"Dignity's Saving Grace"
"Hotaru-chan, you did make a bet." Usagi murmured, glancing at Kisame's cards before grabbing another for him, moving around their hands as she did. Hotaru looked over at her in surprise.
"You can't tell me you actually SUPPORT this shit." Usagi shrugged though.
"I don't support it no. I think it's humiliating and gross. But, you did make a bet and you have to be true to your word." She moved a card in Kisame's hand, glancing at Hotaru's, then looking back and moving another for him with a small smile.
"WOULD YOU QUIT CHEATING? Focus, dammit!" She jumped at Hotaru's shout, blushing and giggling softly before sitting back and putting her hands in her lap, Kisame chuckling and patting her thigh lightly to signal it was alright.
"Maybe you can come to some other agreement, Hotaru-chan. That way you honor your bet like Usagi wants and you don't have to be all gross and get naked in front of everyone." Hotaru looked over at Nikoru as she started to reorganize her cards too, acting like she knew what she was doing, but having no true idea. Hidan shook his head, pressing her arm into the table one more time to make her look back to him.
"No. I want her to take it off. Then I want her to walk around and show everyone what she looks like without it and tell everyone she's a fucking slut who LIKES people to look at her." Hotaru let her glare harden at him as he grinned at the thought of causing someone else pain; a favorite pass time of his.
"Hidan, that's really twisted. Can't you just make her say it in front of everyone and then do a stupid dance or something?" Nikoru put her cards in her lap and looked at him with slightly tired eyes. He frowned at her, as if seeing her for the first time.
"What the hell is WRONG with you? PLEASE don't tell me you wasted a bet like this on an idiotic thing like that before." She grinned proudly and nodded.
"One time I won a bet against Hotaru-chan and made her do the caramelldansen dance in front of everyone! It was great!" Hotaru closed her eyes at the memory. It was NOT great. Kiba made fun of her for WEEKS after that. Hidan closed his eyes too, looking at a loss for words.
"You disgust me." She stuck her lower lip out as he turned back to Hotaru. "Back to what's important, you have to do what I say, bitch. You gave your word." He let go of her hand and she sat back, rubbing her wrist to nurse it.
"I did NO such thing. I just simply made a bet with you." Nikoru nodded from her spot at the table.
"She's got a point. Sometimes you gotta get these things in writing when it comes to Hotaru-chan." Usagi nodded offhandedly too.
"I wasn't talking to you!" Hidan barked at Nikoru and she sunk back a little, making a face as she looked at her cards again.
"Well, well, well, looks like SOMEONE'S got a stick up their ass." He pinched the flesh between his brows in frustration before looking up at Hotaru again.
"Just do it. I mean, you're already a whore, what do you have left other than your word? You don't even have your fucking dignity to fall back on." Hotaru looked at her lap, touching her necklace with light fingertips as she did. Gaara came to see her sometimes now a days, but very rarely. He said it was because he couldn't stand to see her degrade herself like this and tear her dignity apart piece by little piece. When he did come over he usually wound up screaming at her and hitting her, going into one of his "break downs" either before or after he took advantage of her; she prayed every time it would be AFTER.
Kakuzu sighed heavily, touching his own forehead tiredly, "Someone do SOMETHING so I can get my money back." Hotaru glanced over at him with saddened eyes before looking down at her lap again. Nikoru was watching her from behind her cards very carefully, watching her eyes and the way her features arranged themselves according to her thoughts.
She let her fingers skim across her chest, able to feel the little protection amulet there that she always wore. Hotaru had bought it for her one day before one of her missions, explaining that she wanted a piece of herself to be there with her every day that she couldn't be, to protect her when she couldn't. A day didn't go by that Nikoru didn't have the thing on her person's somewhere.
Hotaru sat her cards down on the table and reached up with languid hands, staring hard at the back of her cards as she started to shed the thick silk that loosely encased her. Nikoru's eyes widened and she bit her lip, flinching to stop her, but holding back. Hidan laughed aloud, pointing at her as she started to pull her arm through one of the sleeves, still managing to cover her breasts for now.
Kisame was turning red and looking very purposefully down at his cards, Kakuzu wasn't paying any attention what-so-ever, and Usagi was turned towards Kisame looking like she was about to cry. "You stupid bitch! I knew you were just a slut who got off on people looking at you! All I had to do was mention your fucking dignity and you strip! Like you had any dignity to START with!" Hidan slapped the table, holding his stomach with his second hand as he laughed to the point of tears.
Nikoru bit her lip and sat up, reaching out and grabbing the second amulet out of the center of the table, throwing it back at Hotaru, making her pause to look up at her in confusion. Hidan frowned and looked over at her too, "Why'd you make her stop? What the hell do you think you're doing interfering?" Nikoru turned towards him with a determined look in her eye.
"If you insist on making her suffer then I'll suffer with her." He tilted his head at her, looking confused but slightly intrigued.
"Why the hell would you do that?" She looked away from him and over at Hotaru.
"Because that's what sisters do." With that she started to pull her own kimono off her shoulders. She turned red, looking away from everyone's eyes as Hotaru bit her lip and stared at the floor, still not moving to continue doing what she was supposed to be doing; almost like she had lost her nerve. Hidan watched Nikoru silently, looking evilly amused that someone had thrown themselves willingly into his web. Something was in his eye though, something that wasn't there when he was looking at Hotaru doing the same thing.
"That's enough!" Usagi quickly stood up, hitting the table as she did. Nikoru froze and looked up at her, recognizing the mothering tone in her voice. "Hidan, you should be ashamed of yourself! Taking advantage of a woman, no matter her station in life, is despicable!" She jammed a finger at him, but he sat back boredly, rolling his eyes and waving his hand in a slow circle as he cradled his chin in the other.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lady, I've heard it all before, you can't honestly make me feel bad for doing something that makes me laugh." Usagi huffed and shook her head.
"The girls are done here tonight. Your bet with Hotaru is off." She bent down and helped Hotaru to her feet, helping her stick her arm back in her sleeve and straightening her kimono out before leading her over to Nikoru and doing the same. Hidan sat up, hitting the table as he did.
"You can't do that! I fucking won the bet! She's gotta live up to her word!" He jammed a finger in Hotaru's direction, but she wasn't looking at him, rather was holding Nikoru's hand and looking down at the floor as they now stood behind Usagi.
"Well, pardon the expression, but you can take your bet and shove it up your fat ASS." Usagi huffed at him, nudging the girls out of the room by the backs of their shoulders, nodding her excuse to Kisame, who nodded back at her.
"You stupid bitch! You're all just a bunch of lying whores!" Usagi shut the door on him as he yelled at them and pitched his little fit. He sat down heavily again, folding his arms across his chest and pouting as Kisame and Kakuzu went back to the game, simply including his money in the pot without his hand.