Been a while since I updated my other persona stories. But hopefully I can catch up with them as soon as this one is complete. Another thing about this story, it's not a sure thing but I plan to only do thirteen chapters. Also please note (in case you missed the summary) that this is an alternate universe and main pairing is SoujixKanji (with some love triangles). I do not own Persona 4 and happy reading.
"You're becoming handsome everyday sport!"
"With those braids, you look really cute."
"Whoa..." I thought he was cooler than that..."
"Urgh my head." Kanji stirred in his sleep and was blinded by morning sun. As he sat himself up on the futon, he was welcomed by a throbbing alcohol induced headache. All he could recall was he was the silver haired girl, Sumiko, offered him a drink for bringing a package of wanted fabrics and helping her carry groceries, after that it was all a blank. Then he realized something, this wasn't his futon nor it was his bedroom, it was somebody else's room. The spicy citrus scent lingered on the futon and the overall atmosphere of this place was simple yet welcoming. Books neatly tucked in the shelves near a desk, a figurine of a robotic soldier on the shelf, a simple T.V., and a calendar on the opposite wall of the futon. Kanji jumped out of bed and before he could find his shoes, someone entered the room.
"Ah you're awake." A familiar but somewhat masculine voice echoed through the room.
'That sounds like Sumiko, did she bring me to her place? I must have been really drunk then...wait a minute, wasn't her voice softer?' Kanji thought.
"I'm ok but how about you Sumiko? You're voice sounds hoarse; you almost sound like a boy."
As Sumiko entered the room with a cup filled with tea, Kanji gawked by the sight which made him fall backwards. The long silver hair, that feminine voice, and the make-up was replaced with short hair, strong silver eyes, and a boyish charm that he could almost be a knight in shining armor. Emotions begin to stir in Kanji's chest; he wasn't sure if he should punch this dude in the face or just book it and run. His whole face turned red and he tried to figure what the hell is going on.
"Y-y-y-you're a dude!" Kanji screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Why of course. I was going to tell you yesterday but you passed out. I didn't want to leave you there, so I brought you to my place which is a few miles away from your shop. You seem red, are you feeling well?"
"T-that's not the point! Why are you wearing girl's clothing in the first place?"
"Because I like dressing up in girls' clothing." He answered with a smile, "And please, you can call me Souji but Sumiko is okay too."
He offered him a cup of tea and Kanji took it from his hands which were incredibly soft. As he took a huge sip of the warm herbal liquid, it soothed away the aches in his head and his mind started to become clear. The refreshing taste of mint leaves was the perfect cure for Kanji's hangover but it didn't recover most of his memory. He remembered bits and pieces of it.
Inside of Pink Cat, the whole bar was busy satisfying customers and giving them the best time of their life. Ranging from the typical businessmen, guys who wanted a fun time, and a few that made Kanji somewhat curious. A young twenty year old with bob cut red hair and wearing a yellow waitress dress notices Sumiko with Kanji. She walks over to them and bows with a cute smile. This made pierced man blush furiously and Sumiko noticed this and pat him gently on the back to calm his nerves. She wondered if Kanji's problem with women is rooted deeper then she thought.
"Ah Sumiko, glad you came back~ Oh my aren't you a handsome one!" The girl chirped with delight.
Sumiko bluntly introduced the blushing man, "Elise this is Kanji Tatsumi from Inaba. You've spoken to him on the phone a while ago and he's the one who picked out the fabrics for you."
"Oh I see! Thank you so much." She opens the package and smiles widely, "Wow, this is surprising. For a guy with an intimidating look, you sure know your fabric. This will be perfect! Since you here, how about have yourself a drink and Sumiko can be your host."
Kanji noticed Sumiko's eyes open up from Elise's suggestion and she shook her head quickly.
"But what about the kitchen? I was going to help prepare the ingredients for Tony..." Sumiko said with worry.
"No need to worry Sumiko-chan, Martha can take care of that! So c'mon have some fun for today, use Room 777." She said cutely.
Elise dashed away to the entrance of the bar to welcome another set of customers. Before Sumiko could even reject, she gave a diligent bow to Kanji which almost startled him.
She rose up and gave a gentle smile to him, "Tatsumi-san, could you please wait over at the benches. I need to get myself ready before I could treat you."
"Uhm...Uh." Kanji tried to say something but it came out like word vomit.
For a few moments Sumiko looked eyes on him and noticed his facial expression; nervousness. Who could blame him though? It was partly her fault that she didn't tell him the exact location of the place she was working in and not only that in the red light district of all places. There was also another thing she didn't tell him and she wondered if he could handle it or be the other group of people that somewhat rejected her for being 'that' way. But then she noticed another emotion in his eyes; concern...
'Wait...how come I'm thinking that he's worried about me?' She thought to herself.
"Y-you know..." Kanji finally spoke up.
"Hm?"
"You don't need to get yourself dolled up for me...its ok. I mean you look fine the way you are, no need to change yourself." He muttered in one breath.
She blinked a few times and a calm smile formed on her lips. She placed her hands on his shoulder and placed him on the bench. For a fashionable girl that looked somewhat dainty, she had the right amount of strength to put him down on the bench. She stands herself straight and brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face.
"It'll be quick, I promise." She whispered in his ear.
Kanji blushed beet red and Sumiko dashed off into the powder room to get prepared. He looked at the atmosphere which was surrounded by fluorescent pink lights and scent of sweet perfumes and hard alcohol. The surroundings gave off a cute yet a mysterious aura around it, like that cartoon with that pink panther. He noticed a few customers walking off into different lounges and the hostesses clinging on to their arm. It was like seeing the last year of high school flash in his eyes, he remembered a blue haired classmate in his class that he confessed to. Before he could fully remember everything, someone stood in front of him.
"Thank you for waiting Tatsumi-san. I'm Sumiko Seta; I'll be your hostess for tonight." She said in a gentle matter.
He felt the blood rushing to his cheeks and he couldn't help but look at what Sumiko is wearing for him. Comparing the outfits that the other hostesses are working in this bar, her outfit made her stick out like a peacock in a flock of peahens. She was wearing a pale green kimono with a silver dragon pattern on the bottom of the robe. Around her waist was a yellow obi and her hair was tied into two braids. Not only this got Kanji's attention, a few customers gazed at the sight of her, and some of the hostesses didn't look too happy about it.
"Uhm...Uh...You look nice." Kanji murmured nervously.
"You're too sweet. Come, come, let's go shall we?"
She hooked her arms around Kanji and the two walked into a long hallway that lead them to lounges. Some of the rooms were closed, indicating that it's occupied and some of them are being cleaned. The two passed by a room that had cigarette smoke slipping through the cracks of the door. Kanji fanned the smoke away from his face before it could enter his lungs. Two ladies were in front of a room with the number 707 on the door; the two bowed and let the two inside of the lounge. The lounge was very pleasing to the eye. A large aquarium on the wall near a comfy love seat, expensive liquor on the shelves, ambient blue lights, and music that fits the mood of the room. The two ladies outside closed the door leaving the two alone in the lounge. Three minutes later, Kanji sat beside with Sumiko who was pouring him a drink into a crystal class.
"You did say soda right?" Sumiko said with a small grin.
"Mhm. Thank you." Kanji said and didn't make eye contact with her.
"No need to be bashful. Just think of me as someone that you like."
'Think of someone I like...' He thought to himself.
This brought some painful memories and it was about that blue haired classmate back in high school. The pain of being rejected and swallowing the bitter sweetness of heart break. Sumiko noticed the pained expression on his face and she quietly closed her eyes. She knew the bitter taste of the heart break very well also.
"I'm sorry if that brought bad memories for you." She apologized softly.
"N-nah, you shouldn't blame yourself. It's just something that I'm not...well...over with."
"Would you like to tell me about it? Maybe that will make you feel better."
"Uhm...I don't want to sound mean or anything but. How would that make me feel better exactly?" He asked curiously.
She looked up at the ceiling, "Because you're not the only one that felt that way also...Not only that keeping it to yourself isn't quite good for you."
Kanji rose his eyebrow up and Sumiko had a sincere look on her face. He felt his heart flutter quickly and it almost made his eyes water up. Those unwanted feelings and memories that he hid in his heart was trying to come out but he refused to let it spill out fully and wait for his eyes to dry up.
"Well...You see, back when I was a high school student, I didn't fit in very well with others. I like sewing and stuff like that but that's not something guys do. So most girls find my appearance scary but also found my hobby not manly... I got a lot of bad remarks for the remainder of my high school life because of that. Does it bother you that I work at a textile shop and enjoy fabrics?"
"If it bothered me, I would have walked out of shop when I first saw you. You like what you like and you are who you are Tatsumi-san. Nothing can change that."
His eyes opened up a bit from her reply and she poured herself a drink into a small cup. A soft pop song played in the lounge and the blue lighting started to change color. The scent of citrus soothed Kanji's mind and he could almost feel the warmth of Sumiko's body. Deep inside his mind, he felt happy that he got the chance to meet this silvered hair woman and was glad that he got the chance to spend a few hours in the lounge with her. But he wondered if Sumiko felt the same way also and wasn't annoyed by the fact that she's not working in the kitchen.
"So...do you fully work as a hostess?"
"That's not really a question to ask someone who's hosting you Tatsumi-san. But I'll let it slide just don't try asking that to the other girls, they wouldn't like that." She said with a giggle, "Anyways, I mostly work in the kitchen; cooking and all that jazz. I do work as a hostess if all the hostesses' hands are full or if someone requests me."
"Sounds kind of hard if you have to work in the kitchen and someone requests you."
"Not really, I hardly get requests since Elise is the one filtering the customers for 'special reasons'. But seeing that you got me as your host, Elise approved of you."
"Heh, well she did say I'm handsome~" He replied with a grin.
"That and she has a thing of seeing one's true self. She's really a good person and best manager at that. Although, this might be too good of a day." Sumiko muttered to herself.
"Uhm, what do you mean?"
"...Well this hostess club not only satisfy male customers but it satisfy other niches."
"...Niches?"
"You see...I'm really a-"
Suddenly someone slammed the door open and it was a twenty year old female in a blue halter dress and wearing yellow pumps. Her brown hair was kept into a messy bun and she looked very distressed. Sumiko's calm expression turned grim and she stood from her seat.
"What's wrong Kokoro-chan?" She asked in concern.
"Not so good! I'm really sorry for interrupting you and your customer but we have problems at the reservation desk! One of your banned 'regulars' is making a ruckus and Elise is doing all she can to get him kicked out! This is bad really bad!" She said over dramatically.
"Calm down Kokoro-chan, I'll take care of it..."
Before Sumiko leaves the room, Kanji grabs her by the arm and he could feel the tension from her body. She quickly shook off his grasp and bolted out of the room as fast as she could in her kimono. Kokoro was biting her thumb with worry and noticed Kanji was sitting alone on the love seat. When she noticed the scar on his forehead, piercings, and the rebellious expression on his face. She started to shiver with fear and bowed quickly.
"Ah! I'm very sorry!" She apologized quickly. "If you can wait for at least ten minutes, Sumiko will come back and I'll pay off your drinks. Please don't be mad!"
"Huh...I'm sorry I didn't catch that. What's your name again?"
Kokoro tilted her head in defeat, "My name is Kokoro and I've been working here for three months now. I'm sorry I have to snatch Sumiko but she has some 'unfinished' business with this fellow 'regular' from the work district of this city."
"What do you mean 'unfinished'?" He asked in a serious tone.
Kokoro noticed he's glaring daggers at her and she started to sweat, "W-well, Sumiko had this customer for a long time but their relationship didn't last very long. Sumiko ended it with him last month, he didn't take it very well and started to harass everyone especially her. So one day Elise kicked him out and he was put on the black list. But sometimes he comes here just to either harass others or get Sumiko. I can't remember but the day after she broke up with him, she had a few bruises and scratches..."
Kanji rose his eye brow, "That bastard beat her?"
"I-I guess...Uhm...hey where are you going with that champagne bottle?"
"You did say you'll pay my drinks right? I'll take this... Dom Peron thing."
"You mean Dom Perignon! Wait hold up I can't afford that come back here!"
Before she could get her hands on Kanji, he walked through the hallway with a $1,000 dollar champagne bottle and heading towards the entrance of the bar. There he saw Elise wiping some blood off the corner of her lip and a few girls holding her back before she gets herself really injured. Then he noticed Sumiko cornered against the wall and her cheek was red. Right in front of her was an old geezer with crooked teeth and trying to get a feel of her body. Kanji's blood boiled and his body started to take control of him.
"HEY GEEZER!" He got the attention of the old man, "SUCK ON THIS!"
Slam! The bottle cracked into millions of pieces and droplets of shimmering gold liquid splattered all over the floor. Elise ran over to Sumiko to check if she was okay and two other ladies dragged the old geezer out of the bar. Kanji checked over to see if Sumiko was okay and crouched over to her.
"You okay?" He asked in concern.
Sumiko smiled, "I'm alright...thank you."
As he gave her a reassured smile, Elise locked her arms around her neck and smothered her in her chest.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH HANDSOME! YOU SAVED OUR ASSES!"
"Elise-san..."
Elise noticed that the savior isn't moving and she felt something wet on her outfit. She checked to see if he was okay and noticed something red leaking from his nose.
"Quick someone get tissues!"
That's all for now. See you in chapter three. I do not own Dom Perignon or Persona 4.