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Chapter 4

The Morning After

Bright sunlight of the dawn flooded through the beige shoji doors and crawled onto Miyako's sleeping face, prompting her to willingly keep her eyes closed as tight as possible. She flipped over on her side to avoid the new morning's call. But to her dismay, the morning sun wasn't the only one that wanted her attention. The sound of her door sliding open quickly entered her ears, making her brows furrow lightly in irritation.

"Lady Miyako," Kimura called. "It's not the weekend, dear. You have to wake up now if you want to be on time for today's classes." she warned.

Miyako stayed silent for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh before opening her eyes.

"Your breakfast will be ready very soon and your hakama and kisode have been laundered. You will find your clothes in your bathroom. Please hurry, Lady Miyako."

Kimura shut the door and Miyako rolled back onto her back in a daze. It took a moment before her vision cleared. Registering all of her aristocratic bedroom and not her much smaller dorm room, everything clicked. She quickly jumped up from her bed, her blue hair strewn messily around her.

'That's right...I came home last night…' Then she shuttered. 'After I shot a kido attack at...Byakuya Kuchiki!'

She groaned loudly as she ran her slender fingers through her messy hair. 'How am I going to avoid him today when the Kuchiki Manor is on my way to the academy?!'

Miyako stayed in her bed for a moment to focus on feeling the reiatsu around her. Many small white flames of reiatsu were near her, which belonged to the staff of the manor. Closing her eyes, she widened her focus to reach beyond the Shihouin property, extending down the road to the Kuchiki manor. Seconds later, another heavy sigh escaped her lips.

'And he's still there…'

Filled with frustration and nervousness, she focused her eyes on her bathroom and ripped her plush comforter off of her body.

'No matter...I'll just leave before he has the chance to do the same! Then I won't have to see him!'

That thought was easier said than done. She made a beeline for the bathroom in hopes of leaving quickly.

After freshening up and getting dressed in record time, Miyako made her way to the entrance at the manor, her steps hard and quick. Before leaving her room, she completed another reiatsu scan; Byakuya was still at the manor. She was ready to slip her shoes on and flash step as fast as she could to the academy, but her plans were ruined when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Lady Miyako!" Kimura called out to her, making her freeze instantly. "Where are you going? Are you off to the academy already? You haven't had your breakfast yet. The chef has just finished preparing your meal."

Miyako turned to meet the elderly woman. "Kimura! I apologize, but I'm not hungry at the moment!" she lied. "Please give my regards to the chef!"

Unfortunately for her, the silver haired woman didn't budge. Giving her an indifferent glare, she pursed her lips before responding.

"That's nonsense! As a growing lady and the next one to succeed Lady Soifon, you need your daily nutrition! I hope that you don't refuse meals while staying at the academy."

"No, that's not it at all! I do eat my meals at the academy! You can contact them and inquire!"

"Then eat. Now." she replied with a sharp glare.

Knowing that the woman wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, she dragged her feet to the dining room.

Eating breakfast was nothing short of painful. As much as she wanted to basically swallow her meal in one fell swoop, she had to refrain from eating so sloppily; her parents and Kimura would never allow it. Carefully placing her chopsticks over her empty rice bowl, she thanked everyone for the meal in her expected princess-like manner and left for the foyer. Slipping on her shoes and making sure that her zanpakuto was fastened to her pants, she quickly flash stepped her way to the academy. On her way there, she saw the Kuchiki manor in the distance and made sure that her next jump was longer than her normal stride. She felt his reiatsu under her and jumped faster towards the academy.

Miyako arrived minutes later at the academy entrance. Other students were arriving, the sounds of yawning and groaning accompanying them. After looking behind her back, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. Then she quickly snorted. 'What am I doing? Why am I in such a panic? It's not as if he'd follow me to the academy!'

"HEY MIYA!" a loud voice called out.

Miyako's heart jumped fifty feet in the air as she shrieked. After coming back to her senses, Miyako glared at the one who scared her.

"Rumi!" she shrieked. "Don't do that!"

Rumi, a fourth year student, was a tall and lively green-eyed red haired girl that had befriended Miyako when she had entered the academy. In the beginning, Miyako had a hard time blending in due to her noble status. Rumi was one of the first to offer her friendship. She was grateful that Rumi had also taught her how to let her hair down in public—having the opportunity to behave like a normal person was a great stress reliever. It also helped to show their peers that she wasn't a snob as they thought that she would be.

The energetic redhead couldn't help but let out a loud laugh as Miyako scowled at her. "Come on, Miya! As someone who trains under Captain Soifon, you shouldn't get so damn jumpy!"

Miyako blushed in embarrassment. 'She's right, but it's not like I have nerves of steel right now!'

"Hello, Rumi." she replied quietly. "How are you this morning?"

Rumi stretched and yawned. "I'm as good as anyone else, I guess. How about yourself?"

Miyako brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I'm good as well." she lied. "Are you ready to start class? We have a kido practical in Ms. Kubota's class, you know...on the new incantations."

Rumi yawned again, her green eyes started to flood with morning tears. She quickly wiped them away and gave Miyako a smile. "Yeah! I'm ready to show her and the others what's up! I practiced a ton last night! How about you?"

Miyako froze for a moment and avoided Rumi's gaze. "You can say that…" she replied as she thought back to the night before.

Rumi raised a brow at Miyako's averting eyes. "What's wrong with you? Are you nervous about the practical or something?"

Miyako quickly masked her nervousness and smiled. "Well you know that I always get a little nervous before a test…"

Rumi patted Miyako's back in confidence. "Girl, you always pass your tests! I don't know why you worry so much!"

Miyako gave her a small smile in return. "You're right, thanks."

The flow of students started to dwindle, prompting the two teens to end their conversation.

"It's getting quiet. We should get to class." Miyako said.

Rumi nodded and the two joined the last of the students. Before they reached the main building, Miyako briefly glanced at the entrance. As her eyes shrunk down to the size of peas, her heart jumped when she saw the last thing she wanted to see—the burning glare of ice cold grey eyes staring right back at her.