Disclaimer: This is to clarify that Naruto and its characters rightfully belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Summary: Naruto meets a quiet mysterious man on his debut evening as a geisha, and unaware of how their fates would intertwine from that frosty moment. SasuNaru (shonen-ai)
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Warning: At the moment... Nothing really, but future chapters may jack up the rating.
Blossoming Romance
Chapter 1
By Whitewings9
The Ichiraku is one of the highest class teahouse in all of Gion, but its notoriety derived from having kept alive the tradition of male geisha. Over the years it had fallen into some difficult times, clinging stubbornly as it did to the tradition even as customers grew a taste for female company and abandoned it in droves. What saved it from eventually falling to ruins was the fortunate acquirement of a wealthy benefactor, who invested heavily into restoring the teahouse to its former glory.
Although Danzou remained as head of the Ichiraku Teahouse, credit to its financial success went generally to Lord Orochimaru, whose regular visits and generous spending proved crucial to its restoration. His arrival is always preceded with a rushed flurry of activities; the finest room would be prepared, tatami mats thoroughly swept and kneeling cushions plumped up; the dinner trays are fixed with the freshest of ingredients; the best wine brought out – no expense spared. In the joint okiya housing the geisha, in-season kimono are picked and makeup expertly applied to transform a group of young men into Gion's most celebrated male entertainers.
On one such occasion, on his debut evening an apprentice geisha found himself kneeling in Lord Orochimaru's presence. He listened as his senior, Iruka-sensei, introduced him on his behalf, his cue to bow and beg for the lord' indulgence. Lord Orochimaru looked at the boy with indifference, and enquired instead after Haku, a rising young geisha.
"I'm afraid Haku-kohai will no longer be working here in the Ichiraku," Iruka explained apologetically. "He has accepted Baron Zabuza's marriage proposal, and in all likelihood would retire from his career."
"That's a shame to hear." Lord Orochimaru turned to another geisha to have his sake cup refilled, and Iruka took it as a dismissal.
"Naruto, go and introduce yourself to the other patrons," he said. The young blond bowed respectfully to his teacher, and obediently turned to the lord's immediate left where a young dark-haired man sat eating his dinner. He repeated the entire introduction ritual, but the man frowned irritably at his effort and uttered not a single word in acknowledgement.
Feeling uncertain, Naruto remained kneeling by his side and quietly watched as Iruka-sensei entertained the other guests. Whenever he could, he stole snatched glimpses of his disagreeable client; his coal black hair was spiked at the back but hung in bangs by his side; his eyes were narrowed, lash thick and long; his mouth was set in a tight, disapproving line. Pale skin accentuated his dark features, and nobody was in any doubt that the young, up-and-coming businessman was handsome.
A maid entered the room with more vials of sake, and following his teacher's lead Naruto took one.
"Would you like some more sake, sir?" he offered politely, grateful to be of some service to the client. There was a pause as the young man turned to look at him, letting his eyes wander over the ornate boy beside him, his face an unreadable mask. Finally he set down his chopsticks and held out his cup in gruff acceptance, and Naruto poured the clear alcohol carefully so as not to spill a single drop.
When the cup was filled, the man brought it to his lips and drained of its content in one fluid motion. Naruto watched in fascination, but lowered his eyes bashfully when the cup was set back down onto the tray.
"You, what was your name?" the man asked as he returned to his meal.
"My name is Naruto," the geisha obliged with a small bow. "May I know your name too, sir?"
A slight hesitation. "Uchiha Sasuke," the man divulged at last.
"Uchiha-san." Naruto smiled. "I am pleased to meet your acquaintance," he said with another little bow.
After that short exchange, Iruka discreetly beckoned the boy over to another guest, flashing an apologetic smile when his eyes met Sasuke's. Naruto excused himself with a final bow and expressed his gratitude for his patronage. Sasuke never looked up as he bit into a slice of grilled beef.
A/n: Hello, and thank you for reading the first chapter of Blossoming Romance! SasuNaru is one of my most favourite shonen-ai pairing and this is my first knock at the popular couple, and I hope it would live up to expectations.
My inspiration was drawn naturally from Arthur Golden's beautiful novel Memoirs of a Geisha; this scene is lifted from Sayuri's first evening as a novice geisha. For this chapter I set out to juxtapose Naruto's cheerfulness against Sasuke's relative moodiness, just to get some attracting oppositional chemistry. Sasuke in this story is meant to have a touch of anti-geisha attitude, rather like Nobu in the book, but he poses as more of a proud Mr Darcy character in my mind.
If you've read Golden's book, you would probably notice that I have replaced Sayuri's teahouse 'Ichiriki' with 'Ichiraku', Naruto's favourite ramen stall. It's on purpose, just to inject something from Naruto's world. Otherwise it's set in the early 1920s of Gion, Kyoto, just like in the book, and I will try to be consistent and accurate with historical details (no promises!)
I'll fill in more about the other characters' roles in later notes, but you can probably guess that I'm making out Orochimaru to be this pervy aristocrat with way too much money and a disturbing interest in young boys