Disclaimer: I do not own any Inuyasha related characters, and 'Asthenia' by Blink 182, used pre-chapter.
Painted
I. Corruption
-
Last night it came as a picture
With a good reason, a warning sign
-
September 1941
Sango sat with her knees tucked to her chest and her arms curled around her. The day had long dissolved into the night and still, she could not find rest.
Her living quarters was small, damp, and about ten feet from the main house. She looked across the room at her three roommates, their faces hidden from view as they slept. Beside her were two empty beds, something she was not used to in her primitive village. Sango had overheard earlier that the two missing from their group of six were staying in the main house tonight; something about 'clients'.
And so she lay down on her side, still hugging herself tightly. This day seemed so unreal, and she wasn't sure if she was alive or having a nightmare. It was only this morning when her family had all been together in their small village, Kohaku begging her not to leave, her parents assuring her of a bright future, and herself hoping for the best. She had been optimistic, though a little unsure, until the moment that Naraku had struck her.
Everything after that moment had made life in the village a distant dream. She remembered every single detail of that carriage ride up until she was dismissed to the living quarters.
She spent the night recounting every scene, as they played back in her mind like a motion picture.
--
The rest of the trip was uneventful and deadly silent. Sango had never felt so scared and helpless in her life. True, she had been raised in a rural, remote village, fending for herself and being self-reliant, but now she was truly alone, and considered the property of this despicable man.
He had the absolute nerve to speak to her again after striking her.
"So," he began with the air of one who had just poured a cup of tea. "Let's try this again."
Sango had been looking out the window of the carriage, and at the sound of his voice, immediately turned towards him and shrank back as far away as she could in her seat.
His eyes narrowed. "Let's try this again, Sango dear," he repeated.
"Yes, Masuyo-sama," she replied in a quiet voice.
Pleased with himself, he relaxed back into his seat. "Tell me about this family whom you love so dearly."
Sango straightened at the mention of her family and her thoughts returned to them. "I lived with my mother, father and younger brother, in a farming village. My father was a wonderful man, he used to be a warrior, a samurai, but he left when he met mother to live a more simple life. My brother Kohaku, he's about seven years old now, he wants to be a soldier too, but mother won't let him, because she was always so scared when she was courting father, and he had to go off to fight or something." She paused to reflect, oblivious to the disgusted countenance of Naraku. "She wanted him to go to school in the city, go into business, and travel..." Her words trailed off. "He asked our parents if he could come with me, but she said no."
Naraku waved his hand through the air. "Alright, that's quite enough there, girl. One can only have so much sentiment per day."
She snapped out her reverie and slunk back into her seat again.
"You're quite a stupid one, you are," he commented casually. "Then again, why wouldn't you be considering your upbringing, right?"
Sango clenched her fists and willed herself not to let any anger show through. It would only encourage him.
She was unsuccessful. If anything, his face began to contort into a twisted grin of delight. "Proud of your family are you?" he asked incredulously. "Well, you want to know what will happen to them?"
Her arms crossed tightly and her hands squeezed her forearms so tightly they were quivering.
"I don't know if you've heard Sango, but there's a war approaching, one that is inevitable," Naraku said in a low voice.
"And do you know what wars usually encompass? Tears, death, and destruction."
She dared to stare back at him determinedly as he looked down his nose at her.
"I was right when I said that you'd be safe with me, Sango."
He must have been able to see her brows furrow in disbelief, because he ventured on.
"Your family will be split apart. Your village will be abandoned. Your mother and brother? They will be sent to labour in the factories, and your father, he will be drafted into the military once again."
Though Sango's heart yearned for her not to believe him, she knew, somehow, that he spoke the truth.
Naraku smiled to himself in satisfaction. She was broken.
-
Just as Sango had begun to notice the urbanization and concluded that they were nearing the city, the two horses pulling the carriage cantered to a stop.
They had arrived at the house in the late and slightly chilly afternoon. Naraku signalled for Sango to leave the carriage and unceremoniously had her one piece of luggage thrown beside her.
She took a moment to take in her surroundings. There was a moderate amount of trees, but in the distance Sango could see a beautiful house, larger than anything she had ever imagined. In front was a small pond and fountain, with large sakura trees on either side. A few figures with pale, white, painted faces were walking slowly along the grounds, in brightly patterned kimono, from what Sango could distinguish in the distance.
"Kagura!" Naraku called, as he stepped out of the carriage onto the dirt. He turned to Sango. "Follow me."
Sango picked up her bag and proceeded to stumble across the grass behind Naraku.
Another figure appeared at the entrance to the house, and came closer as they hurried down the steps towards Naraku. As she approached, Sango could see it was yet another decorated woman, however her face was not heavily capped in make up.
"What is it Masuyo?" she said, slightly breathless from running across the expanse of lawn.
"This is one of the new charges. Make sure she is dealt with accordingly," he said shortly before turning on his heel and walking purposefully back towards the carriage. He had taken a few steps before he paused and turned around. "And you will address me in a respectful manner, or you know what will happen."
The woman called Kagura cursed under her breath before acknowledging Sango as though she had just materialized out of nowhere.
"Your name is Sango, huh?" she asked nonchalantly. Without waiting for a reply, Kagura tipped chin up sharply. She made a few noises of deliberation before dropping Sango's chin and walking in a circular path around her.
"Pretty, yes. Naturally clear complexion. Posture is all wrong though. Tuck those shoulders in. Stand with your chin up and back straight."
Trying to correct all of Kagura's criticisms, Sango thought she must had looked awfully foolish the way she was standing. Kagura sighed and proclaimed that 'it would do for now.'
She led her across the lawn towards the entrance of the house, before making a wide turn and heading around the side of the house, where a row of smaller cabins, that Sango hadn't been able to see previously, stood neatly side by side.
"Leave your bag there," Kagura instructed, motioning towards one of the shacks. Sango complied, leaning the single burlap sack that contained all her belongings against the wooden panelling of the wall.
While Kagura led her around to a back entrance, Sango felt compelled to ask this woman some questions, but knowing she was an underling of Naraku's made her think twice. But another, less rational part of her told her that she didn't seem as hostile as Naraku was.
"Kagura-sama," Sango spoke up, interrupting the explanation she was giving on the room distributions. "Are you a geisha?"
Kagura, who had been walking at a moderately fast pace, stopped instantly as the words left Sango's mouth. She simply stared at the younger girl thoughtfully. "You think you're here to become a geisha?" she asked in an amused voice.
Sango nodded vigorously. "That's what Masuyo-sama told my parents-"
"That's what he told your parents? " Kagura sputtered, in obvious disbelief. She continued speaking as if Sango wasn't there listening to her every word. "So now he's dipped to new lows in his quest to collect more young girls. But why lie directly to the parents in order to get them?"
Her gaze focused on Sango again. "Say, you're from the village, am I correct?"
"Yes," Sango replied.
"As I thought," Kagura said in her thoughtful manner. "Girls from the village...they wouldn't know better. Most of our girls came from the city."
She whipped out a fan and waved it towards herself whilst shaking her head in amusement. "Naraku, you are truly sick," she muttered under her breath.
They walked through a corridor of what looked like a series of small, empty rooms. Inside some of the rooms, girls were folding the sheets and changing the water in flower vases.
"Come along now, Sango, I'll have to show you where to go once your lessons begin tomorrow," Kagura said matter-of-factly. She cast a dark look at the empty rooms and the speed of her steps quickened slightly. "I'd like you out of here before the evening arrives."
--
Her day would consist of manner and etiquette lessons, dance, and general labour. Sango thought that it wasn't unlike what she had been told about geisha board houses, and still couldn't decipher why Kagura was so surprised when she asked if she was one of the geisha.
When young girls, some with perfectly painted faces and some without, began to file into the halls and critique themselves in any available reflective surface, Kagura stiffened in her position in front of Sango, and dismissed her.
"You may go to your quarters now. I trust that you remember where it is. You'd better get some rest for tomorrow. Clients will be arriving soon."
"But shouldn't I be here to watch? Just to see what it's like?" Sango inquired. She felt no fear towards this woman.
Kagura looked as though she was holding back laughter. "You will see what it is like in time. Go get some rest." She patted her on the head before turning Sango around by the shoulders and nudging her in the direction of the exit.
--
Sango rolled on to her back on her cot, listening hard for any sound, any hint, that would reveal to her what was occurring in the main house. It was hard enough being trained for a job that she knew virtually nothing about, but Kagura seemed to know more about her circumstances than she let on and was even more so unwilling to let her discover them.
She had not even considered making acquaintance with any of her roommates or other girls, but she would have to do so in order to learn. Some had given her strange looks, but most had been sympathetic and even depressed. Even with the little knowledge Sango had of the geisha, she had always thought that their profession was a proud one. That was what she was here for, right? Unless Naraku had lied and this whole ordeal was a result of his ploy to abduct a young village girl from her family to do...what exactly?
She only willed herself to believe that she was truly training to become a great geisha, because she saw no reason for Naraku to have any other use for her, aside from this one. She failed to see that she was young, she grew up far away from the city in a rural area, and that she did not know the dangers.
The other girls knew this, and could only feel sorry for her.
--
The next day Sango was awoken quite early; the sun was at a midpoint in rising, and it was not that bright outside, save for a few weak rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds.
Knocks sounded along the doors, and a monotonous voice repeated orders to wake up and report to duties.
Curious, Sango padded through the space between the beds and peered out the door. A small girl, who looked about Sango's age, was now knocking on the door of the cabin at the end of the row. She was extremely pale, with hair to match, and seemed devoid of emotion.
After the pandemonium that accompanied showers and freshening up, Sango was now waiting patiently with a small group of girls in one of the larger house rooms. She observed that they varied in age, and size, but they all had one thing in common: they looked scared as hell.
A door to their right slid open and Kagura entered, her fan sitting snugly under her obi. She regarded them all.
"New girls?" she asked. They all nodded unsurely.
"You all looked scared, and I don't blame you. You've left your homes, some voluntarily, some not, been thrown into a completely different life, and are being forced to learn so many things in a limited amount of time."
She paused to survey their expressions.
"I am Kagura, the associate should Naraku - I mean, Masuyo be away on business, as he sometimes is. Although I have part in running this place, I do work here as well, on request of Masuyo. You will learn to entertain men. This includes, manners, etiquette, dance, conversation, among other things. You are being paid to be good company. Do you understand?"
"Yes," the group chorused.
"Very well. This morning, we will begin with-"
"Wait," Sango spoke up nervously. "You never said we are being trained to become geisha? Don't we have ranks, and other things we should know?"
For the second time, Kagura gave her a penetrating stare, but this time Sango could almost detect sympathy underneath the visible annoyance. "Now is not the time to learn about that," Kagura replied. "We have other things to concern ourselves with now."
Most of the morning was spent correcting postures.
--
Sango now had a block of free time, in which she chose to stay within her shack and organize her belongings. The morning hadn't been that bad; Kagura basically taught them how to walk daintily and exercise proper manners, things she mostly knew about already, and had been quick to pick up on. Still, she had the ominous feeling that whatever she wasn't being told about this place was something base, or even dangerous.
Her thoughts were interrupted as rustle sounded from the doorway. She turned around from her spot on the bed to see another young girl staring back at her. She looked a year or two older than Sango.
"Hi," she said shyly, with a quick bow.
"Hi," Sango replied, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Hopefully she could make friends with this girl. "I'm Sango, what's your name?"
"My birth name? Or my Yujo name?" the girl returned.
Sango was puzzled. "Your birth name, I suppose. Why would you have two?"
"Oh, I almost forgot you were new," the girl said with a laugh. "My name from birth is Kagome, but here they call me Akemi. They'll be changing yours soon, I think."
"Why would they be changing it?" Sango asked before she could stop herself.
Kagome sat down on the bed next to Sango's. "They give you new names here when you arrive. Masuyo-sama is usually the one who chooses them."
Sango was now full of questions. "I still don't understand."
Kagome looked thoughtful. "Well, some people got to keep their names. Basically, I think they want your names to be memorable and elegant sounding. I don't know where they got Akemi though."
"What does it mean?"
"Bright, beautiful. Something like that." Kagome said with a shrug. "The full name is Akemi Ren, so all together it's something like beautiful water lily. Too corny for me. I prefer Kagome."
Sango absorbed all this information. "How did you end up here?"
"I got lost. Wandered away from my parents. Masuyo-sama found me and brought me here when I was young, about nine or ten. I haven't known another life since."
Seeing how explaining that had made Kagome a tinge sad, Sango quickly looked to change the subject.
"What did you say you were, a Yujo? Is that your rank?" said Sango, remembering Kagome's earlier quip.
"You could say that," Kagome answered with a dark look. "We're all made to do the same thing anyway."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand again."
Kagome studied Sango's innocent, curious face. "Sango, why were you taken here?"
Sango's head drooped to the side at the question, and rested against the flat side of her fist. "My family is from a farming village on the outskirts of Kyoto. Masuyo-sama, he came to my home one day to speak with my parents. He said that he was looking to bring more girls to the city to train as entertainers, or geisha."
She checked to see if Kagome was still interested before continuing.
"Anyway, he said he would take me without fees or an interview, and I would be brought to the city, trained, and eventually put to work. Because we were poor, and there was war approaching, my parents thought it would be the best thing for me." She looked away.
Kagome looked slightly intrigued. "I'm sorry for you Sango, I take it you miss your family a great deal?" Sango nodded slowly, still looking into a corner of the room.
"And Masuyo, he-"
"Did he strike you?" Kagome cut in.
"Yes," Sango whispered.
Kagome sighed deeply. "Listen to me Sango, there are things that you don't know about this place that you haven't been told, and I'm not sure if they will tell you or not."
Sango's brows quirked in confusion. "I know there's something that they're hiding from me, but-"
"Sango, we are not geisha. Nor are we in training to be one. From where we are now, we'll never become one." Her fingers fiddled with one another as she spoke.
"What are you saying?" Sango returned, gripping the sides of the thin mattress tightly.
"We may imitate their practices, but in the end, we are only sold for-"
"Akemi, Sango," a quiet voice interrupted from the doorway. "Prepare for the evening. Masuyo-sama is returning."
The small girl speaking to them wore a stark white kimono, and two white lilies on either side of her temples, tucked into the mass of white hair that hung to her shoulders.
Kagome immediately stood and bowed before the smaller girl, not giving Sango a second glance as she scurried out the door.
The pale girl remained at the doorway and continued to speak to Sango. "You will be named tonight, I believe. Please make yourself presentable."
Sango stood and stared at the chalk complected face of the girl. "Excuse me, but I haven't been introduced to you yet."
Her empty black eyes continued to bore into Sango's large brown ones.
"I am Kanna. You will ask nothing more."
With a sway of white fabric she was gone.
--
All of the girls that were gathered in the room were wearing what seemed like the most formal kimono they owned, save for Sango, who felt extremely out of place in her modestly patterned one, which was given to her by her mother, though other girls also sported similar outfits.
Kagura ascended to the front of the room, her hair intricately twisted and adorned with many jewels and ornaments. The colours and designs of her kimono were elaborate, and her obi was twisted and sculpted about her waist, resting in a ornate knot on her hipbone.
Naraku had been seated until now, hidden from view. He stood, arrogant and majestic, and took his place before all the girls.
Kagura motioned for them to stand. "Remain quiet, unless you are spoken to," she said in a low voice.
Naraku walked pretentiously by the row of girls, scrutinizing each nervous face carefully. He stopped once he had reached the end of the row, his eyes sparking in recognition and cruel delight.
"Your name?"
"Sango," she said shortly, shooting him an equally hateful glare.
"Ah, I remember you," Naraku exclaimed with a mocking clap of his hands. "From the farming village. The first one to actually put up some semblance of a fight."
She said nothing to this.
"So, you are still resistant? Why? You're here forever. You're mine," he sang gleefully, tapping her chin with his finger.
"Don't touch me." Sango whispered.
"What was that?" Naraku said in a dangerous tone. "What happened the last time you spoke out of line? Do you remember?"
There was a rush of jingling as Kagura rushed towards the pair, but he stopped her advance with an open palm. "Stay away, Kagura," he warned.
"Your name is now Emi Izumi, fountain of beauty. Bear in mind that I'm being lenient with you, because you are really nothing but an spiteful bitch."
All reason, all fear left her and she struck him. In that one collision, she attempted to express all the anger, hurt, and degradation he made her feel, hitting him across the face.
His face remained turned to the side, and a bright red patch was now forming nicely along his cheek.
He regarded her with superiority and disgust, and Sango was momentarily satisfied with her actions; she wanted him to hate her. The other girls looked on in silent shock, though neither of the two noticed.
"Your fiery temper will be your undoing," he drawled lazily as he ran a finger down her cheek. He fisted his hands in hair tightly. "But I must say, you are the first to strike me back."
He continued to pull at her hair, forcing her to her knees. "I shouldn't have to keep on reminding you that you are my property, and you show me respect at all times." He kicked her in the stomach, and Sango lurched forward, but Naraku jerked her head back up by her hair.
"I should hope that this time I made it extra clear what I expect of you," he continued in a silky voice, leaning close to her ear. "Because if this happens again, I will not be so understanding."
He dropped her hair and slapped her, a soft thump sounding on the ground where Sango collapsed, heaving. "Let that serve as an example to the rest of you," he warned, as he stepped over Sango as if she were something incredibly nasty and stood in front of the next girl.
"And, your name is?" he asked with a wicked smile.
--
Sango had buried her head deep underneath her pillow when she felt a soft tapping on her shoulder. She stiffened, thinking the worst, and was relieved to see Kagome looking down at her worriedly, holding a small lantern.
"I heard about what happened tonight," Kagome whispered, squatting down on the floor next to Sango's bed. "Are you okay?"
Sango duly noted the pale white makeup covering Kagome's face, and the deep red colouring on her lips.
"I think."
"Well, don't let that bring you down, alright? I've been beaten before, and I still do, if I don't please our customers, or act out of turn."
Sango's eyes narrowed. "Did you come from the main house?"
Kagome looked confused. "Yes, but why-"
"What did you do in there?" Sango demanded.
"Well," the girl opposite her began. "I had clients and-"
"I understand now," Sango's sharp voice interrupted.
"Sango," Kagome sighed in dismay.
"I was sold to Naraku as a prostitute."
--
Kagome tried her best to get a few words out of Sango after the revelation, but was unsuccessful. She shut herself off to Kagome, lying on her bed, face hidden by hair, like a fallen tree. She left to wash off her face paint, and tried again when she returned, but to no avail.
Kagome lay down on her own bed, slightly worried over the condition of her new friend. If she was this distraught over the news, she would be in for another punishment the next evening, for she had overheard Naraku speaking to Kanna on her way back to her quarters.
"I take it that the new girls are prepared?"
"Kagura had given them basic training this morning, Masuyo-sama."
"Then their virginity will be sold tomorrow evening. We will start with that wench, what was the name I gave her?"
All new charges were to be displayed to bidders tomorrow. Naraku had voiced his decision that Sango would be the first one offered, and for the highest price she would bring.
Her face would be painted for the first time.
Painted I: Corruption - June 20th 2004
Geisha - woman of the arts
Yujo - prostitute
I know I'm taking liberties with culture here. I was doing some reading up on the geisha-prostitute situation around WWII times, and I didn't want to confuse readers by putting in too many terms that even I, myself could not explain clearly. I do want to emphasize the fact that geisha were not prostitutes, but the concept behind that did come from the WWII times.
As always, apologies for any culture/historical butchering happening.
I'd like to thank firebird5, randomgemini07, Nikkler, Demon Exterminator Barbie, tina, and Lady Sango 7, for reviewing the prologue of this story. Thank you for all your support.