Geisha
Chapter Two
Bright lights assailed her eyes, but she managed to keep hold of her equilibrium. Blinking furiously, Sakura looked around to see that there really were thousands of people here, and she could see at the far end, the dais where the Kazekage sat with his closest family, friends and advisors. There were so many people here, it was almost overwhelming her, but she mentally shook herself and ordered herself to get a grip.
The other girls were moving forward, and Sakura quickly stepped up to stay close to Shizune. There was no way she wanted to get lost in the crowd. If she did, there was no telling when or if she'd see anyone familiar again for the rest of the night! So she made sure that she stayed in sight of them all.
A man came forward and smiled. "You must be the ones Tsunade mentioned," he said by way of greeting. "My name is Baki. It is my duty, along with others, to make sure that the night goes smoothly. We already have the names of the guests you will be entertaining tonight. Ino and Deidara, the two of you will be entertaining with a group in the forward section."
Two people came forward to guide them away, and Sakura realised that the six of them were being split up. But at least it seemed that they weren't going to be thrown to the lions, so to speak.
"Tenten and Anko," Baki continued. "The two of you will be entertaining in the back east section."
Again, two people came forward, and the two women were led away. Sakura resisted gulping nervously as Baki went on, "Finally, Sakura and Shizune. The two of you will be multi-tasking, in a way. Firstly, you will be serving tea at the west head table. Then Shizune will join the east head while Sakura entertains for the head table."
It was impossible not to gasp. "By herself?" Shizune demanded, but Baki shook his head.
"There will be others there," he assured her. "Sakura will be one of many, and will not be left alone. Do not worry about her, she'll be fine. Besides, Tsunade-sama has expressed much faith in all three of the new girls here tonight. She believes in them."
Sakura felt herself blush, and was eternally grateful that her makeup hid it. "Tsunade-sama really has that much faith in us?" she asked, and was answered with a nod.
"If you'll both come this way, I'll take you to the west head."
Sakura and Shizune followed Baki along the maze of tables, and the pink haired girl wondered once more at the sheer volume of people. This had to have taken months to plan! Maybe Tsunade-sama was wrong, she felt way in over her head! Many people turned to stare at them as they passed, making her feel self-conscious as well, even though just as many people ignored their passing.
Eventually they reached their destination, and the nerves that she'd been feeling slowly vanished. This was because Sakura had repetitively been telling herself that she was a geisha, and that crowds did not intimidate her! Baki indicated for them to sit beside particular guests, and the two of them complied. The table had thirty guests, and it looked like Sakura and Shizune were the last two assigned to the table.
Obviously, not every guest was personally attended. Mostly it was the higher ups that got that privilege. The other guests mostly had one geisha per table, and then there were the girls dancing in the middle of the room, as well as the ones singing and playing music. Looking over at the head table, Sakura saw that the Kazekage had two geisha's serving him. The man that she was serving was ignoring her for the most part, caught up in an animated conversation with the man beside him.
So all she had to do was make sure that his tea stayed full. Sakura sighed. Easy assignment. For now anyway. Baki had said that she would be singing soon, after all. And for the head table, too! Breathing deeply, she attempted to settle her resurfacing nerves.
For about three or so hours, she simply sat there, refilling tea from kettles that servants brought over. Her 'assignment' had continued to ignore her, and Sakura felt that as long as she kept his cup filled, it would continue that way. Finally, after just sitting there and not really doing much, Baki returned and apologised profusely for 'usurping' the official guy's geisha. But the man simply waved them both away with a very bored twist of his hand.
"Are you ready to sing now?" Baki asked, and, swallowing almost audibly, Sakura nodded.
"Is there a particular song that I have to sing?" she asked.
"Ironically enough," she was told, "you're going to be singing Sakura, Sakura."
Well, at least she definitely knew the song. Because of the colour of her hair, Sakura had learned everything she could with absolutely anything related to cherry blossoms, just so that she would never get caught out.
"Ok," she said. "Lead the way."
Baki led her over to a small area where she would be singing, and from the setup, she realised that it was going to be a solo performance. Nerves hit her instantly, but Sakura forcefully pushed them down. Just as they reached the area where she was going to perform, a strange tingling sensation ran along her spine, and she looked up to see a gorgeous, redheaded man staring out at the gathered throng with a bored expression on his face. Instantly she knew just who this man was.
The Kazekage.
Suddenly he looked in her direction and Sakura let out a barely audible gasp and looked away, not wanting to appear rude. But she could feel his eyes boring into her as Baki led her forward to where she would be singing. He whispered to the girls playing the instruments, then they started up the tune for her song. As soon as her part came up, Sakura began to sing, surprised at how calm she sounded.
Sakura sakura
Noyama mo sato mo
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Asahi ni niou
Sakura sakura
Hana zakari
She could still feel his gaze on her, and Sakura was nearly breathless.
Sakura sakura
Yayoi no sora wa
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Nioi zo izuru
Izaya izaya
Mini yu kan
It didn't seem like a long song, but with the music and the fact that the lyrics weren't rushed, it was an alright length in the end. Risking a glance over at the table, Sakura saw that the Kazekage was whispering in Baki's ear, and the man nodded before coming over to her.
"Kazekage-sama has requested that you sing another song," he told her. "Do you know Hakone Hachi Sato?"
"H-hai."
Baki nodded to the musicians, and they started up the next tune and once again, Sakura sang.
Hakone no yama ha tenka no ken
Hako tani kan mo mononarazu
Banjou no yama sen jin no tani
Mae ni sobie kouhou ni sasau
Kumo ha yama womeguri kiri ha tani wotozasu
Hiru nao kuraki sugi no namiki
Hitsuji chou no komichi ha koke nameraka
Kazuo kan niataruya man otto mo hiraku nashi
Tenka ni tabi suru gouki nomononofu
Dai katana koshi ni ashi da gake
Hachi sato no iwane fuminarasu
Kakukosoarishika ouji nomononofu
This was a song that she knew from her childhood, one that her mother had sung to her a lot. So there was no problem whatsoever with her being able to remember it. But when Sakura accidentally looked over to where the Kazekage was sitting, she almost lost her place. The stare he was gracing her with was so intense, it sent shivers along her spine.
Hakone no yama ha tenka no so
Fuka ,hosakinisa..soha, bin ko
Banjou no yama sen jin no tani
Mae ni sobie kouhou ni sasau
Kumo ha yama womeguri kiri ha tani wotozasu
Hiru nao kuraki sugi no namiki
Hitsuji chou no komichi ha koke nameraka
Kazuo kan niataruya man otto mo hiraku nashi
Yamano ni kari suru gouki nomasurao
Ryoujuu kata ni waraji gake
Hachi sato no iwane fumiyaburu
Kakukosoarikere kin tokino masurao
Once she was done, there was silence, then applause started to be heard and she looked up to see that it was the Kazekage and his guests applauding her.
Review! The most important thing in the entire world! Oh, and here are the translations for the songs. I found them on this really great website awhile ago, and I decided that this story was perfect for them!
The first one, Cherry Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms:
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Blanketing the countryside,
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Across the Spring sky,
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the air.
Come now, come now,
Let's look, at last!
The second one is Hakone Mountains:
Hakone Mountains hard to cross,
The mighty fortress lies right here,
High up in the ranges, deepest in the dales,
Rising in front, peaking in the rear,
Oh, clouds around the tops, oh, mist fills the vales,
How dark are the cedar woods, huge trees in rows and rows,
See, the narrow winding lane that shines with moss,
Only the strongest man can keep the whole fortress from foes,
Bravest warriors who go on the road
Might have trod the rocks and ranges,
Trampling, climbing all out of the way,
Was it in this way they travelled in those days?
Hakone Mountains hard to cross,
The mighty fortress lies right here,
High up in the ranges, deepest in the dales,
Rising in front, peaking in the rear,
Oh, clouds around the tops, oh, mist fills the vales,
How dark are the cedar woods, huge trees in rows and rows,
See, the narrow winding lane that shines with moss,
Only the strongest man can keep the whole fortress from foes,
Bravest hunters who chase in the hills
With their hunting guns on their shoulders,
Trampling, climbing all out of the way,
Was it in this way they hunted in those days?