Disclaimer: Don't own it. Made for fun, not profit.
House of the Rising SunChapter 4: The Whore
Yes, and that pattern of getting paid, and handing (usually a pretty good chunk of) that money right over to Kyo, to get his time in with him, continued right on like that through the months of autumn and into winter. December twenty fifth was drawing near, and Haru couldn't help over hearing the many, many whores giggling and talking about Hatori's (apparently annual) Christmas party, which would arrive on the holiday. It sounded like fun, actually, and he kind of wanted to go, but he wasn't sure how he could escape his mother on such a major holiday, either.
"Hey," The red head called over to him one night, when it was a bit slow because of the weather. (He still didn't know the boy's name. Neither he nor Hatori actually cared either.) "Are you going to be staying for the party?" He wondered, batting his eyes playfully at his co-worker.
"Perhaps." He shrugged a little. "If I can talk my mom into it." His mother would probably flip, but he might be able to think of an excuse to avoid her mandatory hissy fit.
"Hmmm?" The whore blinked at him idly. "What's to talk her into? You're staying for your company Christmas party to make nice with your boss in the hopes of getting a raise and or promotion." He raised an eyebrow elegantly as he spoke.
"She might buy it." He mused quietly. "What time would it start?" He'd be lucky if she didn't smack him for trying to skip Christmas dinner.
"Nnn, probably around eight." Kyo murmured thoughtfully.
Haru raised his eyebrows at him. "Eight should be fine, Mom's just a maniac about holiday dinners."
"Okay," The red head chirped softly, patting his head jokingly before heading off.
Haru's mother had a similar reaction. "You're doing so well at your job. I'm so proud of you." She beamed, and Shigure was happy she was happy, because it got some of the heat off of him if he fucked up.
Haru just blushed a bit, and shrugged under the compliment. "It's not hard. And my boss is pretty easy to work for."
Akito sighed happily. It was all just so nice! Her son was growing into a fine young man! He was going to be home for Christmas dinner, and her husband hadn't been gambling. She could die a happy woman right now.
"The party starts at eight." Haru told her, as an after thought. "So, I'll need to leave before then."
"That's good, dear." The woman nodded. He would still have plenty of time to spend with his parents, of course. And Akito wouldn't have to put up with that horrible Rin girl this year. It was getting better and better!
"Thanks, Mom." He smiled gratefully at her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Maybe, Christmas at the Rising Sun wouldn't be as formal, or tense, as it was at home.
Oh hell no. If you'd asked one of the whores they would have grinned and told you it was just a big orgy with alcohol. Which wasn't exactly truthful, but it wasn't formal in any way shape or form. Though, a few of them, Kyo included, took this opportunity to dress in normal clothes. (Still not formal though.) The red head came over to greet him when he showed up to.
"Hey--" He started and then paused. "Mmm, grant me an early Christmas present and tell me your name?" He requested with a grin. He wasn't that bothered that he'd known the boy for about half a year now and was just now asking his name.
Haru snorted helplessly at the request. "Haru." He offered after a moment. "Hatsuharu, if you want to be technical. But Haru's fine."
"All right," Kyo chuckled before trying again. "Hey Haru, welcome to the party."
"Thank you." Haru nodded, giving Kyo a quick look, taking in the sight of real clothes on his--co-worker. It felt a little odd to see so MUCH clothing on him. But, he supposed, he really should have thought that even the whores would have normal clothes, which they wore sometimes. That was Kyo's only set of normal clothes, really. But if Haru thought that was odd? Well, when Kyo dragged him off somewhere and introduced him to Karen's husband? Just imagine the look on his face. Especially since the other whores were all cooing over him as well.
"How long have you and Karen been married?"
The hostess really only looked 16 but she obviously can't be because:
"We got married when she was 16. So it's been a good 20 years now."
Anyways, once introductions were finally made with their co-worker, Haru was free to just go sit at the bar and talk with Kyo. It was a holiday, and Hatori didn't actually care to begin with, so alcohol was allowed to all.
"So," Haru spoke up conversationally, once they were over there. "I really don't know anything about you." It sounded odd, considering how long they'd been working together, but it was true. Kyo had never bothered to sit down and talk about himself. The red head gave him an odd look before propping his chin up in his hand with his elbow in the bar counter. He looked thoughtful for a moment, carefully considering his words.
"There's nothing much about me to know."
"It just seems weird." He explained slowly. "I mean, I've known you for a while now, but, like I said before, I don't know ANYTHING ABOUT you."
"I could say about the same to you." The whore murmured sounding amused.
"You know more about me, than I know about you." Haru pointed out. "Besides, is there anything you really want to know?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Hmm, no." Kyo admitted smiling a little. "But what is it you want to know about me?" He wondered idly.
"I don't know." He shrugged a little. "Just something. Anything, really."
The slut really did laugh at him that time. "That's somehow helpful all the none."
"Good lord, you don't have to laugh." Haru pouted a little, wracking his brain for a question, just out of principle. "How old are you?" He offered finally, upon thinking of one.
"Twenty one," Kyo answered, calming down, though he did have to smirk at how the younger boy was pouting.
And, it continued like that, with Haru asking, as though he was trying to prove a point. He thought of some really, horribly, irrelevant and cliché questions, too. What was Kyo's favorite color? Did he like music? Did he like reading? Where did he go to school? What was his favorite food? Favorite animal? And so on, and so forth.
And he discovered that Kyo didn't have much of a life at all. He was a whore, and he'd been here for a good 5 years now. Before he'd been a whore, his mother had home schooled him, and the rest of his life he was working because his family was so damn poor. In his opinion, he hadn't been kidding when he'd said there wasn't much to know about him.
And, Haru hadn't been kidding about not caring how much, or what it was. He just wanted to know SOMETHING. It was the whole not wanting Kyo to be some mysterious, random, whore crusade.
Kyo had just been about to tell him where his parents were now, but then Karen came over and poke Kyo, interrupted them.
"Hatori says you're first."
"Whoa, it's time already?" He looked up at the clock. Time had kind of flown there. "Wait a minute, nuh-uh! I went first last year!"
"You try telling that to Hatori." The hostess shrugged with a small smile, then just grabbed the red head and hauled him off.
"First what?" Haru blinked after him, in mild confusion. What the hell was going on? He was ignored for a few moments as the whore was pushed unceremoniously into the owner's rooms, then Karen returned.
"Nnn, he should be back in a while." She told the bewildered boy.
"What the fuck?" Haru raised an eyebrow at her, questioningly.
"Exactly!" The hostess nodded with a wry grin.
"What...?" Haru blinked a few times, frowning a little, thinking through his words. "Oh," He realized after a few minutes. Well, that did make sense, he supposed.
"It's a fantastic House of the Rising Sun tradition!" She chuckled. Haru didn't exactly reply to that, just blushed a bit, and took a LONG drink from the beer in front of him. He really should have known as much.
You could tell when Kyo remerged because all the other female whores clapped noisily for him. They all thought it was very funny. But Kyo just rolled his eyes and went back over to his spot from earlier. He'd cleaned up in Hatori's room, but he was still a bit disheveled and his face was still blushed from his exertions. Hatori appeared a little later and since the premiere boy was done, had the others make a nice line outside his door and wait their turn.
"Sorry about that." The whore apologized halfheartedly. "Hatori is an impatient bastard sometimes."
"It's fine." Haru brushed it off. He was trying to be careful with his alcohol intake. He didn't want to go home any more than tipsy--and not even that, if he could help it. The last thing he needed was his mother finding out and interrogating him on why he was drunk. The red head smiled and climbed back into his chair, reclaiming his drink as he did so.
"I think it's your turn to be fully interrogated now." He chuckled softly and they went into an interrogation session much like the one Haru had just given Kyo. This time they were uninterrupted though.
Haru really wasn't that much more interesting than Kyo. Or, at least, that was how Haru saw it. He and his family had moved to New Orleans a few years before, and he'd met Rin shortly after. He'd gone through middle school and part of high school before they'd moved, and he'd finished it there. His mother was a tailor, and his father was a moron-slash-'professional' gambler.
It was getting a little bit late by the end of this and Kyo smiled softly at him.
"There, I think we're pretty even in knowledge now?" He suggested idly.
"Yeah." He agreed, leaning against the bar idly, and wondering if he could get away with ONE MORE drink, or not. The whore glanced carefully over at the door to Hatori's office. There were still a few more girls over there yet, so, he proceeded to offer Haru his Christmas present. It was fairly obvious what said present was too. He just hadn't asked about doing it for the boy first. Oh well. The owner could shove it. Haru blinked at him a few times, deciding that it was best to just skip the last drink. He was probably already drunk enough for his mom to notice.
"I'm not sure when I'm supposed to be home." He admitted slowly. "But, what the hell...?" He continued, half musing to himself, before smiling slightly up at Kyo. "Thanks."
This time was a present, rather than a favor, or a paid event, so Kyo pressed a little kiss on him before leading him off. He could afford to be a bit more personal about it this time.
"So," Haru murmured breathily, rolling off of Kyo, once they were done. "You going to run off, like you always do?"
The red head gave him an odd look. "Running off?" He repeated and blinked at the younger boy.
"Yeah. Running off, scampering, fleeing, walking away, leaving at a rapid rate."
"Business concludes and I don't have any reason to stay." Kyo corrected flatly.
"I didn't ask for a reason." Haru pointed out simply. "Just if you were doing it again tonight."
It was a rare event, but the whore was flustered. What was it exactly that Haru wanted him to say here! Why was he asking that to begin with? Of course he was going to leave. He frowned a little and decided to be blunt.
"Which answer are you hoping for, Haru?" he asked coolly.
"I'm not sure." He confessed, a little flustered himself. "Just curious."
"The plan was to leave." Kyo confirmed. "But it's your present."
"Look--" Haru started, but stopped himself quickly, and just sighed and shook his head a bit. "Forget it." He mumbled finally. "I should get home, anyway." His mother was going to kill him, as it was. That didn't include the additional punishment for coming home drunk.
"Good plan." The red head grinned with a small snort. Then he pointed vaguely at the clock on the side table before scrabbling out of the bed to get his clothes. Oh, he was going to be dead all right. It was not just past midnight, but 2 in the morning.
"Great." Haru groaned, half heartedly, as he got up and cleaned up as much as he could, trying to keep the pissing off of his mother to a minimal, before getting dressed, and high-tailing it out of there and back home. Maybe, Akito would be asleep already, and she would never even know. The whore waved after him in amusement before going off to see about pestering Hatori.
Haru was lucky. Shigure had convinced Akito to go to sleep, but only on the condition that he would stay up and wait for the boy. So that's where he sat in the living room, reading a book, and waiting for his wayward son so his wife wouldn't murder them both.
"Uh," Haru blinked a little at him, once he arrived back there. "Hi. Mom in bed?"
"Yes," His father answered, obviously bored with waiting. "She told me to stay up and wait for you though. She was all upset and I didn't really want to risk her wrath anyways."
"Well, I'm here so you can go to bed now, too." He suggested, trying to get off to bed WITHOUT a parental interrogation. He wanted to try and avoid a hangover, by sleeping his...party favors off.
"You do realize, if I do that, she'll wake up." Shigure looked at him with a small smirk. "But, I'm willing to sleep on the couch for you, if you tell me about your party and why it is you were there so late."
"Uh, my--friend gave me his present and it took a bit longer than either of us expected?" He offered after a moment. This wasn't exactly true. He hadn't really cared how long it would take, at the time, and he honestly wasn't sure if Kyo constituted a friend, either, actually.
"Oh?" His father looked interested now. Really, he'd sat here bored for several hours, his son could offer up more than that!
"Yep." Haru nodded, rocking on the balls of his feet nervously. Maybe his father wouldn't have to find out just what his mysterious job was, because, if he did, then Akito was SURE to follow.
"Your mother is going to have a conniption..." Shigure sighed, lying back on the couch. "But, I'll be a good father and let you go now."
"Not if she doesn't know what time I came in?" He hinted simply. Perhaps, being a good father would include NOT telling her that still; he quietly made his way up to his room anyway. Maybe his mom had gone to bed pretty early maybe.
She hadn't gone to bed that early, but Haru got off with only a mild scolding as to his partying habits. Shigure was just interested to know where he had been, since; neither of them knew what their son's mystery job was just yet.
Oh, but, they would. There was only a matter of time until Shigure got bored, and decided to give the Rising Sun another visit. While Haru happened to be on duty, of course.
And for once, Shigure didn't have to sneak. He'd begged and pleaded with Akito, who had cracked and only given him a small amount of money. He was so happy to be allowed to go, that he promised to come back once that money was gone.
However, that sent Haru into 'fuck, I'm going to be fired' mode. Really, really quickly.
"Oh, shit." He mumbled to himself, when he saw whom Karen was talking to. Maybe she wouldn't let him in, or, maybe he would just leave.
"Got money today Sohma?" Karen wondered with a wry grin.
"Yeah," Shigure held it up.
"Maybe, you should just give it to me and save everyone some trouble."
"Now, Miss de'Swallow, that would ruin all my fun!" He used the woman's last name as he sighed dramatically.
"I doubt anyone is gonna play with ya, but don't make trouble and our gracious host might not mind."
And he was allowed in.
"No!" Haru hissed unhappily at her. "No! Don't let him in! Bitch!" He ranted under his breath. He was SO going to be fired! Or grounded! Or both! Both seemed pretty likely, at the moment.
The woman came over to the little boy a little later. "I think I've developed a mommy complex." She told him slyly. "I think you should get caught and grounded for working here, and this was a perfect opportunity!" And with that she flounced off. She was in her late thirties and Haru wasn't even twenty yet. Her mommy complex made sense. Either way, Karen going over to Haru had alerted Shigure of his presence.
"Haa-kun?" He raised an interested eyebrow at his son. It seemed to be lacking a bit of the insulting quality to call Karen a whore in here, so Haru just shot some other insults after her, and turned his attention back to his father.
"Er, you want to leave, before Hatori fires me?" He offered finally, deciding he could just get it over with, and get grounded outside, and maybe keep his job.
"I didn't know you worked here." His father stated, blinking a little.
"That was kind of on purpose." He nodded a few times, resting his face in his hand. "But, seriously. Hatori doesn't want you in here, and I'm kind of a bouncer. So, I really am going to get fired if you don't leave, so--"
"You realize, this one I have to tell your mother? Don't you? Because If I don't, she'll ask me if I knew, when she finds out, and it's impossible for me to lie to her?"
"But, if you tell Mom, she'll make me quit." He pointed out. "Or disown me. Or both. None of those are good." Yeah, he either lost his house and parents, or five hundred dollars a week and whores. Or both. He didn't welcome any of that.
"Or she'll cry and give you the I'm very disappointed speech." Shigure nodded thoughtfully. "We'll just have to find out, since if she finds out on her own and finds out I knew I'll be condemned to the couch for half a year and that doesn't sound fun. Bye! I'll see you when you get off work." He waved and headed off. Haru made a few spluttering protests as he left, and turned to glower at Karen, who wasn't too far off.
"I think I might officially hate you, now." He informed her darkly.
The hostess flounced over and glomped him. "And I really don't care. Come on now, you don't really want it on your résumé that you worked in a whorehouse do you? My mommy complex is just demanding I look out for your future!"
"I don't give half a fuck about my future, or resume." Haru pointed out dryly to her. "It's easy cash here." And he got to fuck Kyo regularly! That didn't hurt! "Besides, it wouldn't be 'whorehouse' on it. It would be 'security', or 'bouncer'." He also felt he should point out.
"Easy money yes, but you can't live with your mommy forever, and 500 a week is not gonna support you." The woman snorted.
"Living with her forever wasn't the plan." He muttered defensively. "I haven't been handing it all back over. I've been saving, too. I'm catching a train ride out of here, as soon as I can afford it, and to not starve or be homeless, once I get wherever I'm going."
"Tooo late now." Karen chirped before going off to do her job.
Haru just groaned, and let his face rest on the table again. This sucked! So much!
When Haru returned to the house later, he was required to notice something was very wrong. Because it was very quiet. Akito was fuming in the kitchen and Shigure was hiding in the bathroom. His mother didn't greet him at first, even though she knew it was him. Then she called to him irritably from the kitchen. She was now going to administer the 'I'm very disappointed in you speech'. Haru grimaced and headed into the kitchen, mentally giving himself a pep talk, just in case she decided to disown him, over this. But she really didn't. She frowned at him and looked close to hurt tears but that was about all. She was sad he lied to her, and angry that he didn't have better judgment. But he was an adult. And she was his mother. Except, he hadn't lied to her. He hadn't lied to her, because he hadn't even hinted at what his job had been. Everything he'd told her had been true. (Well, except for the part about the promotion, but that was SO far down the list.) But that was beside the point. She was just unhappy he hadn't told her. Anyways, she frowned a bit more before suggesting, not demanding, just suggesting he get a different job before going to brood in her bedroom.
"Mom," Haru called after her, hurrying to catch up with her. "C'mon, don't be mad?" He requested, catching her wrist unhappily.
She looked a few inches from smacking him. But instead she gave him a dry look. "Hatsuharu, dear, weren't you listening? I'm not mad." Akito stated carefully, extracting her wrist as she spoke.
Who did she think she was fooling? Seriously.
"Right," He decided to play along. "Then, you won't be mad when I don't want to leave my friend and a boss I'm actually familiar with." He assumed slowly, in just as careful a tone as hers had been.
"Of course not." His mother answered tersely. "Since I know you're not stupid enough to stay at this job forever." She was still going to be horrible disappointed with his judgment, but she could at least console herself with that.
"No," He agreed softly. "Not forever. Just--just long enough."
"Exactly," Then she finished the trek into her room.
Haru sighed, and raked his fingers through his hair, before turning sharply on his heels, with the intention of going into his own room.
"Thanks a fucking lot." He muttered sarcastically to his father, as he walked past the living room, for the stairs. Well, at least she hadn't disowned him? He still had a house, that was a plus. Shigure had snuck out of his hiding place while Akito and Haru had been talking. He sweat dropped, but didn't answer his son. He was just lucky to have his skin. Both of them were.
Well, either way, Haru came into work the next day to see a very sulky and cross-dressing…? Kyo. He raised a questioning eyebrow at him, pointedly inquiring about the skirt with the expression alteration, as he went over to his sort-of-friend.
"That asshole." Kyo cursed irritably, tugging at the skirt he was stuck wearing. "HATORI I HATE YOU!" He growled loudly, and he knew the owner, who was across the room, could hear him. "Some guy with a fucked up fetish came in here and bought me out for the whole day! And-and Hatori agreed to-to-to this!" The red head gestured angrily at what he was wearing. "Because he paid up front! And, as if that wasn't bad enough! He said he was going to get some-some TOYS and he'd be right back! GAH!" He continued to curse under his breath. Haru eyed him sympathetically, and just sat down next to him, while Kyo waited for his customer to come back.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'll listen really hard for disturbing crashes, and go beat him up, if he tries to hurt you?" He offered finally. Kyo whined unhappily before launching at the boy and hugging him around the neck.
"I swear this guy is like sixty years old." He practically sobbed into his neck. Haru just pet his shoulder awkwardly, and shot Hatori a dirty look. They really should have an age cut off. Like Hatori gave so much as half a fuck? When the customer returned, the owner came and pried Kyo off of his little friend and the poor red head was not seen for the rest of the day.
Fortunately, there weren't any threatening sounds. Unfortunately, Haru's shift ended before he made his reappearance. So, the duel-colored boy would just have to wait until the next day to interrogate him on his well-being.
He was okay. But much like Akito was now doing to Haru, Kyo absolutely refused to speak to Hatori after that. Now, unlike Akito he would probably get over it as soon as Hatori called him in there for a fuck, but, that's beside the point. His 'maidens' pride was currently hurting right now.
Well, as long as he was okay, Haru was pretty much happy. "Well, he didn't hurt you." He murmured, half to himself, once Kyo was finished assuring him.
"No, just forced his disturbing fetish and horrifying toys on me." The red head agreed irritably.
"I'm sorry." Haru mumbled, and offered him the 'at least it's over' to console him. Well, that one was over, anyway. The whore hung on him listlessly from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. He couldn't go pester Hatori like this, since he was currently boycotting the man. But Haru was close enough.
"Right, right." He agreed tiredly.
Haru just smiled at him, and placed a small kiss on the closest thing to his lips that he could actually reach in this position. Poor Kyo had had a rough day.