Chapter 6

- The Next Day -

Byakuya didn't get home until after 2 a.m. Myssa heard him enter his room. She sent a faint trickle of reiatsu, reaching out to him. She couldn't see the smile on his face, but she felt a return pulse of his reiatsu. The small exchange was all she needed to know that he was all right and she was able to go to sleep.

Just after sunrise Myssa snuck into Byakuya's room with a note. She carefully opened his closet and slipped the note into the pocket of the first clean haori she saw. Mission accomplished, she paused to watch him sleep. He looked peaceful and so handsome it made her want to crawl into bed to snuggle up to him. Her primal urges were beating at her brain; she wanted him so much she could feel it nearly choking her.

She carefully leaned across the bed to kiss his cheek then just as carefully withdrew. She left the room, the only sound was the slow, quiet opening and closing of the door.

Byakuya had awakened the moment he heard Myssa open his door to sneak in. He stayed still, watching her from barely open eyes. When she stopped by his bed he tried to keep his breathing even. That became difficult when he felt her lean toward him. As her lips pressed to his cheek he had to fight the urge to pull her against him and claim her lips.

Once she had left, he got out of bed and went to the closet. He searched the pockets of his haori and found her note. It was folded in a perfect origami envelope shape with a purple silk ribbon tied around it in a neat bow. He pulled the ribbon free and brought it to his nose. It smelled like her – clean and faintly floral. He opened the note. Written in her lovely handwriting, it read: "Whatever path you must walk today, know that I am with you." He smiled, refolded the note and put it back into the haori pocket along with the ribbon. I should have yanked her into the bed with me, he thought as he got back into bed and went back to sleep.

An hour and a half later, he went to breakfast and was disappointed that Myssa was absent. After his meal, he went to her room to wake her. Tamor was lounging in the sun. "She's not in her room. She went for a run a little over an hour ago."

"Alone?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes. She left me here to make sure you didn't worry if she missed breakfast." Tamor perked up. "Oh, here she comes now."

Byakuya felt an enormous amount of reiatsu, nearly enough to cause concern. Had he been a less powerful person he would probably be struggling to breathe. "Why is she giving off so much reiatsu?"

"She loses control when she gets fatigued." Tamor answered. "I usually help her keep it in check. Lately it's gotten harder for her to control and I've had to help more. Once she gets closer I'll be able to reign it in." He started laughing. "I wonder how many people she's flattened."

Byakuya couldn't help but snicker at the image of Myssa jogging through the Seireitei with squad members dropping like a domino chain in her wake.

"What you witnessed yesterday during your sparring session was only about half of her power." Tamor said.

"Why did she hold back?"

"Her powers scare her. She has lost control in the past and those experiences have seeded her mind with fear. That fear keeps her from training to achieve bankai."

"She is afraid she will not be able to control it." Byakuya said.

"Precisely."

Her reiatsu disappeared as Tamor sealed it off. A few minutes later, she rounded the corner of the mansion and saw Tamor and Byakuya outside her room. She smiled at Byakuya, "Good morning, Byakuya, sorry I missed breakfast. Rangiku hijacked me as I passed the squad ten barracks. She insisted I have breakfast with her and Captain Hitsuguya." She kicked off her running shoes and picked them up. "Don't forget your lunch."

"I will not forget." Byakuya replied.

"I hope you have a good day." She said before she went into her room to take a shower and change her clothes. Byakuya left to go to work.

In her private bathroom Myssa found a note taped to the mirror. It was folded in a perfect origami envelope. Her heart skipped in fear – he had returned her note! Had she been too forward and offended him? She opened the note to re-read what she had written to dissect each word. Her stomach fluttered when she saw Byakuya's precise penmanship. Relief flooded her. The note read: "Such beauty reflected here, yet you are so much more. You see me without looking. You give me what I need without trying. Thank you for just being you." Her heart was in her throat. This man…he was so much more than what she had expected. She thought that it would be difficult to get close to him, to break through his indifference. She was wrong.

-Later that Afternoon: around 3 p.m.—

Myssa was working in the library. Tamor was reading a book, tracking down a translation for her. Her smartphone pinged with a text message from Renji. She read it out loud, "Come to the front gate, I'm waiting for you." She left Tamor in the library and hoped she didn't get lost on her way through the mansion.

Once she reached the front gate, she saw Renji. He looked very tense and his eyes kept periodically scanning the area. "What's wrong?" She braced herself for bad news.

"An assassin tried to kill Captain Kuchiki." Renji's voice was tinged with anger.

She felt her stomach drop. "What?! Is he all right?"

"He's in the infirmary at squad four." He responded. "He sent me here to protect you."

"Protect me from what?"

"The destruction of his office was someone sent by Haiko Fujiama. The assassin today was hired by him." He put his hand on her back and guided her back into the courtyard. "The Captain gave me specific orders. You are not to leave my sight and I am to make sure you stay inside the mansion."

She stopped before he could herd her closer to the front door. "How bad are his injuries?"

"Pretty bad."

"Take me to him right now." She demanded.

"He was adamant that you are not to see him."

She glared up at him. "I'm going, with or without you. If you try to stop me I will truss you up like a Christmas turkey and leave you on the front porch until I get back."

His eyes went wide at the threat, then narrowed. "I'd like to see you try."

She nearly yelled, "Renji, please, I can heal him!"

"So can squad four. Captain Kotetsu is working on him."

She shook her head, "You don't understand. I can heal him instantly."

"How?"

She explained quickly and as detailed as possible. "Please don't tell anyone. Only Shunsui, Jushiro, and Byakuya know about it."

He nodded. "C'mon, I'll carry you. I can get us to squad four using shunpo." He scooped her up. "You might want to close your eyes."

The world blurred and she kept her eyes closed. In very little time, Renji was setting Myssa on her feet at the door to the infirmary. Inside, she followed him to a private room. She saw a woman with silver hair tending to Byakuya. He was laying on a bed. His legs were covered in shrapnel wounds and more were peppered up his body. He was naked except for a bloody towel over his "dignity". His eyes were closed and he was pale – from blood loss or pain she didn't know. She walked to the side of the bed, drawing Isane's attention.

"Who are you?" Isane asked, her voice a little tense.

Byakuya's eyes shot open and pinned her. She held his gaze but spoke to Isane. "Are the wounds cleared of shrapnel?"

"Not yet. Answer my question, who are you?" Isane's patience could only be pushed so far.

"I am Myssa Starjax. I am here to…" She began.

Byakuya cut her off, all but yelling at Renji, "I told you not to allow her to come here. Get her out of here now!" Renji looked away.

Myssa looked at Renji, caught his eye, "Guard the door, please, Renji." He left the room.

Byakuya was furious. She could see it in his eyes, the twitching muscle in his jaw, hell, it practically filled the room. His voice was low, gritted, "Myssa, I don't want you here."

It was her turn to be the calm one, "I don't care what you want, Byakuya. I'm here for what you need." She looked at Isane. "After you remove all the shrapnel, I will heal him."

"I can handle that, I don't need help." Isane said.

"All due respect, Captain Kotetsu, you cannot take his wounds away from him. I can."

"Impossible!"

"You are welcome to stay and see for yourself. Now, please, work quickly, I cannot abide seeing him in this much pain." Myssa said, still calm.

Isane looked at Byakuya who met her look and nodded. Myssa sat down on the bed, taking his hand between both of hers. "I can't take away all the pain right now, but I can ease it while she works." A soft glow circled their clasped hands. He could feel the pain fade.

"Myssa, please, don't do this." He said.

"Why?"

"I do not want you to take these injuries. I do not want you to feel this pain. I would rather suffer for days than have you suffer for even one minute."

A tear slipped down her cheek and fell onto his wrist. "Then you know how I'm feeling right now about you." His hand squeezed hers, the anger ebbing from his eyes. "How did this happen? Renji told me Haiko Fujiama had someone destroy your office and then hired an assassin."

"That is correct." He said. "These injuries are from multiple incendiary devices."

"Bombs?" She was shocked. "I assume the assassin has been caught since Haiko has been identified as the one responsible. Where is he now?"

"In one of my squad's containment cells."

Renji walked into the room with a fresh uniform and haori for Byakuya. "Did you find the items I asked for, Renji?"

"Yes, Captain, I put them in the same pocket of the new haori."

Myssa had a strong suspicion that they were talking about her note and ribbon. She held back a smile.

"I'm finished." Isane announced.

Myssa looked to Renji. "Lock the door, please." She turned to Isane. "I need your word that you won't tell anyone about what you see here. It's not something I allow people to know about me."

"Why not?"

"I am limited in what I can heal and it severely drains my reiatsu. If rumors began spread…"

Renji interjected, "Every sick or injured person in the Soul Society would be hounding her."

"Exactly. I can only heal physical damage, I cannot heal disease or poison." Her voice was soft, "Truth of the matter is that I am not strong enough to be able to help more than one person at a time. The backlash is more serious the more severe the wounds are."

Isane nodded. "All right. Your secret will be safe with me."

Myssa stretched out on her side facing Byakuya. One hand laid on his chest, the other still holding his hand. He reached up and laid his hand over hers. Runes of bluish-white ignited and spiraled. A glow surrounded her and Byakuya. Renji and Isane watched the wounds close and disappear from Byakuya's body. They both gasped and then gasped again when the injuries appeared on Myssa's body. Her breath hitched as the pain hit her all at once and blood began to soak her clothes.

Byakuya turned on his side and reached out to comfort her. "What can I do?"

"Nothing. I just have to rest and wait for the healing to finish."

Isane moved to help, "I can stop the bleeding." She used healing kido and the bleeding stopped. "What else can I do?"

"I just need to lie here a little while. Thank you for your help." Myssa closed her eyes in the hope that Byakuya wouldn't see the pain.

Isane put a blanket over Byakuya and Myssa before she and Renji left the room.

Once they were alone, Byakuya traced Myssa's face with his fingers, pushing her hair away and tucking it behind her ear. She opened her eyes. "Y'know, this isn't how I imagined our first time in bed together."

"Hn." An amused grunt as he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I'm still angry with you." But, his voice held no hint of anger.

"You're healed and not in pain anymore – I can live with you being angry."

"You did not do as I commanded."

"You better get used to that. I will always do what I think is right whether it pisses you off or not."

He wouldn't tell her how pleased he was that she had stood up to him and didn't back down from his anger. She didn't even flinch. There weren't many people, if any, who wouldn't be terrified of him when was as angry as he'd been with her. He knew without a doubt that a noblewoman would never have dared to defy him and that if she had, she would have fled in tears.

His eyes were soft, his finger traced a sable eyebrow. "I know."

"Would it soothe your anger if I told you exactly who I am?"

"You are a princess. Your father is a king." He let his hand rest on her neck so he could still caress her jaw and cheek with his thumb.

She smiled. "Shunsui and Jushiro warned me how intelligent you are."

"The pieces fell into place last night when Tamor called you 'princess'."

She nodded. "I knew when he said it that you would figure it out." Her eyes lifted to his. "The other half of my lineage is also royal. My mother is Marisheken, the Soul Queen." His eyes went wide with shock. "The power I wield is known as a birthright. Have you heard the term before?"

"Yes. It is special power royal children are born with. The marks of it can be seen on them, usually the hand or arm."

She nodded. "I was born with two." The runes ignited on her left arm. "This birthright comes from my mother's bloodline, imbued with the power of a deity." The runes ignited on her right arm. "This one comes from my father, Xanthan, king of the dragons."

"Your majesty, I…" He began.

She cut him off with a stern look. "Byakuya, please, don't ever call me that again. I'm just Myssa. I have no stomach for the Soul King's court or the cruelties I suffered there." She grimaced. "I payed dearly to win free of that hellish place."

"What about your father's court in Dragon Realm?"

"Dragon Realm is wonderful in many ways." She smiled. "I love that half of my family very much. As Xanthan's only daughter I am cherished. But, I am not a full blood, so, princess in name, but I don't rule. I hold no land either. To allow a bastard to hold land is against the law since lineage must be traceable and legitimate. Children out of wedlock are frowned upon. The nobility there are ruthless and cruel, especially when the king of the realm not only acknowledges his illegitimate daughter, but openly loves her and dotes on her."

"A daughter of two realms, belonging to neither."

She nodded a bit sadly. She looked very tired, shadows under her eyes. He tucked her close to him, her face nestled against his neck, his arms around her. "Get some rest, Myssa."

"Don't you have questions?"

"They can wait. Now, get some rest. I do not like repeating myself." He felt an amused huff of breath against his neck, but she settled and relaxed.

-Three hours later—

Myssa awoke in her bed at the Kuchiki mansion. She was aware that she wasn't alone. Turning over, she saw Byakuya sitting next to her against a pile of pillows, his legs stretched out as he read a book. He closed the book. "How do you feel?"

"Rested. Recovered."

"Good. Are you hungry?"

"Very."

"I'll have the chef make dinner for us."

She sat up. Her hair was mussed and she still looked sleepy. She looked so adorable he wanted to press her into the cool sheets and wallow in the comfort of slow kisses and loving touches. After the afternoon's ordeal they could both use it.

The cover slipped down. She was naked, exposed from the waist up. He got an eye-full. The sight of her full breasts made all the blood rush straight to his crotch. That wallow was getting more attractive by the second.

She looked down, unconcerned, "Why am I naked?"

He should have averted his eyes completely, but he kept her in his peripheral vision. "Your clothes were stained with blood. I had one of the maids remove them, bathe you, and put you to bed."

"Oh." Again, she couldn't care less that she was as bare the day she was born. He was puzzled. Every woman he knew would have snatched up the sheet to cover herself. She got out of bed and his pulse began to pound. He got only a glimpse before he quickly got off her bed.

She could see the pink stain of his ear and a bit of a cheek as he spoke over his shoulder, "I'll see to dinner." He left the room. She got in the shower.

-A little later—

They were alone during dinner and silence reigned. The quiet felt awkward.

"Byakuya, what's wrong?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You won't look at me and you've barely said two words."

"It is nothing."

She sighed, "Look, if you don't want to associate with a bastard-born royal I'll understand. I'll move back to Shunsui's house and send you the relics when I find them."

His eyes locked with hers, irritated, "Myssa, I don't care about your parentage. I like you as you are."

"Then what is bothering you?"

The hint of pink was back. "Seeing you naked."

Her look was incredulous. "Seeing me naked has put you in snit? Thanks for the kick in the confidence, Byakuya."

He scowled at her. "Your lack of modesty made me…"

"Disgusted?" She offered.

"…puzzled." He finished.

"I wasn't taught to be ashamed of my body or the nude body of anyone. The natural form of any being is unique in its beauty; something to be admired and enjoyed, not shamed and degraded." She reached over and traced the back of his hand. "The elegant lines of fingers, hands…the curve of lips, the angle of a jaw…the shape of the eyes and how expressive they are…the contours of each muscle of a body, the texture of skin…the play of light and shadow across all of those things and more…" She was lost in letting her eyes travel over him, seeing everything as she spoke.

Her look of admiration was obvious to him, but there was something more, something he was afraid to name. Her words had set his libido on slow burn. She sat back. He was disappointed and relieved all at once.

She gave him a quizzical look. "Let me ask you – when you see a painting or a sculpture of a nude, do you find it immodest?"

"Not at all."

"How is that different than seeing me nude?"

His gaze was heated, his voice a bit hushed, "I do not have desires for the subject of a piece of art."

Her heart was pounding in her ears and the room had become way too warm. "I – I see," she stammered. A sip of water was necessary to soothe her dry mouth. "Perhaps we should discuss some rules for our – friendship?"

"Rule number one: you will be more modest – until further notice." He said. Her eyebrows shot up and he hid a smirk in his tea.

"Rule number two," she said. "You are not allowed to address me by anything other than my name. None of that "your majesty-your highness" crap. Although, you may call me 'Princess' in jest or as a pet name."

He quirked a brow, a slight upturn at the crease of his lips. "Rule number three," a sterner look and tone took over, "you will not interfere in clan affairs."

She was confused, "When did I do that?"

"You haven't – yet. However, the matter with Haiko Fujiama is now a matter for me to handle as the head of clan. I will deal with him. You are to go nowhere near him."

"But…"

"I mean it, Myssa, this has gone beyond bad behavior. His attempt on my life will be dealt with under the law. I will have your word that you will stay out of this."

"But, it's my fault you're involved in this mess. I should have kept you out of it."

"Your word, Myssa, now." Authority was thick in the room.

She fumed, "Fine. You have my word, I will stay out of it." She sighed dejectedly, "I still can't understand how a romantic rejection led to destroying your office and an assassination attempt. That seems too extreme of a reaction. There must be some other reason."

"Valid points that I will be making when I meet with the head of the Fujiama clan tomorrow. Until the issue is resolved, I ask you not to leave the estate for any reason."

Her temper flared, "You do realize that I can take care of myself? My birthrights aren't just a pretty light show and my zanpakto aren't cutlery."

"I am well aware of your capabilities." His eyes were closed, his face serene. "We do not know what else Haiko Fujiama may try. It would ease my mind to know that you are here and that you are safe."

And just like that, he had diffused her ire. "Alright, I won't leave the estate until this is over."