Temptations From A Black Rose {} A Bleach Story {} Prologue

Of Thorns and Snakes

It had been a long time since she had heard her name spoken from recognizable lips. So long in fact that it actually sounded like a foreign language to her. The voice was unmistakable, even if she had been born deaf she would have known when that man spoke. Even if you could not hear him, the eerie feeling that raced up and down your spine, combined with the weird feeling of something cold and slithery moving around your entire being, was enough to know when he was around. His voice hadn’t changed much; the only true difference was the tone. It was deeper, clearly stating that it was a man, not the boy she once knew, who was speaking to her now.

The champagne haired woman slowly stopped walking and turned her head towards the direction that the familiar voice came from, which was just to her left. Only to spot a grinning silver haired man standing beneath a large tree, apparently he was trying to shelter himself from the storm, but from the doused look of his strangely styled white clothing and his dripping hair, it appeared this his efforts were all in vain. Though strangely, he didn’t appear ruffled in the least, despite the storm that was raging around him.

Mirai took a few moments to properly look over the familiar stranger and his wardrobe, before she answered. The tone was calm and polite, but also authoritative, a sign that she was not some one you wanted to anger or take lightly, “Yes. Yes indeed it has been quite awhile since we last saw one another, Ichimaru Gin.”

With the mere mentioning of his name, from the darkly clothed woman’s lips, Gin’s always visible grin seemed to widen even more. He stepped away from the tree’s shelter and towards the woman that he last saw as a pre-teen, in a forest just outside the walls of Seireitei, over a century ago. As he neared her, he caught sight on the clothing that scarcely covered her very womanly figure. It left very little to the imagination and Gin wondered if the familiar champagne hared woman that was standing before him now, was actually the shy, proper and pristine girl that he had once known.

The excruciatingly shy girl from his past would have never worn something as revealing and sexually enticing as what she was wearing now. She was more opted to cover as much of her figure as possible, seeing as how she had “bloomed” into her womanly figure at an early age and a great many had quickly taken notice, much to the embarrassment of the once young girl. The person who stood before him now was most certainly not in any way, shape or form a young girl or child that much was firmly clear.

“I see you’ve changed your clothing style. I must say, this new look is quite interesting.” The silver haired man remarked casually, yet there was a slight undertone of unmistakable male desire making its self known to the champagne haired woman. His ever-present fox-like grin widening ever so slightly, when the scantily dressed woman turned to fully face him; she was the perfect example of seductive and deadly. From her faintly narrowed eyes, to the slight curve of her full lips, to the very stance she had taken; beautiful, but oh so dangerous and wild.

Mirai didn’t reply to his statements, it was unnecessary to do so. She had expected no less, after all who would have ever thought that she, the self-conscious and nervous Shinigami novice, would turn out to be what she was today. Even she, the very woman who had once been that child had slight problems believing it at times. But that was another matter, all on its own, as she was here for one reason and one reason only and such things were insignificant at the present moment.

“You called me here for a reason, Gin-san, or did you merely wish to talk of old times?” Mirai asked in her polite, yet purposeful tone. One in which, Gin would soon learn that she used frequently.

“Ah,” The silver haired male chuckled amusedly, “Directly to the point, I see. My, my how you’ve grown… Yes, I’ve called you here; or rather Aizen-sama has called you here to strike a deal with you. But, unfortunately he was unable to meet you here himself. So if you’re interested in what he has to offer you, then you’ll have to come with me. I’m sure that if you heard his offer, you wouldn’t be able to refuse.”

The ever-smiling silver haired man’s words rolled off his tongue like pure honey. The offer wasn’t laid on the table, but from what Mirai could gather from Gin’s words, then it had to be one hell of a deal. It was so tempting. No wonder Aizen sent Gin, instead of coming himself, the way that the silver haired man spoke was enough to make anyone jump at the deal, without looking where they were jumping. But, Mirai was not just anyone; she had dealt with quite a few men like Gin and she wasn’t so easily seduced by thick, honeyed words.

A small, challenging smirk made itself present her light peach tinted lips, before she spoke, “Well, as tempting as the unknown offer is, I still must decline. If you want me to accept your offer, then I’ll have to speak to Aizen-san directly and besides, did you really think that I’ll follow you blindly, unknowing of where you’ll take me? Where is Aizen?”

“Aizen-sama is at our new base,” Gin started, his borderline creepy grin still present. He knew that no matter how skeptical little Mirai was, in the end she’d follow him back to Aizen. It would only take just a little more temptation and she’d bite. “It’s in Hueco Mundo, along with our army.”

Mirai couldn’t help it, her electric blue irises widened significantly at Gin’s words and that was it, she was caught. It was the sign that little Mirai had taken the bait, the sign that Gin had been waiting for. There was no way that she could refuse now and with that Gin turned around and began to walk up invisible stairs, that took him high into the air. When he seemingly reached the top of the unseen stairs, he stopped and opened the gateway to Hueco Mundo.

He glanced over his shoulder once the doorway completely opened and just like Aizen had said, little Mirai was there following behind him. Though she didn’t have any readable emotion on her face or in her eyes, she was still there and that was all that mattered. Gin just smiled triumphantly and motioned for the champagne haired woman to follow him into Hueco Mundo; confidently she followed her old acquaintance into the realm of Hollows wondering just what Aizen and Gin had up their sleeves, the doorway closed silently behind them, turning back into the night sky once more.