Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Word Count: 274
Ookami Bound
Witch Hazel
As Rukia continued her search for her pet she paused along the eastern walk, gazing out across the lawn.
A smile stretched softly on her face.
She already had so many fond memories of her canine companion.
Strange that it in the span of four months a flurry of things had come to pass, for not long after her adorable Tsukiko had appeared, so too had her new maid, Mai.
Mai was another anomaly- a woman that spoke her mind in a pleasant voice that seemed incongruent to the often outrageous things that flew past her lips. Add to that she seemed to come and go as she pleased and did not fret over her charge's every move- Rukia couldn't help but count her as an ally. Her arrival had been sudden and unexpected. Three days after Tsukiko had been brought home to convalesce in the female shinigami's rooms, the foreigner had arrived at the Kuchiki manor.
Rukia had barely glimpsed the woman before her brother had whisked her away. In astonishment she had been left standing in the hall blinking in shock. She had thought for certain her brother recognized the woman due to his instant reaction yet after he informed Rukia perhaps an hour later that Mai would be her new attendant, Byakuya barely gave the newest staff another glance.
But despite her Nii-sama's rather stiff (more stiff than usual) introduction of the pale-haired woman, Rukia quickly found that in her eyes the woman was above suspicion- her hazel eyes reminded her so much of her pet's she simply couldn't help but associate the two.
Funny. She hadn't seen Mai yet either…