A/N: Jeez, ppl actually liked it!!! Hurray!!! dances around anyway, thanks for comments;) and btw, pace might be slow, since I have some promises on so…don't be mad
A high tembered sounds of shamisen flew through the room, making everyone to fall into silence. When the composition began, a door of back wall opened and a dancer walked out, holding two furled fans, the same red color as her kimono. The geisha began to dance, moving gracefully and dirrectly, not missing any move, not making a mistake. When she made some difficult moves, like throw fans in the air and catch them after turning around, everyone clapped, amazed by obvious and well developed talent. At the last note, the dancer furled out her fans again and hid her face behind them, this way impressing an auditory, since it wasn't the ordinary ways of ending the dance.
Aya watched her apprentice with delight and proudness. Never had she seen a girl so gifted like her, so beautiful, so extraordinary and...yet so cold and distant and seemingly covered up with many shields. Oh well, maybe that was to good, because these shields could protect her from the pain she might feel later in her life.
The blonde woman, who had just performed a wonderful show, came to Aya and sat down.
„Well, how was I, onee-san?" she asked.
„You were extraordinary, Yukiko" the woman smiled „you overdone yourself tonight" the blonde bowed slightly, expresing her gratitute.
„I'm proud to hear this from you, onee-san"
„And you surely deserve it" a feminine voice sounded behind the two: Keiko, the mistress of this house walked to the table and sat down next to two geishas.
„My lady" Aya bowed „it is wonderful to see you next to us"
„It is always a pleasure to have a chat with an intelligent woman like you, Aya-san" Keiko smiled „I'd like to express my impression about your apprentice" the mistress looked to Yukiko. The blonde looked back, seeing a woman in her mid-thirties, with very long black hair, white and baby blue kimono and dark chocolate eyes...the ones Yukiko was able to recognize.
„I'm most pleased to hear this from you, mistress" the blonde bowed.
„You seem to be very talented, Yukiko. I'd prefer to see your performances more frequently"
„Whatever mistress wishes" Yukiko bowed again. Aya smiled slightly with the corner of her lips: the woman saw that the blonde now was getting the greatest gift ever: a chance to get into royal cort and its stage. Only an exceptional geisha could reach something like that.
„It's settled then" Keiko looked to Aya „please, talk to your leader and bring Yukiko to the next weekend's gathering. You two will be well expected"
„As you wish, Keiko-san. We'll be most pleased"
The three women's chat was envily watched by two eyes: Midori was flaming up inside, seeing how her rival was getting the most wanted prize: a conversation with the royal elite of Japan – the Asakura. The woman knew that this would destroy all her hopes of becoming the most wanted and the most respected geisha of all. The glimpses of evil plan already grew inside Midori's mind.
While the three women were chatting, a young man approached them, the one with short chocolate hair and black splendid yukata. He sat down by Keiko and smiled to Aya.
„Aya-san, how good to see you" he said in cheerful voice „as always, you're just glowing"
„Yoh-san, you're as always too kind" Aya smiled foxy to him.
„Just telling the truth" he looked to Yukiko, who daringly looked back to him, making him feel a little uncomfortable in her look, but he quickly got his balance back and said „your apprentice is the most extraordinary tonight. I've never seen such a radiant beauty before"
„Just maybe you weren't looking around enough, mister" Yukiko shot to him, clearly showing the way she thinks about him.
„You certanly know what to say at the right time, Yukiko" Keiko said, before Yoh could make a sound of returning his lost pride. Yukiko bowed in gratitute and looked right into Yoh's eyes, seeing, to her happiness, that he swallowed the insult and left it unsaid. Now the four was chatting by the table, Yukiko sometimes helped with the tea or lit up Yoh's cigarette, with every time sending a hard look to him. The young man would always answer, but his look would never be so hard and killing.
I wasn't pleasant to Yoh, because I somehow felt deep antipathy to him. Don't know how, don't know why, I just did. Each time he'd look at me, I felt anger rise inside, as if I knew something to hate him for. The point was that I've never even talked to him before.
After about an hour, Hao joined the four.
„You seem to be having lots of fun, otouto-san" he said in smirking voice and smile. His smirking eyes caught Yukiko at once, travelling down her body with red kimono up and down, obviously admiring every inch of it. The blonde looked to his eyes and saw a smirking and daring little fires burning in them, which really surprised her, because she had never seen someone, looking to her eyes for so long and so bravelly.
„I see that you got a wonderful young lady here, Aya-san" he said, not turning his eyes away from Yukiko.
„Yes, I suppose you already saw her dancing, Hao-san"
„Of course, it was hard not to notice such a beauty" Hao didn't retreat his eyes from Yukiko's „may I say that red suits you unbelievably well" he refered to the blonde. Yukiko bowed and said.
„Thank you, master. I'm sure I made a...right impression" she said, lifting a teapot and filling Hao's cup.
„This girl sure knows which and how to say things" Hao smirked, lifting a teacup to his lips.
„I, of course, can say the same thing about you, master" Yukiko shot back. She stood up gracefull and bowed „please, excuse me for a minute" and without another word or look she went away, leaving the circle to chat on.
Yukiko went through the room, past the people and into the garden. The blonde felt desperate need for a fresh air immediatelly and some lonelyness. Yukiko passed the garden, walking further, to the place where no people walked. The blonde walked on one of the little bridges and leaned onto ellbows on the rails. She lifted her onyx eyes to the full moon and looked at it, wishing she could just disappear in its light. Nothing hurt so badly than the fact that she'd never be free.
I didn't know what was wrong with me. I should've accepted it and be prepared to face everything. But somehting woke up, some monster inside that wouldn't allow me to stay pieceful and cold, like before. Something stopped me from ignorance to everything...or rather someone...
Yukiko was so sunk into her thoughts that she didn't hear a footsteps, closing to her.
„So deep into your thoughts, Yukiko-san" a voice rang in the blonde's ear. She turned her head slowly and her eyes met the same chocolate smirking eyes...the eyes she secretly longed to disappear in.
„Why do you care?" Yukiko snapped at him. Hao only smiled with a smirk and said:
„You're being cold, Yukiko-san, but I like that" he turned his head to face the full moon „everyone around these days are so affectionate and double-dealers...it makes me sick to watch all those flatterings around. Don't you?" he turned only his look to Yukiko, looking right into her black eyes. The woman slowly nodded.
„Yes, it makes me sick as well" her gaze turned sharped „at least that's one thing we have in common" Hao scoffed slightly, now facing only her.
„You, Yukiko-san, look hurt to me when you act like that. What happened in the life of such a beauty that it makes her talk to everyone so coldly?" the blonde's eyes widened. She felt completely disarmed: first time in her life she felt that a person opened her heart and soul like a book and read it right in front of her.
„My life is perfectly fine, Hao-san" she said colder than usual „and please, do not intervene in it again" she said and was about to walk away right past him, but Hao caught her by fore-arm and looked right into her eyes.
„If you weren't hurt, you wouldn't act like this, Yukiko-san" he said, leaned so close to her, that Yukiko could feel his breath touch her lips. The blonde tried to break free.
„Let me go!" she demanded, but Hao's grip only got stronger, now almost hurting her.
„You're a fighter. I like that even more" he said „to tell the truth, I've never met someone like you, Yukiko-san" the blonde again tried to pull away, but Hao was a lot stronger than her. She, however, didn't retreat her eyes from his, staring furiously without pause.
„Let me go! You're hurting me!" she demanded again. Not even Hao didn't let her go, but he gently pulled her into his embrace and attached to his silk-covered, strong body. Yukiko rammed her palms to his chest, feeling muscles under his black yukata...but instaed of just standing there and feeling drinking pleasure from it, Yukiko pressed her nails into his body, her own muscles tensing immediatelly.
„What do you think you're doing?!" she shot to him. Hao smirked again, feeling how her body under fine silk tremblng from tenseness.
„What do you think I'm doing? I'm making you to not feel pain" he said.
„This wasn't what I had in mind, Hao-san!" Yukiko said furiously, her chest heaving from sudden anger, rising from inside: the blonde couldn't stand the fact that she was weaker and in hands of this...this...man!
„And what did you have in mind?" he asked smirkingly „besides, you look even more beautiful when you're really angry" he smiled lustily to her. This was over the line. Yukiko's pride beaten it all: she slapped him and hard. But what was more shocking and irrotating that this didn't make Hao to let go of her: he only gripped her tighter around the waist.
„I must admit I didn't expect this from you, Yukiko-san" Hao smirked to her „when next time we meet, which will be after a week, promise me to be nicer"
„I'd rather go to hell" Yukiko spit out, now feeling disgust...somehow, she couldn't allow herself to be nice to him...nor to his brother.
„That's kind of answer I was willing to hear" Hao nodded and released her. Yukiko stepped back few steps and turned around, walking away as quick as she could... Hao left there stading on the bridge, a smirking smile still lingering on his lips.
The blonde came back to the house and found Aya. The older woman stood up immediatelly and by first sight of her apprentice said:
„Yukiko, I think it's time for us to leave now" .
„Yes, I agree" Yukiko said, looking sharply to her teacher's eyes.
„It is sad that you must leave so soon" Keiko said, aproaching the two „but I will be looking forward to see you after a week"
„Yes, that will be much pleasure" Aya bowed respectfully to the mistress and her son „Yoh-san, it was, as always, a pleasure to meet you" she bowed to him.
„Yes, Aya-san, as always" Yoh said, his look, however, lingering on Yukiko „please, Yukiko-san, be so kind and please us with your visit next time" he said. The blonde bowed.
„I'll be looking forward to it" Yukiko bowed, lowering her eyes, so Yoh's wouldn't remind her so much of Hao.
When two women rided the vechile, Aya asked to Yukiko:
„What was wrong, Yukiko?"
„What could there be?" the blonde re-asked, but knew perfectly what Aya was talking about.
„Why you were so cold to the brothers? You're risking your future back there"
„I know that, onee-san" Yukiko admitted „but it's only that somehow it is harder for me to be nice to them...somehow, I feel that it isn't right. At least in Yoh-san's case" Aya rose an eyebrow.
„Really? And what about Hao-san? He's completely diferent from his twin brother don't you think?"
„Yes, maybe that will help me to be warmer to him, although..." Yukiko silenced for a moment, remembering those skiped heartbeats when she looked into those chocolate eyes of his „he's different from all of them, onee'san"
„Don't you dare to feel more to him than a simple client, Yukiko" Aya said harshly „don't make yourself suffer and destroy everything you reached with something as stupid as love"
„Didn't you ever love?" Yukiko asked suddenly. Aya shut her mouth and silenced for a while, but still answered:
„Yes, I did. But I burried my love. A geisha is not allowed to love. Remember that" the rest of the road women kept silent. Aya decided to leave conversation about Yukiko's little trip to the garden for later time: the woman saw that her apprentice wasn't ready yet and was in a state of light shock...Just wander from what. They reached home and gone to bed as soon as possible.
Yukiko couldn't sleep, however. She kept thinking...thinking of brown chocolate eyes, which took her all away. And words of Aya kept ringing in her head: a geisha is not allowed to love. The blonde walked to the window and opened it, pushing the shutters away from each other. The moon was full that night and stars paled before it. The blonde inhaled deeply the fresh night air and looked to the round disk of the moon. Her thoughts calmed down and she could relax a bit. That night she became Anna again and let herself to think like Anna...like a mistress of her own destiny. She didn't know what awaits her there, at the royal court, which was promised early by Aya, but all she knew that now, an unbreakable bond was made between her and Hao Asakura...from that very moment their eyes met...from that very moment she stopped him with her look...from that very moment their bodies touched one another... Anna sighed, feeling how light hear heart was now. Now, she knew what it means to be free.
At the other side of the town, a man with long chocolate hair was standing on the little brigde, leaned over the rail. He looked to the moon's reflection in the water's surface, but saw only pale porcelain face, golden locks and deep onyx eyes. A small smile curled in his lips.
„You're chalenging, Yukiko. I'll see what else you got inside" Hao turned to face the true moon and his smile grew wider „I'll be looking forward to see you again, Yukiko" he thought for a while.
„Yukiko...is that your real name? No, i doubt that" his smile grew to a tender one „I'll find out sooner or later" Hao stood there for a long time, thinking of this young woman. He forgot only one thing: she wasn't free...wasn't free from herself...and will never be. But that didn't matter to him that night. Nor it mattered to the blonde with the pale face he was thinking of...
A/N: FF seemed to had problems with uploading, so sorry for delay...or that is, the FF saying sorry for it ;DDD