Usually don't post here, but since there's no archive for the LA on , I figured I may as well. Not that there's one here, either, but it seems like there's a few other LA fics floating about. .

Author: KrystalEpyon

Email:

Title: Streetwise Angels

Warnings: Slash/yaoi, angst, prostitution, senseless Yankumi logic...

Pairings: Shin/Yabuki. (Ryu/Yabuki. :p)

Notes: Odd pairing, I know, but the moment the idea occurred to me, I couldn't shake it. They really would look so good together. . (Not to mention the actors are good friends. :p)

Streetwise Angels

Yabuki grinned as Tsuchi kicked him a bottle. He booted it across the pavement, catching the eye of a guy standing on the street corner. The bottle stopped under his foot and the amused expression on the guy's face gave Yabuki the impression that he was being looked down on.

He surveyed skimpy clothing, taking into consideration unmistakable good looks… There was no doubt the guy was a prostitute.

Not surprising, as they were in the red light district, but something about it bothered Yabuki. He broke eye contact and whispered something to Ryu that made his friend laugh. Shrugging off the minor incident, the group continued towards their destination – a seedy but cheap host club that would allegedly admit students.

Still, Yabuki couldn't shake that guy's eyes. There was something about him… It was like… every so often you could meet someone who caught your attention for some strange reason and it just felt like you were supposed to get involved with them somehow. In ignoring it, Yabuki felt like he'd made a huge mistake. He kept having to shake off the growing urge to go back there. For what, he didn't know. He wasn't the type to go hooking up with male prostitutes – or any prostitutes for that matter. The host club was Tsuchi's idea, and as it was Tsuchi's birthday, it wasn't like he could say no.

Well, he wouldn't normally go to such a place, but on the other hand, it wasn't like he wasn't looking forward to it. With an excuse, it was actually quite exciting…

So why couldn't he get that guy out of his head?

/

Shin had almost been hoping that kid would take the bait. It was fun to play around with high-schoolers trying to feel big by coming down here. In some ways, it reminded him of his own high school days – those days with Yankumi as his teacher when he actually enjoyed school. She'd made him think there was some hope to his life, that he had a future – even if he didn't know what to do with it.

In the end, it hadn't mattered. Whether he had brains, or talent, or what, his father had made sure he'd never have a decent life.

So here he was, walking the streets and provoking little boys on slow nights when there were no customers to take home. It was pathetic, really.

And just like that, Shin's good humor disappeared. He was about to give up on the night and go home when a call caught his attention. He didn't think it was for him until he noticed the kid from earlier striding purposefully towards him.

"Oi!"

Raising his eyebrows, Shin straightened up.

"Got a problem, brat?" he asked, no longer in the mood to mess around.

"Yeah." The high-schooler glanced away for a scant moment, proving that he wasn't as confident as he seemed.

"Well, spit it out. I haven't got all night."

"Why not? Doesn't seem to be anyone lining up to… purchase your services," the guy replied cockily, recovering quickly from his hesitation.

"I don't 'service' kids," Shin replied, turning his back.

"Oi."

The kid grabbed his shoulder, but not in the threatening kind of way Shin was used to. Instead of provoking him, it made him stop. He threw a glance over his shoulder.

"Don't make me regret coming all the way back here," the stranger asked of him, his expression so sincere it almost made Shin laugh.

Instead, he half turned back to face the kid and raised his chin. "Why did you?" he asked, curious despite himself.

"Because I couldn't…" The boy was avoiding his eyes again. "I couldn't get your face out my head," he finished in a mutter.

"That's flattering," Shin deadpanned. "But I told you…"

He didn't finish the sentence, because the kid finally looked at him again, and he was distracted by deep brown eyes.

"I'm not asking you to 'service' me," the kid muttered, sensible enough to sound embarrassed.

"Then go find a host club," Shin retorted, but he didn't try to leave this time. He waited for the kid's response.

"…I'm not gay."

Shin laughed. "Could have fooled me!"

"My name's Hayato."

The introduction caught Shin by surprise for a moment, and he paused, examining 'Hayato's' expression. For some reason he couldn't fathom, he was enjoying this playful banter. Briefly, he wondered if he was losing his mind, but in any case, he extended his hand – very slowly and sensually, for the simple amusement of watching Hayato blush.

"Shin," he said, waiting for Hayato to take his hand.

Obviously, Hayato hadn't thought much about what he meant by approaching a prostitute, or so Shin gathered from the ensuing silence as Hayato took note of the name and then simply stared back at him, their hands still clasped.

Grinning at his own stupidity, let alone that of his new 'friend', Shin made a spur of the moment decision. "Come on." He pulled Hayato by the hand until the boy followed of his own will.

It was safer all round to talk at his apartment.

/

Yabuki really had no idea what he was doing. He'd left the host club, making some pathetic excuse he couldn't even remember, and walked down the streets, looking for the spot he'd seen his unforgettable hooker at. Just when he thought he must have already passed it, he noticed a familiar body disappearing into the dark.

His body reacted before his mind did, and he called out, heading towards the stranger. Suddenly, he was being dragged off to who knew where by a male prostitute he knew nothing about. And yet his feet were still heading in the same direction as Shin who had long since dropped his hand.

If he'd wanted to go home, or even back to the club, he could have – he should have – but he didn't. He followed Shin, all the way back to a cheap-looking apartment. Still, it seemed better than the kind of apartment a street-walker should be able to afford. Maybe Shin got some pretty big business on better nights…

Yabuki didn't want to think about that.

He wandered into Shin's apartment, kicking off his shoes and glancing around to avoid looking at the prostitute.

"You want something to drink?"

"What have you got?" Yabuki asked.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. This was probably a practically unheard of situation for Shin as well as for him. There weren't really any social norms for going back to a prostitute's place with no prior relationship, no intention of having sex, and no knowledge of said prostitute except that he had an unforgettable face.

Shin looked him down, smirking. "Aside from alcohol? Cola."

"I'm fine with alcohol," Yabuki replied, looking the hooker in the eyes. He wasn't about to let himself get treated like a kid just cause this guy was a little older than him.

"I'm not giving alcohol to a minor," Shin replied, brushing him off.

Irritated, Yabuki considered trying to twist his arm, but it wasn't worth it. He didn't feel like drinking, anyway.

"How old are you?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Twenty-four," Shin replied.

Yabuki glanced past him and was pleased to notice that at the very least, Shin was going to drink the same as him, pouring two glasses of coke. That was a fair concession.

All of a sudden, Yabuki's balance was shaken by something wrapping around his ankle. He looked down to see a little white cat twisting between his legs to say hello. Grinning, he picked it up, cradling the friendly thing in his arms and petting it gently.

For some reason feeling more confident with the cat in his arms, he blurted out a question whilst once more looking around the room. "Do you bring your clients back here?" he asked, continuing to stroke the purring ball of fur.

"Not that it's your business, but I do," Shin replied.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Yabuki questioned, unable to help his curiosity.

"It's cheaper than paying for a hotel room," Shin told him, finally bringing the drinks over. He handed one to Yabuki and then took the cat under his arm and nuzzled its head. "Besides, I can take care of myself."

"What's his name?" Yabuki asked, nodding at the cat.

"'Her' name is Igami – Gami for short."

Yabuki couldn't help a little smirk, trying to hide it behind his glass.

Shin glared at him.

"It's an unusual name," Yabuki soothed. "Even if you get such a bad joke," he added under his breath.

Ignoring him, Shin moved over to the Futon spread out by the wall. Yabuki followed, feeling just slightly nervous as he sat beside Shin on the bed. It wasn't like there was anywhere else to sit, so he tried not to think about it too much. Gami happily curled up in Shin's lap.

"What school do you go to?" Shin asked, making conversation to banish the slightly awkward silence.

Glad to have the initiative taken from him, Yabuki replied before taking a gulp of his drink. "Kurogin academy."

A moment later, he choked, his eyes watering as his mouth was filled with a strong, bitter taste to compliment the sweet soda. He caught himself and glared at Shin who was grinning into his own cup which was already half drained.

"I thought you said-"

"What? Is Cola too strong for you? Think you'd be able to handle water, at least?"

Fine, they could play that game. Alcohol, what alcohol?

"So…"

"Why did you come back?" Shin asked suddenly, looking straight at Yabuki.

Caught off guard by the question, Yabuki prepared himself and took another mouthful of the strong drink. "I already told you," he said, feeling the burn as the alcohol filtered into his system.

"You also told me you're not gay, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what you want from me," Shin pressed, gently urging the cat off his lap.

"… I don't know. I didn't really think that far ahead," Yabuki admitted, nervously glancing back at Shin and wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

"You should have some idea, at least. You seem to have enough friends, so I doubt you came here just to chat… or to pass the time…"

Yabuki's heart began to race in his chest as Shin shifted closer to him. He subtly reached into his pocket, fingering the notes there and wondering how much the charge would be…

"Yankumi would kill me," he whispered, his teacher's face popping into his head all of a sudden as if summoned by the very thought of a bad deed.

The next thing he knew, Yabuki was out on his ass, staring at a locked door.

/

After his initial displacement due to the sheer uniqueness of the situation, Shin got it together. It was obvious that he was in control, so he could decide where to draw the lines without having to worry.

The thing was, despite that he knew nothing about the unusual kid, the more he looked at Hayato's pretty face, the more he heard that strong, confident voice, the more he talked to the high-schooler… he found he didn't want to draw any lines. In fact, at some point he'd come to the decision to forgo his usual charge and give the kid a freebie – it wasn't often he was actually attracted to someone, after all.

However, that was until he heard the fatal word:

'Yankumi.'

Nothing could have killed his libido faster.

"Yankumi would kill me."

"Yankumi?" Shin asked, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Uh… Yankumi is..."

"Your teacher?" Though he heard the coldness in his own voice, Shin couldn't afford not to get a straight answer. If Hayato was one of 'her' students, or even attending the same school she was teaching at… Shin had to cut ties with him immediately. There would be nothing worse than for Yankumi to find out what he was doing. That was the one thing Shin could never accept.

"Yeah, she's-"

"Looks like I can't conduct business with 'students' after all," Shin said suddenly, bundling Hayato out the door as quickly as possible.

Maybe it was cold of him, but that was just how it had to be. There was no way he was going to risk coming into contact with that woman. She could never, never know that he was selling his body in order to live.

Locking his front door, Shin paused and took a deep breath. He had to calm down… He strode over to the kitchen area and grabbed the bottle of whiskey he'd left out, taking a straight swig.

It was a shame he'd had to throw that cute boy out, but either way it was for the best. He shouldn't entertain the idea of sleeping with high-schoolers, after all. No matter how mature. No matter how old. No matter whose students. No matter how attractive.

/

Hayato knew he shouldn't linger on it. He knew he should just forget about it and move on. In fact, he should be grateful that the brief insanity had come to an abrupt end, because there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would have done anything Shin wanted, and then where would he have been?

But he couldn't help it. If only he hadn't mentioned Yankumi, if only he'd lied about her being his teacher. No doubt his childish reliance on a teacher of all people was what caused Shin to change his mind. It was stupid. It was annoying.

It was all Yankumi's fault.

"Everyone, listen up! I have some exciting news!" called the woman in question, bustling into the room with a stack of paper and a huge, dopey grin on her face.

A collective groan was heard throughout the room, but Yabuki couldn't even bring himself to smile at the inevitable impending response to Yankumi's latest brilliant idea. He was too distracted by Yankumi's absent hand in his latest dilemma. Somehow, she always managed to ruin all of their plans, even if she didn't even know about them.

"Next week, the school is holding an Arts Culture festival, and all of the classes are encouraged to participate, so I thought all last night about what it was our class could do, and I finally came up with it - Here pass these around - We're going to form a choir and sing a touching, passionate medley from Sister Act!"

But what if somehow she did? What if it was part of that mysterious element she sometimes had that she always knew when they were about to do something society considered wrong and was able to thwart them without even being present? What if-

"Yaaabuki... Yabuki!"

"Eh?"

Yabuki was woken from his brooding reverie to find Yankumi leaning over his desk and staring him in the face.

He immediately recoiled. "Too close!"

Already lost in her own little Yankumi world, the teacher had twirled away and begun to follow the path of her latest fantasy.

"Since Yabuki-kun and Odagiri-kun both have such lovely voices-"

"How do you know that?" Tsuchi cut in, causing Yankumi to pause, give a straight answer, and then switch back to her idealistic, floaty tone.

"I listened in last time you went to karaoke - I thought that they could take care of the bigger solos."

Yabuki vaguely caught Ryu's dry expression and rolled his eyes in reply. Already ignoring the rest of Yankumi's litany, he put his cheek down on the desk and stared off at the far wall. Who wanted to sing a ridiculous gospel medley, anyway?

/

The first night, Shin wasn't there. Yabuki searched around the district for an hour or so before giving up.

The following night, Yabuki blew off his friends to return to the red light district again. This time, he did find Shin.

The prostitute was flanked by two older men, neither much to look at. There seemed to be some kind of argument going on, the two supposedly fighting over who would be following Shin back to his apartment. It made Yabuki sick just to see Shin playing up to the both of them, obviously in the hopes of raising his price.

He did look damn good, wearing leather pants that were open and laced at the sides and a matching vest, laced across the front. But no matter how good he looked in those clothes, the sheer cheapness of the outfit was distasteful. There was no mistaking the fact that Shin was a whore.

Yabuki was only moments from barging up and dragging Shin away from those two disgusting old men when another man in a decent-looking business suit approached. He wasn't even the least bit good looking, either, and he seemed to be in his fifties or sixties, but his appearance was clean, and he seemed to be able to vouch for his money better than the other two. It was a very quick affair before he escorted his prize away from two prone old drunks nursing bloody noses and split lips.

On one hand, Yabuki was relieved that Shin had not left with either of the first two, but on the other... He realized that he didn't want to see Shin leave with anyone like that, ever.

The unavoidable truth was that it made Yabuki jealous. He couldn't avoid the fact that Shin was a prostitute, but what he suddenly came to understand, was that he didn't like it.

Not that Yabuki was a shining member of society himself. He didn't look down on people doing what they had to. But that was just it. Surely there was some reason that Shin was tied to such a life, and whatever it was, Yabuki wanted to find out and put a stop to it. It didn't matter that he barely knew Shin, he just felt like it was the right thing to do.

He barely understood the impulse, but all that mattered was that it was there, and he couldn't stand to see any more old men spoiling something special.

/

Shin watched his customer throw down a wad of bills before promptly making his way out the door. Once it closed, he flopped down flat on his back, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Guys like that, he hated the most. Dressing themselves up, pretending they were clean members of society... Those guys were always the roughest in bed.

But they paid better than common trash.

Dragging himself up, Shin gathered up the cash, flicking through the bills in a quick count. There was more than the agreed amount. At least that guy knew when to tip well.

As usual, Shin stored his fee inside a masked, empty wine bottle, then headed to the bathroom for a shower. As he opened the door, Gami slipped out, winding about his legs. He knew she hated being locked up in there, but it wasn't good for buisiness to have a cat wanting to 'play, too'. Most customers weren't fond of careless claws.

Of course, there were always those who liked that sort of thing.

Uninvited, a thought briefly popped into Shin's mind. 'Which type would that Hayato be? Straight-laced, or kinky?'

"Idiot," Shin muttered to himself. "Just forget it already."

He was answered by a hearty meow. Trust Gami to bring a smile to his lips. Poor thing was probably hungry. After a quick shower, he'd put out a little extra food for her.

Thanks to his customer's generosity he'd be able to afford a little extra cat food for the month, among other things.

/

"Yabuki."

Sighing, Yabuki lazily turned to face the teacher, wishing he had been just a little faster to make it out the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, making sure there wasn't an ounce of enthusiasm in his voice or expression. Maybe a miracle would pass and she'd get the hint.

"Could you stay back for a bit? See, there's this part in Ode to Joy that-"

Frustration practically boiling inside of him, Yabuki prepared to give in. There was no arguing with Yankumi when she was like this...

Unless- "I can't. Ryu asked me to help with... with babysitting his neighbor, so-"

"About that," Ryu interrupted."Did I forget to tell you? Koutani-san called last night and said they were coming home early. See you, then!"

And just like that, the traitor Ryu and his three cronies were gone, leaving Yabuki alone to deal with Yankumi.

"Fine," Yabuki sighed, dropping his bag on the nearest desk. "Hurry up and get on with it so I can go already."

"Oh? Got plans tonight?" Uhoh, Yankumi was in meddle mode. "A date, is it? Is she cute?"

"Don't jump to conclusions!" Yabuki snapped. Why did she always do that?

"There's no need to be shy! Come on, tell me all about her! I'll even give you some good advice on how to properly treat a lady-"

Yabuki was about to tell her to get on with the music or he was going to leave, but the word 'advice' made him hesitate. Maybe this was one of those rare cases where Yankumi might actually have some good ideas. The truth was, although he'd decided to rescue Shin, Yabuki didn't have a clue what to do. It had already been a week, and he hadn't thought of a thing.

"Maybe... there is someone," he said quietly, avoiding Yankumi's eyes.

"Oooh? I knew it!"

"But it's not like that... I'm not dating anyone, it's just..."

"Go on, go on."

"There's this... girl. She's older than I am - not a student-"

"Ooohhh, an older woman, huh?"

"Would you stop that?" Yabuki snapped. Here he was seriously trying to ask for advice and Yankumi was being her usual stupid self. Maybe it was a bad idea after all. "Forget it-"

"No, Go on! I promise won't interrupt anymore."

Glancing at the teacher's serious expression, Yabuki decided to give it one more try. "The thing is, I think I kind of like her, but... there's a problem. She's doing something I don't agree with. I mean-"

"What is it?"

There was no more playing in Yankumi's tone. She was finally taking him seriously, so Yabuki decided to just spit it out.

"She's a prostitute. I don't know why she's doing something like that, but I think there has to be some kind of reason. I want to help her, but I don't know where to start."

"Have you tried asking her directly?" Yankumi asked, perching on the edge of the opposite desk, her arms crossed.

"I can't," Yabuki replied meekly. "She made it clear that she doesn't want to have anything to do with me. But even so... even so, I can't stay out of it. I've been watching her for the last week or so. She can't possibly be happy with that kind of life. I can't play ignorant and just let things continue as they are."

Staring Yankumi in the eyes, daring her to argue, Yabuki felt the truth of his words. No matter what, he had to do something, whether Shin wanted it or not.

"I see," Yankumi said quietly. A moment later, she broke eye contact, staring down at the floor as she slipped into her own thoughts.

"What should I do?" Yabuki begged, needing an answer, knowing she would support him in this. She had to!

"Yabuki... This time, I think this is something you should stay out of. I know your intentions are good, but if she doesn't want your help, there could be trouble. Where there are prostitutes, there are police. If they spotted some kind of connection, you would be expelled immediately. Furthermore, the red light district is dangerous! If you're hanging around there, then-"

"I thought you of all people would understand," Yabuki spat quietly. "I thought you'd be able to help me-"

"Yabuki-"

"Forget it. I don't need help from you. I'll figure it out myself!"

Without looking back, Yabuki grabbed his bag and stormed out of the classroom. At first, he didn't notice Ryu by the door. Not until his friend caught up to him and grabbed his arm.

"What the hell is up with you? Spacing out, going out every night without us. Lying to us. For what? A hooker?"

"Huh?"

"I heard. I heard what you said. You've been blowing us off and lying about it… I thought we were friends."

"This isn't about friendship, Ryu," Hayato sighed, avoiding his friends eyes.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. You've chosen her over us – over me."

"It's not like that-!"

"Then what is it like?"

"… She's in trouble. I can't just leave things the way they are."

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't leave you, either!"

"You're supposed to protect me, I'm your friend! She's…-"

"Look, I'm sorry you're jealous, but if you can't understand, I can't make you… I'll see you tomorrow."

Shaking Ryu off, Yabuki broke into a run. He thought about heading somewhere for dinner and then going to confront Shin, but instead he found himself by the riverbank staring out at the polluted water. With an angry cry, he dropped to the ground, sprawling on his back.

He fell like an idiot for confiding in Yankumi. He'd really thought she could step up to the plate, but instead she disappointed him. And then... Ryu... If he knew the hooker Yabuki was obsessing over was a guy, they wouldn't have any friendship left to salvage. It was bad enough as it was...

So what? Yabuki lied. He couldn't tell the truth or what friends he had would abandon him! If he'd been semi-honest from the start, they'd have followed him for sure and found out the truth about Shin. So he couldn't tell the truth, and he couldn't give it up, so what was he supposed to do? Sometimes you had to lie to protect people... He had to lie to protect Ryu. Ryu wouldn't understand. There was no way, he'd be able to take the truth - that Yabuki was falling for another guy.

"Damn it!" Yabuki yelled up at the sky.

Now that he'd already gone and put his friendship on the line, he wanted to just go and talk to Shin, but he couldn't. He couldn't get Yankumi's and Ryu's words out of his head, and no matter how bad it looked, he knew Ryu was still his friend. For now. If Ryu somehow saw him with Shin, that would be that.

/

Yamaguchi glanced around, clutching tighter to her bag strap as she took in the dark alleys and sleezy aura of the place. Somewhere around here was the girl that Yabuki wanted to protect. She'd told him to drop it, but the fact that her cute student was earnestly worried for a girl he cared about forced her to take action. She'd be in trouble, too, if she was spotted here, but unlike Yabuki she had some influence in this area. Perhaps if she found this girl there might be something she could do to-

"Well, hello pretty lady. How much for-"

Restraining the urge to deck the sleezebag, Yankumi let out a tense, high pitched laugh, cutting him off. "You're mistaken," she said in an overly feminine tone. "I'm just passing through." She tried to slip past him, but he didn't take the hint and laid his hand on her arm.

Without a second thought, she took his hand in a crushing grip and removed it from her body before determinedly continuing on her way. "What's wrong with men these days? Don't they understand that no means no?" she muttered to herself.

"No means no," a male voice to her left stated firmly.

Touched by the irony, she glanced around.

Right there, before her eyes, was a face she would never forget. One of her precious students - one of her first precious students, the most promising and talented of all... was standing there in thigh high boots, tiny black denim shorts, and a vest that covered only his arms. In a place like this, in those clothes, there was only one thing he could doing...

Recovering from her shock, Yamaguchi quickly ducked behind the phone booth, trying to calm her racing mind whilst listening in.

"Oh, come on - cheap clothes like that, you can't cost much more than a hundred."

"Are you deaf? I said get lost. You'll turn off my able clientèle," Shin replied.

"Don't look down on me you slutty brat!"

Yamaguchi was just about to jump to her former student's rescue when she heard the crunch of a broken nose followed by retreating footsteps. Glancing around, she saw the suitor laying on the ground clutching at his bloody face, Shin walking away without looking back.

Just what in the hell was that brilliant idiot thinking?

But it was obvious that this was one situation she was going to have to think about. This wasn't like her usual highschool problems, fights and mistakes. This was bigger than that, much bigger. Yamaguchi was going to have to observe the situation and think carefully about how to fix it - but there was no way she would allow her beloved student to continue on such a path!

"Yabuki," she breathed. "I understand your feelings. It's painful, isn't it? Watching a loved one defile themself, not knowing the reason, needing to do something about it... Don't worry, my precious student. I'll find this girl of yours and set her on the right path, just as I'll do with Shin! That idiot... Once I rescue him from this I'm going to kill him!"

TBC...

. Well that's chapter one. I tried to keep the playful and yet serious feel of the series. It's a little difficult to pull off in writing, but I hope you enjoyed it. More to come, chapter two is actually almost finished. O.o (Took a year to write chapter one and I've almost finished chapter two in one night.)