Summary
He's allowing her to loan her own hair ribbon from him. It did not mean that she wouldn't try to take it back forcefully. Rukia takes notice and continues to plot...
A/N: Inspiration came from a pic I saw on the internet. Byakuya dressed up for achery practice. It was too good an idea to pass up. I had a lot of fun doing this, so I hope you guys enjoy reading it! I will try to post the pic on my profile... unless I can put it in here.
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Rolling out of bed that morning was a surreal experience, especially considering Miroku was occupying the floor space she usually fell into.
"Owww... Damn, Miroku, what the hell are you made of?" Kagome groaned, rubbing her elbow soothingly and scrambling off the sleepy monk.
"Flesh and blood, I assure you," he replied, holding the side that her elbow had driven into, "Your bony elbows, though, leave much to be desired."
"Leave my elbows out of this," the priestess muttered, glaring in annoyance at her old friend before the expression melted into pure glee. Hopping up from the floor, she started rummaging around for her clean set of robes and skipped into her bath room. "Why aren't you down the hall like usual?"
"There was a patrol last night. I thought it would be beneficial if I hid out here. Why are you so excited?" Miroku asked, warily eyeing the door she'd gone through. There were very few reasons Kagome got so happy, and usually, they involved something painful nowadays.
"Rukia invited me over again. Did you know the Kuchikis have their own archery range?" Kagome answered, poking her head out and sending the monk a blinding smile, "She said I could use it! I haven't been to an archery range in almost 10 years!"
"Which means..."
"Miroku! This gives me an uninterrupted chance to hone my shooting some more!"
"But... you're already a great shot!" the monk argued, not liking where this was heading. Kagome's Captain was surprisingly attentive to her. It was a little nerve-wracking, to be completely honest. And if his intuition was pointing him in the right direction, the priestess needed to be more careful.
"Practice makes perfect! Besides, I won't have to worry about pissing anyone off if I accidentally break something."
"Except for Lord Kuchiki... Who might be there."
"Puuleeease! Like Captain Kuchiki would waste his precious time watching me!"
"You never know, dearest Kagome." Because he knew that the Captain would.
"We'll see," the shinigami huffed, stepping out of the bathroom in clean clothes and a glint in her eyes. With a jaunty wave, she took off in search of the Kuchiki house.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Miroku muttered, watching her go with a slightly concerned look in his violet eyes. As the obligatory best friend, he was obviously required to do something. Now, what to do...
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Rukia hummed vibrantly as she gathered supplies together. Today was going to be interesting and this would help her start checking some things out. All she had to do now, was set the bait.
"Nii-sama?" the noble girl began, stopping in front of the office door to her older brother's study. It was surprisingly open, as was the outside door leading to the back yard, but today was a lovely day.
"Yes, Rukia? You seem rather excited today," Byakuya replied, glancing at the shinigami and noting that she was carrying some equipment, "You know the servants are paid to do what you're doing."
"I know, brother, but I wanted to learn how to set up the archery range myself," Rukia explained, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling in glee, "Kagome said that she knows a little about shooting a bow and arrows, but doesn't have somewhere to practice. I thought it would be nice to let her use the range today."
The current head of the Kuchiki clan blinked in surprise and mulled the idea over, "… I see. Then it would be a shame to let her skills go to waste. She may do so, if she wishes." Rising from his seat and setting his book aside, the older noble glided over to her and gathered some of the equipment from her hands, then turned down the hall, "The gods know that woman needs as much help as she can get. I will show you the proper way to set everything up."
Rukia smiled, dancing a victory jig inwardly, "Will you be joining us, then?"
"Perhaps." Set and cast.
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"But, Lady Rukia is expecting me!" Kagome argued, stamping her foot in impatience, "Why can't you just let me in?"
"Because we do not allow commoners to just waltz in whenever they feel like it," the guard hissed, glaring in annoyance at the small shinigami.
"What if it was an emergency or something? Would you still be standing here arguing with me?" the former priestess countered angrily, "Besides, I'm from Squad 6, so if I have to ever come get Captain Kuchiki from here, you're going to have to let me in anyway!" She pulled her robe aside a little to show the man the stitched symbol on the inside.
"Are you here on Squad 6 business?"
"No! But-!"
"Then it is unnecessary for you to step inside the premises. When it comes time that you are here on official business, then I will let you pass. Until then, please do not bother the prestigious Kuchiki family." With that being said, the guard proceeded to slam the large door in Kagome's face. A few seething moments later, it was opened again, this time, by Rukia herself.
"I apologize for him, Kagome. He takes his job very seriously. I told him to not bar you again," the noble girl sighed, sending the door guard a glare before beckoning the other girl inside, "I'm sure it won't happen again."
"Yes, milady."
"It's…" Kagome started, then stopped because it wasn't okay! The guy obviously thought very highly of himself, after all. But then she thought of the fact that it was, technically, his job to bar intruders from possibly hurting the family he was serving under. "I understand. It's fine, Rukia. Don't worry about it!"
The guard looked stunned and watched as the two girls walked away. He'd been blatantly rude to the little shinigami and she'd just forgiven him like that! How… strange.
"Well, even so, it won't happen again," the adopted Kuchiki stated firmly, then smiled happily at her friend, "Everything is set up. We just need to change and you can help me choose some equipment for us."
"That sounds like fun! I'm really thankful for this, Rukia," Kagome replied, the grin on the other girl's face becoming contagious, "Are you sure you want me to teach you?"
"Yes! I think it would be interesting to learn!" the smaller girl answered, literally bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation. Everything was going according to plan. "Oh! Nii-sama said he might join us if he finishes his work up. I hope you don't mind?"
Kagome swallowed delicately and shook her head. "Not at all. It's his house, after all."
'Oh girl, you should have listened to Miroku.'
"So! Let's go get ready!"
"Right!" Putting aside her doubts, the priestess began to really look forward to this little exercise.
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She was presented, once again, with fairly expensive clothes that made her want to gape.
"Are you sure it's okay to get this stuff dirty, Rukia?"
"Well, sure. They're the proper training clothes. That's what Nii-sama wears," Rukia replied, giving the other girl a questioning stare. Kagome shook her head and smiled.
"Sorry. All of my training clothes weren't this... nice." A dawning comprehension lit the noble girl's face and she grinned sheepishly.
"I apologize, Kagome. I didn't even think you'd be uncomfortable."
"It's fine! I'll just... get dressed and meet you out here, okay?"
"Right! Then we'll head to the storage room for bows," Rukia explained, turning and stepping into another room. Kagome quickly changed, already liking the soft feel of the black hakamas on her legs and the short sleeved haori. Because she knew that her Captain was home, she didn't bother tying up her hair. With the way he'd been acting recently, he'd probably just snatch her ribbon again. She liked the lavender one she was wearing today and wanted to keep it in her possession.
After waiting a few moments, the girls proceeded to the room where all the archery equipment was kept.
"Okay, you want to choose a bow that isn't going to be hard for you to pull back. Just go through and pick one that you feel like you can handle,: Kagome lectured, grinning when Rukia nodded rapidly and set about looking at the different bows. She herself began to peruse the choices, and eventually chose a sleek dark brown longbow. Turning to face the noble girl, she nodded in approval at the one she'd picked. "Good choice, Rukia. I think that one will work nicely for you."
"Thank you! But... isn't the one you're holding a little... big?"
"I'm used to using a longbow, so I'll be fine."
"If you're sure."
"Well, it was this one, or that black one over there," the priestess pointed out. The smaller girl glanced at the other choice and bit her lip.
"That's the one Nii-sama uses, so it's probably a good idea that you chose the one you did," Rukia shrugged, slinging a quiver of practice arrows over her shoulder and trooping out of the holding room. Kagome glanced one last time back to that other bow, debated for a moment, then shook her head. She'd be just fine with this one.
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He couldn't concentrate. It wasn't that he didn't know what he was supposed to be reading. He'd read the same paragraph at least a dozen times.
No, what was distracting him was the sounds of feminine laughter floating in from the archery range. He wanted to know what his little sister and his subordinate were so happy about, but knew that it would probably be highly inappropriate to interfere with their time.
'However, Rukia did ask if I would be joining them later. It would seem that I'd almost feel obligated to check in on them.' Byakuya shook his head in disgust and laughed softly. Now he was just making excuses. He didn't have to be antisocial. It was his damn home, after all! He could do whatever he wanted!
'And I want to put this paperwork away and do something leisurely, for a change!' Making up his mind, he proceeded to do just that. He was really looking forward to seeing what Kagome was capable of. A few minutes and a change of clothes later, he was picking up his bow and striding out to the range. With his purpose in mind, the noble turned the corner and observed as Kagome carefully instructed his sister on how to load her bow efficiently. She did so without a hitch and aimed at her target. With the priestess looking on, Rukia let loose on the taut string and her arrow flew...
... just short of her target. Rukia glared angrily at the arrow and then the target, almost trying to will one to touch the other. Kagome, on the other hand, grinned and shook her head.
"It's okay. I was a horrible shot when I started out.. I couldn't hit anything at all. It just takes practice and building up the right upper arm strength."
"R-Right," the noble girl muttered in admonishment, blushing just slightly, "Are you going to take a shot?"
"Yep." Byakuya, now rather interested in how Kagome would fare, remained silent, even when Rukia finally noticed his prescence. She grinned and waved just a little, just outside of Kagome's sight, and he responded by quietly nodding. The former priestess stepped up to the line, pulling her borrowed bow from her shoulder and situating her quiver. The Captain's eyes widened minutely at the length of the bow she'd chosen. Was she going to be able to even draw the string back on that thing? It was almost taller than her!
Making his decision, he opened his mouth to reprimand her for her choice, then let it click shut in shock when she smoothly loaded and fired three shots in rapid succession, all of them hitting near the center of the target. There would have been a fourth made, but the wind blew her loose hair in her face and she stopped to brush it away impatiently.
'She's very skilled. I'm surprised.' Shaking his head, he proceeded forward to join them. Rukia remained wide-eyed in awe as Kagome pushed her hair behind her ears again in frustration.
"That was amazing! How did you do that so quickly?"
"Lots and lots of practice. In order to get this good, you've gotta devote yourself to the art," she responded, grinning in self mockery. 'Or run around the Feudal Era shooting demons down that are trying to kill you. That makes you accurate fast.' The priestess loaded up another arrow and pulled the string back expertly, lining up her sight to make her next shot-
"If you have a good teacher, though, that will make things easier to learn," Byakuya pointed out behind her, making the archer shriek in shock and fire on instinct. Her arrow missed and landed in the bushes to the right of the target.
"C-C-Captain Kuchiki!" Kagome stuttered, whipping around to face him with a hand on her rapidly beating heart, "You scared me! Please don't do that when I'm holding a weapon! I might accidentally shoot you next time!" The nobleman snorted almost inaudibly and waved her off.
"I doubt that. You'll need to fetch that too."
I'll get it!" Rukia volunteered, slipping away and leaving the two of them alone before the priestess could kick up any kind of protest.
The silence that followed was unbelievable awkward. "So... Hi?"
"... You surprised me when you were able to handle that bow," Byakuya countered, stepping up and pulling out three arrows. Palming two, he loaded one, took aim, and shot. The sleek black wood embedded itself into the center of the target, "but your stance needs a little work still." He fired two more shots in rapid succession, both hitting their mark and circling the bullseye. Kagome huffed and glared up at him before taking her spot at her own target and drawing out another arrow.
"My stance is fine," she started proudly, pulling back and letting instinct take over. Her next shot sank deeply into the center of her target, "and I used to handle a longbow all the time. So, forgive me if I sound smug, but I think I know what I'm doing, Captain."
The Kuchiki head sent her a sidelong glance as he analyzed the way her spiritual pressure literally vibrated with her ire. "Do you have enough confidence in your abilities to make a wager?" She gaped at him for a second before her blue eyes sparkled mischevously.
"Why Captain Kuchiki, I never would have pegged you as the betting kind of man," the dark-haired girl drawled, smirking up at him in delight, "but, yes, I am fairly confident in my archery skills. What did you have in mind?"
"Five shots. Standard procedure. If I win, you must return here once a week to work on your Kido control." Kagome stared at him, unable to believe that he was actually going through with this. Then his words sank in and she glared up at him in annoyance.
"My kido's not that bad," she grumbled, flushing because she knew that it was that bad, "It hasn't always been that way."
"I know. I took a look at your entrance exams, and you did quite well. As the years wore on, though, there was a steady decline in your ability to perform," Byakuya surmised, looking up at the sky for a moment before pinning her with a look, "Perhaps it has something to do with this... 'seal' the monk insists is on you."
"That's... a really good thought. I think I'll ask him about it the next time I see him," she nodded, deep in thought for a second before the look cleared and was replaced by a challenging fire, "And if I win, you have to give me my hair ribbon back!" The nobleman blinked, then smirked before reaching into his haori.
"You mean... this one, correct?" he asked intentionally, pulling the light blue slip of fabric out and dangling it in front of her. Kagome's jaw dropped and she automatcally made a grab for it. He twitched his hand and it fluttered out of her reach again. "I could... loan it to you... At least until this game is over."
"But it's my ribbon! You can't just loan my ribbon to me!" she protested, reaching out again to try and take it. The hand holding her ribbon disappeared behind his back as he smirked smugly. "That makes no sense!"
"Turn around, Higurashi."
"Why? So you can hide it again?" She thought of a disturbing thing. Did he keep her ribbon on him at all times?
"If you'll let me tie your hair back, we can get on with the wager," he argued politely, because a Kuchiki didn't bicker. The priestess narrowed a sharp look at him before presenting her back to him slowly.
"Just so you know, I'm going to beat you."
"I'm sure you will," he answered casually, running his fingers through her hair and untangling small knots. 'In a thousand years.' Letting the heavy silk slide through his hands, he suppressed a shiver at the sensation and quickly gathered her hair into a tail half-way down her back. He'd seen several noble women wear their hair in such a way when they weren't dressed to the nines in their fanciest kimonos and thought it would suit the shinigami nicely. A few seconds later, he was distancing himself from the girl and turning towards their targets.
"Now, we begin when Rukia returns. She can monitor our shots," Byakuya explained, taking another step away from her for good measure. If his grandfather had caught him...
'Let's think about that for a moment, Kuchiki. Grandfather would be pleased if I even decided to pay the opposite sex attention again. I know that old man wants grandchildren to spoil. Hisana had been far too frail to have children. The stress alone would have complicated things.' That, and his late wife hadn't possessed the spiritual energy to create a child. He'd always wondered if the Kuchiki family's energies alone had only worsened her fraility. If maybe marrying her had killed her in the end.
A small hand waved in front of his face. "Captain? Are you okay?" The Kuchiki noble blinked, coming back to himself, and noticed that his sister had returned. She and Kagome were both watching him with worried looks on their faces.
"Nii-sama?"
"... I am fine. Let's begin. You know the standard rules, Higurashi?"
"Yep. I explained everything to Rukia while you were... thinking. So, we're ready when you are." He was thankful she hadn't made some kind of snide remark for his absence of mind, and fingered his first arrow in preparation. Then, he turned to Kagome and nodded.
"By all means, ladies first." Her expressive blue eyes narrowed in determination, and a few heartbeats later her first arrow sank deeply into the center of her target. Byakuya quickly followed suit, mirroring her shot and glancing at her casually.
Only, she wasn't watching him, but his target with a deep concentration. A little put out by the lack of attention, he waited for her to make her next shot and followed its' path as it hit near the center again, this time slightly to the left of her first arrow. He had to admit it; she was a very skilled archer. Pulling back his bowstring, he fired and was pleased when it made its' mark. A flicker of movement caught his eye as he noticed her fiddling with the plume on her arrow, and he sucked in a breath at the red welt on her arm.
"Where is your padding?"
"My what?" she asked, giving him a blank look. She followed his gaze to her arms and flushed slightly in understanding, "I don't use padding. Never have." Shrugging when he gave her a condescending look, she flipped her next arrow and fired it on an adrenaline rush. She loved this!
"You should. You'll end up hurting yourself if you continue to go without the proper equipment," the nobleman pointed out, letting his eyes narrow when she merely snorted and waved him off. In his agitation, his next arrow was a little off-center, which put him in a sour mood. Kagome smirked, stepped up to her target, and lined up her fourth shot. Byakuya saw her wince as she pulled the string back and almost stopped her. She was already hurting herself! Then she fired... and missed. Byakuya was almost sure she would have thrown the bow in a fit of fury if it had been her own. Instead, she gripped the dark wood in a white-knuckled grasp as she ground her teeth in annoyance.
Instead of making a comment about the entire incident, the noble lined up his shot and let it loose. That twang of his string alerted him to the fact that it would be a straight and true shot. The shaft sank deep into the target, making his sister whistle and Kagome wince in defeat.
"Right, I guess you won, Captain," the small shinigami muttered, willing to admit that the family head was a good match. Still, she'd have liked to have taken that arrogance down a few notches and proven him wrong.
"You still have one more shot, Higurashi. I might miss," he replied, though the words were said in a way that screamed 'Yeah right!' She set up her final shot, fired, and was dimly pleased when this one made its' mark. However, the slight victory was shortlived. A 'thunk' was heard as her Captain's last arrow sank into his target, and she sighed loudly, blowing her long bangs with the motion.
"Good shot, Captain. You got me," she grumbled, an awkward smile making its' way onto her features when Rukia patted her shoulder. "I better go get that arrow." The priestess jogged off without waiting for a reply, berating herself for falling for his bait. Now she was going to have to work on her Kido with him. A rustle in the bushes jerked her out of her thoughts and she gasped loudly-
-Only to jump back in shock when a black arrow whizzed into the bushes and a howl broke the near silence. Not even a step later, Byakuya was at her side, bow cocked and aiming for whatever was waiting in there. His face, which had been somewhat open, even amiable, was shuttered coldly, grey eyes narrowed in a seething glare. Kagome settled her hand on his bow and crept over to part the bushes. What she saw made her want to shriek in laughter and wince in sympathy.
"Mi-Mi-Miroku? What are you doing here?"
"He shot me!" the monk wailed, ducking his head when he caught sight of the intimidating noble standing behind her. The arrow sticking out of his behind looked extremely painful.
"Oh my God! You shot Miroku!" Kagome exclaimed, spinning to face her Captain with a shocked expression.
"I thought I sensed an intruder," Byakuya argued.
"You still shot him!"
"He will live, Higurashi."
"You friggin' shot me!" Miroku reiterated, now glaring at the head of the noble house. Rukia pushed her way over to them, gasping when she set her sights on the raven-haired man.
"Nii-sama! Why did you shoot this man?"
"The manor and it's surrounding land is my property. I am allowed to do as I see fit to intruders," Byakuya countered frostily, not liking how concerned the younger noble was acting towards the unknown monk.
"But Nii-sama! He's obviously a friend of Kagome's!"
"Yes, fair lady! I am but a humble monk, and a very dear friend of Kagome's," Miroku elaborated, taking the other girl's hands in his own and giving her an imploring look, "Dear noble maiden, please do not allow your brother to torment me so-!"
"Okay, Miroku, you're laying it on a little thick. That's his sister, remember?"
"Yes, monk, remember that," the squad leader hissed, ready to shoot the other man again if he continued to come on to his sibling.
"Of course, Lord Kuchiki. I could never forget such a thing," Miroku murmured in deference, making Kagome roll her eyes and kneel next to him.
"Come on, Casanova, let's get you to one of the medics from Squad 4 and get that out of you,"
"Yes, milady."
It took a moment to process what had been uttered, but when she filtered through what he just said, Rukia blinked and looked at Kagome oddly. "He just called you 'Milady', Kagome. Are you...?"
"Huh? No! I'm no one special! He's just in shock!" the other girl flailed dragging her old friend up and starting to haul him off, "Don't be silly! Me? A noble? Please! Like I could even begin to try!" She laughed loudly and bowed to the two suspicious clansmen before scooting out of there as quickly as she could. "This was fun! We should do it again and not shoot people in the process!" As she crept by Byakuya, he reached out and pulled the ribbon from her hair. A moment of indecision later, the former time traveler decided to wait for a better opportunity to get it back and disappeared before either noble could stop her.
"... Nii-sama?"
"Yes Rukia. It is rather odd that he would address her as such." Things were starting to get interesting. Now, the mystery surrounding his secretive little subordinate was only deepening.
And he would figure it out one way or another.
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A/N: Annnd really long One-Shot. I didn't mean for it to turn out this long, but I had such fun with it! Hope you enjoyed it, because they're not all going to be like this! As always, please review!