Title: Sound of the Tide
Chapter: 4/?
Rating: PG-13!
Warnings: Umm. I don't think I even used a single curse word in this chapter. O_o
Pairings: Byakuya x OC, Renji x OC
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: Here's your long awaited update! I suppose it's more of a character development chapter, with a bit of plot revelation.

Lady Misha let out a resigned sigh as she shifted where she sat on her plush floor pillow. While she was weary of the long days of classes that she had been over seeing for the past few weeks, her keen eyes still took in all in her domain. She could see each of the young geisha-in-training that had either come to her for tutelage, or were forced into the art by their families. They were women of varying ages—the youngest a girl with no more than seventy-two years under her belt, and a handsome housewife well into her four-hundredth decade. But one of them in specific caught her eye. "Hunch back!" she barked out abruptly.

Only a few of the girls jumped in surprise, most of them had acclimated to Lady Misha's occasional short staccato out bursts by now. The one in question, though, simply let out a huge sigh and turned to Lady Misha in resignation. "Yes, Misha sensei?" Fukada Shione mumbled while the other girls continued with the dance pattern they were practicing.

Lady Misha snapped her iron lady's fan closed, and as she rose she tucked it into the secure fit of her obi. She simply crooked a finger at the young girl that the Kuchiki House was sponsoring, and turned and left the room. She didn't wait to see if the girl followed or not—she knew she would. None of them dared defy her, lest they end up kicked out on their tufts in the street outside.

Shione let out another sigh as she followed the elder woman obediently, her posture sloppy and her feet dragging. She had been at Lady Misha's for well over two weeks now and still hadn't warmed up to the whole thing. Why had she spent so many years training as a geisha, after all, if she was just to end up back in a training house? Lady Misha had thrown her into the beginner's classes along with all the new, untrained talent that recently came to her. And it had become readily apparent within the first day that Shione held more talent than all of them combined.

As far as she was concerned, she was already a geisha.

But still she woke sharply every day at five in the morning to go about her morning chores at the women's house. She ate breakfast with the other boarders in the communal kitchen by six, and was washed and ready for the day's training by seven. Day after day she followed the same routine—if a bit resigned. The only reason she was still here, she kept telling herself, was because she was dead set on doing the Kuchiki House proud.

So why, then, was it that Lady Misha always seemed to pick on her? No matter how hard Shione tried to display how adept she was at the simple novice talents that Lady Misha asked of her, she was never good enough for the woman. No matter how perfect her walk, how beautiful the haiku, or moving the song, she simply could not impress the bitter old bat.

So, Shione glared shamelessly at the back of Lady Misha's head as she followed the woman down the hall and in to an adjacent room. This one was much smaller and typically used to practice tea ceremonies—not the intricate dances that she had been performing next door.

Silently, Shione turned to close the door behind them as Lady Misha flapped a hand at her over her shoulder. When she turned back around, Lady Misha was unceremoniously pushing the tea tables against one wall, and throwing the sea cushions on top of them. "Lady Misha…?" Shione inquired curiously as she watched the woman finish up by shoving an antique tea set into a cabinet.

"You will disgrace Lord Kuchiki and his sister at this rate," Lady Misha huffed irritably, without an ounce of consideration for Shione's feelings. "For one that has proclaimed herself an already accomplished geisha, you are incredibly lacking."

Pride thoroughly wounded, Shione drew herself up taller as she tried to muster all the arrogance she possessed. She opened her small, full lips to protest, only to have Lady Misha flap another dismissive hand at her.

"I have said it before, Hunch Back," Lady Misha continued, using her favorite nickname for the thin girl that Kuchiki Seiraryu had dumped on her doorstep two weeks ago. "You may be a talented geisha in the district you came from, but here you are simply at an apprentice's level. If you ever wish to entertain the noble families, which undoubtedly Lord Kuchiki wishes and expects of you, then you must work harder!"

"But Lady Misha, I have been trying my hardest—"

"Like hell you have," Lady Misha snapped as she finally turned on her heel to confront the petite geisha-in-training. Her small beady black eyes were on fire as she stormed up to the girl, her perfectly plucked and painted eyebrows furrowed in a scowl. "If you continue to act as if being here is an insult, then you can get out of my house right this minute."

The two women stared at each other for a tense moment, before Shione finally broke eye contact and looked down to her dainty little feet. She blushed profusely, before bowing her head in submission. "My apologies, Lady Misha."

Lady Misha sniffed disdainfully and gave Shione was once-over, before turning and gliding elegantly into the center of the room. "Now," she purred, no longer the gruff and demanding woman that had threatened Shione only mere moments ago, but a rotund geisha—a master of her art. "A geisha must know how to walk before she can dance," she said, her voice soft and whispery. Her feet were silent on the tatami mat floor as she started to walk to the other side of the room. Shione watched her, completely stunned and awed at the woman's natural grace.

She was better than Lady Kuchiki.

Lady Misha paused at the other end of the room, before she underwent the transformation back into the no-bullshit woman that Shione knew her to be. Turning gruffly on her heel, Lady Misha scowled and crossed her arms over her generous chest. "Now, show me."

Breathing in deeply, Shione drew herself up tall and put her hands up the opposing sleeves of her kimono. She watched Lady Misha as she stepped forward, her mind focused entirely on moving her body in the way that would best result in the perfect geisha walk. She felt as if she were walking on clouds, she moved so fluidly. Her hips rolled perfectly, her foot steps were soft and silent, and her gait was even and sure. When she finally stopped in front of Lady Misha, she smiled smugly at the woman, and waited.

Lady Misha simply grabbed her fan from her obi, and whacked Shione soundly on the head. "Again!" she barked as Shione shrank away and rubbed at her offended scalp. "You are too tense! You look as if you're walking with a stick shoved up that tiny ass of yours!"

Frowning, Shione turned and walked the length of the room again, and back. She earned another sound swat on her head. "What am I doing wrong!" she barked impatiently, her hands curled into fists at her side.

"You are trying too hard," Lady Misha huffed, earning a stunned and appalled look from Shione. Sighing, Lady Misha turned Shione around again. "Walk normally, as you would on the streets."

Scowling the entire time, Shione walked the room again. When she returned to Lady Misha, she simply gave the woman a flat stare. "You told me to try harder," she muttered under her breath.

Lady Misha flapped a hand at her. "You try to mimic my walk, or Lady Kuchiki's. Every woman has a different walk, Fukada. When you try to walk as I do, you simply look unnatural. Uptight. Your body does not flow fluidly as it should."

Shione was still staring at her emotionlessly.

"When you walk the room again as you naturally do, focus on the way your entire body moves, from your arms, to your back, to your thighs and feet. Feel how natural it is to you and then think of how you can make it as fluid as water flowing in a brook," Lady Misha instructed her, and turned the young girl around to walk again.

Sighing, Shione walked across the room again. This time, she focused on being aware of herself rather than forcing her body to move in ways it did not normally do. Slowly, as she neared the opposite side of the room, she realized exactly what Lady Misha meant. Lady Kuchiki was elegant and walked like a great, graceful tigress on the hunt. Lady Misha was sure and confident, like the slow and inevitable advance of a wildfire. Shione was…different.

"Now, when you come back, walk as a geisha."

Shione turned slowly, her face still focused as she mulled over Lady Misha's ideas. The woman wanted Shione to be fluid—to let her body flow naturally. She slipped easily into a comfortable posture; she wasn't uptight and arrogant, she wasn't standing at her tallest, but she was comfortable and her posture was perfect. Her shoulders were back, her chest proud, and her first step was soft and sure. She walked across the floor back to Lady Misha, still thinking as she did.

Lady Misha surprised her out of her thoughts with a short round of applause. "Much better, Hunch Back," the older woman grinned wickedly, before walking to the door of the tea room. "Now practice the rest of the afternoon. After dinner, you may have a free night to do as you wish."

And with that, Lady Misha left Shione alone in the small tea room. Face hot and flustered, Shione simply stared at the open door for a moment before she managed to shake herself back to reality. Blushing, she smoothed out her kimono and looked around herself.

Well, hell, maybe she did have a thing or two to learn.

XXXX

Abarai Renji was blushing profusely where he sat, uptight and rigid on a plush cushion in Captain Kuchiki's office at the Sixth Squad's headquarters. His large hands were sweaty and fisted tightly on his lap as he tried to pretend that he was okay—that he wasn't extremely disturbed. But dear gods was he.

"I think we need to order more uniforms," Captain Kuchiki drawled from beside Renji as he leaned across him to grab a scroll.

Renji swallowed audibly. His captain's side was flush against his where the two men sat, and reaching across the table didn't help. Mustering himself, Renji turned slowly to stare at the man beside him. "I really hate it when you do this."

Captain Kuchiki paused mid-reach to look at Renji, his blue eyes wide in momentary puzzlement. Then as if he had remembered something obvious, he nodded in understanding. "I forget sometimes," he pouted, bottom lip jutting out uncharacteristically.

"See, that right there," Renji muttered and pointed an accusing finger at Byakuya's mouth. "That's what I'm talking about."

Sighing, Kuchiki Byakuya stood up abruptly and crossed the room to the rice paper door that was all that stood between the privacy of his office and the other officers of his squad. He pulled it open, and spoke to the guard that stood outside it, "Abarai and I are going over mission reports, if anyone asks. We are not to be disturbed, and you are to stand guard at the end of the hall."

The guard saluted him obediently before turning and obeying Byakuya's orders, leaving the cool and calm captain of the Sixth to close the door and lock it securely. With a coy grin on his face, Byakuya turned and leaned back against the door jam. "Better?" he purred in a distinctly feminine voice.

Renji was still looking at him with a flat expression, his whole body tense. "No."

Still grinning, Byakuya pushed off the door and glided towards Renji in a very feminine manner—his hips rolling seductively, his arms swinging lazily at his sides. As he walked, his entire body began to change, starting with his sharp face. His chin rounded slightly, his cheeks jaw growing slender and delicate even as his entire body lost the bulk of thick muscles. Renji struggled not to avert his eyes as his captain's kimono filled out with an impressive set of breasts that showed enough cleavage to give Matsumoto a run for her money. "I could get in trouble for this, you know," Kuchiki Seiraryu drawled as she paused by Renji's side, swaying ever so slightly on her small feet as she looked down at him.

"I doubt it," Renji replied gruffly, still slightly disturbed. It was never easy for him to watch his captain—ice cold and rock steady Kuchiki Byakuya—slowly morph to become his wily and seductive twin sister. Especially after Seiraryu had a lapse in her disguise and acted so casually around Renji.

Laughing softly, Seiraryu elegantly sank onto the cushion beside Renji. She watched him coyly out the corner of her eyes as she settled in, scooting just close enough to him that their hips touched. Renji swallowed another knot in his throat as she redirected her attention back onto the piles of paper that were spread on the desk in front of them. "I was thinking we need at least thirty for the armory. What do you think?"

"I'm not thinking about the stupid uniforms," Renji was scowling now, his lips set into a thin line as Seiraryu turned back to look at him. Her clear blue eyes were sparkling mischievously as she gave him an innocent look. "I thought you were done playing Byakuya?"

Rolling her eyes, Seiraryu leaned towards Renji to place a soft kiss on the tip of his nose. "Mine brother said the same thing only a few weeks ago."

"Well," Renji huffed, his blush redoubling as he tried to busy his hands with a sheaf of paper. "It's just you went through all that crap to get your independence, and you're still dressing up as him and taking a hefty load of his responsibilities."

Seiraryu's smile faded from her full lips as she let out a weary sigh, her body sagging against Renji's side. He jumped in surprise and looked down at her, before slowly lifting an arm for her to tuck herself against his side. He hesitantly slung his arm around her slender shoulders as he waited for her to finish thinking.

Finally, she grabbed his other hand in hers and started to idly toy with his callused fingers. "Byakuya and all the house elders expect me to take my proper place," she murmured quietly and pressed one of her slender hands against his, palm to palm. She smiled slightly as she looked at his tan skin against her pale skin, his long fingers topping hers by an entire joint. "They want me back in those silly kimonos, with all sorts of junk in my hair while I hold court or do lady things. They want me to get married, you know."

At that, Renji fidgeted uncomfortably. He tried to pass it off as him simply trying to find a better position for him to hold her lithe body, but he didn't fool her. She jabbed him in the leg with a manicured finger nail.

"I don't want to get married, Renji," she said purposefully, her blue eyes meeting his in a meaningful look. "At least, not some arranged marriage to some prissy noble three times older than me, and not for the reasons the elders expect of me."

Renji nodded silently, grimly, before he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"You know I hate lady things," she muttered and settled back against him. "All they want me to do is sit around looking pretty while I embroider a pillow or something. They just want me to have a political marriage and pop out babies as soon as I can. I don't want any of that."

"So you'll settle for Byakuya's life, is that it?" Renji finally spoke up, his voice firm and strong.

"No," she was quick to answer as she sat up, turning to face him. Her jaw worked soundlessly as she struggled to find the right words—something Renji knew to be a rarity. Because as much as Seiraryu preached about hating the politics and duties of being a noblewoman, he knew she always enjoyed a good challenging game to play at. She was one of the most eloquent people he had ever met. To see her speechless spoke of how important and disarrayed her thoughts were. "Mine brother needs me," she finally answered, her hands smoothing out Renji's kimono. "Before, I played as him because I was forced to by our father. Now, I do it because I want to. I want to help mine brother. And I want something more to look forward in my days than throwing tea parties and making pillow cushions. I need…something more than just you and Byakuya."

They were both silent for a moment, Seiraryu's big blue eyes wide and begging for Renji to understand. He watched her for a moment as he thought, before he cupped her cheek with one of his big hands. "I get it," he murmured as she turned her face into his touch, her eyes closing as she smiled. "I'm just not sure if this is the right way."

She nodded slightly. "I just need to get Bya-bya-kun back on his feet, Renji," she whispered. "Then I can figure out my own life."

Renji grunted grumpily, his body leaning in to hers to tease her lips with his. "Has he been drinking again?"

"You have no idea," Seiraryu was breathless as Renji wrapped his arms around her, before their lips met in a sultry kiss.

Hmm drinking? Ruh roh.

I've been working on the fic I wrote eons ago about Renji and Seiraryu meeting, and have debated how to incorporate it. I'm torn between just putting in flash backs, or posting an entirely different story altogether. The good news is that if I do, it's pretty much complete and just needs revisions for the changes I made in "Sound of the Tide", so it would get put up pretty quickly and probably be a finished work.

Any thoughts or suggestions? You know how I love the feedback.