The streets were cold and dirty as was the norm in the shadier part of town. Shoulders hunched and keeping my head low, I pulled the collar of my black trench coat higher as I continued on. A right, then two lefts and another right landed me in a grimy alleyway. A rat scurried across the trash covered ground and something bigger rustled about in the open dumpster. The sounds of the cars were muffled as were the sounds of a couple arguing in the apartment next door floors above. Three men leaned against the wall smoking.
A rat ran over my black TOMS and I jumped. "Scared, pretty boy?" one of the men taunted.
"Guys, can't you see he's uncomfortable? He's not used to being among us common folk," the tallest remarked in a thick Portuguese accent pulling the joint from his mouth and inspecting it. His friends cracked up and I rolled my eyes. I hated this part of town and I hated these men yet here I was at their mercy. I should have never come here. I didn't have to take this but they supplied some of the best fish scale in this town.
"Do you have it?" I questioned shifting my weight from one foot to the other, my hand on my katana, Mugen, hidden beneath my coat. A crash sounded in the distance and the Portuguese handed me a small clear envelope half full of a yellow-grey substance.
Quickly, I stuffed it into my coat pocket and pulled out my wallet. Taking out three hundred-dollar bills and handed it to him. A fair price for my four ounces of bliss. With one last glance of the dingey alley I spun on my heel and briskly walked out of the place.
I guess you could say I was clean for a guy. My apartment could use a vacuuming but there were no dirty dishes in the sink or laundry strewn about. I hung up my coat on the rack and dung in the pockets for my stash. I threw it on the pretty glass coffee table and unsheathed Mugen. Idly, I swung it around slashing the air wanting to feel the way it felt slicing through skin. I hung up Mugen on its display shelf above the tv and untied my ponytail.
"Yuu! Oh Daddy's missed you so much. Oh look at you. Simply stunning you must let me draw you sometime," an annoying voice sounded from the kitchen. Said voice belonged to the body of an ever present, ever annoying old man. This man ran over to hug me. He didn't get to as I held up a hand to stop him. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and fixed him with a death glare.
"You are not my father old man and if I ever hear you call me stunning again I will cut you," I stated softly. He stood stock-still, eyes wide looking at me.
"Kawaii! Awww Yuu I've missed you so much. You should come back to France with me. I know your brothers miss you," the man gushed succeeded in hugging me. I stiffened at the touch before ducking out of his embrace. I rubbed my temples as I continued to listen to Tiedoll go on about the countryside.
"Why are you here?" I asked looking at my fish scale on the table.
"Well, I wanted a change of scenery and I haven't seen you in months," Tiedoll explained sitting on the couch. I scoffed.
"Cut the bullshit I have plans tonight," I lied crossing my arms.
Tiedoll removed his glasses and picked up my small treasure. He inspected the bag carefully before looking up at me.
"I agreed to fund you to go to school here in New York. I never agreed to fund your drug habits. Four thousand dollars in a month, Yuu? That's ridiculous," he stated disgusted flinging the package on the table.
"What are you saying?" I mumbled scratching my arm.
"This has to stop. I did not raise a drug addict. I don't blame you, I blame the friends you keep. All that partying, drinking, sex and who knows what else your first year alone. Fame can only get you so far and you're wasting your best years here destroying your body," Tiedoll lamented. I shifted uncomfortably and bowed my head. "While I'm here I don't want you staying out late and you need to start eating better. Are you even training? And you will pose for me and whoever else I tell you to pose for. If you think I'm shelling out extra for you to squander it think again Kanda Yuu. You will earn money from now own. I've spoilt you beyond reason."
I raised my head and stared at the ceiling. If this man thought I was posing for artists he must've been higher than me. "I gave up posing when I left Paris," I reminded him coolly.
"And I'm telling you that you're picking it up again. This is not a negotiation. I'll be back in the morning. Be ready," he snapped getting to his feet. He pulled me into another hug and I stood still waiting for him to release me.
When the door closed behind my caregiver I pulled out my phone and dialled a very familiar number.
"Hello?" the voice questioned.
"Come over," I barked.
"The fuck I look like to you BaKanda? I don't take orders," the voice screeched.
"You take bribes though, Moyashi. I've got four hundred dollars worth of fish scale sitting on my coffee table. If I overdose the old man will hang me," I deadpanned chewing my thumb.
"It's Allen! Al – len. Goddamn, BaKanda why is he here?" Allen grilled. I purposely didn't answer him. After a few moments of silence he sighed and said he'd be here in fifteen minutes.
I kicked my shoes off and switched on the tv as I waited for the Moyashi to arrive. I snapped a selfie and captioned it 'Ready to forget you' and posted it on my Instagram. Dozens of people liked it begging for an explanation to my stone faced self-portrait and cryptic words.
There was a soft knock at my door. Slowly, I made my way over and let the moyashi in. Standing in the hall in a black and white sniped long-sleeved cardigan and black sweatpants clutching his laptop bag glaring at me, "You live with all the uptight white women in New York. One of their dogs almost bit me."
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes allowing him to walk into my apartment. He made himself at home on my couch. He emptied haf the cocaine on the glass surface and took a credit card out and began scraping the powdery substance into 6 neat lines. I pulled out two hundred-dollar bills and rolled them up.
"Why is Tiedoll here?" Allen asked quietly taking a rolled up bill from my hand.
"He thinks I'm a drug addict," I stated annoyed at the absurdity of it all. Sure I did cocaine and smoked weed and drank but it wasn't a problem. My spending was as a result of the way he raised me. 'What good is money if you can't spend it on the best,' he'd always say.
"I wouldn't say you're an addict but you're a lot more than just a social user," He observed tilting his head forward and carefully snorted up the first line.
"Che," I pushed him to the side and snorted up two lines. I did not have a problem.
"So dramatic, BaKanda. He probably just doesn't want you to sit around all day and get lazy," Allen commented and I glared at him God he was so ridiculous sometimes. Allen flashed me a grin before straddling my lap and kissing me.
My eyes slid close and my hands roamed up his sides. He tasted like apples and sprite, like he always did. "Tell me why Tiedoll's here," he whispered in my ear before licking it. I gasped and gripped his waist.
"I already told you, Moyashi. He thinks I'm a drug addict."
That's a pretty random conclusion to come to. What aren't you telling me?" he questioned running his hand through my silky black hair.
"My spending. He wants me to start posing again," I supplied before kissing his neck. Allen pushed me away.
"Well if that's what's up then I'm down with it. Wouldn't mind having you pose for me now and then," he concluded smiling down at me.
I rolled my eyes, "So you fuck models now?"
"Only the hot ones," Allen commented before kissing me again.
Swiftly, I pulled his shirt off and pinned him beneath me as I reversed our positions. "It's been a while since I cut you, Moyashi," I growled in his ear.
"Then fix it," he mumbled. That was all the consent I needed to go get my sword off the wall and unsheathed it.
The blade whistled as I slashed the air before carefully pressing the tip on his side. Applying pressure until his blood beaded out and he was biting his lip to keep his scream at bay. I drove the blade in a little deeper and made a cut vertically stopping below his ribcage and he arched his back upwards. The blood curdling scream he let out was everything. I smirked as I watched as the blood seeped out the large wound and on to the cream leather sofa then the hardwood floor and Allen clutched his bleeding side. I proceeded to cut him again and again. Each time his scream pierced the quiet night my spirit soared higher but I never cut him too deep. I cleaned off Mugen and re-sheathed it. Satisfied with my handiwork, I took the bleeding kid to my room.
Sunlight seeped though the blinds and warmed my eyelids. I draped an arm over my eyes and tried to drift back to sleep but the clonking around outside my bedroom door was disturbing. There was still a warm body pressed to my side so it wasn't the Moyashi. My door was flung open and a frantic Tiedoll stood in the door way. Seeing two boys laying atop blood-soaked sheets did nothing for his nerves. "What happened in here?" He asked quietly and coldly. I should've been complacent and explained what really happened to him but I wasn't in the mood.
"Rough sex," I smirked and his eyes narrowed.
"Your living room looks like a fucking crime seen, Yuu," he seethed, "didn't I tell you I was coming over this morning? You aren't even ready," Tiedoll complained. I checked the time on Allen's iPhone. Th screen displayed 6:27.
"Are sill running on Paris time because it's half six," I stated coldly glaring up at him. Allen snored peacefully beside me, the white sheet clinging to some of his cuts which made me wince. It would be hell to clean later.
"Don't pull that attitude with me boy. Now get dressed and meet me in the living room. We need to get that place decent before Bak gets here," Tiedoll ordered before leaving my room.
I did what I was told to do and took a quick shower before dressing in a pair of grey sweat pants and a navy blue sweater. The scent of chlorine bleach hit my nose as I walked into the living room. Tiedoll was on his hands and knees scrubbing dried blood off the tiles.
"You're doing far too much," I commented taking a clean rag and pouring some water o it before gently wiping the sofa clean.
"What about the smell?" Tiedoll asked looking on as I finished up the couch.
"Febreeze works wonders," I scoffed pouring water and a bit of bleach on the floor. Quickly, I cleaned up all the blood and after spraying the air freshener the place looked normal, save for the rolled up bills and cocaine left on the table. I quickly stashed everything in my room.
Allen was sitting up in bed trying to pull the sheet off his wounds. "You're making a mess. Go back to sleep we'll deal with that later," I instructed easing him back on the pillows before kissing him. His eyes held dozens of questions I'd probably never answer.
Back in the living room, Tiedoll had already set up his easel and canvas. He pulled his oil paints out and pointed to the now spotless couch. "The shirt has to go, Yuu," he said and silently I removed the sweater and lay on the couch looking up at the ceiling. This will all be over soon.
He's gorgeous, Tiedoll. Pictures just don't do him justice," Bak the fool gushed as he and Tiedoll observed the fresh painting of me.
"He can paint as well," Tiedoll informed the stranger and Bak nodded. He clutched his camera and chew his thumb pensively.
"Bak is a very talented photographer," Tiedoll told me. I glared at them both before Bak was pulling and pushing me this way and that way all over my living room ever so often snapping a few shots.
"Beatuiful… simply stunning. Such sharp features yet so delicate," he mused tilting my chin toward the window and straightening my back. He lowered my head and raised my hands.
"I can take instructions quite well," I growled.
"Can you?" Tiedoll remarked and I shot him a cold stare. He needed to fucking chill.
"No doubt that you can but I rather put you in the poses myself," Bak replied with a grin on his face before snapping some pictures again. I sighed and wondered if Allen was still asleep.
Bak left and I sat on the couch annoyed as ever. "Same time tomorrow Yuu. No surprises like today," Tiedoll informed me cutting a disapproving look at my bedroom door.
"Che."
"Goodbye, son," Tiedoll said before leaving. I pushed myself off the couch and quietly entered my bedroom. Allen was awake laying on his side.
"Hi," he mumbled as I walked over to him.
"We're not doing this again in a hurry," I remarked assessing the damages before going into the bathroom.
I returned with a basin of hot water, a first aid kit and a towel. Carefully, I removed the sheet from his cuts and cleaned them up before bandaging him up. After which he dressed and left my room. "Why not shower here, Moyashi?" I questioned going to dispose of the bloodied things in my room.
"I need to get home. It's late and I have an assignment to finish," he explained tiptoeing up to kiss me.
"Whatever," I responded.
"I'll message you when I get home," Allen promised and I nodded and looked away. I picked up the bloodied sheets and towel ready to toss them.
Today was not my day. Nor was any day really. I sighed as I sat on the couch staring at the blank tv. My hands shook violently and my eyesight drifted in and out. A whole week without my drugs. Tiedoll had really been on my ass about my health. I was drained not that I'd show him or any number of photographers and artists he brought that. I realised what Tiedoll said about my drug use and I did cut back but it was hard. I closed my eyes ready to keel over and die.
"Perfect. Now lay down and sorta look up but at me but not at me. I want cool disinterest," an artist whose name I hadn't bothered to learn instructed and slowly I did what I was told. After the first week or so Tiedoll stopped coming to along to the shoots. He preferred to text me the name, location and time of my next booking which was just fine with me. I didn't want him around. Especially if I was naked. "Dangle those legs, Yuu," he said waving his hand and chewing his lip. He was a newbie, painting nude models was new to him.
"It's Kanda," I stated glaring at him as I 'dangled' my legs.
I was ignored and left to my thoughts. Like every other one of them. And so Tiedoll got his wish I suppose. I couldn't really look at any drug without it reminding me that they were the reason I was in this situation. I bit my lip and hardened my gaze. Thanks, dad. You. Broke. Me.
A/N: Edgy enough? I hope so. To those of you, whoever you are, that sit and read my stories thank you. It means the world to me that you guys care enough to read my stories. Please drop a review and tell me what you think of this story or leave a suggestion about what kind of content you want to see from me moving forward. Bye lovelies!
