RainDrops, this one is for you! :) I hope I didnt butcher him too much. I tried to keep him as stiff and ..... STIFF as possible.... You'll see what i mean when you read on. :D

And yeah i think i've been forgetting to add the disclaimers!!! OMG!!! Well unfortunately, Tite Kubo owns everything n' I'm a pauper who owns nothing. :(There is no justice in this world!

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Chapter 12: All That Is Kuchiki

"Hey Rukia!" I heard the girl say as she stepped into the office. "Is Ukitake taicho around?"

"Um… he's here but he's with a visitor." Rukia answered sounding a little stilted.

"Oh. Is it alright if I wait?" she asked. "I did need to talk to you as well!"

"Um… yes… about that…" Rukia stammered.

"Congratulations dummy! I can't believe you didn't tell me! How terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE of you Rukia-chan! I heard from Hisagi taicho, Hisagi taicho of all people. I'm gonna pummel Renji for not… what?" Her voice trailed and I assumed it was because Rukia had somehow managed to tell her I was here. "Ah…" I heard her whisper conspiratorially. "But is it alright if I wait anyway?" She whispered, her voice carrying through into Ukitake's office despite her best efforts.

"Try not to look so smug Byakuya-kun." Ukitake teased. I stiffened and wished my emotions were not so obvious to my sensei.

"Would you mind very much if I asked her to join us? This is a friendly visit after all." Ukitake said smoothly, quirking a mischievous eyebrow.

I couldn't object. We were in his office discussing the weather for I had only stopped by to torment Rukia and he knew it.

"Haya-san! How nice of you to visit!" I heard him say. "Rukia, I think you can finish anything that's pending tomorrow."

"But…" Rukia tried to object but was cut off by Haya and Ukitake.

"Go enjoy your evening, it's a wonderful summer day." Ukitake urged.

"That's what I said but she wouldn't listen to me!" Haya said. "I'm sure Renji's waiting for you."

Rukia gasped and I smiled smugly at the knowledge that I still made her nervous. Ukitake laughed lightly. "Come Haya. There's no coffee and I don't know how to brew tea the way you do, but I can give you some green tea."

"Sounds good Juu. Rox, you stay out here and be a good girl. Don't pick on Sentarou just 'cause he's scared of you. Behave!" I heard Ukitake chuckle at the instructions she left with her dog. "It would be tragic if everyone could brew my tea, you and Shun would never visit if that happened." She said strolling into his office but came to an abrupt halt when she saw me. "Good afternoon Kuchiki Taicho." She said, with a little bow.

I nodded. "Madarame fukutaicho."

"How're things at the 6th Division?" She asked sitting down at the table.

"Very well, thank you for asking fukutaicho. I trust you are doing well at the 9th Division?"

"Yes things are going alright." She smiled at Ukitake, who handed her a cup of tea. "Arigato Ukitake Taicho. The division is still getting used to the idea of a fukutaicho, but other than that I guess it's alright."

"A period of adjustment?" Ukitake asked sipping his tea.

"Yes, well. I'm new and they don't really know me. I wasn't around for two years and then suddenly one day I'm their fukutaicho. Then there is my association with the 11th Division. I guess they just need a little time to get used to it all."

"Are you reconsidering your transfer to the 9th?" I felt compelled to ask, knowing Kurosaki would be dying to know. Why was I involving myself in his tumultuous love life?

"God no! I like working with Hisagi taicho. We make a good team." She said calmly, her eyes trained on me. "I thought you were aware of that Kuchiki taicho." She was clearly alluding to the fact that I had been the one to keep Kurosaki from making a complete fool of himself before the entire Gotei.

She was not in awe of my nobility and she let me know every chance she got. She was never rude making it impossible for me to react to her words with anything but civility.

"I am aware of the fact that you make an acceptable musical duo, but the relationship between a Taicho and his fukutaicho is a little more complex, don't you agree Madarame fukutaicho?" I could feel Ukitake's amused gaze on us but I was curious about what this girl had to say to me. She never initiated a conversation otherwise.

My use of the word 'acceptable' had not escaped her and I saw a little smile tug on her lips, but she continued in her serious mien. "Of course Kuchiki taicho and I am sure you know more about this than I do. I have only been a fukutaicho for two months now. Did Abarai taicho have a hard time when he transferred to your division as fukutaicho? He was new at the time too, was he not?"

How could I have not seen this coming? "Yes he did have a period of adjustment, but he had not been away for two years prior to his promotion and was thus, familiar with a few of the seated members within the division." I said as sedately as possible, all the while glaring daggers at the girl.

She seemed oblivious to it and merely replied with a, "Hmm," before turning to Ukitake and enquiring about his health.

"If you'll excuse me Ukitake taicho, I think I'll take my leave." I said interrupting her.

"Oh… of course Byakuya-kun. Please visit again, I so look forward to our little chats." Ukitake said politely, but his little emphasis on chats was not lost on me and I knew I was going to be hearing from him soon.

"Kuchiki Taicho, if it's not too much of a bother…" the girl was saying raising her hand like she was in a classroom.

"Yes fukutaicho?"

"Can I come by and raid your library sometime? I haven't had a decent book to read ever since I got back from the living world."

"Of course fukutaicho. You may come by anytime you wish."

"Arigato Taicho! I prefer to come when you're around, would later this evening be all right?" She asked, her voice even and nonchalant but her eyes begged me to say yes.

"Come by at 7 fukutaicho. I will leave word that you are to be shown to the library." I said and left after bowing in respect to Ukitake sensei.

Her pointed remarks about Renji had annoyed me but I could not begrudge her that. I could not presume that she would understand the nuances of nobility.

She was a peculiar creature and it had not surprised me when Kurosaki had become besotted with her. She was brash and tough like others that came from Rukongai, but was also well aware of social etiquette. I had noted her tendency to call many captains by their first name in private but always spoke of them with the necessary respect in their absence and never tried to use her familiarity with them to her advantage. And she was a good fighter, a very good fighter.

The first time she had come asking for a book, I had been stunned and had agreed quite accidentally. What could a girl from Rukongai want with books from my library? I had thought scoffing at the very notion. "She remembers a lot from when she was alive Byakuya-san." Kurosaki had tried to explain. "She was very well educated. How else do you think she is so familiar with all the technical crap that Kurotsuchi spews? And the music? How do you explain that?"

"A travelling circus? A group of gypsies?" I had suggested coldly, choosing to ignore the bit about her technological know-how. "Street corner performers?"

Kurosaki had shaken his head and laughed. She and I had become acquainted through Kurosaki during their torrid relationship and I had enjoyed our occasional exchange of retorts. She had been a worthy opponent. The end of the affair had brought with it the inevitable division of assets, in this case, friends and acquaintances. Although I hadn't wished to land on any side of the divide I had been handed over to Kurosaki, along with Rukia, Renji and Hitsugaya. The 11th Division along with Matsumoto had gone to the girl, while the rest had struggled to stay neutral.

"Ah, my consolation prizes." Kurosaki had remarked dryly.

"Kurosaki," I warned, "don't alienate the few allies you have."

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I approached the intimidating mansion and loathed the idea of going in. I had stopped borrowing books from Byakuya solely because I hated coming here. The house was cold and drafty and was a constant 2 degrees below freezing the whole year round, like a walk-in meat freezer. The servants were nasty and the extended Kuchiki family was nastier. I loved his library but it was not the worth losing a couple of digits to frost bite and so I had quit going.

Byakuya was odd to say the least. Cold and dispassionate in public, obsessed over a dead wife behind closed doors and the closest thing he had to a friend was a brash, impulsive Vizard with orange hair. If that doesn't make one odd, what does? All in all, he was interesting. I wouldn't go as far as calling him a friend but we had become acquainted when Kurosaki and I were together.

I wrapped Roxy's leash around a pike outside the gate and didn't bother telling her to be nice. If any of the servants heckled her, I wanted her to feel free to give them a well deserved mauling. My arrival was not unexpected and as promised, a nasty grumbling servant led me to the library.

"Here you are, m'lady." He mocked. I shook my head wearily, the servants and I had been through this dance a hundred times and it was the reason why I had asked to come while Kuchiki was home. The mocking and taunting were infinitely worse when he wasn't around.

I gave him my best airhead smile and said, "Arigate osan. I'm sure I would have gotten completely lost without your assistance."

The mocking smile fell from his lips when he realized that his insults had made no impression. I closed the door on his gloomy scowl with another bimbo smile and added a giggle to further infuriate the man.

"Must you tease the help?" Byakuya demanded from behind me.

"Oh!" I started, "I did not think you would be here Kuchiki taicho. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but you know you can trust me in your library. I won't burn it down."

"But you might leave food stains on one of my books again." I winced as he alluded to the time Ikkaku had spilt soup all over one of his priceless first editions; the other reason why I had stopped coming here.

Would this man never forget about that? I looked up to see a smug smirk tugging on the corner of lips. "That's low Kuchiki taicho. You know I would pawn everything I had to get you another copy." Yes Byakuya, I just played the filthy lucre card. Take that!

His eyes narrowed and glared at me for an instant before strolling over to a large table. "Tea?"

"Thank you Taicho." He obviously wanted to talk or he wouldn't be here, so I played along. "Is it alright if I browse?"

"Of course. That is what you came for, isn't it?" Came the cold reply.

The man was infuriating and certainly gave me a run for my money. On good days I could trip Juushiro up and he was certainly one of the best, but to do that with Byakuya took a lot of careful planning. This evening's slip up was more a result of his carelessness than any intelligent spur on my part. Rukia's wedding was clearly bothering him more than he let on.

I noticed he had added to his vast collection and quickly picked one from one of my favorite authors (not a first edition). He handed me my tea and looked at me expectantly.

I raised an eyebrow in question but didn't say anything.

"Fukutaicho."

"Kuchiki taicho." I said waiting.

"Why did you join the 9th Division?"

Aha! "Because I passed the fukutaicho exam and there was no reason for me to settle for anything less than a lieutenant's position. I think it goes without saying that there is no way in hell I am going to step into the 12th Division, let alone work there." I answered evenly. I wasn't lying. It was one of the reasons why I chose to transfer.

"And?" He insisted looking unconvinced.

"And Hisagi Taicho is someone I am acquainted with…"

"Acquainted with?" he interrupted

"All right, if you insist. He's a friend. As you yourself pointed out Taicho, we make an acceptable musical duo. Even the least tolerable of musical duos only exist if there is a certain level of understanding between the two musicians."

I met his eyes and challenged him to question my motives further, but he did not. "Now may I ask you a question Taicho?"

"Excuse me?" His voice went very, very cold and his cold, hard eyes were trained on me at the obvious breach of etiquette. As a captain he could question me all he liked, but now I was clearly disregarding his position as a noble and a captain.

"With your permission only Taicho. I would not presume to put forth questions that do not relate to our work without your permission." He could say no, it would be completely within his rights to do so, but that would mean admitting defeat in our little battle of words. He nodded for me to proceed.

"Why do you object so strongly to Rukia's choice in a husband?" I felt the full force of his icy glare on me now and I had obviously hit a nerve because his reiatsu spiked dangerously.

"You were right earlier, you should not presume to question me." He growled.

I inclined my head unperturbed, set the cup of tea down. "This is true Kuchiki Taicho. I'm sorry if I offended you Kuchiki Taicho. Thank you for the book, I will return…"

"He is an uncouth commoner from Rukongai and Rukia deserves better." His voice was even, but his perturbed reiatsu spoke volumes.

I looked up at him so that he could see that I was up to the challenge. "Rukia is also from Rukongai, they have known each other for decades…"

"Paltry excuses for a bad match." His voice was tinged with rage.

I took a deep breath before continuing. "As an equally uncouth commoner from Rukongai, I have to tell you – life within these walls makes it quite impossible to understand or appreciate the harsh realities of Rukongai."

"I am well aware of that…"

"Taicho, forgive me. But you don't know what you're talking about."

Byakuya was infuriated by my last comment and I supposed it was only his years of trained self-control that kept him from slicing me into tiny bits with Senbonzakura. Inadzuma quivered on my hip and I prayed I wouldn't need his help.

"None other than one from Rukongai can ever really know what life is like there, and she deserves that understanding." I continued, staking everything on his self-restraint. "Understanding Taicho, not empathy and certainly not pity."

He glared at me in silence and his reiatsu subsided marginally so I added, "Rukia is definitely the best thing that ever happened to Renji, but in a strange way he is also the best thing that ever happened to her. You can rest assured that he will move heaven and earth to protect her, isn't that more than you could really ask for in a husband for your sister?"

"I swore to act in her best interests." He said emotion creeping into his voice. "How can I possibly give her my blessing if I do not believe her to be making the right choice."

"If there are objections to be made, make them for the right reasons. You swore to protect her and you should, because you are the only one that can. You dragged her into this mess by adopting her, now help her when she needs it. Don't let the Kuchiki family bind her in antiquated laws and traditions." I paused and he glared at my obvious disrespect. "Kuchiki Taicho." I added quickly.

I shifted uneasily as silence enveloped the room and I wasn't sure if he had anything more to say. "If you will let me take my leave Kuchiki Taicho…"

"Kurosaki will be at the wedding and he intends to talk to you."

Of all the cheap and dirty tricks to fall back on, he had to pick this one. And boy was it effective! I bolted from the room in a swirl of undignified, agitated shunpo.

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I hadn't seen Haya since the fukutaicho exam and the only time I heard about her was when Byakuya would notice my starvation and drop a few lines of gossip my way.

"She is not involved with the Taicho of the 9th." He said out of the blue.

"What?" I had asked trying not to sound like a hormonal teenager.

"I met her at Ukitake sensei's office and then again when she came to borrow a book." He droned on as if we were talking about the warm barmy summer we were having. This was about Haya for Kami's sake! Why couldn't he just get on with it and tell me what she'd said?

"She borrowed a book? When?"

"A week ago."

A whole week and he was telling me now? "I see."

He turned his steely eyes on me, a satisfied smug glint shone in them. "She should be coming by to return it one of these days."

"I see." I said again unable to think straight at the moment. "You were saying something about Ukitake-san."

"Was I? Yes, I met her there. She said she was having a little trouble adjusting with the division."

"Is she planning to transfer out?" Please, please, please…

"No it appears she likes it there." The bastard was toying with me! "In fact, she said that Hisagi Taicho and she make a good team."

I closed my eyes and imagined my hands tightening that aristocratic scarf around his neck, slowly. Yes very, very slowly…

"Kurosaki Taicho? Are you listening to me?" He asked softly, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Of course I am. Good team, I heard you." I hissed.

"She also had something to say about Rukia's wedding."

"Oh?" Of course she did. She was probably doing a delighted little jig knowing how much this was annoying Byakuya.

"I hate to admit it, but she did elucidate an interesting point." He said, sounding just a tad hesitant. Kuchiki Byakuya sounding hesitant? "She said that no noble would understand Rukia's life before she arrived in Sereitei."

I waited for him to continue. "She also said that I had been the one to force the mantle of nobility onto Rukia's shoulders. If I had sworn to protect her I should do so, even if it was from the Kuchiki elders themselves."

'Haya…why won't you let me hate you a just little?' I thought. "Well isn't that what I said to you?" I snapped at Byakuya.

"You said Abarai was a 'stand up guy despite his red hair'."

"It amounts to the same thing!" I snapped, but he didn't think so.

Shortly after he left, I handed over the division to Momo and departed as well, walking home in a despondent daze. She was everywhere and yet… nowhere. The 'Haya presence' rippled outwards around her and although I had been cast off to the far fringes, I could still feel a ripple every now and then. Just often enough to never let me forget, just strong enough to remind me what had drawn me to her.

She was strong, infuriatingly stubborn and cloaked herself in an air of hardness I surmised was a result of the brutal years she had spent in Rukongai. But she could be surprisingly thoughtful and often went to unnecessary lengths to help the people around her. Rukia had scoffed at the idea that Inoue was an unstable psychopath just as much as I had, and yet here she was trying to smooth things over for her with Byakuya.

Her relationship with Byakuya was another mystery. She was one of the few people not intimidated by him. "People call him cold, but that's ridiculous." She had said. "He still obsesses about a woman that died nearly a century ago. Obsessions are not the result of passing fancy Ichigo, but a slow burning fire! To call him cold is utterly ridiculous! He has a temper, oh yes there is a very nasty tempter lurking in there somewhere. But the kenseiken in his hair and the scarf around his neck will always keep it in check. He is about as likely to pull Senbonzakura on you as he is to laugh out loud at one of his own jokes."

I was walking around aimlessly and found my feet turning in the direction of our old haunts. The grounds near the 11th Division where I first saw her training, then again on her many runs, where she had zapped me between the eyes for watching her as she stretched after a particularly grueling training session.

"Oh Kami! Kurosaki taicho, Kuchiki taicho! I am so sorry, I didn't know it was the two of you!" She had gushed in embarrassment as we stood there rubbing the smarting burns. "Ikkaku and Yumichika often try to sneak up on me with some prank or the other, I just assumed it was them. I'm so tired and I sensed two different reiatsus.... I didn't bother trying to check if it was really them…"

"How come you singed my eyebrow and not his?" I had demanded when I saw that Byakuya's forehead barely showed a mark.

"Well I thought he was Yumichika. He's got his reiatsu under better control…" She had looked mortified as she tried to apologize to the two of us but in that moment all I had wanted to do was lean down and kiss her.

I sighed wistfully at the memories wishing I could at least see her again if not talk to her. She had thus far, managed to avoid being in the same room with me despite the fact that she was a fukutaicho and I was a Taicho. She avoided the 5th Division like the plague and she had immersed herself in work, rarely going out to paint the town red with Matsumoto. The few times she had, Ikkaku had walked ahead of the rest of the group and checked every restaurant and bar for my presence. But they couldn't possibly do this forever.

The wedding. Yes, I would see her at the wedding.

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"Dirty, rotten, hair-clip sporting, BASTARD!" I screamed as I sped through the last yards of the grueling 5-mile track I had just put myself through. Yes, I was running again. The pansy-ass Kuchiki-hime (as Zaraki liked to call him) had dropped an A-bomb on me and I panicked and now I was running.

Roxy looked at me, keeping a wary distance as I had been sparking uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, girl." I said stretching out a hand to her and she approached me, visibly happier that I was not losing my mind. Not just yet anyway. "Sorry Roxy. I'm driving myself nuts for no reason aren't I?"

She chuffed in agreement. "Do you have to be so brutally honest all the time? Can't you just lie to me once in a while?" I said straightening to walk over to the lazy brook I had been running along. The summer heat had nearly reduced it to a pathetic trickle, but the water was cool and refreshing. Roxy plunged in wholeheartedly, happy that we were done with the run. Now all she wanted to do was frolic in the cool water and I let her.

"Intends to talk to you." I grumbled, imitating Byakuya's dead monotone. "What the fuck is there to talk about anyway?"

Roxy was far too busy to answer and I was left to ponder the situation alone. It was inevitable, and I had known it all along. I had quite willingly donned a pair of blinkers when I came back to Sereitei and pretended I didn't see the insane lengths everyone around me was going to, to keep me out of Kurosaki's way. Hisagi had gone as far as sending me out on ridiculous training exercises every time there was a captain's meeting that required my presence, choosing to take the 3rd seat instead of me. I argued and insisted that I was all right; Kurosaki was no reason to get into Yamamoto's bad books (which he no doubt scorched on a regular basis!). But deep down inside I was relieved and more than a little grateful. I didn't want to see him and be reminded of his orangeness again. I just couldn't deal with it.

"Are you still angry and resentful?" Asked Inadzuma helpfully.

"No… I don't think so."

"Then what do you fear?"

"I feel like an idiot when I think about him."

"Only when you think of him?"

"Inadzuma…"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I'll bring that up later. For now let us talk about the ever orange Kurosaki."

"Please Inadzuma. I'm suffering enough without your taunts."

"What is bothering you kiddo?" He asked, his tone serious.

"I don't know… But the idea of seeing him again. Scares me a little bit."

"What about meeting him frightens you?"

"Well I still think about him… a lot. You know that…"

"Yes, I do. It's difficult to overlook or forget considering how much I dislike the color orange…"

"Inadzuma!"

"I'm sorry, I apologize. Do continue…"

"Yes, so as I was saying what if I see him and discover that I still… I haven't stopped…"

"Loving him." He finished for me.

"Yes." I murmured. "Precisely."

"You have to find out sometime and the sooner the better, kiddo. There's no point living in doubt."

I said nothing, and withdrew into our world. I needed a little cloudiness. Inadzuma wasn't one for displays of affection, but I guess I must have looked particularly needy for I soon felt his arms wrap around me from behind. He drew me into a surprisingly soft embrace and rested his chin on my head.

"You smell like rain Inadzuma."

"Do you like it? It's all the rage this season in the elite zanpaktou circles…"

"I take it back."

"Too late, kiddo."

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She was on the patio when I found her, strumming on her guitar, singing softly. Roxy noticed my arrival and rose to greet me.

"Hey my kawaii Roxy!" I said, burying my hands in her soft fur.

"Oh, hey Ran!" called Haya a little distracted.

"Busy?"

"Sorta…Hisagi picked a few songs to do at the after-after-party."

"The what?" I asked, settling down beside her on a cushion.

"That's what I said! What the hell is an after-after-party anyway? Well according to Hisagi, it's the party that happens after the reception when only the close friends and family are around, and it continues until everyone is drunk blind."

"Isn't everyone drunk blind by the end of the reception?"

"That's what I said! But he thinks otherwise. Suits me fine, 'cause then we may not end up doing any singing anyway." She put aside her guitar.

"What? No! We love the singing and it's been ages since we partied like that!"

"Two years, 5 months and 18 days." She said, getting up to head to the kitchen. "Want something to drink? Sake, beer, wine, juice?"

"Sake obviously. But what was that count about?" I called after her.

"If we do the singing gala at the after-after-party, then it will have been that long since that last time I went drinking with the whole gang and sang until we were hoarse." She saw my worried expression and quickly added, "I didn't count, Shunsui did."

"Ah. You had me worried there for a second. Ooh! Arigato!" I said taking the cup of warm sake from her.

She raised her beer and said, "To shorter interludes between bouts of drunken revelry."

"And the hope that we stay sober until the after-after-party!" I added.

She laughed and sipped her beer slowly. She gazed out into the wilderness that was her backyard and was soon lost in thought.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked, peering at her over my cup of sake.

"Hmm? Oh… yeah. I'll be fine." She said with a dismissive wave and picked up her beer.

"You sure? He'll be there you know."

"I know and I'm fine with that. You guys are the ones who are paranoid about this whole thing and you're blowing it way out of proportion. I'm fine, it'll be alright." She said confidently, but the stoop in her shoulders belied her dread.

"Haya… talk to me." She looked up and seemed ready with another 'I'm fine' retort, so I cut in before she could say anything. "Talk to me. Not the motley crew, not the whole gang, just me."

She sighed and sunk into the cushions. "I wanna see him, but I don't wanna see him. I'm looking forward to seeing him, but I'm dreading it at the same time." She shook her head and looked up at me. "I don't know Ran, it's all a little confusing right now. I feel like I should get it over with. Meet him, talk to him and just be done with it. Then we can both go our own ways without this insane hide and seek situation we have going on."

I moved to a cushion near her and she leaned her head on my shoulder. "I know I'm being an idiot when I say this and please don't yell… but the truth is I don't know how I feel about him, I don't know if I'm… over him."

"I know that and I'm not gonna yell. Been there, done that remember?" I was talking about Gin and she nodded slowly.

"Why is it always the bastards? Why is it so impossible to fall for a regular guy, who's not a conceited ass and doesn't treat a girl like crap?" She said exasperatedly.

"Because my kawaii Haya," I snaked an arm around her shoulder and drew her closer. "Those guys are so awfully boring, in and out of the sack."

"Which boring guy did you sleep with?"

"Shut up Haya. I know what I'm talking about."

"This better not be some Cosmo say so..."

"Haya, I know what I'm talking about!"

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For the love of GOD ppl please REVIEW!!!! :( I will cry y'know! I really will! Don't think i'm not capable of turning on the waterworks!!!

And music..... how about save Dave Matthews? I think this calls for some Dave Matthews. So let's try Save Me, Where Are U Going and ......... The Dreaming Tree.