My first Naruto fic! And my first fic overall! Hope you like it!

I do not own the characters of Naruto, and this is the only time I'll say so.

Geisha

Chapter One

She stood there, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Today was her first day as a full-fledged geisha. After nearly four years in training as a maiko, she'd finally been welcomed as a proper geisha in her formal erikae o suru ceremony the previous night. She smiled triumphantly at her reflection. Her onee-san was sooo proud of her, she knew. Sakura smiled as she smoothed her kimono along the sides. It was time to show Shizune-neesan that she'd done well in teaching her.

Ever since she'd entered the okiya, Sakura had held Shizune in awe. The woman was amazing at her work. The only one better, admittedly, was Tsunade-sama, the okaa-san of the tea-house. But that was to be expected, naturally. Every geisha knew of Tsunade, the legendary 'Slug Princess.' She was the most famous geisha that was still around, having been to ozashiki that important and prominent men attended.

These days, though, the woman dedicated her time to ensuring that the following generations of geisha in Konoha didn't forget the traditions that made them the most sophisticated and elegant in the lands. It was rumoured that she was retiring, however, having amassed more than enough wealth to support herself for the rest of her life. Naturally, there was gossip about who would take over the teahouse in her stead.

Sighing, Sakura turned and made her way to the main room of the building where several of her 'sisters' waited. Tonight they would be entertaining at a party for a prominent leader and his guests, which also included other leaders as well. That meant that a lot of security would be on the place, so no chance of anyone suspicious or anything getting in. Good. She smiled lightly to herself. Tonight was going to be fun.

Sure enough, hours later Sakura sat chatting with some nobleman who seemed to be all puffed up with how important he apparently was. Trade was the main topic of their discussion, and it was good that Sakura was up to the challenge of meeting him on equal terms intellectually. His name was Shimizu Ryouji, and he was quite clever, despite her initial opinion of him.

"Oh, Ryouji-kun," Sakura said. "You really have a good hold on what is going on in the world today!"

Ryouji smirked. "Well my dear Sakura-chan," he told her, "if I wasn't, I wouldn't have been able to become rich enough to afford your company tonight now, would I?"

She giggled coyly. "You're such a flatterer!" she told him.

As the night wore on, Sakura was introduced to many other important figures who wanted to hear her sing for them or simply to talk. By the end of it all, she'd managed to charm every man who'd been there. Shizune-neesan came up to her once the last customer left, a delighted grin on her face.

"Sakura-chan, you were marvellous!" she enthused. "You charmed them all, and we earned so much money tonight!"

Sakura returned the smile. "I'm glad," she said. "I was sooo nervous though! But I did it, I'm definitely a full geisha now!"

"That you are," came a voice, and the two women turned to see Tsunade-sama had come up to them. "Sakura, I have an important event coming up soon at another teahouse, and I want you to attend it. You've shown tonight how skilled you are with the men, and I want you to showcase these talents at the Kazekage's ozashiki next week."

Shizune gasped. "Are you sure she's ready for that, Tsunade-sama?" she asked. "That is the biggest event of the entire year, there will be hundredsof geisha, thousands of guest!"

"Do you not have faith in the girl?" Tsunade asked rather calmly.

"Of course I do!" the brunette argued. "It's just that Sakura's only just become a full-fledged geisha! This is something that more experienced women should attend!"

"And so they will," the older woman said. "But I want some fresh talent in this year. There are three other new girls who will be attending, and all their former nee-sans will be with them. So you needn't worry."

"Well, that's all very good, but I…" Shizune trailed off as she realised what had just been said. "Does this mean that I will be going as well?"

"You were the girl's nee-san, were you not?" Shizune nodded and Tsunade went on, "I expect both of you to be ready for this next Friday night. Get plenty of rest beforehand, as you may both be up the entire night entertaining. I will see you then."

She turned and exited the room, leaving both Sakura and Shizune shell-shocked by the news. "We're going to the Kazekage's ozashiki," Sakura mumbled, then shouted, "We're going to the Kazekage's ozashiki!"

For a whole week, the two women planned everything they wanted to do at the dinner, who they wanted to talk to. Shizune had heard of a very important official who always frequented parties like this. His name was Hatake Kakashi, and she'd heard that he was cool and mysterious. Sakura on the other hand wasn't interested so much in who she would be entertaining, but more on what they would talk about. Politics was a subject she enjoyed immensely, and she wanted to make sure she didn't miss out on anything.

The day of the dinner got closer and closer, and at one point Tsunade came around to help them 'upgrade' their kimonos and make sure that their accessories were also up to scratch. They were even given new makeup that was far superior to their own, making them wonder if Tsunade-sama had been deliberately holding out on them before. Naturally she denied this when they confronted her. Oh well.

When the big day arrived, they were going to be spending hours preparing for the ozashiki. "The main thing is to keep your composure," Shizune told Sakura. "Keep smiling, but not too widely. You're supposed to be charming, not gauche. And above all, remember never to argue with whoever you're entertaining. That's particularly important. Also, watch out for men who expect more than dancing and talking. Despite everything, there are men who try things with geisha."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I know, Shizune-neesan!" she exasperated. "Don't worry, you'll be even prouder that you were my nee-san tonight!"

When they were finally ready, Tsunade-sama arrived with four others to escort them. "You're our last stop!" she declared. "This is Ino and Deidara, Tenten and Anko. Girls, this is Sakura and Shizune."

Greetings and bows were made, then Tsunade shooed them along and they began the walk to the place that would host the ozashiki, really the only venue big enough for such an event. It was a grand teahouse that encompassed an entire block in the street, and could seat five thousand guests and two thousand geisha. There would be so many people there tonight that Sakura knew it was unlikely that she would even be able to see every single face.

But it was definitely going to be a night to remember, that much was unavoidable. As they reached the giant teahouse, Sakura could already hear the music and feel the celebratory atmosphere, and adrenaline pumped through her veins as she crossed the threshold and into a whole new arena…

Maiko – apprentice geisha

Onee-san and Nee-san – older sister

Erikae o suru – ceremony in which a maiko becomes a full geisha. Means 'turning of the collar'

Okiya – geisha houses

Okaa-san – mother

Ozashiki – banquets and such in which people are attended by geisha

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