Chapter 14
Next chapter is here! We're almost crossing paths with the book now.
April quickly gave way to May, the appointed month in which Mameha was supposed to unveil her new jewels, with no word. Sakura and Kohaku advanced quickly as apprentices under my care, sometimes entertaining men for entire nights without need of my advice. During our downtime, I had also been teaching them how to read body language in order to charm women, the result being that quite a few apprentices and geisha were beginning to fall under their spell as well. I felt confident that they could hold their own in Gion, no matter who Mameha brought out.
We spent that whole month holding our breath, but in vain. Finally, as May began to fade into June, I gave the girls a day off and walked up to Korin's to pick her brain.
"I don't know what's going on either," she sighed over tea. "Everyone was sure she'd debut them soon after you did. I even know a girl who lost money over it."
"You shamisen players are always losing money over something. But, I'm beginning to wonder if the whole thing was just a rumor. After all, Miss Prissy is making too much to bother with an apprentice right now."
"No way!" Korin shook her head vehemently. "Even the headmistress knows it; Mameha is definitely getting new sisters. Some people probably even know who they are, but I doubt they'd tell anyone."
"If they do, it's probably just Mameha's groupies" I snorted. "But I'm definitely asking around; if she does have sisters, she has to debut them sometime. Maybe we can derail them before they start."
Unfortunately, Korin was right; I asked around for weeks, to no avail. I even enlisted the girls to ply the apprentices, but they didn't find anything either. If anyone knew the identities of Mameha's new apprentices, they weren't telling. Not that it mattered - summer was just about ending before any of us finally caught word. It was mid-September when I got the news.
I had just been called to the headmistress' office because Kohaku had been sent there for disrespecting her dance instructor. I was just about to receive Kohaku's account on the story, when I noticed Korin standing in the doorway trying desperately to get my attention. I had to excuse myself, before she got all three of us in trouble.
"Might you want to explain to me why you're in the hallway, flapping your arms like a goose?" I demanded after we got a safe distance from the door.
"Oh, you aren't going to believe it!" she squealed, positively giddy. "This goose has just found the best piece of information you'll ever hear!"
"Well, what is it? I have to get back to my disrespectful apprentice."
"I can't tell you now! By the time we're done, it'll be time to go home. Come over this afternoon and I'll tell you everything. But I will tell you this - it involves your Kohaku." She gave me the time to come visit and left.
I already knew that it had to do with Mameha's apprentices - it was all we talked about in those days - but I was shocked to hear that Kohaku might be involved. My usual punishment for bad behavior in an apprentice was one day's confinement, but I decided to reconsider until I knew what was what. I hurried back to the office and apologized for the interruption before pretending to hear Kohaku's apology.
"Showing disrespect to any an elder is totally reprehensible and certainly nothing I taught you. I fully agree with the headmistress' decision to send you home and I want you to stay there until I can think of a suitable punishment. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." She bowed humbly enough, but I still caught the curious gleam in her eye. She knew something was up and was dying to know what. So was the headmistress, but it would be improper for either of them to ask.
Hours later, the little bell tolled the end of class and wasted no time in getting my shoes and getting out. I didn't even dare go home first, but immediately took a street car to Korin's neighborhood. Most geisha didn't ride the streetcar (myself especially), even though it was faster and cheaper than a rickshaw. They say it's because of how unsophisticated they would appear in one, but it was really because of the number of perverts who could get away copping a feel in the overcrowded booths. Mercifully, school let out in the middle of the business day, so the car was nowhere near full enough for anyone to try that and get away with it.
I stopped to get a parcel of tea in order to give her time to get home first, then walked around the corner to her okiya. Leaving the tea with the maid who opened the door, I showed myself into the sitting room. A moment later, Korin walked in carrying a bottle of beer, followed by another maid who carried two glasses on a tray.
"Oh, no; you're here early!" she cried. " Whatever, it doesn't matter." After getting the glasses set up, and the beer poured, she sat down and dismissed the maid.
"Now will you tell me what the big deal is? I'm going to have to answer to Mother about this, you know."
"Alright, but you won't believe me. Last night, I was at a party with Natsumi and she got herself drunk."
"Well, of course; everyone knows she's the biggest lush in Gion. The only reason she's invited anywhere is to make other geisha look good."
"Listen, listen! She's also the biggest Mameha groupie, from what I've heard, and she decided to show it. We were outside when she staggered over to me and started talking. 'You're friends with that horrible Hatsumomo, aren't you?'" she said, mimicking a drunken Natsumi. "I told her 'That's none of your business' and tried to get away. Then she said, 'Well, I'll have you know that Mameha's apprentice will blow her two little whores out of the water!' I kept walking because we were still at the party, but she blocked my path. 'You're drunk again,' I said. 'Now get away with that nonsense - no one knows who Mameha's precious little angels are.' "
"This story is very entertaining," I cut in, "but is there a point? I was under the impression that Kohaku was involved?"
"I was just getting to that! That's when Natsumi said to me, 'Well, I do! Let's see that bitch get a Katsuraga thrown out.' " I nearly choked on my beer.
"Wait, wait; are you saying that Mameha's new sister is from the same okiya as Kohaku!"
"That's what Natsumi said." Korin nodded somberly. This was incomprehensible for people like the Katsuraga. A business in Gion was free to make as many alliances as it wished, but no one would dare come between two rival businesses, especially without telling either one. In doing that, it risks losing both as allies and gaining them back as enemies. This was especially true when the businesses in question were as powerful and wealthy as ours. Perhaps they thought that their prestige would protect them, but a name only goes so far when there's no money to back it up. With this information, I would be completely justified in dropping Kohaku as my apprentice (not that I would) and so would Mameha. The Katsuraga's little game became even more mystifying when you added in the fact that, for one girl to succeed, the other would have to be destroyed.
"Are you sure? Natsumi isn't the best source of information, especially when she's been hitting the sake."
"It's true! It has to be; not even a drunk could make that up."
"Hmm... If it is true, then what are the Katsuraga's playing at?"
"Chie-san, my mistress, she thinks that the Katsuraga might want to pit them against each other later and drive their mizuage prices up."
"That still doesn't make sense; the girls are likelier to just get dumped. They can't keep that secret for long, not in this town."
Korin shrugged. "Maybe they're just that desperate. Everyone knows that they're having money problems - it could be worse than we all think."
"Well, before we speculate too much, let's figure out what can be done first. Of course, that's if it's even true. What else did Natsumi say?"
"Nothing; I was about to ask her if it was true, when Sadoka came up and dragged her home." She gave a deep sigh. "How are you going to confirm it? It's not like you can ask around."
"I can't, but I think I know someone who can." I wouldn't say anything else, no matter how Korin pressed, but simply finished my beverage, thanked her, and left.
As soon as I got back to the okiya, I went back to my room to take a nap. I woke an hour later and summoned a maid to run down to the Katsuraga okiya and tell Kohaku that I wanted to see her immediately. She arrived just as Mr. Bekku came up to dress me.
"Go wait in my room." I said, disregarding her formal greeting. When I came in a few minutes later, she sat at the window, obviously prepared for trouble. "Now, I'm sure you know why you're here, don't you?"
"To learn my punishment for disobeying my teacher." she sighed.
"Yes, that's right. But I know how Teacher Rump hates me and takes it out on you girls, so I've decided to be lenient with you. You punishment is to do an errand for me."
She visibly perked up. "An errand? What kind?"
"It's simple, really. Do you know of any other girls in your okiya who are eligible for apprenticeship?"
"Well, sure. There's Yuya, Mayu, and Kisa-chan."
"Are there any whose debuts have been stalled or postponed? Maybe even cancelled?"
"Oh, that'd be Kisa," she said with a dramatic eye roll. "She's the daughter of the okiya. Our mistress, Haru-san, adopted her the year I was sold there, back when she was three. She's acted like a spoiled princess ever since." I wasn't surprised in the least. The daughter of any okiya is usually spoiled rotten - only in the poorest of okiya is she treated like the other geisha - but it was worse in the more prestigious houses, like the Katsuraga. "You should have seen her parading around the okiya when she got her first momoware hairstyle; she tore it out an hour later when she tried to take a nap and got it flattened out."
"Does she have an older sister picked out?" I grimaced; whoever the poor wretch was, she had quite a job ahead of her.
"Yeah, there was a big fuss about it earlier in the year. They said that Haru-san negotiated for months to get it through. But something happened; Kisa's debut has been postponed and neither of them are too happy. Why?" Suddenly, her eyes became shrewd. "You want me to snoop, don't you?" I nodded.
"I want you to find out as much as you can about this Kisa girl; what she's like, her habits, and, above all, who her sister is and why her debut is stalled."
"Oh, the first part's easy - Kisa's a little brat. She gets all the best food, all the best gifts, and, now that she's an apprentice, all the best silk kimono. Haru even gave her an entire set of new, hand-crafted hair ornaments commissioned for the party we threw her. It's kind of a waste, if you ask me."
"Now, why is that? As the daughter of the okiya, it's her right to be spoiled silly, especially if she's expected to become the principal geisha."
"Not that she'll make a very good one," Kohaku snorted derisively. "Excuse me, Hatsumomo-san, but Kisa is so lazy and careless, it's a wonder that Haru is willing to be seen out in public with her anymore. I know I'm not! Not only that, but she ate like a pig until Haru told us to stop feeding her without her permission. She still does, if you let her - she's like a vacuum with sweets. Once, when Haru-san's boyfriend was over, he called her pudgy. She got so mad that she stood up and dumped the whole pot of tea on his lap."
"My goodness! It wasn't hot, was it?"
"No, this happened in the summer so it was cold. The unfair thing about it is, even though he broke up with Haru on the spot, I was the one who got whipped for laughing so hard. She said that it was my fault, while Kisa just got sent to bed early - with dinner, I might add."
"While all of this is entertaining enough, it doesn't tell me what I really need to know. Do you know anything about her sister or her debut?" She shook her head in the negative. "Well, there you go - your assignment is to find out."
"That's going to be difficult - Haru-san doesn't like gossip, especially about her precious Kisa. What's this about?"
"You never mind that right now. As for Katsuraga-san, just make sure that she doesn't know. Ask the maids and other geisha in your okiya, even her classmates. Just make sure to avoid anyone who could get you in trouble. Whenever you find anything new, I want you to commit it to memory. Write it down if you have to." I got up and fetched a stack of paper and an envelope. "You're banned from coming with me to entertain for two days starting tonight. Use your time wisely. Bribe, blackmail, whatever you must, just remember to be discreet."
"How am I supposed to give this to you if I can't go out? Haru has me restricted to the okiya, you know."
"Correction; you are restricted to the okiya unless I call you. She can't refuse a request to see my own apprentice, can she? But you never mind that - you just fish around for information and I'll handle the details." After making sure she understood, I told her she could leave.
As she bowed and left, taking the papers with her, I hoped her budding skills in information-gathering wouldn't disappoint.
Two days later, I was sitting by the window, putting the finishing touches on my make-up as late afternoon faded away into evening. In the past few days, I hadn't seen Kohaku at all except for occasionally at school. As we agreed, we said nothing more to each other than a nod or a formal greeting; judging by her looks, things were going well. Katsuraga-san, however, was none too thrilled that Kohaku would have to sit out for a few days and miss making money, but I was sure that the gifts Kohaku's more devoted fans sent her were enough to placate the tyrant.
For the past two days, Kohaku had been out on intelligence gathering, and today was the day her results were due. I had sent a maid out almost a half-hour before bearing a message to Katsuraga-san to release Kohaku immediately. I was growing worried as time went on; what was keeping that fool of a maid so long? Finally, just as I had thought about going down there myself, I heard footsteps on the stairs and Auntie call, "Kohaku-chan is here, Hatsumomo."
"Don't just stand there, show her up!" I called out, unbearably relieved. Katsuraga-san might have seriously breached propriety by refusing my request, but she had already proven that she considered herself above the rules; now, I wasn't sure what she might do. By the time Kohaku came up the steps and admitted herself into the room, I could have torn my hair out in anticipation.
"Hatsumomo-san," she started, once she had finished her greetings, "I'm not sure what's going on, but I think I know why you were so interested." She always was sharp.
"It will all be revealed in time, Kohaku. But now I want you to tell me what you found. It's very important, so if you please..."
"Oh, right," she exclaimed, pulling a sheet of paper out of her cotton robe. "I asked everyone I knew, but either no one knew, or no one wanted to tell me. But then I caught one of our senior geisha talking about how she stole one of Kisa's hair ornaments and threw it in the Kamo River for tattling on her about something. Anyway, the moment I saw her alone, I told her that I would tell Haru and get her kicked out if she didn't tell me everything." I couldn't help shaking my head.
"I hope you learned from that - if you act out foolishly, you'll leave yourself open to be taken advantage of. You can take all the revenge you want, just don't brag about it like a fool."
"Yes, ma'am. But at least something came out of it: it turns out she did know what was going on. I couldn't believe it when she told me; Mameha-san was supposed to be Kisa's older sister!" So it was true; the Katsuraga were trying to play both sides of the fence. As it turned out, Mameha was supposed to take the girl on as an apprentice to absolve her okiya of a debt, but something happened - weeks before the ceremony, Mameha backed out, with the full support of her okiya.
"If I had to guess," I broke in, "Mameha was forced to go along with the deal blindly but managed to learn about her would-be apprentice, in the end. If all you said about her was true, they would have fought it to the ends of the Earth."
"It's true, all right. I'm telling you, Kisa is a failure before she even began!" Kohaku insisted.
"No wonder, then, that Katsuraga-san would be so determined to keep Mameha in the dark. With such bad manners and a temper, training her would be a worthless venture - nothing more than a blot on their perfect record." I couldn't help smiling; if a simple rumor could tear down a geisha's career, an unruly apprentice could bring it down faster. Could this be the break I needed to finally be rid of Miss Perfect? As excited as I was, something still bugged me. "What was the debt, I wonder? What could they owe that's so massive - or massively important - that it could trap someone like Mameha into risking her career training someone like..."
"You can say it, Hatsumomo-san," Kohaku laughed. "A little toad."
"Not the term, I would have used, but yes." I smiled. "Ah well, it's not important. Was there anything else?"
"Oh, yeah; Mameha and her okiya owner came by to visit over awhile ago. No one knows what they talked to Haru-san about, but they're expected to answer back later on in the fall." It was almost October now. This was to be over any day now, then. I nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good, Kohaku. Your errand is done, but now that you know what's going on, I want you to remain open to any news you might hear. At home, keep yourself in areas where you might find out anything more. And if you hear that Mameha is coming over, do and say what you must, just make sure that you are there and you catch every word. Is that understood?" When she assured me that she would obey, I told her that her punishment was up and that she was to report to me tomorrow morning, ready to entertain.
"One last thing," I caught her on her way out. "I already know that I don't have to tell you to keep this a secret, but what about your source? She must not appreciate being taken advantage of like that; are you sure she won't tell your mistress that you now know?"
"Don't worry about her, Hatsumomo-san; I told her that if she told anyone about this, then I'd tell Haru about the time she poured ink on Kisa's food as a joke. Then she would really be kicked out."
Later on, I was still chuckling at the cunning of my apprentice, when I heard Sakura arrive. It was precisely seven o'clock when we finally departed for the evening. She seemed happy enough when I told her that her sister would be rejoining her the next day, but I couldn't help noticing a sort of nervousness in her demeanor. She was hiding something, and in these uncertain times, I had to know what. I grabbed her by her arm and pulled her into the nearest empty side-street.
"All right, what is it?" I sighed. "I know you're hiding something from me, so don't even try to hide it anymore." She could have lied, but she knew when she was caught.
"Kohaku-san told me," she said, shame-faced. "She told me about Mameha and the little girl who's the daughter of her okiya. But I didn't tell anyone," she was quick to add. "I knew it was probably a big deal, so I didn't tell a soul." Even though I probably should have felt more exasperated than I did, I knew it wasn't all that bad.
"That's all right, then. Since you're sisters and in both of your best interests' to know about this, there's no harm done, especially since you didn't tell anyone else. Now I just hope that I can say the same for Kohaku." While I knew Kohaku was smart enough not to leak this information to anyone who could harm us with it, I would have still preferred for this to stay between as few people as possible. With her conscious obviously cleared, we set back out into the night.
The parties that night were all at the Mizuki, a fact for which we were both grateful; it had been a particularly wet and humid night. Our last engagement was to have been a boat outing, but it was postponed due to bad weather, so I called it an early night. We collected our tips from the host and prepared to leave, when the mistress stopped us at the door.
"Hatsumomo-san, I'm glad to have caught you. Why don't you and Sakura-chan step in my office for tea? It's such a sour night, you two would benefit from the warmth, I'm sure." It was plenty warm enough, but we couldn't refuse the owner of our principle teahouse – I had no choice but to follow her inside. I wish I hadn't.
As soon as she opened the door to admit us, the first thing I noticed was the man sitting at a table for four. There wasn't anything striking about him, just that he was simply there – men were never allowed into her office, not even the head chef, who was rumored to be her lover. She started the introductions as soon as the door was closed.
"Hatsumomo-san, this is my nephew, Yonro. Yonro-kun, this is Hatsumomo and her lovely apprentice, Sakura." We bowed and murmured our greetings, then sat down as a maid poured tea. The next few minutes were some of the most awkward of my life. For the next almost half-hour, we both sat in silence as Isuzu-san talked animatedly about nothing in particular. I sat there, politely sipping my tea and wondering what the purpose of all of this was, when it hit me; she was intending for her nephew to become my danna.
The thought of it was audacious enough to be considered insulting. It was one thing for the mistress of a teahouse to act as a go-between, but it was quite another to attempt to push a relative in a patron. I had to get out of there, before this went on any further,
"Oh, Isuzu-san, would you happen to have the time?"
"Of course, of course… it's one in the morning."
"Is that right? Then we're terribly late for our next appointment. I only hope the party isn't over. I'm afraid I'll have to thank you for your hospitality and bid you good-night. And you as well, Yonro-san." They mumbled their own sullen goodbyes as I bowed a hasty retreat, Sakura close behind.
Walking through the fine drizzle, I was heavily tempted to forget about the whole affair and never mention it again, but I knew I couldn't; if Isuzu-san was willing to take things this far, then she was serious. Since she was determined to force her nephew on me, I had no choice but to inform Mother. That was a conversation I was not looking forward to.
I was so deep in thought about the whole debacle, that I hadn't noticed that we'd reached the end of our street. Sakura bowed goodbye under her umbrella, looking as if something was weighing heavily on her mind – about what she had seen at the teahouse, no doubt. I nodded curtly and reminded her to be on time tomorrow, then left her in the doorway.
I may have been able to explain away the melancholy look in my apprentice's eyes, but I couldn't possibly have known how I blind I was at that moment. Whether it was Isuzu-san's fault for thinking of it or mine for not seeing it, either way, the wheel of my demise started to turn that night. I might not have known it, but I was on my way to taking my first step off the pedestal.