Almost a year and a half had passed since Yoriichi arrived in the royal palace as a newly initiated member of the Zero Division.

He had tried sticking to his roots as much as possible, practicing the Breath of the Sun as his main fighting style and acting out mostly as a demon slayer and not as a shinigami. However, through trying to effectively perform his tasks as a Division Zero member, he didn't quite have time to stick to the culture side of things.

Up in the royal palace, it didn't look like anything had changed considering that it was above the clouds and was thus unaffected by seasons or weather. But, back in the grasslands of Yoriichi's palace, it was snowing like it was no tomorrow. The trees were dead and barren and the river was frozen solid in ice. The ground and the tops of the trees were completely covered in fluffy white snow.

The only place that wasn't covered in snow, despite the incessant amounts of snow falling from the sky, was the small hut sitting in the middle of a pasture, just outside a large forest and flanked on its side by a wide, running river. Although there was snow on the rooftop, none of it was getting into the small house despite its seemingly fragile roof.

Within the small shack's backyard was a large stone circle, which was the only part of the palace outside of the shack not covered in snow. Bordering the stone circle were twelve, long torches, all of them lit with bright flames despite the coldness in the air.

Standing in the middle of the circle was Yoriichi, his long burgundy red hair tied into a long ponytail. Instead of his usual crimson-red nichirin katana, in his hand was a multi-branched sword made of wood and instead of his usual burgundy-red robes, which was folded neatly somewhere inside the shack, he was wearing more ceremonial-looking brown, red, orange, and yellow-colored robes. The final piece of the outfit, a white piece of cloth with the word "flames" written on it in kanji that was supposed to be worn over the face, was sitting on the snowy ground outside the circle, revealing the man's closed eyes, placid expression, and crimson-red flame-shaped mark on his forehead.

Waltz

He spins around in a circle, bringing his wooden sword around with him. Bright orange flames burst from the tip of the wooden blade as he brings it around in another wide circular slash, leaving bright orange embers in its wake that live for just a second in the cold weather.

Clear Blue Sky

He leaps into the air, flipping around in the air and bringing the sword around in a circle, forming a circle of orange flames around his body.

Raging Sun

He slashes downward with the wooden blade then sideways again.

Burning Bones, Summer Sun

He swings the wooden blade in a simple, diagonally circular slash, leaving a crimson red slash in the air that fades away a second later.

Setting Sun Transformation

He backflips into the air, this time swinging the blade in horizontal slash instead of around his whole body.

Solar Heat Haze

He slashes his sword in the air in front of him, leaving a mirage in the air in front of him which captures the falling snow, making each snowflake sparkle.

Beneficient Radiance

He brings the sword upwards in a vertical slash, sending a large, bright plume of orange flames up into the sky.

Sunflower Thrust

He shifts the sword into one hand, before thrusting it up at an angle, flames gathering at its tip and bursting in a bright flash of heat and light.

Dragon Sun Halo Dance

A dragon made of orange flames bursts from the ground as he swings the sword around him in a circle, rising into the air and baring its fangs.

Fire Chariot

Again, he pushes himself into the air, performing a flawless backflip, bringing his wooden blade around in the air with him, leaving a ring of fire in the air behind him.

Parhelion Rainbow

Rainbow-colored flames erupt, hiding his body from sight as he swings his sword in a circle around him, scattering the flames and creating a very colorful spectacle.

Flame Waltz

He ends his dance with a resolute horizontal swing of his wooden sword, dispersing the orange flames gathered around his body. They burst outward with a bright flash of light, melting the snow that had fallen onto the stone circle and flash-evaporating the snowflakes right out of the sky. The space around him illuminates for a few seconds before dying out again.

Yoriichi takes a deep breath, exhaling deeply through his mouth as he looks up to the sky, finally opening his eyes.

He noticed that the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Time had passed much faster than he had thought. Dusk of the previous day had only felt minutes away. He did a quick assessment of his own body and found that he was barely exhausted if at all despite dancing for so long. He was more fit than he was upon entering the palace.

He's broken out of his thoughts when he feels a pair of two arms gently wrap themselves around him.

"You're finally done," he hears a silk-smooth voice say from behind him. He feels a light weight lean itself into his shoulder. "It was pretty at first, but did you forget to tell me that it was going to last six hours?"

"I thoroughly informed you about the Hinokami Kagura before performing the dance," Yoriichi says, turning to his very recently-beloved. "And I did mention that the dance lasted from dusk to dawn."

"Who even uses 'dusk' and 'dawn' anymore?" comes the snarky tone of Senjumaru. Despite how it sounded though, Yoriichi knew that there wasn't any real sharpness to it. "You should use more specific terms."

"I apologize," Yoriichi says.

"Why do you always sound so formal all the time?" Senjumaru asks, closing her eyes as she tightens her arms (her real arms) around his waist and nuzzling her nose into his robes. "Loosen up a little. At least around me."

"...This is how I always talk."

Senjumaru just grumbles something unintelligible.

For the third time since he entered the royal palace, Yoriichi's poker face breaks, allowing a small smile to creep up to his lips. He presses his lips to the top of her head, getting a content hum from her. He turns around so that he could wrap his own arms around the lean woman, leaning his cheek against her silk, crow-black hair.

It was completely unprecedented that Yoriichi would find his new Uta in Senjumaru, the squad member that disliked him the most. Even though the two of them tried to stay away from each other as much as possible, there was something that drew him to her, something that took him way too long to realize.

The two were opposites in every way. If he was the sun, she was the moon. If he was summer, then she was winter. But that was what drew them together. After all, opposites attract.

"Are you sleepy?" Yoriichi mutters quietly, knowing that she could still hear him. "If you really did stay up to watch the whole dance, you must've been up all night."

"Mmmmm, I'm fine…," Senjumaru mutters back, a bit drearily.

Then she proceeds to fall limp into his arms. He feels her breathing transition into a slower, gentler pattern.

Yoriichi scoops up her legs and carries her into his shack, laying her gently on the futon set on the ground. He then also lays on the futon, bringing the blanket to the two of them and wrapping an arm around the woman.

He was grateful that he finally had the opportunity to perform the traditional dance again this year, but he was even more grateful that he had a much appreciated audience.

A/N: A very useless chapter, but I kinda wanted to get Hinokami Kagura out of the way and establish a ship. Next line will be something tied closer to the canon timeline.