Legend: "(...)" Japanese dialogue.
---Meiji Period Japan, 1880---
Eight years ago, the first railway line between Yokohama and Tokyo was
built. Earlier today, she had gotten on the train to take her to her new
home. For most passengers on the train, it was the closest any of them
would ever get to a geisha. Unfortunately, since she dressed incognito
with her costumes and makeup in her luggage, chances were that no one
would ever know it.
Her parents had sold her to the okiya (geisha house) when she was
still a child, and the woman who ran it supported her training in the
arts of dance and entertainment, becoming her manager of sorts when she
had made her public debut as a maiko (woman of dance, i.e. apprentice
geisha) at the ochaya (exclusive facilities where geisha perform). She
received her training, support, and protection from the proprietress of
the okiya, and in return she had served a five years apprenticeship
under her following her debut.
She could still remember her debut. Between the elaborate kimono and the
hair ornaments, she was carrying an extra forty pounds of weight. Over
time, dancing in such heavy costuming had helped her to develop her
muscles.
Well, that and the martial arts training. The proprietress of the okiya
she was trained in was unusual in that she actually had her girls
trained in Japanese fencing and other self defense techniques.
Apparently when she herself was a maiko, a friend of hers in the okiya
was raped by a foreigner. She later performed hara-kiri, rather than
live with the shame. The proprietress was determined none of her girls
would have to endure the same fate.
Two months ago, she had turned twenty. To celebrate, the okiya performed
the rite of passage known as "turning the collar" on her. She was no
longer a maiko; she was a full fledged geisha now. Her apprenticeship
up, she was now a free agent of sorts, allowed to move out on her own.
She told her proprietress that she wished to go to Tokyo. She wished to
work in one of the karyukai (special districts set aside for the
enjoyment of aesthetic pleasure) in the now bustling city. She did not,
however, tell her proprietress why. Strange rumors were coming out of
Tokyo, about lawlessness and civil unrest in certain districts, and
about a group of armor wearing Ronin who seemed to always show up when
there was trouble.
Funny thing was, if the rumors were to be believed, they were women
warriors.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the train whistle, followed by the
screeching of the train's brakes. Tokyo at last! She needed help getting
all her luggage off the train, and once they were all off and on the
pier, she calmly stood in her kimono and waited. Soon, a carriage
arrived, and a geisha not much older than herself got off, followed by
several attendants to help with the baggage.
"Linna Yamazaki?" the woman asked, studying the new arrival.
"Hai. You must be with the Geit Okiya, Miss..."
"Misae. Come on; let's get you to your new home."
------
"Commander, Captain Leon McNichol is here to see you now."
"Good, show him in." Commander Nicholas Roland, in charge of the British
military outpost in the Kioichio province of Tokyo, looked out his
window as his men went through their morning drills. He'd been stationed
out here long enough to pick up most of the language, and to have picked
up an ulcer from having to deal with certain hostile members of the
native population. He heard the door open behind him and turned around.
"At ease. Have a seat, Captain." He said to the young Scotsman. "I
suppose you're wondering why you were transferred from our post in Osaka
to here."
"Yes, now that you mention it, it did seem a bit odd at that."
"I gained access to your service record, lad." he said, lighting his
pipe. "You're a no nonsense sort who is fluent in the language, and
somehow trusted by these bloody Orientals. I'm in desperate need of men
like you. We're primarily a peace keeping force here, McNichol. In order
to keep the peace, we do have to make certain concessions."
"Such as?"
"McNichol, how would you feel being teamed up with one of the natives?"
"I wouldn't mind that too much, sir."
"Good. His name's Wong. I'll introduce the two of you..." Commander
Roland was interrupted by the sound of knocking at the door. "Who's
there?"
"Sir, your secretary, Nene Romanova, sir." A woman with a Russian accent
said on the other side of the door.
"Come in, Romanova."
Leon did a double take when he saw the young blond enter the room. "Sir?
Is the British army now allowing children to enter?" Nene looked at the
new arrival, stuck her tongue out at him, and then looked back to the
commander.
Commander Roland chuckled. "Don't let her age fool you, lad. She speaks
and reads fluently in Russian, English and Japanese. She's also one of
the brightest young lasses I've ever come across. Why, between you and
me, she's the best code breaker we've had in the last fifteen years"
"I see. My apologies, Miss Romanova."
She nodded to him, making a mental note to make his life miserable at
every turn for calling her a child.
"That's alright, no harm done. Right, Romanova?"
"Hmm? Oh, right."
"Well Captain, now's as good a time as any to give you the tour of the
place. You're going to be stationed here for a while, so you might as
well learn the lay of the land."
---Thirty Minutes Later---
Having been given a tour of the barracks, Leon, Roland and Nene now were
outside touring the neighboring houses and shops lining the streets.
Nene and the Commander were pointing out the various landmarks and
places friendly to foreigners, as well as the places to avoid. As they
were walking, something caught Leon's eyes. A woman in a rather common
looking black Kimono, with her scraggly hair pulled back in the ponytail
so widespread in this part of Japan.
"Who's the bird?" he asked.
"The who?" Commander Roland asked.
"The bird over there in the dark kimono. I wouldn't mind getting to know
her better."
Nene and Roland looked to where McNichol was motioning with his head.
Roland rolled his eyes as Nene suppressed the urge to giggle.
"I'd stay away from that one, lad." Commander Roland warned him. "She
may not look it, but she's a mean lass, with a checkered past to boot.
Or so they say."
"Plus, she hates foreigners." Nene put in.
"Aw, really? And why's that, luv?"
"Her father was an American whaler. The only thing he left her was her
name."
"Which is?"
"Priscilla. Priscilla S. Asagiri. She's a singer in one of the local
taverns. You have about as much chance with her as I do of being
knighted by Queen Victoria." she added, smiling with glee at the
crestfallen reaction of the young captain. As they walked down the
street, a woman elegantly dressed in a European styled corset with her
long hair pulled back by a large bow exited a women's clothing store,
carrying an umbrella to protect her from the sun. Leon watched as she
tried unsuccessfully to open the umbrella, partially opening and closing
it several times before finally propping it open and going out.
"Who's that?" He asked.
"That," Commander Roland answered, "Is Miss Sylia Stingray, owner of a
women's clothing store specializing in both European and traditional
Japanese clothing choices. And before you ask, rumor has it she already
has a suitor."
Unbeknownst to Commander Roland or Captain McNichol, both Nene and Priss
saw the signal Sylia had just sent them with her umbrella. Nene brushed
her left shoulder and Priss scratched her nose to confirm they received
the message.
------
Rodger Dowering of walked to his office surrounded by his bodyguards
from the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia). Upon opening his door, he found a man
standing there in front of his desk, waiting for him.
"Dowering, it's about time."
Roger's bodyguard were about to attack, when he held up his hand,
signaling for them to hold their peace. "(It's okay. Leave us alone.
Wait outside the door.)" As they left, he nervously approached the man
scanning his papers he'd left out.
"B... B... Brian J. Mason, sir. I wasn't expecting a visit from
corporate..."
"How goes the spices and the textiles?"
"Spices and... oh, good. We're selling them at a very profitable..."
"And the opium and heroin?" Roger looked around nervously. It was
dangerous to talk about such things too openly.
"Well, uh, that is, we..."
"What about the sales and distribution of firearms?" Mason asked,
continuing not to look at Rodger but rather at his papers.
"Well, as far as the firearms go, we..."
Mason flashed him an angry look.
"You have had over three years now to incite hostilities between the
Japanese and the Europeans and Americans. Three years! And yet, for the
last three years, for the most part there's been nothing but peace in
Tokyo and the rest of Japan."
"It's not my fault," Rodger tried defending himself, "if these
slant-eyed devils won't rise up against their foreign visitors!" Mason
looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe so, but those 'slant-eyed devils' of yours are the key to our
plans. Right now there's an uneasy peace between the natives and the
British and Americans. Genom wants that peace eliminated. It's bad for
business; we make more from the sale of munitions and firearms that tea,
spice, textiles or our less than legal ventures. There's no money in
peace."
"I see."
"Take the Americas, for instance. Genom, through an American subsidiary,
sells firearms to the Indians in the plains, then sells guns to the U.S.
Military fighting the Indians."
He looked at Mason funny, "Doesn't either party get wise to such an
operation." Mason smiled.
"Why would they. No doubt some suspect, but consider the fact that we
can always claim any of our rifles found in the hands of a red man
probably came from a U.S. Cavalryman, and the fact that neither of the
opposing factions have any reason to compare notes. We supply the
Chinese with firearms, as well as the British military trying to enforce
the opium trade there. We make a killing at wars, if you'll pardon the
pun. The problem is, you've allowed for peace to come to Japan."
"I... I know. We've been doing our best to incite violence between the
Europeans and Orientals, only..."
"Only what?"
Rodger considered whether or not to tell him three sword wielding women
in samurai armor calling themselves the Knight Sabers were giving the
whole operation a bad time. He thought better of it.
"N... nothing sir. Tonight an attack will take place on the British
compound in Kioichio. The Japanese will be blamed, which will cause
retaliation on the part of the British. That should get the ball
rolling."
"I hope so for your sake, because when Chairman of the Board Quincy
Rosenkreutz arrives from Austria in two weeks by steamship, he..."
"Rosenkreutz? Here?" Roger asked, suddenly even more nervous than
before.
"Yes. Because of your incompetence, things have gotten so out of hand
he's personally coming here himself to look into it."
"I see... I will not fail. You'll see."
"I'd better." Mason snarled, before leaving the very badly shaken head
of the Japanese branch of Genom International alone in his office.
---8:00 PM---
Linna and Misae, along with a young maiko by the name of Takara, were
headed down the street to the ochaya where they would be performing a
tea ceremony for some of the local government officials, followed by
musical entertainment. Linna had agreed to a seven year contract with
the Proprietress in charge of the Geit Okiya, which wasn't bad at all
considering that as a full fledged geisha she was now entitled to keep a
percentage of her profits. If she lived within her means and did her job
well, she could retire with a nice little nest egg at the end of that
time, unless of course she chose to stay in the okiya.
In order to get to the karyukai where the ochaya was, she and her
companions had to pass by the British compound. Almost immediately, the
gaijin started cat-calling and whistling at the trio. She kept her
composure, though, and ignored the soldiers as she continued walking
straight ahead, her head held high, and her hands firmly clasped around
her thirteen-stringed koto. Misae, carrying her bamboo shakuhacki flute,
and Takara bringing up the rear were a little less confident.
One of the soldiers now decided to make an ass of himself by going up to
Linna and trying to pick her up. He suddenly stood at attention when an
angry voice came from behind him. Linna watched as two men, one a young
British officer and the other a member of the local peacekeeping force,
came up to the soldier. The officer started yelling at him and sent him
and the other soldiers away. He and the other one then turned to Linna.
"My apologies, ma'am, for the crude and brutish behavior you and your
fellow geisha were subjected to. My name's Captain Leon McNichol, and
this is Daily Wong. We both humbly ask for your forgiveness." he
finished, as both he and Daley bowed to the ladies. Linna smiled; the
foreigner actually knew proper etiquette.
"It is no problem." she said. "Thank you for your help though..." she
was just then cut off by an explosion. Looking away from Leon and Daley,
she saw a group of men armed with swords and knives coming up toward
them and the British compound.
"Respect the Emperor, expel the foreign barbarians!" the group started
screaming as they got closer. Leon and Daley reached for their side arms
as the doors to the British compound opened, and the soldiers, caught
off guard and in disarray, ran out to try to defend the stronghold. The
attackers, taking advantage of the opportunity, began to hack and slice
into those closest to them, taking their guns as they did so. One of the
attackers, seeing the group of three geisha huddled together against the
fortress wall, came up with a plan.
"Nobunaga, Takeda, follow me! Kill the geisha! Their deaths will be
blamed on the British!"
The men ran upon the women, now trembling in fear. The one carrying the
naginata (a long wooden pole with a curved blade at the end, similar to
a European halberd) quickly killed Takara, who was dead before she hit
the ground. One of the others went to cut Linna down with his sword,
when she deflected the blow using her koto, and then followed through
with a lightning-fast strike to his wind pipe. As he staggered back, she
brought her musical instrument down on his head, shattering both it and
his skull. To the shock of not only her other two attackers, but Misae
as well, she then pulled the sword from his dead hands and took a
defensive stance.
"Misae, get behind me!" she ordered. The two thugs looked at each other,
then back at Linna. All around them there was chaos as the battle raged.
Out of nowhere, arrows began to rain down on the attackers, as a figure
in pink samurai armor rode her charger into battle, loading up three
arrows at a time and releasing them at the insurgents with pinpoint
accuracy. Behind her, she could see two more, one in blue armor, one in
silver.
"They really do exist!" she gasped. It was like something out of the one
of the picture books she'd read when she was a child, but there they
were. What's more, unlike the scary male faceplates that usually
protected the warrior's faces she'd seen in books, their faceplates were
completely smooth except for the eye slots. They were each fighting the
attackers, and successfully cutting them down.
The attacker carrying the naginata tried to take advantage of the
distraction to attack Linna. The silver warrior looked over in time to
see Linna grab the weapon behind the blade, and shifted her weight to
pull her attacker off balance. She then quickly brought her sword down,
decapitating him. The third man looked from one fallen comrade to the
other, and then back at Linna.
"You fucking bitch!" he screamed at her, as he ran at her with his
sword. She ducked under his blow, slashing him across his abdomen
disemboweling him. Linna, breathing heavy now, and with her beautiful
new kimono now covered in blood, looked up to see the silver ronin still
watching her as her pink and blue companions rode away. She then turned
her own steed around, making a hasty retreat.
"L... Linna?" Misae nervously asked. Linna tossed the sword away, as the
British forces were rounding up the last of the troublemakers.
"Misae, are you alright?"
Misae was trembling, looking from their late compatriot Takara to the
three men her new friend had just killed. "You... you saved my life."
"Think nothing of it. And don't tell anyone what I did tonight. The
fewer people who know, the better." Looking away from her friend again
to the spot the armored figure had been, "So those were the Knight
Sabers I've heard about."
"Knight Sabers? You mean you saw them?"
"Yes, didn't you?"
"No, I was huddled behind you, remember."
Linna smiled at her friend, and suddenly got a cold chill from the blood
now seeping through the layers of her kimono. She then looked down at
the fallen maiko, and her smile vanished. "Let's go back to the okiya.
There'll be no entertaining for us tonight. You take Takara's arms, I'll
carry her legs." She said grimly. The trip back to the okiya was spent
in silence.
------
Sylia Stingray took her shoes off and left them on the tatami (straw
matting) outside the entrance to the Geit Okiya. The proprietress met
her at the door, respectfully thanking her for the fine silk kimonos
she'd delivered to them the week before. As they passed from the outer
courtyard into the living quarters, Sylia saw a geisha arranging flowers
in a vase. She studied the young woman's face intensely. The young woman
looked up at her, meeting her stare before looking away and going back
to her flowers. The proprietress noticed the exchange of looks, and was
about to inquire, when Sylia turned to her first.
"Etsu-sama?"
"Hai."
"Are we alone?"
"Yes. Well, except for the young new arrival over there. Poor thing had
a frightful night last night. We lost a young girl in the incident."
"You mean she was outside the British compound last night?"
"Yes, and she came in last night with her kimono covered in blood. Can
you imagine?"
"What's her name?"
"Her name? Linna Yamazaki. Why?"
"I wish to buy her."
"Her services, you mean?"
"No. Her. I wish to purchase her contract."
Proprietress Etsu was shocked. "But... but she is a geisha. You don't
run an okiya, nor do you have access to an ochaya where she could
perform at. What would you do with her?"
"Five hundred yen."
"Stingray-sama, it's not simply a matter of money. I..."
"One thousand yen."
"Please, if I were to sell her contract over to you there'd be important
things to be taken into consideration: her happiness, her well being,
her..."
"Two thousand yen."
"Stingray-sama..."
"Three thousand."
Etsu looked at her, her head cocking to the side a bit, "Do you have
three thousand on you right now?"
"Hai."
"Are you willing to look me in the eye and promise me she won't be
abused or exploited?"
"Absolutely." she said.
"Very well. But it is not my final decision to make. If Linna agrees to
join you, I'll make out the contracts."
"Excellent. May I speak with her alone for a few minutes?"
"Of course. But remember; she's been through a traumatic experience. Be
gentle." And with that proprietress Etsu left her alone with the young
geisha.
"Yamazaki Linna-san?" Sylia asked the woman. She turned away from her
flower arranging to face the stranger.
"Hai. Who are you, miss?"
"My name's Sylia Stingray. I wish to talk to you, if you don't mind."
"No, of course I don't mind." She said smiling. As a geisha, one of her
functions was to entertain with lively conversation. Although it was a
bit odd, entertaining a foreigner, and a woman at that.
Sylia smiled back. "Good, because I was just talking with your
proprietress. I wish to buy out your contract.
Linna looked at her thoughtfully now. "You mean, you are the
proprietress of an okiya too?"
Sylia shook her head. "No."
Suddenly, a frightening thought occurred to Linna. "Stingray-sama?"
"Please, just Sylia. If you feel you must, though, I would prefer -san
to -sama."
"Yes... Sylia-san."
"Good. Now what is it?"
"I'm not a joro (prostitute)."
Silence.
"What?"
"Nor am I willing to become a joro. So if you're hoping to buy my
contract expecting me to work in your bordello you can please leave
now."
Sylia stared at Linna for a few seconds before she burst out laughing.
Her reaction caught Linna a bit off guard.
"No, I'm not going to turn you into a joro."
"Then why do you want me?" Linna asked suspiciously. Sylia leaned
uncomfortably close to the young geisha's face.
"Because last night I saw you kill three armed men as you were defending
one of your friends." she whispered.
Linna's eyes widened as she felt her heart start beating faster. "You...
you were the one in the silver armor?"
Sylia's smile widened. "Yamazaki-san, let me make you a proposition..."
---To Be Continued---
End Notes: Most information came from Japanese Street Slang by Peter
Constantine and Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki. Historical points from
internet history sites.
Back to Bubblegum Crisis: Meiji Index - Back to Bubblegum Crisis Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction