Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ The Ocean Called Us ❯ The Ocean's Floating World ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

 

The Ocean's Floating World Part 1

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Champloo or any of its characters. Any original characters are purely fictional and any similarity to actual persons is purely coincidental.

 

Fuu rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stretching her tired muscles before rolling up her futon. Her stomach was already grumbling. It was true that she was always hungry, but the fact that she now ate routine meals meant her hunger pains were intense and scheduled. She was glad at those moments that she wasn't in charge of preparing meals. The one time they had tried her for that position she had failed miserably. She hadn't been too sad about not getting that position because the cook had to get up earlier than everyone else in the house. As it was she had to get up early enough, most days even before the sun rose. She blanched at the thought of getting up any earlier.

 

Today Fuu was exceptionally tired. She'd been out late last night and not by her own want, but rather instruction. She was trying to locate someone. These late nights on the Kanazawa streets had been happening a lot lately and it made her days hard to get through, but she had no other choice than to do what she was told. A nineteen-year-old woman had to sacrifice some comforts to survive and the last three and a half years had not been so bad. She would rather have somewhere to stay, have a purpose in life than be wandering the roads of Japan all alone like she had done for half a year after the completion of the journey to find her father. Sure she'd learned how to use that pink tanto and added some new job skills to her repertoire, but the risks weren't worth the rewards, or lack there of. That lifestyle didn't suit her. It had during the journey, but that was because of her companions.

 

It was raining outside and she always thought about them when it rained. Sadly it rained a lot in Kanazawa. Most of the time when old memories would flair up Fuu would just push them away or busy herself with one of her mundane chores. Memories weren't conducive to this new life of hers and it wasn't worth igniting the already fiery spirit that wished those days had never ended. They had ended and they had both left her. She had long given up the hope that she would ever see Mugen or Jin again. She was old enough to accept her place in life, even if it went against every fiber of her being. The life style she really wanted to live was impossible because she was a woman. Mugen and Jin could choose whatever path they wanted because they were men. The cold hard reality was she resented her old companions at times, as though all her troubles as a woman could be traced back to them. They showed her what life could have been life if only she was born a man and then to have that taken away, that freedom ripped from her. It was more than she could bear.

 

A long day was ahead of her and she shook the thoughts out of her head before waking up the small girls that still slept on their futons. There were three girls in total, not including her. Two were very young, seven and eight years old, and the third was only a few years Fuu's junior. The girls put away their futons and quickly changed into their dull grey work yukatas, tying back the long sleeves. The only thing that differenced their boring work clothing was their coloured obi, which they helped each other tie. Fuu smoothed her hands along the brightly coloured red obi, her only sign of individuality while she was working. The red obi went well with her new life, her new identity, especially her new name.

 

For the last three and a half years Fuu had been living in the Higashi Geisha District in Kanazawa in the Ishikawa prefecture as a servant in the prestigious Takamine okiya. Fuu had decided to abandon her given name in favor of a new alias, one that cut her ties to her samurai father and the Christians. Fuu was no longer the wandering samurai daughter, but Suzuki Akako, the kind and quiet okiya servant. Fuu had grown not only physically, but in wisdom as well. She was still passionate and quick to anger, but she had learned to carry herself in a more acceptable, almost stereotypical manner. She didn't have the luxury of going against the grain of tradition in the “flower and willow” world, especially living in such close proximity with the shogun's men, frequent patrons of the Eastern District. She painstakingly attempted to imitate the traditional Japanese woman. She was beautiful, soft spoken, formal and dutiful. With the exception of her own physical beauty, she played at the rest. Anyone that really knew her could attest to that. Well Mugen or Jin could attest to that. In the end Fuu figured that she was being overly cautious, but she had no other options. She had to look out for herself. No matter the potential danger she reasoned it was safer to live life under the shogun's nose rather than running. She had learned long ago that running around made one look suspicious and a target. Fuu could afford to be neither.

 

How Fuu had found herself in the okiya was not of her own doing. She had taken up a job in a small ochaya (teahouse) where a man from the powerful Maeda clan had noticed her, asked about her and pointed her out to one of the Takamine geisha. Said geisha told her okaa-san, Takamine Amaya, about the interest the young samurai had taken in Fuu. Originally Takamine had been interested in Fuu as an apprentice geisha with hopes that the samurai would eventually become her danna, but Fuu refused not only because she did not desire such a lifestyle, but because she knew that would bring her in uncomfortably close interactions with the very men she wanted to avoid, had to avoid to keep safe. Instead Fuu had simply asked the proprietress of the okiya if she had any other jobs available and that is how she found herself in the service of Takamine okiya. Fuu was one of the only servants besides the cook that was not working to become a geisha, but that didn't mean that she was not involved in that world of feminine mystery.

 

Over the years Fuu had formed a close relationship with the okaa-san and was given certain liberties and duties not normally given to a mere servant. Fuu was in charge of making sure the geisha had everything they needed, getting the apprentices to class, helping with the finances and monitoring certain geisha that seemed to wander from their scheduled appointments. Unknown to Fuu, many of her liberties were given to her in hopes that her frequent activity outside the okiya would allow her path to cross with the young Maeda samurai. Takamine Amaya reasoned that an alliance could be made between the powerful samurai, Maeda Yuudai, and the okiya through the young servant, Suzuki Akako (Fuu).

 

Maeda Yuudai. Fuu knew she was still the object of his undying devotion and affections. He was everything Fuu should have wanted. He was handsome, wealthy, kind, educated, strong and sweet. But the fact was she didn't want him nor was she remotely interested in the samurai. Even she thought she was crazy for not wanting him, especially when he was so genuinely kind and sincere. Fuu rationalized that she could never ally herself with someone with such close ties to the shogun, but it was more than that. Something from her past was stopping her.

 

He was relentless with his pursuits and generous with his affections, even recently buying her a beautiful yellow yukata, complete with an orange silk obi, new tabi, zori, fan, kanzashi and matching parasol. Okaa-san had always made her accept the gifts despite Fuu's desire to return them. She felt that by accepting the gifts she was forcing herself into a relationship with a man she didn't want to be with, as well as leading him on. His most recent attack, probably at the encouragement from Takamine, was asking Fuu to marry him. The yellow yukata with its detailed depiction of orange koi swimming through delicate blue and red waves was a sort of apology gift for one of the most recent failed proposals. This was sort of a habit of his, which Fuu never really understood. He'd ask her out or ask for her hand, she'd promptly refuse and then within the next few days she'd receive a gift with a note from him apologizing for being so forward. It was sweet at first, then annoying and now just well sort of pathetic. Of course accepting the gifts only blazed the path for the continuation of this sort of behavior and lead Yuudai to believe that Fuu was merely playing hard to get. She was not and the reality of the situation was Fuu would never be ready or able to accept Yuudai. She wished she could, but it wasn't fair to her or to him if she forced herself. The future of the okiya could go to hell for all she cared. She would accept the gifts, but there would be no Maeda-Takamine alliance through her. That's what the geisha were for and Fuu was no geisha.

 

Fuu fingered the red obi. No it was someone, not something, that she ached for and Maeda Yuudai would never be able to fill that void.

 

Oh well at least she had a new yukata to look forward to after her daily chores were done. She just hoped she wouldn't run into the gift giver. Blah! She'd rather hit him than look at him, especially on this particular day.

 

“Akako-san? Breakfast is ready.” Fuu turned to stare at the small child. The look on the child's face told her she had been staring off into space again.

 

The child in front of her had become like a daughter to her in the past few months. Aoi-chan was the okiya's attori, which meant that Fuu was to pay particularly close attention to her as well as spend most of her time with the small child. This was not made difficult seeing as the child had taken an instant liking to Fuu. Okaa-san had once told Fuu it was because she looked like an older sister Aoi had before she was adopted by the okiya. Fuu was glad to be able to care for the child and relished her time spent with her. Aoi was one of the few people Fuu could really be herself around. The small child was one of Fuu's few joys left in life.

 

“Oh, thank you Aoi-chan. We had better hurry then. We have lots to do today.”

 

Author's Notes-I tried to be as accurate as I could with the historical and cultural context and pick a believable location for this story. After a fair amount of research I settled on Kanazawa in the Higashi Geisha District as the stories main location. It is located on the western coast of Japan, along the Sea of Japan. I thought it would be wise to choose a place, other than Edo or a typically recognized Geisha district (such as Gion or Kyoto). Kanazawa was run by the Maeda-clan during the Edo period. They were a very powerful family under the Shogun. If I recall correctly they were the second most powerful family at the time. Not that Yuudai is a character of my own creation and has no connection to any actual historical figure, intentional or unintentional.

 

Instead of placing Fuu in a typical job such as a waitress in a teahouse I decided to place her in a different but similar context, which will become necessary for later in the story. I debated between making Fuu a geisha or a servant in the okiya. I chose the later seeing as how I could not picture Fuu as a geisha. She never quite had the fluidity or grace require for the life of a living piece of art. Plus I reasoned that the position as servant would allow her more freedom, which I knew she would crave, but would also put in her intimate connection with the world of the geisha and their patrons. It should also be known that I created a fictitious okiya. To my knowledge there was no Takamine Amaya or Takamine okiya in the Higashi Geisha District. The Higashi Geisha District is also called the Eastern Geisha District as it was the largest of three geisha districts in Kanazawa.

 

Okiya-a home for girls/women who are learning to become geisha and are under contract and still not self-sufficient or those that simply wish to stay on to teach other younger geisha.

 

Okaa-san-This is the mama-san or proprietress of the okiya. She is in charge of the geisha, the finances and of course the okiya's reputation. In this story Takamine Amaya is the okaa-san.

 

Ochaya-A teahouse where geisha perform, entertain and converse with their patrons. These teahouses would not be open for the general public as geisha at this time were usually conversation and entertainment companions of the samurai class.

 

Attori-A young girl who is to inherit the position of proprietress of the okiya. Usually the current okaa-san will choose a daughter of her own for the position, but if she does not have one, a young girl can be adopted. Most attori are appointed at a young age, usually six and are raised to become geisha before taking on the position of proprietress.

 

Yukata-A light summer kimono, often made out of cotton.

 

Obi-a belt

 

Zori-Flat sandals, often worn by professional geisha.

 

Tabi-split toed socks

 

Kanzashi-hair ornaments

 

Tanto-small sword

 

Also note Akako means “red” and Aoi “blue”. The characters names that I create usually have some sort of relevant meaning to the story.

 

If anyone is confused with the new characters I can make a list of who everyone is as they enter into the story. I'm not sure at this point how many original characters will enter in the to story so I would just like to caution the reader that if I name a character its most likely they will have some sort of long standing importance to the story.