StardustBibi: dancing to britney bc i need validation pt 666
(yes this is with official dance moves bc i am THAT talented)
05:03, Liked by ShuuTsukiymaNaturalSuntoryRose and Others,
405 Comments,
everyonesleastfavtwink: It should be illegal to be so talented bestie
StardustBibi: im not going back to jail sorry
burninggym: Dance tutorial pls?
StardustBibi: maybe idk yet
Pasorokin: That's so amazing, Bunny, I'm so proud of you!
StardustBibi: thx dad
Pasorokin: @I.makita have you seen this? Isn't she so clever?
I.makita: Very good. Well done.
BritneysEyelash: brit didnt sing this bestie!
StardustBibi: ik but its credited to her and its the only bop on the bj album so...
MadsPêches: OMG! I remember you analysing the shit outta the mv when this came out.
StardustBibi: bro it took me ages but i got it
--
Bunny gets the feeling today isn't going to be a good day.
It starts off fine, before it's soured by her doctor's appointment.
Bunny has had to see her doctor every two weeks, ever since they were released from the mental hospital.
Bunny always goes with Pasha, because the doctor was appointed by the government, and probably the CCG specifically. But today, Pasha had to work and the doctor refused to let them reschedule.
The doctor hasn't tried anything with Bunny, yet. He just asks the same questions, with the same, monogamous tone.
"Have you mentioned it to anyone?"
"Do you want to?"
"Do people ask about it?"
"Do you want to answer them?"
"Do you think about it?"
"When do you think about it?"
"What do you think about it?"
Bunny will tell him that she can't remember. She will say that she doesn't even remember the government interrogations.
"Are you lying to me, Bunny? I'll up your dosage."
"Are you still taking your tablets?"
"And you're not snorting them, are you?"
"Or taking anything else?"
"Are you smoking anything?"
Bunny likes to think she's good at lying through the questions, and answering with false enthusiasm.
"When are you graduating from school?"
"Are you planning on continuing your education?"
"Do you plan on changing schools?"
"Why not?"
"What do you mean?"
"What is that you're studying again? I forget."
"What kind of opportunity would you be offered? Well, given what happened, Bunny, I suggest you change courses. Perhaps to something more bearable for your mental capacity."
Bunny will answer truthfully here, with enthusiasm that's not manufactured. But the doctor will cut her off and say:
"Okay, I've heard enough. Do you have anymore school friends yet?"
"Who are they?"
"Are you still on the swim team?"
And again, Bunny will start to get excited. She'll tell him about her upcoming competition, and he will cut her off with more boring questions.
"Have you reconsidered what we discussed last week?"
"Have you really?"
"Think about it again."
"I think you need to reconsider it."
He does this every session, and Bunny always answers; "No. I won't go back. I'm fine at home, with Pasha."
"He forcibly discharged you early and you're still very ill. I suggest you reconsider before it gets too serious again. We don't want you hurting anyone else, do we?"
He will always laugh, and then he will see Bunny gripping Allan, who smiles back at him.
"You still have that? I told Mr Sorokin to start taking those things away from you."
"Why?" Bunny asks, "It makes me happy, and it's not hurt—"
"You can't live in a world of stuffed toys and pink rainbows, Bunny, not in the real world."
"Rainbows can't be pink, that's literally the—"
"If you want to live like that, then you'll have to go back to the mental hospital."
"But I'm not ill. I function fi—"
"No. No. No, Bunny. Listen to me. Listen."
"I am—"
"You're a regressed little girl, and the world doesn't need more of them, especially not in NASA or wherever you think you're smart enough to work in."
"I am smart enough. I only ever get exemplary—"
"Bunny, I'm not stupid. We know why you get those grades."
"Because I'm a good—"
"Listen, Bunny, you need to understand something. You live in the clouds. You want to live in the clouds, and you think you're this brilliant scientist, but scientists don't live in the clouds. You're better off just sticking to the clouds."
Bunny disagrees, but they will cry or make things worse if they speak. So they let him continue.
"And you could live in the clouds, Bunny, in the facility, you could have that life. We could give you all your stuffed toys and baby lifestyle, I promise. You'll have everything there."
Bunny remembers a nurse holding Allan over a flame, laughing at her screams. She remembers her colouring books being confiscated, and some of her stuffed toys being thrown away.
"We're trying to help you, Bunny. We're offering you a chance to live how you want. You can have the pink, the toys. You can be treated like a baby. We can let you live like that."
Bunny shakes her head. They try to deny the leaflets the doctor gives to her; the same leaflets he always gives her. Then, he tells her to pick up the prescription that she will not take, and he will demand that Pasha be here next time.
"Mr Sorokin...Or his lovely wife," He says.
"Girlfriend. She's not his wife."
"She's pregnant, isn't she?"
"Was. She was pregnant."
And not pregnant by Pasha.
"Oh. How unfortunate. I'm sure it'll work out for them in the end. These things do, and then, Bunny; well, they'll be needing lots of space. An extra room, perhaps? They'll be getting rid of a few things, won't they?"
"That's been sorted already."
"Maybe they'll reconsider," He smiles, and then he tells Bunny to leave.
They will leave as quickly as possible, and they will not look back once.
Bunny will spend the rest of their day in near-complete isolation. It's unwanted and it's toxic; Bunny feels it creeping into her, materialising in shadows that dance across their eyes, and voices that call their name.
They try to escape it. They smile, Allan talks to them, they giggle, they yell out compliments to people on the street.
Bunny talks to a man on the train. They talk about astronomy, but the man likes astrology. Bunny eagerly obliges, but soon he's touching them up and asking if they were free later.
When they said no, he grips them tight. He whispers to her, he asks again. They repeat, no thank you, sir.
He does not let go. He grips them tighter, he is breathing on them.
They want to cry.
They look at other passengers, who simply smile or look away.
Bunny wonders if they can push the man off and rush out with the crowd at the next stop.
They push the man hard. With more force than he expected. Then they rush out with other passengers, and run until they know the man could not possibly still be following her.
When they stop, they realise; That was the first time someone's touched me today. Maybe I should've gone with him. Maybe I would be touched more.
"Are you okay?" A little voice peeps—Allan.
"I'm fine, thanks."
But Bunny isn't quite okay. Because until they next see someone, until they are touched again, they will see people on the streets that look like their brother, or Kazuo, or both.
And there's this voice calling out to them in a language that should not be understandable, but Bunny will understand it. It's being inserted, directly into her brain:
'Come and see me again, come inside me again. Kazuo's down here, don't you want to see him again? What about your brother? You miss him, don't you? Yes, I can tell. Come, you know where I am. You'll find your way. Come on, Bunny, come and see me.'
And then, Bunny's nose will start to bleed.
--
StardustBibi: twerk like the guy that sold his kidneys in dumb ways to die
13:20, Liked by everyonesleastfavtwink and Others,
509 Comments,
everyonesleastfavtwink: I have no idea what that meant but I love it
StardustBibi: u dont know dwtd???
everyonesleastfavtwink: I am sorry bestie I will learn
StardustBibi: wow so uncultured smh
MadsPêches: The memories you've just unlocked–
PlantPaws: Not u bringing back the dwtd stan account-
StardustBibi: this has always been a dwtd stan accountbestie
--
Lyra has been dawdling in the library for ages now. She's beginning to think maybe this was a trick.
She imagines Maddie and Bunny, laughing to each other about sending Lyra across the city to study with them, whilst they go and study somewhere else.
She doesn't know why they'd do that, but Lyra imagines Bunny's sense of humour isn't very advanced.
Lyra picks up books she thinks might be useful for the study group that hasn't started yet, but she can't seem to focus on any of them.
She checks her phone, but that's when the librarian starts to glare at her. So Lyra hovers, trying not to look awkward, trying not to stare at people as she gets lost in thought.
She keeps seeing the same man in the library. He's tall and beautiful, with a head of the most wonderful shade of periwinkle lavender.
He has a kind face, Lyra thinks, even though he hasn't looked at her once. But then, why would he? People only look at Lyra to laugh or think; wow, she's so ugly, she should really lose some weight, or I'd kill myself if I looked like that.
Lyra hugs her chest, counting her ribs and pulling at skin under her sweater.
I should go, She thinks, They're not coming. They're probably laughing, thinking about me sat here like an idiot. And I am an idiot. Girls like that don't study with girls like me, what was I thinking?
Lyra starts gathering her things, tears collecting in her eyes. As she picks up her bag, she hears high-pitched giggling, followed by an obnoxiously loud voice.
She looks up, seeing Madeleine first, the baby blue tails of her dark braids smacking the shoulders of her orange cardigan. She holds a tall coffee cup, clutching her matching orange bag and phone.
Lyra can't tell if Maddie has seen her.
Should I leave before they see me? No, they invited me...Oh, God, what if this is worse than a stupid prank? Oh, I feel sick. What are they going to do to me?
Lyra stares harder, tears are dripping down her cheeks.
She sees Bunny, the one with the obnoxious voice and childish giggle.
Bunny is wearing her hair down; it is immaculate, naturally bouncy and thick. It shines so brightly, that Lyra wonders if it's made of actual gold.
It must take her hours to get ready.
Bunny is wearing a pink jumper—probably designer—paired with a cream tutu skirt, and golden heels. Lyra stares at Bunny's legs; long, lean and powerful.
I wonder what she eats. She must be starving. She must have good genetics. Why did I have to end up like this? Why does she deserve to look like that? What does SHE do that I don't?
Bunny is still laughing, her pretty head thrown back. She is linked in arms with a man who is quite small. He too, is laughing.
Who is he? Her boyfriend? Really? Him? Surely she'd get a man much more attractive. He must be rich. That must be it. There's no way she'd date him otherwise.
Lyra feels a chill run down her spine.
They've seen her.
Maddie is waving, approaching quickly. Bunny and the man are giggling behind her, still linking arms.
They're laughing at me.
Lyra wipes her tears, frantically.
I should tell them I'm ill—No. No. No. I should stay. No! Because what if—
"Hi, Lyra," Maddie says. She's smiling warmly, but it still feels like a trap.
"Uh...Hi," Lyra is wiping her eyes.
"You weren't leaving, were you? Only you were grabbing your things."
"Uh...No."
"Are you okay, sweetie? You look upset again."
Again.
"Uh. Yeah...No, I'm fine, just, uh, hay fever."
"Oh, the woes of spring," Maddie smiled.
"Yeah..." She puts her bag back down. Maddie sits next to her, laying out her things.
Bunny and the small man have gotten sidetracked. They are talking excitedly to the pretty man with the periwinkle lavender hair.
The pretty man and Bunny look at each other in a strange way. The small man looks at the pretty man with a gooey gaze that Lyra finds more translatable.
Lyra shudders and looks away. However, it's not long before Bunny is in front of her, vibrating with her usual energy.
"Lyra! OhmyGods! You like, came! Oh—That's what she said!" Bunny cackles, "Are you okay? You look sad."
"It's just, uh...Hay-fever."
"Oh! I like, totally get that! You know, you should try Neti. I do it like, every morning, and literally, I haven't had hay fever in years! I could totally teach you it sometime."
Lyra doesn't want to. It sounds weird and probably won't work, "Maybe."
"Oh, by the way," Bunny says, "Your hair looks so nice today! I love curly hair on you, is it natural?"
Lyra thinks her hair looks greasy and matted, even though she cleans it so often, "Uh. Yeah."
"It's so pretty! And your sweater's so cute! I love that colour on you."
Bunny sits down, pulling out the green toy that makes Lyra want to cry. She turns to Lyra, "We were like, gonna get you a drink, but we don't know what you liked! And like, what if I got you a soy milk latte, but then—" She gasps, "You could be allergic to soy and then you'd like, die. Which wouldn't be good at all!"
The green thing is staring at Lyra again. Bunny has another toy with her; a large stuffed dragon, with mint green curls of fur. It looks friendly. Friendlier than the other green thing that won't stop staring at Lyra.
"Ok, ok, ok!" Bunny says, still vibrating, "So, so, so! Let me...Oh! I'm so excited! Where do I start? This is gonna be so fun!"
"Bun," Maddie places a hand on Bunny's arm, "Breathe. C'mon. Chill. Get your books out first."
"Yes. That's a good start, Maddie! A good start. Good ideas!" Bunny nods affirmatively, "Oh, but..." Bunny looks back to the pretty man, who is talking to the small man, who was attached to Bunny's arm earlier.
"Doryyyyyyyy," Bunny says, "C'mon! You need to study too!"
The small man edges closer, "Not with you guys though."
"You still have to study. Come on! Oooo-ooo-oo! Mr Tsukiyama! Do you wanna study with us too?"
The pretty man smiles, "With you? We don't study the same thing, nor at the same school!"
"No, but you can still sit with us. Dory does it too. Just sit over there, slightly away from us."
"Oh? Well, merci," The pretty man sits at the other end of the table. The small man sits opposite him. They barely acknowledge Lyra, saying hellos that are quick and polite, before arranging their books and papers; full of bright sketches and collages, completely different to the black and white scribbles of Lyra and Maddie.
Bunny's notes are immaculate. Her pages are pink, with lilac cursive, and with pops of green glitter. Her notebook is pink and glittery, with a fluffy bunny on the cover.
Bunny has set the stuffed dragon in the chair next to her. Lyra cannot see the green thing that makes her want to cry.
"So, Lyra," Bunny says, clicking one of her glitter gel pens, "You decided to do your research project with us then?"
Lyra didn't have a choice. She'd thought; You're way too dumb to do it on your own. At least with Maddie there, you know you'll pass at the very least.
"Yeah...I guess."
"We're so glad you decided to study with us," Maddie smiles.
"So glad," Bunny nods, "And like, I had a feeling you would, because what idiot does a research project alone, you know? So, like, I totally prepared for this," Bunny places a list on the table, written in blue glitter gel pen, with crude little planets and aliens for a border.
"Oh?" Maddie says, "Always so prepared, Bunny. You'll show the rest of us up."
"Shut up, you sound like a teacher," Bunny says, "Now, all I did was narrow down the project options to the subjects that apply more to all of us."
Bunny continues, presenting her glittery highlighted projects. They narrow it down to a few options; investigating the antimicrobial capabilities of new algae, investigating the effects of algae and vascular plants on coastal hypoxia, Maddie's choice on the effect of aquatic volcanoes on marine flora, and Bunny's choice; a new project investigating the abundance of extremophiles in dead zones.
"We'll also compare their physiological breadth to that of organisms not in these environments," Bunny says, still clicking her pen, "Anyway. Those are my suggestions," Bunny pauses, "What do you think, Lyra?" Bunny asks, "Do you have anything you wanna study? That's not here?"
Lyra pauses. A part of her feels like she should've chosen an easier subject—whale breeding patterns or something—but another part of her thinks that if someone like Bunny can do this, Lyra definitely could.
"Um...No."
"What?" Bunny asks, her voice is still as childish, but something about it is shrill and threatening.
"Uh," Lyra pauses, "I don't really mind."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Bunny—"
"No, Maddie. This is our final year research project. It's super important, especially for future opportunities. She needs to be into this."
Maddie sighs, "Okay, good point," Maddie turns to Lyra, "Look, are you okay? Because you don't seem into this...Any of this. And that's fine, but we need to know, or you'll be stuck studying something you don't want, and then you won't have fun. So it's kinda important."
"Yeah, and, like...If you don't wanna study with us," Bunny says, "You like, don't have to, you know? You could like, leave."
Lyra is sweating, about to cry again, "Uh, no...I don't—I—"
"Whatever," Bunny says, looking away.
Maddie smiles, giving Lyra a pitiful look, "Maybe you just need more time to consider it, Lyra. We didn't mean to pressure you."
Lyra shudders, "No, I just—" Lyra stutters, until Maddie smiles, silently telling her to stop with a light touch of her hand.
Lyra sinks back into her chair, wishing she could disappear, wondering why she's so stupid, wondering why she decided to come.
She waits in near silence, until Bunny and Maddie start packing their things. She plans to spend her night thinking about what an embarrassment she is whilst binging her favourite American sitcom for the ninth time this month.
Maybe, at about season three, Lyra will go and stare at herself in the mirror. She will cry, maybe scream, maybe throw up, and go back to the TV, to jump rope until she gets dizzy.
But Maddie turns to her and says, "Hey, you wanna come to work with us?"
Lyra blinks, "Um...What?"
"We work at a pole-dancing club. You should come."
The idea of it gives Lyra a headache.
"Oh. Ah. Uhm."
"There are more things there than the dance stages, too. There are some nice little lounges and restaurants, a mini-arcade; you don't have to watch us dance. We could get you a full-access card and everything. Right, Bunny?"
"Yeah!" Bunny says, her bright energy having returned, "It's pink! Isn't that totally awesome?"
Lyra doesn't understand why it's totally awesome, but she nods anyway.
"Oh, are you working tonight? Mademoiselle?" This comes from the pretty man with periwinkle lavender hair—who Lyra now knows is Mr Tsukiyama.
"Me?" Bunny blinks, "Yeah! I am! Do you wanna come too, Mr Tsukiyama?"
"If I may."
"Sure! Do you want a card too?"
"S'il vous plaît, the pink one."
"Yay!" Bunny cries, "Dory, that means you have to come too."
The small man—who Lyra now knows is called Dory—smiles and links his arm with Bunny's again, "URGH. If I have to," He sighs dramatically.
"You do!" Bunny nods, "But we have to go now, because like, we'll be late," Bunny tugs Dory's arm, before they bound off together, leaving Maddie to accompany Lyra. Mr Tsukiyama seems to have disappeared, probably following Bunny and Dory.
Lyra wonders if she could make an escape here, lie and say she needs to lie down, but within minutes—maybe even seconds—they are in Kabukicho.
Lyra knows Kabukicho is a maze, with its little alleyways and side doors. And she's only been once before.
There's no chance of escaping this now, unless you want to be eaten, she thinks.
Maddie leads Lyra through the winding streets and blinding lights until they reach a large, dome-shaped building. It's a myriad of reds, blues, and purple lights, fusing and mutating to create impossible colours.
Like most things that are tied to Bunny, the place sends shivers down Lyra's spine, and the urge to flee intensifies.
--
I.makita: I arrived in Hokkaido yesterday, to such wonderful scenery. I took a walk this morning and felt so inspired. I've been feeling this a lot lately, maybe my next collection will be nature-inspired.
14:30, Liked by StardustBibi and Others,
317 Comments,
StardustBibi:nature is so cleansing and so good 4 u i love doing yoga outside its so. relaxjing
I.makita: I agree completely, Bunny.
StardustBibi: when r u coming back i wanna walk with u again
I.makita: Soon enough.
ShuuTsukiyamaNaturalSuntoryRose: Your next collection is nature-inspired? That's really not your usual style.
I.makita: I'm allowed to try new things.
ShuuTsukiyamaNaturalSuntoryRose: You've been designing the same clothes for over a decade. Why change now?
I.makita: Because I can. And if you paid any proper attention to my work, you'd know that each of my collections is unique.
ShuuTsukiyamaNaturalSuntoryRose: I'll be waiting to see how it turns out.
Pasorokin: So pretty! I hope your daughter is okay!
I.makita: She's fine, thank you.
--
Bunny thinks her day is has improved.
She thinks she's turned it around. She thinks she'll make good money tonight. She thinks tonight will be just as wonderful and bright as the rest of the day.
Bunny doesn't think this for long.
When Bunny and Madeleine enter the changing rooms, they immediately know; something is wrong.
All of Mr Besho's dancers are gathered, and Mr Besho is there too, standing in front of them with sad eyes.
Bunny goes to her chair, throwing off the gifts from her admirers. She clutches Allan tightly to her chest, her nose is about to bleed again.
Mr Besho surveys the room, a sad look in his eyes.
Madeleine knows, "Oh, no," She says.
"Maddie?" He turns to her.
"I know what you're going to say," Maddie gulps, "I think we all...We all know."
They do, but they will wait until they hear it.
"Where's Noriko?" Bunny asks.
"Christ, Bunny, your nose—"
"Where is she?"
"Yeah, I haven't heard from her since that party; is she sick?"
"Did she hurt herself?"
"Is she okay?"
"Where is she?"
"Where's Noriko?"
"Girls, please," Mr Besho says, "Noriko is the reason I've called you here today."
Madeleine feels a lump in her throat, "No. It was Noriko? Noriko's...She's gone?"
"I'm afraid so," Mr Besho says, his eyes are wet, "One of those monsters got her, on the night of that party."
"No!" Bunny cries, as blood splashes onto Allan's fur, "That can't be true! I saw her leave. She left so early! And that was days ago! She's probably just sick or something!"
"Bunny, sweetheart, calm down. I only just found out about it."
"They got Noriko? No, that can't be right," Someone else says.
"It must be a mistake! She always leaves with the rest of us! Someone must've seen her since then."
"No, girls, I'm so sorry. It's true. Noriko's gone."
"But how?"
"Yeah, under what circumstances?"
"How'd it happen?"
"Did anyone see?"
"Who told you?"
"One question at a time, girls. I'm upset too. You all know," His voice breaks, "How much I care for you all," He sniffles, "I got a call from her roommate. They told me that she hadn't returned in days. And we know what that means."
"What about the CCG? Why didn't they tell you?"
"Because they just don't care," Madeleine says, "They don't care about us. Any of us."
"That's not true! Don't say that."
"Suzuki, c'mon, you know that's why they give us all these different rules. Because we're not good enough for them to care about."
"Yeah, you know what we are," Another girl—Kawada—says, "We're like...Shark bait, to them."
"Why would they do that? They're killing those things. They're protecting us."
"I don't know, maybe so don't have to do as much work. They're less likely to have to investigate one of us getting eaten."
"Or maybe they're actually all the real aliens," Bunny says, squeezing Allan tightly. Allan is now smothered in blood, "And they're the ones eating us. They're just killing all the other aliens so they have less competition."
"Shut up, Bunny," Suzuki pauses, "This isn't on the CCG. Noriko shouldn't have left on her own, and she took those alleyways home. It's her fault she got eaten."
"Seriously? You're blaming the dead girl?" Maddie snaps.
"It's true, isn't it? If she'd just stayed like the rest of us, or gone home the normal route, then maybe she wouldn't be dead."
"Are you fucking kidding me? They basically encourage those things to go after us—"
"How can you accuse the CCG of doing that? I know you all think being all extra anti-government is cool, but to say that they're feeding us to those things is messed up, even for a fucking abomination like you, Madeleine."
"That's enough!" Mr Besho says, raising his voice, "Please. I understand you're all upset, but let's not fight," He pauses, and Bunny wants to hug him, because he is going to cry.
"Suzuki, please, I know you're angry, but that's no excuse to say that about Madeleine."
"What about them? Those two never shut up about their fucking conspiracies, about the fucking CCG and how much they hate it. And they're just foreigners! Why are they allowed to—"
"It's not a conspiracy. It's happening," Bunny says, blood slipping into her mouth. The blood on Allan seems to dissolve into its fur, only to be slathered in more, "They don't care about us."
"No, they don't care about you, and we all know why that is. I'm surprised you're still here after what you did."
"That's enough!" Besho says, before quieting his voice, "Girls, girls, come on now. Madeleine, Suzuki, please, give it a rest, for five minutes," He sighs, pausing.
"Anyway...You all know the drill. We'll host a little memorial or something for Noriko later this week. Do you all think you can still go onstage?"
There is a pause, before a collective nodding.
"Good. Yamamoto, Takahashi; you girls are up first. Is that okay?"
"Yessir."
"Thank you. Now. Bunny; you clean yourself up, then go out and see what you can hustle. Madeleine, Suzuki; we're going to my office and we can discuss this away from everyone else."
Madeleine looks back to Bunny as she leaves, "Save me any chocolate, okay?" She gestures to the gifts on Bunny's seat.
Bunny nods and starts preparing themselves, as Allan sits by their mirror, whispering; 'Sad? Sad?'
"Hm? Oh, I'll be okay. Just...Noriko's gone."
'Sad.'
"Noriko was probably just walking home and now she's dead. Just gone. Poof. Gone. And no one but us cares."
'Moved on. Can't see. Somewhere else.'
"But that could happen to any of us. I could be next, lord knows, people love to destroy the beautiful. Oh, no, I'm next—"
'No! I'll protect! I'll blow them up! Bang! Bang!'
"I know, and thanks, but...Oh, God. I wonder where Noriko is now. Is she in pain? Was she in pain? Probably. I hope she's at peace, wherever she is in the Universe. Unless there—Oh. Ohhhh, noooooo...Allan, Allan, Allan...what if-what if-what if there isn't—"
'Hugs! Hug me! Hug! Squuuuueeeeeeeeze!'
Bunny hugs their little friend. They smell of Bunny's hair, of the many tears and the blood that's spilt onto them, now fully absorbed into it.
"Hey, Bunny?" A voice asks, nervous and slightly soft. It's another dancer—Yamamoto. She smiles, "Are you ok?"
"I'm ok," Bunny says, smiling back, "Are you?"
"Yeah, just," She looks to Allan, "I know you and Noriko were friends...Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'll be okay. I'm still kinda processing it.
"Yeah, me too," She pauses, "Okay, well, just tell me if you wanna talk. I don't mind."
"That's so sweet of you! Thank you, Yamamoto. You're a really nice person!"
Yamamoto smiles, before returning to her partner—Takahashi.
"Don't talk to her when she's like that," Takahashi hisses."You know what everyone says, she's got something missing, up there."
"She's harmless, don't be so mean."
"For now. You know what happened to Kazuo."
Bunny looks to their mirror, and for a split second, they see Kazuo staring back, with that stupid grin on his face.
'C'mon, Bun, come get me.'
Bunny swallows, turning to her makeup and outfit—a little thong outfit, pink and stringy, covered in glittering peaches. Madeleine will wear an orange one, with glittering oranges.
Bunny heads out to hustle. As expected, she is incredibly, exhaustingly busy. She barely has time to stop and check on Lyra, who is sitting alone because Mr Tsukiyama and Dory went into a private room together.
"Hi!" Bunny says, "You okay? You look nervous."
"Mhm."
"Why? What's up? Is it some creep? I'll get him away from you if you want."
"No, I just—I've never been somewhere like this before. It's...New."
"Yeah. It's a bit overwhelming, right? You can totally take a break and go to when one of the lounges whenever you want though. I could like, show you."
"I'm good for now...Thanks."
"Ok! Whatcha drinking?"
"Water."
"Good. Just remember to keep an eye on it!"
Lyra almost scoffs, "Um. Why?"
"Because the guys here are creeps and you're a cute girl."
"Cute?"
"Yeah, adorable! Especially your nose, it's so beautiful!"
Lyra's nose is quite large and bulbous, with blatant scars from where Lyra has tried to cut it into a new shape.
"Anyway, I'll tell everyone to look out for you, okay? Just tell me if anyone's making you uncomfortable," Bunny continues.
"Uh. Thanks."
"Oh—One of my regulars just came in. I gotta go; have fun!"
Bunny rushes off. Lyra watches as they go from client to client, giggling in the laps of each man. Lyra is shocked when one older—almost elderly—man presents Bunny with a diamond necklace, to which Bunny excitedly squeals in reply about how much she just loves lab-created diamonds! Before allowing the man to fondle her.
The sight of it makes Lyra feel queasy, but she's unable to pry her eyes from Bunny being touched and passed around, only to disappear and reappear onstage with Maddie to perform her first set.
Lyra has never seen pole dancing before, and she is slightly struck by it. She had never thought of it as so complex and elegant. Bunny and Maddie make it look easy; the two of them flying and falling through the air, around the pole, and on the floor.
Lyra gets the feeling she was invited so she'd feel even worse about herself—that Bunny and Maddie could do this, could look that amazing, whilst Lyra struggles to get up in the morning.
Lyra glares at Bunny's stomach; flat with well-muscled abs, tiny breasts and beautiful hip bones. Her arms too, are muscled, with striated shoulders leading to a beautiful neck.
Looking at her, Lyra fights the urge to throw up. To rush to the bathroom to stare at her own body, to pull at it and scream.
But she doesn't. She can't. She keeps watching; watching Bunny's body, how wonderfully it moves and how perfectly carved it is, and how Lyra will never look like that, even if she didn't eat for years.
She watches Bunny as she finishes, leaving the stage and remerging to the crowd of foolish men salivating over her.
Bunny eventually returns to Lyra, but only when Mr Tsukiyama and Dory are back. They talk about something, and that something makes Bunny giggle.
Lyra watches, cringing slightly as Tsukiyama touches Bunny. He looks at Bunny with a slightly affectionate gaze. Bunny does not return it, smiling as vapidly as she always does.
Then Bunny wanders off to see a client, before having a single break—to drink and wash her mouth out—as Maddie drinks next to her.
As they giggle together and count their tips, a man approaches.
"Hey there, blondie," He says to Bunny, who smiles back. The man is familiar; he's one of the more popular drug dealers in this area. Bunny wonders if he's here for Dory.
"I have some friends here," The drug dealer says, "About a private room with you."
"Sure! How many?"
"There's six, not including me."
"Seven? Then there'll have to be two of us. Okay?"
"C'mon then, both of you."
They follow him, and find a group of men in a private room. They eagerly take up Bunny, cooing and drooling over her, like starving wolves. Bunny laps it up, giggling and flirting in response.
Maddie can't help but feel uncomfortable, because Bunny suddenly looks like a child, and the men look at Maddie with a familiar disgust.
One of them turns to the drug dealer, "We only wanted this one," He says.
"That's a lot of work for one girl, especially one that size," The dealer replies, smiling at the giggling Bunny.
The man still glares at him, "We only want the blonde, we didn't ask for the monkey."
"The what?" The drug dealer scoffs, "Are you blind? Have you seen the size of these?" He places his hand on one of Madeleine's breasts.
"What about the size of his dick? How big is that?"
The dealer cackles, "You won't have to look down there."
"I don't care. We didn't ask for a male stripper, did we?"
Maddie is on the verge of protesting, the only thing holding her back is Bunny. How they touch her.
What would they do to her if Maddie pissed them off? Perhaps nothing, but perhaps something.
Bunny is staring at the man with wide eyes. They think that they should leave, but one of the men is holding her arm. They envisage him pressing them against the floor, choking them in a non-sexual way.
"You heard him," The dealer says, "Off you go."
Maddie pauses, "Who should I send in instead?"
"No one. We just want this little one."
"There's seven of you."
"So what?"
"That's not fair on her."
"It's her job. And it's your job to fuck off when we tell you to."
"C'mon," The dealer, shoves Madeleine, "Get out."
"I'm not leaving her alone with—"
He pushes her out, slamming the door in her face. Maddie sighs, before going to find Besho, but she runs into another manager—Mr Kobayashi.
"What are you whining about now?"
"There's about seven guys locked in a private room with Bunny."
"Yeah, and...?"
"They were kinda aggressive."
"How so?"
"They called me a—"
"They called you a name? Seriously? Grow up."
"It was offensive, sir. They called me a—"
"You're used to it, aren't you?"
"Sir, it made me uncomfortable, and it was—"
"Okay, and? You know the job. You put yourself here, didn't you? This is what you have to deal with. Now, go and make some money, you're no good to me here."
"But I—Sir, but Bunny—"
"It's her job too. She's used to handling a few guys, happens to her more than it ever will to you. Now, we don't pay you to stand here, do we? Go on then."
Maddie restrains herself once more, "Where's Mr Besho?"
"Do I look like I know? Because I don't. Go on. Off you go now."
Maddie hesitates, but does as told. She tells a bouncer to go and check on Bunny, giving her some relief. The bouncer says Bunny is fine. He laughs and says Maddie worries too much.
Maybe she is worrying too much. Maybe Bunny will be fine. Maybe those men will be kinder to Bunny than they were to Maddie.
Maybe everything will be fine.
But maybe it won't be.
For now, all she can do is wait until it's over.
--
Hi, guys!
Sorry this chapter's late, but as you see it's kinda long, and the reason for that is basically; next chapter is could be really upsetting for some readers, and I sorta wanted to isolate that content and make it easily skippable.
So you've kinda got the start of the next chapter with this one. Sorry about that; just tryna make sure everyone can read this comfortably!