GEISHA... Life Behind the Mask
Author: Hikari
Email: <machi_no_tenshi@excite.com>
Rated: PG
Genre: Alt.Reality
Part: Chapter 8


HIKARI'S NOTES FOR (3/06/01)->
 *HEHEHE* PEOPLE, YOU OWE THIS CHAPTER TO ONE GIRL. FOR SHE,
THE TWISTED CHILD SHE IS, HAD TALKED ME INTO WRITING THIS 
CHAPTER FOR HER BIRTHDAY.  OTHERWISE YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN
IT NEXT WEEK (DURING MY SPRING BREAK). SO, HERE YOU GO MEHG.
FOR YOU, MY IMOUTO... I WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. */^-^\*


Chapter 8:

	"Usagi-chan," Rei inquired brightly as she spun 
around on her geta and faced her friend.  "You know, you 
still haven't answered my question."  Raising her head and 
giving Usagi a knowing smile she asked again, "How are 
things with your American danna?"

	Usagi looked at Rei for a moment, then, in a 
detached tone said, "He left."

	Rei stared at Usagi as she walked ahead.  'Is 
she serious?' she thought.  The last Rei had heard about 
Usagi's danna was that he had taken her to a karaoke bar 
and they both looked like they were having fun.  How could 
he have left her already when he had only been her danna 
for a week?!  'Impossible,' came Rei's conclusion.  'Not 
even Usagi could be that shrewd.'

	"Um," she worked her throat while thinking for the 
proper words to ask.  "Why did he leave?"

	Usagi stopped walking and looked back at her friend, 
her clear eyes not missing the confusion and uncertainty 
that emanated from Rei.  She smiled softly.  Rei was 
worried.  Rei was worried for her.  And yet, as the warm 
feeling of friendship coursed through her, a single nagging
thought ignited a spark of anger.  'Is she thinking that 
my danna left me because I... because I- ?'

	She gave Rei a cold stare.  "He had to go back to 
Tokyo.  He *does* work you know."

	"I'm sorry if it seemed like I was prying," Rei 
said upon hearing the curt tone Usagi had used to answer 
her.  "I didn't mean anything by it.  I was just- I had 
just- well I- "

	"It's alright Rei."  She gave her a weak smile.  
"I've just had a rough week."

	Rei walked up behind Usagi and gave her a hug.  
"Wanna talk about it?  We can go to my apartment.  My 
danna is away on a business trip."

	"Alright, I'd like that.  Arigatou."


		*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	Rei opened the door.  "We're here!" she called out 
happily.

	Usagi laughed.  "Aren't we cheerful?"

	She pouted.  "So?"

	"Nothing.  I just think it's kawaii."  Usagi 
discarded her geta, walked into the living room and sat 
down.  "How come you're so happy?"

	Rei blushed, a small giggle escaping her lips as 
she sat in front of her friend.  "I like being here."

	Giving her a sly smile Usagi deduced, "It reminds 
you of him doesn't it?"

	Rei's eyes widened before slowly closing shut.  
"Hai," she whispered.

	Usagi scolded herself mentally for speaking aloud. 
She knew Rei's danna was a delicate topic for her.  His 
name was Yukifumi, his last name was Matsura... the latter 
he shared with his wife.  Rei and him had been together 
for three years, and no matter how hard she had tried to 
prevent it, anyone could have seen her falling for him as 
an inevitable result.

	She felt retched now.  She had made her friend 
uncomfortable.  "Gomen," she said softly.

	Rei shook her head.  "Don't, you didn't say 
anything that wasn't true.  Anyway," she went on, "we're 
here to talk about you.  You promised to tell me, remember?"

	Usagi sighed.  "I did, didn't I?"

	"Hai."

	"Alright."  She took a deep breath.  "I guess... 
what do you want to know?"

	"Um..." she pondered.  "Well, I would like to know 
what happened between you and your danna."  Rei twisted her
hands nervously, afraid that she might be touching on one 
of Usagi's nerves with her question.  "Is he- is he still 
your danna?"

	"Yes, he's still my danna." Usagi said as she 
sighed once more.  "He and Obaa-san talked out an 
arrangement in which I go and visit him in Tokyo."

	Rei's eyes twinkled with child-like enthusiasm as 
she almost pounced closer to Usagi and brightly said, "So 
you guys are still together?!"

	Usagi was taken aback by Rei's response.  "What do 
you mean by that?"

	"Nothing," she said with a coy smile.  "I just 
think that you two make a cute couple."

	"Rei..." Usagi said forlornly.  "We don't live the 
life of normal people.  A relationship other than a danna 
and his geisha does not come into the picture for us."  
Upon seeing Rei's hurt features, Usagi went on.  "Besides,"
she laughed uneasily, "he's just my danna.  Nothing more, 
certainly nothing more."

	Rei scrutinized her friend from where she sat.  
There was something about Usagi's features that seemed to 
become bemused upon hearing questions or comments on her 
danna.  Yesterday, for example, when they had attended 
together a Noh play with a couple of other geisha, Usagi 
became very uncomfortable when Aine said that she had seen 
her walking around Gion with a handsome man.  Aine even 
called him a bishounen and congratulated Usagi for her 
luck on getting a danna who was sexually appealing.  
Usagi's face had gone so white, she had to excuse herself 
from her seat.

	"What are you doing?" Usagi asked, disrupting Rei's
thoughts.

	"Oh, nothing." She shook her head.  "So when are 
you seeing him next?"

	She lowered her head.  "A week from now."  'Yes,' 
she went on in her head.  'I will inevitably see him a week
from now.'


		*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	'Damn it, I'm late.' Darien thought when he looked 
at his watch as he drove down to the Tokyo Train Station.  
He hated rush-hour traffic jams, *especially* when they 
kept him from getting to one of the best investments that 
he'd done in his life.

	He scolded himself mentally for that.  He shouldn't
be thinking of her as an object!  She was *much more* than 
that.  She was feminine, and fun, and tempting, and 
mysterious, and sensual, and soft, and... and she had this 
child-like innocence that just seemed to cry out to him 
for protection every time he looked into her cerulean eyes.

	Darien swerved on the road sharply, away from an 
incoming car, as he came back to himself.  He blew under 
his breath, "Kuso!" as he ran his fingers through his hair.
He'd better stop thinking about Usagi while driving, or he 
was never gonna get there in one piece!


		*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	'Where is she?  Where is she?'  That's all he could 
think off as he looked around for that oval shaped face 
with those pretty blue eyes and that sensual mouth which 
drove him insane.  He just had to find her.  However... 
there were so many unnecessary people there!  Why couldn't 
they just all melt away so that he could find her?

	He looked at his watch for the hundredth time.  He 
was right on time, her train had arrived just five minutes 
ago, she *should* be here.  He anxiously searched around...
then... he spotted her.    And everything *did* melt away. 
He looked at her from where he stood.  She was wearing a 
light green kimono that had a folding fan design in the 
colors of purple, orange and gold.  Her black wig covered 
the silky flaxen strands of hair he so longed to run his 
fingers through; her pale made-up face was held high, 
telling everyone of her social status.  Her blue eyes... 
Did he just see her blue eyes widen as they met with his?  
Did he really *see* the unguarded emotion, which flashed 
on them for a brief second?

	What happened next, he knew not.  All he could feel,
all he was sure of was that one moment he was taking her 
in from afar; the next, he was crushing her delicate body 
against his in reckless hunger.  His hands -as they held 
her in desperation- began to move from her waist, up her 
back, to gently hold her neck.

	He looked into her shocked face and grinned.  "I've
missed you," he whispered unevenly as he lowered his mouth 
to hers and showed her -through his kiss- just how much he 
had.

	It began roughly, all his anxiety and pent up 
infatuation coming across clearly.  He was a wolf, ready 
to hunt down and feast on his meal.  A meal he *had* 
caught, *had* tasted from before, and certainly wanted to 
taste again.  Usagi?  She had no choice, no solution, no 
way out except to succumb to that calling need in him or 
be consumed by it.  

	She fought against herself.  She didn't like him, 
she didn't want him to hold her, she didn't want to be here 
in Tokyo, she didn't *want* to feel this way!  However, 
even as she tried to stay still, not to respond, her hands
came up and dove themselves into his hair.  She felt like 
crying.  Did she have no self-control?  What had happened 
to that promise she had made to herself?  It had apparently
flown out the window the moment Darien had held her close 
at the station.

	'THE STATION!' her mind screamed at her.  He was 
kissing her like this at a public station!  Usagi slowly 
tried to disentangle herself from his arms.  'Did he have 
no shame? People only did stuff like this when they where 
alone.'

	Darien gave her a strange look.  "What's wrong?" 
he asked.

	She said nothing for a couple of minutes.  Then, 
she just looked at Darien with a pout and said, "Have you 
no shame?"

	He was taken aback by her answer.  "What do you 
mean?"

	"People don't do things like this in Tokyo.  At 
least not in public places."  She lowered her face to the 
ground, and in his eyes, she resembled an embarrassed 
child.  "I have a reputation to uphold."

	He gently raised her face to meet his eyes.  
"Gomen," he said softly as he rubbed his thumb slowly 
across her bottom lip.  "I just... I forgot everything 
when I saw you here.  I really did miss you."

	Usagi felt the heat of a blush on her cheeks and 
thanked god she was wearing her impregnable make-up mask.  
With it, she would always be somebody.  Without it, she 
would return to being nothing.

	"Come on," he said as he slid his arm possessively 
across her silk garment and gave her a little push forward.
"Let's go home."

	'Home,' he had said.  The word resonated in her 
head.  'Going home.'  She bit back the impulse to laugh 
sarcastically at his choice of words.  'Home...' that was 
where your family was, a family of love and caring.  She 
had never really had one of those, and she never would.



To be continued...