The Abduction of Leda

Leda slid her fingers along the marble face of the statue of Byakuya. She would admit she had been spending an inordinate of time in the temple lately, but she could not help it. It had been several weeks since her visit from the handsome deity. Sitting down at the base of the statue, she closed her eyes and brought up the misty, dreamlike memory of him. Right after the incident, it had quickly become clear to her that it was no dream when she found blood and other fluid proof on her toga that she had been with a man. There had also been a telltale soreness deep within her as well. She felt the heat of shame rise to her cheeks with the knowledge that she was no longer a virgin. Soft footsteps caught her attention, but she ignored it assuming it was one of the priests scuttling to attend to a ceremony.

"Leda."

The word hung in the air as if it had taken on a physical form and hovered above her. Opening her eyes, Leda gazed at the butterfly fluttering in front of her. Her skin prickled when it landed on her hand. It was beautiful; completely black with shimmery iridescent wings. The lovely creature slowly flapped its wings but did not take flight.

"I'm coming to you." The disembodied voice reached her ears as if it were carried on the wind from far away.

Leda observed the butterfly as it took flight dissolving into a trail of sparkling dust that disappeared on its way to the floor. After a visit from the god of gods himself, nothing startled her anymore. She was completely enthralled yet not shaken.

"Leda." This time the voice had a body. Byakuya appeared from behind the wide stone column in front of her.

"I was hoping you would return," she said calmly, standing up as he walked to her.

Byakuya had anticipated his return to her as well. He had watched her from time to time, wanting so badly to rush to her side. The sadness and longing had been obvious from her faraway looks to her deep sighs. He had shared the sentiment. Pulling her into his arms, he buried his nose into her jasmine scented hair and inhaled deeply. She was the most remarkable human being. Kissing her was like drinking from the purest spring in the Heavenly Realm; sweet and refreshing to his very soul while tantalizingly delicious in his mouth.

Leda clung to him, grasping his silver robes to keep herself steady. His mere touch made her weak, destroying all of her senses. She had missed him so much. It bothered her to know she needed him. The only man she had ever needed and loved up to this time was her father and that was for definitely different reasons. And this was no man. She had no idea why he had chosen her to lavish his attention upon, but she was glad he did.

"Walk with me," he ordered rather than asked. It was habit. He was the Chief god after all and was accustomed to issuing orders all day long to everyone.

Leda overlooked it, especially when he put his arm around her shoulders and led her from the temple. Her eyes stared at the patterns the sun made on the ground as it filtered through the trees while they strolled in the cool shade. She smiled when she realized where they were going; he was leading her back to the stream where he made love to her. Was he going to do it again? Her entire body was flooded with the heat of arousal, and she had to bite her lower lip to stifle the moan that tried to escape when she recalled how he felt inside of her.

"Leda," Byakuya murmured, halting his steps and turning her gently with his hands on her shoulders. "Are you mine?"

"Yes," she answered, closing her eyes and preparing for his kiss. It felt as if lightning shot through her body and sizzled across every nerve when his lips touched hers. She slumped against him, moaning plaintively when he moved his lips across hers and held her tightly to his body.

"Do you want me?" he asked, pulling the belt that tied her indigo blue toga.

"Yes," she replied breathlessly, tangling her fingers into his smooth black hair.

Byakuya pushed the silky fabric from her shoulders and she stood before him naked. He removed his own clothing before he lay her down in the soft grass to take her.

"Oh, my god," she gasped, enclosing his waist with her legs after he lowered himself into her.

Yes. Yes, he is.

Afterward, Byakuya held her. His hands roamed over her luscious skin that felt like the silk of her toga under his fingertips. He pressed kisses to every inch of her face and neck. Something was happening to him. He was feeling something; a stirring of the emotions instead of just a stirring in his loins. Looking down at her, he saw she was enchanted with the necklace he wore.

Leda held the pendant in her hand to study it carefully. It was an eagle with outstretched wings holding bolts of lightning in its claws.

"It was forged by Koga* from the purest gold in the Heavenly Realm," he explained, smiling at her childlike wonder as she considered the object. Pulling the object over his head by using the long chain, he took it off. He cradled her head in his hand and lifted it up to slid the chain around her neck. "It's yours. My token of affection to you. You will always have a reminder of me."

As if she needed one. Leda could never forget him.

The visitations continued and became more frequent. Byakuya made a terrible mistake. A critical error in judgment that had always brought doom and dishonor upon any god who dared to make it: he fell in love with her.

"Leda, are you mine?" he inquired as they lay by the stream after he had made love to her.

"Well, yes," she responded, feeling a little confused. Why was he asking again? He knows the answer because she had already made her intentions toward him quite clear.

"Come home with me. Be my wife," he declared, barely keeping the commanding tone from his voice.

"Wh-what?" she stammered, searching his stormy gray eyes with her panicked silver gray eyes. Their eyes, that were two opposite shades of gray storm clouds, locked and seemed to engage in a silent battle of wills.

"But I want you. I love you," he announced as if that was supposed to turn her into a grateful, weak-kneed woman who would be beside herself with joy that he had made the great sacrifice of giving her his heart.

Leda could not be happier that he loved her. But she could not be more sorrowful that he expected her to abandon her life and everyone in it to be with him.

"I can't," she said, standing up with her toga in her hand. "I won't. I will not leave the people who need me."

"But I need you," he pled with her, grabbing her by the arms.

"You're a god. No. The god. You don't need anyone," she told him, attempting to loose herself from his grip.

"Don't, Leda. Don't leave me," he begged, pulling her against his still naked body.

"Then let me go," she whispered, a tear snaking its way down her cheek.

"I can't," he murmured, holding her. "I won't."

Leda was infuriated that he had used her own words against her. She would be even more enraged when she woke up.

Byakuya carefully lay her down on his bed covered with the softest furs in existence. Even gods liked to indulge in earthly luxuries besides sex. He had brought her home.

"Renji! Renji!" he bellowed furiously. Where was that rebellious and loathsome demigod? He had a very important new assignment for him. Renji would be guarding Leda.

Leda woke up with an overwhelming feeling of nausea. Her head hurt and her stomach ached. What had happened to her? Opening her eyes, she was too frightened to scream when she looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a dark room with stone walls. There was a fireplace in the room but it was unlit. She was lying on a big round bed covered with animal furs. There was a table and chairs and a…sleeping man sitting in one of the chairs. This time she did scream.

Renji released a yell of surprise as he kicked out, sending his chair toppling backwards. He yelled again in pain when he was unceremoniously slammed to floor by gravity. Anger filled him as he hauled himself up to a standing position.

Leda stared at the man who had the most astounding red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail and splayed behind his head in big spikes. In the dim light she could not discern the color of his eyes but they were narrow and angry at this moment. He was dressed like a soldier. She got up to run but was callously jerked to the floor. Pain bit into her ankle and there was something hard and heavy around it. Looking down, she saw a thick iron shackle enclosed her ankle. Her eyes followed the chain that led to hands of the redheaded man with the angry eyes. He now wore a wicked grin of sadistic amusement on his thin lips.

"Where am I?" Leda yelled.

"You are in the bedchamber of the god of gods. You should feel privileged woman," he said disdainfully, spitting out the last word as if it tasted bad in his mouth. "You are the first mortal he has ever brought here."

"Lucky me," she muttered sarcastically.

Renji laughed. Loudly and raucously. He enjoyed a laugh so long and hard it made his belly hurt. She might not be so bad after all. She glared at him with astonishment and anger.

"You don't want to be here?" he asked, walking toward her to assist her to her feet.

Leda slapped his hands away, choosing to use her own strength to stand up. She grabbed the chain and pulled, but he held fast not budging from his wide legged stance.

"No! No, I don't want to be here!" she shrieked back as her ire boiled over. She wanted to be at her home on earth. Who would take care of the people? Who would help them with food, medicine, a place to sleep? They needed her. And she needed them. Father. Her father would go absolutely mad with grief. She was all he had left after her mother's death more than ten years ago. Dropping to her knees, she gave in to the tears.

Renji watched with great interest as the woman wept noisily and bitterly. She sincerely did not want to be here. He looked down at the heavy chain in his hand. How could he dare to think she had been here by her own choosing?

"Get up woman," he ordered as gently as he could. It just was not within his nature to be kind, especially to humans, although he was half human. It was quite possible that it was his half human side that made him hate mortals so much. It had caused him to be shunned and ridiculed on earth except by his own tribesmen. It prevented him from being a full deity and gaining acceptance in the Heavenly Realm. He hated it. He hated himself.

Leda stared at the man who suddenly looked overwhelmingly sad and emotionally wounded. She could tell he was deep in thought. Getting up from her knees, she strode toward him but he was still firmly entrenched in whatever he was thinking about. She raised her trembling hand to reach toward his face. A piercing but brief cry escaped her lips when he unexpectedly seized her wrist and shoved her hand away.

"Don't touch me," he growled, his eyes meeting hers. "Don't ever touch me."

Brown. His eyes were a deep shade of brown and shockingly full of hatred and wrath. Why? What had she done to him to make him so angry? Leda opened her mouth to speak but the latch on the door clanked and disengaged. She stared at the small woman with short black hair and huge purple eyes that walked in. The woman had a bow hung over her shoulder and the fletching of the arrows was visible above her head from the quiver that was slung over her back. She was wearing knee length chiton of dark green material.

"Take that off of her right now!" the small woman ordered in a big booming voice. She was pointing at the metal shackle, her black eyebrows drawn together over furious purple eyes.

"No. I only take orders from my master, your brother," he reminded her with a cocky attitude.

"Get out, Renji," she ordered authoritatively.

"You get out, Rukia! I don't take orders from you!" he yelled back in a surprisingly childish manner that almost made Leda laugh.

"I'm taking control of the prisoner right now. She needs something to eat," she told him, moving toward him to snatch the chain from his hands.

"No way, you sawed off mini-goddess," he snapped, holding the chain above her head out of her reach.

Rukia glowered at him furiously, spinning on her heel like she was going to leave.

Leda resisted the urge to call after her. She was comforted by this female's presence. She wanted her here. Glancing toward the bed laid with animal furs, she would dare to guess that Rukia was the one responsible for killing all those animals that now served to warm her brother. She was glad when the goddess turned back around.

Rukia seized her bow and positioned her arrow. Raising the bow and aiming the arrow at Renji's body beneath his waist, she pulled back the string.

"Get out," she ordered again.

Renji immediately dropped the chain, covering the sensitive area she was aiming at with his hands. He skirted around Rukia, keeping a wide berth between himself and the tip of her arrow. Backing toward the door, he paused before leaving.

"If anything happens to her, I'll get you for it," he threatened the spunky goddess.

"Yeah, sure. Out!" she exclaimed, releasing the arrow. It embedded itself in the thick wooden door that he swiftly slammed shut behind him.

Leda stood quietly observing the woman who knelt beside her and broke the metal shackle with her bare hands. She took the woman's, well the goddess's, outstretched hand.

"Forgive my brother. He's a bit selfish and thoughtless. He does not mean to be," Rukia said, leading her from the room. "Please forgive him."

Forgive him? How could she forgive him?

*Koga Kuchiki is the Bleach equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestus the god of fire, metalworking, stonemasonry, sculpture and volcanism. I picked him for this solely based on his horrible appearance because Hephaestus is supposed to be crippled and disfigured.

Rukia – Artemis: goddess of the hunt and animals

I forgot to add it before but here is a list of the Bleach characters that have been introduced so far and their Greek god equivalents: Byakuya – Zeus, Shunsui – Dionysus, Rangiku – Demeter, and Kenpachi – Ares