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As usual, please enjoy this update!
Chapter 15
Victim
The next day brought another sunny one to the Seireitei. Renji was the instructor for the morning while Byakuya stood idly by and observed. Renji wiped his brow after the last student finished demonstrating kido.
"Alright guys, that's enough!" he commanded. "Enjoy your lunch break."
"Sir, yes sir!"
Miyako stretched, feeling the euphoria of her muscles relaxing. She pondered what her lunch plans would be and what was on the menu.
'Mackerel, perhaps?' she thought. She could have a nice, quick meal in Restaurant Row if she was quick enough.
Before she could think about her plans further, something else grabbed her attention.
"Hello everyone!"
Miyako rolled her eyes when she heard Rika. The sickenly sweet smile on her face caused Miyako to give her a suspicious look.
"I was thinking that since we're half way through our internship and being one step closer to becoming shinigami, we should celebrate! Why don't we have a drinking party in Restaurant Row tomorrow night?"
Smiles sprouted on everyone's faces, Miyako and Byakuya excluded.
"As an added bonus, I'll be treating everyone to the festivities! I'll be sure to provide everyone the finest service the restaurant offers!"
Miyako raised a brow as everyone else cheered and thanked Rika for her spontaneous generosity.
'Since when did Rika decide to be so nice?'
"So tomorrow night at 7, be at the Silver Tanuki! Bring a date, bring a friend, eat, drink and be merry!"
"Sounds like fun!" Renji interjected. "Can I come too?"
Rika turned to Renji, giving him a big smile. "Of course, Lieutenant Abarai!"
She turned to Byakuya, who was standing close-by. She gathered the courage to speak to him.
"You're invited as well, Captain Kuchiki!"
With his iconic frown, he closed his eyes. "I'll have to decline."
Disappointed at his response, she tried to convince him again, but failed. Rika left for lunch with her tail between her legs, left to plot how she could get him to come.
While everyone cheered and started to disperse, Miyako remained in place and went back to thinking about what she could have for lunch.
"Um...Miyako?"
Disturbed again, Miyako looked over to her right.
"Oh! Hi Isshiki! How are you?" she asked with a smile.
Isshiki smiled back at her, his blue eyes kind and gentle. "I'm doing great. How are you?"
"I'd be better if I could decide what to eat. I'm thinking about going to Restaurant Row today. Maybe a nice aroma will help me decide?"
"Funny you mention Restaurant Row…about Rika's party...are you going?"
"I haven't given it any thought yet. Do you plan on going?"
"Yes, I am…that's why I was hoping that you were going...we could've gone together…"
Byakuya's ears twitched at hearing Isshiki's question. Oblivious to his prying, Miyako's eyes grew with surprise.
"Oh! Thank you for asking me, Isshiki; I'm flattered!"
Upon hearing that, Byakuya's eyes focused on them. He grew irritated; this was the second time that Isshiki has tried to get close to Miyako. It was obvious that he had feelings for Miyako. He listened intently, hoping deep down that she would decline his request.
"But I haven't decided if I'm going yet."
Byakuya smiled mentally. Isshiki appeared to be a little disappointed, but quickly recovered. His blood started to boil when he saw Isshiki grab Miyako's hand.
"I understand. If you change your mind...let me know, okay?" he asked, his smile gentle.
Miyako felt Isshiki's warmth envelop her hand, causing her to sport a small, pure smile.
"Okay!"
"Great! I'll see you later! Enjoy your lunch!" he replied before walking away.
Miyako waved at Isshiki's fleeting form. "Thank you, you too!"
Before she could leave, she noticed that Byakuya had remained there, his stare sending a shiver up her spine. She couldn't fathom why his eyes were boring into her. Whatever it was, she made note to ask him about it later. Quickly waving at him, she left him by his lonesome. Byakuya watched her leave, his hands almost painfully clenched. When was the last time that had happened?
Later that night, Miyako had planned to talk to Byakuya about his cold stare, but the captain managed to deflect her questioning. He made an excuse to get out of the situation by burying himself in midterm progress reports. Huffy that she couldn't crack him, she called for a girls night out. Meeting at their usual restaurant, Miyako, Shirayuki and Rumi sat in a private room, talking about their latest experiences during their internships while munching away on some yummy appetizers. Miyako was tempted to complain about Byakuya, but she had to remind herself to keep things between the two private; there was no telling how much deeper of a hole she'd be burying herself into. To take her mind off of him, Miyako switched gears and talked about tomorrow's festivities.
"A drinking party?" Rumi and Shirayuki asked in unison.
Miyako nodded. "Yeah." she replied before taking a sip of her drink.
"Well that sounds awesome! Why didn't I think about that?" Rumi asked.
Miyako rolled her eyes. "It's not awesome when Rika is the hostess."
Rumi took another sip of her pineapple sake.
"Rika is hosting your party?" Shirayuki asked.
Miyako scowled. "Yeah…"
"What's the occasion?"
"Something about celebrating making it half way through the internships and being one step closer to becoming official shinigami."
"Well, she's right. That is something to be proud of." Shirayuki replied.
"Yeah, but I don't know why she's being so nice and wants everyone to party together. She's usually acting like she's above everyone instead. She's even paying for everything!"
Rumi and Shirayuki exchanged shocked looks.
"Yeah, even for her, that's too nice!" Rumi replied.
"It's nice that she's treating you all."
Miyako remained silent as she took another sip.
"You know that you don't have to go if you don't want to. It's not like Rika's events are the be all end all…" Rumi interjected. "Although the party is free...and you can't beat free!"
Miyako furrowed her brows. "I can afford my own drinks. You know this!"
"Yeah, but there's nothing like saving your own money! Even if you're rich!"
Miyako remained silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "True…"
"Besides...we've all been working our tails off since we started our internships! We deserve a break every once in a while...especially when that break is an all expenses paid drinking party!" Rumi said with a wink.
Miyako took another sip after she pondered on what Rumi said. She was right - Miyako had the tendency to work herself to the bone most of the time; training sessions with Soifon and Byakuya were proving to become taxing at times.
'Byakuya…'
Thinking about him made her grip her cup a little tighter. She couldn't get his glare from earlier out of her head. She had no idea what could've made him look at her like that. Did she do something to make him upset? Thinking about it made her upset again. She sighed again; she had a lot to think about.
The next day came as quickly as the one before. The day seemed to go by slowly for the interns that were gearing up to party their night away. When the clock finally struck 6 P.M., they all scattered immediately after dismissal.
Later in the office, the rattling of paperwork prevented Byakuya from completing his administrative duties. Looking over to Renji, he saw as his lieutenant worked with lightning speed through his stack of paperwork. Annoyed with the lack of peace, he looked over to the jolly boy.
"You're working much faster than usual, Renji." he uttered with an icy tone, sending a shiver up Renji's spine. Halting and meeting with Byakuya's eyes, Renji remained silent. "I hope that doesn't mean that I'll find several mistakes to correct later."
Only God knew how much Byakuya hated backtracking. Renji knew firsthand that Byakuya would have a field day of dishing out appropriate punishments.
"No, not at all, captain! These reports will be impeccable!"
Byakuya glared at him. 'We'll see about that…'
Several minutes later, Renji looked up at the clock, prompting him to hurry and finish the last few reports.
"I'm done for the day, captain! Have a good night! See you tomorrow!"
Before Byakuya could respond, Renji was gone. Grumbling, Byakuya returned to his share of paperwork, digging himself in it for another good hour. Finally, he reached Miyako's report, staring it dead in the face. Letting out a heavy sigh, he thought back to earlier; he barely interacted with her, if at all. Last night's 'conversation' left him to retreat from his friend. He knew what the topic of discussion was going to be, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to her about how the way Isshiki approached her pissed him off. Miyako was his friend and she had the right to date or go out with whomever she wanted. But Isshiki's approach rubbed him the wrong way and he took it out on her. He was sure that she was still questioning why he acted the way he did; guilt started to creep in.
'I should find her and apologize…'
Setting his pen down, he looked up at the clock; the party was well into its first hour. He remembered that she was undecided about attending the party. Knowing her, she probably decided to hide away in her compound. To make sure of her location, he closed his eyes and sought out her reiatsu. His blood ran cold when he found her familiar reiatsu. He could feel her there at the party...next to Isshiki. Byakuya clenched his fists and stood up promptly. He had somewhere to be.
"Captain Kuchiki!" an elated Rika squealed. "What brings you here?"
Byakuya looked around the room at his drunken interns and lieutenant - it was clear that they all had too much to drink already; it reeked of alcohol and high quality izakaya food. Not bothering to answer Rika's right away, he focused his eyes on the target, more specifically, targets. Everyone had occupied several tables in the large community suite. Miyako was sitting at a table on the other side of the room sitting next to Isshiki, a little too close for Byakuya's liking. His presence didn't slip by Miyako, it came roaring like a lion when he stepped into the room. Like Rika, she was surprised that he came. Isshiki also caught wind of the captain's presence and looked up.
"Captain Kuchiki? Why is he here?"
Miyako wondered the same thing. 'Yes...what is he doing here? He hates events like this…'
Not wanting to dwell on it any longer, Isshiki turned her attention back to him, going back to their previous conversation. Upon seeing her attention taken away from him, Byakuya was getting ready to approach them, but was quickly stopped.
"Attention everyone!" Rika interrupted. "Now our party is complete with the addition of Captain Kuchiki! I've ordered some more drinks to celebrate!"
The room erupted into a roaring cheer. Byakuya tried to move again, but Rika stopped him. She didn't think that he would come, but she now saw this as her golden opportunity. Rika was sharp - she noticed that Byakuya's eyes first darted to Miyako's location. She wasn't going to let Miyako hog his attention tonight, not over her dead body.
"If you're looking for a place to sit Captain, there's room right here next to me. Unfortunately the seats on the other side are taken."
He looked around and couldn't protest the facts. He quickly sat down next to Rika, making her one overjoyed shinigami. She scooted as close as she could to him without trying to make him aware of the lack of distance, but Byakuya was no fool. She flashed him her kindest smile, trying to keep herself calm. He was closer to her than ever before. She felt like she was one step closer to snatching him away from everyone. She had to make this work.
"Enjoy yourself to your heart's content!"
Pooling in anger, he quickly returned to his stoic demeanor.
"Thank you."
Soon after her announcement, the next round of drinks arrived. Rika quickly offered to pass the drinks out, happily placing them one by one on the tables. When she got to Miyako and Isshiki, she gave Miyako a sweet smile.
"Here you go, Miyako, Isshiki!" she said as she placed the cups on the table. The two thanked her before she headed to the last set of tables.
"This was very nice of Rika, wasn't it?" Isshiki asked. "This is a nice party."
Miyako gave one last glare to her rival before turning back to Isshiki. She wasn't convinced, but he had a point. She did pick out high quality foods and drinks. Miyako had to admit that she was enjoying herself and Isshiki's company. It took her mind off of Byakuya until he decided to crash the party.
"Yes...it was nice of her."
With those words, Rika had returned to the front of the room with her glass held high.
"To us getting one step closer to becoming shinigami! Kampai!"
"KAMPAI!"
Everyone minus Byakuya started to take the drinks to the head, quickly finishing their drinks. The room erupted in more cheers and everyone laughed and talked their night away. Byakuya made a mental note to view everyone as raging alcoholics. As the party continued, Rika tried to get Byakuya's attention and tried to make small talk. It was obvious that he still wasn't interested in talking, but she managed to get him to talk a little, albeit about nothing in particular. To Rika's chagrin, she had to excuse herself to the bathroom. After she had left, Byakuya turned his attention back to the area where Miyako was sitting, only to find her and Isshiki missing. Surprised, he stood up and scanned the room to make sure that they were truly missing. Wasting no time, he quickly left the room.
A couple of minutes later, Byakuya walked out of the restaurant to find Miyako curled over on the ground in pain with Isshiki by her side. Her whimpers concerned the both of them.
"Miyako! Miyako! Tell me what's wrong!"
"...I feel awful...my head and stomach…"
Isshiki wrapped her arm over his shoulders, touching a nerve with the clan head.
"Don't worry! I'll take you home or wherever you need to go!"
Appearing in a lightning flash, Byakuya closed the gap between them.
"That will not be necessary." Byakuya replied, brows furrowed and frowning deep. Byakuya stared his student down, glaring at the poor boy.
"I will escort her home." he stated, asserting his presence and authority.
Meeting eye to eye, Isshiki tried to stand his ground.
"It's alright, Captain Kuchiki. Miyako's my date and it's my responsibility to make sure that she's okay."
Byakuya fought every fiber in his being not to slice his student into pieces. How dare the little ingrate decide to defy him? Who was he to think that he knew better than him on how to take care of Miyako properly? Focusing on the area around Isshiki's body and keeping Miyako as safe as possible, Byakuya released his reiatsu, setting the tone that Isshiki was out of his league. He would make sure that the boy understood who was in charge.
"Obviously you didn't comprehend what I just told you, boy." he replied, brows furrowed and angry. He watched as Isshiki struggled to resist bowing down to his heavy reiatsu.
"This doesn't concern you. Miyako Shihouin might be your date for the evening, but she's my pupil and above that; a noble and as I am a noble as well, I will make sure that she is taken care of. Remember your place, boy."
Isshiki grew angry, but couldn't resist falling to the ground and started gasping for air. Feeling generous, Byakuya ceased asserting his authority and scooped an unconscious Miyako into his arms, turning his back to Isshiki. He was ready to make his leave, but before he did, he looked back at Isshiki out of the corner of his eye.
"I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning. I also expect you to not speak a word of this to anyone. Do I make myself clear?"
Isshiki couldn't look Byakuya in the eye. To be severely pissed didn't even describe how he felt, but he knew that he couldn't fight back. "Yes, sir…"
The next thing he knew was that his boss stole his date as they disappeared into the night.