A/N: Hey peoples! Well, you knew it HAD to happen eventually (or not), and it has finally happened: A Sode no Shirayuki/Hichigo oneshot (yes, it's a oneshot, but there is a VERY small chance of me continuing it if people like it enough... but like I said, VERY remote chance of that happening, even IF a lot of people ask. The possibility IS there though XP). So yeah, even I barely know where the idea came from.

Honestly, I feel I must say that this is one of my better works.

Anyway.

Title: Stained Scarlet

Rating: Do I REALLY have to do this...? -_-

Summary: Did you or did you not JUST read the summary before clicking the link to this story? If you didn't, click the back button on your browser and read before reading this oneshot ^^ (sorry, I'm feeling like a smartass at the moment ^^")

Pairing(s): Sode no Shirayuki/Hichigo, slight IchiRuki

Warnings: No lemon, but sexual content IS present. Some authors tell you not to read their stories if you're underage (and do I listen? Fuck no! 8D ... I'm 17, cut me some slack =P), but I honestly do NOT care how old you are. As long as you're comfortable reading anything with sexual content, read this oneshot (it's one of my less explicit works, so you'll be fine); if you're NOT comfortable with reading such stories, either:

A.) Pick another story and have a nice day ^^

or

B.) Suck it up, and read it anyway. You get used to (and start to like) these kinds of stories pretty quickly (to be honest, I was repelled by lemons and such too at first. Then I read a few, and not only do I read them; I WRITE them! ^^)

If you chose option A, then I'd be inclined to wonder what you're doing in the M section of this site in the first place. =P

Disclaimer (how I ACTUALLY remembered to put one is BEYOND ME!): I do NOT own Bleach. If I owned Bleach, then Ulquiorra wouldn't have died, he and Orihime would end up together, Grimmjow would not be leaving his fangirls (me being one of them) in eternal suspense, Ichigo and Rukia ending up together would be a certainty, there would be plenty of... extracurricular activities, if you catch my drift... heh heh...

and, possibly MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL... my whites would be whiter than EVER! 8D

I am VERY sorry if this author's note put anyone off... It's almost midnight and I feel like being random for some strange reason... ^^"

Okay, I'm done.

Read, enjoy... and PLEASE, review? I love hearing what you all think and I also love all of your reviews. Remember: your opinions matter to me~ (and they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside ^^ -is shot- ... oww... T-T)

P.S: ... The underlines are being a bit bitchy right now... so excuse anything in the A/N that is bolded and italicized, but not underlined... -_-

P.S.S: As you will find out, I actually gave Hichigo a name. Just want to avoid confusion with that. =P

Each soft tap-tap of the yuki-onna's footsteps reverberated almost silently through the foreign inner world, like a single drop of morning dew hanging from a leaf falling and fusing with the lake below. It's so abstract. I am truly always amazed by the complexity of this boy's mind, no matter how many times I come here. Sode no Shirayuki nodded slightly as she mentally jotted down that note. She took a few more steps before standing still on the sideways structure jutting out from the edge of the endless oblivion that completely surrounded them. No, not her; them.

Sode no Shirayuki closed her eyes of oceanic frost and basked in the silence as though she were basking in the sun's benevolent rays. A malicious cackle did not cause her to start as one may think one would upon hearing such a hellish sound. Rather, she slowly opened her eyes, but didn't even bother to look for the source of the laughter. He would come to her; he always did.

Besides, this was his domain. He had the home field advantage; Sode no Shirayuki might as well have been an angel in Hell.

"Ravishing as always, Shirayuki-chan~" he whispered into her ear, his corrupt voice sending shudders down her spine.

The snow zanpakuto smiled softly without looking at the hollow. "I've missed you, Soen." she murmured.

Soen, the hollow half of Kurosaki Ichigo, coiled his arms around Sode no Shirayuki's waist and pulled her slender frame flush against his larger one. "Keh… no kiddin'! King and his Queen needa tell those shinigami higher-ups to go fuck off or somethin'." he growled fiercely. Sode no Shirayuki and her hollow paramour could only meet while the "King" and "Queen"—that is, Ichigo and Rukia respectively—were interconnected through lovemaking. The act not only let them become one in a semi-literal physical sense, but their inner worlds also became conjoined while it all took place. The first time this happened, Sode no Shirayuki made the potentially fatal error of wandering into Ichigo's inner world.

In the beginning, Soen wanted her for her body, and she for his; at the time, their wants and physical needs corresponded. At first, the sex was harsh and unforgiving, both physically and pleasure-wise. He would ruthlessly jackhammer into her body, concerned with only his own release. She would close her eyes and think of and focus only on the pleasure ripping through her body. If Soen climaxed first, he would ride it out but then remove himself from her body; he learned the hard way that when Sode no Shirayuki really wanted something… well… she got it.

Things seemed to work out better at the time, however, when it was Sode no Shirayuki who peaked first. When that happened, Soen's already punishing thrusts only became more brutal. Not to an excruciatingly painful degree though. It was already agreed upon without words from the relinquishing of their purities that self-centered as their intentions were, that there were to be limits; the experience had to be at least partially satisfying to both, or all bets were off.

It was actually through the testing of deeper waters, however, that lead Soen to discover that Sode no Shirayuki was somewhat of a masochist. It was a shock to the system, to say the least, but he quickly found that that aspect of her being worked very well in his favor; she came harder when he all but thrashed her welcoming core.

Over time, the trysts became more mutualistic. They slowly came to resemble something akin to lovemaking.

But did they love each other? They often wondered that themselves when they were imprisoned within their respective inner worlds. They denied it; they told themselves it was purely physical.

But it wasn't.

Soen had started kissing Sode no Shirayuki as of late and Sode no Shirayuki had became more active in her undoubtedly pleasurable exploration of Soen's body.

Now, here they were again, about to wander even farther from the safety of the shores.

With his tongue, Soen traced a wet line from Sode no Shirayuki's ear to her the area connecting her neck and shoulder and suckled, eliciting an eager moan from the zanpakuto considered the most beautiful of her kind. But as he began to expose more of her skin from the confines of her kimono, she began to fade away, gradually becoming intangible.

"I'm sorry, Soen…" she said before disappearing.

Soen stood there, his arms still coiled around some specter known only to him, one that only he could see.

"… Shit…" he eventually muttered, before slowly returning his arms to the pockets of his hakama as though afraid to let go of the empty air where his lover stood only seconds ago, ready for him to take her to the abyss and back, possibly several times over.

Fuck 'em… Of all the times for them to have a damn quickie!

xXx

Ichigo had woken up to the usual noise of his battering ram of a father about to kick him out the window… knowing full well that his son was—almost without doubt—cuddling with Rukia… both of them completely nude under the sheets…

"What the fuck is your problem, old man?!" Ichigo shouted at his father, his foot smothering Isshin's face after the failed ambush.

"Masaki! Our son is so energetic! Rukia-chan must be so proud to have such a capable male in the prime of his youth as her one and only!"

Both Ichigo and Rukia (who had cocooned herself up to her nose within the comforter) blushed redder than a cherry. "Get the hell out of my room!" Ichigo snarled, muttering, "Crazy bastard…" almost inaudibly at the end. He lifted his foot off of his father's face, allowing him room to escape.

"You kids have fun n—OOWWW!" Isshin began, but was taken by surprise when Ichigo hurled a heavy textbook at his face and slammed the door before his father could take further action.

"Masaki, our son has forsaken me!" he blubbered before running downstairs, most likely to pester his two daughters.

The two shinigami merely stood silently before Rukia finally said, "I'm… going to take a shower…" still feeling awkward from the occurrence that happened not even a minute ago; Ichigo just nodded in acknowledgement.

xXx

Rukia let the steaming hot water run caress her body, briefly observing it as it became clouded with her and Ichigo's combined essence before swirling down the drain; she closed her eyes and smiled slightly when she felt a dull ache between her thighs and even almost moaned when she thought of what they had done the previous night. It may have been a quickie, but it was a damn good one to say the least.

"Sode no Shirayuki, is something wrong…?" she asked once she snapped herself from her self-induced daze, "You haven't said anything all morning. Even your reiatsu feels… melancholy."

It's nothing, Rukia-sama.

"You can talk to me about anything."

I know.

"… You can trust me with anything."

I know.

Rukia sighed. "Are you sure there's nothing going on?"

I'm certain, Rukia-sama. If anything is not well, I assure you that you will be the first to know.

"Alright then…" Rukia conceded. Her zanpakuto obviously didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her, so she let it be. She knew that if it was serious, Sode no Shirayuki would talk to her about it. With that, she grabbed the bar of lightly cherry blossom scented soap and began cleaning her body.

xXx

"What's eating at you?" Ichigo dully inquired from out of the blue.

Fuck off, King. None of your damn business.

Ichigo normally would take advantage of any chance he could get to screw around with his inner hollow (which he had gotten into the habit of doing after a while as revenge for when his Soen did the same to him), but decided he wasn't in the mood to hear him bitching about nothing in particular, nor was he in the mood to find out was making him more irritable than usual.

"Thank goodness it's a weekend…" Ichigo sighed.

He wasn't in the mood for going to school either.

xXx

In the snow-covered domain of Rukia's inner world, Sode no Shirayuki sat cross-legged in the pure white frozen powder.

I'm sorry, Rukia-sama, but I can't tell you what's wrong… not yet at least.

Soen may have been a part of Ichigo, but he was still a hollow, and Sode no Shirayuki feared what might come to pass if her master discovered that they had been and still are… well, together. She would bring the issue up to Soen at some point, but decided that it could wait a while longer.

xXx

Soen stood leaning against one of the endless skyscrapers, glaring at the lifeless and misty sky. I didn't say nothin'… but, I missed you too, Shirayuki-chan… We'll tell the fuckers about us someday. Soen sighed. But 'til then we'll hafta be careful—King hates my ass, and hell, I hate his! Frickin' pussy needs to lighten up… And he still has to learn: not having a heart doesn't have to mean you're heartless…

Soen leapt from building to building, trying to work off some of his frustration, both emotional and sexual. And when the fucking hell did I get so damn sappy?! Well, whatever. The prick's gonna know eventually. 'Til then, I'll keep makin' the prick's life hell, and… I'll just keep wantin' ya… Shirayuki-chan…

He stopped his exploration of the territory he instinctually knew and looked solemnly at the sky for a brief moment before his features hardened once again.

Just know, Shirayuki-chan: You'll get what you want one day… But when that day comes… I'll get what I want too.

And he restarted his previous momentum through the dreary inner universe of Ichigo's soul.