Squee! Here's a new ficcie! Here's the one a few peops have pmed me, asking me for. So, well, here 'tis, enjoy!

SUMMARY: In the world of geisha, love is forbidden. Yet Yugi and Ryou, two beautiful geisha, dare to follow their hearts and do just that. Yugi is smitten with the emperor's son, Yami. Ryou yearns for Bakura, the most dangerous and notorious criminal in all of Japan. Set in empirical Japan, in the time of samurais, etc.

WARNINGS: Yaoi. (boy x boy). Sexual references and innuendoes.

PAIRINGS Yami x Yugi, Bakura x Ryou, Malik x Ryou

NOTES: This is inspired by the movie, Memoirs Of A Geisha, and Rurouni Kenshin.

The uncensored version (NOT, will repeat, NOT posted on contains a lemon. A link to this will be posted.

Just to keep my arse covered, this is historically and culturally incorrect- very little research has gone into this- some is fact, some stuff I made up, and what is fact may be incorrect. (Deal with it! It's fiction! Ya know, make believe! Just sit back and enjoy the show…er…story…)

VOCABULARY: geisha- literally, person of the arts; a living work of art

maiko- apprentice geisha

oiran- top whore in a whorehouse

okiya- geisha house; where the geisha lived

Edo- old Tokyo

tatami- woven straw mats used to cover the floor

mizuage- the selling of a geisha's virginity to the highest bidder

okaasan- literally, mother; the woman who ran the okiya

danna- patron

tabi- two toed sock worn with sandals

-chan

-dono All 3 are honorific, formal endings, kinda like Ms. and

-sama Mr. only A LOT more respectful

DISCLAIMER: Stands for entire story. I don't own YGO, Memoirs- the movie or the book- nor do I own Rurouni Kenshin. I make no money off of this.

Now, FINALLY, onto the story! &wipes sweat off forehead&

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ARTISTS OF THE FLOATING WORLD

"Yugi-chan, don't look so sad. Tonight's an important night. From now on, you'll no longer be a maiko, but a full fledged geisha."

Yugi stared at his reflection in the mirror. His spiky, tri-colored hair had been brushed until it shone with a soft sheen. Tonight was the last night he'd wear the cherry blossom hair pin that had strands of pink blossoms dangling down the side of his face. His round little face was painted white, with a deep pink blush of innocence staining his cheeks. His huge, violet eyes were heavily outlined with black, the pink blush of maidenhood adorning them as well.

Tonight was the night of his mizuage, his coming of age ceremony. He wore a soft robe of deep purple with a lilac sash, ribbons and a thin, white gauzy under robe. His many, brightly colored formal kimonos were for the tea houses and parties, the presence of many of Japan's most powerful men. But tonight, this ceremony, was private. It was to celebrate his blossoming, the beautiful maiko's petals blooming for the first time.

This was an important time. His childhood was now over. He should be thrilled, filled with joy and trembling in anticipation. Instead, he brimmed with sorrow, his gentle heart breaking. Tonight, he took his first timid steps onto the geisha path. He would be forbidden to marry, forbidden to fall in love. His heart was not his to give.

Geisha were not whores. They did not sell their bodies. They weren't oiran. Many men, especially high ranking ones, had arranged marriages. There was no union of souls. No love. So these mighty, powerful leaders of the land of the rising sun came to the tea houses, seeking the warmth of a gentle spirit and a kind heart. Geisha sold the pleasure of their company, not the pleasure of their bodies. They were the beautiful, delicate artists of the floating world, and men paid to loose themselves in the waters of their souls.

Unfortunately, Yugi had already given his heart away. He was desperately in love with the emperor's son. Yami. Yugi belonged to one of the highest okiyas (geisha houses) in Edo. (Old Tokyo), and, as such, had frequented the huge, magnificent, and terrifying castle many times, during his years of training as a maiko. He'd shared many covert glances with crown prince Yami. They'd even exchanged greetings in the emperor's garden.

"Yugi-chan, you look as if your heart is breaking. Smile. This is a joyous occasion.

Yugi forced his read painted lips into a weak smile. "I apologize. You're right, Ryou-chan. I am deeply honored tonight."

Ryou smiled. He wore his soft, blue sleeping robe and white under robe. He'd become a geisha only half a year ago. He placed both slim hands over his heart. For the past six months, it'd been slowly bleeding to death.

Ryou, too, had a deep, dark secret that, if ever found out, would dishonor and shame him deeply as a geisha. It would, literally, ruin his life. He was in love. With the king of thieves. Bakura, the most notorious criminal in the entire kingdom.

Yugi looked down at the finely woven straw mats (tatami) under his dainty feet. Even if he wasn't happy, he should fake it, put on the mask of an innocent, happy little maiko. To do otherwise was to expose his heart, and the sorrows in it.

And his best friend since forever would know. Ryou knew him well; they'd grown up together, and only had each other in this world. Both had been sold to the okiya at a young age. They'd eaten together, played together, and slept side by side. Until the night of Ryou's mizuage. Then, as a geisha, Ryou had his own room while Yugi still slept in the same room with the other maikos.

Yugi forced his pink lips into a small smile that the geisha knew immediately was fake. It was the same smile the short maiko always put on to hide what he was feeling inside. "Tonight is a privilege and an honor. My heart sings with joy."

Ryou sighed and reached out to hug his best friend, but the smaller boy pulled away. "Yugi…" Ryou whispered sadly, dropping the formal –chan. His soft voice was full of concern, no longer the low dulcet notes of a sweet, new geisha. He hated voicing the harsh, ugly truth behind the serenity and beauty of the flower and willow world.

"Yugi-" He looked down at his white tabi (two toed socks worn with sandals). "We never choose this life. It is either this okiya or the whore house. Our hearts are not ours to give. Here, at least, your body is not sold."

Yugi flinched, tears burning behind his closed eyes. "It's just…hard to say good bye." The maiko's violet eyes flew wide open and he gasped in horror. He'd just made a dreadful mistake, letting slip the secrets of his heart. His secret love for the prince.

Ryou gave a sharp intake of breath, his heart clenching in his chest. Not too long ago, he'd been in Yugi's shoes. How he yearned for Bakura. How he still did. But it was a secret locked in a gilded chest in his heart. A pity the thief didn't steal the key and open it.

Never once had he ever even uttered the thief-king's name, let alone betray his forbidden desire. Yet Yugi had done just that, putting them both in grave danger. The thin walls and screens of the okiya had ears. If Yugi's love was found out, then he'd be a disgrace, fit for nothing but the streets or brothels. And Ryou, having heard it uttered, would be seen as an accomplice. Guilty by association.

A geisha's heart and body weren't her own. She wasn't free to love. Her smiles, kind words, the intimacy of the tea ceremony, the beauty of her music and dance, all were for the men who could afford to pay for it. Yes, in a sense, geisha was a whore. But it wasn't her body that was sold. It was her love, her talents, her beauty.

"Yugi-chan, I know how hard it is to say good bye to your childhood. You've waited and trained all your life for this. Now that it's here, you tremble in fear. But when the moment arrives, you'll loose yourself. It'll feel good. It did for me."

As Ryou spoke, his voice once again assumed its usual calm and sweet tones. But his doe brown eyes snapped fire at Yugi, silently willing him to pick up on his ploy. If anyone was eavesdropping, they'd think Yugi was saying goodbye to his childhood, not his secret love.

Yugi blinked a moment, then quickly said, in a sweet voice like the geisha's, "Haaii, Ryou-chan, you're right. I thank you for your words of wisdom."

"Now come, Yugi-chan. It is time for you to enter your new, own room. The man who will bring you to full bloom awaits."

TBC…

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Reviews are appreciated.