Disclaimer-Fruits Basket does not belong to me.
"Well, you clean up nicely. What did you say your name was again, handsome?" one of Ayame's dancers asked Kyou.
He adjusted his uniform in the dressing room mirror, not meeting her eyes. "My name is Kyou. What's yours?" he asked.
The young woman smiled with a laugh.
"The name's Rin. Ayame certainly has a good idea for hiring the most suitable for the job. That limp is unslightly though." she commented.
Kyou frowned as he watched her sit down in one of the dressing room chairs, her short dress rising up to reveal her long legs that never seemed to end.
"It's not something I can do anything about. I've been this way since I was a teenager, ten years." he told her.
She smiled at him then. "Is that so? Well, I've been told that I'm very good at helping people forget their problems. I wasn't surprised when I heard that Ayame had hired you. You looked like a ruffian that first night in the saloon, very suitable for the job." she said.
"I wasn't there very long, but yes, I remember you as well. Like me, you seem suitable for the job you perform as well." he told her.
Rin laughed. "That's a roundabout way to give a girl a compliment. I guess that if we find each other mutually interesting, perhaps I can arrange it with Ayame to allow me to be your escort instead of that other man." she said.
"What other man?" he asked.
Rin sighed. "He won't tell me his name. All he ever does is watch me avidly during the show, pay me for a dance in front of everyone afterwards, and then has me service him in his private room. He's a pecuilar man, but he pays well." she said.
Kyou smiled. "Well, if you're looking for someone to rescue you, I'm more than willing. Other than that...we'll just have to see." he said.
She smiled back, looking him over slowly from head to toe appreciately.
"That's a proposition that I defenitely can't refuse." she said.
"What do you mean, you won't be able to see me tonight after the show?" Hatsuharu asked Rin.
She looked over at him where he was sitting up beneath the covers of his unmade bed, the setting for their very recent interlude. She smiled prettily at him as she adjusted her stockings and slipped on her shoes.
"I'm sorry, but Ayame arranged for me to entertain one of his new hires. He's not nearly as handsome as you are and he has a terrible limp, but Ayame is our benefactor after all and it's best to do as he asks." she sighed in mock regret.
Haru's eyes widened. "A limp, you say? What did you say his name was again?" he asked her.
"I didn't say, but his name is Kyou. He's the new bouncer at the saloon. Ayame hired him as some personal favor to our sherriff or something. It's none of my business really." she shrugged.
Rising out of bed to grab her wrist before she could stand up, Hatsuharu smiled as he looked into her eyes.
"That's very interesting news, but I think you should stay and entertain me some more since you'll be with another man tonight." he told her.
She smiled as he took her wrists in hand, pinning her beneath him on the bed. She put up no resistance as she kicked off her shoes and gave herself to him. As much as she fancied the very attractive orange haired drifter, she could not deny her desire for the man in her arms, the delightful aggressive creature with the toned, lean physique, with the warm hands and talented mouth that knew exactly how to make her quiver all over...
"It's hard to believe how well the saloon has been doing nowadays. The girls have been busier and more in demand than ever before, and my lovely Tohru has been bringing in twice as many tips. We must find some way to celebrate all of this. Perhaps with a dance of some sort!" Ayame proclaimed.
Tohru smiled as she recieved her drink orders from Shigure. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Ayame." she said.
Shigure nodded. "Yes. It would be a very good opportunity to you and Hatori to be seen in public together. Surely he can leave his office long enough to bask in the beauty of such a delicate flower." he bemoaned the fates.
Tohru blushed. "I'm sure he would love to come. He wouldn't want to offend Ayame, after all." she said.
Ayame nodded in agreement. "Yes, especially after coming to me personally to ask for your hand...I expected nothing less." he said.
Momiji hopped down from his bar stool.
"Here. Let me take your drinks to your table. I'll give you the tip, I promise. You should check on our new hire, make sure he's adjusting to the job okay." he told her with a wink.
Tohru nodded, understanding completely. "Yes. I'll do that. Thank you." she said.
As she made her way to Kyou's station, Tohru smiled brightly at the arrival of the town sherriff. "Good evening, Yuki." she said politely.
"Good evening, Miss Rose. I just came by to see how you were doing tonight. It seems the saloon is the place to be." Yuki said with a smile.
"It probably has to do with the new routines Ayame's dance troupe is performing tonight. He's made them some new dresses too. I've also heard that our new bouncer has been drawing in new female clients." she said.
Yuki smirked as he looked over at Kyou working the door, a group of female fans giggling amongst themselves nearby.
"Yes. He never has seemed to have trouble attracting women." he muttered to himself.
Tohru stared at him wide eyed. "Did you say something, Yuki?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Nothing of any importance. Please don't let me interfere in your work. I'll be seated in my usual place until you return." he said.
Tohru smiled. "Okay. Thank you." she said.
Feeling a little self conscious, Tohru nonetheless made her way to where Kyou was standing, looking very debonair in the proper dark blue navy suit he wore.
"Good evening, Kyou." she greeted him.
Kyou smiled. "Good evening, Tohru." he replied.
Tohru blushed as he struggled to find her voice again. She felt relieved that he wasn't taken aback by her selfconsciousness, but rather tha the looked upon her with softened eyes. He looked even more handsome than usual tonight, his neatly styled orange hair framing his boyish face.
"I'm sorry. I've completely forgotten why I came over here." she apologized.
He smiled. "That's alright. I appreciate the company. It's been a slow night for me, outside of some of the citzens taking an interest in me. I guess you don't have many rowdy customers." he said.
"Well, there is this one man that Ayame's been keeping his eye on. Every night he pays my friend Rin a lot of money to do a stiptease for him in front of everyone and demands his money back if he doesn't do as he asks. It's almost vulgar sometimes the things he asks her to do for him." she said.
"Is that so? What kind of things does he ask her to do?" he asked.
Tohru stared up at him, expecting to be offended by his blunt question. but actually finding it to be more of an interesting challenge. He bent down as she whispered into his ear about the things she had heard, blushing furiously as she parted from him.
Kyou stared at Tohru then with new interest, shocked and slightly aroused by the seemingly innocent girl's words. He couldn't even remember the las time he had spoken so candidly about such matters with a woman. The blush on her face told him that she was even less accustomed than he was.
"I'm sorry. I guess I asked for too much information. You didn't have to answer." he said.
Tohru shook her head. "No, it's fine. It's just that I've never experienced things like that, so it's all kinda shocking. I mean, I'm engaged and my fiancee has never even kissed me like some of those girls have been before." she sighed.
Kyou swallowed hard at her words, feeling sympathy towards her wistful tone of voice. It was hard to believe that any man could resist wanting to kiss and embrace this beautiful woman the way a man should, in a powerful, passionate way that would tell her in no uncertain terms how much he cared for her.
He recalled the words his mother had always bemoaned when they lost his father, that sometimes a woman needed to feel loved, that the man in her life needed to express his feelings for her so there would be no doubt.
Whover this fiancee was, he must be a fool to make Tohru have to feel this way and Kyou contempleted if there was a way he could remedy the situation.
He soon had his answer as the saloon lights dimmed to begin the floor show. He impulsively reached down to take her hand in his, leaning in close to whisper in her ear.
"If you'll give me a minute, I'd like to talk to you privately." he said.
She returned his stare, feeling that strange connection between them again.
"Okay." she said.
Leading her into a private corner of the saloon where nobody could see them, she stared up into his darkened eyes as he fixed his gaze on her.
"Tohru..." he whispered.
She let out a squeak of surprise as he suddenly pinned her to the saloon wall and took possession of her mouth with his. She gasped from the intensity of it, a firey, passionate kiss that gave her no choice but to respond. He moaned into her mouth as she leaned her body against his, pulling her hips roughly against his own.
He hadn't planned to be overwhelmed so quickly by their kiss, as if every sense of his being was ablaze with need for her. His ardor only increased as she continued to respond in turn, swallowing her moan as he allowed his tongue entrance to her mouth. Arching his hips into hers, he lost himself in the feeling of her curves against him, his hands roaming up from her waist to encircle her breasts. He choked on a moan as she began to allow him to unbutton her dress to reveal them to her, nearly comign undone from the thought of folding his tongue around her luscious nipples...he gasped in surprise as she suddenly slapped him across his face.
"Kyou...I'm sorry. I didn't mean...I didn't realize what I was doing." she told him.
He shook his head. "No. I'm sorry. You were completely right to do that. Please forgive me." he said.
"I'll admit that I said I wanted to be kissed like that, but I am an engaged woman and I'm nothing like my friend Rin. I'm sorry. Excuse me." she said.
Kyou shook his head with regret as he rubbed his cheek where she had slapped him. It was not like him to take a romantic interest in someone furthur than they desired, and he was defintely not the kind of man to seduce a engaged woman.
There was just something about Tohru, something that made him want to be close to her, to be the man that fulfilled her desires to be kissed properly and even to be made passionate love to...no, that was ridiculous, he thought. A woman like Tohru deserved better than that, a man just like this honorable fiancee of hers. He had crossed a line between them tha the knew he couldn't take back, but he resolved to himself that he would not make the same mistake twice...