The Geisha Way

Ch 14- A Pain Worse Than Death.

“My tears simply broke through the fragile wall that had held them, and with a terrible feeling of shame, I laid my head upon the table and let them drain out of me.”

The changing of the collar ceremony known as ‘eriage’ was to begin tonight; meaning Miomomo would be a fully fledged geisha. However, there was something more exciting than becoming a geisha; it was the night she would confess to Kakashi. She would tell him how she longed to be his, how in her darkest moments, she thought of him and it made her feel better. Miomomo squealed and sat down at her vanity; putting on a watered down version of geisha makeup. The smile on her face radiated off of her like the suns soft rays on skin. Biyōchō walked into her room holding a hanger with a back bag covering what was inside, in her hand.

“Come here Miomomo.” She instructed. Miomomo tried to wipe the huge smile off her face so Biyōchō won’t get suspicious. She stood in front of her Onesan and stared at the bag in her arms.

“What’s that Onesan?” Biyōchō smiled secretly.

“Your first geisha kimono; come, let me put it on you.”  She made her stand away from the mirror so Miomomo wouldn’t be able to see it until she put it on her. After a few moments, and perfectionist arranging, Biyōchō got her into the kimono; she ushered the brand new geisha into the mirror. Miomomo gasped at the beauty of it: daring red color that faded into a mysterious black; onyx colored dragon’s seemed to be coming from the black abyss of the kimono, and her collar was the most exciting part; it was now white, symbolizing that she was now a woman—now a geisha.

Streamers and confetti fell from the ceiling as she entered the room, where the party was being held in her honor. Her friends and fellow geisha clapped and cheered for her as she gracefully walked through the crowd. Naruto came up to her and gave her a big hug. She looked over his shoulder to see if she could spot Kakashi, but he was nowhere in sight. A sinking feeling started to stir within her, and she hugged Naruto a little tighter.

“Congrats Mio-chan!”

“Thank you Naruto-kun.”

“Don’t forget you still owe me a sparring match!” Miomomo laughed.

“I didn’t; and I won’t.” He flashed her a huge grin before turning to greet his teammate that replaced Sasuke. Sakura came over to her giving her a shy smile.

“Hey Miomomo, congratulations on becoming a geisha; I may not understand what it’s about or the importance, but I am glad you were able to achieve your dreams.” Miomomo was surprised at how polite she was being and it made her feel warm inside; she doesn’t have a lot of friends, so it wouldn’t hurt to make a few more.

“Thank you Sakura-chan…you should let me show you a thing or two sometime, I have a kimono that would look great on you.” Sakura blushed lightly.

“I would like that, after training with the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, I never have time for anything else.” They strolled through the sea of people, to get to a more private place, away from the crowd. “Hey Mio-chan…?” She looked over at the pink haired kunoichi.

“Yes?”

“Do you think if I was geisha, I would be pretty?” Sakura asked shyly.

“Of course.”

“But what if I am an…ugly geisha…?”

“There is no such thing.”

“What do mean?”

“A geisha is always called beautiful even if she is not.”

A couple of hours in, and the party was coming to a close; but Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Miomomo grew worried that he would never show; she paced around in circles, keeping her eyes on the door and waiting for the man she loved to walk through those doors. People would talk to her, and ask her how she’d been; but she couldn’t hear any words. All she could hear was the clock ticking down. She couldn’t see them; all she could see was the door that wouldn’t open. Everyone around her as having a good time, laughing and socializing; but all she wanted at that point was to be alone.