Hatsumomo looked down at the letter in her lap and picked it up, hands trembling. In it, Mameha had instructed her to be at her apartment at half past two, and it was going on three. It wasn't like the quintessentially poised Mameha to be late when someone came calling, and Hatsumomo was getting irritated. She hadn't been told why she had to arrive, only that it was very important that she did so. She looked at the letter one last time and crumpled it in her hands, throwing it across the table. It skidded off the lacquered wood and landed squarely on top of a pair of delicate feet outfitted in white tabi.
"Hatsumomo-san," Mameha said, her voice gentle, "How pleased I am to see you." She bent and picked up the letter, then placed it on the table at the center of the room at which Hatsumomo was seated.
"I should have thought to bring my shamisen," Hatsumomo shot back, "I would have had the time to get some extra practice in."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
"Tell me, do you keep all your clients and acquaintances this long, or am I just the exception?"
Mameha's only reply was a bland smile. "I'm terribly sorry, something unexpected came up… a Mr. Yoshida wanted to ask me some questions about Sayuri. I trust you saw her debut performance?"
"As pretty a dance as any, I suppose. I fear her obi wasn't tied quite correctly, though, didn't you have a proper outfitter to get her ready?" Hatsumomo sniffed.
Mameha didn't respond to this, knowing that Hatsumomo's criticism was all born from her jealousy of Sayuri's success. She sat across from her guest and called a servant in to pour their tea.
Hatsumomo only sat, stony-faced, glaring at her rival. Mameha wore an exquisite silk kimono, the same delicate pink as a cherry blossom, gold embroidery dancing across the sleeves, collar, and hem. The lovely red bow that was her mouth, her smooth, pale skin, her long slender neck- all made Hatsumomo sick with hatred. Even the way Mameha's hair ornaments were always tucked in just so made Hatsumomo long to reach over and slap her. Mameha was flawlessness personified, and she always multiplied Hatsumomo's own feelings of unworthiness.
"Well, Mameha, not to be blunt, but what was the urgency in your letter about? I gather we're not only here to discuss the state of Sayuri's obi last night." Hatsumomo said after a few silent moments sipping tea.
"As I'm sure you know, the time for Sayuri's mizuage ritual is not far away."
"Yes."
"And the Nitta okiya can only adopt either Sayuri or Pumpkin. They'll only be interested in taking on one of them- the more successful."
"Yes."
"And I suppose you're helping Pumpkin in her training?"
"As best I can, really, given what I have to work with."
Mameha suppressed a smile. "Be that as it may, the competition between Sayuri and Pumpkin may become quite evident. Sayuri has the beauty and charisma to become a very successful geisha, but it can't be denied that Pumpkin has been in school studying the art for years."
"True."
"I would just like to ensure that this whole thing will stay clean. I know you better than you'd probably like to admit, Hatsumomo. I know you have a special talent for trickery. But I have a decent reputation in Gion, and I'd rather not be known as the woman who cheated and bargained her way into a successful outcome on a deal."
Hatsumomo was poised and ready with one of her typical sarcastic remarks. She opened her mouth, then closed it again and paused, taking in Mameha's benevolent smile. She could feel her own expression softening a little.
"The outcome remains to be seen, Mameha. I do not underestimate the men of Gion- rest assured, they can sense quality. The best geisha will win no matter what tricks I play, there's no doubt about that. And, frankly, I just don't have the time." She gave a small half-smile and took a sip of her tea, not even knowing where that sensible response had come from.
Mameha's expression turned agreeable. "Why, Hatsumomo, I do believe that you've finally started to mature."
Hatsumomo's insides clenched at Mameha's face. Smiling, she was even more beautiful. Hatsumomo could feel something foreign, something that took her compeletely off-guard. A carbonation that began in the pit of her stomach, then made her head spin and kneeling legs lose their bearings.
Suddenly Hatsumomo was hungrily studying Mameha, taking in the curl of her eyelashes, the perfect cut of her jaw. Her eyes drifted down her lithe, sensuous neck to the fabric of her pink kimono. She knew it was improper. She had always thought of Mameha as beautiful, but never allowed herself to go further. Once she had let her longings slip a little, it was like a crack in a great dam, and she found herself powerless to stop everything she had always held back. Once her wandering eyes made their way back to Mameha's face she could see slight discomfort, but no outright disgust.
Hatsumomo snapped out of her trance and took a hasty sip of tea, letting it burn all the way down her throat, to make her feel more real again. She set her teacup down with a loud clink and placed her hands on the table in front of her, interlacing her slender fingers, palms down.
"Well," Mameha began uneasily, "How are things at the okiya? Do you still have your old room?"
"They're… as they ever are, honestly. Things rarely change there. And yes, I do. Mother has assured me that until there is another geisha as successful as I am living at the Nitta Okiya, I'm the only one that deserves that room."
"Well, that isn't bound to happen any time soon, right, Hatsumomo?" Mameha said pleasantly, "You're one of the most successful geisha Gion has seen in recent years." She gently placed a hand atop Hatsumomo's clasped ones with a kind smile.
Hatsumomo felt an electricity soak through the tops of her hands down to her palms. Her legs twitched as she felt as no man had made her feel before, and it frightened her. She was no longer acting through her own sensibilities, but through intuition alone. Her eyes locked with Mameha's. They stayed there until Hatsumomo was quite sure that she had crossed the line. She took one of Mameha's hands in hers, slowly lifted it, and gave it a long, somber kiss. With a discreet glance up she could see Mameha's eyes closed, a small, forbidden smile making its way across her lips. As Hatsumomo lowered Mameha's hand she could see her rearrange her expression back to normality, and Hatsumomo flicked her eyes up again to meet hers. This time Mameha didn't look away- her expression was just as challenging. Hatsumomo rose silently, walked across to Mameha's side of the table, and sat behind her. A small gasp escaped Hatsumomo as she laid a soft kiss behind Mameha's ear, then another at the nape of her neck, between her shoulders. Hatsumomo snuck her arms around Mameha's waist, only to feel her shake away after a few moments. With this gesture of refusal Hatsumomo rose again, this time with anger. Mameha looked up at her, her expression utterly unreadable. Silence hung in the air, until two words shattered it like ceramic.
"We can't."
Hatsumomo stood still for a moment, wondering what she had just done for her reputation, her career. She could feel something else rising in her, but knew that this time it wasn't affection or lust but pure fury. At being refused, at the knowledge that in this lifetime she would always be forbidden, never get to have the one thing she truly wanted. She crouched for a moment next to Mameha and put her mouth to her ear. Her next words were whispered, her voice saturated with pure, unapologetic venom.
"I will not follow your rules. Please know that I will do whatever it takes for Pumpkin to triumph over Sayuri. I will do whatever it takes to destroy you. Your clients won't want to go near you. Your prospects will be gone. I want you to know what it feels like to have your reason for living taken away from you." She could feel Mameha swallow with the effort to maintain her composure. Hatsumomo stood again.
"I will see myself out." And with that she shut the screen door with such a force that the crushed letter, with all its pretty calligraphy and gold leaf, fell with no recognition or dignity to the tatami mats.