Chroma: Snapshots of Yume and Ginshi's relationship. From the beginning to end. Prompts are inspired by colors.
A/N: Hey, guys, it's been a hot minute. I've been toying with the idea of this Avatar OC for about five years. I have been constantly writing and rewriting her story, and frankly, I can never seem to make it any good. Recently, I've decided that she's going to be with the character I swear she'd never be with. But one time, I drew them together...and I fell in love? I've decided to write her love story, in little vignettes because I'm better at that than at long stories. So here you go. Yume Akanishi and Ginshi Mamoto, Fire Nation Avatar and Royal Pain in the Ass. Very reminiscent of Zuko and Aang's relationship. We'll see how this goes!
Black
Ginshi squinted, unsure of what he was looking at. The young aristocrat was surrounded by sweaty, half naked bodies gyrating to the beat of the music, occasionally rubbing up against him, but his eyes were on something else. A few feet away, illuminated by the red glow from the bar, sat a young woman. She had a champagne glass in her delicate pale hands. She was sitting upright, back taut and shoulders rigid. Her fishnet stocking-ed legs were crossed tightly at the knee, as though afraid someone would pry them open.
Judging from her posture, this was her first time at a club, Ginshi mused. She was too uptight. She'd be more approachable if she loosened up a bit, but he supposed some people would forego her body language and go for the face.
Ginshi traced her blunt, black bangs over her sharp, dark eyes, her pierced nose and dark lips. He smirked then, thinking that this girl was trying to put people off with her look, but Ginshi found it enticing. As he pushed a particularly drunk couple off of him so he could approach her, the girl gently placed her glass on the bar and slid off the bar stool. The aristocrat gasped at the sight.
The girl was skinny. She had no curves on her body besides the two sharp hip bones developing on either side of her torso. Her leather tube top and shorts were ill-fitting, in comparison to the women in the bar wearing pretty much the same thing. The leather hugged their curves, accentuating their most prized attributes like trophies. But this girl, her outfit was clinging to her for dear life. She was so tiny, she couldn't weigh more than eighty pounds soaking wet!
It dawned on him, then. She was a child.
The makeup, the fishnets, the champagne- all of it a ruse to get her into the bar. Ginshi found himself getting very angry at the bouncer for letting a kid into this place. Clubs in Caldera consisted of people strewn in corners with needles hanging out of their arms, of broke college students stripping their dignity away for their tuition, of sleazy gang members scouting for children to join their death circles.
Ginshi watched as the girl started to walk away from the bar, as though being summoned. He almost followed her, concerned as to where she was going next, when in the corner of his eye, the aristocrat caught sight of the bartender slipping something into the champagne glass.
His jaw dropped. Why was this slime ball trying to drug a little girl?
Marching towards the bar, Ginshi slammed his fist on the counter and demanded to know what was put inside the drink.
"Take it easy, buddy," the bartender, a middle aged woman with pink dreads, said. "I don't know what you saw, but I was just moving the glass from the edge of the counter. Those things are expensive."
The aristocrat sneered, but he supposed he couldn't really prove what the bartender had done without real evidence. Instead, he turned around and scanned the club for any sight of the girl. He trekked around the space, braving the crowded dance floor, checking under the tables, pulling aside beaded curtains and poking his head in just to make sure she didn't have her face smeared against white lines on a table somewhere. Thankfully, he did not find her doing this—no, he couldn't find her at all.
After a few minutes of looking fruitlessly, Ginshi was starting to worry. He really hoped that she'd left, but if he learned anything about teenagers, it was that they were stupid. As a kid he'd done his own share of sneaking out and doing idiotic things. He had the residual scars to prove it. This raunchy act of rebellion was probably the girl's way of getting back at her parents or maybe she was offered a shady modeling job and she was supposed to meet the agent here. She was in danger, and she didn't even realize it.
He was beginning to think the worst when he spotted her tiny frame slipping out of the bathroom. A sigh of relief escaped the aristocrat's lips—at least she hadn't been abducted or something. He toyed with the idea of approaching her and advising her to go home—hell, he'd pay for her cab if she needed the money. If something happened to a kid, here, he'd feel immensely guilty. Ginshi wasn't sure why, but he felt an intense need to protect the child.
He took a weary step forward, formulating a greeting in his head that wouldn't scare her off: "You come here often?" Ew. "Let's get out of here." Nope. "Do you always go out dressed like that?" What am I, her dad?
As he approached her, the girl finally took notice of him. Her almond shaped, amber eyes widened as she stared at him. Despite the heavy makeup and fake lashes, Ginshi could see the childlike panic in her eyes and immediately reached out.
The child ran. She whipped past him without a sound, clumsily skittering away in high heels that were too big. The aristocrat started to follow, but then he noticed that she was headed for the exit. He slowed down, watching with relief as she dove through the double doors, into the black night. Then he realized what he was doing.
He shot after her like a bullet, crashing into the street. He half expected her to be cowering in a corner, clutching herself tightly as a filthy druggie pecked at her for meth. But as he scrutinized the street in front of him, Ginshi realized that the girl was gone.
Suddenly, a damp hand clamped onto his. Ginshi startled, spinning around. A girl stood there, eyes half-lidded and bloodshot. She held a half-empty cup in her hand and her breath stank with whatever was in there.
"Dance with me," she purred, her voice thick and heavy like syrup.
Ginshi took one last look over his shoulders, knowing the mystery girl wouldn't be there. As he let himself be dragged back into the dirty mix of drugs and dancing, he prayed to whatever god was listening that she'd be alright.
A/N: So this is the beginning of their relationship. Ginshi is a seventeen year old "bad boy" living the night life because he doesn't get supervision. He's a rich kid that does what he wants. Yume is a fourteen year old who's just exposing herself to the outside world. Ginshi has a soft spot for kids, and considering his own shit childhood, he feels really protective of Yume and doesn't want her to get hurt. And poor Ginshi thinks he'll never see her again. BOOOIIIII...