So, here it is. The real update to this fic and not some quickly written omake about Bezanthume's past. This took way too long to write, but it's kinda long as well, so... I dunno...

Well, read & review, I guess.

Chapter Seventeen

You are mine

The girl was clearly not using shunpo, nor should he be slow enough to be beaten by some random noble, so why the hell had he been unable to catch her. He had run after her and had come close to catching the sword from the girl several times, but she had been able to get away using her cat-like agility and reflexes. It was weird because she never used any kind of spiritual power that he knew of, but she still was faster and didn't even seem to breaking a sweat while outmanoeuvring a captain.

"Well, don't you think highly of yourself, Blondie." She said as she twirled around in the air, swinging his sword around with either ignorant confidence, or surprising experience. He jumped forwards and was sure that he would be able to catch her, but she once again surprised him and struck his sword in the wall she was passing and brought herself to a sudden halt while he flew past her and had to stop himself in mid-air.

"Hey, that's cheating! Stop it, or I won't play with you anymore!" she shouted at him while she dangled on the wall from his sword. She really did think of this as a game. She swung her feet back and then hoisted her body above the sword and that caused it to dislodge itself from the wall and she landed on the ground like a cat with the sword in hand. What the hell was she? An eccentric noble, or something he wasn't aware of, an outsider probing Soul Society for weaknesses maybe? Why would the send someone like her, whoever they were? Was it because they thought he would drop his guard around someone like her. He was a captain, he was able to kill people with a thought and a few words, but he still was an adolescent boy in the threshold of puberty, so a girl who was as stun –

He was suddenly slapped in the face incredibly hard.

"Fuck, do you ever stop over thinking things, Blondie? Why don't you man up and live a little?" The girl shouted to him as she jumped away from him. The slap she had given him had caused him to see stars and feel unbalanced, but what he was more concerned about was how she had been able to close the distance between them without him reacting to it. He had been in deep thought, but even with that there should not have been any way someone could have landed such a surprise attack on him.

Unless they had some way of removing any trace of their presence, like this girl. He had not paid any attention to it before, but he could not feel anything coming from the girl. He had thought that it was just because she was weak, but he really couldn't sense even a hint of a presence from her. That meant it was more plausible that she was very skilled at hiding a considerable amount of power, than that she was good at hiding little of it.

He snapped out of his thoughts in time to see the second slap coming and dodge it by swaying back. She didn't look mad, or even annoyed; it was like slapping someone in the face if they weren't listening to you was the most natural thing in the world for her; yeah, definitely a noble, this one.

He then suddenly became aware of the fact that she had crossed the distance between them herself and made another try for the sword. Even though it had seemed the girl had been able to know what he was about to do before he did, now her big blue eyes grew round and she tried to step back while keeping the sword on her left hand. He lunged his right hand for the sword and it was either the fact that the girl would be able to get away somehow if he didn't use the element of surprise he had been given that made him not think about where his left hand was.

As fate had it his left hand went into the oversized and expensive looking cloak and then pressed on to something soft. His mind was almost able to fully register what had happened as he was almost able grab his sword.

Then he was flying towards the ground very fast. He knew this was going to hurt and somehow he also knew that the fact that he couldn't stop blushing and thinking about it was going to make it so much more worse.

"Set upon the frozen heavens!" The girl shouted out as she raised his sword above her head and her eyes shone in a blinding violet light. She was holding his sword with her right hand straight over her head and the cloak she was wearing was whipping behind her like they were wings in the wind calling Hyorinmaru caused. She had her teeth clenched together from anger and he thought he heard her growl. She brought her left hand to the sword and he could barely hear her hiss out the name of his sword as the skies darkened and the wind escalated into a typhoon. "Hyorinmaru!"

The sword came down and one of Hyourinmaru's ice dragons shot out at him. The girl had kicked him in the side and the broken ribs and other possible damage stopped him from dodging. The Ice dragon smashed onto him, but since it was his refined reiatsu she was throwing at him it was only the weight of the ice dragon that affected him. If there had been the freezing effect of his reiatsu, then he would have certainly died.

She cursed loudly in a language he couldn't understand and that made his temples throb. He had no idea how she was able to use Hyourinmaru, but at least it looked like she was calming down since she hadn't thrown anything else at him. He realized how wrong he was when she threw the sword at him.

"Oh, come on!"

Matsumoto Rangiku

Now, Matsumoto Rangiku wasn't one to admit most of her flaws, but she was pretty sure that her captain had the same problem. He had been noted as a prodigy as soon as he graduated from the academy at such an (apparent) young age. But seemingly he was also clinging to the idea that he shouldn't hit girls, because he was a boy and boys were meant to protect girls.

She had just watched this unknown girl play with him and dance around him because he was underestimating her. It was an incredibly amusing sight to watch and the genuine smile on his face from time to time was just too cute! But after Hitsugaya went and copped a feel, that's what it looked like, and the girl retaliated in a fit of feminine fury she moved herself into a position where she could interfere if needed. The girl's initial attack was way too fast and powerful for her not to be able to kill Hitsugaya by accident. She was in shocked paralysis after the girl was somehow able to use Hyorinmaru against its rightful owner and could only react after she threw the sword at Hitsugaya like it was a spear. Attacks using his own reiatsu and powers might have been weakened, but being impaled by his own sword would kill him. She used shunpo to rush between the sword and her captain and was just able to deflect it to the side by swinging her own. It imbedded itself in a piece of rubble nearby.

"And who might you be?" Came a feminine voice from behind her. She looked up to where the girl had been just a second ago and found that the sky had already cleared up and the only evidence of Hitsugaya's sword ever being used was the frost on the ground and the destroyed buildings. That didn't quite make sense, but she still spun around to see the girl squatting next to Hitsugaya and giving her an evil glare.

"Uhm... I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, second in command of the 11th company and his subordinate." She had no idea who this girl was and how she had been able to disperse the clouds Hyorinmaru created so quickly and how she had been able to use Hitsugaya's sword in the first place, so she just assumed she was a noble and lying to a noble could have several kinds of consequences. "And who are you?"

"His subordinate, huh... so he wasn't just delusional when he kept saying he was a captain of something." She poked Hitsugaya in the face with a stick as she talked. Hitsugaya seemed to have lost consciousness at some point. "Should we do something about him? I don't think I killed him... much. It's not like he didn't deserve it." She poked at his broken ribs with enough force to snap the stick in half. Hitsygaya groaned and opened his eyes.

"What the hell..." He fell silent when he saw the look the girl was giving him and averted his eyes. His eyes fell on Matsumoto and the look of bewilderment on his face was just delightful. He obviously had no idea what was going on. She just had to tease him a little.

"You deserved it, captain. You shouldn't try and abuse your authority like that, but these kinds of thoughts are perfectly natural for a healthy young –"

"Shut up, Matsumoto!" Toushirou shouted and tried to get up from the rubble. The girl made a gesture and he was hit in the head by the hilt of his own sword. He fell back to the ground, seemingly unconscious. The girl then slid the sword back to the sheath motioned for her to pick him up. Rangiku stared at the girl, not believing the nerve of the girl in front of her.

Don't be such a bitch.

But then again, she shouldn't be such a bitch about it.

Lilith

Now, let's see; she had taken pictures of Yoruichi without her consent and they had turned out rather well, but now she was at a loss as to what to do with them. She knew every bit of Yoruichi's body already, so looking at the pictures now was like watching a movie she had seen before. Maybe she should sell them, but to whom? That Chizuru girl should find them interesting for sure, but were there any other possible buyers she could bargain with? Letting go off something this unique for anything but the highest bid would be a shame.

"YOU!" A petite girl with twin ponytails wearing black shouted after the kick aimed at Lilith's neck missed. Lilith had seen the girl coming a mile away, but unlike Bezanthume she couldn't read minds as accurately from a distance, so she only knew it was somehow who hated her deeply. Now seeing the girl in front of her she did recognize her, but the name escaped her. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

The next kick was also avoided and Litlith simply couldn't remember the girl's name. It was something kinda cute and stupid at the same time... It couldn't be something like Fluffy, could it? She refused to believe someone other than Bezanthume's bitch of a sister had such a poor taste in names. Well, that didn't matter and the enthusiasm the girl showed in her attempts of trying to kill her was starting to annoy her. The girl hadn't even noticed that Lilith had turned herself intangible a few dozen attacks ago. She joined her thumbs together and spread out her fingers and then flapped her hands.

"A BUTTERFLY!" The girl shouted and her facial expression was that of pure joy. This lapse in concentration on her part allowed Lilith to get in close without her dodging, or attacking and hit her with what she would call the Vulcan death grip, if she knew there was such a thing. The girl's body went rigid at her touch and she let out a wordless yell. Lilith caught the girl's twitching body before it fell from the heights they were in. The effects might be instantaneous and powerful, but taken the girl's no nonsense attitude Lilith was quite sure it would wear off rather quickly.

She dropped them both to the ground and then focused on drawing runes on the exposed skin of the girl's next. They would make her immobilized if she had the time to finish them. The girl's eyes were already regaining focus. She finished the spell and the symbols she had drawn on the girl's neck started to glow. The girl blinked and focused her eyes to Lilith. The attack that followed was almost too fast for Lilith to see, but the dagger on the girl's finger stopped just before it touched Lilith's neck.

"Oh, that's so cute! You think you can hurt me, don't you? Not a chance hun." The girl didn't hesitate on deciding on a tactical retreat, but then was swept off her feet as the symbols on her neck glowed and effectively clothes lined her on the street. "Oh, and you can't get away from me either. Now that I have your attention; would you mind making looking at a few photographs? And before you ask; we can talk about your little butterfly –"

"WHERE!" The girl shouted suddenly and then hit the pavement in frustration.

"... problem." Lilith finished her sentence and then showed the pictures of Yoruichi to Soi Fon.

Lilith had not seen someone be furious, surprised and turned on at the same time, but showing pictures of a closet-lesbian's crush to said person seemingly had that effect.

Oh, she was going to be a fun one!

Bezanthume

"Now, I will take it upon myself to train Inoue Orihime." Bezanthume calmly stated. The shocked looks from both Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi were quite amusing. The long awkward pause and what they both imagined he would do were quite funny.

"Why?" Shihouin Yoruichi asked, still in her feline form, unfortunately. Knowing that she was such an attractive woman in her true form made the male-voiced cat transformation that much creepier. Bezanthume had thought about not telling these two he would train Orihime and he wouldn't have even done it, if she hadn't manifested new powers because of his contract with her. Telling them the whole truth was still out of the question, so he decided to have some fun with it.

"You're kidding, right? Have you seen the knockers on her? I might be out for revenge, but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun along the way." Again, seeing anger and shock set in Yoruichi's features was quite amusing and Urahara calmly thinking if they would be able to stop him if he was indeed serious. They didn't know about his motivations on helping them, but Urahara did have some heavy doubts about the identity of his contractor. The fact that a being tied to a single reality would know such details was impressing in its self, but that didn't mean they should know any more. It was better to distract them from the truth at this point.

"You will leave Inoue Orihime alone." Shihouin Yoruichi hissed at him with a voice so full of anger and disgust it gave him chills. He didn't like giving this kind of image of himself, but powerful emotions were helpful in leading someone away from the truth. "You will stay away from –"

"And who's going to stop me?" Bezanthume said and stared down Yoruichi, making sure his eyes shone an aggressive red. Filia then set his gauntlets and his coat in front of him. The gauntlets reverted into armguards and set on top of the neatly folded coat. She was polite and nonchalant about it, but it seemed like both Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi had forgotten she was there. He thanked Filia and she took her place on his left side. He placed the armguards in place and the red details flashed as a sign of recognizing his power. "What I do with anything and anyone is my business. Try to give me an order again and there won't be anyone to heal you."

Okay, that had made Shihouin Yoruichi even more furious, but she did realize that he was at least as powerful as she was and mentally unstable, with powers she had no knowledge of and with a loyal servant whose powers were a mystery. For her it was a painful decision on letting him go because the cons outweighed the pros. What Shihouin Yoruichi thought he would do to Inoue Orihime bothered him, but the fact that Urahara Kisuke didn't buy into his facade and would inform Yoruichi as soon as he left bothered him even more.

This could have gone more fluidly, but it was hard to concentrate on anything for some reason. Thinking his plans through seemed like an overwhelming obstacle and he found himself winging it more times he liked. This would also make his actions more unpredictable for Kousuke Aizen to figure out, since he didn't know his motive, or the extent of his power, even if he did know about him somehow.

He walked out to the ladder of the space they were in and then shot himself up with his wings and only climbed the last few steps. Filia followed him up by jumping up the staircase in two leaps, breaking some steps of the ladder where she jumped up again. He walked out of the store to stop Filia wrecking the walls and ceiling while following him out through them. Plus, he had to let his head air out a little. He spread out his wings and reminded Filia to actually go invisible before following him. Rising up into the sky and letting the wind slam onto his body as he increased speed while gaining altitude felt better he had remembered. He'd spent too much time plotting things and confining himself into small spaces. He didn't like the cold in the upper atmosphere, but the thin air and the silence cleared his head. There was so much white noise in the world of humans, the chatter of their most mundane thought ringing at the edge of his perception and the kaleidoscope of colours and sounds they had turned their world into. It was no wonder he couldn't think straight.

The blinding light of the sun was refreshing up here. Down on the ground it went through countless layers of pollution and various gasses that siphoned out the edge out of it. Up here it was enough to warm him and it was refreshing to feel warmth he didn't produce himself.

He turned around and looked at the earth he had just distanced himself from. He could hear the thoughts of Filia who was trying to catch up with him, but she was someone who very rarely had a stray thought. It was not like she was stupid, she was a genius among her kind, but it was just that usually they functioned with their metabolisms slowed down and they seemed slow and simple, but when they wanted to they could be devilishly cunning. She was intelligent enough to only think about the important things and smart enough to ignore the unimportant parts. Her reaction time of course suffered because of the slowed metabolic rate, but she was also near indestructible.

It all worked out for her, but what about those who can't even remember how old they are, or what memory is theirs and what's absorbed from some battle of wills they can't even remember?

Wow, that was something he hadn't thought he would think at that moment. It was more puzzling than revealing, but it did give him questions to ask himself and that was at least a start. He looked down on the earth and just like he always did he pulled his wings close to his body and allowed himself to fall. It didn't take long for him to lose sight of what was up and what was down as he spun uncontrollably while falling towards the earth. If he was falling towards the earth, then he could just let it happen, but if he were to fall into the sea, then his fire would work against him. He probably wouldn't die, but even the chance of it happening frightened him.

It was a refreshing feeling. The fear of his own mortality had not existed for him for as long as he could remember. Granted, that wasn't long, but the knowledge of his apparent immortality was enough proof that the fear of death had not been an issue for him. He kept falling and thinking about the passing thought about his past. Had he consumed another mind in his past and was that the reason for his amnesia and why he had been trapped in that orb? Certainly seemed like it, with the facts he had so far. He started accelerating his descent with his wings and as the flailing motion turned into a widening series of corkscrew manoeuvres he regained his bearings and changed his uncontrolled descent into a controlled dive back towards Karakura town.

It had been refreshing moment of distraction, but he had things to attend to.

Orihime

Bezanthume not appearing for school was not something she would be disheartened by, but his absence made her as nervous as him being there. He could pop out at any moment and do something just to mess with her. He even appearing as a student of her school had been beyond ridiculous from her perspective, but her friends seemed to have bought into it quite easily. Maybe it had just been a demonstration of his powers? Making her friends think he was a teenager was a feat in itself, but to fool anyone and everyone else as well? It must mean that other people didn't see what she saw, or the ability to read minds went a lot deeper with other people. Maybe he had a power of suggestion he used to imprint ideas into people, kinda like that guy on Heroes.

"Inoue!" The teacher shouted and almost made Orihime jump out of her skin. Taking the teacher's kind nature it must not have the first time they tried to get her attention. She had become distracted by her daydreams again, but this time they had been about relevant things to her. It was not like she had become enthralled in daydreams about her becoming an awesome android tank of destruction this time.

"Yes! What was the question again, teacher?" Orihime asked, rather peeved at the fact that the class was chuckling, even though she wasn't daydreaming. She was thinking about the mess her life had become and the extent of telepathy the demon that had saved her from another dimension had. There was a difference!

"What were the three lines between king Arthur and the Black knight after the other's arm was cut off?"

"King Arthur said: Now stand aside, worthy adversary! And the Black Knight said: 'tis but a scratch! And King Arthur answered: A scratch! Your arm's off!" Orihime answered. She loved that movie.

"Yes... Yes, exactly, Inoue. Good job." The teacher said and turned back to the board.

"But Ishimura-sensei, weren't we talking about the –"

Orihime didn't get a chance to hear what her classmate was talking about as Bezanthume chose that moment to crash down on the courtyard of the school with a flash of red light only she could see. He dug his hands on the ground to stop himself and then hurried to steady himself as he had to catch the tall redheaded woman that had strangled Orihime that morning. The woman hit him like a cannonball and he was knocked off his feet and they both slammed into the wall of the school. The blinding red flash and the way the building shook meant Bezanthume somehow used that light to stop them before they punched through the building.

"What the hell is going on? Was that an earthquake? Was it a bomb? Another gas main rupture, perhaps?" Asano Keigo voiced out what a normal person would think. Orihime just wished the world would swallow her whole right then and there, since Bezanthume was no doubt making his way there. Kurosaki-kun looked serious and looked out in the courtyard while clutching his shinigami badge. He probably though it had been a hollow lured in by his spiritual energy.

Orihime glanced out again and saw Bezanthume walking across the courtyard with the tall redhead. He was laughing his ass off and the way the woman followed a few steps behind him suggested that she was a servant of some sort. She should ask Bezanthume later on. Bezanthume was making his way towards the doors of the school and turned his head to say something to the woman following him. The woman responded with no more than a few words and started walking towards the gates of the school. Taken the lack of reactions from her classmates, they hadn't seen him, or the woman. Kurosaki-kun looked quite angry at the situation, though. He probably thought that the thing that wrecked the courtyard was the same thing that attacked his sister... well, even though he was right, it wouldn't help anyone to tell him that.

"Inoue Orihime!" Oh god, please, no! This can't be happening. What possible reason could he have to embarrass her like this? His voice was as low as ever and the volume of it made right about everyone but her jump at the sound of it. What had he been doing this whole time to get him so hyped up? "Ah, there you are. We have to talk."

It was just how low his voice was that made it sound intimidating, he actually sounded like he was in a really good mood. Something she hadn't actually seen before. He had laughed and been amused, but it had just been him chuckling and enjoying other people's suffering. Now he just sounded cheery. He was walking over to her desk! God, there was no way she could avoid this now, was there? Was that his whole agenda with this whole act? Making everyone else think he was a high-school student and then picking her up in the crudest way possible; just to embarrass her?

She wouldn't put that past him.

"Yes?" Orihime asked as Bezanthume towered over her. He was wearing his usual black overcoat and it didn't seem like her classmates saw anything different. His eyes had at least changed colours and the red didn't alarm everyone, but Kurosaki-kun looked like he was ready to punch Bezanthume if he did anything offensive.

"We need to talk. Come with me." Bezanthume simply said, without giving the people around them even a glance. She was quite sure that for him they didn't even exist at that moment. He was too caught up in his own reality to notice. He needed Inoue Orihime for something and the people around her could not stop him.

Bezanthume offered her a hand and she suddenly noticed how quiet her classmates had become. They probably couldn't cope with the absurdity of the situation, or just the overconfidence Bezanthume had. Of course they thought she would say no, but she knew it wouldn't change anything. She would go with him, one way or another. He probably didn't care which way it was, but not giving him the satisfaction of traumatizing her friends by dragging her out kicking and screaming seemed like a good idea.

"Okay..." Orihime said, hopefully acting dumbfounded and surprised convincingly enough. Would her classmates buy into her going with Bezanthume just like that? Most of them probably would, but both Tatsuki and Kurosaki-kun would probably think he used some kind of mind control. Bezanthume walked her out into the hall and then grabbed her hand more firmly. She felt some kind of wind sweep over her and Bezanthume had to pull her to the side as Kurosaki-kun almost crashed into them. He seemingly snapped out of the haze before anyone else, but Bezanthume was faster in making them invisible.

"And may I ask what it is this time?" Orihime asked the grinning Bezanthume. What the hell had he been doing for him to be in such a good mood? His hair was swept back, so had he been flying? Kurosaki cursed under his breath and then started running down the hallway, probably thinking Bezanthume had run away with her. Bezanthume chuckled and muttered something that sounded like an insult, but in a language she didn't know. He looked down to her and now that the hostile red didn't distract her that much she could read the excitement in them. She didn't like where this seemed to be going.

"According to your mind you lifted a SUV with your mind recently. We have to go and take control of that power before you hurt someone and I have to undo it." Bezanthume said and looked at her, daring her to deny it. She had actually almost forgotten about that with all the crazy stuff in her life at the moment, but she had wrecked a car that had been about to wreck her... had it been only a couple of days ago? Wow, a lot had happened in a few days. Orihime nodded and they walked out into the courtyard. The instant they stepped out of the doors of the school Bezanthume grabbed her by the waist and slung her over his shoulder.

"Wha – WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Orihime shouted, surprised, angry and embarrassed. She was still wearing her school uniform after all.

"Oh, relax. I just want to freak out your classmates. I'll put you down at the gates." Bezanthume answered nonchalantly.

"Why would you want to do that? Wait, they can see us? Put me down, NOW!" Orihime shouted, suddenly becoming aware of all the eyes that were probably on her at the moment. One set of eyes belonging to Tatsuki-chan, who probably thought the worst and presumed she was being kidnapped. Which wasn't that far from the truth, since she would be going with Bezanthume either she was willing or not. For some reason Bezanthume wanted everyone else to think that she was an unwilling participant in this little kidnapping.

"Oh, you're getting smarter. Well, the main reason would be to piss off Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Tatsuki and also to make everyone else think the worst."

"Why do you have to mess with them? Is there any sensible reason for it?" She wasn't even mad anymore. Her life had been hijacked by a juvenile brute of a demon and she should just make peace with that.

"Hmm... I think I just want to send them a message, especially that Kurosaki Ichigo brat." Bezanthume answered. They were halfway across the courtyard and Orihime heard sounds of someone trying to force their way through the doors of the school. She looked back and saw Kurosaki-kun breaking out of the school, Tatsuki was hot on his tail and boy did she look pissed.

"And what is that message, then?" Orihime asked and wasn't surprised by the fact that the speed Bezanthume was going they would turn the corner just before Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki caught up with them.

"Inoue Orihime is mine." Bezanthume said just before turning the corner and leaving a very confused Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki stumbling just behind him. Tatsuki cursed and hit a wall, effectively punching through it. Kurosaki-kun just kept looking around and clenching his teeth. He was probably trying to find her reiatsu, but Bezanthume was seemingly very skilled in hiding any trace of it, since he couldn't sense that she was just next to him. Bezanthume set her down on the ground and didn't seem at all bothered that Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki were just next to them.

"Why would you have to give them that kind of message?" Orihime asked and avoided Bezanthume's eyes. She knew that he was just probably talking about some detail of their contract, or something, but that was pretty close to a confession. An egoistical, sexist and condescending kind of confession, but a confession still.

"Because you are mine, no one else's." She just knew he was reading her mind and stifling a laugh! What other reason could he have to say such provocative things? She was blushing like crazy despite trying to tell herself that he didn't mean it like she thought.

So, before she could reply in any way Bezanthume punched Kurosaki-kun in the face and grabbed her just as he was blasted off into the sky. She thought that he had planned on flying off somewhere and punched Kurosaki-kun just because he felt like it. The initial acceleration to reach a safe altitude almost knocked her out and in her delirious state and because Bezanthume was holding her below her knees and on her upper back (aka: bridal style, but she didn't want to think about that.) the only things she could register was the warmth radiating from his body and the faint, but distinctive smell of his home world from his coat. Now that she had time to get accustomed to it, she found it oddly comforting.

The deceleration wasn't as sudden as the acceleration, but him flapping his wings repeatedly to direct the power from his wings forward made it feel like she would fall of any minute, so she coiled her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. She was practically pressing her head on the small of his neck and in a random strike of curiosity she bent her neck to his exposed skin and inhaled through her nose. She could smell fresh sweat and the strange aroma she had come to associate with wherever he came from, but she could also smell a distinct aroma that reminded her of charcoal and the smell of a bonfire. It was probably his natural odour, since Orihime couldn't imagine Bezanhtume using perfume. Bezanthume suddenly folded his wings and they fell towards the ground in a rate that would spell injury to any normal human. Bezanthume just bent down on one knee from the impact.

"We're here. Now get down, we should begin as soon as possible." Bezanthume let go of her and Orihime tried not to think about the fact that she had just smelled Bezanthume out of misguided curiosity, or the fact that she had found it pleasing. Surprisingly her legs couldn't quite carry her and she almost fell to the ground. How long had they been in the air, anyways? Where were they? What was Bezanthume planning on doing, bringing her to a secluded area, all alone, no one else knowing where they were...

"What? What's up with that look?" Bezanthume asked as he glanced at her after he ruffled his wings and folded the on his back. She had probably been right about it being more comfortable for him to have them out, rather than somehow having them disappear into his back. She didn't even bother answering him, since she knew he was reading her mind. He knew what the look was about and he only wanted her to say it out loud to embarrass her. If he hadn't mentioned it by now, then he probably had a valid reason in kidnapping her, so she should try and focus on that.

"Okay, you said that we would train my new power. Why are we here, then? Why couldn't we have done it in Karakura Town?"

"There are too many distractions for you there. And I also thought that it would be good to keep your power a secret from everyone else for now. Aizen is aware of your current powers, but this power you gained because of the contract between us is an ace up our sleeve as long as it stays a secret." He paused and gave her a second for what he had said to sink in. When he put it like that, suddenly kidnapping her and not telling anyone did make some sense. "So, with the explanations out of the way, let's get cracking."

Cracking? Oh, god, he was not going to fight her, was he? Would he actually think she would learn to control this power by fighting him? She wouldn't put it past him, but she seriously doubted she would even last a minute against Bezanthume. He was a demon, for god's sake! Orihime slowly started backing away from Bezanthume and he only chuckled and turned away from her. The place he had taken her looked like an overgrown quarry, or an impact crater of some kind. It was a bowl shaped hole in the ground half filled with water. Because of the topography the water was dead calm and looked more like a huge sheet of polished glass, than the surface of water.

"Yeah, it's an abandoned quarry. The vein of silver that they mined here ran dry decades ago. There are a few abandoned pieces of mining equipment down there still." Bezanthume told her, in response to her thoughts. He really was listening in on her thoughts, like she had suspected. He shook off his coat and then neatly folded it on the edge of the water. He then proceeded to confuse her by stepping onto the water and walking to the centre of the manmade lake. His feet only caused ripples in the water, along with dim flashes of red light. "Okay, now do the same. Walk over here and I'll fly us back."

What the hell was he talking about? How was she supposed to do that?

"If you don't make it all the way over here, then no ride back."

"What?"

Tatsuki

"That fucking lecherous asshole! I should have seen this coming! I... I'M GOING TO KILL HIM IF HE DOES ANYTHING TO ORIHIME!"

"Tatsuki, calm down. Screaming about it will not help us. We sh-"

"SHUT UP!" She should calm down, think about this. Benjamin, or whatever his real name was, had kidnapped Orihime and vanished just from under their noses. Ichigo was strong, but he didn't know anything about what Benjamin was really like. She had seen him when he wasn't putting up the facade of Benjamin Copperwail. He was probably not human and if he was, then he wasn't normal.

"We need to find Lily Copperwail. She's in the same boat as him. She's been hanging with Chizuru." Tatsuki thought out loud and started running back to the school. She was still furious, but now she could at least think about this. She had to think about this and whatever had happened to her because of Benjamin Copperwail was helping her work her anger as a resource. She ran through the school and didn't even stop to wonder how she leapt up the stairs barely touching the actual stairs.

"Chizuru!" Tatsuki screamed as she stormed back into the classroom. Chizuru barely had time to turn towards her before she grabbed her by the collars and raised her on her tiptoes. She needed to know she didn't have time for any jokes. "Lily Copperwail, where does she live?"

"I – I don't know!" The terrified Chizuru answered, stumbling on her words. The look on her face must have been something else, judging from the look on Chizuru's. "I only have her phone number!"

"Call her. We need to talk." Tatsuki said and let go of Chizuru. Ichigo then stormed into the classroom as well, out of breath from trying to keep up with her. Chizuru was shaking and fumbled with her phone. Tatsuki was in a bad mood and snatched the phone away from her. "What name is she under?"

"Lily!" Came the hurried response. She would have a reputation as a gangster after this, but right now she had to save Orihime. She found the number labelled "Lily" and pressed the call button. The phone rang only twice before Lily answered.

"Hi there, Chizuru-chan! You are right, these things are handy as –"

"Where is Orihime?" Tatsuki asked calmly, repressing the urge to shout, since it would be incomprehensible on the end of the call.

"Oh, uh... This is surprising. Why do you think I would know that?" Tatsuki was about to call her something so rude she shouldn't even know what it meant, but then Lily Copperwail continued. "Oh my, Benny did something, didn't he? You shouldn't worry, though. He would not hurt a woman... Well, not in a way they wouldn't greatly appreciate afterwards, anyways."

"Where are they? You're his accomplice, so you have to know!" Tatsuki shouted, losing her cool again. Her classmates, who had gathered around her from curiosity, all flinched back.

"Calm down, sugar tits."

"What did you just call me, you fu –"

"Now, now, let's calm down. I'll meet you at Orihime's apartment, so we can sort this all out." Lily Copperwail said and ended the call. It took every ounce of self restraint she had not to throw Chizuru's cell out the window, or on a wall. She handed the cell back to Chizuru and then walked out of the classroom. No one had said a word the whole time and she couldn't care less if Ichigo followed her or not.

Soi Fong

After the woman claiming to go by the name of Lily showed her the pictures of Yoruichi-sama in such a defenceless state she had tried snatching the pictures from the woman, but whatever the woman had done to her neck activated from a word the woman muttered. She felt all strength escape from her body and she fell flat on her face by the woman's feet. After that the condescending bitch helped her up while smiling sweetly and started walking her towards someplace she didn't know. After a while of walking a few steps behind her she received a call on the piece of technology humans called cell phones. This would have given her ample opportunities to attack the woman and reacquire the pictures of Yoruichi-sama if she hadn't muttered the word that seemed to activate whatever spell she had cast on her before answering the call. She listened to the short conversation, trying to break the spell at the same time.

"Well, it seems like we will be entertaining tonight, cutie. We need to get you dressed up!" She sounded way too happy about that for it to be any good for her. "Oh, come on. I fixed your brain, didn't I? The least you can do is co-operate a little."

You were the one that broke it in the first place, you airheaded bitch! The woman claiming to be Lily and that had somehow made the exquisite white and blue wings that had been on her back disappear in the time she was on the phone helped her up from the ground and walked her into a store with windows painted black. She didn't have time to read the name of the store, but common sense told her what kind of store it was.

"Oh, welcome! We don't get many female customers here. What will it be for the young ladies?" A tattooed and bald man behind the counter of the story said, seeming quite bemused by them. Lily practically dragged her to the counter as they had to get out of the doorway for the couple of male customers that had been in the story left in a hurry.

Wait, the man used a plural! Does that mean he can see her? Oh god, had people seen her with this Lily person before? Was it the spell on her neck that made her visible to normal people? She was actually in a store like this and people could actually see her!

"We are going to be entertaining some quests today and I want to dress my friend here appropriately. What do you have in the lines of chains and leather?" Lily asked and grabbed her shoulder more tightly, stopping her from escaping.

Oh god, no! The effect of the spell had already diminished enough for her to move, but Lily kept her in place and the spell had numbed her throat and mouth, so she couldn't speak comprehensibly. She felt so embarrassed and wanted nothing more than to kill this sick woman with wings, but the spell stopped her from doing that as well.

"Hmm... we have quite a selection; they're over there on the wall, but given her physique I think you should go with the maid costume if you're entertaining..."

Fuck you, bald guy, fuck you! Stop giving her ideas, it was bad enough already, so please stop giving her ideas!

"Oh, that sounds like fun! You have cat ears to go with the maid costume?"

Ichigo

Ichigo had no idea what was going on anymore, but he was rather sure that the guy that took Orihime was in the middle of it. Tatsuki seemed to think that this Lily Copperwail was in on it as well and he was inclined to believing her. Their appearance at their school was too convenient, taken the fact that his sister got attacked and Rukia was taken back to Soul Society practically at the same time. He was also rather sure that the thing that had attacked his sister was this Benjamin Copperwail guy, or someone associated with him. The timing was just too much of a coincidence.

Now they were running towards Orihime's apartment, since Lily Copperwail had told them to meet her there. Tatsuki was angrier than he had ever seen her and he had seen her after the whole Kon incident. Running to Orihime's apartment took less time than he thought, but that was probably because Tatsuki was going at a speed he had trouble keeping up with.

"Tatsuki!" She didn't even turn to him. He grabbed her by the shoulder and she turned to him with a look saying he was one bad choice away from being punched in the face. Ichigo suddenly didn't remember what he stopped her for. "Nothing, we can talk about it later, I guess..."

Tatsuki turned around and kept on running. She didn't even look like she was tired when Ichigo was gasping for breath just trying to keep up with her. When had she become so scary anyways?

Orihime

"Oh, you almost got it that time. You have to keep your concentration the whole time." Bezanthume said as Orihime once again fell through the water and struggled to swim back to shore. Bezanthume didn't tell her anything about how to accomplish the task of walking on water, so she fell into the water for the first dozens of times. After she finally figured out how to use her power to solidify the water's surface Bezanthume started telling her how to do it.

"That's not helping, Bezanthume!" Orihime shouted angrily as she climbed back ashore yet again. She tried to catch her breath, but her body was aching from swimming back to shore constantly. At least the water was warm enough, but she had a feeling that Bezanthume was behind that, since he had been amusing himself by shooting flames into the water the palms of his mean looking gauntlets. She thought he was trying to hit something underwater. "Why can't you give me any solid advice on how to use this thing, Bezanthume? It's your ring and your stupid power!"

"Nah, it's your power, not mine. How would I know how to use it? And besides, you're doing fine on your own. You just need to keep it up." Bezanthume answered and motioned her to try again. Orihime got up and concentrated on the ring on her right hand until she felt her hand go numb. She then imagined a glass pathway between her and Bezanthume right on the water's surface. She saw that the ripples on the water stopped on the area she imagined the pathway to be and that at least reassured her. She stepped out onto the water like she had many times before in the last hour. She felt a pressure on her hand as the power she was using was strained by holding her from plunging into the water. She started walking towards Bezanthume, keeping her eyes on the pathway and his thoughts on imagining it to be. She didn't think about how far she had gotten and only realized she was almost to Bezanthume when she saw his boots and the red glow he used to keep himself afloat.

"Okay, that's good." Bezanthume stepped closer to her and she could feel him on the walkway she had created. He was heavy. "Let's get you out of those clothes before –"

WHAT? His words made her flinch and move her right hand that she used to uphold the pathway. The pathway held her up, but something hit Bezanthume in the face and he almost fell into the water.

"Damn it, woman! What was that for, huh?" Bezanthume roared and steadied his footing just to notice that his screaming only made her loose hers. He stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm just as her feet got wet again. He raised her out of the water and then the red glow at his feet spread out enough for her to stand on it. Now that she paid attention to it, she was shivering from the cold. Bezanthume encircled them both with his wings and the heat they radiated gradually warmed her up.

"You... You shouldn't have said something like that so suddenly..." Orihime said and she knew she was right, but she still felt bad about hitting him in the face with her mind.

"And here I thought that taking off wet clothes was what you did to prevent colds. It's going to take a lot longer for you to warm up with them on, you know."

"I think I'll take my chances, thank you." Orihime hissed, seeing past his words and into his thoughts for once. She would like to be able to read thoughts, it would be handy.

"No, you wouldn't want that. There are things you don't want to know and with this power you would. You would probably go insane from the white noise alone, in about a week, I'd wager."

"Would you please stop answering my thoughts like I said them out loud! That is so infuriating and it's not the only thing, oh no, not even close!" She was angry, tired and cold. She knew yelling at Bezanthume would probably end badly, but she couldn't stop herself. "You're an egoistical and juvenile bully that things he's above everyone else! You're not that special, you know! You say you're all that, but still you feel the need to constantly show off exactly how special you are to everyone. You're an insecure –"

She was interrupted by Bezanthume bending down and kissing her on the mouth. He slid his right hand to the back of her neck and into her hair and effectively stopped her initial reaction of backing away. She had been busy shouting at him, so he could have stuck his tongue in her mouth, but he didn't deepen the kiss from simply touching lips and nibbling on her lower lip a little. He pulled away so that she could catch her breath and she couldn't read the look in his eyes.

"... You asshole. That was my first kiss and you're only playing with me..." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and Bezanthume's hand moving from her hair to her cheek to cup it only added to the heartache. He was making fun of her emotions and laughing at her for even thinking that she could – that they could –

"Oh, for fucks sake! Do I really have to repeat myself?" Orihime looked up at his eyes and she still couldn't read the look in them. It was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. "You are mine, no one else's."

She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, not for him! He was just twisting the knife in the wound by reminding her that he owned her soul, or something, because of their contract.

"And I am yours, for as long as you shall live." Orihime's mind went blank from that statement and it echoed around her numb mind endlessly. She couldn't really think about it before Bezanthume closed in for another kiss and this time touched her tongue with his own before breaking away again. He pressed his forehead against hers and she could feel his hair tickling her cheek. There was still that strange look in his eyes and the aggressive red wasn't as intimidating as before, but that might have just been because she was looking at them through tears.

"So, about those clothes..." He said and then chuckled at the look she gave him.

"Idiot... it's still a no." Orihime answered and laughed a little.

"Aww, come o-" This time Orihime interrupted him by pressing her lips on his in turn. Ha, how do you like your own medicine, Bezanhtume. Bezanthume stuck out his forked tongue and wresteld her tongue into submission under a minute. The fork tongue felt weird and foreign, but Orihime didn't remember the last time she had been this happy, if she ever had been.

Okay, that was that for now. I seem to have the habit of sementing the canon pairing in my stories at the ends of chapters right now. Must be because of valentines day or something.

So, review.