A/N:

Tengu are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai (monster-spirits) and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami (revered spirits or gods).

It is said that knowledgeable men become daitengu (great tengu), but ignorant ones become kotengu (small tengu)

Chapter 3

"Hisana? Could you carry the laundry out to hang?"

"Sure."

"The sky seems clear today and I don't want to lose another opportunity to dry these whites. It was raining all day yesterday…"

Hisana smiled at Yuki's comment and reassured her that she was positive there would be no rain today.

"Oh by the way Hisana, Tetsu came back last night. He brought some dango for you so I wrapped it and put it the kitchen."

"Really!? He actually remembered me!"

"Don't look so surprised, the kid always remembers you."

Hisana fondly chuckled before waving her hand at Yuki and disappearing outside with the basket of white linen braced against her hip.

The sky did seem promising today and the faint heat that was already lingering in the air was more than enough to convince her that it was bound to be a tropical day. The cicadas had begun singing a few days ago and the rains that had moistened the earth yesterday was naught but a calling; a blessing from the heavens to avail them of the heat that was yet to be unleashed. She was positive that this year's summer would be one of the hottest yet.

She wasted no time thereafter unfolding the white sheets and flapping them out to ease the crumples before easily hanging them out on the sticks and propping them up on the poles. She watched in satisfaction then as they fanned out in the backyard from the soft breezes, the span of sheets and cloths creating an expansive panorama of pure white.

"You sure do seem proud of your washing Hisana…"

"Huh?"

The unexpected intrusion caught her a bit off guard and she swivelled around in surprise to behold Tetsu wickedly grinning at her. "I mean it's not like you can cook or anything so I guess you should be proud of the fact that you can actually do something right?"

As much as she was happy to see him back at the headquarters again there was no helping the familiar stroke of annoyance that flashed over her from his teasing comment. She internally grinned and stood akimbo as she faced him.

"Hey, that's not true!" she protested. "I can cook, it's just that Yuki's been doing most of the cooking lately."

"Yeah sure." He carelessly shrugged his shoulders before nonchalantly inserting his pinkie finger into his ear. "Akane cooked a few weeks ago and you were lazily rolling about whilst she worked in the kitchen."

Hisana grimaced. "I was, for your information under intense cleaning duty. Might I remind you that you were the one lazing around Tetsu?"

He shook his head in denial. "Nope, wrong again. I was on standby, you see my lovely Hisana, Byakuya is quite capable of issuing orders at the most awkward moments."

"You're just making up excuses Tetsu." Hisana fondly reprimanded.

He chuckled before continuing. "Anyways I brought back some dango for you. There's a festival starting tomorrow night so I bribed the lady in the shop to pack me a few extras. Can't say I forgot you now, can ya?"

Hisana knitted her brows in uncertainty at him before sighing. "I don't know how you manage to entice those nice ladies but you need to stop begging for food like a stray cat."

"Hey I'm a good stray cat that's why Byakuya keeps me around you know."

"A good stray cat?" Hisana laughed. "All stray cats tend to be a little mangy you know?"

Tetsu stuck out his tongue at her. "Good try but it's still not forceful enough. Haven't I been teachin' you to rebut better than that? Come on!"

Hisana sighed before giving into a small chuckle. "All right, all right Testu, I get it. Now come and help me sweep up the front of the main office."

"I'm not gonna do any work today!"

"Says who may I ask?"

Tetsu smugly folded his hands against his chest and stuck his chin into the air. "Well me of course," he rattled as he stuck his thumb on his chest, "I tell me what and what not to do."

"And if that continues I'm certain you won't be here much longer…"

Hisana and Tetsu both froze at that sudden interjection before spinning around each with their mouths hanging open in alarm. Standing just a few feet away was none other than Kuchiki Byakuya, enigmatic and expressionless as ever. His hair was tied today, the lengthy strands of the open ponytail gently caressing his shoulders in thick black strands. Hisana doubted there was ever a moment where he ceased to look regal; everything about him was stately… beautiful even…

The vice captain took one silent step forward simultaneously breaking the duo from their momentary trance and instigating Tetsu, his page, into action.

"B-Byakuya-san!" he cried.

Hisana had not expected the vice captain to steal up on them quite so…discreetly and from the looks of it neither had Tetsu. He fell into a deep bow, an uneasy grin plastered on face. "I- er was just explaining to Bekko-san here how those, er- joii members conduct their business er- things…heh…"

The reticent vice captain impassively eyed his page for a moment before folding his hands into his light blue haori sleeves. It was difficult to read his expression but Hisana was certain she had observed a slight upward turn at the corner of his lips for a few passing seconds. If it had really been there however there were none to further substantiate it for his face had fallen back into impassive scrutiny.

"Aizen is looking for you." He quietly said then. "An errand, I believe."

Tetsu stared at his master for a few blank moments before falling into another low bow and simultaneously shouting a fervent "I-I understand!"

He quickly scrambled away after that leaving a dismayed Hisana alone to fend with the merciless demon. She watched the young boy's retreating back before lowering her gaze and unconsciously beginning to play with the edge of the frill on her apron.

There was an awkward silence blooming on her end and she was finding it difficult to look Byakuya in the eyes. The memory of their sparring encounter from a few weeks ago was still fresh in her mind and as much as she had tried to convince herself that it should be forgotten the actual task of erasing its occurrence was proving more challenging than she had initially anticipated. A sparring match with Kuchiki Byakuya could not have been so easily forgotten.

"Hisana."

She marvelled at how languorous her name sounded coming from his lips and found herself slightly reddening at the thought. She hesitantly glanced up then but swiftly looked away when their eyes met.

"Kuchiki-san?" she quietly returned.

He paused in momentary wonder for a few seconds as he observed her crimson cheeks, his eyes slowly drifting over her the lower portions of her face and her twiddling thumbs. "You've been encouraging my page to indulge in idle behaviour." He quietly observed. "I'm not sure that's a wise idea."

She raised her brows at this, wanly smiled and humbly denied it. "Tetsu's just very animated. I apologise in his stead, he was just being friendly."

"Oh? He's made your stay here comfortable then?" the vice captain coolly remarked.

Hisana nodded, her eyes still on the ground. "Tetsu as well as the others, sir."

Byakuya remained silent as he examined her. He noted the lines beneath her eyes and the slightly pallid complexion that graced her fair skin. He narrowed his brows at this observation.

"You look tired."

That lone, off handed comment caught her quite off guard and she raised her eyes to his own in that moment.

"T-tired? No, not at all..." she quietly lied.

His silence betrayed his incredulity and Hisana in her embarrassment swiftly turned around and began mindlessly adjusting the sheets on the line. There was really nothing wrong with them but her inability to procure a satisfactory justification to prove him wrong was only working to make her more self conscious. She would never admit to him any of her weaknesses.

"I see…" he sceptically murmured. "Then perhaps, I suppose the fact that you've been using the dojo after hours would be invalid to note in this conversation."

She stiffened when those words escaped his lips, her mind racing to find a suitable excuse. He beat her before she could protest however.

"Do not exhaust yourself Hisana." He cautiously advised. "I have seen you these weeks past; there is no need for you to tire yourself to such an extent."

"I… I…"

"You are only human."

Her shoulders relaxed thereafter and her eyes fell to the ground as his words coolly assuaged her uncertainty. How he had known of her nocturnal activities and how he had been so perceptive of her condition left no doubt as to his skills of engagement but why he had chosen to address it to her was something that was altogether quite befuddling.

"You are very kind to extend such sentiments Kuchiki-san." She softly murmured. "Thank you… for your concern."

He saw no reason to respond there and thusly remained in silence with respect to that particular topic. He approached another point of importance however and watched with interest the poorly concealed surprise as it wrote its way across her face from his change in focus.

"On another note then," he continued in the same low voice. "Did you perhaps clean my room recently?"

Hisana hesitated at this change and gave him a brief over the shoulder glance before looking away again. "I er- cleaned your room yesterday while you were out." She slowly responded. Her back was still to him. "Did something….happen?"

He sighed a low weary sigh then and turned his face to the side with some discomfiture before clearing his throat and calmly saying "There were some papers I had rested on my desk… I cannot however seem to find them."

Hisana turned around to face him at this, an incredulous look shadowing her countenance. "You mean the papers that were strewn on the tatami?"

Byakuya narrowed his brows at her statement. "They were on the ground?"

"The wind seemed to have made a bit of a mess so I stacked them and put them in your drawer sir."

"The drawers?"

"Ah, the ones that was close to the wall near the shoji screens. I was advised by Yuki to place any stray papers there."

"I see…."

She was beginning to feel a little awkward in his presence and she could not for the life of her attribute the reason for her sudden self-consciousness. "Do you… need me to get them for you or will you be able to get them on your own…?"

"No…" he slowly murmured. He seemed to have sunk into deep mediation upon her revelation. "That won't be necessary..."

She blinked at his comment and stiffened as he finally began to advance closer towards her. He passed right by her shoulder however before continuing on ahead, his hands still carefully tucked within the sleeves of his haori. The faint scent of sandalwood trailed behind as he moved on and Hisana watched his retreating frame for a quite a while thereafter, even after he had disappeared.

oooOOOooo

(Later that day)

"Tetsu's quite the charmer Byakuya, makes me feel like hiring a page myself."

"I'm assuming he ran your errand well then?"

Aizen good naturedly chuckled and adjusted his glasses before concurring with the vice captain. "Yes he dispatched the letter for me and swiftly returned with a reply."

"What did the old man say?"

"He agreed that there would be need for security during the festival and ordered an additional squadron on patrol during the round merry making."

"Have you decided who you'll be sending out?"

Aizen scratched his chin and inquisitively eyed the frame of the vice captain quietly seated atop the tatami mat. "Well no but this week's usual round of patrol belongs to Urahara's squadron so I'm thinking perhaps Renji's unit might be a sufficient one to add. What do you think?"

Byakuya closed his eyes and wordlessly agreed.

"Well that's settled then. You can visit them later on during the night, just to inspect, ensure everything's well"

"I understand."

"Oh that reminds me, I need to tell the girls they can have the night off." Byakuya was unsure if this last part was being addressed to him or whether his superior was merely musing to himself. More than likely though Byakuya was sure it was the latter.

"You can tell Tetsu to take the night off too. I'm sure he'd be glad for a little break."

"I'll relay the message."

"Great well it seems like it's all settled then."

Byakuya nodded before sipping the cup with the green tea before him. "What of yourself? Aren't you going? I thought you were fond of festivals."

Aizen heartily laughed and agreed that it was so but added, "I agreed to meet with some of the members of the Aizu Clan tomorrow so unfortunately I'll have to decline."

"Oh?"

"You'll take my place tomorrow won't you Byakuya? You're the vice captain of these men for good reason."

Byakuya wordlessly sipped his tea again and closed his eyes as his superior resumed his calligraphy in pleasant satisfaction. There was no need to exchange words for a simple look had concluded the business.

And there was nothing more left to say in any case. It had all been settled.

oooOOOooo

It was strange that Byakuya had not reprimanded Hisana in the usual way as he might have previously done. She was still convinced that his temperament was equivalent to that of a forest tengu (something she would never voice outside the room she shared with Yuki) and was certain there was still that unspoken pride quietly hidden in his persona. Their interactions were becoming a little less frosty however, Byakuya's coldness having been thawed considerably from when they had exchanged words on their very first meeting. Perhaps their sparring match had worked to recalculate his opinion of her, perhaps he didn't think her such a useless woman anymore…. And perhaps, perhaps she secretly preferred this treatment much more than before.

When she mentioned this to Yuki later that night in their room she was surprised to see the older woman burst out into a fit of honest laughter.

"Wh-what's so funny Yuki…?" she awkwardly mumbled.

"Hahaha! Nothing-nothing- it's just that-well you see-he isn't so bad after all!"

Hisana flushed. "I- I didn't mean it like that…"

"Well what do you mean then you silly girl?"

"I don't know… I can't explain it…"

Yuki chuckled. "First you reprimand him for being this stiff and wholly unpleasant man and then you say he's alright. He cautions you about overexerting yourself and doesn't tell you off for cleaning up his messy papers. I think he's always been a good man Hisana, he's just a little serious."

"I know, I know but it's a bit confusing…"

"Why? Which part of it is?" Yuki queried.

"Well first because I was sure he never liked me and second because it's hard to believe that he's concerned at all."

Yuki smiled at Hisana and reassuringly patted her shoulder. "There, there, don't worry about it. Like I told you, these men are confusing and pretty difficult to read but that's what makes them all the more intriguing. Furthermore, Byakuya and Aizen are basically responsible for everyone here so don't you think they'd take a little interest in everyone's affairs?"

Hisana sighed and exhaustedly flopped down onto her futon before hugging her sheets close to her chest. "I suppose you're right but… I wish he'd never sparred with me..." She softly mumbled. "He's confusing."

"I don't understand what's so confusing about it… but does it really bother you that much Hisana…?"

"I don't know…" she quietly whispered. "It's just surprising…." The memory of his concern from earlier in the day presently ran through her mind and she found herself drawing her sheets even closer against her. Why it should affect her so much was something she was finding difficult to comprehend. Things like this had never bothered her before, so why should it now? Why should Byakuya's behaviour toward her affect her at all? Yuki didn't seem particularly bothered about him and neither did Akane. So why was she being the only whiny one?

"Well Hisana, my good woman if this might make you feel any less bothered I'll gladly share it with you."

Hisana despondently turned around on her futon to face a grinning Yuki.

"Share what?" she sombrely asked.

"We're getting the night off tomorrow! All of us!"

"Really!?" Hisana exclaimed as she perked up in surprise. "How's that?"

"Tomorrow the summer festival begins!"

"The-the summer festival…?"

"You've forgotten about it haven't you?" Yuki dejectedly mumbled.

Hisana guiltily smiled. "I-I guess I have…"

"The floats and the geishas and the bon fires… Hisana! How could you have forgotten about something so lovely!?"

"A lot's happened in the past months suppose… I didn't give it much thought."

Yuki sympathetically eyed her friend before reassuringly patting her head.

"Well I'm planning on visiting the shrine." She brightly said. "I have some respects to pay to the daitengu, Sojobo."

"A daitengu …?" Hisana murmured in fascination. She had become momentarily distracted. "I thought the festivals honouring Sojobo weren't held until October?"

"Well yes, but as there's a festival beginning tomorrow I'm sure he's gonna fly down from the mountains to see what all the commotions about. So I'd really like to pay my respects then."

"Sounds interesting. I heard a story though that Sojobo, in order to be appeased he once required sacrificial offerings. How are you going to pay your respects then?"

Yuki laughed. "That was true, up until one hundred years ago. The people here did actually procure a sacrifice to appease him; he's very powerful you see but much to everyone's surprise he fell in love with one of the sacrificial offerings."

"In love!? I never heard that... what happened to them?"

"I'm not sure but it was recorded that he needed no more human sacrifices and as such the festival continued in his honour without them."

"A tengu…" Hisana murmured in awe. "Yuki how do you know all of this?"

"I knew a miko who lived in the shrine. She related the story to me some time ago. It's interesting right?"

"Yes…it is…"

So you'll go with us won't you?'

"Well, I guess…."

"Great!"

Hisana smiled and momentarily forgetting her previous bothers happily consented.

"It sounds like fun."