A/N - Yo! If you're reading I already want to thank you for coming back to read another of my stories. First off a warning; this particular chapter isn't too M... but the story in general will be M... so if swearing, sexual scenes and in general angsty scenes aren't your cup of tea, press the back button now. Second; this story is VERY diferent to any of my others... there is no dancing! Anyway, that's it for my ranting, I'll let the fic speak for itself - take care. - VR
Chapter 1 – What A Way To Earn A Living
"So… you're looking for a blue-haired girl… intelligent… for 5 hours tonight? Meeting where? Right... Hmm, no problem Takagachi-san, please allow me ten minutes and I will call you back with your results, sir. Hai, have a good evening." As soon as the short-haired blonde placed the telephone back on the cradle, she rubbed her temples and sat back in her chair. She took a deep breath.
"MICHIRU-SAN! AMI-SAN! Come in here!" Regardless of the technology at the blonde's fingertips; (pager, cell-phone, intercom), she felt nothing beat a good heartfelt shout across the office.
Haruka Tenoh, the short-haired blonde with the great vocal cords, sat up properly in her chair. She looked over at the laptop in front of her and it showed databases, word documents of contracts, spreadsheets and a planner. Haruka scanned her eyes over the planner and she checked for today's date; December 5th. Mako-chan's birthday, and she was on her way over to the office already. The blonde sighed on her chair and ran a hand through her short hair before her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. Haruka grunted incomprehensibly and the door opened, revealing two bluenettes standing in the doorway. One had shoulder length, curly aqua coloured hair and had an elegant beauty. The other had short blue hair and a very cute face with a somewhat withdrawn air about her. The less shy girl stepped forward, revealing that she was dressed in a mid thigh length blue skirt, coupled with a pale blue sleeveless chemise, topped off with an elegant pair of 2inch heels; her name is Kaioh Michiru, and she is the most successful escort at 'After Dark Inc'.
"You yelled, Haruka-chan?" The blonde smirked and nodded, then gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk. Without any further need for words, both girls stepped fully into the office, and took their seats at the desk. Haruka smiled reassuringly at the two girls.
"Yeah… I need to know if either of you can work tonight? It's a 5 hour gig… starting at 7pm." Haruka seemed to mumble her words, and both girls put it down to fatigue and stress, thinking no more of it. Ami, the short-haired bluenette remained quiet, whereas Michiru placed a finger on her chin and thought deeply.
"How much does it pay?" Haruka looked down at the notepad document in front of her showing all the details she had typed out.
"Because it's such short notice, it's five times the normal rate." Ami and Michiru's eyes both widened at the news. Ami cleared her throat and spoke in a timid voice.
"A-a-and what does the client… expect… of our services?" Haruka smiled endearingly at Ami; she was such a sweet girl and clearly still so nervous about the job. Haruka couldn't help but shrug though.
"He expects what he pays for I suppose, it's a company dinner... then after drinks at a disclosed location, then if any time is left, a quick visit to a hotel. He never clarified anything, but I'm guessing after the work dinner he has tonight maybe a little foreplay… most probably oral." Ami seemed to choke as soon as Haruka provided her little bit of insight.
"Y-y-you mean he'll e-e-expect me to put h-his – "Before Ami could say anymore, Michiru spoke clearly.
"I'm free, I can do it." Haruka looked at her and their gazes locked. After a few moments, Haruka nodded slowly and looked over to her computer, entering the information into the system. The blonde didn't even glance at the girls as she spoke.
"You can both go. Thanks." Ami instantly stood up, bowed and left the room, but Michiru remained in her seat, her legs crossed perfectly at her ankles, her arms were crossed, an eyebrow was raised and an amused smirk was on her face. Haruka sighed and tried her best to ignore the woman sitting, still amused, in the seat opposite her.
"What is it, Michiru-chan?" Haruka playfully glared at the blue-haired girl and she waited patiently for an answer.
"Haruka-chan, honestly... asking Ami to come in here for a job like this? She's best suited for presentation dates… not any real work. God, didn't last month show you that to be true?!" Haruka winced as she remembered what happened on Ami's second job in her first month.
"They really sent me a beautiful girl, my colleagues were so jealous tonight, no doubt!" Ami forced a smile onto her face, as the businessman known only as Yamamoto-san, lecherously looked over her lithe young form.
"I'm glad you approve, Yamamoto-san." Ami smiled politely and so did the older gentlemen. He showed a row of crooked yellow teeth, causing Ami to instinctively run her tongue over her own teeth. The gentleman smiled widely.
"Well, we had probably get on with this, young lady. I only have you for another 30 minutes." The man began to walk over to Ami and he puckered his lips, ready to take her lips and claim them as his own. As she looked at his mouth, she could see the yellow teeth and cringed inwardly while repressing the urge to actually gag. Ami stepped back and the man frowned, instantly grabbing her arm.
"Hey, I paid for you. You do what I want, get it? Stupid whore. Now... come here." As the man roughly brought her towards him, a very frightened Ami found herself with her arms on the man's shoulders, gripping him tightly… and her knee connected with his crotch. The man was on the floor within seconds, instantly grabbing what little was left of his manhood.
"Oh… My God… you dumb bitch! It's bleeding! Call a freaking doctor!" Ami instantly snapped back to reality, and she fell to the floor, kneeling next to the man in clear agony.
"It's okay Yamamoto-san, I'm a medical student." The man's face instantly drained of colour as he lost consciousness.
Haruka frowned as the entire night's events came back to her – in accordance with what both parties told her. Man, ever since that night, they had to be careful with Ami. In fact, Haruka had to be especially careful! The owner, a green-haired woman that even only Haruka knew only to refer to as Miss M in person, heard about the incident and said that if Ami screws up one more time, not only would Ami lose her job but so would Haruka. But Haruka wanted to help Ami out; sure, this job was nothing more than a glorified call girl's job, but Ami was at med school, needing to pay all her fees and this job had already paid her well in the first month… until that incident that is. It seemed as though Yamamoto told everyone and now it made it difficult to give Ami any work… that and the fact she was still terrified of actually being physical with any clients. But it was so unfair to only give Ami the dinner dates with clients. Oh crap, Haruka didn't want to let the girl go and see her suffer paying for her tutelage but what could she do? Really? Haruka winced and soon she heard the gentle giggle from Michiru who was still sitting opposite her.
"Don't frown, Haruka-chan, it really makes you look older than you are." The short haired blonde chuckled.
"Like you care, Michiru-chan… I'll have you know, women find my look charming." She finished the sentence with a wink. Michiru stood up and approached the blonde, and slowly traced her hand over all of Haruka's facial features.
"Hmm… I can see why, but still a facial would do wonders, blondie. And speaking of your hair, when are you going to get your hair cut? It's getting a little long." Haruka frowned but before she could run a hand through her hair, Michiru placed her hand in the hair of the tomboy.
"See, it's not usually this long… you need an assistant or something, to remind you to look after your appearance, Haruka-chan." Haruka laughed again, but then as Michiru went to withdraw her hand, she felt a sharp tugging on her head.
"Ow! Jeez, Michiru-chan, what are you doing to me?" Michiru giggled gently but she began to look nervous,
"Sorry, my watch… the clasp is caught in your hair! See, if you had cut your hair, this would not have happened!" Michiru firmly tugged her hand again causing Haruka to yelp again.
Ami was still lingering out in the hallway of the office, having decided to re-think her place in the company. She knew that Haruka called her in there more for pity than necessity. It seemed common knowledge to everyone that Ami was not cut out for any 'physical' work. Ami felt like crying, but before she could she heard someone clear their throat, and looked up to see a gorgeous tall brunette, dressed in black dress trousers, with a dark green shirt and black blazer looking at her in a very concerned manner.
"Are you okay, miss?" The brunette's voice was as smooth as silk to the bluenette's ears. After a second Ami shook her mind clear of these thoughts – this was clearly a woman, what the hell was she thinking?!
"Yes, I'm fine thank you… Miss… er?" The bluenette blushed and the brunette laughed heartily.
"Kino… Makoto Kino… in fact, I'm here to see Tenoh Haruka… she's an old friend." The brunette smiled reassuringly at Ami, "And you are?" Instantly Ami looked up at the woman, and bowed before she spoke.
"Mizuno… Mizuno Ami." Makoto smiled once more, only thinking of how beautiful the younger girl in front of her was. But before either could voice their thoughts, the conversation coming from within Haruka's office could be heard clearly.
"Ah! Michiru you're hurting me. Just get it out!" Makoto raised her eyebrows in shock and Ami said nothing, both were only compelled by the voices from the office next to them.
"Haruka-san, stop being such a baby, if I just pull it out, it will hurt you more! I'm trying to be considerate here!"
"Screw being considerate, get it out! It's really beginning to hurt! Now I remember why I don't let girls in here that much! You all have too many accessories!" Makoto couldn't control her laughter, and she opened the office door, expecting to see a scandalous and shocking scene before her… but she was faced with Michiru's hand jerking violently from the blonde's head. Haruka seemed on the verge of tears, but upon seeing Makoto she grinned widely.
"MAKO-CHAN!" Haruka grinned and without thinking stood up, instantly freeing Michiru's hand from her hair but in the process ripping out several short, sandy blonde hairs. Makoto laughed at Haruka as she grabbed her head in agony.
"And to think Haru-chan, I thought something else was going on here." As Makoto winked, Haruka could feel herself blush and she instantly launched herself into a defensive screaming mode.
"HEY! She got her stupid watch caught in my hair! That's all! You pervert!" Before Makoto could respond, a screaming from down the hall caught everyone's attention.
"You're a skank, Minako! Simple as! You lack any elegance! So stop stealing my clients!" Haruka sighed heavily. Hino Rei… this was something she did not need. Haruka began walking out of the office only to hear Aino Minako respond,
"I'm a skank? You'd sleep with your clients for free if you thought it'd bring you more business! And you've got the cheek to call me a whore!" A bitter laugh could be heard, undoubtedly it was Rei-chan.
"That's because you are a whore. I'm just a business woman. I do it for cash, you do it for pleasure... you nasty ass skank." Rei had a satisfied smirk on her features. Her dark eyes and features making everything about her seem more intense while delivering her insults to the blonde standing opposite her. Haruka couldn't bear anymore arguing from these two; undoubtedly the biggest rivals in the escort agency.
"YOU TWO! Stop it! You need to stop this crap, it does me no favours." Upon seeing Haruka both girls pouted and smiled innocently.
"It wasn't me, it was this idiot blonde, Haruka-san." Rei pointed at Minkao who shrieked indignantly.
"Me? This stuck up prude is blaming me for her lack of work. Please, Haruka-san, tell her the truth… she's lost it… she's getting too old." Rei's face turned eight shades darker,
"I'm only two months older than you, you stupid bimbo!" Nothing further was said, due to the fact that as soon as Rei said that, the forceful voice of the owner of 'After Dark Inc' stepped out from the shadows of the building, her green hair flowing behind her slim body as she strolled up to the centre of the commotion.
"Everyone… SHUT UP." Miss M… Man, she scared the crap out of Haruka sometimes. Miss M ignored everyone and looked directly at Haruka.
"Follow me, Tenoh-san." Haruka instantly nodded and followed her employer, hoping this was not going to be bad news.
As the tomboy followed her employer, Michiru turned to Rei and Minako and scolded them both,
"Are you happy? Haruka-chan could get in a lot of trouble for your juvenile behaviour!" Rei and Minako lowered their heads in shame. Rei was the first to speak,
"Sorry, Michiru-chan… I just forgot about that! Blondie here just aggravates me so much!" Michiru raised her hand, to instantly silence the raven-haired girl and it worked instantly. Ami looked down at the floor,
"I hope Haruka-san, doesn't get in too much trouble because of us." Makoto, who they all seemed to have forgotten was there, cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention to the brunette stranger.
"I'm sure Haru-chan will be fine... she always is."
"Tenoh-san... you are meant to keep every single one of the girls in line. Now, from where I'm standing it seems as though you are not able to do your job. The last time I had you in here I believe I told you to get a hold on Hino-san and Aino-san, their behaviour is unacceptable and what if a client were to enter and see that behaviour? Not to mention Mizuno-san, I made it very clear Tenoh-san, that she either does work without question or you get rid of her." Setsuna, known as Miss M to everyone, sized up Haruka who was standing in front of her. The blonde was staring at her shoes for a moment, but then she lifted her head, looking Setsuna directly in the eyes.
"I know. I know this Miss M... but I can't get rid of Mizuno... she needs the money for med school. And I'd feel guilty as hell if she was another wasted mind, we've seen so many! And as for Hino and Aino... what the hell can I do about them? They refuse to get along!" Setsuna kept her gaze on the blonde who seemed at a loss. Haruka sighed deeply and looked away from Setsuna.
"I know what you want from me... I'll have my desk cleared by tomorrow morning." Haruka turned to leave but before she could even take one step, the sound of howling laughter from behind her. Haruka turned instantly and saw Setsuna doubling over with laughter over her desk, trying to stand up but failing and falling into her chair.
"I'm glad you think my resignation is funny, Miss M." Haruka frowned and once again went or the door.
"W-w-wait, haha, oh God, stop right there, Tenoh-san! Haha... Oh God, if you resign over something as silly as petty bitch fights and a frigid escort maybe you weren't the person I thought you were. I thought you were a leader. I thought you were strong. Clearly I was wrong." Haruka took Miss M in for a moment. She was sincere. She was pushing the blonde... she was testing her. She wanted to see what would happen. Haruka was at a loss for words. But she didn't need to speak because Setsuna was not done.
"You have one last chance to redeem yourself, Haruka-san. I thought I saw Kino Makoto out front... she's a budding chef opening up a restaurant in a weeks' time right? She's the talk of Tokyo. She may need our services for some of her patrons... If that goes without a glitch, then consider your job safe for a very long time. Now go... you have to call Takagachi-san." A dumbstruck Haruka stared at her employer for nearly a minute.
"Are you serious? I get one more chance?" Setsuna shook her head,
"No, you get one final chance. Now, go."
The silence was deafening as Haruka exited Setsuna's office and walked down the stairs, back to the main office. She rubbed her temples harshly and looked up, only to be greeted by the girls. Makoto smiled sheepishly at her friend.
"How's it go, Haru-chan?" Haruka shrugged.
"Can I talk to you in my office, Mako-chan?" Makoto nodded and followed the blonde as she led the way to her office. It did not go unnoticed by all the other girls that Haruka completely ignored them. Michiru cleared her throat.
"Perhaps we should all wait in the lounge." The other girls all smiled feebly at the suggestion, but complied nonetheless.
Haruka hung up the phone on Takagachi-san, leaving Mako only able to hear the confirmation of a blue-haired girl named Michiru who would meet at the agreed place at the agreed time. After a few moments time, Makoto cleared her throat and spoke.
"What's up Haru-chan?" Haruka leaned back in her chair and Makoto simply stared at her, feeling rather bored by Haruka's silence. She was about to speak again when Haruka decided to verbalize her thoughts instead.
"Yo, Mako-chan... your restaurant opens on the 12th right?" Makoto nodded, not quite seeing the relevance of the conversation, as they had spoken about this several times in the past month, "And some of your patrons are single, right?" Raising an eyebrow, Makoto instantly knew where this was going. But still Haruka continued, "I want to provide a service for those of your patrons who would not like to be seen alone at such a high profile event. What do you say Mako-chan?" Makoto scoffed loudly.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't turn my restaurant into a brothel to be perfectly honest, Haruka-san." The two tomboys locked gazes with each other. Playing and old but immature game; the first to look away loses. Makoto takes a deep breath,
"It's my birthday you know... instead of asking me for a favour, why not give me my gift." Haruka chuckles but keeps her eyes locked on her friend.
"I tell you what, you name what you want and you'll get it." Makoto's eyes instantly glazed over and she grinned.
"Anything?" Haruka only nodded causing Makoto to grin, "Deal." Makoto broke the staring competition and looked away. Haruka laughed triumphantly and pumped her fist into the air.
"So, what do you want, Mako-chan?" The brunette sighed and looked up to the ceiling, grinning widely,
"Mizuno Ami." Haruka burst into laughter,
"Ami-chan? Haha, well you could have just made a booking, Mako!" Makoto instantly glared at Haruka,
"She's an escort? Aw, fuck." The tomboy stared at the brunette in confusion,
"Of course she is... why else would she be here?" Makoto shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess she seemed too good to be a wh-... I mean an escort." Haruka gazed over to her friend once more and smirked.
"I know what you meant... you know, there's more to Ami than an escort. She's absolutely petrified in this job to be honest... she's just doing this to fund her studies." Makoto rose one of her thin brown eyebrows in intrigue.
"Studies?" Haruka smirked at her dear old friend's clear interest and nodded.
"Hai... studies. As in she is a student. Well, a student of medicine to be honest."
"She wants to be a doctor?!" Makoto couldn't prevent the incredulous tone in her voice but it only caused Haruka to laugh louder.
"Look, Mako-chan... you agreed now to have girls at the restaurant opening ad she'll be there one way or another. You may as well invite her now, and get to know her – she's a sweet girl." Makoto shook her head.
"Sorry, Haru-chan, I'm just like you in that sense... I don't date escorts. It only leads to trouble." Makoto seemed downhearted at the news and Haruka did feel bad. But she would have to feel bad later because right now she had to ensure she could save her job.
"I'm sorry Mako... but erm... the client booking?" Makoto looked at Haruka and laughed gently.
"Sure, I'll hand your name out at the shareholders meeting tomorrow, Haru-chan." Haruka smiled widely. She even stood up and reached over to Makoto, giving her a bone-crushing hug. Makoto forced a smile.
"Look Haru-chan, I'm glad I saved your job... so in return, you can pay for all my birthday treats tonight." Makoto sent Haruka a cheeky wink and the blonde sighed and patted the back pants pocket where her wallet was located.
"I'm going to be so poor after today."
As Makoto and Haruka exited Haruka's office, the blonde tomboy was greeted with the sight of Miss M standing at the base of the staircase that lead to her office, or more accurately the entire first floor that could only be accessed with Miss M's key... and there were absolutely no chances of getting that key. Haruka smiled nervously,
"Yo, Miss M... I'm just heading out early remember? You said I – "Setsuna held her hand up and silenced Haruka, then she looked at Makoto and stepped forward, extending her hand out, which Makoto shook.
"Meioh Setsuna... it's a pleasure to meet you." Haruka raised an eyebrow and her jaw fell to the floor in utter shock. She had been working for Miss M for almost a year and had no idea what her name really was – none of the employee's did. And within the space of ten seconds Makoto had gotten it without any coaxing whatsoever. Makoto, who was unaware of all this, smiled at Setsuna.
"Kino Makoto... it's a pleasure." Setsuna nodded, completely ignoring Haruka's state of shock.
"Kino-san, it really is a pleasure but we must all get back to work. I'll see you on the twelfth." Makoto smiled once more,
"You're coming to dine?" Setsuna shook her head and smiled somewhat bemusedly,
"No, Miss Kino, I will be there to overlook the escorts at your restaurant." Makoto laughed a little and smiled.
"Of course. Well, it was a pleasure, but really myself and Haru-chan must get going. I'll see you soon, Meioh-san. Take care. You coming, Haru-chan?" Haruka nodded dumbly,
"Yeah, yeah, get in the car, I'll be there soon." Makoto nodded and made her way out of the office and outside to the car. Haruka turned to her employer, "Were you just hitting on my friend, Setsuna-san?" Haruka ensured she emphasized her employer's name. Setsuna rolled her eyes exasperatedly at the tomboy's efforts to annoy her.
"Only people from outside of work may call me Setsuna-san. I'm still Miss M to you." Haruka chuckled.
"You didn't answer my question, Setsuna-san! Were you hitting on her?" Setsuna sighed, She was really getting annoyed by the blonde.
"Go and do your job. You have four girls to brief on the night I believe. So go before I fire you." Haruka chuckled as she headed to the lounge on the same floor.
Haruka was smiling as soon as she entered the room, which caught the attention of the four girls. Minako instantly stood, her orange skin-tight dress clinging to her, leaving little to the imagination.
"Oh thank the gods, Haruka-san! You didn't get fired!" Minako flung her arms around Haruka's neck and engulfed the tomboy in a tight hug. Haruka smirked and winked over to Michiru, who smiled gently – she was glad to see the blonde was happy, and clearly not fired.
"Well, Mina-chan, I did get fired... Why else would I have such a bright smile?" Haruka's comment was met with an immediate punch to the arm by Minako... and Rei who was standing behind her, smirking deviously.
"I guess I deserved that... heh, anyway just to clarify, all your clients have agreed to pick you up tonight, right? Ami, are you going to be okay I mean, I didn't get you a client?" Ami simply nodded, and Haruka continued, "Michiru, you are meeting Takagachi-san at Tokyo Imperial, Rei you're going to the Park Hyatt Tokyo and Minako, you're client is going to meet you in 'Cardinos' at eight. Please, all of you, I beg of you, page me when they pick you up and if anything happens, page me with the red button, and I'll run a GPS and be there ASAP, ok?" The girls all nodded, "Okay then, take care, and I'll pick you all up at the allotted times. Mina, I'll pick you up at eleven then Rei at half eleven and Michiru at midnight. Have a nice night, ladies!" Haruka saluted as she left the room. As soon as they heard the door close, Mina stood up,
"I had better go and get ready!" Rei scoffed,
"No amount of make-up could cover up your slutty aura, Minako-san." Minako was instantly about to return the insult when a chuckling from the other side alerted all the girls to someone's presence. In the doorway laughing was Haruka,
"You should really check to see if I've left before you go back to your old ways, Rei-chan. Now, be nice and please make life easy for me." Haruka turned to leave again when Michiru called out to her, gaining the blonde's attention. Michiru gestured for Haruka to come out to the hallway so she could talk to her in private. A perplexed Haruka looked at her watch,
"Can it wait, Michiru-chan? I really have to go! Me and Mako are meeting some old friends for dinner!" Michiru smiled apologetically,
"I'm sorry, Haru-chan, it's just I wanted to know how it went with Miss M, and I didn't want the others to hear." The tomboy grinned at Michiru, and placed a hand on Michiru's shoulder,
"Apparently it's Setsuna-san, not Miss M... and don't worry, it went fine... but I'll talk to you about it tomorrow ok? I've really got to go." Haruka withdrew her hand and walked out of the door and closed it firmly behind her. Michiru sighed heavily, and turned back to the lounge, only to be greeted with a grinning Minako.
"A private moment with Haruka-san, eh? Haha, don't be embarrassed Michiru-chan! Are you going to tell her soon?" Michiru fought hard with the blush threatening to take over her cheeks at that moment. She won and then she shook her head,
"There's no point, Mina. Remember when Elza-chan asked her out when she worked here? And Haruka told her she doesn't mix work with pleasure? I'm lucky that she lets me be as personal as I already am at work!"
Haruka jumped into her BMW Z4 with ease, as the top was down and Makoto, who had been sitting patiently in the passenger seat, looked questioningly at her best friend,
"Everything okay, Haru-chan?" Haruka nodded emphatically and threw her seatbelt on and ignited the engine.
A/N 2 - So here it is so far... just so you know there is a plot! I swear I put it around here somewhere... anyway if you made it this far... R&R
much love Vanessa