AN: All right, I know it's been a while, but here is chapter four for all of you to enjoy- I hope. There may be a couple of mistakes, but bear with me, k?
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 Four
Later that same day, when evening was making day disappear for the time being, Sakura gathered up all her courage to approach Hoshiko in the okiya. She walked into the kitchen, and was surprised to see not only Hoshiko, but Ms. Matsumono as well. Around this time, Ms. Matsumono would be training a few apprentices on dance.
"Ms. Matsumono" she greeted, bowing.
"Why, Sakura. Hoshiko here was just telling me that she plans on making Mr. Li your danna."
Dismayed, Sakura looked at her okami. "Please, Hoshiko. You cannot really be seriously thinking that. He might not even want to become my danna."
"Why wouldn't he?" Hoshiko questioned. "Besides, I've heard that Mr. Nishimoto is going bankrupt. He couldn't possibly be your danna now."
She sighed in relief. Mr. Nishimoto was a cruel man, and she didn't want anything to do with him. Moreover, this now meant that the kiss she had shared with Syaoran wouldn't be a threat to her reputation.
But as grateful as she was for that piece of news, she still didn't want Syaoran to be her danna.
"Ms. Matsumono" she said desperately, "You told me that I shouldn't let him touch me. Can you please tell Hoshiko not to make Mr. Li my danna?"
"Sakura" her instructor replied. "I had said that only because I believed that Mr. Nishimoto would be your danna. If he isn't, then I have no objections to making Mr. Li your danna."
Hoshiko sighed. "Sakura, do not worry so much. You weren't against Mr. Nishimoto becoming your danna."
"Yes I was. I just didn't say anything. But that doesn't matter. Syaoran is different, because since day one he has been telling me time and again that he will bed me, and I have been rejecting that. To make him my danna will only turn me into a liar." She sighed. "I'm tired now. I'm off to bed." She bowed quickly, and left.
Ms. Matsumono looked at the okami. "Did you notice that she called Mr. Li by his first name?"
Hoshiko nodded. "Yes. Quickly." With a determined glint in her eyes, she said "I will ask Mr. Li the next time he comes if he is interested in becoming her danna"
- -
Syaoran merely sighed as Totsuda laughed at his own little joke. They were at a restaurant, discussing when will be the perfect time to take over the small company.
"Come on, Li! Don't you ever laugh?"
Syaoran shrugged. "Not really. Especially with that tiresome joke of yours."
"Well pardon me. Sakura seemed to enjoy it."
Syaoran raised an eyebrow, the only indication that said he was affected by the mentioning of the geisha's name. "You had requested her again?"
"Three days ago. I want her again tonight, but am unable to do so. I have somewhere to go." He sighed, a smile on his lips. "But Sakura is one unique woman, isn't she?"
"She is" Syaoran murmured.
"I plan on sleeping with her."
The little wolf's head snapped up. "What?"
"I plan on sleeping with her" Totsuda repeated. "I think she likes me" he lied, not wanting his associate to know that the geisha didn't want anything to do with him. Of course, that will all be changing soon. "I don't know when I'll have her in my bed, but-"
"The hell you are!" Syaoran snapped.
Totsuda, surprised at the sudden outburst, frowned. "What do you mean?"
"There is no way you are placing one finger on that woman."
"Now, Li, I know you are not talking about Sakura-"
"She is too fragile to endure your rough treatment!"
"My rough-? I am as gentle as a woman wants!" Totsuda wondered why Syaoran was getting angry, but at the same time his anger ignited Totsuda's. "And who are you to tell me who I can and cannot sleep with? If I want Sakura in my bed, then I damn well will put her there!"
That's what angered Syaoran. Sakura was going to be in his bed, not Totsuda's. He'll be damned if he lets his associate hurt her, because Totsuda will treat her roughly, and with his fiery temper, Syaoran had no doubt the man will hurt her physically.
"Sakura is not going to be in your bed" he ground out through clenched teeth. "I'll make sure of it."
"How? Come on, Li, how are you going to stop me? Tell her to stop seeing me?" Totsuda's eyes narrowed. "Don't be making promises you can't keep."
"Damn you, Totsuda" he snapped. Syaoran had no idea why he was reacting so strongly against what Totsuda had in mind. He would think it was because he didn't want Totsuda to have her first, but in his mind all he saw was Sakura being hurt by him, and that angered Syaoran most of all: Totsuda hurting her without caring.
He couldn't stand the thought of Sakura being hurt.
He stood up abruptly. "Hell will have to freeze over first before I let you put a single finger on her" he hissed.
"Well then be amazed when hell freezes over."
Totsuda watched as Li briskly walked away, glaring at his retreating back. How dare that man try to tell him what to do? What does Li care?
"Unless he wants Sakura for himself" he told himself.
And the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Li wanted Sakura for himself, and saw Totsuda as his rival.
Too fucking bad. Sakura will be his. He'll see to it.
- -
Syaoran muttered to himself as he walked away from the restaurant. He shoved people aside, muttering apologies but not looking back or stopping. He marched toward his luxurious apartment, thinking about what had just occurred between him and Totsuda.
That stupid man, he thought. Totsuda could claim all he wanted, but there was no way he would get Sakura. If Sakura feared Syaoran, then she should be petrified of his associate. Totsuda's temper drove women away, and those who weren't chased away by his temper left because of his rough treatment towards them in bed. Totsuda has gloated about it, saying that only real women can handle his roughness. Syaoran has told that man time and again not to treat women like that, but Totsuda has never listened.
And to imagine Sakura being hurt by Totsuda . . . Syaoran shuddered at the thought. He didn't like the idea of Totsuda having Sakura, but he downright hated the thought of her being hurt by him.
He sighed raggedly. He wasn't so cold that he wouldn't care about Sakura's well-being, but was that reason enough for him to not only snap at his associate, but cringe and get angered over the thought of Sakura being hurt? To growl and think thoughts of hurting his associate if that man so much as lays a finger on Sakura?
He paused in his walking. To his astonishment, he was feeling protective of her. Not like a brother, but like a man not wanting anyone to hurt his woman. He has never felt this way. He has never felt protective of a woman, and, in truth, have never really cared a lot about the opposite sex that much, and he has never grown angry at a man claiming he will sleep with a woman, so why now? Why was he getting angry at Totsuda?
He ran a hand through his hair. Maybe because he now has a rival over who gets Sakura. But was that reason why he felt protective of Sakura? Why he cared for her? Because of a rival?
He wanted to say yes, but he knew that wasn't it. He would see her as an object if it was all about having a rival, Sakura being viewed as a trophy he must win before Totsuda did He wouldn't be feeling protective over her, if the reason was because of a rival.
"Damn it" he whispered, frustration building in him. What was going on with him?
- -
Tokumatsu Keiji sighed, rubbing his eyes as he stared at the papers in front of him on Wednesday morning. He hated going to work at Dynasty, mostly because he had to wake up so early. Of course, if he would just sleep earlier then he wouldn't feel half-dead when he wakes up.
He stretched, trying to get comfortable on his chair, and jumped when his phone began to ring, making him topple backwards with his chair and land on the floor, banging his head against the carpeted floor.
He cursed himself, and at the phone. This hasn't been the first time he ended up on the floor because of the phone, and he muttered to himself as he slowly got off the floor, checking the back of his head. He stood up and got the phone, cutting off the irritating ringing sound.
"Dynasty" he answered, wincing when he felt the sore spot on the back of his head.
"Father!" Came the cheery voice of his daughter.
He sighed as he put his chair upright before sitting down on it. "Why are you calling me at work, Leiko? I told you never to call me here."
"But father, I have a very important question for you!"
"And it couldn't wait until I get home?"
"Of course not. Anyways, I wanted to know if Syaoran is coming over for dinner tonight."
"That's an important question?" he sputtered. "Leiko-"
"Father, you know how much I like him."
Oh yes, he knew. Leiko has been making it quite plain to everyone, even Li, that she was very interested in him for about a year now, since the day she first lay eyes on him
"Honey, Li is nearly ten years older than you-"
"Don't exaggerate! He is only eight years older, now that he has turned twenty-seven."
"And you haven't even turned twenty! Sweetie, please chase after a man your own age."
"I don't think so. I want Syaoran. He knows he wants me- I'm too beautiful for him to resist."
Tokumatsu did not want to tell his daughter that Li has said, several times, that he didn't appreciate Leiko going after him. Tokumatsu knew it was because she was not only young, but spoiled.
Being an only child, Tokumatsu and his wife couldn't help but give her anything she wanted. She was their princess, the apple of their eye. And now she was arrogant and selfish, and yet he couldn't help but love her, even though he knew that he was partly the blame for how she was.
"Li is not coming to dinner."
"Ask him."
"Leiko-"
"Ask him! Ask him, ask him, ask him, ASK HIM!"
"Fine" he growled, irritated and knowing that if he didn't give in then she would nag and whine. Even if he hanged up on her, she would just call back until he agreed. "I'll ask him right now."
"Good. Thank you, father."
He hanged up the phone, and groaned as he leaned back against his chair. "Great" he muttered. "Now I have to ask him to come over for dinner."
"Who?"
Tokumatsu's head snapped towards the door just as Li walked in, a folder in his hand.
Li continued "Who do you have to invite to dinner?"
"You, actually. Leiko requests your presence in our household for tonight."
Syaoran grimaced. Tokumatsu Leiko. A nineteen-year-old who doesn't know the word no. She was pretty, Syaoran could admit that, but she was immature and young. He didn't want her at all, but somehow she had gotten it stuck into her head that they belong together, that they are destined. Just because they brushed fingers at a party?
"So she could flirt?" he asked dryly.
"Most likely."
He sighed. "Tokumatsu, no offense to your brood, but she needs to back off."
"I know, Li. I've tried to talk her out of it, but I think the only way she'll ever leave you alone is if you get married. And from the way it looks, Leiko is always going to be after you."
Syaoran scoffed at the word 'marriage.' "I'm sure she'll get over me. She will find some other man to bother."
"Hey, that's my daughter you are talking about!"
"I'm entitled to it, Tokumatsu. It's your fault I'm in this mess." He walked forward. "If it wasn't for your stupid little party a year ago I never would have met her, and she never would have gotten so obsessed with me." Syaoran threw the folder on Tokumatsu's desk. "That's the strategy to take over the company."
Tokumatsu grabbed the folder and shuffled through the pages once he opened it. "Think it will work?"
"It better."
"So what about dinner? Are you going to save me from having to deal with Leiko's tears?"
"If I go will you save me from her pursuits?"
"Of course" he promised.
Syaoran shrugged. "Fine." He blinked, and then smirked. "Actually, I might not need you to save me."
"Really? Why not?"
"I have another savior in mind who I think will be all to thrilled to come with me."
- -
"You're kidding, right?"
Syaoran shook his head. "Nope."
Sakura sighed. "You took me out yesterday. Now you want me again?"
So far, Sakura hadn't moved from the door, which disallowed him to enter the okiya. He frowned at her. "Yes. Please excuse me, Sakura. I wish to speak with the okami."
She stood stiffly. "Hoshiko is not present at the moment. You are going to have to-"
"Mr. Li" Came a cheery voice.
Syaoran raised an eyebrow as Sakura tried to hold in her anger and frustration at being caught in a lie. He could tell with the way she was pressing her lips together.
Sakura was shoved aside and Hoshiko came into view, smiling brightly. "Mr. Li, I am grateful you have come. Come in, come in."
He entered and smirked at Sakura, who glared at him, before he was led to the living room by Hoshiko. He glanced back and saw Sakura following them, although much more slowly.
"I wish to-" He began to ask, but Hoshiko interrupted him.
"Yes, yes, you wish to take her out. Go ahead, so long as you give me my money. However, I do have a question to ask."
"Hoshiko" Sakura said, almost desperately. "You can't just-"
"Mr. Li, do you wish to become Sakura's danna?"
Syaoran tilted his head. "Danna?"
"Yes. I know, I know, you men usually offer but I thought-"
"What's a danna?"
Hoshiko blinked, and then looked at Sakura. "You've never told him what a danna was?"
He watched as the cherry blossom shifted from what foot to the other. "I didn't think he needed to know."
Hoshiko clearly wasn't happy about it. "Mr. Li, a danna is a man who . . . Well, you pay for a geisha's expenses, and in return she becomes your . . . Mistress, is what I guess you could call her."
"Like a prostitute?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Heaven's no! A geisha cannot be bought for one night, not for anything. But if a man is interested not for just one night, but for a much longer time, and if he is willing to offer suitable terms, well then he may become a geisha's danna."
Syaoran glanced at Sakura, who looked defeated. "How long must the arrangement last?" he asked, still looking at the geisha.
"The arrangement usually lasts for about six months" the okami answered.
Too long, he thought. The longest he has ever had a woman was two months. But for some reason, it didn't feel like it would be too long. In fact, he felt delighted. Sakura was a mystery, and he had no doubt that if he had her for six months, it would be very fun.
Besides, six months would be enough time for her to get used to him, and perhaps she will end up wanting him and begging him to take her to bed during that time.
"I'll think about it. I'll have an answer when I return her" he finally said.
"Do think long and hard." She grinned. "Have fun."
She then turned and left.
"So that's your version of boyfriends?" He asked.
"Yes" Sakura answered somewhat stiffly.
He was silent before he smiled. "Well, anyways, get dressed. Not in a kimono, and I don't want all that make-up."
"You know, back in the day no okami would have allowed a geisha to leave without being dressed in a kimono or in her make-up" she informed him.
He shrugged. "We aren't 'back in the day', we are in the present."
Sakura sniffed in disdain "I know. Back in the day you men wouldn't be so barbaric."
He only kept smiling as she went to get dressed.
In the car, he glanced at her as she looked out the window. "Care to be more specific about being a danna?" he asked.
Sakura looked at him through the reflection on the window, tearing her eyes away from the starless sky. "Getting a danna is one of the most important goals a geisha tries to achieve. An average geisha gets a danna who pays off a portion of a geisha's debt-"
"What debt?"
"Our lessons aren't for free, nor is our housing or products in which the okami provided for us such as make-up and kimonos. Not even our medical expenses are for free. When we are apprentices, we gather a debt for our lessons, our expenses, etc. We are expected to pay them off once we become a geisha and start earning in money, and it may take years for a geisha to repay her debt."
"Oh, so if I become your danna, I help out with that?"
Sakura finally tore her eyes away from the window and looked at him. "Yes. Despite all that, you still have to pay the hourly fee whenever you spend time with a geisha, just like all other customers."
"You mean I won't have you to myself?"
"Of course not. I still have to entertain men."
When stopping at a red light, Syaoran gave her a curious look. "So how do you become my mistress?"
"A danna is entitled to special 'privileges'" she replied. She crossed her arms and smiled as she got an idea. "But that's only for an average geisha." She took on a haughty look, hoping that what she says next will convince him not to become her danna. "A top geisha's danna pays for all of her living expenses, and much more. A top geisha gets gifts from her danna of kimono and jewelry. And the danna won't pay a geisha's usual hourly fee when he spends time with her- he'll probably have to pay more." She sat back against the seat, a smug look on her face. "And I am a top geisha."
Syaoran was amused. He knew what she was trying to do. He admired her little tricks of trying to make him disappear from her life, but none of them were working. He was still too entranced by her to leave from her life now.
"Well, I'm not surprised you are a top geisha" he replied as he continued to drive.
Several minutes of silence passed by until he reached the Tokumatsu house and parked the car right in front of their home. Before he got out, he turned towards her and grabbed her chin between his fingers, tightening his hold when she tried to get out of his grasp.
"However" he murmured. "I am a billionaire and wouldn't mind giving you anything you want."
He then kissed her.
Sakura tensed when his lips touched hers, but immediately she responded to the invasion of his tongue. She just couldn't help herself. As much as she feared him, that block of fear was slowly melting as she spent more time with him, as he meant for her to. But she was spiraling down a dark hole, and if she continued to allow him to kiss her, and if she continued to respond, then sooner or later they will end up in bed. She wasn't going to pretend and think that this kissing business wouldn't lead to anywhere, because it will.
But what did it matter if he became her danna? He has just admitted that he was all too willing to pay for her expenses and to pay for more than just the usual hourly fee.
He broke the kiss and moved his lips to her ear.
"Are you still scared of me?" he whispered.
Sakura's eyes opened just as he drew back to stare at her face.
"I don't know" she admitted in a whisper.
Without warning, he kissed her again. Then that feeling came. The little sensation that somehow rests in her stomach. To her confusion, she also began to get goose bumps, her heart pounding hard against her chest.
What was happening to her body was so foreign that she feared it.
No, she wasn't scared of him anymore. For whatever reason she feared him, it was now gone. It was what he was doing to her that now scared her, that made her want to keep him at a distance so that she wouldn't have to feel it again.
She jumped away from the kiss and scooted away from him as far as the car allowed her. She sucked in deep breaths, trying to slow her heart.
They stared at each other- emerald eyes wide; amber eyes narrowed.
"Okay . . . Why did you jump away from me?" He asked.
Sakura bit her lip. "You're doing something to me."
He gave her a confused look. "What am I doing to you?"
"I-I don't know. S-something strange!"
His face was blank, before a smile appeared on his lips.
"It's natural" was what he said before he stepped out of the car.
She blinked as she watched him circle the car before opening her door. "What's natural?" She asked blankly.
"What you are feeling." He held out his hand. "Now come on, I'm sure everyone is waiting for us."
Sakura glared at him, not moving. "So you know what's going on with me?"
"Yes, I do. And I can promise you that you don't have to worry about it. If you don't worry about, I can assure you that you will enjoy the kisses much more."
"There won't be anymore kisses."
"You sure?"
Because she wasn't, she merely continued to glare at him before placing her hand in his hand and helping her out of the car.
"Now don't be surprised if a nineteen-year-old starts insulting you and glaring at you" he warned as they walked up the driveway.
"Why?"
"Because she wants me and since I'll be spending my time with you she'll probably see you as a threat."
Sakura gave him a look. "So you are using me just so you wouldn't have to deal with this girl?"
"Yes."
"How cruel! It's just a harmless crush!" It amazed her how they can carry on a conversation naturally when just a few minutes ago they had been kissing.
"Harmless? I don't think so. She's spoiled, and does anything she can to get me alone so that she can seduce me."
"And she's nineteen?" She asked, clearly shocked.
He nodded and just when he reached the door, it opened. Syaoran forced himself to smile as he came face-to-face with Leiko. Red curly hair fell over her shoulders with light green eyes shining brightly.
"Syaoran!" She shrieked before throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips.
Syaoran didn't wrap his arms around her, but instead kept them a few inches away from her body.
"Leiko, please get off of me."
She pulled back, but didn't get off. "Don't you like me holding you?" She asked, pouting.
"Actually, you are getting heavy."
She pouted some more before sliding off. "I am not-" She stopped talking when she saw Sakura. "Who are you?" She asked bluntly.
"She's with me" Syaoran answered, stepping close to Sakura and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
Leiko did not like that at all. She frowned at his action, and was about to say something but her father came out and stopped her from saying anything at all.
"Why, Li! You didn't tell me that Ms. Kinomoto was coming with you" Tokumatsu said as he approached them. "How are you doing, Ms. Kinomoto?"
"Fine, thank you. I'm sorry if my presence was too unexpected-"
"Unexpected? Li mentioned earlier in the day that he was going to bring someone. I'm surprised it was you."
"You're surprised?" Sakura murmured. She smiled at him before locking eyes with Leiko. "Hi Ms. Tokumatsu."
"Whatever" came the cold reply before the nineteen-year-old turned and walked back into the house.
"I apologize for my daughter's behavior" Tokumatsu said, obviously disappointed at his offspring. "She tends to be rude to any woman Li brings who isn't part of his family."
"Yes, Syaoran warned me about that."
"Well then come in! And let's get this party started."
She let Syaoran lead her into the house, and forced herself to relax. She felt so uncomfortable, not being used to all of this. She was a geisha, and has never been invited as a guest to any place. She was always hired as an entertainer.
Sakura was introduced to Mrs. Tokumatsu, with very blond hair and light green eyes, the same eyes as her daughter. She was a kind, pretty woman, with a sense of humor.
"It's about time Li brings a beautiful woman into our household!" Mrs. Tokumatsu exclaimed after looking around for a few seconds, apparently to make sure her daughter wasn't around to hear her. "I do hope he has been treating you nicely."
"He's been keeping me busy" Sakura answered, ignoring the amused expression on Syaoran's face.
"Busy or not, I must say you are the best woman Li has ever brought." She leaned forward and playfully pushed Syaoran backwards so that he wouldn't hear her. "And compared to the other sluts he has brought" she whispered "You are like an angel."
"Hey, are you guys talking about me?" Syaoran asked with suspicion.
"Of course" Mrs. Tokumatsu chirped before saying it was time for dinner.
Sakura was bombarded with questions throughout the dinner, and except for the glares Leiko would shoot at her, she pretty much had a good time.
It wasn't until near the end when dinner became a nightmare for her.
"So Ms. Kinomoto, what exactly do you do for a living?" Mrs. Tokumatsu asked.
"I'm a geisha" she answered with ease.
"Geisha?"
"Yes. We are professional entertainers. We do traditional dance, sing, or play an instrument."
"I've heard that geisha girls screw around" Leiko stated, the first words she spoke since dinner started. "In fact, I've heard that geishas are nothing but prostitutes."
"Leiko!" her mother gasped. "Apologize!"
"No, it's okay" Sakura said. "Unfortunately, that's what most people think of us."
"That doesn't give her any right to insult you like that" Syaoran growled, completely angry at Leiko. He had warned Sakura about Leiko insulting her, but he hadn't expected it to be openly, in front of people, and about her profession. He did not appreciate that, and he glared at Leiko. "I do hope you apologize."
"For what? I was merely stating what I have heard." She cleared her throat. "Moreover, I've heard that most geishas had been sold as children from their parents in order to become geishas."
That statement was like a slap in the face. Sakura's face paled. What Leiko said was so close to home that Sakura could feel closed wounds being reopened as she tried to shut the past away.
"A lot of geishas come into the profession willingly" she spoke quietly, trying to remain calm.
"Yes, but most were sold, weren't they?" Leiko smirked, her eyes full of mischief. "It must be hard, being sold by your own parents. I mean, my parents wouldn't dream of selling me-"
"At this moment I think we could dream a little" Tokumatsu growled. "Leiko, would you please leave the table?"
She ignored her father and looked at her victim. The geisha deserved to be treated this way for ever thinking of being with her man. "I've also heard that a geisha's virginity is sold to the highest bidder when they are teenagers. So I guess in a geisha's world money is everything. To be sold by your parents and to get raped must be hard. And since you are a geisha that must have happened to you."
"That's it." Syaoran stood up. "Tokumatsu, I'm afraid we must be going. I suggest you teach your daughters some manners."
"We'll do more than that" Tokumatsu replied.
"Much more" his wife agreed, extremely embarrassed by her own daughter.
Sakura's head was bowed as she was lifted up by the arm and led out of the house. She didn't speak a word, and didn't even hear what Syaoran was saying to the couple. All she wanted was to get out of the house, and go to her room in the okiya
Syaoran glanced at her as he walked her to the car. She hasn't spoken a word, and it worried him.
He put her in the car, got in himself, and drove away.
After a few minutes of silence, Syaoran said "Sakura I'm so sorry for what Leiko said."
She didn't say anything, didn't even look at him.
"I hadn't meant for you to be embarrassed like that. I brought you with me to help me out, to keep her away from me-"
"It was embarrassing because it's true" she whispered. "All of it was true."
His mouth snapped shut as he realized that she was crying. He could tell she was trying not to, but the slight shaking of her shoulders was a dead giveaway. He tried to figure out what to say, but everything that came to mind sounded stupid. What can he say? She has pretty much confessed that her own parents had sold her for money, and her virginity had been sold too.
When they reached the okiya she rapidly unbuckled her seatbelt and made an attempt to get out but Syaoran grabbed her arm.
"Wait. Don't you want to talk about this?"
"Talk about what?" She snapped, finally looking at him. Something in him clenched as he saw her red, swollen eyes, her tear-stained cheeks. "What do you want me to say? My parents sold me when I was only eight, and then at fourteen my virginity was sold to some guy who didn't even care about how much he was hurting me. Is that what you wanted me to say? Is it!" She yelled. "Well there you have it, now let me go!"
"No" he whispered, and immediately drew her into his arms, instinctively knowing that she needed someone to hold her. She struggled against him, but he only held her tighter until she finally collapsed against him and sobbed on his shirt.
Never in his life had he comforted a woman, but never in his life had he heard of two people selling their daughter, or of a young girl's virginity being sold. Oh God, what had Sakura gone through? No wonder she retreated as he tried to get her into bed.
But that only made him more determined to get her in his bed. She needed someone to show her just how pleasurable sex really was.
And being her danna could help him achieve that goal.
"You've never been held like this, have you?" he muttered into her hair several minutes later when she was no longer crying uncontrollably.
"Since my parents sold me, no."
"Tell me about it, about your parents, if you remember."
Sakura looked through the windshield, staring at the okiya. She could remember all too well the first time she saw it.
"I remember us being poor" she whispered, clutching at his shirt. "It was hard, the life we had. I was an only child, with no brothers or sisters, but we were still too poor and we weren't able to get enough food on the table. Then one day, this man appeared at our doorway. He said to us that there was a better place for me. A place where I'll have a home, food, people to care for me, and where I'll be trained, once I'm old enough, in order to earn money. All they had to do was sell me. They didn't want to, of course. But the man knew the right things to say, knew that my well-being was what they cared for most. So after a couple of weeks, the man came and got me, and I ended up here. I haven't seen my parents since." She sighed shakily, rubbing at her eyes. They were aching from her tears. "I don't even know why they sold me. I thought they loved me. They said money wouldn't replace me, that they would never sell me. But they did, and I don't know why. It hurt, but I buried it as much as I can." She smiled wryly. "Although at times, the hurt does come out."
Syaoran kissed her temple, wondering how her parents could sell her. He wanted to ask about the guy who took her virginity, about how he treated her, but that, he knew, wasn't his place. What she did with other men wasn't his business at all, but he wanted to know how badly this man had hurt her, how he hurt her.
He wanted to know the name of the man so he can beat the crap out of him.
It was his protective side talking, the side that emerged the moment he set eyes on the geisha who was now in his arms. It was awkward for him to feel this way, and maybe he should just stop right here and not see Sakura anymore, but he couldn't stop seeing her any more than he could rip his own arm off. He couldn't stop seeing her now. If she was telling him about her parents so easily, then that must mean she was slowly learning to trust him. How can he possibly stop seeing her when he was making progress?
"You want to go into the okiya now?" He asked her.
She didn't answer for a second, but then he felt her nod.
"Yeah. I think I'm okay now." She pulled away and rubbed her cheeks. "They probably won't ask questions if they see that I cried."
"Why not? Don't they care enough to ask?"
"What I do when out with a customer is my business, and mine alone. They won't ask any questions, even if I cried."
Syaoran sighed, wondering how hard a life she was living, and why she was so determined to keep it.
He got out of the car and circled it before helping her out.
Sakura knew she had just let a piece of who she was be revealed by revealing that she had been sold. It had been stupid to talk about it, but it felt good to talk out loud about what happened instead of holding it inside her. And it felt good to cry. She had learned how to control herself from crying, and hadn't cried like that since she was a little girl. To let it all out was like emptying herself of every single hurtful thing that had happened to her in life.
They reached the door and she was surprised when Hoshiko opened the door before they even knocked. Sakura had the strongest feeling that the okami had been looking out for them.
"Welcome back!" Hoshiko exclaimed. "Come in, come in."
"Actually, I have to get going" Syaoran said, declining the invitation. "I have to get home so I can wake up bright and early tomorrow for work."
"Oh, that's a shame. But have you thought about the offer of being her danna?"
Syaoran looked at Sakura. "I've come up with several good reason as to why I should become her danna." He then smiled. "But I have to say no."
Sakura was shocked to hear him say that. "What?" She asked faintly, as if she couldn't believe what he was saying.
Hell, she couldn't believe it.
"I am not going to be your danna." He raised her hand and kissed it. He looked at the okami. "I'm sorry, but I have my reasons. I'll keep in touch, because declining being her danna doesn't mean I'll stop seeing her. Good-bye."
He left, leaving both women speechless. "But I was sure he would say yes . . ." Hoshiko muttered before entering the okiya.
"So was I" Sakura whispered as she watched him enter his car and drive off.
She should be thrilled, considering that she hadn't wanted him to be her danna, but instead she felt . . . Disappointed?
With a frown, she entered the okiya, wondering why a man, who was so determined to have sex with her, refused an offer that would have given him the golden opportunity that would help him to do just that: get her into his bed.
AN: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Review and tell me what you thought! (Remember, no flames.) I'll upload the next chapter in a couple of weeks, hopefully. Later.