Ok so heeeeeere we go then... hope y'all like the story. I'm new at this.

Well... as always... If I could own Byakuya, how happy I would be... But alas, I do not own the Bleach, so please don't sue the me!

NOTE: this story was written when I was stuck at episode 55 of the anime series, and couldn't download the next ep. For almost a month because of download problems on the site I use. So therefore I had no clue what would happen next in the series. I do realize (now that I have seen the next episodes) that my story does not follow the origional storyline. I have been informed that some of you may be confused about this. So I'm sorry for that. Here's what's happening: We stop the anime where Renji is told to take Rukia and run. For all intents and purposes of this story, Renji has run to the place where Ichigo trained to achieve Bankai. If y'all remember, Renji does know where it is because he has gone there before. So the story picks up after they (Renji, Rukia, Ichigo, and Kenai) have been hiding out there for about 5 days. They're essentially convicts, runaways… Also, for the purposes of my story, the others (Chad, Orihime, Ishida, and Yourichi) aren't there. They never met back up with Ichigo. I'M SORRY IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE ARTISTIC LICENSE I HAVE TAKEN, BUT COME ON PPL! I WAS STUCK AT EPISODE 55 AND HAD TO GET OUT SOMETHING THAT COULDA HAPPENED. I WAS STUCK THERE FOR A MONTH! A WHOLE MONTH WITHOUT THE BLEACH-GOD!

PRAYER OF A MANTIS

Sunset

A small form stood poised atop a flat cliff amidst a barren field, watching the sun set slowly upon

the whole of Soul Society. The child sat on the cliff's ledge, dangling her feet fearlessly over the

edge. Her dark brown hair seemed tinged with the reddish copper of the sunset's many hues. Kenai

(pronounced kEE-nI) looked out at the rocky land before her peacefully. It might not seem like

much to others, but to her this forest of rocks and dirt meant so much. The sound of approaching

footsteps broke her reverie. The small girl turned her head and squinted her green eyes- tinged with

gold- in the fading light of day. She frowned for a moment before her lips turned slightly up.

"Rukia... where were you today?" Rukia sat beside the child, shaking her head slightly. The action

rattled the small white beads Kenai had placed in the woman's hair this morning, when she had

begged Rukia to allow her to cornrow Rukia's hair. "Just... about." replied Rukia. "And what of

you, Kenai? Don't tell me you were here all day." she chided. Kenai frowned slightly once more.

She always looked older when she did this, like an adult trapped inside a child's small stature.

"What if I was?" she mumbled. "Kenai, you need to go back..."

At this Kenai shook her head fervently. "No Rukia. I can't... I won't go back. You don't understand...

there's... there's nothing back there for me." she sighed, pulling back from the cliff's edge to sit

cross-legged and shut her eyes meditatively. "Rukia... where will you go from here? You can't go

back home... death is all that awaits you there." Kenai's voice was even, soft, and wise-sounding.

Rukia considered her words carefully before nodding. "But if death is to be my fate... should I really

run from it? What good can come from attempting to escape one's fate? And I do not wish harm to

come to any of my friends. As it is, I'm putting you all in jeopardy by being here." Now it was

Kenai's turn to nod. "Still... can you be sure that death is to be your fate?"

Their meditations were brought to an abrupt halt by a loud voice from below. "Oi! Rukia!" called

Ichigo. "Aren't you coming down!" Rukia nodded, taking Kenai into her arms as she hopped to the

ground effortlessly. As soon as Kenai was placed back upon her feet, Ichigo roughly tousled the

child's hair. "Hey squirt." he teased. Kenai frowned, thinking to herself that he had better not mess

up the long braid that reached halfway down her back. "My name is Kenai... twit." she mumbled.

She knew it was a pointless use of language, though. This same ritual had been repeated for the last

four days, since the group had come to this place, where once Ichigo had trained to release the

bankai form of his sword, Zangetsu. Now this desert of crude caves and jagged cliffs had become

their sanctuary, and their temporary home.

Kenai plopped to the hard ground on her knees. Sitting back on her heels, she placed her palms

gently on her thighs. It was this position that had earned the child her nickname. Ichigo looked

intently at her. "What is it Mantis?" Kenai's body tensed. "Someone comes..." She whispered.

"Rukia! Hide."

well... there's part one... i've been working on this story for a little less than a month now... and im

not 100 sure where it is going so i bear thee warning about that. im just content to let it take me

where it will... hope u like it. toodles for now.