I broke it up into smaller chapters…XD

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Prologue Part II

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"Bryce," Arieanne hissed, "¡ Yo mataria tu !" (I'm going to kill you! - Spanish)

--

"I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young, and I love life. But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation. Happiness is nonetheless true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting." Arieanne inwardly shivered at the smile Aizen was giving her as he read the handwritten quote on the cover of the notebook she was putting inside her bag. "Isn't this a bit too powerful a saying for someone your age?"

In the presence of the other captains, the teenager knew she would die if she mentioned anything about the fifth captain's manipulative character. Literally. "Quote from Bertrand Russell. I'm amazed you didn't see it posted in my room; it's right where I can see it first thing in the morning."

"So it's just a quote," Hitsugaya mimicked, easily keeping the swift pace the girl had set when they began walking.

"You can say it's a verbalization of my…perspectives. My sister's as well," she added as an afterthought.

"That…thing with your siblings." The rest of the shinigami, if not talking amongst themselves or keeping quiet, were looking around her in awe. The eighth squad captain was one of the few who were actually talking to her. "Is that an everyday occurrence?"

Arieanne patiently waited for a public utility vehicle to come her way. "Seeing as we rarely see each other, much less interact, I think it's safe to say no."

Renji looked at her in surprise. "Doesn't seem that way."

"On an average school year, we see each other twelve percent of the time," the girl drawls. Someone looked their way and looked at the crazy kid talking to nobody but herself. Said crazy kid gave him a look that terrorized him and made him run to the next block. "About half of that is the percentage for decent interactions."

Kira had to back away from her. "So, Laria-san, you're saying that you don't see your siblings often. You must be lonely then."

The way the girl looked at him prevented anyone from bringing up the topic again. Coincidentally, the vehicle she rode had no other passengers other than her – and the souls generally unseen.

By the time they got to their destination an hour and a half later, more than several of them were asking just why she was going to a practice held roughly fifteen kilometers from her house.

--

Hitsugaya was staring so much Rangiku had to poke him several times. But that was better than his gawking earlier; that time, his lieutenant actually had to close his hanging jaw. But why shouldn't he stare? Heck, even Byakuya was staring and that alone was something to gawk about.

But the question was: Why were they staring at teenage humans dance??

The fact that the music said humans were dancing to was 'Sugar' of Flo Rida did not help at all.

The young captain had to tear his orbs away from a certain someone's grinding hips. Wait, what!?

"Oi, you two! Would you stop that showdown already??" one of the older students twitched. "My sides hurt just looking at you. What are you anyway, a bunch o' boneless worms?"

"Worms don't have bones. They're invertebrates." Arieanne looked at the speaker and grinned. "Not like you're not much of a dancer yourself, Edmund."

The nearest effeminate upperclassman rolled his eyes and laid his head on the person beside him. "Daniel, your adoptive little sister is seducing me."

"Ehh??" the girl blinked, her eyes traveling from one upperclassman to another. She finally stopped doing the steps and rejoined them on the porch. The rest of their numbers were off doing things of their own, but she, Daniel, and his ever-adorable boyfriend had staked out the largest and comfiest couch. "Why'd I seduce my brother's boyfriend? And I'm his sister, not his adoptive sister."

A pout aimed at her general direction made her shiver. "You had a crush on me, remember?"

Several brows rose, and some actually grinned at the group Vice President's comment. "How's that for a nice comeback?"

"Have not had," the girl corrected, much to the amusement of those present. "I didn't say anything about that particular crush going away, ne?"

"Daniel!" he whined again, this time snuggling deeper into his lover's shoulder. "She's…oppressing me!"

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Let's make nii-san the judge of this."

Both turned to poor Daniel for some sort of verdict.

Said person blinked.

Two sets of puppy-dog eyes were sent his way.

He grimaced.

"How about both of you try to stop killing me with looking so cute?" he finally asked. The others burst out laughing. "Really, you two are going to be the death of me one day."

"Nah, I'm going to be the first to die among us," the girl said with a grin. The room instantly went quiet. She raised her brow. "What?"

"Believe it or not, what you said was just a tad bit too uncomfortable to hear." The sound of sarcasm dripping from Daniel's words made Arieanne grin. "And it doesn't help to know that you have a sadomasochistic personality."

Half the people who heard blinked. "Sadomaso-what?"

Karen, the owner of the house they were wreaking havoc in – err, using for their practice – looked at the only biological girl in the trio. "Ria?"

"Sadomasochism. The combination of sadistic and masochistic elements in one person, characterized by both aggressive and submissive periods in relationships with others." The others looked at her with varying expressions. Arieanne sighed. "When will you guys stop using me as a bloody dictionary?"

"How about a thesaurus then?"

"How about I chuck this friendly piece of solid glass right to your face? It's shaped like a shoe, too," she chirped. The speaker inched away for the door. "And anyone who leaves early without a valid reason has to – "

"Okay!"

Arieanne smirked, toying with the neckline of her second shirt, a crimson red shirt that had her name at the back like the rest of the people in that club. "Well, are you guys done with your lunch break yet?"

"How about your lunch break?" The girl looked sheepishly at her 'older brother'. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you dance without you having your share of daily nutritional value beforehand."

Edmund blinked, drawled out a, "Hahh?"

"He just said for me to eat or else he won't let me join the crew," Arieanne shrugged. She looked down when she felt someone pulling her shirt and saw Yachiru with gleaming eyes. Hungry eyes. The red-clad human made a beeline for the now-vacant table. "Actually, I think I'm going to have some food. That's if I want to keep my strength. And my sanity."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part," her 'older brother' said in a sing-song manner.

Arieanne sighed and sat down. Not only did she have to face the wrath of an enraged brother if she didn't start taking care of herself, she also had to feed twenty-six spirits. Great, as if producing spirit-particle-d food was that easy.

"Is there a problem, Laria-san?" Ukitake asked in concern when he saw the look of concentration plastered on the human's face.

She let out a long breath and the table was instantly covered with what was to be their lunch. Yachiru immediately attacked the plate in front of her. "Sorry if I'm not creative. I just gave you what they had for lunch. And please, call me by my first name."

Aizen picked up his plate in an almost dainty manner. Arieanne shuddered when she felt his eyes on her. "Thank you then, Laria-san. It must be exhausting to conjure and compress this much spiritual particles on the human plane."

"It is," the girl murmured. "Especially if you've only been doing this for the past how many hours."

Edmund bounded up to them and casually draped his arm over her shoulder. "Who're ya talkin' to?"

"You should be used to me talking to nobody," she muttered dryly.

"Crabby." The Senior stuck his tongue out. He looked at her and grinned, suddenly giving the poor girl the feeling of being watched by the likes of Aizen. Which, by the way, she was. "Then maybe you should be used to me doing this, too."

Rangiku covered Hitsugaya's eyes. Gin's grin widened. Aizen and a few others had a slightly raised brow. Others had amused looks. Renji's mouth was wide open. Yachiru nearly dropped her plate if it she didn't know that every morsel of food took a lot out of the person who provided them.

Who was being kissed senseless by the last person she had been talking to.

"How's that for your first kiss?" Edmund purred when he finally pulled back.

The scarred girl stared at him. "Oh. My. DANIEL!!!"

"Oh my Daniel?" someone snickered. "Nice one. Someone would really think you three have a thing going."

"Daniel!!" Arieanne was screaming – in a not-so-feminine way. "Edmund kissed me! He bloody kissed me!!!"

The upperclassman was on the scene the first time the girl screamed for him. (That so did not look appropriate…) He was frantic to get to her, but otherwise calm. "What is it, sister??"

"Your bloody boyfriend just bloody stole my first bloody kiss, that's what!"

"Well, you see…She was looking pretty out of it so I thought I'd do her a favor and drag her back to earth. So I…"

Nobody moved as Edmund explained the whole event. Nobody even tried to get in between the completely passive upperclassman and the murderous girl, with the exception of Daniel himself and a few chairs. Had it been somebody else standing between the two, they would have been ripped to shreds.

"Bloody fantastic. My crush, coincidentally my nii-san's boyfriend, just kissed me on the lips. My bloody first kiss. I could very bloody well die this instant," the girl said through gritted teeth. "What the bloody hell is wrong with me??"

"See? I just brought your beloved sister back," Edmund sang happily.

Daniel stared at them both. "Uhm, thank you?"

"You're not going to rip him to shreds, castrate him, and resurrect him only to torture him?" Arieanne asked through long lashes. "You're not mad at him for kissing me? You're not mad at me?"

The in-between raised his brow. "Should I be?"

Stares from all around the room, both from the living and the dead.

"For just kissing you, no. For taking away your innocence, maybe. Do you want me to?"

Edmund shook his head violently and shot the girl a pleading look.

"Uhh…" Arieanne was not as dumbstruck as the rest of them, but she was still speechless. It was the not-so-idle threat that got her talking again for the sake of the feminine upperclassman. She put on her best imitation of Kyouraku. "You're actually putting me and innocence in the same sentence?"

This time, Daniel was stunned as well. "Should I ask?"

"Not unless you want your sanity gone this early in your life."

--

Daniel looked at the two dancers up front with something akin to pride. The two grinned back. They continued dancing, with some of the people that came to watch…watching. Songs varying from Boom Boom Pow, Sugar, Insomnia, Pokerface, The Rockafeller Skank, Under the Influence and a lot of other things were randomly playing on the speakers.

And all the while, the shinigami were watching in amusement.

"You know for two people that always bicker over something or another, you make quite a bloody amazing pair on the stage," Karen commented. The resting dancers shared concurring nods and grins. "If all of us weren't well aware of Daniel and Edmund's relationship, we'd all think there was some…thing…going on between the three of you."

"Nanananannanananana nana nana….Translation: So you can suck my dick if you don't like my shit…'Cause I was high when I wrote this so suck my dick." Arieanne mouthed the lyrics of the song blaring over the speakers. She barely kept back a smirk from forming when she saw Rangiku covering an irate Hitsugaya's ears.

"Damn kid, I don't want to think of what your sister would do to you if she hears you saying that stuff," someone muttered, half in pity.

"Simple. She'd kill me. Well, try maiming me, anyway," the girl answered, not once losing to the effeminate dancer beside her. As their steps got more languid and full of waves, the tenth division lieutenant's hands moved over to cover her captain's eyes as well. Arieanne grinned. "That's what she did last time."

"Last time?" parroted the kisser beside her.

"Yep. Last time she made use of some of our grandfather's arrows. The bloody things were poisoned." She grimaced as she remembered. "Not that she succeeded in doing anything other than wreck a part of the lawn."

It was Karen's sadistic chuckle that finally made her break off from the steps and leap straight to Daniel's lap.

"So your sister took up archery, huh?" Edmund asked, quickly following. The girl nodded and continued sitting on the boy's lover's lap, effectively making the upperclassman twitch. "Oi, that's my property."

"Why don't you change already and head over to the venue of the contest already?" Daniel butted in before another war ensued between the two.

"Nii-chan's right, y'know. Get outta my sight and get ye'r nice ass into the outfits for today," Arieanne quipped with a trademark Ichimaru grin. "I'm following after a while."

Karen leaned over her own chair to peer at the girl. "Why? You're usually the first to change."

Arieanne grinned mischievously. The older teens arched their brows when the girl bounded out and headed straight for the middle of the wide street. As if on cue, the thin sheen of rain turned into a downpour of huge water pellets. The rest followed her example and began filing out of the shelter of the wide garage and into the rain.

"There's a competition in three hours and you guys are soaking wet," Karen remarked dryly. "There might very well be a hurricane, for all we know."

Arieanne's playful retort had everyone else that had stayed behind running out the rain. "And I don't bloody care~~~!"

"None of you are getting on the bus in that condition," was the last thing their sponsor muttered before joining them out in the downpour.

The twenty-six shinigami looked in amusement as the lot started doing their dance number under the rain. The teens were all smiles as they deliberately splashed each other using their natural movements.

"It's good to be young," Kyouraku smiled. Like the rest of the empowered souls, he had a thin layer of reiatsu cover his skin so that he would not get wet when the chains caused them to move into the rain. "A nice lot, this one."

"I believe Laria-san enjoys their company," Aizen agreed. "And it seems as though she acts differently with them compared to how she acted with her siblings."

"That's entirely understandable. And dancing under the rain certainly seems pleasurable to them," Unohana said. Imagine the other captains' shock when they found the medical head actually approved of the teenagers' outrageous behavior.

"This is irresponsible. And they said so themselves that they had something to do later," the tenth division captain was mumbling. "I think this group is just insane."

"We~ll, it's nice to act insane from time to time," his lieutenant grinned. "I want to join too."

"You will not be partaking in such…lunacy," the white-haired captain commanded stiffly. As he left Rangiku to huff, he had the misfortune of catching Arieanne tugging off the black band that kept her long black hair in its ponytail.

The strawberry blonde giggled when she saw the boy's jaw drop at about the same time a flurry of black locks were released.

Ichimaru grinned at Hitsugaya's reaction. He returned his gaze to the teen frolicking under the rain. He turned to his own lieutenant. "Whatcha think, Izuru? She looks a whole lo' better under the rain, wit' 'er hair like tha' and 'er clothes stickin' to 'er skin, don't she?"

The sadistic fox very much enjoyed the blonde's sputtering.

--

Arieanne relaxed into the backseat of the cab. The contest had gone well and, though they had not won, she was going home with a grin.

And a bunch of high-ranking shinigami to boot.

"So that's another hour and a half going back," Renji muttered in the backseat.

"Can't we just use shunpo?" Even Hitsugaya dreaded the monotonous trip back.

"We're lucky that I chanced on this big a taxi," the human hissed silently as not to attract the driver's attention. "I can easily imagine you guys sitting on the bloody roof."

Why was it that it was always her that shut him up?

"Breaking news! Local weather department has confirmed the low pressure area sighted earlier has turned into a hurricane. Currently having speeds of XXX kmph, it is moving across XXX."

"Kid, it looks like you might not make it home at this rate," the cab driver told her. "I don't fancy going into a hurricane."

"The place is far from here. There's a low percentage of the winds actually picking up in this area at this time." Kira saw the human's eyes flash before settling down into a blank stare. Her legs were crossed. "We're right beside a bloody mountain and I want to go home."

"Do you?" Mayuri quipped. "If this morning was any example, I'd say you'd rather stay away from the place."

The girl kept a blank expression. She risked a glance at the rear view mirror and saw that the driver had a resigned look. "Ne, Kuchiki."

The captain looked at her but gave no other indication that he heard her. Payback for that morning?

"Do the souls that go to Rukongai retain their memories?"

The sudden question made the Death Gods pause.

The winds picked up.

"That's it kid. Find a place to stay for the night. Just call ye'r parents and go home tomorrow." The cab driver parked the taxi and looked expectantly at the girl. "Sorry missie. I got a kid to feed."

Arieanne's lips twitched up. "I see. I'll be going then. Have a nice evening with your family."

"Same to you, kid. I hope you were right about what you said about the winds." With that, the cab sped off, leaving a rain-drenched (again) girl and twenty-six shinigami.

Arieanne watched the vehicle speed away and gave a small wave. She turned and started walking, her lips still curled up.

Bitterly.

Aizen was the only one that caught her whispering.

"Somehow, I doubt that would be the case."

--

The weather was being a total bitch.

That was what Bryce decided as she continued surfing the net. Save for the maid, she was the only one home, and that was the reason why their whole house was dark. She sighed, and worriedly looked over her phone. She had every reason to be. It was nearly midnight and no one was home yet. The girl sighed and stood to get some food from the kitchen –

Abruptly freezing and screaming when she saw the dripping wet figure beside her.

"You're so noisy," the figure hissed, taking a spot on the couch. "That's a really nice way of greeting a person who just got back from stressful competition…outside the house."

"Eh?" Bryce blinked stared at the dark figure.

"Try opening the light."

"No need, that tone was all I needed to know it was you Ria," the older sister muttered irritably, seeing the other black-clad figures. The figure chuckled. "So what happened to you? You look like you could use an umbrella."

"Could have, but did not," Arieanne agreed as she laid down on the couch. "I wonder why."

"Because you're such a lazy ass?" the older sneered, putting a bowl of steaming soup on the table beside her sister. She got a better look at what she was wearing. "Hey, how come your top looks like an oversized red shirt?"

"Because it is," was the dry reply. Bryce stuck her tongue out at her sister and went back to the computer, her back facing the rest of the souls. The two didn't say anything until a particularly loud clap of thunder roared. "Astraphobia?"

Bryce was huddled into a ball in front of the monitor. "Not funny."

"Not making fun of you." Bryce heard clanking chains and sound of slurped soup. There was silence in the room once more. "Hey Bryce."

The girl didn't even bother looking behind. "Yes?"

"How would being killed in a hurricane sound?"

"Too dramatic to actually happen in real life. Besides, nobody would go out in a hurricane without a proper reason. That's just being crazy," the older said, continuing to work on the keyboard.

"True," Arieanne snickered. "What about being mugged?"

"Pretty pathetic way to die, but it happens." Slurp, slurp. "Why are you asking me this stuff?"

"No particular reason." Clatter of spoons. "Say, what happens to people before they die?"

"You're in a freaky mode tonight, you know," Bryce commented but answered the question nonetheless. Their 'guests' were being quiet, she mused. "They say your life flashes in front of you before you die. And some lucky ones have their deepest wishes granted. Some impart great influence on others before they leave. Just because shinigami are chained to you means you're gonna go all psycho on me."

"Last question, then." Bryce heard Arieanne stand. "What does it mean when you have twenty-six Death Gods chained to you?"

The older sighed and turned to face her sister…

"Ria, what are you – "

…immediately freezing when she saw two Arieanne's in front of her.

Her spoon clattered to the ground. "Arieanne…?"

"Try opening the light," the girl said, repeating her earlier statement. Bryce followed dumbly. Light flooded the living room, illuminating the twenty-six shinigami and the two Arieanne's – one was lying down on the couch, the other standing. The one not seeming to take a nap gave her a smile worthy of Aizen's praise. "Well?"

Upon seeing her outfit, Bryce immediately frowned. "Why pair those amazing pants with an oversized red shirt?"

"You don't bloody care about anything other than dolling me up, do you?" the girl mused, receiving an indignant glare. The look on both girls' faces softened. "Bryce, you're bloody good-looking, did you know that?"

"Yes," the older answered softly. Her eyes were trailing on the chain connecting the two Arieanne's chests. She also looked at the grave-looking shinigami.

Then it clicked.

"You were here to get her!?" Bryce growled, glaring at the hakama-clad people. Nobody answered. "But you didn't say anything! I didn't know about this!"

"Nobody knew about it," Arieanne cut in. "I kind of figured it out, and with what happened today, I think I bloody well earned the right to say I'm correct."

She snapped at the younger. "This isn't the time to…!"

"How would being killed in a hurricane sound?"

"The hurricane didn't even pass this way," Bryce muttered, eyes wide with shock. "But it passed…"

"The venue," the once-human nodded. "But that wasn't why I asked."

"Then why?" she blinked.

"I just wanted to," Arieanne shrugged. She grinned when her older sister twitched. "Hey, at least I die at home."

That statement of hers brought back the topic, just as she had done with the bathrooms. Tears started gushing out of Bryce's gray orbs as reality hit her full force. The older girl collapsed back into the chair and began crying uncontrollably.

"But…That…It's not fair!" she sobbed. "You can't!"

"I've always been saying I'd go first," the soul quipped in the same dry manner she had been using for the duration of the conversation. "Looks like I'm right again. Bloody hell."

"I also said I'd be following you soon after, right?" Bryce asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you will, like all of them. But soon after won't be for another sixty years or so," the soul snapped. "And if I heard that you committed suicide, I'd come back here and bloody kill you myself. Got that?"

The statement got most of the original souls blinking.

"But the chain…" Bryce hiccuped. "It's still connected."

"The 'Chain of Fate'," she sighed. "Won't be for long. And if I actually don't want to lead Hollows here, I'm going to break the already-damaged link and go with them. Them being the shinigami here."

Bryce rushed to her and attempted to grab her, failed, and went to grab the one on the sofa instead. Before she got a chance to say anything, her arms encircled her sister's body in a protective hug. "I won't let you."

"You're in no bloody position to be saying that. And would you please bloody get off? It hurts to see my corpse being mutilated."

"It's not yet a corpse!!"

Arieanne sighed and pointed to the place Bryce was holding. "If you hadn't noticed, I put on the red shirt over the blue top you made me wear. With good bloody reason, if you pardon the pun."

Bryce froze, for the umpteenth time that day, and looked down. Blood had poured out from the place the soul had indicated and was pooling on the couch.

"I just wanted to leave my mark," the soul said with a grin.

Hitsugaya Toushiro could not believe how she was handling the situation.

"No!" the older screamed in defiance. "We still haven't built our house yet! We said we'd have the same house with divisions! We haven't had children yet! You can't!!"

"Be bloody quiet, woman," Arieanne snapped. When she saw her hysterical sister, all she could do was sigh. "Looks like I won't be able to do that, now will I?"

Bryce was crying.

Arieanne's body was bleeding.

And her chain was breaking.

"Stop that, will you? We both know I bloody can't handle crying people." Finally, the younger of the two patted her sister's head awkwardly. Bryce sniffled. "At least I'm one of the 'few lucky people' you were talking about."

Bryce looked at her behind swollen lids.

"I had bloody much fun at the comp. I had no major squabbles with anyone. Edmund bloody kissed me." Arieanne had to grin when her sister retched. She continued counting off. "I got a bloody compliment from Holier-Than-Thou. And…"

"And…?" Bryce automatically prompted.

"We were all able to be in the same room without maiming anyone," she grinned. The older one had to laugh through her tears. "So see? I'm one of the lucky few. And just for the record, I'm seeing my whole life before me right now."

Even the captains were intrigued.

Arieanne ruffled her sister's hair. "So let me continue seeing it until I completely go, okay?"

"Huh?" Bryce lifted her head and looked at the soul's face. "Your whole life?"

And then, for the first time in more than how many years, Bryce saw her sister smile sincerely.

"Go see in front of a mirror."

While her sister's grip was limp, Arieanne bent over her own body and took her chain. "Believe me when I say I don't want to see you soon."

With that, she pulled the link apart.

The chains connecting the twenty-six shinigami to the body broke simultaneously, removing the restricting metal from the souls' necks. Arieanne went over to join them and out of nowhere, two Japanese sliding doors materialized.

"I guess I was right after all," the soul mused. She turned to the dumbstruck shinigami with the same playful grin she wore while she practiced. "Shall we be off then?"

Bryce was rooted to the spot as she watched in horror. The souls filed into the portal by order of their squads, leaving her sister to enter last with Ukitake. The doors started sliding closed.

Almost as an afterthought, Arieanne peeked over the wood and waved at her sister. "Bye bye!~~"

--

crizarah: *falls flat on her face with a bang* How was it?? Too long?? Too short? (Are you crazy??) Too nonsensical? Tell me!

Yup, all these pages and no other major happenings here other than the girl's death o.O…Sorry if I hadn't portrayed the members of the Gotei Thirteen accurately; I've only watched random parts of Bleach…I don't even know what happens after "Turn Back the Pendulum Arc". TwT Feel free to correct me if you feel the need to ^-^v

Spanish and German translations I credit to the oh-so-wonderful internet, my siblings, and the authoress of "Blacks and Blues" (A Prince of Tennis fic), the wonderful KoOri no HouKou. The Japanese, I think I can safely say is all from my own vocabulary XD

Please review so that I'll know what you guys think of my first attempt at a Bleach fic.