Post by Samantha the Lesbian on Mar 27, 2009 20:04:42 GMT -8
Prologue
A Dreamy Introduction
It was cold, freezing, actually, and justly so, due to the fact that it was the middle of December, right around the time when the snow lays thick on the trees and ground, but the lakes and rivers haven’t frozen yet, and all this under a cloudy, steel grey sky.
“Kara……”
The voice, soft, yet care-worn, drifted across the bleak, white landscape and reached the ears of the person in question just before the person turned her head, causing the orange-red hair which cascaded down the back of the aforementioned person, much like a waterfall, to fan out as she turned her head towards her companion, revealing an inquisitive pair of eyes which were a strange mix of icy-blue and lavender.
“Yeah? Whaddaya want Ai?” Kara, as she had been identified, questioned, as she coolly regarded the other girl.
A moment later, her completely nonchalant, devil-may-care look evaporated from her face, to be replaced by a look of utter horror, for when her companion had moved to dismount from the large, mossy rock on which she was standing, Ai’s bare feet lost their grip on the surface of the rock. A second, however Kara could have sworn it was an hour, later Ai was sent head long into the icy not-yet-frozen waters of the rushing river, her pale blond hair streaming out behind her, and her light green eyes wide with shock, and the beginnings of fear.
The splash echoed only for a moment, before being swallowed, along with Kara’s shrill scream, by the absolute and unnatural silence. Kara then quickly sprang up from the rock on which she had been sitting and rushed over to the river, not even noticing the biting cold of the snow on the soles of her bare feet, nor the frozen wind that tugged at her faded, dirty gray homespun kimono, which had once been Ai’s, as she plunged into the river.
Kara didn’t even feel the shocking, numbing cold that had begun to take over her body the moment she had entered the river, as she fought the current, her fear and panic completely over-riding all her commonsense, as she struggled to save Ai. Through some miraculous stroke of luck, she swore she had been blessed by Kami in that instant; Kara managed to pull Ai out of the river and fight cold just long enough to try and find out if Ai was still breathing.
As exhaustion took its turn ruling her body, Kara thought she could hear someone calling her name, and it got nearer and nearer until………
Chapter One
Tea is Spilled, and Encounters Occur
“KARA, WAKE UP! If you don’t get up now we’ll be late, and then Megumi-sama will beat us for sure!
Kara's bleary eyes snapped open to gaze up at the girl who had so roughly shaken her. A dream….? It must have been, or else the one waking her up would have been oneesan. Kara angrily shoved that thought away, not wanting to think anything that would have to do with her, it being both to painful and very infuriating at the same time, as she sat up and gazed intently at the other occupant of her bed for a moment.
The other girl was kneeling on the bed, already dressed, with her golden eyes boring holes into Kara. Her black hair, which was pulled up into a simple bun, making her already nearly-paper-white skin seem even paler. The girl’s name was Suzume, but everyone just wither called her Suzu or Me, and she had been working at the okia where Kara was now for two years already, and had already had one year of geisha lessons.
“I’m comin’, Me-chan! Lay off!” Kara muttereded, her speech muffled due to the fact that she was still sleepy. She then got up and shoved Suzume off her bed—which was a cot on the floor—as she picked up her dark blue work kimono and maroon obi and began to get dressed, with Suzume to help her with tying her obi.
Unbeknownst to Kara, however, Suzume was thinking up a way to get Kara back for the shove, and smirked slightly, as she shoved her best friend good-naturedly, once she had finished tying the obi, which sent the ungainly girl tumbling through the open door to her room, arms flailing, and right into Ki Ling, a cruel and unfriendly, yet very pretty geisha who lived at the same okiya as Kara and Suzume.
The aforementioned ten-year-old stifled a gasp, as she realized what she had done, and quickly slipped out another door that led to Kara’s room, not wanting to be caught in the mess that was sure to ensue.
Unfortunately for Kara, however, Ki had been holding a cup of steaming hot tea, and as Kara collided with the woman, the contents of which had slopped down Ki’s silk kimono, and over the bare flesh of the woman’s arm.
“Why you little bitch!” Ki snarled, before she backhanded Kara into the wall, and Kara slid down said wall to lay curled up in pain beside the shattered remains of the tea cup which had fallen out of Ki’s hand.
Just as Ki lifted Kara up by the neck of her kimono to continue the beating, a cold, clear voice ordered, “Ling-san, put the girl down, now.”
“Fong,” Ki hissed, as she threw Kara to the floor, where the girl landed with a thud and a whimper of pain. As Ki whipped around to face the other woman her dark, rust-colored hair gleamed in the slanted sunlight coming in from the open windows, and her mahogany-brown eyes flashed furiously, as she glared at the woman she hated.
“Don’t talk as if you can order me to do anything Soi Fong!” Ki growled.
Soi Fong was the head geisha of the okiya, and with her deep, midnight blue eyes and long blue-black hair, it was plain to see why. Soi Fong gave credit where and when it was due, said candidly when she was impressed, and wouldn’t hesitate to bluntly tell you what wasn’t up to her standards, and how to fix it. And, when needed, she could be as cold and harsh as a river in winter.
“Leave, Ling-san.” Soi ordered, and although her tone became frosty, her manners remained polite, and her face impassive.
Cruel and hateful though Ki was, she wasn’t stupid, and she knew better than to pick a fight with Soi when the aforementioned woman was mad. With a sniff for Kara and a glare for Soi, Ki sauntered away, her nose in the air. Once the other woman was gone, Soi knelt down next to Kara.
“Are you alright? Tell me your name.” Soi inquired, as she gently touched the red bruise forming on the side of Kara’s face.
“My name is Kara, Fong-sama.” She murmured, jerking her head away from Soi’s hand, as she scrambled up. Once she had hastily bowed to the geisha, Kara ran after Suzume, leaving a bewildered Soi behind.
* * *
“Do you have any idea what your little joke caused, Me-chan?!?” Kara demanded, as she and Suzume walked down the streets of Kyoto, each holding a package that they had been told to deliver since one of the older maids was sick.
“I’m almost positive Fong-sama will never speak to me again, and it’s your fault.” She snapped, when Suzume offered no response other than an eye-roll.
The pair soon made it to their first destination; the flower shop. After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, Kara and Suzume left, however Suzume disappeared soon after, yelling over her shoulder that Kara could find her way back to the okiya. Kara sighed, thinking, ‘Thanks a lot Me-chan…..’ as she made her way to her appointed destination.
Even if she could find her way to where she was going, there was no way in hell Kara could find her way back to the okiya by herself, which was why she had ended up wandering around almost aimlessly. Unfortunately for Kara, she had somehow found herself in the pleasure district, although she didn’t know that at the time. The thing that happened next was the one thing Kara had wished would never happen again; she came face-to-face with the man her parents had sold her to, due to the fact that they needed money to pay for Ai to see a doctor. His name was Nasho Katanabe, and Kara hated him with every fiber of her being. She shoved herself past him, but could clearly hear him yell after her, “Your sister’s dead! Ya got sold for nothin’!” and then he let out the laugh that had haunted her dreams for the past year.
Hours later, Kara could be seen sitting under the awning of a tea house, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, trying to keep warm in her soaking wet kimono, as the rain poured from the dark grey sky. She sighed, in a depressed and melancholic way, as she looked out at the grey streets, when a shadow fell over her, causing her to look up into a pair of midnight blue eyes.
Even in the royal blue kimono and slightly gaudy gold obi which she wore in place of her usual fawn colored kimono and cream colored obi, Kara had no trouble recognizing Soi Fong. She hoped that the serene and beautiful geisha didn’t hate her for the mess she had caused, or for running away without so much as a word. The young girl was to be surprised, however, by Soi’s next words.
“Come, Kara-chan. I’ll take you back to the okiya.” Soi said matter-of-factly, as she opened her red parasol and stepped out into the rain, motioning Kara to follow her.
“Y-Yes, Fong-sama!” Kara stuttered, as she ran to catch up with the older woman.
“Quit calling me ‘Fong-sama’, it’s too formal, just call me Soi or something like that.” Soi admonished, remembering with a secret smile a woman with soft, amber eyes who had said almost the same thing to her, many years, which seemed a lifetime, and a heart-break, yet only some years, ago.
“Th-that’s too absurd!” Kara cried, alarmed. She was silenced by Soi’s slightly sad look, even though Kara didn’t know why Soi would look like that at her, nor did she know why just a look from Soi could make her shut her mouth without a moment’s thought to the contrary, but she did it anyway.
“Alright, Soi-sama.” She murmrued, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
Soi smiled down at Kara, as if to say, ‘Now, that wasn’t so hard was it?’ before she moved closer to the girl, so that Kara would be shielded from the rain. Even if they were uncomfortable now, Kara and Soi had no idea how good of friends they would become.
Chapter Two
A Friend is Lost, and a Friend is Gained
The next two years, although they passed quite quickly, were some of the happiest times in Kara’s life; because she was still a child, carefree and naïve to the evils of the world. Suzume, on the other hand, being four years older and a bit more mature than her young roommate, had been carefully laying plans to escape. She had been collecting many things she could sell, gradually stealing bigger and bigger things, which was everything from hair pins, to rings, to the occasional kimono, and soon she would have sold enough things to get the money she needed to get back to her home town, Kagoshima. One morning, as the day of her departure was drawing near, Kara caught on, which made Suzume wonder; would this be her undoing, or something else entirely?
* * *
The sun, however intrusive to the sleep of the young red-head, was her cue to waken and begin her morning chores. Kara’s ice-blue eyes opened blurrily, as she rolled over and yawned, before sitting up and stretching. Something quite out of the ordinary caught the ten-year-old’s eye, as she turned her head towards Suzume’s bed place.
The older girl’s bed roll was propped against the wall, but what caught Kara’s attention was not the fact that her friend and roommate was up and already gone at this hour. No, what interested Kara was the slightly up-lifted floorboard, which, if it had always been there, she had never seen before. Kara pushed back her blanket and, shivering as her bare feet touched the floor, made her way over to it, curiosity getting the better of her.
‘What the hell?’ Kara asked herself, as she pried the floorboard up. A quickly stifled gasp escaped the young girl, when she saw just what was under the floor board, which made her remember a conversation she had had with Soi-sama just the other day…..
Flash Back
“No, Kara-chan, I keep telling you, call me ‘Soi-sama’.” Soi admonished the girl kindly, after Kara had slipped up and called her ‘Fong-sama’ yet again. A murmured, “Yes ma’am,” and a blush from Kara were Soi’s only answer, which caused the geisha to lift an eye-brow in question, however she said nothing more on the subject. She then resumed her search for a favorite kimono of hers, which was strangely absent. “Oh, where is it?” the woman muttered to herself in exasperation, due to the fact that she had been looking all morning for the kimono.
“What is is, Soi-sama?” Kara questioned cautiously, having gotten yelled at by Ki Ling for ‘asking stupid questions’ one too many times already.
“It’s nothing you need concern yourself with dear. I just seem to have misplaced one of my kimonos, that’s all.” Soi replied, upon seeing the concern in Kara’s expression, as she waved her hand dismissively.
“If you say so, Soi-sama.” Kara said, bowing once she set down the full tea tray she had been carrying, before silently slipping out of the room, leaving Soi to attend her own business.
End Flash Back
“Kara! What are you DOING?!”
The sharp, almost panicked voice of Suzume brought Kara back to the present, as she whipped around to see the fourteen-year-old standing in the doorway, an expression that was a mix of shock and fear on her face. Shock, because of the fact that Kara had found her hiding place, and fear of what Kara might do now that she had found it. What happened next surprised them both, or, it surprised Suzume at least; Kara got up, replaced the floorboard, pounded it back into place with her foot, and then came over to the black haired teen. Before she exited the room, she stopped in the doorway beside Suzume. Kara said this;
“Take me with you, Me-chan.”
* * *
“Take me with you, Me-chan.”
The request – no, the demand – reached Suzume moments after it left Kara’s lips, and so startled was the fourteen-year-old, that she nearly spluttered a response, however she marshaled her emotions before they could get the better of her. After fixing her features into an emotionless mask, she turned to the girl who stood beside her, taking a moment to regard her friend. Kara’s wild orange-red hair tumbled haphazardly down her shoulders – from sleep, the taller girl assumed - her icy blue eyes filled with a determination rarely seen there, and her face set in what could almost be called defiance.
Inwardly, she vaguely noted how pretty Kara had become, but then she berated herself; how could she think like that about a girl, no less a girl who was, almost, like a sister to her?! Outwardly, however, she simply smirked, leaning casually against the door frame as she spoke.
“What gave you that hare-brained idea? I’m not going anywhere moyashi-chan.” Suzume teased, commenting on Kara's shortness while dismissing her demand.
“Don’t play dumb, Me-chan! I saw the kimono, and I know its Soi-sama’s!” Kara snapped, her eyes burning with an icy flame.
“I didn’t take it!” Suzume maintained, then questioned, “Why would I do a stupid thing like that, anyways?” waving her hand dismissively, which only served to make Kara more mad.
“Well, who else could it have been? I doubt Soi-sama would steal her own kimono, and I didn’t do it.” Kara replied acidly, glaring at the older girl.
Kara’s questions were valid, seeing as she and Suzume were the maids assigned to Soi’s rooms, but Suzume wouldn’t give in. No, she had worked far too long and far too hard, gathering things she could sell for food or money to be stopped now, when she was so close to achieving her goal. Suzume would do anything to get her freedom - which was what she had dreamed of since being sold to this okiya - even if it meant hurting Kara, she would do whatever it took to be free of this gilded cage she lived in.
A sigh escaped Suzume, as a plan formed in her mind, and the fight seemed to drain out of her.
“Okay, you can come with me,” Suzume began, but she was cut off by Kara saying, “THANK YOU!” and hugging her tightly.
“On one condition,” Suzume continued, once Kara had let go, which allowed her to breathe again, “You can’t tell ANYONE. You got that? NO ONE,” She said, her voice and face stern, but inside she was grinning like the cat that just ate the canary, as her plan began to come together.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone Me-chan, no, I swear it!” was Kara’s enthusiastic reply. Suzume inwardly smirked at how gullible Kara was, while outwardly she smiled warmly at the younger girl.
“Good. I’ll let you know when we’re going to leave. In the meantime, you just pretend you don’t know a thing about the things that go missing, alright Kara-chan?” Suzume said, her voice coated in honey.
Upon receiving another enthusiastic nod from Kara, Suzume’s smile nearly turned into a smirk, but she kept it at bay. Oh her plan was coming together nicely, very nicely indeed.
* * *
As weeks passed, Kara began to wonder, was she doing the right thing by keeping Suzume’s secret? But, Suzume would take her with her, and they wouldn’t be here anymore, to answer for the stolen items – but what then? Something wasn’t right, Kara could feel it, but she didn’t know what. Every night, as she went to sleep, Kara would think of the lies she had told, the times she had shied away from the truth for the sake of keeping Suzume’s secret, or how many times she had to stop herself from saying something wrong. Eventually, Kara began to feel that when she was around Suzume, she couldn’t think for herself, and she realized that if they didn’t leave soon, she would slip, and everything would be over. Only this thought comforted her: if they went down, at least Suzume would still be her friend. Or so she hoped. Perhaps what Kara feared was a premonition of some kind, because that is just what happened.
* * *
One day, when Soi had invited Kara and a reluctant Suzume to have tea with her. As she and Kara were talking, and waiting for Suzume to bring the three of them tea, the conversation turn to Soi’s kimono, which was still missing. “Um, Soi-sama,” Kara began, trying to keep from saying something she shouldn’t, but the words just seemed to have a mind of their own, “I t-think I know where your kimono is.” She finally stuttered out, and then everything just came tumbling out in a flood of emotions, and no matter how Kara tried, the dam would no-longer hold.
Soi said nothing, as the young girl rambled on, her expression blank from years of training in keeping her emotions from showing.
Eventually however, the geisha lifted a hand to stop Kara’s words in their tracks, allowing silence to reign over the room for a time. Before Soi could say a word, however, a loud crash outside the partially opened rice-paper sliding door alerted them to Suzume’s presence. A choked out, “How dare you?!” was all Suzume could grind out between her clenched teeth, as she glared at Kara, before running off down the hall, amid the shouts of the older servants and other geisha.
And all Kara could do, was sit there stunned, as she listened to her world crash, burn and cave in around her.
* * *
Each time Kara cried out in pain, as the bamboo stick struck her back, she silently cursed Suzume. The small seed of doubt she had been carrying in her heart since she found the kimono, was growing and becoming rage quicker than she could think, a rage that would soon cool into pure and simple hatred, an emotion Kara had never before known. Perhaps, a small part of her mind reasoned, if she was just as good as possible, she wouldn’t get beaten again? No, another part reasoned, the only servants who were never beaten were the girls who were at least mid-way through their geisha training, so why should she, a lowly stupid maid, not get beaten? So, Kara kept her emotions to herself as best she could. She didn’t want what had happened when Suzume left to happen again.
One day, however, when Soi invited her for tea, – though why the older woman still did was beyond her – Kara was unusually silent, and after much prodding from Soi, Kara finally snapped. She began yelling at Soi, shouting things she would never have even dreamed of saying to the geisha before what happened with Suzume.
“How can you know what I feel and why do you even care?! I’m just some bratty maid to you, aren’t I? No one cares about me, no one ever did! The only one who cared besides me was Suzume, and now she’s gone, so what am I supposed to do huh, ‘cause if no one else cares, why should I care either?!” Kara screamed, un-shed tears burning her eyes.
Eventually, Soi shot something back, her tone frosty, her voice harsh, and her demeanor cold, something Kara never thought she would hear from her.
“You’re not the only one who lost someone, Kara! I’ve dealt with the loss of someone very close to me for many years now, and in the beginning, I did the same thing you’re doing; I shouted, I screamed, and I cried, but the world didn’t care, it just kept on going, and life continued, and soon I realized that I only had two choices left. I could either live in my grief for the rest of my life, or prove to the world that I could beat this; that I was stronger than what had happened. And now you have the very same choice I had. What will you do, Kara?! Will you wallow in your sadness and end up dying because of one measly obstacle, or will you rise up and beat the odds, proving that you are so much stronger than this?!”
Soi then took a deep breath in through her nose, her eyes closed, as she composed herself. She then slowly breathed out through her mouth, and then opened her eyes once more, before saying, “Choose Kara, because if you don’t, the world will choose for you. And I can guarantee you won’t like the results of that,” before turning, and with a sweep of the long trailing sleeve of her kimono, Soi Fong was gone, leaving Kara to sit there stunned, for the second time in two months.
* * *
A soft, almost hesitant knock on the door to her room awakened Soi at some time in the middle of the night three days after her spat with Kara. She hadn’t seen the young girl since, and was beginning to worry. Upon hearing the knock, Soi rose from her bed, lighting a candle so that she would have at least some light to see by, and then opened the door, not caring at this moment that her hair hung loose from its two tight braids, and the two large, thick gold rings which she used to keep the braids together were hidden in a place only she knew of This allowed her long blue-black hair to cascade down her back and over shoulders.
What she saw upon opening the door - or rather what happened upon opening the door – startled Soi so much that she almost cried out, but she swallowed the cry as soon as she realized what had happened. Kara had her arms wrapped about Soi’s waist, and was crying quietly, and only the words “sorry” , “forgive” and “were right” were intelligible, most probably due to the fact that the girl’s sobbing made it hard to speak.
“Shh, Kara-chan, it’s alright,” Soi soothed, as she drew the girl into her room, shut the door, and sat on one of the many pillows strewn about the room at random, so that she could speak to Kara more comfortably. Once she was seated, Soi disentangled Kara’s arms from about her waist, and dried the girl’s tears with the sleeve of her robe. “Now, can you tell me why you’re so upset?” Soi questioned, her voice soothing, such a contrast to the last time she had heard it, that Kara thought for a moment that she was dreaming, but a discrete pinch to her leg confirmed that, no, she was not dreaming, and efficiently tossed that idea out the window.
“Soi-sama,” Kara began, but paused as she hiccoughed, “I’m sorry I was so,” another pause for another hiccough, “stupid and immature the last time we saw each other,” a hiccough, “and I hope you can forgive me for it. I realized that,” again a hiccough, “you were right, about everything. I’m not going to let this beat me, I’m going to prove that I’m stronger than this!” and with that, Kara hiccoughed again, but it wouldn’t stop after just one. Finally, it stopped, and when Kara mumbled an apology, she heard Soi say, “I like you,” which caused Kara to look up in alarm, but when she saw the Cheshire grin on Soi’s face, she smiled a bit too. She was surprised by what Soi said next, but shrugged it off, hoping for an explanation.
“Did it work? Did I scare them out of you? I hope it worked,” Soi said, mirth evident in her voice. Upon seeing the puzzled look on Kara’s face, she explained. “A person who was once very close to me, and still remains very dear to my heart, would do that whenever that happened to me.”
“Um, Soi-sama,” Kara began tentatively, after a moment of silence, and was prompted to continue by Soi’s nod, “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this on my own. C-could you please help me?” she requested shyly, a blush coloring her cheeks.
“Of course, Kara-chan, little raven. I’ll help you as much as I can.” Soi promised, smiling at Kara. And as Kara smiled back, she felt as if Suzume were back, because this was how they had been before all this began, but she knew that Suzume would never be back, and that thought saddened her. But Kara knew also that she didn’t face this alone, and that her new friend, Soi Fong, the beautiful and imposing, yet kind and gentle geisha, would be by her side every step of the way, helping and guiding her, just like the older sister she was destined to become.
Chapter Three
Training Begins and a Name Changes
As another year passed, Kara’s pain did become easier to bear, but that didn’t mean she had stopped missing the girl who had been her first and only friend – that is, until Kara met Soi Fong. Soi had helped the young girl very much in the aftermath of Suzume’s untimely departure, and she was beginning to see the makings of someone great in the young red-head. She was responsible, for her age, a tad bold, but respectful -- sometimes maddeningly so. She was subtly eager to please, just as Soi herself had been. But no, that had been part of a different life.
Soi shook her head slightly, and blinked slowly, as she came back from her memories and musings – musings of a certain girl, and memories of a happy time. Soi was currently waiting to see the woman who ran and owned the okiya she lived in – the woman’s name was Nina, and she came from a land far, far to the west, even farther west than the most western reaches of China. The geisha was brought out of her musings once more, but this time by one of the maids who often acted a secretary to Nina.
“She will see you now, Fong-san,” the maid, who was a girl of sixteen, but not of geisha material, said, as she bowed to Soi and left the room. ‘It’s about time!’ Soi thought, irate at being left to wait all morning. Upon entering the room, Soi sat back on her calves, her feet tucked under the hem of her kimono, her hands folded demurely in her lap, and her head up-lifted just a tad. The room was devoid of furnishings, the colors of the walls and floor drab, so that Soi’s eyes came to rest on Nina Tenou.
Upon first meeting, it was quite easy to tell that Nina was of foreign blood, due to the fact that her hair – held back in two long, tight braids, which were wrapped in a bun at the back of her head – was of spun gold, darkened to a honey brown due to spending so much time indoors. Her eyes were a deep shade of green, and her skin was a creamy peach. She was clothed in a simple dark blue kimono, but the color was where it ceased to be simple, as it was made from the most expensive silk money could buy.
“Don’t sit there gawking, Soi Fong. It doesn’t become a geisha such as yourself,” Nina said complacently, her voice thick with the accent of her home land, but regal and commanding all the same.
“Forgive me, Tenou-sama, I should not have stared so,” Soi apologized, looking down at her hands, chastened.
“Never mind that, Soi Fong, I believe you had a request?” Nina asked, seemingly unconcerned by what had just transpired between herself and the geisha.
“Yes, I did Tenou-sama. I would like to take Kara under my wing and teach her what it means to be a geisha. I would also like to be made her older sister, even though I am not so by blood,” Soi posed, fully aware that it was up to Nina to decide if Kara would ever become a geisha at all. A musing sound came from the blond woman, as she turned the request over in her mind, contemplating critically how this could impact the okiya, and herself. After a few moments, Nina gave her answer, however it was not what Soi Fong was expecting.
“What if something like what happened to you happens to Kara? Can you do what Yoru....” Nina was cut-off by Soi,
“You may be my mistress, but don’t you dare say that name! I would never let what happened to me happen to Kara, I am not her,” Soi snapped, color high in her cheeks, which was the same as her rage, hot and bright. Hot and bright though it may have been, her rage as also quick to cool, as the color slowly receded, and Soi said, “Forgive me, Tenou-sama, my oneesan is still a sore subject for me.”
“No, I apologize, Soi Fong. I should not have rubbed salt in a still festering wound,” was Nina’s demure response. Then she said, “Alright, you may train Kara, and become her oneesan, but,” she held up a hand, to stop Soi from saying anything till she was finished, “should I have even the smallest bit of reason to believe that you will do to Kara what your oneesan did to you, it’s over.”
The foreign woman’s voice was now cold, and left no room for argument, to which Soi could only reply to thus, “You won’t hear a thing about that, Tenou-sama. I thank you for agreeing to my request.” And then, when she was dismissed, the refined geisha bowed in gratitude, and quickly left her mistress’s presence.
* * *
“So, you’re serious, Soi-sama?” Kara was stunned, the cup of tea she held in her hands completely forgotten due to what Soi had just said. A nod and a grin were Soi’s only answers, but that was enough for Kara. She placed the cup down (once she remembered it’s presence), and moved around the table to hug Soi in gratitude, a sunny smile on her face.
“Thank you so much Soi-sama! Suzume would sometimes tell me about the training she went through. Is it painful, Soi-sama?” Kara questioned once more, her face full of an innocent curiosity, which made Soi laugh slightly.
“It really depends how much pain you can handle. Having your hair combed with hot wax isn’t very fun, but if you can think of something besides the pain, you might be able to not cry. Although, I cried, the first time,” Soi admitted, an ever-so-slight blush coloring her cheek bones. She then coughed slightly, before saying, “You can let me go now, Kara-chan,” and with that, Kara jumped back a bit, her face red as a tomato, which caused Soi to laugh outright this time, and soon after Kara’s soft giggle joined the sound.
Yes, it had been an interesting year, full of ups, downs, crying, laughing, accidents, apologies, and just the ever-growing camaraderie between Soi and Kara. But the woman always found herself thinking back to a time when, before she had become the refined, stately geisha she was today, she had shared much the same moments with her oneesan. Kara’s voice would always then beak through Soi’s veil of thought with some innocent question or quip that the woman’s pride wouldn’t let go unanswered without a comment of her own aimed right back at the giggling girl.
Sometimes, at night, Soi found herself staring out at the full moon, especially when the cherry blossom trees were in bloom, and she would wonder, ‘Where are you, oneesama, and why did you do this to me?’
* * *
As the New Year festival – Shougatsu -- came around again, Kara began the first stage of her training – shikomi. Even though it was late for this to begin, Soi said, “So long as we can train you right in five years, it won’t really matter when you started.” Kara, however, wasn’t so sure, mostly due to the fact that she was two years older than the other girls at the geisha school she attended, which caused some embarrassment on her part. But Soi was unyielding in her viewpoint and often said to Kara, “You have what it takes, and I won’t let talent such as yours simply go to waste because you feel a bit embarrassed!”
Before she knew it, four New Year’s had passed, and, due to as much help from Soi as she could get, and her own diligent practice, Kara was proficient, in playing the shamisen – an instrument sort of like a three-stringed guitar, a shakuhachi – a bamboo flute -- in flower arranging, wearing kimono, in leading, a tea ceremony, calligraphy, hostessing, and dancing. However, Soi said that they would try to keep her from dancing as much as possible, due to the fact that she was still a tad clumsy. Once the fifth New Year had passed, Kara entered the stage of training that is known as ‘minarai’, when an apprentice is relieved of her housekeeping duties, and sent with the geisha who will be her oneesan into the field. While minarai attend ozashiki – banquets where the guests are attended to by geisha – they do not participate on an advanced level. Kara soon learned what was expected of her; that she simply sit quietly and watch Soi’s every move like a hawk, because skills such as conversation and gaming could only be absorbed through observance. (The only thing, Kara suspected, that her ‘mother’, Tenou-sama, cared about was that she could charge 1/3 of Soi’s fee for Kara.) Although the minarai stage normally lasted only about a month, Soi insisted Kara spend two months, since she had started two years after most apprentice geisha. Kara felt overly odd in the gaudy, bright kimonos Soi insisted she wear, and tugged relentlessly at the hem every now and then. But a quick, sharp glare from Soi would halt her movements. At long last, after what seemed like an eternity, Kara was informed by Soi that she was now ready for the maiko stage of her training. And that, with all that becoming a maiko would entail, sacred Kara half to death.
* * *
“You’ll be changing your name soon, Kara-chan,”
Upon hearing these words fall from her mentor’s lips, Kara choked on the tea she was drinking. Had she not come such a long way from being the gangly, clumsy eleven-year-old she once was, the tea would have spurted out her mouth. However she caught herself at the last second, and forced herself to swallow the liquid before speaking.
“I’ll have to what?!” Kara spluttered, however then quickly remembered herself and added, “Soi-sama,” hoping she had not offended the older woman. To Kara’s surprise, Soi let out a short, light laugh, before she said, amusement sparkling in her eyes, “I said the exact same thing to my oneesan when she told me that I would have to change my name. But, I wasn’t quite so vocal about it.”
Then she leaned in close, as if she was going to tell Kara a secret, and whispered, “Do you want to know what my name was before I had to change it?” All Kara could do was nod dumbly, and hope that Soi wasn’t playing a joke on her. “My name was Suifeng. Even though I don’t quite look it, I’m not pure Japanese, because my mother was from China, but you can’t tell anyone that, okay Kara-chan?” Soi looked so much like a schoolgirl telling her friend whom she had a crush on, that Kara almost laughed out loud – almost. But she didn’t and simply nodded, though inwardly she was laughing quite hard.
After a few moments of silence, Kara asked, “Soi-sama, what will my new name be?” “Hmm….I’m not sure. But maybe you could choose, if you like,” Soi offered. Upon hearing Kara’s gasp of surprise, Soi added, “My oneesan let me choose my name, so I think it’s only fair, if not traditional, for you to do the same,” And with that, the matter was closed.
* * *
Kara was to be bonded to Soi as her younger sister at a small, out-of-the-way shrine on a beautiful wooded hill, but Kara was too nervous to really look at the scenery. Perhaps, if she had been less nervous, Kara might have felt comfortable here, seeing as it was much like her place of birth. But since she had to keep her concentration on not tripping over the hem of her kimono, not stepping on one of her floor-length sleeves, while not falling onto her face in the absurd wooden shoes she had to wear, it was probably just as well. Soi walked beside her calm and cool as always, not seeming to notice the distress of her sister-to-be.
“Ugh, why me?! Is this punishment for something?!” Kara wondered aloud, as she nearly tripped for the sixth time, walking up the stairs alone. Her only answer was from Soi, and it was one the fifteen-year-old red-head didn’t like. “It’s part of your training, Kara-chan, so don’t complain so much,” Soi half snapped, irritated that Kara was being wimpy about this. If Kara wouldn’t even walk up the stairs of a shrine dressed as she was, how as she going to handle the hairdressing?! But then Soi chastised herself; remembering herself as a girl about Kara’s age, saying just the same thing to her oneesan, if not in the same situation.
Kara eventually did make it up the stairs, luckily without damage to the kimono or injury to herself. She and Soi seated themselves before the priest who would bind them as sisters. Soi had warned Kara beforehand about the sake they had to drink, however Kara wasn’t so sure she could keep her head, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as the ceremony began. She watched Soi carefully, out of the corner of her eye, as the older woman took the small cup of sake placed before her and drank three sips from it, before replacing it on the tray. Kara then found a cup before her as well, and hesitantly did as Soi had done, grimacing only slightly as the alcohol burned her throat. This procedure was repeated three times over, and then they were bonded as sisters. Before they could leave, however, the priest wished to know what Kara had chosen as her geisha name. She replied, “My name is Umi, sensei.”
On the way back down the stairs, Soi did not walk beside Kara – now Umi – as she had done before, but she took one of Umi’s wrists in hand and placed that arm around her neck, and then wrapped her other arm about Umi’s waist, so she could help the slightly intoxicated girl down the steps without harm coming to Umi or the kimono she wore. Once they were in the carriage that would return them to the okiya, Umi said, “Sorry I’m so much trouble, Soi-sama.” but Soi simply said, “Umi-chan, call me oneesan from now on. Alright?” Umi’s answer was a soft, “Okay, oneesan,” and then she felt Umi’s head nestled onto her shoulder. When Soi looked over at the girl, she smiled softly, Umi’s expression was placid. Soi let out a soft chuckle, and murmured, “Wherever you are oneesan, do you know that there is a little girl - so much like myself - that is now in the same position we found ourselves so many long years ago, when you first became my oneesan? And do you know that I would never do to her what you did to me? Perhaps you do, perhaps you don’t, but I stopped caring a long time ago – or so I tell myself. Deep in my heart, I know that if you came to me, explained why you did what you did, and gave me a good enough reason why I should, I would forgive everything that happened? Or maybe I’m just a sentimental fool – but then again, so were you, eh, oneesan.” And with that, she gently eased her arm from under Umi’s head, placed the girl’s head on her lap, lifted the girl’s feet so that she could lie stretched out, and stroked Umi’s long, fire-like hair, lost in her own musings and memories.
Chapter Four
Umi Realizes and Soi Reminisces
“Oneesan?” Umi called, as she knocked on the door to Soi’s room. “Are you awake? We have my appointment with the hairdresser today.” It had been a month since Kara had changed her name to Umi, and she and Soi had slipped into their roles of younger and older sister almost seamlessly.
When she received no response, Umi sighed, rolled her eyes, and opened the door. It wasn’t like Soi to oversleep, but when she did, it was a pain in the rear to get her out of bed. Umi would know, since she had spent the last seven years as Soi’s maid.
Upon opening the door, Umi didn’t find Soi sprawled languidly on her bed, as she expected, but an immaculately made bed, and no sign of her older sister at all. What interested Umi, now that her original task was null-and-void, was the sketch book lying ever-so-innocently on the bed. Interested, and just slightly mischievous, Umi closed the door softly, crossed to the bed, picked up the sketch book, and began leafing through it at random. All the drawings it contained were quite beautiful, but one in particular caught her eye.
The drawing was of a tall – or so Umi assumed – willowy woman, who sat stroking a cat on her lap. She was wearing a simple – by geisha standards anyways – kimono which was embroidered with cherry blossoms and her obi was embroidered with what appeared to be a lucky cat. Her hair was long and dark, held in a high, horse-like tail, tied by a thick band of cloth with a string around it. Her eyes were alight with what might be called a melancholy happiness, as if she was both happy and sad at the same time. Her smile was eerily similar to that of the black cat who sat in her lap. At the bottom of the page these words were written in Soi’s neat handwriting: ‘Yoruichi Shihouin-sama, my oneesan’.
The color drained from Umi’s face, and her hands began shaking ever so slightly. She felt an indefinable emotion grip her heart in its teeth, felt a fire run through her veins, and the thought of, ‘Why didn’t Soi-sama ever tell me about her oneesan?’ bounced off the walls of her mind. She had no clue where it, nor the emotion it accompanied, had come from.
The sketch book fell out of Umi’s trembling hands, and lay forgotten on Soi’s bed as the young maiko fled the room. Only one thought registered in her numb brain. She needed to find Soi, and question her about the woman in the sketch – Yoruichi Shihouin. Umi tore through the okiya, shoving young girls out of her way as she did so, focused solely on her objective. As she ran through the streets, one thought was clear in her suddenly turbulent mind: ‘I’ve got to find oneesan, I’ve got too!’
* * *
Sunlight streamed in through the open window, allowing the light to create a pool on the rug which Soi sat upon. She was amusing herself with the kittens of the two cats her oneesan, Yoruichi, had been so fond of. Soi had always wondered why Yoruichi-sama loved to play with these cats so much. Now however, as she watched the two male kittens harassing their younger sister, she couldn’t help but understand why. She chuckled softly to herself, one of her hands almost absentmindedly stroking the eldest kitten, a gray female. These kittens, in their single-minded innocence, made Soi feel at peace when she was troubled by anything. They made her feel remorseful if she was being too prideful, or too hard on Umi, and they could make her feel happier, should she feel sad.
She continued to absentmindedly stroke the kitten, allowing her mind to wander into a world of half-consciousness and memories – for the first time since it had happened. Soi allowed her mind to drift back to a time before she had become the severe, yet fair, and serene, yet purposeful geisha she was today, back to a time when she was just as innocent as Umi had been when they first met, back to the day she first laid eyes on Yoruichi Shihouin – the woman who would be both her sister, and the reason for her pain, which lingered to this day. It was almost as if she were watching a Kabuki production of her life, she mused, becoming lost in her memories.
Flash Back……….
Soi (or Suifeng, as her name had been) was eight years old when she first met Yoruichi, and although she had seen the geisha a few times before, meeting her personally was a different experience altogether. Yoruichi was tall, - she had a willowy build – and her hair, which was pitch black (however if the sun hit it just right, it looked to be a deep purple), was held up in a high pony-tail, while her eyes were a color that could only be described as liquid amber. It seemed to young Soi that this woman had to be a Goddess of some sort, perhaps of cats? But no, that was laughable on its own, but when put into context with Yoruichi-sama, it was down-right shameful to even think it.
Contrary to how she behaved around other people, when she was with Soi, Yoruichi was more laid-back, much less…..severe, perhaps? Soi couldn’t quite identify how Yoruichi changed when it was just the two of them. But what the young girl did know, was that Yoruichi acted different when it was just them. For instance, Yoruichi laughed more freely and fully, she grinned her cat-like grin more often, and she seemed generally happier when she was with Soi. Perhaps it was because Yoruichi felt less pressured to be prim and proper all the time, but Soi wouldn’t ask if this was the case. By the time Soi even began to contemplate asking, it was too late.
And then little Soi was ten, and working as Yoruichi’s maid, while going to the geisha school. Then she was eleven, and found out that Yoruichi would be her sister as soon as she entered the maiko stage of her training. Next she was twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, as she trained to be a geisha, her duties as a maid lessened, and she and Yoruichi became closer than ever. And finally she was fifteen, her name changed from Suifeng to Soi Fong, and she was bonded to Yoruichi as her younger sister.
Her debut happened soon after that, and she and Yoruichi became even closer. They continued to grow closer until finally Soi realized that she had fallen in love with the beautiful cat-like woman. The reaction Soi received was not the one of repulsion she expected, but she was gathered into Yoruichi’s arms, and accepted as she was.
They were happy together for a year, even to the point of Yoruichi promising that they would be together forever. However that promise would not – could not – be kept, no matter how much both women wished it could be. Soi’s world was soon to be shattered by a betrayal - not that she knew it, though.
Now, Soi had known of a samurai who had been lavishing Yoruichi with his unwanted attentions, but she had not known that this samurai was making negotiations with the head of the okiya, who was Tenou-sama's predecessor. Another thing that Soi had not known, was that Yoruichi had no choice in the matter. Things went smoothly for awhile; it seemed that the samurai had backed off for a time, and then the inevitable happened.
The evening before Soi’s world came crashing down around her, life had been normal. She had spent all her time between dinner and going to sleep at the teahouse with Yoruichi. When they returned to the okiya, they had bid each other good-night with a hug, and then they each went to their separate rooms. The night was normal as well, but when Soi went to wake up her morning-challenged oneesan, she found the room empty and bare. Horror had flooded Soi’s entire being at that sight, and when she demanded to know what had happened, she received a response that made her blood run cold.
“She left; she went and picked a samurai over you. Face it, you’ve been abandoned by your own sister,”
End Flash Back……
Those words had rung in Soi’s mind for the next year, which caused her shell-shocked state to become anger. However when that hot, fiery, short-lived emotion faded, Soi was able to think clearly about the situation, and thus she simply fell into a state of numb acceptance. Yoruichi-sama had left her behind, and there was nothing she could have done, or do about it, her mind reasoned, and so she lived her life. Or, that is, until she met a clumsy, eight-year-old red-head, and she felt the ice around her heart begin to melt once more.
* * *
Umi ran blindly through the streets, until she remembered Soi saying something about a friend who owned one of the shops where silk was sold, and so she figured she would check there. Once she arrived, it took the shopkeeper to remember who she was, and then he told her that she could find Soi in the back room with the kittens. Even though she was so set on finding her sister, Umi allowed herself a small smile at the thought of those adorable little balls of fur, and she felt slightly fuzzy and warm inside.
Upon entering the back room, where every kind of silk imaginable was stacked against the walls, Umi found Soi. The older woman as sitting on the rug in the center of the room, stroking one of the kittens while she stared off into space, her normally rigid posture gone slack with inattentiveness. The sound of Umi’s footsteps didn’t even bring Soi out of her trance-like state, but Umi placing her hand on the geisha’s shoulder did. Soi's spine straightened, as her head whipped around, her eyes blazing, as she aglared at Umi, however the glare lessened when she realized who it was.
Umi was in shock for a moment; not even when she was misbehaving during her first stages of training had Soi’s glare been that sharp, nor had it ever been so frightening to the red-haired girl. She breathed an inward sigh of relief when the glare lessened, and then she said, her voice quite so as to not anger the geisha further, “Oneesan, I have something to ask you about,”
However, before Umi could continue, or even get the words out completely, Soi let the kitten jump off her lap, stood up, and said, “We have an appointment with the hairdresser, and Kimijika-san does not like to be kept waiting,” leaving no room for Umi to say anything, as she strode out of the room. Umi blinked, and muttered, “Well excuse me for caring oneesan,” to herself, before she followed Soi, thinking that she would ask about Yoruichi later.
* * *
In the end though, Umi never did work up the nerve to ask about the woman in the sketch, Yoruichi Shihouin. But she found herself comparing everything she did to that woman. She would wonder before and after she did something, if Yoruichi would have done that in this situation, or if she would have done something different, or if she wouldn’t have even been in this situation at all. And so, she was slowly being filled with emotions she had never before experienced.
Umi though, naïve as she was, asked Soi what the name for feeling like you wanted something someone else had was. The geisha said that it was usually called envy, and sometimes jealousy, and so Umi discovered what she was feeling, but then she asked herself, ‘Why am I jealous of this Yoruichi Shihouin woman?’ Umi tried and tried, but she could come up with no answer. Then, when her debut was merely a month away, she became quite introverted. She looked deeper into her own soul than she ever had before to try and find the reasons for what she was feeling. The answer she found sent her reeling in shock: “I love my oneesan,” she gasped. For the next few days, not even Soi could rouse the young geisha-in-training from her room.
A Dreamy Introduction
It was cold, freezing, actually, and justly so, due to the fact that it was the middle of December, right around the time when the snow lays thick on the trees and ground, but the lakes and rivers haven’t frozen yet, and all this under a cloudy, steel grey sky.
“Kara……”
The voice, soft, yet care-worn, drifted across the bleak, white landscape and reached the ears of the person in question just before the person turned her head, causing the orange-red hair which cascaded down the back of the aforementioned person, much like a waterfall, to fan out as she turned her head towards her companion, revealing an inquisitive pair of eyes which were a strange mix of icy-blue and lavender.
“Yeah? Whaddaya want Ai?” Kara, as she had been identified, questioned, as she coolly regarded the other girl.
A moment later, her completely nonchalant, devil-may-care look evaporated from her face, to be replaced by a look of utter horror, for when her companion had moved to dismount from the large, mossy rock on which she was standing, Ai’s bare feet lost their grip on the surface of the rock. A second, however Kara could have sworn it was an hour, later Ai was sent head long into the icy not-yet-frozen waters of the rushing river, her pale blond hair streaming out behind her, and her light green eyes wide with shock, and the beginnings of fear.
The splash echoed only for a moment, before being swallowed, along with Kara’s shrill scream, by the absolute and unnatural silence. Kara then quickly sprang up from the rock on which she had been sitting and rushed over to the river, not even noticing the biting cold of the snow on the soles of her bare feet, nor the frozen wind that tugged at her faded, dirty gray homespun kimono, which had once been Ai’s, as she plunged into the river.
Kara didn’t even feel the shocking, numbing cold that had begun to take over her body the moment she had entered the river, as she fought the current, her fear and panic completely over-riding all her commonsense, as she struggled to save Ai. Through some miraculous stroke of luck, she swore she had been blessed by Kami in that instant; Kara managed to pull Ai out of the river and fight cold just long enough to try and find out if Ai was still breathing.
As exhaustion took its turn ruling her body, Kara thought she could hear someone calling her name, and it got nearer and nearer until………
Chapter One
Tea is Spilled, and Encounters Occur
“KARA, WAKE UP! If you don’t get up now we’ll be late, and then Megumi-sama will beat us for sure!
Kara's bleary eyes snapped open to gaze up at the girl who had so roughly shaken her. A dream….? It must have been, or else the one waking her up would have been oneesan. Kara angrily shoved that thought away, not wanting to think anything that would have to do with her, it being both to painful and very infuriating at the same time, as she sat up and gazed intently at the other occupant of her bed for a moment.
The other girl was kneeling on the bed, already dressed, with her golden eyes boring holes into Kara. Her black hair, which was pulled up into a simple bun, making her already nearly-paper-white skin seem even paler. The girl’s name was Suzume, but everyone just wither called her Suzu or Me, and she had been working at the okia where Kara was now for two years already, and had already had one year of geisha lessons.
“I’m comin’, Me-chan! Lay off!” Kara muttereded, her speech muffled due to the fact that she was still sleepy. She then got up and shoved Suzume off her bed—which was a cot on the floor—as she picked up her dark blue work kimono and maroon obi and began to get dressed, with Suzume to help her with tying her obi.
Unbeknownst to Kara, however, Suzume was thinking up a way to get Kara back for the shove, and smirked slightly, as she shoved her best friend good-naturedly, once she had finished tying the obi, which sent the ungainly girl tumbling through the open door to her room, arms flailing, and right into Ki Ling, a cruel and unfriendly, yet very pretty geisha who lived at the same okiya as Kara and Suzume.
The aforementioned ten-year-old stifled a gasp, as she realized what she had done, and quickly slipped out another door that led to Kara’s room, not wanting to be caught in the mess that was sure to ensue.
Unfortunately for Kara, however, Ki had been holding a cup of steaming hot tea, and as Kara collided with the woman, the contents of which had slopped down Ki’s silk kimono, and over the bare flesh of the woman’s arm.
“Why you little bitch!” Ki snarled, before she backhanded Kara into the wall, and Kara slid down said wall to lay curled up in pain beside the shattered remains of the tea cup which had fallen out of Ki’s hand.
Just as Ki lifted Kara up by the neck of her kimono to continue the beating, a cold, clear voice ordered, “Ling-san, put the girl down, now.”
“Fong,” Ki hissed, as she threw Kara to the floor, where the girl landed with a thud and a whimper of pain. As Ki whipped around to face the other woman her dark, rust-colored hair gleamed in the slanted sunlight coming in from the open windows, and her mahogany-brown eyes flashed furiously, as she glared at the woman she hated.
“Don’t talk as if you can order me to do anything Soi Fong!” Ki growled.
Soi Fong was the head geisha of the okiya, and with her deep, midnight blue eyes and long blue-black hair, it was plain to see why. Soi Fong gave credit where and when it was due, said candidly when she was impressed, and wouldn’t hesitate to bluntly tell you what wasn’t up to her standards, and how to fix it. And, when needed, she could be as cold and harsh as a river in winter.
“Leave, Ling-san.” Soi ordered, and although her tone became frosty, her manners remained polite, and her face impassive.
Cruel and hateful though Ki was, she wasn’t stupid, and she knew better than to pick a fight with Soi when the aforementioned woman was mad. With a sniff for Kara and a glare for Soi, Ki sauntered away, her nose in the air. Once the other woman was gone, Soi knelt down next to Kara.
“Are you alright? Tell me your name.” Soi inquired, as she gently touched the red bruise forming on the side of Kara’s face.
“My name is Kara, Fong-sama.” She murmured, jerking her head away from Soi’s hand, as she scrambled up. Once she had hastily bowed to the geisha, Kara ran after Suzume, leaving a bewildered Soi behind.
* * *
“Do you have any idea what your little joke caused, Me-chan?!?” Kara demanded, as she and Suzume walked down the streets of Kyoto, each holding a package that they had been told to deliver since one of the older maids was sick.
“I’m almost positive Fong-sama will never speak to me again, and it’s your fault.” She snapped, when Suzume offered no response other than an eye-roll.
The pair soon made it to their first destination; the flower shop. After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, Kara and Suzume left, however Suzume disappeared soon after, yelling over her shoulder that Kara could find her way back to the okiya. Kara sighed, thinking, ‘Thanks a lot Me-chan…..’ as she made her way to her appointed destination.
Even if she could find her way to where she was going, there was no way in hell Kara could find her way back to the okiya by herself, which was why she had ended up wandering around almost aimlessly. Unfortunately for Kara, she had somehow found herself in the pleasure district, although she didn’t know that at the time. The thing that happened next was the one thing Kara had wished would never happen again; she came face-to-face with the man her parents had sold her to, due to the fact that they needed money to pay for Ai to see a doctor. His name was Nasho Katanabe, and Kara hated him with every fiber of her being. She shoved herself past him, but could clearly hear him yell after her, “Your sister’s dead! Ya got sold for nothin’!” and then he let out the laugh that had haunted her dreams for the past year.
Hours later, Kara could be seen sitting under the awning of a tea house, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, trying to keep warm in her soaking wet kimono, as the rain poured from the dark grey sky. She sighed, in a depressed and melancholic way, as she looked out at the grey streets, when a shadow fell over her, causing her to look up into a pair of midnight blue eyes.
Even in the royal blue kimono and slightly gaudy gold obi which she wore in place of her usual fawn colored kimono and cream colored obi, Kara had no trouble recognizing Soi Fong. She hoped that the serene and beautiful geisha didn’t hate her for the mess she had caused, or for running away without so much as a word. The young girl was to be surprised, however, by Soi’s next words.
“Come, Kara-chan. I’ll take you back to the okiya.” Soi said matter-of-factly, as she opened her red parasol and stepped out into the rain, motioning Kara to follow her.
“Y-Yes, Fong-sama!” Kara stuttered, as she ran to catch up with the older woman.
“Quit calling me ‘Fong-sama’, it’s too formal, just call me Soi or something like that.” Soi admonished, remembering with a secret smile a woman with soft, amber eyes who had said almost the same thing to her, many years, which seemed a lifetime, and a heart-break, yet only some years, ago.
“Th-that’s too absurd!” Kara cried, alarmed. She was silenced by Soi’s slightly sad look, even though Kara didn’t know why Soi would look like that at her, nor did she know why just a look from Soi could make her shut her mouth without a moment’s thought to the contrary, but she did it anyway.
“Alright, Soi-sama.” She murmrued, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
Soi smiled down at Kara, as if to say, ‘Now, that wasn’t so hard was it?’ before she moved closer to the girl, so that Kara would be shielded from the rain. Even if they were uncomfortable now, Kara and Soi had no idea how good of friends they would become.
Chapter Two
A Friend is Lost, and a Friend is Gained
The next two years, although they passed quite quickly, were some of the happiest times in Kara’s life; because she was still a child, carefree and naïve to the evils of the world. Suzume, on the other hand, being four years older and a bit more mature than her young roommate, had been carefully laying plans to escape. She had been collecting many things she could sell, gradually stealing bigger and bigger things, which was everything from hair pins, to rings, to the occasional kimono, and soon she would have sold enough things to get the money she needed to get back to her home town, Kagoshima. One morning, as the day of her departure was drawing near, Kara caught on, which made Suzume wonder; would this be her undoing, or something else entirely?
* * *
The sun, however intrusive to the sleep of the young red-head, was her cue to waken and begin her morning chores. Kara’s ice-blue eyes opened blurrily, as she rolled over and yawned, before sitting up and stretching. Something quite out of the ordinary caught the ten-year-old’s eye, as she turned her head towards Suzume’s bed place.
The older girl’s bed roll was propped against the wall, but what caught Kara’s attention was not the fact that her friend and roommate was up and already gone at this hour. No, what interested Kara was the slightly up-lifted floorboard, which, if it had always been there, she had never seen before. Kara pushed back her blanket and, shivering as her bare feet touched the floor, made her way over to it, curiosity getting the better of her.
‘What the hell?’ Kara asked herself, as she pried the floorboard up. A quickly stifled gasp escaped the young girl, when she saw just what was under the floor board, which made her remember a conversation she had had with Soi-sama just the other day…..
Flash Back
“No, Kara-chan, I keep telling you, call me ‘Soi-sama’.” Soi admonished the girl kindly, after Kara had slipped up and called her ‘Fong-sama’ yet again. A murmured, “Yes ma’am,” and a blush from Kara were Soi’s only answer, which caused the geisha to lift an eye-brow in question, however she said nothing more on the subject. She then resumed her search for a favorite kimono of hers, which was strangely absent. “Oh, where is it?” the woman muttered to herself in exasperation, due to the fact that she had been looking all morning for the kimono.
“What is is, Soi-sama?” Kara questioned cautiously, having gotten yelled at by Ki Ling for ‘asking stupid questions’ one too many times already.
“It’s nothing you need concern yourself with dear. I just seem to have misplaced one of my kimonos, that’s all.” Soi replied, upon seeing the concern in Kara’s expression, as she waved her hand dismissively.
“If you say so, Soi-sama.” Kara said, bowing once she set down the full tea tray she had been carrying, before silently slipping out of the room, leaving Soi to attend her own business.
End Flash Back
“Kara! What are you DOING?!”
The sharp, almost panicked voice of Suzume brought Kara back to the present, as she whipped around to see the fourteen-year-old standing in the doorway, an expression that was a mix of shock and fear on her face. Shock, because of the fact that Kara had found her hiding place, and fear of what Kara might do now that she had found it. What happened next surprised them both, or, it surprised Suzume at least; Kara got up, replaced the floorboard, pounded it back into place with her foot, and then came over to the black haired teen. Before she exited the room, she stopped in the doorway beside Suzume. Kara said this;
“Take me with you, Me-chan.”
* * *
“Take me with you, Me-chan.”
The request – no, the demand – reached Suzume moments after it left Kara’s lips, and so startled was the fourteen-year-old, that she nearly spluttered a response, however she marshaled her emotions before they could get the better of her. After fixing her features into an emotionless mask, she turned to the girl who stood beside her, taking a moment to regard her friend. Kara’s wild orange-red hair tumbled haphazardly down her shoulders – from sleep, the taller girl assumed - her icy blue eyes filled with a determination rarely seen there, and her face set in what could almost be called defiance.
Inwardly, she vaguely noted how pretty Kara had become, but then she berated herself; how could she think like that about a girl, no less a girl who was, almost, like a sister to her?! Outwardly, however, she simply smirked, leaning casually against the door frame as she spoke.
“What gave you that hare-brained idea? I’m not going anywhere moyashi-chan.” Suzume teased, commenting on Kara's shortness while dismissing her demand.
“Don’t play dumb, Me-chan! I saw the kimono, and I know its Soi-sama’s!” Kara snapped, her eyes burning with an icy flame.
“I didn’t take it!” Suzume maintained, then questioned, “Why would I do a stupid thing like that, anyways?” waving her hand dismissively, which only served to make Kara more mad.
“Well, who else could it have been? I doubt Soi-sama would steal her own kimono, and I didn’t do it.” Kara replied acidly, glaring at the older girl.
Kara’s questions were valid, seeing as she and Suzume were the maids assigned to Soi’s rooms, but Suzume wouldn’t give in. No, she had worked far too long and far too hard, gathering things she could sell for food or money to be stopped now, when she was so close to achieving her goal. Suzume would do anything to get her freedom - which was what she had dreamed of since being sold to this okiya - even if it meant hurting Kara, she would do whatever it took to be free of this gilded cage she lived in.
A sigh escaped Suzume, as a plan formed in her mind, and the fight seemed to drain out of her.
“Okay, you can come with me,” Suzume began, but she was cut off by Kara saying, “THANK YOU!” and hugging her tightly.
“On one condition,” Suzume continued, once Kara had let go, which allowed her to breathe again, “You can’t tell ANYONE. You got that? NO ONE,” She said, her voice and face stern, but inside she was grinning like the cat that just ate the canary, as her plan began to come together.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone Me-chan, no, I swear it!” was Kara’s enthusiastic reply. Suzume inwardly smirked at how gullible Kara was, while outwardly she smiled warmly at the younger girl.
“Good. I’ll let you know when we’re going to leave. In the meantime, you just pretend you don’t know a thing about the things that go missing, alright Kara-chan?” Suzume said, her voice coated in honey.
Upon receiving another enthusiastic nod from Kara, Suzume’s smile nearly turned into a smirk, but she kept it at bay. Oh her plan was coming together nicely, very nicely indeed.
* * *
As weeks passed, Kara began to wonder, was she doing the right thing by keeping Suzume’s secret? But, Suzume would take her with her, and they wouldn’t be here anymore, to answer for the stolen items – but what then? Something wasn’t right, Kara could feel it, but she didn’t know what. Every night, as she went to sleep, Kara would think of the lies she had told, the times she had shied away from the truth for the sake of keeping Suzume’s secret, or how many times she had to stop herself from saying something wrong. Eventually, Kara began to feel that when she was around Suzume, she couldn’t think for herself, and she realized that if they didn’t leave soon, she would slip, and everything would be over. Only this thought comforted her: if they went down, at least Suzume would still be her friend. Or so she hoped. Perhaps what Kara feared was a premonition of some kind, because that is just what happened.
* * *
One day, when Soi had invited Kara and a reluctant Suzume to have tea with her. As she and Kara were talking, and waiting for Suzume to bring the three of them tea, the conversation turn to Soi’s kimono, which was still missing. “Um, Soi-sama,” Kara began, trying to keep from saying something she shouldn’t, but the words just seemed to have a mind of their own, “I t-think I know where your kimono is.” She finally stuttered out, and then everything just came tumbling out in a flood of emotions, and no matter how Kara tried, the dam would no-longer hold.
Soi said nothing, as the young girl rambled on, her expression blank from years of training in keeping her emotions from showing.
Eventually however, the geisha lifted a hand to stop Kara’s words in their tracks, allowing silence to reign over the room for a time. Before Soi could say a word, however, a loud crash outside the partially opened rice-paper sliding door alerted them to Suzume’s presence. A choked out, “How dare you?!” was all Suzume could grind out between her clenched teeth, as she glared at Kara, before running off down the hall, amid the shouts of the older servants and other geisha.
And all Kara could do, was sit there stunned, as she listened to her world crash, burn and cave in around her.
* * *
Each time Kara cried out in pain, as the bamboo stick struck her back, she silently cursed Suzume. The small seed of doubt she had been carrying in her heart since she found the kimono, was growing and becoming rage quicker than she could think, a rage that would soon cool into pure and simple hatred, an emotion Kara had never before known. Perhaps, a small part of her mind reasoned, if she was just as good as possible, she wouldn’t get beaten again? No, another part reasoned, the only servants who were never beaten were the girls who were at least mid-way through their geisha training, so why should she, a lowly stupid maid, not get beaten? So, Kara kept her emotions to herself as best she could. She didn’t want what had happened when Suzume left to happen again.
One day, however, when Soi invited her for tea, – though why the older woman still did was beyond her – Kara was unusually silent, and after much prodding from Soi, Kara finally snapped. She began yelling at Soi, shouting things she would never have even dreamed of saying to the geisha before what happened with Suzume.
“How can you know what I feel and why do you even care?! I’m just some bratty maid to you, aren’t I? No one cares about me, no one ever did! The only one who cared besides me was Suzume, and now she’s gone, so what am I supposed to do huh, ‘cause if no one else cares, why should I care either?!” Kara screamed, un-shed tears burning her eyes.
Eventually, Soi shot something back, her tone frosty, her voice harsh, and her demeanor cold, something Kara never thought she would hear from her.
“You’re not the only one who lost someone, Kara! I’ve dealt with the loss of someone very close to me for many years now, and in the beginning, I did the same thing you’re doing; I shouted, I screamed, and I cried, but the world didn’t care, it just kept on going, and life continued, and soon I realized that I only had two choices left. I could either live in my grief for the rest of my life, or prove to the world that I could beat this; that I was stronger than what had happened. And now you have the very same choice I had. What will you do, Kara?! Will you wallow in your sadness and end up dying because of one measly obstacle, or will you rise up and beat the odds, proving that you are so much stronger than this?!”
Soi then took a deep breath in through her nose, her eyes closed, as she composed herself. She then slowly breathed out through her mouth, and then opened her eyes once more, before saying, “Choose Kara, because if you don’t, the world will choose for you. And I can guarantee you won’t like the results of that,” before turning, and with a sweep of the long trailing sleeve of her kimono, Soi Fong was gone, leaving Kara to sit there stunned, for the second time in two months.
* * *
A soft, almost hesitant knock on the door to her room awakened Soi at some time in the middle of the night three days after her spat with Kara. She hadn’t seen the young girl since, and was beginning to worry. Upon hearing the knock, Soi rose from her bed, lighting a candle so that she would have at least some light to see by, and then opened the door, not caring at this moment that her hair hung loose from its two tight braids, and the two large, thick gold rings which she used to keep the braids together were hidden in a place only she knew of This allowed her long blue-black hair to cascade down her back and over shoulders.
What she saw upon opening the door - or rather what happened upon opening the door – startled Soi so much that she almost cried out, but she swallowed the cry as soon as she realized what had happened. Kara had her arms wrapped about Soi’s waist, and was crying quietly, and only the words “sorry” , “forgive” and “were right” were intelligible, most probably due to the fact that the girl’s sobbing made it hard to speak.
“Shh, Kara-chan, it’s alright,” Soi soothed, as she drew the girl into her room, shut the door, and sat on one of the many pillows strewn about the room at random, so that she could speak to Kara more comfortably. Once she was seated, Soi disentangled Kara’s arms from about her waist, and dried the girl’s tears with the sleeve of her robe. “Now, can you tell me why you’re so upset?” Soi questioned, her voice soothing, such a contrast to the last time she had heard it, that Kara thought for a moment that she was dreaming, but a discrete pinch to her leg confirmed that, no, she was not dreaming, and efficiently tossed that idea out the window.
“Soi-sama,” Kara began, but paused as she hiccoughed, “I’m sorry I was so,” another pause for another hiccough, “stupid and immature the last time we saw each other,” a hiccough, “and I hope you can forgive me for it. I realized that,” again a hiccough, “you were right, about everything. I’m not going to let this beat me, I’m going to prove that I’m stronger than this!” and with that, Kara hiccoughed again, but it wouldn’t stop after just one. Finally, it stopped, and when Kara mumbled an apology, she heard Soi say, “I like you,” which caused Kara to look up in alarm, but when she saw the Cheshire grin on Soi’s face, she smiled a bit too. She was surprised by what Soi said next, but shrugged it off, hoping for an explanation.
“Did it work? Did I scare them out of you? I hope it worked,” Soi said, mirth evident in her voice. Upon seeing the puzzled look on Kara’s face, she explained. “A person who was once very close to me, and still remains very dear to my heart, would do that whenever that happened to me.”
“Um, Soi-sama,” Kara began tentatively, after a moment of silence, and was prompted to continue by Soi’s nod, “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this on my own. C-could you please help me?” she requested shyly, a blush coloring her cheeks.
“Of course, Kara-chan, little raven. I’ll help you as much as I can.” Soi promised, smiling at Kara. And as Kara smiled back, she felt as if Suzume were back, because this was how they had been before all this began, but she knew that Suzume would never be back, and that thought saddened her. But Kara knew also that she didn’t face this alone, and that her new friend, Soi Fong, the beautiful and imposing, yet kind and gentle geisha, would be by her side every step of the way, helping and guiding her, just like the older sister she was destined to become.
Chapter Three
Training Begins and a Name Changes
As another year passed, Kara’s pain did become easier to bear, but that didn’t mean she had stopped missing the girl who had been her first and only friend – that is, until Kara met Soi Fong. Soi had helped the young girl very much in the aftermath of Suzume’s untimely departure, and she was beginning to see the makings of someone great in the young red-head. She was responsible, for her age, a tad bold, but respectful -- sometimes maddeningly so. She was subtly eager to please, just as Soi herself had been. But no, that had been part of a different life.
Soi shook her head slightly, and blinked slowly, as she came back from her memories and musings – musings of a certain girl, and memories of a happy time. Soi was currently waiting to see the woman who ran and owned the okiya she lived in – the woman’s name was Nina, and she came from a land far, far to the west, even farther west than the most western reaches of China. The geisha was brought out of her musings once more, but this time by one of the maids who often acted a secretary to Nina.
“She will see you now, Fong-san,” the maid, who was a girl of sixteen, but not of geisha material, said, as she bowed to Soi and left the room. ‘It’s about time!’ Soi thought, irate at being left to wait all morning. Upon entering the room, Soi sat back on her calves, her feet tucked under the hem of her kimono, her hands folded demurely in her lap, and her head up-lifted just a tad. The room was devoid of furnishings, the colors of the walls and floor drab, so that Soi’s eyes came to rest on Nina Tenou.
Upon first meeting, it was quite easy to tell that Nina was of foreign blood, due to the fact that her hair – held back in two long, tight braids, which were wrapped in a bun at the back of her head – was of spun gold, darkened to a honey brown due to spending so much time indoors. Her eyes were a deep shade of green, and her skin was a creamy peach. She was clothed in a simple dark blue kimono, but the color was where it ceased to be simple, as it was made from the most expensive silk money could buy.
“Don’t sit there gawking, Soi Fong. It doesn’t become a geisha such as yourself,” Nina said complacently, her voice thick with the accent of her home land, but regal and commanding all the same.
“Forgive me, Tenou-sama, I should not have stared so,” Soi apologized, looking down at her hands, chastened.
“Never mind that, Soi Fong, I believe you had a request?” Nina asked, seemingly unconcerned by what had just transpired between herself and the geisha.
“Yes, I did Tenou-sama. I would like to take Kara under my wing and teach her what it means to be a geisha. I would also like to be made her older sister, even though I am not so by blood,” Soi posed, fully aware that it was up to Nina to decide if Kara would ever become a geisha at all. A musing sound came from the blond woman, as she turned the request over in her mind, contemplating critically how this could impact the okiya, and herself. After a few moments, Nina gave her answer, however it was not what Soi Fong was expecting.
“What if something like what happened to you happens to Kara? Can you do what Yoru....” Nina was cut-off by Soi,
“You may be my mistress, but don’t you dare say that name! I would never let what happened to me happen to Kara, I am not her,” Soi snapped, color high in her cheeks, which was the same as her rage, hot and bright. Hot and bright though it may have been, her rage as also quick to cool, as the color slowly receded, and Soi said, “Forgive me, Tenou-sama, my oneesan is still a sore subject for me.”
“No, I apologize, Soi Fong. I should not have rubbed salt in a still festering wound,” was Nina’s demure response. Then she said, “Alright, you may train Kara, and become her oneesan, but,” she held up a hand, to stop Soi from saying anything till she was finished, “should I have even the smallest bit of reason to believe that you will do to Kara what your oneesan did to you, it’s over.”
The foreign woman’s voice was now cold, and left no room for argument, to which Soi could only reply to thus, “You won’t hear a thing about that, Tenou-sama. I thank you for agreeing to my request.” And then, when she was dismissed, the refined geisha bowed in gratitude, and quickly left her mistress’s presence.
* * *
“So, you’re serious, Soi-sama?” Kara was stunned, the cup of tea she held in her hands completely forgotten due to what Soi had just said. A nod and a grin were Soi’s only answers, but that was enough for Kara. She placed the cup down (once she remembered it’s presence), and moved around the table to hug Soi in gratitude, a sunny smile on her face.
“Thank you so much Soi-sama! Suzume would sometimes tell me about the training she went through. Is it painful, Soi-sama?” Kara questioned once more, her face full of an innocent curiosity, which made Soi laugh slightly.
“It really depends how much pain you can handle. Having your hair combed with hot wax isn’t very fun, but if you can think of something besides the pain, you might be able to not cry. Although, I cried, the first time,” Soi admitted, an ever-so-slight blush coloring her cheek bones. She then coughed slightly, before saying, “You can let me go now, Kara-chan,” and with that, Kara jumped back a bit, her face red as a tomato, which caused Soi to laugh outright this time, and soon after Kara’s soft giggle joined the sound.
Yes, it had been an interesting year, full of ups, downs, crying, laughing, accidents, apologies, and just the ever-growing camaraderie between Soi and Kara. But the woman always found herself thinking back to a time when, before she had become the refined, stately geisha she was today, she had shared much the same moments with her oneesan. Kara’s voice would always then beak through Soi’s veil of thought with some innocent question or quip that the woman’s pride wouldn’t let go unanswered without a comment of her own aimed right back at the giggling girl.
Sometimes, at night, Soi found herself staring out at the full moon, especially when the cherry blossom trees were in bloom, and she would wonder, ‘Where are you, oneesama, and why did you do this to me?’
* * *
As the New Year festival – Shougatsu -- came around again, Kara began the first stage of her training – shikomi. Even though it was late for this to begin, Soi said, “So long as we can train you right in five years, it won’t really matter when you started.” Kara, however, wasn’t so sure, mostly due to the fact that she was two years older than the other girls at the geisha school she attended, which caused some embarrassment on her part. But Soi was unyielding in her viewpoint and often said to Kara, “You have what it takes, and I won’t let talent such as yours simply go to waste because you feel a bit embarrassed!”
Before she knew it, four New Year’s had passed, and, due to as much help from Soi as she could get, and her own diligent practice, Kara was proficient, in playing the shamisen – an instrument sort of like a three-stringed guitar, a shakuhachi – a bamboo flute -- in flower arranging, wearing kimono, in leading, a tea ceremony, calligraphy, hostessing, and dancing. However, Soi said that they would try to keep her from dancing as much as possible, due to the fact that she was still a tad clumsy. Once the fifth New Year had passed, Kara entered the stage of training that is known as ‘minarai’, when an apprentice is relieved of her housekeeping duties, and sent with the geisha who will be her oneesan into the field. While minarai attend ozashiki – banquets where the guests are attended to by geisha – they do not participate on an advanced level. Kara soon learned what was expected of her; that she simply sit quietly and watch Soi’s every move like a hawk, because skills such as conversation and gaming could only be absorbed through observance. (The only thing, Kara suspected, that her ‘mother’, Tenou-sama, cared about was that she could charge 1/3 of Soi’s fee for Kara.) Although the minarai stage normally lasted only about a month, Soi insisted Kara spend two months, since she had started two years after most apprentice geisha. Kara felt overly odd in the gaudy, bright kimonos Soi insisted she wear, and tugged relentlessly at the hem every now and then. But a quick, sharp glare from Soi would halt her movements. At long last, after what seemed like an eternity, Kara was informed by Soi that she was now ready for the maiko stage of her training. And that, with all that becoming a maiko would entail, sacred Kara half to death.
* * *
“You’ll be changing your name soon, Kara-chan,”
Upon hearing these words fall from her mentor’s lips, Kara choked on the tea she was drinking. Had she not come such a long way from being the gangly, clumsy eleven-year-old she once was, the tea would have spurted out her mouth. However she caught herself at the last second, and forced herself to swallow the liquid before speaking.
“I’ll have to what?!” Kara spluttered, however then quickly remembered herself and added, “Soi-sama,” hoping she had not offended the older woman. To Kara’s surprise, Soi let out a short, light laugh, before she said, amusement sparkling in her eyes, “I said the exact same thing to my oneesan when she told me that I would have to change my name. But, I wasn’t quite so vocal about it.”
Then she leaned in close, as if she was going to tell Kara a secret, and whispered, “Do you want to know what my name was before I had to change it?” All Kara could do was nod dumbly, and hope that Soi wasn’t playing a joke on her. “My name was Suifeng. Even though I don’t quite look it, I’m not pure Japanese, because my mother was from China, but you can’t tell anyone that, okay Kara-chan?” Soi looked so much like a schoolgirl telling her friend whom she had a crush on, that Kara almost laughed out loud – almost. But she didn’t and simply nodded, though inwardly she was laughing quite hard.
After a few moments of silence, Kara asked, “Soi-sama, what will my new name be?” “Hmm….I’m not sure. But maybe you could choose, if you like,” Soi offered. Upon hearing Kara’s gasp of surprise, Soi added, “My oneesan let me choose my name, so I think it’s only fair, if not traditional, for you to do the same,” And with that, the matter was closed.
* * *
Kara was to be bonded to Soi as her younger sister at a small, out-of-the-way shrine on a beautiful wooded hill, but Kara was too nervous to really look at the scenery. Perhaps, if she had been less nervous, Kara might have felt comfortable here, seeing as it was much like her place of birth. But since she had to keep her concentration on not tripping over the hem of her kimono, not stepping on one of her floor-length sleeves, while not falling onto her face in the absurd wooden shoes she had to wear, it was probably just as well. Soi walked beside her calm and cool as always, not seeming to notice the distress of her sister-to-be.
“Ugh, why me?! Is this punishment for something?!” Kara wondered aloud, as she nearly tripped for the sixth time, walking up the stairs alone. Her only answer was from Soi, and it was one the fifteen-year-old red-head didn’t like. “It’s part of your training, Kara-chan, so don’t complain so much,” Soi half snapped, irritated that Kara was being wimpy about this. If Kara wouldn’t even walk up the stairs of a shrine dressed as she was, how as she going to handle the hairdressing?! But then Soi chastised herself; remembering herself as a girl about Kara’s age, saying just the same thing to her oneesan, if not in the same situation.
Kara eventually did make it up the stairs, luckily without damage to the kimono or injury to herself. She and Soi seated themselves before the priest who would bind them as sisters. Soi had warned Kara beforehand about the sake they had to drink, however Kara wasn’t so sure she could keep her head, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as the ceremony began. She watched Soi carefully, out of the corner of her eye, as the older woman took the small cup of sake placed before her and drank three sips from it, before replacing it on the tray. Kara then found a cup before her as well, and hesitantly did as Soi had done, grimacing only slightly as the alcohol burned her throat. This procedure was repeated three times over, and then they were bonded as sisters. Before they could leave, however, the priest wished to know what Kara had chosen as her geisha name. She replied, “My name is Umi, sensei.”
On the way back down the stairs, Soi did not walk beside Kara – now Umi – as she had done before, but she took one of Umi’s wrists in hand and placed that arm around her neck, and then wrapped her other arm about Umi’s waist, so she could help the slightly intoxicated girl down the steps without harm coming to Umi or the kimono she wore. Once they were in the carriage that would return them to the okiya, Umi said, “Sorry I’m so much trouble, Soi-sama.” but Soi simply said, “Umi-chan, call me oneesan from now on. Alright?” Umi’s answer was a soft, “Okay, oneesan,” and then she felt Umi’s head nestled onto her shoulder. When Soi looked over at the girl, she smiled softly, Umi’s expression was placid. Soi let out a soft chuckle, and murmured, “Wherever you are oneesan, do you know that there is a little girl - so much like myself - that is now in the same position we found ourselves so many long years ago, when you first became my oneesan? And do you know that I would never do to her what you did to me? Perhaps you do, perhaps you don’t, but I stopped caring a long time ago – or so I tell myself. Deep in my heart, I know that if you came to me, explained why you did what you did, and gave me a good enough reason why I should, I would forgive everything that happened? Or maybe I’m just a sentimental fool – but then again, so were you, eh, oneesan.” And with that, she gently eased her arm from under Umi’s head, placed the girl’s head on her lap, lifted the girl’s feet so that she could lie stretched out, and stroked Umi’s long, fire-like hair, lost in her own musings and memories.
Chapter Four
Umi Realizes and Soi Reminisces
“Oneesan?” Umi called, as she knocked on the door to Soi’s room. “Are you awake? We have my appointment with the hairdresser today.” It had been a month since Kara had changed her name to Umi, and she and Soi had slipped into their roles of younger and older sister almost seamlessly.
When she received no response, Umi sighed, rolled her eyes, and opened the door. It wasn’t like Soi to oversleep, but when she did, it was a pain in the rear to get her out of bed. Umi would know, since she had spent the last seven years as Soi’s maid.
Upon opening the door, Umi didn’t find Soi sprawled languidly on her bed, as she expected, but an immaculately made bed, and no sign of her older sister at all. What interested Umi, now that her original task was null-and-void, was the sketch book lying ever-so-innocently on the bed. Interested, and just slightly mischievous, Umi closed the door softly, crossed to the bed, picked up the sketch book, and began leafing through it at random. All the drawings it contained were quite beautiful, but one in particular caught her eye.
The drawing was of a tall – or so Umi assumed – willowy woman, who sat stroking a cat on her lap. She was wearing a simple – by geisha standards anyways – kimono which was embroidered with cherry blossoms and her obi was embroidered with what appeared to be a lucky cat. Her hair was long and dark, held in a high, horse-like tail, tied by a thick band of cloth with a string around it. Her eyes were alight with what might be called a melancholy happiness, as if she was both happy and sad at the same time. Her smile was eerily similar to that of the black cat who sat in her lap. At the bottom of the page these words were written in Soi’s neat handwriting: ‘Yoruichi Shihouin-sama, my oneesan’.
The color drained from Umi’s face, and her hands began shaking ever so slightly. She felt an indefinable emotion grip her heart in its teeth, felt a fire run through her veins, and the thought of, ‘Why didn’t Soi-sama ever tell me about her oneesan?’ bounced off the walls of her mind. She had no clue where it, nor the emotion it accompanied, had come from.
The sketch book fell out of Umi’s trembling hands, and lay forgotten on Soi’s bed as the young maiko fled the room. Only one thought registered in her numb brain. She needed to find Soi, and question her about the woman in the sketch – Yoruichi Shihouin. Umi tore through the okiya, shoving young girls out of her way as she did so, focused solely on her objective. As she ran through the streets, one thought was clear in her suddenly turbulent mind: ‘I’ve got to find oneesan, I’ve got too!’
* * *
Sunlight streamed in through the open window, allowing the light to create a pool on the rug which Soi sat upon. She was amusing herself with the kittens of the two cats her oneesan, Yoruichi, had been so fond of. Soi had always wondered why Yoruichi-sama loved to play with these cats so much. Now however, as she watched the two male kittens harassing their younger sister, she couldn’t help but understand why. She chuckled softly to herself, one of her hands almost absentmindedly stroking the eldest kitten, a gray female. These kittens, in their single-minded innocence, made Soi feel at peace when she was troubled by anything. They made her feel remorseful if she was being too prideful, or too hard on Umi, and they could make her feel happier, should she feel sad.
She continued to absentmindedly stroke the kitten, allowing her mind to wander into a world of half-consciousness and memories – for the first time since it had happened. Soi allowed her mind to drift back to a time before she had become the severe, yet fair, and serene, yet purposeful geisha she was today, back to a time when she was just as innocent as Umi had been when they first met, back to the day she first laid eyes on Yoruichi Shihouin – the woman who would be both her sister, and the reason for her pain, which lingered to this day. It was almost as if she were watching a Kabuki production of her life, she mused, becoming lost in her memories.
Flash Back……….
Soi (or Suifeng, as her name had been) was eight years old when she first met Yoruichi, and although she had seen the geisha a few times before, meeting her personally was a different experience altogether. Yoruichi was tall, - she had a willowy build – and her hair, which was pitch black (however if the sun hit it just right, it looked to be a deep purple), was held up in a high pony-tail, while her eyes were a color that could only be described as liquid amber. It seemed to young Soi that this woman had to be a Goddess of some sort, perhaps of cats? But no, that was laughable on its own, but when put into context with Yoruichi-sama, it was down-right shameful to even think it.
Contrary to how she behaved around other people, when she was with Soi, Yoruichi was more laid-back, much less…..severe, perhaps? Soi couldn’t quite identify how Yoruichi changed when it was just the two of them. But what the young girl did know, was that Yoruichi acted different when it was just them. For instance, Yoruichi laughed more freely and fully, she grinned her cat-like grin more often, and she seemed generally happier when she was with Soi. Perhaps it was because Yoruichi felt less pressured to be prim and proper all the time, but Soi wouldn’t ask if this was the case. By the time Soi even began to contemplate asking, it was too late.
And then little Soi was ten, and working as Yoruichi’s maid, while going to the geisha school. Then she was eleven, and found out that Yoruichi would be her sister as soon as she entered the maiko stage of her training. Next she was twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, as she trained to be a geisha, her duties as a maid lessened, and she and Yoruichi became closer than ever. And finally she was fifteen, her name changed from Suifeng to Soi Fong, and she was bonded to Yoruichi as her younger sister.
Her debut happened soon after that, and she and Yoruichi became even closer. They continued to grow closer until finally Soi realized that she had fallen in love with the beautiful cat-like woman. The reaction Soi received was not the one of repulsion she expected, but she was gathered into Yoruichi’s arms, and accepted as she was.
They were happy together for a year, even to the point of Yoruichi promising that they would be together forever. However that promise would not – could not – be kept, no matter how much both women wished it could be. Soi’s world was soon to be shattered by a betrayal - not that she knew it, though.
Now, Soi had known of a samurai who had been lavishing Yoruichi with his unwanted attentions, but she had not known that this samurai was making negotiations with the head of the okiya, who was Tenou-sama's predecessor. Another thing that Soi had not known, was that Yoruichi had no choice in the matter. Things went smoothly for awhile; it seemed that the samurai had backed off for a time, and then the inevitable happened.
The evening before Soi’s world came crashing down around her, life had been normal. She had spent all her time between dinner and going to sleep at the teahouse with Yoruichi. When they returned to the okiya, they had bid each other good-night with a hug, and then they each went to their separate rooms. The night was normal as well, but when Soi went to wake up her morning-challenged oneesan, she found the room empty and bare. Horror had flooded Soi’s entire being at that sight, and when she demanded to know what had happened, she received a response that made her blood run cold.
“She left; she went and picked a samurai over you. Face it, you’ve been abandoned by your own sister,”
End Flash Back……
Those words had rung in Soi’s mind for the next year, which caused her shell-shocked state to become anger. However when that hot, fiery, short-lived emotion faded, Soi was able to think clearly about the situation, and thus she simply fell into a state of numb acceptance. Yoruichi-sama had left her behind, and there was nothing she could have done, or do about it, her mind reasoned, and so she lived her life. Or, that is, until she met a clumsy, eight-year-old red-head, and she felt the ice around her heart begin to melt once more.
* * *
Umi ran blindly through the streets, until she remembered Soi saying something about a friend who owned one of the shops where silk was sold, and so she figured she would check there. Once she arrived, it took the shopkeeper to remember who she was, and then he told her that she could find Soi in the back room with the kittens. Even though she was so set on finding her sister, Umi allowed herself a small smile at the thought of those adorable little balls of fur, and she felt slightly fuzzy and warm inside.
Upon entering the back room, where every kind of silk imaginable was stacked against the walls, Umi found Soi. The older woman as sitting on the rug in the center of the room, stroking one of the kittens while she stared off into space, her normally rigid posture gone slack with inattentiveness. The sound of Umi’s footsteps didn’t even bring Soi out of her trance-like state, but Umi placing her hand on the geisha’s shoulder did. Soi's spine straightened, as her head whipped around, her eyes blazing, as she aglared at Umi, however the glare lessened when she realized who it was.
Umi was in shock for a moment; not even when she was misbehaving during her first stages of training had Soi’s glare been that sharp, nor had it ever been so frightening to the red-haired girl. She breathed an inward sigh of relief when the glare lessened, and then she said, her voice quite so as to not anger the geisha further, “Oneesan, I have something to ask you about,”
However, before Umi could continue, or even get the words out completely, Soi let the kitten jump off her lap, stood up, and said, “We have an appointment with the hairdresser, and Kimijika-san does not like to be kept waiting,” leaving no room for Umi to say anything, as she strode out of the room. Umi blinked, and muttered, “Well excuse me for caring oneesan,” to herself, before she followed Soi, thinking that she would ask about Yoruichi later.
* * *
In the end though, Umi never did work up the nerve to ask about the woman in the sketch, Yoruichi Shihouin. But she found herself comparing everything she did to that woman. She would wonder before and after she did something, if Yoruichi would have done that in this situation, or if she would have done something different, or if she wouldn’t have even been in this situation at all. And so, she was slowly being filled with emotions she had never before experienced.
Umi though, naïve as she was, asked Soi what the name for feeling like you wanted something someone else had was. The geisha said that it was usually called envy, and sometimes jealousy, and so Umi discovered what she was feeling, but then she asked herself, ‘Why am I jealous of this Yoruichi Shihouin woman?’ Umi tried and tried, but she could come up with no answer. Then, when her debut was merely a month away, she became quite introverted. She looked deeper into her own soul than she ever had before to try and find the reasons for what she was feeling. The answer she found sent her reeling in shock: “I love my oneesan,” she gasped. For the next few days, not even Soi could rouse the young geisha-in-training from her room.
