[fanfic] Sengoku Jidai TutixNagayan

Cast: Nagayama Takashi, Tsuchiya Yuuichi (and friends)
Rating: PG
Warning: BL, AU, OOC, crappy English
Disclaimer: I do not own anything and/or anyone.
Note:
1. Sekedar ingin berbagi hasil NaNoWriMo gue kemarin. Ini baru bagian awalnya aja karena ceritanya sendiri belum kelar dan masih banyak yg hrs diedit dan ditambal sana-sini sekaligus ditambah.
2. Gue sedikit bingung untuk make istilah yg pas untuk para pekerja di red distric ini. Secara general memang disebutnya geisha tp ada juga istilah2 lain spt oiran, kagema dan tayu jadi gue memutuskan untuk coba2 pake semuanya aja krn itu maafkan kalo penyebutannya gak konsisten ya.
3. Suzuki Shougo yang dimaksud di sini adalah Suzuki Shougo yang jadi Zaraki Kenpachi di BuriMyu dan bukan Suzuki Shougo yang jadi ShinkenGreen XD

Semoga bisa dinikmati dan saran2 selalu disambut dengan senang hati




It was the second week of spring. The weather was getting warmer a little bit but still chilly nonetheless. There was even a thin layer of snow on the ground. The sun tried its best to shine from behind the cloudy sky. Spring birds were starting to chirp and some were seen flying out of their winter nests to find food. All in all, it was a fine morning. The kind of morning that should be enjoyed by having a nice and hot breakfast at an open-aired veranda or maybe by taking a nice long stroll along the Kamo River. But it was different in Yoshiwara hanamachi. Morning, no matter what season it was, was quiet. Hardly any people were out on the street of the usually crowded and festive self it was when night came. Some exceptions were applied only for some servants cleaning the tea houses, running errands or little girls and boys going to geisha school. Other than that, it was quiet.


It was quiet inside the okiya, too. Servants worked in quiet and as invisible as possible so as not to make too much noises or they would woke the geishas who were still sleeping even though the sun was already shining. Same thing happened in an okiya named Geiei. Under the management of Yamashita Takashi, it housed ten full geisha (two of them were males), twenty three maiko, ten boys and girls shikomi, several servants, a clerk, two cooks and a gardener, making it one of the richest okiyas in the Yoshiwara district. It was rare for an okiya to be owned by a man but Yamashita managed it just fine. He got helped by two people, a man named Tamaoki and a woman named Zonoo. Both of them took care most of Yamashita's job and they reported directly to him. Yamashita always knew what happened inside his okiya and what his geishas were doing out there when they were out at the tea houses for a job. If any of the geisha did something unacceptable, it was without doubt that he/she would surely had to face Yamashita himself. But Yamashita was liked and respected for he was good-natured and always tried to be fair at most times.


At the time, three female shikomi were mopping the floor. They had to scrub so hard until the wooden panel was squeaky clean. An older servant was watching over them. She would scrutinize the part they had done and pointed to a spot they missed and they had to do the mopping all over again. The work was harder when they did the bed chambers of the geishas. Those geishas didn't like their sleep to be disturbed even by a mere giggle from the shikomis and a sleep-lacking geisha would not only made the geisha cranky but also the make-up artist would complain, Tamaoki-san and Zonoo-san would clacked their tongues whenever they saw a hint of tiredness on a geisha's face and the valuable guest wouldn't really happy either. And they needed the guest to be happy. So the shikomis worked in quiet and as fast as possible.


Rinko, a shikomi who came to the okiya only a couple of months before, tripped on her feet when they were mopping the alley in front of the tayu's bedchamber. She almost bumped into the water bucket. She squeaked as her butt landed on the floor. Her friend quickly covered her mouth and put a finger in front of her own mouth. "Shush." She whispered in urgency. Rinko winced and nodded her head in apology and continued mopping. But when she was about to push the cloth across the floor, the door slid open, revealing a figure clad in a light kimono. The person was a tayu, a number one geisha of their okiya. The tayu happened to be a kagema - a male geisha. But his beauty was equal to any tayu from all across Japan, if not exceeding them. Rinko and her friend froze and held their breathing. The tayu eyed them through sleepy eyes. He blinked.


"What the hell are you doing so energetic in the morning?" he said eventually.


Both of the girls quickly took a seiza position and bowed. "Ohayou, Takako-san. We are very sorry. We won't be reckless again. Please, forgive us." They said together, almost on cue.


Takako, the tayu, blinked again and waved his hand carelessly. "Oh, never mind. Where's Koppe?"


Shuzu, Rinko's friend, said quickly. "He's out doing an errand for Tamaoki-san."


Takako pursed his lips and sighed. "Fine." The door slid close behind him.


The girls released their breaths and quickly finished their work. Takako wasn't a bad person. In fact, he was one of the few who would be nice to the servants. But he was the tayu and a servant shouldn't mess with the tayu however nice they might be. Especially one who definitely didn't do mornings like Takako.


Inside the room, Takako was already lying on his futon again. It was cold and he really hated to be awake before the time when he actually really had to be awake. It wasn't the girls' fault. He was up even before the girls made the noise. Perhaps it was the chill that woke him or perhaps it was his itchy head. Well, Takako thought, it was time to wash his hair, then. Takako shivered at the thought since it was still chilly outside. Yamashita wouldn't be happy if his tayu caught a cold. He might not say anything but he would be unhappy for sure. He sighed. Sometimes it was just so hard being a geisha.


Takako's real name is Takashi. He was born in a village near Edo. His father was a bushi who had died on account of a mission gone bad when Takashi was only seven years old. His mother - who refused to come back to her family and decided for her and her sons to live on their own- found a work as a servant at a merchant's store. The family fortune wasn't that much so they really had a hard time getting by. Then, after the second memorial service of their father, a distant cousin spoke to their mother. He said that his relative was looking for a groom for his only daughter and he was offering for Takanobu - Takashi's brother - to marry the girl and became a member of that family. That time, Takanobu was 14 years old. It was not uncommon for people to marry at such young age due to inheritance or to help their family get by. Takanobu agreed to the proposal. The next winter, Takashi's mother caught heart decease. Lucky for them, the merchant whose his mother worked for was a kind man. He moved the poor woman to work as a clerk (apparently, Takashi's mother was good with numbers) and he made Takashi working as a boy-servant at his household and sometimes he had to help at the store, too.


A few months after he turned nine years old, Takashi was spotted by a customer's of the store. This person happened to be a scout for okiyas. His job was travelling around Edo and neighboring areas, looking for little girls or boys who had traits to work in hanamachi. He didn't blink as he saw Takashi's boyish and fresh figure yet as pretty as a girl. The scout talked to Takashi and he liked the boy. That afternoon, he made a proposal to Takashi's mother that Takashi would lead a better life if only his mother would let him work as a geisha in Yoshiwara. With assurance from the merchant that his mother would be taken care of, Takashi went with the scout to Yoshiwara and there he was, one of the most famous tayu in Yoshiwara.


He heard the door being slid open and soft footsteps entered his chamber. A chirp, bright voice greeted him, "Ohayou, Takako-san! Rinko said you were looking for me?"


Takashi growled and snuggled even deeper into his blanket. "Could you be louder than that, Koppe? I only got to sleep after four AM."


A boyish giggle. "I know. I put you to bed, remember? Besides, who told you to be up so early?" A gasp. "Darn it! Did I just forget that you have an appointment with the doctor? Or Marui-san the hairstylist?"


Takashi finally drew the blanket off his head and looked at his underling begrudgingly. "My appointment with the doctor was last week and I still got my hair in the get-up, see?" He pointed up to his head. "You are such a bad maiko. I didn't know what the hell I was thinking taking you as my little brother."


Koppe grinned at him. "You wouldn't. I know you like me, Takako-san."


"Doesn't mean I won't report you to Tamaoki-san."


Koppe gapped in dramatic disbelieve at his "older brother's remark but didn't say anything further. However close they were, he must drew the line somewhere. He moved around the chamber; folding things, putting things aside, and opening the window. "So, what is it, Takako-san? Do you need me to buy you some sweet again?"


Takashi sat down on his futon and reached up to his hair do. "No. Come here. Help me with this. I need to wash my hair."


Koppe frowned. "But it's still very cold."


"The itch is killing me. And shut that window. I'm really going to catch a cold if you let the cold inside my room." Takashi said as he pulled off some hair pins off his hair.


Koppe obliged. He took some hair brush from Takashi's make-up counter and helped Takashi with his hair. Koppe always adored Takashi's hair. It was always in an elaborate and most trendy style but Takashi managed to keep it silky soft when he let it loose. There were some streaks of brownish color, too and Koppe thought it looks really nice on Takashi. He carefully combed the hair once all of the pins and ornaments were off. "It's getting longer, Takako-san."


Takashi nodded. "I like it this way."


"If only your customers know how you look like when you wear your hair like this, I'm sure there's going to be a battle to be your danna right away." He said dreamily. "Not that it isn't happening right now." He added with a frown.


Takashi laughed. "They may battle as much as they want. I'm not interested."


"But I think Yamashita-san has said that it's about time you find a danna?"


Takashi sighed. "I know. But I don't really like any of them."


Koppe put the comb on the counter and they went to the bath chamber. "but I think Dr. Miura was nice. He's rich, too. Or that bushi from the other day! What was his name? Suzuki-sama?"


Takashi shrugged. "The doctor's nice but he reeks of medicine. Suzuki-san... well, he is nice and I respect him but no, I just can't see him as my danna."


"You know if you're too picky Yamashita-san would force one on your face, right?"


Takashi made a face at his apprentice. "And who are you to tell me that, huh?"


They laughed as they entered the bath chamber.


******


At the other side of the city, having a same morning as Yoshiwara hanamachi, a household of a general was awaken as well but the situation was entirely different than that of the okiya's. Everything was quite, too but people were already awake doing their chores. Several bushi were practicing at the garden, cooks are working hard to prepare breakfast for the whole household of 200 men or so and gardeners worked to keep the gardens in its elaborate state. Guards were standing by at every corner, hardly miss any part unwatched. The wife of the general was talking to the head servant, checking things for that night's banquet. The general, Suzuki Shougo, was already out taking a ride on his beloved stallion, accompanied by his adopted son, Daiki and two of his trusted retainers, Moriyama Eiji and Tsuchiya Yuuichi. They took a route around the outer skirt of the keep which lead to the river before going back to the keep through a small bamboo wood. It was supposed to be a nice and relaxing ride but not for both retainers. They had to keep alert for no matter how nice the general was, he still had enemies. Taking what seemed like a careless stroll like that was a ticket to disaster if both of the retainers were off-guard. Again, that didn't mean that at least one of them wasn't not happy to be awake and on duty so early in the morning.


Moriyama Eiji - known as 'Moriyama-san' to most of his underlings and most of the bushi at his level or 'Eiji-san' to some of them or simply 'Eiji' for Daiki - noticed the suppressed yawn Tsuchiya was trying to hide by pretending to look at the far side of the river. He shook his head and smiled.


"Seriously, Tsuchiya. What other reason do you have this time to make our lord cut this stroll short so we can go back to the palace and you can go back to sleep as soon as possible?" The bushi didn't even bother to lower his voice.


The general and his son turned and looked through their shoulders. They had an amused look on their faces. Well, at least the general was amused because Daiki actually gave a sign that he was ready to turn his horse around and gave Tsuchiya a good smack on the head. Tsuchiya balked at the retort and scowled at his friend. "I do not and would never do such thing. I really had stomachache the last time." He shifted his jaw. But Moriyama and Daiki knew that the gesture actually betrayed Tsuchiya's statement.


Their lord chuckled. "It's okay if you want to go back and get some more sleep, Tsuchiya-kun. I need you to be fully awake tonight, after all. We can't be too laid back with Lord Ueshima's men around. Go back and fetch Washio to replace you."


Hearing his lord's words brought a blush to Tsuchiya's face. He bent his waist to perform a small apologetic bow. "Please, forgive me, my lord. You are so kind but I would have to refuse. I assure you that I won't slack under any circumstance."


Suzuki laughed good heartedly. "Well, let us continue, then."


Tsuchiya was still sulking to Moriyama as the man sneered at him. "You owe me a drink."


"What? I didn't do anything."


"You still owe me a drink or I tell Daiki that you slept with that girl servant the other night."


Moriyama gapped. "I didn't..." He cut his own self because Daiki was throwing a 'now what' look toward them. He leaned sideways to the younger man dan spoke from the corner of his lips. "I didn't sleep with her. We were just fooling around and I was drunk! And who I'm sleeping with is none of your business."


"Sure it isn't." Tsuchiya smirked.


*****


Zonoo-san shook her head in disbelieve when she walked pass Takashi and Koppe at the hall way. "Goodness, Takashi-kun! What are you doing washing your hair in such weather?" She quickly grabbed a cloth that Koppe'd been holding and ran it through Takashi's wet hair ruefully.


Takashi winced. "Sorry, Zonoo-san but my head is itchy I can't take it anymore."


Zonoo-san clacked her tongue. "Get inside your room. Koppe, turn on the heater. Quick!"


The boys obeyed the woman. Zonoo-san helped Takashi dried his hair near the heater while Koppe prepared a light kimono for Takashi to change in to. After Takashi's hair was dry enough, Koppe helped her setting Takashi's hair into a simple bun and he also prepared Takashi's samishen and music sheets. Takashi had to go to the geisha school from time to time even though he was already a full geisha. After all, a full geisha still needed to practice new songs and dances. Constant practice also prevented them from slacking.


"Do not stay behind today, okay?" Zonoo-san reminded as she saw Takashi and Koppe off at the door. "You are requested at Lord Takigawa's party tonight. You know he likes you to greet his guest with him."


"Haaaaai..." Takashi answered halfheartedly as he climbed on the awaiting rickshaw with Koppe's help.


"I think she means it, Takako-san." Koppe said as he ran lightly beside the rickshaw. "Takigawa-sama is a fine prospect to be your danna. You couldn't keep on refusing him. He's been eyeing you for some time now."


"Koppe, I think you know perfectly well why I can't accept Lord Takigawa's offer."


There was silence for a moment before Koppe replied. "But you can't give such reason to him and to Yamashita-sama, too. Either way, the risk of losing your beloved friend is inevitable."


"Don't go smart-ass on me, Koppe." Takashi said in warning and final tone.


Takashi spent the whole day practicing samishen and some new songs until it was almost time for lunch. His teacher nodded in satisfaction but told him that he needed to work on long high notes. Takashi nodded in response and promised that he would do so. He disassembled his samishen, put it inside a leather bag. He bowed politely as his teacher left the room. Takashi was ready to leave, too when a voice prevented him from doing so.


"Well, well, I almost forget that I actually have a rival in this world. What? Yamashita decided to chain you in your room or something?"


Takashi calmly took his belongings and proceeded to the door until he stood in front of the newcomer. "Hmm, strange. I heard it was you. In fact, I heard your debt has increased because your okiya had to pay Maru-ya for a brawl caused by you two weeks ago. Or did I hear it wrong?"


The other guy gasped sharply. His eyes then narrowed dangerously. "Kenn! I swear I will stuff his mouth with pepper!"


Takashi laughed and grabbed the other guy by the elbow. "Don't blame him. At least, thanks to him telling stories to Koppe that I know that you're still alive after that brawl. Really, Kime. You should know better than getting involved at such things."


Kimeru was small in built but he was just as pretty as Takashi. He's playful and barely anyone was saved from his jokes. He also happened to be a good observer. He was an oiran of another big okiya in Yoshiwara. Takashi's first encounter with Kimeru was at that very school. Both of them were the brightest students at the time. They often engaged in cat fight back then; feeling that one was better than the other. All of the teachers were having a headache in handling them but they couldn't do much since both of the boys were behaving nicely inside the class room. However, they still got punished for making trouble in the school's courtyard. Because of how often they were punished together, as time went by, they became good friends. Each of them knew perfectly well that the other was the only person they could trust. A priviledge that other geisha didn't have. Takashi liked Kimeru, too.


Now, the both of them were popular geisha and they still managed to stay as friends. This was a rare thing to happen since the more a geisha liked by a customer, the more hatred he/she got from other geisha. That was the rule which somehow didn't apply to both of them.


Kimeru winced. "It wasn't really my fault, you know. I was about to go when Hasegawa suddenly attacked Abe-san." He flipped a stray hair away from his cute forehead.


Takashi was about to reply when he saw Koppe was already waiting for him at the school's gate. "Right. You should tell me that next time."


Kimeru frowned. "What the hell happened with now?"


"Now I have to go back to the okiya because I'm requested..." He paused for a while. "For a private party." He added and refused to look at Kime's face.


His friend pouted. "Oh, come on. Party like that wouldn't even begin before the sun sets. Come, let's have lunch at KokoIchi. I heard they have new menu for ramen."


Takashi couldn't really refuse when Kime was using such suggestive tone. "Fine." He surrendered. "But I can't stay long."


"Whatever." Kimeru said dismissively.


Koppe could only sigh when he was told to go back by himself. He knew he would get into trouble if he was to go back alone but he obeyed anyway. He didn't want to get some trouble from Takashi, too. And from Kimeru. The guy was even scarier. "But please, be back as soon as possible, Takako-san." Koppe said after he sat on the rickshaw.


"I thought you've told him to call you by your name when there's no customer around?" Kime wondered as they saw the rickshaw moving away.


Takashi shrugged. "He's a thick head. But he's a good boy. Come on. I don't have all the time in the world today."


They headed to a ramen shop which located not far from the school. The patrons of the shop were mostly some retainers of okiyas and teahouses also some hired bodyguards. From time to time, some geishas liked to have a meal there, as well. Takashi and Kimeru liked the shop for its delicious noodle and the owner loved to give some discount and free side dishes. Sometimes, the owner didn't even let them to pay for anything. This was understandable since having such high ranking geisha like Takashi and Kimeru visiting his shop was equal to free advertisement. More people were coming in upon hearing that the best geishas in Yoshiwara liked to eat at that shop. If they were lucky, they might meet them in the shop and this excited many people who couldn't afford the fare of having one of them as company. Besides, there was a whole different enjoyment to look at a geisha when they were not in their full geisha get-up.


Both men took the best seat inside the shop, which always miraculously available upon their entrance. As usual, people were looking their way and eventually, they could hear wistful sighs and whispers from various corners of the shop. Kimeru and Takashi weren't even bothered by this. They loved the attention and liked being the center of attention. They didn't even need to order the food. They always order the same thing and the wait staff would appear with their food, hot tea, some edamame and free croquette. Takashi tugged on his kimono while Kimeru patted his hair lightly; making sure that everything was still in place. He didn't have to worry, though since a geisha hair stylist always made sure that the hair do could last until a week or so.


Kimeru took his chopstick. "So, who are you going to entertain tonight?"


Takashi only shrugged, taking a bite on the croquette. "A nobleman."


Kime gave him a look. "Oh, are we going to be secretive about our client, now?"


Takashi chuckled. He averted his attention to pour some spicy furikake into his noodle. "No. I just don't want to tell you."


"Huh." Kime snorted. "Come to think of it, have I told you that Abe-san has hinted that he would join in the bet to be my danna?"


This managed to draw Takashi's attention for his eyes widened in excitement on the news. "Really? What did you say, then?"


Kime shrugged. "You know me. I didn't give him any hope whatsoever but I also didn't say no right away."


Takashi nodded. He fumbled with his noodle and started to eat it elegantly. Kime sighed and ate his noodle, too. "You know, sometimes I think I'm not doing my best to impress Takigawa-sama. I mean, he hinted earlier but then he didn't do anything. I'm really confused here. Plus, he rarely asks for my company lately."


Takashi didn't say anything. He even didn't dare to look at Kime's face. He kept on eating and nodded occasionally just to show that he was listening. Setting eyes on rich men to be a prospective danna was something usual in the geisha world. Each of them would go a length of way to make sure that they didn't lose the prospective danna to other geisha. This was difficult for Takashi because even though he didn't actually marking some rich men to be his prospective danna, Yamashita didn't share the same thought. Takigawa Eiji was handsome and rich and he liked Takashi. He even had hinted to Tamaoki and Zonoo that he didn't care about the amount of money he needed to pay to get executive partnership with Takashi. Such ridiculously large amount of money would definitely benefit the okiya. Problem was Kime really, really liked Lord Takigawa and Takashi hadn't say anything to his friend. Kime would be devastated for sure.


Finally, he looked up to his friend. "Look, it's not that I don't want to talk about the whole danna thing but can we, please, talk about something else? It's been weeks since the last time we got the chance to talk."


Kime waved his hand carelessly. "You're just jealous that I get soooo many offers."


"Not true." Takashi pouted.


"Fine." Kime said. "Whatever. I won't talk about the danna thing. For today. How was your health check result? You had the health check the other day, right? The day after mine?"


"Thank you." Takashi sipped his tea. "It was fine. I got new prescription. The doctor said it could prevent me catching the disease. It's lucky that we don't have to have sex with every customer like those prostitutes."


"Yeah, yeah. I got the same prescription, too. It tastes awful." Kime's nose scrunched up in disgust. How he managed to do it and still looked cute was beyond other people. There was another sigh from nearby table.


"Do not slack, Kime." Takashi warned him. "My mentor died from that disease. It wasn't a dignified way to die."


Kime looked at Takashi, amused. "Takashi, dearest, we are not bushi. We do not need to die in dignity. We need elegance."

*****