Disclaimer: I would love to own this, but if I did, I wouldn't be able to make it up as I go along, which is so much more fun! So in short, I don't own it!

Timeless4Life: Thanks soo much for your review! Glad you liked the 'short and sweet'...I like it too lolx-this one's a bit longer but shorter than my usual standards-as I'm sure you remember lolx

She came up to the okiya feeling shaken. She had left the party almost instantly after he had left her on the floor of a private room. She had not told her older sister that she was leaving, so she expected someone to be waiting, in the hope that she returned safely.

But there was no fuss, no anguished shouts…it was silent. Everything was as it should be. The most junior member of servants-Tomoyo-was kneeling by the entrance, awaiting the geisha's return.

Suddenly, her stomach lurched, and she ducked into an alley, emptying its contents. She started to shudder. This had been a terrible night. She tried to regain her decorum, but spotted the young servant's eyes on her.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Do not tell anybody of this," was her reply. "Or I will ensure that Tomihatsu discovers her belongings in your quarters. Do you understand?" The little girl nodded, looking scared, but the maiko didn't care. She, too, had once been terrified of Tomihatsu when she had just been a mere servant girl herself. After her debut, however, she had found it much easier to understand Tomihatsu's tenseness. It wasn't that the geisha particularly disliked you, she just took out the stresses of her life as a geisha out on the servants. Even though Tomihatsu didn't even live in the okiya, she still terrified the servants. 'She over-estimates them,' their Okasan had once told her. 'And when they don't perform to her standards, she gets…disappointed. I am sure you remember, child.'

She moved out of her shoes and left them for the servant to sort out. She walked into the okiya barefoot, not really caring to wait for Tomoyo to retrieve her indoor shoes. She turned the corner, and stared right into the face of Okasan. She gasped.

"At least," Okasan said. "You were not abducted."

"Okasan," she politely greeted.

"Why are you here, child? A little early for a maiko to be retiring. You should be full of energy."

"Forgive me, Okasan, I was not feeling well," she replied, looking down. You never made eye-contact with her, without being reprimanded for it, and in one case, being thrown out!

"Without telling your older sister?" the older woman clarified. The maiko fixed her gaze to the floor.

"I have been receiving calls from teahouses all over Gion," she continued. "All saying that Tomihatsu had cancelled all her engagements." The maiko looked up, feeling shocked. "To look for you, was her reason." She looked down again, feeling guilt creep up her body. "Do you understand how degrading that will be to her reputation? That not only has she had to cancel all her engagements, but that she had to do so to search for her stray younger sister?"

"Forgive me, Okasan," she repeated. "I was not thinking. Would you like me to send Tomoyo out to-"

"That will not be necessary, child," Okasan rasped. "I told Tomihatsu not to be so foolish, and that of course you would return. What reason would you have to leave? You probably cannot tell one hanamachi from the next-you would soon be hopelessly lost." She stepped closer to the scared apprentice. "She seems to care for you deeply," she remarked.

"She is my older sister."

"Hmm," Okasan muttered. "Well, why are you still standing here, child? If you are not well, you should go to bed."

"Thank you, Okasan," she said, bowing, and heading to her room that she shared with Tomihatsu's other maiko.

She stepped into the room, not bothering to be silent, when she heard someone stirring. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I was not feeling well, Reiko-san. Tomihatsu said-"

"Leave me alone."

"Reiko-san-"

"Did you not hear me? I want to be left alone!"

"What has happened, Reiko-san? You are only like this when something has upset you."

"This does not involve you, Minako-san," Reiko sighed, kneeling in front of the mirror to begin removing her make-up. Minako came up behind her.

"Are you worried about your mizuage?"

"My mizuage?" Reiko repeated disbelievingly. "Don't be foolish, Minako-san. I have only been a maiko for three months now. I am not ready."

"But Tomihatsu has been telling me-she thinks you are old enough. You are sixteen, Reiko-san."

"But I am only a maiko!" Reiko protested. "You have not had yours yet, and you have been a geisha for longer."

"Only a few weeks," Minako reasoned. "And it is clear that Tomihatsu favours you."

"What has that to do with mizuage?"

"She thinks if she gets you started sooner, you will build up more popularity. That is what she has been telling me."

"I am not ready!" Reiko repeated. "This should be my choice when I am ready!" She stood up suddenly so she was towering over Minako. "Minako-san, if you are lying to me-"

"I am not," Minako told her honestly. "I swear, Reiko-san, I would not lie to you about this."

"Then why would she not tell me? Why you?" Minako shrugged. "She does not trust me," Reiko mumbled to herself, kneeling to Minako's level, but being sure to look away.

"We cannot trust anyone, Tomihatsu said. We are geisha now," Minako smirked, trying to humour her.

"Yes…" Reiko muttered vaguely, more images from previously flashing through her mind. "We are." She wouldn't-no couldn't-ever tell anyone about it! If they were to find out, she would surely be thrown out! She couldn't let that happen! She wouldn't let it happen…even if she had to lie. She smiled to herself. 'You will be geisha,' Tomihatsu had once told her. 'We do what it takes to survive. We cannot afford to fail if we want to remain geisha. Do you have that will, child?' She was never certain how to answer that question. If she'd said no, Tomihatsu would never have taken her on with Minako. But when she said yes, the geisha had just sighed.

But now, Reiko wasn't so sure. If she was able to protect this secret, she would survive. But did she have that will? Reiko wasn't usually one for self-doubt, but in this case, she really couldn't feel confident enough to say…

So, what do you think? Please tell me lolx! This is my first Geisha story!