Samuria Warrior in Geisha Kabuki

Beginnings

“Suki, we’re going to be late again!” Yoshe called around a mouthful of rice as she continued stuffing her cheeks with her breakfast. She stepped into the room the two shared only to sigh at the bundle still wrapped in a blanket. She walked over to her sister’s mat and dropped to her knees, sitting down her bowl and chopsticks next to Suki’s pillow. “You know what Okasan will do if we’re late to classes.” Yoshe said, placing a hand on what she had thought was Suki’s shoulder. Her eyes widened in surprise before she ripped back the blanket only to stare at a sleeping bundle of blankets.

Yoshe jumped to her feet, rushing to the garden. She forced the wooden door open harder then she should, startling her sister who quickly hid her bamboo practice sword behind her back with a smile on her face.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Yoshe asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Past breakfast.” Suki laughed as she laid her practice sword among the decorative plants. She pushed back her long black hair behind her ear as she walked close to her sister. She smiled at Yoshe’s confused face and pointed to the corner of her own mouth before walking back inside, pushing past Yoshe.

Yoshe quickly rubbed her thumb across the spot on her face only to embarrassingly notice she had rice stuck to her face. She turned on her heals, not letting her sister get the better of her, and closed the door behind herself as she rushed back inside. She got back to their room and saw her sister was changing into the school robe they were required to wear.

“I saved you a slice of salmon and the rest of my rice.” Yoshe said, knowing she needed to say something to her sister.

“Thanks.” Suki said, her voice muffled as she held her hair ribbon in her teeth with her hands gathering her hair.

Yoshe sighed as she leaned against the wall. “Suki, what if Okasan had seen you out there this morning?”

“She won’t find out.” Suki said, tying her hair at the base of her neck. She leaned down and grabbed the bowl, almost throwing the food into her mouth.

“Suki, she already thinks you’re not going to become a good geisha, much less one to keep this okia running.”

“Don’t wanna be.” Suki said through the rice. She swallowed and turned to look at her sister. “I know I’m too square faced to be beautiful, the only thing I’m good at is dancing-“

“Oh, not this again.” Yoshe shook her head, covering her eyes with a hand.

“Girls, shouldn’t you be on your way to class?” Cook’s voice asked as the door slid open. The big woman filled up the doorway as she peered in.

“Thank you.” Yoshe said, taking the unfinished breakfast from her sister and handed the bowl and chopsticks to Cook.

Cook stepped to the side, letting the twins rush out, shaking her head at the two.

With Yoshe leading the way, the two grabbed their bags holding their shamisen and slipped on their shoes before running out into the orange morning light.

“Suki, when will you learn?” Yoshe started as the two rushed to school. “You’re the oldest daughter of the okia. One day Okimonon will become your big sister, then you’ll inherit the okia once Okasan decides to give it to you.”

“But I don’t want it.” Suki admitted under her breath as she watched her feet under her as she ran. She looked back up only to grab Yoshe’s arm and pull her sister into an alleyway, pushing her against the wall with a hand covering her mouth.

Yoshe glared at her sister, but found herself unable to fight against Suki’s arm holding her chest to the outside wall. She managed to pry her mouth free to ask, “What is it?” in a whisper, surprised more about Suki’s face of scared determination.

Suki didn’t answer, instead she slowly released her grip on her sister to peak out into the street.

“Thief! Thief!” a female voice cried just before a man ripped through the rice paper screens of the tea house across the street from their hiding place.

Suki rushed after the man, grabbing a broom left on the front porch of an opening store. “Stop!” she ordered, surprised she was catching up with the man twice her age.

The man glanced over his shoulder only for a smile to peek out from under his mustache. He turned back to watching his pathway with very little to get in his way so early in the morning.

Suki pushed forward just enough to push the broom’s bristles into the thief’s feet, tripping him up and letting his bag of coins fly from his hands as he fell to the ground. She twirled the broom around and dropped the handle down so that it sat in the base of his neck.

Suki pressed as much weight on the man as she dared, not wanting to cause damage, before leaning closer to the man’s ear. “Why do you need this money?” she asked, flicking away a coin too close to the man’s hand.

“It’s money, what do you think?” the man growled around the dirt in his mouth.

“Truthful,” Suki said, standing up so she could release the pressure on the man’s neck. She smiled as she placed a foot on his back before admitting, “but not good enough. You know what, I’ll give you a fighting chance. Get to your feet.” She forcefully pushed her foot down before freeing the man.

The thief looked at her as he pushed himself to his feet. He glanced down at his loot still scattered on the street, untouched by the morning crowd too busy setting up for the day to notice them. He glanced around before looking at Suki. “Where’s the Samurai?”

“On their way, knowing the woman you stole this from.” Suki said, praying what she said was true.

The man turned around, planning on running only to find himself falling, dazed to his left. “I gave you a chance.” Suki admitted.

“Bravo, young geisha student,” a male voice said, surprising Suki to look at who she had at first thought to be a normal street vender to see a man in his thirties handing back a cloak to the real vender. He re-tied his katana to his side before walking over to admire Suki’s victory. “I didn’t know those geisha were teaching you fighting now.”

“They’re not, samurai-san.” Suki said, bowing out of politeness.

“What’s your name?”

“Nitta Suki, daughter of-“

“Of Nitta Masami?” the samurai asked, his face surprised. He bent down to pull the thief up to his feet to cover his surprise before smiling at the girl. “Well thank you, Nitta Suki. You just helped capture someone I’ve been hunting down all year. Can I trust you to bring all this money to the tea house he stole from?”

“Of course.” Suki said, bowing as the samurai left, towing the thief who seemed only to have half a brain left.

-.-.-.-

“I hope word of this morning hadn’t gotten to Okasan.” Yoshe mumbled, finally willing to talk about the incident as they walked home after school.

“Maybe she’ll take me out of school so I don’t have to fight this stupid thing.” Suki held up her shamisen bag to motion towards it. They walked into their okia only to find Cook at the door, waiting for them.

“Nitta-san wants to talk to you, Suki.” Cook said, watching the two place their shoes just inside before stepping onto the wooden floors.

“Good luck, Suki.” Yoshe said, watching her sister rush towards Okasan’s room.

Suki dropped her shamisen in her room before finding her mother’s door open. She peeked inside, surprised to see the samurai from this morning sitting across from Okasan at her business table.

“Suki, there you are. Come in girl.” Okasan ordered, “Sit down.”

Suki did as asked, keeping her head down as she took the cushion closest to the door on the edge of the table.

“Amano-san would like to spar with you.” Okasan said, surprising the girl into looking at the older woman. “Don’t look at me like that! I know you practice before school. I had Cook bring up your bamboo sword. You can use the back garden.”

“Thank you, Nitta-san.” Amano said, bowing to the woman before standing up. He looked at Suki and prompted, “Well?”

“Oh, yes.” Suki jumped to her feet and grabbed her wooden stick she now noticed sitting next to her mother. She turned to the samurai and bowed before saying, “Follow me, please.” She led the man through the house, avoiding Yakumo-san as he was heading to the only working geisha in the okia, and out to the back garden.

Author's Note: This story is rather old, and the idea got ended when I learned about Miss Congeniality, which has a similar plot. It still lives on the back burner, having potentail, but has a niche audience.

Plot: the year is 1715, the story of the 47 Ronin now a great legend already and the Ninja class is just about to become exstint. One Ninja in particular has made himself a target by threating the life of Tokugawa Iestugu. The shogun calls apon his elite team of samuria to fish him out. The big surprise, a woman is among these, and only second to ranking samuria in her group of fifty-four. She's really the princess of the group, even with the five that do not like her. One hates her guts for the fact that they have to take orders from a woman. Suki has to go undercover as a geisha as they learn from one of the shogun's informants that the ninja has been known to go to a local teahouse, the very one that Suki's sister, Yumemono Nitta, reagually is called to. Suki then is forced to go back towards her past to capture this man. Slowly gaining his trust before striking when they are alone. Only for him to realize and attack back, making it seven verses one as his followers appear out of the shadows to show his remaning numbers. Unknown to Suki as she fought, and started to lose, Yumemono called apon the rest of her sisters team, telling her closest friends of the damger she was in.