~Prologue~
"Hm? Oh. Forgive me, Captain. I'm not used to bowing to people."
"Who are you?"
"I'm many things, captain..."
"Captain kuchiki Byakuya."
"Well then, Captain Byakuya, I'm the future god with the chain around her neck, the dimensional witch, or... Just call me Iliana"
She smiled winsomely. "Do you believe me?"
"Not entirely... Iliana. I find it hard to believe a girl of your appearance and age is what you claim to be."
A lilting laugh, a voice that sighed, "Why must we live in such sceptical times?"
"I believe it has always been so."
There was a short silence as both looked away in thought.
"May I have your hand?"
Byakuya looked appraisingly at her.
"If you wish so."
"Do you not trust me?" Her smile was ironic.
"Perhaps." But he placed his hand in front of her.
The slight girl sways when the wind carrying sakura blossoms drifts by her. The man stays as still as a rock in the moving of rushing water. Finally she releases his hand with a sigh.
"You have much to be proud of, Captain. Treasure what you have"
"Yes."
"I should be gone now. Goodbye"
The man bows deeply. "Goodbye, Your ...?"
The girl laughs liltingly, fragile, and turns, skipping, swaying. "Call me Iliana, Captain"
~Chapter one~
Many saw her, in the following few days, and even more wondered who or what she was. Captain Yamamato put an end to that at the meeting of all shinigami's, which was strange enough by itself. "We are being... Honoured by the presence of somebody who is ranked far above us. You may have seen her around these days..." He paused to look around disapprovingly. "Some of the rumours that I have heard are very unseemly. I will put you mind to ease."
As if his words were some unseen signal, the doors on the far side slid open, the men that opened them bowing respectfully. And Iliana swept in. Dressed in a kimono that was marked with all of the elements. The strange thing was that on one side was a white grim reaper, and on the other a black angel. Her hair, raven black but shining dark blue drifted behind her, and short locks of white hair framed her face. Piercing red and black-or was it silver eyes- made the shinigami in the room start nervously. Her face done elaborately, the style noticeably Rangiku's, with blood red lips and a faint blush of cheeks. They could not tell if her eyes framed by thick lashes were done or not. A faint smile touched the doll like face. "Thank you, High Captain,", her head stilting to one side. She scanned the room. "Ah!" she exclaimed with some relief. "May I sit by Captain Byakuya?"
"There should be no problem. Byakuya...?" Even Captain Yamamato looked doubting for a moment. He nodded tersely.
"As I said, Just Iliana is fine" And again she smiled her identical smile, with her head tilting off to one side. She skipped around to Byakuya's side, shockingly contrasting to whom she was supposed to be. "So we meet again, Captain. How have you been?" He merely nodded and said through tight lips,"Fairely well". If she was disappointed, none of it showed. She merely smiled, nodded, and sat down with aplomb.
The rest of the meeting was carried out with the usual bluntness. Nothing would change here, except the services needed for Iliana and what she would be attending and so on. There were a few protests when she was allowed to enter the captains meetings, but other than that there were no interferences and the protests were quickly squashed when she smiled that winsome smile of hers.
~later~
"Have you been here for very long, Captain?"
"I have been here for quite a bit."
"What is it like? All the meetings seem very tedious" she laughed and skipped ahead.
"No, not at all. There are certain interests within this society." He hesitated for a second."Is it alright if I ask you something?"
"No, go ahead, Captain."
"Why are you so attached to me? I don't really mind or anything but..."
"You are technically the first shinigami I met. Excluding Captain Yamamato. What else could there be?"
The smile that Byakuya had seen so many times seemed now seemed to cover something deeper in her.
"Nothing, Iliana. I was just asking."
She laughed, a laugh directed at the setting sky. "Do you want to see something, Captain?"
"What is it?"
"This."
She hugged herself tightly, and her back flashed with silver in the light. Three pairs of gloriously large wings, going through her kimono yet seeming substantial- burst out, the tips brushing Byakuya's startled face. Red, black, white, blue, green and silver coloured each wing differently. He noticed, startled, that he couldn't feel any outburst of reiatsu. Clearly she operated on something different, and far larger.
She pun up, laughing carefree, and in the blinding sun he saw how different her face, her laugh was. The air rushed by her, completely messing up her previously perfect hair and blowing it across her face. "Look, Byakuya! Can't you feel freedom tugging at you? Don't you feel yearning for this?"
"No, I don't believe I feel the same way as you." But a rare smile tugged up the corner of his mouth. With a rush of reiatsu and strongly honed muscles, he jumped- jumped high enough to be on eye level with Iliana, her face slightly shocked by how he reached her. He smiled and reached out one hand out, cupping her head for a second before gravity claimed him once more and he fell back towards earth. He tensed for the shock, but a whirl of buffeting air impeded him and set him on the ground gently. It could be the fading light, but her face looked slightly pasty.
"What'd you do that for?" said Iliana breathlessly. "You scared my powers out of me."
"Well, they worked fine when you set me back down, right?"
She stalked some distance away from him once she landed and sat hissing huffily to herself. Some distance back, Byakuya smiled secretly. She really didn't act like a future god, more like just a 12 year old girl. It would have been hard to believe if you saw her now that this girl was the same one that had walked so stately into the chamber before. Eventually she quietened, and Byakuya strode over.
"I believe it's getting dark, and it's fairly cold out here now. Should we go back?"
She glared at him, though most of the anger had already blown itself out.
"Really, Iliana? I would think that the witch of dimensions would be a bit more mature."
She hissed again at that, but reached for his offered hand anyways. The girl and the man walks back where the artificial light encloses everything.
~Next day~
There... There was a DEMON FACE AT THE WINDOW! A DEMON FACE! The part of my being with cold logic said that it was just a mask, and thought with certain amusement at my momentary fear. I sighed-once again mentally of course- and calmly- or I hoped calmly- sent a strong gust of wind- tightly controlled- and pierced through the paper doors and into the intruder. Hopefully. There was a quick shing of metal- so fast I almost thought I didn't hear it- and a high sound, rather like glass striking metal. The intruder had changed the course of the wind spike. "Would you like to show yourself now?" I smiled as sweetly as I could, automatically tilting my head to the side. A mocking laugh came through, obviously male. I mentally face palmed. "Hai~" A man with silvery purple hair stepped in. His eyes were closed-and his mouth a mocking line from which I related to the laugh instantly. "Oops~ so sorry~ Did I wake ya up?" I felt an unreasoning fear, uneasiness for this man. Who was he? And then I finally realised. He was the- um, captain? Of the third squad? A captain? Acting like this? I briefly compared him with Byakuya. What a difference. "No, you did not." I said as coldly as I could, which wasn't that hard considering how I felt right. "Sorry~ Are ya mad at me? I only wanted to see the amazing little girl~" His mock sincerity made me feel infuriated, but helpless. Let go of this anger and fear. It's unreasonable. I sunk into myself, into subconsciousness. I could feel blankness settle down on my face. I watched my life as a show. "It's fine. I'm not mad. Now would you mind getting out of my room?"
"Weeellllll~~ Can't I just stay for a weetle while?~" Unbelievable. This person ground on my nerves even in subconsciousness. "...Very well. Go there." I gestured to the bathroom. Deeper inside me I made a few rats and cockroaches with earth and allowed life to breathe well-life into them- and ushered him, protesting in.
Alright, so it was petty. But it made me feel better, so so what?
I got myself ready, changing from the simple red shift to a kimono that was made of silk and seemed almost like the embodiment of wind. I had added a few tweaks to it yesterday. True, it had already been breathtaking, but a few weaves of wind magic made it even better. I started the pull on the thongs- and then exchanged them for my boots instead. Made of felt and having two tassels embossed with silver and gold, they were my favourite. "Are ya done yet?~~~" The irritating voice echoed from the bathroom. "Yes." I answered almost regretfully. The door slid open, and there he was in all his grinning annoyingness. The cold shiver of uneasiness stroked its way through me, and death- the element- quickly quelled it in me. I thought a sigh of relief and thanks to it. "Ya look pretty~ Won't you come with me?"
"No, I don't believe so. Make your way to the conference room by yourself."
"Why so cold~? I'll stay for a while." He was a lunatic.
Ignoring his presence, I drifted back to my mirror, and my thoughts to Byakuya. Would I ever tell him that I like him? I tried not to show it on my face, yet I leaned forward to check my appearance. Black blue hair and white locks. Flashing and changing red, black, silver eyes. My skin was too pale. Should I try to tan myself? I shuddered at the thought. In other words, I was ugly. No one could ever like me...
Gin's P.O.V
She was pretty. So pretty. And her eyes were lost, thinking about something else. Then she sighed and leaned forward to the mirror. Sighed again. What was she sighing about? I couldn't understand as I thought of her appearing. Would this change Aizen's plans? It would probably only make it easier for him. This girl might have huge amounts of power, but her body was still human and unmistakably weak. A hit behind her neck would be enough to disable her for a while. I stomach wrenched as I thought of doing things like that to this person that I would probably love... My fixed smile hitched up even more as a direct response to my pain. Fakeness poured from my mouth.
"Come on~ Aren't ya done yet?~~~~~~ Let me help you with the hair pin?~"
She looked suspiciously at me. Nearly everybody had that look when they looked at me. "You know how?"
"Of course~ I learnt from a friend."
She sighed-reluctance so obvious. "Very well." She handed the pin to me. Our heights were so different. I towered over her by so much.
I combed her hair down, silk like and slightly moist from the heat. I found my hands were trembling slightly, and stilled them. I brushed her neck, bringing up more hair. She cringed away from the touch. "What was that?" I said, teasing.
"On-On the other hand, I'll do it myself."
That hurt. She didn't trust me enough to brush her hair.
Iliana's P.O.V
When his long pale fingers brushed me... I felt so endangered. In more than I had ever felt, living in my safe cocoon of magic. I snatched the comb back and trembling- how I hated the telltale trembling-"On-on the other hand, I'll do it myself" He slouched back into the corner, his face showing mocking hurt. "What, ya don't trust me enough?", the whole while laughing like a- I don't even know what to compare him with. Like a snake- but snakes can't exactly laugh... It took quite a while longer, As I wasn't really familiar with how to use the pins and clips. Day two of the boring meetings about to start.
Uhm, so I wanted to include a poem that came to me randomly in the middle of this... :D ok here goes~ (It's fairly short)
Cherry blossoms fade against my skin
The moon cries out in consternation.
There. :3 I feel happy now. Please rate and review~ :)
Oh btw this is my first Bleach fanfiction, and all my fan fictions are a bit farfetched, so please bear with the cheesiness and unbelievableness~ thx :)