Hello Simply Hopeless and I thank those who have reviewed. This chapter, if anyone is confused, is taking place three years before Kagome becomes a geisha. It's the events following up to her meeting Faith and becoming a hangyoku. I hope you enjoy and will be waiting for your reviews to continue this story.

Words to know:

Arigato: thank you

Hai: Yes

Iie: No

Gomen: Sorry

Miso soup: is often served as a side dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dissolving miso paste in hot water and adding additional ingredients such as wakame seaweed and small pieces of tofu make it.

Natto: are strongly smelling, sticky, fermented soya beans. It is often enjoyed for breakfast with cooked rice. Natto is famous for being unpopular among many foreigners (and Japanese people), but also for being very healthy.

Omuraisu: (abbreviation for omelet rice) is cooked rice, wrapped in a thin omelet, and usually served with tomato ketchup.

Tsukemono: are Japanese pickles. There are many varieties of pickles, and a small dish with some pickles is served with most Japanese meals.

Wakame: is seaweed often used in soups such as the miso soup or in sunomono salads. Wakame is usually sold in dried form, and is soaked in water before usage.

Women Behind the Mask

Chapter Two: February 2002 (three years ago)

Brown eyes glared down at her rice bowl as she stirred her chopsticks through it. The raw egg blended and meshed with the rice and natto before she mashed them to the side of her bowl. The dish's contents sicken her as she pulled the rice away from the sides before she continued to stir. She saw nothing else to do with it until she looked away defiantly.

She heard her mother let out a sigh of resignation as she picked up Kagome's rice bowl. Making a wry face at the food her daughter had wasted before she scrapped the rest into the trash. "Well then at least drink your miso soup," she coaxed as she returned.

"Hai," said Kagome faintly but instead bypassed the bowl. Her chopsticks picked up a bit of Tsukemono. Popping it into her mouth and chewing it before reaching for another. She didn't even bother to place some on her plate as she ate half the Tsukemono in the serving dish before she stood up in her chair.

"Kagome Tama Higurashi," snapped out her mother in anger. "You sit right back down and eat the rest of your food this instance," she ordered pointing to Kagome's vacated chair.

It made Kagome nearly wince at the way she used her full name when she was angry like it was a curse on her lips. Kagome looked defiantly away before muttering a quick excuse. "I ate half my omuraisu mom." She waved absently at her picked at plate before she reached for her backpack. "I'm going to go to school," she mumbled before leaving them.

She didn't even have to look back to know that her mother, grandfather and little brother were giving her worried looks. 'Of course they should but did they openly voice it? Iie! And that's why…' she thought before running down the shrine stairs.

A FEW MINUTES LATER

It wasn't until she arrived at school that she allowed herself to breath. Her hands where on her thighs as she bent over to take gulps of air. She was so frustrated with her family right now that she couldn't stand it as she furiously brushed back a lock of hair.

Standing she shouldered her backpack and welcomed in the ordered surroundings of the school. This place was her only real escape from her home when things weren't going her way. It was a second home as strange as that might seem. 'But still he's coming for me after school,' she thought bitterly.

"Happy Birthday Higruashi-san," called out Hojo as she entered her classroom.

"Hai, arigato," she smiled slightly, her cheeks warming up. 'How did he know it was my birthday,' she thought as she touched her hand against her flushed cheek. But soon concluded who as three

"Gyah happy birthday Kagome-chan," chorused out her three best friends Yuka, Eri and Ayumi. All three girls enveloped her in a hug and rocked back and forth with her not even noticing the look of displeasure on her face.

"A… arigato," she managed breathlessly as they all three untangled their arms from around her. She ventured a step back not wanting to be overwhelmed once more by her friends.

"Here before class starts make a wish," Ayumi chirped producing a cupcake with a candle in it.

Yuka handed over a lighter that she borrowed from her mother to light the cake. "Make a wish quickly before the sprinklers come on," she joked.

"Hai," Kagome sighed before closing her eyes. 'They don't even realize that what I wish for… what I want must in the world I can't have,' she thought bitterly. 'After today I will never see them again. I'm going to move to a new school, have to make new friends and try to live with a man that I haven't seen since I was little,' she thought sullenly.

"Kagome you haven't blown out the candles yet and the sensei is coming," cried out Eri in a hushed voice.

Kagome gave a minute nod before blowing out her candle. 'Today I will no longer be a burden to my family… Today I will be moving in with my father,' she sighed inwardly as a tear rolled down her cheeks.

"So what did you wish for Higura—" began Hojo as Kagome sat down in her seat. She fluttered her eyes open wondering what was the matter with him.

"You're crying Kagome," gasped Yuka, her eyes widening in surprise.

She tried to ease back the tears but they wouldn't stop. Her heart was breaking and she didn't know how she was going to fix it. 'I don't want to leave… I don't want to have a birthday if I have to leave,' she thought frantically. More hot tears rolled down her cheeks as the sensei made her presence known.

"Sit down class," ordered the sensei as they laid their briefcase on the desk.

"Are you feeling well?" Ayumi burst out not able to hold it in.

"If your sick I can bring some home remedies from my mother's store later one," ventured out Hojo worriedly.

"Is there something more important then sitting down?" the sensei snapped as she looked at the four students gathered around Kagome's desk. "Higurashi-san would you care to explain maybe?" asked the teacher hearing no response from the others.

"I… I… Hai… I mean Iie… I mean gomen but I… Excuse me," she gasped before standing up suddenly. Her chair fell over in her rush to stand. Her eyes shimmered with tears while her throat tightens. Her mind bent on leaving the confines of the cage that her family was willing to shove her into.

'How could they expect me to leave my home? How can they abandon me like that?' she thought as her lips trembled. She could barely hear her sensei and classmates protests as she burst through the double doors of her school. Her lips desperately dragged gulp after gulp of air that barely sustained her for long.

Her hands clutching her chest as she looked frantically around before running down the street. Her tears blurring her sight as she quickly lost herself in the big city of Tokyo.

To be continued…

Bonus: F.Y.I. on Geishas

Simply: Oh it's that time again. Time to learn a little bit more about geisha's. So listen up. puts dunce cap on Faith

Faith: GGYYAAHHH. tries taking the cap off and can't as school room setting appears with her in desk

Simply: pulls out pointer and taps on chalk board Listen up. The FYI of the day is this. An okiya is the boarding house a maiko/geisha lives in during the length of her contract. During her contract the boarding house pays for all of her expenses, including kimonos and training in becoming a geisha. The maiko/geisha live there with their okasan, 'mother', who is the mistress of their okiya. Independent geisha also must be associated with an okiya.

So in the story Kagome had managed to wander into the grounds of an okiya, which was why the other geishas were surprised.

Faith: I KNOW THAT ALREADY she scowled

Kagome: Wait… what do you mean contract?

Simply: sighs A contract is the agreement made between the mistress of the okiya and the geisha. It usually last three to six years in which time the maiko/geisha pays off the debt she's collected for room and board through her gigs. When she pays off her full debt she may become an independent geisha.

Kagome: I… I think I got it.

Simply: Good enough. Well this has been our brief F.Y.I. for the day. Ignores complaints from Faith about dunce cap

Announcement: I have too many stories so in order to update more efficiently I'm putting half of my stories on hold. So I will only be updating thirty. In order to make sure that this story or any of my stories that you like are put on the 'In Progress' List then you must review the latest chapter. Results will be up on March 31, 2006 on my homepage on which made the cuts. So in consequence to give all my stories a fair I'm updating all of them. Whichever has the highest reviews for the last updated chapter then they will make the cut. So you understand stories with this announcement at the end of them are the latest chapter. Thank you.