Title: Sound of the Tide
Chapter: 2/?
Rating: PG!
Warnings: Adult themes, sorta
Pairings: Byakuya x OC, Renji x OC (I hinted at it enough that I think you guys figured it out)
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. In Japan, this would be considered as a great tribute to his sucess and genius. In America, not so much. :( Fukada Shione and Kuchiki Seiraryu are my own little creations, though, so please ask for permission if you want to use them for anything~

*A/N: Someone brought it to my attention that I forgot a term on the last chapter, and it will play in quite heavily later on so I must mention it! "Mizuage" is a sort of coming of age ritual for geisha. Thanks to the oiran and "Memoirs of a Geisha" however, many people associate it with the auctioning off of a geisha's virginity, which is not how the traditional ceremony was played out. It never even involved a geisha's virginity or auctioning her off to anyone. In Shione's case, her old mistress intended for her to do so, though.*

Grumbling under his breath, Abarai Renji stalked right past the guards that tried to stop him at the back gates of House Kuchiki's secondary property. He was only vaguely aware of the guards babbling excuses as Captain Kuchiki's sedan chair followed shortly behind him, and of Byakuya calmly dismissing their comments. Abarai was a common visitor to the household, he told them, there was no need to continuously stop him at the gates. Renji cast his captain a flat glance over his shoulder as he came to a stop in a small courtyard; wasn't it Byakuya himself who had insisted only a few years ago that the guards always halt Renji?

What kind of game was the bastard playing at, now?

Byakuya, on the other hand, seemed to be ignoring his vice captain as the sedan chair came to a halt. A nerve was ticking visibly in his forehead, one of the tell tale signs that his captain was in a terrible mood. Usually Byakuya was capable of keeping his emotions in check through the most trying of situations, but when it had become apparent that he wouldn't be able to get rid of the geisha named Shione the same night he had taken her contract…well…

"Wake the lady of the household's servants," Byakuya murmured as a doorman hurried to greet his lord and his companions. Byakuya was waiting grumpily beside the sedan, one hand held out politely for the gawping geisha that stood inside it.

"This place is huge," Shione spoke in a noticeably awed tone. Her black eyes were wide in wonder as she looked over the house and surrounding gardens. "You live here, Kuchiki-kun?"

Scowling, Byakuya stared up at her and waited politely. Unsurprisingly, she completely ignored his extended hand and stepped down from the sedan unaided. "You may not refer to me so formally, Shione."

She simply shrugged at him and folded her arms under her breasts, her hands tucked up the sleeves of her kimono.

With a flat look on his face, Byakuya directed her towards a gathering crowd of young maids. The girls were formally dressed in the uniform of House Kuchiki's servants—a modest black kimono—and had their heads bowed in respect as they fell into line before Byakuya. "Please direct Ms. Shione to a private room in my dear sister's quarters, as well as her luggage when it arrives."

Shione gave him a mischievous grin as one of the ladies bowed deeper in compliance to Byakuya's orders. "Do I not merit a tour of the grounds, Lord Kuchiki?"

He huffed quietly and crossed his own arms over his chest, before he closed his eyes and turned towards the general direction of his own quarters. "You may receive one in the morning, if I have not found a new house to patron your services by then. Please, do not bother unpacking."

Shione rolled her eyes at his back as Byakuya simply walked away, with Abarai Renji following in his wake. She watched them go quietly, even after one of the maidservants called her name. Byakuya seemed completely unfazed, she thought as she finally turned to follow the dainty little servant. Did he not understand exactly what kind of life he had saved her from? Or did he simply not care?

With a soft sigh she went back to staring unabashedly at the surrounding buildings. She knew that this was not the Kuchiki clan's main house—Byakuya would have never brought her there—but instead the property he kept in the midst of his squad's district in Sereitei. Still, she thought the place was more than worthy of any lord. She had grown up accustomed to the small plots of land and modest manors that the lesser nobility in the Twentieth District of Rukongai were so proud of. Byakuya's property could have supported six of those lords, and still have plenty of room.

She would do anything to be able to work her trade in places such as this, she sighed wistfully. The back courtyard alone was a million times better than any courtyard she had served in, with great cherry trees with wide canopies, and elegantly shaped maples shading antique benches and sprawling koi ponds.

It was depressing knowing that she would only have to leave the next day.

"I see that mine brother has brought home a new pet," a cool, feminine voice drawled from the lit entrance of the building the maid had guided Shione to. The dainty girl immediately sank into a deep curtsy, and Shione followed suit. There was only one reason a servant would bow so deeply without hesitating or looking at the speaker and that was when their master was the one in question.

"Lord Kuchiki has been kind enough to provide me a place to rest until proper lodging can be arranged for me, my lady," Shione spoke softly, before she let her eyes slowly trail from the stone pathway up the wooden steps of the building. She straightened slowly from her bow as she took her time to look over the woman that addressed her, and felt a fist coiling her innards into a tight knot.

There was no way to put it, other than Lady Kuchiki had to be the most stunning woman Shione had ever seen. Her bare feet were dainty, her skin an appealing pale tone and accented perfectly by her deep red kimono. The bright white obi she wore was cinched in at a narrow waist, and her breasts filled out her kimono perfectly. Her hair, as black as her brother's, was loose and flowed elegantly along her slender, elfin face. Cool blue eyes regarded Shione calmly as the lady leaned against the doorway she stood in.

"So I have heard," the lady murmured quietly and swept her cold gaze over Shione. "For a geisha of your repute, you are alarmingly shabby. Byakuya allowed you to accompany him in public?"

Shione barely resisted cringing as she lifted a small hand to touch her cheek. She hadn't had the time to take off her sloppy make-up before leaving that piece of crap tea house that Byakuya saved her from, and suddenly she regretted that. "My apologies, Lady Kuchiki—"

The tall woman waved a dismissive hand, before her painted lips turned into a delicate smile. "You are either clever or proud enough not to care," she chuckled, causing Shione to blush. "Either way, mine brother must like you. Your name?"

"Fukada Shione—"

"Well, shall we get you settled in, Fukada-chan?" the woman straightened out elegantly, before turning her back on Shione and the maidservant. Shione swallowed past the sudden tightness in her throat as she watched the lady walk—she absolutely glided over the perfectly polished floor, her hips swaying in the perfect manner to be considered provocative, yet well within the appropriate social standard.

"Yes, my lady," Shione blushed, finally humbled by the Kuchiki clan as she followed the lady through the dimly lit halls of her quarters. It suddenly sank in exactly where she was, and under whose patronage.

The next time she saw Kuchiki Byakuya, she swore silently to herself, she would not be wearing a sullied kimono and poor make-up.

XXXX

"I think you just barely missed giving poor Renji a heart attack last night."

Byakuya ignored the woman that spoke to him, and instead focused on the news paper he had held in front of him. If there was one good thing to come of Aizen's betrayal, it was that the Ninth Squad's newspaper had upped in quality. It seemed that Vice Captain Hisagi was dedicating himself more and more to the squad's pet project, now that it was practically placed on reserve since their captain's abandonment of Sereitei.

"What is it that you play at, Bya-bya-kun?"

Sighing, Byakuya set down his newspaper and cast a weary glance at the woman that sat across from him. She was simply smiling back at him as she leaned one arm on the table, her slender fingers toying idly with her long black hair. "Good morning to you, too, Seiraryu," he replied flatly as he watched his dear sister take a dainty sip from the tea cup she held in her other hand. "Have you had any news from Rukia?"

Seiraryu's blue eyes sparkled mischievously as she took another sip of her morning tea. "Kia-chan is fine. How was your trip to your favorite bordello last night?"

"You tell me," he replied simply, before opening his paper once again. He wasn't even bothering to read any of the articles at this point; he was simply putting a distraction between him and his sister. "Have you been putting that woman's tricks to use to follow me often?"

Seiraryu laughed, her perfect white teeth flashing on her face as she reached across the table to place a hand on her brother's morning reading. She wasn't disappointed as he lowered the paper again, a frown on his refined face. "Yoruichi-senpai has a name, Bya-bya-kun," she teased playfully as she watched him fold the paper before discarding it beside his own cup of tea. He simply gave her a flat look before calmly taking a sip of his own tea. "Now, no games, brother of mine. You know what happens when the two of us start a game of chess—it goes on for decades."

"Did you meet our young guest last night?" he asked, expertly dodging the unasked question in Seiraryu's voice. "I sent Abarai back out last night to search for a receiving tea house for her. Did he report back in yet?"

Settling back on her cushion, Seiraryu continued to smile winningly at her brother. "Yes, he was rather flustered. And I do believe he had several nosebleeds last night. Please tell me you didn't give him a list of bordellos to visit, rather than proper tea houses, or even a geisha house?"

Byakuya simply arched a delicate eyebrow at her as he sipped at his tea.

"I thought I had finally convinced you that Renji is a rather good fellow," Seiraryu chuckled softly. "Yet you have gone back to toying with him. Is it that you know something you do not wish to say aloud?"

Calmly, Byakuya set down his tea cup on a small saucer in front of him. His eyes never left Seiraryu's as he gently pushed the saucer towards her, and she obligingly refilled his cup. "How was the mission I left for you and Abarai to deal with?"

"A resounding success," Seiraryu replied immediately. She was still smiling, but Byakuya could see the sudden dullness in her eyes. From what he knew of the mission, something had gone down that deeply bothered her sister. He was sure it had something to do with her failing to apprehend the rogue Shinigami that had gone berserk in the Fiftieth District of Rukongai alive. But something more important had gone down, and he was sure it was something quite inappropriate of her position. "I left the completed report on your desk last week. Did you not read it?"

"I did," he admitted. "There seemed to be a lack of detail uncharacteristic of your reports."

"Tell me, Byakuya," she drawled lazily and leaned across the table, propping her chin on both of her open hands as she did. "Do you really wish to know what happened, or to simply have your suspicions confirmed?"

He let out a huge sigh before leaning across the table himself. "We have had this talk before, Seiraryu."

"And I remind you again of our beloved Hisana's status when you brought her back to this house," Seiraryu purred smoothly. "And consequently, of Kia-chan's roots. If you are allowed to rock the boat of the nobility, brother, I do believe I am, too."

Scowling, Byakuya sat back on his cushion and pretended to busy himself with his tea again. "You've been 'rocking the boat' since we were born." He ignored the slight twinkle in Seiraryu's eyes that clearly announced that she had won this particular match of wits as she sat back herself. "Did Abarai find a place?" he asked finally, after he had emptied his cup once again.

"Of course not, you great oaf," Seiraryu replied. "You sent him to whore houses, and did you not wish to spare your precious geisha of that fate? I doubt she would do our house much honor in the employ of one of those facilities. I sent him to ask Lady Misha if she had need of a geisha."

"Lady Misha?" Byakuya's blue eyes met his sister's, and he felt his hackles rise warily. The old mistress in charge of one of the most renowned tea houses in the Twelfth District of Rukongai was notorious for her geisha's skills and professionalism. She had also taught Seiraryu many unrespectable skills that no proper noble should have. It was a place he would have assumed out of reach for Shione's current skill and experience level.

"Fukada-chan has a lot of potential," Seiraryu replied and rested her cheek back on one of her delicate hands. Her blue-eyed gaze slipped from Byakuya to wander out the wide open door of their shared tea room, where she could look out on the sprawling Japanese garden outside. "You should have seen her try to mimic my walk last night. It was rather endearing. Are you sure we can not keep her?"

"She is a geisha, Seiraryu," he murmured in response, and followed her gaze. He was mildly surprised to see that she was watching a maid servant guide the geisha in question through the further reaches of the garden, where Shione was unabashedly sticking her bare feet in one of Byakuya's prized koi ponds. He let out a huge sigh when he saw her.

"Ah, yes, another stray dog from Rukongai," Seiraryu smiled sadly. "We seem to attract them, do we not? Too bad that our kennels are so full. I haven't a clue how my ladies managed to find a spare room for her—"

"Enough, Seiraryu," Byakuya frowned and turned back to his tea cup. He was absently aware of his sister's teasing smile and the cocky glint to her eyes as she looked back at him.

"Lord and Lady Kuchiki!"

Byakuya almost spilled his tea as he abruptly set it back down on its saucer. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused on calming his breathing as he listened to Shione's bare feet pad up the short set of stairs leading from the garden. To his dismay, Seiraryu greeted her cheerfully and gestured to an empty cushion at their breakfast table. A servant immediately rushed forward to set another place for Shione, before bowing to her to sit.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well, Fukada-chan?" Seiraryu purred as she watched the dainty little geisha elegantly sit down on her cushion. The young woman had cleaned up remarkably well, she was glad to see, and was clad in a clean, modest salmon-colored kimono with a red obi.

"Yes, thank you so much for your hospitality," Shione couldn't help smiling back at Byakuya's sister. She waited patiently as she offered Seiraryu her tea cup, and bowed over it as Seiraryu filled it for her. "And you, Lady Kuchiki?"

Seiraryu let out an exasperated sigh as her smile finally faded. "I'm afraid not. Mine brother had me up late running errands. Poor Renji and I didn't make it to bed till the wee hours of the morning."

Byakuya scowled at his sister as she gave him a wicked grin. "Lady Kuchiki may have found you an appropriate geisha house," he spoke slowly as he gave his sister a cold blue-eyed look. She only smiled smugly before gesturing to the servant that stood by the doorway. The man disappeared into the connecting hallway for a moment, before reappearing with a tray of breakfast pastries.

"So quickly, Lord Kuchiki?" Shione's black eyes were wide in innocence as she looked up at him, her tea cup raised half way to her full lips. "I must admit, that is rather surprising. It took my old mistress two months to find a buyer for my contract."

"Lucky for us that House Kuchiki has many connections," he rumbled before closing his eyes and feigning disinterest in his unwelcome breakfast companion. He failed miserably, though, as Shione let out a surprised gasp when the manservant placed the try of pastries on the table before them.

He didn't even bother trying to hide his frown as his sister chatted easily with the amateur geisha as the two shamelessly started eating, not even bothering to wait for Byakuya to take the first bite. He simply sat in silence as he picked at one of his favorite pastries—a swirled bun iced with a cinnamon glaze that the house chefs had picked up from a western dish in the living world. It would be his luck, he thought as he scowled at a bit of icing marring Shione's pink lips, that he would end up aiding a geisha that was just as ornery as his twin sister.

Seiraryu was actually one of the first OCs I made for my Bleach fanfics. I'm thinking I'll start posting a Renji x Seiraryu fic that I have scrawled in one of my notebooks one of these days, after I edit the crap out of it and what not. Her personality has changed radically from the first story about them to what I have in this fic, lol, along with her relationship with Byakuya and her place in the Kuchiki Clan. I'll have to fiddle around with it.

Thank you for all your feedback on the last chapter! I'm glad that it went over so well. =) I hope this one is just as much of a success!