Runaway Geisha

Part 2: No Return

CHAPTER 7

No one seemed to notice as me and Kiyoshi made our way through the village. It was a small village located very far from the capital. I was getting more and more nervous until we stopped in front of a simple looking house.
"Are you nervous? " Kiyoshi looked at me eagerly. How did he know? "It's going to be ok. Hang on to my hand to stop shaking. " I guess it was obvious. "What is this place...?"  I asked. Kiyoshi looked at me. "It's a safe place." Why does he always give such vague answers?
A frail old man came out with a young girl behind him. "Welcome, Mr. Minamoto. We've been expecting you. I got a letter from your lead general and I told him you would be resting here for the weekend. " The man looked at me. "Who's this beauty? " I looked at the old man's kind face. Kiyoshi's voice became gravelly "She's my fiancée, Akira. Akira this is Yamato and his daughter, Chiyo. Can you show us our room? " The girl nodded "Of course! Follow me please." Chiyo showed us to a small room with no windows and only one futon and left quietly.

Great. As if my week couldn't get worse. Kiyoshi came in behind me and whistled. "Looks like you'll really be my fiancée for the weekend. " He plopped down on the futon. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Besides, why did you tell Yamato I'm your fiancée? " He gave a sarcastic look. "I don't know, it just kinda...came out. I have a really strong intuition." Whatever. I rolled my eyes at him. There was a mirror in the corner of the room. Probably the only expensive thing in here, I thought. As I walked up to it I gasped.

You see, as a geisha, we are always taught that flawless appearance is a must at all times. Even when you are sleeping. I couldn't believe my sight. My beautiful kimono was torn all at the bottom and even on the side, my undergarments were muddy, my hair looked gross, and I had bags under my eyes. "My, aren't you a sight?" Kiyoshi said behind me. I looked at him incredulously. "How the hell do you look so flawless and I look like a rag doll?!" He gave me a look just as incredulous as mine. "What are you talking about? I'm a ninja. On top of that, I always look flawless." I swear I don't roll my eyes at people as much as I do at Kiyoshi. "Well I'm a geisha. It's my job to be flawless at all times." He scoffed and layer back down on the.futon. "Hey geisha, take a bath. You stink." Unbelievable. "You know you might make a decent person one day if you just knew how to talk to people." I tried to kick him on the way out but his reflexes were too fast. He dodged the kick and laughed at me. As I walked to the bathroom I smiled in spite of myself. As annoying as he is, I thought, he's protecting me. I'm glad I have him even though he's the one who got me into this mess. I peeked into the bathroom. No ones there! I quickly took off my kimono and sunk into the hot water. Yes.... this is what I needed. I rested my head on the basin and tried to clear my head of everything. Enjoy the bath I repeated over and over like a chant. Suddenly, someone walked into the room. "Oh dear! Sorry!" I opened my eyes to find Chiyo standing there.

I sat up, alarmed. "Oh it's just you Chiyo." She looked at me, embarrassed. "I just wanted to bring you some cloths and a kimono to change into." I got out of the bath as her eyes widened in shock and she looked down. "Thanks Chiyo, I appreciate this." I said. "Um.. you're welcome." She replied now looking at me. I took the cloths and dried up. Then I threw on the kimono. It was a simple, yet elegant kimono. No one would think I was a geisha in this. I suddenly missed the big fancy hair and intricate kimonos. "You seem so confident in yourself. That must be why Master Minamoto married you, plus you're really beautiful." She smiled sweetly. "Thanks Chiyo, Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just so used to doing this around the other geishas back at the capital." Shit, I said too much. Kiyoshi would probably call me an idiot. Her jaw dropped. "I knew it! You walked to gracefully to be a normal passerby. I knew you were some sort of aristocrat." She ran over closer. "I've always wanted to be a geisha!" I smiled. "I'm sure you'd make a lovely geisha, Chiyo." I said. She gave me a surprised look. "Really? You think so? Whenever I would tell everyone else they'd just laugh at me, including grandad." She looked down. "I always dreamed of running away from this boring village and becoming a geisha. I hate it here. There's nothing exciting that goes on, everyone does the same thing everyday." I felt so sorry for her. She's right though, this village is the one of the most boring villages in Japan. No crimes, no interesting activity, not even any thefts. That must be why Kiyoshi chose to rest here. "You know, tomorrow's my birthday..I wish I could have some fun even if it is just one day." She said sadly. "We could hang out tomorrow, if you want." I said, holding her hand. Before I even finished my sentence she squealed and hugged me. "Yeah! Definitely! That's probably the most exciting thing I've heard in a while!" She said. I laughed, though it was kind of sad. "Well, you'd better get going. You have to eat supper and Kiyoshi's probably waiting for you." She said. Right. My fiancee. She started to leave. "Chiyo, wait. Please don't tell anyone in the village I'm a geisha." She nodded. "Got it. Thanks Akira."  She said sweetly. What a nice girl, I thought to myself. She reminds me of myself when I used to live with my father in our old village.