"The elegant, high-culture world that geisha are a part of is called karyukai. Lesson one. Tea ceremony."
Orihime watched her every more, replicating her hand gestures with precision. She watched as Matsumoto only showed little skin on her arm.
"When pouring tea, your wrist should do the work. See how my kimono shows my whole arm under it. Men find the view of a geisha's arm to be seductive, very sensual."
"Yes."
Gin and another samurai came through the gate.
"Your turn, Orihime. Serve tea to our guest's."
"Gentlemen, my we serve tea?"
Gin and his guest sat and watched Orihime perform the tea ceremony perfectly.
"You have the golden touch, Matsumoto. You teach her well."
"Kurosaki-kun, your comment pleases me."
Orihime looked up at him once she learned his name.
"Ichigo, the young man you spoke with last night is my son."
"You were out last night, alone?"
"My apologies, Matsumoto-san. I did not mean to disrespect you."
"She was in good hands, Matsumoto-san. My apologies Orihime-chan. I did not mean to tell of your wandering to the shrine."
"Next time you wish to leave the house, let me know. A guard will escort you to where ever you wish to go."
"Yes, Matsumoto-san."
Orihime spent hours practicing her tea ceremony skills by herself or to people passing by. She even poured tea to the samurai who patrolled the area.
Matsumoto watched from a distance as Orihime became quite skilled with the tea ceremony.
"You learn quickly."
"I have a good teacher."
"Lesson two will begin once you feel comfortable with the tea ceremony. Do you have a shamisen?"
"No."
"Go to one of the shops and buy one. I will pay for it."
"I could not take money from you, Matsumoto-san."
"Do not argue about it. Go buy a nice one, no matter the cost. It is my gift to you, Orihime."
Orihime wandered through the shops looking at everything the vendors had to offer.
Ate sushi with bean paste and wasabi. She bought a hand carved shamisen with a matching case lined with blue silk.
The last two months Orihime practiced serving tea. As a reward, Matsumoto gave her an evening of free time to do whatever she wanted.
She decided to make a day of shopping in the market. She bought a pair of hairpins that looked like small flowers. She snacked on roasted wasabi beans, and noodles. Played games with the children.
Orihime was really enjoying her time off from training.
Ichigo had been watching her through out the day. Buying every flower she smelled, he approached her from behind. Holding onto the flowers, he tapped her shoulder.
"For you."
"Ichigo, they are so pretty. Thank you."
"Can I walk with you?"
"I would like that, very much."
They walked and walked, ending up along the river bank. Cherry blossom petals floated by and they sat and talked.
"My father and his before him were samurai. I hope one day when I am blessed with a son, he too will become a samurai."
"My brother was a samurai. He died when I was a child."
"The war?""Yes, by the hands of Aizen-sama and his ninja."
"I did not know. I am sorry."
"Aizen-sama has hurt my whole village. He killed me parents in front of me. I was only nine when they died. Burned down homes, killed cattle. We were a poor village, but that did not concern him. He said we committed crimes against his army, on his land. He enslaved the children, enslaved me for years. He eventually grew tired of me and sold me to the okiya when I was fifteen. He took my freedom"
"What happened to those children?"
"I do not know. I saw some of them when I was younger. They were begging for food or doing odd jobs to get some money. They lived on the streets."
Matsumoto watched from the shadows as Ichigo returned Orihime safely to the house.
They spoke briefly before parting for the night.
"May I see you again?"
"I would very much like that, Ichigo."
As Ichigo leaned in to kiss her goodnight, Matsumoto cleared her throat, startling the couple.
"Goodnight, Orihime."
"Goodnight, Ichigo."
Ichigo turned and bowed into the darkness,
"Goodnight, Rangiku-san"
"Goodnight, Kurosaki-kun. Sleep well."
Sleep was a blessing for Orihime. The nightmare did not come to her that night, only the thought of Ichigo danced in her head.
The following morning, Matsumoto took Orihime to the palace garden.
"Lesson two starts today. The tranquil solace of the gardens will help your playing."
Orihime tuned the instrument as shown by Matsumoto.
Getting lost in the sound of the shamisen playing, the pair did not notice a visitor watching them play.
He too was lost in the beautiful sound coming from the instrument.
A clap greeted the ears of Orihime and Matsumoto .
"You play beautifully"
Their eyes grew huge,
"Emperor Kuchiki Byakuya-sama"
"Our most humble apologies. We did not mean to intrude in your garden."
"Play some more. I wish to hear that beautiful music again."
They did as requested by the emperor. They stayed in the garden and played for hours, entertaining him.
"Join me for tea?"
Before Matsumoto could answer him, Orihime blurted out quickly,
"It would please me if the Emperor Kuchiki Byakuya-sama and Matsumoto-san would allow me to serve the tea."
"A tea ceremony? Yes, that would be nice. Join me Matsumoto-san"
"This will be your test, Orihime. Show us what you have learned."
"Yes, Matsumoto-san."
Matsumoto and the emperor chatted while Orihime began the ritual of the tea ceremony.
"She is your maiko?"
"Yes, your highness. She is Inoue Orihime"
"I see you have not lost your touch, Matsumoto-san. I remember visiting you on several occasions. Your tea ceremony was a feast to the eyes."
"I am most humbled by the emperor's delight in my ability."
"Thank you, Orihime-chan. Your tea ceremony was delightful."
Orihime bowed,
"Thank you for allowing me, Emperor Kuchiki Byakuya-sama."
"It would please me if you came back to my garden anytime you like."
"Thank you again, Emperor Kuchiki Byakuya-sama."
Orihime and Matsumoto returned to see Ichigo waiting by the gate holding a blanket and a package of some kind..
"Join me? I have sushi."
Matsumoto gave her approval and watched the couple disappear down the street.
"Where are we going?" Ichigo questioned as she guided him through a maze of shrubs.
"A little peace of heaven."
Ichigo looked around once they cleared the tall trees and shrubs,
"This is the emperor's private garden. We can not be here."
"Yes we can. I practiced my tea ceremony on him and Matsumoto-san this morning. He said to come back whenever I wished to."
Ichigo opened the bento box full of sushi. In a small dish was wasabi, slices of pickled ginger and bean paste.
"You remembered the bean paste."
"Your strange taste in food has me curious."
"It is good, really. Try some."
Ichigo reluctantly tasted the odd flavor of bean paste on his sushi, and he liked it.
Orihime erupted in a fit of laughter, "See, it is good."
They enjoyed all the sushi, and each others company as the sun set behind the tree line.
He laid his head on her lap as millions of stars began appearing in the deep blue background of the night sky.
Orihime twirled his hair around her finger.
"Do you like being here, behind the walls?"
She looked down at him,
"I feel like this is where I belong. I would not have met you if I did not live here. What about you, Ichigo. Have you always lived here?"
"No. I once lived in Tokyo. After my mother died, my father brought all of us to Kyoto."
"Us?"
"My sister's and I."
"How did your mother die?"
Ichigo sat up, turning his face away from Orihime,
"She became ill. I remember it like it was just yesterday. It was a spring day, just like today. She went so fast."
Orihime wrapped her arms around him, to comfort him.
"I was just a boy. I did not understand what happened. My father said she was visiting the gods.
Orihime's eyes glistened with tears.
"There is a day that does not go by where I wish she was here."
Her voice cracked as she spoke, "She is in your heart. She watches over you."
Ichigo turned to see her crying,
"She would have loved meeting you"
"Me too, Ichigo." she hugged him tightly, "Me too."
The rest of the evening, they spent it reminiscing about the ones no longer in their lives.