Geisha Surprise (Part 1)

Story post for August 2016

Geisha Surprise
Word count 6,641
World: Furry Rokugan (Fanfiction for the Legend of the Five Rings)
Artwork by the amazing Heather Bruton in 2004

This is set in an alternate land of Rokugan, a samurai based fantasy world of dragons, magic, and honor that is the setting for the Legend of the Five Rings. The story is unfinished, for now, but follows a young samurai as he fights to defend those who need it, and finds himself enmeshed in a web of intrigue and honor when he falls in love with a Geisha who hides a secret that could destroy them both.

***

Kenji stared up at his father's face in awe. The young wolf pup had always in awe of his father. The older wolf was a general for their clan, the noble Dragon, and he led armies of samurai at the biding of their lord, the Enlightened Sho-Tyr, the eternal dragon. Kenji rarely saw his father, but when he did he cherished each moment they spent together. Today was a special day for the young wolf. His father had come home especially to teach him. The walls of the family dojo seemed far away today as he stared at his father's face, which seemed to be hazy in the noonday light. The older wolf's golden and green armor seemed to glow as the light of Amarastu the Sun gleamed off it. So Kenji knelt with his back straight and his ears perked as he listened to his father tell him the tales of the empire's creation.

Kenji memorized how the great Kami, eight gods from the Celestial heavens, fell to the earth after warring with their parents the Sun and Moon.

The young wolf learned how the Kami looked upon the land of Rokushan and found it rich in life, but without order. No one tended the land or guided it. Nature ran wild, and so many treasures were lost because no one was there to tend them. The Kami decided that they should bring a taste of the Celestial Order of the heavens they were barred from to the land glorious land of Rokushan. They chose amongst themselves by a trial of combat who would be emperor, and then the other set out to find followers.

When the Kami traveled across Rokushan, they saw the many creatures of the land and knew they could be made into faithful servants. So the Kami raised the peoples of Rokushan up from four feet to two. They made men of the beasts of the land. They taught them honor, how to use claws of steel and the ways of Bushido. They taught some to speak to the elements of the world, the lesser kami that granted their new friends powerful magic. They made honorable men and women out of the beasts of the land to keep themselves company and forged the celestial order of Rokushan.

Kenji committed each word his father spoke to memory as the older wolf spoke to him. The legends which spoke of how each Kami gathered together into the great clans the lifted creatures that they admired or that impressed them in some way, the speed of the fox, the strength of a bear and the loyalty of the wolf. Each Kami valued something different in their followers, and thus each Kami was impressed by a different set of animals.

His father spoke of how each Kami gathered together those who would serve best, forming a Great Clan and named it after a creature they wished their followers to emulate. These noble animals became the leaders of Rokushan, the samurai caste. The other animals, like the mouse, the deer and the hare, became the peasants who would work the fields and tend the land. They might not wield the katana of a samurai, but they were the backbone of the Empire Kenji's father said. They toiled endlessly in service to their lords, and they should be respected for that.

In time, each of the Kami grew old or fell in battle. Some faded away, never to be seen again. They passed leadership of their clans on to the children they bore with the lifted noble animals. The line of emperors remained unbroken from father to son for nearly 7000 years.

Over time, his father said, the lines between the peasant and noble animals blurred somewhat. A peasant hare once impressed the emperor so greatly he were made samurai and given a minor clan to rule. Or a samurai would lay down his sword and serve his lord as a farmer in the fields instead, and a family of wolf farmers came into being.
Kenji squinted in confusion as his father spoke. The older wolf seemed to be sliding away, growing more distant by the second.

The clans mixed he said, as each sought favor in the eyes of the imperial throne, so that the noble blooded animals could be found in ever clan, but the names remained. The honor remained. Samurai fought and died for their lords and their honor.

Kenji shivered as the room suddenly grew cold, and the light seemed to bleed from the air. His father's face grew shadowed as the light in the dojo dimmed. Kenji could not move, he felt pinned to the ground and the cold turned to wetness that soaked him to the bone. The world seemed to bleed away from the wolf, until only his father's fading voice remained, the wolf's words ranging in his ears even though they seemed a thousand miles away.

"To serve ones lord was everything to a samurai. You must never give up Kenji-cun, never fail in your duty to the clan. You have to keep fighting, even when all is lost, no matter what the cost is."

The vision of his father faded away completely, replaced by the splotchy blackness of his own closed eyes. He was laying on the ground in his father's armor, cut from shoulder to hip by an enemy blade. It had been a vision, nothing more. His father was long dead now; he was a grown wolf, not a pup sitting at his father's feet. Kenji struggled to breathe, to open his eyes, but the blackness was overpowering. He could not move, or breathe or even open his eyes. He was dying, and he had not fulfilled his father’s wishes. He had given up.

***

Kenji strained to open his eyes.

He needed to open his eyes. He needed to stand up. If he could not stand, then he was as dead as his father was, and that would make him an honor less dog.

Kenji's ears twitched as he tried to locate his enemies by sound, but the screams and battle cries were dimmed as if he had cotton in his ears, and the clash of metal against metal receded into the distance just like his father's voice had done. The rain and the scent of his own blood mixed with the earth to make his nose useless to him. All his training, everything his sensei had taught him, could not tell him where his enemy was.

The wolf had to open his eyes, or he would die.

Die on the ground, in rain, under the hooves of some horse or the stroke or an unseen enemy sword. Kenji willed his body to respond, to move. The wolf's chest burned, and his body refused to respond to his commands. The faces of his ancestors seemed to float in the dancing lights behind his eyes, and for a moment his father’s face returned. He was the last of his line. If he died, their spirits died with him. He could not let that happen. The wolf searched the wet grass in front of him, until his paw closed around the hilt of his wakizaki. Kenji tightened his grip on his sword and opened his eyes.

Light flooded Kenji's brain as he forced himself up onto his hands and knees. The weight of his father's armor threatened to drag him back down, so he struggled out of the broken emerald armor. It fell away and landed on the dead bodies of the two samurai who had struck him down. Their swords had cleaved the wolf's armor nearly in half, but he had struck them down at the same time. Their armor had not been as strong as his father's.

Kenji stood up slowly, careful to keep his balance. The wolf's green kimono was covered in red now, but the pain in his shoulder was light and he could still grip his sword. The wound was not as deep, and the pain must have been from the shock of the blow more than wound itself. Perhaps he had broken a rib, but the armor of his father had taken most of the blow’s cutting force. The wolf whispered a prayer of thanks to father's soul and limped towards where the battle still raged.

The melee had moved down the hill, which was now covered in fallen samurai. At the bottom of the hill there was a line of green and gold clad warriors standing against a host of red clan samurai. His warriors had formed a wall of swords and spears, each defending the samurai beside him as they held the enemy Lion samurai at bay. Kenji could see his lieutenant shouting orders, using a group of quick samurai to plug any holes in the line, but the Dragon’s numbers were dwindling. The lion samurai were throwing themselves at his fellow Dragons, the large cats falling to the wolf and canine swords, throwing themselves at the line his men had drawn with their own blood in the hope of breaking through.

The pit of Kenji's stomach went cold when he looked beyond that line to where the enemy commanders were gathered. The young wolf could clearly see the two formations of Lion gathering on the far sides of the line his warriors had drawn, but his men at the bottom of the hill clearly could not see them. The rival commander was carefully directing his forces around the flanks of his men, using his war fans to signal his troops without alerting Kenji’s forces with shouted orders. In a few moments, the massed Lions would charge and Kenji's men would be crushed between them, the ends of the line slaughtered one at a time until the Lion met in the middle.

If his men pulled back right now, regrouping at the top of the hill, they might survive. They could use the elevation to their benefit, rain down arrows on the enemy commanders, and perhaps even win the day. If they stood their ground like they were then his men would die, and Dragon samurai always stand their ground unless ordered not to. It was a fact well known, and his men would never waver from that ideal because he had taught it to every one of them. He had made sure they knew what it meant to sacrifice; to pay the ultimate cost for what was right. The Lion commander’s plan counted on this fact. He must have sent the two samurai who had attacked him on their suicidal charge on purpose, knowing that Kenji's men would make a stand because he had fallen. They would throw their lives away for him.

Kenji’s grip on his sword tightened. He could not let that happen.

His men hesitated when he sounded the order to retreat. They glanced back at him in surprise, believing him dead, and then looked at their lieutenant, Hakin for answers. Hakin was a young fox warrior who Kenji had trained, and the fox had served him well in the past. He did so now by shouting the retreat a second time. The fox repeated Kenji's the order without thought, but Kenji smiled at his men's momentary hesitation. They were true samurai, and he was proud to have taught them so well.

Kenji grinned as he screamed out orders, forcing his men to regroup around him as the lion charged the hill. His sword gleamed in the rain as his men rushed past him and regrouped behind him, his fox lieutenant’s forming them up into a tight formation around the wolf. Below them, the lion’s pincer maneuver was caught off guard by the sudden retreat, and their flanking units collapsed into confusion as the lion samurai's three columns interfered with each other's movements. Arrows flew over Kenji’s head and crashed down into the Lion commanders. As their ranks fell into disarray, Kenji and his men descended on them in ordered precision, and the wolf was one of the first to cross swords with the enemy.

***

Later that night, Kenji sipped from his teacup carefully. Bandages covered the wolf's chest and encircled his leg, where a well-placed sword stroke had nearly severed the wolf's right leg at the kneecap as he lead the charge down the hill. He could barely sit up straight, despite the treatments of his shugenja. The priest had been forced to focus on his leg so it could be saved, and had expelled all the energy he would allow them to use on him to save it. So his chest burned from the shoulder wound, his broken rib, and several new bruises he had gained in the counter attack. The worst part was that his hands were not yet steady.

The cup shook in his paw and the wolf grimaced as he nearly dropped the tea his guest had brought him. The wolf silently cursed his own weakness and set the cup down on the table beside his cot, slopping some down the side of the porcelain cup and onto the silk cloth underneath. The steaming brown tea stained the expensive white fabric, ruining it. Kenji sighed in shame at his misstep. The wolf's ears flattened as he shifted uncomfortably on his cot, cursing his own weakness. The tea ceremony was too important a tradition to be performed in such a wounded state, especially with a guest as important as this.

"Please forgive my rudeness Governor Shintaki," Kenji said through clenched teeth, "To be unable to report to your castle in person shames me, but you should not have come here tonight. I am in no condition to show you the proper respect you deserve, especially after such a kind gift.” The wolf's paw waved unsteadily as he indicated the carefully place, and very beautiful tea ceremony that the Scorpion governor had personally arranged for the wolf.

The Scorpion clan courtier sitting across from Kenji smiled behind the cloth mask he wore across his muzzle. Kenji could tell only because the coyote's ears shifted ever so slightly upwards. "Nonsense, you do not offend me at all. You have been wounded defending the lands I govern." The scorpion carefully refilled both his own and Kenji's cups, and Kenji was surprised how effortlessly the courtier turned the silk napkin under Kenji's cup upside down to hide the spill. If he had not seen the spill occur because of his own weakness, the wolf would never have spotted the movement. "Had you not been kind enough to rise from the dead earlier today, I would be entertaining an army of angry Lion samurai at my castle tonight, not a charming young man who was wounded in my service."

"I would hardly call myself risen," Kenji muttered darkly, "I cannot even stand, much less bow." He sipped slowly from the cup again, using both hands to prevent another misstep.

"That is not what your men say,” the coyote said with a whisper of measured respect as he sipped the smooth herbal tea. "They say you rose from the dead and commanded them to victory, outsmarting an Akodo Lion general in the process. For that, I am in your debt."

Kenji was slightly taken a back at how plainly the coyote spoke and how sincere the Scorpion’s words sounded. The Scorpion Clan was not known for their honesty, even when dealing with their closest allies the Dragon. "It, well, the Akodo taught me their maneuvers when I studied with them. It was a very classic maneuver for them."

Governor Shintaki set down his cup and spread his fan out, his ears lifting a second time. "Indeed they did, a fact I am sure they are very happy about now. The Akodo can retain their reputation of never having been defeated by a lesser general." Kenji smiled too, marveling at the ease with which the governor spoke. The man looked distinctly out of place in his fine kimono, surrounded by the harshness of Kenji's war tent. "Without you commander, I would either have to surrender to the Lion or fight in a battle I could not win. I would have been shamed, possibly dead, and no matter what I would have failed my clan." The coyote raised his fan, snapping it open beside his face, pretending to fan himself so the guards standing outside Kenji's tent could not see his face. Then he undid the clasp holding his mask in place, letting it fall to the side to show Kenji the smile on his muzzle. "For that I owe you greatly."

Kenji stared in surprise at the scorpion’s face. He had never seen one of their clan without a mask on. Shintaki seemed to sense this, and answered the wolf's question before he asked.

"My clan has a custom that you may not be aware of until now. We can only lie when we wear a mask. I have removed mine so that you will believe me when say that I have no intention of embarrassing you in court after your spectacular victory by telling anyone that you cannot stand, much less keep your paws steady right now. When I return to the courts, I will describe you as pillar of authority and expound upon how capable you are as a commander. How well you controlled your troops, despite your wounds, and how well you learned your lessons from your Akodo teachers. I will make sure that every samurai within a hundred miles knows you rose from the dead to defend the Scorpion clan tonight, and that you could walk with wounds that would kill a lesser man."

Kenji shook his head in confusion and took another drink of his tea. This time he finished the cup so he would not spill a second time. "So this is all a game then. When I get back to court, the story will be I was hearty and hail when you met me, marching about giving orders and ignoring my wounds completely."

"Precisely,” Shitake said with a grin. "I am glad to see you understand."

Kenji smiled a little. "And what happens when I continue on to my post in Ryoko Owari tomorrow? What will the court think when I arrive there, barely able to ride and unable to even hold my own sword?" The wolf’s words were bitter, but Shitake waved the question away with his paw.

"Taken care of. There is a village not far from here, a single day’s ride to the south, called Pleasant Lies that serves as my summer home. It lies beside a series of hot springs, and is the cultural center of my province. I invite you and you troops into my home, so that I may properly thank you for saving my winter court from destruction." The coyote's smile faded somewhat. "Of course,” the coyote's voice dropped to a whisper, “that peaceful little village also houses every grain of rice my province has. All the stores that my peasants have saved in case the winter turns bitter.” The coyote’s eyes were hard as he looked at Kenji, “Those stores are considerably more than my clan has reported to the imperial surveyors. They are emergency rations, and I am afraid it might even be enough to feed an army making a winter march."

Kenji eyes widened and he nodded in understanding. The lion commander must have known where the rice was hidden, and had been seeking to take the governor’s supplies by surprise. It would have allowed his troops to attack nearly anywhere in Scorpion lands, even in the heart of winter. Such an attack would be unexpected and devastated, wherever the sword fell.

"A secret is little protection once your enemy knows it,” Kenji said quietly.

The coyote nodded gravely. "Indeed. Only your timely assistance has prevented the supplies from being captured. With this sudden hostility on the part of the Lion clan, our supplies will need to be defended until the lion leave and the courts can settle the issue for good. I cannot however, suddenly move my own troops into position to do so. They defend the farmers and cities of my province. They are being watched, and moving them would reveal to everyone what has happened, and leave my province in a much weaker state then it is now.” the coyote's smile grew into a wicked grin as he spoke. "But with you and your men housed at my estates as my guests, I will be able to move the supplies covertly and then divert other reinforcements from within my own clan without anyone noticing. Of course, it would also allow you to remain in on place until you have healed and the image I create of you as invincible commander can be supported."

Kenji shook his head and chuckled a little at the sheer manipulative brilliance of the plan. “You may not be able to lie without a mask, but I must admit I am glad my clan is so closely allied with your own.”

The scorpion courtier smiled. "I hope you find this arrangement satisfactory. Your men will allow me to find a permanent solution to this issue, and your image as a commander capable of overcoming even a true Akodo general will be emboldened in the courts. The Lion will not raise an outcry, because you studied with them and they do not want to truth of their attack to come out. You might even be able to visit your clan before the winter snows close the passes."

Kenji smiled softly. Even now, the scorpion was playing some game. He could not tell what, but it felt like he was being manipulated even though the scorpion was telling him the truth. "That is extremely kind of you." Kenji said with a bow of his head.

The coyote's smile disappeared behind his mask as he stood up. "No, my lord Kenji, it is my distinct honor to help you. Please enjoy the tea set." the coyote stood and bowed as he moved towards the door. "You have helped me considerably already, the very least I can do is help you save face and recover from the wounds you suffered. After all, you would not want to be dishonored just before being granted a new position."

Kenji's ear swiveled forward in surprise as the coyote left his bedside. "What position?" The wolf asked in confusion, but the scorpion was already gone.

Kenji sighed in frustration as Hakin slipped into the tent. The little fennec fox removed his helmet and shook the water from his large ears before bowing to Kenji. "How did it go sir?" Hakin asked quietly.

Kenji smiled as the fox, “As well as can be expected I guess. He took no offence to my condition at least."

The little fox's ears flattened and his eyes narrowed. "He didn't? What did he want from you then?"

Kenji chuckled slightly but stopped with a wince as the movement made the cut on his chest burn. "Oh nothing much my friend. He wants us to watch over his village. Make sure nothing happens to his home in case the Lion return."

The fox nodded and his expression remained blank. Kenji knew Hakin would not ask why the coyote had wanted that. Kenji sighed softly. "Tell the men to be ready in the morning. We will break camp and head for the village of Pleasant Lies. I think we can expect to be there for a while. Evidently, even the scorpions have secrets that they fear getting out."

The fox exited without a word, and Kenji closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

***

Rain was still falling when Kenji's men broke camp. It rained hard as they marched, and Kenji cursed the water silently as he rode. He would love to shield himself from the falling water with a wide hat like his men had. But he could not. Hakin had helped strap him to the saddle before dawn when the men were not there. He would stay upright throughout the day, but he would not be able to dismount, and he could hardly ask someone to put his hat on him.

If his men believed he was in good health despite his wounds, that the rain did not faze him at all, then their morale would remain high. Riding ahead of the column, Hakin flicked his wet tail from one side of his horse to the other. The wolf straightened in his seat when he saw Hakin's sign, presenting an imposing picture riding through the rain as he passed a few Scorpion peasants. If Shintaki's stories were to hold more weight in court, then every passerby had to believe Kenji was in complete control of his body.

Kenji closed his eyes when they were out of sight and let his body relax somewhat. He enjoyed the rain for a moment, letting the water wash away the sweat the ride was generating. He hoped they would reach the village soon.

***

Kenji slipped off his sandals and carefully set his daisho on a stand near the door.
A servant bowed to the wolf as he made his way into the geisha house, the main room an open and inviting place. Small tables were placed around the room, and patrons watched as a small kabuki troop performed a play written by one of the local lords.

Kenji made his way to a table at the back that was unoccupied. He sat down at the low table without speaking to anyone, but within moments a fox woman in a Scorpion kimono had made her way across the room to him. The older fox bowed low, her graying hair swirling around her head as she did.

"Konichiwa, honored lord of the Dragon. Welcome to the House of Green Leaves. May I inquire what has brought such a respected samurai to our halls?"

The fox raised her head and smiled, here eyes not quite meting Kenji's. She remained beside the table, kneeling respectfully. Kenji nodded a little in respect the elderly vixen who had to be the matron of the house. "I would like some sushi and a small bottle of sake. A friend of mine and recommended you, Madam Cho, as the finest place to eat here in Pleasant Lies."

The Scorpion clan vixen smiled and gave another deep bow. "You honor me, Lord Kenji. The knowledge that the reputation of my humble house has traveled even into the lands of the Dragon is a treasure indeed. My finest food and sake will be here in a moment. Until then, I hope you enjoy the play." She bowed again, adding, "If you need anything else you need only ask and it shall be yours." Kenji bowed in return, and looked around the room when the older vixen left his table in a billow of silk and fur.

Shintaki had not been lying when he said the House of Green Leaves was comfortable. Kenji had never really enjoyed geisha houses. The ones he had seen in the past were always dark and filled with many people trying not to notice the other occupants.

Here however, there were no samurai hiding behind soshi screens. Samurai and samurai-ko alike sat at the tables, happily enjoying the play and the excellent food. Several of the men did have a geisha on their arms, the fur on their faces powdered white, but no one was behaving in the dishonorable, boisterous ways Kenji often associated with samurai in a geisha house. The wolf's nose twitched as a plate of fresh sushi and rice was set in front of him, carefully arranged in an artful pattern to resemble a coiled dragon. Perhaps this was not the den of sin he had been lead to believe most Geisha houses were.

Kenji felt a smile creep across his face. Perhaps he would enjoy himself tonight after all.


***

Kenji's smile was broad by the time the kabuki troop had finished their second play. The sake was indeed excellent, and Kenji recognized the warm sensation of being slightly drunk. The food had been the best the wolf could remember, and Kenji was surprised how cheerful and happy the place seemed to be. Many Scorpion clan wolves had come by and shared a round of sake with their fellow wolf. Now they were all gone, and Kenji found himself enjoying the solitude as much as he had appreciated the company. The languid sounds of a harp filled the room, played by a geisha vixen on the other side of the room. Kenji listened to the song, and found his thoughts drifting away as the soothing music played.

"Do you enjoy Seiko's playing my lord?" A soft voice beside Kenji whispered. Kenji turned to his left, where another vixen reclined beside him at his table, her large fan covering her face except for her eyes. He had never even heard her approach.

The wolf smiled slowly, "Yes, I do." The vixen’s pretty face split into a slow smile as she lowered her fan.

"Well then I will be sure to tell her so. She is rarely afforded the chance to play for the main room, and she enjoys it greatly when someone compliments her."

Kenji turned himself slightly so he was facing the strange fox. "Why is that?"

The vixen smiled sweetly, “Because I am usually playing." Kenji couldn't help but smile as she turned her head to side, a lock of her dark black hair falling over one side of her face.

Kenji's eyes lingered on the strange geisha's for a moment, intrigued. She had to be geisha. Her silk kimono was finely made and covered in the same swirling green and black leaf pattern that all the geisha at the House of Green Leaves wore, but it was must more traditional then the other girls. Their kimonos seemed determined to show a scandalous amount of fur and bosom, while her kimono was drawn up close to her neck and revealed little beyond the fact that her body was beautifully curved. He could barely see the white fur under her chin.

Her face was also unpainted and plain. The Scorpion clan's geisha, especially a fox geisha, would cover their faces in a special white fur dust that made them look like their arctic cousins. Some would even dye their long hair into extravagant colors that formed patterns when braided correctly, and made colorful rainbows when flowing freely. Most males thought it made them look more exotic, but Kenji preferred a plain spoken and elegant woman to the extravagant fox geishas he usually saw. This vixen's hair was just braided into a simple foxtail more common among samurai-ko, and that made her much more attractive to the wolf.

"Why are you not playing tonight then?" Kenji asked, suddenly aware he was staring at the young woman quite rudely.

The vixen smiled slowly, "Because I was summoned to Lord Shintaki's house to play for his new guests."

Kenji turned his head to the side a bit in confusion, "New guests?" The vixen smiled sweetly, her fan closing as she settled into a more comfortable position beside the wolf.

"Yes, it seems a small group of Lion clan diplomats arrived without warning today. Fortunately, the house of Green Leaves is so close by. Lord Shintaki always calls upon us to entertain unexpected guests." The vixen smiled, her fan opening again to block her lips and words from the view of the room. "One of them seemed quite unhappy though. It seems he was looking forward to meeting a Dragon general who has been staying with Lord Shintaki, in order to challenge him for defeating his bother in combat." Kenji raised his eyebrows. Shintaki must have known they were coming. That was why he made sure Kenji was out of his home tonight. Otherwise honor would have forced Shintaki to introduce Kenji an honored guest, and the Lion would have challenged him on the spot. Despite the speed with which his wounds had been healing, he was not yet ready to duel and man bent upon revenge.

"Then it was unfortunate for them I discovered your fine house tonight." Kenji whispered, greatly amused by the way in which the Scorpion clan worked. "I would have hated to think I disappointed the Lion Emissaries." The wolf and vixen shared a silent chuckle, the truth concealed in their sparkling eyes.

A raccoon serving girl brought a fresh bottle of sake and a small plate of desserts to Kenji, and also slipped a small bowl of rice in front of the vixen. The vixen smiled and nodded in appreciation to the girl, "Thank you Keshin-chan", and Kenji was surprised at how openly the young raccoon smiled back at the geisha.

"You're most welcome ma'am" the little raccoon said with a bow, and then bowed much deeper to Kenji before leaving. The wolf was strangely impressed by the girl’s boldness. He did not see servants act like that often in front of a samurai. Some of the more self-important samurai he knew would have become very angry because a servant had spoken in front of them.

Kenji did not say anything though because it seemed so innocent. He just smiled at the vixen and began to eat the tiny desserts as the vixen ate her rice. They sat without speaking while they ate, and Kenji began listening to Seiko's playing again. The House of Green Leaves felt like another world from the one he knew. Battlefields and dojos did not have dancers, fine foods, or soft cushions, and he rarely had the pleasure of hearing beautiful music.

It was so different from what he was used to that Kenji found sharing a meal with the geisha whose name he did not even know was perfectly normal.

Kenji found himself making sidelong glances at the woman as they ate, but he quickly stopped himself. She was beautiful. There was no way he could deny that, but she was also a geisha and he had no intentions of becoming involved with a geisha, even one that seemed as friendly as she did. He had too much to do, too much to think about. Especially now that he knew there were angry Lion samurai in the city looking for him.

Kenji chewed a particularly tasty piece of his dessert for a long moment, and turned when the rustle of silk and fur whispered in his ear. Kenji's eyes linger on the geisha as she slide a screen open and disappeared into the depths of the geisha house, her long red tail vanishing through from sight as she closed the door behind her.


***

The vixen called Kyoto made her way through the quite halls of the Green leaf without a sound. When Kyoto arrived at her room, she slide the door open to find Madam Cho sitting at her small tea table, with a plate of fine sushi and an artfully arranged tea ceremony prepared.

"Welcome back Kyoto," the older fox whispered with a smile as she poured the hot tea into the two cups she had set carefully on the table. "Will you join me for a moment, and share in the serenity of a tea ceremony?"

Kyoto smiled at her patron and bowed. "Of course Madam Cho, I would be honored."

The fox sat across from her Lady in the proper kneeling fashion, and the two vixens went the slow motions of the tea ceremony together. Kyoto breathed in the scent of the tea deeply before her first sip, enjoying the simplicity of the moment.

Madam Cho sighed softly as she finished her drink in one smooth sip and set the tiny china cup down. "So dear, tell me how it went."

Kyoto smiled a little. "It went better than I thought it would. Kenji seemed quite at ease with me."

Madam Cho nodded. "Yes, I thought he might. You are very different from the other girls he has turned away tonight." The vixen's gazed darkened for a moment, and a hint of worry crept into her voice. "Did you warn him about the Lion?"

Kyoto nodded slightly, her ears flicking backwards in concern, "He knows." She cast her eyes down at her tea. "He surprised me somewhat with how easily he brushed the comment away as simple conversation." The younger fox furrowed he brow in thought for a moment, "But I saw a moment’s hesitation in his eyes. He realizes they are searching for him.” She smiled slightly, and raised her eye back to her patron, “He will be careful going home tonight."

The older vixen nodded, and her eyes seemed to fill with relief for a moment. "Excellent. I was afraid he would rebuff you, and leave us with no subtle way to warn him they had come looking for him. Now he knows to be careful returning to the castle and we have not tipped our paw to the spies of the lion who are here tonight." The older vixen carefully poured another round of tea for them both as Kyoto nodded in agreement.

"Are there really Lion spies watching us, even here?" Kyoto asked as they began to eat the sushi provided.

Madam Cho nodded solemnly. "Oh yes, I recognize the hemin cats who have come in tonight. They are common tabbies, but they sit in a certain way and were most certainly trained by the Lion. They might not be samurai, but they will report anything they see to their lords."

Kyoto sighed and set her cup down. "I suppose I am just not used to Lion being crafty in that fashion." The wind swept through the trees outside as they sat in silence for a moment. Madam Cho waved the young fox's comment away with her fan.

"Perhaps my dear, but I recognize the handy work of an Ikoma when I see it, and this is classic for them. They are the craftiest family in the lion. I am glad their plans for Kenji will not come to pass tonight."

Kyoto smiled and nodded, "I am glad too, I would hate to see anything happen to him."

The older vixen smiled a little bit and watched the young vixen as she sipped her tea. "Now my dear, don't tell he interests you."

Kyoto smiled softly behind her gossamer mask. "He does to some degree. He's very calm, very sure of himself. It has been a long time since I meet someone so sure of their place in the world."

The older fox nodded, and they finished their tea in silence.

***

Kenji smiled to himself and bowed to a fellow Dragon samurai as his new armor gleamed in the sun. His father’s armor seemed lighter and stronger than ever, and he was very pleased with the work the scorpion craftsmen had done restoring it. Governor Shintaki had spared no expense reforging Kenji's armor. There were even detailed engraving where before there had been no decoration. Across one shoulder, a dragon spread it wings in flight, and across the other of a scorpion poised to strike some unseen foe. There was also a river motif across the back, and Kenji had a feeling his armor now told a story that he did not know.

All the scorpion samurai he meet wearing the armor seemed to be much more respectful then he was used too. Perhaps it was the armor, his new reputation, or his new station as an imperial captain, Kenji could not tell.

The courtyard was full of dignitaries and ambassadors from all the Great clans. There was even a Lion clan samurai, a powerfully built lion with a golden mane, but Kenji noticed he always remained on the other side of the room from the wolf.


***

And that's it for now! If you like this, if you want to know what the geisha's surprise actually will be, tell me in the comments and I'll keep working on this story.

-Teiran