AN: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time, and I'm a terrible author. I really apologize, cause school has been hell and this year is a major exam year for me. This is an extremely short chapter, and something more of a transition chapter I guess. I would love to give you more, but I really don't have the time, and I need to think of where to go with this. I'm kind of winging it now. Heh. For all who have followed this story, thank you very much.

Fireotaku18 - For no particular reason actually, HAHA
Shirohyo - Thanks!
skyglazingMaro - Well, we'll have to see about that. xD
Misc. Ink - Thanks so much, and I'll try to improve on it too! I've read it after Vaerin herself pointed it out to me, but our storylines are going to be different somewhat.
Mizuki 8D - Heh.. heres the continuation!
The weasel is MINE XP - Thanks! That really means a lot to me, cause you're the first person to call me an 'amazing author'! :D
crown zero - Thanks!
Wow - Well, here's the update!

On with the story!

CHAOS, ASSASSINS AND GODS
Chapter 6:
Transition

I sighed as I stepped out of the void, the cool air immediately caressing my face. With a careless wave of my hand, the rip in the world's fabric immediately sealed again. The slight breeze toyed with my hair, messing up the unruly spikes upon my head even more.

I let my gaze fall upon the palace before me. By human standards, it was a great work of art, an imposing piece of architecture. The palace was beautiful, the gardens immaculately maintained. Every blade of grass was in its place, no stray flower petal marring the display, no dead leaf defiling the gardens. The white marble that the palace was made of was of a near flawless quality to the human eye, yet my sharp eyes could pick out every defect in it.

By human standards, it was beautiful. Yet it barely matched up to the beauty of Heaven. I scoffed at the idea of picking out someone that would fulfill my criteria. The other Espada had stopped me from taking my typical course of action, instead urging me to take a human sacrifice. It hadn't taken much to persuade me to follow their idea though. The bare thought of Hallibel's fury was enough to make me cringe, thank you very much. The last time I had destroyed a city Hallibel and Nel had thrown a fit, and I certainly didn't want to face that again.

I highly doubted that I would even find someone worthy of my gaze within this palace, so filled with shameless and immoral people. Yet, I had to pick out someone that I would take back with me. It would be so much easier to just kill everyone and wreck the entire place, yet I couldn't. Tch, then I'd be stuck with some stupid hoe that would latch onto me, hoping to attain immortality and what not.

Ugh. It was better to get it over and done with. I quickly walk into the palace, watching as two guards at the hall entrance quickly stiffened at the sight of me. I could feel my lips smirking as they bowed deeply to me before pulling open the large doors that led into the hall. My nose wrinkled as the unpleasant smell of perfume and musk drifted to me. I curled my lip in distaste, and quickly strode into the hall.

Nothing else captures my sight except for the one lone figure just stepping onto the landing of the staircase on the far end of the hall. The slim figure is hugged by a tight dress, the top a black as dark as the void I came from, the tight body flaring out at the waist and fading into sunset gold and orange before trailing on the ground. A tan shoulder is left bare by the toga style top of the dress, the arms toned but lithe. The sun setting behind the figure only served to accentuate the beauty of itself, the stained glass throwing dazzling shadows onto the ground. Long hair the colour of the very sunset flowed down to the waist of the figure, the long length looking smooth and silky. I caught sight of full lips and a sharp nose before my eyes are drawn into molten chocolate orbs.

At that moment, a bolt of recognition shoots through me, and I realize I've seen this person before.

xxx

I push open the doors, and start making my way down the stairs. Just as I reach the landing halfway between the first and second floor and am making my way down, the door slides open directly opposite me.

What immediately catches my attention is not the striking blue hair, but the piercing blue eyes that bore into mine.

Those blue eyes were an arctic frost, freezing me into place. Those eyes were locked with mine, the blue like an ocean that were pulling me in. And I was drowning in them. A few seconds passed before I realized what was going on and I broke away eye contact.

The man wore a fitted suit that was tight in all the right places. The suit was white, with just the faintest tinge of blue that brought out his eyes all the more. The jacket was buttoned up, the shoulder fitting him perfectly. The pale blue dress shirt he wore inside complemented the suit, the collar left unbuttoned, revealing golden tanned skin stretched across a muscular neck. Sky blue hair was styled into unruly spikes and a few stubborn strands fell across his face, somehow suiting him.

His hair was an impossible colour, yet somehow I knew it was natural. After all, my hair wasn't exactly normal either. A strong jaw and a sharp profile made up his face, with thick eyebrows above his eyes. Somehow, he seemed familiar to me, as if I had met him before. But I was sure that I would remember such a flawless person if I had ever met him before. Something in those blue eyes reminded me of something else. Yet, I couldn't place my finger on it, despite my good memory.

He started walking towards me, his strides confident and sure. The people around him parted, leaving a clear route to me. Confused as to why he would approach me, I begin my way down the stairs. Step by step, we approach each other, our long steps eating up the distance between us. A metre away from each other, we stop at the same time. For some unknown reason, I was compelled to step closer to him, and so I did.

Up close, I could see the way his eyes were not just a solid colour, but a vast multitude of colours that seemed to shift in the light. From this distance, I could see his flawless skin, and I found myself wanting to reach out and touch his face. The unbuttoned dress shirt gave a peak at toned muscles, the golden skin appealing. I inhaled deeply, the scent of him flooding into my nostrils. If the wild could be captured, it would smell like him. It was woody and wild, with just a hint of musk underneath the smell that was distinctly him.

Our eyes locked just in time for me to see the flash of recognition.

xxx

Compelled to approach the figure, I strode towards the staircase, the people surrounding me immediately stepping out of my way. I watched as the figure began to descend the staircase and head towards me, and our gazes locked as we stopped directly in front of each other. As I stared into his chocolate brown eyes, I finally realize where I'd seen this person before.

This was no female.

I remember him at the lake that was bordering my territory, his calm movements towards a predator. The tanned skin that was oh so tempting, the water dripping off the sleek muscle mouth-watering. The way his eyes had been filled with calm as his fingers stroked through my fur, the simple comfort that I gave him without knowing why.

As he stepped toward me, a wave of his scent blew towards me. My sensitive nose was instantly filled with his scent, a pleasant mix of cinnamon and sun, with just a hint of chocolate. Yet underneath that, there was something much darker, something sinister that hinted at a malicious nature. It was also restrained by something else, the scent of old magic, faint and barely discernible. My curiosity piqued, I stared at him unabashedly, wondering what he hid.

Staring at him was a great pleasure though, his beauty even able to rival those of gods. Tanned skin was exposed by his dress, stretched taut over sleek muscle that shifted when he did. A chest that was flat, yet managed to look good in a dress. Those brown eyes were roving up and down my figure, the sunset orange of his hair bright and unparalleled anywhere.

His eyes shifted back up, locking onto mine. And at that moment, I knew he was my choice. I lifted my hand, palm up to him and watched as his eyes flickered to my hand before back to me.

"Will you come with me?"

xxx

Those eyes looked familiar to me, yet I really couldn't place it. My inner voices sighed in unison, and I wondered what they saw but I didn't. When he raised his hand up, I glanced at it, wondering what he wanted me to do. What I didn't expect was for him to speak.

"Will you come with me?"

His voice was like rough velvet, wild. It was somehow smooth, yet hinted at something unrestrained. His voice washed over me, eliciting a small shiver up my spine. It was like nothing else I had ever heard, and it was addictive. Then the meaning of the words clicked in, and I realized who, or rather what he was.

He was Pantera. The god of destruction, the one seeking a sacrifice, and it was evident that I had been picked. A million thoughts ran through my head, and I thought I had already thought of all that. However, those thoughts still ran unbidden through my mind.

Who will take care of my family? Will Aizen really let them go? Are they in danger? They can take care of themselves, right? Renji will take care of them for me, or at least that was what he told me. Am I going to die?

And then I realized that there was no other option. I had to trust that Aizen would honour his word, and set them free. Resigned, I raised my hand, and placed it in his before looking at him again. His hand was warm against my own, the large hand immediately grasping onto mine as he led me out of the hall. I could feel the stares of the others on us, but I brushed them off, for they knew nothing of this.

He gently led me out of the palace, pulling me to a secluded corner in the palace grounds. Confused, I searched his face for any hint of what we were going to do.

xxx

I let go of his hand, a smirk on my lips. I watched as confusion reigned on his features, his forehead crunching up adorably. I raised a hand, touching the air gently and stepping back, watching as the fabric of the world tore with a muted ripping sound, revealing the black void.

He didn't flinch, but the surprise was obvious. He cocked his head at me curiously, and full lips parted.

"What is this? Where does it lead to?"

His voice was filled with confusion mixed with curiosity, and my smirk turned into a full blown grin.

"It's a garganta. It a god's gateway to the world."

He nodded in acknowledgement, turning to head to regard the garganta with a hint of suspicion and awe. Secretly, I wondered if he would faint inside the garganta, for it was not meant for the travel of humans.

Grasping his hand firmly, I led him into the void, creating my own path out of the spirit particles that floated in abundance inside the garganta. He stepped carefully onto the path, visibly relaxing when it didn't collapse under him. The garganta closed behind us, and he began to step forward. He turned to look at me, and didn't notice when the path ran out ahead of him.

Panicking, I reached forward to pull him back, a warning on my lips when something curious happened. The warning died when the path automatically created itself for him, and I was shocked. The path had to be created manually, and humans shouldn't have the ability to do so. Even more of a wonder was that he was able to stay awake within the garganta. He surely was a special one.

Realizing that I was staring at him only when he started to fidget, I laughed, his image too funny. He glared back at me, turning back around with a huff of annoyance to continue ahead. I hurried to catch up with him, the path widening to accommodate us.

For some reason, the silence between us was not tense or awkward, but was rather more of a companionable silence that was friendly and comfortable. Before I knew it, we arrived at the other end, and we stepped out onto smooth stone. I watched as his eyes widened at the majestic sight, before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted dead away.

Shocked, I caught him in my arms before his head hit the hard stone, my heart beating faster for no apparent reason. Then, the absurdity of the situation set in, and I guffawed loudly. He could create his own path inside the garganta, use the garganta without issue, but fainted at the view of heaven? He really was a weird one.

Heh, any thoughts on how it should go? Interesting ideas MAY be incorporated. :D And I'm not sure when I'll update, but no promises on how soon it'll be.