0 comments/ 4698 views/ 0 favorites Sakura Understands Reality By: LeopoldNicholas Raion was weeping. Not crying, weeping. The tears welled into His eyes from deep within His soul and trickled like life's blood so moisten His lips and beard. Sakura sat quietly and watched. All her being cried out to comfort her Sensei yet she knew the turmoil that filled His being was one to which she had no cure. His father had died, taken from this existence without warning and even He the most stoic of men was devastated. She placed the small table carefully in front of her Master. Care needed to be taken to ensure the bamboo legs made no mark on the rice paper floor covering. She had prepared the tea in the adjoining anteroom not wishing to burden His eyes with her yet unacceptable clumsiness and only bought the small teapot and bowl He preferred. Pouring the slightly green liquid into the bowl was an art in itself. The volume needed to be exact, just sufficient to quench His thirst but never more than was needed. This she felt comfortable doing. Each previous pouring had been but a rehearsal for this moment when all her abilities would not shine in radiance like the sun but rather simply allow the moment to pass quietly, without disturbance to His intense mournful meditation. Sakura turned the bowl carefully in her hand, wiping the brim with a silk cloth she had produced from the sleeve of her dark blue kimono. She had not considered wearing black, to do so would suggest a much more personal connection to the deceased than her position allowed. She edged forward from the table towards Raion. She had practiced this movement till it was smooth and almost silent yet still she felt the room echo with her tiny disturbance of the air. The bowl was offered hopefully, Raion seemed oblivious to all except His own thought. His dark pupils seemed lifeless, empty, jet black pools that could almost be bottomless pits of nothingness. She remembered reading of the black holes in deep space and wondered momentarily if this was how they appeared through the telescopes of the peering astronomers. Raion's hand reached forward to take the bowl and lifting it to His lips drank the contents in one movement. The warmth seemed to color His cheeks just momentarily before the hand and bowl settled between His knees on the black hakama He wore. Gently Sakura retrieved the bowl from His grasp and returned to her position beside the table without her eyes ever leaving His face. She remade the tea constantly, offering her Master some after each fresh brewing. Sometimes He would react, sometimes he would not but her duty was in the serving not the drinking and she was thankful for her task. The day passed slowly but without further disturbance. Arrangements were in place for the funeral and Raion had no responsibility till the morrow for anything but contrition. Sakura had told her parents that she would stay with Him for as long as necessary and they had accepted this duty without question. He was the center of her world and today more than ever before she was indispensable. His teaching, her training had no purpose unless used. It was not for festivals or holidays, not for tradition or show it represented the half of a whole that only could exist when conjoined. Today she was the base of Him, the thing that made His devout penance possible. "Sensei you must eat." Darkness was falling outside rapidly and not one crumb or grain of rice had passed His lips since yesterday. "You cannot live on tea alone Sensei, please eat." Raion's mouth opened momentarily as if to speak but then His jaw firmed and His lips closed into a line of negativity. "Sensei I have bought you these." From the sleeve of her kimono Sakura produced two O-mochi, rice cakes filled with bean paste. These she knew to be her Masters favorite and also something that would digest easily and be nutritious. She held them in the open palm of her right hand temptingly in His clear vision. He seemed unmoved, uninterested; she remained still, her arm outstretched. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes joined to become an hour, still she knelt arm straight, statuesque, yet He remained detached. The warmth from her hand was gently heating the cakes and the aroma of bean paste was permeating the air. Sakura felt her stomach cry out in concord with the scent and hoping her Master would concur continued her unmoving request. Sakura found that this enforced stillness quite easy. She had become accustomed to hours spent in the enclosures of shibari and found this unfettered dalliance quite easy. Her muscles were hard, her body supple, she was prepared by experience for this occasion. It was nearly at the second hour His eyes finally focused on the delicious objects, the third hour before unwillingly He reached forward and taking one of the now body temperature mounds placed it in His mouth. He chewed, He swallowed and reaching forward took the second and nodded. Sakuras heart leaped feeling the cloak of purpose envelop her entire being. Raion was exhausted. Sakura could sense her Master drifting in and out of consciousness and see the sudden jerks in His body needed to remain sitting upright. Knowing He would be unwilling to leave this room she decided now was the time to take action. She rose silently and walked to the adjoining room to retrieve a bed roll. She carefully flattened the mattress parallel to her kneeling Sensei and placed His buckwheat pillow at the head. Now it was simply a task of waiting. She sat quietly at the side of the roll until He slipped into unconsciousness then carefully lowered and guided His form onto the Mattress. Happily He did not stir. Kneeling beside Him at His waist she carefully unfastened the bow tying the himo strings across his chest that kept His black haori in place. Gently rolling His relaxed body she removed first one arm then the other from the silk sleeves and finally was able to place the coat to one side. The hakama were knotted with some intricacy but her nimble fingers managed to loosen the twin ribbons and extricate them from beneath Him releasing the waist. The now loose baggy garment was easily drawn down His thighs, over His knees and finally beyond His feet. Taking a second to remove the white geta socks from His feet she took the hakama and haori to the far side of the room and carefully folded both garments in the proscribed manner. The haori was simple, the hakama more complicated. She had little experience with the numerous pleats but had watched her mother perform this duty often enough to have a good concept. The folded items she placed in the appropriate cupboard in the back room, the geta in a laundry basket and returning to the workroom she regained her position at His side. She concluded He had not moved one centimeter. Carefully she repeated her previous movements and removed her Sensei's black yukata. She noticed immediately He was sweating profusely and worried He might be beginning to suffer a fever quickly fetched a bowl of cool water, a wash rag and towel. First she mopped His brow, allowing the cool rag to rest upon his skin just long enough to coat His skin lightly with water before dabbing the excess away with the towel. This process she repeated across His face, under the chin and around His neck. Gently moving His arms away from His body she carefully passed the almost dry wash rag up the inside of His arms from elbow to pit then again using the towel dabbed away the residue. She noticed His face calm, take on the recognizable countenance of the Sensei she loved so deeply and sighed with satisfaction. Raion's chest had a light covering of dark hair. Not heavy or wiry just finely outlining the contours of the hard chest muscles so clearly defined by His years of practice in the martial arts. She continue with the bed bath, enjoying the feel of His skin under her fingers and reveling in this moment of private adulation. His stomach was firm, the slight bulge at the waist from the good diet He normally partook doing nothing to reduce overall effect of physical prowess. The natural build of the Japanese man was often heavy at the waist. This aided the fit of the kimono or hakama and made the tying of the obi from a low front to middle back position perfectly suitable. Her fingertip traced the livid scar left by an appendix operation on the lower right side of His belly and she carefully noted the still distinct stitch marks that flanked either edge. The wound was obviously very old and she wondered at what age He had suffered the major ailment needing obviously emergency treatment. The pubic area was cleanly shaved. Sakura had noticed this before of course but was fascinated to see the faint trace of stubble that was showing. The texture fascinated her, the way the hair grew in one direction making it course to the touch one way and completely smooth the other. She was tempted to retrieve the razor from her Masters bathroom cabinet and remove this wayward growth but decided such would be both inappropriate and taking advantage in the circumstances. She sponged the pubic bone above His limp penis and the front of His upper thighs. Placing the tips of her fingers on the inside of His left knee she slowly slid them upwards and was pleased to see the thighs part a little at her progress. Finally when she felt them wide enough she removed her hand and rinsed the face cloth fully in the now tepid water. Carefully she wiped the creases between His sac and thighs. His scrotum felt heavy and she wiped the skin whilst weighing the twin receptacle's of His seed in her palm. She reached for the towel to wipe the moisture away then wishing not to disturb Him decided on a better course. Bending at the waist she lowered her head and delicately licked the freshly cleaned area tenderly. She swallowed often to ensure that no saliva was imparted to His flesh. The effort was to dry not to moisten. She noted that even in His exhausted sleep her ministrations had caused a reaction and His limpness disappeared and the full measure of His manhood presented itself to her gaze. She found herself drawn at once carnally but knew that this process was for His comfort not her pleasure. The rag became obsolete. She gathered His swollen head into her mouth and ran her tongue around the mushroom to cleanse and purify. She carefully pulled the foreskin to its lowest position to enable every part of this wondrous velvet dome to be in her purview. Taking a mouthful of water she ran the tip of her tongue from rim to base bathing His shaft before vacuuming the moisture back between her lips. The wetness tasted of Him and she felt herself moisten immediately. Joy of joys she saw a tiny bubble of precum form on the very tip and feasted upon it as if the most expensive fugu. Her throat sang as she swallowed His bounty and felt her body and mind accept her total unconditional submission to His cause. The bowl, wash rag and towel were carefully placed as they should be, everything must be as He would wish to find it, nothing out of place. She lay the light summer covering lengthways at His side and only then released the obi that held her silk kimono in place. The garment was quickly folded and laid aside, topped by the immaculately gathered length of silk that was the pride of her obi collection. Her under kimono and shift followed till she stood naked over His still comatose form. Now he released her hair to cascade past her shoulders to fall almost to cover her breasts. Laying at His side she drew the covering over their parallel body's and lay still almost touching but separated by a gulf only He could close. After what seemed an hour but probably was but a moment she felt His arm slowly reach out to gather her to Him. She lay the side of her face upon His chest, so lightly that it might have been a feather, and controlled her breathe so her exhalations would cause Him no disturbance. The day had been a strange compote of sadness and joy, a mix that was a bitter sweet facsimile of life itself. Sakura closed her eyes and waited for sleep. When it came it was peaceful and full of contentment. Sakura Understands Reality Ch. 02 Raion had no doubt that the day must come when Sakura left Him. Realism is a component of Japanese culture. Yes the past in an intrinsic part of the present but the future must bring change by its very chaotic nature. Sakura was but a flower in the bud, the bloom she would become would need experience in the garden of life in all its forms to be magnificent and Raion wanted more than anything to revel in that moment in this life or beyond the three rivers in yomi. Continuity was a constant thread in His existence. His own children were strangers to Him. His first wife, the one-san of a training school in dance for maiko had long since cut all ties with Him. It amused Him that for all the supposed estrangement she still found it good business to use His family name and crest. His eldest son was now a samurai of some significance in the Emperors guard but had made no effort to contact Him for many years. Raion had reached out many times but had long since accepted that His presence physical or spiritual was not required or wanted. He had long come to the decision that in time He would marry Sakura. This He would do not from any need for power or contentment, or even the usual ideal of domestic bliss, rather it was a sure way to ensure her acceptance in the eyes of both law and society as His natural heir. Certainly the usual line of descent would be to His first born son but a carefully worded and accredited document of explanation would clarify the circumstance. This would be Sakuras last duty to Him. He had no wish to influence her life or decisions beyond that point rather trusting in the sanctity of the very nature that had first bought her to His tutelage and the training she had so willingly endured with stoic perseverance. He felt the tears wash down His face and felt no shame. A man was allowed to show His nature in all its facets and grief was as deep an emotion as any. The pain He felt came not from loss, rather from a deep sense of sudden overwhelming weight. His father had been the wisest of men. A true warrior, a guardian of truth and honesty, a pillar that held the clarity of the heavens from being sucked into the muddy morass that could so easily be life. Now Raion felt the full responsibility of legacy and knew that from this day forward His existence would be forever changed. Yes He admitted some of His tears came from selfishness, the desire to still be the solitary outlaw searching out His own destiny. Yet also they came from an understanding that His father, His hero, would have never wished the mantle to oppress His son's free and unrestricted nature. He was aware of Sakuras presence. Even deep in meditation He could sense her closeness and the particular scent her body bought into His world calmed and comforted Him. The tea was a welcome gift. He took it eagerly, savoring the warm liquid as it refreshed the parched inner skin of His cheeks and throat. The blend was one He found interesting. The mix was just different enough to grab His attention and He recognized the slight hint of jasmine perhaps, and the aftertaste of brown rice. The aroma of the rice cakes became overwhelming. He had not wished to break His fast however necessary but the bean paste smelled so good and even deep in trance-like stillness salivated His mouth. Her hand had been outstretched for an eternity. A battle of wills between her concern and His insistence on self-denial. Eventually He gave, grudgingly, knowing that at this moment her judgment was far more clear than His and accepting the deep understanding she felt for His physical and mental needs. The cake was delicious. The flavor swept across His palate like a wave and although He forced Himself to chew the first slowly His mind was already contemplating consuming the second. The night drew in. He was tiring, could feel His body start to droop from the formality required in sitting and was forced to concentrate a small portion of His mind to such irrelevancy. "You are a fool Raion. I never deserved such reverence in life and certainly not in death." His father's voice was strong and controlled, much as He always remembered it. "Why do you sit in such pointless solitude when you have urgent responsibilities that require your constant attention?" Raion thought to respond. Searched vainly for a remark or passage that would explain this state of loss that held Him captor as fast as a prisons chains. "Did the arrows of My teachings miss their target so completely?" At another moment Raion would have smiled. His Fathers teachings like arrows? Certainly the wisdom and truth they held could pierce the strongest armor, but more often than not they were vague and confusing, full of confusions and questions. Realistically the point of His outpourings took days to assimilate to any form Raion could understand and then often His first comprehension was simplistic. "The little one understands more than you will ever accomplish." Raion felt Sakuras arms lower Him to the floor and thereby to the bedroll. He had neither strength nor will to fight her ministrations. He was lost in the void between life and death and felt for the first time her realization of her value. "You were always the crab apple tree Raion. Wild and unkempt in growth but with natural grace and beautiful blossom. Your fruit is sharp and unpalatable for the unwary but within the right hands becomes priceless." He recalled the wizened twisted stems and branches, the burst of glorious white blossom, the tiny apples and hips. Was He truly so obvious a creation of opposites, ugly and beautiful, poison and precious, like some two faced kabuki clown? "Remember your lessons Raion. Good, evil, right, wrong, life, death, pain, pleasure, they are all just words. Accept and you will flourish, fight and you will wither." Sakuras hands were cool on His skin. She had great skill, greater than He could ever claim to have brought forth. He felt at peace, unfearing, without concern and took the gift of her touch joyfully. "You are not a rock, you are a river. The little one has seen your nature and understands your strength and your weakness. You must let her drink and bathe, but you must also let her breathe. She cannot live submerged beneath your surface. She will always be outside of you, needing you for nourishment and for cleanliness but unable to remain solely within your depths." Raion sighed. His father was wise, able to dissect with a single cut what was hidden to most. Yes He needed this girl, leaned upon her with a force He knew could be oppressive and feared instinctively her parting. He had but one fear, to be alone. For all His independence and shunning of society as a whole His need for companionship was sometimes overwhelming. He could become all consuming, a drain sufficient to suck the very essence from the unwary as they tried to please Him. He had lost so many companions and the fear of losing sakura, His greatest treasure haunted His being. She had become the center of His life, His present, His hope for the future. Just as the phantom of His Father represented all His past so this slip of a girl was His guarantee to the universes tomorrows. The dream was as relevant now as ever. A constant companion for as long as He remembered it forever reached upwards to the climatic flowering of all He cherished. To those of less ethical or traditional perceptions seppuku was simply a method of escaping a reality that had become untenable. For Raion shame, or at least His personal recognition of shame was more onerous than any other concept and had but one conclusion, ritual suicide in the form known as jumonji giri. To understand His shame you must accept the Man. Shame comes in many forms, perhaps after defeat in battle, as a result of an act of failure to ones lord, or even the loss of position or favor. Raion was above such simplicities. The age of Bushido had passed into legend, the times of a samurai's longevity being decided by martial failure or the politically expedient ruling of another thankfully had passed at the end of the Showa era. Property and possession had little meaning to Him, indeed the decisions about their eventual dissemination had been made irrevocably many moons ago. Personal shame had become concentrated to one simple ethic, that of atonement, a paying in life blood for a breakdown in respect, either as a self-inflicted cleansing of the stain or as a clear warning to others that some measure of accountability for their actions or responsibilities must be held for any civilized society not to dissolve into anarchy. The form of jumonji giri holds particular significance. Any form of seppuku requires courage, strength and stoicism. The horizontal disemboweling stroke is painful and difficult to perform and often incomplete when pain forces the kaishaku second to deliver the stroke accomplishing the required embraced head. Having the concentration and focus to complete a horizontal cut with expected upward flared ending, then remove the blade entirely to perform the second vertical incision took enormous willpower. Both these cuts are by nature mortal however neither immediately lethal and death and relief depend entirely on rate of blood loss, all to be accepted and endured in silent meditation. Raion accepted the final conclusive sleight would come. He had suffered the sting of a hand across His cheek before, both actual and metaphorical, but had not found these occasions worthy of the casual casting away of a reincarnation. Perhaps now with the passing years the need for sufficient justification was overshadowed by the necessity for preemptive example. Reaction was a raging river held feebly behind a dam and a matter as simple as a seeming mild betrayal could and would release the deluge. Age had reduced His acceptance of shame but increased His weight in honor. He reached towards her still form, filled with the need of a body entwined with His, to be conjoined, a salve to lesson this oppressive need to reach beyond the veil again. Her body was weightless, as if suspended above Him, touching, but unobtrusive, a blanket to warm and comfort Him made of sheerest gossamer. The scent of her hair filled His nostrils, the love He felt no need to hide engulfed His spirit. "She is the end of your journey, the mountain top is no longer yours alone. You have wished for this My son, now it has passed from dream to fruition you realize that the moment so long awaited will be fleeting as your last breathe." The arm He that held her made no effort to tighten, to control, to en-cage, rather it dissolved molecule by molecule wanting nothing but to merge beneath her surface and never be separate again. In this moment He almost tasted perfection, the serenity of interdependence with all and the impossibility of its fulfillment. This was Buddha. Here was the final lesson He must teach in blood and silent suffering. Perfection is without worldly reality and can only be reached when we finally escape our mortal form and become nothing, without intellect, emotion or self. At age five He had sat next to His Father in the dojo, His legs screaming from the new awkwardness of seiza, mind and muscles aching for movement. They sat silently for an hour. His father immovable as a rock, without even a trace of disturbance from the necessary actions of circulation or breathing. It was if His Sensei's being had merged with the matter surrounding it. Raion tried to concentrate, make small adjustments of weight or posture to reduce His discomfort but still the mounting tension overwhelmed Him. "Raion pain is clouding the clarity of your being. This is life. We must embrace pain, embrace discomfort. Embrace all or it will bind you. Accept and you will be free. Avoidance is not the solution. Lay upon the sand and let the ocean wash over you. You will be cleansed and purified. When you have fully appreciated this lesson your spirit will be free at last to leave your body and never return." "What is the object of suffering Father?" "Suffering is but the dojo that trains you for mortal death and eventual perfection." Sakura Understands Reality Ch. 03 Sakura walked her adopted three paces behind her Sensei. At other times He would have stopped eventually, wagged His finger with mock annoyance and motioned her to His side but today He was in essence not here, He wandered somewhere between earth and void. The black ceremonial haori hung like a weight upon His shoulders, the usual straight line gone replaced by a roundness Sakura found unsettling. His geta were noisy, drowning out her own heavy step, the stealthy cat like walk had been replaced by the heavy fall of a condemned man's careless stride. Sakura fought to keep her face calm, retain the posture and respect that echoed the occasion's seriousness but under the pancake makeup her emotions were torn and convulsed with her Masters pain. At last their path took them away from prying eyes and she allowed one tear to gently seep from her right eye to trail slowly down her cheek leaving a livid scar along the white expanse of her face. Some confuse Buddhist and Shinto teachings with hedonism. The apparent taking of enjoyment in every moment compared with the constant search for endless pleasure. Simply let it be said that neither fatalism nor present-ism can be hedonistic. The present can indeed be good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, but must be accepted, lived and enjoyed whether through laughter or tears. True hedonism rejects any act or situation that involves discomfort or pain, therefore in one breathe refuting the converse nature of life. The endless search for pleasure has no more value than for the philosopher's stone, both are fantasies that misdirect the selfish from true experience. As tradition decreed Raion had allowed a full funeral with the nōkan ceremony. His father had been cleansed and placed in a coffin and had laid raised on the ceremonial alter throughout the wake the previous day. The dry ice in the coffin proved auspicious due to the days delay to avoid the bad luck of burying on tomobiki. Raion was not concerned being rarely superstitious but His mother, a devout Buddhist has insisted. Sakura found herself at a loss to know her place. Not being family she had no accepted position but was ever keen to be at her Masters elbow. For many He may have seemed stoic, in control, but she knew every facet, every nuance of His demeanor and saw the torment barely hidden within. Eventually it was His own mother who had beckoned and seated her where she longed to be, behind and to the right side of His position. Twice during the funeral He had faltered, twice He had carefully stretched His arm backwards between the chairs to touch the knee of her black kimono. At the end of the ceremony sakura watched sadly as Raion hammered home the coffin nails with a stone bought especially from His father's Zen garden. The procession to the crematorium was somber, the silence broken only by the chant of the Shinto priests and an unfortunate squeak from one of the hearses wheels. The cremation took an hour and a half, her Master sitting pensively in the cherry orchard just to one side. Sakura remembered longingly the many happy times they had spent in similar surroundings and prayed silently for their swift return. The ritual picking of the bones fascinated her. This was her first funeral and the shock of seeing people pass the bones from chopstick to chopstick against all normal social protocol was both startling and strangely moving. The ceremonies completed, the ashes carefully placed in an urn the procession moved again back through the normally sleepy village. Today the streets held all the residents and their families. No work took place, no school opened, no shops served patrons, the villagers silently lined the streets bowing as both His father's remains and Raion passed. Sakura wondered at this deep degree of loss and respect. The dojo of Raion's father had served the village for his whole life, as had his fathers before him, but the outpouring of manifest devotion was truly staggering. Half way along the main thorough fare there was a halt, unscheduled but understood. The village elders accompanied by the head Shinto priest approached Raion solemnly. All stopped in a line facing her Master and bowed deeply. The mayor and priest then stepped forward and halted but a few feet away, again a deep bow. Raion seemed oblivious to anything except the bows which He returned courteously. The mayor held out before him, gripped horizontally in his right hand, Raion's tanto. Placing His hands either side of the mayors Raion nodded a bow then placed the tanto into His obi, the ritual was then repeating between the priest and Raion but this time passing His katana. The procession proceeded, the bows from the lines of villagers continued except that the bow to Raion was now much deeper, some even paying the ultimate of respect and bowing in seiza their foreheads touching the ground. Her Master appeared unmoved, unaffected, yet somehow to sakura He seemed taller and more defined than ever before. Where once He had been Raion He was now something more, something that encapsulated everything, past, present and future. "You must be happy to now be the courtesan of a Daimyo." Sakura turned to find her addresser to be none other than the wife of yamato the local yakuza boss. "I had not realized He was Daimyo and am decidedly not His courtesan." The woman was dressed impeccably but with a style that might have been considered theatrical for a funeral. The colors of her patterned kimono and obi were subdued by comparison to her usual extravagance it was true but certainly more outlandish than sakura would ever consider appropriate. Her hair was magnificent, more so because it was obviously real and not the formal wig so often adopted for convenience. The combs and pins glinted gold, the black and purple decorative flowers exquisite. "Even a retired geisha is traditionally allowed a little leeway in costume sakura." Sakura bowed her acceptance demurely. "It surprises me you were so unaware of your Masters position as heir presumptive. It alarms me more you are not His mistress. You really haven't pillowed with Him?" Madame yamato lowered her voice to almost a whisper for the last two sentences and murmured discretely from behind the protection of a fan held in front of her mouth. "We have not pillowed." Sakura knew that the question did not by protocol require an answer but found herself somehow at ease sharing with the infamous lady who stared so benignly. "A matter obviously not to your pleasure or advantage my sweet child. We shall have to see how we can help a fellow resident of karyūkai, the flower and willow world." The yamato residence was a good distance from the village but sakura looking back down the dusty road could just see the still lit lanterns of houses dancing in the light breeze. The night was warm, that clammy heat that falls between restful May and the time of typhoons. They had climbed past the highest of the rice paddies already green with growth of koshihikari, the favored rice variety in this prefecture. A low whistle pointed to their approach having been noted and the eyes of boss yamato's carefully hidden guards followed their further progress. The gate was open, a courtesy to the new Daimyo and sakura nervously followed her Master into the compound. Raion's posture had changed at the first whistle, He was now erect and focused, His left thumb pressed against the underside of the tsuba of His katana. Yamato and his wife stood in the anti-room leading to their western style accommodation. The construction was a mix of western and Japanese forms, large American style rooms but with some Japanese windows and doors. The complex had originally been constructed in 1949 for the use of the General in charge of the local American Occupation Forces. As a ready-made secure property it suited yamato perfectly for his operations. "Welcome Daimyo. Your presence honors our home." Yamato and his wife bowed genuinely which again greatly surprised sakura. For a non yakuza to be shown such respect was unusual. Raion received the bows generously with sufficient formality to return respect but just casually enough to not overstate His position. "Sakura please why don't you accompany me whilst our men talk?" Madam yamato took sakura's arm courteously and led her from the anteroom through a large seating area to a smaller quieter room overlooking the rear spacious floodlit garden. "They have politics to discuss. The changing of Daimyo means a new negotiation of arrangements. Raion is His father's son but not at all the same proposition." Sakura glanced around her and was amazed at the opulence that met her every glance. Certainly the furnishings were recognizably Japanese in style but of an extravagant construction and quality she had only seen before in Governmental buildings. "My husband is very generous. He ensures I enjoy nothing but the best. Thereby getting everything he desires in return." "My Sensei has very simple tastes by comparison madam yamato." "Please sakura you must call me by my first name, chouko. It is inappropriate for the Daimyo's courtesan to be so formal with someone as unimportant as me." "But madam yamato I am not His courtesan." "Chouko please sakura and we shall resolve the other question soon enough. I instructed my husband to invite the Daimyo here, on the pretext of settling political matters, simply to enable me to begin to rectify this unfortunate state of affairs. Raion needs a courtesan, now more than ever and you are the ideal choice. The position He finds Himself elevated too, quite unwillingly, is stressful and both intellectually and physically demanding. You must be His panacea for all these ills." A clap of chouko's hands bought two maiko to the room. "Ayame please tell the Daimyo and my husband that sakura and I are retiring to the bathhouse. It has been a tiring day and we are in need of both cleansing and relaxing. Kaoru you will please fetch fresh yukata for both sakura and myself with suitable obis and place them in the dressing room. Then please both of you attend us in the bathhouse." Sakura sat on a small wooden stool facing chouko. They were both naked except for a small cloth carefully draped across their upper thighs for modesty. Having rinsed the dust and sweat from their bodies they had spent several relaxing minutes soaking in the hot bath until ayame and kaoru had returned from their allotted tasks. The young maiko had changed into light bath yukata simply tied by strings and were now busy scrubbing the two woman's backs with loofah. Sakura found the experience delightful. She had been to the village public baths a few times with her mother but those occasion's invariably involved social responsibilities. Here she felt far more relaxed. The conversation was light, without purpose beyond friendly exchange and she felt the tensions of the previous two days begin to melt from her shoulders. "I envy you so much being the property of the Daimyo. He is very good looking and obviously so virile." Ayame's voice was gentle and played on sakura's ear like a perfectly tuned instrument. "Sakura is not the property of the Daimyo ayame. She is His protege." Ayame giggled and began to massage sakuras shoulders with her soapy fingers. "Excuse my presumption sakura. Perhaps it is just my wishful thinking." The maiko giggled again and this time both kaoru and chouko joined in the merriment. "You must excuse our laughing sakura but it seems a strange situation that you do not pillow Raion endlessly. He is quite the most attractive of men and now Daimyo to boot." Sakura thought momentarily and decided this was not the moment for shyness. "I have thought it would be quite wonderful myself, but to be honest He shows very little interest in using me beyond as an occasional shibari model." Chouko smiled broadly at this admission. "Well my dear sakura you cannot really expect Him to make that decision on His own." "I really don't understand what you mean chouko. Whom else could make such a decision?" The geisha and two maiko giggled as one. "Well you do of course my dear. After all you are the woman and must take responsibility for such things." Ayame's hands felt so good on her neck. The maiko's hands had a surprising strength that seemed to penetrate through the surface skin to massage away the tension below the surface. Kaoru had moved from chouko's side and was gently soaping sakuras forearms. "We must take the care to understand our Lords needs and having understood ensure His pleasure is served physically and spiritually." The loofah in ayame's hand was caressing the back of sakuras ribcage, small tight circular caresses that seemed to excite and sooth simultaneously. "We must take every opportunity to enhance His existence. Excite His senses by the skills of our craft and let Him witness our metamorphosis from bud to fully open bloom for his picking." Chouko slipped from the stool opposite and kneeling in front of sakura gently spread her thighs with a slight pressure from the palms of her hands. "To give ultimate joy we must learn to express our own wondrous experiences in the willow world. We must show every tantalizing touch, every motion is as necessary to us as breathe itself." The fingertips on sakuras inner thighs were burning embers of desire as they slid ever closer to her core. Ayame's hands had slid around her ribs and the palms now gently cupped and massaged sakuras breasts whilst kaoru leaning forward lathed the hardness of her left nipple with long luxuriant flicks of her tongue. From His vantage point in the hidden gallery Raion watched sakuras face intently. She was beautiful, an image of loveliness He found impossible to feel worthy to possess. Her eyes were closed tightly her lips open in a half grimace of intense physical torment. Within His peripheral vision He saw chouko's face slide between sakuras thighs and the girl's expression freeze momentarily before melting into a pool sublime release. Sakura Understands Reality Ch. 04 The floor area reserved for hot oil massage was directly behind sakuras stool. The design had been artistically arranged to give the appearance of a small lily pond with ornamental koi swimming just below the surface. Sakura made no attempt to stop ayame and kaoru as they gently lifted her and carried her backwards to lie in the contours, her heart was still pounding from the overwhelming release of the orgasm chouko's lips had deliciously transferred to her swollen clitoris and the cold tile simply made her arch her back and spread her thighs wide. She lay open and without shame, a small frame rapped in wanton bliss. Her nipples seemed to be bursting buds of desire pressing upwards for ever increasing attention and her stomach rippled in a tight almost painful rhythm. Ayame and kaoru removed their yukata exposing thin hard bodies whose delicacy belied their strength. They knelt one on each side of sakura and poured warm oil onto her writhing form from beautifully crafted earthen ware bowls whose lustrous hue sparkled even in the dim light of the bath house. From His vantage point Raion could clearly see the swollen lips of sakuras labia, the swelling had parted them sufficiently to expose the beautiful hood that adorned her mound and the projecting nub of the perfectly formed clitoris chouko had feasted on so recently. His minds eye followed the curve till He reached the tight puckering of her anal ring that He had joyously penetrated with a thrust of His finger on occasion. Boss yamato was watching intently, His bulged eyes and round sly face reminded Raion of the American movie actor Peter Lorre whom He had often seen acting at the local cinema when He was young. Yamato drew a red patent leather ball gag from His kimono sleeve and placing the rubber bite piece in his mouth tightened the straps till they cut into his cheeks. He spread his knees wide allowing the silk kimono to fall open to the belly exposing his steel chastity caged penis. His face flushed with excitement but with no erection possible this only drove his state of ecstasy spiraling ever higher. His scrotum was tightly held in a form of screw clamp that at the same time widely separated the testicles whilst keeping the sac extra tight. The two maiko had begun to gently run their hands up and down sakuras arms from wrist to pit and kept the limbs at the correct angle by offering one of their breasts for each of her hands to cup. Sakura had no qualms in fondling the firm mounds and began rolling the pert nipples decorating their center between her thumb and forefinger. For their part the maiko squatted deeper, opened their thighs wider and dribbled tears of pleasure from between their vaginal lips. Kaoru and ayame leaned forward as one and each took one of sakuras hard nipples in their mouth. They bit gently, grazing the tender flesh with the edges of their teeth. Sakura gasped and throwing her head back pinched the maiko's nipples hard. Chouko had been sitting on the stool opposite watching the performance. Her right hand had quickly slid between her thighs and the index finger was now slowly inscribing circles around her swollen clitoris. Suddenly compelled she glided forward and slid her oiled body between sakuras spread knees. Position her left breast carefully she introduced her own erect nipple between sakuras soaked cleft and pressed inward and upward till the tip was lodged hard in sakuras hood. She pressed released then pressed again feeling the girl writhe beneath her even though pinioned by the maiko's arms and flashing incisors. "You need to show your pleasure more sakura. You must let the Daimyo know how your body, senses and mind are captivated by His touch. A man likes to hear the whimper of passion on a woman's lips, closely followed by the scream of ecstasy." Moving ever upwards chouko's lips found sakuras neck, soft and delicate caresses at first, but rapidly followed by harder inflamed kisses and small nips with her teeth leaving a trail of small red proofs of passion. The maiko's tongues were dancing joyfully across her aureola bringing short excited gurgles of pleasure from sakuras throat. Chouko slid a finger deep into sakuras vaginal canal and bit hard on her bottom lip before sliding her tongue deep into her mouth. Without a thought sakura responded urgently lustily sucking on the penetrating dancing phalange. Raion had first experienced a Kabuki performance at age six. Many of His Fathers peers considered this much too young an age to introduce a child to the imagery and confusion of the performances, considering that the nuances of language and gesture would be missed in one who's journey of life was as yet short. Certainly the spectacle was overwhelming. The archaic language, dazzling costumes, the exaggerated make up and gesture all contrived to make an audiences eyes and ears react in a manner that was at once overpowered and yet conversely comforted. "A religious experience for many." Raion tasted His Fathers words as he watched the expressions and body language of those around Him. Wonder certainly, awe definitely, but also a sense of belonging to something mysteriously magically never ending and beyond understanding. This first tasted performance was of the famous 'Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees' lasting five acts and with a sweeping plot of intrigue, revenge, combat, social status and eventual auspiciousness. Lasting from dawn till dusk this performance reflected the faster more fluid style of the original concept rather than the slow, almost mime version lately preferred. Boss yamato had begun to literally foam at the mouth. With no other release of fluid possible the flood of his needed ejaculation was by necessity exiting his body orally. Raion perversely admired chouko's control. The toy padlock fastening the chastity cage was no match for yamato's physical strength and would with one twist have fallen in pieces to the floor. The constriction had to be uncomfortable, particularly with the urethral probe firmly embedded. Raion considered the complicated relationship that must exist between the husband and wife momentarily then discarded the semantics as a surreal proposition that was uniquely configured and not worth particular contemplation. His decision was both profound and earthy being caused by another of chouko's maiko kneeling between His thighs and beginning to unfasten the double tapes of His hakama. Fearing that refusal of this obviously prearranged service might be concluded as impolite He allowed the girl to draw the silk garment to the floor and spreading His kimono expose the target of her predetermined attention. The passionate kiss with sakura at an end chouko positioned herself straddled across her chest. Reaching down she spread the swollen lips of her labia and began to slide her inner flesh up and down sakuras abdomen. The oil was slick between them but was of a type that heated through friction and sakura could clearly feel the imprint of chouko's inner contours as they massaged her skin with an almost suction like firmness. Kaoru was attempting to place the complete length of her tongue within sakuras vagina, the tip amazingly managing to reach the urethra and was attempting to penetrate the tiny opening with great enthusiasm. Ayame had retrieved a large dildo from the recesses of the bath houses many pigeon holes and was licking it gleefully whilst her eyes fixed on sakura with a fanatical lust. The evening following Raion's first experience of kabuki had been as memorable as the performance itself. This was His first visit to Tokyo, the homogenous center of all that was traditional and modern in His homeland. The Shibashi Enbujo was in Ginza, a very upscale area full of stores, restaurants and of course theaters. Raion had been overwhelmed by the crowds of people in the streets as He and His Father walked to the performance and was amazed that even in the late evening when leaving the theater the area still buzzed with constant movement and a cacophony of noise. "Father there are so many people. Has all of Japan come to visit today?" "The world is getting smaller Raion and Japan is overflowing. See each individual leaf as it rustles and you will not be overshadowed by the tree. Focus on the form you can see clearly not on the one you can only imagine." Raion looked again and saw people, just people, men, women and children as occupied in their lives as He was in His own. The maiko between Raion's thighs had bought yamato to a point of almost complete collapse. This seemed rather mysterious at first but as she carefully raised Raion's penis and eased Him forward on the low chair her technique proved abundantly explanatory. Rather than center her attentions of the shaft or head she began to caress Raion's anal bud with light perfectly positioned licks, a delicate rimming that caused His penis to jerk in a dance of delight. Having lathed the area completely she turned her attention to His testicles, swirling them with her tongue before taking each in turn into her mouth and sucking with a sensitivity that showed restraint as well as constant practice. Interestingly her eyes when possible were focused on the bosses face with a stare that could at only be described as humiliatingly teasing. Raion's sac tightened under the divine suction and amazingly the girl managed to enclose both testes in her mouth and play them like a pair of benwa balls. Sakura had never performed fellatio and she was unsure quite how to act when ayame offered the dildo tip to her pouting mouth. The obvious was accomplished quite easily by sakuras tongue snaking forth and rolling around the cleverly sculpted head and rim. The dildos girth was large and when ayame moved the tip between sakuras lips she found herself having to stretch her mouth to its widest. As it slid deeper she found her teeth grazed the surface and wondered if that was a pleasant experience for a flesh and blood member. Ayame began a slow rhythmic penetration of sakuras mouth, not deep enough to make her fear loss of breathe but far enough for the tip to cause her head to react as it reached the bottom of each stroke. Chouko's eyes were closed tightly and a sublime smile painted across her face as the friction between sakura torso and her widely spread labia began to cause a ripple of release to reach her cervix. Kaoru was sucking and biting down on sakuras clitoris whilst thrusting three fingers deep into her inner core. Sakuras knees were drawn up to her chest either side of chouko who held them securely under her arms. The train ride from Tokyo to their villages nearest station would take much of the night. The bullet train was still a thing of the future and railway travel was still a calm but slightly comfortable experience. "Kabuki literally means to be unusual, out of the ordinary. There was a time when anyone who dressed flamboyantly and walked with a conspicuous swaggering air would be called kabukimono. The fascination with the bizarre is not a modern phenomenon only. Japanese culture may seem very controlled and bland but theatricality has always been accepted as the reverse of our coinage." Raion drank in His Fathers words like a sponge absorbing every drop of water possible. He never failed to feel awe at the depth of knowledge or the simplicity of language that was used to explain the most obscure seeming points. "Whether traditionalist or modern, seemingly ordinary or bizarre people always act, always have a reverse side that if not visible is still clearly definable. Accept the obvious but never allow under currents beneath the surface to surprise you. All life is kabuki, beware the actors who do not wear the expected costumes in order to make it easy to disguise their true character." Sakura climaxed just as the dildo was deepest in her mouth. Its withdrawal was followed by a cry of such pure ecstasy it spread through symbiosis to chouko as well as both ayame and kaoru whom had been feverishly masturbating whilst working on sakura. The cry was louder than any she had let forth before. The noise had shape, the shape a form and the form was pleasure and release personified. "Such a beautiful cry sakura. Such a magnificent pillowing. That is how to ensure your partners utter abandonment." Chouko whispered the words to sakura between deep abandoned kisses her breathe so short that the two sentences seemed to take an age to escape her swollen lips. Sakura Understands Reality Ch. 05 Sakura sighed pensively as the train slowed to a stop at the station platform. Certainly the excitement that came from knowing she was about to experience a world beyond familiar flooded fields excited her but somehow the parting filled her with a foreboding she found hard to push aside. The Daimyo had accompanied her to the station, a great honor and at their final bow had pressed a small fortune in yen into her tiny hand. "You must live as I would want you too sakura. Enjoy each moment to its fullest but never forget who you are." Sakura had wept. All she had ever loved and wanted stood before her but now simple circumstance and her need to further her education was forcing her away. "I don t want to leave Daimyo." Raion had smiled at her in a way she found disconcerting. Certainly His face was full of kindness and understanding but also a tinge of some deeper thoughts were written on His lips. "The world is much bigger than this place. You must see what will soon invade our simplicity to prepare yourself for the future. Yes you understand the technology, certainly you have the ability to grow, but I need you to see everything that threatens us before we are engulfed and suffocated by the cloud of change. Your journey is of vital importance. My eyes cannot fathom the sights and sounds you will behold. My mind cannot absorb the wonders that will be at your fingertips, you are My eyes and ears, My understanding. It is but a few months till you will return and when you do your new gained knowledge will hone My blades edge." She had watched Him walk away, never looking back, no hesitation, His black kimono outlined starkly against the white gravel path that led homeward to the dojo. His hair was grayer in the light and His frame somehow stouter than she remembered. "So where are you headed?" The question snapped her back into the present. "College. I am going to Tokyo to college." Her questioner was about her own age, a tall impressively handsome boy with an air of overwhelming self-confidence. "Going to the big city myself. Got a job at my uncle's factory. Going to be a manager." Sakura smiled. She hadn't much knowledge about the world of factories and finance but was certain the boy's prospects had more to do with family connections than ability. "I saw you with the Daimyo. Are you related?" "I was lucky enough to be one of His pupils and He honored me by accompanying me to the train. He is a great and wise man." "Never met Him myself so can't say anything to His wisdom. As for being great I imagine it's not too hard taking a hereditary position." Sakura smiled politely enough but noted the tone of the conversation seemed to reinforce her first impressions. She had become used to two kinds of men, the older quiet controlled ones who had real power and authority and the boastful younger ones who thought they owned the world by right. This one was decidedly the later. "Rather like becoming a manager in your uncle's factory you mean?" Sakura watched the boy's face and was surprised to read no reaction. Perhaps his eyes darkened just a little but the fixed smile stayed the same. "Very much so I would imagine. You are an astute girl." Sakura was embarrassed to feel her face flush a little. She had little doubt that the compliment was sarcasm but a compliment none the less. The boy intrigued her. Obviously he was a resident of her village but she had never seen him and she definitely would have remembered. He had that polished suaveness that made him worm easily into a girls mind and a face that was disarming to say the least. His clothes were western, but not the garish style of a criminal, or the frenzied compote of a fashion flowing buffoon. Well-tailored, expensive and yes appealing. Sakura hated and more importantly regretted the fact she liked him on site. He was trouble and she knew she was being charmed by a snake. My name is Harinezumi Taneko by the way." Sakura wondered if she was meant to know him, he certainly looked as if the name was supposed to be familiar. "Nice to meet you Harinezumi, I am Sakura, Sakura Shoda." "The rice dealers daughter?" "Yes that's right, I am surprised you have heard of my father." "Don't be silly everyone in the province knows of Shoda Rice." Sakura knew she was being overtly flattered but even so found herself wanting to hide her mouth behind her hand and giggle. To do so would of course be far too obvious a sign of her feelings towards this preening boy for comfort. She felt slightly scared, somewhat embarrassed and noticeably aroused. The train was extremely crowded. Rail time tables in the provinces are predictably exact but so infrequent that at times like this when so many students were all heading in the same direction travel room was at a premium. Sakura collected together her rolling suitcase, hold-all and small back pack and walked along the platform looking for a carriage that wasn't totally overcrowded. No obvious space was available and she had almost accepted that the journey would be spent in a corridor either standing or sitting perched on her case when suddenly she heard Harinezumi calling her name from an open carriage door. "Come join us Sakura! My friends and I have sort of taken over this carriage and there's plenty of room for one more." Sakura hesitated momentarily. She was of course excited to be invited but something in her gut didn't feel quite right. "Come on be quick, train won't wait forever. Mikio go help Sakura with her bags." A verge large muscled boy jumped down immediately and with a grunt in her general direction picked up the luggage in hands the size of baseball mitts and carried it onto the train. Sakura, her hesitancy totally defeated and overridden followed. "Mikio will make sure your bags are stowed safely. Why don't you go over and introduce yourself to the rest of girls over there.." The carriage was pretty crowded. Everyone was really excited to be heading back to college after some pretty staid vacations at home, the volume of conversation and booming music began drawing Sakura into the festivities. The gang of girls was perhaps nineteen strong and they were dressed in the most diverse styles possible, Goth, Punk, Lolita, Wonderland, even Sakuras own Kigarumi taste was represented. Sakura felt a little overwhelmed but lots of smiles and cheery hellos greeted her, even a few pecked kisses on the cheek. Suddenly her trip to college seemed less of a lonely journey into the unknown and more of an adventure to be happily enjoyed and treasured. Yuiko Furinaka, Yui to her friends watched Sakura with intense interest. She had noted the way Harinezumi looked at the girl and she wondered if this was finally a chance for her to break free of the chains that bound her body and soul to his service. Twice before she had tried to escape the clutches of the heir to the Aguchi clan and both times she had suffered harshly for her impertinence. The first time she was told quite clearly by her own father that she was expected to show suitable respect and obedience to the Clan to protect and continue her own family's position and the second time Harinezumi had forthrightly threatened her total ruin if she dared disobey him in any way. Yui had therefore accepted her lowering to the position of a sexual slave to Harinezumi as an unavoidable feudalistic duty even when it had included being pimped out to his friends and acquaintances. However the recent development of having to service his father, uncles and their business associates was too much for even her overwhelming sense of family responsibility. She had realized her only possible escape was through a substitution with someone new, younger and still morally pliable and Sakura might just fit the bill. "Hello my name is Yui. So nice to have you join our numbers. Such a cute outfit, such lovely hair!" Sakura felt overwhelmed. From her perspective Yui represented everything she wished to accomplish. Beautiful, tall, slim, dressed in the most elaborate and expensive of the latest Kawaii fashion with all the confidence and attention those things bought. Sakura had dreamed of being such an icon herself as long as she could remember and was certain her Daimyo would be proud of her attaining such position and respect. "Thank you so much Yui." Sakura wanted to say more but was pulled into such a warm embrace by her new friend she quite lost track of her thoughts. Yui meanwhile breathed deeply and was pleased to smell the odor of arousal on this poor innocents flesh. "Come through to the girl's area of the carriage, we can chat properly. Sumi, Kanko why don't you come too and help entertain Sakura!" Sumi a very well-proportioned Lolita doll and Kanko, the quintessential Goth Alice followed gleefully. Things were definitely looking up. "Would you like a drink?" Yui casually waved towards the table between the bench seats. Sakura was surprised to see such an array of both western and Japanese spirits so readily available. "You probably are used to only being allowed such tipples on high days and holidays!" Yui's comment was just sufficiently demeaning to0 make Sakura feel like a poor relation to these obvious street wise girls and so she of course immediately poured herself a glass of Black label and mixed in some cola. "Well that certainly shows you know your way around a party!" Sakura absolutely glowed at the compliment and giggled quite recklessly in full view of the trio. "You got anything to make the journey rock Sumi?" The girl smiled knowingly and pulling a brightly enameled cigarette case from her pocket produced a very fat well rolled joint. "I hope we can trust you to keep all this decadence between us girls? Sakura nodded eagerly. Her fears were beginning to disappear with the now warm sensation caused by the whiskey and coke in her stomach. "Let's all sit down and get to know each other shall we?" Yui pulled Sakura down with her to sit on the carriages bench seat and Kanko flopped down on her other side. "Sakura you're like the best possible filling in a Kawaii sandwich!" The girls all giggled whilst Sumi, sitting on the floor and leaning her back against Sakuras knees got the joint fired up. Sakura felt the stress of the day begin to seep from her body as the alcohol and secondary smoke from the joint began to permeate her bloodstream. The girls on either side were snuggling close, their heads laying on her shoulders and arms entwined with hers. Sumi, as she relaxed back inhaling deeply, had inadvertently nudged Sakuras skirt higher and higher till the back of her head rested hard on Sakuras belly and her neck was nicely supported between yielded bare open thighs. Raising her hand Sumi passed the joint to Kanko who immediately took a huge hit holding the smoke deep in her lungs for what seemed an age then slowly released the breathe in a long drawn out sigh of contentment before lifting her face just long enough to kiss Sakura on the cheek. Yui took the spliff from Kanko's fingers and was about to take a draw when she stopped momentarily. "You ever had a blow back Sakura?" Sakura smiled and nodded eagerly whereupon Yui inhaled the intoxicating fumes and pressing her lips over Sakuras mouth exhaled whilst at the same time thrusting her tongue into the yielding mouth. Sakura shivered and without a thought squeezed her thighs on Sumi's neck. "Maybe I should shut the door and window shades." Sumi rose and quickly fastened the doors inside catch, pulled down the retractable shades on the windows then returned to her previous position but this time burying her face in Sakuras exposed pantie covered pubic mound. Reaching down Yui and Kanko each raised one of Sakuras knees till her cotton covered vulva and anus were totally available. Sumi wasted no time in pulling the flimsy garment aside and hungrily tongued the exposed flesh. Sakuras first climax came fast and hard covering Sumi's face with a steady stream of glistening fluid and she could feel the rippling precursors of a multiplicity following close behind. Momentarily ceasing her frenching Yui managed with her one free hand to push her own panties down almost to her knees and gripping Sakuras left hand made sure the fingers found her sodden cunt. Not to be left out Kanko repeated the process with Sakuras right hand and started to make the little whimpering noises that in Japan indicate an oncoming deluge. Sumi was now concentrating entirely on Sakuras extremely responsive ass and driving her tongue deep into the ring she savored the flavor of this wonderful and unexpected new treat. Sakura tasted of new and as yet undebauched flesh and Sumi began to fantasize over the hours of wonderful carnality to come.