Artists Of The Floating World

dragonlady222: I never even thought to put the empress in, cuz I didn't want to drag this fic out, and I didn't want to put an OC in it, even if it was a villain. But now that I think about it, having a scuffle between the empress and Yugi would've added more to the story.

tavi: The bunny is very happy when he's fed, and ismore cooperative, which means he lets me update faster. ^.^

wicabeth: I'm more partial to Yugi, too, but I lurve him and Ryou both.

cody thomas: Don't worry, Bakura will definately be making an appearance sooner or later.

dragon speaker: I came up with the idea for this cuz I love the movie Memoirs of A Geisha, and I lurve YGO...so I combined the two. ^.^

chibi-berry: Yeah, this story is a little bit sat. It's not a complete, depressing angst-fest, but it's not a cavity inducing fluff fest, either. I tried to make it a lil bit of both.


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“It’s a beautiful night. The moon’s so pretty.” Yugi didn’t turn around; he could tell by the soft voice it was Ryou. The other geisha came to stand besides him, leaning against the railing.

Ryou sighed, chin in his palm. He was still in full geisha regalia. The outer layer of his kimono was a splendid buttercup yellow with gold-threaded flowers winding around the bottom. His under layer was a soft pumpkin orange and his obi was a brilliant red. The party was still going on downstairs, in the main halls of the palace. The crown prince had sent Yugi upstairs hours ago then slipped away shortly after. The celebration was winding down, and Malik was getting ready to leave, so Ryou had come to bid his best friend farewell.

Yugi turned his head, looking at his fellow geisha. Behind the white face and red painted lips, Ryou’s brown eyes shown with sadness. Yugi nudged him with his bony shoulder. “What’s wrong with us? We should be happy, but we’re both so sad…”

Ryou lowered his head, folding his arms on the cool, wooden railing then resting his head on them. He stared up at the moon. “Because we want to walk to the altar with our loves. We want them all to ourselves. But that is not for us to have.”

His doe brown eyes shimmered with tears in the soft moonlight as he raised his head to look at Yugi. “At least you have the heart of the one you want.”

“Oh, Ryou…” Yugi’s heart ached for his best friend; he felt Ryou’s pain. He hugged the taller geisha tightly, thin arms slipping around his slender waist and crushing the red obi bow.

Ryou hugged him back, closing his eyes as he struggled not to cry. He could not ruin his makeup, not when he had to go back to the party. Ryou sniffed and held Yugi tightly. “It’s my fault, really. I never should’ve a-accepted, or encouraged, M-Malik.”

“Okaasan would’ve made you accept him, anyway. She wouldn’t loose Malik’s patronage to another okiya.” Yugi bit his pink lower lip. “The truth is so cruel…I’m sorry, Ryou, I really am.”

Ryou shook his head, gently patting the top of Yugi’s hair. “No, it’s something I must accept and get over. You don’t get to choose you’re lot in life. We’re lucky- we could be out working on the street corners.”

Yugi was silent because he could not find any comforting words to say. Were there any? He just hugged Ryou tighter, trying to comfort him with his love and support.

Ryou held Yugi tightly for several moments before he pulled back, his hands slipping down to Yugi’s arms and grasping Yugi’s hands. “It’s getting late- I must get back to Malik. I don’t want him to leave without me.” The taller boy tried to joke, but his eyes and voice brimmed with misery.

Yugi squeezed Ryou’s fingers encouragingly. “I’ll miss you. You’re my brother.” He paused, and added as an afterthought. “I just realized this will be the first time we’ll truly be apart. We won’t even be living in the same building anymore.”

Ryou returned the squeeze on his fingers. “Just when we need each other the most, too…”

“It will be weird, not having you here. We can’t sneak into each other’s room anymore. No more late night talks.” Yugi felt tears building and he roughly swallowed them.

“Yugi, I don’t know if I can get through this without you.” Ryou’s voice rose, breaking with a sob. He was on the verge of hysterics.

Yugi chewed his lower lip in worry and rubbed soothing circles on the back of Ryou’s hands with his dainty thumbs. “Ryou, you’re strong. I’m always here for you. We’ll still see each other; you’ll only be a few blocks away. I’ll visit you, and you can visit me.”

“B-but it won’t be the same, Yugi. I don’t want this; I don’t want any of it!” Ryou fell to his trembling knees, hands clenching Yugi’s painfully as his eyes clenched shut and he sobbed.

Yugi followed him down, pulling the willowy geisha into his arms. Ryou pressed his fists to his eyes, fighting desperately not to cry. He lost his love, now he was loosing his best friend. It was too cruel.

He wanted Bakura to come back to Edo and whisk him away. Then he would be away from everything he had ever known. What would happen next? Happily ever after only existed in fairytales. As long as Bakura was with him, though, Ryou knew he would survive anything. He could live hiding in gutters and caves, scrounging for food, living hand to mouth, and constantly on the run, as long as he was at Bakura’s side.

Running away with Bakura would be betraying Malik, and it would wound the handsome young noble deeply. Malik loved Ryou, and treated him well. Abandoning him would dishonor Ryou. Ryou’s reputation would be ruined- he would never be able to be a geisha again. The okiya would be dishonored- Okaasan’s reputation and business would be ruined, tainted by the tawdry tale of the runaway geisha and the outlaw. The royal family, too, would be disgraced. By running out on Malik, who was related to the emperor, he would bring shame on Malik’s family, including his cousin, the emperor –to-be, Yami. Yugi, because of his connection to Ryou, the okiya, and the prince, would be disgraced as well. If Ryou left, he would destroy all that he held near and dear.

If his life had been different, if Bakura had pledged undying love, if Bakura even came to Edo, then Ryou would have gone to him, runaway with him. Bakura had been gone for a long time, so this was the only path for Ryou to take. He couldn’t waste his life waiting on a dream that might not come true, no matter how badly his heart yearned for it.

Tears leaked from Ryou’s clenched lashes and his dark eye makeup was smeared around his eyes. His slim shoulders shook and he bit his lip, still uselessly fighting the tears. Yugi ran his hands lightly over the ornaments in Ryou’s thick, silvery hair and rubbed his back, offering what comfort he could.

A small, timid cough caused them to turn their heads to the balcony door. A maid, her black hair bound with a scarf and wearing a dram yukata of coarse cloth, bowed low, her eyes respectfully averted. “Ryou-sama, Malik-dono requests your presence.”

Ryou scrubbed his smeared eyes then pulled back from Yugi and stood up. “Sayonara, Yugi-chan.” He said with a respectful little bow.

Yugi bowed his head in acceptance and return of Ryou’s polite, formal bow. “Farewell, Ryou-chan.” He watched them go, the maid sliding open the doors and bowing as Ryou passed. Yugi’s heart ached for him. He could not imagine being with anyone but Yami. Poor Ryou, denied his heart’s desire, his love.

tbc….

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Ooooh, looky! For once, no evil cliffie! But next chapter things start to heat up, we see what’s going on with Ryou and Malik, and we get closer to Bakura’s appearance. What, you didn’t think I was gonna leave him out, did you?

Reviews, comments, etc, are all appreciated. So review. You know you want to.