A girl in a red dress strode across a ballroom toward a young man covered in bandages. She tried for an air of grace, desperate to not trip in her too-high-for-her-taste stilettos or drop one of the flutes of champagne in her hands and make a fool of herself.
"Rin-chan!" the bandaged man greeted her as she reached him, drinks and dignity intact.
"Dazai-san." she responded, offering him one of the glasses she was carrying.
Dazai Osamu, youngest executive in Port Mafia history, Tanaka Rin's savior and tormentor, and the recent object of her affection.
She found him beautiful. His elegant dishevelment. His violent grace. The tragic look in his eyes she could sometimes catch a glimpse of when he was distracted. She didn't think most people noticed it, but she was very attentive when it came to Dazai Osamu.
He was so intriguing. She wished he'd tell her his life story, tell her his woes and joys, what made him who he was. She wished he'd let her lay by his side and pour his heart out to her. He was her king and she wished he'd let her be his queen.
She just wanted to know him. Or maybe she wanted his everything. Maybe, to him those things were one and the same. She supposed it didn't matter. He wouldn't allow her either of those wishes.
"It's been a while," he said, accepting the champaign. "How's miss Ito treating you?"
"Oh, she's great! Says I have the potential to be one of her best girls if I put in the effort." Rin honestly hated Miss Ito. She was a cruel woman who constantly belittled and mocked her. She wouldn't tell Dazai that, though. She didn't want to bother him. Not that she honestly thought that that would bother him that much, but, hey, she wasn't a big fan of being an inconvenience.
"I assume she's the one who sent you here. To work." He said, vaguely gesturing to the crowd of people filling the room.
"Yeah." She laughed nervously. She hated her job as much as she hated her boss. Finding the richest looking man in the room and letting him have his way with her for money that she'd only see a fraction of once Miss Ito took her share. Then she would have to send half of her remaining cash to her mother, and would never be able to tell her how she'd made the money. She had to make up stupid lies to avoid the shame and her mother's disappointment.
"I assume you're here for work too, saying, well, I honestly don't see you spending your free time somewhere like this."
"You never know, Rin-chan. Maybe I'm here to woo all the beautiful ladies with my spectacular dancing." He joked in that dramatic tone he always used that Rin found odd, but charismatic in a weird sort of way.
"Well, there's a beautiful lady right in front of you." She teased, batting her lashes and looking up at him in the way all her clients seemed to like. "Let the wooing comence."
"Are you trying to seduce me?" He asked, smirking at her. "If so, I deserve a discount at least."
"Oh, Dazai-san, you know you can have my services for free." She said, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. Her heart was racing. She wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries. Part of her didn't care.
He laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." He gently removed her hand and took a step backward. "Well, I have business to attend to. See you later."
Her heart sank as he walked away.
A large hand grabbed Rin's wrist, pulling her closer. Lips brushed her neck, sending shivers of the unpleasant sort down her spine.
She didn't remember the name of the client she was servicing. She'd never seen him before this encounter. He was middle aged and fairly average looking. He'd come into the brothel Rin was working at and her boss had assigned her to him.
She felt the robe she was wearing slide off her shoulder as he brushed it away. His hand went under it to grab her thigh then traveled up to grasp her breast. "Mmm. You've got some nice tits, sweetheart." he moaned, starting to lead her to the bed in the room they were occupying.
"Should I take this off so you can see them?" she whispered in his ear. He grinned at that.
Before he could reply, the door burst open. A tall blonde man was standing about eight feet from them.
Rin yelped and pulled up the sleeves of her robe in an attempt to maintain her dignity.
"Watabe Shou!" The man yelled as her client tried to rush out of the room. He was caught during this attempt. "You're coming with me."
He glanced at Rin, seeming to have noticed her for the first time. "You too."