Tokyo Taisho, 1919 (chapter 3) - A story in Asakusa
Sorry for the (again) too long absence... I might say it's tough, but it's currently tough for us all, so my wish is for all of you to stay safe & healthy. Please enjoy this new chapter!
Title: Tokyo Taisho, 1919
Author: lalois
Fandom: Kanjani8, Arashi, others
Pairings: RyOhkura + others to come
Rating: from PG to NC17. Chapter is PG
Length: chaptered story
Words: 3685
Genre: historical AU, gender-bender, romance, drama, flirting, ust, angst, smut, introspection, hurt/comfort
Disclaimer: sadly I don’t own anything about Kanjani8, just my worship for my OTP.
Prompt/Summary/Background: Early twenties, Osaka/Tokyo. Ryo gets invited in Tokyo by his longtime childhood friend Jun. There, he'll get to know a whole new world. A long night chat between Ryo and Jun, after the performances at the Okiyama.
Written on: December 2013 - January 2019. Chpt translated as of April 2019.
Previous chapters: -1- -2-
Also available @ Ao3, LJ, DW
**
Jun
I grin at seeing my open-mouthed friend, again.
I've always adored his way of being simply unable to conceal his emotions, and to be honest I feared that this side of Ryo's personality would make it hard for him sooner or later, especially as for what business is concerned. He's also a man gifted with undeniable talent, though, and that is why I have been sincerely pleased to see him in such good shape, after such long time.
I'd love him to decide to stay in Tokyo, of course; I'd like him to become, other than a unique friend, a trustworthy supplier for the clothes of my girls' kimonos as well, should he find the whole thing endearing for him also.
I would not even dare propose such thing to him, to tell the truth, given the deep friendship existing between us; but I am also quite aware of the fact that it would be pretty difficult to find a person more fair than him, both in the whole world and in the trade area.
Everyone thinks more at flaunting each other's wealth, rather than think thoroughly at one's education.
That is why I do believe in a place like the Okiyama.
That is why I am also slightly debated at the idea of talking to Ryo about business; I don't want him to think I invited him over for this reason. If I wanted him here, it's to enjoy his quiet company and his silent approval about the people I gathered in here.
That is why I'm bemused at the enthusiasm he reveals in the vaguely embarrassed smile he addresses me with, when the girls on stage do manoeuvre a particularly quick and fast dance; he's bewildered when he hears them singing.
He's undecipherable when Diva appears on stage, in her gold and green brocade, and starts out with her performance.
I admit being particularly proud of her, who incidentally comes from the Kansai region; just like Ryo is, though I have yet to tell him.
Her singing makes people tremble inside; her graceful, stunning, sensual movements make people unable to simply dare looking away from the stage.
She is the very same one mentioning some rather bizarre happening, right after the last show, when I do compliment all the girls for the excellent outcome of their new dance.
"Matsumoto-san, I did fail being up to the expectations," Diva tells me in my bureau, where she motions for us to move to share a couple words in private. "I do feel terribly distressed about such matter."
"You must be joking, I swear," I reply, flashing her a huge smile. "Applause have never been as unceasing as tonight. Nobody has been able to tear the gaze away from you all for the slightest moment!"
I do see her trying to bite a lip, and give up right afterwards. She does look hesitant.
"Why are you so afraid of telling me what is troubling you?"
"Because I... I do not wish to seem pretentious at all. I do understand the matter is about someone who is of great, when not of the greatest, value for you. I do not wish to put such person in a bad light at all."
I frown.
"You know that would never happen, anyway."
"And still-"
"Tadayoshi, please," I retort in my lowest voice, pleading her. I know she does not stand hearing such a name; but I do also know it's the only psychological leverage I can exert on her to shake her.
"The matter is... about Nishikido-san," she eventually confesses me, lowering her voice to a mere whisper.
"When my eyes did meet his own ones, during my performance, he did... turn them away from me."
Oh. Was I was sitting beside him and I failed even noticing such an event? That is what happens when you do think about mere business and you should not, Jun... Serves you just right.
"Did such thing hurt you? Do you wish for me to ask him to offer you his apologies?"
"Certainly not, I do not wish for such... it's just that... if someone like Nishikido-san did look away, it does mean I did not do well enough."
"Or maybe you did even more than enough. Maybe your dance was such absolutely sublime performance that it managed striking even the incredible inner sensibility of a man of his stature," I do suggest her. She does flutter the long eyelashes looking perplexed, but she can tell from my frank gaze that what I told her is what I do think for real.
"In this instance I... I do beg your pardon. I might have been quite inappropriate."
"I wouldn't say so. If you reckon this leaves you unsatisfied and does drive you on improving even more, I couldn't help but being so proud of you," I add then.
She stares at me again; it's true, her pretty dark eyes can destabilize you, if only you get to realize, however vaguely, the complexity there is just beyond them. It's not for everyone, of course, and I am not surprised my friend already guessed that right.
It's just such a shame that Diva cannot belong to anyone, and not even to herself.
**
Days and weeks do pass quickly by, and if it's true that Ryo is very busy handling his business relationships during the day, he never misses paying me homage by joining me at the Okiyama during the evening.
It is a fact that such thing does flatter me.
His proverbial discretion does not allow him to be one of those fashionable talkers this era is so proud of, especially in places like mine, but Ryo does manage to get himself noticed and appreciated without realizing it himself at all. After each of the performances my girls have on stage, it's a distinct pleasure seeing him being lavish with our regular clients through long and courteous disquisitions. They're all intrigued by his place of origin, whereabouts, his work, his good looks and his extremely polite manners.
All the girls do have taken a liking to him, and he never denies them any compliment about the quality of their singing and dance, or the chromatic approach of their clothes. It's as if he's already become part of this family.
I do adore, to say the least, that he's able to see so much, within all of them: that they are wonderful people, capable and talented ones, rather than mere seducers or even transvestites. Let alone people who failed at life, like each of them thought they had to be.
Late in the evening, in the privacy of my office, I do compel Ryo to keep me company and have our tongues loosened through some perfect Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey, before allowing myself to tell him some anecdote about my girls.
"Why do they work here?" He asks me during one of his very first evenings spent in Tokyo. "Please don't let me get misunderstood. Your classy style in handling this business is as impeccable as always. This place is awesome and they are all so cute, if I may dare saying so. But... well, it's some rather atypical job indeed. It's no Kabuki, however resembling such art a little. And I cannot even define them geishas despite being definitely no less fascinating."
"Indeed," I nod slowly. "They do draw something from each of those arts, and that's something I also wanted to convey through the name of this place. Okiya, the cradle of geishas. Oyama, the onna-gatas. Fused in a single name, in a newborn identity. My dear Ryo, if only you knew how much I do love Kabuki..." I do confess him sighing, and he smiles at me. "I am crazy in love with that, and whenever I see my girls on the Okiyama stage recalling such art, however just briefly, I..." I shake my head, caught in a sudden emotion.
"I think I can understand," Ryo murmurs, "one can definitely fall head over heels for it..."
"Exactly. I do adore all the performance we're having here, and I do love that my girls can make more than one man definitely crazy for them. But into these private chambers at Okiyama, no carnal desire is permitted," I do tell him. "With maybe only a very few private exceptions I do prefer skimming over."
"What do you mean?"
"I have never dared asking Kazu-chan for the details, but it's no mystery that those two are bound to each other for life, and since forever."
"Kazu-chan?" Ryo asks, quite curious.
"Kazunari Ninomiya, that is to say Nino. We could say that everything started out of him; I met him during my last year at University, we attended some lessons together.
He never had good grades, though. Once he was done with his education, he did not accept the job his father had recommended him for. He ran away from home and had Satoshi with him; Satoshi, that is to say our Satoko, has been his longtime inseparable childhood friend. They are unable to live far from each other. They both soon realized, though, that they were equally unable to survive through ordinary heavy jobs suited for men, the only ones they had found employment at. They have no physical strength, sadly.
That was when they both ended up as prostitutes, dressing up as women in order not to risk being ever found out by relatives or such. It's outside a brothel in Yoshiwara I randomly stumbled upon them one day; I happened to be there for a delivery nearby, as I was asked by my father.
When I spotted and recognized them... well, you can tell I was not exactly happy, at first. But the whole thing kept bugging me for long; I kept thinking how Nino that day had improvised some dancing before my eyes, in order to not have me grieved. He had Satoshi, he had told me, and just by having him by his side, he could overcome everything and be happy whenever the place, he had said.
But I did firmly believe he deserved way better than such world."
I take a deep sip of my Whiskey, allowing Ryo the time to ponder my words.
"By helping out my father with his job, by supervising his busboys delivering goods in whatever the mostly oddly assorted corners in Tokyo, I have had the chance of getting to see many things; I made up my mind, asked my father a loan and went seeking Nino. I basically asked him to dance for me. Dance for me seriously. My father did not support my project, of course, but I asked him to bet on me instead. And in the end, I was proved quite right."
Ryo smiles fondly at me, and I can glimpse complicity in his eyes. He pours me some more Whiskey, before making our glasses clink.
"Starting from that day on, other girls joined the Okiyama, mostly out of sheer chance.
Yokoyama-kun, or Yoko as you know her, has been left by his wife because he was unable to make her a mother.
Nino and Satoko brought him after finding him pretty drunk. He was just about to willingly trying to drown himself into the Arakawa river.
Ai-chan is Aiba-kun. He's been one of the first clients here, and I've always wondered how did he even make it for the tickets, judging by his modest clothes. Until the day he came and begged me to let him dance on stage together with Nino and Satoko, given that he had run out of money and that he wanted to start out a new life.
Yuuko's real name is Yuuya. She loves playing with her own identity: as petite, sensual and alluring as she is. Staying at the Okiyama to entertain the male guests seems to make her bloom one day after another. To her it's a matter of a thin balance between the game of seduction and the fact of being part of a world she did not belong to, after being born in very poor family of fishermen.
Chibichan is Shota; he's an orphan guy that had been victim of diverse and horrible abuses by several boys ever since he left the childcare premise that had welcomed him until then. So much hatred... with everything starting out of him being genuinely unable to deny the sincere attraction he feels towards men; you know, the samurai era has gone and forever, and if such things were common norm back then, they're rather not anymore."
"Each of the girls can however freely spend the night at your guests' private residences, should both of them feel like to, isn't that so?" Ryo asks me.
"That's it," I do confirm him, "I wouldn't have expected less sagacity from you, my dear friend. Each of them has a room here upstairs. What we do collect through the performances on stage and what the clients do eat and drink at their tables -and believe me, it's no little amount-, it does allow me to provide them board and lodging, not to mention education.
Every now and then I do call here a longtime friend of my father's, one of the most popular geishas that Yoshiwara had seen in the last decades; it's the very same woman that helped me revise and improve Nino's skills at singing and dancing.
And should then any of my clients feel drawn by their performances to the point of asking them to share the night, why not? Sex itself is no part of this place, though, so they are completely free to adhere to the client's wish or not, to ask him a fee or nothing at all. They're free, independent people, and what they do get as income for their nights is just theirs; I do only ask them to report me quickly, should anyone behave rudely. And should that ever happen, such person would not be welcome nor allowed here ever again."
Ryo nods slowly. I do wonder the nature of his thoughts right now. More than once I caught it out of the corner of my eye, how Yuuchan e Chibichan take their time to carefully watch him more than due. Ryo is undoubtedly a very eligible young man. I am not sure whether he might concretely get to love them to such extent, though.
"You did not mention her," he tells me then, after a quite long silence.
"Who?"
"Diva."
A smug smile escapes my lips.
"Diva. Obviously," I murmur, nodding.
"What do you mean with 'obviously'?" Ryo asks, narrowing his eyes.
"Obviously... nothing," I do mock him, as cunning as I can.
"Jun...," he sighs, furrowing in that particular way of his that makes him utterly adorable.
"Yes?"
"I am not... interested," my dear friend grumbles low, vaguely embarrassed.
"I noticed the way you do look at her," I do provoke him. That is not true, of course. Everyone look at Diva in such way, which is why she spends several nights with our clients, and why there's a very long waiting list for those who wish to have the privilege of getting admitted into more private time with her, for longer than the mere cabaret time.
Ryo might have been so far, however, the only one looking at her for real, without the impudence and the shallowness that many others have.
"I am not interested, in such way," he repeats. "True, she does have a rather peculiar great charm. Her manners and movements are... different from your other girls. Please do not get me wrong, Jun, I am not to say they are different, for they are no less fascinating. But Diva is..." I can see Ryo cock his head to one side, as if searching for words. "It is as if she were to come from a completely different world, somehow."
"And that is exactly so, my friend, that's so. Should you ever get tired of selling cloth fabrics, please do remember me to introduce you to my dear policeman friend, deal?" I mock him, "you do have for sure some nice talent for noticing what everybody else doesn't."
"Please don't be silly Jun, please," Ryo chirps, while rubbing one cheek with the palm of his hand. For all the gods in Heaven, I should have him drunk more often. Or letting it not-so-accidentally slip with the girls. He's even more attractive, when he’s like this.
"Diva does actually come from a very wealthy family with a noble heritage, it's different for her," I do finally tell him, reverting back to some serious mood.
Ryo blinks rather perplexed, as if the alcohol did suddenly stop making him numb.
"Then... why is she here?"
"I cannot tell you to such extent," I murmur. "I promised her never to tell anyone. Not even my very best friend."
Some vague delusion drains some colour from Ryo's cheeks.
"Diva does also have a room here, but she rarely uses it, apart from using it as dressing room. She's the only one of the group living outside the Okiyama, in a small apartment belonging to her, not far from here," I do reveal him, as if to make amends for what I told him before.
"I am nearly sure she gets requested by clients almost every night," I go on. Ryo looks up, his eyes meet mine, and then he quickly looks away again.
"Some of them simply wish for her to keep them company at the Okiyama tables, after the show, as it frequently happens with the other girls. Maybe you wouldn't tell, but Diva loves the alcohol and can hold it pretty well," I do confess with a naughty smile. "She might be the one busy the most here, but she's also the only one coming first for rehearsals, not to mention handling certain delicate commissions with my customers on my behalf. They do love seeing her outside the stage, of course.
You could maybe walk her until there sometimes, what do you reckon? This would also help you further broaden your acquaintances in the city," I do suggest in a velvety voice. "And maybe, in exchange, I could intercede for you for having a night with her."
"Jun, please do stop it. I do beg you," Ryo insists, in a firm voice.
"Not to mention, you could directly avoid the waiting list."
Ryo stands suddenly up, turning on his heels and giving me the shoulders.
Oh oh. Did I dare too much?
"Should you get to wish for it, Ryo, there is seriously nothing to be ashamed about..." I do assure him, sweeter than before. "My girls are likeable ones. A lot, and I cannot help but being very happy about it. It would be just normal, should you-"
"How would it exactly be normal, being attracted to a guy?" he stammers in a voice louder than usual, avoiding to look at me. "... I do apologize," he quickly adds, sighing. "Please do accept my apologies, Jun, I never dared sounding offensive at all. It's just that... " Ryo looks up at me straight, finally. He does look rather torn.
"They are really, really fascinating. But I... I do not think I may..."
"You may offer them your wonderful company?" I do complete for him. Ryo sometimes does not realize about his own charm, seriously.
"I have no intention of imposing them my company, let alone get them hurt in any way," Ryo insists, with a rather torn expression.
"Should you ever venture doing such thing, I will certainly beat you up with these very hands, you are being warned," I reassure him vehemently, addressing him with a rather unusual scowl. "No one can dare hurt them, for they all have suffered way too much during their life so far, I dare say."
"I do agree with you."
"That would never happen with you being involved, anyway," I do sweetly insist. "For you are an extremely gentleman one, my friend."
"That is not true."
"Honestly, Ryo, I cannot see where the problem lies. Are you already betrothed to someone, in Osaka?"
"That is not, yet I-"
"Good Heavens, you are not asked to get engaged here, Ryo! Let alone fall in love with them!" I try to have him persuaded, vaguely exasperated, trying to find the way to his embarrassed candour. "You just have to let yourself enjoy some pleasurable time when in their company, if you wish so. For all the time you will be spending here in Tokyo. Please do not feel ashamed of anything because -believe me- seeing you all get along so nicely can do nothing but make me feel extremely happy. Would you not do that for me, Ryo?"
"Do... what?" he grumbles, embarrassed and confused.
I roll my eyes.
"Please tell me, Jun, but as far as you're concerned, have you ever... with them..."
"Never," I do confirm him, anticipating a question he is unable to ask, due to the excessive respect he grants to the one I am. I do stand on my feet as well, facing him straight. "No, I have never seen any of them privately. And that is not because I would not fancy them.
By knowing that there are beautiful guys under those garments, I am not bothered at all. And yet, given the kind of relationship that has been established between us, I do believe it would be rather disrespectful going further than that."
"Indeed," Ryo murmurs while keeping his eyes into mine. "Of course."
"That is why you can do that in my place, my dear friend," I conclude, winking at him while patting vigorously his shoulder.
"What the heck, Jun!" He growls louder, embarrassed once again. "You were talking very seriously up until a mere instants ago, while now-"
"Goodnight, Ryo," I do silence him, laughing. He seems wishful to retort, but then he gives up and retrieves his hat from the table.
"Goodnight, Jun," he murmurs, leaving me with a fleeting smile, and some vague blush still fathomable on his cheeks.
NOTES:
Onnagata (or Oyama): men that play women's roles in kabuki stories.
Okiya: the place where the geishas found their 'home', the place that nurtured them to become talented performers, and where they had to come back to. The Okiya 'bought' them as young girls, took debts in order to make them grow up and teach them the arts, and the geisha had to repay them through their works later on.
**
Title: Tokyo Taisho, 1919
Author: lalois
Fandom: Kanjani8, Arashi, others
Pairings: RyOhkura + others to come
Rating: from PG to NC17. Chapter is PG
Length: chaptered story
Words: 3685
Genre: historical AU, gender-bender, romance, drama, flirting, ust, angst, smut, introspection, hurt/comfort
Disclaimer: sadly I don’t own anything about Kanjani8, just my worship for my OTP.
Prompt/Summary/Background: Early twenties, Osaka/Tokyo. Ryo gets invited in Tokyo by his longtime childhood friend Jun. There, he'll get to know a whole new world. A long night chat between Ryo and Jun, after the performances at the Okiyama.
Written on: December 2013 - January 2019. Chpt translated as of April 2019.
Previous chapters: -1- -2-
Also available @ Ao3, LJ, DW
**
Jun
I grin at seeing my open-mouthed friend, again.
I've always adored his way of being simply unable to conceal his emotions, and to be honest I feared that this side of Ryo's personality would make it hard for him sooner or later, especially as for what business is concerned. He's also a man gifted with undeniable talent, though, and that is why I have been sincerely pleased to see him in such good shape, after such long time.
I'd love him to decide to stay in Tokyo, of course; I'd like him to become, other than a unique friend, a trustworthy supplier for the clothes of my girls' kimonos as well, should he find the whole thing endearing for him also.
I would not even dare propose such thing to him, to tell the truth, given the deep friendship existing between us; but I am also quite aware of the fact that it would be pretty difficult to find a person more fair than him, both in the whole world and in the trade area.
Everyone thinks more at flaunting each other's wealth, rather than think thoroughly at one's education.
That is why I do believe in a place like the Okiyama.
That is why I am also slightly debated at the idea of talking to Ryo about business; I don't want him to think I invited him over for this reason. If I wanted him here, it's to enjoy his quiet company and his silent approval about the people I gathered in here.
That is why I'm bemused at the enthusiasm he reveals in the vaguely embarrassed smile he addresses me with, when the girls on stage do manoeuvre a particularly quick and fast dance; he's bewildered when he hears them singing.
He's undecipherable when Diva appears on stage, in her gold and green brocade, and starts out with her performance.
I admit being particularly proud of her, who incidentally comes from the Kansai region; just like Ryo is, though I have yet to tell him.
Her singing makes people tremble inside; her graceful, stunning, sensual movements make people unable to simply dare looking away from the stage.
She is the very same one mentioning some rather bizarre happening, right after the last show, when I do compliment all the girls for the excellent outcome of their new dance.
"Matsumoto-san, I did fail being up to the expectations," Diva tells me in my bureau, where she motions for us to move to share a couple words in private. "I do feel terribly distressed about such matter."
"You must be joking, I swear," I reply, flashing her a huge smile. "Applause have never been as unceasing as tonight. Nobody has been able to tear the gaze away from you all for the slightest moment!"
I do see her trying to bite a lip, and give up right afterwards. She does look hesitant.
"Why are you so afraid of telling me what is troubling you?"
"Because I... I do not wish to seem pretentious at all. I do understand the matter is about someone who is of great, when not of the greatest, value for you. I do not wish to put such person in a bad light at all."
I frown.
"You know that would never happen, anyway."
"And still-"
"Tadayoshi, please," I retort in my lowest voice, pleading her. I know she does not stand hearing such a name; but I do also know it's the only psychological leverage I can exert on her to shake her.
"The matter is... about Nishikido-san," she eventually confesses me, lowering her voice to a mere whisper.
"When my eyes did meet his own ones, during my performance, he did... turn them away from me."
Oh. Was I was sitting beside him and I failed even noticing such an event? That is what happens when you do think about mere business and you should not, Jun... Serves you just right.
"Did such thing hurt you? Do you wish for me to ask him to offer you his apologies?"
"Certainly not, I do not wish for such... it's just that... if someone like Nishikido-san did look away, it does mean I did not do well enough."
"Or maybe you did even more than enough. Maybe your dance was such absolutely sublime performance that it managed striking even the incredible inner sensibility of a man of his stature," I do suggest her. She does flutter the long eyelashes looking perplexed, but she can tell from my frank gaze that what I told her is what I do think for real.
"In this instance I... I do beg your pardon. I might have been quite inappropriate."
"I wouldn't say so. If you reckon this leaves you unsatisfied and does drive you on improving even more, I couldn't help but being so proud of you," I add then.
She stares at me again; it's true, her pretty dark eyes can destabilize you, if only you get to realize, however vaguely, the complexity there is just beyond them. It's not for everyone, of course, and I am not surprised my friend already guessed that right.
It's just such a shame that Diva cannot belong to anyone, and not even to herself.
**
Days and weeks do pass quickly by, and if it's true that Ryo is very busy handling his business relationships during the day, he never misses paying me homage by joining me at the Okiyama during the evening.
It is a fact that such thing does flatter me.
His proverbial discretion does not allow him to be one of those fashionable talkers this era is so proud of, especially in places like mine, but Ryo does manage to get himself noticed and appreciated without realizing it himself at all. After each of the performances my girls have on stage, it's a distinct pleasure seeing him being lavish with our regular clients through long and courteous disquisitions. They're all intrigued by his place of origin, whereabouts, his work, his good looks and his extremely polite manners.
All the girls do have taken a liking to him, and he never denies them any compliment about the quality of their singing and dance, or the chromatic approach of their clothes. It's as if he's already become part of this family.
I do adore, to say the least, that he's able to see so much, within all of them: that they are wonderful people, capable and talented ones, rather than mere seducers or even transvestites. Let alone people who failed at life, like each of them thought they had to be.
Late in the evening, in the privacy of my office, I do compel Ryo to keep me company and have our tongues loosened through some perfect Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey, before allowing myself to tell him some anecdote about my girls.
"Why do they work here?" He asks me during one of his very first evenings spent in Tokyo. "Please don't let me get misunderstood. Your classy style in handling this business is as impeccable as always. This place is awesome and they are all so cute, if I may dare saying so. But... well, it's some rather atypical job indeed. It's no Kabuki, however resembling such art a little. And I cannot even define them geishas despite being definitely no less fascinating."
"Indeed," I nod slowly. "They do draw something from each of those arts, and that's something I also wanted to convey through the name of this place. Okiya, the cradle of geishas. Oyama, the onna-gatas. Fused in a single name, in a newborn identity. My dear Ryo, if only you knew how much I do love Kabuki..." I do confess him sighing, and he smiles at me. "I am crazy in love with that, and whenever I see my girls on the Okiyama stage recalling such art, however just briefly, I..." I shake my head, caught in a sudden emotion.
"I think I can understand," Ryo murmurs, "one can definitely fall head over heels for it..."
"Exactly. I do adore all the performance we're having here, and I do love that my girls can make more than one man definitely crazy for them. But into these private chambers at Okiyama, no carnal desire is permitted," I do tell him. "With maybe only a very few private exceptions I do prefer skimming over."
"What do you mean?"
"I have never dared asking Kazu-chan for the details, but it's no mystery that those two are bound to each other for life, and since forever."
"Kazu-chan?" Ryo asks, quite curious.
"Kazunari Ninomiya, that is to say Nino. We could say that everything started out of him; I met him during my last year at University, we attended some lessons together.
He never had good grades, though. Once he was done with his education, he did not accept the job his father had recommended him for. He ran away from home and had Satoshi with him; Satoshi, that is to say our Satoko, has been his longtime inseparable childhood friend. They are unable to live far from each other. They both soon realized, though, that they were equally unable to survive through ordinary heavy jobs suited for men, the only ones they had found employment at. They have no physical strength, sadly.
That was when they both ended up as prostitutes, dressing up as women in order not to risk being ever found out by relatives or such. It's outside a brothel in Yoshiwara I randomly stumbled upon them one day; I happened to be there for a delivery nearby, as I was asked by my father.
When I spotted and recognized them... well, you can tell I was not exactly happy, at first. But the whole thing kept bugging me for long; I kept thinking how Nino that day had improvised some dancing before my eyes, in order to not have me grieved. He had Satoshi, he had told me, and just by having him by his side, he could overcome everything and be happy whenever the place, he had said.
But I did firmly believe he deserved way better than such world."
I take a deep sip of my Whiskey, allowing Ryo the time to ponder my words.
"By helping out my father with his job, by supervising his busboys delivering goods in whatever the mostly oddly assorted corners in Tokyo, I have had the chance of getting to see many things; I made up my mind, asked my father a loan and went seeking Nino. I basically asked him to dance for me. Dance for me seriously. My father did not support my project, of course, but I asked him to bet on me instead. And in the end, I was proved quite right."
Ryo smiles fondly at me, and I can glimpse complicity in his eyes. He pours me some more Whiskey, before making our glasses clink.
"Starting from that day on, other girls joined the Okiyama, mostly out of sheer chance.
Yokoyama-kun, or Yoko as you know her, has been left by his wife because he was unable to make her a mother.
Nino and Satoko brought him after finding him pretty drunk. He was just about to willingly trying to drown himself into the Arakawa river.
Ai-chan is Aiba-kun. He's been one of the first clients here, and I've always wondered how did he even make it for the tickets, judging by his modest clothes. Until the day he came and begged me to let him dance on stage together with Nino and Satoko, given that he had run out of money and that he wanted to start out a new life.
Yuuko's real name is Yuuya. She loves playing with her own identity: as petite, sensual and alluring as she is. Staying at the Okiyama to entertain the male guests seems to make her bloom one day after another. To her it's a matter of a thin balance between the game of seduction and the fact of being part of a world she did not belong to, after being born in very poor family of fishermen.
Chibichan is Shota; he's an orphan guy that had been victim of diverse and horrible abuses by several boys ever since he left the childcare premise that had welcomed him until then. So much hatred... with everything starting out of him being genuinely unable to deny the sincere attraction he feels towards men; you know, the samurai era has gone and forever, and if such things were common norm back then, they're rather not anymore."
"Each of the girls can however freely spend the night at your guests' private residences, should both of them feel like to, isn't that so?" Ryo asks me.
"That's it," I do confirm him, "I wouldn't have expected less sagacity from you, my dear friend. Each of them has a room here upstairs. What we do collect through the performances on stage and what the clients do eat and drink at their tables -and believe me, it's no little amount-, it does allow me to provide them board and lodging, not to mention education.
Every now and then I do call here a longtime friend of my father's, one of the most popular geishas that Yoshiwara had seen in the last decades; it's the very same woman that helped me revise and improve Nino's skills at singing and dancing.
And should then any of my clients feel drawn by their performances to the point of asking them to share the night, why not? Sex itself is no part of this place, though, so they are completely free to adhere to the client's wish or not, to ask him a fee or nothing at all. They're free, independent people, and what they do get as income for their nights is just theirs; I do only ask them to report me quickly, should anyone behave rudely. And should that ever happen, such person would not be welcome nor allowed here ever again."
Ryo nods slowly. I do wonder the nature of his thoughts right now. More than once I caught it out of the corner of my eye, how Yuuchan e Chibichan take their time to carefully watch him more than due. Ryo is undoubtedly a very eligible young man. I am not sure whether he might concretely get to love them to such extent, though.
"You did not mention her," he tells me then, after a quite long silence.
"Who?"
"Diva."
A smug smile escapes my lips.
"Diva. Obviously," I murmur, nodding.
"What do you mean with 'obviously'?" Ryo asks, narrowing his eyes.
"Obviously... nothing," I do mock him, as cunning as I can.
"Jun...," he sighs, furrowing in that particular way of his that makes him utterly adorable.
"Yes?"
"I am not... interested," my dear friend grumbles low, vaguely embarrassed.
"I noticed the way you do look at her," I do provoke him. That is not true, of course. Everyone look at Diva in such way, which is why she spends several nights with our clients, and why there's a very long waiting list for those who wish to have the privilege of getting admitted into more private time with her, for longer than the mere cabaret time.
Ryo might have been so far, however, the only one looking at her for real, without the impudence and the shallowness that many others have.
"I am not interested, in such way," he repeats. "True, she does have a rather peculiar great charm. Her manners and movements are... different from your other girls. Please do not get me wrong, Jun, I am not to say they are different, for they are no less fascinating. But Diva is..." I can see Ryo cock his head to one side, as if searching for words. "It is as if she were to come from a completely different world, somehow."
"And that is exactly so, my friend, that's so. Should you ever get tired of selling cloth fabrics, please do remember me to introduce you to my dear policeman friend, deal?" I mock him, "you do have for sure some nice talent for noticing what everybody else doesn't."
"Please don't be silly Jun, please," Ryo chirps, while rubbing one cheek with the palm of his hand. For all the gods in Heaven, I should have him drunk more often. Or letting it not-so-accidentally slip with the girls. He's even more attractive, when he’s like this.
"Diva does actually come from a very wealthy family with a noble heritage, it's different for her," I do finally tell him, reverting back to some serious mood.
Ryo blinks rather perplexed, as if the alcohol did suddenly stop making him numb.
"Then... why is she here?"
"I cannot tell you to such extent," I murmur. "I promised her never to tell anyone. Not even my very best friend."
Some vague delusion drains some colour from Ryo's cheeks.
"Diva does also have a room here, but she rarely uses it, apart from using it as dressing room. She's the only one of the group living outside the Okiyama, in a small apartment belonging to her, not far from here," I do reveal him, as if to make amends for what I told him before.
"I am nearly sure she gets requested by clients almost every night," I go on. Ryo looks up, his eyes meet mine, and then he quickly looks away again.
"Some of them simply wish for her to keep them company at the Okiyama tables, after the show, as it frequently happens with the other girls. Maybe you wouldn't tell, but Diva loves the alcohol and can hold it pretty well," I do confess with a naughty smile. "She might be the one busy the most here, but she's also the only one coming first for rehearsals, not to mention handling certain delicate commissions with my customers on my behalf. They do love seeing her outside the stage, of course.
You could maybe walk her until there sometimes, what do you reckon? This would also help you further broaden your acquaintances in the city," I do suggest in a velvety voice. "And maybe, in exchange, I could intercede for you for having a night with her."
"Jun, please do stop it. I do beg you," Ryo insists, in a firm voice.
"Not to mention, you could directly avoid the waiting list."
Ryo stands suddenly up, turning on his heels and giving me the shoulders.
Oh oh. Did I dare too much?
"Should you get to wish for it, Ryo, there is seriously nothing to be ashamed about..." I do assure him, sweeter than before. "My girls are likeable ones. A lot, and I cannot help but being very happy about it. It would be just normal, should you-"
"How would it exactly be normal, being attracted to a guy?" he stammers in a voice louder than usual, avoiding to look at me. "... I do apologize," he quickly adds, sighing. "Please do accept my apologies, Jun, I never dared sounding offensive at all. It's just that... " Ryo looks up at me straight, finally. He does look rather torn.
"They are really, really fascinating. But I... I do not think I may..."
"You may offer them your wonderful company?" I do complete for him. Ryo sometimes does not realize about his own charm, seriously.
"I have no intention of imposing them my company, let alone get them hurt in any way," Ryo insists, with a rather torn expression.
"Should you ever venture doing such thing, I will certainly beat you up with these very hands, you are being warned," I reassure him vehemently, addressing him with a rather unusual scowl. "No one can dare hurt them, for they all have suffered way too much during their life so far, I dare say."
"I do agree with you."
"That would never happen with you being involved, anyway," I do sweetly insist. "For you are an extremely gentleman one, my friend."
"That is not true."
"Honestly, Ryo, I cannot see where the problem lies. Are you already betrothed to someone, in Osaka?"
"That is not, yet I-"
"Good Heavens, you are not asked to get engaged here, Ryo! Let alone fall in love with them!" I try to have him persuaded, vaguely exasperated, trying to find the way to his embarrassed candour. "You just have to let yourself enjoy some pleasurable time when in their company, if you wish so. For all the time you will be spending here in Tokyo. Please do not feel ashamed of anything because -believe me- seeing you all get along so nicely can do nothing but make me feel extremely happy. Would you not do that for me, Ryo?"
"Do... what?" he grumbles, embarrassed and confused.
I roll my eyes.
"Please tell me, Jun, but as far as you're concerned, have you ever... with them..."
"Never," I do confirm him, anticipating a question he is unable to ask, due to the excessive respect he grants to the one I am. I do stand on my feet as well, facing him straight. "No, I have never seen any of them privately. And that is not because I would not fancy them.
By knowing that there are beautiful guys under those garments, I am not bothered at all. And yet, given the kind of relationship that has been established between us, I do believe it would be rather disrespectful going further than that."
"Indeed," Ryo murmurs while keeping his eyes into mine. "Of course."
"That is why you can do that in my place, my dear friend," I conclude, winking at him while patting vigorously his shoulder.
"What the heck, Jun!" He growls louder, embarrassed once again. "You were talking very seriously up until a mere instants ago, while now-"
"Goodnight, Ryo," I do silence him, laughing. He seems wishful to retort, but then he gives up and retrieves his hat from the table.
"Goodnight, Jun," he murmurs, leaving me with a fleeting smile, and some vague blush still fathomable on his cheeks.
NOTES:
Onnagata (or Oyama): men that play women's roles in kabuki stories.
Okiya: the place where the geishas found their 'home', the place that nurtured them to become talented performers, and where they had to come back to. The Okiya 'bought' them as young girls, took debts in order to make them grow up and teach them the arts, and the geisha had to repay them through their works later on.
**