Red Lights
"Aren't you a little young to be doing something like this?" The tall blond commented to the beautiful ravenette dressed in a long, red silk nightgown with black lace up the sides, and black heeled slippers.
She shrugged her shoulders, something that she used to hate. It didn't matter anymore. She first started working in the brothel as a maid, the cleaning lady. Then they'd offered her a nearly impossible amount of money. Then she discovered how much she really meant to the only person she'd ever loved, that didn't leave her and she finally accepted. She sighed, sat on the bed and crossed her long legs seductively. "If that truly bothered you, would you really be here?" She asked, examining her nails.
He chuckled wryly and sat in the chair across from her to take off his shoes. "I suppose you have a point. What's your name?"
She flashed him a smile that didn't reach her golden eyes. "Whatever you want it to be, handsome. What would you like for me to call you?"
Green eyes flashed with a little pain before he answered. "Kuon..."
She cocked her head curiously. "Corn?"
He smiled and shook his head. Are you a fairy? He shook the faded memory from his mind. "No... It's Kuon." He corrected her.
Something seemed familiar about this one. She felt a knot twist tightly in her chest. She swallowed. "Kyoko..." She'd never given her true name before. She wasn't like the others. She was here of her own free will, because it paid well. Why bother saving herself for something that was never going to happen? Love didn't exist, so why hang onto something that had no value to anyone?
He glanced up at her a little surprised.
"You can call me Kyoko." She told him.
He nodded quietly. Was it fate or coincidence that they shared the same name? "So... Where are you from Kyoko-chan?"
She sexily smirked and wagged her finger. "Now, now..." She stood and prowled to him, then sat on his lap. "You really don't want to know that, do you?" She breathed into his ear, and gently licked the lobe.
He closed his eyes and shivered when he felt her hand caress down from his chest to his crotch. He took her small hand in his. "Can we just talk? Will you get in trouble if we don't do anything?"
She knew he liked it, he was hard. He wasn't like her regular foreign customers. The ones that had a fetish for Asian girls. They were all over her in a flash. He was holding back. He seemed as though he genuinely wanted to talk to her. She sighed and stood up. "I suppose." She walked over to the small bar. "Wanna drink?"
He leaned back in his seat and gave her a long look, as if he were studying her. "Are you really old enough to be drinking that?" He smiled. He actually hadn't felt like smiling for a long time.
She giggled and dropped two ice cubes into the Scotch before handing it to him. "Considering where we are at the moment, does that really matter?"
He chuckled. "I suppose not. Sorry... I've never really done anything like this." He confessed, and to be honest, he really hadn't.
She smiled softly and lounged on the bed. "It's okay... We can just talk, and no I won't get into trouble. I'm here under different circumstances."
He nodded, wondering what exactly those circumstances could possibly be.
She sighed. "To answer the question you obviously can't get out of your head... The women here aren't being forced. It's just a job... Well, that part of it is. We aren't being forced to be here. At least not by a mama-san." She explained. "As long as we pay rent and stay out of trouble, they let us stay here."
"Oh..." He took a sip of the alcohol she'd poured him. "So why are you here?"
She chuckled wryly, remembering every little detail and every cutting, ungrateful word. She shook her head. "I doubt you'd find it interesting, I've been told that I'm quite boring and if I weren't wearing makeup, I am very plain."
He shook his head and laughed a little. "I doubt anyone could call you boring, and you're hardly plain. Makeup only enhances, it doesn't change what or who you are. Trust me."
She blushed a little... SHE blushed. After everything, she could still blush. "Th-Thank you, Kuon."
His eyes went wide. "Wow, you're even prettier when you blush." He smiled softly, and her blush deepened.
"So what brought you here just to talk?" She gave him a sexy smirk, thinking that there was more to it than just talking. Perhaps he was just a little shy. She'd had patrons like that before.
He sighed out. "I asked you first."
She shook her head and raised her brow. "Okay... I'll tell, but it's not really that interesting." She looked up at the ceiling, debating on whether she should actually tell the truth or not. "I came to Tokyo with a childhood friend, from Kyoto. I was naive and he took advantage of the fact. I thought he wanted a future bride, and the reality was that he only wanted a free maid that paid his way, while he shacked up with his manager. I found out too late that Sho cared about me less than my own mother, and well...here I am, still trying to decide what to do with my life and saving up to get out of Japan."
Kuon furrowed his brow. "What a jerk." He grumbled. There were just too many similarities between this girl and his Kyoko-chan. A boy named Sho, from Kyoto, her name was Kyoko. It wasn't really possible, was it? "So why this? Why not something else?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "The most money, the quickest way, I guess." She answered honestly. "Now it's your turn. You obviously don't do things like this often, so what changed?"
Now it was his turn to stare at the ceiling, and wonder if he should tell the truth. She did feel familiar and comfortable. It was most likely that he would never see her again and there was the small fact that he was Kuon Hizuri at the moment. "I always wanted to be like my dad. He's really good at what he does and I've been trying since I was really young. When I came to Japan last, there was someone that really inspired me and encouraged me." He chuckled. "She thought I was a fairy prince." He waxed nostalgic, not hearing the small gasp. "I did really well for a short time, but then everyone expected me to be as good as him, and it just wasn't happening. Things started to go downhill from there...bullying, fights, racial slurs... I had a friend that tried to get me to fight back, but I was always taught not to use martial arts for things like that. Then one day I just snapped and couldn't stop... I did a lot of damage and Rick..." He paused. "Rick tried to stop me." He closed his eyes tightly, and the memory flooded his heart and mind. "He died trying to stop me. They ran him over and it was my fault." He felt a pair of small hands wrap around him as she took his drink and sat in his lap.
"You shouldn't think that way." She murmured to him, stroking his hair and holding him closely to her breast. "You said that they ran him over, you didn't do it. He made the decision to go after you. Certainly that part was your doing, but you weren't responsible for his death. The person that ran him over is. You should be thankful that he actually cared enough about you, to try and stop you from making a big mistake."
He nodded, wrapping her more tightly in his arms. "You're the only one I've ever told this." He confessed.
She furrowed her brow. "Why did you decide to tell me?"
He sighed out, and breathed in her scent as he snuggled her. "You remind me so much of her. Of my Kyoko-chan. Even for the short time I knew her, she knew how to heal my wings. Make me feel special for just being myself, not the mask that I have to wear around other people to make them happy. She always saw me for me." Green eyes looked up into gold. "Thank you."
She nodded. "Thank you..."
He furrowed his brow and gave her a curious look.
She smiled sadly, and shook her head. "No matter how bad things get... I'll always have someone out there that remembers me for me..." A tear streaked down her cheek and he gently wiped it away with his thumb. "I'll always have my dearest treasure and friend, Corn." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you Corn."
They spent a good portion of the night just talking and catching up on each other's lives. More tears were shed and ideas were formed on what she was going to do for her future. By dawn, he'd invited her to stay with him until she was back on her feet, and she reluctantly accepted. Her meager belongings were gathered and packed, and the key to her room was returned to the proprietor of the establishment. To pay for her room and board, she cooked and cleaned for him, kept him company when he came home in the evenings, and frequently helped him practice his lines. Eventually she found herself and the life she truly wanted and deserved. A life with her "Corn".