The Fang and the Flower
Chapter 02: You Have the Advantage Over Me
A few minutes later, one of her attendants escorted her to the room where Sesshōmaru was waiting. The Tsubaki room, with its gold silk screens embellished with hand-painted red camellias, was one of the best, most luxurious rooms at the Otonari house.
Upon entering, she saw that someone had delivered a sumptuous array of refreshments.
He had touched none of it.
He was standing by the lattice screens on the far side of the room that overlooked the gardens. She could only see his back and none of his facial expression. She was about to ask if the refreshments were not to his taste when he turned his head slightly and spoke.
"I might have deigned to ask how you are faring," he said. "But I can see with my own eyes: your looks improved tremendously without that hanyō constantly bogging you down."
Kagome ignored the apparent reference to Inuyasha, reminding herself how far she had come since those days of tears and anger. The past was inconsequential now that she had made good strides towards the future.
Towards home.
The screens behind her softly slid to a close. Kagome bit the inside of her cheek and lowered herself onto her knees, effortlessly assuming the perfect seiza.
"You have caused some troubles for Okami-san, you know," she said, her voice softly chiding. "Now she has to scramble to find a suitable replacement. And Ryūji-sama is not an easy daiyōkai to please."
A pair of golden eyes narrowed into a dangerous squint as he regarded her from the shadowed part of the room.
"Miko, do you surmise this one is an easy daiyōkai to please?"
Miko. The way he called her was like a lightning bolt from a different era. It certainly brought back memories of time spent in the red and white uniform as she burned incense, purified spirits, and performed spells and rituals inside the village shrine. A bow and arrow that she had not touched for years.
A different life.
"Obviously not," Kagome sighed.
Sesshōmaru left the view of the gardens and took a seat on the tatami floor nearby the trays of refreshments.
"Do not concern yourself over Lord Ryūji or your Okami-san," he said. "Her troubles will be handsomely compensated."
"Ryūji-sama is a loyal and valued customer in this house. You may reimburse Okami-san for her troubles, but she will lose face nonetheless."
As will I, she whispered inwardly. She had never cancelled an appointment with her patrons. And now, to have been forced to do it just so she could entertain another lord… She could only hope Lord Ryūji would not take it as an irreparable insult.
"Your Okami-san is not a stupid female," Sesshōmaru replied. "She is a tier-seven fox demoness of the Otonari House. Ancient, and experienced, and more clever and sly than you gave her credit for. She knows precisely what my patronage means to her Okiya and what business it will bring her." He peered at her beyond the clouds of smoke. "Even without Lord Ryūji's continued support."
True, Kagome whispered inwardly. She had been working at the Pleasure District for twenty years, and she had never seen Sesshōmaru visiting any of the houses. One could only assume he was not a patron of any Okiya in Nishihara. To gain him as a regular would bring prestige and financial benefits to Otonari house.
Those golden eyes pinned her under their scrutiny.
"Last I heard, you were travelling as a Miko, helping those in need all over the lands beyond the Plains of Musashi. What happened to your selfless, charity work?"
Smiling slightly as though to herself, Kagome approached Sesshōmaru and knelt beside the refreshment tray. Her graceful hand reached for the saké flask to pour him a drink.
"Perhaps I did not want to be a good girl anymore," she replied. "And I grew weary of being the perfect little Miko."
He scoffed softly as he picked up the cup she had just filled and brought it to his lips.
"Someone like you? Impossible."
She watched him take a slow, unhurried sip.
"I am surprised to find you here," he said, placing the cup back on the lacquered tray. "As a celebrated Oiran, no less. The only Tayū-ranked courtesan in this house, if I am not mistaken. I did not remember you as a particularly graceful or accomplished female, yet you have risen to the top within only a few years. Care to share the key to your success, Miko?"
Kagome smiled. "Twenty years of training is not long enough for you, my lord?"
"For this Sesshōmaru, it is but a blink of an eye, Miko."
She sighed. "When I came to this house, I was already educated in many things: language, art, calligraphy, and a little bit of music. I even spoke a couple of foreign languages. I did not start from scratch, so to speak. My shamisen and koto skills needed work, but Okami-san provided an excellent music teacher. I'd also like to think the fact I am a human, and a former priestess, separate me from my competitors. Many of my patrons feel conversing with a human Miko is a novelty they cannot obtain elsewhere."
She lifted her gaze, staring at the daiyōkai from beneath kohl-lined eyelids and sooty lashes.
"Does Sesshōmaru-sama feel the same, perchance?"
He scoffed again. "Novelty is overrated. The idea does not intrigue me one bit."
Kagome left his side to fetch her shamisen, took her spot by the illuminated lantern, and tuned her instrument.
"Tell me why you are here," he said. "In the capacity of an Oiran."
"It takes many years and a lot of money for an Okiya to groom a young courtesan to become an accomplished Oiran," she explained. "When it comes to human courtesans, the houses do not wish to lose their investments because of the fragility of our lives. All accomplished humans working in the Pleasure District receive an amulet that lengthens their lives."
She paused as though the implication of the amulet should be obvious.
"You wish to be reunited with the ones you have left behind," he concluded.
She nodded. "My mother, brother, and grandfather."
He studied her in silence as she began to pluck the first few chords of a popular ballad.
"Are you aware that a union with a yōkai will grant you the same lengthy lifespan?" He asked as he drank in her elaborate clothing, her artistic hairstyle, and her pristine, expertly painted face. "Perhaps with a lot less work."
A wintry smile curled on her vermillion lips. "Do you know any yōkai who would take a human as a mate?"
He did not even pause to give it some thought. "No," he replied.
"Precisely."
"Perhaps you should have stayed with Inuyasha, then?"
Her fingers slipped along the board of her shamisen, resulting in a sour twang to reverberate throughout the room.
She froze.
… …
The blue of her eyes glittered as she lifted her eyes to stare at him silently. The candlelight from the lantern turned her pale, painted skin into burnished gold. He sensed the latent energy within, desperate to lash out, bound and suppressed only by the rigorous training she had gone through to reach her current station. Twenty years' worth of training, to be exact, as she had so helpfully informed him.
Without even taking a deep breath, she gave him a radiant smile. Her fingers continued their dance on the string board.
"That ship has sailed, my lord," she said softly. "And I do not regret my decision, come what may."
Certainly, Sesshōmaru thought as he sipped his saké, if she had remained in a relationship with Inuyasha, his hanyō blood would prolong her life just the same. She must have known this, and yet she left him nevertheless, jeopardizing her chance to see her family again.
He felt the tingling of curiosity, but he brushed it off. The reason for her leaving the hanyō was of no consequence, now that she had chosen to place herself in this predicament.
But— to think that she would end up here, of all places... Not even in her own realm.
The town of Nishihara was small, but it was made famous because of its pleasure district. It lay within the yōkai realm that ran parallel to the human world, but hidden beyond an ethereal veil invisible to the naked eye. The passage between the two domains was strictly regulated. Humans on this side of the veil were rare, although a few — such as her — were permitted to stay under exceptional circumstances.
A human Oiran was extremely rare but not unheard of. Though, perhaps she was the first to have reached the rank of Tayū, which was an impressive feat by any means.
He stared at her with newfound interest. Her station in the social scene might prove to be useful for him. Powerful yōkai lords congregated here, exchanging information. It was common for transactions to happen within the walls of a tea house, often with the Oiran themselves being the mediators.
Perhaps they could work together for their mutual benefit.
"Would you care to have an arrangement with this Sesshōmaru, Miko?" He asked her.
Her pair of blue eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed into a look of distrust.
"An arrangement?"
"If I were to give you an assignment and reward you upon its completion, would you be amenable to accept such agreement?"
"Perhaps it depends on the reward," she replied impassively.
He thought for a moment. "Is there anything I can offer you that might persuade you, Miko? Silver, gold, and jewels are easy for me to obtain, and I will bestow them upon you generously. But— I can see in your eyes you do not care much for such treasures. What is it you truly wish for?"
Her fingers stopped their strumming on the shamisen. The room was silent once more, except for the faint noise of festivities streaming in from a nearby room.
For the first time since he saw her tonight, all the pretence and guile slipped away from her eyes. Now, they glittered with the force of her true emotions.
"Freedom," she whispered.
He arched his brow at her omission.
As she had said, it cost a tremendous amount of resources to groom a courtesan. The cost of food, lodging, apprenticeship and training, not to mention their fashionable costumes and jewelry that were sure to be lavish and expensive, all added up into a superbly large amount. As a result, it was commonplace for an Oiran to start her career buried underneath a staggering amount of debt. And until that debt was paid in full, a very special magic bound her life to the Okiya in which she served. The powerful spell took the form of an amulet, which was then inserted into her body to attach itself to her life force.
To break that magic coercively would mean the immediate end to her life.
The only way to end her contract with the house was to pay an extravagant sum. Not just for the debt she had incurred during years of training, but also to compensate for the loss of future earnings for centuries. Sesshōmaru knew several yōkai aristocrats who had begged, borrowed, and stolen to free one flower or another from her bind.
And in doing so, they dug their own demise. Destroyed their family's honour and legacy that had existed for millennia. Dishonoured themselves and their progenies for generations to come.
He would not follow in their foolish footsteps, least of all for this dewy-eyed woman. His half-brother's human wife.
Nevertheless, her situation was indeed unique. Freedom was perhaps possible to achieve, if only one had the resources to pay for it. But— she did not want just freedom, did she? She wanted freedom and a longer lifespan to carry her five hundred years into the future.
When her contract was broken, her lifespan would return to its natural state. She would age the way any human would. Her life would be once again quick and fleeting.
If she persevered in this profession and kept herself bound by the magic, she could live for thousands of years, matching the lifespan of a yōkai. She would, eventually, reach the era from whence she came.
And be reunited with her family.
"I may not be able to give you freedom," he told her. "But I can give you the illusion of it."
She stopped strumming her shamisen and raised her head, blue eyes gazing up at him in wonder.
"Illusion?"
"Some free time, perhaps," he said. "It is a luxury that sometimes not even I can purchase with wealth. Of course, it is not the freedom you seek, but it is a valuable commodity, nonetheless. Especially for you, who is always under the scrutiny of your Okami-san, the adoring eyes of your patrons, and the admiration of the public."
Sesshōmaru rose to his feet when she did not answer and approached her slowly. He knelt in front of her, staring at her upturned face.
"Imagine it, Oiran—" He whispered close to her ear. "A few hours, or perhaps days when you do not have to be anything other than what you want to be. Do what you want to do. Precious time when you can let your hair down, so to speak."
He roused and moved away. "I daresay it will make the next five-hundred years more—" He smirked at her over his shoulder. "—bearable."
… …
Freedom.
She was no fool. She had known full well what it meant to bind her life to the Pleasure District.
And yet, she still chose this life over any others available to her.
In doing so, she did gain the type of freedom no female in this period could obtain. She was encouraged to educate herself to converse with the powerful yōkai lords that frequented the Okiya. When she spoke, they did not tell her to shut her mouth. They quieted and listened. She could go anywhere, and she was free to be in male company. None of her patrons were permitted to approach her for sex, but she could proposition them — if she felt sufficiently moved to do so.
But— there was the other side of the coin. The attention and the expectations that others placed upon her ended up robbing her the freedom of a different kind.
The freedom to not be so perfect. The freedom to just… be.
"What do you say, Miko?" Sesshōmaru's calm voice brought her back to the present.
"What kind of assignments are we discussing, my Lord?" She asked.
He surprised her when the corners of his lips curled into a small smile. "I do not know quite yet."
It was her turn to scoff.
"Sounds rather suspicious, my Lord. I make a habit of not entering into an agreement which terms I am not familiar with."
Sesshōmaru let out a soft huff of laughter. "Worry not, Miko. I give you my word that I will not ask you for anything you find distasteful."
Kagome had many gaudy suggestions whispered in her ears by less refined clients early on in her career. She had thought herself immune to innuendos, but somehow he made her blush underneath her face paint with words that were not even improper to begin with.
She told herself that there was no way he was thinking of sexual favours, nearly shaking her head. Sesshōmaru was too much an elitist to consider laying with anyone less than a high-born yōkai of the purest blood.
"Will they put me in danger or force me to go against the rules of the Okiya?"
For every rule she broke, they could take away the amulet from her for a decade, which meant she would age ten years as an ordinary human to atone for each violation.
His voice was laced with humour when he replied. "Miko, you speak as though you will have no right to refuse the assignment. I will not force you to do anything you do not wish to do."
It sounded like an arrangement that was too good to be true, Kagome thought as she absently strummed her instrument. But Sesshōmaru, if anything, was known to be an honourable lord. He might not be friendly or kind or compassionate, but she knew he would at least be fair.
"It will be very expensive," Kagome warned him. He would be paying for her free time in addition to the time she spent entertaining him.
The corners of his lips turned up into a bored smirk.
"Do I look like I am concerned about cost, Miko?"
No, he actually did not.
"Like your Okami-san said, miko. You have the right to choose whether to accept this one as a patron. You have the right to decide whether to take my proposition. For once in your life, you have the advantage over the Lord of the Western Lands. So— what is it going to be?"
As she mulled over her decision, she let her digits trail over the strings of her shamisen, feeling their abrasiveness against the softness of her fingertips.
"Then, my lord," she finally said, lifting her gaze until her blue eyes met his golden ones. "Let us have the arrangement."
