Hiya and thanks for coming back. Hopefully you guys will get individual responses out of me. If I can't, I'll just reply here, I'll just find a way to make them less conspicuous, hehe. S7 ain't mine, Yukino owns Roji-san. Now we are clear on that, here's the next chapter.
The shamisen is that thing Roji-san was playing when he was having that conversation with Kanbei-sama. It's compared to a banjo sometimes. Much of the plucked sounds in the opening of "Fuhen" (the ending song) is from a shamisen.
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She knew it was not her place, but enough was too much. She had to do it. She had to yell. "SHICHIROJI!" No titles. She was mad.
"Yes, yes…..I know…."
"That's the SECOND one! MY second one!"
"I'm…sorry?"
She slapped her forehead, and sighed deeply. All three strings of her shamisen were now split in two. Holding up the shamisen was her ward, rubbing the back of his head. "I have to buy new strings! I just got paid!" she shouted.
"I promise to pay for it…..when I get paid…."
"HOW? Tell me! At this rate, you won't get paid at all!" She felt the tears forming at the sides of her eyes.
He saw them as well. He lowered the shamisen and moved closer to her. He smiled just slightly, and placed his right normal hand on her cheek. "There, there. Beautiful women shouldn't cry."
She tried to swipe away the hand, but it was stronger than she expected. She felt a teardrop escape and wet the hand that still held her cheek.
"Stop worrying. I'm not going anywhere." He looked away and sighed. "There's nowhere else to go, anyhow."
She forcefully lowered the hand on her cheek, and just looked at him, for an explanation.
"I've been asking," he said. "Our side has been wiped out. I knew some time ago with Kanbei-sama, but now it's official. We lost."
She had heard about that from the others as well, but she did not know that he was from the losing side of the war. She was not sure if he already knew, but there had been announcements around the district that enemies of the new government had to be sifted out.
He was one of those to be sifted out, surrendered to the authorities.
"That's why I have nowhere else to go, but here. And I have no choice but to work here. So I'll learn this. Don't worry." His face was filled with quiet sadness.
She looked at him again, head to foot.
"Don't. Worry. Yukino." He smiled at her again. "I can take care of myself. Now, then. Is there another spare shamisen we can use?"
"That WAS the spare shamisen you just ruined!" she smiled in spite of herself as she screamed at him.
"Oh, dear, so sorry." He rubbed his head again.
"OOOOOOOH! Days like this. You make me so…..so…."
"Glad you know me?" he grinned.
"Aaaiiiiya!"
She could not take it anymore. She stood up, and walked out.
She shook her head at him, with a smile.
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Who Yukino was with the man with the unusual three-way ponytail, was not who Yukino was with her customers. At night, she was a completely different person: sultry, alluring, seductive. No one would recognize the snow flower of the night as the woman who had a shouting match with a blonde man that morning.
She let him see everything she hid from everyone else, this man she saved. He would see from any deception on her part. She felt it. However, he would keep her self a secret from the world, a secret he shared with the other young women in the inn. That secured his position there, unconsciously, in everyone's minds.
All the same, she kept him hidden from their customers. Her friends considered this precaution on her part, for his sake, because he was indeed one of those wanted to surrender to the authorities. There was more to it, though. If she saw him, she remembered her true self, the self she would not dare show to customers. Out of sight, out of mind. Thus, she pushed him into their largest closet where the best kimono were kept, and made him stay there. He just shrugged as she closed the closet door on him.
There was one customer she particularly favored, and wanted to please. He was perfect, period. Relatively young, rich, considerate, generous, handsome. What else could an average, just-getting-known geisha want?
Maybe, for him to be her patron.
It was to this end that she was particularly nice to this customer. She did as she was taught and served all the guests, laughed and joked with them. She made sure all the sake cups were always filled, and that everyone was always happy. But she paid more attention to this customer, talked with him more often, and served him more.
And it seemed her efforts were somewhat paying off. As the party ended, he asked if he could spend a little more time with her, alone. She was more than willing to oblige. She had prepared a new piece on her shamisen, just for that purpose. that both her shamisen were broken now, she had to borrow her friend's for the purpose.
She sat in front of the customer, and began to strum the borrowed shamisen, with well-trained ease. She kept giving the man knowing glances that hopefully showed her interest in him somewhat beyond the usual professional arrangements.
She saw him gulp down a whole cup of sake. Then he stood and walked to where she was. It was difficult to keep the excitement from showing in her face.
But his next words stopped her. "I've been waiting to see you in that beautiful kimono, you know," he crooned over her ear.
"What….what kimono?" she evaded. She tried to keep the cold sweat from forming on her white makeup.
Of course she knew what kimono he was asking about. It was the kimono she sold, the downpayment for Shichiroji's arm. Now she had to keep her benefactor from knowing it.
"I distinctly recall sending a messenger to the Hotaruya, with a new silk kimono," the customer reminded her.
"Did you?" she turned her head to show her face to full advantage. "But no messenger came from your place." She pouted for good measure.
"No, no, my dear, I remember. The messenger returned to me saying someone from this inn received the package."
She kept silent, her head racing, thinking of what to say next.
"Oh, don't worry your head about it, my dear," the customer said kindly. "I suppose you're just saving for a special occasion."
"Yes…..YES! Exactly!" She thanked the heavens for that quick explanation.
"I understand." The man shook his head and chuckled. "You women have your ways. But on the day you will wear that kimono," he came closer and savored her perfume, "do let me know."
They had more music, sake, and conversation after that. He told about the problems in managing an old business just after the war had ruined most of it. He even showed dismay at the searches for the war's defeated. It was his opinion that they should be given amnesty if they want it, but they should be left alone if they did not. Her opinion exactly, and she told him so. But he added that he agreed to the execution of the defeated leaders of the war. They might cause trouble after some time by raising another army.
This she was afraid of hearing. From conversations with her ward, she had learned that while he was not a key person in the war, he knew enough about its planning, and enough of its former leaders, to be dangerous to the current heads of state. Even if he was hidden in the closet, she had to forcefully think about him. And, even if she liked the customer, she was glad when it was time for him to finally leave.
She demurely closed the screen door as the customer left…..then quite slumped onto the tea table. "That was CLOSE!" She arranged the mats and cleared the table, and left the room, completely tired. It was already two hours past midnight.
A gentle hand held her shoulder as she turned the corner. "Hey," he greeted in the darkness.
She sighed. "Hey."
Shichiroji folded his hands over his chest, and frowned at her with dancing eyes. "You know, my pretty girl, selling off the kimono from your most generous client, wasn't very smart."
Yukino tossed her head at him. "Would you rather have died instead?"
He shrugged. "Just admit it. It WAS stupid."
"Why you ungrateful---" But as she readied her hand to slap him, she saw him chuckling as quietly as he could. First she was mad, then she was annoyed, then, then…..she found herself chuckling as well. "Yes, it was stupid." They laughed together in the darkness for a few more seconds.
"Come, I'll show you something."
She followed without knowing why, as he led into her room. He made her sit on the floor, then he took a case from the corner.
"But that's--"
He opened it, and took out the shamisen they fought about that morning. It was now intact, with three new strings. She opened her mouth to complain, but he raised an open hand. He sat down, and readied to play.
It was the first training piece that he played, up and down the scales, using all the strings. Slowly, deliberately, plucking with the right hand, pressing each string with the mechanical hand. Then he played the second practice piece, jumping from one string to the other. Then the third, jumping the notes and scales. He did them all…..with mistakes, indeed, but quite well for a rookie. Yukino never noticed how her mouth remained opened, just looking at him, playing, struggling, trying.
He ended with one of the simpler songs a geisha had to master for parties. A little song about finding dreams, losing them, and finding new ones.
He returned the shamisen to the case, and returned the case to the corner.
"Where did you…..when did you….how did you…." She fumbled and kept gawking.
"I have a deal with Mayo to help her with the groceries in exchange for the strings. I practiced in the closet, since you told me to keep out of sight. That's all." Just then the machinery started buzzing and the fingers of the mechanical hand began to jitter wildly. "Aiyaya….stop….stop!" He held the forearm and kept tapping and shaking it. He looked at her and teased. "Now, look, see what happened! You made me practice so hard!"
She did not know what to think, to feel, to say. All she knew right then was this: she would never regret selling that kimono, getting money for the operation, saving his life.
She would never regret it.
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Who the heck is Mayo? I don't know yet, quite frankly. Not a love interest that's for certain. Also, if you're expecting a grand adventure, that's not what I'm driving at, sorry. Thanks for reading and I hope you come back.