the healer, "but he was very badly injured. His body needs more time to heal. His unconsciousness is just his body's way of allowing itself to do that."
"I see," said Rukia, her eyes growing sad again, "Thank you."
"Not to worry," Unohana said bracingly, "Kuchiki taichou has a strong will to live. It helped him survive to this point, and it will help him find his way back to us."
"Erm...yes, you're right, I am sure," Rukia said, although she felt anything but sure.
"Now then," the healer went on, "It seems that Zaraki taichou and Kuchiki taichou are resting comfortably, so the two of you should try to get some sleep as well, while you can."
"But..." the two younger females objected.
"I think," Unohana said, her luminous eyes darkening and her sweet voice becoming softer and gentler, but something in it becoming overwhelming, "that you should definitely get some sleep now while you can."
"Eh...erm, yes ma'am, we will right away!" Rukia said, lying down and pulling down a giggling Yachiru.
Unohana taichou continued to smile and turned off the lights as she left the room. Deprived of their light source, Rukia and Yachiru curled up next to each other on the small mat, an quickly drifted off to sleep. The room was quiet.
Until Zaraki Kenpachi rose up further out of unconsciousness and began to snore.
Used to the sound, Yachiru remained soundly asleep. And being used to when she and Renji had slept near each other growing up, Rukia tuned out the noise and went on dreaming about chasing hopping rabbits. Across the room, the pretty, unconscious Kuchiki taichou winced mentally. Although comatose and unable to connect with his surroundings more directly, he received loudly the rakish sound of what could only be Zaraki Kenpachi's legendary snoring.
And I thought Abarai was bad. This man is worse than ten Abarais...no, wait, a hundred!
He tried to move, but found that although he remained mentally aware to some extent, he seemed unable to connect his mind with his body, something understandable, considering the extent of his injuries.
But there must be something I can do. This is intolerable...
He tried to tune it out, to use the time where he couldn't drift away again to focus on the most important things. He knew he felt Rukia's presence, and that if Renji wasn't there, he had been recently. He registered that although he was sure he had lost a hand at some point, it had been healed. It refused, like the rest of his body, to move, but he was glad to have it, just the same. He wondered whether the enemy was still in the area, though the fact of the wounded being brought to the fourth division suggested that the first battles had ended. He wondered about the fate of the other taichous who had gone out when he did and risked their bankais. And he grieved inwardly at having sensed the fall of Soutaichou.
Grandfather and Soutaichou were close friends. And I suspect that they maintained some contact even after Grandfather was inducted into the king's service.
He winced mentally again as Zaraki gave a rumbling snort and began snoring louder. A healer entered the room and fussed about, looking as though he was trying to help, but then leaving the incapacitated noble incensed as he failed miserably, and just resorted to closing the door on the way out of the room.
What is wrong with these people?
How in kami's name am I supposed to heal with that horrendous, mind shattering ruckus going on? Damn!
Stop.
Stop!
Damn you, Zaraki! STOP!
Bereft of mobility and reiatsu, the only part of him left able to respond, his red soul ribbon, snapped furiously, swatting at Zaraki and making the big man flinch, snort and cough several times.
Why can't you be the one in the goddamned deep coma?
This is worse than that ridiculous excuse for a battle that did this to me. Worse than the humiliation of still being alive after my 'not so last' request to Ichigo. I do not know how I will live that one down. So help me, if the brat teases me even one time about that, I will have to...
He was shaken out of his thoughts when he realized that, across the room from him, something had wrapped around and entangled itself with his soul ribbon.
Oh, for kami's sake, what now?
Oh, he thought, reaching through the link and sensing Zaraki's spirit ribbon, Oh no. This...this is really...not...good!
When Zaraki started snoring again, it seemed to flow through their entangled spirit ribbons and shake him to the core.
I am this far from adding to the humiliation of my defeat and that torrid confession to Ichigo by trying to summon help...although unable to speak or move, no reiatsu and my soul ribbon inhibited, I do not know how that would work...
Zaraki shifted in his sleep and Byakuya felt the knot their soul ribbon had made tighten. Then, slowly, he felt the close presence of Zaraki's mind with his. One minute, he was registering the shock, with some level of disgust, and the next, he felt himself being forcibly dragged out of his unresponsive body, yanked across the room and dropped unceremoniously into the rogue abyss that was Zaraki Kenpachi's sleeping mind. He landed roughly in the man's inner world, something only possible because of the entanglement of their soul ribbons. He sucked in a relieved breath at feeling as though he had a body and being able to move and see again (although he was well aware that it extended only to while he was in the other man's inner world.), and he climbed to his feet and looked around the barren, battle-scored demesnes.
It was nothing remotely like his own lovely, gardenlike, sakura scented inner world, but it reeked of Kenpachi's love of battle and general disregard for the state of his body as he fought.
"Ugh..." he muttered, somewhat shocked at hearing the sound of his own voice out loud, "Barbaric..."
He looked around for his colleague to tell him to untangle them immediately, if not sooner, but couldn't seem to locate him anywhere. He did feel another presence...masculine, powerful and as unlikable as his fellow taichou.
This is...his zanpakutou, then? he mused, moving forward, I must admit, I have always wondered...
He worked his way carefully through the tumbled rubble and towards the sword's reiatsu. He spotted the spirit finally, leaned over Zaraki, where he laid on the ground...still snoring loudly.
"Wake up, you lazy moron!" shouted a somewhat low pitched voice.
Zaraki grunted as the spirit kicked him, then stood and crossed his arms.
The spirit was tall and dressed as raggedly as Zaraki did (the effect of battling at every single opportunity.). His eyes were a dangerous black, and his hair was long and black, pulled up into a high ponytail. He wore spiked adornments on his wrists and carried the same long, chipped and scored sword that his master did.
The spirit spotted him as he paused, several yards from the two.
"Who the'fuck are you, asshole?" he hissed at the noble, "You aren't welcome here. You'd better turn the hell around and get your bishie ass outta here before I lay waste to it!"
Byakuya blinked insurprise.
He is...as hideous as Zaraki is.
Though, obviously, that makes sense.
"I wish to leave this horrid place as soon as possible," Byakuya said, archly, "So if you will do me the kindness of untangling our spirit ribbons..."
He broke off as the spirit charged him.
"What are you doing?" he asked, stunned, "I am defenseless!"
"Yeah?" the spirit yelled, "Well, wimps who invade our inner world, deserve to die!"
He had almost reached the frozen noble, when Zaraki appeared between them and grabbed the other blade as it came down.
"Knock it off," he said, kicking the spirit away, "He's had enough. You know what I say about finishing someone who's not able to fight. Back off."
He turned and gave Byakuya a crooked grin.
"Hello, Kuchiki," he said, smirking, "You wanna tell me how the hell you got in here? I'd be pleased as shit if you weren't in such disgraceful condition, because it would be fun to fight you...but this would be no fuck'n challenge at all."
"I did not come here to challenge you," Byakuya said, frowning, "I was dragged in here by your overly large and clumsy spirit ribbon when it got itself tangled up with mine."
"Well, what was your spirit ribbon doing twirling around mine, Kuchiki? You have a little crush on me? That's usually a sign, you know."
"Shut up! Just untangle the damned thing so that I can go back to my own body. I won't even try to tell you to leave off that boorish snoring. I'll settle for being back in my own body!"
"Heh, no fun at all, are you?" laughed Zaraki, reaching out and giving his red spirit ribbon a tug.
Byakuya gasped in surprise as he was yanked off his feet and flew in Zaraki's direction.
"You...idiot!" he raged as Zaraki's hands moved and captured him as he crashed into the other man.
He ended up pressed up against Zaraki, with their spirit ribbons still entwined, and now tying them together.
"What is...going on?" Byakuya cried, struggling.
"I got no idea," admitted Zaraki, "I've never heard of anything like this happening."
He felt something hard touch his thigh and suddenly noticed his own body was becoming aroused.
"This is some weird shit," Zaraki mused, "Hey you! Get over here and cut us loose!"
"What?" Byakuya objected, "Are you out of your mind? You can't chop up our soul ribbons! We're already almost dead, you know!"
"Well," said the bigger man, making Byakuya blush as he moved in a way that made their state of mutual arousal painfully clear, "Have you got any better ideas?"
"I do," said Zaraki's scowling zanpakutou, "but I don't know if you boys want to hear it."
"Just spill it," Zaraki ordered, "Or you can just sit here bored the next time you feel like fighting. I'll leave you here with fucking nothing to fight for a month!"
"Grr..." the spirit growled discontentedly.
A moment later, his lips curled into a smug smile.
"Fine. You want to know my idea, I'll tell you. But you might not like it very much."
"Just spill it."
"Well, you know that there's one time when the spirit ribbons of two shinigamis will entwine naturally, and then unbind themselves after," he said, looking at the two through narrowed eyes.
Zaraki's green eyes and Byakuya's dark gray ones met and registered suddenly, the meaning of the zanpakutou's words. The spirit descended into deep, hearty laughter.
"I'll just leave you to that, then!" he cackled.
"D-don't you dare!" Byakuya gasped, "Cut them! Just cut them! Zaraki, don't...!"
He found himself unable to speak as Zaraki's mouth came down brutally hard on his, and the man's tongue thrust between his parted, objecting lips. He pushed against the other man's chest, unable to mount any kind of defense because of the spirit ribbons that bound them together.
What is he...?
Oh gods, what is he...doing...to my mouth?
He felt a hard, brazen jolt in his loins as he felt Zaraki's marauding tongue scorching along his, then pushing in deeper, burning all of the surfaces he touched. He balled his hands into fists and beat them against the other man, until Zaraki's mouth finally released his.
"Aw, what are you so pissed about?" Zaraki asked, frowning, "The bastard's right. It's the only way to undo it. And it's just here. We're not even in our bodies right now. It's just a little nasty mindfucking, ne?"
"I am not doing that anywhere, with you, ever!" snapped the flustered noble.
"Why not?" asked Zaraki, "Your dick says you liked that kiss I gave you."
"I thought you were into fighting," Byakuya said dryly.
"Well, I can't fight if I'm all wrapped around you, can I? So...seeing no other way around this, I'm willing to do this, if you are. No one's gonna know. I won't tell them."
Byakuya went quiet for a moment, thinking. He tried repeatedly, but couldn't think of a single other idea. Finally, he sighed.
"I suppose there is no other means of untying ourselves. But...I am not going to go all the way with you. We'll just have to find a way to induce mutual orgasm, because that is all that we really need to do here."
"Except our hands can't get down there to do the job," observed Zaraki.
"So, we will just, move our bodies," suggested the noble, blushing more brightly.
"Like this?" asked Zaraki, moving his hips and dragging a gasping moan from the noble.
"S-stop!"
"Hey, you said there's no other way, right. So shut up and let's get this over with, Kuchiki."
He moved his hips again, and clamped down on Byakuya's hissing mouth again to stop his complaints. But after a few surprisingly lovely, grinding thrusts, he left off trying to say anything and just gripped the other man, moving his own hips to deepen the pleasure. Neither was sure exactly when they tumbled to the ground or whose hands managed to tug their clothing out of the way. But suddenly, hot flesh collided with likewise hot flesh, and the two tumbled into a heady swell of arousal that licked at them like blistering flames. And although they meant to only rub against each others' bodies, eventually, their movements became so heated and uncontrolled that Zaraki's inflamed member slid back unexpectedly far, then pushed up against Byakuya's pretty round bottom.
He expected another haughty objection, but then got a look at Byakuya's face, which he had never seen to look anything but sedate or frowning. The look on the noble's face was shockingly wanton. And when Zaraki pushed forward, the noble only closed his eyes and winced as he made his entry. Not wanting to tempt fate, Zaraki groaned and thrust, hard and fast, hoping to climax before his pretty partner could change his mind and object. But Byakuya's body only ground forcefully against his, and his hands clenched the bigger man's shoulders, the pearly nails digging in as Byakuya's body quivered and began to shudder. The sudden tightness, made Zaraki close his eyes and stiffen in reaction. Overcome by the sudden explosion of heat inside him, Byakuya moaned and panted harshly against Zaraki's heaving chest.
And as their arousal diminished, and their spirit ribbons relaxed, Byakuya felt himself being dragged away. He felt himself tumble back into his comatose body in time to realize.
Ah...that works...
But it wasn't real...j-just a dream.
Just a...
Byakuya fell away into a deep sleep, hoping that now that the nightmare was over, he could rest peacefully again. For some time, he had his wish. The room was silent except for the soft passage of light breaths and the sound of soft footsteps in the hallway.
Then, across the room, Zaraki's mouth fell open, and he began to snore again.
Damn him...
