Journey to Konoha
The Land of Waves:
Back in Nishimoya, mother seemed to have become much sicker in the day they had been gone. Perhaps it was just Sen who had managed to forget just how truly ill her mother was. The Squished House smelled of disease and decay, a sharp contrast from the bubbling smells of life and pine at Mr. Tazuna’s house. Mr. Okajima was due for a visit later in the day and Setsu and Sen struggled to manoeuvre their mother out of her bed and into the tub, her body was no more than a hollow shell with bone sticking out at sharp angles through her papery skin. It was difficult for the girls to see their mother in such condition, both realising that there truly was no hope of recovery. As they poured warm water over her and scrubbed her down with a wash cloth the realisation began to set in, an air of sadness filled the room.
The next morning Sen found herself running an errand, fetching a sachet of medicinal herbs Mr. Okajima had left for her at a tea stall. It was a rather warm day, the sun had peeked out from behind the near constant cloud cover the Land of Waves seemed stuck with. Making her way up the coastal path she heard heavy footsteps behind her and turned to see one of Mr. Tazuna’s assistants trying to flag her down, red in the face and extremely out of breath he took a moment to compose himself.
’Mr. Tazuna needs you and your sister. . .to head down to the village. . .as fast as you can.’ He said with very laboured breaths, bending over to rest his hands on his knees. Sen found it odd he was in such a hurry, was Mr. Tazuna adopting them now? But her mother was still alive, surely he wouldn’t take them away while they could still care for the ailing woman? In any case Sen felt uneasy but made her way back home with some speed. Strangely her father never went fishing today, instead he sat and mended his torn nets and worked with his head down.
’Father, Mr. Tazuna has sent for Setsu and I to go to the village,’ she spoke out loud, Setsu who had been pottering in the kitchen preparing vegetables froze and turned to look to their father. The old man didn’t utter a single word, his gaze kept firmly on the floor. With a stiff nod of his head the two girls set off out the house, this would be the last time Sen would ever step foot in the Squished House and be with her parents.
Strangely it was Setsu who had sped off into town, it took great effort for Sen to catch up with her. Her pink hair had grown long now and had started to block her vision, Sen pushed her hair out of her eyes and scanned the crowd until she finally spotted her older sister just steps away from the Tazuna Coastal Company building. Mr. Tazuna seemed to be in a foul mood and stared coldly at the girls when they greeted him, no sign of the once kindly man they knew. This should have been the first warning sign to the girls that things were about to take an unexpected turn. As he led them to his horse drawn wagon he made his way to sit with the driver at the front instead of the girls as he did the last time.
’I will be sat in the front with the driver, so you and Sato-san better sit in the back and behave yourselves.’ Sen bristled at this, how could he have gotten Setsu-chain’s name wrong and so uncaringly too? The girls sat silently in the wagon, the journey to Ike felt far longer than it did previously until Setsu gazed out and noticed something different: a train. Dark smoke bellowed out from the chimney of the train and left a trail behind it, Sen thought it looked a bit like a snake in shape and turned to Setsu to tell her but Setsu wasn’t interested in hearing it. The older girl nervously fidgeted with her scratchy robes, eyes jumping from one thing to the next, she was scared.
Sen hadn’t noticed any of this of course, for she had realised that they weren’t at Ike, they were nowhere near it in fact they were going in the opposite direction. The wagon drew to a stop infront of a bustling train station with flocks of fishermen and store vendors making their way through the congested streets. Sen immediately noticed the old Tapping Woman and next to her stood a man much younger than her who has a wooden toothpick in his mouth. He was later introduced as Mr. Shiranui, he stood out like a sore thumb in his stiff men’s kimono and well groomed hair surrounded by fisherman in their working clothes. He said something to Mr. Tazuna as the old Tapping Woman led the girls away with a kind smile that quickly vanished the second they turned the corner.
With the sharp swing of her fan the old woman smacked the girls on the top of their head and sneered at them. ‘You two little girls have been very naughty now you listen to me now,’ she exclaimed while waving her fan around. ‘If you embarrass me infront of Mr, shiranui it won’t end well for either of you and you must follow every instruction he gives, no matter what.’
Both girls were crying from the shock of being smacked so unexpectedly, not that she had even hit them with much force, it was just far too much going on and with a deep melancholy Sen began to regret ever wanting to be adopted by Mr. Tazuna. She would much rather be with her father in the squished house away from this terrible woman. Just as Setsu began to wipe away Sen’s tears Mr. Tazuna came storming around the corner with a fury directed to the old woman.
’There is no reason for you to be treating the girls this way, I won’t have you be cruel to them. They’re good children now if you have anything more to say to them you’ll say it while I am present.’ The old woman didn’t even look bothered by his presence in the slightest, she rattled off some nonchalant comments about it all being some big misunderstanding but Sen knew at that moment that something very wrong was happening. They were supposed to be in Ike with Mrs. Tazuna and Tsunami not at a train station in a town in the opposite direction. She stood there numb, not really sure what to do or if there truly was anything she could do. In the background she became aware that Mr. Tazuna and the Tapping Woman were still talking as she caught the tail end of their conversation.
’-we can discuss that later but the train is arriving soon, they need to be ready on the platform.’ She said to him, at that moment Mr. Shuranui came to join the group and started to lead Sen and Setsu to the platform, Setsu began to struggle until she remembered the warning, and the smack, from the old lady and then became limp in Mr. Shuranui’s grasp. He lead them with a firm grip on the girl’s shoulders as they stood on the platform surrounded by farmers, fishermen and stacks of produce being ready for transport. The old woman stood with Mr. Tazuna behind the girls, watching them closely. In the distance Sen could see the train approaching and as it came to a stop she stood in awe, she had never seen a train before snd never so close as this, with a shove Mr. Shiranui ushered the girls onto the train and sat in between them, separating them from one another. As Sen looked through the window she saw Mr. Tazuna turn and walk away back to his wagon and the old woman was still stood in the platform but also turned away as though she was preparing to leave.
’Sen-chan, where are we going?’ Setsu asked nervously, her voice no louder than a whisper. Everything was happening all at once, Sen rested her head against the window as she braved the barrage of thoughts, first came her mother with her sickness and their father who clearly conspired with Mr. Tazuna to get them out of `Nishimoya. Then there was Mr. Tazuna himself, just what was going on? Mr. Shiranui looked at Setsu with a poorly hidden face full of disgust, his nose wrinkled.
’Disgusting. Both of you, that stench of rotting fish.’ He snapped, Setsu’s dirty brown hair was a tangled mess, he reached for a wooden comb and began to roughly run it through her knitted hair. He was causing her a lot of pain but Setsu sat there with teary eyes and tight lips. At this point Sen began to cry silently for this seemed to all be her fault, if she had never bumped into Mr. Tazuna that day when she hit her head them maybe this would’ve never happened and they would still be at home with their family, Setsu wouldn’t be so upset and they would still have their lives-and their freedom. She missed her home dearly, in this loud, smelly and strange new world she had entered she couldn’t help but feel like prey. After a while of brushing once Mr. Shiranui was satisfied he said a single word, Kyoto.
The three of them were in the train for hours, neither girl had eaten anything that day and when Mr. Shiranui pulled out a bento they looked hopeful, but he paid them no attention and ate his food without regard for the children in his care. Sen thought about Kyoto, all she knew about it was what people said in passing, Mr. Okajima mentioned it once, but truthfully Kyoto seemed as exotic and far away as the Land of Honey or the Land of Tea, neither of which she had ever been too. People in the land of waves hardly ever left, hardly any of its citizens could afford to put food on the table let alone emigrate. The train began to pull into a town, much larger than any Sen had seen before and she took this to be Kyoto. It wasn’t, they had reached the train station in one of the cities in the outskirts of the land of fire, just on the border to the Land of Waves, where they soon boarded a second train, this one did take them to Kyoto.
The second train was incredibly busy with bodies pressed together like grains of rice in an onigiri, there was no room for the, to sit even , they made the final leg of the journey stood up snd by the time evening began to come Sen was stiff and exhausted, soon after sunset the train reached Kyoto Station, even thought it had begun to darken outside Sen could see little pieces of Kyoto and gasped as the buildings seemed to stretch on for miles and miles as far as the eye could see. The rooftops were made of fine glossy tile and the front faces of some of the buildings were so bright and decorated she couldn’t take it all in. Kyoto was a bustling hub of life and people milled about in the early evening, food vendors lined the streets serving delicacies, each row of streets was illuminated by lamps as though electricity was as commonplace as pickles and steamed rice. Even to this day when she would remember this fateful day she first reached Kyoto, the sight of trains and Kyoto buildings were closely tied with the fear and despair she felt.
Mr. Shiranui led the girls by their shoulders again, his grip even firmer than before. They made their way to a rickshaw, one of many that lined the streets of Kyoto for it was a popular mode of transportation, there were so many all around them that Sen figured everyone must travel by rickshaw and nobody walked anywhere in Kyoto. The trio climbed into the rickshaw, this too was a novelty for the girls.
’Senju okiya in Konoha,’ Mr. Shiranui told the driver. After a moment it two Sen nervously looked towards the man and asked where they were going.
’To your new home Sen,’ he said, not even bothering to explain what that meant, Setsu began to cry again when Mr. Shiranui brought a firm hand down onto her arm and angrily told her to stop making trouble. Setsu sniffled and Sen had to Steele herself so she didn’t start crying too, she was not keen on being smacked as well. Sen couldn’t understand where it had all gone wrong, this wasn’t what she had been hoping for. She but her lip to try take her mind off of it but before long the rickshaw was turning the corner and coming to a stop, they had passed through large red wooden gates which Sen would later find out was the entrance to Konoha, the Geisha district of Kyoto in the Land of Fire.
The Land of Fire:
The street where the rickshaw stopped seemed as wide as the entire village of Nishimoya, buildings of great size lined the street and each looked similar to the next. Deep red pain covered the exterior walls and heavy well made wooden doors littered the block of buildings. The street was glowing in warm yellow light from the stacks of street lamps stretching down the road, it was an incredibly long road but with the lights Sen could make out the shape of people stood even at the very bottom of it. Women in kimono hurried about their business, Sen thought they all looked so elegant and formal, though these women were nothing but maids as she would come to discover later. The rickshaw pulled infront of one of these buildings and Mr. Shiranui gave her a light shove to get her out of the rickshaw, Sen clambered out and stood on the street gazing in wonder as Mr. Shiranui with his toothpick followed behind her but then as though this day hadn’t been painful enough, when Setsu made her way to exit the rickshaw he pushed her back in with a forceful shove.
’You’re going somewhere else, now get back inside.’ He said, his eyes narrowed. Setsu looked at her little sister with wide eyes, the two sisters had never truly understood one another but in this moment, maybe for the first time in their lives, they understood perfectly how one another was feeling. Sen finally let the tears fall as Mr. Shiranui dragged her towards one of these heavy wooden doors and pushed her inside. There was a lot of commotion on the street and Sen could faintly hear her older sister crying and screaming but her voice soon grew fainter, inside Sen was in a regal looking hallway filled with bonsai and other such plants, decorative calligraphy hung on the wall and as Sen slowly took it all in she noticed a woman. Truly this woman was beautiful, so incredibly beautiful that Sen was certain this was a spirit infront of her and not a human, and she was wearing a kimono so lovely it looked like a rare gem. If Sen had been impressed by the basic geisha in Mr. Tazuna’s local tea house then she was truly stunned to see a true geisha of high class and considerable importance, one of the notable figures of the Konoha world, stood right in front of her. Deep purple flowers sprouting at the hem of her kimono surrounded by hand stitched rivers and gold rimmed salmon covered the entire length of her kimono. Sen was certain it was made of pure silk, the geisha’s clothing wasn’t the only extraordinary thing for the woman had the most vibrant red hair, high set cheekbones and sharp eyes, her hair fashioned into a shiny and elegant up-do with jewellery pins hanging from it caught the light of the golden lamps, she was the picture of beauty.
This was Sen’s first ever sight of Karin who was one of Konoha’s most famous and sought-after geisha, she was a slim woman and not too tall as she barely reached Mr. Shiranui’s shoulders. Sen was so taken aback by her appearance that she had neglected her manners, not that she really had any to begin with, peasant girls in fishing villages had little need for them. Sen stared directly at Karin’s face and the older woman smiled at her, the same way a lion would smile as it eyed up its next meal.
’Mr. Shiranui do take out the rubbish from the hallway, I need to be on my way.’ She hissed, she so reminded Sen of a cruel serpent when she opened her mouth for there was no rubbish in the entryway, Karin had been referring to her.
’You men might not care where you stand but when I pass dirt on one side of the treat I cross to the other side.’ She finished, her beautiful but cruel smile targeted directly at Sen as she peered down at the child. Karin’s outburst had roused an older woman who came to stand in the entryway, she looked older than Karin but certainly younger than her father, she had short black hair that reached just above her shoulders.
’Honestly Karin how anyone can stand you is behind me,’ the older woman huffed. She signalled to Mr. Shiranui to bring Sen to the side of the hallway to make room for Karin and the old woman to make their way to the front door where the older woman shuffled to a cabinet mounted on the wall, she walked with a limp. Inside the cabinet the woman reached for a flint and stone and struck the flint as sparks bounced off Karin’s back before she opened the door to leave. It was all so strange to Sen but over the years she would come to realise that geisha were superstitious, far more superstitious that fishermen were or housewives or any other such class of people. Their whole existence was such a tenuous experience they clung to superstition and ritual like a lifeline. A geisha will never go out on an evening unless someone sparked a flint on her back for good luck. Karin walked with such small and delicate steps she could have been floating, she glided down the street like a cloud rolling over the grassy hills, full of ease.
Once Karin had left Mr. Shiranui followed her lead amd Sen glimpsed the empty street, Setsu was gone. For a long time Sen cried in the entryway, the older woman has taken pity on the young girl for once she stopped crying, the strange woman dried Sen’s face with the sleeve of her plain grey kimono and smiled gently.
’Now child there’s no need to cry, nobody here is going to cook you.’ She laughed as she started into Sen’s bewildered greens eyes.
’Oh my, what beautiful eyes you have, such a lovely face you have too. Tsunade-Sama will be pleased when she sees you.’ The woman said, gazing keenly at Sen’s eyes. The little girl was so grimey and dirty that the woman failed to notice her unusual pink hair too, for it was caked in layers dirt and looked a dull brown. Everyone here in Kyoto spoke with a strange accent that bothered `Sen, people in her village spoke differently and she struggled to understand the words the woman said to her. In any case the woman was the kindest anyone had been to her in the last few days so she tried hard to understand what she was saying, the woman told Sen to call her Aunty Shizune and explained Tsunade-sama was the ‘mother’ of the okiya. Aunty Shizune led Sen down a maze of identical looking hallways, passing by the maids quarters, toilets, the courtyard before finally reaching the main building where family members and Karin lived, though Sen would find out later that Karin wasn’t a family member at all. The main house was a far grander building than Mr. Tazuna’s, here the wooden floors gleamed and shined brightly in the light, sophisticated decor was tastefully placed in main passageways and each hallway had a plant of some kind that complemented the glossy wooden panels.
Aunty had disappeared somewhere in the kitchen and was talking to someone in a hushed voice, out from the kitchen came another girl with a round face and dark shirt hair who looked a similar age to Sen, when the other girl saw Sen she gasped and moved closer.
’Where did you come from?’ She quizzed though not unkindly, Sen stayed quiet for she was certain this girl who spoke with the same funny accent wouldn’t know where the Land of Waves was let alone Nishimoya. After a moment she told the other girl that she had only just a driver and that aunty had led her here. The dark haired girl seemed to understand before she turned back and went into the kitchen before coming out with Aunty a few minutes later, both holding steaming buckets of warm water. Sen was lead to a bath where they filled it with the warm water from the kitchen and Aunty Shizune wiped her down with a rag and poured buckets if warm water over her hair, finally removing all the dirt and grime. Shizune could hardly keep her eyes from widening, this little girl was the most spectacular creature with her big green eyes and light pink hair, the woman had never seen anything quite like it. Even Karin with her bold red hair couldn’t compete with the uniqueness and charm that the little girls unique features gave her. After Sen’s bath she was roughly dried off and put into a plain blue robe, even though this was nothing special it was far more luxurious than anything she owned back in Nishimoya. Aunty began to lead Sen back to the main house and pulled her to the side outside of a room that had the light on inside.
’Girl, you listen to me good, I don’t even want to know your name until Granny and Mother have decided they’re going to keep you. The last girl who came they decided they didn’t like and she only stayed a month, I can’t keep going on remembering all these names in my old age child.’
’what, what even is this place?’ Sen asked though she was afraid of what the answer may be.
’An okiya, this is an okiya child. It’s where geisha live, if you are lucky and work very hard then you too will become a geisha one day but you won’t get anywhere if Granny and Mother don’t like you. They’re making there way here as we speak now girl, you listen good, you’re only job is to bow low, low as you can and don’t look them in the eye.’
’But, aunty. What if they don’t want to keep me?’
’For your sake let’s hope they do want to.’ And with that Shizune pushed Sen inside the lit room.