Hello, my readers. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's another one for you. I had trouble uploading this, so I'm going to try again and hope this works.

Disclaimer: All I really own is Kurenai. 'Beauty and the Beast' belongs to Disney and Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.


A myriad of stars twinkled in the dark backdrop of the night sky. The atmosphere was so peaceful and benevolent that Kurenai hoped it wouldn't end. Kazeshini allowed her to sit down to rest her feet. He set himself down, making sure he was a little ways away from her so as to not pressure her. The two smiled at each other. Kazeshini knew this was his chance and he moved himself closer to her, slowly.

"Kurenai," he began slowly and gently, gaining her attention, "a-are you happy here with me?" he asked, taking her hands in his own. Kurenai looked at him before smiling.

"Yeah, I am." she said. Kazeshini felt his heart could float; this angel was happy to be with him.

'I told you so, your Highness.' the demon said. He disregarded it in preparation to tell Kurenai, but when he looked at her, she was looking off in another direction. She seemed kind of sad. What had happened? She was smiling just a moment ago. Why had she become so sad all of a sudden?

"What is it?" he asked. She turned back to him. She looked like she was about to lie, but she sighed.

"I just wish I could see Renji again, just for a moment. I miss him so much." she said sadly.

'Why is she worrying about him so much?' the demon asked.

'She did say that he was her only family. It's only right that she worries.'

'Well make her stop.' it replied.

'I can't ask that of her. It wouldn't be fair.' He searched his head for an idea, something that would make her smile again, and then he came up with the perfect idea.

"If it means that much to you, there is a way." he said. Getting to his feet, he pulled her with him. The two returned to his room. With extreme care, he handed her his magic mirror. "This mirror will show you anything, anything you wish to see." he informed her. She looked at him and then peered into the mirror.

"I would like to see my brother, please." she said. A bright green light ensued; she turned away as to avoid being blinded. When she looked again, instead of her own reflection, she saw Renji in a desolate area of the woods. Wind was blowing by him as he tried to hobble along. He fell and Kenpachi tried to get him to his feet, but Renji could only cough harshly in response. "Renji," she cried. She knew that he would not be strong enough to pick himself up. "Oh no," she said under her breath. Kazeshini looked at her with concern. "He's sick… he could be… dying, and he's out there all alone. Kenpachi won't know what to do with him! How… Why?"

Kazeshini turned away from her and looked at his rose. He knew by the few petals that still hung that she would not have enough time to help him break his spell and care for her brother. It was then that he knew what he had to do. It would hurt him; it would hurt him so much, but he knew that it had to be done, for her. He closed his eyes. "Then… you must go to him." He bit back the pain those words caused in his heart; that would be his burden alone to bear.

"What did you say?" Kurenai whispered.

"I'm not making you a prisoner here any longer." he replied.

"You mean… I'm free?" she asked.

"Yes." he said sadly.

"Oh thank you." she said gratefully. She looked at the mirror and saw Renji once more. "Hold on Renji, I'm coming." As she was about to walk out the door, she realized that she still held his mirror, but when she tried to return it to him, he pushed it back to her with a shake of his head.

"Take it with you," he said gently, "so that you'll always have a way to look back… and remember me." As a motion of adoration he ran his fingers through her long hair, taking in the feel of it so that he could remember it for the rest of his days. He took in the beautiful hazel color of her eyes and the image of her face. She looked down at the mirror and then back up at him, smiling a grateful smile. He would certainly remember her smile and the gentleness of her voice when she spoke next.

"Thank you for understanding how much my brother needs me." As she turned to leave, she held his cheek with one gentle hand. He relished in it, but it was done within seconds as he watched her leave.

'What the HELL was that?' the demon asked. At the same time, Toshiro had passed by Kurenai with a grin on his face.

"I knew you had it in you." he said smugly.

"… I let her go." he answered, tending to both his inner demon's outrage and Toshiro's comment.

"Yes, well… what?" Toshiro responded unbelievingly. "H-how could you DO that?"

'My sentiments exactly!' the demon hollered.

"I had to." he answered sadly. His eyes didn't leave the rose.

"Yes, I know that, but… why?" Toshiro asked.

"Because… I love her." When he wouldn't say anymore, Toshiro took off down the hall.

'I don't get it. If you love her so much, why did you let her go?'

'Somewhere beyond the depths of my sadness, I remember someone telling me 'if you love someone, let them go.' I never understood what that meant until now. Kurenai's brother needs her, and I won't let her be saddened by the idea of not being there for him.'


"He did WHAT?" the staff that had gathered asked. Toshiro hung his head.

"I'm afraid it's true." he said disappointedly.

"She's going away?" Hanataro asked.

"But he was so close." Shunsui protested. Miss Unohana shook her head.

"After all this time, he's finally learned what it means to love." she said sadly.

"So why aren't we human again?" Shunsui asked. "I mean, shouldn't that have been able to break the spell?" Miss Unohana shook her head.

"It's not enough." she said. "She has to love him in return." In their sadness and despair, no one noticed Hanataro hop off to the door, which was exactly what the little teacup was hoping for. If no one else was interested in why Kurenai was leaving, then Hanataro would find out for himself. Maybe he could even convince her to come back. Maybe then everything would be okay; maybe then the grown-ups wouldn't be se sad.

"Now it's too late." Toshiro said in desolation. The servants who gathered all bowed their heads.


Kazeshini watched her leave and then sent out a loud roar in order to frighten away any Hollows in the area. Watching her leave like that broke his heart.

'You still have time to go after her.' the demon insisted. He shook his head in the cool night air. 'Are you seriously going to be a coward and remain here?'

'It's her life.' he argued. 'I won't interfere in it any longer.'

'But-'

'No, Kazeshini!' he replied in his head. 'I'm not going to force her to love me. You may not know it, but love does not work with force. I have to let her go… even if it makes me like this forever.'


Kurenai had been searching for what felt like hours, calling out for Renji as she rode along. All was quiet and calm tonight, which she feared. Suddenly she heard barking in the distance. She rushed to it and found Kenpachi huddled over Renji, who lay on the ground, unconscious. Kenpachi ran to her, but she dismounted the horse and ran to Renji. It was a bit of a struggle to get him on the horse and quite a long journey, but she did so without incident and without complaint. She failed to notice the small snowman right outside their door, one that was actually shaking from the cold.

As soon as the siblings were both in the house, Rin, who had almost turned blue from the cold, emerged from the snow. "They're back." he said, and he rushed off to find Omaeda.


Renji felt himself awaken in a warm place, with something damp and warm pressed to his forehead. A glimmer of scarlet caught his eyes and he forced his eyelids open. He didn't believe this reality as he found himself looking into the eyes of his younger sister once more. They were back in their house in the village.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" he asked. Kurenai smiled and shook her head with a light chuckle.

"No Renji, it really is me. I'm home, nii-san." she said, once more pressing her washcloth to his face. She was stopped as he sat upright and pulled her tightly to his chest.

"I thought I'd never see you again." he breathed.

"I'm glad to see you, too, you big idiot." she said happily, holding her brother close to her. He pushed away, holding her at arm's length. She looked well, no body parts missing or anything like that.

"How did you escape the demon?" he asked, his tone turning serious.

"I didn't escape, Renji. He let me go." she said. A light line of red bloomed on her cheeks as she thought again about Kazeshini.

"That horrible demon?" he asked.

"He's not so horrible anymore, Renji. In fact," she looked down, "I think he's changed, for the better." She was about to say more when her bag toppled over. Out of it fell the mirror and a very dizzy Hanataro. When he came to, he smiled at them.

"Hi." he said, hopping up to Renji's chest.

"Oh," Kurenai said with a giggle, "a stowaway."

"Hey," Renji said, looking at the little teacup, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again, little guy." Hanataro smiled at him and then turned to Kurenai.

"Miss Kurenai, why'd you go away?" he asked. "Did you not like us anymore?"

Kurenai smiled at the teacup; at least now she would have a reason- if Renji would let her- to return to the castle. Kami knew that Miss Unohana would be incredibly worried about Hanataro, and part of her desperately wanted to see Kazeshini again. "Oh Hanataro, of course I do, but you see, I had to…" She was stopped when she heard knocking at the door. She wasn't expecting visitors at this hour, but she excused herself and went downstairs. Her puzzled look drifted from her face at the look of her visitor, but still, she knew she had to be somewhat polite.

"May I help you?" she asked gently.

"I've come to collect your brother." the visitor said.

Kurenai's brow furrowed in confusion. "My brother?" she asked incredulously.

"Don't worry, miss. We'll take good care of him."

Her eyes drifted from his dramatically painted face to the cart behind him that had 'Asylum for Loons' painted across the side. Kurenai glared at the asylum owner. "My brother is not crazy!" she protested.

"He was raving like a lunatic." Rin argued. "We all heard him." Several members of the crowd angrily cheered in agreement. Two men jumped from the carriage and pushed their way through the crowd to the house.

"No!" Kurenai protested. "I won't let you!" Unfortunately, she had been taking long at the door and piqued Renji's curiosity. When she moved away from the door, Renji peeked out.

"Kurenai?" he asked.

"Renji," Rin said as soon as he spotted the older Abarai sibling. "Tell us, just how big was this demon?"

"He… well, he was huge! Enormous, even. Maybe eight- no, ten feet high!" The crowd started laughing, much to his chagrin. Kurenai looked at Renji in dismay.

"Well, you don't get much crazier than that." Rin said, circling a finger around his temple. The entire crowd laughed with him. Renji stepped closer to them in his urgency, despite Kurenai's protests.

"I'm telling you, it's true." he said. Unfortunately, he didn't get to say more, as, much to the crowd's pleasure, Renji was grabbed by his arms. The two large men then started to lead him to the cart. "Let go of me!" he cried.

"No!" Kurenai cried, flying down the steps. She grabbed onto Kurotsuchi's arm. "You can't do this." she urged. Kurotsuchi scowled at her and pulled his arm away from her grasp.

"Poor Kurenai," Omaeda said, casually walking up and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Sorry to hear about your brother."

"You know he's not crazy, Omaeda." she suggested in desperation. He deliberated, pausing for effect.

"I might be able to clear up this misunderstanding… if," he began. Kurenai raised a brow at him.

"'If' what?" she asked, afraid to know what 'if' meant. At this point though, she would try anything to get Renji out of his predicament…

"If you marry me." he suggested.

Anything but that. Suddenly it hit her.

"That's what this is all about?" she asked. She nearly retched as Omaeda pulled her closer.

"One little word, Kurenai, is all it would take." he replied.

"Well here's my answer: Never!" she proclaimed, pushing him away.

"Have it your way." he said, moving away from her.

"Kurenai," Renji called. Kurotsuchi's men had nearly pulled him and were about to shove him into the wagon. "Let go of me!" he shouted. Kurenai then knew what she had to do. Turning back into the house she raced for the one object she believed would help her. Just as Kurotsuchi's men were about to throw Renji in, Kurenai came back out, holding Kazeshini's magic mirror.

"My brother's not crazy, and I can prove it!" she cried. She looked to the mirror. "Show me Kazeshini." As the mirror began to glow, she turned it to the crowd. The mirror showed Kazeshini roaring and crying out in his heartache. Most of the crowd was horrified at the sight of this thing. Even Omaeda showed a little fear at the sight of this thing.

"Is it dangerous?" one woman asked.

"Oh no," Kurenai said as she descended the stairs. "He may look a little scary, but he'd never really hurt anyone. Believe me, he's really kind and gentle." she looked affectionately at the mirror, remembering all the good times she had with him. "He's my friend." Omaeda sneered at the girl and the creature in the mirror in jealousy. Putting a hand on her shoulder he turned her around.

"If I didn't know any better, Kurenai, I'd say you had feelings for this monster." he snarled.

"He's not a monster, Omaeda," she said, pulling away from him, "but you sure as hell are!" Omaeda grit his teeth at her and then looked to the crowd. He refused to be humiliated a second time by this girl. He grabbed her by the wrist. "She's as crazy as her brother!" he exclaimed. He snatched the mirror from her hand and then looked to the small children of the crowd. "This demon will make off with your children." he said. The children clung to their mothers in terror. "He'll come after them in the night!" he suggested.

"No!" Kurenai cried.

"We're not safe until his cold, cruel heart stops beating! I say down with the demon!" There was a loud roar from the crowd with agreement. Several gathered, talking about it.

"He'll stalk this village at night." a man said.

"How can we sacrifice our children?" a woman asked tearfully.

"We can't put the village at risk by letting him live!" another man said.

"It's time to take action, boys! Who's with me?" A large portion of the crowd cheered with him. "We're going to get this demon, and we're not coming home until he's dead! Down with the demon!"

"No! I won't let you do this!" Kurenai cried, attempting to grab at the mirror. Omaeda, finally having had enough of her, took her by the forearm.

"If you're not with us, you're against us!" he said. "Lock her in the basement with the kook! The mutt, too! We can't have them going off to warn the creature." Kurenai tried to struggle as he picked her up. Kenpachi growled at the villagers as they herded him into the cellar with pitchforks. He was followed by Renji and then Kurenai was tossed in. No sooner did she regain her footing then she was trying at the doors.

"Omaeda, let us out!" she cried. Unfortunately for her, he was standing on the doors.

Hanataro peeked through the windows and saw the mob gather. He watched the big fat guy gather the villagers and then they left. As soon as he thought it was safe, he scuttled down the stairs.

"I have to warn Kazeshini!" Kurenai said, trying to pry the doors open. After a few tries, she gave up and collapsed to her knees. "This is all my fault! Renji what will I do?" she asked tearfully.

"Hey," Renji said gently, holding her close. "We'll think of something." In fact, he was already looking around, trying to find something that would help them out. In the window he saw Hanataro's silhouette. When he looked closer, though, he saw the answer to their problems. Letting go of Kurenai, who watched with curiosity, he rushed over to the window. "Kid, hey kid!" he called through the window. Hanataro had been watching the exchange through the small window and had silently been wondering to himself what to do. He was just a mere teacup, and not a very brave one for that matter. When Renji called for him, he was startled, but turned back to look at the window.

"Y-yeah, mister?" he asked meekly.

"I need you to do something for me…"


"I should've known better than to get my hopes up." Toshiro said angrily. After a while, the servants' grief had turned into anger at Kurenai for leaving their poor master- and them in heartache. He hadn't left his room since she left, and the servants surmised that he probably never would.

"It would've been better if she had never come at all." Shunsui said, crossing his arms in his disappointment. The footstool, having heard something, ran over to the windows and began barking.

"Is it her?" Miss Unohana asked hopefully. Hanataro had disappeared around the time Kurenai had left and Miss Unohana had gotten frantic with worry. In her heart, she hoped that Kurenai had returned with him in tow, although she would have quite a few stern words to say to the teacup if that was the case.

Shunsui's eyes widened the moment he looked out the window. "Invaders!" he cried out. This drew the others' attention, and they rushed to the window in haste.

"And they have the mirror." Miss Unohana gasped. At this, Toshiro's gaze hardened. He looked over to Retsu.

"Warn the master." he said. She nodded and took off. "If it's a fight they want, then we'll give it to them! Are you with me?" He turned and became quickly annoyed that not only had they taken off, but they had also left him in the dark- again.


"Take whatever loot you can find!" Omaeda shouted at Rin. "Just so long as it's clear that this demon is mine!" With that, the men began attacking the doors with a giant battering ram made from a tree that the villagers had chopped down. The loud slams echoed throughout the castle. The servants had gathered thanks to the efforts of Shunsui and Toshiro and had piled themselves against the door. Every blow from the massive battering ram rattled them.


"Pardon me, Master," Miss Unohana called into the shadows of her Master's room.

"Leave me in peace, Unohana." the sad voice answered back. Kazeshini stood at the table, watching as another petal fell from the rose. Even he, however, couldn't ignore the mob's cries of 'kill the demon' and the loud knocking against the door.

"But sir," Miss Unohana protested, looking back down the hallway, "the castle is under attack!"


Outside, the villagers were growing frantic with trying to get in, and the servants were growing frantic trying to protect their home, but it was getting harder and harder. The blows began to shake the castle.

"Not working the way I had planned." Shunsui said, pushing with all the might a candelabra might have in support of his comrades.

"Any more bright ideas, Kyoraku?" Toshiro asked edgily.

Shunsui was quiet in deliberation. If he had more time, he could have probably come up with something, but with these crazy people so frantic to get in, coming up with something was almost impossible.

"Come on, Shunsui, think!" he heard the feather-duster Nanao urge. Now to normal people, this would be a distraction, but for Shunsui, who had been in love with Nanao for quite some time, it was encouragement. Suddenly, he smiled.

"I have an idea." he said proudly. He looked to Toshiro, who had also stopped pushing against their comrades to look at him. "I'm gonna need your help on this one. Are you with me?" he asked. Toshiro looked at him questioningly, but then with a hard glare nodded.


"What shall we do, Master?" Miss Unohana said, although her tone more or less asked 'What do you want to do?' Kazeshini didn't look back at her. He didn't need to; his decision had already been made the moment she was gone.

"It doesn't matter now." he said lowly. He raised his head and looked out the window to the dark and stormy sky. "I can't prevent the inevitable; just let them come."

'You're ready to die, Shuuhei? Just like that?' the demon asked in pure outrage.

'… That has to be the first time you've called me by that name in over ten years.' he remarked with a morose chuckle. Even on the outside, he slightly smiled, welcoming death at his door. 'Regardless, Kazeshini, I see no point in living without her…' he thought back.


Omaeda had grown impatient and finally decided to help with the battering ram. With his surprising amount of strength, the battering ram managed at last to break through the doors of the castle. The villagers gave a loud cheer before it was stopped by their confusion. The grand hall was lined with furniture and various household objects.

"Spread out!" Omaeda barked. "If the servants are hiding behind the furniture, then take them prisoner!" The company of villagers nodded and did as they were told. Rin had no idea that when he picked up the gold candelabra that it would shout 'now' at the top of its lungs like that. Much to the villagers' surprise, the room lit up and the furniture ambushed them. The coat rack managed to hit a man multiple times in the face before he went down; another man was attacked by a set of mops. One of Omaeda's cronies was double teamed by a twin set of drawers, who rendered his axe useless by socking their top drawers simultaneously to his face. One man was even eaten by a large trunk, which let out a large belch after swallowing the man. Omaeda seemed to have luck on his side as he dodged the enchanted objects and headed up the stairs unnoticed.


Hanataro knew he had to be careful with this strange device of Renji's. One false step and he would be shattered. With Renji's helpful advice, though, he had been able to get it upright in the wagon without incident. Now came the hard part. Using resources at hand, he turned it to the doors of the cellar.

"Good," Renji said as he watched from the window, "now if that kid can just aim at the lock, the laser should do away with it no problem. We'll be outta here in minutes!"

The teacup leapt for the laser, latching onto it with his teeth. With all of his might, he pulled downward. It took a second for the laser to get fired up, but Hanataro didn't know that.

'Hm,' he thought to himself, 'now that I think about it, it is kinda hard for a laser to collect light at nighttime. Maybe if I pull it down to the next setting, it'll start working.' So the little teacup did just that.

"No!" Renji cried from the window, pressing his hands against the glass.

"What is it?" Kurenai asked.

"The kid pulled the lever down to the next level. It's not meant to go to the next level!"

"What will happen if it does?" Kurenai asked.

"Truth be told…" Renji said, scratching the back of his head with a blush, "I dunno. I never really tested all of the levels."

"You idiot!" Kurenai cried out. The blow she gave him ended up giving him a rather nice-sized lump on the head.

"Ow!" he shouted. He had no time to argue, though, for Kenpachi had started barking. "Get down!" he shouted. All at once, a giant laser attacked the cellar doors, reducing them to nothing but splinters. Just as soon as it had appeared, it died out. The siblings were still for a moment before leaving the cellar. Hanataro looked at the strange machine.

"It just died out, I swear." Hanataro said.

"Darn this stupid piece of junk…" Renji murmured, hitting it. Kurenai rushed for Mercury and climbed on.

"Come on!" she said. "We don't have any time to lose." Renji nodded and let Hanataro jump into his hand. Soon, they were following Kenpachi, who was following the scent of the villagers. She looked to the sky with hope. 'Please,' she prayed silently, 'please don't let me be too late.'


Back at the castle, the great hall filled with men's shouts as the servants fought back with a vengeance. Tomatoes were launched at men's faces, and then from above, Miss Unohana and her legion of teacups dumped hot water and tea onto the men. From the balcony, Rangiku watched with a smile, waiting for one poor sucker to get right in position. When she got her wish, she jumped over the edge and landed on one of the men.

"My hero." she said with a wry smile, picking herself up off of the large crack in the floor.


Omaeda grew impatient as he opened another door to find the room he had entered empty- seriously, how many rooms were there in this place? This demon was either really clever or really cowardly. He looked on and saw another room. He walked on, chained mace in hand.


Rangiku had gotten in a bit of a tussle with one of Omaeda's men as he swung his axe at her. Smiling, she let two little hair combs fly out of her doors and drag him inside her. He struggled within that space, but she held as still as possible. Finally, she let him out and the man was completely horrified to find himself dressed as a woman, to which the wardrobe laughed heartily.

Shunsui, unfortunately, had found himself cornered by Rin, who held a burning torch to the poor candelabra's waxy face. "L-Let's be reasonable about this, now." he said uneasily. Already, he could feel the wax that made up his head melting away down his face. Toshiro, who had happened upon this scene, smiled at the chance to save Shunsui. With a pair of scissors in hand, he slid down the staircase with the blades before him. Rin screamed at the sharp points jabbing him in the behind and relented with his efforts to melt Shunsui. The candelabra, however, had no time to be grateful as he noticed that Nanao was being chased by another of Omaeda's goons. She would have very nearly gotten away had she not tripped. The man harshly picked her up and was about to rip out all of her feathers when Shunsui rushed in and, using a little bit of pressure, caused the flame of his head to roast the man's behind. The man promptly dropped Nanao in defense of his behind. She blushed as Shunsui offered a hand to help her to her feet.

The poor footstool, who had made off with one of Rin's shoes, was chased into the kitchen had barely been missed my knives and a cleaver. The men entered the kitchen to find the little 'dog' cornered amongst the cabinets; regardless of whether or not it was cornered, the dog stood its ground, growling at the intruders. The men laughed at the brave attempt.

"Come barging into my kitchen, eh?" came a voice from nowhere. "Well maybe this'll show you!" Suddenly a drawer full of knives opened; the blades gleamed eerily in the light. The stove lit up, revealing a terrifying face lit up by the flames. The men, terrified out of their minds, raced out of the kitchen, leaving Tessai to smirk at them.

Finally, the villagers who could get away had had enough and ran away from this 'haunted' place. Those who couldn't run crawled, much to the amusement of the servants. Many of them cheered at the victory. Toshiro watched the cowards leave.

"And stay out!" he called. Suddenly, he was clapped on the back and very nearly knocked over by a laughing Shunsui. He got up and glared at the candelabra.

"And here I thought you were boring, Toshiro." he said. Toshiro's glare only deepened, much to Shunsui's amusement.


There you go, my readers, One more chapter to go, so hang in there. I'll update soon, promise. Until then, I bid you adieu.