Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU.

Lessons

Nanao gripped the long sleeves of her kimono. She was not happy, but she wasn't about to let anyone see that. The princess had not been happy about the banishment of the Royal Champion, but she had consoled herself with her lessons with the other Shinigami Knights. They weren't Sir Kyoraku, but they went out of their way to keep her life as normal as possible without her champion.

That was changing today. The Shinigami Knights had been banned from setting foot on the palace grounds without special permission from the crown, and that wasn't likely to happen any time soon. And she was no longer allowed contact with any of them. There had been a rift between the Knights and her father for as long as she could remember, but his new advisors had widened it since Sir Kyoraku's exile. Which was odd since his main advisor, Sir Sosuke Aizen had once been a Shinigami Knight himself.

The fact that the Knights would no longer be her teachers was why she was here today trying to keep her temper. The council had suggested and her father had agreed that they should hire someone to teach Nanao the accomplishments of a lady. Nanao had the feeling that these weren't going to be skills that she would be needing when she took the throne, and her teacher was most likely to be a spy for the council. Still, she knew the value of being underestimated, and she'd put up with this for now.

"Please forgive my lateness, your highness. My household had an emergency that delayed me."

Nanao blinked. This was not the teacher she expected at all. The woman could hardly be more than three or four years older than Nanao's thirteen. Red-gold hair tucked in a neat chignon surmounted beautiful face with warm silver-blue eyes. Her dark blue kimono was easily more elaborate than Nanao's own, and her smile was warm.

"I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, your highness. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine."

Rangiku tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "They haven't told you anything about me or my credentials, have they, Princess? You have no idea what you are being thrust in to."

The young woman rose to her feet. "Let's take a walk around the gardens, your highness. I have some things to tell you."

Nanao nodded and bit her lip. Sir Kyoraku had taken her for a walk in the gardens on their first meeting. Rangiku waited until they were in the center of the water garden and clearly well away from anyone else before speaking.

"The first thing you should know is that I'm not nobility. I was born as common as dirt, and most people do not even know my name is Rangiku. They know me only as Lady Kiku. I am a geisha. I am paid to entertain my clients as if I was a noble." Rangiku grinned. "I was chosen to teach you in part because in many ways my skills and manners must be better than an actual noble's."

"What were the other reasons you were chosen."

Rangiku beamed. "You are much sharper than they think, Princess. The other reasons I was chosen are the fact that while I am one of the highest ranked geisha in the country, I am also one of the youngest geisha, and therefore, they think I will be easy to manipulate. That and I was recommended by someone who they think they can trust."

Nanao was silent. Her new teacher had just admitted that she had been hired by people who intended to manipulate them both.

"A geisha sells art. We are musicians and hostesses. We entertain, but that's not all we do. Because we provide an atmosphere of peace and serenity, we have to know how to read a situation and observe human behavior. We wear a mask much of the time in public." Rangiku met Nanao's eyes. "Those are all skills you can use. Neither I nor this country needs a puppet on the throne. We will need a queen."

This was unexpected. Nanao considered her options. Rangiku was right; the skills she could teach Nanao would help her. But there was also a chance that this was simply another court intrigue designed to entrap her. She probably shouldn't trust Rangiku. Except that her instincts told her to do exactly that, and Sir Kyoraku had always advised her to trust her instincts.

"If you are willing to teach me, Lady Matsumoto, I am willing to learn."

Nodding, Rangiku smiled. "Good."

Nanao smiled back tentatively. Only time would tell if she was making the right decision, but she wasn't about to let the Royal Council control the rest of her life, and to do that she would need to learn as much as she could.