Hello everyone! Happy New Year!

Thank you to SenSen-chan, grakei and ladyfujin again for reviewing! Please enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 20

Dark Places

"If you don't sit and have a civil talk with me, I will fail you."

The last four words of his statement kept echoing in her head.

All that painful work that she had put into fooling everyone into thinking that everything was alright - the tearful, silent and isolating nights she poured her heart out before starting the days anew were shattered. All she wanted to do was be as far as possible from the asshat that broke her heart. She showed up out of duty - shinigami first, soul later. She was almost to the finish line with a little over a month left and she could be rid of him and move on to greener pastures…

Only for him to drag her back into despair with those last four words that stupidly slipped through his thin lips.

She thought that she was angry before, but now she was infuriated. She snarled her teeth; her breathing became heavier with each passing second. She could breathe fire as the temperature seemed to rise in the room. Miyako didn't know how to react. Never did she experience anything like this before. She didn't know whether to scream, cry or do a combination of both. Her emotions transformed into an unstoppable hurricane. She couldn't see clearly at all; in fact, she could only see red.

"...H-h-how DARE you?!" she snarled. "HOW DARE YOU!"

Her reiatsu flared up, surprising Byakuya only a little.

"You have the audacity to serve me an ultimatum, threatening my future and expect me to have a civil conversation with you?! You've obviously lost your mind!"

It was Byakuya's turn to raise his reiatsu as she kept raising hers. It was almost reminiscent of their first confrontation almost two months ago. He could feel the rage in her spirit, but he was determined to win this fight. She tried her best to fight against him, but eventually emotional exhaustion and his determination hit her like a ton of bricks. Backing down, Byakuya did the same soon after. Staring him down with daggers, Byakuya didn't flinch.

"I'm glad to see that I finally have your utmost attention."

Miyako stayed silent for a moment as she tried to gather her bearings. A lone sigh slipped through her lips.

"What do you want?"

"I need to speak to you."

"About what?"

Byakuya's eyebrow bore down deeper with her off putting question. She had picked the worst time to feign ignorance.

"You know exactly what I'm referring to," he stressed. "I'm referring to you and I…about you snubbing me at every opportunable chance!"

Miyako glared at him once more.

"What do you expect me to do?! Be full of sunshine after what happened?! You brought this on yourself!"

It was Byakuya's turn to glare; she was right. He was expecting too much, but that didn't mean that he could give up.

"That's no reason to ignore me when I'm trying to solicit your attention! We need to discuss what happened!"

His ridiculous statement made her body tremble. She had to prevent herself from giving him a well deserved smack to his pale face. "You've got some nerve saying something like that!" she snarled. "I gave you all of my attention! You had it all! You…"

Her voice started to waiver when the heartbreak started to swell again. "...you had me! I gave you all of me and you pushed me away for someone who is never coming back!"

Byakuya's anger flared up. "Don't speak ill of ─"

"Hisana! It's always Hisana! Hisana, Hisana, Hisana ─ and I'm not speaking ill of her! I'm speaking the truth that you don't want to accept! You don't want to move on and that's fine! Stay where you are!"

The two stood in silence as they stared each other down. Both were conflicted. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words. Feeling the urge to cry, she looked away.

"I'm leaving." she announced, turning away from him.

Once it registered that she was attempting to leave again, he grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the door, surprising her again. She was right─Hisana was gone forever, and nothing would change that. He has lived alone in the darkness since then. Miyako was the first sign of hope and daylight that pierced the fog; he didn't want to lose her either. He couldn't let her go. Emotionally exhausted, Miyako didn't have the strength to fight him.

"Byakuya, let me go…" she whimpered.

When he didn't respond, she looked up into his dark, unreadable eyes, sending a shiver down her spine. He didn't waste any time slamming his ravenous lips into hers, pouring himself into her. Miyako couldn't help but react to his forceful embrace. The captain wrapped an arm around her waist as she clung to him, digging her hands into his shoulders as they continued their anger induced make out session.

Miyako's head spun with overwhelming feelings; everything was too much for her to bear. She enjoyed being connected to him and being the woman that he wanted in that moment. Miyako wrapped her arms around his neck, quickly losing herself in his zeal. She wanted him to consume her and make her forget the terrible words that were said.

But that was the problem-words were said. Very hurtful words. He took her love and stomped it into the ground. Before falling completely, she was quickly reminded of what he had said before.

'You will never be Hisana!'

'No…'

Her heart broke once more. How could she be so stupid? So naive? She tried to fight his passion that was trying to persuade her to surrender.

'No…'

Byakuya deepened the kiss and took more of her, sending her mind swirling into a tizzy and to her breaking point.

"NO!" she screamed. She found the strength to shove him away from her. Both panting, Byakuya looked over to her with shock and concern. Miyako had enough strength to push him back to his desk.

"I...I can't do this…" she uttered. "I just can't do this again…"

Byakuya took a step closer to her. "Miyako…"

"No! Stay back!" she demanded, using her arm to keep the distance between them.

Respecting her wishes, he stayed still. He had to do something; say something. "Miyako, please listen─"

"NO! You listen!" she shouted. "I opened myself up to you...I let you in after all of these years...I confess my love for you and this is how you handle my heart? You're a terrible man! I hate you!"

Guilt filled the captain; his heart sunk. He found himself speechless, especially when he saw her holding back tears as she spoke. Her words had cut him, but only for a moment. He knew her, the true Miyako. He didn't believe her malice filled words, not after what he felt after she had kissed him. His eyes turned dark again as he looked her in the eye, unnerving her.

"You're lying." he replied calmly.

Miyako blinked. "...what?"

"You're lying," he repeated. "I know that you don't hate me. You're in love with me. You'll never love anyone else like you love me."

Fuming, she narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare say that!"

"Is it not true?" he asked. "Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that you hate me?"

Shaking, she locked eyes with him. A hardening silence fell over them. She had to find the strength, find the words to express her true feelings.

"I hate you!"

Her words cut him like a knife in his chest. He scanned her face for an answer. Looking into her eyes, he tried to look for something other than sorrow. He found regret, but he didn't know where it sprouted from. Was it from confessing to him? Was it from saying what she said just now? Or was it the relationship as a whole?

He was conflicted; he wanted to grab her again, hold her until she let it all out. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to do something, to say something-but he didn't know.

Exhausted, Miyako had enough. Never having him and his love was too much to bear.

"Just...leave me alone...I mean it!"

Byakuya's heart broke. He was lost, but he knew one thing ─ he couldn't leave her alone. He didn't want to be in the dark anymore. He didn't want to be alone again.

"Miya─"

"No, Byakuya!" she hissed. "Don't. You've already said enough."

Miyako stormed out of his office with tears streaming down her cheeks. Standing alone, Byakuya couldn't do anything but feel defeated and forlorn.

Even more regret filled him. When did he become so impulsive? He hadn't acted like that since he was a teenager.

What was he thinking? That his threatening and arrogant words would make her listen? He felt like a fool. Looking at his palm, he could feel the warmth from Miyako's wrist fading away. The taste of their kiss was also fleeting. With pursed lips and clenched hands, he turned his back towards the door wondering if he could really say goodbye to Miyako.

Days had passed since their fight. Miyako's bright, golden eyes remained dull. The sight of Byakuya made her sick, to the point of being numb. It was the same as always - Miyako kept her distance from Byakuya, while he watched over her when she wasn't looking. It was hard for him to watch her, especially when Isshiki continued to make advances towards Miyako. Their new "normal" was something that he wished he could change for the better.

He knew at that moment, he was definitely not ready to say goodbye to her.

Later that evening, the stoic captain arrived home as an empty shell. There was no question in his mind that he was ready to eat dinner and retire for the night in peace. Stopping him before he could exit the foyer, a manservant bowed before him.

"Good evening, Master Kuchiki. A word, if I may?"

Looking down, Byakuya stayed in place.

"This letter arrived for you earlier today." he continued, bringing attention to the golden letter.

Offering it to him, he waited to be relieved of the letter. "I was told to ask you to read it promptly, sir."

Taking it from him, bowed again before the both of them departed from each other. In his room, he didn't waste any time opening the letter and indulging in its subject matter. His eyes grew wide at the content of the letter. After reading it, he had no choice but to oblige.

Meanwhile, that evening, the bright moonlight danced with the dazzling lights of the Seireitei.

"Goodnight, Miyako. I'll see you tomorrow." Isshiki said as they exited the entrance of Restaurant Row.

Things had been looking up for Isshiki as of late. "Goodnight, Isshiki." she replied with a small smile. "Please be careful on your way back."

"Thank you, I will!"

Isshiki gave her a bright smile as he watched her walk the Division 2 barracks. Out of sight, he started to make his way back home. Tonight ended another outing with Miyako. It was a pleasant surprise when Miyako had quickly agreed to have dinner again with him weeks ago after the division drinking party. Ever since then, the two had been enjoying each other's company frequently after work, whether it was dinner or him walking her home. What was even a more pleasant surprise was that none of their outings were spoiled by a certain captain.

Isshiki might've looked like a laid-back individual, but he wasn't stupid in the least. After Byakuya's authoritarian display the night of the drinking party, it was no secret to him that Miyako meant a great deal to Byakuya. Whether Miyako felt as strongly as Byakuya did, was a secret to him, but he could tell that the two had some form of a relationship.

If they did, he was pretty sure it was now one-sided, which was fine with him. He could focus on continuing to get to know the princess better and winning her over without any competition. He was quite happy with his progress, seeing that she was slowly warming up to him despite the solemn aura in her eyes he would catch from time to time.

"You've sure gotten quite chummy with Miyako." a voice said suddenly.

Looking up, Isshiki shouldn't have been surprised about who he ran into.

"Rika! What brings you out here?"

Rika ran a hand through her maroon hair. "I'm just taking a stroll, is that a crime?"

Isshiki brushed off her snarky remark.

"No, but usually when I see you out and about, Captain Kuchiki is nearby." he replied with a chuckle, making Rika scowl.

"We've only ran into each other one time!" she scoffed. 'Damn you, Isshiki!'

"Anyways, I couldn't help but notice you and Miyako have been spending a lot of time together. Good for you! I remember you saying that you're fond of her."

A small blush was dusted on Isshiki's face. "Yes…it's been nice."

A quick, devious smile flashed on Rika's face.

"Good! Keep it up! You two would make a great couple." she replied as she walked past him. Waving a hand at him, she kept making her way back home.

"I wish you nothing but the best! Ta-ta!" she continued before disappearing. Isshiki looked in the direction Rika had walked towards. He didn't know what to make of her words exactly, but he quickly dismissed it.

"Thanks, Rika."

Now he was one step closer to being with Miyako.