Thread: Ronin's Price

Seven-years-old Tomeki didn't quite know the exact reason why her father had sold her away to the tea house. She guessed that it was because of the famine, or to be able to pay for the medication for her sickly mother. Either way, her parents were poor peasants, so there were literally hundreds of other possible reasons for them to send her away for some valuable money. Back then, the girl remembered resenting her father so much, but as she grew up, Tomeki gradually realized that his decision actually opened her a door to a chance for a much better life. And not to mention the many important lessons in life that she would be able to learn along the way. The first lesson that she learned was that everybody in the tea house must obey Mother's every words. Tomeki learned this the hard way, immediately after she refused to call the matron as her 'Mother'. The welts that she received from Mother's beatings lasted for exactly twenty days, but she persevered. It was only after she had a glimpse of the hanamachi during one of its liveliest times that a shift began to stir both her determination and paradigm about living in the very veins if the tea houses in the pleasure district. It was a wet and pouring autumn evening when Mother had ordered Tomeki to fetch her geisha-sister's precious hair pin from another teahouse on the other side of the district. She had left it while attending and performing for a party held there a fortnight before, and there was no way Mother would let her accompany an important client without wearing that hairpin. Incidentally, it was also another important lesson that Tomeki learned superstition, like in many other businesses at that certain period of time, indeed was running deep in the very veins of the tea houses. Without an umbrella, Tomeki ran past puddles and muddy streets that she knew was the shortcut to her destination. On her right and left, rickshaws and pedestrians both flashed by as guests and clients started to crowd the tea houses despite the raging monsoon. Music and lively conversations started to fill the air as geishas and maikos began their performances in the neighboring establishments. It was no different than when Tomeki reached the tea house of her destination. The front entrance was so crowded with guests that she had to take a back door, which was only revealed to people who also worked in the hanamachi. A fellow maid appeared to open the door. We will try to find Momiji-san's hair pin, but it will probably take a little while, said the maid. Shohi-san is about to perform for our guests this evening, so you better stay hidden! Soaked and chilled to her bones, it was a request that Tomeki soon found difficult to fulfill. Shortly after the maid had gone to tend to the performing geisha, the young girl secretly ventured further into the warmer parts of the house. The interior was very similar to the tea house that she lived in, if not a little bigger. She had a hunch that she wouldn't be able to get lost in it even if she wanted to. Eventually, the girl would reach a corridor leading to the room that she knew was used to entertain guests. Unlike in any other geisha performances, though, Tomeki quickly noticed that the surrounding area was so quiet not even a whisper could be heard from the guests. Driven by sheer curiosity, the soaking wet girl approached the sliding paper doors and made a hole with her finger just big enough so she could peek in. A geisha was standing still in the middle of the room. Her kimono was impeccable and her hair was elegantly ornated. From one look, she seemed to be just like any other geisha, but there was something in the way she slightly tilted her head and positioned her arms and knees that caused Tomeki to hold her breath, as if something important and beautiful was about to happen. The guests were probably also thinking the same way, which would explain why they were all so quiet. The sound of a plucked shamisen was heard shortly, made by a geisha that Tomeki just realized to be sitting in the same room, and the very geisha that had caught her breath seemed to spring back to life with a dance. The geisha moved like a flowing water, each flick of a hand and the flipping of her fans was graceful and precise. Not a single flaw was made, and even if she did make mistake, her presence and charisma alone was enough to distract the spectators completely. It was easily the most mesmerizing thing that little Tomeki had ever seen in her life. Unfortunately, she was prevented from watching the dance to the very end when the anxious maid of the tea house found her from following the wet trail on the waxed wooden floor and proceeded to drag the young maid-girl out into the rain from her ear. The maid's threatening words and Mother's subsequent punishment didn't even erode the feeling of relief that came from realizing her most important lesson in life she wants to be able to dance as beautiful as the mysterious geisha. Ever since that fateful evening, gone was Tomeki's rebellion in and around the tea house. She began doing all that Mother asked of her without as much as questioning her authority, hoping that one day she would be sent to a school to be trained into a geisha. Her wishes eventually came true, and she quickly rose to prominent as the best dancer in her school with her combined passion and hard work. Her reputation followed her during the time of her maiko traineeship, and eventually, into her geisha period. As a geisha of the hanamachi, she was renamed Oyuki, and it was with this name that she introduced herself to Lord Han-kai, shortly after she gave a performance in his splendid castle. It was said that Lord Han-kai was smitten by her dance, and thus he came to be Oyuki's first patron. The responsibility left her shuttling between the okiya and the castle, as the young geisha tried to balance between pleasuring her important client and functioning within the hanamachi. Dancing, after all, was still her foremost passion, and she usually had to stay put while being around the castle, lest Lord Han-kai's wife would get jealous. Thus, when her patron's messenger informed her that she was to perform in the castle for a banquet, Oyuki immediately knew that something extraordinary must had happened. I heard a ronin saved Lord Han-kai's life today, a helper told Oyuki as he aided the geisha with putting up her kimono. Everyone in town is talking about it right now. Perhaps you're going to have to entertain him, too. The news piqued at Oyuki's interest a little bit. She had never entertained a ronin before, but it was mainly because of the price charged by her tea house. The image of freedom that the ronin were often associated with fascinated her, albeit it was nothing more than the novelty factor created by their very different professions. As the helper finished tying up the last part of her kimono belt, Oyuki glanced briefly at the mirror to check her appearance her jet black hair was put up into a high bun and fastened with a jade hair comb, while her kimono of the day was a soft splash of blue and green with a drum-knot belt. Her petite frame was slightly corrected by the raised wooden clogs. As like any geisha, her face was painted white and her lips red, while her dark brown eyes were accented with red and black color. When she was done, Oyuki picked up her handbag, thanked the helper, and left for the teahouse. There, she met with her geisha-sister Momiji who would accompany her dance by playing shamisen. Together, the two geisha left the gates of the pleasure district and made their way towards Lord Han-kai's castle.