i should probably point out that this story is actually based in california since i have no idea how things actually work in japan. customs there are vastly different than the ones here in america that i'm used to lol.
Bleeding Love
By: SheMeHerJay
Chapter One
.i don't own inuyasha.
"Are you ready for tonight," the blonde asked her dark-haired friend who was standing at her side, checking the drinkware, making sure that they were cleaned to their boss's expectations. Mai Takahashi wasn't exactly the nicest person when it came to overlooking things that could potentially get a customer sick and her business she'd poured many years of blood, sweat and tears into shut down. "It's Friday and I'm positive it's going to be packed. Like it isn't always a full house any other night, but still. The weekends are always the worst."
"You can say that again, Kirara," the brunette said laughing as she placed one glass down only to grab another and inspect it. "Weekends here are always wild. This weekend is going to be no different. Especially since we've got two bachelorette parties as well as some big-name corporate guys coming in that reserved tables for bottle service. Kagome, Chiyo, Eri and Ayumi are definitely going to have to turn on the charm tonight. Bottle service here is not cheap and we want to make sure that they get the best experience since that's really what they're paying for."
"Two bachelorette parties and big wigs all in one night," the blonde, Kirara asked as she placed a newly opened and dated bottle of grenadine in the left speed rail. "It's definitely going to be a busy night. And tips are going to be a-maz-ing. They always tip the pretty girls well." She paused a moment to take a look around, her brow quirked as she glanced back at the other woman. "Hey, do you know when Mai is supposed to get in tonight, Rin? She's usually here by now, but she's not."
"Oh, is that why Jakotsu always makes more in tips than we do," Rin, the other woman, joked as she picked up the last of the glasses to inspect it. "As for Mai, she'll be here soon. She had a few errands to run before we open tonight. We're out of lime and lemons so she's grabbing that, as well as regular ice for the ice wells. The ice machine went out last night and when I got here to start setting up, I realized all we had was the Collins Spears, the one-inch and two-inch cubes and the spheres that got delivered this morning. Our specialty ice, as Chiyo likes to call it."
"Ah, I see," Kirara nodded as she pulled her cellphone from her back pocket when her text tone chimed and caught her attention. She glanced at the text, noting that Sango and Masaki had both messaged her to let her know that they were either there or on the way. "Looks like Sango, Kagome, Jakotsu and Benjiro just showed up. And Masaki, Hayate, Miyako, Minako and Hiro are all on the way to get the kitchen prepped for tonight."
"They're running late today," Rin mused as she went on to check the dates on opened bottles of beverage mixes and sours that they normally used. "Usually, they beat the girls and Benjiro here."
"I'm not sure what happened," Kirara said as she made her way around the bar to get the door to let their friends in. She quickly waved them in, leaving the door unlocked for Masaki and her children to just come inside once they finally arrived. "Hey guys, get to your stations and get prepped for tonight. Benjiro, when Mai makes it, we're going to have you go out and help her bring product in."
"What all is the boss lady bringing," Benjiro asked as he combed his fingers through his long hair before pulling it back into a ponytail.
"Ice, lemons and limes, but mainly ice," Rin answered for Kirara. "The ice machine went down last night so all we had was our specialty ice when I got here. I'm glad I had decided to come early and caught it before we opened and were sitting there looking dumb because we didn't have any ice. I already called the tech to come and fix the machine as well. He should be here some time tonight to take a look at it. For now, we have to settle with the bags of ice from the grocery store."
"Was everything else okay though," Sango asked, as she clocked in through the POS system. "We didn't lose any food or anything, did we?"
"Nah, it was just the ice machine," Rin confirmed. "I made sure to check since I knew Mai would ask me the same thing when I called her." She stepped back, letting Jakotsu take her place to finish up checking dates and replacing bottles. "Anyways, you guys continue setting up here for tonight. I'm going to go get the tills ready for the evening. Mai should be here soon, so listen for her. And when she does get here, Benjiro, you and Sango help her bring everything in."
"Will do," Benjiro confirmed as she made her way to the office where the tills were kept.
Producing her keys to the office, she unlocked the door before walking inside and closing the door behind her. Sitting down in the office chair, she unlocked the safe that sat to the side and pulled the four tills out to begin counting to make sure they each contained three-hundred dollars to start. As she was finishing counting the last of the money, Mai walked into the office, a small smile on her face.
"Bar's looking good," Mai commented, her fist coming to rest against her hip. "How's the money counting going, Rin? Are we looking good on that front?"
"The tills are a-okay," Rin answered, stacking them on top of one another. "I haven't gotten to count the safe just yet, though. I was going to do that next before you walked in."
"I'll take the tills out and put them in the registers then while you do that," Mai said as she gathered the stack in her hands and turned to leave the office. "Make sure you fill out the report when you're done. You remember how to do it, right?"
"Sure do, thanks Mai," Rin called after her childhood friend before her attention returned to the safe.
Twenty minutes later, after counting and making sure that every bit of cash returned to the safe, Rin closed it up and left the office again; making sure to close the door behind her. When she stepped back into the main area of the 4500 square foot bar, she noticed that the rest of the staff had shown up and were preparing for the evening. Mai grinned when she noticed her, waving her over.
"Kirara told me about the guests we're expecting tonight," Mai said as she wiped down the counter space with a sanitizer rag. "Three reserved bottle service areas, huh? They know those are $3,000 reservations, right?"
"That's what I said," Rin hummed as she walked behind the bar. "Two are for bachelorette parties, apparently more than one person is getting married in this area this weekend and one is a few corporate big bosses who are coming out to celebrate something or other. They didn't really specify what the event was for when they called to make the reservation. So, I'm sure they can afford it. I know if I was going to be ordering a bottle service for my bachelorette party, I'd have enough money saved up to do so."
"Everyone doesn't think the way that you do though, Rin," Mai laughed before glancing down at the time on her Apple Watch. "Well, it's a quarter till four. Doors are going to be opening soon. Let's make sure everything is prepped and ready to go for those first customers that walk in and all the ones that follow."
"Of course, boss lady," Kirara said, making the other woman roll her eyes at her longtime friend.
.bleedinglove.
"Remind me again why I'm allowing you to drag me to this place," the raven hair asked, irking a brow at his friend who was behind the wheel of the SUV. "I have things to do, going out for drinks with all of you was not included in that."
"Ah, did you forget, my dear friend Sesshomaru," the driver asked as she glanced at his friend through the rearview mirror. "We are going out to celebrate our friend Koga here's thirty-eighth anniversary of his birth. You promised to come."
"I made no such promise, Miroku," the first man, Sesshomaru, said rolling violet eyes at the other. "I told you all to have fun. I did not agree to come along. If you took that as agreement to partake in this outing, that is your fault. You should probably learn to pay more attention to what someone is saying and not hearing what you want to hear. I could claim kidnapping if I truly wished."
"Oh shut the fuck up," the other raven hair that sat beside him said rolling his eyes. "You're already coming with us, you might as well suck it up and enjoy it. Besides, we're not paying a dime. This is all on Miroku since it was his idea. May as well come along and enjoy the free booze tonight to celebrate this bastard's birthday."
"Hey, I've got your bastard, Inuyasha," Koga, the last man sitting in the front seat, said glaring back at the other man. "You don't have to come along. You can always catch a bus or call a Lyft to take you home once we get there."
"We're here now, we might as well stay and get treated to free drinks," Inuyasha shrugged. "Besides, I can't wait to see how shit faced you get. Snapchat and Instagram are ready for you if you fall on your ass or make a complete fool of yourself."
"I'm surrounded by children," Sesshomaru murmured as he glanced down at the screen of his cellphone.
He noticed a text from the woman he was currently dating had come through and he opened it, reading her message. She wanted to know where he was and what he was up to since he hadn't returned to his apartment like she'd been expecting him to after he'd gotten off of work. He informed her that he would be accompanying Miroku, his brother and Koga out for drinks to celebrate Koga's birthday before their conversation ended.
"Your phone's been going off quite a bit," Inuyasha mused as he glanced over at his brother. "Kagura grilling you about where you are again?"
"Is that really any of your business," Sesshomaru asked, irking a brow at his younger brother.
"All I'm saying is I don't want any drama like the last time you went somewhere without her and she finds out where you are and decides to show up," Inuyasha said holding up his hands. "You know how she is. It's like she doesn't want you to have any fun whatsoever."
"I would rather not talk about it, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said, shutting down the conversation.
Inuyasha merely shrugged, deciding to leave it alone. It really wasn't his business, after all. He was just a little concerned that his brother was digging himself further into an issue that he didn't need. Being that they were the sons of one of the most influential men in all the world, not to mention the fortune they both sat upon, the last thing either of them needed was a woman that was going to cause problems for them in their lives. And so far, Kagura had been nothing but a problem for his brother.
"Looks like we're here boys," Miroku suddenly announced as he pulled to a stop in the parking lot of one of the most famous night life spots in the city. "And the place already seems to be packed. Good thing I reserved that bottle service area for us, or we'd probably have to find somewhere else to go."
Sesshomaru's violet eyes took in the moniker that hung overhead. Aura Night Life was a very popular, top tier bar and lounge in town. He'd heard about this place from a few colleagues who insisted that he one day check it out when he wanted to have quality beverages, food and service. He'd even heard of the bar owner. Mai Takahashi was the youngest daughter of Dr.'s Kenji and Chizu Takahashi, two world renowned surgeons who had publicly disowned their daughter when she decided to go into the bar business instead of following in her parents and siblings' footsteps and becoming a doctor as well.
"Isn't this placed owned by the daughter of Dr. Kenji Takahashi and his wife," Inuyasha suddenly asked. Sesshomaru nodded, confirming his brother's suspicion. "I bet they're kicking themselves in the ass repeatedly about disowning their daughter now. She's run a successful business for the last ten years. I've heard this place is the go-to for a lot of people. And they make a killing every night."
"The location probably helps with that," Miroku said as they all stepped out of the Range Rover. He locked the doors behind them as they made their way to the entrance. "This area is nothing but a bunch of corporate people between the ages of twenty-five and forty. The ideal age for a nightlife crowd with disposable income. I've heard that they make anywhere from twenty to twenty-five million a year depending on events going on around here. It also helps that all the female bartenders and servers are wonderful to look at. Men are more likely to tip handsomely if their bartender or waitress is a good-looking woman."
"No, I think that's just you," Koga pointed out as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Most of us just tip because it's the decent thing to do when you go out somewhere and get quality service. I personally never tip less than thirty percent of my total bill, even if service is bad."
"That's what any decent human who can afford it would do," Inuyasha said as they made their way to the door and stepped into the large building. They were met with a full crowd of locals who were happily enjoying drinks, food and the music that played. "Whew, full crowd tonight, am I right?"
"You can say that again," a female voice said as a young girl of no more than twenty-three appeared in front of them. She grinned, her fist coming to rest against her hip. "Welcome to Aura Night Life, gentlemen. My name is Hanako and I'm the hostess here. Did you all have a reservation?"
"Why yes, in fact, we did," Miroku said stepping forward. "We reserved a bottle service section under Miroku Hoshi. Would our table happen to be ready?"
The girl pulled the iPad mini from the hip holster she had, unlocking the screen before opening the app for reservations. She skimmed over it before she found Miroku's name and smiled. "Ah, here you are. Your table is all set, please follow me!"
She turned on the heel of her foot, her ponytail bouncing as she walked away. Miroku and the others were quick to follow her, checking out their surroundings as they walked. This was definitely a great choice for the evening's festivities. Even Sesshomaru, who originally had been reluctant to join, was looking forward to the evening they were about to have.
"Here is your table," Hanako said gesturing to the table that had a nice little reserved plaque sitting on top of it which she picked up. "Kagome will be your bottle girl for the evening. Have a seat and get comfortable, I'll let her know that you're here and she'll be right with you."
"Thank you," Miroku said, wasting no time to sit down. "C'mon fellas, have a seat. Take a load off and enjoy the evening. We came here to have a good time, right?"
"You brought us here, remember," Inuyasha pointed out as he sat down beside his brother. "I would be at home in nothing but my boxers if you hadn't pulled us along to celebrate Koga's birthday. And I'm pretty sure Sessh here would be enjoying an evening with his delightful girlfriend."
"Please do not mention Kagura again," Sesshomaru said, rolling his eyes at his younger brother.
"Trouble in paradise I take it," Koga asked, irking a brow.
"I'm not here to discuss my relationship with men who don't have a partner of their own, honestly," Sesshomaru said, trying to dead the conversation.
"Sesshomaru doesn't want to talk about it, so let's just leave it alone," Inuyasha said, coming to his brother's defense. He was not looking forward to dealing with an irate Sesshomaru, it wasn't pleasant. And he was sitting next to him, which meant he would be the one to feel his brother's fist against his head if he got too agitated. Even though he seemed cool and reserved on the outside, he definitely had a knack for knocking whoever was beside him upside the head if you pissed him off enough. "Besides, I think our bottle girl is on the way over."
He nodded towards a dark-haired beauty who stopped to check on another girl and her table before making her way over. There was a smile on her face as she approached the group of men, her hand coming to rest against her hip. "Good evening gentlemen, and welcome to Aura Night Life. My name is Kagome and I'll be your bottle girl for this evening. Was there any particular spirit we were looking at to get you started, gentlemen?"
"I'm quite partial to Tequila," Inuyasha said, being the first to speak up, glancing up at the woman. "But, since it is our friend here's birthday." He nodded towards Koga with a half grin. "I think we should let him decide on what we'll be drinking for the night."
Koga grinned, understanding what Inuyasha had meant. Since Miroku was fronting the bill for this evening, he was going to order their most expensive bottles of liquor to hold them over for the night. "How about your finest tequila? Like my friend here, I'm partial to light liquors."
"You know you're talking about a $10,000 bottle, right," Kagome asked, a brow rising as she wrote down the request on the pad she carried around with her. Koga simply nodded and Miroku waved it off. They clearly had money if that's the kind of bottles they were thinking about getting. "Alright, so we're looking at a bottle of Patron Silver. Now, how about food, is there anything I start you all off with for the evening?"
"I think we'll wait a little bit for the food," Miroku said with a polite smile.
"Sounds good, I'll be right back with your liquor," Kagome said before she turned and walked away, none the wiser of the eyes that followed her every move.
"They weren't lying when they said the bottle girls here were the best-looking ones in town," Miroku said rubbing his hands together. "Miss Kagome is definitely a looker."
"Hey, eyes to yourself lech, I saw her first," Inuyasha grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.
Miroku simply threw his hands in the air. He knew better than to try and continue to argue with his old friend. Once Inuyasha had his eyes set on someone, there was nothing that would stop him from attempting to woo them, except the person themselves not falling prey to his advances. Besides, there were plenty of other beautiful women for Miroku to ogle throughout the night. Kagome just happened to no longer be one of them.
.bleedinglove.
"When celebrities come here, and word about them being here gets out, it seems like we get so much busier than normal," Kirara said as she placed another drink on the serving tray to be ran. Benjiro nodded to her before taking off to deliver the order to the table they were for. "With the Taisho brothers, Koga Wolfe and Miroku Hoshi here, everyone and their mother are trying to come in just to get a peek at them. I'm kinda jealous that I'm not a bottle girl for that reason, honestly. You know Kagome's getting tipped amazingly well tonight."
"You could always talk to Mai about moving your position if you want to be a bottle girl, you know," Rin said as she filled the ice well that had been empty a moment before. "But then again, I'm not completely sure how well Shippo would take that. You know he's a jealous goat when it comes to other men looking at you and being a bottle girl would definitely incite his wrath."
Kirara chuckled at the mention of her husband. Shippo definitely was the jealous type when it came to other men ogling his wife. And her being a bottle girl would definitely make him lose his shit. "You know what, you're right. And the last thing I want to do is send him into a jealous rage unnecessarily. I think I'll just stick to being head bartender and making good tips here."
"You wouldn't want to be a bottle girl anyway," Kagome said, seemingly appearing from nowhere. "You get hit on by guys all night. And you're definitely the type that many guys that come in here and order bottle service would hit on. You're pretty with a body to kill for and blonde hair. A definite trophy wife for many of these rich snobs that show up for bottle service."
"You know, if we were talking fifteen years ago, I would be okay with that," Kirara said thoughtfully. "But considering the fact that I've been happily married for the last ten years, I don't see that turning out well for everyone involved. Shippo definitely wouldn't appreciate it."
"Point proven," Rin said as she threw away the empty ice bags. "Anyways, it's about to be last call soon. How's your party doing, Kagome?"
"Well, three out of the four are pretty wasted," Kagome laughed. "The sober one is trying to wrangle his friends so he can get them out of here since they've already had a bit too much to drink. When you order three, $10,000 bottles of Patron, you definitely want to get your money's worth. I just came to close out their tab for the evening if you guys don't mind."
"I'm sorry, how many bottles did they order," Kirara asked.
"You heard me, three, $10,000 bottles of Patron," Kagome repeated as she punched in the tab before running the credit card the drunken man had given her to cover the bill. "He's definitely going to have a hell of a credit card bill when his next statement arrives. But, being who they are, they've definitely got the money to cover these kinds of excursions. Do you want to go thank them for their business now, Rin? You know that's part of your job as the general manager here."
"I'll go with you when you head back," Rin promised.
"Then come on, I've got to get this card back to them so that they can get out of here," Kagome said, gesturing for her to follow.
Rin did, laughing at Kirara who shot them a thumbs up for good luck. She followed the other woman to the table where the four men were preparing to leave. The one who she figured was sober, turned to look at them when he heard them approach.
"I would say I hope you all enjoyed your visit, but I think it's pretty obvious that at least three of your party did," Rin laughed as she took in the sight of the three bright faced men. "We do appreciate your business and hope you decide to visit again some day."
"They all had a bit more fun than should be allowed," he answered as Kagome handed the credit card and receipt back to the raven-haired man. He quickly signed the bar copy before handing it to Kagome again and tucking the card and receipt in Miroku's jacket pocket. "I'll make sure that he gets this. I thank you for having us this evening."
"Would you like help with your friends," Rin offered as she turned to walk away, ignoring the little flutter in her heart that had been induced from the sight of the sober one. "I can have a few of my guys from the kitchen help you get them out to your car since it's closed for the evening."
"The help would be appreciated," he huffed as he hoisted Miroku to his feet.
Rin laughed when she heard him mutter something about annoying brothers and friends and them owing him for this when they weren't hung over. She sent Hayate and Hiro to help him get his friends to the SUV, watching to make sure they'd all been situated before he'd driven away and the boys return to finish cleaning the kitchen for the evening. She'd been so caught up in watching them, that she didn't notice Mai come to stand beside her.
"When you said big wigs, I didn't expect it to be those four," Mai commented as she leaned against the door post. The lounge had pretty much been cleared out by that point, only a few more stragglers left behind that the servers were working on removing from the premises. She laughed when she saw Rin jump at her sudden appearance. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?"
"A little bit," Rin answered. "When did you get there?"
"Maybe two minutes ago," Mai answered with a shrug. "So, what was the final bill? I know you saw it."
"$35,283.27," Rin answered as she glanced up at the taller woman. "And I'm pretty sure they left a thirty percent tip if I read that right on the receipt."
"That's a hell of a credit card bill he's looking at when that statement comes," Mai laughed. "They must have been celebrating a birthday or something. Anyways, I assume they were satisfied with the service?"
"Seemed like it, everyone other than the eldest Taisho brother was wasted to the point I had to have the boys come out of the kitchen and help him get them to their car," Rin hummed as she waved to the last customers that left for the evening before locking the doors.
Mai only laughed, waving her over to help start the clean up for the evening. It took an hour to get the place cleaned and back in order before everyone was dismissed to go home. Mai waved goodbye to them as they left, each getting into their cars and driving off to go home.
and thus, the first chapter of the reworked bleeding love is complete. let me know what y'all think about the direction this story is going in. until next time.
