Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Word Count: 675
AN: Couldn't resist. A longer chapter as further impressions are made.
A Kiss for Shelter
A Rare Talent
He was somewhat surprised when she pulled a square tin from her robes and asked if she might prepare tea from leaves she had brought.
Nothing was said as he watched her seat herself at the low table. She must have seen the momentary skepticism in his eyes however as she spoke softly whilst she set out small cups which contained her ingredients.
"I must admit, I do not do well when cooking. Everything I make comes out a tad too… spicy- it overpowers the dish. But I assure you, my tea is above reproach." She said this without a hint of arrogance and he was momentarily waylaid by the caress of her unusual accent.
But watching her, though he noted the grace with which she moved, he was unnerved by her ministrations. She did not blend tea the way a proper hostess might. In fact, she seemed to perform the ceremony almost backwards.
Byakuya couldn't help but raise a brow at this.
Still she held out the cup to him as was proper, gaze lowered, hands cradling the bottom and side of the ceramic.
After momentary suspicion fled, he graciously obliged, reaching for the cup she held out to him.
In the quiet that stretched he felt his curiosity stir. Exotic features: sun-golden skin, dark eyes, hair and feathery lashes. She had not been coquettish in the least when speaking. She did not tease, or smile, laugh, or bat her eyes at him. Just what sort of courtesan was she?
Not that he really had a frame of reference.
A slight smirk appeared behind the cup he lifted toward his lips.
Still, he wanted to ask her about the dance he had seen. He wanted to know who had taught her and if she knew other dances. But he let his jaw clench, sealing away his questions. It was bad enough that he had given into whim enough to pay for her company. Allowing himself the added indulgence of knowing her was ill advised. They could not be friends- they could barely be acquaintances.
He gave an inaudible sigh.
Finally he took a sip of the tea he had not even bothered to surreptitiously sniff as he might do instinctively.
Yet when the heady flavor hit the back of his tongue he was thrown into memory:
The greenery of a forest sprung up around him. The fragrance of the trees and all that was jade surrounding him was potent and filled his being with a sense of awe as he stared above him into the canopy. Sunlight winked at him with each sway of the giants towering over him and he realized how very small he was- how very wide the world beyond the Kuchiki Manor walls might be. His eyelids fell closed over his eyes, peace embracing him, brushing his soul as he indulged in the odd silence that was signature to this natural enclosure. This is where he first felt the stirrings of his true power- not the dojo or the training grounds- but here- in this emerald kingdom of ancient oaks and firs.
His eyes opened and locked onto the woman across from him. He was very still, inwardly shocked by how easily he had let down his guard and fallen into nostalgia.
And it had all been prompted by a taste of her tea.
The woman however kept her eyes lowered, seemingly unaware of the effect of her concoction.
Byakuya looked down into the cup- the liquid was pale jade- not dark as he thought it might be by its bold flavor.
His eyes narrowed slightly even as he contemplated the steam rising languidly from the cup, the scent now tickling at his senses.
I have sampled the finest tea the Soul Society has to offer and yet this… How? How did this woman concoct something that drums up the memory of the place in which I first summoned Senbonzakura?
As he glanced up at her he thought he might have seen her smile behind her own tea cup.
AN: Next chapter there's SC.