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Chapter 11
Picking up the Pieces
"Miyako…Miyako...MIYAKO!"
Miyako gasped as she opened her eyes. She straightened her back as she looked at her zanpakuto, Unabara.
The sounds of the semi-turbulent waves crashing against the coast entered her ears. The two women were sitting inside of a large castle that shined with the full moon's light cast upon it, giving it a silver glow. In the sanctuary was a small sapphire blue pool that sat in the middle of the room as it looked up to the glass ceiling where the moon would eventually pass over.
Miyako sat on the edge of the pool as Unabara sat in the middle of the pool.
Unabara, a water type zanpakuto spirit, blue eyes were big and gentle, her long silver hair rivaled the moon in hue, it flowed down her back and into the pool. The zanpakuto spirit wore a beautiful blue and white dress whose sleeves and bottom flowed like rolling waves. Concern was written over her features as she talked with her master.
"Are you alright?"
Miyako returned her concern with a small smile. "Yes, I'm alright."
Unabara wasn't pleased with her master's answer, clearly reflected with furrowed brows.
"I'm most certain that you are not alright. You had quite the mock battle with Captain Kuchiki and you exerted a lot of your strength when you fought against his bankai. You haven't been resting well at all lately since your internship began."
Her mind trailed back to her battle with Byakuya. That was the hardest she had ever fought in quite some time. Unabara was right about everything一Miyako had been training with Unabara and with Soifon for almost a month straight with little to no downtime. Fighting against Byakuya and his bankai had pushed her nearly to her breaking point. Her aching, bruised body was screaming for relief and her mind wandered too much for her liking. She desperately needed to rest soon and they both knew it. But Miyako wasn't going to admit defeat yet.
"There's no need to worry. Training is a part of becoming a strong and reliable shinigami. That's what I aim to become, especially with the Winter War approaching soon. I have to train as much as possible if I'm to be of use to the Soul Society."
"Does your training involve almost killing yourself? Especially when you're so adamant about proving yourself to Captain Kuchiki?" she asked bluntly. "Getting him to acknowledge you is putting too much strain on your body and psyche. The waves here have been more turbulent because of it. The moon loses its shine often and even the moon pool is starting to rise. You'll flood the island and this castle in no time if this continues. Is that what you want?"
Miyako's anger started to fester, evident with furrowed brows. She clenched the legs of her robe and scoffed.
"What are you trying to say, Unabara?"
"What I'm saying is that your feelings for Byakuya that you've hidden away all these years is starting to take its toll on you because you refuse to acknowledge them once more."
Miyako gnashed her teeth as her reiatsu started to rise.
"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM!" she screamed as she let her reiatsu out, its sudden pressure not bothering Unabara in the slightest.
"This has everything to do with him. You can't fool me. You are my master and I'm your zanpakuto. I know you just as well as Lady Yoruichi and Captain Soifon."
Miyako remained silent as there was no rebuttal that she could fight with.
"You don't have to talk about it now...but you have to come to terms with your feelings soon."
Miyako continued to remain silent and looked away from Unabara's eyes. The mentioning of anything Byakuya related fueled the raging waves outside.
"Please...don't keep this in for too much longer...take this time to rest and reflect on your feelings...because sooner or later will come the time for you to pick up the pieces of your heart and take control."
With those words, her inner world started to fade away and Miyako found herself sitting by the riverside. Although there wasn't much light at twilight, she didn't need any light to see that her reflection looked absolutely terrible. Feeling the fatigue growing stronger, she let out a sigh and walked to her cabin. In her room, she slowly peeled her robe off and let her hair down before stepping into a hot, steamy shower. Stepping out in a fluffy white towel, she grabbed a yukata out of the small closet, her zanpakuto and picnic items before stepping outside.
The onsen was calling out to her and she couldn't wait to slide into its warm, welcoming water. Not wasting any time, she sat Unabara against the large boulders that surrounded the onsen, laid her yukata on top of an adjacent boulder, and then laid out a sakura patterned blanket not too far from the onsen, finishing off with a small wicker basket on top. Finally, she dropped her towel and slipped into the onsen, letting out an exhausted sigh as the warm water washed over her drained body. Miyako propped her head on her crossed arms, fixating herself to the edge of the hot spring. Slowly, she could feel the fatigue leave her curvy frame and let out a sigh of relief. Closing her eyes, her mind couldn't help but ponder over Unabara's words.
'Byakuya…'
She hated that Unabara was right; her feelings started eating at her now that the girls had forced her to think about it. It couldn't be helped. Her feelings were sprouting for Byakuya once more. Conflicted, she shelved her thoughts and tried to enjoy her peace. The toasty water was like a big, warm embrace. Smiling, she let out a sigh as she started to drift away.
Minutes later, her heart suddenly skipped a beat; she panicked as she tried to awaken from her stupor. Her tranquility was shattered abruptly when she felt a burst of Byakuya's reiatsu fill the barrier.
'No! No! No!'
Her panic transformed to anger as his steps came closer. She growled. 'That no good, sneaky little son of a…'
Knowing that he wasn't too far away, she quickly jumped out of the hot spring and grabbed her yukata. She cursed as the garment clung to her soaking wet body. She didn't have enough time to fix her clothes before hiding out of sight. She was going to make sure that Byakuya was in for a rude awakening. Once the intruder kicked a lone rock, she pointed a finger at him as she narrowed her golden eyes.
"Hado #4: Byakurai."
Like deja vu, the bolt of lightning narrowly missed him by a hair. Before Byakuya could retaliate, he was frozen by a pair of golden eyes giving him the evil eye. Its owner stared him down with crossed arms, legs and a scowl to boot as she sat on top of a large rock in front of the onsen. It was pretty clear that his old friend wasn't happy. The two sat in silence as they continued their staring contest. He had to fight to hide the impending blush ready to expose itself again. He had trekked into her private, happy place, exposing another side of herself that he'd never seen before. Dressed in a black yukata with pink hibiscus flowers she had hastily thrown on, her wet hair dangled over her chest and covered her arm. To his chagrin, the yukata didn't do well to hide her long, curvy crossed legs which were still a tad bit shinny from exiting the onsen or covering her bosom so well.
Byakuya knew that he was in for it now, especially since she caught him snooping around. Covering up his true feelings of panic, he gave her his classic cold stare and tried to recover in the best way he could.
"Again with the assault, I see."
Her scowl grew deeper. How dare he accuse her of such again when he was trespassing in her private domain? The urge to pick up the nearest rock and chucking it at his head was never stronger.
"Don't you dare try to make me look like the villain! Again with the spying?! I can't believe you! You're more persistent than I thought!"
Byakuya raised a brow at her statement, waiting for her to continue.
"You didn't think that for one second I wasn't aware that you were following me?"
"That's a glaring accusation to make, especially one of a captain!"
She narrowed her eyes again.
"There you go again, trying to make me look like I'm the one in the wrong! Don't even think about it Kuchiki! I thought that coming here would throw you off and cause you to abandon whatever you thought that you were doing."
Byakuya cursed himself. How could he be so careless? How did she know that he was trailing behind her after he had hid his presence so well? He knew that he couldn't wriggle his way out of his predicament. He was in her hands now to do whatever she deemed acceptable, and knowing her from their youth, what they both deemed acceptable were two different viewpoints.
"When did you realize that I was following you?" he finally asked.
"I realized it after I had left the restaurant." she replied as she stood up. "I knew that something was odd the other day...I could feel a faint trace of your reiatsu near me...I thought that I was crazy at first. I never thought that I would be such an interest to you like this. You must be here to watch me lick my wounds after our fight. There's no other reason."
Unfeeling uncomfortable, she tried to wrap the loose yukata around herself as Byakuya looked away. She glared at him for a moment.
"Before we continue this little conversation, you will wait here until I can properly change since you ruined my soaking time. Your reiatsu was all over the place when you came in here so I had to dress quickly before you arrived. Don't you dare leave before I come back."
"And what would happen if I decide to leave before you return?"
She narrowed her eyes again but instead of another deep frown, she sported a crooked smile. It was something that sent a shiver down his spine in a very long time.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that the Kuchiki elders, my clan, Head Captain Yamamoto, the academy and let's not forget the Shinigami Women's Association would love to hear all about your new favorite past time of you trespassing, stalking and spying on of one of your female interns while she was bathing in an onsen on private Division Two property. Oh what a scandal that'll be?"
Knowing that he lost this battle, he just stood by his lonesome as she walked past him to her cabin, but not before giving him another scowl before entering and slamming the shoji doors audibly.
It was very clear now that he was in over his head thanks to his persistence.
'Dammit all!'
Minutes later, he heard the doors slide open. Looking over to her, he had to fight back another blush attack as he watched her walk towards him. Miyako appeared much more put together than before, donning a purple yukata with pink butterflies. Her long hair, now dry, hugged her frame. Walking to the blanket, she took a seat without looking at him.
"Have a seat, Byakuya."
"That's Captain ー"
"No." she replied sharply. "My barrier, my rules. Right now, you're just Byakuya Kuchiki to me. Any retaliation will result in me leaking this secret rendezvous to all of the wonderful citizens of the Seireitei."
He narrowed his eyes. He hated feeling like a trapped rat. She slowly looked over to him and smiled evilly at him. It almost sent another shiver up his spine, but he wouldn't dare give her the satisfaction.
"Now have a seat."
He slowly made his way to the blanket and joined her. The two sat in silence for a moment before he watched her reach for the beige wicker basket and grab a rice ball. Nibbling on it daintily, she gave him the silent treatment for several more minutes. The silence, though peaceful, was starting to grow awkward.
"So…" she said, breaking her punishment stance. "Would you like to explain why you're here?"
He remained silent for a moment. "Where exactly is 'here'?"
She was irked that he avoided her question.
"If you must know, this is a secret training compound with a strong kido barrier that hides any reiatsu that's inside of it. Kisuke and Yoruichi built this a long time ago. They used to train and play around in here when she was captain." she explained.
"Since Kisuke was exiled to Earth after Aizen's little hollowfication experiment stunt and Yoruichi...left with him, it was abandoned for a while until I had established contact with them after they had left the Soul Society. I had asked Kisuke to remodel it to suit my needs so I can rest and train."
Byakuya looked around the area again. It was too tranquil to be a training ground.
"This doesn't look like a training ground at all."
"My training ground is beyond the horizon ahead of us. When I want to train in private or get away from it all, I come here. Here, no one will ever find me until I decide to leave. I have everything that I need to survive. I even have my own senkaimon and healing onsen here. You could say that it's my own little slice of heaven."
She ate the last bite of her rice ball. "Well it was like heaven until your devilish self trespassed into my sanctuary, which leaves me with the same question. Why are you here?"
Not wanting to admit that he dropped in because he was drawn to her, Byakuya remained silent. Not satisfied with his answer of silence, she narrowed her eyes at him once more.
"Like I had said before, you're probably here to see me lick me wounds since you decided to use your bankai against me today."
Byakuya refused to make eye contact with her, still remaining silent. Anger flaring up again, she gritted her teeth for a moment and clenched her yukata.
"Would you mind explaining why you did that? Did you plan on trying to embarrass me in front of everyone again? You know, to put the defiant child in her place?"
He quickly cut his eyes towards her.
"That was not my intent."
"Is that so? Then what was your intent?"
"You clearly demonstrated that you could stand your ground while fighting me while I was using shikai; Omaeda and Matsushita only lasted so long against it. As your instructor, it was my duty to challenge you and push you to your limits to observe your growth and potential. You did earn the top ranking among the interns this month, afterall."
The two kept eye contact for a moment before Miyako gave up and looked away. She felt a little better once she realized that he actually acknowledged her. A sly smile appeared on her face.
"So you followed me here just to tell me that?"
Byakuya remained silent and looked away. He looked back at her when he heard her gasp.
"I know why you're here!"
Byakuya started to get nervous. "Is that so?"
"Yes!" she replied with a cheesy smile. "Maybe you're here to admit that you want to be my friend!" she teased.
He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he calmed down. "You're even more maddening than before."
"Admit it, Byakuya! There's nothing wrong with wanting a friend."
"I never admitted anything of the sort." he replied calmly.
Rolling her eyes, she huffed. "Whatever you say, Byakuya."
She mentally kicked herself. 'I should've known that getting an answer out of him is akin to pulling teeth!'
Silence came between them again and Miyako went back to nibbling on her riceball as her mind wandered again. Slowly, she started putting the pieces together.
"I really know why you're here." she uttered, causing Byakuya to raise a brow again.
"You're attracted to me...aren't you?" she asked in a calm tone.
Byakuya's heart skipped a beat and he started to grow nervous again.
"Do your wild accusations know no bounds, Shihouin?"
"I'm serious, Kuchiki."
'Dammit!' he cursed.
"I'm not an idiot. When I think about it, I've felt your presence near me at times after training is over. I noticed how you tended to linger around after dismissal. I noticed how you were slightly different when we met in Restaurant Row that night I was out with my friends, even if it was for a moment. You even followed me here tonight...a place only a select few know about. Why would you follow me here, especially when I know that you don't see me in the best light? Other than you being attracted to me, there's no other reason for you to be here with me right now."
Byakuya was shocked at her words. Was he really that obvious in his actions? How could he be so careless? She read him like an open book. He was caught, but there was no way he'd let her have this victory.
"Your deductions are skewed." he replied, putting up his icy wall again.
Looking at her, he saw a dismal expression. His mind trailed back to when he crossed swords with her. But Miyako, she knew better; she could see through his charade.
"I don't know why you're trying so hard to hate me...trying so hard to be so cold towards me..." she said. "It's absolutely infuriating."
Guilt tapped at his soul. This was becoming exhausting.
Miyako felt the same way, but calmed herself down and thought back to Unabara's advice about Byakuya. She could kill Unabara now; this felt like a setup, but she knew that wasn't the case. Miyako let out a huge sigh and turned to him, prompting him to glance at her. There was no time like the present; it was time to face her feelings head on and deal with him. Yes, her heart was broken before, but Unabara's words were now manifested ─ the time had come to pick up the pieces. It was time to take control.
'Everyone...please give me strength!' she prayed, ready to take a giant leap of faith. 'This is crazy...I'm crazy for doing this...I'm afraid of what he'll say…'
"Let's start over," she blurted while extending her hand to him. He blinked in surprise at her gesture. Her once dismal smile was replaced with a warm smile.
'I'm putting myself out on the line…'
Byakuya didn't know how to react.
"Start over? What do you mean?"
His ignorance made her want to chuck a rock at him, but she pushed her feelings aside.
"This relationship...this friendship…" she replied. "Let's start this friendship over."
'I know that I'll never have his heart like Hisana did...but I'll settle for being his friend.'
He stared at her; puzzled by his emotions. She seemed so pure and innocent; but he could still sense a hint of sorrow. He panicked.
"It's inappropriate for a captain and an intern, especially an intern of the opposite sex, to have a friendship. It's a conflict of interest."
His rejection made her heart skip a beat, but she knew that she couldn't give up now.
"True...but here, we're not a captain and an intern. We're Byakuya Kuchiki and Miyako Shihouin...two old childhood friends who are reuniting after years of no contact. Here...we are just normal souls…I know that we met again under some undesirable circumstances...but I want to apologize and put that behind us...if you're willing to do the same."
With those words, she smiled at him again.
"So with that said...I'm Miyako Shihouin and I'd be honored to be your friend."
Never would he have thought that he would be in a situation like this, especially with her; she really was mesmerizing. For the first time in fifty years, he managed to smile a little and Miyako blushed.
'Who knew that such a smile could be so powerful?'
After a moment's hesitation, he gently reached out and grabbed her hand, the handshake warming their hearts. "I'm Byakuya Kuchiki and I'd be honored to be your friend as well."
And there in the secret training ground marked the revitalization of a relationship that was thought to be lost in the past. There in that moment, he finally admitted to himself—she was no longer the girl he once knew.