Hey, new chapter's up. Kudo's out all of the uber-epic people who've reviwed: rukia, piginthesky, anonon, gregory, SwRtB, Tsukiyomi Lein, kashif, sphinx, lilyrosa143,
Lina-Tais, Emily, nice, paigeydoll, and pheonix. And also my huge thanks to all who read also. Enjoy!
...
Gun smoke wafted up her flared nostrils, bitter and chokingly unbearable. Flustered, in a rash attempt she fixed her smothered clothing, covering her exposed flesh. The twins stood with strait backs, completly in bussiness-mode for the stranger who was only just tucking the pistol into his belt.
The steel-colored eyes held hers for a moment more, then flicked to the gate keepers holding icy facades.
She contemplated fleeing, but she found that gun awful big...
"What," the man started, with a smooth baritone voice, "Is the meaning of this?"
"Oh quit acting so important, Kuchiki. How many times have we caught you fondling one of the maids?" Hichigo asked, additude in his voice, yet it was practiced. As if he knew he shouldn't talk down to his superior.
Ichigo, perhaps a bit smarter than his twin, kept silent.
Rukia, shaking in the shadow of the twins, who had stepped in front of her the moment they were caught, poked her head to look at the man.
She gasped, he had rabbit ears poking out of his ink-colored hair.
She shuddered in revoltion.
However, the rest of him was most defenatly not revolting. He stood tall and proud, the aristicated air coming him in puffs. It was obvious he was a noble, he silently demanded earned respect without even speaking, and they way he talked and acted screamed I'm richer than you. Spades accented his oulfit and she wondered if he was the h head of that clan.
Seeing the intruder, the man called Kuchiki narrowed his eyes again. He reconised her as an not only an intruder, but a complete outsider.
He rose an elegant eyebrow to the men who were just previosly manhandling the suspicious person.
They were quick to explain.
"Sir Grimmjow sent her, for the king. We were only disracted and fully intended to bring her to the Lady afterwards." Ichigo stated, face carfully blank in the noblemans presence.
What? Who's the 'Lady' and why were they going to send her to her? Why wouldn't they have sent her to see the king? And what was this 'Sir Grimmjow' shit? Weren't they calling him Grimmy not two minutes ago? Rukia was utterly confused and startd to fear for what might happen.
Byakuya fully assesed her then, looking her up and down. He noticed her dialated pupels and figeting hands.
"I suppose she'll do. Follow me," he said, becoking her. "I shall escourt you to the Lady."
The boys shoved her his way, but her fingers dug into Ichigo's wrist. She did not want to go with him.
Ichigo, piting her, pulled her back to him for a moment. He wispered in the shell of her ear, squeezing her hand.
"Don't question anyone, they will kill you without hestitation." he brought her even closer, her back and his front brushing. "If you want to speak with the king, listen to the Lady, she can help you."
He then shoved her of, an odd expression on his face. Hichigo looked between the two of them, beseeching.
"But who is the Lady-" she started, but she remembered what he'd said. Nodding once to him, she turned from them. Byakuya turned gracefully on his heel, swiftly taking the lead. After a little ways she looked back at them, already back in their dark shadow.
She touched her mouth, remembering what they had done to it, and they had done with theirs.
Pleasure, discust, and shock developed in her.
What would her Mother think!
She shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts. Though her mother would disown her if she knew of her previous actions, the memory tasted fresh on her tounge, the pleasant aftertaste affecting her whole body and heightening her scences.
She focused on the back of her escourt, on the little spade-shaped charm hanging on waistcoat. His longish black hair flowed in the bounce of his step, and he suddenly reminded her of her dear Hisana, so graceful and confident. A surge of home sickness washed over her, depressing and heavy.
Soon she should wake up, if this even was a dream...
They walked on peacefully, albeit akwardly silent.
Rukia never liked too much quiet. It made her itch.
Another minute of it and she couldn't stand it anymore. Out of sanity she said,
"Do you know the king well?"
Supprised, Byakuya faltered. He hadn't exspected the frightened little thing to speak, and so casualy as well.
Starting on again, he said levely,
"We are important aqaintences. I am a Clan leader of a large chunk of his land, thus I attend all of the concils and main social gatherings."
"Ah." she retorted, coming up beside him. "I've never met any nobility, let alone royalty. Is the king nice?"
Nice. She wanted to know if he was nice. What powerful, comading king wants to be associated with th term 'nice'?
"I...suppose."
"That's good."
He was glad she couldn't see he bemused expression.
Conversation dropped from there, but Rukia accepted it. She sung a lullaby in beat to her footsteps, one from a play Hisana had taken her too when she was a child. In it a girl sang to her flower garden, asking for it to grow so she could make a gown of petals to dance at a ball and fall in love.
After the play Hisana had taken her to the bakery for a treat, and they luaghed the whole way home, making jokes about ridiculous men they knew that were so far up their asses in cockyness, they could see the back of their tounges.
Lost in her thinking, she barley noticed him turning into a large building attached to the main castle. She entered behind him silently, suddenly very timid. Which was very odd in the usual. If she were in the real world, she'd be talking this big man down to size with her attitude. Hey, she might be short, but she could kick a full grown man's ass any day.
But here, in this backward world she was reserved and quiet, two traits that were her opposites back home. She wondered why that was.
But the insecurety left her as she first gazed upon the vastness of the wide room.
Girls flitted everywhere.
In pairs, in groups, in massive hordes, girls of all sizes and shapes buzzed around the room. All were adorned in dancers apparel, from tutus to leotards to practice skockings and legwarmers with large t-shirts.
Rukia noted the wall-lenghted mirror wrapping all along the length of the room and reconized it as a dance class.
How odd.
Presently the sixty-odd group of girls stopped thier gossip and converation to gape at the two new-comers, Byakuya with a nuetral face and Rukia with a shocked one.
Only after a full akward moment of parties gaking at each other like gaping fish out of water did Byakuya clear his throat to speak.
"Where is the Lady?" he spoke in a low, authoritive voice. "I have a new partron for her."
Partron? As in she was going to...
"What do you want Byakuya?" an annoyed voice sounded. A tall woman pushed through the crowd.
Rukia's eyes widened. Her hair was violet!
Byakuya's eyes slightly narrowed at his first name being thrown around so casualy, but he kept his cold facade icy as he kept on. He assesed the dark skinned woman and her yellow cat eyes, slanted in annoyance.
He knew that if anything pissed her off, it was a interuption during rehersal.
"Lady Yoruichi," he greeted. "Sir Grimmjow has sent you a new dancer."
He pushed her from behind him out to the spotlight, but Rukia could care less about the sauser-wide gazes of the girls.
She was in shock of what he had said. Grimmjow had sent here to dance, not to see the king? He desieved her! No, it had to be some sort of mistake, maybe if she just explained-
Don't question anyone.
Ichigo had warned her, he said to ask privatly with the Lady. She focused on her then, finding her yellow eyes sizing her up, probably taliating whether she could even dance in the first place.
"Alright, she's pretty enough." She beckoned with her hand for her to come forward, and Rukia silently obeyed.
Byakuya's steel eyes flickered once to her before he walked away without another word. Everyone watched him leave except for Yoruichi, who was starting to shoo away the crowd of girls still gaping at Rukia.
She wondered if she smelled like an outsider to these people.
"Back to practice girls, we only have a day 'til showtime!" The Lady ordered, claping her hands once. In a flash the girl disolved, off to stretch and practice their rotines. Rukia stared off at them and was still appaled at such the large quantity of them.
"Hello?"
Rukia snapped out of her reverie and focused back on the Lady.
"I'm sorry," she appologized, sheepishly. "There's just so much of them. How do handle all of them by yourself?"
She laughed, amused. "Believe me, they killed to get here in the first place, they'd slit their wrists before getting kicked out for misbehaving."
"Oh." Rukia said. What was a prestigus dance school doing in a kingdom's castle? Well, no matter. Just as she was going to ask her what she was doing here and how she could go see the king, The Lady started walking away, her fingers gesturing for Rukia to follow.
"Wel, come on then," she said, purple ponytail bouncing with each step. "I still need to get your measurements and whatnot, and we have a show to put on in" she looked to the watch on her tanned wrist-"forty six hours. And today is especialy important because the whole damn court will attend-"
"Please," Rukia inturupted, difficulting inkeeping up with the older womans brisk glide, "Tell me what is going on around here, I beg you."
She paused in her walking, her hand on a door knob of a random door. Slowly, she set her heavy yellow gaze on her, and Rukia tried her best not to squirm.
Then, the Lady opened the door and ussered her inside. Rukia walked head on into the unknown dark, feeling her way around until Yoruichi flicked on the lights. A large desk sat at the corner of the room, a vanity mirror stretched wide above it. A fire cackled, oddly colored green, and there was this particualy disturbing plant in a pretty vase that coiled and swayed as if it was alive.
Rukia shived and sat as the Lady motioned her to a chair.
Yoruichi perched at the edge of her desk, crossing her arms. Rukia knew by her look not to speak and let her do all the explaining.
"Jaegurjacks. He sent you here right?"
Rukia nodded.
"Did he tell you why?"
"To see the king, I need an audience with him."
There her eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"
Rukia sighed. She suppose she would need to tell the entire tale for her to understand. Could she trust this women, whom she just met?
It is only a dream after all.
"Okay," Rukia started. "It happened during my daily lessons with my sister, Hisana..."
...
Ten minutes later, and violet eyebrows were so far up on her forehead, they almost touched her roots.
"I know" Rukia agreed, folding her hand on her lap.
"So let me get this srtrait," she started, counting off her dark fingers. "You were abducted for your world to Wonderland by a noblemen of Red, In pursuit to flee him you stumble come across the Chesire Hunter, and then he sends you here only to be heavily assulted and then thrown into my dance group?"
"In a very disfuntional nutshell, yes."
The Lady shook her head.
"You've got guts girl, not many other people would be able to go through what you have."
"I guess..."
"Well you do know that Grimmjow didn't send you here so you could just see the king, right?"
Rukia's head snapped up at this.
"No," she said, lines creasing between her eyes. "He told me he was a good friend of the the king and he had the power to send me home."
Yoruichi bit her lip as to not grin. She honestly believed that bullshit that stuipid cat pulled?
"Grimmjow Jaegurjacks, the Cheshire Cat Hunter, is the closest advisor and friend to the king. His job is to roam both lands of Red and Black in search for dancers. My dancers preform for the men of the court, and if they like what they see they pay a certain amount to the king... and they get the girl for whatever they please."
Rukia gasped. This was sick! Girls selling themselfs just so the king gets profit, and they're being an actual bounty hunter find these girls.
Wait. That same Hunter had sent her here.
Grimmjow had sent her here deliberatly.
Shame colored her face. She had been desieved.
The lady watched her with sad eyes, pity sparkling in specs.
"Hey, you still want to see the king, right?"
Rukia blinked back tears and said, "Well that depends. Can the king send me home?"
She nodded. "Yes, he is very powerful."
"Then yes, with all my heart."
Yoruichi stood, looking down at the smaller girl.
"Then you'll have to dance, to catch his special attention."
That means...
"It's demeaning and crude, but it's the only way you could return home." she waited, seeing the determination brighten Rukia's eyes aflame.
She lifted her raven head, her dead set eyes meeting the challenge as she replyed,
"I'll do it."
...
A/N WOOt, an uber long chappie, just for you guys. As for Grimmy, don't worry, he's not so bad.
*Remember to review!*
See you all next time,
~Tiger