Hello everyone!
Thank you to Jasjoker, TwilightNinja00 and Grimlock987 for favoring/following the story!
This is a long chapter, the longest so far. Things start turning here, so I hope that you all will enjoy it.
As usual, please enjoy this update and please leave a review when you're finished. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 10
The Crossroads of Conflict
"Miya do you...have a thing for Captain Kuchiki?"
All eyes were on the princess as she tried to compute the sudden question. Scarlet cheeks transformed into crimson as her two friends waited for an answer一 her having feelings for the Prince of Ice and being the only one he adored?
'What the hell kind of question is that?!'
She'd burst into a tower of flames if she could from embarrassment. She had to escape from the interrogation somehow. The deep rooted truth wasn't going to be revealed.
"W-what feelings? You mean me feeling that he's still an arrogant, self-important, stubborn, ice cold son of a—"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Rumi interrupted, wagging her finger. "You're avoiding the question! We've already gone down this road four drinks ago."
Miyako hastily closed her eyes. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."
A sly smile was plastered on Rumi's face as Shirayuki looked on in curiosity. Miyako had a hard time hiding her red face.
Rumi took a drink of cherry sake. "You're the absolute worst at hiding your feelings."
Miyako remained silent and opened her eyes as she thought about the question at hand. Sensing her unease, Shirayuki placed an understanding hand on her shoulder.
"Miyako...it's okay to contemplate your feelings. Don't feel down about having feelings for someone that you're attracted to. We all go through this at some point in our lives."
Before Miyako could think of a response, Rumi beat her to the punch.
"Yeah we all do, but this is Captain Kuchiki we're talking about. He's a hot, rich man and well sought after by many women in the Seireitei, and let's not forget that he's one of the most powerful captains of the Gotei 13. He's a mysterious and refined noble, and for Miya's luck...single!"
"And he's a stuck up snob!" Miyako growled.
"How many times are you going to tear your handsome man down?" Rumi asked.
"He's NOT my man!"
Her friends couldn't help but giggle at the outburst. "Come on, Miya...you don't have to try so hard to cover up your feelings! It's obvious that you like him...there's nothing wrong with being attracted to a captain! You're not the only one that feels that way! I'm sure that he has many fan girls!"
'Yeah and Rika is aiming to be his number one fan, wedding bells and all…'
"Well I for one am not planning to join his fan club."
Her heart secretly pounded at the thought of pining after her old childhood friend again. She had already lost him once to Hisana and she wasn't about to try to step back into that world again, especially now that he didn't seem to want to be bothered with her no matter how hard she tried to get his attention. He despised her, and with that attitude, they would never be friends, let alone be lovers if he had anything to do with it. She sighed before taking a drink of water. Her mood turning sour, she reflected on how she felt about Byakuya.
'I buried my feelings for him decades ago...I don't need to unearth them.'
The liquor almost prompted her to shed a tear, but she stopped herself from being too vulnerable. That door was to remain shut under lock and key, is what she kept telling herself. She quickly forced herself to mask her feelings, quickly becoming numb to it all thanks to her training with Soifon. Miyako rubbed her temple; no matter how indifferent she became, the alcohol induced headache didn't even compare.
'Dammit all…'
"Who wants more to eat? I need to get rid of this headache."
They quickly called for their waitress to order more food. She hoped that more snacks would keep Byakuya out of her mind.
Meanwhile, Byakuya was elated when he saw that he had one more progress report to complete for the day. That happiness quickly faded to annoyance; Miyako's file was always at the bottom of the stack. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips.
Everyone had left long ago, even Renji. Lately he wanted to be alone, since Miyako's antics and mere presence was getting under his skin more than he'd like to admit. It was hard enough trying to maintain his usual icy composure around her and his subordinates. Observing her progress was more challenging than anything. She meant what she meant—she was going to make him regret his words and she was doing an excellent job. He opened her file and stared at the paperwork that demanded to be filled out. He usually spent a considerable amount of time observing and took meticulous notes for each student to make sure that he was evaluating everyone fairly, but filling out her weekly file made him gnash his teeth in hesitation. The temptation to hurl it against the wall was real, but he couldn't deny her progress over the last month. He had never seen someone so focused and determined to prove a point besides Ichigo Kurosaki. She always was there early, she executed drills perfectly and was gaining a name for herself in the division, along with other star students. She had the ability to be quick and sharp during battle practices and exuded a type of quiet, yet strong femininity that he had never seen from her before; it was quite mesmerizing, just like she was when he first crossed paths again with her on that fateful night. He couldn't explain it.
The way she carried herself was almost magnetic, he thought. She was always sporting a smile and maintaining good rapport with everyone which is what he expected of all of his members and students. He even found himself wanting to draw near her little by little; his views about her were slowly changing for the better as the days went on.
But of course, he wasn't going to admit that, especially to her. If she caught wind of his wavering thoughts, she'd never let him live it down.
He quickly tossed his thoughts away because at the end of it all, he couldn't stand the woman...at least that was what he was telling himself daily. He groaned; he hated his conflicting emotions as they were nothing more than a nuisance at times. Soon, his stomach was starting to beg for sustenance, but his head was banging louder.
He closed his eyes and took in the silence of his office suite. Not wasting another minute, he cleaned his desk and excused himself from his office for the day. A small walk for fresh air before returning home for dinner was in order.
Restaurant Row, a famous street filled with restaurants and bars in the Seireitei were bustling with shinigami and filled the street with strong smells of freshly prepared fried and grilled foods. The crisp scent of chicken, pork and fish was enough to make Byakuya's stomach growl. He knew that Renji and many of his men frequented the area, but he never joined them as he was always provided fresh high quality meals prepared by a professional chef. He could see why they all enjoyed themselves here; the food was cheap, had a quick turnaround time and lured them in with the delicious smelling aroma.
Suddenly, he found himself questioning on how he ended up there of all places, as he rarely frequented the area.
His eyes widened a bit when he heard feminine giggles nearby. There, Miyako emerged from the restaurant with Rumi and Shirayuki, smiling happily with a light red hue on her cheeks, he instantly assumed from drinking.
"That was delicious! We need to do this more often."
"Oh yeah Miya you bet!"
"I agree. I missed being with you both so much! Let's not wait too much longer to come back, okay?" Shirayuki chimed in.
Before Rumi could reply, she stopped when she saw Byakuya walking towards them. Now she had a sly grin on her face.
"Miya, your man is here." she whispered as she discreetly pointed to the captain.
"My what now?"
Miyako was quick to blush again after she turned to see him, which her friends noticed right away. She quickly fixed her face into a royal, polite smile. Sometimes she surprised herself with how she could hide her emotions during difficult times, now that the topic of their previous conversation was now front and center.
"Good evening, Bya- Captain Kuchiki." she greeted as she bowed.
Byakuya gave his usual stare, trying his best to mask his unexpected impending blush. Taking a good look at her, he noticed that she wore her hair down and dolled her lips with a flattering shade of lipstick that highlighted her plump lips—a casual, feminine way that she never sported during her time at the barracks. Even through the aroma of fresh food, he caught a whiff of the familiar water lily, bergamot and lemon perfume. Byakuya almost found himself speechless.
'She looks...very nice…' he admitted to himself. Before falling too deep into his thoughts, he shifted his attention to her comrades.
"Good evening, ladies."
Rumi and Shirayuki followed suit and bowed. "Good evening Captain Kuchiki."
"What a surprise! I didn't expect to see you around here. I'd thought that you'd still be in your office."
"I decided to take a walk before returning home for dinner."
"A walk here? This is one of the last places that I'd expect to cross paths with you."
Byakuya raised a brow. "Is my taking a walk here a problem?"
"Not at all! It's just not a place that I'd expect such an esteemed aristocrat as yourself would frequent, is all."
Byakuya narrowed his eyes by a hair. "The same could be said for yourself as well."
She turned her gaze to something to her left to avoid his eyes. "I happen to enjoy places like this when I'm out with my friends. We haven't had a chance to enjoy each other's company since we started our internships."
A moment of silence passed before Rumi cleared her throat. Looking over to her, Rumi cut her eyes between her and Byakuya before Miyako flashed a scowl.
"Oh yes, these are my friends, Shirayuki Yukimura and Rumi Akiyama. They're also a part of the new internship program and are training under Captain Unohana and Captain Hitsugaya respectively."
The two bowed with a smile. "Pleased to meet you, Captain Kuchiki."
Byakuya had to resist the urge to smirk. He couldn't let his usual stone face expression be broken by their behavior, but he knew that he couldn't pass up an opportunity to put Miyako in her place.
"I'm pleased to meet you both."
"No, no, the pleasure is all ours, sir."
"It's nice to see more new and promising future shinigami, especially under Captain Unohana and Captain Hitsugaya's direction. I trust that you both will continue to work hard and continue to excel during your internships. It also pleases me that my intern is affiliated with women like you both. I do ask you to please keep taking care of my intern. She could learn a lot about manners and etiquette from you both, as she seems to be lacking in that area."
Byakuya didn't even have to look at Miyako to know that her face wasn't red just from her buzz. Closing his eyes, he resisted the urge to smirk and maintained his cold, characteristic scowl.
"Good day to you all."
Leaving Miyako with her mouth wide open in anger and her friends smirking, they quickly returned his farewell. Rumi gave Miyako another cheesy grin, prompting Miyako to close her mouth and glare.
"What?"
She covered her mouth as she chuckled. "I think that you two lovers will get along just fine!"
Shirayuki couldn't help but chuckle herself, much to Miyako's dismay.
"I hate you both."
Faintly hearing their laughter and chatter in the distance, Byakuya glanced at them once more before returning to the manor.
Days later, Byakuya found himself not staying behind in the barracks too long after dismissal like he was accustomed to. Post endeavor walks were becoming more frequent as the season was slowly transitioning.
The Seireitei was bustling with dinner and shopping patrons; the clamor was something that he wasn't too familiar with on a daily basis. The crisp clean air and rustling of the maple leaves at this time of year was more his style; but despite the furor, it was something he welcomed for a change for reasons unknown to him. He felt drawn there.
Byakuya quickly adapted to the many eyes that followed him, mostly from the women who wanted nothing more than to take him all for themselves, but he brushed it off as promptly as they came.
He stopped in his tracks when he looked ahead to a nearby stall. One set of eyes that didn't fixate their gaze upon him belonged to one of his star interns. Byakuya glanced at her from afar as she window shopped down Sumire-dori, checking out things from small nik-naks to things of higher value. He watched as she chatted up the stall vendor, giving away a more carefree smile and laugh than he would see at the barracks. His mind trailed back to when he saw her with her friends at Restaurant Row, letting herself be unguarded, but tried her best to hide her true self from him. He found himself enjoying seeing this jovial side of her once more; it was like she had a soft glow, a warm glow that was refreshing. It was enough to make him crave for more of her presence.
Letting that feeling sink in a little too far, he was quickly hit with the realization一he was drawn there because of her. He mindlessly followed her trail of reiatsu, its magnetic signature baiting him by the second. He cursed himself for being so careless again一trailing behind a woman that he ironically told himself that couldn't stand was ridiculous in itself. The attraction that he felt now was stronger than it ever was the last month at the barracks and even when he saw her with her friends. Byakuya clenched his fists; he felt like a stalker. Ashamed at his behavior, he quickly looked for an escape route back home. After deciding to quietly turn around to leave in the opposite direction, he glanced at her once more.
To his advantage, she didn't seem to notice his presence and he planned to keep it that way. He hated to admit it, but a door was slowly starting to slide open in his heart, but he forced it shut before he left the area. Yes, it was definitely time to go home and a strong cup of green tea was needed.
Days later, everyone had gathered in the inner courtyard once more. It was almost the end of the day with one session left and Byakuya had something different planned for his students. Standing next to Renji, he looked at the crowd before making his announcement.
"As you all know, we've focused on developing your fighting techniques and helping ones without shikai to obtain it. Now that it's been over one month since the start of your internships, Lieutenant Abarai and I have compiled your progress and rankings thus far. Your individual reports will be handed out after we finish. But for right now, I will announce our top three interns. These individuals will have the opportunity to spar against myself today. The session will last ten minutes each and you may concede at any time if you feel that the fight is too overwhelming for you."
The crowd gasped in amazement and wondered who the top three interns were. Rika smiled as she folded her arms, confident that she was going to spar against her beloved future husband and show him how strong she was. Miyako, who was standing not too far from Rika, mentally removed herself from the situation.
'For all I know, he might put me on a low rank on purpose to spite me…I might not be participating in this today...'
Everyone waited with baited breath as Byakuya was waiting to continue.
"The intern that has earned third place is Rika Omaeda."
Rika screamed mentally in glee as everyone clapped for her placement. Although she was happy she had made it in the top three, she was hoping that she was at least in second place. She smirked over at Miyako, who appeared oblivious to it all. As long as she was acknowledged by Byakuya and ahead of Miyako, she was on top of the world. She was one step closer to having Byakuya to herself and nothing could stop her.
"Earning second place is Isshiki Matsushita."
He was humbled at his achievement as everyone clapped for him.
"Last, but not least, earning first place…"
Everyone had grown quiet enough to hear a pin drop; all they could hear was their heartbeats blasting.
"Miyako Shihouin."
Hearing her name escape his lips made her heart skip a beat. Her surprise was opposite to Rika's fury of her being two steps behind Miyako.
Byakuya hated to admit that Miyako had earned the number one spot, but it was his duty to judge fairly, no matter how he felt about her.
While everyone had clapped for her, her resolve surged. 'Now I'll show you that I'm not a child!'
Byakuya quickly glanced at her and their eyes met again for a moment. He knew her thoughts instantly.
"You three will spar with me one on one starting with Rika Omaeda. The rest of you are advised to take notes during this time."
"Sir, yes sir!"
The crowd stood back inside of a protective kido barrier that Byakuya had erected. As Byakuya and Rika took center stage, unsheathing their zanpakuto as Renji stood to the side.
"Ready...FIGHT!"
With Renji's command, the two shinigami charged at each other.
Minutes later, Rika conceded her session after six minutes and ten seconds; her shikai was no match after Byakuya had activated his Senbonzakura. He was impressed that she used the wind ability of her shikai to prevent herself from being sliced into pieces when he had tried to trap her in Senbonzakura's petals.
Next, Isshiki was able to able to stay in his fight for seven minutes and sixteen seconds. He too conceded when Senbonzakura and Byakuya's speed became too overwhelming to combat.
Lastly, Miyako took her spot where Rika and Isshiki had before her. Unsheathing her zanpakuto, she stood her ground as she waited for the command as she gave him a fiery stare. Byakuya also readied himself for the order, ready to see if she would truly make good on her word from their fight a month earlier.
"Ready...FIGHT!"
Miyako quickly charged towards Byakuya to strike him, but he blocked every hit she threw at him. Iron to iron striking went on for four minutes until Miyako decided to change her tactic. Shoving Byakuya away and putting some distance between them, Miyako placed her palms on the ground.
"Bakudō #21. Sekienton!"
Red smoke burst forth from the ground, swiftly engulfing the surrounding area and hiding her away. Surprised, Byakuya jumped backwards and readied himself. His next thought was to shoot a kido spell, Byakurai, at her to dissipate the cloud briefly. Before he could finish the kido spell, she shot the same kido spell at him that he had planned on using. Missing him by an inch, she surprised him by using Rikujōkōrō in order to halt his movement. Using his amazing speed, he managed to dodge it, which impressed the crowd.
Not wasting any time, she quickly used Shitotsu Sansen. The yellow piercing tri-beam ensnared and bound him to the courtyard wall, forcing him to drop his weapon.
Dashing from her cover up, she charged at him with her zanpakuto, ready to deliver the final blow. Confident that she was about to end the fight, Byakuya turned the tables on her and activated Senbonzakura and blocked her attack. Miyako retreated from her target while he used Senbonzakura to free himself. Knowing that she was in trouble, Miyako followed his lead and activated Unabara and attempted to strike Byakuya with its energized ribbon, but he prevented her from doing so several times. While their shikai kept colliding, he could feel the pride that she carried in her ribbon, the fire that kept her going that burned with the same feminine energy that he felt from her when she was around. Her fighting techniques soon began to mesmerize him again, but he quickly snapped out of it because he couldn't afford to not pay attention; she almost struck him when his guard was down.
With a few minutes remaining, he decided to end the fight.
He deactivated his shikai, surprising his opponent. 'Is he giving up? He couldn't be!'
He looked towards his adversary with narrowed eyes.
'Let's see if she can keep up with me from this moment on…'
He pointed his sword to the ground, making the tension rise around them.
"Bankai."
Her heart dropped at his utterance as the sword disappeared into the ground.
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
The giant iconic swords emerged from the ground and shattered into millions of pink blades. Miyako stared in a panicked awe, as she had only seen his bankai in action less than a handful of times. It was beautiful, but she knew that she was in danger. She quickly snapped herself out of her fear; now it was time to truly fight.
"Your bankai doesn't scare me!"
She called Unabara's ribbon back to her body. 'I'll try something new…'
"Shunko!"
A blast of strong reiatsu ripped Miyako's top half of her shinigami robe off, revealing her punishment force top that showed off her shoulders and bare back. Just like Yoruichi's shunko, hers was lightning based. Unabara wrapped itself around her arms and fused with the lightning power of her shunko, forming into two giant drill shaped weapons.
Everyone stared in awe as the two shinigami kept upgrading their attacks against each other. Even Byakuya was impressed with her quick thinking. She let out a battle cry as she charged at him. Sending his bankai to defend himself against her constant striking, he focused a great deal of energy at her and tried to encase her in a weak form of Goukei, but Miyako concentrated her shunko around her body as a defense, throwing that tactic out of the window. Miyako increased her focus on getting closer to Byakuya, slowly making her way towards him.
Not willing to give up, he concentrated his reiatsu where their weapons met. Her stubbornness kicked in and she also followed his lead, pushing her body to an exhausting level. The bout eventually overwhelmed Miyako after a minute and a half. His power pushed her back as he buried her under a mountain of blades.
"This fight is over!" Renji shouted.
Byakuya deactivated his bankai, giving Miyako some breathing room. She was covered in small cuts and bruises.
"Miyako Shihouin also comes in first place in the sparring session at eight minutes and twenty seven seconds!"
Everyone minus Rika clapped at her success as she peeled herself up from the ground. After Renji checked to make sure that Miyako was stable, the class was handed their reports and were dismissed for the day, leaving only a few of them behind.
Feeling sore all over, Miyako tried to rub the pain away. 'He hurt me more than I had expected...but at least I tried my best to fight him…'
"Miyako, that was amazing!" Isshiki said as he walked up to her. "That move that you had done...what is it called?"
"It's called Shunko."
"Yes! Shunko! The way you fused it with your shikai like that! I've never seen anything like that before! You're truly amazing!"
Miyako gave him a weak smile. "Thank you, Isshiki, but I have my sister and Captain Soifon to thank for training to use it."
"Oh I see...but either way, it was amazing! I was truly impressed! I know that this is going to sound a little forward but...I was hoping that I would have a chance to ask you out to dinner tonight."
An earshot away, Byakuya hadn't left the courtyard due to him screening the damage Miyako had caused during their fight. He found himself glaring at his interns, more specifically Isshiki. He watched as he smiled at Miyako. He thought that Isshiki's smile was a little too kind, in his noble opinion.
"But seeing that you had ripped your robe during your fight...well..."
Inside, Byakuya found himself wanting her to decline Isshiki's offer.
"Thank you Isshiki, I'd love to go to dinner with you!"
Byakuya's hopes were instantly crushed, which irritated him. He knew that he shouldn't have been bothered by her personal dealings.
"I'll go and change and I'll meet you at the entrance of Restaurant Row in twenty minutes, okay?"
Isshiki nodded. "Okay, that sounds fine with me. I'll see you soon."
Nodding in reply, Miyako smiled before she flash stepped away, Isshiki leaving immediately afterwards.
A fire had started building up in Byakuya chest. He felt conflicted. After battling with her, he felt the essence of her whenever their blades crossed. He felt the fire, the passion, and a hint of sorrow. It nagged at his inner being, tempting him the more he pondered on it. He was intrigued by what he felt and for the first time in years, logic was being pushed aside for irrationality. He could no longer hold back.
Hours later, the moon had risen over Restaurant Row, which was still filled with many shinigami clientele. Emerging from a restaurant, Isshiki and Miyako had shared another laugh.
"Thank you again, Isshiki! Dinner was lovely! I enjoyed myself."
The cool and collected man gave her another kind smile. "No, thank you for allowing me to have dinner with you. I had a lot of fun too!"
In the shadows between restaurants, Byakuya found himself glaring at his interns once more, still focusing on Isshiki. A moment of silence fell between them.
"Would you like for me to walk you home?"
Byakuya continued to watch discreetly. Now the boy was going too far.
"Thank you, but I think that I'll be fine on my own." She looked up to the star filled sky and took in the serenity of it all. "It's such a nice night out and I'm going to enjoy my walk home before I retire for the night. I'm a bit worn out after sparring with Captain Kuchiki, so my walk will be a nice break from it all."
Who was she kidding? A bit worn out wasn't the correct term to use. Fighting with him was pretty brutal.
"Oh okay." he replied, trying to mask his disappointment. He figured that Miyako wasn't going to allow him to take a mile with the inch she'd already given him with dinner. Her rejection and her comment about their fighting session made Byakuya feel warm inside.
"Have a good night. I'll see you in the morning."
"Thank you, you too! I'll be seeing you tomorrow!"
Isshiki flash stepped away while Miyako remained, waving at his fleeting form. Miyako stood alone for a moment before taking a deep breath of the crisp air and started to make her way back home. Careful to not expose himself, Byakuya continued to suppress his reiatsu and kept his distance from her. She took in the sights and hummed while she walked to the end of Restaurant Row and to the main road back to the barracks.
She was greeted by the guards at the gate, returning the greeting with a wave and a smile. The guards' presence halted his stealth mission momentarily. He waited until he could barely feel her reiatsu and quickly sped past the guards, who only felt a quick breeze and didn't question a thing.
Hiding behind a building, he ignored the logical side of himself that fought with the impulsive side of himself was behaving in such a manner, but he continued to feel that same tempting pull towards her...a pull that kept nitpicking at him no matter how hard he tried to resist. Not dwelling on it too much longer, he resumed his search and found himself in a wooded area towards the back past the main grounds.
'She went into the woods?'
Byakuya looked down to find a dirt path that stretched into the darkness of the trees. He was almost hesitant in entering said forest, remembering what had happened the last time they met. Quickly, he felt her reiatsu lingering, so he pushed his feelings aside, made haste and entered. The area became darker with each step he took. Soon he entered a small open area and passed through it, still following her thin trail of reiatsu. In the darkness once more, he walked off the dirt trail and came to a halt at a rock wall that had vines covering it. Rubbing his pale hand against the wall, he grew confused. Her reiatsu had ended right in that area, but she was nowhere to be found.
'Where did she disappear to?'
With furrowed brows, he scanned the thin space between the trees and the wall. Walking about, he didn't see any apparent exit to which she could've slipped into.
'This is odd...very odd…'
His mind started to wonder about. Did she notice him trailing behind her and was she planning on assaulting him again? Was this an attempt to seek revenge after today's battle? His anger almost made his blood boil again just at the thought, but then he calmed down. He convinced himself that definitely wouldn't have been the case as he was very skillful in hiding his presence very well to the point that it was almost non existent. Plus, she seemed so relaxed as she walked ahead of him. He also knew that she wasn't proficient in completely hiding her reiatsu, so the question still stood: where did she go? She had to have gone somewhere. He burned with curiosity and the rock wall wasn't going to give him any answers willingly.
Placing his pale hand on the wall, he ran it back and forth, pushing into it firmly. He continued to graze the wall for another fifteen minutes, he had to stop himself—a wave of shame and confusion washed over him. He finally came back to his senses. Why was he trying so hard to locate her? The one woman who he vowed to not waste his time on? She was nothing but a nuisance to him, a thorn in his side for the next two months. Thorns were meant to dispose of, not something to be sought after. A growl escaped his lips. Not hiding his temper, he quickly and uncharacteristically slammed his fist into the wall. Expecting the pain that was supposed to come with the impact, he received nothing. His eyes widened when he saw that his hand had gone through what appeared to be solid rock and vines.
Curiosity reignited, he pulled his hand back before pushing it back it and walking through it, entering the mouth of a cave that was dimly lit with kido. Looking back, he could see the woods through the rock.
'She must've entered through this barrier.'
The light was bright enough to reveal a platform with stairs that descended to the right. Through the silence and woodsy scent that permeated the cavern, he felt the faintness of Miyako's reiatsu once more. Tempting him once again to come find it, he found his feet moving at attention, making his way down the spiral rock staircase. Several minutes later, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Byakuya was surprised to find himself in an expansive garden dimmed by a twilight sky. Peach blossom and sakura trees lit by intricate stone lanterns greeted him at the entrance, a stone pathway cut through the trees.
Awed at his discovery, he walked down the pathway as he could feel the once thin trail of her reiatsu much stronger now. The passage led to a tranquil clearing where the moon was starting to rise above the horizon.
A small beige colored cabin that mimicked a tea house was to his left was surrounded by its own garden, golden-rayed lilies being the focal point. The roar of a waterfall in the distance made a river that ran by the house and flowed to his right. Near the house was an onsen, whose mist swirled above the warm water. Miyako's zanpakuto stood against the large rocks that partially surrounded the onsen.
A sakura patterned blanket was nestled near the onsen with a wicker basket nestled on top.
Looking around, it was like a scene that belonged on a large canvas. He felt at peace there with hearing the white noise of the waterfall and the rustling of the trees in the gentle breeze. The area reminded him of the night they had their fateful reunion, as she found himself still standing at the border of the trees and the open area.
'This time, I will be more careful and not step on any branches or kick any rocks.'
Looking around again, he could still sense Miyako's reiatsu all over in the mysterious barrier, but she was nowhere to be found. Taking one step towards the onsen made his foot strike a loose pebble, making it fly into the air. When it hit the ground, his fate was sealed.
"Hado #4: Byakurai."
His eyes widened once he heard that incantation and saw that attack coming right for him.