the flower and willow world

7/30/2019 The Flower and Willow World

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1-Beautiful Disgrace

Kanda Yuu did not understand why he was the one who was sold. Kanda did not understand a lot of things, but

at the moment, that was what was most prominent in his mind. Why had it been he who was forced to leave?

Why did anyone need to be sold in the first place, and why him? Since when were sons sold anyway? Granted,

he was the youngest of his three siblings, but still, it was most unusual for a family to sell off their son. He had

an older sister, and while he wouldn't wish this on her, he didn't understand how he came to be the one who was

sold off.It was all because of his good-for-nothing father, Kanda decided. They were a poor family and even Kanda's

mother worked out at the docks with his father. The only one who didn't work was his older sister, because she

was now of marrying age, and their parents didn't want her to scar her hands or injure herself working. Kanda's

father hoped above all else that she would marry someone rich. Even Kanda worked, though he was only 7 and

therefore couldn't do much of the really hard work that brought in the most money.

But despite this, Kanda's family was horribly poor, and it was definitely his father's fault. His father, who

gambled away in hopes of winning a fortune, rather than saving the little money they made. What the man didn't

spend gambling, he spent drinking away his problems. Then he had the gall to blame everyone else; blame his

wife for raising lazy children, blame his daughter for not being a lady worth marrying, blame his eldest son for

not sending the family enough money, blame Kanda for not being big enough to be of use. Everything was

always everyone else's fault, and boy, did he let them know it.

And so, deciding that having one son working away from home wasn't enough, Kanda's father sold him to some

strange place in Kyoto. Kanda had always wanted to see the ancient capital, but not like this. Kanda's motherbegged his father not to sell him, but nothing could stop the man once he'd heard how much his son would be

bought for.

So after numerous examinations that left Kanda feeling afraid and invaded, money left reluctant hands and was

readily taken into his father's greedy ones. A moment later, Kanda was torn from his sobbing mother and thrown

into a barred couch. It did not sink in until long after his voice had gone horse from yelling for his mother, until

after he had grown too tired to fight against the hands that restrained him, until after he was left with no voice

and nothing else to do but sit in the corner of the couch and sob dryly because his tears had dried up, that he had

been sold and would never be able to return home. He had seen his mother for the last time, he would never

know if his sister ever did get married, and he would never again receive hopeful letters from his loving brother

who was working in Tokyo. His only solace was that he would never again have to see his mother be beaten by

his father, or be hit himself.

000

Time passed with no measure as the country side gave way to towns and cities, and before Kanda realized it, hewas in the city of Kyoto. The road was lined with shops, businesses, homes, and beautiful sweeping trees. For a

moment, Kanda managed to forget his circumstances as he admired the passing city.

Eventually, the coach pulled to a stop in front of a large building, that Kanda would later find out was an

okiya(1). He was roughly pulled out of the carriage and dragged into the okiya. He was too tired to resist

anything anymore, but he was also too numb to function, so he just let the men who'd brought him here sit him

down and take off his shoes before entering the okiya.

As he was brought up into the hall, he passed what had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

Her long ebony hair was swept up into an intricate bun at the top of her head, with a fringe that framed her thin

face perfectly, the lowest layer of her hair hanging down her back. A pale blue kimono made of the finest silk

and embroidered with silver was wrapped around the woman, her azure blue obi and eri accentuating her pale

features. A charming smile rested on her lips, and as she stopped in the entry way to put on her zori, a servant

struck two pieces of flint together over her back for good luck.

Once the woman was gone, Kanda shook his head and looked forward again. He was led to a room at the very

end of the main hallway, and told to bow at the door. He did as told and a moment later the door was opened,

and the scent of smoke hit his nostrils. He was told to enter and kneel, so he quickly came in and sat before a

man who was smoking a pipe. Said man looked rather young, and had outlandish straw-colored hair and dark

blue eyes. The man was handsome in a sort of exotic way, and Kanda wondered if he was really Japanese, or a

foreigner. He was calm and yet seemed very intimidating.

"So this is the one you just brought in all the way from the countryside, right?" The man asked, inspecting Kanda

with his eyes. The two who escorted him nodded, and were then dismissed. As soon as the two were gone, the

man suddenly seemed to become less composed and frightening. Kanda relaxed a bit at this.

"Your name is Kanda Yuu, right?" Kanda nodded. "My name is Bak Chan, but you'll be calling me Oto-san. Do

you know where you are right now, Kanda-san?" Kanda shook his head no. Bak sighed to this, secretly wishing

his little errand boys would inform their charges of what was happening to them. Perhaps they would be less

frightened if they knew they were coming to an okiya and not a brothel.


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"You're in the Chan okiya, which is located in a special corner of the hanamachi district of Kamishichiken(2).

This okiya is not for your typical geisha, however," Bak explained; half of what he said was going right over

Kanda's head. Bak paid no mind to Kanda's confusion and just continued on.

"This section of Kamishichiken is reserved for patrons with...unique tastes. All the geishas here are males, and

you, who have been sold here, will train to become one yourself." Kanda tried hard not to show just how

dumbfounded he was. A geisha? Weren't those supposed to be beautiful women? And did that mean the woman

he'd seen leaving the okiya was actually a man? Kanda found himself slightly uncomfortable with that thought."I don't get it," Kanda said honestly. "I can't be a geisha, so why am I here, really?" Bak sighed once again,

because he really didn't want to explain this to a child but there seemed to be nothing else he could do.

"Your parents sold you to me, because they needed money and I was willing to pay a good price because I need

new apprentices. You now have to take on the debt your family created when they sold you to me by working

here to earn back the money I paid to get you. You'll also have to pay back the cost of your schooling. This is a

male geisha okiya and you will work here, odd idea I know, but get used to it." Kanda's shock was renewed by

this information. He couldn't believe it, his parents had really sent him off to become a...a geisha.

After this new information had set in, along with the reoccurring fact that he had been sold and his own fatigue,

Kanda felt himself black out.

000

"Hey, onii-chan, I think he's waking up now!"

Kanda woke up to a soft, dainty voice calling out to an unknown figure. He next noticed a cool weight on his

forehead, and realized it was a wet cloth. His eyes slowly cracked open, and he saw a small, round face hoveringover his own, wide, violet-colored eyes staring down at him. The girl's lips parted into a smile when she saw his

eyelids flutter open, and she sat up straight and motioned for the other person, who was apparently her brother,

to come over.

"Ah, so he's rejoined the world of the waking, hm?" The man asked, smiling kindly down at Kanda. The man

looked slightly familiar, but in his current state Kanda couldn't remember who he was. Slowly, Kanda sat up, as

he did he felt small hands on his back helping him. He gave the two strangers inquiring looks, before inspecting

the room he was in.

The floor was all tatami matting, almost empty except for a few hastily made futons and a dresser. Kanda noted

two sliding doors, one which most likely lead to a closet or storage room, and the other to a hallway. Looking to

the two people in the room, he saw that the girl was smaller than he was, she was probably a year or two younger

too. She had mid-length black hair that was tied up in pig-tails, and was clothed in a simple checkered yukata.

Her brother had long black hair similar to her own tied back in a low ponytail, a slim pale face and eyes that

were a few shades darker than the girl's. He was also clothed in a light-colored yukata, though it was obviouslyof a much higher quality. Finally, on the bridge of his nose sat a pair of angular glasses.

"Wh-who are you...?" Kanda asked, slightly annoyed with the feeble tone in his voice. The young girl smiled

when she heard his voice.

"My name is Lee Lenalee, and that's my onii-chan, Komui. What's your name?"

"...Kanda...Kanda Yuu, and where am I now?" Kanda realized after he asked that he must still be in the okiya

he'd been sold to. He supposed it would be a good idea to learn where in the okiya he was though.

"You're in the servant's quarters of the Chan Okiya," the older of the siblings, Komui, answered. "It's rather plain

but this is where you'll be staying for the time being, at least until you've finished your shikomi (3) training."

Shikomi training? What was that? Was it some kind of training for the job he'd apparently be doing? Kanda's

confusion must've shown on his face, for Komui continued on to explain that shikomi was the first level of his

training to become a geisha. Kanda would work as a servant in the okiya, and go to school to learn the basics of

the geisha arts. Kanda could do that, he was used to doing housework. Apparently, this stage of training would

last until he was proficient in the arts, and Kanda secretly wondered if he could keep himself at this level his

whole life if he just purposely failed his classes.

"So for now you'll be rooming with me, and the other four apprentice geisha living here," Lenalee said, smiling

as though this was the best thing that had happened all year. "I hope we can be good friends!"

Kanda raised an eyebrow to this, wondering if he really wanted to make any friends at all, but reluctantly

answered, "...Friends...sure."

000

A few months of peace and repetitiveness passed for Yuu at the okiya, and he found that Lenalee had indeed

become his friend, though he hadn't exactly wanted to make any. Still, being with someone who could get a little

annoying occasionally was much better than being alone in this odd place, he decided. Besides, he needed

someone to fill the silence with chatter while he worked.

There was one other kid too, who was about his age, that was also an apprentice. Daisya was much more lively

than Lenalee was, and tended to be much more of a troublemaker too. Unlike Kanda, he was not beautiful in a

feminine way, and was really more handsome in a boyish way. Yuu supposed that once the boy's hair grew out

that problem could be fixed with enough makeup.


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And boy, did geisha wear enough makeup. He had to help Komui with his in the mornings, and even he wore

quite a bit of it, though apparently because he was a full-fledged geisha, he was wearing less than Daisya and

Kanda would when they became maiko(4). The reason had something to do with natural beauty and some other

stuff that Kanda didn't really pay attention to.

Today started out like any other day, Kanda woke and changed into his school's uniform yukata, then woke

Lenalee and helped her prepare breakfast. He brought breakfast to Oto-san, before leaving with Daisya and the

other three apprentices (who didn't have the patience to put up with Kanda's cold attitude) for school.Their first class was dance, which Kanda oddly enough excelled at. He tried not to, really, but he seemed to have

a natural grace that made it impossible for him to mess up the steps. Even when he did use extreme amounts of

willpower to make himself fall out of line or do something wrong, his teacher either dismissed it because it was

such a rare occurrence, or considered his mess-up some feat of genius that had somehow made his dance unique.

Oh, how Kanda hated that class.

Dance class was only rivaled in hatred by singing class though. Kanda disliked this class for the simple reason

that he found it humiliating to sing at all. His voice was nothing special, but he wasn't horrible either, and Kanda

was thankful that his skill (or lack thereof) was not pointed out constantly in this class. Oddly enough though,

Daisya seemed to do well in this class, though his...unique lyrics and style could've had something to do with it.

Kanda decided Daisya was better suited to being a comedian, rather than a geisha.

Instrumental classes were the same as dance classes, much to Kanda's chagrin. His original goal had been to

completely fail all of his classes, and this should've been the easiest of them to fail, but them his finicky

personality came into play. He had never realized it before, when he was living with his family and could neverseem to do anything right, but he simply couldn't stand to not do his best, and he couldn't stand not being the best

when he could be. So Kanda practiced more than he wanted to or needed to, paid close attention to his sensei's

instructions, and excelled in that class as well. Splendid.

After lunch Kanda had tea ceremony, ikebana, and calligraphy classes. He somewhat liked calligraphy because

he was learning how to write better, which was practical, but the other two classes bored him to no end, though

he was apparently a wonderful tea server with a knack for making lovely flower arraignments and had a

wonderful aesthetic sense. Kanda wished it were easier to fail.

"Really Kanda-san, you could be every sensei's darlin' if you just lost the "I really don't want to be here"

attitude," Daisya commented, as they left the school grounds for their okiya. Kanda shot Daisya a withering

glare, before sighing out his exhaustion from the day.

"I can't act like I want to be here when I don't. I just wish that having a bad attitude was enough to fail..."

"Geez, you're at the top of most of your classes and yet ya wanna fail. If it makes you feel any better, you fail at

failing, at least. Still, what I wouldn't do for your marks..." Daisya trailed off, imagining a self that could play theshamisen without making even himself cringe at the sound. He had practically been raised in the okiya, so he

couldn't really understand what Kanda had against being an apprentice geisha there. Sure, Daisya understood

that it hadn't been Kanda's choice to live how he did and would, but he couldn't understand just how Kanda

really felt, and therefore would never understand why Kanda couldn't just get over it and live happily.

Likewise though, Kanda, who had been forced into this lifestyle, couldn't understand why Daisya liked it so

much. He realized that Daisya had been raised to think the okiya was a great and wonderful place and that he had

chosen to be there, but he couldn't wrap his head around the idea of being happy and perfectly content with

studying to be a professional cross-dresser.

Sighing again, this time in a more irate manner, Kanda quickened his pace so that he could reach what he was

now slowly accepting as his new home sooner. At first he'd felt alone at the okiya, and he did his best to make

himself as isolated as possible. He hadn't wanted anything to do with that world or the people in it, and really he

still didn't. But all too quickly, the kind, welcoming atmosphere had corroded away the walls he'd built around

himself. Well, at the very least, compared to his old home, this place was warm and more like what a home

should've been like.

"Okairi, Kanda-kun, Dai-kun!" Lenalee greeted the two of them at the front of the okiya as they stepped into the

yard. Daisya waved to her enthusiastically, and Kanda gave something more like a quick flick of the wrist. The

two boys quickly changed out of their uniforms and into working clothes, so that they could help Lenalee with

whatever chore she was doing at the moment.

As it turned out, she was cleaning the floors. So she, Daisya, and Kanda lined up together with their hands

pressing wash cloths onto the floor, and ran down the hall in three straight lines in the parody of a race. Kanda

won of course, because he had the longest gait and the most leg strength. Cleaning was much easier this way,

though they couldn't do such things while working on other chores.

After they had circled the okiya's wrap-around porch and lost all of their breath in the process, the three

collapsed at a turn, breathing heavily, Lenalee and Daisya laughing while Kanda tried his best not to let a smile

escape him.


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"Ever the winner, hm Kanda-kun?" Daisya asked, smiling slyly in Kanda's direction. "You couldn't even find it

in yerself to be a gentleman and let the lady win. For shame." Daisya shook his head in mock-disappointment,

for which Lenalee hit him over the head with a rolled up wash-cloth playfully.

"Hey! I'm just makin' a point on your behalf!" Daisya huffed. Lenalee and Kanda both rolled their eyes.

"Che, where I come from girls win their own races and don't depend on men to let them. Lenalee will get faster

and eventually beat me. Eventually," Kanda stressed, as though he didn't want to be beaten by her too soon.

"Hmph, what kinda place did you grow up in? All I can make out about the place is that they don't teach boys tobe chivalrous," Daisya said, without any real seriousness. He himself had been raised to always treat a lady with

respect, but that was primarily because even their okiya's strange little corner of the hanamachi was controlled

by women, and therefore it was an inborn trait in the men to kiss up to them.

"What kind of place did you grow up in? The only thing anyone seems to have taught you is to treat women like

porcelain instead of like human beings. That and how to cross-dress to impress," Kanda shot back, and Daisya

had the grace to look a bit embarrassed about the cross-dressing point. Or maybe the 'treat women like porcelain'

point, whichever it was Kanda hardly cared.

"Well, for your information, I grew up right here in this okiya," Daisya said with a hint of pride. Lenalee gave

Daisya a look that said she'd heard this story a million times, but would stick around to hear it again. Kanda

raised an eyebrow, but gave no other indication to the fact that he was somewhat interested in what Daisya had

to say.

"Yup, I was born and raised in the hanamachi. My birth mother was a geisha in one of the normal okiya whose

danna had gotten her pregnant. She died in the birthing process, and the stupid guy didn't want his wife findingout about me. Since no one knew what to do with me, they sent me here. I was raised here by Bak and Komui

and Fou! They have been the greatest family I could've hoped for, and I am proud of what they have taught me,

and what they have planned for me!" Kanda decided that entire story had led up to Daisya saying he had not

been embarrassed about the cross-dressing comment after all. Still, it explained a whole lot, even though it had

been a rather simple version of the story.

Kanda's mind did not stay on the actual story long though, for a question had formed in his mind. "Who's Fou?"

he asked, giving Lenalee and Daisya curious looks.

"Fou is Bak-san's assistant," Lenalee said helpfully. "She's very kind, though somewhat..."

"Brutish is the word the big Oto-san uses," Daisya finished. "They argue a lot but Bak never gets rid of her.

You'd almost think he enjoys getting knocked 'round by 'er. You could say the person who really runs this place

is her and not Bak." Lenalee nodded reluctantly, embarrassed on Bak's behalf.

"Ah, I think I've seen her around, now that you mention it," Kanda said. "She's the one that keeps him in his

office all the time, constantly yelling at him to get his work done and what-not.""Yep, that's Bak's keeper, Fou."

"Ahem." The three froze as someone behind them cleared their throat pointedly. Turning slowly, they all cringed

at the sight of Bak, standing with his arms folded over his chest, anger clearly displayed on his face. "So you

three gossips have time to sit around and chit-chat but you can't find it in you to finish polishing the floors, hm?"

Though Bak kept his voice level, his expression was become more and more fearsome.

Quickly, the kids scrambled for their cleaning supplies, hoping they would be able to get their things and get

away before Bak threw one of his (admittedly comical) fits. Before the three could escape though, a rather loud

and feminine yell hit their ears with horrendous volume.

"BAKA-BAKU!" Yelled the voice, and the yell was quickly followed by a kick.

"HEY! THAT'S BAK-SAMA TO YOU!" Bak yelled back, pointing accusingly at the small woman who'd

kicked him. She huffed and smirked at him, giving the kids a sideways glance.

"Picking on children when you should be sorting out your bills? At this rate you'll get behind again, Baka-Baku."

Bak did a full-body twitch when he heard this, and cursed colorfully as the woman, who Kanda decided must

have been Fou, dragged Bak back to his office.

"I see..." was all Kanda said, before the three of them decided to get back to work, inwardly laughing all the

while.

000

It was getting late, and though the sun had not yet set, it would sink below the horizon soon enough. Lenalee had

woken with a fever that day, and thankfully enough it was Kanda and Daisya's day off from school, so they

stayed close to her and watched her carefully in Komui's stead. The man had begged shamelessly to be released

from his duties until Lenalee got better, or at least until her fever broke, but a sympathetic yet stern Bak told him

that it was impossible and that he should just take solace in that fact that she had friends to look after her.

So Komui had left for his engagements feeling forlorn, and had promised bloody murder to all if his beloved

sister was not taken care of properly.

And it was because Lenalee was ill that Kanda was currently outside of the okiya, and outside of the hanamachi

as a whole, as a matter of fact. He was given a fairly large amount of money to buy some medicine for the girl

who had by now been seen to by a doctor. Said doctor was an old man of small stature, who wore very odd eye


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make-up and had bizarre hair. He'd never caught the man's name, and it seemed that everyone just referred to

him as Doctor anyway, so he would do the same.

That same doctor had told Bak that Lenalee was not simply fevered, and would need some expensive medicine

or other that could only be bought at a certain pharmacy outside of the hanamachi. Without thinking, Bak had

told Kanda, who was the nearest person at the time, to go and fetch said medicine.

So here Kanda was, outside of his area of familiarity, with a rather large amount of money tucked away in his

obi. He felt like he was bait for every mugger in the area, and he didn't like it. Not only that, he was just a tad bitlost, for he had never been out of the hanamachi since he came to the okiya. Thankfully it was still light out, and

there weren't too many dubious people on the streets yet, but soon, soon they would be out and about. Kanda

hoped he'd reach the pharmacy and exchange the money for medicine before then.

Hoping to speed up the process of purchasing the precious medicine, Kanda walked up to the nearest

wholesome-looking establishment he found, and located the owner.

"Excuse me," he said, gaining the kind-looking man's attention. "I'm looking for this place, but I don't really

know where to go from here." Kanda held out a scrap of paper that had the pharmacy name on it, and showed the

man the name. The elderly man smiled kindly, before informing Kanda that the store he was looking for was just

around the next corner. Bowing low in thanks to the man, Kanda left, feeling both embarrassed for having been

lost, and relieved that he could finish his chore quickly now.

And that he did. Kanda located the store quickly, had shown the clerk the name of the medicine and the note

from the Doctor asking for a week's prescription, and left once he had procured the medicine. However, it

seemed he had not been quick enough for by the time he had gotten out of the store and down a few streets, thesun had completely set. Kanda did his best to remember how he'd gotten to where he was, but everything looked

different in the light of innumerable lamps. Sure, it was plenty bright on the streets, but they looked so strange

and menacing, cast in shadows that moved with the wind.

Kanda could not manage to find any familiar territory, and this was worrying him. But he was not one to panic in

such circumstances, and resolved to do what he had done before, even though most of the places he'd have

preferred to go into to ask for directions were closing for the night. He would just have to step into a more risky

place was all, he thought simply.

Resolute in his decision to get home quickly for Lenalee's sake and for his own, Kanda turned to enter the

nearest establishment. Before he could even take a step forward however, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, and

held him back.

"Hey lil' girl, you lost?" Kanda cringed at the way he'd been addressed. It was true that he was a bit thinner than

a healthy boy should've been, and his hair did pass his shoulders by an inch or so, but he liked to think that he

still looked enough like a boy to be recognized as one when he was seen. Then again, he'd never seen himselffrom behind as this stranger obviously had, and maybe he didn't want to. It might shatter his illusions about

having barely there and discouraged masculine attributes.

"Come play with oji-san and I might bring you home." Kanda shivered in disgust, amazed to find that people

actually said things like that. Kanda turned and shrugged the man's hand off.

"I'm a boy, idiot," was all he said, and his raised middle finger was his little p.s.

"Oh, don't be so 'fraid," the man continued on as if he hadn't heard Kanda at all. Now that Kanda was looking at

him, it was clear to see he was drunk. Night had only fallen all of ten minutes ago, and this guy had already

thrown back enough alcohol to get himself hammered? Kanda decided that this man was quite obviously a

slacking drunk who couldn't hold down a job and therefore had far too much time on his hands, which he spent

drinking. Kanda hated such people with a passion.

Kanda was about to turn back and walk away from the man when he was taken by the wrist in an unexpectedly

tight hold, and dragged off. Kanda fought and resisted as much as he could, spouting out a stream of obscenities

that he had learned from Fou, whom he found to be wonderful company, if not a bit of a bad influence.

"Oi! Let go of me you damned drunk!" He yelled as he tried to pry the man's hand off of his wrist. His efforts

doubled as fear began to creep forward and eat away at his anger and indignation.

Just as he was starting to get tired from all of his struggling, a third hand, smaller than the man's but larger than

Kanda's, grabbed the drunk's own wrist.

"Let go of my friend, you creep," a male voice demanded, it sounded young but determined. Kanda's eyes moved

up the person's arm to his face. The boy looked to be in his early teens, with hair a shade of orange Kanda didn't

believe could occur naturally in any Japanese person. His messy hair covered a good portion of his face, but

Kanda could still see little strings going across his forehead and left cheek. The lone eye that could be seen was a

vibrant green that swam in the dim lamp lighting of the street. Kanda decided that this kid must be a foreigner.

Discouraged by an outsider's interference and that outsider's outlandish appearance, the man soon left Kanda

alone with the strange boy. However his wrist was only free for but a moment, before the boy had taken it

himself and began leading Kanda in the opposite direction the older man had.

At first, Kanda was too stunned to say anything or even resist being led around like this, but soon he found his

head again and pulled his hand back. His wrist slid easily from the boy's light grasp.


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"Where are you taking me?" Kanda asked, feeling rather shaken and confused at the moment.

"Home. You live at the Chan okiya, right?" The boy replied, to which a surprised Kanda nodded. "Then what are

you waiting for kid? Ya can't trust anyone else on this street ta bring you there."

"Then why should I trust you?"

"'Cause I'm going where you're going." Kanda, not sure what to make of this, decided that he would be better off

trusting this kid rather than anyone else of the street, and allowed himself to once again be led by the hand.

Kanda didn't realize he liked the hanamachi so much until he was back in it again. He knew these streets, and heknew that the flower town he lived in was much safer than the world beyond its borders. Now that he was in

familiar territory, he no longer felt the need to stay with the mysterious boy who was leading him along, but

decided that he would allow the boy to lead him the rest of the way; He had said they were going to the same

place anyway, right?

Kanda felt truly at ease only when the two of them reached the front entrance of the Chan okiya. The moment he

freed Kanda's hand, the redhead turned to leave. Strange, the boy had said they were going to the same place,

hadn't he? Maybe he'd just meant they both belonged to the few male okiyas that were all clumped together in

the area? Before Kanda could think about his actions, he reached out and grabbed the strange boy's sleeve.

"Ah...Thank you for bringing me back," Kanda said, for his newfound honor would not allow him to let this

person walk away without at least thanking him. "I will repay you if the chance ever arises."

The redhead looked back at Kanda, with one eyebrow quirked and a little smile on his face. He turned back to

face Yuu, and pat his head in a way that Kanda decided was irritatingly patronizing. Still, he said nothing, for he

owed this person for saving him from a creep and bringing him home."How about for now you just tell me your name?" The boy asked, with a bright grin. Kanda obliged and

introduced himself with a bow.

"Kanda Yuu, hm? I'll be sure to remember that. See you around, Kanda-san." The boy said, and this time Kanda

let him walk away. Kanda turned to open the door to the okiya, but it was opened from the inside and revealed

Daisya, who all but tackled Kanda to the ground when he saw him.

"Thank goodness! Sorry 'bout sendin' ya out alone. Bak forgot that you've never been out of the hanamachi

before. We were so worried that you got lost or abducted or worse! Next time you go out, bring someone with

you, ok?" Kanda, already used to Daisya's overly energetic and enthusiastic way of doing things, sighed from his

position on the ground under his friend and nodded.

"I'm alright now, I had some help getting back. You can get off of me now."

"Help? Did you get picked up by some perverted oji-san or something?" Daisya asked as he got to his feet and

offered Kanda a hand. Kanda took it gave Daisya a look that clearly asked how he knew.

"Yeah, but I got away from him. That wasn't the person I got help from anyway," Kanda said when it seemedlike Daisya was getting worried. "Some kid who lives in the hanamachi helped me back."

"Oh, that's good. That old guy didn't do anything to you before you got away right? It'll lower your worth later

on if he did." Daisya asked, still looking very concerned.

"No. And what do you mean, lower my worth? What kind of things are you talking about, anyway?"

"I dunno and I don't know. But something like that happened to one of the other apprentices once, and that's

what Oto-san asked when he heard."

"Oh," was all Kanda said, and the two of them finally went inside.

It wasn't until Kanda was in the okiya that he realized he'd never bothered to ask the mysterious boy for his

name. And it wasn't until he found that same boy in the servant's quarters, sitting right next to the Doctor and

speaking with Bak that he realized the redhead might have just become the newest addition to his life.

The wide, amused and decidedly annoying grin the boy had welcomed Kanda with made him wonder if he really

wanted this addition.

2-Here the Good News

"You know, if you were intending to come in, you could've just gone through the front door."

The next morning, Lenalee is not so sick. The medicine the Doctor had prescribed was effective, it seemed, and

now Lenalee was sleeping peacefully as her tired brother, who had not slept a wink all night even though he

would need to rest because he had another full evening of work coming up, held her hand and worried about her

in general.

"Well, I could've, yeah, but then I wouldn't have gotten to see that cute lil' surprised look you made when you

saw me in the servant's quarters."

The boy's name was Lavi, Kanda had learned. He was the Doctor's apprentice, and thirteen-years-old, five years

older than the now eight-year-old Kanda. Kanda didn't like being so much younger than this boy, because Lavi

seemed like the type of person who would hang that over his head. He'd probably say "Respect your elders

Kanda-chan!" any time Kanda got angry with him. But if that ever did happen, Kanda would just politely replythat he was simply following Lavi's example; the redhead wasn't exactly the most respectful apprentice himself.


7/31

"Geez Lavi, you shoulda said somethin' when you came back! I was worried that Kan-chan had gotten picked up

by some strange man on the way home!" Daisya said with a huff. The three boys were all in the room with

Lenalee, for it was after school and Daisya and Kanda had finished their chores for the time being.

"Eh, sorry Daisya, I woulda if I'd passed you on the way in."

"Well if a certain someone had come in through the front door, you could've put my worried heart to rest."

"You sound like a mother, Dai-kun." Lavi looked rather amused as Daisya clung to a suddenly stiff and irate

Kanda."I understand your strife now, Komui! It's so hard, worrying after a cute little sister like this!"

"Who are you calling a sister?!" Kanda shout-whispered, because he didn't want to wake Lenalee, but at the

same time wanted to get his anger across. Lavi stifled his laughter with his hand, more for Lenalee's sake than

for Kanda's. Kanda struggled to release himself from Daisya's embrace, but stopped mid-struggle when Komui,

who had up until just then been quietly sitting by Lenalee, suddenly leaned forward and started calling his sister's

name.

"I think she's waking up! Lenalee-chaaaan! Stop worrying your older brother so!" The now-conscious Lenalee's

eyes fluttered open, and she gave her brother a small smile.

"I'm awake now onii-chan, no need to worry," she said, and brought her little hand out from under her quilt to

pat her brother's head. The irony of the younger sibling soothing the older made Komui chuckle.

"But of course there was need to worry! You were so sick, how could I not worry?"

"Was I really?" Komui nodded quickly. He put his hand over her forehead for a moment, before smoothing back

her bangs. The scene inspired a pang of loneliness in Kanda; he remembered the only time he'd been sick likethat, when his own older brother had sat by him and didn't move, even when their father yelled at him for not

working. He wondered what had happened to his brother, what had really happened. His brother had said he'd

gone to work in a textile mill, but now that Yuu had been sold, he wasn't so sure that was the truth. What if his

brother was in a place like this? Or worse?

Kanda suddenly wanted to write to his brother. He hadn't known how to write before, so he'd just received letters

from his brother and had his older sister read them to him, but now he wanted to get back in touch with his

brother. It was strange, he'd managed to forget about his family outside of the okiya up until now, but...Well,

Komui and Lenalee had this way of reminding him that they still existed.

"So how did Lenalee get to be here anyway?" Kanda asked without thinking. "I mean, she can't be an apprentice

here...so why is she in the okiya?"

Komui was more than happy to rush into an explanation about his dear sister's being in the okiya. Lenalee

seemed to shrink into her blankets as he told the story, though one could tell she was embarrassed in a sort of

happy way."Well, our family was a happy one, but our parents were poor," Komui started, sounding a bit far away. "Before

Lenalee was born, they got into a bit of debt after they couldn't pay back a loan. My parents were good friends

with the Chan family, but they were too proud to just take the Chans' charity. I wanted to help, so I decided to

ask if I could come here to work. My parents were a bit hesitant, but they let me. So I came here when I was ten,

and my buying price was enough to pay off their debt.

"We kept up constant correspondence, because even though they lived just a little ways away from the

hanamachi, I wasn't supposed to leave it. Three years later, I got news that I had a little sister, and felt both

happy and upset, because I wouldn't get to meet her, I thought." Komui's expression showed just how much the

idea had pained him at the time, and how just the thought of that having happened hurt all the more because he

knew his sister now.

"But then a few years after she was born, our family house burnt down, and Lenalee was the only one to survive

the fire. I begged Bak's predecessor to let me bring Lenalee here, so that she wouldn't get sent off to an

orphanage. I told them that they could use my excess income to cover her expenses, and they let me get her.

She'd been taken in by a neighbor at the time, so I went there to pick her up. I'd never seen her before, but when I

met her at the door, I just knew she was my sister, and couldn't stop myself from wanting to take care of her. She

is my precious little sister, and that's why she's here."

During the story, Lavi's eyes moved from Komui to Kanda. As he watched, he saw pain flicker across the

youth's face, coming and going quickly. Lavi was concerned, because though he had not known Kanda for long,

the boy seemed too proud to show such emotions. The worst of it was that it looked like Kanda might be getting

genuinely upset. He would probably suppress it until he was alone. Lavi didn't like the idea of that, he'd always

thought it was pitiful when people felt like they had to cry alone.

"Ah, lucky her then..." Kanda murmured offhandedly, keeping a blank face as he did so. Lavi suddenly shot up

from his seat, drawing the whole room's attention as he did so.

"Ah...Lenalee is awake, but she hasn't had anything to drink in a while. Kanda-chan, come with me to get some

water for her," Lavi said, and pulled Yuu from his seat before the boy could protest.


8/31

"Why the hell do you need help getting water? Hey! Lavi-san!" Kanda attempted to pull away from Lavi's grasp,

but didn't succeed in freeing himself until Lavi had gotten him out of the room. At that point, he decided it would

be stupid of him to just go back in, and walked with Lavi.

"You didn't look too good back there kid," Lavi said, his worry now clearly displayed on his face. Kanda shot

him a glare for suggesting that he had been upset by the topic of conversation, and for calling him kid.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Kanda replied, looking to the floor. Lavi scoffed at his denial.

"So do you always go around making that "I'm not gonna cry" face, then? 'Cause that's what it looked like tome."

Kanda didn't know if he wanted to punch Lavi, or just spill everything to get him off his case. Well, since Lavi

seemed the type to annoy him into answering...

"I was thinking about the one time I'd gotten that sick. Everyone in my family worked, but that time, my brother

stayed home and watched me just as closely as Komui-san was watching Lenalee-chan. Even when our father

yelled at him for being lazy, he yelled back "Yuu is more important than your gambling money," and turned his

back on father. At first I thought it was strange that father didn't say anything after that, but then he sent onii-san

away to work in Tokyo.

"I was thinking that I wanted to write to him sometime, now that I can. He used to write to me a lot, and my

older sister would read the letters to me. Then I remembered that I wasn't allowed to bring anything here with

me, so I don't have any of his letters with me. Without an address, I can't write back... I bet father has burnt them

all by now, so I'll never be able to get them back."

Lavi hadn't quite expected to get a confession so easily, and honestly, he hadn't been prepared to hear that justyet. He sympathized with the boy and it hurt to think that about how much he must miss his siblings, and hate his

father for tearing them all apart.

"See? There's nothing wrong with me, I was just a little lost in thought is all," Kanda said, continuing to deny

that those memories hurt him. Lavi gave a small smile, and pat the boy's head. Kanda forgot that he was feeling

down, in favor of glaring angrily up at Lavi.

"Don't treat me like a kid!" He said, feeling patronized. Lavi just chuckled a bit.

"I don't think you need to worry about not being able to write to your brother," Lavi said, his tone soothing.

"Someone who cared so much about you that they wrote you letters, even knowing you couldn't read them,

because he just couldn't stop himself from trying to stay close to you? Of course you don't need to worry. I bet

that once he finds out you aren't at home, he'll search for you."

Kanda gave Lavi a curious look, wondering why he was saying such things. Still, he couldn't help but childishly

cling to the hope that Lavi's words had made in him. His brother was the kind of person who would do that, Yuu

knew. Perhaps, one day, he would once again get a letter from his brother?"But if he does find you," Lavi continued on. "You don't want to have to tell him that you're working as a maid

at an okiya, right? You want to be able to tell him you've made yourself something to be proud of, right? So,

you'll just have to work hard to become the best geisha you can possibly be, because that is the only thing you

can do now. Even if you don't want to be a geisha, at least you can be proud of yourself if you're the best. I'm

sure your brother would feel proud knowing that you were making the best of your situation, too."

Kanda had never thought of it that way. He'd had it in his mind from the moment that he'd learned what he was

to become that being a geisha would be a disgrace unto himself, that it would be impossible to live proudly while

masquerading in women's clothes and entertaining mostly male costumers. But Lavi made a point, it was the

only choice he had now, so he should just make the best of it and try his hardest, instead of trying to do his

worst. If nothing else, he could be proud of his hard work.

That was when Kanda resolved to become the best.

000

Lavi knew relatively little about his origins. He was fairly certain he was of mixed heritage, because of his hair

and eye color, but he couldn't know for sure. When he was three, he had been abandoned by his parents. He did

not remember their faces, his real birthday, or where he had been born, the only thing he'd known at the time was

his name. Luckily for him, he'd been found by the Doctor only a few weeks after he'd been left behind. The old

man had felt some pity for the poor boy, and decided that since he was getting on in years, it was about time he

got an apprentice. Without even bothering to ask, he told Lavi he was to learn medicine. Lavi had been so

desperate at the time, that even if the Doctor had asked, he would've said yes.

The two of them lived in a house behind the Chan okiya. Lavi, being the sociable person he found himself to be,

had immediately befriended the Chan's residents. Whenever he wasn't training to become a doctor, he was at the

okiya, and if he wasn't at the okiya, then he was most likely in his yard, looking over the hedges into the okiya's

backyard.

That's what he had been doing when he'd first seen Kanda Yuu.

One day the mysterious boy had wandered out into the yard while Lavi had been staring over the hedges. Lavi

had never seen him before, and concluded that he was new to the okiya. He had a potent aura of loss and

loneliness about him, one which had captivated Lavi immediately. Lavi found himself watching the stranger out


9/31

in the yard on an almost nightly basis after that. It was accidental at first, the kid just happened to go out at the

same time Lavi usually started his bored watching, but soon Lavi realized he was specifically waiting to see the

boy just sitting in the okiya's back yard, bathed in moonlight.

At first Lavi was rather taken aback by this, and decided that he was spending far too much time around male

cross-dressers if he was starting to think of boys in such a way. He also couldn't help but laugh at himself for

being so hung up over a person whose name he didn't even know, and who had to be younger than him by at

least five years. The fact that Lavi had yet to meet this boy also reminded him of just how long it had been sincehe'd paid the Chan okiya a real visit.

It was by chance that Lavi had spotted Kanda on the way home that night. He'd been on an errand for the Doctor,

and on his way back had noticed the boy struggling with the older man. At first, he was just going to turn a blind

eye to it, but then he realized just who that boy was, and couldn't help but interfere. Lavi's act had been rewarded

with the boy's name, and that was all Lavi had needed to leave satisfied.

"You should've come through the front door," Bookman said as he entered the servants quarters through the

window.

"But it'll be more fun this way," Lavi said, which mildly confused the Doctor, until he saw Kanda come in and

stare at Lavi in surprise a few minutes later.

After spending some time with Kanda, Lavi learned that he wasn't anything like he thought the boy would be,

and was all the more attracted to him because of it. The petulance and strained politeness were positively

endearing. That was why when Kanda had looked so upset, he couldn't help but notice and try to cheer the kid

up. But he regretted telling Kanda to become the best geisha he could, because if Kanda really did become ageisha then he would be completely out of Lavi's reach.

000

The entire okiya was in a state of excitement, and Kanda had no idea as to why. While it had been something

close to a year and a half since he'd come to the okiya, he was still in the dark about anything that wasn't

commonly talked about. Whatever was happening now was obviously not something that happened often, or

popped up in a conversation normally either.

So Kanda continued to do his chores and practice, wondering all the while why everyone was being so particular

and fussy about cleaning and the appearance of the okiya. It was starting to grate on his nerves, really.

"So what's going on around here anyway?" Kanda finally asked Daisya one day, while the two of them and Lavi

(who'd started making weekly appearances at the okiya) sat on the wrap-around porch. Daisya and Kanda had

just finished cleaning when Lavi had wandered into the okiya's yard and had spotted them.

Daisya looked horrified to know that Kanda was clueless as to what was happening. His expression made it seem

like Kanda should've been born knowing what was happening, and for a moment Kanda wondered if he reallywas asking a foolish question. However, Lavi's expression of mild surprise reminded him that Daisya tended to

over-do it with facial expressions.

"Komui's got himself a potential danna. The guy propositioned him about a week ago, and since then everyone's

been preparing for the ceremony that'll tie them together. He'll be coming here tomorrow!" Daisya explained,

looking excited. "Apparently, the guy is involved with the weapons trade in the military, so he's dirty stinkin'

rich. A real charmer from what I've heard, too. Komui's current "little sister" is always talking about how much

of a flirt the guy is, though he focuses most of his attention on Komui these days. Our resident geisha is quite

smitten, it would seem."

Kanda was confused by the first sentence alone. Danna? What was that? Komui getting one must've been an

important thing, otherwise everyone wouldn't be making such a fuss. It probably had to do with the guy being

rich too, and from the way Daisya was talking about their personal relations, it almost sounded like Komui was

getting married.

"That's all well and good, but what's a danna?" One again, Daisya's expression made Kanda wonder if he was

asking a stupid question. The boy sighed and shook his head in an exasperated manner that made Kanda twitch

with annoyance.

"A danna is a geisha's patron. He pays off her, or in our case his, debts and covers his daily expenses. In return,

he gets a relationship that's sort of more personal than your average costumer. It's sort of like getting married, but

not really." Ah, so Komui was getting sort-of-but-not-really-married. Interesting. Now that Kanda thought about

it, hadn't Daisya said he was the result of his mother's relationship with her danna? Kanda wondered just what

Komui was getting himself into.

"So...it's a really big deal then for a geisha to get a danna?" Kanda asked, though it was more of a statement.

"Indeed! After this, Komui will probably have enough money to be able to move out of the okiya, if he wanted

to." The three boys knew that Komui wouldn't leave though, because Lenalee liked it here, and Lenalee's opinion

won out over everything.

"So what's the guy's name, anyway? I might know him," Lavi said, tearing his gaze away from this one

particularly fascinating spot in the backyard. Lavi had been a bit out of it all day, he kept just staring into space

with a distant look. And when he wasn't staring into space, he was staring at Kanda, which sort of unnerved the


10/31

boy because he had no idea why Lavi was staring at him, and Lavi himself seemed to be unaware of what he was

doing.

"I think his name is Cross...something or other, I forget, he's got a foreign name. And why would you and the

good doctor know him?" Daisya asked, looking past Kanda to see Lavi.

"Hey, the old man and I treat patients outside of the hanamachi, ya know, it's totally possible for us to have met.

In any case, I don't know him, I don't think the old panda's ever seen to any foreigners since he took me as an

apprentice.""See, you didn't know him," Daisya teased and stuck out his tongue.

"That doesn't mean I couldn't have!" Lavi shot back with a pout.

"You two are so childish," Kanda said with a sigh, before lying back on the polished wood porch. Both Lavi and

Daisya looked down at him with mock-offended looks.

"Who are you callin' childish? I'm a whole 5 years older than you!" Lavi huffed, grabbing Kanda's cheek and

pulling it. Kanda knocked Lavi's hand away with a scowl and rubbed his smarting cheek.

"Your age has nothing to do with how you act, and I say you act childish," Kanda said, glowering in Lavi's

direction. Lavi gave a strange, unreadable smile, and just said, "Well, if you say so."

000

After two years of strict schooling, Kanda and Daisya were allowed to graduate after taking an extremely

difficult dance test. Now, the two of them were Minarai(1) together, and were soon bound to Komui as his "little

brothers" (though Daisya insisted that Kanda was obviously a little sister). The day after the ceremony, both of

them were brought to a hair stylist whom they unanimously decided was hell-bent on torturing them and turningthem bald. Daisya left in (overly-dramatic) tears while Kanda barely managed to put up with the pain.

Even worse than having his hair waxed and styled, Kanda thought, was learning how to apply make-up. This

killed his last shred of masculine pride faster than he could've thought possible. Being all but forced into the

restricting, overly-ornate, positively elaborate kimono was enough to bring his pride back from the afterlife and

kill it again. Kanda couldn't stand to even sit in front of the full-length mirror that hung in Komui's room.

Daisya, on the other hand, was taking this all in stride, he seemed positively euphoric to finally be allowed to go

to teahouses, though apparently neither of them would be entertaining for about a month.

"Lookin' good you two," Lavi (who'd been watching since they started on their make-up) said with a low

whistle. Kanda cringed at the openly admiring look. Even Kanda had to admit, as he was forced to walk to the

mirror by Daisya and Komui (who was in the throws of pride over his little brothers' debut), that if it were not

himself whom he was looking at, he would've thought the person reflected in the glass was beautiful. However,

he knew what he was looking at, and therefore he was rather repulsed and indefinitely humiliated.

The crimson silk kimono with its golden obi and embroidered maple leaves did look stunning though. It feltheavy on him and the obi was tied just a tad too tight, but Kanda was pretty sure that was done purposefully, and

that he'd just have to get used to it. Daisya looked almost swamped in his plum-colored kimono, that was

embroidered with silver bellflowers, and tied with a green obi. He looked about as suffocated as Kanda was, but

seemed to handle it much better. (2)

"I hate you," Kanda said, though at the moment, that statement could've been directed at the whole world.

"Ya really do look gorgeous though," Lavi said, with honest sincerity. While he was talking to both Minarai,

Lavi was definitely looking at Kanda while he said this. Daisya, ever-observant, noticed this and smirked

deviously. He walked over to Kanda and hugged his arm, sticking his tongue out at Lavi.

"Don't fall in love now Lavi, you can look but you better not touch!" Kanda looked down at Daisya, aghast and

embarrassed, and very thankful that his blush couldn't be seen through his heavy white make-up. Just what was

Daisya saying, anyway? Obviously, Lavi was just paying them a friendly compliment.

"Ok! Enough idle chatter and admiration! We've got an appointment to keep you two!" Komui, who'd been

quietly observing the three, spoke up after checking the clock. They said their goodbyes and headed out for their

first appointment.

000

Kanda was starting to feel a tad bit unmotivated, after three years at the okiya. He was starting to forget why it

was he'd been working so hard in the first place. Well, he still knew the reason, but now he was wondering why

he'd ever thought that something like that would be possible. The only way his older brother would know a thing

about what had happened to him or where he lived would be if someone from his family told him. Kanda

doubted his father would let that happen.

So, Kanda, feeling discouraged, decided it was time to pay Lavi a visit. After all, it was Lavi who'd originally

made him want to work harder, and Kanda had found that it was quite easy to talk to Lavi about such things, he

was a very sympathetic listener.

However, Kanda had never actually gone to Lavi's house before. It wasn't that the residents of the okiya weren't

allowed to, Daisya and the other apprentice geisha did all the time, when Lavi couldn't come to the okiya. Kanda

just sort of felt embarrassed when he thought of going over there on his own, so he never did it. But now he was

going to, because he wanted to and had a right to and dammit, why was it taking so long to gather his resolve?


11/31

"Uh...Kanda-chan, is there a reason you're glarin' into my yard?" Lavi's questioning voice snapped Kanda out of

his revelry, and he realized that he had indeed been staring into his neighbor's yard. Embarrassment tinged his

face pink, and he lowered his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look Lavi in the face. Lavi wondered if Kanda

realized how demure he was making himself look, or if by this point in his training it was a reflex of his.

"I was going to ask if I could come over for a bit," Kanda said, his voice unwavering, for his pride wouldn't let it.

Lavi blinked in surprise, before saying yes and excitedly helping his friend over the fence that separated the two

properties."Well, this is unexpected. Ya never wanted to come over before," Lavi said, more than happy to have this person

who interested him so in his home. Even if technically, they were outside on the porch, and not actually in his

home. Kanda seemed embarrassed enough just being there, Lavi wasn't about to shove him inside if he didn't

want to be there.

For a while, Kanda did not respond to Lavi's statement, instead he tried to distract himself from his

embarrassment by questioning Lavi's enthused state. It surely couldn't mean that much to the older boy to have

him here.

"I was just... wondering about some things lately," Kanda said, trying to make it seem as though he hadn't really

cared to come here. Why was he so flustered over such a little thing anyway?

"Really? What kind of things?" Lavi asked, looking curious. At first, it didn't seem like Kanda was actually

going to say anything, he just silently stared into his lap.

"Way back when we first met, you told me to work hard so that I could be proud of what I had to do, so that if

my brother ever found me, I wouldn't have to be ashamed of myself. But it's been three years since I've comehere. At this point, it doesn't seem like he'll ever find me, if he's even looking for a brother who got sold off."

"You can't think that way, because that'll just make it seem hopeless," Lavi scolded, surprised and a little

disappointed with Kanda's negative thinking. "Besides, even if he never finds you, you should still do your best

for your own sake."

"How would it be for my sake? I never wanted to succeed in this business!" Kanda said, looking angry.

"Then succeed for my sake," Lavi said with an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice. Kanda looked at him,

confused. Lavi was looking straight ahead, but Kanda could see enough of his face to know his expression was

serious.

"Your sake?"

"My sake," Lavi repeated, concentrating on some point straight ahead of him. "By the time you become a full-

fledged geiko, I'll probably be a doctor, and I'll be makin' all the money the ol' panda does now. When you're an

established geisha, I'll become your danna. Can't do that if you aren't a geisha though, so keep workin' at it."

Kanda was completely bowled over by that statement. Where had that come from? Lavi was his friend, why didhe need to become his patron in order to have a personal relationship with him? Or was being friends not

personal enough? But still, his danna? He was only ten, and Lavi was already talking of such things! Granted, in

five or six years, he would no longer be ten, but what made Lavi so sure he'd want anything to do with Kanda

then?

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Kanda asked, sounding like he had resigned himself to his

confusion.

"Of course. You might be dense as lead, but if I say it that way then even you can understand what I mean,

right?" Kanda felt his face heating up as he understood. He couldn't imagine what Lavi saw in him, but he

must've done something amazing to have caught this person's attention.

Kanda sat, wallowing in his own embarrassment, when Lavi spoke up again to break the silence.

"Hey, can I call ya Yuu-chan from now on?" He asked, his voice back to normal, as if their last exchange hadn't

happened at all. Kanda's face got impossibly redder with what was now an indignant flush.

"No you may not! I'd skin anyone who dared call me that!"

Lavi chuckled. "How cute! Yuu-chan's such a cute name, I think I will call ya that from now on!"

"You're asking for it, baka-usagi."

"So I've got a nickname now? I'm flattered!"

"..."

000

Three years later, Kanda had still not managed to stop Lavi from calling him Yuu-chan. At this point, Kanda

wasn't really trying to stop him either, he would just tell the redhead not to call him that out of habit. Lavi

seemed to realize this, and said his name all the more because of it. Sometimes Lavi wondered if Yuu would

realize he was even calling out to him, if Lavi decided to address him as Kanda again.

Now that Kanda was in his fourth year of his Maiko training, he didn't have to wear such heavy make-up, though

his white base was still fairly thick. His kimono were still quite ornate, though not nearly as decorative as they

had been when he had debuted. Kanda had given up on being found, and now he work hard solely for himself.

Or at least, that's what he wanted everyone to think. Lavi knew the truth though, he knew that Kanda, now

thirteen and no longer a little child (though he was indeed still a child), was working towards him. Kanda didn't


12/31

even know why he was, perhaps he just liked the thought of having a danna he knew well, rather than some

random old man he met at a teahouse? Maybe it was just because of who Lavi was? Either way, the words Lavi

had said to him when he was a hopeless child had been what carried him through the years.

"Kanda-kun." Fou walked into his and Daisya's new, shared room. They were nearly full-fledged geisha, so they

obviously couldn't sleep in the servant's quarters anymore. "Bak wants you in his office, now," the petite woman

said, her expression solemn. Kanda followed her to Bak's quarters and prepared for the worst.

"You received a few things in the mail," Bak said, once Fou had left the room. He brought out two boxes ofmedium size and placed them on the low table in the center of the room. Curiously, Kanda opened the smaller of

the two. His heart sank when he saw a memorial tablet and a letter inside the box. He didn't read the tablet, too

afraid of finding out who had died. Instead, he took the letter out, and read it first.

The letter had been written by his mother, and Kanda sighed in relief knowing that she had not been the one to

die. That still left three more family members though, so Kanda continued reading it. The letter spoke of how his

father had fallen ill about a year ago, and had died just a month afterwards. Kanda looked over to the memorial

tablet after reading that, just to be sure it said the right name. Sure enough, it was his father's name on the stone.

He continued reading with mixed feelings about his father's passing.

His sister had gotten married two months ago, to a middle-class man who had graciously allowed his mother to

move into his family's house. Apparently, father hadn't approved of the marriage while he was alive, but the two

had intended to marry with or without his consent. Mother sung his brother-in-law's praises.

By the end of the letter, Kanda's feelings had still not sorted themselves out. Should he be happy or sad? After

all, his father had sold him, chased out his brother, and had made his entire family's life a living hell. Still, hewas Kanda's father, and if he hadn't sold Kanda, then Yuu would've had to live struggling for the necessities.

Kanda was well provided for in the okiya, and lived in a warm environment with friends that were nearly like

family now. In a way, his father had given him a better life. In the end, Kanda decided it would only be proper to

mourn.

Still, mourning or not, Kanda simply couldn't overlook the second package that had been sent to him. This box

was a bit bigger than the first, though it was a tad lighter. He opened it and his eyes lit up with excitement and

childish happiness.

The box was filled to the brim with every letter his brother had ever sent him, including the letters that had never

reached him. Letters that asked about him, his well-being, where Yuu was living now if he wasn't at home

anymore. Letters that asked for his new address over and over again until he'd finally gotten it. The most recent

letter from him expressed thanks, and it was only dated for a month ago. His brother had only just found him, but

at least he had.

Well, mourning be damned, at least for the moment, Kanda was positively ecstatic.Kanda didn't question the fact that his first thought after discovering this was that he had to tell Lavi. Lavi had

been the one who'd first made him even think that this day would come, of course he should be told about it. So

Kanda thanked Bak profusely for giving the packages to him, and left the room with them, quickly stashing them

in his own room before going over to Lavi's house. Kanda didn't bother knocking at the door before entering-it'd

been roughly two years since he'd picked up the habit of just barging in.

Lavi had been sitting in the tea room, sipping tea that he promptly choked on when Kanda came in, looking for

all the world like an excited puppy. Lavi was sure he'd never see this side of Kanda again, for he'd certainly

never seen it before. Lavi was sure that Kanda must've given half of the okiya's residents quite the shock with

that beautiful smile of his.

"I got them back!" Kanda exclaimed, coming to the table and smoothing over his kimono as he sat down

properly, despite the informal setting and his less-than-formal entrance. By now, the general behavior of a geisha

was so ingrained in him that he did it without thinking.

Lavi's choked coughs came to a sputtering halt as he regained control of himself. "Got what back?" He asked,

while trying to memorize every aspect of Kanda's smiling face. He was so sure he'd never see this again.

"The letters my brother sent me! My father died, and since he'd been the one who wouldn't let them send them to

me, they finally could. He knows where I am now and plans to drop by next chance he gets. Finally, it only took

six years!"

Lavi was unsure of what he was feeling at the moment. Of course, he should've been happy for Kanda, and he

was, he was. At the same time though, he was jealous, undeniably jealous. With all of two packages and ten

minutes, Kanda's family had managed to do what he'd been trying to do for 5 years: Make Yuu smile, really

smile. As Kanda continued to tell him about the letters he'd skimmed through, about what had happened to his

family and about his brother's plans, Lavi realized that if Kanda's older brother really did come to the okiya, it

wouldn't just be for a visit. No, this man would take Kanda away, and Yuu, who had never wanted this life to

begin with and was just living the life he was given to the best of his abilities, would go with him without a

second thought, Lavi was sure.

Lavi wanted to do something, anything really, that would make himself feel closer to Yuu, because at the

moment, he felt that the younger boy was quickly slipping through his fingers. So, deciding that he should do


13/31

something before he lost his chance to and regretted it, Lavi leaned over the table, grabbed Kanda's shoulders

and kissed him mid-story without any warning. When Kanda made no move to back away or respond, Lavi

decided to just indulge himself a bit until Kanda realized what was happening and killed him. Lavi licked the

boy's lower lip, which elicited a gasp, and eventually, a shy bit of play from Kanda's side.

When the need for air became too great to deny, Lavi moved away from Kanda. The boy's face was redder than

the crimson kimonos Komui just loved to doll him up in. Kanda's hands came up to cover his colored face,

though he chanced a look or two at Lavi through his fingers.Lavi, unsure of whether this was a good or bad reaction (for most people it would probably be pretty good, but

this was Kanda he was dealing with), gave Kanda a questioning look.

"Uh...Yuu? Ya gonna be all right there?" Kanda nodded, stilled his head, and then shook it, not sure which

answer was right.

"...Ask," Kanda mumbled finally, and once again Lavi gave him an inquisitive look. "Next time...ask first,"

Kanda clarified, and Lavi grinned wider than he ever had before.3-Make Up Your Mind

Kanda had to admit that even though it had been unexpected, and he'd been all but frozen for half of it, he had

indeed enjoyed that kiss. He hadn't expected it in the least, and felt that Lavi could've waited until he was

finished talking at the least (it was so rude of him to interrupt), but damn it all if he hadn't wished he didn't need

to breathe when it was over.

After that, every other question out of Lavi's mouth seemed to be "Can I kiss you?"More often than not, Lavididn't even wait for an answer to that question either, so it was more of a warning, rather than Lavi asking for

permission. Kanda never failed to point out that the idea behind asking was to wait for an answer.

However, now that Lavi was old enough to work side-by-side with the Doctor, and not just as an apprentice, he

seemed much busier than he had been before. Not only that, but Kanda's career was flourishing as well. He and

Daisya were quite popular for maiko, and were being brought to more and more gatherings.

Komui said that the reason everyone liked them so much is because they worked together like hot and cool

spices did to balance each other out. Kanda was a very ill-tempered person, but he couldn't take his anger out on

his patrons, so instead he spoke sarcasm as a second language and always just said whatever came to mind in a

falsely sweet voice, no matter how rude it was. That was a heck of a lot better than him losing his cool and

exploding at everyone who annoyed him. Daisya however, had a wonderful temperament and was very

personable, so any time Kanda said something a little too offensive, Daisya came in and turned it into a joke. He

also diffused the situation any time someone said something a bit too offensive or forward to Kanda, which was

definitely the reason why Kanda had not killed anyone yet with his kanzashi.

Kanda was starting to notice that he was getting more admiring stares as time wore on. He also noticed that he

saw the people who looked at him that way quite often. One person that he saw perhaps weekly was a foreigner

who worked with Komui's danna, Cross. Marian-san really was an insatiable flirt, but all it took was one well-

timed, neglected-sounding sigh from Komui, and Cross was lavishing all of his attention on Komui, who usually

tended to look much like a pampered cat afterwards.

Compared to his business associate and friend Cross, Tyki Mikk was quite the gentleman. At least, he was in his

actions. It had been a little over a year since he had first met this particular regular of his, and not a week had

passed where he hadn't seen the Portuguese man in some tea house or other. At this point, he knew the man well

enough to know that Tyki too spoke in sarcasm (very well concealed sarcasm, but sarcasm none the less), and

that he liked to slip a few risqu comments into a conversation whenever he knew he could get away with it. And

then sometimes he would just whisper them to Kanda when no one was paying attention.

Kanda supposed the man was better company than most, but he did so hate it when Tyki did that.

"Gonna see yer danna and his friends again today, hm, Komui?" Daisya teased, nudging his elder with his elbow.

Komui hardly bothered with makeup at this point (he really had no need for it anyway), so his blush was clearly

seen by his little brothers. Daisya snickered teasingly, and Kanda just rolled his eyes.

"If you like the man so much, why don't you just go live with him? He's offered, hasn't he?" Kanda asked,

though he already knew the answer.

"Lenalee likes the okiya, there is no way I would take her away from there, or let her stay there with all of you

hormonal teenage boys without my supervision!" Komui said, giving Kanda a suspicious glare. Kanda was half-

tempted to say that if Komui had to be suspicious of anyone at the okiya, it would have to be either Daisya or

Bak... Fou didn't appreciate Bak's pedophile-like behavior one bit, it got in the way of his work. Daisya was

definitely more of a threat to her purity than anyone else was really, Kanda had noticed that the older boy had

stopped treating her as a little sister some time ago.

"Well, anyway, along with Cross comes that big guy, Marie, and that fellow Tyki who's got his eye on our dear

Kan-chan, right?" Daisya's teasing glance was redirected at Kanda, who wasn't the least bit ruffled by it."What makes you say Tyki-kun has his eye on our imouto-chan?" Komui asked, looking questioning. There was

something behind the questioning look though, it seemed like he was trying to hide what he knew.


14/31

Being called "little sister" still made Kanda twitch, even after all these years.

"Well, you've been off on planet Marian or something, so obviously you didn't pick up on it, but I've seen all the

looks and those times he whispers to Kanda secretly! Whispering sweet nothings in your ear, is he?" Daisya

asked, with a smirk. Komui chuckled behind his hand. Kanda gagged a little and was about to tell them that the

only things Tyki ever whispered about were perverse things, but then thought better of it and just denied him

saying anything of the romantic nature.

"Ah, well, in any case...we'll see how long that lasts," Komui said, suddenly it seemed as though he knew a lotmore about what was going on than he had let on at first.

000

Kanda's face was still cooling off as he and the others walked home from their appointments that night. Daisya

and Komui had taken every opportunity afforded to them to point out the fact that there was an absolutely

stunning new pink pearl lotus-design comb in his hair. A new comb given to him and placed in his hair by Tyki.

Well, Komui had been right about the whole "no romantic talk" thing not lasting long, Kanda had just wished

that Komui had given him a less vague warning about what had happened that evening.

It wasn't as though Kanda had never received a gift before; on the contrary, it wasn't all that unusual for him to

get them at all. He had a lot of regulars, they liked to spoil him, and he wasn't going to complain. Still,

something about Tyki giving him one made him nervous, and he had no idea why. It wasn't that nervous,

butterfly feeling Kanda got from Lavi though, it was just plain nervous, nervous and very curious as to why Tyki

had chosen to single him out. There were kinder, prettier geisha out there, he was sure. Nicer ones, at the very

least.Once the trio was about 50 meters away from the okiya's front gate, they met up with Lavi and the Doctor, who

were also on their way home from a house call. Both looked rather tired, but the Doctor knew that Lavi would

probably go back to the okiya to talk with everyone for a bit, and so dismissed himself from the group when he

came to the turn that would lead to the house behind the okiya.

When the four reached Kanda and Daisya's room, they sat down and helped each other get out of their heavy

kimonos, and take down their hair as painlessly as possible. Because they were not traditional female geisha, the

Chan okiya's geisha tended to cut corners on other things too, such as wearing the traditional hairstyles in favor

of wearing more comfortable styles, but it still hurt to have one's hair wound up and pinned to one's head all day.

The new ornament was the first thing to leave Kanda's hair, and though he treated it carefully (because, after all,

Tyki had gone out of his way to buy it), it was still quite clear that he wanted it away from his persons. Komui

frowned at this, as Daisya huffed.

"Geez Kan-chan, you act like the thing is burning you," Daisya said, giving Kanda a look that clearly said the

boy should be more grateful."You guys have been talking about that comb this whole time," Lavi said before Kanda could respond to

Daisya's comment, "what's so special about it? I mean, sure it's pretty, but so is everything else that gets piled

onto all of your heads."

"That was a gift Kanda-chan just got from one of his regulars today. Really, he should appreciate the thought put

into a gift given to him by a loyal patron," Komui chastised. Lavi sharply looked at Kanda, and then the hair

ornament that was on his bureau. His look turned questioning when he looked back to Kanda. He knew this

wasn't the first thing he'd gotten from someone, gifts came with the job. So what was so different about it this

time?

Kanda looked away from the room, an annoyed scowl on his pretty face. He turned to the mirror and started

removing his makeup, which was almost as much of a chore as putting it on.

"It's just...awkward, to get a gift from him," Kanda said. He couldn't really put a finger on what it was that was

bugging him, but that came pretty close to it, he was sure. He appreciated the gesture, just as he would've if

anyone else had given it to him, but for some reason accepting it felt...wrong. Curious.

No one noticed the suspicious look that came to Lavi's eyes, or the jealousy that spread through his being like

wildfire.

000

Just a little before Kanda turned 15, he received a letter from his older brother that said he would be near the

Kamishichiken district on a business trip. Apparently, his brother had gotten promoted to an executive position,

and was now free to move around the country as long as it was for business purposes. He happened to be

traveling to Kyoto, and was determined to see his little brother.

This was not the first letter Kanda had gotten from his brother since he'd gotten that package of letters two years

prior, indeed they had started up a regular correspondence, but this was the first one that held such exciting news

in it. Kanda was walking on air for the next week, and then as the day when his onii-san would arrive came

closer, he began to get excited and nervous. Kanda had worked hard, hoping that this day would come, but now

that it was here, he wondered if he would really be able to stand proudly before his own flesh and blood as a

geisha.


15/31

Lavi sat in the corner of Kanda's room, reading over the letter that had been shoved in his face the moment he

had asked why Kanda had spent the last three days meticulously cleaning his and Daisya's room. Kanda

occupied himself with scrubbing every last remnant of dried makeup off of his bureau.

"Ah, I get it, you're cleaning like a madman because you're so nervous. If you really need to constantly be doing

something, I'm right here you know," Lavi said lasciviously. Kanda blushed a bright red and scrubbed at his

bureau that much harder.

"Jerk, now is hardly the time to be saying such things. If you're feeling bored watching me clean, then get offyour ass and help," Kanda huffed out, throwing a random bundle of cloth at Lavi's face. It hit its mark, and Lavi

pulled it off with a hint of annoyance.

"That was wholly unnecessary, Yuu-chan," Lavi said, getting up and standing behind Yuu. He unrolled the cloth

(it was a sash) and tied it loosely around Kanda's eyes. Behind the blind, Kanda rolled his eyes.

"I know it's you, stupid."

"I know, but there's just somethin' 'bout you being blindfolded that makes it all that much more exciting, ya

know?" Kanda's cheeks turned a pale pink as he felt his face being tipped up. Before Lavi could kiss him

however, Kanda heard footsteps, followed almost immediately by someone entering the room. Kanda reflexively

looked toward the door, realized he couldn't see, and pulled down the blindfold.

At the door, Daisya stood, looking very surprised. There was a second of awkward silence where the three boys

just stared at each other, which was broken when Daisya let out a low whistle.

"That was an interesting scene right there..." He said, still sounding quite surprised. "Not to say I hadn't guessed

things were that way between you two but... Just don't do anything in our shared room Kan-chan, ok? Ya shouldprobably keep it out of the okiya all together, 'cause if anyone other than myself and maybe Komui had walked

in, you'd get dragged out of this room and whipped so fast you wouldn't have time to blink."

Daisya was usually a rather carefree person, but when it came to anything that could hurt the okiya's good name,

he tended to get very serious. His words were like a bucket of cold water to Kanda. Daisya was right, a geisha's

good name was not taken lightly, and if Bak were to ever find out that he was doing anything that could possibly

lower his worth, Kanda would be severely punished. Geisha did not enter personal relationships on a whim the

way Kanda had, he would definitely need to be more careful from here on out.

Kanda looked away from Daisya and to the floor. Lavi did the opposite and looked to the ceiling, sighing and

berating himself for almost getting Kanda into trouble.

"Ok then, in any case, Kanda, Bak wants to see us about something," Daisya said, trying not to sound too

serious. Kanda jolted, and for a minute he worried that he and Lavi had already been discovered. But Kanda

hadn't done anything beyond kiss the older boy, so there couldn't be much of a problem, right? Then again, that

was all it took to create malicious rumors, wasn't it? Kanda tried to stop himself from feeling like he was goingto his death as he walked out of the room.

However, when the door is closed, he finds that they are not actually going to see Bak, which instantly relieves

Kanda. It is apparent though, that Daisya has brought Kanda out into the hall to talk about what just happened.

The two walked slowly through the empty hall, speaking in hushed voices.

"I'm sorry that I sounded so mean in there Kanda, but... ya know it's true. You're my little brother here, I just

don't want you to lose face over a fling, or anything that isn't worth the risk. I personally think it's great the ya

like someone, and I won't tell a soul, but you're a really popular geisha, and your competition would jump at the

chance to drag your name through the mud." Kanda knew that Daisya was just looking out for him, and that just

made him feel guilty for putting the older boy in such an awkward position. He stared at the ground and

mumbled an apology.

Daisya's comment made him think though; this had been happening for two years now, there was no way that he

and Lavi were just having a "fling," but they had never bothered to classify just what it was they were. Not

lovers, really, they'd never done anything that would classify them as such. Friends-with-benefits sounded much

too frivolous, a geisha shouldn't get caught up in such a relationship. But they weren't really together either. Oh,

this was troublesome, Kanda would spend no end of time trying to figure this out.

"Well, as long as you know Kan-chan. But I've got to ask one more thing...Just how much have you two done?"

Daisya asked, looking at anything but Kanda. Yuu's face turned turned into an expression of surprise, and he

choked on air for a moment.

"Nothing! Nothing beyond what you just saw! Even I'm not that stupid!" Kanda said indignantly, and Daisya

breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good to hear. Anyway, the real reason I came to our room was to get you, it just wasn't to see Bak. Sorry, but

that was just the first excuse that came to mind to get ya outta there...Forgot that there was a real reason, ya see,"

Daisya explained, having the grace to look embarrassed about this. Kanda quirked an eyebrow at this, silently

asking what was going on.

He got his answer when the two of them stopped in the courtyard. Standing in the yard, aged ten years but still

young in appearance, was his brother. It was a day earlier than the date given on his brother's letter, Kanda had

not been prepared for this quite yet.


16/31

For a few minutes, no one made a move to talk or get closer, the two just looked each other up and down, taking

in all the changes that had come about since they'd last seen each other, when Kanda was five. His onii-san had

been 15 when he was sent to work, and now he was ten years older and looked

the flower and willow world

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