CHAPTER ONE

AUTHOR'S NOTE : Obviously, I don't own the rights to Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon...I'm just an obsessed fan!

Everything was doused in the inky blackness of night, save for one warm glow coming from a lantern. In the courtyard of her okiya, Kaioh Michiru knelt in the flickering light, diligently practicing her shamisen. Her talented fingers plucked the strings with an ease and grace that made it easy to understand why her music was so appreciated by teahouse visitors. Many geisha, Michiru knew, had a habit of dipping their fingers into cold water before coming outside to practice their shamisen, hoping that the icy chill and pain they felt as a result would help them acquire the same poise that she held. However, Michiru refused to do this, as she was vain about one thing and one thing only – her soft, smooth hands and gorgeously long fingers. She would do nothing that might cause them to become blistered or rough.

As she closed her eyes and continued plucking the strings of her shamisen, Michiru found herself letting her mind wander. There had been a very strange guest at one of her favorite teahouses, Tadanori Teahouse, and recalling the odd visitor, she let herself sink into her recollections. Undaunted by the fact that her fingers now seemed to play on their own, the shamisen continued to emit beautiful sounds.

There had been quite a rowdy party at the teahouse earlier in the night, full of sake, drinking games, and laughter. Michiru tried to limit her sake drinking to only a few cups, as she detested the feeling of drunkenness, and by the time the strange guest had entered, she was on her last cup. She had just tipped the bowl containing the last drops of alcohol to her lips when Ten'ou Haruka came into the room, following behind two men who were already well known at the Tadanori Teahouse.

Despite herself, Michiru's breath caught in her throat upon seeing Haruka, and she set down the empty bowl with a tiny cough. One of the men accompanying Haruka, Masu Toshi, immediately came over and sat down next to Michiru with a raucous greeting. Michiru greeted him with a demure smile, knowing that she was one of Toshi's favorite geisha.

"Here you are, you beautiful thing," he laughed in greeting, as Michiru poured him some sake from the tall bottle on the table. "I brought someone along that I'd like you to meet. A good friend of mine. You'll like him, I think!"

"Not as much as you, I should hope," Michiru replied flirtatiously, with another smile. This was another task of the geisha – remain witty at all times, and make the men think that you absolutely adore them. Michiru knew her objective well. You don't become one of Gion's most famous geisha by remaining tight-lipped and boring, after all.

"You flatter me too much," Toshi claimed with another riotous burst of laughter, followed by draining his sake in one long gulp. Silently, Michiru agreed with him. Masu Toshi was by no means an attractive man.

His friend, however, was extraordinary handsome. Michiru couldn't help but lift her head quickly to gaze into Ten'ou Haruka's eyes, captured by their brilliance. Suddenly Haruka met her gaze, and Michiru dropped her head immediately. In that brief moment when their eyes met, however, Haruka had stared at her with cold disdain. Michiru was surprised, but calmly poured some sake for the strange man.

"He's one of my best workers," Toshi continued on, and Michiru stared at him blankly before realizing that he was referring to Haruka. Toshi owned and operated one of the largest manufacturing companies in Japan, and he was a man who expected respect and adoration. Michiru gave him both in the form of another light giggle and pouring him yet another drink.

After a few more minutes of idle chatter and excessive drinking, Toshi slammed his glass down on the table and turned to face the lovely geisha sitting beside him. "Michiru-san, you must show Ten'ou-san your latest dance. It's exquisite." He slurred the last word, proving that he was already drunk. Michiru dropped her gaze down to the table in a pretty –and perfectly acted – gesture of modesty.

"What an excellent idea, Toshi-san!" she replied, sounding pleased. In truth, she felt disappointed that he hadn't requested that she play for them on her shamisen. That was the one thing as a geisha that she truly enjoyed doing, although she was talented at many other tasks, as well. And for some unexplainable reason, Michiru wanted to please Ten'ou Haruka with one of her songs…the man had barely spoken a single word since coming in behind Toshi.

But if Toshi wished for her to dance, then dance she must. She picked up her fan, which had been lying next to her on the floor, and stood up gracefully, moving to the center of the room. A serious expression fixed onto her face, and she snapped open the fan in time to the music another geisha had began to play for her. For a few moments, the party watched her dance in silence, and then her dance – and concentration - was interrupted by a sudden cough from Haruka. Michiru couldn't help but drop her eyes to gaze once more upon the stranger, and was stunned to find that Haruka had turned away from her. She felt blood rush to her cheeks in the form of a blush, and was grateful that her thick white make-up hid her embarrassment well.

"What's the matter, Ten'ou-san?" Toshi blurted out loudly, clapping Haruka on the back. "Too much to take for you, eh? Isn't she gorgeous?" He motioned for one of the other geisha at the party to pour him yet another glass of sake, even though he was by now far past drunk.

"I find this whole concept ridiculous, actually." It was the first sentence Haruka had spoken all night, and Michiru couldn't help but fumble slightly in one of her steps. She snapped the fan shut, feeling even more embarrassed. This was the first time she could ever recall being rejected by a man, and the feeling pricked at her like a dozen knives.

"Why not?" Toshi asked, seeming shocked that someone wasn't having as much fun as he. Haruka drained her glass of sake in a long, effortless gulp, before setting her bowl back down on the table. Michiru knelt down with a bow, before returning to the table.

"I don't like geisha."