31:The Mirror of Truth

"My love is of a birth as rareAs 'tis for object strange and high:It was begotten by DespairUpon Impossibility."

-Andrew Marvall

"Damn if she isn't infuriatingly likable!" The tempest of Byakuya's thoughts would never even come close to reaching his calm expression. He was reading after the dinner they'd shared together, it was nice enough he supposed but Kagome had held a childlike wonder about the whole thing, any sort of customs she wasn't familiar with he was quizzed on. It was well enough to teach her while she was interested but he was forcing himself to fight with the fact that he was enjoying teaching her.

He sat failing to read the book in front of him now that they had returned to the room where they were staying. She had asked him if he planned to bath before leaving him to read as she changed into a suit for the warm pool in their shared area, he'd declined the offer and was instead just sitting and pretending to read as his thoughts enveloped him.

"She smiles so easily despite the constant insults the soul society offers her. I owe her much and yet there is so little I can actually do for her." He was angry with himself. "If this all continues can I let myself be such a failure as to allow them to take her life from her?"

At the event where Captain Kurotsuchi had been defeated, she had such wonder and respect in her face as she watched that former friend of hers battle.

"I know you think highly of your captains…but this is different. Sesshomaru…he's just…a force of nature."

She had held a faith in this man that he himself couldn't match, it sickened him. There was a level of jealously but more so there was a personal distaste for his own misgivings.

"I shouldn't care." He repeated to himself, it was one of many times he'd told himself lately. It was becoming a personal mantra as of late. "I let my time in the mortal world effect my mind…if it comes to it I can't let them force this on her. I will not. I may not escape without punishment…but I cannot let them force someone upon her…"

It was a new realization, but Byakuya was set on it the moment the thoughts came to him. She had saved his life and he couldn't ruin her life. Any hesitation to that plan was wiped away when she came out of the changing room and offered him her brilliant smile before climbing into the pool in their quarters.

"It's warm." She commented with the smile still on her face, stretching her body out. "Man, I haven't gotten to just sit and enjoy warm water sense I got here. This is heaven."

Her comments made him somehow curious but he continued to pretend to read after she caught him watching at her. Remarking dispassionately. "If you want longer baths at the estate you should simply ask."

"Yeah right." She laughed a little, floating toward the side of the pool nearest where he was seated. "If I was late to lessons you'd be all 'Kagome, these things are just luxury's and you need to concentrate on your studies."

She had a finger in front of her and a mockingly serious expression on her face as she mimicked Byakuya's deep voice to the best of her ability - which wasn't that great. Then smirked some and added. "Besides, with the hours it takes to get dressed I don't really have luxury time unless you are off being mysterious…and when I'm already dressed I can't just take it off to bathe."

"You do not need to fully dress every day, only for special occasions. Your first week here was considered such." He replied, still without looking up from his book. He turned a page.

"He's boring." Kagome thought with a sigh. "I haven't done anything interesting all week…well I guess that's not true…there where a lot of things…but I'm really bored now."

"Are you going to just sit and read the whole weekend?" Kagome asked, still watching her from her spot in the pool as she floated idly. The water at least was a good thing. "What is the point of this mock date if we don't actually do anything?"

"We just returned from dinner." Byakuya pointed out. "What do you want to do?"

"Talk I suppose." She answered, still watching him for a sign of anything. "You aren't exactly a chatterbox and I'm curious."

"What do you want to know?" He was failing to read…he was just looking at the pages and occasionally turning them, his own thoughts still haunting them as he spoke with the girl.

Then after the splashing sound water hit his face and kimono, drops also landing on his book and that was enough to bring him to look at Kagome in some surprise. The impish smile on her face definitely yet another side of the girl he hadn't seen before. The silence drew on for a bit before he managed to voice a reply to her action.

"Why did you just splash me?"

"You shouldn't just sit there." She answered. "Live a little Byakuya. You are too uptight."

"Uptight?" This whole conversation was amazingly bizarre…he was still shocked and somewhat insulted…but confused as to how he should proceed.

"Right, you should relax more. Don't you ever have any fun?" Kagome was curious and maybe she was being a little forward but it seemed like the only way to get him to come out of his shell…and being able to wipe that superior neutral look off his face alone was worth it.

"I have a lot of responsibility, you wouldn't understand." He commented, turning back to his book. He was still somewhat annoyed but wouldn't show it.

Then she splashed him again.

It was heavier this time and if he hadn't been more perceptive his book would have been ruined, as it was his whole arm and side of his face was well soaked now and he was gaping at her in disbelief of her repeating the action. She was grinning now, pushing herself back in the pool contentedly at the second break in his demeanor.

"Kagome, why are you acting like this?" He covered the fault in his expression but continued to watch the sneaky girl this time as she pushed herself in the pool.

"I'm having a bit of fun, you wouldn't understand." She giggled a bit as she finished with the last three words. It was probably not something she should have said, but it was too much fun to test what would get him to show some emotion.

He continued to watch her, setting his book on a higher shelf as she seemed intent on not letting him read it. "You wished to speak and I was speaking with you. What is the problem?"

He was angry this time, and normally he could actually do something to the targets of his anger…but Kagome wasn't someone he could draw blades against and not someone he cared to be rude with.

"You were talking to me while you were reading a book." Kagome said with a small frown, hands shifting to her hips as she stood up more in the pool. "That's hardly a behavior I'd consider polite or noble. You should know you are suppose to look at someone while speaking with them."

That got him to raise a brow. "You are calling -me- ignoble?"

"Seems so." She smiled again and caught his gaze. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

He recognized now exactly what Kagome was doing and he was competing in the silent staring contest as he thought about just how to reply to her challenge. This was a social situation he'd never been good with, it had been ages sense someone had joked around with him in such a way and he'd actually liked them. Even when Yourichi used to tease him he'd never really wanted to rise to the occasion, at the time he was young and fell into the trap of it easier. It wasn't as if they could compete in a sword contest or tag with flash steps as he'd done on occasion when he was young.

"No." He finally stated, standing up fully and doing a damn good job of acting superior for his still dripping hair. "I'll return later."

"Aw wait." Kagome started to protest after him as he left the room but stopped when the door shut, sighing to herself and sinking back down into the water more. "Damn…I thought I almost had him there."

She laid back in the water to let herself float as she thought. "I shouldn't have been so pushy. He's going to be all angst-ridden now. He already has to put up with me when he probably doesn't want anything to do with me…I guess I shouldn't try to push a friendship where there isn't a possibility of one."

"Hell, now I feel guilty." She sighed again as she floated there, closing her eyes to try to help her relax. "I want to be friends with him but I burned down part of his house and now I almost ruined his book and soaked his hair. I guess I still have a lot of growing up to do. We're not actually getting married or anything, it's just an act, he doesn't like me…he doesn't even want to marry me…even though it would be some great honor for his house or whatever."

The girls that helped dressed her had gone on a bunch of times about how her joining the Kuchiki clan would bring the clan great honor and respect.

"He wouldn't want me even then…" Kagome sighed. "It's not like it matters…I just think he's cute. I shouldn't have a crush on him for that anyway, it's shallow. But he can be nice, and caring…but he doesn't like to show it…god, I'm such a sap. This is Inuyasha all over again…"

The thought was horribly disturbing, she hadn't had much time to think about her lost love lately but it was a sudden and deep reminder and she paused to lean against the side of the pool. Her eyes were still closed, she didn't notice the slight disturbance in the water.

"I can't just let myself feel this way." She thought with a need to know she could do it. "I can't relive that again…I can't lose anyone else again…"

Byakuya had chosen instead of lingering in his room to wear the simple bathing trunks and join her in the pool, though he wasn't speaking yet she seemed exceptionally sad. On the verge of tears in fact as she leaned against the side of the pool, making his earlier irritation with her evaporate into a small level of concern.

"Kagome?" He asked. "Are you all right?"

The question caught her so completely off guard that when she jumped she slipped and likely would have hit her head on the sharp edge of the pool if Byakuya hadn't proved to be nearly as quick in the water as out of it. The pool held sharp waves that were splashing on the surrounding tiles after he caught her but she was staring at him in shock for several seconds before she withdrew so quick you'd think she'd touched an oven.

"Byakuya, what are you doing?" She wasn't looking at him. Her voice a mix of emotions as she turned away, hands on the edge as she faced away from him this time. "Oh my god I'm so hopeless."

"I was keeping you from giving yourself a concussion." He replied with his usual cool, settling in a seated position in an area of the pool low enough that he could do so comfortably. He was vaguely amused by her reaction, starting to realize her attraction for him. It wasn't a surprise for him, most women were somehow inclined toward him on that level. "You soaked my uniform, as it needs time to dry regardless it seemed logical to linger with you as you seemed to insist on speaking with me while I was watching you."

He still seemed smug somehow, even if it wasn't easily seen on his face.

"Why the hell now? After I was thinking about that…" Kagome's brain protested, she still almost wanted to cry and she didn't want him to see that. "I'd thank you for helping me but if you wouldn't have scared me so much you wouldn't have needed to."

She sounded cross for certain, and she still wasn't looking at him. It seemed a good a time as any to return the favor of using her words against her.

"Wasn't I suppose to know to look at someone while speaking to them?" He asked, though his tone was neutral, he was definitely enjoying the game more when he was winning. "Is there a reason you are avoiding me?"

"No." She turned back around, rubbing her eyes. "I was just trying to calm down from the near heart attack."

She still wasn't really looking at him directly, blushing as she watched his kensaiken instead.

"You wished to talk." He pointed out. "Now seems a good a time as any."

"Yeah I had some questions but…" She paused, she couldn't exactly tell him the problem. "But your body is distracting me? Yeah that would go over well Kagome…I have so many issues."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no." She held up her hands in her nervous defensive way and shook her head. "Um. Why are you still wearing those hair pins? Shouldn't you wash your hair sometimes?"

"I do wash my hair." He almost frowned but didn't. "However, this isn't the bathe for soaps and oils so I felt no need to undo my hair quite yet."

"Is it hard to get it up like that?" She was watching his hair so it seemed as good a topic as any.

"If I am by myself I suppose it is more challenging but I wouldn't consider it difficult otherwise." He had to admit to himself it was somewhat amusing just talking to her, though her questions were odd. "As it is considered a matter of my station there are few times that going without them is considered proper."

"Oh." She considered that then asked a more serious question. "Then why did you leave one at my house back after we first met?"

He hadn't thought of that for a time but as it seemed she'd finally relaxed enough to actually look him the eye he felt she deserved an answer. "It seemed an appropriate gift. You saved my life and while I needed to return to duty I wanted to leave you something."

"Oh." Kagome smiled a little then. "That's nice, thank you Byakuya. I appreciate that…though they're still at my house so I sometimes wonder if I'll get to see them again."

"You'll get to visit your home again." He said it suddenly and with such fevor it left Kagome to cant her head just a tad as she watched him.

"I can look after you for a time."

"He is trying to protect me. It's not that he doesn't like me or anything else…he just doesn't want me to be controlled…he has a harsh demeanor but I think he's more like Inuyasha than I ever realized…"

The realization was sudden but it was there and it made her smile, and it made her sad…she paused a little, not sure of what to say to him…it had been a rough few days sense her arrival and she got quiet for a time.

"I…thank you for everything Byakuya." Kagome said more seriously. "Despite some of the problems…I don't regret meeting you or coming here. I think I'm going to get some rest…could we talk more another time?"

She was still very curious about a lot of things but there was so much she was confused about that she wouldn't really enjoy talking to him, and she wanted to enjoy talking to him. Though he just nodded to her as she got out of the pool and headed into another room.

End Chapter

It's been a while but I just haven't had the drive to write lately. I've been ill and well…that has drained me of the drive to do much of anything. I wanted to work on this for some reason though so I did. I guess parts of the chapter are silly but I was trying to pull in different parts of Kagome's personality.

-Aura

P.S. As always many thanks to those that take the time to review. It really does make me feel good when folks give me a few words.

S.T. Nickolian - and I figure Byakuya/Sesshomaru have pretty close personality's though there are of course differences. I still like my Byakuya going serious moment. I am still pondering some things with him and sesshy as far as scenes together - it's hard to do.

blood cherry - something about the oddness in my brain keeps me pondering this fiction now and again so I dunno if it'll go away anytime soon…just go slowly.

Saphira1204 - I have no idea, but it seemed like the most likely of the possibilities I'd considered. I'd still take suggestions for other things if you have them.