InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kiyou Nitsuite Amedare: Ten, Tentou, ken Touhou ❯ Shinban Bundan ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"I nodded quickly, trying my best to appease this woman for she apparently would rein control over my life from this point on. Again, I was whipped. And again, I cried out."

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Samurai / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.13.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 594 | Status: Work In Progress

ShibanBundan

I stood shivering under the heated stare of the Nigou-san of the Okiya. She gave a distasteful smack of the lips, and turned her head to the woman who still held on to my arm tightly enough for a small feeling of numbness to overtake it. “And you are sure that he wishes for her to be here?” The woman gave the Nigou-san a rather bland look, and replied, “I am sure. He made his instructions very clear. She is to earn her boarding and food by being a maid here. He will pay for the rest of the expenses.” The woman seemed to consider, twirling a small bamboo rod between her fingers in thought.

“I accept your agreement. We are short handed here, and could use the assistance. We will not provide beyond food and lodging, and if she gets sick that is by his own costs.” The woman who held me bowed, causing me to awkwardly follow her gesture by force. I nearly fell to my own feet, but luck had it that my vulnerability would not be appealed by my clumsiness.

The woman passed me off roughly, tossing me on to the floor before the other woman. At least, in my mind, my fall was not of my own accord. I winced harshly, not noticing how I curled into a ball at the pain in my side. Hot tears threatened to spill, but I willed them away. I prayed to Kami-sama that he would give me the strength to endure.

Shortly after the squinting woman had lightly conversed with my new Nigou-san, she left. As soon as the shoji door to the outside courtyard had shut, I let out a small whining sob. It was so soft, I am unsure that Nigou-san even heard me. If she had, she made no outward sign.

I felt a small, solid cylinder press against my chin which forced me to look up. Nigou-san appraised me, watching me very carefully. It was all I could do to attempt to still my trembling lip. “Stand,” she had ordered me.

And I was compelled to obey, having nothing else to do with myself. She slowly completed a circle around me, walking slowly and looking me up and down as if to examine me for the tiniest flaw. I cringed under her gaze, feeling as if she were sentencing me to an outcome I did not know.

“Well, look at you,” she spoke to me rhetorically, and I was not quite sure how to respond. It seemed somewhat sarcastic, blunt, as if it were a moment of eureka that all should obviously see. I felt as if I were the only one blind to a tidbit of information everyone knew.

“Tch, well… what should we do with you?” I stood perfectly still, forcing my eyes to the floor. I did not know if she was directly talking to me, so silence seemed the best response of all.

“You're a looker, despite your status, ne?” she proceeded to kneel before me, once again placing her rod beneath my chin to will my eyes up toward her face. But still, I kept them averted. She searched for something there, and what it was I was not exactly sure. But when I heard her sigh, I was not sure if she had found that something, but had concluded she was done regardless.

“What is your name?” she inquired. I shifted slightly, still unwilling to look at her. “Watashi wa Higurashi Kagome.” The woman frowned in dislike, standing to her feet. “That will not do. Your name is now Shankawa Kikyou.” I lifted my eyes to her torso, knitting my eyebrows together in confusion. “…doushite…?”

An angry visage passed over Nigou-san's face quickly before she struck out at me with her bamboo rod. That is when I learned why she carried it. It struck me suddenly, right in the temple which caused a pounding headache to claim me as I cried out in surprise more than pain. It had been light, only a warning, but I rushed my hand to cradle the sore spot for I was unsure what I had done wrong.

“Since you did not know, that was a warning!” she scolded me harshly, “Next time, I will not be so forgiving, Kikyou-chan. There are rules here, and you are expected to follow them obediently, without disregard or you will be punished severely. One of those rules is never to question me. It irritates me terribly, and you do not want to put me in a bad mood, understand?”

I nodded quickly, trying my best to appease this woman for she apparently would rein control over my life from this point on. Again, I was whipped. And again, I cried out. “You shall address me when I speak to you!” I bit my lip harshly, trying to keep the well of rain down that threatened to cloud over my head and pour once again. “Hai, hai! Hai Nigou-san!” My haste in responding to her seemed to please her for her unpleasant air quickly faded away as she melted in to a sea of tolerance. “Good, Kikyou-chan.”

She fell silent for a moment, and began to rub her chin as if she were contemplating on something… I stood paralyzed to the spot, not wanting to be whipped again. To my slight surprise, she decided to answer my earlier question, despite the fact I had displeased her with it. “Shankawa as in beautiful river, little one, because of your eyes. And as for Kikyou, a bellflower… for I hope you blossom beautifully, and hopefully your name will give you good fortune in this.” Even though she had decided to answer, and this alone brought the surprise, her words are what sailed to my core. Since before I had even been taken away from my Otou-san and my Okaa-san, no one had spoken to me so kindly. Slowly, I dropped to my knees and pressed my forehead against the ground, laying my hands flat before me in a show of the utmost respect for her.

“I hope to do nothing but please you, Nigou-san.” A lopsided smile appeared on the woman's lips, and she nodded, “I hope you do as well, little Kikyou-chan.”

~~~*~~~

“Your tasks here are simple. When I call, you shall answer. That is your foremost task. You shall receive daily chores from the head maid when we reach their quarters. Aside from this, you shall straighten Shiori's room, Yura's room, Ayame's room, and Kaede's room every day. Understood?” I nodded quickly, nearly forgetting to respond until my attention drew to the sharp sting in my temple.

“Hai, Nigou-san.”

She made a small noise of satisfaction and continued walking ahead of me as I followed. “The rules here are simple as well. You shall not cause trouble, not make messes, not make large noises. You are not permitted to leave the grounds without permission, and until I see to it that you are worthy of such a privilege, without supervision. If I catch you sneaking out, you shall receive such a beating from me you will have to see the doctor, understand? That is the thing I tolerate the least!” she spoke heatedly, spitting as she spoke in her slight rage. I got the impression that this had occurred before, but in her wrath I realized I was not at all tempted to instigate it. “Hai, Nigou-san.”

She nodded, “As you know, you must not question me and you must address me when I speak to you. It lets me know you are listening. You are to rise by the time the sun does, and bed as the sun does. That is, as long as your chores are completed for the day. You are also not to upset the four Geisha of the house, for if you do it will be on your time, not mine that you are not fed. They pay for the clothes on your back, the rice in your bowl, the housing you live in. Though they do this, I am in charge. You are to listen to me above them, but do not disrespect them or you will be punished as well. Is that understood?”

“Hai, Nigou-san.”

She turned to be abruptly, and I nearly stumbled backward to prevent from colliding in to her leg. She looked down upon me, “And I want to make one thing absolutely clear.” I looked at her with imploring eyes, “Hai, Nigou-san?” She sighed deeply, frowning slightly, “Two things, actually. One, do not look at those who speak to you in the eyes, for you are not worthy.” I snapped my jaw shut suddenly, a wave of displacement taking hold of me as I dropped my eyes to my feet. “I suppose I shall have to teach you manners,” I heard her mumble under her breath angrily, as if the responsibility of holding the world in her hands had been given to her.

“Two, you are not here to learn to become a Geisha, understand?” I gulped quietly, and responded dejectedly, “Hai, Nigou-san…”

At the time, I did not know if I should have been disappointed. I did not know what Geisha was. My mother was teaching me to write and read, flower arrangement, and tea ceremony. My mother never spoke to me of Geisha, and it was just as well.

I did not realize until I was older my mother was actually teaching me to be an inborn lady of high breed, one who carries herself with dignity and expects others not to look her in the face, for as long as they were not a man of status above her she could look where she pleased.

But now, now in my life I had to look forward to a jorou-ya and a life of prostitution ahead of me…

Still, I did not understand these things. All I knew was I was there to learn how to `please a man', and currently those words meant absolutely nothing to me.

But very soon, that had changed to being my one purpose in life.

Knowing how to entertain and please a man.

Glossary:

Jorou-ya: brothel

Nigou-san: Mistress

Ne: Right? (generally at the end of the sentence… used as in, “hey, that guy over there is hot, ne(right)?”)

Doushite: Why?

Watashi wa: I am… (My name is…)

A/n: Well, that was nice. And to everyone, sorry the chapters are so short! But like SilentBeauty saya, they are so to the point, there's nothing left for me to expand on, I find… It's like taking it a day at a time, and it often leads to quicker updates because it leaves me with so much to say. I just have to form it in my head. Anyway, review responding time!

SilentBeauty: You're right… I looked at her weird the first time, and went, “That woman looks Chinese.” I even said, “Hey, that's Zhang Ziyi, isn't it?” Everyone said no. Then I checked the credits, and uh, yeah, I was right. I'd know that beautiful face anywhere! I can't tell you how sorelydisappointed I was it was in English. Regardless, Zhang Ziyi did an amazing job. I love her, and very much admire her grace and fluidity in dance. The scene where she does her performance astonished me and left me breathless, and for days I talked excitedly about just that one scene alone. To me, that made the entire movie… which is completely untrue, but as my first experience it is what stole my heart. The pure raw emotion she gave out captured my breath and brought me to tears. But hey, that just makes me a big ole whimpy softie, now don't it?! ^_^?

Princess Melissa: I think I'm going to address her father later. I know what happened in my mind but I had forgotten to incorporate that… I'll just have to make it work later ^_^

MetsukiKaraTen: Thank you for enjoying this story! I'm happy you found “Without a Lullaby” as well. That was an emotional fic for me to write, and I adored it. It stole my heart to write, and at first, even though part of me hated it, I ended up loving it at the end. I am not going to change it a bit. I am perfectly happy with how it is. But why did you thank me? That was the only part that confused me, sweetie ^_^. But thank you, too.