"MIDORIYA izuku is it? so you were the abandoned boy that okā-san found on the streets", yua asked.

"y-yes ma'am!", the green-haired boy replied.

yua lightly chuckled. "no need to be so formal. just call me yua or onē-san", she smiled.

"o-okay then onē-san".

yua thought the boy was quite cute. midoriya was fairly skinny and had a sunshine aura around him. yua was excited to mentor him, as he would definitely be another hardworking disciple.

"how old are you, midoriya?"

"um...15 currently", midoriya answered.

"you're quite young aren't you", yua commented.

"ahaha...yeah. but I heard that even though you're 20, you're the most well-known geisha in kyoto!!", midoriya said, bringing out his notebook.

yua glanced at the excited boy.

"it seems that you've done your research", yua said, walking towards the makeup room.

"o-oh yeah! I...I've always admired the beauty a geisha possesses, so I've heard many things while I was on the streets", midoriya quickly replied.

"I see. anyways, I have a special guest coming in today, why don't you join and observe. after all, the best way to learn is through experience right?"

midoriya just nodded as he waited for yua to change into another kimono. once she was done, he walked into the room, seeing a small girl with her makeup already done.

"eri, this is midoriya. and midoriya, this is eri", yua casually said, still focusing on painting the upper half of her collarbone.

eri looked up to see a boy with freckles. he looked nervous and quite surprised to see her. she thought he was a bit weird, but didn't openly voice her opinion.

"welcome back, chisaki-sama", yua greeted, walking into the room.

"who's that new maiko behind you?", irinaka asked.

"that's midoriya izuku, the new maiko I told you all about last time", yua smiled. she then watched eri grab the flute. throughout her lessons, yua discovered that eri was more talented in the flute than the shamisen, so she decided to hone her flute skills.

midoriya sat beside chisaki, watching and observing everyone around him. much less to say, he was quite intimidated with all the testosterone in the room.

but once the music started playing, midoriya's attention was directed to yua. her dance wasn't sexual at all, yet he can't help but feel enticed by it.

it was truly remarkable.

he clapped once the dance was over. midoriya watched as yua took a seat next to kurono and irinaka.

chattering was heard as yua did a great job keeping the others entertained. midoriya tried to latch onto what they were saying, but every conversation was just about daily life. nothing important.

"so you're new here", chisaki suddenly said, making midoriya jump out of his trance.

"u-um y-yes sir".

"why'd you decide to be a geisha? you're still quite young. there's many opportunities for you still", chisaki said, observing midoriya.

"a-ah...I've always thought that geishas were elegant and beautiful. and being left on the streets made me want to stop being dirty and be beautiful too", midoriya answered, sweating profusely.

"I see. you're quite lucky to be mentoring under yua then".

"r-really? why's that?", midoriya asked, pretending that he didn't know how talented the woman was.

chisaki looked at the laughing woman that was currently entertaining his men. he felt his heart become heavy at the sight of such a charmer.

"don't you know? she's the best of all geishas", chisaki answered, directing his gaze back to midoriya again.

"o-oh right. I've heard many great things about her", midoriya said, looking down.

chisaki then coughed. "leave".

suddenly, all his men and eri stood up, making midoriya confused.

"midoriya, go with eri", yua commanded, to which he hesitantly followed.

once everyone left and the doors were closed, chisaki took off his bird mask. yua moved next to him, laying his head down on her lap.

except this time, he voluntarily took his black mask off, showing his entire face. it rarely happened, but when it did, yua knew it was serious.

"is something wrong kai?", yua asked, gently massaging chisaki's scalp.

"I'm...getting married in a few days", chisaki mumbled, making yua stop rubbing chisaki's head.

she knew this day would come. she clearly knew. yet no matter the amount of makeup could hide her hurt and sourness.

"I see. congratulations to you and her highness then", yua bitterly smiled.

chisaki grabbed yua's hand, cupping his own face. he leaned towards the softness, looking into yua's glossy brown eyes.

"yua. you know my heart belongs to you", chisaki softly said, gently caressing yua's painted face.

"no need to explain kai. just tell me what the next step of the plan is", yua whispered.

her lips pressed into a thin line as chisaki then whispered into her ear. she then held her breath as he explained what the next step of action was.

-♖-

"eri-chan, are you happy here?", midoriya asked, helping eri wipe off all the paint.

"mm...yeah! I love spending time with yua-san. why?", eri asked, fiddling with her pink pearl hairpin.

"are you her...daughter?", midoriya asked.

"u-um n-no...why?", eri asked, not sure why midoriya was asking so many questions. perhaps he was just curious of their close relationship?

"oh, just wondering. and can you tell me why yua's alone with chisaki-kun?", midoriya questioned.

"umm...it's because he's her danna. so they have special time together", eri said. technically, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either.

"and can you—"

"midoriya", a voice suddenly called out, making both kids turn around.

"a-ah! yua-san, is there something you need help with?"

"go to the flower arrangement room. I'll meet you there briefly", yua commanded. midoriya nodded and quickly walked away.

yua went to eri and kneeled down.

"eri, are you alright?"

eri just nodded. "yes. but midoriya-kun is a bit weird, mama".

"I know. just be careful around him okay? or else he might try to take you away", yua warned.

eri just nodded, hugging yua. yua smiled, patting eri's back.

'midoriya izuku. seems like you're not who you claim to be'.

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価値がある
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