Hello lovelies! Here are your two chapters!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day for all my Americans (for tomorrow lol)!

A side note before I continue to the story:

In case you didn't know about geisha culture (Google it and I'm sure you'll recognize them, but they're artists and famous in Japanese culture!), here are a couple things to note!

- Before a geisha becomes a full-fledged geisha, they are called maiko. These are apprentice geisha who are mentored by an "older sister".

- A girl generally lives in an okiya until she finds a geisha to be her mentor (There's a little more intricacy to that process but I'm trying to keep this brief so please Google that if it interests you lol).

- When a girl becomes a maiko, she changes her name. Traditionally, her name may contain the same root as her Older Sister/mentor. That is why Shizuko is known as Chinatsu by her clients. You'll see another example in this chapter!

I'm not proclaiming to be an expert! At the end of the day, this is a work of fiction and Shizuko is not the perfect example of traditional geisha!

Enjoy Reading~


Chapter 10 (Shizuko)

The lanterns cast the grounds of Squad Six and the occupants of tonight's party in different shades of color. Byakuya had decided to host a gathering in his squad, and it had shocked the living hell out of us all. It had been under the guise of celebrating the coming of Springtime—which was quite convincing since it was no secret of how fond of sakura he was—but those close to him knew better. It had been the time that he and Hisana had married in secret, and this party marked what would have been their first tenth anniversary.

My heart ached deeply for him. He had never been the same since the death of his wife and neither had the Kuchiki Clan. Estranged relatives like my mother and my grandmother had been shunted out, despite Ginrei repairing the damaged relationship, and the rules had become far stricter. Despite all this, tonight was one of the rare occasions where the family could converge and breathe a little more freely without the scrutiny of the Elders.

"Don't dawdle," I called to the girl behind me. She was stumbling in the thick materials of her kimono, which was a shame because it was quite gorgeous and she made it more so. It was a deep blue with an intricately embroidered pattern of white that reminded me of a Chinese tea set. Her obi was the same color of her eyes, a deep green, with the same pattern on the kimono except in gold.

I slowed my pace to let her catch up. She smiled at me, "Sorry, Miss Chinatsu."

I tried hard not to laugh and carried on walking, "You'll get used to it eventually, Chiharu."

As she walked beside me, I glanced over and corrected her posture. After several instructions, she was walking just as she was supposed to. By the time we reached the crowd, she was mirroring me.

I took her to all the faces I recognized, introducing her. She was my apprentice—a maiko—and it was my duty to help her become better known. Like me, she came from a wealthier family but they had been small and all married into different families now. Chiharu, who had once been named Rini, was the only one of her sisters that had decided to become a geisha and not marry.

"You're doing well—they all like you." My comment made her smile, which she coyly hid behind a fan. With this, I let her off to go on her own, "Meet me back here at midnight."

"Yes, Miss Chinatsu."

She scampered off but quickly fixed her walk. I was smiling, watching her when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for my daughter," My mother's voice was deep and had a catch to it as always, even as she chuckled. It felt like it had been years since I had heard it. "She's blond—well, maybe not right now. Usually, she's the size of a midget but lately she's been wearing these ridiculously tall shoes—"

"Mom!" I leant down and hugged her tightly. Her hand began to press down on my hair but she quickly moved it to my back.

"Damn hair," She smirked as we stood straight, "How've you been, kid?"

"Good! I just let Chiharu off—is Grandma here?"

My mom shook her head, "Not with me at least. She went to find the other old crones—"

"Shush! Someone's going to hear you," I laughed, even when my mom gave me a devilish grin. She didn't care and that's what I loved about her.

She looked me over with a warm smile, "You look gorgeous, as always. I'm afraid to know how much that kimono cost."

"Possibly more than what any Captain in the Gotei earns in a year," I said with a wink, and ran a hand over the silky material.

It was one of my favorite kimono, and I wore it for special gatherings like these. It was the color of charcoal with dozens of big flowers blooming in varying shades of red. Some of the flowers reminded me of the color of blood, or a robin, while others matched the red painted on my lips and the corners of my eyes. The obi sash I wore was the same blue of a koi pond. The kimono was a work of art and nothing I could ever afford, but it had been a gift from one of my popular patrons—the second son of the Tsunayashiro Family, one of the four Great Noble Families.

He had been vying to become my patron for quite some time now against one of the Gotei Captains. I was happy to have either one of them win. Which is why also I wore the elaborate hairpieces that the captain had gifted me.

My mother and I shared a drink and caught up. The evening went by and we chatted for hours, quite content by ourselves among the throngs and clumps of socialites. Everything was going quite well until our bubble of solitude was burst.

"Why, if it isn't the two lovely Kuna women."

My mother glared over my shoulder and muttered, "Don't look now, but it's a piece of shit making its descent—"

"Now, now, Kumiko," I felt Kurotsuchi's hands brace around my shoulders, "That's no way to speak in front of a geisha."

I shrugged off his hands and smiled tightly, "Captain."

"My dear," He bowed. I returned it as he chuckled, "It's quite remarkable how you look so much like your mother now that your hair is dyed black. And here I thought you would remain looking like your father."

"That is enough, Mayuri," My mother stepped forward. Her face was contorted in an ugly snarl, eyes blazing like blue Hellfire.

He held his hands up, "Who would have thought it would still be a soft spot. I just thought you would like to know that he made another breakthrough on our Dongai—perhaps our dear Kisuke Urahara will be paying us a visit soon."

"You need to leave."

To both the surprise of him and my mother, it was me who was in Mayuri's face now. His eyes were wide as my whole body heated up. Glancing down, I could see my hands glowing faintly orange.

"Take a deep breath," My mother's voice was calm and controlling. I did and felt my anger recoil, "That's it."

"Please excuse me," I murmured and walked as quickly as I could into the crowd.

I found an empty office away from the party and took a seat on a floor cushion. My hand shook violently as I extended it. I stared at it with wide eyes and it began to glow orange again. Wisps of my spiritual energy twirled up into my palm, dancing in the center of my hand like a tornado of flames. It was beautiful. Mesmerizing.

Shutting my eyes, I took a shaky breath in and out. Tears sat at the base of my eyes, waiting for me to release them. I desperately wanted to but it would ruin my makeup.

A movement in the corner of my eye had me snapping my gaze up into the shadows of the room. Slowly, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I spotted a young girl sitting at a desk. Her eyes were wide and a deep blue color. I stared at her in shock, my blood running cold.

"Hisana?"