This is a story set in the Memoirs of a Geisha universe. In fact, it's the story in Memoirs of a Geisha, only with some twists and a fully Naruto, boy-love centric cast. Though I am sure anyone can enjoy the story, some significances will be overlooked by people who have not read or seen Memoirs of a Geisha. Um, this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter, serious fanfic. Please tell me how I am doing. :3
Note: 'houkan' is technically Japanese for 'jester', but it is considered the male equivalent of the female geisha. There's actually a fascinating history behind male and female geisha, but it's a long story. I'm going to play my poetic license and pretend that houkan are exactly like geisha, only male. :D So there will still be the dancing and the beautiful kimono and excessive make-up. And my view of geisha are relatively warped. But it's a Naruto fanfic. I's warped by default. So there. Please enjoy. Oh, and I stop using the word 'houkan' and switch to 'geisha' partway through. x_x Don't mind me.
I once lived a different life in a different world, bearing a different name. I lead a quiet life by the sea, with my fisherman father and loving mother and my beautiful older brother. The four of us were happy together, scraping by on what my mother could earn and what my father caught for the day. My brother and I eagerly helped out when we could. For a time, we were in paradise. But of course, in life, change is the only constant. Like the rolling tides and the unpredictable currents, our lives were swept into disorder one cold fall.
It began with a cough, as though the crisp fall air had caught within Mother's lungs. We were so certain it would pass and that she would be healthy again soon. Time wore on, however, and her condition only worsened. We did everything we could, sold our possessions one by one until we had nothing and no money to pay for her medicine. That night, father threw the fish back into the sea and we all went hungry. He said it was to show us what emptiness was.
The next day, the tide came for us, closing in over our heads, threatening to sweep us away. It came in the form of cargo cart bound for the city, Gatou-san at the reins. This time, we were the cargo. The troubled skies wept openly for us, soaking the rags we had for clothes and chilling our sickly bodies to the bone. It is strange how easily you can see tears running down someone's face even while it rains. Though our faces were wet with the pouring rain, we could see Father's bitter grief slide down his cheeks. My brother held me tightly to his chest as I screamed for home.
"Otousan!" I wept, my small hand grappling for his. He grasped it and held on tightly, holding it in his until the cart began to move and tore us apart. I watched the dim light coming from the windows of our small cottage fade into the distance, my father's slouched silhouette breaking my heart.
"Otousan!"
We rode all night, out of the country I had known my entire life, into an unfamiliar city glittering with lit lanterns and candles. The time that passed then was a blur to me, the sights and sounds all melting together as I continued to tremble and cry out of fear. All the while, my sweet brother held me and whispered softly into my ears that everything would be just fine. Mother had always said that my brother was like a sakura tree, deeply rooted and unshakable. I was like water, she used to say, always flowing, always moving, my current adapting to the course laid out to me. And, she would add, when trapped, I would carve my own path.
After a while, we arrived at a large building bearing an insignia of a circular fan. Gatou-san stepped out and helped us off the back of the cart, taking us to the door. He knocked and a young woman came to the door, looking concerned.
"Shh, don't disturb Tsunade-sama!" she hissed, "Are these the fisherman's sons?"
Gatou-san nodded and pushed us both toward the light. The woman peered at us intently, accessing and scrutinizing our every feature. Finally, she pointed to me.
"We'll take the younger one, not the other."
My eyes widened as the woman's hand wrapped around my wrist and jerked me away from my brother. Though he tried to grab for me, Gatou-san took him by the shoulders and held him back.
"Kimimaro!" I whimpered, straining to grasp his hand again, "Oniisan, don't leave me! Kimimaro!"
"Roka!" he cried back, also reaching for me as Gatou-san wrestled him away. His eyes were panicked beneath the thin veil of silver hair that had fallen over his face. I remember his desperation clearly. I did not want to be alone.
"Kimimaro!"
The woman finally managed to pull me through the door and she closed it behind her. By then I had cried so much that my very bones ached. My very soul ached.
"Come," the woman said to me as she tried to straighten my posture and give order to my hair. "We are going to see Okaasan."
She ushered me through the unfamiliar, winding corridors that smelled of musky incense. I was brought before a translucent door that emitted a flickering, golden glow. Someone within was casting a shadow upon the thin paper, an imposing form drinking out of a sake bottle. I shivered.
"Don't speak, I will answer for you. And keep your head bowed - never look directly at Okaasan," she warned me before rapping on the door frame lightly.
"Eh? Shizune?" the voice within asked.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama! I've brought our new arrival!"
"Mm, come in," the voice instructed, sounding the slightest bit drunk.
Shizune-san knelt and slid the door open, pushing me within. This door was also closed after us. I, out of fear, did as I was told and kept my eyes upon the floor.
"How old are you?" Tsunade-sama asked. As she promised, Shizune-san answered for me.
"Eight this coming winter, Tsunade-sama."
"Eight? Hmm... come here," Tsunade-sama called out to me. I shuffled forward, my joints so stiff from the cold and my own numbing fear that my movements were forced and awkward. I found a fan under my chin suddenly, tugging my face upwards. Still, I tried to advert my gaze.
"Look at me," she commanded. I obeyed. Before me, I saw a commanding, imposing woman. She was young and she was beautiful, but there was a certain meanness in her face. She had eyes like mine. Eyes that had known true emptiness and loneliness. She peered into those eyes of mine, which had been a vague blue since birth.
"Too much water," she tsked, shaking her head.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune-san sounded as though she were scolding her, "Water can be very useful, to counter the fire of a certain young man." Tsunade-sama made a dismissive gesture with her hand, turning back to her sake bottle. I quickly lowered my eyes again.
"Hai, hai," she sighed, "It's too late to send him back anyway." Shizune bowed and pushed me down to do the same.
"Come," Shizune-san whispered once we had departed from Tsunade-sama's company, "I will show you to your room."
Once again I was guided through the labyrinth of hallways and passages, Shizune-san at my back. It was the stairwell to an attic that she lead me to, pushing me in and closing the door behind me. I heard the latch click shut. Feeling panicked in the dark stairwell, I began to pound my fists against the door.
"Let me out!" I sobbed, feeling my head throb from my tears and my distress, "Where's my brother? Kimimaro! Let me out! I have to go find Kimimaro!"
"Sasuke!" Shizune-san shouted from outside, "Keep him quiet! The master is sleeping!" I heard no movement behind me, but there abruptly were arms around my waist, pulling me back. A hand clamped over my mouth.
"Shh!" a low voice hissed, "Keep quiet or you'll upset Okaasan!" I only whimpered, shaking my head as I tried to free myself of him.
"Stop fighting me!" he growled, pinning me to the wooden floors. His hands gripped my wrists tightly and pulled them over my head. I stopped struggling, but my breath still rattled with my sobs. This was the first time I had a good look at him. My first impression was that he was handsome, possibly even as handsome as my brother. He had dark hair that hung over his eyes. His eyes were also like mine, glimmering a hollow red under the light streaming in from the cracks in the floorboards. I had not realized how many people in the world knew emptiness like I did. His expression was sullen, as though he had forgotten how to smile.
"Your family has sold you to this okiya,"continued Sasuke in his emotionless voice, "This is where you live now. Don't be weak. Crying is useless." At his words, I shut my eyes tightly and refused to open them. Sold? To this place? What about my family - my frail and heartbroken father and my poor, sickly mother? My brother, who always protected me?
"What about my brother?" I whimpered, sniffling still. Sasuke climbed off me after deciding that I was calm enough. I struggled to sit up, rubbing my eyes with my fists.
"He was probably sold to another okiya," shrugged Sasuke carelessly, flipping his hair out of his eyes. "You should worry about yourself. You can stay the way you are and become a slave and errand boy forever, or you can do as you're told and behave for Okaasan. If you are good enough, she will send you to school. You can learn to be a houkan and maybe earn enough to buy yourself out of this hell."
"H-houkan?" I asked softly, my curiosity winning over my grief. Water adapted to new paths quickly. Sasuke nodded and showed me a photo of a person wearing a beautiful kimono, holding a parasol in a way that could only be described as elegant.
"She's beautiful," I whispered, touching the paper lightly with my trembling hands.
"He. Houkan are men, and they are sometimes still called geisha," corrected Sasuke. His voice took on a light tone of pride as he continued, "That's the top geisha of this okiya. We are one of the best okiya in Tanzaku city, and he is our pride. Made his debut as a maiko at the age of just nine! He became a full fledged geisha at thirteen when his mizuage was auctioned, and it won a very good price. It paid off his debts to this okiya completely. Ever since, he's been one of the most well known and loved geisha in all of Tanzaku city. He pays for the clothes on our backs and the rice in our bowls."
"Who is he?" I asked in a quiet, reverent voice. It was an inspiring story, even to me. Success was not a word I was familiar with, with my humble roots as a fisherman's son.
"The head geisha of Uchiha okiya," Sasuke recited as though it were a title, "Itachi."
Um... Yeah. So, what do you all think? *is kind of nervous about a story of this magnitude* I have all the characters casted in my head. Please guess the ones that have not been introduced yet! That's half the fun! I will post a guide to who has been introduced at the end of each chapter to help you keep track. Um... I adore reviews. A single review can keep me going for a while, and any reviews after that are absolute treasures.
Chiyo - 'Roka' [His name will be revealed when 'Roka' grows up, though it will probably become evident who he is by the time the chairman is introduced. 'Roka' means 'white crest of the wave'. I felt it suited his water theme.]
Tanaka - Gatou
Satsu - Kimimaro
Mother - Tsunade
Auntie - Shizune
Pumpkin - Sasuke
Hatsumomo - Itachi