3- Drama
So here's chapter three. And just so everyone knows, the way Naki-chan and I wrote this was role play style. She played some of the characters and I played some of the characters and we wrote the story by each individual character's actions.
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Seeing that the group was in clear need of a new, more 'normal' wardrobe, Nakira decided to take them to the mall with her when she went to meet with Byakuya. She was already about two hours late to meet with him.
"Ki! I was beginning to wonder if you weren't going to show up." He said when they got there, smiling at her. She folded her arms playfully.
"Sorry…I had some stuff to take care of. As it is, I'm probably going to have to fully split from my body to go to my meeting later." She pouted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the group of ninja looking between her and Byakuya. Miki cleared her throat.
"I see you have guests?" Byakuya asked, an eyebrow raised and his usual serious attitude coming back. Damn those kids for ruining one of the few times she ever got to see him let loose.
"You could say that. I have to foot the bill for them a less noticeable wardrobe." She sighed, indicting Naruto's bright jumpsuit and Kakashi's outfit. Sakura, Sasuke, and Miki all had decent outfits—not counting the fact that Sasuke was wearing a jumpsuit—so they weren't that bad. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Kuchiki Byakuya. Byakuya, these guys are Uzumaki Miki and Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura."
"Ah…nice to meet you." He bowed slightly in acknowledgement. Miki smirked and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Nice to meet you." She said lightly and walked off. Sasuke watched her for a second and sighed tiredly.
"Don't worry about her. She's like that." He said and ran after her. Sakura ran after them and Kakashi shook his head a little.
"I'll go make sure they don't make trouble. Come on, Naruto." He started after them and Naruto followed reluctantly.
"At least they apparently know when to leave a couple alone." Byakuya smirked, his previous loose attitude returning now that they were alone.
"Miki and Kakashi at least. The other three…they're a bit dense." She responded, taking his hand.
"Not necessarily. Sasuke seems almost on Miki's level." He said lightly. "We both have meetings at the same time…and we don't have class in the morning. Do you plan to stay over after your meeting?" She smiled slightly.
"I'm not sure. Normally, I would say yes immediately…but with those guys…" She sighed, trailing off.
"I understand…" He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Do you think they'll be able to survive without supervision then?" She blushed a little.
"Miki isn't the team captain, but she's taken charge." She started walking. "Let's get some shopping done while we're alone. And no talking about anything other than us, please." He nodded.
"Okay then." He walked with her.
XX
"You idiot! Can you not pay attention to what the people around are wearing?" Miki yelled at Naruto as he tried to put together yet another outrageous looking outfit.
"Miki…calm down…people are staring…" Sakura said slowly, trying to diffuse the situation. The two cousins had been going at it almost constantly.
"Honestly…" She shook her head. "Whatever. You guys do what you want." She turned and walked off. Sasuke started to follow her and Sakura approached him.
"I guess that just leaves us…Sasuke."
"Why don't we all just split up and meet back up when we're done?" Kakashi suggested.
"Whatever." Sasuke groaned, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off in the direction that Miki went. Dammit…why did he completely ignore Sakura when she'd been around for so long and yet follow Miki around like a shadow when that girl had been missing for five years before showing up at random? It wasn't fair.
"Am I the only one to notice how he follows her around?" Naruto asked, surprisingly having a moment of intelligence.
"No." She growled, glaring after Sasuke.
"Well then…I'll be going." Kakashi said slowly and walked off, making his escape.
"So…Sakura…" Naruto started. She turned her glare on him.
"I'd rather fight Miki." She cut him off and stormed away.
XX
"I can't believe this…Nakira!" Sara yelled as she entered the kitchen and saw the pile of dishes in the sink.
"She just went to her meeting with Byakuya." Miki said, entering the kitchen from the back hall.
"Who the hell are you?" She stared at Miki, who only sighed.
"Uzumaki Miki. Sorry to intrude, but Nakira couldn't miss her meeting."
"Uzumaki…? Oh great. Don't tell me that Naruto…" She started.
"Oy! Nakira said to stay out of shit, Naruto!" Kakashi's voice almost shook the house. Sara's eye twitched angrily.
"Hey! Will you keep it down? I have neighbors you know!" She yelled in the direction of the guest bedroom/training hall/office. "That was Kakashi?" Miki nodded.
"Unfortunately. Their whole team is here." She scowled. Sasuke came into the kitchen, looking pissed.
"I'm out of here." He said, heading for the back door.
"Hey! Nakira said that we need to stay here." Miki hurried after him and they disappeared outside, leaving Sara confused and more than a little annoyed.
XX
"Taisho! Come over here for a moment." Sasakibe waved at Nakira. The meetings just barely ended and he'd already spotted her.
"Oh shit…" She sighed and walked over. "What?"
"Your report from the incident this morning was expected during the meeting." He frowned. She smiled a little.
"I intended to give it during the meeting, but Captain Ukitake needed me to cover for him." She said slowly. Fortunately, that seemed to satisfy Sasakibe.
"Fine then. Before you return to the real world, I expect a written report in." She nodded.
"Understood. I'll make sure to get that in." She said and turned.
"Nakira!" Rangiku called, waving her over to where she was chatting with Isane and Kira.
"What's up?" She asked, hurrying over to her friend.
"You missed the meeting! I was hoping to hear your side of what happened the morning!" She put an arm around her shoulder.
"On the way to my division barracks. I have to take my notes from the meeting to Captain Ukitake." She sighed, twisting out of Rangiku's grip.
"What are you up to?" Byakuya said behind them, smiling minutely.
"We were just about to head to Division Thirteen. I need to take these notes to Captain Ukitake before I head back home to make sure that Miki's group hasn't killed each other or destroyed the house." She answered brightly.
"Ah…did you remember to turn in that report?" He asked, almost jokingly.
"Things got crazy when I got here, so no. But I've got it ready to turn in…sitting on the desk in the office. So I'll be turning it in before I head home." She shrugged, trying to make light of her obvious disappointment in herself. She was a vice-captain, but she had the responsibilities of both a vice-captain and a captain because of her captain's ill health. She hated it when she slipped up and made mistakes like leaving a report on her desk when it needed to be turned in as soon as possible.
"Ah. Do you want some company?" He asked lightly. She sighed tiredly.
"Fine. You already know what's going on for the most part anyways…" He nodded.
"Then I'll go with you." They headed for the Division Thirteen barracks, Nakira explaining the recent chain of events to a disconcerted Rangiku—most of the Vice-Captains got like that when Byakuya decided to tag along like that. They stopped in front of the Division Ten gate.
"Hm…well, that's interesting and all. But I'm certainly glad I'm not you. See you." Rangiku slipped through the gates almost too quickly.
"Shall we then?" Byakuya smiled at Nakira, taking her hand as though he'd been waiting anxiously for the two of them to be alone to have that touch.
"You were just waiting for Rangiku to leave us alone, weren't you?" She laughed, threading her fingers in his. "Do you plan to check in on Captain Ukitake? Or are you going to wait outside for me?"
"I'll wait outside for you." He sighed. They soon got to the Division Thirteen gate and Nakira kissed his cheek lightly.
"I'll be back in a minute." She hurried through the gates and to the office. "Kiyone! Sentarou!" She hollered loudly into the grounds as she entered the office backwards. The two ran over, clearly inebriated.
She shook her head a little. "You two have been drinking again…" She sighed. "Honestly…go sober up. And for heaven's sake, stay sober until I get back from the human world!" She scolded them. The two saluted and ran off, clearly terrified of their angry Vice-Captain.
"You shouldn't scare them like that…" Captain Ukitake sighed, leaning on the doorframe of his room.
"And you shouldn't be up, Captain." She hurried to him and got him back in his bed. "You'll only keep getting sick if you don't actually rest when you're sick."
"You worry too much." He sighed. She rolled her eyes.
"And you don't worry enough about yourself. Now. I brought notes from the meeting for you to look over and I've already taken care of most of the paperwork that's piled up."
"Thank you for doing so much." He paused. "Didn't you have a report to turn in?" What was it with everyone hounding her about the stupid report?
"Not you too…" She groaned. "Yes. And it's prepared. I just have to go turn it in before I head home."
"You're not spending the night with Captain Kuchiki?" She went scarlet.
"N-No…unfortunately, I have company at the house and I have to babysit."
"Ah. How many are staying with you?"
"Five…and we only have a few beds…" She groaned again, remembering the chaos that was filling the house when she'd left. "Anyways…I guess I should get going. Do you need anything else, Captain?"
"Some of that soup you made earlier would be nice…"
"Okay. I'll go heat it up." She hurried to the kitchen area and filled a bowl with hot soup. She took the bowl and a glass of water into the room. "Here you go." She handed it to him.
"Thank you." He drank the soup almost in one gulp.
"Don't drink too fast…" She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "There's plenty in the pot for two more bowls. And another full pot in the cooler. I also refilled the ice before the meeting in case your fever goes up. And the towels and rags are freshly cleaned and in the cabinet." She paused. "I also fixed the intercom system so the San-seki can hear if you need anything."
"You work too hard…"
"Someone around here has to." She muttered, heading back into the office. "I'm going to grab that report and turn it in so I can head home and make sure Naruto didn't destroy anything." She shuffled through the papers on the desk, searching for her report.
"Okay." He sighed. "You really do work too hard. Maybe you should take a vacation?"
"Not a chance. There's too much to take care of without worrying about taking a vacation." She growled, finding the elusive bundle of papers. "Get to feeling better, Captain. I'll come by sometime tomorrow to check in." She said lightly as she hurried out of the office and to the gate. Byakuya was waiting for her in the street, arms crossed and a blank look on his face. "Sorry it took so long." She said lightly, resting her hand lightly on his elbow.
He jumped a little. He clearly hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings if she'd been able to startle him. It made her laugh a little. "I've never seen you space out like that. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I was just thinking." He paused. "Shall we go? It's getting late."
"Okay." She smiled at him and started down the street. "I wish I could stay here tonight…"
"You said yourself, you need to be at home tonight." He caught her hand and walked with her. She wished she didn't have to though. Maybe Captain Ukitake had been right. Maybe she really did need a vacation. "But I'll see you to the gate."
"Thanks…" Her small bit of depression seeped into her voice. As they passed an alley, Byakuya pulled her off the street and hugged her tightly.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to be stuck dealing with them…" She groaned, crumpling into the comfort of his embrace.
"Nakira…you don't have to. You could stay with me for the night and take a break." He offered, holding her tightly. She sighed. He was the second person to suggest a 'break'.
"Why is everyone telling me to 'take a break'?"
"Because you need it. You work too hard on everything else." She groaned in response. "It's true. You're always worrying about everything else. School, Sara, work, paperwork here…" He trailed off in the extremely long list of responsibilities she had that he knew of. The actual list was a lot longer than that, but she couldn't tell anyone what was on the rest of the list. Her duties as a goddess were not the business of others.
"Okay, I get it. You think I worry too much."
"Worrying and working are two different things. You do the work of five people." He paused. "And never stop to consider how much you're overdoing it. I'm tempted to kidnap you for a few days and make you skip classes." She frowned and lifted her head to glare weakly at him.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"You think so?"
"I have a report due Monday in World History and a test in French…I can't miss school Monday."
"Fine. But you do need a break. I'm sure that those five will be fine until tomorrow at least." He smiled at her and she felt her face soften. She pulled away from him, moving to go back to the street.
"Fine. I'll stay tonight. You win. But I still have to turn this report in."
"Okay." He went with her and they headed to the First Division. When they got there, Nakira hurried to the office and shoved the report onto Sasakibe's desk before leaving without a word to anyone. The moment she got outside, Byakuya grabbed her up and flash stepped to his manor, not setting her down until he had her at the door to the dining room. The smell of a rich dinner came from the table. She smiled slightly at him and went into the dining room with him.
She sat beside him at the table. He smiled and started eating after instructing one of the servants to draw a bath and make sure his room was suitable for the two of them to sleep. It made her happy to see that he seemed to have numbed himself to some things about their relationship.
He was such a stickler for rules and propriety, it really made her love him more when he made compromises like sharing a bed with her even though it was improper. Maybe it was the fact that their relationship really was very unconventional and improper that helped him make those compromises. She liked to think that it was just because he was that in love with her, she knew that she made a lot of compromises with him because she was that in love with him.
When she finished eating, Nakira sighed contentedly and leaned on Byakuya's arm. He'd finished eating as well, so he put his chopsticks down and put his arm around her. "You look like you could use a bath." He joked. She laughed a little, fully in agreement with him.
"Sure." He gently stood and pulled her with him. She complied, her normally bright eyes dull with exhaustion. She was sure she looked as tired as she suddenly felt, as Byakuya lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bath. He set her in a chair right inside the room and stepped out to call a servant to help her get cleaned up and relaxed. She grabbed his wrist before he got fully into the hall. "Stay…"
"You need a bath and I'm not going to…" He paused, blushing. It drove her crazy. Of all the 'improper' things involved in their relationship, he absolutely refused to even risk seeing her naked. That was the one thing he clung to. She knew he didn't agree with pre-marital sex, much less the idea of even seeing her cleavage a little overly exposed—as happened sometimes when she did training exercises in her uniform.
"Please…?" She pleaded. She didn't want to do anything. She just wanted him with her, but he was adamant about that one thing. He shook his head, his entire face turning red with embarrassment.
"No. I'll have someone help you and I'll wait." He gently pulled his wrist from her strong grasp and fled from the room. She blew her and sighed.
"Figures…" She folded her arms to wait for the servant to arrive to help. Sitting there like that, she figured it was best that Byakuya had insisted on her taking a short break. She felt so exhausted that she didn't even think she could make it to the bed after this bath before she passed out.
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Yes I know, the story is a bit slow right now. But this is still only the beginning. And this story is still in progress.