Efflorescence
Chapter Eleven: A Hint of Care
by Autumn Win-Dow
(AoGA House Cup. Words: 500)
He thought she had hated him.
From the regular scoffs, scowls and looks she gave him during his many visits, Natsume was sure about it. If he had stopped visiting the ochaya on a regular basis, he believed that she would be relieved at the fact.
He didn't think that on his last planned visit, she would show a hint of care for his well being.
He had actually planned to make his visit there his last - deciding that he would question his father about his connection to Kurike instead, and the fact that they were planning to engage him to someone soon.
Natsume had tried to be a 'responsible son' but her sudden change of heart certainly placed him off guard.
He stared in slight bewilderment at the maiko in front of him - brown hair, light brown eyes, vibrant orange and yellow kimono, intricately styled hair, and the tea cup being held in her hand at that moment, after it had been snatched away from him.
His eyes, after scanning her head to toe, finally rested on her face - covered with thick white powder and the details defined by charcoal and deep red, hiding almost every detail on her face which she was born with.
Natsume felt a sudden urge to uncover her mask if heavy geisha make-up. She was unlike any woman he had met before - even among her fellow geisha - and it astounded both him and his previous judgements about women.
It was then, when she told him to stop him from making a masochist out of himself, when he knew that he didn't want to leave the ochaya yet.
And this time, it had nothing to do with her connections with his father.
He finally opened his mouth after a tense silence, and it turned out that she did the same.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"...Why do you-"
They both paused again, feeling agitated. He noticed that she was in the position to bow.
"Why do you look like you're about to bow?" He blurted, and Kurike shuffled in her position.
"...I was disrespectful, wasn't it? I was going to apologise." She breathed, as she looked down at the small table between them.
Natsume huffed in amusement at her admittance, before appearing serious again, with only one question in his mind.
"Why did you tell me to stop?"
Kurike glanced up, a questioning look on her face. "Didn't I tell you? I, as a maiko, would use all preventative measures to keep my customer happy."
He was more than off guard by her response. Sure, she had repeated it, but the fact that a woman had showed him genuine care rather than an obsessive wish to be noticed was foreign.
And he found that he liked it, which led to his next words, which shocked even himself.
"Thank you. Could I come again?"
Natsume hadn't actually asked her that question before, and he was nervous about her response.
"...Alright."
A/N: I'm thinking of speeding things up from now on. You'll understand when you read the next chapter. :)