Geisha verse Ficlets (x4) [Prince of Tennis: Fuji, Tezuka]
prompt: Geisha!fic; "A ribbon around her throat."
date: 15th February
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: 491 words. Features cross-dressing. An intrusion.
-
Though it is not in his nature to do so, sometimes Fuji drinks a little too much sake to be sensible. It is not in Tezuka-san's nature, either, but sometimes he gets himself a little tipsy too.
They are both accomplished at holding their drink, however, so nobody else knows it but them.
"It is cool enough outside to make the mind more alert, wouldn't you say?" Tezuka says, but it is not conversationally. Fuji nods.
"But not too cold that it would be uncomfortable to walk out in." Fuji rises from the floor in one swift movement that was all too easy to emulate from the beginning and looks down at Tezuka-san. "Would you accompany me on a walk through the gardens?"
Tezuka nods and rises slowly, betraying no signs of intoxication. Not so much as a wobble or a wince. He offers out his elbow to take, and Fuji slips his arm around Tezuka's, knowing he will have to support Tezuka-san about as much as Tezuka-san will have to support him.
When the cold air hits him, Fuji can't help but be brought back to reality, and thinks about the fact that he could never do this during the daytime. Not during his everyday life. He could not so much as hold Tezuka's hand, let alone entwine their arms and lean upon him like a life support. In such close proximity it is hard to remember to be proper, even as a geisha should be, let alone as a man mascarading as a woman. Fuji wants to run his fingers along Tezuka-san's jacket sleeve, bunch it up until it creases for once. He wonders if Tezuka-san would let him.
He is still wondering when his eyes travel faster than his mind and he sees another pair out in the gardens in the darkness. The lights from inside pick out various features of the plants and trees; he can make out a man and a woman; a patron and a geisha.
His fingers are at her neck; something is tied around her throat.
Tezuka does not seem to notice that Fuji has slowed his steps, simply acquiescing to whatever pace they take. Wherever he is looking, wherever his mind is, it is not on the scene in front of them.
Fuji hears an sharply indrawn breath beside him as the man begins to tighten the ribbon around the geisha's neck that reveals Tezuka has noticed them after all. The first instinct is to call out, to stop them, and Tezuka almost does. Fuji uses his arm as a barrier. The geisha's breath catches, but her smile is radiant.
"Tezuka, we should leave." Fuji murmurs softly but firmly. Tezuka nods beside him, and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"That's the first time you've forgotten to use an honorific around me," he says in an entirely disinterested manner, too casual to be true. "I think you're finally being yourself."
-
challenge: pot500's Festivals Challenge, #7.
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: Geisha!fic, not in the prompt list! 176 words. Features cross-dressing. Written on 18th February. Attending a Hanami*.
-
"I find it very fitting that parties are held for this reason," Fuji says to Tezuka, strolling along with him and watching idle petals slip to the ground every so often when the wind blows too harshly. "Once again, men gathering around to admire Sakura."
He gestures to the geisha of the same name; small and delicate, looking terribly fragile, blushing beneath her make-up as the crowd around her make jokes, though not at her expense. It would be like insulting a child.
"I feel many things for geisha," Tezuka-san says, watching the scene with disinterest. "Admiration is not one of them."
"Nor desire, mmm, Tezuka-san?" Fuji teases. He is the only one whose eyes do not linger upon Sakura-san, except for Fuji himself, but in this guise he is not supposed to be looking anyway. "This party could last into the night; are you prepared for that inevitability?"
"I'm prepared for every inevitability." Tezuka says firmly. Fuji can feel the glare trained upon him, and wonders to what extent Tezuka believes in his own words.
-
*Hanami; Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Viewing Parties.
-
prompt: Geisha!fic; "find a face behind our lipstick smiles".
date: 19th February
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: 458 words. Features cross-dressing. There are many different levels of disguise and deception.
-
"Tezuka, do you ever wonder what they all look like under their make-up?" It's a question out of nowhere, but Tezuka is used to them by now. He does not get at all ruffled.
"The same but a little less pale, I'd assume." He says. "I don't tend to wonder about such things."
"Classic Tezuka-san." Fuji grins. The silence continues a little further. Fuji looks around, takes note of the room so that he does not have a chance to sneak peeks at Tezuka-san and see if he is being watched.
The maiko Raiha sits between her older sister and her chosen patron looking uncomfortable but quite adeptly masking it to those who have not been people-watching for a long time. Most of the men present do not have the skill. Fuji, however, notices Raiha's older sister press something into her hand, conceals it more skillfully than Raiha herself does when she attempts to then pass it on to her patron. Fuji notes the ekubo* exchanging hands, and hovers between a smile and a frown. The girl is obviously more nervous than she ought to be.
It is the first time Fuji really thinks about it. He has never allowed himself to become familiar with a maiko who might put him in the position of having to accept or rebuff an ekubo. He cannot draw upon old memories therefore, to try and recall if the girl was nervous, if she trembled. If her eyes were full of naivety and misunderstanding. He is grateful in a distanced sort of way, that he never had to experience sex like that.
In stark contrast to the scene, further on Fuji's eyes catch a stray hand sliding under the table, too far across to be landing in Mamehide-san's own lap. She is good, but not good enough, because having been on both the giving and the receiving end of such an act, Fuji knows how to discern the hand movements, slight as they appear from above. This time, he does laugh.
Tezuka-san frowns at him; the laugh is completely out of place, after all. Fuji stops himself quickly, tries not to glance back, but Tezuka-san must have already seen where his eyes were fixed because he is looking for himself now.
His cheeks take on a beautifully light shade of pink.
"Tezuka," Fuji says carefully, leaning over a little to breathe his words on Tezuka's ear. "Do you ever wonder what I look like under the make-up?"
By the time Tezuka unfreezes himself and manages to turn his head a little to look Fuji's way, and release a glare, Fuji thinks to himself fondly, Fuji has already excused himself for the night, and is watching before he leaves, from the doorway.
-
* ekubo; a rather suggestive looking cake presented to patrons when the time comes for an apprentice geisha to offer up her virginity for sale, to put it bluntly.
-
prompt: Geisha!fic; "Promise me to pass the time/Dance with me on plastic tears/Kiss me, We won't feel alone/Till morning when we disappear."
date: 22nd February
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: 662 words. Features cross-dressing. A farce.
-
The room is not silent at any point in the evening, and the sound does not reach a lull when the servant girl for the teahouse enters the room to whisper into Fuji's ear. It just feels like it does.
Or so he would have you believe; all she has said is that the flowers he always makes sure to admire in the garden have begun to bloom again. His gasp is purposely slight; a gasp as though terrible news has been delivered.
He discovers then that he can loose a tear on demand. It's just one tiny tear, but it's convincing enough for Tezuka-san. He looks almost ruffled by the situation.
"Shall I escort you outside?" he asks quietly, making sure not to draw attention. Of course he would skip past the glaringly obvious 'is something wrong?'. It is better this way; this way, Fuji does not have to lie.
"Yes please." He whispers, clutching Tezuka's arm like it's a life-support ring. He tucks his head down and attempts to keep up the subdued act while his insides are swarming with pleasure that his pretense is going like clockwork. It is selfish and stupid to be conniving to find ways to spend time alone with Tezuka-san, but once he has thought of a plan things just seem to unravel on their own until they are precisely how Fuji wants them.
When he thinks about being caught out in his own game, sometimes he thinks that he just might not mind it happening, and that scares him. It doesn't stop him though.
They sit in silence on a bench; Fuji does not want to speak and ruin the moment, break the spell, and he knows Tezuka does not want to enquire or press him as it will seem rude. Perhaps he doesn't even want to know what the possible problems or dramas of a geisha could be. Time and time again he has pointed out how little he truly cares for them. But he is Tezuka and he does as he is supposed to do in his society. Fuji's skin crawls, and Tezuka mistakes it for chill from the night air.
"You should wear more layers," Tezuka chides.
"In this line of work, that isn't very practical." Fuji smiles slightly. "Surely you see the sense of my showing a little skin?"
"Ah." Tezuka says as affirmation. "A tease."
"Mmmm." Fuji's reply is non-commital. They both know the answer anyway.
"It is well-suited to you." Tezuka continues; he seems bent on distraction rather than comfort, now that words have finally been exchanged. "You enjoy teasing like no-one else I have ever met. Most women tease, but you are somewhat bolder about it."
"And more persistent." Fuji says before he thinks. And the geisha mask is dropped once more. If his teasing and flirting are an attempt to be bold, these simple retorts that slip out like breathing are even bolder still. Fuji waits with bated breath; time passes. He can see the sky itching to change. Morning calls.
They have been sat in the garden of the teahouse for hours; everyone in the room with them earlier that night long departed. Fuji soon realises with dismay that he will get no sleep at all; a work day for him, at his proper job in an office carried out while wearing a suit, shirt and tie. To undress and wash off the make-up and then redress will take up all his free time before he must leave to travel on the train. It is time to leave.
"Thank you," he says simply, and makes the stupidest move of all. He raises himself onto the tips of his toes to be almost of a height with Tezuka, and presses his lips to Tezuka's cheek. A soft, chaste thank-you kiss, but it takes all of Fuji's willpower not to grab Tezuka's chin and force him to turn his head so that their lips can meet instead.
-
date: 15th February
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: 491 words. Features cross-dressing. An intrusion.
-
Though it is not in his nature to do so, sometimes Fuji drinks a little too much sake to be sensible. It is not in Tezuka-san's nature, either, but sometimes he gets himself a little tipsy too.
They are both accomplished at holding their drink, however, so nobody else knows it but them.
"It is cool enough outside to make the mind more alert, wouldn't you say?" Tezuka says, but it is not conversationally. Fuji nods.
"But not too cold that it would be uncomfortable to walk out in." Fuji rises from the floor in one swift movement that was all too easy to emulate from the beginning and looks down at Tezuka-san. "Would you accompany me on a walk through the gardens?"
Tezuka nods and rises slowly, betraying no signs of intoxication. Not so much as a wobble or a wince. He offers out his elbow to take, and Fuji slips his arm around Tezuka's, knowing he will have to support Tezuka-san about as much as Tezuka-san will have to support him.
When the cold air hits him, Fuji can't help but be brought back to reality, and thinks about the fact that he could never do this during the daytime. Not during his everyday life. He could not so much as hold Tezuka's hand, let alone entwine their arms and lean upon him like a life support. In such close proximity it is hard to remember to be proper, even as a geisha should be, let alone as a man mascarading as a woman. Fuji wants to run his fingers along Tezuka-san's jacket sleeve, bunch it up until it creases for once. He wonders if Tezuka-san would let him.
He is still wondering when his eyes travel faster than his mind and he sees another pair out in the gardens in the darkness. The lights from inside pick out various features of the plants and trees; he can make out a man and a woman; a patron and a geisha.
His fingers are at her neck; something is tied around her throat.
Tezuka does not seem to notice that Fuji has slowed his steps, simply acquiescing to whatever pace they take. Wherever he is looking, wherever his mind is, it is not on the scene in front of them.
Fuji hears an sharply indrawn breath beside him as the man begins to tighten the ribbon around the geisha's neck that reveals Tezuka has noticed them after all. The first instinct is to call out, to stop them, and Tezuka almost does. Fuji uses his arm as a barrier. The geisha's breath catches, but her smile is radiant.
"Tezuka, we should leave." Fuji murmurs softly but firmly. Tezuka nods beside him, and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"That's the first time you've forgotten to use an honorific around me," he says in an entirely disinterested manner, too casual to be true. "I think you're finally being yourself."
-
challenge: pot500's Festivals Challenge, #7.
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: Geisha!fic, not in the prompt list! 176 words. Features cross-dressing. Written on 18th February. Attending a Hanami*.
-
"I find it very fitting that parties are held for this reason," Fuji says to Tezuka, strolling along with him and watching idle petals slip to the ground every so often when the wind blows too harshly. "Once again, men gathering around to admire Sakura."
He gestures to the geisha of the same name; small and delicate, looking terribly fragile, blushing beneath her make-up as the crowd around her make jokes, though not at her expense. It would be like insulting a child.
"I feel many things for geisha," Tezuka-san says, watching the scene with disinterest. "Admiration is not one of them."
"Nor desire, mmm, Tezuka-san?" Fuji teases. He is the only one whose eyes do not linger upon Sakura-san, except for Fuji himself, but in this guise he is not supposed to be looking anyway. "This party could last into the night; are you prepared for that inevitability?"
"I'm prepared for every inevitability." Tezuka says firmly. Fuji can feel the glare trained upon him, and wonders to what extent Tezuka believes in his own words.
-
*Hanami; Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Viewing Parties.
-
prompt: Geisha!fic; "find a face behind our lipstick smiles".
date: 19th February
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: 458 words. Features cross-dressing. There are many different levels of disguise and deception.
-
"Tezuka, do you ever wonder what they all look like under their make-up?" It's a question out of nowhere, but Tezuka is used to them by now. He does not get at all ruffled.
"The same but a little less pale, I'd assume." He says. "I don't tend to wonder about such things."
"Classic Tezuka-san." Fuji grins. The silence continues a little further. Fuji looks around, takes note of the room so that he does not have a chance to sneak peeks at Tezuka-san and see if he is being watched.
The maiko Raiha sits between her older sister and her chosen patron looking uncomfortable but quite adeptly masking it to those who have not been people-watching for a long time. Most of the men present do not have the skill. Fuji, however, notices Raiha's older sister press something into her hand, conceals it more skillfully than Raiha herself does when she attempts to then pass it on to her patron. Fuji notes the ekubo* exchanging hands, and hovers between a smile and a frown. The girl is obviously more nervous than she ought to be.
It is the first time Fuji really thinks about it. He has never allowed himself to become familiar with a maiko who might put him in the position of having to accept or rebuff an ekubo. He cannot draw upon old memories therefore, to try and recall if the girl was nervous, if she trembled. If her eyes were full of naivety and misunderstanding. He is grateful in a distanced sort of way, that he never had to experience sex like that.
In stark contrast to the scene, further on Fuji's eyes catch a stray hand sliding under the table, too far across to be landing in Mamehide-san's own lap. She is good, but not good enough, because having been on both the giving and the receiving end of such an act, Fuji knows how to discern the hand movements, slight as they appear from above. This time, he does laugh.
Tezuka-san frowns at him; the laugh is completely out of place, after all. Fuji stops himself quickly, tries not to glance back, but Tezuka-san must have already seen where his eyes were fixed because he is looking for himself now.
His cheeks take on a beautifully light shade of pink.
"Tezuka," Fuji says carefully, leaning over a little to breathe his words on Tezuka's ear. "Do you ever wonder what I look like under the make-up?"
By the time Tezuka unfreezes himself and manages to turn his head a little to look Fuji's way, and release a glare, Fuji thinks to himself fondly, Fuji has already excused himself for the night, and is watching before he leaves, from the doorway.
-
* ekubo; a rather suggestive looking cake presented to patrons when the time comes for an apprentice geisha to offer up her virginity for sale, to put it bluntly.
-
prompt: Geisha!fic; "Promise me to pass the time/Dance with me on plastic tears/Kiss me, We won't feel alone/Till morning when we disappear."
date: 22nd February
characters: Fuji, Tezuka.
notes: 662 words. Features cross-dressing. A farce.
-
The room is not silent at any point in the evening, and the sound does not reach a lull when the servant girl for the teahouse enters the room to whisper into Fuji's ear. It just feels like it does.
Or so he would have you believe; all she has said is that the flowers he always makes sure to admire in the garden have begun to bloom again. His gasp is purposely slight; a gasp as though terrible news has been delivered.
He discovers then that he can loose a tear on demand. It's just one tiny tear, but it's convincing enough for Tezuka-san. He looks almost ruffled by the situation.
"Shall I escort you outside?" he asks quietly, making sure not to draw attention. Of course he would skip past the glaringly obvious 'is something wrong?'. It is better this way; this way, Fuji does not have to lie.
"Yes please." He whispers, clutching Tezuka's arm like it's a life-support ring. He tucks his head down and attempts to keep up the subdued act while his insides are swarming with pleasure that his pretense is going like clockwork. It is selfish and stupid to be conniving to find ways to spend time alone with Tezuka-san, but once he has thought of a plan things just seem to unravel on their own until they are precisely how Fuji wants them.
When he thinks about being caught out in his own game, sometimes he thinks that he just might not mind it happening, and that scares him. It doesn't stop him though.
They sit in silence on a bench; Fuji does not want to speak and ruin the moment, break the spell, and he knows Tezuka does not want to enquire or press him as it will seem rude. Perhaps he doesn't even want to know what the possible problems or dramas of a geisha could be. Time and time again he has pointed out how little he truly cares for them. But he is Tezuka and he does as he is supposed to do in his society. Fuji's skin crawls, and Tezuka mistakes it for chill from the night air.
"You should wear more layers," Tezuka chides.
"In this line of work, that isn't very practical." Fuji smiles slightly. "Surely you see the sense of my showing a little skin?"
"Ah." Tezuka says as affirmation. "A tease."
"Mmmm." Fuji's reply is non-commital. They both know the answer anyway.
"It is well-suited to you." Tezuka continues; he seems bent on distraction rather than comfort, now that words have finally been exchanged. "You enjoy teasing like no-one else I have ever met. Most women tease, but you are somewhat bolder about it."
"And more persistent." Fuji says before he thinks. And the geisha mask is dropped once more. If his teasing and flirting are an attempt to be bold, these simple retorts that slip out like breathing are even bolder still. Fuji waits with bated breath; time passes. He can see the sky itching to change. Morning calls.
They have been sat in the garden of the teahouse for hours; everyone in the room with them earlier that night long departed. Fuji soon realises with dismay that he will get no sleep at all; a work day for him, at his proper job in an office carried out while wearing a suit, shirt and tie. To undress and wash off the make-up and then redress will take up all his free time before he must leave to travel on the train. It is time to leave.
"Thank you," he says simply, and makes the stupidest move of all. He raises himself onto the tips of his toes to be almost of a height with Tezuka, and presses his lips to Tezuka's cheek. A soft, chaste thank-you kiss, but it takes all of Fuji's willpower not to grab Tezuka's chin and force him to turn his head so that their lips can meet instead.
-