Disclaimer: I don't own FY or any of the characters, but I do own Tansho
and the other people in the Black Dove.
Warning: Just a little bit of cussing and a few refs to adult activities. ^_^ Enjoy!
Chapter 3 Four Red Ribbons
As I entertain a group of men, pretending to listen to their bull shit stories, I keep one eye on Tasuki's back and the other on Shingen, the tavern master; and therefore, mine and the other women's pimp. He keeps his eyes on us as well, just as a good pimp should. I watch the flickering movement of his dark eyes, for they tell me who to go to, who to make believe I love them, and who to simply get what I could out of.
He is a frightful man with a thick waist, arms and legs the sizes of logs, and wide shoulders. His bald head is always wrapped in a scrap of cloth to protect its nakedness. He is a generous pimp, thank the gods, having given each of his women a room of their own and a few days off a month other than our neccessary blood week. Half of each night's wages are demanded, but what does a whore need besides a bed and loose clothes? The harlots of the Black Dove are treated better than most others, and they know it. It doesn't even bother us when he calls on us at night, for each of us know that the embrace of a gentle bear is far better than the embrace of death on a frozen street.
Shingen calls Koi to him and sends her upstairs with a tilt of his chin. The richer customers usually don't like to mingle among the common city people to search out their pleasure; they go straight to the pimp instead of begging the attention of the whore. One is waiting in a room upstairs, no doubt. Koi seems to be a favorite with the "gold-eaters" as we call them. It is either her golden hair or her talented mouth. I smirk at the thought in my mind.
Suddenly I feel fingers trailing the cleft of my backside and I scream, spinning my head to see who the roaming fingers belong to. The man at my right grins and howls in laughter at my startled response, showing black teeth. I recoil at their appearance.
"Now, now, lovely," he chuckles, "Don't get jumpy."
"You can touch m'dear," I say, running a fingertip down the length of his coarse beard, "But you sure as hell can't probe around 'till I see some gold!"
He frowns and glances down at his third bottle of sake. "Damn all the hells!" he mumbles, "Done spent every last piece!"
"Oh," I purr sympathetically while leaning seductively into him, "Come back tomorrow night ,then?" I trail my finger down his short beard again before moving on at a flicker of Shingen's eyes.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
"Tansho?" Misa's coffee bean colored hair spills through my doors well before her pale face. "Are you not coming down? Should I tell Shingen you're sick?"
I look up from my vanity table, and smile.
"Oh..." her breath leaks from her pink lips like fog when she catches sight of me, "How lovely!" She pads into my room and slips behind me. Her small hands take my hair into them. "What lovely ribbons! Are they new?"
"Bought them just last night," I say, tightening the knot at the end of the last one. Four small braids trail loosely from my scalp to my tips, raining down the rest of my unbound hair like four serpants. Each has a thin scarlet ribbon plaited into it and tied in a bow at the end. From my view in the mirror, I see four rivers of blood flowing through my dark brown hair.
"They must have cost a shit load!" Misa yelps. "Oh, I've wanted some blue ones for so long..."
I flush my cheeks with color with a few hard pinches of my fingers, and redden my lips with a quick nibble. Then Misa and I walk down to the tavern, our dresses barely clinging to our frames. I hope to see Tasuki. I haven't seen him, Nuriko, or Chichiri in the tavern for several nights.
But then I see him before I even think to look. Tasuki sits with Nuriko and a stranger, a young man I have never seen before. His hair is a dark blue color, almost ghostly. I frown. I don't like his cold eyes.
I move past them with a litte wink and word for Nuriko. As my back turns, I feel Tasuki's eyes shift to me. I wonder if he notices the red ribbons in my braids, then I realize that men hardly ever notice such things and I sigh at my foolishness. I can almost see the frown on his face, and I spread my lips in a thick smile. Do, say, and think what you will, my mind smirks, You'll be under or on top o' me in less than a week.
I take only two men upstairs that night. I spend the whole rest of the time with my eyes on the redness of Tasuki's hair. I still can't believe that it's not truly fire. I also find myself studying a strange sheath of some kind strapped to his back. I have no idea of what the silver thing that is held there is, its hilt just within reach if he reached his hand over his shoulder. I know that it is too thick to be a dagger, but too short to be a sword.
Men mutter at me and rub my breasts and ass, but I don't feel the same as I once did. I usually grin along with them, egging them on until I get one up the stairs and into the bed--and afterwards get my hands into the money pouch.
Suddenly, I'm thankful that there are three extra rooms to lug them to and not our own private ones. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to sleep upon the rumpled and soaked linens where I had had a man not an hour earlier.
Finally, I see my second chance approaching. The strange young man gets out of his seat, nods a goodbye to Tasuki and Nuriko, and strolls out the double doors of the tavern into the luke-warm air of the city. Strangely, Tasuki doesn't return his good-bye, but then I see the empty sake bottles littering his table and realize that drunkeness makes one somewhat numb to the outside world. But at least the strange young man is gone. I glance at Nuriko, appreciating her flawless face and charming beauty. I then smile to myself. One down and one to go.
I see now that privacy is the only way I will be able to conquer the stubborn red- headed man who has so viciously caught my eye. This is why none of the other women have had even so much as a glimer of hope for success. They attack in a pack, like wolves attempting to bring down a deer. And they do it when he's surrounded by his friends. I have seen how he reacts to this, and I have learned from the mistakes of my fellow whores. I smile to myself and wait.
Finally, after another half an hour, Nuriko gets up from her seat and hurries off to the latrines. I give my cheeks a violent pinch and my breasts a quick look over. Over the course of the night, they have made more than one unexpected appearance; and it's just fine at the right time, but when you're trying to bed a man who is nearly unbedable, it certainly won't help your chances.
I walk slowly and with deliberate silence. Surprise is the best tactic for a hard approach. As his back gets closer and closer, I feel my fingers reaching out to touch his hair. Even if he never allows me to touch him again, I'll be satisfied with simply running my fingers through his hair. I find myself wondering if I'll be burned.
But then I feel it on my fingers, and it's as cool as winter air. I bury my left hand in it, moving my fingers over the crown of his head like the roots of a tree, feeling it slither and freeze between my fingers like ice. He jumps unexpectedely at the feeling of a foreign hand on his head and I swing around in front of him.
"What the hell..." he yelps when I take my hand away and plop it on my hip.
"Now, now, m'dear...don't get jumpy," I reply, using the words that had been uttered to me earlier by the black-toothed man.
Tasuki is slumped down in his chair, one hand settled on his thigh, the other swung over the back of the chair as if it were a burden to him. He lifts it momentarily to smooth the bright redness that I disrupted. His black coat is fastened closed even though the air of the tavern is heavy with heat, its hems draped over his thighs and settling at the tops of his boots. He tilts his chin at me, but I can't decern its meaning. Perhaps mere acknowledgement of my presence, whether or not it be welcomed; or perhaps an attempt to show superiority over my seemingly annoying presence. His deep green eyes lock on mine as they had when I was upstairs looking down on him. They are soft for a moment; then, suddenly, they close up as if they were clams. He is still looking at me, but he isn't seeing me. I suddenly realize that he is trying his hardest to shut himself off from me. I almost frown, but stop myself at the last minute. This may be my first as well as my last chance to get to him, and I sure as hell will not ruin it with a frown.
I hope everybody had a fun-filled, food-packed Thanksgiving!!! I ate for an hour and then slept for three ^_^, then went out and saw Die Another Day (which kicked ass!!) And I'm so sorry that I'm putting up this chapter at 11 at night (I got up at 4 this morning to go shopping with my mom, my grandmother, and my cousins. We hit Wal-Mart at 6 then hit Atlanta at 8. I'm just now getting home...14 hours later...) *sigh* I'm ready to sleep and not get up 'till noon tommorrow. Ahhhhh...bed.... ^_^
Anyways, thank you guys for the reviews you left me!!
Replies for Reviewers:
Kitty Lynne: Hey there!! Yep, I'm finally back up and running wild again. ^_^ Take your time with the e-mail; I know you probably had a shit-load to do this week! I hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving!!
RyogazGal: Chap.1- I'm glad you stopped eyeing it and finally read it! ^_^ I'm so happy that I've got a new fan!!! Chap.2- While writing the original version, I tried to intertwine tactful writing with emotional love-making (not just meaningless sex). And by the way the earlier reviews read, I guess I succeeded ^_^!! There will still be sexual content in this fic just as you might find in any R-rated fic or movie (even in a few PG-13's), but I will shave off the graphics to some extent.
frechiecangal: Yep! Poor me! *sniff sniff* Oh well, I dealt with it. And I may decide to put up a few chapters a day if I ain't too busy (though I just love to make ya'll wait ^_^)
Missy: Man, you're the 4th...the FOURTH PERSON!!! to tell me that you know of someone to whom this has happened to!! Something seriously screwed up is going on in FF; I just wish me and all of the others out there knew what the hell it was so that we could fix it...or at least pitch a fit about it!
shadow priestess: Heh heh...well, let's just say he gets something special in the next few chapters ^_^
Tasukitty: Cute pen name! And thank you so much for the compliment on me pairing Tasuki with a woman. I share your views; Tasuki is definately a woman's man if ya know what I mean! ^_^
Emerin Mornlight: Cool pen name (man, everybody's got kick-ass pen names!! ^_^) And yep, I totally agree with you on Tasuki!!
Thanks again for all the great reviews!! I love all of you!! ^_^
Well, back to the story... Will Tansho finally make her move? Will she fail or succeed in her quest to sleep with our poor Tasuki? What about the other women? Come back soon for another chapter and find out!!
Warning: Just a little bit of cussing and a few refs to adult activities. ^_^ Enjoy!
Chapter 3 Four Red Ribbons
As I entertain a group of men, pretending to listen to their bull shit stories, I keep one eye on Tasuki's back and the other on Shingen, the tavern master; and therefore, mine and the other women's pimp. He keeps his eyes on us as well, just as a good pimp should. I watch the flickering movement of his dark eyes, for they tell me who to go to, who to make believe I love them, and who to simply get what I could out of.
He is a frightful man with a thick waist, arms and legs the sizes of logs, and wide shoulders. His bald head is always wrapped in a scrap of cloth to protect its nakedness. He is a generous pimp, thank the gods, having given each of his women a room of their own and a few days off a month other than our neccessary blood week. Half of each night's wages are demanded, but what does a whore need besides a bed and loose clothes? The harlots of the Black Dove are treated better than most others, and they know it. It doesn't even bother us when he calls on us at night, for each of us know that the embrace of a gentle bear is far better than the embrace of death on a frozen street.
Shingen calls Koi to him and sends her upstairs with a tilt of his chin. The richer customers usually don't like to mingle among the common city people to search out their pleasure; they go straight to the pimp instead of begging the attention of the whore. One is waiting in a room upstairs, no doubt. Koi seems to be a favorite with the "gold-eaters" as we call them. It is either her golden hair or her talented mouth. I smirk at the thought in my mind.
Suddenly I feel fingers trailing the cleft of my backside and I scream, spinning my head to see who the roaming fingers belong to. The man at my right grins and howls in laughter at my startled response, showing black teeth. I recoil at their appearance.
"Now, now, lovely," he chuckles, "Don't get jumpy."
"You can touch m'dear," I say, running a fingertip down the length of his coarse beard, "But you sure as hell can't probe around 'till I see some gold!"
He frowns and glances down at his third bottle of sake. "Damn all the hells!" he mumbles, "Done spent every last piece!"
"Oh," I purr sympathetically while leaning seductively into him, "Come back tomorrow night ,then?" I trail my finger down his short beard again before moving on at a flicker of Shingen's eyes.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
"Tansho?" Misa's coffee bean colored hair spills through my doors well before her pale face. "Are you not coming down? Should I tell Shingen you're sick?"
I look up from my vanity table, and smile.
"Oh..." her breath leaks from her pink lips like fog when she catches sight of me, "How lovely!" She pads into my room and slips behind me. Her small hands take my hair into them. "What lovely ribbons! Are they new?"
"Bought them just last night," I say, tightening the knot at the end of the last one. Four small braids trail loosely from my scalp to my tips, raining down the rest of my unbound hair like four serpants. Each has a thin scarlet ribbon plaited into it and tied in a bow at the end. From my view in the mirror, I see four rivers of blood flowing through my dark brown hair.
"They must have cost a shit load!" Misa yelps. "Oh, I've wanted some blue ones for so long..."
I flush my cheeks with color with a few hard pinches of my fingers, and redden my lips with a quick nibble. Then Misa and I walk down to the tavern, our dresses barely clinging to our frames. I hope to see Tasuki. I haven't seen him, Nuriko, or Chichiri in the tavern for several nights.
But then I see him before I even think to look. Tasuki sits with Nuriko and a stranger, a young man I have never seen before. His hair is a dark blue color, almost ghostly. I frown. I don't like his cold eyes.
I move past them with a litte wink and word for Nuriko. As my back turns, I feel Tasuki's eyes shift to me. I wonder if he notices the red ribbons in my braids, then I realize that men hardly ever notice such things and I sigh at my foolishness. I can almost see the frown on his face, and I spread my lips in a thick smile. Do, say, and think what you will, my mind smirks, You'll be under or on top o' me in less than a week.
I take only two men upstairs that night. I spend the whole rest of the time with my eyes on the redness of Tasuki's hair. I still can't believe that it's not truly fire. I also find myself studying a strange sheath of some kind strapped to his back. I have no idea of what the silver thing that is held there is, its hilt just within reach if he reached his hand over his shoulder. I know that it is too thick to be a dagger, but too short to be a sword.
Men mutter at me and rub my breasts and ass, but I don't feel the same as I once did. I usually grin along with them, egging them on until I get one up the stairs and into the bed--and afterwards get my hands into the money pouch.
Suddenly, I'm thankful that there are three extra rooms to lug them to and not our own private ones. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to sleep upon the rumpled and soaked linens where I had had a man not an hour earlier.
Finally, I see my second chance approaching. The strange young man gets out of his seat, nods a goodbye to Tasuki and Nuriko, and strolls out the double doors of the tavern into the luke-warm air of the city. Strangely, Tasuki doesn't return his good-bye, but then I see the empty sake bottles littering his table and realize that drunkeness makes one somewhat numb to the outside world. But at least the strange young man is gone. I glance at Nuriko, appreciating her flawless face and charming beauty. I then smile to myself. One down and one to go.
I see now that privacy is the only way I will be able to conquer the stubborn red- headed man who has so viciously caught my eye. This is why none of the other women have had even so much as a glimer of hope for success. They attack in a pack, like wolves attempting to bring down a deer. And they do it when he's surrounded by his friends. I have seen how he reacts to this, and I have learned from the mistakes of my fellow whores. I smile to myself and wait.
Finally, after another half an hour, Nuriko gets up from her seat and hurries off to the latrines. I give my cheeks a violent pinch and my breasts a quick look over. Over the course of the night, they have made more than one unexpected appearance; and it's just fine at the right time, but when you're trying to bed a man who is nearly unbedable, it certainly won't help your chances.
I walk slowly and with deliberate silence. Surprise is the best tactic for a hard approach. As his back gets closer and closer, I feel my fingers reaching out to touch his hair. Even if he never allows me to touch him again, I'll be satisfied with simply running my fingers through his hair. I find myself wondering if I'll be burned.
But then I feel it on my fingers, and it's as cool as winter air. I bury my left hand in it, moving my fingers over the crown of his head like the roots of a tree, feeling it slither and freeze between my fingers like ice. He jumps unexpectedely at the feeling of a foreign hand on his head and I swing around in front of him.
"What the hell..." he yelps when I take my hand away and plop it on my hip.
"Now, now, m'dear...don't get jumpy," I reply, using the words that had been uttered to me earlier by the black-toothed man.
Tasuki is slumped down in his chair, one hand settled on his thigh, the other swung over the back of the chair as if it were a burden to him. He lifts it momentarily to smooth the bright redness that I disrupted. His black coat is fastened closed even though the air of the tavern is heavy with heat, its hems draped over his thighs and settling at the tops of his boots. He tilts his chin at me, but I can't decern its meaning. Perhaps mere acknowledgement of my presence, whether or not it be welcomed; or perhaps an attempt to show superiority over my seemingly annoying presence. His deep green eyes lock on mine as they had when I was upstairs looking down on him. They are soft for a moment; then, suddenly, they close up as if they were clams. He is still looking at me, but he isn't seeing me. I suddenly realize that he is trying his hardest to shut himself off from me. I almost frown, but stop myself at the last minute. This may be my first as well as my last chance to get to him, and I sure as hell will not ruin it with a frown.
I hope everybody had a fun-filled, food-packed Thanksgiving!!! I ate for an hour and then slept for three ^_^, then went out and saw Die Another Day (which kicked ass!!) And I'm so sorry that I'm putting up this chapter at 11 at night (I got up at 4 this morning to go shopping with my mom, my grandmother, and my cousins. We hit Wal-Mart at 6 then hit Atlanta at 8. I'm just now getting home...14 hours later...) *sigh* I'm ready to sleep and not get up 'till noon tommorrow. Ahhhhh...bed.... ^_^
Anyways, thank you guys for the reviews you left me!!
Replies for Reviewers:
Kitty Lynne: Hey there!! Yep, I'm finally back up and running wild again. ^_^ Take your time with the e-mail; I know you probably had a shit-load to do this week! I hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving!!
RyogazGal: Chap.1- I'm glad you stopped eyeing it and finally read it! ^_^ I'm so happy that I've got a new fan!!! Chap.2- While writing the original version, I tried to intertwine tactful writing with emotional love-making (not just meaningless sex). And by the way the earlier reviews read, I guess I succeeded ^_^!! There will still be sexual content in this fic just as you might find in any R-rated fic or movie (even in a few PG-13's), but I will shave off the graphics to some extent.
frechiecangal: Yep! Poor me! *sniff sniff* Oh well, I dealt with it. And I may decide to put up a few chapters a day if I ain't too busy (though I just love to make ya'll wait ^_^)
Missy: Man, you're the 4th...the FOURTH PERSON!!! to tell me that you know of someone to whom this has happened to!! Something seriously screwed up is going on in FF; I just wish me and all of the others out there knew what the hell it was so that we could fix it...or at least pitch a fit about it!
shadow priestess: Heh heh...well, let's just say he gets something special in the next few chapters ^_^
Tasukitty: Cute pen name! And thank you so much for the compliment on me pairing Tasuki with a woman. I share your views; Tasuki is definately a woman's man if ya know what I mean! ^_^
Emerin Mornlight: Cool pen name (man, everybody's got kick-ass pen names!! ^_^) And yep, I totally agree with you on Tasuki!!
Thanks again for all the great reviews!! I love all of you!! ^_^
Well, back to the story... Will Tansho finally make her move? Will she fail or succeed in her quest to sleep with our poor Tasuki? What about the other women? Come back soon for another chapter and find out!!