So, for those of you who didn't get it last chapter, the book was Septimus Heap: Magyk (awsome series, you should read it) and the other reference was A Very Potter Musical. If you haven't seen that, and you've read Harry Potter, or at least seen the movies, you should watch it. It is so funny. Ask anybody who's watched it, they'll agree with me.

Anyways, if I owned Bleach, whenever they go float above the air and sort of fight in the air, they would be singing 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked. That would be amazing!

"You're wrong."

Those two words seemed to make everybody freeze. Kaili was quiet, and nobody ever told Annica off. The world around them seemed to stop and hold its collective breath, as everything tilted out of control for a moment, before clicking back into place when Annica pulled herself to her full height and stared down her nose at Kaili.

"What did you say?"

"You're wrong." Kaili repeated, tilting her chin up in the way that Renji had came to recognize meant that she wasn't going to back down. "Some types of math use letters. It's called algebra. Cars are scary. Boys don't have cooties any more than girls do. You're not better than me just because you say you are. Funner isn't a word. And I don't like you at all." Then she turned on her heel in a way that reminded Renji of Byakuya. Seeing that particular 'you are below me, and nothing you say or do will ever affect me' posture on somebody so small was so amusing that it took Renji all of his willpower not to burst out laughing. Nobody else seemed to notice this, but then they had never seen Byakuya do it. Everybody seemed to be too amazed by Kaili's outburst to notice the very adult way with which she carried herself.

"That is the calmest temper tantrum I've ever seen." Somebody commented. Renji looked up at him.

"Nah. Fifth, at best."

"Sixth," Byakuya corrected. "Remember Shuhei's?"

"Sixth then." Renji agreed. "Sorry hon. Unohana's still best." After getting tired of all of the property damaged in the different fights started by short tempers, Yamamoto had started a contest. Whoever had the calmest temper tantrums won. Unohana had been the best ever since the contest had been put into effect, with Byakuya coming second. Although, Renji didn't think he really deserved that spot, since when he came home he was much less calm.

"I wasn't trying for that," Kaili replied, sliding her hand into Byakuya's. Renji took her other one, and the three of them walked away. Just as they were leaving, Byakuya's Soul Pager beeped. He fished it out of his pocket with one hand, and studied it quietly.

"It's coming this way," he said, and the three of them headed for a secluded spot, where they removed their gigais (that's what I'm calling them for now, since I have no word for the bracelet madooeys…).

The hollow materialized near the group of still stunned parents and instantly headed towards the oblivious group. Byakuya was gone in seconds, Renji and Kaili quick to follow him.

A sharp roar rang through her ears, and Mrs. Grant looked up from the conversation that she was having with a parent. She had gotten used to these, although she still wondered whether she was crazy, since nobody else seemed to be able to see or hear the monsters. Sometimes she would watch as a human figure, cloaked in black would come and slice the monster open with a sword. The monster would then dissolve into nothing.

She waited for the monster to disappear, but to her growing horror, it just kept approaching them. Suddenly it lunged at Janice, and Mrs. Grant barely managed to hold back a scream of horror. She had long since learnt that all that got was odd looks. Still, she couldn't keep a small gasp from escaping her mouth when a huge fist came hurtling down towards Janice. There was a blur of black and white, and then Byakuya Kuchiki was standing in between Janice and the gigantic monster. He had stopped the fist with the palm of one hand. He pushed the monster back, leapt up and sliced it open with a sword. The monster dissolved, and Mrs. Grant frowned.

The parent that she was speaking to turned around, and then gave her a quizzical look. She blinked back to what she was supposed to be doing.

"Sorry," she said, smiling apologetically. "I didn't get much sleep last night." The man nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

"I'll leave you in peace then," he replied. The rest of the parents seemed to take that as their cue to leave, towing their children behind them. Mrs. Grant watched Janice with particular interest. She didn't seem to realize how close she'd come to certain death.

Her eyes widened as several more monsters appeared out of nowhere. This time, there was a little streak of black and red, and five of them were felled immediately. When the blur slowed, Mrs. Grant stared as Kaili skidded to a stop, a sword resting in her hand as though it were natural for it to be there. Renji was also fighting, his crimson hair flowing out behind him dramatically as he sliced through horrid mask after horrid mask. As suddenly as they had come, the monsters were gone.

Byakuya's sharp gaze settled on her, and she squirmed a little bit, but refused to give in, even though her mind was screaming to turn and run, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, and met his gaze squarely.

"What are you?" she asked, finally managing to muster up enough courage to speak. The three of them exchanged glances, before turning back to her.

"It's a long story," Kaili replied. "And you might want to be sitting down."

Amazement flooded her mind as she watched them change from non-human to something that at least resembled human. Their clothes changed too, going from long flowing robes to jeans and T-shirts.

"H-how?" she stuttered, stumbling back a step.

"Like I said," Kaili repeated. "It's a long story. And you might want to be sitting down." Mrs. Grant looked in between them, and then pulled herself together and turned on her heel.

"Let's go to my classroom."

Hope you liked =)

-Stormy