Efflorescence
Chapter Three: A Woman's Dignity
by Autumn Win-Dow
(AoGA House Cup. Words: 500)
There was a reason why Natsume never wished to visit the ochaya.
His looks had always made him a popular target for females of all ages in Kyoto, but he detested the attention he always received from them. He didn't appreciate the special treatment they gave him, as they ignored everyone else in the room. He never liked the sight of females throwing their pride and independence for a male, and that in turn contributed to his disdainful view of all females.
Well, all females except for his mother, because he knew that his father wasn't the dominant one in the relationship.
However, the ochaya was the very place in Kyoto where once honourable, as well as not-so-honourable women sacrificed their independence and their own choices for the sake of money and men. The geisha and maiko would have no choice but to pour tea into a man's cup, talk about anything in order to make the man feel appeased, and to dance until the man was completely satisfied with the performance.
Natsume despised seeing women throw away their pride for the sake of a man.
But now that he had actually entered the ochaya and sat down with the geisha Koko and Kitsu had selected, as well as 'Kurike' – of whom was the selected geisha's maiko student – he started to understand that perhaps, he had been wrong for all those years.
The two women sat with a refined dignity which couldn't even be duplicated by a wealthy wife, and as they conversed with Koko and Kitsu, they both seemed to hold their own by actually bringing up their own knowledge and experiences rather than nodding at everything the men said.
Natsume considered that perhaps, men liked to go to ochaya because of how they differed to regular women in the community – these women were taught how to communicate and host, and that was why the men enjoyed it so much.
Despite his justified opinion, he wasn't at all engaged in the conversation – but this time, it wasn't because of opinion alone.
He watched intently as Kurike kneeled down in front of him, with the pot of tea held gently in her two hands. She had a concentrated look in her eye as she carefully poured the freshly boiled tea into his cup. Natsume couldn't help but admire the elegance she displayed while doing something as menial as pouring tea, but still he did not fail to notice the overly focused expression on her face.
Apparently, her mentor geisha did not, either. "Kurike, this is unlike you. You must relax in your movements and your expression."
"Y-Yes, onee-san." Kurike murmured as she pulled away – pot in hand – but not before sending Natsume an annoyed, suspicious glance, while a tint of red was seen even through her makeup. He raised an eyebrow at her reaction, and then she did something which he had not expected her to do.
She snorted.
A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the follows I've been gaining recently, it's very much appreciated.
Just a little more terminology and info: A maiko (rank lower than a geisha) must follow an onee-san (older sister), of whom is a geisha who teaches and guides them the ways of a fully fledged geisha such as dance and conversation.
Pretty please tell me what you think of this story. It's unexplored bounds for me, and I would really appreciate it. :)