(D2 Entry) Butterflies of the Night, ch. 1

[Fallen Angel]

Title: Butterflies of the Night
Author: Fallen Angel, fallen_angel_2012@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, but contains LEMON in ch 13
Categories: Alternate Universe, Series, Romance
Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing and am making no money from this. Don’t sue.

A/N and summary: This story came from the result of my 20th reading of ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden and ‘Geisha’ by Liza Dalby, both of which are absolutely fascinating, whether or not you have an interest in Japanese culture. [Freely given advice, btw] Also, a lot of this story was inspired by what I myself experienced and read during my time in Japan and my studies.

So basically, the girls are living in Kyoto in the 1920’s or 1930’s as geisha, etc. and the guys have various other roles. And, for simplicity’s sake, everyone is Japanese unless otherwise said so. Please bear with me on the Japanese words: translations are offered at the end. K, on with the story…


Chapter 1: Relena


It was only a dream.

But it felt so real.

She was back in her birth home, out in the country in the Western Honshu region, just past Hiroshima. Her parents were dead, as they had been since Relena was just a little girl, so she could hardly picture them into her dreams. Her brother was with her, though, caring for her as he always had, with the help of his wife, Lucrezia Noin. Hilde - Noin’s little sister - was also there and the closest thing to a sister Relena would ever have.

In her dream, she was back in the day that they had come to take her brother. It had started off as such a happy day: Noin was cooking lunch while Zechs was fishing in the nearby river, taking a break from his job in the village as a bank clerk. She and Hilde were lying in the soft grass in the fields, watching the clouds go by and dreaming of their prince charming, as 15-year-old girls should.

And then everything changed forever.

The sound of hoof beats riding up the dirt road to their home alerted them from their dreams and drew them through the grass to the side of the house. There they watched in silence as Noin argued with one of the men on the horses - there seemed to be half a dozen of them. But more surprising than the sight of calm Noin arguing with a stranger was his appearance itself. He was dressed all in green and a sword hung from the belt around his waist. Hilde and Relena knew enough from their lessons at school that this man with the pompous attitude and sneering gaze was a soldier, as were his men.

The sound of their arguing got louder, though neither of the girls could make out what he was saying…

“Relena.”

Relena scowled in her sleep. That wasn’t what he’d said. But even now the dream was receding and she could tell the voice was that of Hilde’s.

“Relena, wake up.”

Relena turned on her futon and pulled the blanket tighter up to her neck, clinging to sleep for a few precious moments. She didn’t want to be back in the here-and-now. She wanted to return to four years ago…

“Relena! Sally-san wants you. Now. She says it’s important.”

With a grunt, Relena threw back her blanket and sat up. Hilde was kneeling beside her on the tatami with a doleful expression on her face.

“I’m sorry to wake you but…”

“Yes, I know. Sally-san wants me.”

Hilde frowned slightly. “For someone so nice and gentle you can be really crabby in the mornings.”

Relena sighed as she stood up, wrapping her robe more tightly around her as she moved in front of the mirror. Carefully, she put her hair back in order before turning to Hilde. “I’m sorry, Hilde. I don’t mean to be so difficult. But I had a big night last night. I think I overdid the sake.”

“That’s not like you,” said Hilde, her frown deepening.

“I know. Perhaps this place is getting to me. Maybe I’m just having a rough week.”

“Well,” the dark-haired girl began, trying to sound optimistic, “maybe Sally-san will have good news.”

“Perhaps,” said Relena, making her way downstairs. Sally was most likely in the front room, having tea with Noin as she balanced the books. It was part of her job as Okaasan of the okiya to maintain their budget and keep track of who owed what. Unlike most ‘mothers’ - the women who ran the geisha houses and were only mothers to the geisha there in theory - Sally preferred to be called by her name. She said any other way made her feel old, which she wasn’t at 23. The same age as Noin.

Sure enough, Relena found both women in the front room, sipping green tea…ocha. Although they weren’t discussing the budget if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. In fact, they seemed quite animated and excited.

“Ohayoo gozaimasu.” Relena gave a little bow. “You wanted me, Sally-san?”

“Yes, Relena. Come in, come in.” Relena did as she was asked and knelt beside the table. A maid promptly brought an extra cup and Relena drank from it gratefully.

“Relena, do you know who is coming to Kyoto soon?” asked Noin.

“No, who?”

“Someone very important,” hinted Sally, obviously enjoying this.

“The Emperor?”

Noin laughed. “No, no. Close enough. His right-hand-man, General Yuy.”

It took all of Relena’s skill as a geisha not to frown, but to keep her face impassive. Inside, though, she was fuming. A soldier?! She couldn’t blame Sally for not knowing, but at least Noin should be understanding of how she felt about soldiers.

“How does this affect me?”

“Well, everyone knows what a great geisha you are, Relena. Surely you will be asked to entertain for him. This will be a very big opportunity for you, entertaining the Emperor’s right-hand man,” said Sally, smiling genuinely. “You should be very happy.”

Relena nodded. “I am very happy, Sally-san,” she lied. “I hope you will excuse me, though. I haven’t yet had breakfast.”

“That’s fine. Go have something to eat.”

Her heart in her mouth, Relena left the room. She leant against the wall of the hallway, catching her breath and controlling her emotions. A soldier! Of all men, a soldier! Why didn’t Noin say anything?

“It was rude of you to leave so quickly,” said Noin, appearing at her side as if on cue.

“And it was rude of you not to tell her,” said Relena quietly. “A soldier! Noin, I thought you felt the way I do. After my brother…”

“You may not see it, Relena, but this has everything to do with your brother. If we are to leave this place and look for him, we must pay off the debt we owe Sally-san. She has already been kinder than we would’ve thought but she cannot afford to just let us go. For us to pay off our debts, you must take a danna.”

A danna. A patron. A man who would pay money and give lavish gifts to have her entertain him exclusively, to have her in his bed at night if he so wished. A man who would own her. The thought made Relena just a little queasy. She had already been through her mizuage two years ago and losing her virginity had been uncomfortable enough - could she really handle that on a nightly basis?

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Noin. “And I’m sorry but there’s no other way. I am still married and Sally was kind enough to let me work as her assistant instead of a geisha. Hilde is still in training. That leaves you.”

“Perhaps anyone else,” Relena murmured. “An artist, or a politician even. But a soldier? How can I give myself to a soldier after all they’ve done to us?”

“I’m sorry, imoto,” said Noin, using the term ‘little sister’ for the first time in years. “But remember what I said. No other way.”


{ { {


As Relena ate her rice, her mind was a million miles away.

‘No other way,’ Noin had said. And Noin was right. Even as one of the most popular geisha in Kyoto, Relena still didn’t earn enough from her nightly engagements at parties to pay off the debt they owned Sally. It had cost Sally lot of money to buy, house, feed and train the three women to be geisha. Especially since she’d allowed Noin to work in other ways and Hilde was still in training. And as much as they wanted to find Milliardo, they couldn’t do it at Sally’s expense. It wouldn’t be fair after she’d given them a way to live when they’d found poverty in Milliardo’s absence.

But a soldier?

Any man but a soldier.

Not after all they’d done…

…“By order of the Emperor! You cannot disobey an imperial decree!”

“No,” Noin was crying. “You can’t take him away from us. This is his home.”

“Japan is all our homes,” said a young soldier by the leader’s side. “We must all fight to protect it.”

“No!”

At this point, her brother appeared, brought by the sounds of the argument. Straightaway, he took a defensive position between Noin and the leader. He was dressed only in pants and a loose cotton shirt but Relena swore that he was far more imposing in just that than the soldiers were in their uniforms. Especially with the way his eyes narrowed at them in anger. The leader seemed to balk at this and his voice lowered a few levels. But as he and Milliardo spoke, their voices raised again until they too were arguing.

It seemed that her brother was going to have his way after all - whatever that was - when the soldier leaned down and whispered something in Milliardo’s ear. Relena couldn’t hear what it was from her position, but she knew, somehow, that the soldier had threatened their family if Milliardo didn’t do what they said. Only such a thing could bring such fear and anger to her brother’s eyes. He froze, then turned back to Noin. She was crying freely now, even more so when he kissed her and whispered something in her ear.

Slowly, like a man being led to his execution, Milliardo hung his head and followed the soldiers, taking a mount behind one of the men. Then, as quickly as they’d come, they were riding off again, her brother looking back to the house desperately.

The fear and confusion that had kept Relena hidden was thrown to the wind as they took her brother away. She didn’t care why it was happening or who was responsible. All she knew was that they couldn’t do it.

Ignoring Hilde’s cries, she jumped up from the grass and ran down the hill towards the forest at the bottom of their land. The men would have to ride through that to reach the main road and if she were quick enough, she could catch them in time. She ran faster than she ever had before, ignoring the occasional thorn or sharp rock in her foot. It didn’t matter.

But she was still not going to be fast enough. By the time she reached the road, they were already passing through. The last one to come along, though, the same young soldier who had spoken about ‘Japan being all their homes’ was still within reach. Without thinking, Relena hurled herself from the trees, knocking the soldier off his horse and falling down with him.

In the tangle of arms and legs that ensued, Relena didn’t even notice what he was doing. The next thing she knew, he had her up against a tree, his knife against her throat.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” he growled out, his skin beading with sweat and his breathing heavy. Relena was momentarily startled by how young he was before her rage came crashing back over her and she struggled and cried out in his grasp.

“Stop it,” he told her, even as he looked for a glimpse of his companions. But they had already ridden ahead. “Damn.”

“Let me go.” Relena struggled, lashing out with her knees at her captor. She smiled wickedly as she landed a decent kick to his abdomen.

“No.” The young soldier only gripped her wrists more tightly in his hands. “Stop fighting me.”

“Or you’ll do what?” she hissed, with a venom she didn’t think she had.

“I’ll kill you…”



Translations:

Tatami: the straw mats covering the floors of a traditional Japanese room

Sake: Japanese rice wine. (Handle with care ^_^)

Ocha: Green tea

Danna: A patron of a geisha who specifically ‘owns’ her.

Mizuage: the ritual loss of a geisha in training’s virginity ‘performed’ by a very high paying customer. It usually coincided with her full debut. (mostly outdated now)

Imoto: little sister

Okaasan: mother

Okiya: a geisha house, where the geisha live (but not where they work)

Ohayoo gozaimasu: good morning