March 3th - Tokyo Yobidashi district
Feeling the soothing warm water on his pale white skin Kuroko sinks more into the heat. Steam starts to risen up, fogging the mirror and the window instantly.
"It's not nice to forget your guest in a sperate room alone, Kurokocchi." A calm mellow voice came from the oppite side of the door. It seems like the blonde was still in Kuroko's private chamber, how exasperating.
"After I choose to take a bath, I didn't expected you to stay, Kise-kun. And please stop giving me ridiculous nicknames." Taking a towel he started to clean himself up. Staring at the shelves while drying, which was next to the sink, stood many oils in several colours.
"So mean! I only call people I respect with that suffix, and I don't want to leave yet. Let's have a little chit chat. After all it's my first time having a pupil." Came the loud cry from the next room.
Nodding absently Kuroko choose the lavender oil and rubs it softly on his skin. The scent illuminates his body immediately. Satisfied with it, he puts on his fundoshi and the linen gray Yukata, tighten up the pattered obi to finish his comfortable outfit. Opening the paper door, Kuroko stares at the blonde who meanwhile had made himself comfortabe on one of the cushions at the coffee table.
"You look good Kurokocchi! You will absolutely look gorgeous with all the kanzaki and the hair accessories later on!"
Kuroko's clear eyes now notice that the boy infront of him had eye make up on and bright colored hair decoration of something he have never seen before. He also remembered that most of the courtesan in the corridor got pale skin in order to please the customers. Kuroko himself was pale enough so he could save plenty of white powder.
"Do I have to wear it too?" pointing with his finger to the nice artwork of a head piece on Kise's head.
"This? No, of course not. This is the outfit I only wear at practice. I'm in my second year so I have to learn more about dances. You have to move gracefully with all the heavy head decorations..." The pretty boy suddenly took off the large kanzashi from his hair and the staves and put it on Kuroko's hair. To his misery the staves doesn't like to stand at the favourable place and falls off every now and then. Frustrated, Kise only let the kanzaki with the large flower pattern linger in the powder blue hair.
Touching the wooden accessory, Kuroko felt a sudden warmness bubbles out in his stomach. He bet Kise will have a debut soon. He was pretty and seems to be very socialable. Positiveness radiates from the blonde.
"Kurokocchi how old are you actually?" Kise asked wagging with his fan playfully. He slowly rolls on his stomach and stares up to Kuroko's face with interest. "You look pretty young, like this you are able to learn much more in the time until you debute."
"12. I just turned in january 12." Kuroko mumbles ashamed, blushing lightly.
"Really? You are 12? I will turn 13 in June, this year. So you and Akashicchi have the same age!" the older boy said dreamily. "I wish I was born a year earlier, so we would be the same age ~"
"That's a nice thought of you Kise-kun. Is that 'Akashicchi' also a trainee?"
"Akashicchi? Not exactly... Well he attends some lesson for example dance lessons like us, but he doesn't perform the shamisen or the koto lesson as well as the tea service lesson."
Letting himself sink on one of the cushion, Kuroko layed also on his stomach facing Kise-kun with his full attention. That topic about 'Akashicchi' was starting to get interesting.
"Why not? Is he somewhat special?"
Thinking, Kise speaks up and told anything he knew about the younger boy.
"I don't know- but it's said he was from a very wealthy house. I don't have a clue why he ends up here last month. It's rumoured, that it was his own choice to stay, since he liked to perform anything related to music which his parents refused, so he moved out. If you get a glimpse of him you will understand why Shigehiro-sama favoured that boy the most. But it's no wonder since he is a rare beauty after all."
"Yeah, he don't go out often, right?" Kuroko remembered that Akashicchi only take one lesson, so it will be rare to see him, not to mention he doesn't even know he he looks.
"Yeah, I only get too see him in the dancing lessons or maybe when I play in the yard, he would sit near the truck of the large tree and does nothing than daydreaming? He stands out in the mass with that fierce red hair of his, like you with that powder blue hair, by the way from who did you inherited it? Your mom or dad?"
"My father always said that I inherited my fair hair from my grandmother-maternal side. My clear blue eyes I inherited however from my mother. Speaking of blue, I planned to hang out with Aomine-kun for dinner." Kuroko jumps up from sudden realization.
"You already met Aominecchi? I just saw him in the yard just now. Maybe he is still there, let's go I'm also starving since afternoon already!" Making a run with the beautiful uchikake kimono and the heavy hair decoration, Kise and Kuroko started to search for a certain tanned teen.
After reaching the yard with difficulties because of Kise's long kimono, Kuroko saw a sight to behold. Tall green grasses, nice artistic cutted trees are everywhere. Next to the hhuge tree was a wide pond with golden colored Koi's. He remembered the ukiyo-e portraits in the main corridor when he entered the building, having the courtesans with the yrad as their background. Looking around he find the huge tree surrounded by many smaller ilex crenata. Seeing a tanned person on the grass, Kuroko slowly shabled through the grass, reaching his friend.
"Hello Aomine-kun."
"Whoa- Kami! Tetsu you don't have to surprise me like a ghost, the heck!"
"Aish, Aominecchi is always grumpy, even though he took his nap."
Half sitting, Aomine stared at the blonde, pulling a grimace, he picking his ear in a lazy way.
"What is Kise doing here? Don't you have practice, like every other trainee?" Hearing it Kuroko turns around staring at the suspicious person.
"Well I would, but since I'm the new assigned mentor for Kuroko I don't have to attend it. And I'm about to show him round, on Shirogane-sama's order anyway." Hearing the news, Aomines frowning grimaced face changed to an amused one, before he laughed loudly falling back on the grass.
"Hahahahaha you being the mentor? I bet in the end Kuroko will be the mentor in every case. What got into Shirogane-sama?! Why not giving the prodigy as Tetsu's mentor, after all he is so good at everything, geez."
Staring dégagé, Kuroko blinks from the tanned to the blonde. Who were they referring to as a prodigy? Is Kise that dumb? He doesn't look like one though...
"Aomine-kun is your offer still up? If yes I would like to eat dinner with us 3." Kuroko finally speaks up his thought.
Standing up fully, Kuroko could see, that Aomine was taller than Kise. He was broud shouldered and got a good figure. No wonder his choice would be a bouncer and bodyguard. It suits him very well.
"Sure let's go to the diner hall. Many trainees are still practicing somewhere, so it won't be that full of people, with that Tetsu can also see the diner hall."
Clapping happily, the blonde catches up with Kuroko and Aomine.
"Eh- won't you change from your ridiculous looking outfit first? Or else it will get dirty." Kuroko glance at the expensive looking fabric which was long and came in combination with a losse fitting haori.
"Of course, I will change and come back, so you guys have to wait!"
"Yeah yeah! Go already, until then we would be at some table." Aomine frond with his hand and was gone with Kuroko.
Walking in silent, Kuroko stares around with interest. This house was build so elegantly with so many rooms and plants. The furniture was expensive looking, so expensive he was scared to touch it.
"I came also from a small village, where work was hard to find. So my family moves to the city and I choose to work here. My friend works at the kimono coloring manufacture, her parents owns the production for years. My parents work there as small laborers." Aomine started looking kind of proud?
"That's good to hear. My parents... my father once used to work in a kimono coloring manufacture too, but became unemployed and worked as a fisher ever since." Not liking to talk about that topic, Kuroko tried to change the subject.
"But compared to my previous living standard, I really enjoyed it here so far." Lokking up, Kuroko gave the taller boy a encouraged smile.
"Of course. Life here, is good- so far."
This is our diner hall or cantine or whatever you could call it. For me it's the place of heaven. YOu can eat as much as you want. From soft sweet bread to warm meals. I prefer diner the most, there you get rice with meat and some vegetables as trimmings."
Sitting at the table near the door Kuroko stared at the menue card. The food they listed is just as Aomine said they serve you a set meal with everything included. Kuroko had never eaten that much and wasn't used to eat that much. So when seeing the food at his table, he was pretty shocked.
"I don't think I can eat everything up."
Staring up from his own food, with noodles in his mouth, Aomine grins with eyes closed. "If you won't be, I will eat the rest for you up. Don't worry I don't let food waste on the plate."
Nodding, Kuroko clapped his chopstick together. "Enjoy your meal!"
While eating his soup many boys around his age and maybe a litlle older waering expensive uchikake kimono makes themself comfortable at the free tables. The kimono they wear are so beautiful that KUroko stopped eating at stared at the pattern of each individual kimonos. Most have the same kimono with the pattern equal to Kise's. So they came from the dance lesson, which means they are from the-
"Oh there you are! When I was about to go inside, the mass urged all at once inside!" Kise complained out of breath. STill standing Kise whips his head in all direction as if he would search someone.
"Strange, Akashicchi is nowhere to be seen. I haven't seen him over a week now..."
Slurping his soup, Aomine wipes his mouth with his sleeves. "I heard he was ill last week. That's why a doctor have to visit him. But he took Shimasen lesson yesterday. And I saw him in the yard today too."
"Really?" Kuroko perked up.
"Jup, he layed with me on the grass but I didn't notice him being gone, maybe I was in deep slumber or something."
"Hah~ getting to see Akashicchi's sleeping face, I would do everything to do to see it" closing it eyes, Kise hold both his hand in awe.
Akashi sure must be something, when even Kise is praising him so openly. While Kuroko's table was rhapsodizing about Akashi the table next to stop with their food and joined them in their chit chat about the famous Akashi.
"I heard Akashi was invited to a public performance in the city with Himuro-kun, even though he hasn't debuted yet."
"Yeah, clients are always asking for him, I'm kind of envious of him."
"But he is good at playing Shamisen, a real talent." said the other courtesan in trainee with chestnut hair
Kuroko listened to them with high interest. He really wants to meet Akashi to have a personal impression of him. He can't wait for his first dance lesson... in regard of seeing him.
Age List:
Kuroko: turned 12
Aomine: going to be 13
Kise: going to be 13
Akashi: turned 12
Himuro: 17
Normally you will debute as an Oiran/Geiko at the age of 16; Mizuage happens around 18 (depends on the individual actually.)
A/n: Thank you so much for continue reading the story and even more for liking it. It really makes me happy :)