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Jezebel
Chapter Two
Moon Kitty 2005
June 19th, 2006
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Meiling walked through the creaking door of the shabby house, pushing her bangs hesitantly behind her ear as her ruby eyes scanned the room for her mother. She knew that she would be walking around somewhere, even when Meiling had told her countless times to stay in bed and rest.
Sure enough, as Meiling walked into the small kitchen the three shared, her little sister Kira was holding onto her mother's waist, a slight pout on her lips as she chewed resentfully on a piece of celery.
Meiling's mother had her palms against the dingy counter, breathing hard and trying to hold herself up.
"Mother!" Meiling scolded, rushing over to help her mother back to bed. "I told you you shouldn't try to get up. You're sick. You need your rest."
"Oh, hush, Meiling. I'm just fine," the woman wheezed as Meiling covered her with the thin blanket. "Besides, I have you here to take care of me." She smiled and reached her hand out, caressing Meiling's cheek gently.
The younger girl grabbed her mother's hand and held it tight, looking down at her lap. "I need to talk to you about something, Mother. Something important."
"Yes?"
She looked around nervously before connecting eyes with her mother. "I got a job. It pays really well, doesn't require me to do much, and I only work at night."
Her eyes lit up. "That sounds wonderful, dear."
"The only problem is, it's a live-in job. You and Kira would be here by yourselves most of the time. Of course, I would come to visit and bring groceries and medicines, but..."
When she looked up at her mother, she noticed that her eyes had suddenly become very suspicious. "Just what kind of job is this, Meiling?"
She dropped her hand and stood, walking over to stand by the wall, chewing on her fingernail anxiously. "I-it's... I work at... the brothel."
"What!" her mother shouted, raising herself off her bed to stare at Meiling in horror. "There's no way in hell that I'm going to let you work there!"
She's so stubborn! I'm doing this for her! She turned and glared at her mother. "Would you rather Kira die from starvation and you die from God-knows-what sickness you have? I would rather sell my body than see you two die."
Her mother clenched her fists in her blanket. "No. I won't let you."
Meiling slid her eyes closed and slumped against the wall tiredly. "You have no choice, Mother. It's not against the law. Besides, in a month I will be eighteen and you will have absolutely no say. I'm sorry."
"I won't accept your money."
"Mother!" Meiling shouted angrily.
"Knowing that my daughter sold her body to lewd men in order to get food for us is despicable! I couldn't bear to eat any of the food that that money could buy! The thought alone would make me sick to my stomach!"
"I'm tired of arguing, Mother. Last night alone I pulled in over ¥3,000. That would be enough to feed us all ample enough for three weeks. You're not using your head. After I get paid every week, I'm going to the market and buying food. Whether or not you eat it is your choice, but I'm not going to let your selfishness starve my little sister and kill you."
With that, she turned from the room and left the house, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes as she walked back to the brothel.
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Touya rolled over in his bed, staring at the blank white wall in front of him, bored. He hadn't been able to get any closer to finding out what the Chinese ruler's next move was. He was too distracted.
It's all that damn woman's fault from last night, he cursed mentally. I can't stop fucking thinking about her.
The pull she had seemed to exude on him last night when their eyes had met had made his heart stop and a feeling of intense warmth spread through him.
Dammit.
And no matter how much he convinced himself that she was just a whore and probably just looked at him because he looked like the richest person there, he couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to talk to her, to get to know her. He felt helpless.
He hated that.
It was times like these he wished he could talk to his father. Granted, his father wasn't too happy with the idea of Touya risking his safety to infiltrate the Chinese tower. However, he had explained countless times the lives it would save.
In the end, he would rather be back home with his family.
He sat at the desk in the corner of the hotel room, scribbling something on a piece of paper. He had plans to make, people to talk to, and things to see.
He had to do some sort of snooping on inside sources before he could actually get inside.
It was serious business, and he knew if he was caught, it would mean certain death.
He stood from the chair and ran a comb through his locks. I wonder... After a few more moments of silence, he grabbed his satchel of coins from the bed and slipped it inside his vest, walking out of the inn and in the direction of the brothel.
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Meiling ran an ivory comb through the length of her hair and smiled at her reflection. However, her eyes seemed to be a little strained. Takato just has you doing dancing right now, and you're comfortable with that. What are you going to do when he actually wants you to start doing things with the customers?
"Dear, you need to stop worrying about things so much," the matronly old woman replied to her look of confusion. "Things will take their course. Did you tell your mother?"
The younger girl nodded, and received looks of sympathy from the other women.
"Been there," they all said at once, shaking their heads.
"What, your mother didn't want her daughter to be a slut like the rest of us? It's kind of late... I believe you were a slut the day you came from her womb."
Meiling looked up in anger, locking eyes with Katsuya. The other women looked between the two, eyebrows raised. "What the fuck is your problem?"
"Simple, my dear. You."
Meiling smirked and turned back to the mirror, dabbing light rouge on her cheeks. "You must really be a cheap whore if I don't even want to spend my time on you."
A furious red enveloped Katsuya's cheeks and she flounced away, the other girls tittering and glancing at Meiling, trying to hold in their laughter.
"It's about damn time someone taught that uptight bitch a lesson," the older woman said, placing her hands on her hips. "That was mighty clever. My name's Mamoto, but everyone calls me Mama."
Meiling giggled and winked. "Thanks for the compliment."
Mama sat down next to her and gave her a sympathetic look. "So how did your mom take it?"
"She said she didn't want to eat any food or take any medicine that was bought with the money I make here."
"Sounds familiar," everyone else said.
Meiling smiled sadly and looked down at her hands. "I just don't understand why she's so damn stubborn. All I want to do is help her. I don't know why she just can't accept the money I'll give her if it saves her life."
"Well, you're going to have even more money to give her after tonight," a voice on the outside of the dressing room sounded, and all the girls whirled to set eyes on Miyoshi Takato. "This man has just paid ¥200 to spend a couple of hours with you up in your suite. Do not turn him down."
Meiling's heart pounded in her ears as Takato stood aside to let the man in, and her heart pounded even more fiercely as she locked eyes with the tall, brunette young man that had captured her attention the previous night.
It's him...
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Authoress Notes
So Meiling and Touya finally get to talk, huh? Ooh, that's some good material for next chapter. Hehe, tune in and see what happens. See ya!