THE annual miyako odori geisha dance was coming up. thus, most geishas were busy preparing new kimonos, hair accessories, paint, and dances.

everything had to be perfect.

"y-yua-san, why's everyone so busy these days?", eri asked.

yua smiled. "the miyako odori is starting tonight. all geishas will be performing dances for the public. usually, we only do private dances for the higher ups. but this is a chance for the public to see us perform", yua explained.

"s-so that means hundreds and thousands of people?", eri worriedly asked.

after months of training, she still wasn't confident enough to perform with a group yet. she feared that she would stick out like a sore thumb.

"I-I'm not ready", eri meekly said.

yua shook her head. she led eri to her private makeup room. helping eri dress in a pink kimono with white flowers, yua sat eri down in front of a mirror.

"tell me eri, what do you see?"

"u-umm...me??"

yua chuckled. "yes. but when you have makeup on, whether you're on stage performing or walking down the stairs, you're the perfect doll".

yua grabbed the white paint and started painting the collarbone and up of eri's skin. leaving the nape of the neck clear, yua then proceeded to tie her hair up.

"wear the pink pearl one tonight. it matches your kimono", yua said, sticking the hairpin and some flower ornaments in eri's updo.

eri just watched, as yua did her makeup. yua gave eri some blush, then proceeding to only paint the lower lip red.

"what do you see now?"

"a perfect doll", eri answered.

"eri. you've practiced very hard. I've seen all your sweat and effort put into those lessons. now's your time to shine and grow", yua softly said.

"plus, I have a surprise for you after tonight", yua slightly smirked, making eri excited.

"really??"

"you bet. now, let's go".

eri nodded, sliding off the seat. she stood next to yua, holding onto her hand. eri inwardly smiled, as she knew yua would always be there to support her.

-♖-

eri wobbly walked onto the stage. yua stayed backstage to observe, as her performance wasn't until later.

eri took deep breaths, following the movement of the slightly older maikos. there were sakura trees placed on the big stage, with the mountains painted on the fabric in the background. 

the little maikos wore kimonos of different colors. from black to blue to yellow to pink. they started their dance, kyo no shiki, the four seasons in kyoto.

partway through the dance, eri caught a glimpse of her father with a woman with long black hair. she quite looked like someone, yet eri just could not remember.

and in that split second, she tripped over her own foot, as her focus was off just for a bit. the rest of the maikos danced on, as they were trained to continue no matter what happened.

eri debated fleeting the stage or staying, as everyone was watching the fallen maiko, especially her father and yua.

eri looked to yua, who was still backstage. she gave her a look. a look telling her to stand up and continue.

'show them how much you can shine and grow', eri remembered yua once telling her.

eri stood up. she then joined the rest of the maikos, dancing along and pretending that that just didn't happen. smiling, yua watched.

she had also noticed that chisaki came with a beautiful girl. but she knew better than to jump to conclusions and wear her emotions on her sleeves.

she also knew who that woman was.

shigaraki hana, the shogun's sister.

-♖-

after yua's solo on the stage, she was immediately greeted by chisaki and shigaraki tomura's sister, hana.

"greetings your highness, and chisaki-sama", yua bowed. eri just watched from the sidelines, as she waited for yua to come take her home.

since geishas didn't reside in the tea house, eri has been living with yua for the past few weeks.

"oh please!! no need for formalities", hana exclaimed. she looked at the geisha. it was a bit hard to tell what she actually looked like with all the white face paint on.

"your dance was absolutely entrancing yua-san! with such grace, you'd definitely be able to get any guy you want. even my fiancé here was entrapped", hana laughed, clutching onto chisaki's arm.

chisaki just watched, remaining his neutral face like usual.

"you flatter me your highness", yua smiled.

moments like these were what made her above others. she learned to contain her emotions in front of others, no matter how much she wanted to cry.

"oh my!! you're such a respectful geisha!! I should introduce you to my brother tomura", hana said, looking up at chisaki for his opinion.

"perhaps...shigaraki-kun would prefer a woman of higher status", chisaki suggested.

"nonsense! tomura would love her!! she's the perfect definition of patience, grace, and beauty! everything my brother is not", hana joked.

yua smiled. "if that's what you wish for, then I shall obey", yua bowed. she then excused herself and took eri's hand, walking home.

"mm...m-mama", eri called out. yua stopped walking and bent down to eye-level. eri wasn't sure whether it was okay for her to call yua that. but she was always acting like a mother towards her, so she didn't know why it wouldn't be appropriate.

"eri, I'm not your mother. your soon-to-be mother is shigaraki hana. she's the future wife of your father", yua softly said, looking into eri's shining red orbs.

"then why don't you just marry papa?", eri asked.

yua just smiled, patting eri's head.

"you'll learn when you get older eri..."

'that loving someone, means helping them achieve their goals and that my happiness, is only for chisaki to be happy'. 

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価値がある
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