Children of the Stars

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or World of Warcraft...well technically I own the game...or at least two accounts, but that's beside the point! I've just taken my ideas and combined them with the two for my own personal enjoyment, and hopefully the enjoyment of others.


On a second note...I was impatient and I didn't have my husband proof this chapter. If there's something I screwed up on, lemme know please! WannaBeNinja, I bow to you. I am your humble minion. I am not worthy of your praise!!


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Chapter 2 - Abrupt Parting

Renji stifled a laugh when he saw his Captain enter the room. The man's clothing was singed, his face slightly covered with soot. His prisoner had been thrown over his shoulder, a sign that the normally serene man had indeed become frustrated. She must have gotten him pretty close up to have done that much damage. Overall, he wasn’t hurt, but the tightness around his eyes said he was greatly annoyed.

Even though he was angry with her, Byakuya gently pulled her down from his shoulder, pushing her into the cell and quickly sealing it. He decided to leave her hands bound for the time being. He told himself it was for their safety, but secretly he knew it was out of spite. His scarf was going to need to be replaced after her little revolt. Silently he fumed about it, glaring at her and being glared at in return.

The stare down broke off when his Lieutenant came over to stand beside him, followed by a fluttering black butterfly. He had to break away from her gaze in order to convey his message, and he finally did so, with an aristocratic toss of his head.

Curtly, he relayed the events of the night to the hell butterfly, sending it directly to the Commander-General, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. While he handled that matter, Renji walked over to the cell that caged a very livid Serrelle. She strained against the bonds, ignoring his stares.

Stepping close to the bars, he tried to warn her “You’ll only cause damage to your soul if you keep trying to break that.”

Ceasing her struggles she looked up at him, blue eyes blazing. She whispered something inaudible, a faint light casting an orange hue on the wall behind her. He leapt back from the bars as what appeared to be a flaming black skull flew towards him, striking the barrier and disintegrating on contact. Though her attack was thwarted, she still managed a weak smile at his reaction. A hand on his shoulder made him jump again.

“Renji” his Captain said, his voice calm as usual.

“Sir?”

“I am to remain here and wait for the Commander-General. He will decide their fate and make arrangements accordingly.”

The redhead nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“While I am waiting, I would like for you to return the woods where we found them and retrieve that stave the Priestess was wielding. The Commander may wish to see it.”

He offered his Captain a short bow before vanishing from sight. Serrelle blinked, bewildered. The young man was there one moment, gone the next.

Moving to stand in front of her, Byakuya inspected the captive woman quietly. Where the shapeshifter’s armor had been wrought with ornate metals and designs, this woman was clearly not dressed for battle. She wore a simple, sleeveless white robe, made of silk from the look of it. It had a deep v-cut neckline, plunging down and revealing part of her breasts. Just above them rested a silver crescent moon, much like the one he had seen on the panther. It dangled downward from a delicate group of silver chains around her throat.

“Do not stare at me as though I was a piece of meat, filthy human!”

Her voice cut through to him, it was soft, despite her harsh words. He looked into her eyes boldly, growing used to the eerie glow that surrounded them.

“I am not human” he said simply.

She threw her head back and laughed, her reaction puzzling to him.

“Not human? What are you then? A Blood Elf that trimmed back his ears?”

She laughed again at her own statement, finding humor in such a preposterous idea. Byakuya cocked his head to the side. ‘A blood elf?’ When she stopped laughing, she inspected him again, shaking her head.

“You lack the eyes of a Highborne as well. The only alternative is that you are human.”

“I am a shinigami, not a human” he corrected.

One of those strange brows of her rose in disbelief in confusion. He felt something tug at him inwardly at her expression and tossed it aside. It had been a small twinge, recognition and appreciation of the beauty. He would not allow it a place in his mind.

“What is a shinigami?” She finally asked after a moment.

Sighing, he folded his arms into the sleeves of his shihakusho. “A death god” he replied, answering her question but not offering her any additional information.

She snorted, ridiculing the idea. He sounded more like a human Priest on a power trip. Or worse yet, one of those zealots that served with the Scarlet Crusade.

Byakuya found himself staring at her again, that twinge was back. Her face was intriguing, perfectly symmetrical, every feature seemed just right. It was as though she was the definition of perfect beauty, or at least an exaggeration of it. Her body was slim and athletic, her exposed arms seemed perfectly toned. She did not seem real, as flawless as she appeared to be.

Shaking his head, he banished the thoughts once again, refusing to let them take root. “What is your name?” he queried.

Those glowing eyes narrowed slightly. “Free me of these bonds and I may well answer you.”

He stared at her blankly for so long she thought he was ignoring her. Just when she was about to demand some sort of response, she felt a tingle in her arms. With a sigh, she pulled at them, relieved to find them free and mobile once again.

Flexing her hands by opening and closing them, she began to restore feeling in them as well as her numb wrists. Whatever that spell had been, he was most effective. Holding up to her end of the bargain, she stood a little taller, lifting her chin slightly.

“My name is Serrelle Whisperwind.”

She had expected to see his eyes grow wide with recognition, a reaction to her surname. Instead he only nodded mutely, gray eyes unreadable. Sniffing her disapproval, she voiced it.

“You are a foolish human. The armies of my people will destroy you for this affront. Mother always felt leery about joining into your pitiful alliance and it seems her doubts have proven true.”

His expression did not waver, the bland expression quickly grating on her nerves. She was considering continuing to berate him when she heard a low groan.

“Tessah!” She called, moving to the bars of her cell and hissing as the barrier burned her fingertips.

Byakuya moved over to the cell beside hers, quietly watching the one called ‘Tessah’ rub her head gingerly. She groaned again as she pushed herself off the floor. A green light formed around her hands, transparent leaves floating around her. Within moments both light and leaves had vanished, seemingly absorbed within her body. She shook her head, dark hair flowing back and forth in a thick wave.

“Ah, that’s better” she said to herself, her golden eyes now catching a glimpse of her observer.

“What are you staring at, human?”

He sighed, lips thinning. “I will say this again and I shall not repeat myself” he said, directing his words to both women. “I am not a human. Do not confuse me, or any of us, with them for that matter. We are shinigami, gods of death. Our life span far outnumbers that of a human, our powers as well.”

Tessah snorted “You don’t look like one of the undead to me.”

Serrelle laughed heartily “I do not think that is what he means, sister. Personally, I believe he sounds like a solider of the Scarlet Crusade.”

Tessah laughed along with her sister, holding her chest lightly. “I can see that, fanatical zealots, the lot of them. That would explain why they would dare attack and imprison a Kaldorei. They do not follow the same alliance as the rest of the humans.”

Byakuya listened to the exchange closely, absorbing each tidbit of information.

Serrelle nodded “Yes, I see. He does not seem to recognize my name though, sister. There isn’t a soul in Kalimdor or Azeroth that does not know of it.”

Tessah stepped forward, decreasing the distance between herself and her captor. Her golden eyes locked tightly onto him.

“Were we not taken as prisoners of war?” She asked, her voice calm yet filled with disbelief.

Renji strode back into the hall, carrying the tall staff Serrelle had been wielding earlier. Ignoring the arrival of his subordinate, Byakuya stared back at the other woman.

“Prisoners of war? What war?”

Tessah blinked, taking a step back in surprise. Raising her voice slightly, she began to speak rapidly to Serrelle in that same strange lyrical tongue he heard earlier. Renji looked back and forth, from one cell to the other, entranced. When the two ceased their exchange, it was Serrelle who spoke.

“Shinigami, you know not of Tyrande Whisperwind or Malfurion Stormrage?”

Byakuyua turned his head towards her, “I have lived long and know many, but I have never heard those names.”

The two women now looked genuinely surprised by his response. “Elune watch over us” Serrelle whispered, hugging herself tightly.

“Just where are we, shinigami?” Tessah demanded, banging her fists against the barrier. Sparks flew and she growled as it singed her lightly.

Renji sneered at her “You are inside of the Seireitei, cat-woman.”

Tessah sneered back “My name is Tessah Stormrage, and I am not a ‘cat-woman’ you fool! I am a druid of the god Cenarius! It is his power that allows me to change form.”

Byakuya stood, surveying the staff Renji passed to him as he listened to her. “Stormrage?” He asked quietly, and three sets of eyes turned to look at him.

“I thought you two were sisters, how is it that you bear different names?”

Serrelle lifted her chin again “We chose to honor our noble parents by taking both names. Our mother is the High Priestess of Elune and leader of the Kaldorei. Because I follow in her footsteps, I chose to keep her surname.”

Tessah picked up after her “Our father is the Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, the most powerful druid living. I seek to be one with nature as he is, perhaps one day my strength will be enough to draw the eye of Cenarius as my father once did.”

He nodded, offering a noncommittal “Hn” to their explanations and resumed inspecting the staff, fingers tracing the unique etchings.

Renji raised one finger “Ah, Captain, I almost forgot. I confiscated this off of Neko-chan here” he said, slipping her dagger out and using it to point to Tessah.

She growled at him, striking the barrier again and ignoring the pain “My.name.is.Tessah!” She punctuated each word to make herself clear.

Byakuya accepted the dagger as well, holding it up in the light. Renji turned back to look at her, sticking his tongue out rudely. Placing her fingertips to her mouth, Tessah mimed blowing him a kiss, jutting her hip out and slapping it with that hand. He certainly had not expected that kind of response from her. He could not hold back his laughter, it had been quite amusing and perhaps a little sexy.

His Captain looked up, watching the exchange between the prisoner and his subordinate.

Her voice teasing, Tessah spoke to her sister in Darnassian. “The red haired boy is quite cute, don’t you think?”

Serrelle rolled her eyes. Her sister could cloud her mind with thoughts of men at some of the worst times.

“Do not admire the enemy, it is not wise.”

On the other side of the wall, Tessah crossed her arms, silently mocking her sister. Renji chuckled quietly. He couldn’t understand a word that was said, but he liked the fire he saw in Tessah. ‘She’s a spunky little neko, isn’t she?’

It was about that time when the Commander himself strode into the room, his Lieutenant trailing in quietly behind him. Tessah snorted and spoke again in the language of her people

“The old man braids his hair like a dwarf.”

Serrelle tittered despite herself. The man did indeed have a thick braid of white hair hanging a good length from his chin, much like a dwarf. He lifted one drooping brow at their conversation, the language foreign to his old ears.

“These are the intruders you spoke of, Captain Kuchiki?”

“Intruders?!” Tessah burst out, trying to grab the bars and yet again being delivered a painful shock from her attempt. “These bastards attacked us!”

The men ignored her outburst, Byakuya looking straight at his Commander. “Indeed. I discovered this one stalking around outside the Squad Six office” he said, pointing to Tessah who sputtered in indignation.

“We gave chase into the woods where we apprehended her. This young lady here attacked us when her sister was captured” he finished, extending his hand towards Serrelle.

He went on to explain the various skills each woman had demonstrated, finishing with the attack Serrelle made on him.

Tessah howled in laughter at hearing that. “What’s the matter Captain? Didn’t like her Holy Nova?”

Serrelle’s blood had begun pumping with anger when she listened to his methodical discourse. He made them sound so reprehensible! When she heard her sister taunting him, a wicked grin came across her face.

Crooking her finger over and over at Byakuya, she taunted him. The Holy Nova burst from her body again, extending in a short radius around her body and destroying the floor beneath her feet.

“Tor ilisar’thera’nal!” she crowed, ‘Let our enemies beware!’

Tessah laughed at her sister’s defiance. Serrelle was usually such a calm and serene woman, but if you set her blood boiling you had best be ware. On a hunch, she called forth her mark of the wild, casting it on herself and then her sister.

All the four men saw was a purple paw print appear above each woman’s head. Serrelle gave a sharp nod of understanding and cast her prayer of fortitude, causing a glowing blue cross to appear above them simultaneously.

“Um…what exactly are they doing?” Renji asked, bewildered by the strange magic.

As if in answer, Tessah grinned at him, extending her right arm outward, towards the wall. From her palm, tree roots seemed to sprout, boring into the cement barrier that separated the two women.

There was a collective gasp from a few of the men once her plan was made clear.

“Quickly!” Yamamoto barked “Restrain her!”

The Commander’s Lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, flung open her cell door and rushed in with Renji at his heels. Roots appeared from the floor, rapidly entwining around his feet and crawling up his legs. Seeing the fate of his comrade, Renji leapt off the ground and flew through the air, tackling Tessah and pinning her to the ground.

Trying to aid her sister, Serrelle began casting Smite on the now cracked wall beside her. Golden bursts of flame struck the wall. Mentally she cursed how long it took for her to cast the spell each time when she saw Byakuya entering her cell.

“Stay away from me!” She warned, her psychic scream once again assaulting his mind.

‘So that was her who did that earlier…’ he thought, shaking the attack off. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of her wrist. Vaguely he thought he heard her say something, like a faint whisper tickling his ears. A familiar black skull, engulfed in flames, departed from her hand. ‘Too close to dodge!’ He grimaced as it struck.

The skull vanished into him, a dark cloud forming around his body. An uneasy feeling overcame him. His stomach roiled, nausea rising rapidly. Ignoring it, he sent his hand forward, intending on striking her swiftly and rendering her unconscious. Instead, she gasped and called forth a strange globe of light to surround her body protectively, narrowly sparing her from his attack. It even pushed his hand away from her wrist.

“Tessah!” she screamed, frantically backing away from him.

In answer, she heard the roar of a grizzly and knew her sister had changed forms once again. Renji suddenly found himself face to face with a set of teeth he had not wished to see ever again. He leapt away from her, drawing his sword.

Sasakibe had already drawn his and was hacking away at the vines that seemed to hold him immobile. Yamamoto watched both struggles impassively, stroking his beard. He had not doubted Captain Kuchiki when he reported her transmogrification ability, but it was quite another thing to see it for himself.

Leaving Byakuya to handle his own battle, Yamamoto took one step into the cell where Tessah squared off with the two Lieutenants. She roared at him, pawing the air ominously. She heard her sister scream again as her shield began to weaken. Instead of attacking the men in her cell, she charged the wall separating them, causing it to crumble and fall away.

Yamamoto hummed into his beard and released a small portion of reiatsu. The great bear shuddered, but struck the wall again, knocking away more chunks. He increased the amount and saw her stumble just before striking the wall. She rammed into it nonetheless, finally breaking through to her sister’s cell.

Serrelle was locked in futile combat with Byakuya. The barrier she had erected had vanished only seconds before. She knew her skills were not meant for this, but it did not stop her from fighting. Unarmed, she fought him with the few damaging spells she knew and her own fists, though he blocked her blows easily enough. He was not trying to cause her great harm, that much she could see. He was holding back.

When Tessah made it through the wall, she sighed in relief but groaned when she turned and saw the bear stumble almost drunkenly. She rocked back and forth, dizzy from the blasts of reiatsu wearing down on her. Blindly, she struck out, claws missing Byakuya by several feet.

He deftly sidestepped, grabbing Serrelle’s wrists while she was distracted and pinning her to the wall. Desperately, she called forth a blast of Holy Nova. It exploded through the room, healing her sister and in turn, injuring Byakuya. This time he did not let go, ignoring the little bites of flame eating into his clothing and skin.

Tessah’s vision cleared and she moved to charge him. Leaping through the large hole in the wall, Renji used his shoulder to strike her mid charge, slamming her into the opposite wall. Horror bloomed on Serrelle’s face. They were losing their battle, once again. She strained against the man holding her but to no avail.

In a last ditch attempt, she took over the mind of the red haired shinigami once again, drawing him away from her sister and removing Tessah from combat. Once she had him blocking Sasakibe and Yamamoto from entering the room she released her hold.

“Get out of here sister!” She screamed. Tessah looked at her, appalled by the suggestion.

“Ash Karath!” she screamed again, ‘do it!’


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An abrupt end to the chapter, I know. I just couldn't resist the urge to leave people hanging. :)

a/n: Yes, I know. Shadow Word Pain does not have a flaming skull graphic when cast. It does, however, have that as it's little icon. Figured I should bring that into play, make it a little more believable.