Warnings: Shonen-ai, possible Yaoi, sexual situations, prostitution, possible drug use.
Rating: PG-13 (This may change later…)
Disclaimer: Wolf's Rain Characters (Toboe, Tsume, Hige, Kiba, Blue) are not mine. I am not making money off this fanfic. Red Lantern District and Yukie are property of Shuu-chan.
Spoiler: The events here take place after the Wolf's Rain tv series. Therefore, the ending is slightly ruined. Only slightly mind you…
Author's Note: Sorry I haven't introduced the other characters yet! Don't worry! Almost all of them will have a place in my story. In fact, you'll be seeing at least one familiar face in the next chapter. Oh, and I may be using some terms that are unfamiliar ( ie. they're Japanese), so in the next chap. I'll provide a small 'translation foot note' thingy to help people out.
When Toboe awoke, it was to Reiyuchi's mumbled instructions. His mind slow from sleep, at first Toboe didn't understand the other boy's words or hand expressions. When finally he was fully conscious he realized Reiyuchi was telling him to hurry. He quickly pulled on his clothes he had left next to his futon the night before and was soon ready. Toboe tried to comb his hair a bit with his fingers, knowing it must look poor and dishelmed. Despite his bedraggled appearance, Reiyuchi nodded curtly in approval and led him out the sliding door and into the hallway. Since his arrival last night, Toboe had not had a chance to look at the old fashioned house he was now living in. In fact, the only rooms he had seen besides the greeting room was the small maid's room he and Reiyuchi shared.
Reiyuchi led him out of what turned out to be the wing he had been in, and onto a wooden walkway that surrounded the mansion's courtyard. Although the walkway connected all the buildings, Reiyuchi chose to scamper across the dirt courtyard to the large building furthest away. Toboe's own bare feet padded after Reiyuchi and he wondered vaguely where his shoes were being kept. He didn't have time to wonder long however, as they arrived at their destination soon. Before he entered, Reiyuchi took a deep breath to collect himself and smooth out his traditional male kimono.
"Bow a lot to her in the old way," Reiyuchi said, staring for the first time directly into Toboe's eyes. "And don't say anything more than necessary. The less you talk, the less opportunities you have to sound stupid." And with this valuable information, Reiyuchi slid open the door and entered a tea room where Aizawa was kneeling in the traditional style at a table.
After watching Reiyuchi's own low bow, Toboe did the same. He tried to bow lower at the waist, but ended up stumbling and loosing his balance. To right himself, he came out of his bow awkwardly and took a step closer to Aizawa. The crinkled lines of her face hid her disapproval, but Toboe thought he could still feel it. She acknowledged them both with a nod and gestured for them to sit across from her. Three cups of tea were laid out before them and Reiyuchi began pouring tea from the pot even before he was asked. Aizawa was served first, and it was only until she had drained her cup that she began to speak.
"Do you know why you have come to our okiya?" Aizawa stared at Toboe, addressing the question towards him.
"No ma'am." Toboe said, eyes slightly down cast.
"It is because you have no where else to go. This will be your home now. If you are good, and do as you are told, you will not be punished. But, if you are bad, then you will be punished. Do you understand this?"
"Yes ma'am." Toboe nodded.
"At first you will be treated as a house servant. This is the lowest position in our okiya, and you are the lowest servant. You must submit and obey to all others in this okiya. Do you understand this?" Her words came evenly, and it seemed like they had been said to many others many times before.
"Yes ma'am." Toboe replied, starting to believe that perhaps this was some sort of an induction ritual.
"If I believe you can handle these tasks, then your rank will rise. The highest rank in this house is mine, but the highest rank you can achieve in this house is to become a geisha."
At first Toboe believed he had not heard right. He blinked in surprise and glanced at Reiyuchi's face to see if he too was startled. Of course, Reiyuchi wasn't surprised. In fact, he looked just the tiniest bit bored with the whole conversation.
Aizawa continued, knowing Toboe's thoughts. "Yes, I know that traditionally in Japan geisha have always been women. And in recent years there are very few geisha at all who are anything like the old ones. Being on the edge of the Red Lantern District however, creates many peculiarities. One of these is okiya like mine. We raise and train male geisha for the Red Lantern District and our own patrons. Our male geisha are just like Japan's traditional ones. They are there to entertain and please others at parties and social functions with the use of arts of dance and music. And of course the most valuable, the arts of conversation. If you are well behaved, you may aspire to be taught the ways that will lead you to become a geisha. Do you understand this?"
Toboe was hesitant, he let the words settle into him, understanding them all. And then he said: "Yes ma'am."
"Good. I believe there to be no ill between us now. You may address me as Aizawa-san or ma'am. What is your own name? We have not yet come to that."
"I'm Toboe, Aizawa-san."
"Toboe? That is a very odd name for a person. You know it is the word for 'howl' in traditional Japanese?" it was the first time he saw it, Aizawa's eyebrows furrowed together creating still more wrinkles upon her brow. She had the odd expression of curiosity on her.
"Yes Aizawa-san, but it is the only name I know as mine." he couldn't lift his eyes to see her, but he knew that her look of curiosity had disappeared when she changed the conversation.
"Reiyuchi has just recently begun his own training to become a geisha. Many of the chores you will be taking on will be his. In the mornings before he leaves for school he will leave you your days instructions. This first day however, he will be here to show you how to carry them out. You are both dismissed." She nodded her head once at this and waved them our. Reiyuchi rose and bowed without ever having said a word, and Toboe tried his best to imitate him.
After they had crossed halfway through the courtyard, Reiyuchi slowed and turned to Toboe. "You made a very good impression on her Toboe. If you keep this up, you are sure to have a brighter future than many here." He tried to soften the ominous words with a smile, but still Toboe found it worrisome.
The chores that would be laid out for Toboe turned out to be relatively easy, if dull and time consuming. Reiyuchi was not such a bad companion, but he was not the type to chatter through the work. Toboe found himself to be unusually silent throughout the day as his mind spent equal time both at learning the various places around the okiya and thinking of what might lay ahead in his future. While at his tasks, Toboe met others who also lived in the okiya. These few were servants and cooks and didn't seem interested in Toboe's arrival. While Reiyuchi and Toboe took their noon day meal at the edge of the courtyard, Toboe finally asked a question that he had been carrying and which now weighed heavily on his mind.
"Reiyuchi-san, where are all the geisha? We've been around here all day, but I haven't seen a single one!" he asked in earnest as he watched Reiyuchi slowly chew a pickle before replying.
"We haven't been back to where we saw Aizawa-san this morning, do you remember?" at Toboe's nod he continued. "That wing is the living quarters of Aizawa and the geisha. We won't be going there until this afternoon when they are sure to not be there."
"But why Reiyuchi-san? The geisha aren't ill tempered, are they?" Toboe's voice was almost child like in the way he asked innocently.
"No, not all of the geisha are bad." Reiyuchi said, eating some more of his rice before continuing. "There are only three that live here, and I'm the only one in training right now. That means our okiya isn't very big, but we're also not very small. When you see them, make sure to bow really, really low and step out of the way. To them, you are as low as a pebble on the street. Right now, they probably haven't left their room yet for the day. When we see them, I'll tell you about them."
"They all share one room together?" Toboe asked in slight disbelief. To him, it sounded like trouble to keep three very self inflated egos so close together.
"Yep, the geisha in this okiya all share one large room together. Just like all the cooks are in one room, all the servants, and all the training geisha. Well, your not in training yet, but I bet you will be. That's why we share the same room. Aizawa-san is always scheming, you're probably only going to be a servant for a few months just for show, and to let you get used to the place." Their meals finished, Reiyuchi started to rise when Toboe stopped him with one more question.
"I've been thinking Reiyuchi-san, and well, how does the okiya get money around here to continue?" Although the question seemed innocent, Reiyuchi broke into a wide smile that proved lovely. Chuckling a moment at Toboe's innocence he revealed the mystery to the younger boy.
"Well, you obviously haven't thought long about it! Think! Aizawa-san said geisha are here to entertain others. Well, these 'others' are all very wealthy men and women with too much money. They pay for the entertainment and company of geisha! Usually it's all innocent stuff, tea parties, and fancy dinners, things like that. But, sometimes, it's more. And Aizawa-san will allow it too, for the right price of course." With this, Reiyuchi winked broadly at Toboe and scampered to the other end of the courtyard heading towards the kitchen. Toboe was left sitting with a puzzled look on his face and a new thought to keep for the rest of the day.