Hello everyone!
I didn't expect all of this love for the fic since posting the last update! So here's a big thank you to all that favored/ added STW to their alert list: LuaneA, Fluester, RoonieTunes, Lugm58, Jeniferprignano, Nicky Azure, Puyking, raishaheidiriskiana and samierocker.
And of course, a really big thank you to grakei, SenSen-chan, and Fluester for reviewing! As always, please enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 23
Sorrow of a Princess
Rapid steps and panting cut through the air like a speeding bullet. Exhausted and gasping for air, Miyako finally slowed down and fell to the ground with uncontrollable sobbing.
'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!' she cursed as she repeatedly slammed her fist into the dirt.
She took a moment to collect herself and wiped her hot, stinging tears away. Still as the air, she just stared at the ground.
'I really messed up…'
Her turbulent emotions swept her up in a tsunami and she barely escaped. She thought back to the dinner, ashamed of her behavior. If she had kept her cool and not had ingested that sweet, loose, yet somewhat comforting sake, maybe, just maybe, she would've gotten through the night unscathed…but she couldn't hold back any longer. For weeks, she had to pretend that what happened between her and Byakuya didn't happen…but she could only hide it for so long. This was all her father's fault, dammit! If she had known that he had that whole dinner planned, she would've concocted some excuse to get out of it. Now that she fled, how was she going to save face once she returned? Not wanting to think about it, she tried to calm herself down again. Her hair was glued to her face with tears, blurring her vision. Her face grew hot under her hood and she removed it to pull her hair back into her cape.
Now that she could get some fresh air, she curled up against the lone tree and tried to forget what happened…until she heard a familiar noise - the roar of a hollow. Miyako quickly grew angry as a headache came on - could she ever get a moment of peace and quiet?! She stood up to meet her pest of a guest with flared nostrils, her reiatsu building up as it approached.
Roaring loudly, it readied itself to make a nice midnight snack of Miyako and charged towards her. At her boiling point, Miyako focused her energy and slowly raised her fist, her reiatsu completely enveloping her body in a bright white light.
"SHUNKO!"
She didn't waste any time meeting the hollow in the middle with a supercharged punch to its mask, obliterating it from existence. Her choice of fighting also blew her cape away and ripped her beautiful kimono, shredding her sleeves and tore a hole in the back. Once she came to her senses, she cursed again and tried to cover herself up. Grabbing the cape and hiding under her hood, she let out a deep sigh. All was good until something caught her attention.
"Miya?" Rumi called out.
"Is that you?" Shirayuki called out. Eyeing them with wide eyes from under her hood, she gave out a frustrated sigh. Rumi and Shirayuki came out from behind a couple of trees with a concerned look. She eyed them pensively for a moment.
"Well I guess that I can't hide from you two now…"
She shook her head after she removed her hood. "Hi girls!"
"Miya! What are you doing out here and dressed like that?!"
Miyako quickly looked off to the side of her with a distressed look. Now she regretted her poor fighting choice concerning the hollow. "I can't explain right this second. Hurry and follow me!"
They didn't have a chance to question her, she ran away so fast. They quickly followed her into a sea of trees with a small opening in the canopy a mile away. Miyako quickly looked around to see if they were far away from her pursuant, Byakuya.
Not willing to allow him to find her, she didn't waste any time in making herself disappear again - she'd be damned if she let him find her now. Moving her hands in an intricate pattern, the dark woodlands were transformed into a sunny open field, leaving Rumi and Shirayuki baffled.
"...how were you…where are we?" Rumi asked.
Miyako gave them an uneasy smile. "I'm sorry, girls. I know that you have a lot of questions. It's a long story… but since I've encased us in this kido barrier, we can talk for a while. No one will find us here."
Sensing her unease, her friends started to worry, especially when they saw her eyes glass over.
"Miyako…what's going on?"
"Yeah…why are you out here and how the hell did you have enough power to punch out a hollow in one shot?"
Miyako put on a smile and closed her eyes. "My training with Captain Soifon must've finally paid off!"
"Miyako…" Rumi growled with crossed arms. Her tone almost made Miyako flinch. "Don't play dumb with us! What's wrong?"
"Please tell us, Miyako." Shirayuki pleaded.
Miyako stayed silent, her head downtrodden. After having a moment to think about what happened, their eyes grew dim as they looked at each other.
"Does this have anything to do with Captain Kuchiki?" Rumi asked.
Miyako looked up at them with pale eyes. 'Byakuya…'
"...what did he do?"
His name alone was enough to invoke tears, shocking her friends. Miyako covered her face with her shaky hands.
"Rumi…Shirayuki…" she sobbed. "I'm such an idiot!"
She hated this - she hated that she couldn't keep herself together anymore. Her world was slowly unraveling as the ground was opening up, eager to swallow her whole. Her friends quickly wrapped her into a big group hug. Finally feeling some comfort, Miyako's legs failed her as they held her, taking them all to the ground. Rumi held her composure and squeezed Miyako tighter while Shirayuki gently rubbed her head like a loving mother would.
"Just let it all out, Miyako…" Shirayuki said as she continued sobbing. "We're here. You can tell us when you're ready."
After a while, Miyako laid everything bare, from her feelings about Byakuya resurfacing, to them getting closer, the kisses they shared and how everything went downhill afterwards.
"Rumi, Shirayuki…thank you for listening to me."
"Of course, Miya! You know that we always have your back!"
"Are you going to return home or to the dorms? Would you like to stay with one of us? We can make it a girls night and help you feel better."
Miyako shook her head. "Thank you girls! I couldn't ask for better friends, but…I need to have some time to myself to think about everything…"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I'll be fine, don't worry about me." she replied before giving them each a hug. Standing to her feet, she hid her face under her hood. "Just do me one favor…if anyone approaches you two about me, you never saw me."
"Okay…but if you change your mind, you know where to find us." Rumi replied.
Miyako gave them one more smile before she moved her hands in a similar intricate pattern again. In the blink of an eye, the kido barrier had disappeared along with Miyako. In the dark forest, Shirayuki and Rumi looked at each other with pursed lips.
"So…what do you think we should do Rumi?"
Rumi looked in the direction where they had initially sensed Byakuya's reiatsu; he had departed the area right before Miyako had left.
"Well…she did say not to say anything about this if anyone approached us and not the other way around…"
Understanding where the conversation was going, an uncharacteristic evil grin sprouted on Shirayuki's face. "I see…"
"Let the bastard sweat it out for a night. We'll have a chat with him tomorrow."
"Great idea!"
Sneaking past the gate guards was child's play as Miyako ran past them wearing her reiatsu hiding cloak; many guards were out still searching for her on the division grounds. Making haste, she was able to let her guard down a bit once she reached the path to her compound. A sigh of relief escaped her lips once she entered the cave entrance undetected. A wave of sorrow came over her as she thought about Byakuya again. This was the entrance to the place that hid them away from the world, where their private rendezvous had blossomed into something great…so she had thought. Even if he thought about trying to find her here, he wouldn't be able to get in. With the last of her energy, she constructed the most powerful barrier she could muster, made especially for him. Drained physically and emotionally, she slowly made her way to her house. Once inside, she placed Unabara off to the side and collapsed onto her futon and succumbed to the darkness.
The night wasn't kind to Miyako; restful sleep eluded her. In between sleep, she found herself crying softly as the memories of her waking up to Byakuya's sleeping figure after Rika's drinking party haunted her. By morning, she was exhausted and stayed in bed for most of the day, not opting to eat. After a while, she was disgusted with herself; she was beginning to smell a little ripe after being under the futon for too long. The feeling of loneliness started to creep up again. She turned to Unabara, who had been silent for a time. She was sure that her inner world was flooded, no thanks to Byakuya. Unabara was probably too busy trying to stay above water to talk to her.
Frustrated, she forced herself to stand and walk to the bathroom. She cursed when she kicked something that started playing music. More tears fell as she heard the opulent music box play the once sweet melody. Looking in the mirror, she saw nothing but a broken woman, a mere shadow of what she used to know. Not wanting to hear the music, she quickly tore the flower barrette from her hair and ripped the dirty, tattered kimono off her body and ran for the shower. The warm water washed over her from head to toe, but it did nothing to relieve her of her heartbreak. She emerged clean, but not satisfied. Grabbing a purple orchid themed yukata, she ran out to the onsen, where she hoped that the hot, steaming water would numb the pain better than the warm shower could.
Staring at the onsen, Miyako remained lost in her thoughts as she replayed the reason why she was there - the dinner, which had been a complete disaster. She hated that she lost her composure in front of everyone, especially Rika. If it wasn't obvious beforehand that she and Byakuya had any form of a relationship, she was pretty sure that everyone knew now.
Embarrassed at her behavior, Miyako felt like she was nearing rock bottom, losing control of everything. It was so frustrating, it was enough to shed more tears. How could everything spiral out of control so quickly? It all just needed to go away.
Miyako mulled over the thought of drowning her soul in the onsen. Tossing her yukata onto the ground, she slipped in and allowed the fuzzy heat to numb her. Staring into space, her tears became one with the water.
'Im sorry, Yoruichi…Soifon…Unabara…I've failed you all...'
Closing her eyes, she instantly saw Byakuya's face, hurting her further. It was his fault that she ran away. Why did he agree to even come to that dinner? To humiliate her in front of her family in the hopes that she would lose her composure? Well, he got his wish!
Miyako grunted. 'Just forget about him…it's not like he cares about me anyway…'
With that thought, she slipped under the water and didn't care that the hot water felt like knives to her eyes. With blurred vision, she listened to the muted sounds of the water fill her ears as she laid on the bottom of the onsen. The hot water quickly warmed her body; the pain wasn't as intense anymore. Closing her eyes, she was ready to embrace the moment further…
Suddenly, she felt a burst of reiatsu fill the compound, shocking her. Miyako cursed as she gasped for air from choking on an intake of water. Once she could breathe again, she looked towards the source - a senkaimon opening up not too far away from her. Miyako cursed again that she didn't have time to dry off. She quickly wrung her hair out and grabbed her yukata, hastily wrapping it around her soaked figure. It was time to greet her uninvited guest.