An alternative reality - what if Helena and Kokoro grew up together in the DOATEC household.

Warnings/Ratings: T/Family issues, various degrees of tournament violence in later chapters.

Sister Styles

Chapter 1

Second Arrivals

Helena was born into an untraditional household, but it was the only reality that she knew.

You see, her father liked the company of women. He did not have a type for say. He liked beautiful women, and he knew how to treat women so of course they liked him back. He just had a problem with patience and was horrible indecisive. Helena could remember women constantly coming in and out of the house like the tide washing up new seashells and carrying away the old. She could just remember Goldie, and Anne was often around, but it was her mother who was the constant, the rock that held ground on the shore.

No one really understood why Fame kept Maria. Was it because she was famous and reputable, or because for the bastard child their coupling produced, or maybe because Fame actually felt a lot for the woman? It was a mystery, but he was good to her. He gave his other mistresses jewels and weekend breaks, and Maria received these trinkets too, but she also got so much more. She got important things: good meals, fashionable clothing, and a sturdy roof over her head and a blue-eyed daughter with gold curls full of ribbons.

Life went on like this. Isabella drifted in and out, Anastasia came and went, and Maria remained. No matter who was the latest flavour, Fame would drop everything for Maria, or to see his little Helena, apple of his eye. Life went on like this, that is, until Fame found a second favourite.

OOO

Fame had gone to Japan for business and pleasure, and when he returned he came with fine teas, fresh fragrances, tasty sweets, and his own young geisha. Everyone was surprised by this, except for Maria who took this news very well.

"She must be quite a rare gem if you brought her here all the way from Kyoto, dear."

"You will understand when you see her," Fame said with a big proud grin. "She is such a polite pleasant girl, and her face is just-! It's so pale with such lovely lips. And her eyes: silver and round, clear as mirrors! I can't wait for you to meet her, Maria. She's a little timid, but I sure you can toughen her up in no time. I'll bring Miyako here tomorrow. I want Helena to meet her too."

Fame was right that Miyako was very beautiful, with her short black hair and her slim body wrapped in purple cloth like a gift, and that she was very shy indeed. She had a small voice, and looked towards the ground when she was in front of Fame and Maria, with a bow to her head. Helena originally thought of her as a strange woman, because the first time the girl and mother were introduced to the newcomer, Miyako got onto her hands and knees, and paid them kind words and apologises in English for intruding into their home because she knew no French. Maria smiled at the act, but not wickedly.

"She is new to this," she explained to her daughter once they were alone, "and she sees herself as a little mouse breaking into the den of a lioness." Maria gave a little chuckle. "She is cute in a way. I see why Fame likes her, but he is very mean for taking her out of her comfort zone like this... Give her time to settle in and she won't fear us anymore. Helena, you may not be too formal, but pay Miyako respect. I have a feeling she will be staying here for quite a while..."

And it turned out that Maria was quite right. At first, Miyako lived in a diminutive place away from their home but she was constantly visiting, joining them for dinner and sometimes breakfast if Fame was in the mood for an oriental night. Her stays became longer and longer until Maria became impatience with Fame and asked him bluntly when he was planning to move Miyako into the mansion.

Miyako was given the east quarters, the direct opposite to Maria's to the west, and was settled in within two days. She did not bring a lot of furniture over from Japan, but she had plenty of clothes. Beautiful, silky robes wrapped in paper and kept in polished boxes in a darken room, with tons of chests of accessories to go with them. Helena couldn't resist sneaking in to touch them but the lids were too heavy to lift and the treasure chests were locked. She was lucky that when Miyako found her she did not scold her, and was kind enough to show the girl some pieces.

"These are kimono," the woman smiled. They had to speak English to one another, but Helena was used to speaking this way from conversing with her father. To her, Japanese was alien, from a fantasy world. At this time, Miyako only knew very basic French and could not produce the right accent.

"You have so many!" Helena said in awe, running her fingers so lightly across a hemline that she hardly felt it, fearing it would turn to dust under her touch. "They are lovely."

"They are," Miyako agreed, "and they are very expensive too. Some of these kimono were created decades ago for my ancestors. I don't wear them, but I have replicas."

"Why do you have so many?"

"Back in Japan, I made a living as a geisha. That, in simple terms, is a female performer."

"Like Mother?"

Miyako laughed softly. "A little of yes, but mostly no. I didn't get up on a big stage in front of many people. I performed for intermit groups in tea houses. I danced and played instruments and talked with men. Your father met me in this way, in a tea house that caters specially for the visiting foreigners in town.

"Geisha must look elegant and beautiful at all times. We wear kimono made from fine material and pick the colours by time and mood. A fine lady would never be caught wearing the same outfit twice... This is the one I was wearing the night your father visited the tea house."

The woman selected a box from the stack and opened it, revealing a pure white kimono adorned with a pattern of falling scarlet leaves and green hems. "It is not the grandest, but he seemed to adore it at the time... It makes me wonder, little Helena, with your father's rich tastes in objects and people, why he would fall for a pale insignificant girl like me. It is quite puzzling."

Helena found it puzzling as well. Fame liked all types of women, but his two favourites were very different from one another, which seemed odd to the child. Surely, if he favoured Maria, if he would take a second she too would also be like Maria. Instead, Maria and Miyako shared a lover and the similarities stopped there.

Maria was bold with confidence to spare. Miyako was gentle, and not very talkative. To beat Fame in an argument, Maria would become silent and stare intently at him, unwavering, or use her sharp, well-taught tongue until something like fear crossed the man's face for a brief moment and he backed down. Miyako would become withdrawn and tiny, her face softening even more than usual until she was more like a rabbit under the paw of a predator. Whether she was aware of her powers or not, it only took a glance at that bunny-rabbit face and Fame was gentle, pressing his lips against her scalp and mumbling regrets.

Despite their differences, the women never fought or despised each other. After all, they were in the same boat, and they were happy to be linking arms with their man to important parties at the same time. At first, Miyako was fearful of Maria; this woman was here first, and she was the experienced mistress, the famous starlet, the one with the daughter. The geisha would speak to the singer by looking at her folded hands, and only talked when she was spoken to.

Over time, Maria was able to get more out of her and allowed the young one to events with her. She was not looking for superiority, and she wanted to share her wisdom with the poor thing, who was so far away from home.

"Fame must like you a lot if he wanted you to come live with us. You must remember that no matter what, he values us above all of the other women he visits, and with Fame Douglas that is one of the greatest compliments he can give. You must also remember that because I was here first, that does not mean that you have to be just like me to be liked by Fame. He likes you because you are yourself. He is very fond of women who wear their hearts on their sleeves."

OOO

It was two months after Helena's fourth birthday when Miyako came to Maria and admitted that she had missed her period. She insisted that she was not mistaken, that she was usually as regular as clockwork, and when Maria gave her the test it confirmed everything.

Helena sat with them as they talked about it over afternoon tea. She didn't really pay them or her hot milk any attention. She was too busy fussing over the new doll her father brought back for her from America. That was more important.

"I'm curious as to how this all happened," Maria hummed as she poured the cream. "I thought you were taking the pills I gave you."

"I am," Miyako insisted. She paused for a moment as she accepted her cup. "…I'm sure I have been taking them. I make sure I have one with my lunch every day."

"And?" Maria arched a perfectly-groomed brow. "What about any other protection?"

"Hm." A light blush felt upon the younger woman's face. She glanced over to Helena for one second to make sure she was not paying too much attention to her words. In fact, the child was not paying any attention to the mistresses at all. "Fame- He doesn't- He said that it felt much about without it, although I must admit I didn't notice any difference."

"Trust Fame to be the one at fault here," Maria shook her head. "He always picked the worst times to be selfish."

"It's not entirely his fault," Miyako insisted. "…I guess I could have stopped him."

"He should have known better, but we can't go around in circles about who is to blame. Now, what are you going to do?"

"Do?"

"About the pregnancy, of course. Have you told Fame yet?" Maria looked at her for a moment, and when the geisha did not respond, she signed. "Fame will not be mad. I know that there are horror stories of monstrous men throwing their child-baring mistresses into the cold, cruel night, but not our man. If that was the case, would Helena and I be sat here with you, enjoying your company?"

Miyako nodded once. "I see your reasoning."

"It is not reasoning. I am purely telling you the facts. Now, what are you to do about your current condition?"

"…Honestly, I don't know." The Japanese woman placed her hands around her cup and stared into its milky-brown contents, as if she was going to find all of her answers in it despite the lack of leaves. "Since I was a young girl, I was trained to be a geisha. A geisha's life is dedicated to her art. Not to a husband or child. I had an understanding that the closest I would get to being in a guardian role was to, when the time came, train young meiko. Motherhood never seemed to be an option to me… I don't think that I have been given the right… preparation to have a child."

"I see… If you are not happy about the pregnancy, you could always have an abortion," Maria said calmly over her cup. "Fame would put you in a nice hospital, and the task would be very simple."

Miyako twisted her mouth and she crossed her arms over her stomach. She looked very uncomfortable with the idea.

"I don't think I could go through with it."

"Well, there is adoption too."

She shakes her head. "That is not fair on the child."

"So you do want to keep it?"

"...I guess I do."

Maria smiled at the younger woman, letting out a little laugh.

"So where is the problem? If you want this baby, have it. Helena, don't do that." She pulled the sugar bowl to the other end of the table, so the bored little girl couldn't feed the cubes to her doll's mouth anymore. Helena pouted as her mother, but her moodiness did not get her any form of attention. "No one is truly ready to be a mother, Miyako. No amount of parenting classes can help. It is pretty much a 'learn on the job' role, if you see what I mean. Sure, I can handle Helena quite well, but she is continually growing and changing, and she is only four now. What will she be like in a year's time I wonder? Or when she is ten, or thirteen, or even eighteen?"

"I see." Miyako looked up, and she had an unusual look of confidence on her ductile face. She had made up her mind. "When should I tell Fame?"

"As soon as possible, but you must tell him in person. Not even over the phone would do. He is meant to be returning home tomorrow. If you wish, I will be there with you when you tell him. I'm sure he will be thrilled by the news." With a warm smile, Maria rested a gentle hand on her daughter's head. Helena jumped at the touch and stared up at her. "Think about it, Helena. By the end of the year, you might be getting a young sibling."

The girl looked down at her doll for a moment. She knew that babies were doll-sized and were meant to be just a fragile as the types of doll made from porcelain, but she did not know much else about them. So of course, the very idea of one coming into her home and bloodline was hard to understand. After a moment of thought, she looked up at her mother again.

"Can I have the sugar bowl back please?"

OOO

Over the next few months, Helena watched Miyako change. The woman, who was so young and healthy, became someone older and weaker.

At first it was just the ailments. She became tired and complained of headaches often. She would stay in bed for days at the time due to the aches in her joints and stomach, completely rejecting some meals and asking for thirds of others. Helena came to sit with her from time to time, which seemed to make the woman happy, but the little girl would see her shadowed eyes and her fringe stuck to her forehead due to a constant cold sweat, and she felt sorry for her.

Later came the physical alterations. Miyako was slender and slight, but in a matter of weeks her belly had swelled and her breasts were bigger than before. It had become uncomfortable for her to wear kimono properly with the restricting obi around her waist, so she had to improvise with decorative cords and carefully placed pins. No amount of make-up could hide that the lack of sleep and increase in stress was doing to her features. Sometimes she would just start crying without warning and while Maria and Fame consoled her, Helena looked on startled and confused. Once the geisha snapped at her for making a racket on the piano, and while Miyako was sweet and apologising a minute later, the girl was fearful of her for the rest of the day. She never knew the woman had the ability to shout.

Eventually, Miyako stopped blowing up and although she was far larger then she once was, people said that she was quite small compared to other pregnant women.

"I remember when Maria was carrying Helena," Fame mused over dinner one evening when Miyako was well enough to sit with them. "She was quite hefty. Took up most of the bed in the end."

"Helena was quite a big baby," Maria agreed, before taking in a forkful of three-cheese quiche.

"She is not a big child, of course. I mean, look at her, but you can tell she used to if you look at her face." Without warning, Fame leaned over and took Helena's jaw between his thumb and finger, arching her neck so the women could see her. Her mouth was full of potato, and she thought at any moment his squeezing would make her spit it all out over his casual suit. "Her lips are still plump, and her cheeks are very soft. That could be all puppy fat though. Most likely, that will all ware off and she will have a lean face like her mum."

Helena pulled her head away and made a horrible face so express her annoyance, shovelling more food into her mouth. She was fine with all of the baby talk, but not when it involved her. She would have been glad for Miyako to give birth at any moment on the table if it meant taking unwanted attention away from her.

OOO

On the first of December, Miyako went into labour.

There was a paper thin blanket of snow across the lawn at nine o'clock, around the time the contractions started, and by eleven o'clock the storm had cleared and everything was crystallised and shimmering, lost under a thick coating. The groundkeepers were sent out to clear the driveway, and Helena followed them. She didn't help but stayed out of way, playing with the manor dogs and making snowballs and tiny snowman along the top of walls with twigs for arms.

When the job was done, she followed the men back through the kitchens for hot coco, and found the maids running around the place and clucking harmless gossip like hens in a pen.

"Miss Miyako is not even four centimetres dilated yet. The doctor has been given her some painkillers, but being so thin and out of the hospital he doesn't want to risk giving her anything stronger."

"Her screams are deafening. I don't think the girl has been in so much pain before."

"Mr Douglas got mad at the doctor. Lady Maria gave birth so easily, I guess he doesn't understand why Lady Miyako isn't."

"I've been sending warm towels up all morning, just in case. She better give birth to that baby soon. I can't keep running up and down to that room all day!"

With no one paying her any attention, Helena wandered off and made her way up to the east wing. It was very different to the rooms in the west wing. The walls and windows were still waxed oak and ebony, but the watercolour paintings and decorative screens seemed to transform them. There was always a scent of face powder and vanilla. The geisha always wore vanilla perfumes. She called the fragrance her calling card.

Even before Helena made it around the corner, she could hear Miyako screaming. The noise made her stop dead in her tracks and shiver. She had never heard the woman being so loud before. If Helena listened carefully, she could hear other voices arguing under the shrieking, but they were too muffed to make out what they were saying and she did not really care about their conversation. She was worried about Miyako. She wanted to go and see if there was anything she could do to help, but before Helena could turn the door handle, the maid with the towels came by with her newest load and grabbed her wrist.

"No, Miss Helena, you should not disturb them at the moment. Come, your mother wants you to join her for lunch."

She tried to run off, but Helena didn't get far. The workers were used to her same-old tricks, and the maid managed to pick her up and carry her to the drawing room, where Maria had already gotten someone to light the fire and set the tableware out. It was a very nice lunch. A thick creamy chicken soup with plenty of crunchy rolls, perfect for warming yourself up on a chilly day, but Helena was in no way interested. She had a few spoonfuls of soup, and managed to eat a whole roll but she had no appetite and left it to cool.

She looked over to Maria, who was eating through her portion slowly but steadily. She seemed to have her whole focus on her food, and was completely unaware that there was a girl in pain somewhere in the house.

"…Isn't Father coming to lunch?"

"Don't mumble, Helena. What did you say?"

"I said is Father coming to have lunch with us today?"

"Not today, dear. He has to stay with Miyako."

"Oh. Okay." The girl fell silent again for a little while, lolling her head to and fro against the back of her chair. She didn't remain quiet for long though. "Is birth really that painful?" she asked. "I mean, Miyako was shouting a lot. She never does that. She is usually so quiet."

Maria placed her spoon down into her empty bowl and dabbed her lips lightly with a napkin so not to smear her lipstick. She thought about Helena's question for a moment, but it took her little to no time at all to find an answer.

"I think it depend on the woman giving birth at the time. Everyone handles pain differently." She closed her eyes, reminiscing. "Of course there is always some ache when it comes to birth. When I was in labour with you, I would never call it a comfortable experience, but I got through it without too much stress. I guess Miyako just doesn't know how to cope with it all; to be many miles away from home, giving birth to a half-Japanese child out of wedlock. It must be absolute discord to her." Her eyes opened again, and she smiled warmly at her child. "Helena, you were very good when we suddenly had to share Fame with another woman, and now we have to share him four ways. Promise me that you will be a good older sister."

"I promise" the girl said. She wasn't too sure what her mother was talking about, but she asked in the positive. It seemed like the best thing to say, and Maria smiled even more at the response. Her mother's smile was always a good thing.

OOO

Helena remained in the company of her mother for the rest of the afternoon, waiting for news on Miyako's progress. They heard nothing from the staff until it was time of the evening meal, and then they were just there to serve food. The situation upstairs had not changed.

They spent the evening in the lounge. Maria was sat in her favourite armchair reading a book with no pictures, lost in the land of literature. Helena did very little being so impatient, and by eight o'clock she could do nothing to slouch on the sofa. No matter how much her mum would tell her to sit up properly, Helena would always end up with her head against on the armrest, eyes lazily flicking and her skirts crumpled under her body. She refused to go to bed until the time had come, and had decided that she was never going to give birth. It was too much fuss and too time consuming. It would not be worth her effort.

She must have dozed off at some point, because sometime after ten Maria came to shake her awake.

"Helena, come and see the baby," she said in a soothing tone. It seemed that Miyako had finally given birth half-a-hour ago, and now that the doctor had finished his check-ups and everyone had calmed down, they were ready to let them visit.

In her sleepy haze, Helena followed Maria slowly through the house. At some points, Maria had to stop and wait for her daughter to catch up. She spoke softly to the tired child, but told her off for taking her time. Finally, they made it to Miyako's bedroom. Fame was there waiting for them. He had removed his jacket to reveal his un-tucked, sweat-stained shirt and his tie was crumpled and loose around his neck. He had bags developing under his eyes but was smiling brightly, which only grew more then he saw them.

"Darlings." He walked over to greet them and placed a kiss against Maria's cheek. "I hoped that Miyako could have stayed up for you, but she more or less passed out after all the drama was over."

Maira glanced over the bed and sighed.

"Poor thing." She looked down and smiled at her lover. "Let her sleep. I'm sure she more than deserves it. Where is the baby?"

"She's sleeping too, in that cot over there."

"So it's a girl. How wonderful. I had a feeling it would be. The way her bump was shaped made me think that was the case. Show me."

The adults went over the other side of the room to where a high cot was set up in the corner, but Helena remained by the bed to look at Miyako. The geisha was in a very deep sleep, her arms flailed out across the mattress and pillows. Someone had changed her nightclothes for her so they hung on her frame oddly, and her face showed small wrinkles caused by her stressful experience, but at least in her slumber she was finally in peace and that made Helena sign in relieve.

"She is so beautiful," Maria said lovingly. She reached her hand into the cot. "She has a lot of hair too. Did the two of you decide on a name for her? Please tell me you did."

"Of course," Fame confirmed confidently. "Well, Miyako did, to be honest. She is very fond of the name Kokoro."

"Kokoro." The singer cooed slowly, as if she was rolling each syllable around her tongue like expensive wine. "Yes. It is a pleasant name. I think it suits her well."

"Helena, come here and look at your sister."

The girl obeyed her father and crossed the room to her parents. She stepped up onto her tiptoes to peek over the side of the cot, but she was just too short. Jumping didn't help, so Fame scooped her hands around her waist and lift her up just enough. Helena blinked. Wrapped in soft blankets was a very small, very funny-looking sleeping creature. It had tiny hands, wispy black hair, and pump lips fixed in a permanent kiss. Helena scrunched up her nose.

"It's wrinkly."

"She may be wrinkly now but she will grow," Fame told her as he placed his daughter back down onto the floor. "Someday she may be just as big as you."

Helena found that hard to believe. How could that baby in that cot become as tall and as strong as her? They were nothing alike. Not at all.