Chapter 1 She's A Girl Who's New In Town
The woman leaned forward and ran her lipstick over her mouth, taking care not to smudge the scarlet layer that was already there. Satisfied, she puckered once or twice at the gilded mirror on her vanity table, noting the full, luscious lips that tempted so many and yet satisfied only those whom she chose. Any man crafty enough to sneak past The Spider Web's dressing room at that moment would have noted, from its reflection, how temptingly beautiful she was, if not for the slight smirk and haughty gaze that emanated from her eyes.
"She thinks she's fooling me, but I know what's going on." She sneered, tossing the now covered lipstick back on the table and picking up a half finished glass of whisky.
"Really now, Yumi, what are you talking about?" quipped her partner, slipping into the neighbouring vanity with seductive ease. Lord only knows what Kamatari could be capable of as a girl when he can make sitting down look like foreplay on a chair, thought Yumi, briefly. The boss did not let oddities like a cross-dressing dancer stick around his joint for nothing.
Are you getting back, coming to the stage is a girl who's new in town
She goes by the name where your stacks at
This pretty little thing I swear wont let you down
Watch it drop it like….hey.
He had let one slip past his judgement, however, one that became a torn in her side ever since.
"Don't act like you don't see the way she looks at him." Yumi spat, setting the glass back down with a little more force than needed. Whisky sloshed up one side of the transparent interior, threatening to spill over her long, tapered fingers. Eyes still trained on her reflection, she continued with barely concealed contempt, "The way she walks in here with her hair all crazy and her makeup all over the place. She probably thinks he loves her."
Kamatari cast a side glance at the door. There was no way anyone could have heard his colleague's insinuations, what with the dressing room tucked away backstage and the house band performing to the boisterous cat calls of their patrons. But you never knew if the boss's men were listening in, and no one at The Spider Web tolerated animosity among their girls, especially if it was the result of an illicit client-worker tryst. Once he was sure there was no one hidden within earshot he turned back.
"You, of all people, should know no one can tie that boy down." He stated bluntly. "They don't call him the Wandering Evil for nothing, especially with that…foreign character he's got emblazoned across his back like some sigil. Gods only know what he was doing before he showed up at Kannie's front door and got a gig with his band. Besides-" He added, adjusting his wig in the mirror, "Haven't you always had Shishio eating out of the palm of your hand? Biggest catch anyone's ever snagged this side of the Border, once you look past certain… things." He finished with a hint of envy, shifting his attention to powdering his décolletage.
It's not complicated, so this wont take a while
You see music make her dance, and money money money make her smile
Money money money make her smile
Money money money make her smile.
Yumi conceded silently, noting the difference between her trinket-laden vanity and the relatively barren expanse on Kamatari's. Hailing from the southern side of the border, Shishio was Kanryuu's - or Kannie, as Kamatari was so fond of addressing their boss - biggest client and rumoured partner. She half suspected that Kanryuu's tolerance for their relationship stemmed mainly from the potential clientele and distribution that Shishio's syndicate represented for his business - both his businesses, to be exact.
But tolerance from above didn't mean her latest prize was safe from the prying hands of those other - gold diggers. Especially that newcomer who had snagged one that used to be one of hers. One who now dedicated himself to penning every single damn song he played to his lover.
She's a super freak
You wouldnt know it if you saw her outside these velvet walls
No she dont go where preachers preach
She only go to the church when dollars fall
Watch it drop it like….hey.
"Well if this new girl thinks she can come in here and take away from my business," Yumi smirked, adjusting her silk slip so both perfectly sculpted shoulders were exposed under the harsh lights, "Wait till I tell the boss who his little Fox Face has been sleeping with."
Kamatari clucked in reply. Neither spoke a word as Yumi's promise hung heavy in the air. The Scythe was well aware of how many she had condemned to leave with a mere whisper of a rumour just to secure her place as Kanryuu's star. It was just as well that she didn't consider anything with a cock hanging between his legs to be a threat to her interests. They could, in fact, be the path to her whims in more ways than one.
Outside, the band played its last verse as Kanryuu's footsteps could be heard approaching down the corridor.
"Megumi!"
The pair spun around at once. A wily, bespectacled man in a suit stood at the door, staring intently above their heads. "You're up." He ordered smoothly.
They were not alone.
It's not complicated, so this wont take a while
You see music make her dance, and money money money make her smile
Money money money make her smile
Money money money make her smile.
On the other end, a third stubbed out her cigarette and stood up. A faint sound of a kiss could be heard as she strode wordlessly past them. Seething anew, Yumi cast both eyes down, her heated glare burning into the ground she walked on. Cheers and cat calls erupted outside as she turned her back on them, a single hiss escaping her lips.
"Disgusting."
…
The dressing room was empty when Megumi returned. Standing in front of her vanity, she deposited a wad of notes in the drawer before stripping herself of the skimpy getup in which she had gallivanted about on stage earlier on, regarding her naked form in the mirror for a brief moment.
She wasn't as heavily painted as Yumi, nor did she possess curves that were as pronounced as her rival's. The Fox's physique was a slender and supple one that could bend and twist into gravity-defying forms on the pole, something which even the form-shifting Kamatari could not mimic despite hours of practice. Thick, long tresses the shade of midnight fell past the gentle slope of her breasts and ghosted the milky white skin on her hips, giving those in half drunk stupour the image of a Yin and Yang enigma when she moved.
Stepping into the adjoining bathroom, she turned on the shower and proceeded to wash herself free of the scent of cheap perfume and liquor. The Fox heaved a sigh of satisfaction as clean water rained upon her skin, taking comfort in the knowledge that no others were around to hound her into surrendering the bath to them. Once she was done ridding herself of the night's dirt and grime, she emerged in a shimmery lavender dress that was not half as revealing as her stage outfit, but clung to her form all the same.
There was not much need to hang around and entertain The Spider Web's patrons tonight; she had done well enough on stage to earn Kanryuu's satisfaction - and possibly Yumi's added wrath her smouldering glares were anything to go by. Megumi silently wondered how much longer she could play the role of "the new girl in town" when every night's routine of neon lights and striptease dancing were starting to pass by in a blur.
Well, everything except him.
Years of living in the grittier parts of town had taught Megumi to ignore Yumi's venomous insults and the most underhanded of cat calls ever cried on the Border's vice strip. But Sanosuke Sagara was not the kind of man she could disregard even with her back turned to him. If his soulful croons could make even the most chaste of brides weak at their knees, gods only knew what the slight baritone growl of his voice could do to her. It was almost unfair how all he had to do was mug her intensely with the heated promise of what he could do - what he was going to do to her later - and that was all he needed to make her pliant to his most brazen of… cravings.
And she damned well craved every part of him as much as he did her.
Making sure to lock up her vanity, Megumi took one last drag of her cigarette and exited her domain, but not before she paused before Yumi's. The glass, marked by the garish scarlet whore stick she favoured, still contained a bit of whisky. Like her, the Night Witch had certain indulgences she preferred to save for last.
"Not tonight." Megumi murmured sensuously before she dropped the now finished cigarette. As the last of the tobacco stained the amber liquid, she smiled to herself and exited.
Bitch.
Dimmed lights turned to flaring neon as she stepped out into the main parlour. Barely past midnight and already The Spider Web was in full swing; an orgy of booze, vice and decadence that fed on itself. Call girls and exotic dancers in various stages of undress prowled the grounds in search of prey, mostly half drunk louts willing to pay the extra coin to prolong their time. Kanryuu was nowhere to be seen; he had disappeared into one of the club's private lounges after gleefully granting her an extended break for her performance. Just as well that that suit-donning lecher was out of her way for the night, considering how she intended to spend it, thought the Fox, feeling her pocket subconsciously for its contents: two minuscule triangular packets of powder.
Call it a trade-off or compensation in kind; Kanryuu dabbled in contrabands and other products of vice, the biggest being a special brand of opium that surfaced around the peninsula from time to time. Rumour had it that Kanryuu once paid his employees in opium just so he could keep a larger part of his profits to himself, leaving his network of urchins and prostitutes to risk their heads plying his wares. In any case his supplies had seen Megumi through more than a few tight times, and it would do so tonight. There were advantages to standing on certain sides of the law if one knew where to look.
"Going somewhere Fox?" A voice - Kamatari's - broke into her thoughts.
"Nowhere you know." Megumi snapped waspishly. Of course, those advantages came with their own...incumbencies.
Denied, the cross dresser pouted. "It's just business." He huffed. Without further ado, he turned his attention on a newcomer, a brooding man in a white leather trenchcoat. "Aoshi-sama, did Kannie send for you tonight?" He breathed huskily, shifting his attention to Kanryuu's head bodyguard.
Freed from the Scythe's interrogation, Megumi's gaze fell on Aoshi's companion, a slight female who took in the little display in silence. She looked clearly unhappy with the arrangement; probably another "new girl" at The Spider Web.
The Fox sighed. She wasn't supposed to do this on all counts, but - reaching into her pocket, Megumi pulled out one of the packets and pressed it into the newcomer's hand - she was so small - and whispered under her breath, "Use this. It helps."
Before either side could react to her spontaneous act of generosity, she stepped out the front door and disappeared into the night.
Hopefully one was all she needed tonight.
…
A/N: Lyrics are from Money Make Her Smile by Bruno Mars; story concept is completely inspired and based off the music video for Gorilla. Coincidentally, also by Bruno Mars. We-ell…I don't think telling you who my favourite artiste is is going to be necessary.
Also, it's my first fanfic I've written in yonks; I tried to keep as close to how I remember my favourite pairing as possible, but some OOC is bound to pop up here and there. Let me know. Some love would be appreciated too. ;)