The rickshaw ride out of the district was quiet. Orihime looked behind her. The years spent in the side streets of Kyoto was washing away with every shop, geisha and pedestrian they passed. The view was nicer that the slums she lived in. The streets were lined with cherry trees. The smell of their blossoms invigorated her senses. She wanted to touch, smell and see more of the Kyoto she never saw.

Pulling up to a huge gate guarded by samurai, worried her. She never saw this many samurai. Sure they would come to the teahouses, but only a few at a time. There must have been hundreds of samurai in the courtyard, training.

"This is your new home now, Orihime."

"You live here?

"Yes, this is my home."

The rickshaw had pulled up to a modest house. The landscape was beautiful. Flowers of many colors planted in perfect rows. Lanterns brightly lit the pathway. Off in the distance, Orihime caught sight of a huge building, a building she knew very well.

"The Royal Palace."

"Yes. We live on the grounds of the Palace. My husband is Ichimaru Gin, captain and most honored of the samurai"

"But I thought geisha were not married?"

"True, geisha can not marry, but I am no longer a geisha. Gin and I met in a teahouse four years ago. He was one of my best customers. We fell in love and married three years ago"

The inside of the house was even more impressive than the outside. Vases and furniture that looked like it belonged in the palace decorated the main room. Kimono's hung on the walls. In one corner stood a black cabinet with red silk panels on the doors. Every piece of wood was hand carved.

Matsumoto talked with a servant as Orihime wandered through each room.

"Orihime-chan, I drew a bath for you. If you would follow me, I will show you to your room."

"My room?"

Orihime followed the servant into a room decorated for a princess. The walls were covered with a blush colored silk. The bed was bigger than her room at the okiya.

"I have fresh clothes laid for you on your bed. I will wash these, if you like."

Orihime thought for a moment. Does she really need those rags from her days at the okiya?

"Toss them, please. I do not want any reminder of that place. I am fine with what you have here."

"Very well. I leave you now."

Orihime slipped out of her ratty clothes, and into a hot, steamy bath. Rose petals floated on top of the water. The sent of rose and lavender oil reached her nose. She inhaled slowly, enjoying the sent. She laid in the water until it turned cold, her skin wrinkled. She washed away the past, dried off and slipped into the clothes that were laid out for her. The house kimono was red silk with embroidered flowers. She felt good wearing clean clothes.

She draws her blade and stabs him in the back. The injury is not mortal, the wound was not deep. He falls on the ground, stunned, and turns back. She's upon him, ready for the second attack. He smiles and plunges his blade into her stomach before she could make the second attack.~~

Her first night of decent sleep was interrupted by the same dream that has haunted her for a lifetime. She laid there for a moment before slipping out of bed. Reaching into the cabinet, she pulled out a robe. As she walked towards the door, she slipped the robe on.

Wandering towards the front door, Gin stopped her.

"You should be sleeping. Matsumoto has much to teach you in the morning. "

"I will, Gin-sama. I need some air."

With that said gin went on with what he was doing, leaving Orihime. She wandered through the garden, smelling every flower she could see. On her walk, she eventually found the shrine they had past coming in.

Blood covered his hands. His blade deep inside his nemesis. Screams from the villagers rang in his ears. He only cared about one person, the person who changed his life.~~

Ichigo woke with his knife firmly grasped in his hands. Sweat pouring off his brow, breathing quickly.

"It was only a dream."

Ichigo padded his way out of his house. Acknowledging his friends as he walked the streets, he found himself at the one place he could find peace, the shrine. As he began to climb the steps, he noticed a figure in the shadows. Hand on his Katana, he slowly moved towards the figure. To his surprise he found a woman praying to the Buddha statue.

He waited for her to finish before speaking.

"You should not be out here alone. We may be on palace grounds, it is still dangerous to walk around with no guard"

Orihime jumped back against the shrine.

"I did not know. My apologies."

Ichigo stepped out from the shadows and into the moonlight. She too stepped into the moonlight. Ichigo's eyes widened. She was very beautiful.

"I have not seen you before."

"I live with Matsumoto-san and Gin-sama."

Orihime and Ichigo sat on the shrine steps till the wee hours of the morning, talking.

"I don not even know your name. I am Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Orihime, Inoue Orihime. It was nice talking with you Ichigo, but I should be getting home. Matsumoto-san would kill me if she found me out so late"

Ichigo watched Orihime hurry back home. He continued to watch her, not noticing someone coming up behind him. As he began to stand, a smack on the back of his head stopped him.

"Gin would have my head if you messed with Matsumoto's maiko."

"Damn you dad."

Ichigo rubbed his head,

"Maiko? She is a geisha in training?"

"Yes. Do you not have duty in a few hours, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Vice-Captain."

"I do not want to see you sleeping at your post. I suggest you get some sleep."

"Yes sir."

Orihime slept for a few hours before Matsumoto woke her to begin training for the day.