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Chapter 13

Endeavor

At the Shihouin Manor, Miyako sat outside of her room on the wooden porch and stargazed while she enjoyed a nice hot cup of green tea. While she enjoyed her peaceful alone time, a sigh escaped her lips. She thought that she had enough problems on her plate, but she added another one to her already heavy platter.

Byakuya was kind enough to personally train her to get closer to achieving bankai a week ago. Everyday, he took the time to train her, helping her to tap deep within her soul to truly connect with Unabara. When she had trouble and had doubts, he embraced her and took her insecurities away. With his help, she had tapped into a new form of her shikai. Oddly enough, it was similar to his shikai.

Elated, she was grateful that she had him as her friend, but it put a damper on her feelings 一 hence her current predicament.

He was her friend.

With every passing day, she found herself falling hard and fast again for Byakuya, scolding herself often. A month and a half ago, she told herself not to fall into that trap again, but love proved to be a slippery slope. She had reinforced her guard around her heart when Rumi and Shirayuki almost unearthed her buried feelings. She told herself that she would settle for being his friend...but now she was yearning for his presence and embrace more often than she should have. Ever since he showed her his shikai, she couldn't get his touch and scent out of her mind; it haunted her. Until that day, no man had ever touched her in that manner and it felt so natural to be in his arms...a place where she wished that she could seek refuge in; but she wouldn't dare admit that out loud. She never thought that she would be in a place like that with him.

Letting out another sigh, Unabara manifested beside her. Miyako didn't bother to look at her zanpakuto.

"Thinking about Byakuya again, I see?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

Miyako didn't respond, except for gripping her gray teacup a little tighter. Unabara wasn't bothered by her master's lack of response. She knew that her heart was currently in turmoil.

"You shouldn't be bothered by your feelings for him, Miyako. Because you've opened your heart, you've become stronger and learned a new technique. You should be happy."

She couldn't ignore that fact since it was the truth.

"And the fact that it's similar to his shikai is ironic." the spirit added.

Miyako cut her eyes over to her. Her scowl was similar to Byakuya's iconic one. If it wasn't obvious that they spent a lot of time around each other, her expression proved it.

"Did you do that on purpose, Unabara?"

The spirit chuckled. "Of course not! But...you have to understand that like an ocean, your emotions run thousands of feet deep and water takes many forms. Your emotions give strength to your abilities. You've been hiding your feelings away for so long and keeping it beneath the surface. Doing so has hindered your growth."

Another truth that she couldn't debate. It was true; she had felt more powerful since reconciling with Byakuya. She felt like she could do anything as long as he was with her.

"Now that you've started to open your heart and acknowledge your feelings about Byakuya, you're going to grow much stronger."

Miyako tapped a lone finger against her teacup as she processed Unabara's words.

"I understand...but he's my friend. I do have feelings for him, but I'm sure that he'll never return them. Ever since Hisana died, he's never shown any interest in any other women. Why should I think that he'll change just for me?"

"It's true that he hasn't been with anyone else, but in terms of him changing, he changed when you convinced him to be friends once more. You even have his assistance in achieving bankai. Is that not a change? I doubt that he would do that for someone that he didn't care about and think so highly of."

A moment of silence came over them. Unabara was right about him changing in that manner, but Miyako doubted that he would change any further. It was hopelessly silly to do so.

"I must keep my feelings towards him platonic. It's for the best."

"Your words say one things, but your heart says another."

Glaring at her again, Miyako quickly finished her tea and set the empty cup aside before standing up. Yes, she wanted to be with Byakuya, to find refuge in his arms, to be doted on always, to have his love all to herself and get lost in the ecstasy of it all...but that was just a dream...pure fantasy; a fantasy that would remain just that.

"Goodnight, Unabara."

Unabara watched as Miyako stood up and walked away, imitating Byakuya's classic frown. Miyako buried herself under the futon with her back to Unabara. She stared at her master for a moment longer before returning to Miyako's inner world.

'You stubborn child…'

The next day in the Sixth Division courtyard, echoes of swords clashed loudly against each other could be heard from a distance. Ever since the individual sparring matches against Byakuya three weeks prior, the Sixth Division had held more matches so that the interns could learn from one another. One exercise included pinning teams against one another like in a game of chess with Byakuya and Renji acting as the king of their armies.

The rules to their makeshift chess war were simple; the ones that were disabled or were thrown out of the kido barrier were out of the match and had to observe the remaining member's fighting tactics. Capturing and disarming the king would ensure victory and short lived bragging rights until the next exercise.

For their current exercise, Rika had been selected to be a part of Byakuya's army, earning the position of 'queen' due to current ranking as the number two of the intern group. Needless to say, she was elated to be so close to Byakuya and took to protecting him from Miyako, the opposing queen.

Pawns fought against pawns before the rooks, knights and bishops stepped in. The two queens assisted in helping their underlings until the two had faced each other. With a smirk on her face, Rika stared Miyako down when their swords met in an aggressive clash.

"If you think that I'll let you come anywhere near my dear Captain Kuchiki in this fight, you've got another thing coming Miyako!"

Not phased by her taunting, Miyako kept her eyes on her opponent. "With you on the front lines, your dear Captain Kuchiki is as good as captured!" she replied with a sly smile on her face.

Angry, the two continued to clash several times, Rika's anger evident. Ever since she lost to Miyako in the timed individual battle against Byakuya, she was determined to show him that she would rank as the best student, pushing Miyako off of her high pedestal, earning his attention and respect. It burned her up that Miyako had continued to receive praise not only from Byakuya, but Renji as well, although the captain wasn't nearly as vocal as his lieutenant. Her portion of praise was comparable to a molehill. What really sent her to the edge was the change between them. The tense atmosphere that hovered around the two nobles had suddenly disappeared. She noticed that Miyako's expression had grown softer towards Byakuya. The impish smirks had transformed into something more warm and content. Something had changed and she was not going to let Miyako win.

"I refuse to let you through!" she yelled before striking once more.

Pushing Miyako back, Rika huffed as she regrouped. Miyako scoffed, turning her focus momentarily to Byakuya. To the normal bystander, he was still his stoic self, giving his trademark stare一but she knew what he was really saying. His eyes were challenging her to try to capture him, baiting her. Her eyes cut between him and Rika. Quickly, her eyes turned dark as she locked eyes with him, her smile curling up with the same tone. She then looked Rika in the eye, unnerving her.

"I don't remember asking for your permission!"

Miyako quickly moved her zanpakuto and disarmed her rival, much to her chagrin. "Hado 61 Rikujoukorou!"

Rika screamed as she was subdued by the sudden attack while Miyako headed straight for her target. Swinging at him, he moved out of the way. Striking again, steel met steel as the two fought one another. Everyone watched closely as Miyako tried to disable her friend, but he wouldn't give up. The fight ended minutes later when Byakuya pushed Miyako out of bounds. The exercise ended with Renji and Byakuya as the sole players left.

"That's enough for today." Byakuya announced. "Hopefully you all were able to observe and take note on how to improve your skills. As usual, we'll complete another exercise like this one soon. You're all dismissed."

"Sir, yes sir!"

As everyone left the courtyard, Miyako had planned to meet Rumi and Shirayuki for dinner again, but was stopped before she could take a couple of steps.

"Miyako!"

She rolled her eyes at the sound of Rika calling her name. "Yes, Rika? What is it?"

Rika walked up to her with her hair in a disheveled mess. Moving her maroon hair away from her face, she glared at Miyako.

"I'm tired of you embarrassing me in front of Captain Kuchiki! You're always trying to show off in front of him!"

Miyako wasn't moved by her passionate words. Besides, she didn't feel like she was 'showing off', it was more so a showcase of the results from her private training sessions. She took a page out of Byakuya's book and flashed a stoic stare at her rival.

"It's not my fault that you can't keep up with me."

"What is your problem?!" Rika asked through gnashed teeth.

It was Miyako's turn to glare.

"You're my problem! You always feel the need to run your mouth to me about Captain Kuchiki and I'm tired of it! Just because you have feelings for him doesn't mean you have to take it out on me! If you want to impress the man so badly, get off your whiny, spoiled, sorry ass, train harder, leave me out of this and get a life!"

Miyako gasped and drew her zanpakuto out when hers clashed with Rika's.

"Are you crazy?!" Miyako yelled.

Rika stared her down in a hateful fury.

"I'll get a life once you stay out of my love life and away from him!"

Now it was Miyako's turn to get angry; she had enough of Rika for one day. Rika stepped away from Miyako and activated her shikai.

"Blow them away, Kyoufuu no Fan!"

Throwing gales of wind towards Miyako, she glared at her adversary and activated her shikai's new form.

"Crash down, Unabara!"

Her zanpakuto released a blue glow before transforming into water and scattering around her. Using what Byakuya had taught her, she guided the water with her hands, increasing the speed, effectively cutting through Rika's high speed attack. Caught off guard, the water missed her by a hair, causing her to trip and fall over. When she tried to gather her bearings, she was met with Miyako's blade a mere inch away from her face. With a heated glare, Miyako stared her down.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but if you do that again, I won't hesitate to shred you into pieces. Got it?"

Unarmed, Rika conceded in the fight and nodded her head in compliance.

"You're lucky that I decided not to strike you. This time, I won't report your assault to anyone." she added, withdrawing her sword.

Turning away from her, Miyako had flash stepped away and out of the courtyard. Rika couldn't help but glare at the spot where her rival once stood before she followed suit. It was no question that the woman seethed with rage.

She could hear footsteps coming closer. The brown shoji door slid open to reveal Shirayuki and Rumi.

"Hey Miya一!"

Rumi stopped mid sentence when she saw her friend throw back another cup of sake, apparently already having gone through two bottles and was working on her third one.

"What...happened, girl?!"

Shirayuki peaked over Rumi's shoulder before they both walked in the room. Now to up speed, she held a hand near her mouth in concern.

"Miyako, are you okay dear?"

Their concern grew when they felt the air thicken and Miyako looked up to them with scorn that rivaled Soifon's, sending a shiver up their backs. 'Pissed off' wasn't enough to describe how she felt. She regretted not kicking Rika's head in when she had the chance. She grumbled as she poured another cup, all the willing to throw it back while thinking of all the obscene words that described Rika perfectly.

Rumi and Shirayuki entered the room, closing the door behind them. They knew that it wasn't going to be a pleasant talk. Sitting next to Miyako, Rumi was afraid to take the sake bottle away from her. She looked at Shirayuki for a moment before looking back to their friend.

"So...what happened?"

Miyako shot back another cup before she explained her issue with Rika.

"She did what?!" Rumi shrieked. "And you didn't beat that twat into the ground?!"

"Rumi!" Shirayuki scolded.

"What, Shirayuki?! She attacked Miya over a man! The nerve! She's always trying to prove something!"

Miyako sighed. "Trust me, I was an inch from slicing her into sashimi, but I didn't want that to interfere with school. I couldn't imagine being inches away from the finish line and compromising it all, especially because of her."

Happy to feel the tension decreasing, Rumi squeezed her shoulder.

"I'm glad that you thought this through, Miyako. I'm sorry that you had to experience such a thing." Shirayuki said.

"Yeah, she must really have a thing for Captain Kuchiki in order to assault you like that."

Miyako rolled her eyes. "You don't know the half of it. She acts like he really belongs to her."

"Well...how do you feel about that?" Rumi asked.

Miyako cut her eyes over to her. "What does my feelings have to do with this?"

"Miyako, you don't have to hide it anymore. We know how you feel about Captain Kuchiki."

Miyako stayed quiet for a moment. "All...all I'm saying is that he doesn't deserve to be treated like a piece of property!"

Shirayuki and Rumi narrowed their eyes at Miyako, making her uncomfortable.

"What?" Miyako asked sharply.

"You're speaking well of him now. That's a big change from a month ago." Shirayuki added.

"Yeah, you were dragging him through the dirt. Why the sudden change?"

"There's no reason for the sudden change." she snapped. "He's...not as bad as I made him out to be. He's an excellent mentor and fighter and that's something I've grown to admire, that's all."

Miyako quickly grabbed a menu and pretended to look it over to avoid her friends' questioning gazes. She had to keep her feelings under a heavy lock and key, she just had to.

"Let's hurry up and order. I'm starving."

"Good evening, Master Kuchiki."

Byakuya walked past the house servants as he entered the manor.

"Would you like to be served dinner right away, Master Kuchiki?"

"Delay it for twenty minutes." he replied coolly, not stopping to respond.

He didn't wait to hear a response. Making his way to the garden, he crossed over a stone path that led to a distant house. After entering, he lit some candles before his grey eyes locked themselves onto a golden picture frame.

"Hello, Hisana."

Hisana looked back at him with kind, gentle eyes. He let out a gentle sigh. He had already made it a priority to visit her grave weekly, when he was troubled or missed her more than normal. Lately, he found himself visiting less often; over the last couple of weeks, he had been less troubled.

"I apologize for not visiting much lately."

He felt guilty when he thought about what had been keeping him occupied as of late ー spending more of his free time with Miyako, alone. Ever since Hisana's passing, he had never spent so much time with another woman that wasn't a part of his family. He didn't mind spending time with Miyako; she was his friend. Miyako allowed him to feel free and to be himself. She never judged him and had a knack for turning a tense time into a peaceful one, which he appreciated more than she knew. In all, he was happy with Miyako. After some thought, he couldn't deny that deep down, he was growing fond of her. Thinking of her in that moment put a small smile on his face. Soon, guilt was quick to make itself known that it was still in the room; he felt like he was cheating on Hisana with Miyako and slowly forgetting about her memory.

He knew that he shouldn't feel guilty. Miyako was his friend. Hisana was his wife. He cared about Miyako, but he loved Hisana deeply.

'Miyako is my friend.' was the thought that kept replaying in his mind. 'She is only my friend.'

Growing weary, he clenched his fists with a heavy heart.

"I'm sorry, Hisana. I must go."

Quickly extinguishing the candles, he left the memorial house.

'Forgive me.'

Later that evening, Byakuya found himself eating dinner alone. The chefs had adorned his table with his gourmet foods that always satisfied his aristocratic palate. Tonight he was treated to the highest grade wagyu beef with assorted seasonal vegetables, soup and rice. Usually his tongue would be delighted with the exquisite flavors, but his desires were quickly replaced with wanting something simple.

He closed his eyes as he let out a quiet sigh; Miyako's influence was growing stronger.

He quickly finished his meal and left for his room. As he walked down a corridor and approached the main entrance, he stopped and looked to the door.

"Welcome home, Lady Kuchiki!" the servants greeted.

Rukia had greeted the servants and halted her entrance when she crossed paths with Byakuya.

"Good evening, brother!"

"Good evening, Rukia." he replied calmly. His eyes looked down to the small snow white bag that she had in her hand.

"You went shopping?" he assumed.

Rukia looked down to her bag. "Oh, this? No, I didn't go shopping. This is an apology gift from that idiot Renji-"

Her eyes widened when she realized what she had said. Looking up to her brother, his eyes had narrowed in displeasure.

"An apology gift?" his voice hissed.

A shiver crawled up her spine. She knew that Renji would hate her in the morning for her confession.

"What do you mean…'apology gift'?"

He concluded that his stupid subordinate of his must've said something to make her angry again. He knew that the boy wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he made up for it in determination to improve his skills. He also wasn't ignorant of Renji's feelings towards his sister. Byakuya knew that one day, he would finally be brave enough to take her as his wife, but he could wait longer for that time to come. He quickly turned his focus back to Rukia's gift and her explanation.

"You know...he was just Renji being...Renji?" she replied with a very cheesy smile. She hoped that her explanation would be enough for him and that he would just drop the subject.

"Hmm…" Byakuya hummed with narrowed eyes.

He knew that she was right. Renji being Renji wasn't always the best thing. He would deal with him later. Perhaps he'll have a couple of stacks of paperwork that'll be waiting for him on his desk in the morning.

"Very well."

Rukia let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"I have already finished dinner and I'm retiring for the night. Goodnight, Rukia."

"Goodnight, brother." she replied with a bow.

Leaving Rukia alone, he pondered on the gift that his lieutenant had given her. The gears started spinning rapidly as he walked down the hall to his bedroom. Once he arrived, he quickly went into his office and wrote a letter before calling for a servant. Within minutes, a male servant had arrived, ready to receive his latest order.

"How can I serve you, Master Kuchiki?"

Turning to him, he handed the man a sealed ivory envelope, the Kuchiki emblem stamped proudly on the top.

"I need you to send this request to Harada. I need something assembled in a timely manner."