XDDD gosh! Okay, explanation time! They are…and aren't prostitutes. It's hard to explain what my mind is thinking, but I'll try. When I think of prostitutes…they are people who do things for money WILLINGLY. I can see where you guys would think that. But it's very unintentional… XD they don't go to N.E.K.O thinking, "oh I'm going to be a prostitute, sell my body to Britannians and get lots of money!" It's more like, "I heard N.E.K.O is offering jobs for Elevens and we could actually make enough money to feed our families. I'm going to go take advantage of this and be completely unaware of the fact that I'll end up in Suzaku's current position!" :D
If you still don't get it, you'll see the difference in the unwillingly and willing Elevens soon. A character will be introduced, and SHE is what I call a prostitute. ;P
There's no point boring you guys with too much explaining when we have Euphemia!
So JUST READ!
And your questions about Kallen and Rory's appearances? SHHHH! Classified information ;P
JUST READ!
As Suzaku was beautified by Cecile, he came to his own conclusion. He was going to run for it.
Even though he had not the slightest clue as to where he would go, it was obvious enough that it was better than staying here. His stylist had clarified everything for him, and there was no way he was going to allow this place to sell him to some rich Britannian in need of a butler. Suzaku would rather starve.
The stylist moved from behind Suzaku to face him, a smile forming on her face. She put the black comb she had been using down on a nearby table.
"Again, another successful and gorgeous neko; you look so cute!" Cecile inquired optimistically, as she grabbed the Japanese boy by the arm, pulling him out of the seat and dragging him to the mirror across the room. "What do you think?"
Suzaku gawked at himself, or more like his reflection. This person didn't seem to be him. He looked so…different. So…not Suzaku Kururugi.
On top of his head sat a brown headband with cat ears; the band itself was brown, camouflaging into his hair color, but the ears were black. (Cecile claimed making it look realistic was better.) The little pink that had been added to his cheeks made them appear flushed as if he were blushing. Though kimonos were a tradition of the Japanese people, he didn't like the one he was currently wearing. His was black, and the insides of the sleeves were white, but that wasn't what was bothering him. What disturbed him was how low cut it was, and how much of his chest showed. Luckily, it stopped around his stomach area, but he was still troubled by it; he didn't wear kimonos this low in his earlier years.
And last was the tail; completely black, and then white on the end. Cecile had used who knows how many safety pins to clip it to the back of the kimono, and then had wasted what felt like 10 minutes to decide whether it looked cuter straight, curled or a somewhat combination of both. She probed Suzaku for his input and he'd reply with, "I don't care," or "doesn't matter," until finally he snapped, "Yes! That's fine!" And so his tail had a slight curl upward.
He caught Cecile, who stood behind him; smile even wider than before as she waited for his answer.
"I definitely look like…something," Suzaku said tediously.
The stylist was unsure as to whether that was a compliment or not, but she smirked anyway. "Good!" She rolled back her sleeve to glance at a silver watch. "It's almost time for the auction, too!"
A chill slithered down Suzaku's spine. They were really going to sell him, weren't they? How disgusting. And for a second, while driving through District Eleven earlier, he thought Britannia was actually trying to help his people. That wasn't the case, though. It was false hope. They would come here, looking for a job only to end up in the situation Suzaku currently found himself in.
From the mirror, he stared at Cecile, and it didn't take long for her to realize it.
"What's wrong? You look kind of pale," the woman said casually.
"Why do you work here…especially when you know where you're sending us?" When she didn't reply right away, he added, "I mean…you said you're not prejudice…but this place…is."
The blue-haired stylist frowned. "I worked as a subordinate of somebody…under the Britannian government. I was ordered to work here." She looked down as if she were ashamed. "It's not something I'm really proud of doing, but I have no choice."
Suzaku watched her silently, lacking the ability to reply.
"But you know what?" Cecile murmured, raising her head to catch Suzaku's gaze. "One good thing that comes out of working here…is being able to meet all these wonderful people; like you." She then smiled, and the brown-haired boy found it so contagious, that he couldn't help but smile back.
A long, ear-piercing ring sounded from somewhere, filling the room, and Cecile winced.
"What does that mean?" Suzaku asked, after it ended.
The stylist grew serious. "It means it's time for the auction."
Lelouch sat quietly and listened. He questioned Euphy when he was confused, and he kept silent as she talked, taking his own mental notes.
"N.E.K.O was built for the filthy rich of Britannia to purchase their own butlers and maids, since our country lacked them so much…or that's what Schneizel told me."
The raven-haired boy narrowed his eyes. "What about the cat accessories?"
Euphy leaned forward in her chair and whispered, "I heard it's supposed to represent them as being pets…you know, like below an actual human being. I believe they tried to make N.E.K.O seem like some sort of pet store; except you're not buying a pet."
"And what about Suzaku, are they selling him too?"
"…I would think so-"
"Then we have to go there."
Lelouch was out of his seat now, and he impatiently yanked his half-sister to her feet. He didn't forget the fact that he had no idea how to get to N.E.K.O from here, but maybe Euphy did. Hopefully she did.
As he turned around to head for the door, he stopped…and glared.
Standing in the doorway of the dining room with a smug look on his face; was Schneizel, one of Lelouch's many half-siblings. He had the traditional wear of a Britannian prince on, and because it was white, Lelouch almost wished he had a colored drink to spill on it.
"What do you want?" He asked the blond.
Schneizel blinked. "I just heard your voice and followed it to confirm my suspicions. Not my fault that nobody told me my dear little brother was visiting today." He glanced at Euphemia. "And greetings to you, little sister."
The pink-haired girl stared at him with a straight face. "So you heard what we were talking about?"
"As a matter of fact, I did…not that I'm concerned. I'm quite glad Lelouch is taking interest in getting his own maid. They do indeed have some gorgeous women…" he trailed off, a mysterious glint in his eyes.
Lelouch felt repulsed by that statement, but as those words stuck to his skull, an idea popped into his head. He allowed his face to brighten up a bit. "You're right, brother. I do want my own..."
Euphemia was nearly caught off guard by her half-brother's out of the blue change, but when she heard the tone of his voice, she knew he was faking it.
Whether Schneizel really bought it or not, neither of them could tell, but he smiled. "Is that so? Well then how about we go there and get you one? I'm sure our father wouldn't mind if we purchased some more Elevens to…" he paused as if carefully thinking his next words, "…clean around here…"
After that, he was out of the room.
Euphy growled. "He is so revolting!"
Lelouch turned to face the girl. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing…"
After a very long walk, Cecile and Suzaku finally made it to a room which was pretty occupied. There were maybe 20 other Japanese people in there, each one dressed up similarly to Suzaku. Not all of them had kimonos, but they all had the cat ears and tail. Everyone was stone-faced, not that it was much of a surprise. Across the room, Rolo and a man with silver hair and glasses stood by a doorway that was covered by maroon curtains. Cecile motioned Suzaku to follow her as she walked over to them.
"Well if it isn't Ms. Cecile!" The man greeted giddily. He looked at Suzaku. "And this is your latest work, not bad, not bad at all!"
The stylist smiled somewhat. "Thank you, Lloyd…"
Rolo eyed the brown-haired boy the same way he had before, and then scanned over the clipboard in his hand, flipping through papers. "You'll be number seven, Kururugi."
"What's it for?"
The tall man, Lloyd, turned to him. "They'll be calling out numbers and when they call yours, you'll be heading out on stage."
Suzaku's emerald eyes became large and alert. "Stage?!"
Cecile nodded. "Don't worry; you won't have to say anything-"
"Unless you're told to," Rolo interrupted.
"Yes…" Cecile huffed. "But usually you don't. I've went over this with you. It'll be fine."
The Japanese boy sighed. "Okay…"
"LLOYD! ANYA AND I ARE DONE!" A voice bellowed excitedly from behind Suzaku.
Everybody, including him, turned to see Anya, her eyes on her phone intently as expected, and a woman who seemed just barely older than Suzaku, standing in the entrance.
She had long, black hair that flowed down her back, a somewhat pale, white skin that complimented her and dark eyes that seemed to sparkle from a distance. She had a red kimono on; it opened a bit in the front, exposing a little of her legs. Hers was also low cut, and exposed more cleavage than it should have. In her hair, sat a red flower, and in her left hand, a sheathed sword. She had a wicked smile on her face and an expression full of arrogance.
Cecile patted Lloyd on the shoulder. "Kiki looks beautiful! I've taught you well…"
The man chuckled. "She picked out most of the outfit, I only picked the kimono."
Suzaku felt the atmosphere change and little bit as the girl in the red kimono laid eyes on him. He didn't like the look she was giving him. It was a worse feeling than being checked out by Rolo.
Anya was running over now, and she stopped in front of the boy, and held up the phone to his face. "Look, Rolo, I took lots of pictures of Kiki. What do you think?"
"They're very nice," he replied aloofly.
Kiki pointed at Suzaku. "HEY, YOU WITH THE CURLY HAIR!" When she grabbed his attention completely, she gestured for him to come over. Though hesitant at first, he did. When he was close enough, he was smacked in the face by a strong scent of orange-smelling perfume, and it took a lot of his strength not to start coughing, but he managed to look unaffected by it.
"Yes?" He inquired softly.
The corner of her lips rose into a smile. "What's your name?"
"…Suzaku Kururugi."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Suzaku!" She exclaimed, taking his hand in her free one and shaking it. "I'm Kiki Motosuwa, but everyone calls me the Cat Woman, so you can too!"
His emerald eyes blinked in confusion. Her last name was obviously Japanese…so she isn't Britannian?
"Why do they call you that?"
She giggled. "My job, that's why. I work here as the…female entertainer."
Suzaku pulled his hand from hers, feeling nauseated. He had a feeling that she meant, what he thought she meant. "Oh…why don't you run away?"
Kiki tilted her head to the side. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"…They didn't force you into it?"
"No…"
"Suzaku!" Cecile called. "You're next up!"
The Japanese boy quickly turned around to head back to the stylist when he was stopped by Kiki who grabbed his wrist. "Wait! If you become my partner, you don't have to ever be owned by anyone. There's still an opening for a male entertainer…"
"I'd rather not," he retorted, pulling himself free and walking over to Cecile and the others.
For certain now, Suzaku was getting out of this place. Everything about it made him sick.
And the chapter comes to an end! :D This was so painful to write. I had the worst writer's block ever and kept going from staring at the ceiling, to writing, staring at the ceiling, to writing Dx
Maybe I'll get the next chapter up faster. Don't forget to review! I'm tired. Ugh.
