GEISHA... Life Behind the Mask@ Story by Hikari Rated: PG Genre: Alt.Reality Part: Prologue Hikari's AN-> This is another Alternate Reality story and I'd like to explain a little of it to you. As the title says, this story is about Geisha and their way of life... but in truth, it's a romance story. I got the idea for this fic due to this girl that used to go to school with. She dropped out of junior high to become a Geisha and I haven't heard from her since. I hope everything worked out fine. Prologue: A white blanket of snow enveloped the silent streets of Gion, Kyoto. Above, sparkling stars lit up the night sky. And on earth, a lonely girl with inky black hair in a peach-like shape slowly strode towards the heart of the suburb... the "flower-and -willow" world. She was a petit figure who wore a traditional silk kimono in the shade of spring cherry blossoms. The tiny white flowers on the expensive fabric were outlined by golden thread. At her waist, a dark blue obi tied at the back in a bow, secured the dress in place. The girl raised her ivory head towards the full moon, her blue eyes opening fully to take in the majesty of the night. She could see the snow falling like feathers from the sky. She could feel the crystalline flakes melting on contact with her warm cheeks. 'Yes,' she thought. 'It had been on a night like this. Nine years ago...' */^.^\* flashback */^.^\* Amidst the crowd at the Tokyo Train Station, a young child of merely six years of age held on possessively to her mother's hand. She was being maneuvered around clumps of people at an exceedingly fast pace. Then, suddenly, she was slammed to a halt as she collided with her mother's legs. She heard her mother ask, "Do you have the money?" To a man who stood in front of them. He was dressed in a gray business suit and black shoes. The suit was pressed and topped off with a black tie. His skin seemed tan in the dim lights of the train station, giving him the appearance of uncleanly-ness. "Yeah..." He replied as he took his hands out of his pockets and grabbed the suitcase next to him. "I got your money." He looked down at the child in dislike making a pointing gesture with his chin as he asked, "Is that the kid?" "Yes." The man bent down to the girl's height and began scrutinizing her. He opened her mouth and looked at her teeth. He examined her eyes, nose and ears, pausing only after scanning her hair. He looked up at the girl's mother and pointed to the kid's hair. "Has it always been this color or did you bleach it?" "No. She's always been a blond." The woman lowered her head, closing her eyes as if in pain. "She gets it from her father." "Alright." The man stood up taking the child's hand in his. Extending the suitcase to the woman, he bowed and placed it at her feet. "I'll take her." The woman grabbed the suitcase and turned to leave. Almost instantly, she could hear in the background the screams of a girl begging for her mother. Her face lowered as a single tear escaped from her eye. "I'll miss you Usa-chan." */^.^\* end of flashback */^.^\* The girl grabbed the sleeve of her kimono and wiped away the tears that had streaked her face in a very unladylike manner. Then, her blue eyes took notice of a white blotch on her dress' sleeve. Her makeup had rubbed off! 'Mama-san will not be pleased.' She thought as she neared the corner where the okiya she lived in was located. Walking quietly up the steps, she opened the door and discarded her geta on the floor. "Usagi-san, is that you?" She heard a woman's voice yell. "Are you back already from the Geisha Tea Party?" "Hai Mama-san." Usagi made her way into the small tatami living room. "Tadaimasu." She said as she bowed formally to the woman in front of her and sat herself on her knees. The lady bowed her head in response while answering, "Okaerinasai." Then, she looked at Usagi's face, her face muscles tightened at the sight. "What happened to your face?" Usagi lowered her head. "The makeup smeared." "Smeared?!" Mama-san replied incredulously. "A Geisha's makeup *never* gets smeared." "But I'm a Maiko, not a Geisha." Usagi tried to argue but then wished she hadn't even opened her mouth. Mama-san stood and looked at her in disgust. "And you shall never become a Geisha with the way you behave!" She strode past Usagi and stopped at the door before retiring to her room. "Go wash up your face and go to bed." She was about to leave, when she remembered something else. "Oh, and Usagi? You'd better make sure that if you got that kimono dirty... you clean it up before Obaa-san finds out. Otherwise, I'll have to punish you." She looked at Usagi with her angry stare. "And you know what I mean." Usagi lowered her head guiltily as she acknowledged her mistake. "Yes Mama-san." After Mama-san had left, Usagi called it a night and went to her room. Discarding slowly and neatly her wig, obi, and each one of the three kimonos she wore, Usagi went to the water tub she kept in her room to clean up her face and neck. With a sponge, she wiped away the white layer that hid her true skin color from the world. Passing the water-soaked sponge through her eyelids, the red and black lines that outlined her upper lids, vanished. Now, she looked at herself in the mirror. Half of her face still had part of her makeup on. Usagi looked intently at the made-up side of her face, her eyes beginning to water. 'That's not the *real* me.' She thought, and began to wipe the rest of the makeup. Once finished she spoke, staring angrily at her reflection. "And neither are *you*!" Tiredly walking to her futon, Usagi untied and discarded the cloth that confined her hair. Waves of shimmering gold cascaded down to her shoulders. After brushing it slowly, wringing out the knots, Usagi laid her head upon her pillow and cried herself to sleep as she so often did on winter nights. To be continued... +~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~++~+ Well people, TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!! E-mail us both with your comments. Also, if you think I should send out a terms dictionary, e-mail me! JYA NE! Hikari & Lazuli