Work Text:
The sounds of birds chirping brought a relaxing harmony to the already beautiful afternoon at the citadel.
On their usual stoop with tea in hand sat a small group of men, former swords made flesh, Ookanehira, newcomer to the citadel, and long time residents and professional tea drinkers Mikazuki Munechika, Kogitsunemaru and Uguisumaru.
They sat in total silence, Ookanehira feeling more awkward than at peace but he felt too awkward to leave.
Adjacent to them, high up by a couple of levels was the floor occupied by the citadel's Master. Classified as a homebody by the likes of Hasabe and unreadable of mind according to Kashuu Kiyomitsu, she was truly considered a mystery especially when she would venture out of her quarters to socialise with her sword warriors.
Kogitsunemaru’s ears twitched upon the pitter patter of the Saniwa's sandals as she made it down the remaining descent of stairs. His companion, Munechika, nicknamed ‘Moonie’ by the Saniwa, had also taken notice of her sudden presence.
They could tell she was in a mood again, her unreadable neutral expression masked what was on her mind. Silent, her kimono fluttering gently behind her, she approached the group without a greeting, stopping at Munechika, her fingers combing through the blue strands of his hair, revealing his forehead beneath his fringe.
“Huh? G-general?!” Ookanehira was the first to acknowledge her but Uguisumaru gestured for him to not do such a thing.
Meanwhile, her fingers fiddled with the yellow headband he often wore, untying the knot and slipping it out and off of his head only to reposition it on his head, tying the ends beneath Munechika’s jaw, the sword warrior seemed pleased with her handiwork.
Utterly confused as to what this was, Ookanehira stared in disbelief and he seemed to be the only one of the four to be surprised by what she was doing.
It was Kogitsunemaru’s turn, his long, soft hair being the object of her attention as well. She undid the yellow ribbon he often kept in his hair, apparently not doing anything for him, so she had to fix that.
“Saniwa life is full of stresses and tribulations, they need to exert their frustrations in some form” is all Munechika could explain. What he said seemed to be true as she hummed contently to herself whilst her fingers fiddled with the kitsune man’s long white strands.
Kogitsunemaru went back to drinking his tea allowing his Saniwa to find her respite in him if she needed to so badly plus it did feel awfully wonderful to have his hair played with.
A sigh told him she was done and his hair was now in one long plait with his yellow ribbon tying it together at the end.
She then approached Uguisumaru and tied two small pony tails where his hair ended, receiving a nod of approval from the usually quiet sword warrior.
Ookanehira braced himself to be next but she simply walked away from the group and onto her next victim.
“She must have remembered you're new, our general is truly so kind to us, she's always putting her best efforts for the citadel, sacrificing some of our time for her enjoyment is worth it, don’t you think?” Munechika answers whatever questions just popped into the red haired’s mind.
“But what's with doing that? I don't get it, won't just tea or taking a nap do the trick?” Ookanehira asked, trying to not get distracted by Munechika’s new look.
It was Kogitsunemaru who would answer him next, “I can understand from one cunning soul to another, it simply encourages her to be happy and aids in relaxing in a healthy way”.
Not quite sure if he liked the answers he got, Ookanehira still had concerns but brushed them off and entrusting the older warriors words.
Their Saniwa's mood venturing would continue