A/N: I'm not Japanese, so take the language and the customs described in these fics with a grain of salt. Standard disclaimers apply.
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In a house of status, maid servants are bought from established chuukai houses (A/N: sort of like an agency) that traffic and train girls from the Rukongai; senior girls are hand-picked by the shitsuji and the mistress; and the shitsuji themselves, they are bred. The shitsuji of a royal house knows all that there is to know about anything and everything that may or may not come to pass, sometimes (make that most of the time) even more than a young master. It can't be helped, really. It's OK for a master to break the rules once in a while. Not so, unfortunately, for a good old shitsuji.
Don't get me wrong, though. I'm rather fond of the system, actually. When you spend a couple hundred years watching the back of your shitsuji of a father, and another couple hundred being one yourself, the loopholes become you. Besides, someone has to be optimistic about all this crap. And if you expect Byakuya to, then you can shoot me.
I digress, of course. It is now – let's see – about a month since I was demanded to "keep that girl close by," I kid you not. Dare I say who made the demand? Must I say which girl? Right. So then, on with the story.
The odd pair of Princess and servant of the Shihouin House just arrived by air, and what remains of the God-knows-what is debating whether to keep burning or to drown instead (its owner has promptly kicked it into the pond upon not landing with the winged rice bowl), the poor soul.
We (that is, Hisana and I – sigh.) turn around a corner and catch sight of Rinka, carrying a tray of tea cups and snacks.
"Rinka-kun. Do we have guests?" As in real guests? Someone should remind Byakuya that tea rooms don't exist solely for old farts from the Branch Houses. There's Kaien occasionally, I guess, whose visits are always great fun, because no doubt his sister would be trailing him. I've never been to the Shiba or Shihouin training grounds, but I imagine that they look exactly like our garden. What poor design.
"Yes; Yoruichi-dono is with Byakuya-sama right now."
"Ara, is Yoruichi-ojou-sama having tea with Byakuya-sama?" Are you trying to tell me that giant rice bowls have always grown wings and flew?
Rinka has served in the House since before I took over from my father; long enough to see the absurdity. She smiles a cute smile. "It appears so."
So that's why she's bringing tea, a senior girl like her. It would be interesting to see Byakuya's face right now. It's too bad she won't get to see it.
"Hisana-kun, I want you to bring the tea instead. Rinka-kun, get a palanquin ready for Yoruichi-ojou-sama." This is going to be easier than I thought.
The girls exchange the tray obediently; if Rinka is surprised, she doesn't let it show. Rinka is like one of those sweet chickadee things that never grow out of the first image of their "mama", be it my father, her position in the House, or flying rice bowls. Quite a troublesome naïveté, I'm afraid, but predictable enough to be of use. She is a servant, and servants are to follow orders; therefore she does not question my placement of palanquin and Shihouin in the same sentence. Nor, for that matter, my ordering of a newcomer to bring tea for a respected guest. She knows better.
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The Shihouin Princess is ready to leave in no time at all; she walks towards the waiting palanquin holding, all dear and friendly, the hand of a pink-cheeked and slightly– amused?– Hisana. From the maniacal giggle of her reiatsu (I don't know how else you'd put it) and the flare of Byakuya's, I know my little maneuver was picked up and that tonight is going to be one hell of a tough night to get through.
Before entering the palanquin Yoruichi glanced at me and smiled her wicked smile.
"So, Byakuya's shitsuji-san, eh? No worse, yet no better than what they say."
I bow and see to her leave. Soi Fong and Hisana follow closely behind her palanquin. Right back at ya, Yoruichi, who won't for the life of her pass on any opportunity to tease Byakuya. You'd think she's in love with him or something.
Oh shit, I forgot to ask her. I do hope she plans to retrieve her vehicle some time in the near future; at this rate our pond will be leveled with her garbage.