Just a warning, this chapter makes reference to the female menstrual cycle and human reproduction. No vivid details or descriptions. And yes, the "talk" is from "Memoirs of a Geisha"; the far-fetched euphemisms and round-about way of explaining is just so perfect for a prudish male. Credit for inspiration with the egg goes to Dontmezwitme. If you're screamish about it, skip to the second and very last page break.
Note: Because this chapter and all of the rest beyond it involve historical events that are often considered controversial, remember that this is only my interpretation of events through a character. I am not directly condoning any actions, nor deliberately trying to make events seem not as serious. I am only trying to tell a story from the point of view from a flawed, and still somewhat naive and inexperienced young woman trying to find her place amongst two giants. Keep in mind that at this point in the story, Taiwan is still a sheltered young child.
Kiku slowly slipped his tea, keeping an eye on his student as she studied. It had been a struggle at first for her to even sit and listen to his lectures, and she'd thrown her brush down in disgust more than once. Wan wan at least had had enough sense to leave the ink alone, if only because she would have been the one cleaning it off of the mats. Wan wan hated calligraphy, and would snap at him saying that if he wanted to discover her character he'd have an easier time of it if he actually talked to her once in a while.*
If it wasn't the writing she disliked, it would be having to learn to speak Japanese. She'd often said that she had had enough of that nonsense grammar, and no one would die from being insulted if she didn't use a polite enough form of speech. Another favorite topic of hers was to remind him how senseless and arbitrary it was for one word to have multiple pronunciations. "You're smart enough to build factories and trains but you can't make scratches in the sand to give six different pronunciations six different words? Go look at how many different words Wang Yao can write and he's still using a hole in the ground as a toilet!" she'd snort. He suspected that she often purposely used the crudest, most crass form possible. These outbursts had been tolerated, and really it was no worse than any other reluctant child forced into schooling.
He had to admit that she performed admirably in making sense out of seemingly arbitrary drawings. No matter the struggle to sound out the words and to write them out herself, no matter the minor tantrums she had when her frustration temporarily bested her, she'd always returned a few hours later. Wan wan's pride was at stake, and she needed to rid herself of the shame of illiteracy. Of course, the luxurious clothes he offered as a reward for her diligence had a part in it as well. Even as she was a barefoot, half-wild girl she'd bothered to pick out unapologetically vibrant pink flowers to decorate her hair. When lectures about the importance of education failed, dazzling accessories would not.
She was really quite an ambitious individual, and actually had a voracious appetite for all types of literature. He supposed he could have casually slipped in an "I told you so", though she would have resented him greatly for it. She was part Chinese after all; she had the typical ego issues.
Wan wan's eyes widened in confusion and embarrassment. She startled Kiku by slamming her palms onto the low table and shooting up into a standing position. She looked about, as lost as Kiku was as to exactly what she was doing, and gave him a stiff bow and a flustered apology before excusing herself. He sat for a minute, unsure of what had happened and whether or not he should chastise her for leaving her lessons so abruptly.
Wan wan had closed herself in washroom, and in her haste she had nearly forgotten to put on the washroom slippers. She struggled to draw up the heavy, multi-layered fabric. Oh, she regretted now specifically choosing the grandest and most luxurious kimonos that Kiku offered to buy for her. She couldn't have known though, when she looked longingly at the intricate designs and vibrant colors and dared to touch the pricey, slippery fabric. How could she have known that she would find herself in a cramped shed trying to find out what the hell she'd felt- blood. Wan wan had heard the soft "ta!" of the blob of congealed blood hitting the floor, and immediately looked down.
The girl stood mesmerized. "I'm bleeding," she thought, allowing the phrase to bounce around in her mind. "I'm bleeding." She had no reason to be bleeding, so why was she? And why was it bleeding from there? Even in the semi-darkness of the shed, it had that unmistakable deep crimson color, and a distinct foul odor that made her crinkle her nose. Why was there blood?
"Mei mei, what's wrong?"
His voice, a mixture of concern and expectant dread, broke her from her morbid trance. The terror that had been suppressed now clawed its way up to clamp down on her heart. Her ears were filled with the rapid fire staccato. So at some point, she'd started saying it aloud. She might as well have just opened the door and shown him, she was so embarrassed he actually heard.
"Go away!" she said, sounding unnaturally shrill. "It doesn't have anything to do with you!"
"Mei, please." Kiku blushed furiously. Trying to explain it to her was bad enough. Trying to do that standing in front of the washroom with her inside? That constituted cruel and unusual punishment for the both of them.
"Just go away!"
He stayed quiet, to compose himself to give the speech that, really, an older brother should never have to give.
Some time had passed, neither was sure exactly how long, before Wan wan finally spoke. "哥?" she practically whispered.
"It's alright, Mei." He had difficulty swallowing. He opened his mouth to speak again, but hesitated. Too embarrassed to actually ask a woman about the subject, he had prepared himself by reading dry medical journals, none of which gave advice as to how to broach the topic with the individual concerned.
The years that followed after their final argument about Wan wan's future were hectic. Her adopted brother worked at an ungodly pace, and she was often so overwhelmed that her understanding only came long after the initial bewilderment of all his new reforms. Kiku had been absolutely thorough in drawing out his plans; it was only to be expected of him. He had gone far beyond the roads, railways, and sewage system that Wan wan had vehemently accused of being frivolous additions. The farms transformed her island into an agricultural powerhouse that helped to feed and supply Kiku's people, the lifeline that allowed him to realize his own ambitions.
Her cities were improved and health clinics were built to finally contain the disgraceful prevalence of infectious diseases. Public schools were built and mandatory attendance policies were enforced to the point that Kiku really did follow through on giving her daily language lessons.
Of all the things he gave her and she grudgingly accepted, nothing came as close as the very last to permanently changing her island. She herself had held on to the position that her farming society would sooner use books as toilet paper. When the schools were built, she looked on in suspicion and was right in her conviction that Kiku was only using them to manage her population better. But oh, how quickly they took to it to their own advantage! Wan wan stood shamed as she watched their minds awaken and take to education and enlightenment as eagerly as she did; she had severely underestimated their potential. As intellectuals, they at least had the chance that they did not as crude, ignorant farmers to rise in society.
Wan wan could not make up her mind on what to think of Kiku's efforts. On the one hand, he was doing it for himself. Of course he would build railroads and improve her island; he needed a way to transport her resources and keep his subjects alive and thriving to farm for him. If he had not expected a return on his investment in her, he would not have bothered. She was his pet project, a point of pride for him when he showed off to European countries that he, too, was in on the trend of colonizing.
On the other hand, did the colonized not also benefit directly as well? Did they not enjoy the new prosperity and opportunities? No, not everyone did. Not the aboriginals, their own conditions did not improve much. But they improved in the end, didn't they? She could not say that all Kiku had done was take advantage of her and suck her island dry. It was not so clear cut as she wished it to be.
"Well you see, Mei mei, every girl has a cave," he began, having finally found an innocuous enough phrase. "This cave protects a pearl, an egg. When a girl becomes a young woman, she begins to experience week-long "high tides" in her cave on schedule with the moon because the egg has become rotten-"
"I'm going to lay a rotten egg?" she repeated, absolutely horrified.
"No, no, not exactly!" Kiku said quickly.
"But that was what you said. You said I have a rotten egg inside of me, and it's going to poison me!"
He sighed deeply, and took out the small satchel he'd kept tied at his waist. He thought about taking out the cloth for her, but immediately changed his mind. It was just too private, and she should be the only one to touch it. The poor girl didn't need to think about someone else, especially a man, handling her sanitary belt.
"Mei, just forget about what I said."
"You're going to let me die?"
"No one's dying. The apotheracist prepared something for you, and she asked me to deliver it to you." He was careful to let the girl know it was from a female to another female.
"It's not Chinese medicine, is it? I hate Chinese medicine, it's vile. I'd rather lay a rotten egg than drink more of that."
"Mei mei, just open the door and put it on."
She opened the door slightly, and her hand darted out to snatch the satchel from him. It only took common sense to figure out how to use the sanitary belt. The majority of that awkward wait was spent composing herself, as she had it in mind to never again look Kiku Honda in the eye. When she finally stepped out with her eyes firmly rooted to the ground, Kiku said nothing. It was understood that he would continue the talk in a more decent setting.
Kiku kept clearing his throat. Both were staring hard at their respective cups of tea, trying to will the moment to pass by itself.
"Mei mei, let me start over. As I said before, every woman has a cave, even when she is a young girl. When a woman becomes a child, a pearl- an egg, appears in her cave."
She was about to burst out with the rotten-egg business once more, and he hushed her.
"When the woman still does not have a husband, a "high-tide" carries this egg out of her cave at the end of every month. Because this "high-tide" comes from deep within the woman's body, it is red-colored and has a strange smell."
He was visibly relaxed after having finished. However, just as he dreaded, Wan wan still had further questions.
"Well what does having a husband do with the egg and the cave?" she asked.
Feeling that it was best to finish this discussion in one setting, Kiku Honda steeled himself. It wasn't just that he felt she was still young for that sort of talk; he himself was rather squeamish about the whole sordid business.
"Just as every woman has a cave, every man has an eel. Some eels enjoy exploring many caves, but they and their owners are always stricken with horrible, deforming diseases if they are liberal with themselves. Such eels can also spread their diseases to other caves! The only case where an eel should enter a cave, which is to say when a woman should allow a man's eel to enter, is when they are married." His face flushed red, and he looked like he was trying to bore holes into the table with his eyes. "This eel spits on the woman's pearl, and then the pearl transforms into a baby."
Wan wan was thoroughly confounded by all of this eel and eel's spitting talk. She found herself nodding blankly when Kiku said "Mei mei, you must never allow another eel besides your husband's into your cave! Promise me!" When she finally realized that it meant Kiku also had an eel that would spit on a pearl, she could have died from shame. How did he know about this? Did his eel already spit on a woman's pearl? Was he riddled with disease?
"No!" he loudly declared, knowing from her expression what she was currently thinking.
"I'm- I'm going to my room now," Wan wan mumbled softly. She looked dazed, and stumbled slightly. Kiku slumped when he heard her footsteps fade away. Really, an older brother had never have to give this talk.
"Kiku!" she yelled some early morning. "Wait, no! Kiku, stay outside!"
"Mei mei, make up your mind."
"Tell the house maid to let me borrow her robes."
"What in the world are you planning?"
"Kiku, please."
He had learned early to oblige to her minor requests; her "monthly tides" often brought irrational moods and actions that he would like very much to avoid. The house maid was as perplexed as he was. The maid's delighted squeal as soon as she entered the room gave him a headache. It had to be more of Wan wan's foolishness.
The maid had a secretive smile, and couldn't help from giggling as she came out. She bowed deeply, and said "I present the lady of the house."
Wan wan gingerly shuffled out of the room with her eyes demurely downcast. She then boldly looked up in a thoroughly unfeminine manner. Her confident grin at widened at Kiku Honda's utter disbelief. "It's quite acceptable to admit that I'm the most beautiful girl that'll ever be willing to talk to you," she spoke in a mock airy tone. She quite liked the new curves on her taller body.
His headache exploded into a spectacular migraine. He could only hope that she would honor her promise about the eel and the cave. In any case, he was not shy about using his ceremonial sword in case any suitors got pushy.
If you've made it this far, why not just spend all of 1 minute to review the story? Tell me if there's something that you think could be improved. If you're not comfortable with that, then at least tell me what I did right, so I can continue doing that! Thanks!
-Taiwan's physically 15 now.
*Chinese people believe that a person's calligraphy can reveal their character, personality, and integrity.
I find it fair to warn readers who are looking for TaiwanxJapan romance that it will not be a typical romance. Expect much ambiguity and frustration between the characters. They'll have to deal with "well is s/he a relative or is s/he not?" as well as the consequences of WWII. Once more, this won't have a fairy tale ending but it won't be a letdown (I hope) for shippers.