AN: Thank you for the reviews. I'm personally proud of this fic, and I'm so glad all of you like it.
Okay, answer time. No, Meiling, Tomoyo, nor Eriol will appear in this story. I truly tried to put them in the story, but in the end I had to delete them because they just weren't working for this story. I'm sorry.
As for the white paint the geishas wear on their faces, yes, I do believe it's made out of the droppings of birds. I'm not so sure- my friend borrowed the Memoirs of a Geisha book, so I can't check- but I do remember something about bird droppings being involved with the making of the paint. For this story, I just prefer for the paint to be some ordinary white make-up or something.
Okay, I think that's it. Enjoy the chapter!
Rated: M for Mature do to sexual content and language.
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and its characters belong to Clamp. Plot and original characters of this story belongs to me.
I would like to thank Lee for taking the time out of her day to edit my story. Thank you, girl!
Summary: Li Syaoran always had women throwing themselves at him, but he has never been interested in dating, or marriage. But when he meets a geisha girl who tries to keep him at a distance, he can't help himself but go after her, and inevitably falls for her.
Geisha Girl
Chapter Three
Sakura walked down the streets of Tokyo during the morning, her younger sister following suit.
"Sakura, when's your next customer?" The fourteen-year-old asked.
She glanced at her. "Tomorrow."
Tatsami Hana smiled. "I can't wait! I feel like I missed out on so much already!"
Sakura smiled as well. Hana was not really her younger sister, but that was what geishas call their apprentices. Sakura had not chosen the freckled, red haired girl, but she was pleased that Hana was as sweet as an apple. With her blue eyes, Sakura had no doubt she would a successful geisha. Why, men were already noticing her! Soon, they will be requesting Hana constantly, and she will be making lots of money.
As an older sister, Sakura had to take Hana along with her as she entertained men, but for the past two weeks, the redhead had had a horrible flu, and could not accompany her. Only recently has the young girl been well enough to walk with her again.
"Hana?" She asked.
"Yes?"
Sakura paused in the streets of Tokyo and turned to look at her. "Why did you become a geisha?"
Hana tilted her head. "Excuse me for asking, but is this a trick question?"
"What makes you ask that?"
The girl ducked her head. "When I was a maid in my okiya, I was asked why I wanted to become a geisha, and when I gave an improper answer the okami slapped me."
"Don't duck your head, Hana." Hana immediately raised her head. Sakura nodded, approving the immediate reaction. "Do not duck your head in public, or else no man will notice your face. However, I do understand your shame in admitting to being slapped. And no, it is not a trick question. Whatever reply you give me, I accept."
Hana breathe in deeply. "My older sister was a geisha. Mamehua was her name."
"Oh, yes." Sakura remembered Mamehua, who was known only by that name and nothing else. A popular, high-class geisha, until she was caught sleeping with a paperboy. After that, no man had wanted her, and she was forced to leave Tokyo.
"Mamehua was . . . Perfect. My parents doted her and ignored me, so I thought that if I became a geisha, they'll notice me."
"Have they?"
Hana sighed. "No. My sister may have ruined her life, but my parents still favor her over me."
"Then why continue your life this way? Why not have a normal childhood?"
"Because I really do want to be a geisha. Whether my parents notice me or not, I will become a geisha."
Sakura smiled. "Now how on earth was that considered an improper answer?"
"It seems you are kinder than the okami was."
Sakura laughed, catching the attention of every man that walked by them. "I am quite glad you are my apprentice."
"And I am quite glad you laughed."
Sakura stiffened, hearing the masculine voice behind her. She closed her eyes briefly before turning around.
"Mr. Li" she greeted tightly.
"Now how many times have I asked you to call me Syaoran?" Syaoran was eyeing her, and she was glad that she was wearing her kimono and her make-up. He couldn't possibly tell her to take it off in public.
"I am quite uncomfortable calling you by your first name."
"But I insist." He held out his hand to her. He did that on purpose, she could tell. She didn't want him to kiss her hand, but for the sake of Hana, and for those around her, she restrained a sigh and placed her hand in his. She watched as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
The tingling sensation arrived, and she repressed a shudder. For goodness sake, what was he doing to her?
He released her hand and she took it back. "I'm somewhat surprised that it has been a week since your last visit with no more requests from you."
"I'm sure Zen and Totsuda has kept you busy for the past couple of nights." She wasn't the bit surprised that he knew that Totsuda has been requesting her. No doubt he told the man right in front of her that he was her new customer.
"Does he know you've been requesting me as well and of your intentions?"
"No. That's my business- not his."
She was very glad to hear that he hadn't been telling the world that he wanted to sleep with her and spreading lies saying that he will eventually get her.
A tiny cough caught her attention, and she glanced to see Hana staring at her intently. She had totally forgotten about her!
"Mr.- I mean, Syaoran."
"Good" he stated.
She sniffed in disdain as she said "This is my apprentice. She is studying to become a geisha."
"Oh, well, aren't you adorable."
"Hana is her name" she stated as the girl bowed, avoiding his gaze. "Be sure to remember her name in the future, so that you may be requesting her."
"I don't think I'll be requesting her" he stated with a frown.
She wanted to wring his neck as soon as his words left his mouth! She could easily tell that he had hurt Hana's feelings, and she opened her mouth to retort when he said: "You remind me of one of my nieces, and I don't believe I'll be comfortable with having you entertaining me whilst an image of my niece is in my head. Besides-" he bent down so he could be at eye-level with her "- I think you'll prefer a handsome man your own age when you become a geisha, don't you think?" He winked at her, and smiled. Hana smiled brightly in return
Sakura watched as he smiled, and found herself frozen. He smiled. She has never seen him smile, only smirks. It looked absolutely adorable on him. Her heart fluttered- she was sure of it- and she had to look away.
"We must be on our way" she said hastily, wanting to get away from him. "I have somewhere to go tonight."
"Yes" he stated as he stood. "You will be entertaining at my party."
She blinked. "E-excuse me?"
"Today is my birthday and tonight is my birthday party, and I requested that you be there."
Sakura couldn't believe it. "H-how old are you?"
"Twenty-seven, now."
Sakura nodded, trying to act indifferent about the whole thing. "Fine. I will be there." Without a good-bye, she walked away, trying to calm her nerves. Today was his birthday? And she was going to perform for him?
"Sakura? Sakura! I can't keep up with you!"
Sakura paused in her rapid pace and waited for Hana to catch up. She looked up at her curiously. "Why are you speeding away?"
"No reason. I just want to show you to as many men as possible." Sakura smiled, but it was shaky.
"He told me something odd after you sped away."
"What?"
"He looked at me and said 'I believe I scared her again'. What did he mean by that?"
Sakura didn't answer, just kept her head up and looked straight forward, already imagining what tonight would bring.
- -
Syaoran couldn't stop looking towards the door in the hotel's banquet room. It was already eight o'clock at night, and he had thought Sakura would be here already. He looked around at all the men in the room, who were getting drunk as other geisha girls entertained them. Syaoran has always seen these geisha girls, but he had never known what they were until Sakura had explained it to him when they first met. He had always assumed that the geishas were dates.
"Hey, birthday man!"
Syaoran tore his eyes away from the door and looked at the man beside him. "Yeah, Zen?"
"Where are the strippers?"
Syaoran smirked. "I wasn't the one to organize the party. In fact, I didn't even want to come at all. Besides, it looks as if all the men are enjoying their time with the geishas."
Zen grinned. "I suppose." He lost his grin and instead looked confused. "Did you invite her here?"
Syaoran looked back at the door and saw Sakura walk into the banquet room with the apprentice. He watched as she talked to the younger girl before the redhead went to a quiet spot in a corner and sat.
He waited for Sakura to look at him and when she did, he smiled at her. She opened the fan that was in her hand and covered half of her face with it. He had the slightest hunch that she was sticking her tongue out at him. He raised one single eyebrow, and she headed his way.
"Why, Sakura!" Zen exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was requested, Mr. Zen, by Mr. Li."
He frowned. Syaoran didn't like the fact that she kept calling him by his surname.
He turned to look at his associate. "I believe I must thank you for intruding her to us, Zen. I was entranced by her lifestyle the moment we met and decided to request her." He didn't say that this would be the third time, and didn't plan to. He turned back to the geisha. "I would love for you to dance."
She bowed slightly. "Yes."
He peered at her as she made her way to where the other geishas were and the room quieted down when all of them, six, to be exact, went into the center of the room. They talked for a couple of seconds before they got into a straight line. Sakura was in the front, the others behind her, and she looked at her apprentice and nodded her head once. Music came on, and as one they danced.
Syaoran concentrated on only Sakura, no one else, as she used her fan as a prop as she swayed against the music.
"You're about to burn a hole through her kimono with that gaze" came a mutter.
Syaoran didn't take away his eyes for a second. "What do you mean, Zen?"
"Since the dance started you have been staring intently at Sakura with a powerful gaze. I believe you were entranced by more than just her lifestyle."
Syaoran said nothing
The dance lasted only three more minutes before the music ended, all six women bowing. The men clapped, yelling their appreciation and compliments.
All the geishas went to where they had been sitting, except Sakura who went to her apprentice before leaving the room.
Syaoran stood up. "I'll be back" he stated.
Zen watched at the young man left in the same direction Sakura had gone. He chuckled to himself.
He had made an excellent choice in introducing that woman to Syaoran on that Friday night. He had known the little wolf would immediately be attracted to her- hell, what man wouldn't?
And with how the female population threw themselves at the young man, he had known the geisha would do the same. Perhaps not as quickly, but he was sure she would. Something in him just told him that those two were made for each other.
- -
Sakura washed her hands in the bathroom, panting a bit as she recovered from doing the dance. She had felt Syaoran's gaze on her throughout the whole thing, and she had gotten extremely nervous and self-conscious. It took all of her concentration to finish the dance without stumbling.
She dried her hands quickly and exited the bathroom. She gasped when she nearly bumped into Syaoran.
"Syaoran!"
He smiled. "I'm glad to hear my first name on your lips willingly."
"W-what are you doing right here in front of the door? I could have bumped into you!"
He shook his head. "I'm fast as a lion. If you hadn't moved, I would have."
She glared at him. "Did you follow me?"
"Of course!" He chirped happily.
She growled. "What is with you? First this morning you purposely made it impossible for me to reject your hand in order to kiss mine-"
He shrugged. "I had to find some way in order for my lips to touch your skin."
"But I had thought I had made it perfectly clear that I didn't want you kissing my hand. Or any other part of my body!"
"And I thought you'd know me well enough to know that I don't listen."
"Why don't you leave me alone?"
"Because you are very intriguing" he murmured, and before she knew what happened, his lips crushed hers.
Sakura stilled, eyes automatically closing, as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. She felt him adding pressure to her lips, and her lips parted. An electric shot went through her as his tongue entered her mouth, exploring it. Everything just fazed away from her, even herself. She even forgot the fear she held for him, for she was too concentrated on the kiss she was sharing. She forgot her obligations, her vows to ensure he would never touch her. Everything was too far away to be reached, too far away to help her end this kiss.
Then, his tongue touched hers before it retreated to his own mouth, silently asking her to join him. Instinctively, her tongue followed suit.
Syaoran groaned when her tongue touched his, almost shyly. It felt so good to kiss her, to finally know what she tasted like as he held her snuggly to his body. She was so damn petite, yet she fitted against him so perfectly.
When he needed to breathe, and thinking that she would need oxygen too, he broke the kiss. He kept his eyes closed as he placed his forehead against hers, panting as he heard her breathe deeply.
"See" he whispered, opening his eyes. Her own eyes were closed but he waited for her to open them before he continued saying: "Fast as a lion."
Sakura couldn't believe that he had allowed him to kiss her. Moreover, she couldn't believe that she kissed him back. If anyone saw them . . .
Syaoran grew worried when he saw tears shimmering in her eyes. Why was she going to cry?
"Sak-"
"Please" she whispered moving back, and out of his arms. "Don't make me lose the only life I have."
She walked away before he could react, leaving him alone in front of the bathroom door, staring at her retreating back.
Make her lose the only life she had? How was a simple kiss going to do that? He wanted to go after her, demand an explanation, but he felt that that would only worsen things. With a frown, he slowly walked back. She was scared of him, and now he probably made that fear grow. Her fear towards him was one mystery.
The fact that she believed he would make her lose the only life she had was a different mystery.
Maybe he was going about this all wrong. Maybe being blunt and forward was only making her retreat rather than bringing her to him. But he was positive that being forward was the best way to make her be with him. But was it the only way?
As he walked back to the room, the first thing his eyes landed on was Sakura, who was talking with Zen. He gazed over at the other geishas, who were enjoying themselves as they threw themselves into conversations with the men. No matter how drunk the men were, the women continued to talk, even though at times it seemed as if the men weren't listening. He then looked at Hana, who was talking with a boy around her age, the son of one of his guests.
He realized then and there he knew very little about the geisha life, only receiving facts here and there. And Sakura was very devoted to being a geisha, having no intentions of leaving. His eyes went back to her form.
It seemed there was another way to get to her: Through the life she has devoted herself to.
He would have to learn more about the way of the geisha life, which meant that he would have to talk to Sakura more instead of spending most of his time pursing her so that he could answer one very big question: How did one become a geisha girl?
Which would then, ultimately, lead Sakura into his bed.
- -
Sakura woke up early the next morning, and stared at the ceiling. She cursed herself when the first thing that popped into her mind was the kiss she had shared with that man. With Syaoran. She bit her lip nervously. She was still worried that someone saw her, which might end up destroying her reputation, which would ultimately make her leave this place.
She didn't want to leave. This was the only home she had, the only home she remembered. Where else could she go? Would she become a prostitute like so many geishas had become after being forced to leave? She didn't want to end up like that.
But Syaoran . . . As much as she feared him, as much as she disliked him, she couldn't get him out of her mind. Like so many women, she dreamed of love, have had a few crushes, but knew that she would never get it. She couldn't have a boyfriend at all, which meant she would never fall in love. Men have chased her, but none have had this effect on her the way Syaoran did. None have made her heart flutter by just smiling, the way he had. None have been able to place his image in her mind, and keep it there the way he had.
But most importantly, none have kissed her, only for her to kiss him back the way he had.
If she had been just an ordinary woman, she would be having hopes that maybe this was 'the one', that he would make her fall in love with him. But as a geisha, such foolish hopes were useless. Hopes were more often than not destroyed during the course of training to becoming a geisha, and dreams were seen as silly little things that pass the time away.
She sat up slowly, her hair tumbling over her shoulders. But what made her dreams so silly was the fact that she knew none of the men wanted her for her. They only wanted her body, or they wanted her because she was a geisha, or, if the men were foreigners, they wanted her because she was a different race. But what about the real Sakura?
She knew Syaoran only wanted her for her body. She just knew it.
But did that stop her from thinking about him? Of course not. But did that chase away her fear? Definitely not.
She groaned, her emotions swirling inside her like a ship being rocked back and forth in the ocean. She was scared of him, yet she couldn't stop thinking about him.
And that feeling . . .
She shook her head. She refused to think about that.
She stood up and stretched. For once, there was no where to go today. Of course, there were parties and such, but she felt too tired to do anything except practice for the dance that she had been chosen to do at a banquet in thirteen days. She walked over to the window and opened the blinds so that sunlight may shine into the room.
She gasped when she saw Syaoran stepping out of his car once she was able to see the street from her window.
Oh God, what was he trying to do? Ruin her life?
But then another horrible thought came to mind, one that made her feel dread. What if he came to tell Hoshiko about the kiss? She would be furious! As wonderful as she was, Hoshiko can still be as cruel as she wanted.
She dashed around her room, trying to find a kimono she could wear, but she stopped when she realized that all the kimonos were in the hallway. She bit her lip, nervous over why that man was here, and wondering why, after telling him countless of times she would never sleep with him, he still kept going after her.
She jumped when Hoshiko came into the room. "Dress in pants and a shirt."
Sakura blinked. "What?"
"Mr. Li is taking you out."
"B-but why not-"
"He doesn't want to be entertained by you. He wants to entertain you, instead."
"But what about Mr. Nishimoto?"
"A ceremony has not occurred between you two yet. And Mr. Li offered a large amount of money to take you out, offering it like candy." She got a thoughtful expression. "If he offers money like candy, it makes me wonder if he has a lot of 'candy' in his wallet, and in his bank account."
Sakura's eyes grew wide. "You aren't thinking of making him-"
"Maybe I am." Hoshiko frowned. "Now hurry up and dress! He is expecting you."
Hoshiko left, closing the door.
Sakura, like a slug, slowly made her way to the closet. Jeans and a shirt. She rarely got to dress in western clothing, mostly having to wear kimonos. With hands shaking, she took out a pair of jeans and a pink shirt. She dressed quickly, and ran to her private bathroom to brush her teeth. She then ran a brush through her hair and quickly braided it. Because her hair was thick and reached her waist, it took a long time to braid it, her arms tiring from the effort.
Stepping into sandals, she took one last look in the mirror, and walked out. As she made her way to where the front door was, she prayed that everything would be all right, that he wasn't here to make her miserable.
She met him in front of the door in the small hallway and glared, hiding behind anger and stubbornness to protect herself from him. "What do you want?"
"To learn more about a geisha" he replied, not at all effected by her harsh tone.
She blinked in surprised. She hadn't thought he would be interested in learning about a geisha's lifestyle.
"Why?"
"I'm just interested. I want to know what you go through to become a geisha."
"Not every geisha goes through the same thing. If you want to learn about geishas, you'll only be hearing it from my perspective. So I think you should go to other geishas and ask-"
"No. I don't know other geishas. Besides, I feel comfortable with you."
Without even caring if she wanted him to, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her out of the okiya. She frowned, crossing her arms across her chest. "Do you have to have your arm around me?"
"Yes. I fear you will leave me."
"Now why would I do that?" She asked sarcastically.
He glanced at her, and she could tell that he was amused.
"Because I kissed you?" He asked playfully as he walked her down the streets.
She glared at him. "Yes."
"Look, just because you wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss you-"
"You caught me by surprise" she snapped. "I was just following instinct, having never been kissed-" she cut herself off, and ducked her head. Damn. She had just revealed something very personal about herself. She hoped he wouldn't jump on that admission.
She should have known that hoping for such a thing was like hoping for a cow to start singing and dancing.
"You've never been kissed?" he asked in astonishment as he stopped walking.
She glanced up, and gathered up some courage to face him. "No" she answered defiantly. "At least not like that."
"How other way is there?"
She sighed, feeling her face get hot. How embarrassing to admit that she has never been kissed intimately. "Pecks on the lips is all I had gotten in my life. Happy?"
He tilted his head, giving her a quizzical look. "What man wouldn't want to thrust his tongue into your mouth?"
Now she knew she was as red as a cherry. "Must you speak so bluntly!" She asked in a fierce whisper, glancing at the people that were passing them.
"Aren't geishas allowed to have boyfriends?" He asked, ignoring her question.
She gave him a frustrated look. "No. Besides, what man would want a geisha as a girlfriend? We entertain men- would any boyfriend let his girlfriend entertain men every night?"
"I guess not" he murmured.
"Of course not."
"Jeez. I know you guys can't have husbands, but I thought that you could have at least some boyfriends."
"We have our own version of boyfriends, but that's not what you call them, and our versions of boyfriends are vastly different than ordinary boyfriends."
"Really?" He looked at her curiously. "What do you call them?"
"Must we discuss this?" She asked tiredly.
He shrugged. "I suppose not." He wrapped his arm around her again and continued to walk.
Syaoran prevented the smirk from appearing on his lips. She was one feisty woman, trying to erect a wall between them. He wondered what else to ask her.
"Were you like Hana?" He asked after a minute of silence. "A little girl being shown around Tokyo by another geisha?"
"No. I was a little boy who had then decided to become a little girl in order to be shown around Tokyo."
He chuckled. "All right, let me rephrase that. Were you ever introduced to men in order for them to request you when you get older?"
She sighed. "Yes. I was an apprentice, just like Hana is now. We were trained in many different areas. But even after becoming a geisha, we still get trained in order for us to be prepared to do anything."
"How do you become a geisha?"
"Why? Are you interested in becoming one? Sorry, but geishas are only for women."
"I'm only asking simple questions, Sakura" he said patiently. "Why are you being hostile?"
"Because one night a strange man kisses me, and the next he is calmly asking questions about being a geisha. It sounds to me like something fishy is going on."
"I'm just a little interested in getting to know who you really are on the inside."
She froze. "What?" she asked faintly, looking at him as if he was a mirage.
He frowned, wondering why she was looking at him like that. "A geisha is who you are, so if I get to know how, and why, you become a geisha, and what a geisha girl really is, then I get to know who you are."
Sakura couldn't believe it. He wanted to know who she really was. She knew he still only wanted to bed her, but she couldn't help respond to his admission that he wanted to know the real Sakura. Half an hour ago she had been asking herself as to why no one wanted to know the real her, and here was a man, who wanted to do just that.
He was dangerous, but he had a skill of getting to her, of letting her guard down, of making her feel fear, but at the same time easing it. And now, Hoshiko was thinking of replacing Mr. Nishimoto with Syaoran. If given a choice, Sakura wouldn't choose either one.
But she had to admit to herself that she if she was forced to choose between the two, she would choose Syaoran.
"Besides" he continued "I'm hoping that you will stop feeling scared towards me."
"Will you always be requesting me?" She asked softly.
He nodded. "I really am interested in you, Sakura."
In bed, of course, she couldn't help but think.
"Then let's pray that my fear will disappear" she said in the same tone of voice.
"I am confident you will be comfortable with me as a dog is with his owner."
She rolled her eyes at his choice of words, but she was as confident as he was, considering that the fear wasn't as profound as it once was when they first met. Perhaps her fear was already disappearing, although she wanted to know as to why it was ever there in the first place.
And that feeling every time he held her too close . . . Maybe she would figure out what it was if she spent her time with him.
But she wasn't going to sleep with him. She couldn't.
But after hearing what Hoshkio had said . . . If Syaoran became her danna . . . Then she would have no choice.
AN: I know that those of you who haven't read Memoirs of a Geisha and any other thing talking about a geisha's life probably won't know what a 'danna' is. You'll find out in the next chapter exactly what a danna is.
So, please, please, please review!