Star-Crossed

Chapter 1: Friend or Foe

Author's notes:

Hi everyone!:D I'm back with yet another AnK fanfic :) I think more canon and less "original" than my other fic, but of course I'm just not gonna be able to help myself and it's gonna feature all sorts of less likely, scandalous stuff ;)

I know, I know, I haven't even properly begun writing on "Crossing the Bridge" yet and here I am starting another fic, but I just felt inspired for this all of a sudden and I figured that practising on how to write a more canon version of Iason in this fic could not hurt ;)

Anyways, I'm not entirely sure yet where I'm going with this, but it starts off six months after Iason has set Riki free and he's basically plotting to get Riki back (duhuh ;) ) and a bunch of other canon characters get involved in it. But I'm also planning on including other pairings in this well, I felt like Iason and Riki's temporary separation, misunderstandings and the sense of loneliness in this could create opportunities for other interesting pairings for Iason and possibly Riki as well (although I've never really been a big fan of Riki/Guy so I'm not sure if I'm gonna include that). But main focus is of course gonna be our favourite star-crossed lovers Iason/Riki ;)

First chapters should prove to be interesting, as it's gonna include a pairing that to me seems to make sense at this point in the story, yet I have not read it in ANY other fic, ever!:S Maybe I'm being too original in this, but it just seems a shame that no one has attempted anything with this pairing as of yet ;)

So I hope you'll all enjoy this first chapter, please review and let me know what you think so far!:D

...

Alphaville – Big in Japan

Neon on my naked skin, passing silhouettes of strange illuminated mannequins

Shall I stay here at the zoo, or should I go and change my point-of-view for other ugly scenes

You did what you did to me, now it's history I see

Here's my comeback on the road again

Things will happen while they can, I will wait here for my man tonight

It's easy when you're big in Japan

Aah when you're big in Japan, tonight

Big in Japan, be tight

Big in Japan, ooh the eastern sea's so blue

Big in Japan, all right

Pay then I'll sleep by your side

Things are easy when you're big in Japan

...

As the bright red sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon and spread her last rays across the glass and metal city landscape like a fallen seductress, Midas' redlight district came alive with bright, gaudy neon and the buzzing of the crowd, consisting out of both Midas citizens and tourists. All of them eager to sell their souls in exchange for the fleeting, false sense of satisfaction that the pleasure city used to subdue its prey and smother them in her sweet, lethal embrace. Deep within one of the seediest and shadiest of neighbourhoods the infamous district had to offer, another fallen seductress briefly fluttered her full eyelashes while mentally preparing for another day in what appeared to be a never-ending hell.

Yet not once did the thought occur to her that she had acted carelessly in any way, she did not regret the crime that had condemned her to this degrading, painful and without a doubt short-lived existence. Not even for a second. Better to be alive for one second than to live an eternity in death. A thought that displayed a philosophical and emotional awareness that could have never possibly existed in her mind prior to the turbulent events that had brought her to this fate. In a way similar to one readying herself for her execution, the miserable small creature reluctantly rolled out of the small comfort of the threadbare, filthy blanket that covered her naked, abused form. Her swollen eyes still remained closed. As long as they were, she could pretend that it was all just a nightmare, that it was not real, that she was not really there but safely in her Master's comfortable home in Eos Tower.

Although no doubt she could feel easily enough that her body was covered in bruises. Not to mention she could not shut her nose to that rank, putrid smell of vomit, piss and fear that accompanied the small, dingy room that was now the only home she knew. She would happily give an arm just to be allowed a brief wisp of the outside air, even if she had never really been on the outside. Truth be told she had never felt any need to venture outside, even in thought, while she had still been bathing in oblivious luxury in Eos. Not until the day she met him, he who changed her very essence and brought her heart to life, only to see it crushed shortly afterwards. Riki. Despite all the hardship that he had caused her, that mongrel was still at the epicentre of her every thought, just the hope of seeing him one more time was what kept her going day after day in this dreadful dump of a brothel.

It was all a lie. At least this is real. She often focussed on the pain, she even welcomed it, although she dared not cross the line where she inflicted it upon herself. She still could not bring herself to damage her Master's creation by her own hand, even if said Master had betrayed her without the slightest hesitation. And all for being guilty of the crime that was called love. She used to not understand at all why some perfect, academy-bred Pets would risk their wonderful lives in Eos for the sake of such an empty, practically non-existent notion. She still did not understand, but that hardly mattered. The unthinkable had happened, she had fallen in love. And not with just anyone, no, she just had to go and choose a mongrel from Ceres. And not just any mongrel, his mongrel. He, the only one above her Master's social station, and the only one he would not hesitate to obey in any matter.

She had barely been able to crawl off of the stained, old mattress that served as her bed and open her eyes, when her "manager" barged into the room without even bothering to knock while shouting like a madman. His greasy, unkempt hair hung alongside his grey-ish face and he was wearing a crumpled, bright-orange blazer that only served to further emphasize his oversized belly. The thing about being constantly shouted at was that after some time you developed a kind of immunity to it. Therefore he had been shouting for five minutes before she even realised that something out of the ordinary was going on and this was not a part of his usual Friday evening "time to score big, baby" ritual.

"Hurry up now, Mimi, we've got a big client on the way! This is the making of this establishment, I tell you, all our advertising and the spreading of good publicity through our clientele is finally paying off! This will put us on the map for good, and he asked specifically for you! Of all the girls, it was you he was after! I just knew the day was coming when you would finally make me some real cash, and now my investment is being returned to me at last!" Her pimp was practically ecstatic while he was dancing up and down the room. Her big, genetically enhanced orange eyes gawked in silence, not having ever seen him in such a mood before and unsure of whether it boded well for her or not.

"Oh, holy Jupiter! Look at the state of you! This will not do at all, hurry, girl, you're in the suite tonight, I'll ask Tamara to help get you into shape… And clothes, you'll need clothes for this occasion! …" He did not stop talking for the entire way to the suite, which unfortunately for her was up three flights of stairs seeing as how the elevator still wasn't working. She could hardly feel her skinny, bruised legs anymore by the time she got up to the best room of the brothel, which they called "the suite". Not that the room in anything even remotely resembled what a Tanaguran would associate with the term. The room was slightly bigger than any of the other rooms and had a substantial amount of furniture in it, and even a mirrored ceiling. However it was in no way cleaner than any of the other rooms, it just looked somewhat fancier at first glance, if one did not look too closely. The room was full of hookers and a couple of the bartenders who normally worked in the bar downstairs, and who she had thus never laid eyes upon seeing as how she had been virtually locked up in that filthy room on the third floor ever since her arrival six months ago. Or had it been longer? It was hard to tell at times, being locked up in a room without daylight while only catching a couple of hours of sleep during the day. What was most unusual was that all of the people in the room were apparently attempting to clean it, not that they were succeeding for some stains on the old carpet had become virtually irremovable and it would take more than simply opening the windows for half an hour to waft out the smell of decades of sexual activities of a more lowly sort.

She was quickly escorted to the small bathroom by three other girls who chirped excitedly at her while they were putting her in the shower and attempting to comb the knots out of her now shoulder-length hair. As the non-too-hot spray of the water hit her she could not help but hiss out in pleasure, for it was a luxury she had not known in a very long time. It felt as if the water was washing off more than just dirt, it was washing off all of the traumatic experiences that she'd had to undergo at the underworld establishment, it was washing off all of the sins she had been subjected to by her various "clients". After being properly lathered in cheap soap and rinsed until the water had gone ice-cold, she was even granted the privilege of wearing clothes, or what passed as clothes for one of her class. She wore a pair of shine-through red panties with a print of purple flowers and a matching bra, the red being nearly the same shade as her straight, now glossy hair. Having to wear stilettos after such a long time without shoes was making it feel as if her feet were on fire, yet she felt as if by wearing them a sense of her former dignity was returned to her. But no amount of make-up could possibly camouflage the bruises on her body or the purple bags underneath her eyes caused by countless days of sleeplessness because of both physical and mental duress. At least she was clean and she was treated with some semblance of kindness since her arrival at one of the most run-down brothels in Midas.

After all of the nervous hustle-and-bustle of last-minute preparations to both the girl and the room, and contradictory instructions from all sides which she could barely understand in the chaotic myriad of excited voices, the grand finale was upon them: the guest of honour had arrived.

...

It had not taken Katze any time at all to find out what Midas brothel exactly the former Pet had been sold to, for it had been known to him already that she had been sold to the worst of the worst. A place even the strictly professional and merciless Black Market boss felt reluctant to supply with fresh, living goods. Not that he would ever refuse if there was an obvious profit to be made, but with the poor pay-checks such an establishment could afford to offer, one of importance in business rarely crossed paths with anyone associated with "The Red Lotus", as the dump of a whorehouse deceivingly called itself.

But what was it exactly he was hoping to accomplish by going to such a lowly place and facing the object of his long-term hatred and jealousy? Even he himself was at a loss, he only knew that if this horrid sense of emptiness and lack of fulfilment continued any longer he would not be able to keep it out of his work and his obligated social life any longer. Because the truth of the matter was that none of them understood what he was going through, it was simply incomprehensible for one who had not experienced it for himself. He himself could not have even imagined that it was possible for him to feel this way only several years ago. But she understood. The same madness undoubtedly still had her in its grasp. He had witnessed her irrational impulses first-hand, seen the most improbable change that had occurred in her behaviour. The sudden fire that had appeared to erupt from her formerly meek and docile manner. And somehow this caused him to see her for the first time, even if it was in a most negative light. It was as if her madness had made her a living person with a will of her own where before there had only been an aesthetically pleasing thing. Yet even at that time he had not fully realised that he had been infected by the same forbidden disease, that all of his actions concerning the matter had clearly demonstrated this to any who had eyes to see.

Even after six months each and every single thought went back to the dark, fiery object of his obsession. Riki.

So now the madness had brought him here, to the place he had condemned the other sufferer of the same disease to. The flickering, partially broken neon sign above the nearly ruinous, graffiti-sprayed building read "The Red Lotus". How absurd. There is not even such a thing as red lotuses. Then again there is no such thing as an Elite in love either.

...

By the time their apparently extremely well-to-do client had made his appearance, the red-haired little whore had become increasingly agitated, both out of impending fear and out of curious impatience. She hardly ever got excited or truly frightened by anything these days, it was as if the first month of this life had rendered her numb to any feeling, she had simply existed from one day to the next. But somehow she already sensed that this day had the potential to change things for her. She did not dare to hope that she would ever be even temporarily restored to her former glory as one of the highest-regarded Pets of Tanagura, but anything was to be preferred above her current predicament. Not to mention that leaving this place was a necessity if she ever wanted to see the one her broken heart still yearned for again.

As she was nervously glancing out the window at the chaos of colours in the busy street below, absent in thoughts about the impending encounter, she had not even heard the nearly soundless footsteps approach her. What she did notice almost immediately however was the scent. For it was a scent that was familiar and did not belong in that lowly place at all. It was fresh, synthetic, sweet yet not nauseatingly so, expensive and both subtle and strong. It filled her heart with memories of long-forgotten times in a careless existence of indulgence, luxury and purpose. But simultaneously it also filled her heart with a sense of dread and made ice-cold fear shiver down her spine.

"Hello again, Mimea", came the well-known smooth, icily sharp voice.

She did not even have to turn around to see who it was that stood there in all his divine splendour and might, but turn around she did because she could not believe her own ears. After having recovered from the initial shock she instinctively started to lower her gaze … but then thought the better of it and stared into those arctic bright-blue orbs as if in an unspoken challenge. She had nothing left to fear, nothing left this man could take from her but her life, and that in and of itself was not worth anything anymore these days. To have an end to this miserable non-existence would be a blessing. As soon as she regained her voice she responded, her voice unsteady and hoarse yet also louder and clearer than it had ever been.

"Hello again, Iason Mink."

Orange met bright-blue and the air around them appeared to become charged with invisible electric sparks, like a chemical reaction between two opposing agents brought together.

...

Somehow he had expected that living in these harsh conditions for six months after having been pampered and protected all her life would have drained the fight out of this feeble creature and would have at least made it feign repentance for its actions. But there was no such surrender or regret in the cat-like, orange eyes that looked right at him. Oh, he could see the fear in those eyes without a doubt, but he could also see the challenge there: she was not going to back down, even if he were to threaten to rain down hell upon her. He had already done his worst to the insignificant slave that had had the audacity to touch what was his and only his. Therefore the only thing he could do now, was lessen that worst of conditions. After all, at this rate she could prove to be as diverting as the very mongrel their enmity had been about.

"Have you come to finish me off at last? Or have you come to gloat at my misery?", she almost looked like the whore of Babylon in the way she dramatically approached him with outstretched arms, as if welcoming whatever fate it was he had in store for her while daring him to go ahead and do his worst.

"Neither. If there is no end to my misery, there shall certainly be none to yours", the blond Elite spoke wistfully, his voice uncharacteristically soft and serene.

This unexpected comment caught her off-guard to the extent that she lowered her arms and remained standing at approximately a metre from his imposing, grand figure. "I do not think anything you could do to me could possibly be any worse than what others have already done. And even if so, I would welcome any form of attention from anyone properly bathed and mannered at this point, even from you", it sounded as if that last word was meant to be an insult.

"If it had been my intent to personally punish you for your indiscretions I would have done so at the time your offence was discovered", the strikingly beautiful Elite responded calmly while gracefully sitting down on the only sofa in the room, which was not exactly clean despite everyone's best efforts.

Even while he was seated and she was still standing, wearing ridiculously high heels, Mimea was still several inches shorter than her nemesis. Yet she straightened up, deciding to make the best out of her temporarily increased height, even if physical height would never overcome the social divide between them. "Then by all means, my Lordship, what is your intent?", she half-mockingly hissed, sounding almost like a cornered rattle snake: frightened out of her wits and ready to strike even if it was hopeless.

Iason paid no heed to the offensive tone the inferior former Pet was using with him and instead indicated for her to sit down on the chair opposite him. After a long hesitation, Mimea reluctantly sat down, but only because she was so exhausted due to malnutrition and abuse that she could not possibly have remained standing for much longer. And there was no way she would give this bastard any opportunity to degrade her any further. She had to force herself to remain silent and wait for him to speak again, for she was immensely curious and rather worried about what had been Riki's fate. Was he still in the Blondie's possession? If so in what state of mind was he? Fear quenched her heart at the thought of the Elite having succeeded in crushing Riki's spirit and subduing him to his own sick inclinations. After what appeared to be a very long and torturous silence for Mimea, he finally spoke again.

"I have come across a problem it appears I cannot solve on my own. And ironically enough the only person I know of that could help me solve it, is you", his piercing unnaturally blue gaze remained fixed upon her even after he had spoken, as if studying her in an attempt to figure out what she was thinking. That unsettlingly cold gaze made her feel like a butterfly under a microscope, about to be pinned down. She felt grateful that in the past he had never bothered to rest his eyes upon her any longer than politeness towards Lord Am required.

Mimea remained waiting for him to elaborate further on that statement, but as an uncomfortable amount of time passed, she realised that he was expecting her to respond first. She was slightly inclined to purposely keep him waiting just to annoy him, when her worry and surprise got the better of her. "I do not think it is within my intellectual skill set to help you out with a problem of any kind. And to be honest I don't feel very inclined to help you either way", she eventually answered, trying to keep her voice as steady and unfriendly as possible.

"While such a reaction is understandable it is far from wise, for one in your position. I could change your living conditions in the blink of an eye if I so choose, for better … or for worse", the deadly glare he gave her while he spoke those final words made it very clear that he could think of quite a few places he could sell her to that were even worse than The Red Lotus.

She was unable to hold back any longer, damn her embarrassment to hell, she had to know! "Just tell me if he is all right … Riki, he is all right, isn't he? My thoughtless actions did not cause him any … permanent trouble?", her voice cracked and she was grateful that she was already seated or else the overwhelming whirlwind of emotions that came over her would have surely knocked her to the ground. Even if it was six months ago she still had no idea what kind of punishment Riki had been submitted to after she had been sold off, and she still had nightmares about it on a regular basis. For the rage, even if subdued, she had seen on the fearful Elite's face that day had made it very clear to her just how furious he had been with the mongrel. It had struck her as highly unusual at the time, to her knowledge no Elite had ever shown such fury over something so trifle as the misconduct of a mere Pet.

"Your questions further demonstrate that you and I have the same problem. Yet no one else in Tanagura appears to have problems of this sort. Therefore it is only logical that we would attempt to solve our mutual problem together", he stated matter-of-factly. Then seeing confusion appear on her still-attractive but slightly discoloured features, he continued: "Or am I mistaken in assuming you have strong feelings for Riki as well? Knowing your personality, your actions towards my Pet were very much out-of-character. One with your training ought to think twice about committing crimes that could condemn you."

Mimea was momentarily gob-smacked, needing some time to process the information that was slowly sinking in. Or am I mistaken in assuming you have strong feelings for Riki as well? As well. Which suggested that he, Iason Mink, Jupiter's favourite, with an impeccable record and a reputation for cruelty, felt strongly for a mongrel. He was not supposed to feel anything for anybody. But he had felt livid when he had confronted Mimea and Riki with their transgressions, that much Mimea had been able to make out of his facial expressions on that day. At the time she had been too worried about her and Riki's fate to think about it, but now it struck her as very strange. Why did he get so worked-up over something like that? Why did he get worked-up over anything at all?

When realisation finally struck her, she got up as if in an automatism, extreme shock and grief appearing on her small, perfectly symmetrical face. With wide eyes she stared at the Elite in front of her for a couple of seconds, then she dropped down on her knees in front of him as in a swoon, overcome by a hurricane of suffering, anger and sadness at the injustice of it all. All her hostility evaporated like snow in the sun, and only left a feeling of hopelessness and … compassion. A sudden sense of solidarity had come over her. I am not alone in my feelings. It is not because of a fault of mine.

Jupiter's most perfect creation was not entirely sure how he had expected the stealing whore to react, but this surprised even him, although of course it did not show on his face, his expression as distant and untouched as usual. "I … I'm so sorry! I didn't know … I'm so sorry!" She continued to cry at his feet, while now also clutching his knees in her small hands. He noticed that she had small cuts and scrapes all over her shaking hands and that her nails were cracked and unclean, dirt of an indistinguishable nature caked under them. She looked truly horrendous and incredibly distraught and fragile.

Suddenly he was overcome by an impulse he had never had towards anyone except perhaps Riki. It had been his habit to suppress and ignore the impulse then, but now that he had not seen Riki in months he felt he was less capable of doing so now. It had been unbelievably lonely during those months, and it felt all the worse for one who had never experienced anything akin to loneliness before. The entire situation with the mongrel had first merely left him puzzled, but as time progressed it had made him feel frustrated for the first time in his life. The blonde had failed at obtaining what it was he truly wanted from the mongrel and it had left him with a bitter taste of hopelessness in the aftermath of that failure.

Unable and in truth unwilling to fight these rising feelings any longer, Iason moved forward slightly and clutched her hands in his while simultaneously sliding down from his seat and elegantly perching in front of her kneeling, shivering form. "That's quite all right, Mimea. It was not your fault, how were you to know when even I did not?" Apparently his comment did not have the intended effect, as a new series of even more violent tremors shook the small body in front of him. Before he had even fully realised what he was doing, he had locked his arms around her trembling, exposed back and pressed her warm, fragile body against his larger one.

Amazement pierced through the haze of Mimea's miserable sobbing, as she felt the Elite's strong body surround her own. She was truly surprised at his high body temperature, somehow she had always expected an artificial body would feel cold, especially Lord Mink's. Of course she'd had no way of knowing that, seeing as how she had never been touched by an Elite, other than those few times that Lord Am had briefly petted her when she had performed exceptionally well. But then her Master had always kept on his gloves, virtually blocking out all sensation and disabling any opportunity for a link between them. And for an Elite to hug a Pet, or even another Elite, as Iason was doing right now was unthinkable. Did he touch Riki like this too? The sudden feeling of peaceful comfort and connection that filled her only caused her tears to flow more quickly and abundantly, and soon Iason's right shoulder pad was nearly soaked through. But apparently that did not bother him, for he kept holding on to her, tightly but not tightly enough to further abuse her already tortured skin.

The Elite was unsure as to how long he had sat there, on the ground, clutching the hopelessly hiccupping mess that was the ex-Pet Mimea. He felt almost like a bystander, observing his own incomprehensible actions as if they were those of a stranger. "Whe… where is Riki? Is he angry? Does he hate me? … Did he … Did he run away?", she asked while trying to dry her red, sticky eyes. Iason briefly glanced at the bed, considering it as an alternative seating arrangement, but then decided that the floor was probably more sanitary. "No. But he tried. So I let him go", Iason spoke, his monotonous voice betraying none of the emotions he was experiencing. "Wh… what? Why?" Why would he let him go if he cares for him like I do?

Iason continued to stare blankly ahead while petting her naked back and threading his gloved fingers through Mimea's hair, it had grown considerably longer over the last months, reaching until just past her narrow shoulders. "It was the only way. He would have withered and died in Eos, like a picked flower." The childish girl nodded her pretty head in understanding, her big, inchoate eyes still moist. "You would rather he were away from you and happy than with you and unhappy?"

"I consider it more to be a matter of health than of "happiness", but yes. Riki was not made for the life of a Pet, nor does it do his intelligence and his lively spirit any justice. Because of this it appears I have reached an impasse, which I know not how to overcome", the handsome Elite spoke softly while still caressing Mimea's back and shoulders. The former Pet felt an unusual feeling of safety going through her, despite these attentions being given by the one she ought to fear. "Perhaps I can help? I am not a mongrel but … I have been in a similar position and even for someone like me it is not always easy. To constantly look for approval and to blame yourself for your expectations if you do not get it."

"What more attention could he possibly yearn for? I have given him everything I had to give, and more than I should have. I have made it exceedingly clear numerous times that I wanted nobody else and that I would keep him indefinitely. He had far more comfort in Eos than he could have ever even imagined in the slums of Area 9. I truly wonder who, in all of Midas and Tanagura, could have offered him more?", despite his frustrations finally getting the better of him now that he had found an outlet for them, none of that was evident from his tone or facial expressions.

"Mongrels are different, I think. To me it always seemed like Riki did not care about things, about material comforts. So perhaps to him all those luxuries have no meaning?"

"Oh, I have given him a great deal more than just material comforts. Don't you Pets know all about that then?", the Elite teasingly implied, knowing full-well what kind of gossip had been circulating concerning him and Riki among the other Pets at Eos. He heard a soft gasp of disbelief come from the other one. Just being held like this by an Elite was already more than she could have ever dreamed of, it already felt so surreal … The thought of there being more of that, of there being actual sexual contact with one's Master … It was a desire of the deepest kind, the fulfilment of which would be far higher than the highest aim a Pet could ever have. "If that is true, he must be truly insane to have tried to escape. I cannot imagine what could …", she stopped mid-sentence when the memory of the first time she had met the fierce, wild mongrel entered her mind.

"And what is it that you want, huh?! You come to make fun of me? Had a nice bet with your cowardly friends over there, huh? I swear, if you come any closer, I'll beat that smile straight off your pretty lil' face, bitch!"

At first she had been utterly shocked, and the words angrily shouted at her that day had almost made her turn on her heel and leave never to return to him. But then she thought of how mean everyone had been to him since his arrival in Eos, how every time he would come out the other Pets would be waiting to mock him and call him names. And then it had occurred to her that he had misunderstood her intentions when she approached him: apparently he had thought that she was going to him not to be nice to him but to laugh at and humiliate him.

"Maybe … maybe he thought you were trying to laugh at him? I mean, to humiliate him, put him in his place. If he wanted to leave you I think he did not know how you feel about him." To her great regret Mimea felt how Iason's big, warm hands left her back and his strong arms were removed from around her. She felt a bit unsettled when those arctic sky-blue eyes captured hers once more, an Elite had seldom looked straight at her like that, acknowledging her existence as another intelligent being. "Do you think if I were to tell him more explicitly what my motivations are for keeping him, he would return to me willingly?"

"I'm not sure. Riki is very different from me, from everyone in Tanagura I think. But like that, somehow it makes him seem more …", as she spoke of him Mimea's eyes started sparkling with a lustre that the other had seldom seen, even in the eyes of healthy, successful Pets at the height of their career. She still felt very strongly for Riki and the mere thought of him made her live up again despite her sincerely weakened state.

"More real", Iason finished her sentence as if in an automatism. And that very lust for life that the mongrel possessed was apparently infectious, for Iason could now no longer go through the dull, mindless routines of everyday life in Tanagura any more. He felt like his life needed more purpose, more colour, than that. Now that it had come into existence, his heart yearned for that fire that only Riki could awaken in it.

...

Jacco, the owner of The Red Lotus, had waited anxiously next to the door of the suite in the mean time and he had even laid his ear against the door at times to listen, but the only things he heard had been occasional sobbing and the soft murmur of voices yet he had been unable to make out what was being said. He was surprised that the girl was apparently crying and not making any of the lewd moans one would expect from a proper Pet show. The man was an Elite from Tanagura, the kind of audience an Academy-bred A-class Pet like her was used to, she should have been jumping at the opportunity to perform for one such as Lord Mink, if only for the lack of physical discomfort on her own behalf. But judging from the sounds coming from the room, she was making a complete mess of things. If I don't get paid I swear to Jupiter I will chuck that bitch right out, straight into the gutter!

After what had seemed like hours and hours of waiting, the door finally opened and His Excellency exited the room. Jacco was right on top of him immediately: "I am so sorry for any inconvenience to you, my Lord! I swear to you this is our very best girl and we've never had any complaints about her, none whatsoever, nothing but high praise, I assure you! I've no idea what's come over her, maybe she's overdone it a bit last night, or she's fallen ill, it happens you know. Perhaps I could send in one of the other girls? Or maybe one of the boys, we have a brand-new very nice A-class boy, just came in two days ago, fresh as a …" Iason only had to hold up his hand, without even glancing slightly in the direction of the man, to make him stop his endless rant mid-sentence. In the few seconds before Iason spoke, the sound of Jacco swallowing nervously could clearly be heard. "There is no need for you to exert yourself to such a degree, Mr … "Jacco" … my encounter with your employee was most satisfactory, I assure you."

The trembling, cowardly pimp's mouth fell open when he heard that his client was apparently happy about Mimi's crying and he just stood there gaping with his mouth open, like a fish on dry land. "In fact I find that I am pleased to the degree that I would like to purchase this Pet from you, I do hope that is a possibility?"

It took Jacco at least five minutes to grasp the meaning of what it was that his filthy rich client was suggesting. "Why… why yes, of course! I mean, it is a tad unusual in an establishment such as this but… but I'd be most happy to accommodate you, Lord Mink!", the little man rattled on in a rather annoyingly high-pitched voice that was reminiscent of a hyena's laughter.

"Excellent, I am most glad to hear it", Iason said while reaching for his credit card, still not even sparing the other man a glance. "Would 15 million cover your future expectations of her performances here?" The greasy pimp's mouth fell open even further than seemed humanly possible and again he was momentarily dumb-struck. The Elite could have bought the entire complex and everyone in it for that sum.

...

To Be Continued …

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