OOC mainly with Kaoru's part.actually, no, it's only semi ooc, because
Kaoru in the real RK can SOMETIMES be gentle and feminine :D
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Corrupted Innocence : Chapter 1
by white seraph
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In the olden times of Japan, there was once a little, but busy district called Gion, or, the town of entertainment that sat right in Kyoto. The district was very distinguishable, and had different society of it's own from the rest of the world. It was also known as the Karyukai, or the flowery, willowy world, because it was a place where beautiful artists called the Geishas worked. They were like flowers, beautiful, but unique, and willowy because of their grace.
There were several houses there, accommodating women who earned a living by using their bodies and skills to entertain customers. The houses provided these women all their basic needs, including food, bed, and more importantly, their kimonos and make up artists. They would prepare these women, and make sure they were perfect, before sending them to the teahouses where they worked at night to entertain customers, usually men. The teahouses, of course, always wanted to hire the most skilled and most beautiful geishas, and would pay the houses more so they would send them the better geishas, so this was how it went, the price of hiring these geishas vary a lot, and of course, the most sought after women were at the top. It was a world of business that sells the art of beauty.
People visited for different reasons, varying from enhancing their status in society, to love, to the admiration of beauty, or merely for socializing.
At the time when the Edo period was drawing to an end, the Karyukai was at its height, with hundreds women working for the teahouses that were all pact on the main street.
And this is where our story begins.
[A/N don't you just hate my introductions?!]
"Kaoru! It's time to get out of bed dear." The voice of a mature woman woke the girl up.
Kaoru scanned the small room, and met the eyes of an old woman, the mother of the house. She was very grateful that she was given a room of her own, and even if it was not as big as the make up room, at least she didn't have to sleep with everyone else in the room next door.
"Good morning, Mama Okina" Kaoru greeted politely with a smile. Of course, the old lady was not her mother by blood, but as the successor of this house, Kaoru is, by name and law, the 'adopted' child. She didn't even know why exactly she was chosen to be the successor, she didn't even know why exactly she was here in first place. She vaguely remembered her mother, squatting so she was at eye level with her, cupping her small cold cheeks and promising her that one day, they would come back and take her home.
Of course, as a young child, Kaoru didn't understand anything, all she knew was that her parents had taken her away from the big house they once lived in, and put her here. Of course she protested, but from the first day her real parents put her here, Mama Okina treated her like a princess, and the whole house accordingly, also treated her same. It was hard for Kaoru not to like it here, and soon she before she even knew it, Kaoru started calling this foreign place, home.
Her parents often came to visit her, but as a little girl, she understood little about the world of the adults, about war, about death. As time passed, her parents came less frequently, and by the time she was seven, they stopped coming all together, and from that day on, Mama Okina made it official that she was the atotori, or the heiress of her house.
As the heiress, Kaoru was given the best of everything; kimonos, ornaments, wooden sandals. Her wardrobe was indeed stunning, and none of it was shared with the rest of the house, she was even given the best make up artist that would come everyday from the other side of the town just to make her up. Now, now, do not be mistaken, of course there were those that envied the girl, who was showered with love and attention since the first day she stepped in here. But those were only the ones who did not know her well, for all those who knew her, found it hard to despise the girl. She was the most adorable girl one can ever meet, and weather entertaining customers or not, she was always carrying that cheerful, carefree smile, and spoke in that soft, quiet voice of hers.
Now, it has been a decade after the last time she saw her parents, Kaoru vaguely remembered her parent's faces, to her; they were people of the past, people buried in her memories. But despite Kaoru's ill memory of them, her mother's voice, telling her that one day they would come back for her, never left her, and she often wondered if they had forgotten about her.
"Kaoru!" Mama Okina's sudden voice broke the girl away from her morning haze, and then with a gentler tone she added "The Red Rose Teahouse booked for you tonight, remember?"
"I thought I declined them." She replied briefly as she rolled her bed up.
The old lady sighed. "Yes, I know, but the house insisted on your appearance, the Teahouse said Ikumatsu specifically wanted you to go." She tried to explain. It was how it worked, it was easy to turn an offer from the teahouses down, but it was disrespectful to turn the offer of another geisha down, especially one as popular and successful as Ikumastu. As a matter of fact, even she had no idea why they wanted Kaoru in particular. The woman was popular, and had shared parts with Kaoru quite a few times in the annual productions, that was how they came to be aquainted, but really, they were in different leagues, Ikumatsu was a mature, skilled geisha and much more popular and famous than Kaoru.
The girl was only seventeen, and at the height of her beauty, and with her dazzling blue eyes, like jewels on her beautifully painted face and her graceful dances, Kaoru could easily win the major roles in annual dances. However, this was unfortunately, not the case. Kaoru was no famous geisha, despite her beauty and contribution toward the Karyukai, her popularity could only thrive to a very limited extent, because Mama Okina did not and would not accept any offers from those who wanted to buy her virginity. That meant she was in a limbo of some sort, unable to make her final debut as a full geisha because she was still a virgin, but already past the stage of apprenticeship.
Kaoru didn't know weather to be relieved or not by her decisions, for it meant she was safe from having to share a bed with men she barely knew. But then again, the thought of earning so little money for the house because of this made her extremely guilty.
[holy crap I just realized how much I suck in writing prose, it's like.. a quote, and then a whole chunk of description explaining nothing /.\]
* * * * * *
Himura Kenshin had just returned from a very important mission, successfully, and his boss, Katsura insisted they celebrated here tonight, but he knew, it was just Katsura's excuse to see geisha he was supporting perform. Himura Kenshin wasn't really interested in these elaborate women who sold their bodies through the seduction of beauty, in fact, he'd rather they quit the abundant, and irrelevant procedures and jump straight to bed. Not very romantic, but practical, but then again it wasn't as if he had for ever to let himself be entertained by these ignorant women when so much was happening outside this little secluded district that no one dares attack.
"So, Himura, are there any geishas in particular that you would want to entertain you tonight?" asked as the women came in one by one, filling the room up by taking seats next to the men randomly..
Or perhaps not so randomly, as most of the sat around Kenshin, abandoning the other men. It was too late for him to shook his head and tell Katsura he did not enjoy this sort of entertainment.
Despite these women's enthusiasm, Himura Kenshin found it hard to appreciate any of them, being overly effusive and constantly trying to think of queer conversations that bore the hell out of him. He looked around, but all the other men in the room, including Katsura was unaware of his discomfort, they were too busy indulging themselves in this so called 'entertainment'
However, being as impatient as any boy of his age would be, Kenshin could not stand it any longer, and abruptly stood up to excuse himself to the bathroom. If it wasn't for Katsura's sake, he swore, he would have killed these lovely birds, all of them, just to end they annoying giggles. Stomping out of the room, he walked down the staircase, to the farthest bathroom, on the other side of the teahouse to hide.
Suddenly, he noticed a figure, flying up the parallel staircase on the other side of the room, as if someone was chasing her for her life. Kenshin was unable to see her face from the distance, but he had to admit, he was indeed awed, and definitely impressed by this geisha, with that small figure on those six-inch sandals and elaborate hair, still able to project immense energy and skills to run like a normal person. All the other geishas he had seen, were the most vulnerable, precious little birds that couldn't even run if their lives depended on it, and unfortunately, this did not give him the general image of a dainty, feminine figure, but just how pathetic they looked.
Now, if only that geisha was called for, then he'd definitely ask her for the night, he smiled as the brief thought rolled across his mind.
"Now sir! Will you excuse us for a moment, are you going up or down?!" An old woman, holding a dirty cloth asked. She was obviously one of the cleaners of the house, not in the least attractive. But he also realized how foolish he must have looked, standing in the middle of a staircase, staring at a geisha long gone out of sight.
"I'm going down." He finally replied, and quickly hopped down the stairs to his destination, and he'd probably loiter around outside for a while. Anything to keep himself away from them for as long as possible would do. But then again, he didn't want to miss his favorite part of the night; when everyone gets drunk and the women finally get into some real entertainment.
* * * * * *
Thank god Kaoru made it in time to the Red Rose Teahouse, huffing and puffing, the girl tried to do a last minute fix to her hair and dress before she dismissed her chaperone. It was getting dark, but the bright lights of the busy houses filled the dark streets with a yellowish glowing light.
"Ah, you must be Kaoru" A middle-age woman, obviously the mistress of the teahouse came to greet the girl from the doorway on the second floor. "Come this way please" She lead Kaoru through the long corridor to a large room where geishas were already entertaining their guests. "Entertain them well." Was all the lady said before she quietly slipped away.
Nearly everyone had their eyes set on Kaoru, and it indeed, made her feel uneasy. "Good evening" She smiled, and gave a shallow bow, before turning to slid the door shut. She scanned the room wondering if she had said or done anything wrong to win all this attention. Suddenly, her eyes caught a familiar face. Ikumatsu was sitting next to the man, whom Kaoru believed was the host of this party, since he was sitting in the middle.
Sure enough, the woman came to her rescue, she walked and stood next to Kaoru, and then introduced her very formally to the rest of the people. "This is Kaoru, a friend I met in the annual dancing productions."
Of course, Ikumatsu did not say that for nothing, to perform in the annual productions meant a lot, and by saying that, the people would be interested in her entertainment. She took the girl to sit next to her, and immediately people started conversations with her, including a other geishas whom Kaoru vaguely recognized. This was going to be a busy night, she knew.
* * * * * *
Kaoru poured some warm alcohol, very skillfully and served it to the couple of men she was entertaining. One was a doctor, another was a businessman, both are good friends of the host, whom Kaoru learnt, was called Katsura.
"Did you know that tea is good for your health?" The doctor said, as he stared at the small porcelain cup he was holding, as if it was a cup of tea.
"Why, this is not a cup of tea, doctor. You must be drunk." Another geisha called Tomoe laughed jokingly. Kaoru had never heard of her name before this evening because, as soon told, Tomoe was a geisha that was from a house on the other side of the district, but came tonight because another geisha from her same house called Tamiko also came. She was also introduced to earlier that evening, but unlike Tomoe, the snobby geisha had turned her nose away and busied herself entertaining Katsura.
The doctor smiled "I'm not drunk, I'm merely saying tea is good for your health."
"Would you like me to get you some warm tea then?" Kaoru asked thoughtfully.
But the man only chuckled "No, it's alright, I don't want a geisha like you to waste your time running down the corridors doing a servant's job."
Kaoru was about to reply, when Ikumatsu's soft voice from behind caught her attention. "Would you like to come have a dance with me, Kaoru?" She asked. "My patron, Katsura would like to see you dance with me."
* * * * * *
The night was cold, and Himura Kenshin, wearing a one layered gi, loosely hanging over his shoulders as usual, found himself shivering in the middle of the dark streets, and unable to take it anymore, he finally surrendered for his health's sake, and quickly returned back to the teahouse.
It was more crowded than before, and someone was performing on the semi stage. Taking his usual seat next to Katsura, he sat down to see the dance everyone was crowding around to see.
"It's good you made it back in time, now come have some wine and enjoy the end of the dance." Katsura said as he poured the lad some warm wine. This boy was his most prized treasure, his weapon, and Kastura never underestimated him, and would do anything to keep him.
But Himura Kenshin never touched the cup of wine Katsura poured for him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the graceful figure on stage dancing. It was the geisha he had seen on the staircase earlier, and true to his assumptions she was indeed the loveliest creature he had set his eyes on, that exquisite little body bending gracefully in harmony with Ikumatsu. He was never really interested in these high class prostitutes they called geishas, sure they were fun to talk to, sure some were good to look at, and sure they were for him to release his sexual frustrations, but he had never met one as beautiful and graceful as this one, and now he was more than determined to have her.
The dance had ended, and the dancers returned to their seats, but Kenshin still, couldn't tear his eyes away from her, and watched her conversing with a man whom he recognized as another of Katsura's messangers, called Iizuka.
"Ah, it is indeed a rare case that Himura has found himself someone to look at, who may the lucky girl be?" Ikumatsu joked as she saw the boy who seemed so out of himself tonight, staring at the geishas on the other side of the room.
"Who's that raven haired beauty over there?" He asked in reply, but still did not take his eye away from her.
"You mean the girl that just danced with me?" Ikumatsu asked with a smile. She hadn't known the boy for a long time, but from what Katsura told her, he'd talk to them if they talked to him, he'd sleep with them if they seduced him, but he never he rarely showed interest to any geisha in particular.
He nodded briefly so she replied, "Why, that's Kaoru you have your eyes on" she sipped some wine before continuing "How about I help you ask her over and introduce you to her properly?" And without waiting for his response, she left her seat and went to the other side of the room to bring the girl over.
"Kaoru, I want you to meet a friend of mine, Himura Kenshin." Ikumatsu said as indicating a strange redheaded young man that Kaoru vaguely recall seeing earlier this evening. But he was still a customer nonetheless, and she had to treat him like one. So taking a seat next to him, she smiled. "Hello Mr. Himura." She said politely and offered to pour him some wine.
"Please, Kenshin is fine" he insisted before taking a deep breath. For some reason, he felt uneasy and nervous. It wasn't as if it was his first talking to a geisha, but with her beautiful sapphire blue eyes, seductively innocent, locked to his own, it was nearly impossible to keep his lust for her in control.
Now, Kaoru thought it was rather queer that this man was constantly staring at her. but didn't dare question him. "So, um.are you a friend of Mr. Katsura's?" She tried to start a conversation in vain, which was rather hard considering the fact that Ikumatsu had left them all alone in the corner, and that he wasn't really a very socialable person
"I.." Kenshin hesitated to think briefly, and decided it was better not to reveal anything to her. "Yes, I'm a friend of his." He finally replied.
Now Kaoru could no longer take it, this man's stare wasn't helping her concentrate on the conversation. "Is.is there something on my face?"
"Yes" he breathed, as he could no longer resist the temptation and started tracing the contours of her soft cherry red lips with the tip of his fingers. "If there is anything on your face is would be beauty itself." He dropped his gaze from her eyes, and focused on her lips, which he saw, slowly press together, indicating her uneasiness.
She flinched back, breaking away from his touch, she was rather.surprised by the answer, and found it hard to find an appropriate answer. Of course she was praised of being beautiful before, but it was somehow... different this time. "I.I." And then, she decided to drop the whole subject entirely. "How about I tell you a story?"
Kenshin rolled his eyes, "No, forget about the story" she was the slowest girl he had ever met, it took him a lot of courage to start the subject off, and now she dropped it just like that, and go off to tell him some boring story that he was at the least interested in. Are geishas always like that? Never getting to the point until it was about time? Did she not know that he had absolutely no interest in this sort of entertainment?
Of course Kaoru had no idea what this particular customer wanted of her, and found it hard to respond. "Oh..." She said, quickly thinking. "Then..um..what would you like to talk about?" She asked. Her conversations with customers did not usually go like that, but for some reason, this one was particularly hard to talk to, and there was a thick air of tension that divided her from him.
"Lets talk about you" Kenshin replied in a low voice as he scooted over and closed the distance between them by snaking his arm around her waist.
Kaoru furrowed her eyebrows, thinking him queer, but then again, some customers are sometimes interested in her life.so she very patiently tried to form a brief story line of her own life and was about to open her mouth to tell him of it when she suddenly found herself gagged by his kiss.
Kaoru was absolutely horrified, and tried everything she could to get him away. But every effort made was futile, frustrated of her own weakness, and unable to protect herself from his violations, she felt the testament of her pain and hurt rolling down her cheeks, wetting her well painted face. But it was not enough to stop his hot lips from the unexpected violation, pressed hard to hers, his tongue exploring her mouth, abusing her innocence, as if it was out of unleashed desperate lust.
However, Kenshin on the other hand, did not feel her hurt, all he felt was the erupting desires he could no longer control inside. It has been a long time since he found a woman that interested him the way this one did, and from the first moment he saw her on the stair case, that little energetic figure, he knew she would be one who could make him feel the way he was feeling now. He wanted her soft little body under his so badly that there would be nothing that can deny him of her, nothing. "I'm .definitely going to. make arrangements to spend a night.with you" He said between kisses.
Or so he thought. Blinded by his own indulge, of course Kenshin did not notice the tears, the small hands trying to push his chest away, the unresponsive lips. And it wasn't until he felt an unexpected crack on his cheek that he realized his passion and desires were not mutual.
Kaoru really didn't want to do this, after all, he was a customer and it was her job to make sure he enjoyed his time here, but if she didn't slap him, god knows what would have happened to her. "Excuse me sir," She said, still unable to control the tears rolling down her face, smearing the make up. "But my body is not for sale. Now will you please excuse me." She said before pushing herself up and left the room quickly.
Everyone looked surprised at what just happened, but Kenshin didn't care. Any embarrassment he had was overwritten by the disappointment. Breathing hard he still felt her soft lips on his own, it had happened so suddenly that he could hardly accept it. Closing his eyes, Kenshin felt his heart sink at the deprivation.
People resumed back to their conversations after the silent response from Kenshin, but Ikumatsu sighed, as she saw the disappointment written all over the poor lad's face, and went to comfort him. "Now, Himura, Kaoru was only one of the many geishas around, can't you just forget about her, and enjoy the rest of your night here with us?" She took Kaoru's seat next to him.
"I don't understand." He said allusively. "Why is it that the only woman I want had to be the only one Icould not have?"
Ikumatsu sighed, understanding what he meant. "Well.Kaoru isn't really a mature geisha, though she has gone far past the required minimum age." She explained. "For some unknown reason, the mother of her house has not sold Kaoru's virginity yet, and so tradition wise, she isn't qualified to sleep with her customers."
"So.. they didn't sell her virginity because she doesn't have one anymore?" He asked.
"Well" She took a deep breath "I'm not sure." Ikumatsu finished off.
"If I can't buy her for a night like this, I'm sure I can always find other ways." He said, giving himself a light of hope. This Kaoru probably has an illicit affair with another man, and if that's really the case, if another man can seduce her, then Kenshin was sure, he can, too.
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Corrupted Innocence : Chapter 1
by white seraph
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In the olden times of Japan, there was once a little, but busy district called Gion, or, the town of entertainment that sat right in Kyoto. The district was very distinguishable, and had different society of it's own from the rest of the world. It was also known as the Karyukai, or the flowery, willowy world, because it was a place where beautiful artists called the Geishas worked. They were like flowers, beautiful, but unique, and willowy because of their grace.
There were several houses there, accommodating women who earned a living by using their bodies and skills to entertain customers. The houses provided these women all their basic needs, including food, bed, and more importantly, their kimonos and make up artists. They would prepare these women, and make sure they were perfect, before sending them to the teahouses where they worked at night to entertain customers, usually men. The teahouses, of course, always wanted to hire the most skilled and most beautiful geishas, and would pay the houses more so they would send them the better geishas, so this was how it went, the price of hiring these geishas vary a lot, and of course, the most sought after women were at the top. It was a world of business that sells the art of beauty.
People visited for different reasons, varying from enhancing their status in society, to love, to the admiration of beauty, or merely for socializing.
At the time when the Edo period was drawing to an end, the Karyukai was at its height, with hundreds women working for the teahouses that were all pact on the main street.
And this is where our story begins.
[A/N don't you just hate my introductions?!]
"Kaoru! It's time to get out of bed dear." The voice of a mature woman woke the girl up.
Kaoru scanned the small room, and met the eyes of an old woman, the mother of the house. She was very grateful that she was given a room of her own, and even if it was not as big as the make up room, at least she didn't have to sleep with everyone else in the room next door.
"Good morning, Mama Okina" Kaoru greeted politely with a smile. Of course, the old lady was not her mother by blood, but as the successor of this house, Kaoru is, by name and law, the 'adopted' child. She didn't even know why exactly she was chosen to be the successor, she didn't even know why exactly she was here in first place. She vaguely remembered her mother, squatting so she was at eye level with her, cupping her small cold cheeks and promising her that one day, they would come back and take her home.
Of course, as a young child, Kaoru didn't understand anything, all she knew was that her parents had taken her away from the big house they once lived in, and put her here. Of course she protested, but from the first day her real parents put her here, Mama Okina treated her like a princess, and the whole house accordingly, also treated her same. It was hard for Kaoru not to like it here, and soon she before she even knew it, Kaoru started calling this foreign place, home.
Her parents often came to visit her, but as a little girl, she understood little about the world of the adults, about war, about death. As time passed, her parents came less frequently, and by the time she was seven, they stopped coming all together, and from that day on, Mama Okina made it official that she was the atotori, or the heiress of her house.
As the heiress, Kaoru was given the best of everything; kimonos, ornaments, wooden sandals. Her wardrobe was indeed stunning, and none of it was shared with the rest of the house, she was even given the best make up artist that would come everyday from the other side of the town just to make her up. Now, now, do not be mistaken, of course there were those that envied the girl, who was showered with love and attention since the first day she stepped in here. But those were only the ones who did not know her well, for all those who knew her, found it hard to despise the girl. She was the most adorable girl one can ever meet, and weather entertaining customers or not, she was always carrying that cheerful, carefree smile, and spoke in that soft, quiet voice of hers.
Now, it has been a decade after the last time she saw her parents, Kaoru vaguely remembered her parent's faces, to her; they were people of the past, people buried in her memories. But despite Kaoru's ill memory of them, her mother's voice, telling her that one day they would come back for her, never left her, and she often wondered if they had forgotten about her.
"Kaoru!" Mama Okina's sudden voice broke the girl away from her morning haze, and then with a gentler tone she added "The Red Rose Teahouse booked for you tonight, remember?"
"I thought I declined them." She replied briefly as she rolled her bed up.
The old lady sighed. "Yes, I know, but the house insisted on your appearance, the Teahouse said Ikumatsu specifically wanted you to go." She tried to explain. It was how it worked, it was easy to turn an offer from the teahouses down, but it was disrespectful to turn the offer of another geisha down, especially one as popular and successful as Ikumastu. As a matter of fact, even she had no idea why they wanted Kaoru in particular. The woman was popular, and had shared parts with Kaoru quite a few times in the annual productions, that was how they came to be aquainted, but really, they were in different leagues, Ikumatsu was a mature, skilled geisha and much more popular and famous than Kaoru.
The girl was only seventeen, and at the height of her beauty, and with her dazzling blue eyes, like jewels on her beautifully painted face and her graceful dances, Kaoru could easily win the major roles in annual dances. However, this was unfortunately, not the case. Kaoru was no famous geisha, despite her beauty and contribution toward the Karyukai, her popularity could only thrive to a very limited extent, because Mama Okina did not and would not accept any offers from those who wanted to buy her virginity. That meant she was in a limbo of some sort, unable to make her final debut as a full geisha because she was still a virgin, but already past the stage of apprenticeship.
Kaoru didn't know weather to be relieved or not by her decisions, for it meant she was safe from having to share a bed with men she barely knew. But then again, the thought of earning so little money for the house because of this made her extremely guilty.
[holy crap I just realized how much I suck in writing prose, it's like.. a quote, and then a whole chunk of description explaining nothing /.\]
* * * * * *
Himura Kenshin had just returned from a very important mission, successfully, and his boss, Katsura insisted they celebrated here tonight, but he knew, it was just Katsura's excuse to see geisha he was supporting perform. Himura Kenshin wasn't really interested in these elaborate women who sold their bodies through the seduction of beauty, in fact, he'd rather they quit the abundant, and irrelevant procedures and jump straight to bed. Not very romantic, but practical, but then again it wasn't as if he had for ever to let himself be entertained by these ignorant women when so much was happening outside this little secluded district that no one dares attack.
"So, Himura, are there any geishas in particular that you would want to entertain you tonight?" asked as the women came in one by one, filling the room up by taking seats next to the men randomly..
Or perhaps not so randomly, as most of the sat around Kenshin, abandoning the other men. It was too late for him to shook his head and tell Katsura he did not enjoy this sort of entertainment.
Despite these women's enthusiasm, Himura Kenshin found it hard to appreciate any of them, being overly effusive and constantly trying to think of queer conversations that bore the hell out of him. He looked around, but all the other men in the room, including Katsura was unaware of his discomfort, they were too busy indulging themselves in this so called 'entertainment'
However, being as impatient as any boy of his age would be, Kenshin could not stand it any longer, and abruptly stood up to excuse himself to the bathroom. If it wasn't for Katsura's sake, he swore, he would have killed these lovely birds, all of them, just to end they annoying giggles. Stomping out of the room, he walked down the staircase, to the farthest bathroom, on the other side of the teahouse to hide.
Suddenly, he noticed a figure, flying up the parallel staircase on the other side of the room, as if someone was chasing her for her life. Kenshin was unable to see her face from the distance, but he had to admit, he was indeed awed, and definitely impressed by this geisha, with that small figure on those six-inch sandals and elaborate hair, still able to project immense energy and skills to run like a normal person. All the other geishas he had seen, were the most vulnerable, precious little birds that couldn't even run if their lives depended on it, and unfortunately, this did not give him the general image of a dainty, feminine figure, but just how pathetic they looked.
Now, if only that geisha was called for, then he'd definitely ask her for the night, he smiled as the brief thought rolled across his mind.
"Now sir! Will you excuse us for a moment, are you going up or down?!" An old woman, holding a dirty cloth asked. She was obviously one of the cleaners of the house, not in the least attractive. But he also realized how foolish he must have looked, standing in the middle of a staircase, staring at a geisha long gone out of sight.
"I'm going down." He finally replied, and quickly hopped down the stairs to his destination, and he'd probably loiter around outside for a while. Anything to keep himself away from them for as long as possible would do. But then again, he didn't want to miss his favorite part of the night; when everyone gets drunk and the women finally get into some real entertainment.
* * * * * *
Thank god Kaoru made it in time to the Red Rose Teahouse, huffing and puffing, the girl tried to do a last minute fix to her hair and dress before she dismissed her chaperone. It was getting dark, but the bright lights of the busy houses filled the dark streets with a yellowish glowing light.
"Ah, you must be Kaoru" A middle-age woman, obviously the mistress of the teahouse came to greet the girl from the doorway on the second floor. "Come this way please" She lead Kaoru through the long corridor to a large room where geishas were already entertaining their guests. "Entertain them well." Was all the lady said before she quietly slipped away.
Nearly everyone had their eyes set on Kaoru, and it indeed, made her feel uneasy. "Good evening" She smiled, and gave a shallow bow, before turning to slid the door shut. She scanned the room wondering if she had said or done anything wrong to win all this attention. Suddenly, her eyes caught a familiar face. Ikumatsu was sitting next to the man, whom Kaoru believed was the host of this party, since he was sitting in the middle.
Sure enough, the woman came to her rescue, she walked and stood next to Kaoru, and then introduced her very formally to the rest of the people. "This is Kaoru, a friend I met in the annual dancing productions."
Of course, Ikumatsu did not say that for nothing, to perform in the annual productions meant a lot, and by saying that, the people would be interested in her entertainment. She took the girl to sit next to her, and immediately people started conversations with her, including a other geishas whom Kaoru vaguely recognized. This was going to be a busy night, she knew.
* * * * * *
Kaoru poured some warm alcohol, very skillfully and served it to the couple of men she was entertaining. One was a doctor, another was a businessman, both are good friends of the host, whom Kaoru learnt, was called Katsura.
"Did you know that tea is good for your health?" The doctor said, as he stared at the small porcelain cup he was holding, as if it was a cup of tea.
"Why, this is not a cup of tea, doctor. You must be drunk." Another geisha called Tomoe laughed jokingly. Kaoru had never heard of her name before this evening because, as soon told, Tomoe was a geisha that was from a house on the other side of the district, but came tonight because another geisha from her same house called Tamiko also came. She was also introduced to earlier that evening, but unlike Tomoe, the snobby geisha had turned her nose away and busied herself entertaining Katsura.
The doctor smiled "I'm not drunk, I'm merely saying tea is good for your health."
"Would you like me to get you some warm tea then?" Kaoru asked thoughtfully.
But the man only chuckled "No, it's alright, I don't want a geisha like you to waste your time running down the corridors doing a servant's job."
Kaoru was about to reply, when Ikumatsu's soft voice from behind caught her attention. "Would you like to come have a dance with me, Kaoru?" She asked. "My patron, Katsura would like to see you dance with me."
* * * * * *
The night was cold, and Himura Kenshin, wearing a one layered gi, loosely hanging over his shoulders as usual, found himself shivering in the middle of the dark streets, and unable to take it anymore, he finally surrendered for his health's sake, and quickly returned back to the teahouse.
It was more crowded than before, and someone was performing on the semi stage. Taking his usual seat next to Katsura, he sat down to see the dance everyone was crowding around to see.
"It's good you made it back in time, now come have some wine and enjoy the end of the dance." Katsura said as he poured the lad some warm wine. This boy was his most prized treasure, his weapon, and Kastura never underestimated him, and would do anything to keep him.
But Himura Kenshin never touched the cup of wine Katsura poured for him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the graceful figure on stage dancing. It was the geisha he had seen on the staircase earlier, and true to his assumptions she was indeed the loveliest creature he had set his eyes on, that exquisite little body bending gracefully in harmony with Ikumatsu. He was never really interested in these high class prostitutes they called geishas, sure they were fun to talk to, sure some were good to look at, and sure they were for him to release his sexual frustrations, but he had never met one as beautiful and graceful as this one, and now he was more than determined to have her.
The dance had ended, and the dancers returned to their seats, but Kenshin still, couldn't tear his eyes away from her, and watched her conversing with a man whom he recognized as another of Katsura's messangers, called Iizuka.
"Ah, it is indeed a rare case that Himura has found himself someone to look at, who may the lucky girl be?" Ikumatsu joked as she saw the boy who seemed so out of himself tonight, staring at the geishas on the other side of the room.
"Who's that raven haired beauty over there?" He asked in reply, but still did not take his eye away from her.
"You mean the girl that just danced with me?" Ikumatsu asked with a smile. She hadn't known the boy for a long time, but from what Katsura told her, he'd talk to them if they talked to him, he'd sleep with them if they seduced him, but he never he rarely showed interest to any geisha in particular.
He nodded briefly so she replied, "Why, that's Kaoru you have your eyes on" she sipped some wine before continuing "How about I help you ask her over and introduce you to her properly?" And without waiting for his response, she left her seat and went to the other side of the room to bring the girl over.
"Kaoru, I want you to meet a friend of mine, Himura Kenshin." Ikumatsu said as indicating a strange redheaded young man that Kaoru vaguely recall seeing earlier this evening. But he was still a customer nonetheless, and she had to treat him like one. So taking a seat next to him, she smiled. "Hello Mr. Himura." She said politely and offered to pour him some wine.
"Please, Kenshin is fine" he insisted before taking a deep breath. For some reason, he felt uneasy and nervous. It wasn't as if it was his first talking to a geisha, but with her beautiful sapphire blue eyes, seductively innocent, locked to his own, it was nearly impossible to keep his lust for her in control.
Now, Kaoru thought it was rather queer that this man was constantly staring at her. but didn't dare question him. "So, um.are you a friend of Mr. Katsura's?" She tried to start a conversation in vain, which was rather hard considering the fact that Ikumatsu had left them all alone in the corner, and that he wasn't really a very socialable person
"I.." Kenshin hesitated to think briefly, and decided it was better not to reveal anything to her. "Yes, I'm a friend of his." He finally replied.
Now Kaoru could no longer take it, this man's stare wasn't helping her concentrate on the conversation. "Is.is there something on my face?"
"Yes" he breathed, as he could no longer resist the temptation and started tracing the contours of her soft cherry red lips with the tip of his fingers. "If there is anything on your face is would be beauty itself." He dropped his gaze from her eyes, and focused on her lips, which he saw, slowly press together, indicating her uneasiness.
She flinched back, breaking away from his touch, she was rather.surprised by the answer, and found it hard to find an appropriate answer. Of course she was praised of being beautiful before, but it was somehow... different this time. "I.I." And then, she decided to drop the whole subject entirely. "How about I tell you a story?"
Kenshin rolled his eyes, "No, forget about the story" she was the slowest girl he had ever met, it took him a lot of courage to start the subject off, and now she dropped it just like that, and go off to tell him some boring story that he was at the least interested in. Are geishas always like that? Never getting to the point until it was about time? Did she not know that he had absolutely no interest in this sort of entertainment?
Of course Kaoru had no idea what this particular customer wanted of her, and found it hard to respond. "Oh..." She said, quickly thinking. "Then..um..what would you like to talk about?" She asked. Her conversations with customers did not usually go like that, but for some reason, this one was particularly hard to talk to, and there was a thick air of tension that divided her from him.
"Lets talk about you" Kenshin replied in a low voice as he scooted over and closed the distance between them by snaking his arm around her waist.
Kaoru furrowed her eyebrows, thinking him queer, but then again, some customers are sometimes interested in her life.so she very patiently tried to form a brief story line of her own life and was about to open her mouth to tell him of it when she suddenly found herself gagged by his kiss.
Kaoru was absolutely horrified, and tried everything she could to get him away. But every effort made was futile, frustrated of her own weakness, and unable to protect herself from his violations, she felt the testament of her pain and hurt rolling down her cheeks, wetting her well painted face. But it was not enough to stop his hot lips from the unexpected violation, pressed hard to hers, his tongue exploring her mouth, abusing her innocence, as if it was out of unleashed desperate lust.
However, Kenshin on the other hand, did not feel her hurt, all he felt was the erupting desires he could no longer control inside. It has been a long time since he found a woman that interested him the way this one did, and from the first moment he saw her on the stair case, that little energetic figure, he knew she would be one who could make him feel the way he was feeling now. He wanted her soft little body under his so badly that there would be nothing that can deny him of her, nothing. "I'm .definitely going to. make arrangements to spend a night.with you" He said between kisses.
Or so he thought. Blinded by his own indulge, of course Kenshin did not notice the tears, the small hands trying to push his chest away, the unresponsive lips. And it wasn't until he felt an unexpected crack on his cheek that he realized his passion and desires were not mutual.
Kaoru really didn't want to do this, after all, he was a customer and it was her job to make sure he enjoyed his time here, but if she didn't slap him, god knows what would have happened to her. "Excuse me sir," She said, still unable to control the tears rolling down her face, smearing the make up. "But my body is not for sale. Now will you please excuse me." She said before pushing herself up and left the room quickly.
Everyone looked surprised at what just happened, but Kenshin didn't care. Any embarrassment he had was overwritten by the disappointment. Breathing hard he still felt her soft lips on his own, it had happened so suddenly that he could hardly accept it. Closing his eyes, Kenshin felt his heart sink at the deprivation.
People resumed back to their conversations after the silent response from Kenshin, but Ikumatsu sighed, as she saw the disappointment written all over the poor lad's face, and went to comfort him. "Now, Himura, Kaoru was only one of the many geishas around, can't you just forget about her, and enjoy the rest of your night here with us?" She took Kaoru's seat next to him.
"I don't understand." He said allusively. "Why is it that the only woman I want had to be the only one Icould not have?"
Ikumatsu sighed, understanding what he meant. "Well.Kaoru isn't really a mature geisha, though she has gone far past the required minimum age." She explained. "For some unknown reason, the mother of her house has not sold Kaoru's virginity yet, and so tradition wise, she isn't qualified to sleep with her customers."
"So.. they didn't sell her virginity because she doesn't have one anymore?" He asked.
"Well" She took a deep breath "I'm not sure." Ikumatsu finished off.
"If I can't buy her for a night like this, I'm sure I can always find other ways." He said, giving himself a light of hope. This Kaoru probably has an illicit affair with another man, and if that's really the case, if another man can seduce her, then Kenshin was sure, he can, too.