Chapter 8

- Two Weeks Later -

Byakuya had been detained with the Fujiama clan for two weeks. Haiko Fujiama's actions against Byakuya had opened a can of worms. The man's corruption went much further and Byakuya had been asked to stay as a witness in the trial. Witness after witness came forward with evidence that led to Haiko being convicted of attempted murder, extortion, rape, and the murder of two women. The head of the Fujiama clan wasted no time in passing sentence on their criminal. Haiko Fujiama was beheaded in the courtyard in front of all the witnesses.

Arriving home, Byakuya was greeted by Ginrei, Ginrikku, his staff, and Myssa all arranged in front of the mansion. His eyes sought Myssa the moment he stepped through the gate. She was standing with Ginrei. His heart stuttered. She wasn't wearing her usual Western garments, she was wearing a black kimono with a design of pink Sakura blooms. She was smiling and seemed to be having trouble standing still. Byakuya fought down a smile. He had missed her more than he was willing to admit to himself. She had haunted his dreams while he was away. Distance and separation had sharpened his desire for her. The purple ribbon, always present in his pocket, was starting to fray at one end from how much he had fondled it over the last two weeks.

Myssa watched Byakuya walk across the courtyard. His steps were unhurried and graceful; his face was devoid of any emotion. She wanted to launch herself into his arms as he mounted the steps to where she stood with Ginrei. She had missed him terribly. If not for burying herself in work and visits from Rukia and Renji, she would have gone stir crazy.

After a brief greeting to Ginrei and Ginrikku, Byakuya tucked Myssa's hand in his elbow and headed for the gardens. He was quiet as they walked.

"Are you hungry?" Myssa asked.

He was, but not for food. "You have two weeks of reports for me. I wish to hear them."

The cold distance in his voice set her teeth on edge. "Wow. Two minutes in the door and right down to business." She sounded perturbed. "Ok then, have it your way. I tracked down three more relics."

"Only three in two weeks?" Calm, even.

She bristled, "Relic hunting takes time and patience. The last relic required a full week of translations, rather obscure ones. So, yes, only three in two weeks."

He led them deeper into the garden, away from the paths. "How many more are on the list?"

"Four historical. Still no leads on the chieftain's ring." Her voice still held a hint of fussiness.

They were now deep in the gardens, well away from the mansion, well away from the risk of anyone seeing them. His whole demeanor changed. His voice was a soft rumble, "Did you miss me?"

She halted in a grove of sakura trees, searched his face. The hint of a smile played at the corners of his mouth, but there was no mistaking the smile in his eyes. She quirked a brow, "Did you miss me?"

"I asked first." A gentle shower of sakura blossoms swirled around them. A few landed in her hair. The breeze picked up taking slender tendrils of her hair with it. One blew across her face. Byakuya pushed it back with his finger, tracing her cheek. She was rooted to the spot by that finger. "Did you miss me, Myssa?"

She held his gaze, "Nope, not one bit."

He saw her playful grin, it made him grin too. "Good, because I didn't miss you either."

Her eyes crinkled a bit at the corners before a sweet laugh mingled with the breeze. His hand slipped from her cheek to the back of her neck, tilting her face to his. His lips descended to hers, slow enough to give her time to retreat. Her lips were full, soft, and inviting beneath his. He had only meant to give her a sweet, chaste kiss. But when he felt her hands under his haori, moving up his back, pulling him closer – he wanted more, so much more. So many years he had gone without any type of intimacy. She was like a sip of cold water on a hot summer day. And, now that she was in his arms all he could think was: She was worth the wait.

Myssa was lost. Byakuya's lips were her only anchor to reality. The world had fallen away and she only existed where he touched her. One hand cradled her head, the other circled her waist pressing her curves into his hard muscles. In all things, Byakuya was meticulous and this was no different. His kiss was slow and searching, exploring the texture of her lips. His tongue traced over her bottom lip before pulling it between his own. Her lips parted with a small sound of need that sent a jolt of desire through him. He was about to deepen the kiss when the sound of someone clearing their throat preceded Ginrikku's voice shattering their private moment.

"Byakuya, you have a visitor." Ginrikku said.

His back to his great-aunt, he shielded Myssa. She looked dazed, eyes glassy, face slightly flushed. He was tempted to sweep her up and disappear into the forest in a blur of shunpo. He'd never hear the end of it if he did that, Ginrikku would make sure.

Myssa seemed to recover quickly. Byakuya tucked her hand back into his arm and they both followed Ginrikku to the courtyard. Myssa let go of him and hung back, blending in with the household staff while he and his great-aunt approached the open front gate.

A lovely woman wrapped in expensive silks entered. Her jet-black hair was striking against the pale colors of her multi-layered kimono. An older couple walked two steps behind her. Whispers ran through the staff. The words finally reached Myssa's ears – this woman was here as a potential bride for Byakuya.

Myssa felt sick, like someone had just kicked her in the stomach. She saw Ginrikku step forward to welcome the woman and her parents. She then made a formal introduction to Byakuya. He was too stunned to do more than fall back on his manners. When the woman bowed to him, he caught sight of Myssa standing among the kitchen staff. She looked ill a moment before she turned and fled.

Twenty minutes later, Byakuya finally got his guests settled and was able to corner Ginrikku in a private room. He was furious. "Why is there a bride and betrothal party in my home?"

"You need an heir, Byakuya. One of proper lineage." Ginrikku sniffed.

His eyes went cold. "Myssa told you about her lineage?"

"She did." Her eyes were hard. "The clan will never accept an illegitimate born woman as your wife, even if she does carry royal blood. It's best if you put some distance between the two of you before you get too attached to her."

Too late, he thought. "If I decide to marry again, she will be a woman that I choose."

Ginrikku's face looked as if he'd just made a point for her, "That is why I have arranged for eligible ladies of proper nobility to visit. You will have your choice of anyone you want." …except Myssa Starjax. The unspoken words hung thick in the air.

Byakuya was shaking his head, half in disbelief, half in a declarative 'no'. "Contact them and cancel the arrangements."

"I cannot. They have already given their confirmations. Protocol demands that we be gracious hosts."

He wanted to scream. It seemed that Ginrikku took his absence as an opportunity to try to meddle in his affairs and he wasn't going to forget it – ever. He wanted to find Myssa, explain everything to her. After their kiss in the garden he could only imagine what thoughts were running through her mind.

- Five hours later -

Byakuya never got a chance to hunt down Myssa. He had been sucked into playing host to the potential bride. They walked the garden paths. His mind was elsewhere, eyes scanning for any sight of Myssa. He caught a glimpse of her coming out of a room followed by Ginrikku. Myssa looked upset and very angry. Ginrikku looked smug. He wondered what more damage control was in store for him.

By the time Byakuya got away from the guests and his hovering great-aunt it was nearly time for dinner. He went to Myssa's room, hoping to find her calmer than when he'd last seen her. She was gone. Tamor informed him that she had gone out for the evening with Rukia and Renji.

Byakuya wasn't suspicious of Myssa's absence until the food at dinner was served. The potential bride had talked often throughout the day about how skilled she was in the kitchen. Actually, she bragged all the time about any and all of her attributes. She was rather annoying and shallow. Byakuya really wanted to tell her to shut up and grow up. She oversaw the preparation of a big meal for dinner, hoping that Byakuya would be just as impressed with her as she was with herself.

The rice was so salty everyone pulled a face and spit it out. The curry was so hotly spiced it was inedible. The vegetables smelled weird and no one was going be the one to find out why. The salt bandit had payed a visit to every dish on the menu, including dessert.

Byakuya had a hard time suppressing his grin and just barely covered his chuckling with a cough, not hard to fake considering the awful food. The dinner table was in chaos and he knew exactly who was to blame.

The wannabe bride fled in tears to her room with her parents and Ginrikku on her heels. That left Ginrei and Byakuya alone at the table. Once the room was clear Byakuya gave in to his laughter.

Ginrei had figured out the culprit as well. "Surely Myssa didn't do this."

Byakuya was still chuckling. "Of course she did. She is angry." He called for the chef who came in and bowed to him. "Tell me, did Myssa visit the kitchen while you were preparing the meal?"

"Yes, my lord," he responded, "she asked for a cut of meat for her dragon. I apologize for dinner. I followed the lady's recipes to the letter."

"It was not your fault. Thank you, that is all."

The chef left and Ginrei let loose a chortle, "She sabotaged dinner. Do you think she is going to wage war on all our future bride guests?"

"I would be greatly disappointed if she didn't." Byakuya was amused. Things just got a whole lot more interesting in the Kuchiki mansion.

- Meanwhile, in Karakura town -

Rukia and Renji had taken Myssa to Karakura town. Kiske Urahara was having a barbeque and all their friends were there. Myssa had known Kiske, Tessai, and Yoruichi for as many years as she had known Shunsui and Jushiro. Her path had crossed theirs many times while she was hunting relics. Whenever she need help with research or advice she went to Kiske. More than once Yoruichi had tagged along on relic hunts. Myssa could never recall inviting Yoruichi to come along, but she always managed to show up anyway.

Rukia introduced Myssa to her friends. Myssa's easy going nature had her fitting right in with everyone gathered. She spent over half an hour explaining and showing her birthrights while Kiske and Tessai cooked on the grill. Rukia and Renji's friends seemed to have no end to their questions, especially Uryu.

Once the food was ready, they all sat together under the stars. Easy conversation and laughter filled the early evening air.

"So, lovely princess, how are you enjoying your stay with the Kuchikis?" Kiske asked.

"It's been rather nice until the eligible bachelorette parade began today." Myssa stretched out her legs under the table.

Yoruichi's head snapped around, "Byakuya is going to get married again?"

Myssa grinned, "Doubtful."

Yoruichi leaned toward her, "What did you do?"

"A little gourmet sabotage."

"You didn't."

Myssa poured herself a glass of lemonade. "Well, it was her fault. She kept on crowing about how all her recipes were," mimicked a squeaky voice, "so delicious and painstakingly crafted by her very own hands." Returned to her own voice, "Ugh, I got so sick of listening to all the simpering. And she's not shy about singing her own praises to anything with ears. It made me want to retch."

Yoruichi teased, "Sounds like someone is jealous."

"I am not." Myssa said, a bit too forcefully.

She looked Myssa in the eye, "You are! When did this happen?"

"Nothing happened!" Except a kiss that made my toes curl.

Rukia spoke, "I wouldn't call my brother smiling and laughing 'nothing'."

That got Ichigo's attention. "Byakuya smiled and his face didn't shatter? Did his head explode when he laughed?"

Rukia gave him a look of mild exasperation. She returned her gaze to Yoruichi, "Since Myssa has been in the house my brother seems – happy."

Yoruichi pinned Myssa with a stare. She couldn't stand the scrutiny and barked, "What?"

"You and Byakuya Kuchiki, eh?" Yoruichi grinned, "He should be so lucky."

"Oh, stop it. We're friends, that's all we will ever be."

"Doesn't sound like it to me."

Myssa's voice dropped to a softer level. "Byakuya has no room in his heart for me. A moment's lust? Sure. But love? That still belongs to Hisana. I can't compete with that. I won't even try. I can respect the love he still has for her, but I won't settle for being second in anyone's heart. I can't live in anyone's shadow. I shouldn't be expected to."

Yoruichi looked a bit sad, "Myssa…"

Rukia reached over and put her hand on Myssa's. She patted Rukia's hand and then gave both women a reassuring smile. "That's enough of this talk. It's depressing." She grinned wickedly, "So, Yoruichi, when are you and Kiske going to make it official?"

Kiske sputtered on his beer, "Make what official?"

"Oh, please, you two have been circling each other since I've known you and probably a lot longer before then."

Yoruichi crossed her arms, "You're imagining things! Don't turn this around on me just to wiggle your butt out of the spotlight."

"But, but, it's such a pretty butt." Myssa was snickering.

"It won't be when I'm done kicking it."

Myssa nudged her playfully with her shoulder, "Aw, c'mon – don't make me break out the pussy jokes."

Yoruichi looked like she unexpectedly swallowed a fly. Kiske was laughing. "Y'know, you two really should take your act on the road."

Conversation lightened up and drifted to more mundane things. There was a lot of catching up to do between all the friends. After a while Myssa pulled Kiske aside to broach a subject that had been troubling her. "Kiske, I need your help with something."

"Anything for you, sweet lady."

"I think maybe it's time I was fitted with a reiatsu restraint."

"Why? What's happening?" His face went from smiles to serious in the blink of an eye.

"I'm having a really hard time keeping in check, especially if I get even a little fatigued. Tamor has been having to help me more. Over the last two weeks it's gotten really bad. I tried to pick up a cup of tea the other day and it exploded in my hand."

"I can make something like a necklace."

She shook her head, "I don't wear anything around my neck. It reminds me too much of being collared."

"How about a bracelet?"

"That would work, but something sturdy that I can't accidentally knock off."

Kiske nodded. "OK. I can test you now. Once I know how much reiatsu you can channel, I can have the restraint ready in a few days." He smiled. "It will be interesting to see if you score higher than the last time you tested."

"That was almost twenty years ago. And I wasn't having the trouble I am now." She looked worried. "I'm telling you, Kiske, it's getting weird – like my birthrights are freaking out. It feels like watching a balloon fill up and waiting for it to pop. I'm getting really scared."

Kiske gave her a reassuring squeeze as he tucked her to his side with one arm, "Don't worry, kiddo, I'll make sure nothing happens. C'mon, let's see how you score on the reiatsu meter."

Renji had overheard the last comment and thought it sounded like fun to test his reiatsu. Ichigo, not to be outdone by his pal, wanted a go too. That got Uryu and Chad interested. So, everyone followed Kiske down to his secret underground training area to have a turn on the reiatsu meter. Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia all scored fairly close to each other although Ichigo's score was the highest. Uryu and Chad were fairly close in scores. Orihime's score was undetermined – the numbers kept fluctuating from super high to a normal range. Kiske made a mental note to look into that further.

Kiske, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu didn't test. They already knew their scores and weren't about to let anyone else know.

Myssa's turn was last. Tessai began setting up very strong kido shields around her and the meter. She looked unsettled and more than a bit concerned. "Is all that really necessary?"

"Just a precaution." Kiske said. "No one want to crap their pants."

She snickered. "I apologized for that! And besides, I think that was more about all that curry you ate than my powers."

Everyone got a good giggle out of that. Tessai finished the barriers and stepped back. "All right, that should do it. Go ahead, Myssa." He gave her a quick nod.

Bluish-white runes began to glow on her hands then spiraled up her arms. It only took a moment for the light to grow so intense that the only thing anyone could see was her hair whipping wildly. Bluish-white arcs of power cracked like lightning along the surface of the kido barriers. Suddenly, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Jinta, and Ururu went to their knees, gasping. Next, Rukia and Renji went down, Ichigo was soon behind them. Kiske, Yoruichi, and Tessai weren't far behind. They all heard Myssa screaming. The light seemed to explode everywhere at once, the kido barrier shattered and then it was over. Everyone began picking themselves up.

Ichigo said what everyone was thinking, "Hold crap! That was intense!"

The dust was clearing. Myssa was unconscious on the ground. Not a stitch of clothing was left on her. Yoruichi gently shook her. "Myssa, wake up."

Kiske was checking the meter as Tessai went to get a blanket. Myssa started to come around and sat up. "What happened?"

Yoruichi grinned, "Not much on form as far as strip teases go, you'll need to work on that."

Myssa gave a shaky laugh then looked down. "That's the first time my clothes didn't survive the blast." She looked at Kiske. "How much higher did I score from last time?"

"Well, I can't say for sure, you broke the meter, killer."

"Stop joking, Kiske."

"See for yourself. Those kido barriers were barely enough to protect us. We still got knocked on our asses."

She looked at her hands. "I feel different."

Kiske chuckled, "Well, you are naked."

She shot him a look. "Besides that, Captain Obvious." Tessai returned with a blanket and wrapped her up in it. He helped her stand. She was wobbly and leaned into him for support.

"How do you feel?" Tessai asked.

"Relieved. Normal." She looked at Kiske. "Could my powers be building up and releasing on their own?"

"At this point I won't rule anything out. My initial guess is that your powers are expanding and getting stronger. I'll pay a visit to your father. Maybe there's some dragon thing you're going through."

"I hope not."

- Half an hour later -

Rukia, Renji, and Myssa returned through the Kuchiki private senkaimon. Byakuya was sitting outside his room and watched as the trio crossed the gardens. Myssa looked like she had been dragged through mud and then rolled in dry dirt. Her hair was a tangled mess and she was wrapped in blanket. The haughty look on her face dared him to comment on her appearance.

He looked her up and down. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, just a typical night at Kiske's." Quirked a brow, "How was your dinner?"

One corner of his mouth lifted in the ghost of a smile. "Quite entertaining."

"I'm sure you'll have more entertaining evenings to look forward to."

He held back a chuckle. He was enjoying her indignation way more than he thought he would.

She gave him a frosty glare before disappearing into her room with all the grace and hauteur she could muster.

He waited for the door to close before asking Rukia and Renji, "What really happened? Is she all right?"

They both explained what had transpired at Kiske's. Hearing that Myssa was having trouble made Byakuya very concerned. Although he knew Kiske was the best one to help her, he would be keeping a close eye on her as well.